Under the Meteor Flag: Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War

by Harry Collingwood

  CHAPTER TWELVE.

  BETRAYED INTO THE HANDS OF THE PHILISTINES.

  I was now fairly embarked upon my adventure, the various difficulties ofwhich seemed suddenly to present themselves to my mind in all theirformidable reality. While safe on board the frigate, surrounded by myshipmates, they had appeared to be the veriest trifles, scarcely worth aserious thought; but now that I stood alone in an enemy's country, withnothing to depend upon but my own sagacity and nerve, I saw in aninstant--as though the truth had been revealed by a lightning-flash--that I had indeed undertaken a task, the successful performance of whichwould tax to their utmost extent every one of the qualities for whichthe skipper had given me credit.

  However, I was now irretrievably in for it; there was no possibility ofbacking out, had I been ever so inclined--but I was not; I would havedied first--so pulling myself together, and conquering by a strongeffort a curious quaky sensation which had for a moment oppressed me, Iset out upon my journey.

  The spot to which I was bound was a chateau situated about eighteenmiles inland, in the very heart of the mountain district. It was theproperty of Count Lorenzo Paoli, the brother of the General Paoli who,at the head of the Corsican insurgents, was then endeavouring to drivethe French out of the island. My despatches--or whatever they were--were for Count Lorenzo; and though I was of course unacquainted withtheir contents, I surmised that they had relation to some probableassistance to be rendered by the English to the Corsicans. Underordinary circumstances my mission would have been extremely easy ofaccomplishment; but, as I have already remarked, the island was in athoroughly unsettled state, almost every male inhabitant being in arms.

  The French, irritated by the rising of the Corsicans, and imbued withthat feeling of cold-blooded and demoniacal ferocity which developeditself during the Reign of Terror, rendering that period of Frenchhistory for ever infamous, were of course those from whom I had most tofear. But the Corsicans, their naturally excitable temperament raisedto frenzy by the atrocities of the French, rendered suspicious byfrequent treachery, and impetuously rushing into a system of the mosthideous reprisals, were almost equally dangerous, their creed being thathe who was not with them must necessarily be against them; and theirproceedings with regard to suspected persons were rumoured to be of themost summary character. Lastly, there were the brigands, composedprincipally of the very dregs of Corsican society, a community made upof all the criminality in the island, thieves, murderers, escapedconvicts, and outcasts of every description, utterly destitute of thefaintest spark of honour, patriotism, _or_ humanity, preying upon friendand foe alike, and outstripping both in deeds of fiendish cruelty. As Ithought these matters over, it seemed to me that my only safety lay inthe most careful avoidance of every human eye, pursuing my journeyduring the dead of night, and lying _perdu_ throughout the day.

  A walk of two or three hundred yards along the main road brought me tothe "turning-off" on the right, which I was directed to follow in orderto gain the chateau. It appeared to be quite a by-road, so narrow thatthere seemed scarcely room for two vehicles to pass, and it was in amost wretched condition, the surface being ploughed into deep broadruts, and completely cut up by the feet of cattle.

  It led apparently through the heart of an extensive forest, the trees ofwhich, uniting their branches overhead, must have veiled the way insemi-obscurity even at noon-day. When I turned into it--at about twoo'clock a.m.--the starlit sky gave just sufficient light to enable me topursue my way along the main road; but by the time I had penetrated acouple of hundred yards into this by-path, I was enveloped in aperfectly Egyptian darkness. By degrees, however, my vision becameaccustomed to the gloom, and I stumbled on over the uneven ground for adistance of some twelve miles, when daylight began to appear through theleafy canopy overhead, and prudence suggested to me the desirability offorthwith seeking some safe hiding-place wherein to pass the day andtake that repose of which I was beginning to feel the need. I thereforeturned off the road and plunged into the forest for about a quarter of amile, when I came upon a dense and almost impenetrable thicket whichseemed admirably suited to my purpose; I accordingly forced my way intoit until I found a spot of clear ground wide enough to stretch myselfupon comfortably, when flinging myself upon the turf, and placing my bagbeneath my head, I almost immediately dropped off into a deep anddreamless slumber.

