When Horse Shoe left the apartment, he discovered the person, whosedemeanor had excited his suspicion, leaning against a post of the porch,in front of the house. The moonlight, as it partially fell upon thisman's figure, disclosed a frame of sufficient mould to raise a surmise,that, in whatever form of communication the sergeant might accost him,he was not likely to find a very tractable subject to his hand.Robinson, however, without troubling himself with the contemplation ofsuch a contingency, determined to delay his visit to the stable longenough to allow himself the expression of a word of warning or rebuke,to indicate to the stranger the necessity for restraining his curiosityin regard to the guests of the inn. With this view he halted upon theporch, while he scanned the person before him, and directed an earnestgaze into his face. The stranger, slightly discomfited by this eagerscrutiny, turned his back upon his visitor, and, with an air of idlemusing, threw his eyes towards the heavens, in which position heremained until summoned by the familiar accost of Horse Shoe.
"Well! and what do you make of the moon? As sharp an eye as you have inyour head, neighbor, I'm thinking it will do you no great sarvice there.You're good at your spying trade; but you will get nothing out of her;she keeps her secrets."
Startled by this abrupt greeting, which was made in a tone half-waybetween jest and earnest, the stranger quickly confronted hischallenger, and bestowed upon him a keen and inquiring inspection; thenbreaking into a laugh, he replied with a free and impudent swagger--
"You are mistaken, Master Jack Pudding. What says the proverb? Wit's inthe wane when the moon's at full. Now, our mistress has let me into asecret. She tells me that you will not lose your wits, when she comes toher growth. The reason why? first, because she never troubles herselfwith so small a stock as yours, and second, because your thick skull ismoon-proof; so, you're safe, friend."
"A word in your ear," said Horse Shoe; "_you_ are not safe, friend, ifyou are cotched again peeping through the chinks of the window, orsneaking upon the dark side of the doorway, to pick up a crumb of talkfrom people that are not axing your company. Keep that in your memory."
"It's a base lie, Mr. Bumpkin, if you mean to insinuate that I dideither."
"Oh, quiet and easy, good man! No flusterifications here! I am civil andpeaceable. Take my advice, and chaw your cud in silence, and go to bedat a reasonable hour, without minding what folks have to say who come tothe widow Dimock's. It only run in my head to give you a polite sort ofa warning. So, good night; I have got business at the stable."
Before the other could reply, Robinson strode away to look after theaccommodations of the horses.
"The devil take this impertinent ox-driver!" muttered the man tohimself, after the sergeant had left him; "I have half a mind to takehis carcase in hand, just to give it the benefit of a good, wholesomemanipulation. A queer fellow, too--a joker! A civil, peaceable man!--thehyperbolical rogue! Well, I'll see him out, and, laugh or fight, heshan't want a man to stand up to him!"
Having by this train of reflection brought himself into a mood whichmight be said to hover upon the isthmus between anger and mirth, readyto fall to either side as the provocation might serve, the strangersauntered slowly towards the stable, with a hundred odd fancies as tothe character of the man he sought running through his mind. Upon hisarrival there he found that Horse Shoe was occupied in the interior ofthe building, and being still in a state of uncertainty as to the mannerin which it was proper he should greet our redoubtable friend, he took aseat on a small bench at the door, resolved to wait for that worthy'sreappearance. This delay had a soothing effect upon his temper, for ashe debated the subject over in his mind, certain considerations ofpolicy seemed to indicate to him the necessity of making himself betteracquainted with the business and quality of the individual whom he cameto meet.
After a few moments, Horse Shoe was seen with old Tony at the stabledoor, where, notwithstanding the unexpected presence of the man to whomhe had so lately offered his unwelcome advice, and upon whom he nowconferred not the slightest notice, he continued uninterruptedly, andwith deliberate composure, to give his orders upon what, at that moment,doubtless, he deemed matter of much graver importance than any concernhe might have in the visit of his new acquaintance.
"Do what I tell you, Tony; get a piece of linen, rub it well over withtallow, and bring it here along with a cup of vinegar. The beast's backis cut with the saddle, and you must wash the sore first with thevinegar, and then lay on the patch. Go, old fellow, and Mrs. Dimock, maybe, can give you a strip of woollen cloth to sarve as a pad."
With these instructions the negro retired towards the house.
