by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE FIGHT BEGINS AT GROVE-HILL MANSION
Colonel Hickman led the way; and, like most Kentuckians of good estate,he rode an excellent horse. He hurried the animal beyond the capacityof the two cavalry horses which had come into the possession of Deckand Fronklyn, and he reached the avenue by the river considerably inadvance of the others. He rode into the opening, and disappeared behindthe trees.
By this time the lieutenant had an opportunity to examine this approachto the mansion. The road was not more than thirty feet wide, with threerows of trees on each side of it, so that it was really a groveconsisting of a variety of trees. It had evidently been laid out manyyears before, for the ground was completely shaded. The mansion facedthe Millersville road, and in the rear of it was quite a village ofout-buildings.
The planter halted as soon as he was in the avenue, and waited till theothers joined him. After all that had been said about him by the sons,he was willing to leave the management of the affair to LieutenantLyon; for, young as he was, he had obtained some experience indefeating and capturing such marauders as those who had takenpossession of the great house on the hill. The ruffians were after thecolonel's money; a gentleman as wealthy as he was reputed to be musthave a considerable sum on hand, as he had admitted, for the payment ofhis ordinary expenses.
Deck had asked but few questions in regard to the situation, preferringto inform himself more fully when he had seen the premises. The avenue,or grove, was as the owner had described it. At the point where theparty had passed into it, the mansion could not be seen at all throughthe dense foliage of the trees; and the approach to it was entirelysafe, even if the ruffians had placed some of their number on guardoutside of the dwelling. The covered road was not entirely straight,for several bends and curves made it more picturesque than it wouldotherwise have been.
It was certainly a very pleasant place for a ride on a warm day; andthe young lieutenant had taste enough to appreciate and admire it,though under the circumstances he could not use much of his time inexamining its beauties, which he would have been pleased to do at amore convenient season. Just then he looked at it as a strategistrather than as a lover of art.
"I don't quite understand, Colonel Hickman, how you succeeded ingetting away from your mansion without having a bullet plantedsomewhere in your head or body," said Deck, as he surveyed thesurroundings. "You came directly down the hill, and not through thisavenue."
"As I have told you before, I have been on the lookout for thesemiscreants since their former visit, when they threatened to hang me toone of my trees if I did not give up what money I had on hand," repliedthe planter. "I was alone on the estate, and of course I could notdefend myself against ten men armed with rifles or muskets. I kept halfa dozen of my negroes on the watch upon the road, to notify me of theircoming. I had my horse saddled and bridled all the time. As soon as Iwas informed that the ruffians were coming, I hastened to the stable,mounted, and rode down the hill by the shortest way, in the directionof the road to Harrison. I did not expect to obtain assistance before Ireached Jamestown, where I thought some of the Federal troops might beposted. I was glad to find you at Cuffy's, and rejoiced to meet my sonsagain."
"If there are ten of the ruffians, we shall still be outnumbered,"added Deck. "But I hope we shall be able to outmanoeuvre them."
"My sons are riflemen, and they are dead shots at a long distance,"said the colonel.
"I am aware of that, for I have seen them shoot with the rest ofCaptain Ripley's men. I think we had better be on the march," added thelieutenant. "We will send out a couple of pickets to feel the way forus. Sergeant Fronklyn shall go for one, and with him one of your sons,to show him the way and explain the situation."
"Warren shall accompany him, and can give him all the information heneeds," the planter decided.
The sergeant and the planter's son started the horses, and rode off atfull gallop; but they did not continue at this speed for more thanhalf-way to the top of the hill, and they soon disappeared at a bend inthe avenue. Deck and the rest of the party followed.
"I think we had better leave our horses here," said Fronklyn, as hereined in his steed. "The sound of the horses' feet may betray us."
"I obey your orders, Sergeant; but the villains will not hear us atthis distance," replied Warren Hickman. "I have no doubt they arelooking for the money in the house."
At this suggestion they rode some distance farther; and, turninganother bend, Fronklyn discovered a three-story building at whatappeared to be the end of the avenue. He stopped his horse, and wasdecidedly opposed to riding any farther. He could not yet see themansion; but through the trees he saw several other buildings.
"What is the three-story house?" asked the sergeant.
"That is the stable; but it is built on the side of the hill, and thereare only two stories on the front," replied Warren.
Both of the riders dismounted; and, after securing the horses to thetrees, they walked to the stable. The lower part was a cellar in theside-hill, and appeared to be used as a place for storage. Theplanter's son led the way into this apartment, and then mounted thestairs leading to the middle story. There were half a dozen horsesthere, and stalls for as many more. The doors were wide open, and thepickets, or scouts, moved about very carefully.
Warren then looked out of the doors and windows; but not a person couldbe seen, except some negro men and women, who appeared to be skulkingabout the premises, apparently ready to run away in case of danger. Thesergeant and the rifleman had both unslung their firearms, and wereready for business if they discovered any of the marauders. Theplanter's son then ascended to the hayloft, and from the windows theresurveyed all that could be seen of the premises from them.
"We don't get ahead much," said Warren, as he descended the stairs. "Imust get at one of the servants, though they all seem to keep out ofharm's way."
"It is time for us to know the situation here," replied Fronklyn, as hefollowed his companion down the stairs.
