Arrah Neil; or, Times of Old

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XXII.

  There was a long row of sheds at the far end of the town of Hull, opentowards the Humber, and enclosed on three sides towards the town. Alittle patch of green lay on one side the city wall; on the other,between the sheds and the river, ran a small footpath, and behind rosea good-looking dwelling of two stories high. With a quick but quietstep--unusually quiet, indeed, for he generally displayed his highopinion of himself in the elasticity of his toes--Captain Barecoltpursued the little path till he came in front of the sheds, and thenpaused to reconnoitre the ground.

  He first looked into the open side of the buildings; but nothing didhe see only sundry stockfish hanging up in rows by the tails, togetherwith a heap of coals in one corner, and two large bales or packagescovered with canvass in another. He then looked over the Humber, wherethe sun was struggling with some misty clouds, gilding the sky, andglittering on the calm, unruffled waters. There was nothing of greatimportance to be discovered on that side either, and the only objectthat seemed to attract the attention of the worthy captain was the topof a boat's mast, which rose over the bank between him and the river.

  As soon as he perceived it, he turned an ear in that direction, andthought he heard people speaking, upon which he advanced quietly tothe top of the bank and looked down. There was a man in the boat,apparently about to push off, and another standing on the shore,giving him some directions; and the first sight of the latter showedour friend that he had not mistaken his way; for there he beheld thestout, tall, good-looking elderly man whom he had seen with Mrs. Whiteon the preceding evening.

  His back was turned to Captain Barecolt, and, as the latter stoodwaiting till the boat had pushed off, he heard him say, "Well, don'tmake a noise about it. Do everything easily and quietly."

  The man in the boat, however, at once caught a sight of the intruderupon their conversation, and pointed towards him with his hand, uponwhich Mr. Hugh O'Donnell turned quickly round, with an inquiring andsomewhat stern expression, and then advanced straight up to CaptainBarecolt, while the boat rowed away.

  "Pray, sir, are you wanting me?" demanded Mr. O'Donnell, witha strong touch of that peculiar percussion of the breath which hasacquired--why or wherefore who can tell?--the name of "brogue,"regarding the captain, at the same time, with not the most amicableglance in the world.

  "Yes, Master O'Donnell," replied Barecolt, in good plain English, "Iam wanting you; and by your leave we must have a little conversationtogether."

  Hugh O'Donnell gazed at him with some surprise, for he recollected himwell as the French officer who had visited the sign of the "Swan" onthe preceding evening; but he was a cautious man, notwithstanding hisMilesian blood, long accustomed to deal with somewhat dangerousaffairs, and well aware that the most indiscreet of all passions issurprise; and therefore, without appearing to recognise his visiter,he said, "If our conversation is to be at all long, sir, it had betterbe within doors than without."

  "It may be long," replied Barecolt, drily; "and yet it cannot be verylong, for I have not too much time to spare; but, whether long orshort, it had better be where we can have no eaves-droppers, Mr.O'Donnell; and so we will walk in."

  Barecolt followed him to the house, where a clean and respectable oldwoman-servant was seen sanding the floor of a parlour, the boards ofwhich were scrubbed to a marvellous whiteness, though the walls, tosay the truth, were somewhat dingy, and a strong flavour of tobaccosmoke rather detracted from the purity of the air. That odour,however, was no objection to the nose of Captain Barecolt, who casthimself into a chair, while the master of the mansion sent away theservant and closed the door.

  As soon as this process was complete, the worthy captain fixed hiseyes upon Mr. O'Donnell, and demanded, "You recollect me, of course,sir?"

  "I think I have seen your face somewhere," replied the Irishman; "but,Lord love you! I never recollect anything after it is over. It'sbetter not, sir. I make life a ready-money business, and keep neitherreceipts nor bills."

  "Quite right, Mr. O'Donnell," replied Captain Barecolt; "but yet Ithink I must get you to draw a draft upon the past. That word or twofrom Mrs. White will tell you what it is about;" and he handed hiscompanion across the little round oaken table a small bit of paper.

  O'Donnell took it, read the contents, and then mused for a minute ortwo, tapping the table with his fingers.

  "Well, sir," he said, at length, "what is it you want to know?"

  "All that you can tell me about the young lady whom they call ArrahNeil."

  "Oh, sir, I will tell you all I know about her in a minute," repliedthe other; "he is now at the 'Swan,' Mrs. White's own house, underthe care--or, if you like it better, in the hands of a very reverendgentleman called Master Dry of Longsoaken."