"I see you understand your business," said the stranger. "You look toyour horse's back at the end of a day's journey, and you know how tomanage a sore spot. Vinegar is the thing! You have had a long ride?"
"How do you know that?" inquired Horse Shoe.
"Know it! any man might guess as much by the way you shovelled down yoursupper. I happened by chance to pass your window, and seeing you at it,faith! for the soul of me I couldn't help taking a few turns more, justto watch the end of it. Ha! ha! ha! give me the fellow that does honorto his stomach! And your dolt head must be taking offence at my lookingat you! Why, man, your appetite was a most beautiful rarity; I wouldn'thave lost the sport of it for the pleasure of the best supper I ever atemyself."
"Indeed!" said Robinson, drily.
"Pease upon the trencher!" exclaimed the other, with the air of a potcompanion; "that's the true music for good fellows of your kidney! Butit isn't every where that you will find such bountiful quarters as youget here at the Blue Ball in that cursed southern country a man likeyou would breed a famine, if you even do not find one ready made to yourhand when you get there."
"Where mought you be from?" asked the sergeant, with great gravity,without responding to the merriment of his visitor, and purposelyrefraining from the answer which he saw it was the other's drift toobtain relative to the course of his travel.
"It was natural enough that you should have mistaken my object,"continued the stranger, heedless of Horse Shoe's abrupt question, "andhave suspected me for wanting to hear some of your rigmarole; but thereyou did me wrong. I forgive you for that, and, to tell you the truth, Ihate your----?"
"That's not to the purpose," said Horse Shoe; "I axed you a civilquestion, and maybe, that's more than you have a right to. You cananswer it or let it alone. I want to know where mought you be from?"
"Since you are bent upon it, then," replied the other, suddenly changinghis tone, and speaking with a saucy emphasis, "I'll answer yourquestion, when you tell me what _mought_ be your right to know."
"It's the custom of our country," rejoined Horse Shoe, "I don't knowwhat it may be in yourn, to larn a little about the business of everyman we meet; but we do it by fair, out-and-out question and answer--allabove board, and we hold in despise all sorts of contwistifications,either by laying of tongue-traps, or listening under eaves of houses."
"Well, most wise and shrewd master, what do you call my country? Ha! ha!ha! I would be sworn you think you have found some mare's nest! If itwere not that your clown pate is somewhat addled by over feeding, Iwould hold your speech to be impertinent. My country, I'd have yoursagacity to understand----"
"Tut, man, it arn't worth the trouble of talking about it! I never sawone of your people that I didn't know him by the first word that cameout of his lips. You are an Englishman, and a red coat into the bargain,as we call them in these parts. You have been a sodger. Now, neverbounce at that, man! There's no great harm in belonging to that craft.They listed you, as likely as not, when you was flusticated with liquor,and you took your pay; there was a bargain, and it was your business tostand to it. But I have got a piece of wisdom to whisper to you,insomuch as you are not in the most agreeablest part of the world to menof your colors, it would be best to be a little more shy against givingoffence. You said some saucy things to me just now, but I don't grudgeyour talking, because you see, I am an onaccountable hard
sort of personto be instigated by speeching."
"Verily, you are a most comical piece of dulness," said the other, in aspirit of raillery. "In what school did you learn your philosophy,friend? You have been brought up to the wholesome tail of the plough, Ishould say--an ancient and reputable occupation."
"When I obsarved, just now," replied Robinson, somewhat sternly, "that Icouldn't be instigated, I meant to be comprehended as laying down a kindof general doctrine that I was a man not given to quarrels; but still,if I suspicioned a bamboozlement, which I am not far from at thispresent speaking, if it but come up to the conflagrating of only thetenth part of the wink of an eye, in a project to play me off, fore God,I confess myself to be as weak in the flesh as e'er a rumbunctiousfellow you mought meet on the road."
"Friend," said the other, "I do not understand thy lingo. It has a mostclodpolish smack. It is neither grammar, English, nor sense."
"Then, you are a damned, onmannerly rascal," said Horse-Shoe, "andthat's grammar, English, and sense, all three."
"Ha, you are at that! Now, my lubberly booby, I understand you,"returned the other, springing to his feet. "Do you know to whom you arespeaking?"
"Better than you think for," replied the sergeant, placing himself in anerect position to receive what he had a right to expect, the threatenedassault of his adversary, "I know you, and guess your arrand here."
