CHAPTER LI.
UNDER THE MOAT.
It was some time ere they discovered that Scudamore was missing from thecastle, but there was the hope that he had been taken prisoner; andthings were growing so bad within the walls, that there was littleleisure for lamentation over individual misfortunes. Unless some changeas entire as unexpected--for there seemed no chance of any except theking should win over the Scots to take his part--should occur, it wasevident that the enemy must speedily make the assault, nor could therebe a doubt of their carrying the place--an anticipation which, as theinevitable drew nearer, became nothing less than terrible to bothhousehold and garrison. True, their conquerors would be of their ownpeople, but battle and bloodshed and victory, and, worst of all,party-spirit, the marquis knew, destroy not nationality merely, buthumanity as well, rousing into full possession the feline beast whichhas his lair in every man--in many, it is true, dwindled to thehousehold cat, but in many others a full-sized, only sleepy tiger. Towhat was he about to expose his men, not to speak of his ladies andtheir children!
On the other hand, ever since the balls had been flying about his house,and the stones of it leaving their places to keep them company, theloyalty of the marquis had been rising, and he had thought of hisprisoner-king ever with growing tenderness, of his faults with moreindulgence, and of the wrongs he had done his family with moremagnanimity and forgiveness, so that, for his own part, he would haveheld out to the very last.
'And truly were it not better to be well buried under the ruins,' hewould say to himself, looking down with a sigh at his great bulk, whichadded so much to the dismalness of the prospect of being, in hisseventieth year, a prisoner or a wanderer--the latter a worse fate eventhan the former. To be no longer the master of his own great house, ofmany willing servants, of all ready appliances for liberty and comfort,while the weight of his clumsy person must still hang about him, and hisunfitness to carry the same go on increasing with the bulk to becarried--such a prospect required something more than loyalty to meet itwith equanimity. To the young and strong, adventure ought always to bemore attractive than ease, but none save those who are themselves withinsight of old age can truly imagine what an utter horror the breach ofold habits and loss of old comforts is to the aged.
But to the good marquis it was consolation enough to repeat to himselfthe text from his precious Vulgate: SCIMUS ENIM; FOR WE KNOW THAT IF OUREARTHLY HOUSE OF THIS TABERNACLE WERE DISSOLVED, WE HAVE A BUILDING OFGOD, AN HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS.
For the ladies, so long as their father-chief was with them, they wereat least not too anxious. Whatever was done must be the right thing, andin the midst of tumult and threat they were content. If only theirEdward had been with them too!
But surrender, even when the iron shot was driving his stately houseinto showers of dirt, the marquis found it hard indeed to contemplate.The eastern side of the stone court was now little better than a heap ofrubbish, and the hour of assault could not be far off, although as yetthere had been no second summons; but he could not forget that, thoughthe castle was his, it was not for himself but for his king he held itgarrisoned, and how could he yield it without the approval of hissovereign? The governor shared in the same chivalry with his father, andwas equally anxious for a word from the king. But that king was aprisoner in the hands of a hostile nation, and how was he to receivemessage or return answer? Nay, how were they to send message or receiveanswer, not even knowing with certainty where his majesty was, and butpresuming that he was still at Newcastle? And not to mentiondifficulties at every step of the way, their house itself was so besetthat no one could issue from its gates without risk of being stopped,searched, detained until it should have fallen. For the besiegers knewwell enough that lord Glamorgan was still in Ireland, straining hisutmost on behalf of the king; and what more likely than that he should,with the men he was still raising in Ireland, make some desperateattempt to turn the scales of war, striking first, it might well be, forthe relief of his father's castle?
These things were all pretty freely spoken of in the family, and Dorothyunderstood the position of affairs as well as any one. And now at lengthit seemed to her that the hour had arrived for attempting some returnfor Raglan's hospitality. No service she had hitherto stumbled upon hadany magnitude in her eyes, but now--to be the bearer of dispatches tothe king! It would suffice at least, even if it turned out a failure, toprove her not ungrateful. But she too had her confidant, and in theabsence of lord Glamorgan would consult with Caspar.
Meantime the marquis had made matters worse by sending a request toColonel Morgan that he would grant safe passage for a messenger to theking, without whose command he was not at liberty to surrender theplace. The answer was to the effect that they acknowledged nojurisdiction of the king in the business, and that the marquis mightkeep his mind easy as far as his supposed duty to his majesty wasconcerned, for they would so compel a surrender that there could be noreflection upon him for making it.
Caspar, fearful of the dangers she would have to encounter, sought todissuade Dorothy from her meditated proposal--but feebly, for every onewho had anything noble in his nature, and Caspar had more than hisshare, was influenced by the magnanimity that ruled the place. Indeed hetold her one thing which served to clench her resolution--that there wasa secret way out of the castle, provided by his master Glamorgan forcommunication during siege: more he was not at liberty to disclose.Dorothy went straight to the marquis and laid her plan before him, whichwas that she should make her escape to Wyfern, and thence, attended byan old servant, set out to seek the king.
'There is no longer time, alas!' returned the marquis. 'I look for thefinal summons every hour.'
