by Walter Scott
While he spoke in this manner, Peter Peebles, who had at first crept behind Redgauntlet in bodily fear, began now to reassume his spirits. Pulling his protector by the sleeve, 'Mr. Herries—Mr. Herries,' he whispered, eagerly, 'ye have done me mair than ae gude turn, and if ye will but do me anither at this dead pinch, I'll forgie the girded keg of brandy that you and Captain Sir Harry Redgimlet drank out yon time. Ye sall hae an ample discharge and renunciation, and, though I should see you walking at the Cross of Edinburgh, or standing at the bar of the Court of Justiciary, no the very thumbikins themselves should bring to my memory that ever I saw you in arms yon day.'
He accompanied this promise by pulling so hard at Redgauntlet's cloak, that he at last turned round. 'Idiot! speak in a word what you want.'
'Aweel, aweel. In a word, then,' said Peter Peebles, 'I have a warrant on me to apprehend that man that stands there, Alan Fairford by name, and advocate by calling. I bought it from Maister Justice Foxley's clerk, Maister Nicholas Faggot, wi' the guinea that you gied me.
'Ha!' said Redgauntlet, 'hast thou really such a warrant? let me see it. Look sharp that no one escape, Cristal Nixon.'
Peter produced a huge, greasy, leathern pocketbook, too dirty to permit its original colour to be visible, filled with scrolls of notes, memorials to counsel, and Heaven knows what besides. From amongst this precious mass he culled forth a paper, and placed it in the hands of Redgauntlet, or Herries, as he continued to call him, saying, at the same time, 'It's a formal and binding warrant, proceeding on my affidavy made, that the said Alan Fairford, being lawfully engaged in my service, had slipped the tether and fled over the Border, and was now lurking there and thereabouts, to elude and evite the discharge of his bounden duty to me; and therefore granting warrant to constables and others, to seek for, take, and apprehend him, that he may be brought before the Honourable Justice Foxley for examination, and, if necessary, for commitment. Now, though a' this be fairly set down, as I tell ye, yet where am I to get an officer to execute this warrant in sic a country as this, where swords and pistols flee out at a word's speaking, and folk care as little for the peace of King George as the peace of Auld King Coul? There's that drunken skipper, and that wet Quaker, enticed me into the public this morning, and because I wadna gie them' as much brandy as wad have made them blind-drunk, they baith fell on me, and were in the way of guiding me very ill.'
While Peter went on in this manner, Redgauntlet glanced his eye over the warrant, and immediately saw that it must be a trick passed by Nicholas Faggot, to cheat the poor insane wretch out of his solitary guinea. But the Justice had actually subscribed it, as he did whatever his clerk presented to him, and Redgauntlet resolved to use it for his own purposes.
Without making any direct answer, therefore, to Peter Peebles, he walked up gravely to Fairford, who had waited quietly for the termination of a scene in which he was not a little surprised to find his client, Mr. Peebles, a conspicuous actor.
'Mr. Fairford,' said Redgauntlet, 'there are many reasons which might induce me to comply with the request, or rather the injunctions, of the excellent Father Buonaventure, that I should communicate with you upon the present condition of my ward, whom you know under the name of Darsie Latimer; but no man is better aware than you that the law must be obeyed, even in contradiction to our own feelings; now this poor man has obtained a warrant for carrying you before a magistrate, and, I am afraid, there is a necessity of your yielding to it, although to the postponement of the business which you may have with me.'
'A warrant against me!' said Alan, indignantly; 'and at that poor miserable wretch's instance?—why, this is a trick, a mere and most palpable trick.'
'It may be so,' replied Redgauntlet, with great equanimity; 'doubtless you know best; only the writ appears regular, and with that respect for the law which has been,' he said, with hypocritical formality, 'a leading feature of my character through life, I cannot dispense with giving my poor aid to the support of a legal warrant. Look at it yourself, and be satisfied it is no trick of mine.'
Fairford ran over the affidavit and the warrant, and then exclaimed once more, that it was an impudent imposition, and that he would hold those who acted upon such a warrant liable in the highest damages. 'I guess at your motive, Mr. Redgauntlet,' he said, 'for acquiescing in so ridiculous a proceeding. But be assured you will find that, in this country, one act of illegal violence will not be covered or atoned for by practising another. You cannot, as a man of sense and honour, pretend to say you regard this as a legal warrant.'