"You do?" returned the other sharply. "You have been juggling with me,sir. You are not the gudgeon I took you for. It has suited your purposeto play the clown, eh? Well, sir, and pray, what do you guess?"
"Nothing good of you, considering how things go here. Suppose I was tosay you was, at this self-same identical time, a sodger of the king's? Ihave you there!"
The stranger turned on his heel and retreated a few paces, evidentlyperplexed at the new view in which the sergeant suddenly rose to hisapprehension. His curiosity and his interest were both excited to gain amore distinct insight into a man whom he had mistaken for a meresimpleton, but whose hints showed him to be shrewdly conversant with thepersonal concerns of one, whom, apparently, he had seen to-night for thefirst time in his life. With this anxiety upon his mind, he againapproached the sergeant, as he replied to the last question.
"Well, and if I were? It is a character of which I should have no reasonto be ashamed."
"That's well said!" exclaimed Horse Shoe. "Up and speak out, and neverbe above owning the truth; that's the best sign that can be of a man.Although it mought be somewhat dangerous, just hereabouts, to confessyourself a sodger of King George--let me tell you, that, being againstyou, I am not the person to mislest you on that head, by spreading thenews abroad, or setting a few dozen of whigs upon your scent, which is athing easily done. If your business here is peaceable and lawful, andyou don't let your tongue brawl against quiet and orderly people, youare free to come and go for me."
"Thank you, sir: but look you; it isn't my way to answer questions aboutmy own business, and I scorn to ask any man's leave to come and go whereand when my occasions call me."
"If it isn't your way to answer questions about your own business,"replied Horse Shoe, "it oughtn't to be your way to ax them about otherpeople's; but that don't disturb me; it is the rule of the war toquestion all comers and goers that we happen to fall in with, speciallynow, when there's a set of your devils scampering and raging about inCarolina, hardly a summer day's ride off this province, burning housesand killing cattle, and turning everything topsy-turvy, with a pack ofrascally tories to back them. In such times all sorts of tricks areplayed, such as putting on coats that don't belong to a man, anddeceiving honest people by lies, and what not."
"You are a stranger to me," said the other; "but let me tell you,without circumlocution or periphrase, I am a free born subject of theking, and I see no reason why, because some of his people have turnedrebels a true man, who travels his highway, should be obliged to givean account of himself to every inquisitive fellow who chooses tochallenge it. Suppose I tell you that you meddle with matters that don'tconcern you?"
"Then you mought chance to get your head in your hand, that's all. And,hark you, if it wan't that I am rather good-natured, I mought happen tohandle you a little rough for that nicknaming of the friends of liberty,by calling them rebels. It doesn't suit such six-pence-a-day fellows asyou, who march right or left at the bidding of your master, to rob achurch or root up an honest man's peaceful hearth, without so much asdaring to have a thought about the righteousness of the matter--itdoesn't suit such to be befouling them that fight for church andfire-side both, with your scurvy, balderdash names."
"Well, egad! you are a fine bold fellow who speaks his thoughts, that'snot to be denied!" said the stranger, again suddenly changing his mood,and resorting to his free and easy address. "You suit these timesdevilish well. I can't find it in my heart to quarrel with you. We haveboth been somewhat rough in speech, and so, the account is square. Butnow tell me, after all, are you sure you have guessed me right? How doyou know I am not one of these very rebels myself?"
"For two good and point-blank reasons. First, you dar'n't deny that youhave pocketed the king's money and worn his coat--that's one. And,second, you are now here under the orders of one of his officers."
"No, no, good friend," said the man, with a voice of less boldness thanheretofore, "you are mistaken for once in your life. So far what yousay, I don't deny--I am in the service of a gentleman, who for someprivate affairs of his own has come on a visit to this part of theprovince, and I admit I have been in the old country."
"I am not mistaken, good friend," drawled out Robinson, affectedly. "Youcome from the south. I can tell men's fortunes without looking into thepalms of their hands."
"You are wrong again," said the other tartly, as he grew angry at beingthus badgered by his opponent, "I come from the north."
"That's true and it's false both," returned Robinson. "From the north, Igrant you--to the south with Sir Henry, and from the south up here. Youwill find I can conjure a little, friend."
