Arrah Neil; or, Times of Old
Page 38
CHAPTER XXXVI.
"Ha! Ha! ha!" cried Hargood, with a dry, mocking laugh, "So the deadhave come to life again! Stand, sir, and give an account of yourself.Lady, you are a mighty skilful plotter, but we have doubled upon you,and I will not quit this house till I find this bird's nest."
"Run round, Annie," whispered Lady Margaret to her niece, "through thesecret chamber, by the passage to the left and the door in the wall,where you will see a bolt. It will lead you to the hall. Bring our menupon them from behind: we will fight for it still."
Miss Walton took a step to obey; but the movement was not unperceivedby the captain of the militia, who exclaimed in a loud voice, turninghis head slightly towards his men--
"Cover them with your guns! If any one stirs a step, I order them tofire!" he added, addressing the party at the entrance of the room.
But the stout-hearted old lady was not to be daunted; and, motioningthe earl back, she suddenly shut to the door, turned the key, andstepped behind the shelter of the wall, drawing Annie with her.
There was a momentary pause, to hear if Captain Hargood would keep hisword; but not a gun was fired, and Lady Margaret reiterated her desirethat Annie would run round and bring her tenantry from the hall, intothe rear of the Roundheads.
"But no," she cried, interrupting herself. "Come with me, Annie. Comewith me, my lord. They must be some time breaking in."
"It is useless, I fear, dear lady," said the earl. "They have betterinformation than we imagined, and I think have been reinforced. Thereseem to me to be more than twenty men, so that most probably yourpeople are disarmed."
"Hark!" cried Annie Walton; "there is a trumpet without! Oh! they havemany more with them, you may depend upon it!"
"A trumpet!" cried Lady Margaret, listening, and her withered faceassuming a look of joy as she heard the long, shrill blast ringingupon the air. "So there is; so there is! Cavaliers to the rescue! Thisis our dear Arrah's doing. These are king's troops, my lord. Noroundheaded Puritan ever blew a blast like that."
"On my life, I believe it is true!" cried the earl, approaching thewindow and looking out. "A party have crossed the stream and arecoming over the meadows."
As he spoke, there was a loud murmuring noise in the neighbouringchamber, and then the sound of a blow, as if from an axe, upon thedoor of the room in which they were. The earl instantly threw open thecasement and vaulted out; and the next moment his voice was heard,calling loudly, "Hither, hither!" At the same time, however, the blowsupon the door were repeated, and though made of strong solid oak, itcrashed, and one panel gave way.
"Quick, Annie!" cried Lady Margaret; "let us through the other door.We can set them at defiance yet." But, just as they reached it, astill heavier blow of the axe dashed the lock from its fastenings, andthe broken door flew back.
At the same moment, however, a man sprang into the open window. It wasthe Earl of Beverley, but another and another followed. The casementon the right, too, was burst open, and two or three leaped in at atime, casting themselves in the way of the advancing militia-men.
"Down with your arms, traitors!" cried a voice that Miss Waltonthought she remembered.
"Back, Annie! Back, my beloved! Away, Lady Margaret! Keep out of thefire!" exclaimed the earl; and, drawing her niece with her, the oldlady retired into what she called the "chamber of atonement," pushingthe door nearly to.
The next instant a musket was discharged; then came volley aftervolley, then the clash of swords, and cries, and shouts, and words ofcommand, with every now and then a deadly groan between, while throughthe chink of the door that was left open crept the pale blue smoke,rolling round with a sulphurous smell, and the blast of the trumpetechoed from without, as if calling up fresh spirits to the fray.
Lady Margaret Langley held her niece's hand firmly in hers, whileAnnie Walton bent her fair brow upon her old relation's shoulder, andstruggled with the tears that would fain have burst forth.
The strife in the neighbouring room seemed to last an age, though intruth its duration was but a few minutes, and then came a pause, notof absolute silence, for the sounds were still various and many, butthere was a comparative stillness, and a voice was heard speaking,though the words were indistinct. The moment after, some one nearexclaimed--
"Lay down your arms, then, traitors! We will grant no conditions torebels with arms in their bands. Hie to Major Randal, Barecolt. Tellhim to guard well every door, that no one escape. Now, sir, do yousurrender?"
Annie Walton recognised her brother's voice, and murmured, "He atleast is safe."
"We will surrender upon quarter, sir," answered the voice of CaptainHargood.
"You shall surrender at discretion, or die where you stand," answeredLord Walton. "Make your choice quickly, or we fire!"
Almost as he spoke, there came a dull clang, as of arms groundedsuddenly on the wooden floor; and, greatly to the relief of poor AnnieWalton's heart, the voice of Lord Beverley was heard exclaiming--
"Treat them gently, treat them gently! They are prisoners, and mustabide his majesty's pleasure."
"Thank God!" said Miss Walton; "thank God!"
"Hush!" said Lady Margaret. "Let us look out, Annie. There is a smellof burning wood."