'I am no lawyer, sir,' said Redgauntlet; 'and pretend not to know what is or is not law—the warrant is quite formal, and that is enough for me.'
'Did ever any one hear,' said Fairford, 'of an advocate being compelled to return to his task, like a collier or a salter [See Note 10.] who has deserted his master?'
'I see no reason why he should not,' said Redgauntlet, dryly, 'unless on the ground that the services of the lawyer are the most expensive and least useful of the two.'
'You cannot mean this in earnest,' said Fairford; 'you cannot really mean to avail yourself of so poor a contrivance, to evade the word pledged by your friend, your ghostly father, in my behalf. I may have been a fool for trusting it too easily, but think what you must be if you can abuse my confidence in this manner. I entreat you to reflect that this usage releases me from all promises of secrecy or connivance at what I am apt to think are very dangerous practices, and that'—
'Hark ye, Mr. Fairford,' said Redgauntlet; 'I must here interrupt you for your own sake. One word of betraying what you may have seen, or what you may have suspected, and your seclusion is like to have either a very distant or a very brief termination; in either case a most undesirable one. At present, you are sure of being at liberty in a very few days—perhaps much sooner.'
'And my friend,' said Alan Fairford, 'for whose sake I have run myself into this danger, what is to become of him? Dark and dangerous man!' he exclaimed, raising his voice, I will not be again cajoled by deceitful promises'—
'I give you my honour that your friend is well,' interrupted Redgauntlet; 'perhaps I may permit you to see him, if you will but submit with patience to a fate which is inevitable.'
But Alan Fairford, considering his confidence as having been abused, first by Maxwell, and next by the priest, raised his voice, and appealed to all the king's lieges within hearing, against the violence with which he was threatened. He was instantly seized on by Nixon and two assistants, who, holding down his arms, and endeavouring to stop his mouth, were about to hurry him away.
The honest Quaker, who had kept out of Redgauntlet's presence, now came boldly forward.
'Friend,' said he, 'thou dost more than thou canst answer. Thou knowest me well, and thou art aware that in me thou hast a deeply injured neighbour, who was dwelling beside thee in the honesty and simplicity of his heart.'
'Tush, Jonathan,' said Redgauntlet; 'talk not to me, man; it is neither the craft of a young lawyer, nor the SIMPLICITY of an old hypocrite, can drive me from my purpose.
'By my faith,' said the captain, coming forward in his turn, 'this is hardly fair, general; and I doubt,' he added, 'whether the will of my owners can make me a party to such proceedings. Nay, never fumble with your sword-hilt, but out with it like a man, if you are for a tilting.' He unsheathed his hanger, and continued—'I will neither see my comrade Fairford, nor the old Quaker, abused. D——n all warrants, false or true—curse the justice—confound the constable!—and here stands little Nanty Ewart to make good what he says against gentle and simple, in spite of horse-shoe or horse-radish either.'
The cry of 'Down with all warrants!' was popular in the ears of the militia of the inn, and Nanty Ewart was no less so. Fishers, ostlers, seamen, smugglers, began to crowd to the spot. Crackenthorp endeavoured in vain to mediate. The attendants of Redgauntlet began to handle their firearms; but their master shouted to them to forbear, and, unsheathing his sword as quick as lightning, he rushed on Ewart in the m
idst of his bravado, and struck his weapon from his hand with such address and force, that it flew three yards from him. Closing with him at the same moment, he gave him a severe fall, and waved his sword over his head, to show he was absolutely at his mercy.
'There, you drunken vagabond,' he said, 'I give you your life—you are no bad fellow if you could keep from brawling among your friends. But we all know Nanty Ewart,' he said to the crowd around, with a forgiving laugh, which, joined to the awe his prowess had inspired, entirely confirmed their wavering allegiance.
They shouted, 'The laird for ever!' while poor Nanty, rising from the earth, on whose lap he had been stretched so rudely, went in quest of his hanger, lifted it, wiped it, and, as he returned the weapon to the scabbard, muttered between his teeth, 'It is true they say of him, and the devil will stand his friend till his hour come; I will cross him no more.'