"The devil take your conjuring!" exclaimed the other, as he bit his lipand strode restlessly backward and forward; which perplexity beingobserved by the sergeant, he did not fail to aggravate it by breakinginto a hoarse laugh, as he said----
"It wa'n't worth your while to try to deceive me. I knowed you bymanifold and simultaneous signs. Him that sets about scouting afterother people's secrets, ought to be wary enough to larn to keep his own.But don't take it so to heart, neighbor, there's no occasion foroneasiness--I have no mind to harm you."
"Master bully," said the stranger, planting himself immediately in frontof the sergeant, "in England, where I was bred, we play at cudgels, andsometimes give broken heads; and some of us are gifted with heavy fists,wherewith we occasionally contrive to box a rude fellow who pries toomuch into our affairs."
"In our country," replied Horse Shoe, "we generally like to get a shareof whatever new is stirring, and, though we don't practise much withcudgels, yet, to sarve a turn, we do, now and then, break a head or so;and, consarning that fist work you happened to touch upon, we have nocondesentious scruples against a fair rap or two over the knowledge-box,and the tripping-up of a fractious chap's heels, in the way of a sort ofa rough-and-tumble, which, may be, you understand. You have been longenough here, mayhap, to find that out."
"Then, it is likely, it would please you to have a chance at such agame? I count myself a pretty tolerable hand at the play," said thestranger, with a composure corresponding to that exhibited by HorseShoe.
"Ho, ho! I don't want to hurt you, man," replied the Sergeant. "You willget yourself into trouble. You are hot-headeder than is good for yourhealth."
"As the game was mentioned, I thought you might have a fancy to playit."
"To be sure I would," said Horse Shoe, "rather than disappoint you inany reasonable longing. For the sake of quiet--being a peaceable man, Iwill take the trouble to oblige you. Where, do you think, would be thelikeliest spot to have it?"
"We may read
ily find a piece of ground at hand," replied the other. "Itis a good moonlight play, and we may not be interrupted if we get alittle distance off before the negro comes back. Toe to toe, and face toface, suits me best with both friend and foe."
"A mule to drive and a fool to hold back, are two of the contrariestthings I know," said Robinson, "and so, seeing that you are in arnestabout it, let us go at it without more ado upon the first good bit ofgrass we can pop upon along the river."
In this temper the two antagonists left the vicinity of the stable, andwalked some hundred paces down along the bank of the stream. The manwith whom Horse Shoe was about to hold this strange encounter, and whonow walked quietly by his side, had the erect and soldierly port of agrenadier. He was square-shouldered, compact and muscular, and thefirmness of his gait, his long and easy stride, and the free swing ofhis arm as he moved onward in the moonlight, showed Robinson that he wasto engage with an adversary of no common capacity. There was, perhaps,on the other side, some abatement in this man's self-confidence, whenthe same light disclosed to his deliberate inspection the brawnyproportions of the sergeant, which, in the engrossment of the topicsbandied about in the late dialogue, he had not so accurately regarded.
When they had walked the distance I have mentioned, they had littledifficulty to select a space of level ground with a sufficient mould forthe purpose of the proposed trial of strength.
"Here's as pretty a spot as we mought find on the river," said Robinson,"and so get ready, friend. Before we begin, I have a word to say. Thishere bout is not a thing of my seeking, and I take it to be close akinto downright tom-foolery, for grown up men to set about thumping andhammering each other, upon account of a brag of who's best man, or suchlike, when the whole univarse is full of occasions for scuffles, andstands in need of able-bodied fellows, to argufy the pints of right andwrong, that can't be settled by preachers, or books, or lawyers. I lookupon this here coming out to fight no better than a bit of arrantnonsense. But, as you will have it, it's no consarn of mine to stopyou."
"You are welcome to do your worst," replied the other, "and the lesspreaching you make with it, the more saving of time."
"My worst," interrupted Horse Shoe, "is almost more than I have theconscience to do to any man who isn't a downright flagratious enemy;and, once more, I would advise you to think before you draw me into afray; you are flustrated, and sot upon a quarrel, and mayhap, youconjecture that by drawing me out from behind my retrenchments, by whichis signified my good nature, and forcing me to deploy into line and openfield, you'll get the advantage of an old sodger over me; but there, Mr.Dragoon, you are mistaken. In close garrison or open field, in siege orsally, crossing a defile or reconnoitring on a broad road, I am not aptto lose my temper, or strike without seeing where my blow is to hit.Now, that is all I have to say: so, come on."