  It was just three o'clock in the afternoon when I awoke. My somewhatunwonted exertions of the previous night had greatly fatigued me, and Ishould probably have slept on until darkness had once more returned, hadit not been for a wandering sun-ray which had found its way through thebranches overhead, and, shining directly in my face, had awakened me. Iawoke stiff, ravenously hungry, and parched with thirst. I had had theforethought to provide against an inopportune attack of the formerfeeling, by putting a biscuit or two in my pocket; but in the excitementof coming away I had omitted--as I now found to my chagrin--to bring myflask with me. I accordingly brought out my biscuits, and endeavouredto make a meal of them alone, but they were, like all biscuits, dry, andmy throat was so parched that I found I could scarcely swallow amouthful. While struggling with this little difficulty a faint breezebrought to my ear a sound which I decided must be the rushing of adistant stream over its rocky bed, and thinking of nothing at the momentso much as my intense thirst, I sprang to my feet, and seizing my bag,set out in the direction from which the sound appeared to come.

  My progress was anything but rapid, the ground being entirely overgrownwith creepers and thick shrubs, but that I was proceeding in the rightdirection was satisfactorily demonstrated by the increasing distinctnesswith which I could hear the sound of the rushing water.

  My exertions in the close and stifling atmosphere of the wood soon mademe uncomfortably warm, at the same time increasing my thirst to analmost unbearable degree, but there was nothing for it but patience, soI pushed on, panting and perspiring, as rapidly as it was possible forme to get over the ground. As I continued to advance, the soundincreased in volume, though it still appeared to come from aconsiderable distance, and I at length came to the conclusion that itwas not caused so much by the rush of the river over its bed as by thefall of the water down a cataract. The surmise eventually proved to becorrect, for after an hour and a half of severe exertion, the latterhalf-hour of which I had been journeying over steeply-rising ground, Ifound myself beside a considerable stream, the waters of which, about ahundred yards higher up, came foaming and tumbling down from a height ofsome fifty feet, through a deep cleft in the face of the rock, into adeep, transparent pool, from whence they passed away over a rocky bed,and wound out of sight among the trees.

  It was a lovely spot upon which I had thus stumbled. The ground roseabruptly on both sides of the stream; that on the opposite side being arocky precipice, the strata of variously-coloured stone twisted andcontorted in the most extraordinary manner, geraniums of various huesgrowing out from between the interstices of the rock, and the summit ofthe precipice crowned with a rich profusion of trailing creepers, someof which, notwithstanding the time of year, were in blossom, and theperfume of which scented the air.

  Round the mossy rim of the basin into which the waters fell, and whichappeared to be always damp with spray, grew a profusion of exquisitelydelicate ferns; the sward beyond was thickly starred with a species ofdouble daisy and the elegant hyacinth, and enclosing all was the pinewood through which I had been travelling.

  The beauties of the place, however, had no attraction for me until I hadin some measure assuaged my burning thirst, which I did by going downupon my hands and knees on a convenient rock, and plunging my heatedface into the cool, pellucid water. I was careful to drink at firstwith extreme moderation, and then, having satisfied the first sharpcraving for a draught, I stripped and plunged in, treating myself to asthorough an ablution as was possible in the absence of my cake of oldbrown Windsor. Refreshed and invigorated with the bath, I at lengthemerged, and dressing with all expedition, sat down to discuss mybiscuits,
which I disposed of to the last mouthful, gazing admiringlyupon my surroundings meanwhile.

  My meal finished, it became necessary for me to set out forthwith insearch of the road which was to guide me to my destination. I had nointention whatever of retracing my steps over the ground alreadytraversed. In the first place, I was exceedingly doubtful whether Icould find my way back to the spot from which I had started, and in thenext, I considered that it would be simply a waste of time and strength.I had not been altogether unmindful of the course I was steering whileseeking for the river, and I was of opinion that though I had beentravelling rather away from the road, if anything, yet on the whole mycourse had been pretty much in its direction. In order to regain it,therefore, all that seemed necessary was to make my way in a directionabout at right angles with my former course.

  I accordingly edged away in what I judged to be the right direction,choosing my ground, however, more with a view to easy than to directprogress. I estimated that it would occupy about an hour, or perhaps anhour and a half--certainly not more--to regain the road, and as I wasanxious to do this before it became quite dark, I pushed rapidlyforward, and the wood growing somewhat more open as I proceeded, withless undergrowth, I made very fair progress.