  "That won't do, Mr. O'Donnell--that won't do," exclaimed Barecolt."What I want to know is about the past--not the present--of which Iknow more than you do, Mr. O'Donnell."

  "I never seek to know anything of other people's business," repliedO'Donnell, drily. "I have enough to do to attend to my own."

  "Which is the supplying Roman Catholic gentry with salt fish for fastdays, together with beads, missals, crucifixes, and other littletrinkets for private use," answered Barecolt, who had been using hiseyes and forming his own conclusions from numerous indicationsapparently trifling.

  O'Donnell, without any change of expression, gazed at him gravely, andthe captain continued--"But that is nothing to the purpose, my goodfriend. I see you are a prudent man, and I dare say you have cause tobe so. However, I will tell you why I inquire; and then we will seewhether you will not be kind enough to a poor young lady to give hersome information concerning her own affairs, of which, from the deathof poor old Sergeant Neil, and his papers having been carried off bythis old puritanical hunks Dry, she has been kept in ignorance. Youmust know that this young lady has found great and powerful friends inthe Lord Walton and his sister."

  "Then why did they suffer her to fall into this man's hands?" demandedO'Donnell.

  "Because they could not prevent it," replied Barecolt; and he went onto give a full account of the march from Bishop's Merton and theskirmish which had taken place upon the road, with all of which weneed not trouble the reader, whose imagination can supply or not, asit pleases, Captain Barecolt's account of his own deeds of arms. Fromthose deeds, after due commemoration, he went on to speak of LordWalton's anxiety for poor Arrah Neil's safety; and though we cannotpresume to say his tale was plain or unvarnished either, yet there wasenough of truth about it to make some change in Mr. O'Donnell's views.

  "Where is Lord Walton to be found?" demanded the latter.

  "He is with the king at Nottingham," answered Barecolt. "Well then,he shall hear from me before long," replied O'Donnell.

  "You had better let me bear him your message, my good sir," said thecaptain. "You may judge, from my being entrusted here with suchimportant business, that I am one in whom you may place the mostunlimited confidence."

  "Perhaps so, sir," answered O'Donnell; "but if I were such a fool orsuch a scoundrel as to betray other people's secrets, how should Iexpect that you would keep them?"

  "That is very true," rejoined Barecolt; "but if you do not tell themto me, and help me too to get the young lady out of this town of Hull,you will be compelled to tell them to her enemies, and may make hersituation a great deal worse than it is now."

  "They can't compel me; I defy them!" cried O'Donnell, sharply; "andhelp you to get her out of Hull I will with all my heart, but how isthat to be done?" The next moment he asked, in a meditative tone,"What makes you think they will ask me any questions?"

  "I not only think they will ask you questions, Mr. O'Donnell, but Iwill tell you what those questions will be," replied the captain; andtaking a paper from his pocket he went on: "Before many hours are overyou will have Mr. Dry himself here, and perhaps the justices, if notthe governor, and you will be asked, 'Whose daughter was hermother?--are any of her family living?--in what county?--inUlster?--w
hether the estates were sequestrated or the bloodattainted?--where the money came from you used to send to poor Neil,and how much it was a-year?'"

  "Oh, by----, they must have got hold of a good clue!" exclaimedO'Donnell, with more agitation than he had hitherto displayed.

  "That they have, Master O'Donnell," replied Barecolt; "but if Drycomes alone, as he will most likely do at first, he will ask you oneother question before he tries to force you, and that is: how much youwill take to tell him the whole story, that he may possess himself ofthe property and force the poor child into marrying him."

  "Ay, he's a reasonable man, I dare say, Master Dry," replied theIrishman, with a sarcastic smile; "but he will find himself mistaken:and, as to forcing me, they can't! Moreover, for your own questions,good sir, all I shall say; is this: that you may tell Lord Walton thathe must take care of this poor young lady."

  "That he is willing enough to do without my telling," answeredBarecolt.

  "Ay, but he must take care of her like the apple of his eye," repliedO'Donnell; "for if any harm happen to her he will never forgivehimself. He is a kind, good man--is he not?"

  "As gallant a cavalier as ever lived," said Barecolt.

  "And young?" demanded O'Donnell.

  "Some seven or eight-and-twenty, I should guess," was the answer.

  The master of the house mused.

  "That may be fortunate or unfortunate, as it happens," he said atlength; "at all events he ought to have intimation of what he isdoing. Tell him that he shall hear more from me very shortly--as soonas possible--as soon as I can get leave: and now to speak of how toget her out of Hull."

  "But will you not let me tell Lord Walton who she is?" demandedBarecolt.