"You are not what you seem," said the antagonist, in a state of wonderat the strain of the sergeant's composed and deliberate speech, and atthe familiarity which this effusion manifested with the details ofmilitary life. "In the devil's name, who are you? But, don't fancy Ipause to begin our fight, for any other reason than that I may know whoI contend with. On the honor of a soldier, I promise you, I will holdyou to your game--man, or imp of hell--I care not. Again, who in thedevil are you?"
"You have hit it," replied Horse Shoe. "My name is Brimstone, I am firstcousin to Belzebub."
"You have served?"
"I have."
"And belong to the army yet?"
"True again; and I am as tough a sodger, and may be I mought say, as olda sodger as yourself."
"Your hand, fellow soldier. I mistook you from the beginning. Youcontinentals--that's the new-fangled word--are stout fellows, and have agood knack at the trick of war, though you wear rough coats, and aresavagely unrudimented in polite learning. No matter what colors a manfights under, long usage makes a good comrade of him; and, by my faith!I am not amongst the last to do him honor, even though we stand inopposite ranks. As you say, most sapient Brimstone, we are not muchbetter than a pair of fools for this conspiracy to knock about eachother's pates, here at midnight; but you have my pledge to it, and so,we will go at it, if it be only to win a relish for our beds; I willteach you, to-night, some skill in the art of mensuration. You shallmeasure two full ells upon this green sod."
"There's my hand," said Horse Shoe; "now, if I am flung, I promise youI won't be angry. If I sarve you in the same fashion, you must larn tobear it."
"With all my heart. So here I stand upon my guard. Begin."
"Let me feel your weight," said Robinson, laughing, as he put one handupon his adversary's shoulder, and the other against his side. "Harkyou, master, I feel something hard here about your ribs; you havepistols under your coat, friend. For the sake of fair play and keepingrid of foul blood, you had best lay them aside before we strike. Angercomes up onawares."
"I never part from my weapons," replied the other, stepping back andreleasing himself from Robinson's grasp. "We are strangers; I must knowthe company I am in, before I dismiss such old cronies as these. Theyhave got me out of a scrape before this."
"We took hands just now," said Robinson, angrily. "When I give my hand,it is tantamount to a book oath that I mean fair, round dealing with theman who takes it. I told you, besides, I was a sodger--that ought tohave contented you--and you mought sarch my breast, inside and out,you'd seen in it nothing but honest meanings. There's something of asuspectable rascality, after that, in talking about pistols hid underthe flaps of the coat. It's altogether onmanful, and, what's more,onsodgerly. You are a deceit, and an astonishment, and a hissing, allthree, James Curry, and no better, to my comprehension, than a coward. Iknow you of old, although, mayhap, you disremember me. I have hearnsaid, by more than one, that you was a double-faced, savage-hearted,disregardless beast, that snashed his teeth where he darsn't bite, andbullied them that hadn't the heart to fight; I have hearn that of you,and, as I live, I believe it. Now, look out for your bull head, for Iwill cuff you in spite of your pistols."
With these words, Horse Shoe gave his adversary some half dozenoverpowering blows, in such quick succession as utterly defied and brokedown the others guard; and then, seizing him by the breast, he threw thetall and stalwart form of Curry at full length upon the ground.
"There's your two ells for you! there's the art of menstirration, youdisgrace to the tail of a drum," exclaimed Horse Shoe, with accumulatingwrath, as the prostrate man strove to extricate himself from the liongrasp that held him. In this strife, Curry several times made an effortto get his hand upon his pistol, in which he was constantly foiled bythe superior vigor of the sergeant.
"No, no," continued the latter, as he became aware of this attempt,"James Curry, you shall never lay hold upon your fire-arms whilst I havethe handling of you. Give them up, you twisting prevaricationer; givethem up, you disgracer of powder and lead; and larn this from a rebel,that I don't blow out your brains, only because I wouldn't accommodatethe devil by flinging such a lump of petrifaction into his clutches.There, man," he added, as he threw the pistols far from him into theriver, his exasperation, at the same time, moderating to a lowertemperature, "get upon your feet; and now, you may go hunt for yourcronies in yonder running stream. You may count it a marcy that Ihaven't tossed you after them, to wash the cowardly blood off your face.Now that you are upon your legs, I tell you here, in the moonlight, manto man, with nobody by to hold back your hand, that you are a lying,deceitful skulker, that loves the dark side of a wall better than thelight, and steals the secrets of honest folks, and hasn't the heart tostand up fairly to the man that tells you of it. Swallow that, JamesCurry, and see how it will lay upon your stomach."
