Varney the Vampire; Or, the Feast of Blood
Page 50
CHAPTER LI.
THE ATTACK UPON THE VAMPYRE'S HOUSE.--THE STORY OF THE ATTACK.--THEFORCING OF THE DOORS, AND THE STRUGGLE.
A council of war was now called among the belligerents, who weresomewhat taken aback by the steady refusal of the servant to admit them,and their apparent determination to resist all endeavours on the part ofthe mob to get into and obtain possession of the house. It argued thatthey were prepared to resist all attempts, and it would cost some fewlives to get into the vampyre's house. This passed through the minds ofmany as they retired behind the angle of the wall where the council wasto be held.
Here they looked in each others' face, as if to gather from that thegeneral tone of the feelings of their companions; but here they sawnothing that intimated the least idea of going back as they came.
"It's all very well, mates, to take care of ourselves, you know," beganone tall, brawny fellow; "but, if we bean't to be sucked to death by avampyre, why we must have the life out of him."
"Ay, so we must."
"Jack Hodge is right; we must kill him, and there's no sin in it, for hehas no right to it; he's robbed some poor fellow of his life to prolonghis own."
"Ay, ay, that's the way he does; bring him out, I say, then see what wewill do with him."
"Yes, catch him first," said one, "and then we can dispose of himafterwards, I say, neighbours, don't you think it would be as well tocatch him first?"
"Haven't we come on purpose?"
"Yes, but do it."
"Ain't we trying it?"
"You will presently, when we come to get into the house."
"Well, what's to be done?" said one; "here we are in a fix, I think, andI can't see our way out very clearly."
"I wish we could get in."
"But how is a question I don't very well see," said a large specimen ofhumanity.
"The best thing that can be done will be to go round and look over thewhole house, and then we may come upon some part where it is far easierto get in at than by the front door."
"But it won't do for us all to go round that way," said one; "a smallparty only should go, else they will have all their people stationed atone point, and if we can divide them, we shall beat them because theyhave not enough to defend more than one point at a time; now we arenumerous enough to make several attacks."
"Oh! that's the way to bother them all round; they'll give in, and thenthe place is our own."
"No, no," said the big countryman, "I like to make a good rush and driveall afore us; you know what ye have to do then, and you do it, ye know."
"If you can."
"Ay, to be sure, if we can, as you say; but can't we? that's what I wantto know."
"To be sure we can."
"Then we'll do it, mate--that's my mind; we'll do it. Come on, and let'shave another look at the street-door."
The big countryman left the main body, and resolutely walked up to themain avenue, and approached the door, accompanied by about a dozen orless of the mob. When they came to the door, they commenced knocking andkicking most violently, and assailing it with all kinds of things theycould lay their hands upon.
They continued at this violent exercise for some time--perhaps for fiveminutes, when the little square hole in the door was again opened, and avoice was heard to say,--
"You had better cease that kind of annoyance."
"We want to get in."
"It will cost you more lives to do so than you can afford to spare. Weare well armed, and are prepared to resist any effort you can make."
"Oh! it's all very well; but, an you won't open, why we'll make you;that's all about it."
This was said as the big countryman and his companions were leaving theavenue towards the rest of the body.
"Then, take this, as an earnest of what is to follow," said the man, andhe discharged the contents of a blunderbuss through the small opening,and its report sounded to the rest of the mob like the report of afield-piece.
Fortunately for the party retiring the man couldn't take any aim, elseit is questionable how many of the party would have got off unwounded.As it was, several of them found stray slugs were lodged in variousparts of their persons, and accelerated their retreat from the house ofthe vampyre.
"What luck?" inquired one of the mob to the others, as they came back;"I'm afraid you had all the honour."
"Ay, ay, we have, and all the lead too," replied a man, as he placed hishand upon a sore part of his person, which bled in consequence of awound.
"Well, what's to be done?"
"Danged if I know," said one.
"Give it up," said another.
"No, no; have him out. I'll never give in while I can use a stick. Theyare in earnest, and so are we. Don't let us be frightened because theyhave a gun or two--they can't have many; and besides, if they have, weare too many for them. Besides, we shall all die in our beds."
"Hurrah! down with the vampyre!"
"So say I, lads. I don't want to be sucked to death when I'm a-bed.Better die like a man than such a dog's death as that, and you have norevenge then."
"No, no; he has the better of us then. We'll have him out--we'll burnhim--that's the way we'll do it."
