CHAPTER XXI.
SHOWING HOW DAME GIVES BECAME A WIDOW.
Careless did not lose sight of the prisoner until he had seen himsafely bestowed in Edgar's Tower. With the strictest injunctions towatch carefully over him, he then committed him to the custody ofMartin Vosper, who, it may be remembered, was one of the party thatbivouacked on Pitchcroft on the night of the Grand Muster. Vosperhad since been promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Placed in thestrong room in which Dr. Crosby had been confined by Colonel James,Urso immediately threw himself upon the pallet that formed part ofthe scanty furniture, and, being greatly fatigued, soon fell asleep.But his slumber was disturbed by fearful dreams, and his brokenexclamations seemed to have reference to some dark deed he hadcommitted. These muttered words attracted the attention of LieutenantVosper, who remained with him in the chamber. From the first Vosperhad been struck with the prisoner's resemblance to the spy whom he andTrubshaw--now a corporal--had pursued, and he now felt sure he was thesame individual.
While the wretched sleeper was muttering some incoherent words, butamidst which the name "Wicked Will" was plainly to be distinguished,Vosper stepped up to the couch and shook him violently.
Thus roused, the guilty wretch started up, looking the picture ofhorror and despair. His hue was death-like, his eyes stared wildly, andcold drops gathered thickly upon his brow.
"Lighten your breast of its heavy load," said Vosper. "When you playedthe spy on me and my comrades at Pitchcroft, you cried out in a solemnvoice that Wicked Will's death was a judgment. But you neglected totell us who was the instrument of the judgment. Supply the informationnow. Who drowned him in the Severn?"
"Not I," replied Urso, shuddering. "If I have talked in my sleep, as Ido sometimes, my words must not be taken against me."
"Die not with a lie on thy lips," said Vosper. "Since thou art certainto be hanged, give yourself a chance hereafter, by confession andrepentance."
"I will not confess my transgressions to thee," rejoined Urso. "If Imay have some godly man to pray with me, I will lay bare my breast tohim. I would fain see the Reverend Laban Foxe, who hath known me longand well."
"And needs not to be told of thine iniquities, I'll be sworn," saidVosper. "I know the Reverend Laban, and a cunning old fox he is--hisname suits him perfectly."
"A sorry jest, and ill-timed," said Urso. "Shall I see him?"
"Content thee--thou shalt."
"I thank thee," replied Urso. "In return, I will tell thee how CaptainHodgkins perished. Though I hated him as a bloodthirsty and wickedmalignant, I did not compass his destruction. One evening, about dusk,he was staggering along the bank of the Severn, raging and roaring fromstrong drink, when he fell into the river."
"Wretch! you pushed him in," said Vosper, sternly.
"No," rejoined Urso. "It happened as I have said. I was standing by,and could have saved him had I stretched out my hand. But I hated him,and let him drown. Ah! I shall never forget his agonised, imploringlooks, for the cold water had sobered him. I can see him now," headded, covering his eyes, as if to exclude some terrible object.
"With such a crime on thy conscience, no wonder thou canst not sleepsoundly," said Vosper, regarding him with mingled pity and abhorrence.
"Thou sayst truly," rejoined the wretched man. "Since that night I havenot been able to lay me down in peace. But I shall soon sleep the quietand unbroken sleep of death."
"Hast thou aught more to tell me?" asked Vosper, after a pause.
"Ay, I will tell thee of another matter, though I feel no remorse forit," rejoined Urso. "Not many days ago I laid an ambush for thy kingon one of the Malvern Hills, which he was foolish enough to ascendin company with Major Careless, whom I bitterly hate. Had I capturedCharles Stuart, as I hoped to do, I should not be a prisoner here; and,better than all, I should have been avenged of Careless."
"I heard of his majesty's providential escape," said Vosper. "But Iknew not that thou wert the contriver of the ambuscade."
"I can talk no more," said Urso. "I pray thee fulfil thy promise to letme see the godly man I have named."
Lieutenant Vosper immediately opened the door, and conferred for amoment with Corporal Trubshaw, who was standing outside.
This done, he re-entered the room.
Nearly an hour, however, elapsed before the corporal appeared with theIndependent minister, and during this interval Urso turned his face tothe wall, and maintained a profound silence, which Vosper did not careto interrupt.
The Reverend Laban Foxe was a sour-visaged old man. He wore a tallsteeple-crowned hat and a long black cloak, but his attire had nothingof the divine about it.
He seemed much moved on beholding Urso, who rose from the pallet onhis entrance, and a sad greeting took place between them.
The minister prayed to be left alone with the prisoner. Vosper assentedand withdrew, but after awhile, thinking time enough had been allowed,he returned, and found Urso listening to the words of consolationaddressed to him.