"I will seek a time!" exclaimed Curry, "to right myself with yourheart's blood."
"Pshaw! man," replied Horse Shoe, "don't talk about heart's blood. Thenext time we come into a field together, ax for Galbraith Robinson,commonly called Horse Shoe Robinson. Find me out, that's all. We maytake a frolic together then, and I g
ive you my allowance to wear yourpistols in your belt."
"We may find a field yet, Horse Shoe Robinson," returned Curry, "andI'll not fail of my appointment. Our game will be played withbroadswords."
"If it should so turn out, James, that you and me are to work through acampaign in the same quarter of the world, as we have done afore, James,I expect, I'll take the chance of some holiday to pay my respects toyou. I wont trouble you to ride far to find me; and then, it may bebroadsword or pistol, rifle or bagnet, I'm not over-scrumptious which.Only promise I shall see you when I send for you."
"It's a bargain, Galbraith Robinson! Strong as you think yourself inyour cursed rough-and-tumble horseplay, I am soldier enough for you anyday. I only ask that the time may come quickly."
"You have no objection to give us a hand to clinch that bargain, James?"asked Horse Shoe. "There's my paw; take it, man, I scorn to bear maliceafter the hot blood cools."
"I take it with more pleasure now," said Curry, hastily seizing thehand, "than I gave mine to you before to-night, because it is a pledgethat suits my humor. A good seat in a saddle, four strong legs below me,and a sharp blade, I hold myself a match for the best man that everpicked a flint in your lines."
"Now, friend Curry," exclaimed the sergeant, "good night! Go look foryour pop-guns in the river; and if you find them, hold them as akeepsake to remember Horse Shoe Robinson. Good night."
Robinson left his adversary, and returned to the inn, ruminating, as hewalked, over the strange incident in which he had just been engaged. Fora while his thoughts wore a grave complexion; but, as his careless goodhumor gradually broke forth through the thin mist that enveloped it, hewas found, before he reached the porch, laughing, with a quiet chuckle,at the conceit which rose upon his mind, as he said, half-audibly, "Oddsport for a summer night! Howsever, every one to his liking, as the oldwoman said; but to my thinking, he mought have done better if he hadgone to sleep at a proper hour, like a moralised and sober Christian."
When he entered the parlor, he found Butler and the landlady waiting forhim.
"It is late, sergeant," said the Major. "You have forgotten the hour;and I began to fear you had more to say to your friend, there, thansuited the time of night."
"All is right, by your smiling," added the landlady; "and that's morethan I expected at the time you walked out of the room. I couldn't go tomy bed, till I was sure you and my lodger had no disagreeable words;for, to tell you the truth, I am greatly afraid of his hot and hastytemper."
"There is nothing hot or hasty about him, ma'am," replied Robinson; "heis about as peaceable a man as you mought expect to meet in such timesas these. I only told him a little scrap of news, and you would havethought he would have hugged me for it, ha, ha, ha."
"We are to sleep in the same room, sergeant," said Butler, "and our goodhostess will show us the way to it."
The dame, upon this hint, took a candle, and conducted her guests to achamber in the upper story, where, after wishing them "a good night,"she courtesied respectfully, and left them to their repose.
"Tell me, sergeant, what you made out of that fellow," said Butler, ashe undressed himself. "I see that you have had some passage with him;and, from your tarrying so long, I began to be a little apprehensive ofrough work between you. What passed, and what have you learned?"
"Enough, major, to make us more circumscriptious against scouts, andspies, and stratagems. When I was a prisoner at Charlestown, there wasan amazing well-built fellow, a dragoon, that had been out withTarleton; but, when I saw him, he was a sort of rithmaticalaccount-keeper and letter-scribbler for that young fighting-cock, theEarl of Caithness, him that was aidegong to Sir Henry Clinton. Well,this fellow had a tolerable bad name, as being a chap that the devil hadspiled, in spite of all the good that had been pumped into him atschool; for, as I have hearn, he was come of gentle people, had a firstrate edication, and I reckon, now, major, he talks as well as a book,whereupon I have an observation."