  "If Sergeant Neil has told him anything already--well," repliedO'Donnell; "if not, he shall hear more soon; but at all events tellhim to cherish and protect her as he would one of his own kindred; forif he do not, and have any more heart than a stone, he will repent itbitterly. No more on that head, master: now for your plans."

  "Why, Master O'Donnell," replied Captain Barecolt, "my plans, likeyour secrets, are my own; and I do not tell them easily, especiallywhen I get nothing in return."

  "But you said you wished me to help you to get the young lady out ofHull," rejoined O'Donnell. "How am I to do so without knowing what youintend to do?"

  "I will show you in a minute, Master O'Donnell," replied Barecolt."What I need is horse flesh; and as far as I can see, very little of itis to be found in Hull. The governor walks afoot; the officers of thegarrison, such as it is, trudge upon their own legs; and I have seennothing with four feet but sundry cats, half-a-dozen dogs, and everynow and then a fat horse in a coal-cart. I want beasts to carry us,Master O'Donnell; that is my need: and if you can find means tofurnish us with them, I will contrive to get the young lady out."

  "Oh, there are plenty of horses in Hull," answered O'Donnell; "but howdid you come hither?"

  "By sea," replied his companion; "but that matters not. If you canbring or send three good horses, one with a woman's saddle, to thefirst village on the road to York--I forget the name of the place--youwill do me a service, aid poor Arrah Neil, and be well paid for yourpains."

  "To Newlands, you mean," said O'Donnell; "but Newlands is a long wayfor you to go on foot. 'Tis more than two miles, and if you are caughtyou are lost. Stay--there is a little low ale-house by the green side,just a mile from the town gates. The horses shall be there; but atwhat time?"

  "Some time before daybreak to-morrow," replied Barecolt; "for as soonas I see the first ray of the sun, I am off with my companions."

  "Have you more than one?" demanded the Irishman.

  "The lady--and a gentleman, a friend of mine," answered the worthycaptain; "otherwise I should not have wanted three horses."

  "But how will you pass the gates?" inquired the other; "they are verystrict at that side, for they fear enterprises from York."

  "There's my key," replied Barecolt, producing the governor's pass;"but, for fear it should not fit the lock, Master O'Donnell, I shalltry it five or six times before nightfall. What I mean is, that I willgo out and in several times, that the people may know my face."

  His companion gazed at the pass, and then at Captain Barecolt forseveral moments, wondering not a little what might be the realcharacter of his visiter, and what were the means by which he hadcontrived to obtain the document which he spread before him. There itwas, however, not to be doubted--a genuine order under Sir JohnHotham's own hand, for the sentries, guards, warders, and officers ofall kinds of the town of Hull, to give free passage, at any hourbetween daybreak and nightfall, to Captain Fran?ois Jersval, and theworkmen employed by him to inspect and repair the fortifications ofthe city, and to offer him no let or hindrance, but rather afford himevery aid and assistance.

  "And now, Master O'Donnell," continued Barecolt, observing with acertain degree of pride that he had succeeded in puzzling hiscompanion, "let us speak about the price of these horses."

  "That I cannot tell till I buy them," replied O'Donnell, "but I shallsee you to-night at the 'Swan,' and we can settle that matter then."

  "Perhaps I shall be out," answered Barecolt, recollecting hisengagement with Hazard and Falgate.

  "Well, then, I will wait till you return," replied O'Donnell; "but inthe mean time I must get the horses out before the gates closeto-night. To what price would you like to go for the two?"

  "I said three, Master O'Donnell," exclaimed Barecolt; "pray, do not beshort of the number."

  "No, no," replied the other; "there shall be three; but I will pay forthe young lady's horse. I have money in hand that should have gone topoor old Neil; but when I wrote about it he did not answer."

  "Dead men seldom do," said Barecolt; "but as to the price--there is nouse of buying anything very beautiful for me. My own chargers are ofthe finest breed in Europe, between a Turkish courser and a powerfulNorman mare; but as I don't want these horses that I now bespeak forbattle, all that is needful will be to see that they be good strongbeasts, willing to work for a day or two. But one thing that is to beremembered, Mr. O'Donnell, is, that if you do come up to the 'Swan'seeking me, you are only to know me as 'de Capitaine Jersval, oneFrench officier, who be come to help de governeur to put defortification in de repair.'"

  "And pray, sir, what is your real name?" asked O'Donnell, with an airof simplicity.

  "What is Arrah Neil's?" rejoined Barecolt; and, both laughing, theyseparated for the time, without affording each other any furtherinformation.