  The hour which I had allowed myself passed, and still there was no signof the road. I felt sure, however, that it could not be far away, andat all events I was going in the right direction, the ground risingcontinuously, so I carried on under a heavy press of sail, expectingevery moment to emerge into the beaten track, and growing increasinglyanxious to do so as I noted the rapidity with which darkness was fallingupon the scene, notwithstanding the fact that the trees were by thistime so far apart and the ground so clear that walking was as easy as itwould have been on the road itself. In this state of mingled hope andanxiety I hurried on for another hour, still without hitting upon theroad; by which time it had become so dark that I grew fearful of losingmy way. The stars had appeared, and shone brilliantly, their light,however, being insufficient to enable me to see where I was going; soafter stumbling on over the uneven ground for a quarter of an hourlonger, during which I experienced more than one awkward tumble, theconclusion forced itself upon me that I had strayed somewhat from theright direction, and had better defer until the next morning any furthereffort to discover the lost road.

  Having arrived at this conclusion, my next business was to find atolerably comfortable spot in which to bestow myself for the night.While searching for this, I quite unexpectedly reached the edge of thewood, and in another minute stood beyond its boundary, finding myselfupon a broad expanse of rugged, open moorland, at the farther extremityof which the ground again rose steeply until it terminated in what wasevidently the ridge of the mountain-chain running north and souththrough the island.

  Two circumstances struck me at the same moment on emerging into theopen, one of which was that a heavy thunder-storm was rapidly working upagainst the wind, the other being that a hut or hovel of some sort stoodabout half a mile distant.

  The question immediately arose in my mind whether I should approach thisbuilding, upon the chance of obtaining a night's lodging therein, orwhether it would be more prudent to pass the night and brave thegathering storm in the open. I might of course have returned to thecomparative shelter of the wood, but I should have been obliged topenetrate it for some distance before it would be thick enough to affordme the slightest protection from the deluge of rain which was coming upin those black and threatening clouds, and, in addition to this, I feltthat, while only inadequately sheltered from the rain, I should beexposed to the very serious danger of being struck by lightning. Thenagain, it was possible that the hut might be deserted, in which case Ineed have no hesitation about availing myself of its shelter. There wasof course, on the other hand, a chance of its being inhabited, but ifso, its occupant would probably be no one more dangerous than a simpleherd or wood-cutter, and it was not from such that I had anything tofear. As I stood irresolute, turning these matters over in my mind, avivid flash of lightning, followed, after a pause of some seconds, bythe long reverberating roll of distant thunder, reminded me of thedesirability of coming to a decision, one way or another, without delay;I accordingly made up my mind to risk going to the hut, rather thanremain exposed to the storm.

  I therefore hurried forward, the lightning meanwhile flashing out moreand more vividly, and at shorter intervals; the thunder sounding louderand nearer at every discharge; and the vast curtain of cloud spreadingrapidly athwart the sky, obliterating the stars, and enveloping naturein a pall of awful gloom.

  On approaching the hut, it became apparent that it was uninhabited, forthe door hung pendent from one hinge, the other being wrenched off,while of the two small windows which admitted light to the interior, onesash was gone altogether, the aperture being completely denuded of everyvestige of woodwork, while the other was protected only by a batteredand weather-stained wooden shutter. The edifice itself was constructedof sods, the roof being roughly framed together with branches--no doubtlopped from the trees of the neighbouring wood--and thatched.

  I reached the building only just in time. While yet a hundred yards orso from it, the cool night-breeze dropped all in a moment, and wassucceeded by a hushed and breathless calm. An awful silence suddenlyfell upon nature, the myriad insect voices became mute, the night-birdsceased to utter their melancholy cries, the sighing of the wind throughthe trees of the distant wood was no longer heard; a hush of dreadexpectancy ensued. A few seconds elapsed, and then a mysterious murmurfilled the air, the trees swayed and tossed their branches wildly for amoment, a fierce gust of hot air swept past, and all was still again. Idashed forward and reached the doorway, and as I passed across thethreshold, the canopy of cloud overhead was rent open, a blinding flashof livid lightning blazed out, illumining for a single instant the wholelandscape, as well as the interior of the building, and at the sameinstant came a deafening crash, such as might occur were the universesuddenly to crumble into ruin. So near was the lightning that I reallyfancied (if it _was_ fancy and not fact after all) I could feel itscorch my cheek, and there could be no doubt whatever about the strongsulphurous smell which pervaded the atmosphere.