As she spoke, she approached the door and opened it. Annie Waltonfollowed close upon her steps, and gazed into the room beyond. It wasa sad and fearful scene. The bed-chamber of Lady Margaret, in whichthe principal struggle had taken place, was comparatively dark,receiving its only light from the glare of the lamp and sconces in thedrawing-room on the other side. The room was well-nigh filled withmen; others were seen through the open door, and every sort ofattitude into which the human figure can be thrown was displayedamongst them. At the further end of the table appeared Captain Hargoodand some eight or nine of the militia, their arms cast down, andgloomy, sullen despondency upon their faces. Near them lay three orfour others, still and motionless; one fallen upon his back, with hisarms extended; one upon his face, his limbs doubled up beneath him. Alittle more in advance was another militia-man, sitting on the ground,supporting himself with one hand upon a chair, while the other waspressed tightly upon his side; and beside Lady Margaret's bed knelt ayoung Cavalier, his long and fair curling hair streaming down hisshoulders, and his face buried in the bed-clothes. Several of theroyalist party were stretched upon the ground near; the faces andhands of most of the others were bloody and begrimed with gunpowder;and several were seen in different parts of the room, tying up thewounded limb or staunching the flowing blood.
In the front stood Lord Walton and the Earl of Beverley; the onearmed, and with the stern frown of vehement excitement upon his loftybrow; the other with no arms but a sword, and with his fine andspeaking countenance animated certainly, but calm and open. Hanging ina thick cloud over the whole were wreaths of smoke, and a stream of alighter colour was finding its way through the open door, and slowlymingling with that which the discharge of firearms had produced.
The party of the Cavaliers was by far the more numerous, and at themoment when Lady Margaret looked in, several of them were advancing tosecure the prisoners. Lord Walton was in the act of giving variousorders, from which it was apparent that the house was surrounded by aconsiderable party of the royalist cavalry; but no one seemed tonotice, in the interest of the scene before them, the fact that therewas, as Lady Margaret had observed, a strong and growing smell ofburning wood, or that ever and anon, across the smoke which wasfinding its way in from the next room, came a fitful flash, unlike thequiet and steady light of the candles.
For a short time, even Lady Margaret's attention was withdrawn fromwhat she had remarked to the striking scene before her; but after amoment's pause she exclaimed--
"Charles, Charles! there is something on fire in the drawing-room."
Lord Walton started and turned round, gave a smile to Annie and hisaunt, and then, seeming suddenly to catch the meaning of her words, hedirected a look towards the door, and instantly strode forward,pa
ssing Captain Hargood and the prisoners, and entered thedrawing-room.
The moment that he was actually within that chamber, his voice washeard exclaiming aloud--
"Here, Wilson! Hardy! Help here! the place is on fire!" and a generalrush was made towards the other room, where it was found that somespark or piece of lighted wadding, having fallen upon the lowhangings, had set the whole in a flame, which, communicating itself tothe old dry panelling and carved cornices, was running round thechamber on all sides.
Every exertion was now made to extinguish the fire. Some of thesoldiers were sent, under Lady Margaret's direction, to get bucketsfrom the hall, where they found and released the tenantry andservants, who had been locked in by the militia and secured under aguard. All efforts, however, proved vain. The flames spread from roomto room; but little water was to be procured except from the stream,and Lord Walton and the earl soon turned their attention to save thevaluable furniture, pictures, and plate.
The scene of confusion that ensued is indescribable; and indeed, tothe mind of Annie Walton herself, it all seemed more like a dream thana reality, till she found herself standing in the gardens of thehouse, her hands clasped in those of Arrah Neil, and old Major Randalsaying a few words of somewhat dry but kindly compliment; while LadyMargaret at her side patted the head of her old dog Basto, murmuring,"Let it burn, boy! let it burn! It has lasted its time and seen many aheartache. So let it burn, for the villains have not had their way andthe right has triumphed."
To Annie Walton, however, it was a sad sight. Twice within a fewmonths had she beheld the place where she had made her home a prey tothe flames; and though she was not one to give way to idlesuperstitions, it seemed as if it were a warning that she was no moreto have a fixed abode, and she said to herself with a sigh--
"Well, I will follow Charles wherever fortune shall lead him. Peaceand repose, security and comfort, are gone from the land, and I mustshare the troubles of the rest."
A little in advance of the spot where she stood, guarded by two of thesoldiers of the troop, were a large pile of plate and a number ofother valuable articles; and as Miss Walton was thus thinking, herbrother approached Lady Margaret at a rapid pace from the house,saying--
"My dear aunt, I fear it is impossible to save any part of thebuilding. Where shall we send these things for safety?"
"Let the house burn, my boy! let the house burn!" said Lady Margaret."It is not worth the hair of an honest man's head to save it. Take thepictures, and all the rest of the things but the plate, down to thesteward's, and especially the papers. As to the silver, we will carryit away to the king at York. He may need it more than I shall."
"He is not at York, my dear aunt," replied Lord Walton. "Ere noonto-morrow I trust he will be in Hull, Luckily, we were on our march,and not very far distant from the Hall, when our dear Arrah here foundus out and told us of the strait in which you were placed." As hespoke he took Arrah Neil's fair hand, and pressed his lips upon itwarmly; and Lady Margaret, suddenly laying her hand upon his arm,exclaimed--
"Ah, Charles! when I am dead you must be her protector."
"I will," replied Lord Walton; and then repeated still more earnestly,"I will."
Arrah Neil gazed steadfastly in his face, and her beautiful eyesfilled with tears.