He therefore again retired, but returning after another long interval,and finding the exhortation still going on, he deemed it necessary tointerrupt it.
"Since you sincerely repent of your sins, my son, I need say no more,"observed the minister. "Bear your cross with resignation. Godly sorrow,like yours, worketh repentance to salvation." After a moment's pause headded, "But have you no message for your wife?"
"May I not see her?" cried Urso, casting an imploring look at Vosper,who made no reply.
"Alas! she cannot come to you, my son, even were she permitted,"interposed the minister. "Her wound is not dangerous, but she has notstrength for the painful interview."
"'Tis better thus!" exclaimed Urso, in a voice that betrayed profoundemotion. "The parting with her would be a greater pang than deathitself. Bid her an eternal farewell from me, and say to her----"
And he stopped.
"What must I add, my son?" inquired the minister.
"Say that I have left her a good legacy," rejoined Urso.
"Know you not that any money you may have bequeathed her will beforfeited?" remarked Vosper.
"Forfeited to whom?" demanded the prisoner.
"To whom should it be forfeited except to the king?" rejoined Vosper.
"I am easy on that score," said Urso. "Charles Stuart will not keepthis money from her. The provision I have made is secure. Tell her so,"he added to the minister. "She may not understand my meaning now, butshe will understand it hereafter."
"Your words shall be faithfully repeated," said the Reverend Laban."Farewell, my son!"
And with an earnest look at the prisoner, he departed.
When the hour fixed for the execution approached, a strong mountedguard was drawn up in front of the beautiful old gateway. Without amoment's delay, the prisoner was brought forth by Lieutenant Vosper,Corporal Trubshaw, and a party of halberdiers, who marched on eitherside of him.
Urso was bareheaded, his hands tied behind him, and a rope coiled roundhis neck. Before him walked the hangman--a caitiff apparently chosenfor the revolting office from his savage and repulsive looks. Themounted guard, previously mentioned, rode on in front to clear the way.
As the cort?ge passed slowly down Edgar-street and alongSidbury-street, Urso's appearance was everywhere greeted with yellsand execrations, and if the infuriated concourse could have reachedhim, the hangman would have been spared a labour. Ever since it hadbecome known that the night attack had been betrayed, the greatestindignation was manifested by the citizens, who demanded that theseverest punishment should be inflicted on the traitor. Mere hangingwas too good for him. They would have him drawn and quartered, and hishead fixed on the Sidbury-gate, that Old Noll might see it.
Though Urso had nerved himself to the utmost, he was not equal to theterrible ordeal he was exposed to, and his agony during the march tothe place of execution was far greater than that which he subsequentlyendured.
At length the Sidbury-gate was reached, and being taken inside thestructure, he was for s
ome minutes lost to sight.
The spectators awaited his reappearance with a fierce impatience, whichthey did not seek to control or disguise. The large area in front ofthe Sidbury-gate, which has been described as surrounded by the newfortifications, was crowded with soldiers; the ramparts of Fort Royal,the walls, the towers, were likewise thronged by soldiers. But therewere hundreds, nay, thousands, of distant spectators of the tragicscene.
On the top of the Sidbury-gate a gallows had been reared. So lofty wasit, that it could be seen from most parts of the city, while it formeda conspicuous object to the enemy on the heights.
Towards this extraordinary gallows every eye was now directed. Deepsilence pervaded the vast assemblage.
At length the hangman came forth, and, climbing the long ladderquickly, seated himself astride on the transverse bar of the gallows,and proceeded deliberately to fasten the fatal rope to it.
While he was thus occupied, the prisoner appeared, still guarded byLieutenant Vosper, Trubshaw, and the halberdiers, and his appearancewas the signal for a renewal of the terrible outcries that hadbefore assailed him. He bore them undauntedly, continuing perfectlymotionless, until the executioner called out from above that all wasready. He then sprang quickly up the ladder, as if eager to meet hisdoom.
In another minute all was over, and his body swinging in mid air;while a universal groan--though not a groan of pity--burst from thespectators.
Thus died the traitor Gives, whose name is still execrated in faithfulWorcester.
At the moment when Urso was launched into eternity, the discharge of acannon from Fort Royal informed Cromwell that the spy he had employedhad been punished with death.
Cromwell, who was with Lilburn and Lord Grey of Groby on Perry Wood atthe time, could not control his rage.
"The man's execution is justified by the laws of war," he said; "butit shall cost the citizens of Worcester dear. The great service herendered us last night shall be requited as he desired. His widow shallhave the reward I intended for him."
"How much is it to be?" asked Lord Grey.
"Two hundred pounds, and a pension of two hundred a year," repliedCromwell.
"A good reward, in sooth," said Lord Grey. "She will be well consoledfor his loss."
Boscobel; or, the royal oak: A tale of the year 1651 Page 24