"Ay, so we will; only let us get in."
At that moment a chosen party returned who had been round the house tomake a reconnaissance.
"Well, well," inquired the mob, "what can be done now--where can we getin?"
"In several places."
"All right; come along then; the place is our own."
"Stop a minute; they are armed at all points, and we must make an attackon all points, else we may fail. A party must go round to thefront-door, and attempt to beat it in; there are plenty of poles andthings that could be used for such a purpose."
"There is, besides, a garden-door, that opens into the house--a kind ofparlour; a kitchen-door; a window in the flower-garden, and an entranceinto a store-room; this place appears strong, and is thereforeunguarded."
"The very point to make an attack."
"Not quite."
"Why not?"
"Because it can easily be defended, and rendered useless to us. We mustmake an attack upon all places but that, and, while they are being atthose points, we can then enter at that place, and then you will findthem desert the other places when they see us inside."
"Hurrah! down with the vampyre!" said the mob, as they listened to thisadvice, and appreciated the plan.
"Down with the vampyre!"
"Now, then, lads, divide, and make the attack; never mind their guns,they have but very few, and if you rush in upon them, you will soon havethe guns yourselves."
"Hurrah! hurrah!" shouted the mob.
The mob now moved away in different bodies, each strong enough to carrythe house. They seized upon a variety of poles and stones, and then madefor the various doors and windows that were pointed out by those who hadmade the discovery. Each one of those who had formed the party ofobservation, formed a leader to the others, and at once proceeded to thepost assigned him.
The attack was so sudden and so simultaneous that the servants wereunprepared; and though they ran to the doors, and fired away, still theydid but little good, for the doors were soon forced open by the enragedrioters, who proceeded in a much more systematic operation, using longheavy pieces of timber which were carried on the shoulders of severalmen, and driven with the force of battering-rams--which, in fact, theywere--against the door.
Bang went the battering-ram, crash went the door, and the whole partyrushed headlong in, carried forward by their own momentum and fellprostrate, engine and all, into the passage.
"Now, then, we have them," exclaimed the servants, who began to belabourthe whole party with blows, with every weapon they could secure.
Loudly did the fallen men shout for assistance, and but for theirfellows who came rushing in behind, they would have had but a sorry timeof it.
"Hurrah!" shouted the mob; "the house is our own."
"Not yet," shouted the servants.<
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"We'll try," said the mob; and they rushed forward to drive the servantsback, but they met with a stout resistance, and as some of them hadchoppers and swords, there were a few wounds given, and presently bangwent the blunderbuss.
Two or three of the mob reeled and fell.
This produced a momentary panic, and the servants then had the whole ofthe victory to themselves, and were about to charge, and clear thepassage of their enemies, when a shout behind attracted their attention.
That shout was caused by an entrance being gained in another quarter,whence the servants were flying, and all was disorder.
"Hurrah! hurrah!" shouted the mob.
The servants retreated to the stairs, and here united, they made astand, and resolved to resist the whole force of the rioters, and theysucceeded in doing so, too, for some minutes. Blows were given and takenof a desperate character.
Somehow, there were no deadly blows received by the servants; they werebeing forced and beaten, but they lost no life; this may be accountedfor by the fact that the mob used no more deadly weapons than sticks.
The servants of Sir Francis Varney, on the contrary, were mostly armedwith deadly weapons, which, however, they did not use unnecessarily.They stood upon the hall steps--the grand staircase, with long poles orsticks, about the size of quarter-staves, and with these they belabouredthose below most unmercifully.
Certainly, the mob were by no means cowards, for the struggle to closewith their enemies was as great as ever, and as firm as could well be.Indeed, they rushed on with a desperation truly characteristic of JohnBull, and defied the heaviest blows; for as fast as one was strickendown another occupied his place, and they insensibly pressed their closeand compact front upon the servants, who were becoming fatigued andharassed.
"Fire, again," exclaimed a voice from among the servants.
The mob made no retrogade movement, but still continued to pressonwards, and in another moment a loud report rang through the house, anda smoke hung over the heads of the mob.
A long groan or two escaped some of the men who had been wounded, and astill louder from those who had not been wounded, and a cry arose of,--
"Down with the vampyre--pull down--destroy and burn the wholeplace--down with them all."
A rush succeeded, and a few more discharges took place, when a shoutabove attracted the attention of both parties engaged in this fiercestruggle. They paused by mutual consent, to look and see what was thecause of that shout.