  Again and yet again flashed forth the terrible lightning, crash on crashcame the thunder, and then the flood-gates of heaven were opened, andthe rain came rushing down in a perfect torrent.

  I expected nothing less than to be speedily flooded out, but fortunatelythe roof of the hut proved weather-tight, and the rain happening to beatupon the back of the house, in which were no openings, the interior ofthe place remained perfectly dry.

  I took advantage of the frequent lightning-flashes to survey theinterior of my place of shelter, which I ascertained to be entirelydevoid of furniture of every kind, there being absolutely nothing in theplace except a heap of wood in one corner, composed of dry twigs andbranches, probably gathered from the adjacent forest.

  I stood in the doorway for some time, watching the magnificent spectacleof the storm, until an increasing sensation of fatigue reminded me ofthe desirability of resting while I had the opportunity. I accordinglyfixed upon a spot which seemed tolerably free from the eddies of windwhich found easy access to the building, and first, by some strangeinstinct for which I cannot account, concealing the bag in which werethe despatches among the wood stacked in the corner, placed my backagainst the wall, and folding my arms soon dropped off into a deepsleep, lulled thereto by the sound of the pouring rain upon the root.

  I seemed to have been asleep but a few minutes, when I became consciousof an odour of burning pine; then through my still-closed eyelids Iperceived that the hut was lighted up. I heard the crackling sound ofthe blazing torch, and, as consciousness fully returned, I also heardvoices speaking in a low tone in French.

  "Are you quite certain this is he? Why, he is a mere lad!" I heard avoice exclaim.

  "Quite sure, noble signor," replied another voice, gruff, harsh, andrepellent. "I could see plainly, though the
night was dark; I had beenwatching the approach of the boat, and had been lying so long concealedin the darkest part of the ruins that my eyes had grown thoroughlyaccustomed to the gloom, so that when I followed this one and the otherto the road, it seemed quite light. Moreover, they both passed close tome as I was making my way through the trees towards the road, and I sawtheir faces distinctly enough to recognise them both again wherever Imight meet them. I never forget a face I have once seen," the voiceadded in a sinister tone.

  "Umph!" ejaculated the first voice. "I can scarcely credit that theEnglish captain would be fool enough to entrust important despatches toso young an officer. Poor lad! how soundly he sleeps; he must have losthis way and been wandering aimlessly about in the wood. By-the-way, didyou hear him say where he had secreted those same despatches?"

  "No, signor, I did not; but he had a bag with him when he landed, nodoubt they are in that."

  "A bag? What sort of a bag? I see no bag here anywhere. Perhaps--lookhere, Monsieur Guiseppe, or whatever your name is, I hope you are notplaying fast and loose with us. You have not stolen the bag and handedover the despatches to some of your own people, claiming a reward forthe safe conveyance of such important documents, eh?"

  "Stolen? For what does your mightiness take me?"

  "For a traitor, my good fellow--nay, no occasion to snatch at your knifein that threatening fashion; it is dangerous, for I am a hasty man, andapt to use these without much reflection," and I heard the click of apistol-lock. "I am sorry if I have wounded your delicate sense ofhonour, but when a man sells his own countrymen for gold, one is alittle--just a trifle, you know--apt to be suspicious of him."

  "A man _must_ live," responded the churlish voice. "I have a wife andchildren to feed and clothe, and no man would employ me. If I haveturned traitor, it is because I have been driven to it."

  "No doubt, no doubt," remarked the other speaker in a somewhat sarcastictone of voice. "The good Corsicans, your fellow-countrymen, haveperhaps been weak enough to allow your slightly singular cast ofcountenance to prejudice them against you, eh? Well, I really cannotblame them; you must yourself admit that it is the reverse ofprepossessing."

  "I am as God made me," growled the traitorous Corsican.

  "Say rather, as the devil and your own evil passions made you," retortedthe Frenchman. "Do not libel your Creator by attributing to Him anyshare in the work of moulding a visage whereon the words `treachery,avarice, theft, and murder' are printed in large capitals. You maypossibly have been born simply ugly, but your present hang-dog cast ofcountenance is entirely your own handiwork, my good friend Guiseppe.Now _pray_ do not fumble at your knife again, that is an excessively badhabit which you have contracted; take my advice and break it off. Ifyou do not, it will assuredly get you into serious trouble some day."