So saying, he slunk from the crowd, cowed and disheartened by his defeat.
'For you, Joshua Geddes,' said Redgauntlet, approaching the Quaker, who, with lifted hands and eyes, had beheld the scene of violence, 'l shall take the liberty to arrest thee for a breach of the peace, altogether unbecoming thy pretended principles; and I believe it will go hard with thee both in a court of justice and among thine own Society of Friends, as they call themselves, who will be but indifferently pleased to see the quiet tenor of their hypocrisy insulted by such violent proceedings.'
'I violent!' said Joshua; 'I do aught unbecoming the principles of the Friends! I defy thee, man, and I charge thee, as a Christian, to forbear vexing my soul with such charges: it is grievous enough to me to have seen violences which I was unable to prevent.'
'O Joshua, Joshua!' said Redgauntlet, with a sardonic smile; 'thou light of the faithful in the town of Dumfries and the places adjacent, wilt thou thus fall away from the truth? Hast thou not, before us all, attempted to rescue a man from the warrant of law? Didst thou not encourage that drunken fellow to draw his weapon—and didst thou not thyself flourish thy cudgel in the cause? Think'st thou that the oaths of the injured Peter Peebles, and the conscientious Cristal Nixon, besides those of such gentlemen as look on this strange scene, who not only put on swearing as a garment, but to whom, in Custom House matters, oaths are literally meat and drink,—dost thou not think, I say, that these men's oaths will go further than thy Yea and Nay in this matter?'
'I will swear to anything,' said Peter. 'All is fair when it comes to an oath AD LITEM.'
'You do me foul wrong,' said the Quaker, undismayed by the general laugh. 'I encouraged no drawing of weapons, though I attempted to move an unjust man by some use of argument—I brandished no cudgel, although it may be that the ancient Adam struggled within me, and caused my hand to grasp mine oaken staff firmer than usual, when I saw innocence borne down with violence. But why talk I what is true and just to thee, who hast been a man of violence from thy youth upwards? Let me rather speak to thee such language as thou canst comprehend. Deliver these young men up to me,' he said, when he had led Redgauntlet a little apart from the crowd, 'and I will not only free thee from the heavy charge of damages which thou hast incurred by thine outrage upon my property, but I will add ransom for them and for myself. What would it profit thee to do the youths wrong, by detaining them in captivity?'
'Mr. Geddes,' said Redgauntlet, in a tone more respectful than he had hitherto used to the Quaker, 'your language is disinterested, and I respect the fidelity of your friendship. Perhaps we have mistaken each other's principles and motives; but if so, we have not at present time for explanation. Make yourself easy. I hope to raise your friend Darsie Latimer to a pitch of eminence which you will witness with pleasure;—nay, do not attempt to answer me. The other young man shall suffer restraint a few days, probably only a few hours,—it is not more than due for his pragmatical interference in what concerned him not. Do you, Mr. Geddes, be so prudent as to take your horse and leave this place, which is growing every moment more unfit for the abode of a man of peace. You may wait the event in safety at Mount Sharon.'
'Friend,' replied Joshua, 'I cannot comply with thy advice; I will remain here, even as thy prisoner, as thou didst but now threaten, rather than leave the youth who hath suffered by and through me and my misfortunes, in his present state of doubtful safety. Wherefore I will not mount my steed Solomon; neither will I turn his head towards Mount Sharon, until I see an end of this matter.'
'A prisoner, then, you must be,' said Redgauntlet. 'I have no time to dispute the matter further with you. But tell me for what you fix your eyes so attentively on yonder people of mine.'
'To speak the truth,' said the Quaker, 'I admire to behold among them a little wretch of a boy called Benjie, to whom I think Satan has given the power of transporting himself wheresoever mischief is going forward; so that it may be truly said, there is no evil in this land wherein he hath not a finger, if not a whole hand.'
The boy, who saw their eyes fixed on him as they spoke, seemed embarrassed, slid rather desirous of making his escape; but at a signal from Redgauntlet he advanced, assuming the sheepish look and rustic manner with which the jackanapes covered much acuteness and roguery.
'How long have you been with the party, sirrah?' said Redgauntlet.
'Since the raid on the stake-nets,' said Benjie, with his finger in his mouth.