'Could you not raise the report, my lord, that you have undermined thecastle, and laid a huge quantity of gunpowder, with the determination ofblowing it up the moment they enter? That would make them fall back uponblockade, and leave us a little time. Our provisions are not nearlyexhausted, and when fodder fails, we can eat the horses first.'
'Thou art a brave lady, cousin Dorothy,' said the marquis. 'But if theycaught and searched thee, and found papers upon thee, it would go worsewith us than before.'
'Please your lordship, my lord Glamorgan once showed me such a comb as alady might carry in her pocket, but so contrived that the head thereofwas hollow and could contain despatches. Methinks Caspar could lay hishand on the comb. If I were but at Wyfern! and thither my little horsewould carry me in less than hour, giving all needful time for cautiontoo, my lord.'
'By George, thou speakest well, cousin!' said the marquis. 'But whoshould attend thee?'
'Let me have Tom Fool, my lord, for now have I thought of a bettermentof my plan: he will guide me to his mother's house by by-ways, andthence can I cross the fields to my own--as easily as the great hall, mylord.'
'Tom Fool is a mighty coward,' objected the marquis.
'So much the better, my lord. He will not get me into trouble throughdisplaying his manhood before me. He hath besides a face long enough forthree roundheads, and a tongue that can utter glibly enough whatsoundeth very like their jargon. Tom is the right fool to attend me, mylord.'
'He can't ride; he never backed a horse in his life, I believe. No, no,Dorothy. Shafto is the man.'
'Shafto is much too ready, my lord. He would ride over my hounds. I wantTom no farther than his mother's, and there will be no need for him toride.'
'Well, it is a brave offer, my child, and I will think thereupon,' saidhis lordship.
All the rest of the day the marquis and lord Charles, with two or threeof the principal officers of house and garrison, were in conference, andletters were written both to his majesty and lord Glamorgan. Before theywere finally written out in cipher, Kaltoff was sent for, the combfound, its contents gauged, and the paper cut to suit.
About an hour after midnight, Dorothy, lord Charles, and Caspar stoodtogether in the workshop, waiting for Tom Fool, who had gone to fetchDick from the stables. Dorothy had the comb
in her pocket. She lookedpale, but her grey eyes shone with courage and determination. Shecarried nothing but a whip. A keen little lamp borne by Caspar was alltheir light.
Presently they heard the sound of Dick's hoofs on the bridge. A momentmore and Tom led him in, both man and horse looking somewhat scared atthe strangeness of the midnight proceeding. But Tom was,notwithstanding, glad of the office, and ready to risk a good deal inorder to get out of the castle, where he expected nothing milder at lastthan a general massacre.
Lord Charles himself lifted foot after foot of the little horse to besatisfied that his shoes were sound, then made a sign to Caspar, andgave his hand to Dorothy. Caspar took Dick by the bridle, and led him upto the wall near the door. Lord Charles and Dorothy followed. But Tom,observing that they placed themselves within a chalk-drawn circle, hungback in terror; he fancied Caspar was going to raise the devil. Yet heknew that within the circle was the only safety; a word from Dorothyturned the scale, and he stood trembling by her side. Nor was he greatlyconsoled to find that, as he now thought, instead of the devil coming tothem, they were going to him, as, with the circle upon which they stood,they began to sink, through a stone-faced shaft, slowly into thefoundations of the keep. Dick also was frightened, but happily his faithwas stronger than his imagination, and a word now and then from hismistress, and an occasional pat from her well-known hand, sufficed tokeep him quiet.
At the depth of about thirty feet they stopped, and found themselvesfacing a ponderous door, studded and barred with iron. Caspar took fromhis pocket a key about the size of a goose quill, felt about for amoment, and then with a slight movement of finger and thumb threw back adozen ponderous bolts with a great echoing clang; the door slowlyopened, and they entered a narrow vaulted passage of stone. Lord Charlestook the lamp from Caspar, and led the way with Dorothy; Tom Fool camenext, and Caspar followed with Dick. The lamp showed but a few feet ofthe walls and roof, and revealed nothing in front until they had goneabout a furlong, when it shone upon what seemed the live rock endingtheir way. But again Caspar applied the little key somewhere, andimmediately a great mass of rock slowly turned on a pivot, and permittedthem to pass.
When they were all on the other side of it, lord Charles turned and heldup the light. Dorothy turned also and looked: there was nothing toindicate whence they had come. Before her was the rough rock, seeminglysolid, certainly slimy and green, and over its face was flowing a tinyrivulet.
'See there,' said lord Charles, pointing up; 'that little stream comesthe way thy dog Marquis and the roundhead Heywood came and went. But Ichallenge anything larger than a rat to go now.'
Dorothy made no answer, and they went on again for some distance in apassage like the former, but soon arrived at the open quarry, whence Tomknew the way across the fields to the high road as well, he said, as theline of life on his own palm. Lord Charles lifted Dorothy to the saddle,said good-luck and good-bye, and stood with Caspar watching as she rodeup the steep ascent, until for an instant her form stood out darkagainst the sky, then vanished, when they turned and re-entered thecastle.
St. George and St. Michael Page 51