  The individual thus addressed muttered some inaudible reply, whichsounded, however, very much like an imprecation, to which his tormentorresponded with a gay laugh. Then I heard the door creak upon itssolitary hinge and scrape along the ground, as it was dragged open, andthe voice of the Frenchman said, addressing some one outside,--

  "Well, Pierre, how are things in general looking by this time?"

  "Much better, _mon sergent_" replied another voice. "The rain hasceased, the clouds are dispersing, and yonder appears the first gleam ofdaybreak."

  "That is well," remarked the sergeant. "We will wait another half-hour,by which time it will be light enough to see where we are going, andthen we must march once more."

  The door creaked-to again; I heard a sound as of some one settlinghimself comfortably, and then all was once more silent, save for thesound of heavy breathing, of which I had been cognisant all through theforegoing conversation.

  I had been fully awakened, as may easily be supposed, by almost thefirst words which I had distinctly heard; but I had presence of mindenough not to give any indication of the fact. It was clear that thisrascally Corsican--who appeared to be regularly in league with theenemy--had unfortunately witnessed my landing, and he must also haveoverhead and understood much if not all of the conversation which hadpassed between Rawlings and myself. And it seemed equally clear that hehad put the Frenchmen upon my track, and that to him I was chieflyindebted for my unlucky capture--for of course I _was_ a prisoner,though they had not roused me to make me acquainted with the fact. Assoon as the conversation ceased, I rapidly turned the circumstances overin my mind, and decided upon two things, one of which was to keep secretmy knowledge of the French language, and the other, to act upon the ideasuggested by the sergeant's words, and lead him to believe that my bagwith the despatches had been stolen from me. For the rest, I was unableto form any plan, my original one of passing for a German art studentbeing completely knocked on the head by the Corsican's discovery; so Iresolved to be governed by the turn which events might take.

  On one thing I was resolved, and that was to keep careful watch for anopportunity to escape, as I was in imminent risk of being hanged or shotat any moment, so long as I remained a prisoner.

  Notwithstanding my anxiety, I was dozing off once more, when footstepsapproached me, a hand was laid on my shoulder, and the voice of thesergeant exclaimed in French, "Hallo, here! awake, my young friend,awake!"

  I opened my eyes with a start, and saw standing before me a young man ofabout four-and-twenty years of age. He was dressed in the uniform of aFrench regiment of the line--blue tunic, red trowsers with a stripe ofyellow braid down the seam, red forage cap trimmed with the same, andhis sword buckled close up to his belt. He had dark hair and eyes, thelatter of which beamed upon me good-naturedly, and he had a pleasantexpression of countenance, which afforded me much comfort.

  Seated or reclining in more or less uncomfortable attitudes against thewalls of the hut were some five-and-twenty men wearing a similaruniform, their muskets being piled in the middle of the room; while,apart from the rest, was a man standing with his back towards me, gazingabstractedly out of the window. He was dressed in the ordinary Corsicangarb, and was leaning upon a long-barrelled musket, the butt of whichrested upon the floor, his hands being crossed upon the muzzle of thebarrel, and his chin resting upon them.

  "Good morning!" said I in English to the sergeant, as I struggled to myfeet; "who are you, pray, and where have you come from?"

  "Approach, most amiable Guiseppe, and lend us your valuable aid asinterpreter," said the sergeant, turning to the Corsican; "and see, myfriend, that you interpret correctly. What was it he said?"

  The Corsican, whose brutal and sinister countenance fully justified thesergeant's previous remarks upon it, translated my salutation intoexcellent French.

  "Tell him," said the sergeant, "that you saw him land, and overheardsufficient of his conversation with his fellow-officer to satisfy youthat he is the bearer of despatches from the English to one of yourcountrymen; that you betrayed him, and that I and my men were inconsequence sent out to scour the country in search of him. Tell himalso that, being found, he may make up his mind to be hanged beforesunset; or--no, do not say anything about the hanging at present, hewill know all about that soon enough, poor lad!"