"Keep that until to-morrow, sergeant," interrupted Butler, "and go onwith what you had to tell me."
"You must be a little sleepy, major: however, this fellow, they say, wascotched cheating with cards one day, when he was playing a game of fiveshilling loo with the King or the Queen, or some of the dukes orcolonels in the guards--for he wa'n't above any thing rascally. So, itwas buzzed about, as you may suppose when a man goes to cheating one ofthem big fish--and the King gave him his choice to enlist, or go to thehulks; and he, being no fool, listed, as a matter of course. In that wayhe got over here; and, as I tell you, was a sort of sarvent to thatyoung Earl. He sometimes came about our quarters to list prisoners andmake Tories of 'em, for his own people kept him to do all that sort ofdirty work, upon account of the glibness of his tongue. He was aremarkable saucy fellow and got nothing but ill-will from theprisoners--though, I make no doubt, the man is a tolerable sodger onsarvice. Now, after telling you all this, major, you must know that theidentical, same, particular man that we saw looking through the porchwindow at us to-night"--
"Is the man you have been describing? Is it possible? Are you sure ofit?"
"I knowed him the minute I clapped eyes on him: his name is James Curry:but, as I didn't stay long at Charlestown, and hadn't any thing to dowith him in particular, it seems he didn't remember me."
"You conversed with him?"
"Most sartainly I did. I wanted to gather a little consarning of hisvisit up here: but the fellow's been so battered about in the wars, thathe knows how to hold his tongue. I had some mischief in me, and did wantto make him just angry enough to set his speech loose; and, besides, Ifelt a little against him upon account of his misdoings with our peoplein Carolina, and so, I said some rough things to him; and, as mydiscourse ar'n't none of the squarest in pint of grammar andtopographical circumlocution--as Lieutenant Hopkins used to say--why heset me down for a piece of an idiot, and began to hoax and bamboozle me.I put that matter straight for him very soon, by just letting him say somuch and no more. And then, as I was a peaceable man, major, he seemedto see that I didn't want to have no quarrel with him, which made himpush it at me rather too hard, and all my civility ended in my givinghim what he wanted at first--a tolerable, regular thrashing."
The sergeant continued to relate to Butler the details of thisadventure, which he did with more prolixity than the weariness of hislistener was able to endure; for the major, having in the progress ofthe narrative got into bed, and having, in the increasing oscitancy ofhis faculties, exhausted every expression of assent by which one wholistens to a tale is accustomed to notify his attention--he at lengthdropped into a profound sleep, leaving the sergeant to conclude at hisleisure.
When Robinson perceived this, he had nothing left but to betake himself,with all expedition, to his own rest; whereupon he threw off his coat,and taking the coverings of the bed appropriated to his use, spreadthem upon the floor, as he pronounced an anathema against sleeping onfeathers, (for it must be observed, that our good hostess, at that earlyday, was liable to the same censure of an unnatural attachment tofeather beds in summer, which may, at the present time,[1] be madeagainst almost every country inn in the United States,) and thenextinguishing the candle, he stretched himself upon the planks, as heremarked to his unconscious companion, "that he was brought up on a hardfloor;" and after one or two rolls, he fell into that deep oblivion ofcares, by which nature re-summons and supplies the strength which toil,watching and anxiety wear down.
The speed of Horse Shoe's journey through this pleasant valley of sleepmight be measured somewhat in the same manner that the route of a mailstage may sometimes be traced through a mountain defile, by the notes ofthe coachman's horn; it was defined by the succession of varyingintonations through which he ascended the gamut, beginning with a lowbut audible breathing, and rising through the several stages of anincipient snore, a short quick bark, and up to a snort that constitutedthe greatest altitude of the ascent. Occasionally a half articulatedinterjection escaped him, and words that showed in what current
hisdreams were sailing: "No pistols! Look in the water, James! Ha ha!"These utterings were accompanied with contortions of body that more thanonce awaked the sleeper; but, at last, the huge bulk of Horse Shoe grewmotionless in a deep and strong sleep.
The next morning, at early dawn, our travellers resumed their journey,which I will leave them to prosecute, whilst I conduct my reader to theaffairs and interests that dwell about the Dove Cote.
Horse-Shoe Robinson: A Tale of the Tory Ascendency Page 8