'And what made you follow us?'
'I dauredna stay at hame for the constables,' replied the boy.
'And what have you been doing all this time?'
'Doing, sir? I dinna ken what ye ca' doing—I have been doing naething,' said Benjie; then seeing something in Redgauntlet's eye which was not to be trifled with, he added, 'Naething but waiting on Maister Cristal Nixon.'
'Hum!—aye—indeed?' muttered Redgauntlet. 'Must Master Nixon bring his own retinue into the field? This must be seen to.'
He was about to pursue his inquiry, when Nixon himself came to him with looks of anxious haste, 'The Father is come,' he whispered, 'and the gentlemen are getting together in the largest room of the house, and they desire to see you. Yonder is your nephew, too, making a noise like a man in Bedlam.'
'I will look to it all instantly,' said Redgauntlet. 'Is the Father lodged as I directed?'
Cristal nodded.
'Now, then, for the final trial,' said Redgauntlet. He folded his hands—looked upwards—crossed himself—and after this act of devotion (almost the first which any one had observed him make use of) he commanded Nixon to keep good watch—have his horses and men ready for every emergence—look after the safe custody of the prisoners—but treat them at the same time well and civilly. And, these orders given, he darted hastily into the house.
CHAPTER XXII
NARRATIVE CONTINUED
Redgauntlet's first course was to the chamber of his nephew. He unlocked the door, entered the apartment, and asked what he wanted, that he made so much noise.
'I want my liberty,' said Darsie, who had wrought himself up to a pitch of passion in which his uncle's wrath had lost its terrors. 'I desire my liberty, and to be assured of the safety of my beloved friend, Alan Fairford, whose voice I heard but now.'
'Your liberty shall be your own within half an hour from this period—your friend shall be also set at freedom in due time—and you yourself be permitted to have access to his place of confinement.'
'This does not satisfy me,' said Darsie; 'I must see my friend instantly; he is here, and he is here endangered on my account only—I have heard violent exclamations—the clash of swords. You will gain no point with me unless I have ocular demonstration of his safety.'
'Arthur—dearest nephew,' answered Redgauntlet, 'drive me not mad! Thine own fate—that of thy house—that of thousands—that of Britain herself, are at this moment in the scales; and you are only occupied about the safety of a poor insignificant pettifogger!'
'He has sustained injury at your hands, then?' said Darsie, fiercely. 'I know he has; but if so, not even our relationship shall protect you.'
'Peace, ungr
ateful and obstinate fool!' said Redgauntlet. Yet stay—will you be satisfied if you see this Alan Fairford, the bundle of bombazine—this precious friend of yours—well and sound? Will you, I say, be satisfied with seeing him in perfect safety without attempting to speak to or converse with him?' Darsie signified his assent. 'Take hold of my arm, then,' said Redgauntlet; 'and do you, niece Lilias, take the other; and beware; Sir Arthur, how you bear yourself.'
Darsie was compelled to acquiesce, sufficiently aware that his uncle would permit him no interview with a friend whose influence would certainly be used against his present earnest wishes, and in some measure contented with the assurance of Fairford's personal safety.
Redgauntlet led them through one or two passages (for the house, as we have before said, was very irregular, and built at different times) until they entered an apartment, where a man with shouldered carabine kept watch at the door, but readily turned the key for their reception. In this room they found Alan Fairford and the Quaker, apparently in deep conversation with each other. They looked up as Redgauntlet and his party entered; and Alan pulled off his hat and made a profound reverence, which the young lady, who recognized him,—though, masked as she was, he could not know her,—returned with some embarrassment, arising probably from the recollection of the bold step she had taken in visiting him.
Darsie longed to speak, but dared not. His uncle only said, 'Gentlemen, I know you are as anxious on Mr. Darsie Latimer's account as he is upon yours. I am commissioned by him to inform you, that he is as well as you are—I trust you will all meet soon. Meantime, although I cannot suffer you to be at large, you shall be as well treated as is possible under your temporary confinement.'
He passed on, without pausing to hear the answers which the lawyer and the Quaker were hastening to prefer; and only waving his hand by way of adieu, made his exit, with the real and the seeming lady whom he had under his charge, through a door at the upper end of the apartment, which was fastened and guarded like that by which they entered.