  The rascal translated this speech in a manner to suit himself; that is,he said never a word concerning his own treachery, but to make up forthe omission he included that part which had reference to my probablespeedy fate.

  Of course I had learned pretty much all this in the first conversationbetween him and the sergeant; it was no news to me, but it terriblyconfirmed the surmises which had suggested themselves to my mind when Ifirst became conscious that I was a prisoner. There was a single ray ofhope, it is true, to which I clung, but it was by no means bright. Iwas evidently to be taken before his commanding officer, and I wouldacquaint him with the fact of my being a British officer, and claim tobe treated as a prisoner of war. But then there was the ugly fact of mybeing in plain clothes--how was that to be got over? There was ofcourse the shadow of a possibility that I might get out of mydifficulties, could I but
fabricate a sufficiently ingenious string offalsehoods; but now that it actually came to the point, I could notbring myself to the depths of meanness and cowardice which thisinvolved. I had learned at school the maxim that "liars never prosper,"and my dear old father had taught me to avoid falsehood from much higherconsiderations than those of mere temporal prosperity. I determinedtherefore that, whatever the danger, I would not endeavour to shieldmyself by anything so despicable as a lie.

  In the meantime it was no use to be down-hearted over my misfortune,that would only tend to make matters worse instead of better; besideswhich, I had no notion of showing my enemies that I was disheartened orapprehensive; so I brightened up, and assuming a great deal morenonchalance than I felt, I directed the Corsican to inquire ourdestination, and also to say that I hoped we should breakfast beforestarting, as I felt frightfully hungry.

  He interpreted my question, adding that, as he supposed the sergeantcould find his way back to Ajaccio without assistance, he would nowleave us, as he had several matters requiring his immediate attention.Before going, however, he trusted that the sergeant would pay him thereward promised in case of my capture, or give him a note to thecolonel, certifying that he had duly performed his contract.

  The sergeant seemed rather surprised at the proposal; beyond expressing,however, an ironical regret that the party was to be deprived of MasterGuiseppe's entertaining society, he made no demur, and drawing an oldletter from his pocket he scribbled in pencil on the inner side of theenvelope the required certificate, which he handed over to the Corsicanwith the remark,--

  "There you are, most glorious Apollo; take care of it, for it is worth_more_ than you are likely to honestly earn for many a year to come.Will you stay and have some breakfast? No? Well, good-bye then for thepresent; I dare say we shall meet again."

  "Assuredly, signor, and not long hence, I trust. For breakfast I haveall I require with me, and I shall eat as I travel, since time isprecious with me, and I wish to get a lift as far as Ajaccio in one orother of the market carts. _Au revoir_!"

  The Corsican flung his musket over his shoulder as he spoke, and,thrusting the certificate into his ammunition pouch, strode out of thehut and disappeared, just as one of the men entered with a pot of hotcoffee, which had been prepared outside.

  Upon this the sergeant produced some bread and meat from his wallet, anddrawing forth a knife divided it into two equal parts, one of which heoffered me, saying,--

  "Come, _mon enfant_, eat and be merry while you have the opportunity.We have a long tramp before us, and for you there is probably a stilllonger journey afterwards; still, do not let that spoil your appetite.We cannot understand each other, but I am sorry for you, _pauvregarcon_! and we may as well be friends for the short time that remains."

  He offered me his hand, as he said this, which I shook heartily.

  The speech was by no means calculated to raise my spirits, but I tookpains to conceal my knowledge of its import, hoping that my supposedignorance of the language would cause the men to speak unrestrainedly toeach other, and perhaps let fall some piece of information of value,should I see a chance to make my escape.

  We fell to at our breakfast, for which, strange to say, I had a verytolerable appetite, notwithstanding the disastrous turn which my affairshad taken, and the soldiers, producing what provisions they had, alsoset their teeth to work upon them with a will, laughing and chatteringgaily together meanwhile, but without letting drop any informationlikely to help me out of my difficulty.

  Breakfast over, the men fell in. I was placed in the centre of thebody, the sergeant giving instructions to those having my more immediatecustody to shoot me on the instant, should I make any attempt to escape.The word was given to march, and we tramped away across the moor forabout a couple of miles, when we struck upon a beaten track, into whichwe turned, and which I learned from a remark made by one of the men wasthe road to Ajaccio.