As a matter of precaution, Warren closed the great doors, though asmaller one was left open on one side of them. They found that all thehorses in the stable were saddled and bridled for use. While he waswondering what this meant, a dozen blacks rushed in through the opendoor. They seemed to be greatly alarmed.
Adjoining the stable on each side were the carriage-houses; and Warrenhastened into one of them, supposing that the marauders were pursuingthem; but no enemy followed them. The negroes went into the stalls, andbegan to lead out the horses.
"What does all that mean, Warren?" asked Fronklyn in a whisper.
"I don't know," replied the planter's son, as he cocked his rifle, andreturned to the stable. "What are you about here?" he demanded.
"Mars'r Warren!" exclaimed several of them.
"What are you going to do with the horses, Phil?" asked Warren.
"Who shut the big doors, Mars'r Warren?" asked Phil, who appeared to bean upper servant of some kind.
"What are you going to do with the horses, Phil?" exclaimed theplanter's son angrily.
"I thought the robbers had got into the stable, and I wanted to savethe horses," replied the servant, breaking down at the tone of themaster's son.
"You are lying, Phil! You would not have dared to come into the stableif you had supposed the robbers were here."
"We was gwine to run away on de hosses," added a very black fellow.
"Don't know who shut de big doors, Mars'r, if de robbers don't do it,"said another, who was evidently a field-hand.
"I didn't think there was more'n one of them here," added Phil, as heheld up a revolver with which he had armed himself after the departureof the planter. "I meant to kill him, and get away with the horses."
"Perhaps you would have done so."
"I do it for sure."
"Now, where are the robbers?" asked Warren.
"In the house. We don't see any for more'n half an hour. I think theylooked part of the house over to find the money, and then
wentup-stairs to hunt for it," replied Phil, who appeared to be anintelligent fellow, far superior to the rest of them.
"Very well; you may get on the horses, and ride down the avenue tillyou meet the colonel," added the son of the planter. "Now, Sergeant, wewill find the condition of things in the house."
The negroes led all the horses down an inclined plane into the cellar.This was not an uncommon device in large cities to economize space; butthe planter had caused it to be built for just such an emergency as thepresent, and he had made his escape in this manner from the estate. Theterrified servants mounted the horses in the cellar, and entered theavenue by the way Warren and the sergeant had left it.
The two scouts passed out of the stable by the same door. Keepingbehind the outbuildings, they reached the side of the mansion. Passingentirely around it, they looked in at every window very cautiously; butwere unable to see a single guerilla on the lower floor. By an outsidedoor they went into the cellar of the dwelling. They found severalplaces where the earth had been dug up, but not a man was to be seen.
"Now, Warren, I am going up-stairs; and I should like to have youreturn to the avenue, and bring up the rest of our party as quickly aspossible," said Fronklyn in a low tone.
"Up-stairs!" exclaimed the planter's son. "Do you mean to throw awayyour life?"
"Not if I know myself; but I wish the lieutenant was here," replied thesergeant, who had noted the stairs that led to the next floor.
"I will do as you say, Sergeant; but I hardly expect to find you alivewhen I come back," answered Warren.
"I believe I can take care of myself; and I think these ruffians haveput themselves just where we want them," said Fronklyn, recalling thestrategy at Mr. Halliburn's mansion.
Warren left the cellar by the same way they had entered, and made hisway around the out-buildings to the avenue. Fronklyn stole up thestairs, after he had removed his shoes, and looked into half a dozenrooms on the first floor. The carpets had been partly torn up, thefurniture overturned and broken up, the closets ransacked, and abundantother evidence that the search for money or other valuables had beencompleted in this part of the mansion.
On the floors of the second story he could hear the tramp of shoes, thecracking and snapping of furniture, and the rough speech of coarse men.The search for money was still in progress; and the planter's son wassure the marauders would not find that which they were seeking. Themoney might be safe, but that was certainly not the case with themansion and furniture.
In the great hall, in a corner behind the front door, the sergeantfound a large steel safe, with its door wide open, and entirely empty.The planter had evidently removed his valuables, including his booksand papers, to what he believed was a more secure depository for them.The robbers had drawn it out from the corner, plainly to search behindit for the hidden treasure. Fronklyn opened the front door of themansion, and then deposited himself behind the safe, the house doorconcealing him on the open side.
His carbine was in condition for immediate use, and he had taken arevolver from the horse he had ridden belonging to the trooper who hadperished in the river. The noise up-stairs continued, and he had becomesomewhat impatient for the appearance of the rest of the party. He wasinclined to "open the ball;" but he concluded that it would be a pieceof rashness for him to do so, and he refrained from doing anything.Between the door and the safe he obtained a full view of the head ofthe staircase.
"There comes the planter!" shouted some one in the hall above.
"Hang him!" yelled another.
"Down-stairs all together!" cried the first speaker, who was perhapsthe leader of the ruffians.
He was the first to appear at the landing. Several voices repeated thecry to hang the colonel. At that moment a shot was heard, and the firstruffian came tumbling down the steps. The next instant the one behindhim shared his fate, and both of them lay motionless at the foot of thestairs.
A moment later Deck rushed in through the open door, followed by thethree riflemen.
