CHAPTER XXI.
Captain Barecolt was not, according to the old proverb, like a gardenfull of weeds; for, although he was undoubtedly a man of words, he wasalso a man of deeds, as the reader may have already remarked, and thedeeds which he had performed since we last left him sitting in theparlour of Mrs. White were manifold and various. His first expeditionwas to the chamber of Arrah Neil, where the worthy landlady's sense ofdecorum, as well as her privilege of curiosity, kept her presentduring the conference.
Poor Arrah--although at one time she certainly had not been impressedwith the deepest sense of the personal merits of Captain DeciduousBarecolt--had seen enough of his conduct in the skirmish which tookplace at the bridge, to entertain a much higher respect for him thanbefore; and even had not such been the case, there is something in thevery sight of persons whom we have beheld in companionship with thosewe love, which, by awakening sweet associations--those pleasantdoor-keepers of the heart--renders their presence cheering to us inthe hour of misfortune and distress.
Mrs. White, too, upon Captain Barecolt's own statement, had assuredArrah, that he came expressly to deliver her; and she looked upon herescape from the clutches of Mr. Dry as now quite certain, with the aidof the good landlady, and the more vigorous assistance of Barecolt'slong arm and long sword. She greeted him gladly, then, and with abright smile; but Barecolt, when he now saw her, could scarcelybelieve that she was the same person with whom he had marched two daysduring the absence from Bishop's Merton, not alone from the change inher dress, though that of course made a very great difference, butfrom the look of intelligence and mind which her whole countenancedisplayed, and from the total absence of that lost and bewilderedexpression which had been before so frequently present on her face.Her great beauty, which had then been often clouded by that strangeshadow that we have so frequently mentioned, was now lighted up--likea fair landscape first seen in the dim twilight of the morning, whenthe sun rises upon it in all the majesty of light.
"Do not be the least afraid, my dear young lady," said CaptainBarecolt, after the first congratulations of their meeting were over,and he had quieted down his surprise and admiration. "Do not be at allafraid. I will deliver you, if the gates should be guarded by fierydragons. Not only have I a thousand times accomplished enterprises towhich this, of circumventing the dull burgesses of Hull, is no morethan eating the mites of a cheese off the point of a knife; but herewe have to assist us good Mrs. White, one of the most excellent womenthat ever lived upon the face of this earth. It is true I have but hadthe pleasure and honour of her acquaintance for the space of one hourand three-quarters; but when you come to consider that I have beencalled upon to converse and deal with, and investigate and examine, inthe most perilous circumstances, and in the most awful situations,many millions of my fellow-creatures, of every different shade,variety, and complexion of mind, you will easily understand that itneeds but a glance for me to estimate and appreciate the excellence ofa person so well disposed as Mrs. White."
"Oh, yes!" cried Arrah, interrupting him; "I know that she is kind andgood, and will do everything she can to help and deliver me. She waskind to me long ago, and one can never forget kindness. But when shallwe go, Captain Barecolt? Cannot we go to-night?"
"That is impossible, my dear young lady," replied Barecolt; "for thereare many things to be done. In the first instance, these papers, whichMrs. White talks of--they must be obtained, if possible. Has this mangot them about him, do you think?"
"I cannot tell," replied Arrah; "I do not even know that he has gotthem at all. I only know that the cottage was stripped when I cameback, and that they, with everything else, were gone."
"Oh, he has got them! he has got them, my dear child!" cried Mrs.White; "for depend upon it, that if he did not know you were a verydifferent person from Sergeant Neil's grand-daughter, just as well asI do, he would never be so anxious about marrying you--a weazened oldred herring! I dare say he has got them safe in his trunk-mail."
"I will go," said Barecolt, "and cut them out of his heart;" and atthe same moment he rose, laid his hand upon his dagger, and strodetowards the door.
"Don't do him any mischief--don't do him any mischief in my house!"cried Mrs. White, laying her hand upon the captain's arm. "Pray,remember, captain, there will be inquiry made, as sure as you arealive. You had better not take them till you are quite ready to go."
"Thou art a wise woman, Mrs. White," replied Captain Barecolt; "thouart a wise woman, and I will forbear. I will but ascertain whether hehas these papers, while he yet lies in the mud of drunkenness, andleave the appropriation of them till an after period."
Thus saying, he quitted the room; and having marked, with all hisshrewd perception, the door which had been opened and shut when thereverend and respectable Mr. Dry, of Longsoaken, was carried tipsy tohis bed, he walked straight into his room with a candle in his hand,and approaching the drunken man, gazed on his face, to see that he wasstill in that state of insensibility to what was passing round himwhich was necessary to his present purposes. Mr. Dry was happilysnoring unconsciously, almost in a state of apoplexy; and approachinga large pair of saddlebags, Barecolt took them up, laid them on achair, and opened them without either ceremony or scruple. Thewardrobe of Mr. Dry was soon exposed to view: a short cloak, a blackcoat, a clean stiff band, well starched and ironed, in case he shouldbe called upon to hold forth; a pair of brown breeches and greystockings; three shirts of delicately fine linen, and sundry otherarticles: these were soon cast upon the ground, and the arm of thevalorous captain plunged up to the elbow in the heart of the begs,searching about for anything having the feel of paper.
For some minutes his perquisition was vain; but at length, in drawingout his hand suddenly, the knuckles struck against the lining of thebag, at a spot where something like a button made itself apparent; andfeeling more closely, the worthy captain discovered an inside pocket.
Into that his fingers were soon dipped; and with an air of triumph hedrew forth some three sheets of written paper, and carrying them tothe candle, examined them minutely. What was his disappointment,however, when the first words that struck his eyes were--"Habakkuk ii.5; 2 Chronicles ii. 7, 9; Micah vi.; Lamentations iii. 7; Amos ii.4.--For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turnaway the punishment thereof."
"The hypocritical old swine!" cried Barecolt; "what have we got next?"and turning over the page, he looked at the paper which was enclosedin the other, which he found to be something a little more important,namely, a letter from the parliamentary Colonel Thistleton to Mr. Dry,informing him that he would be at Bishop's Merton on the day after thedate thereof, and begging him to keep a watchful eye upon themalignant lord, that no changes might take place till he arrived; thusestablishing beyond all manner of doubt worthy Mr. Dry's collusion inthe visit of the parliamentary commission to the house of Lord Walton.
The next paper, which was the only one now remaining, seemed to puzzleCaptain Barecolt more than even Mr. Dry's list of texts. It wasevidently a paper of memoranda, in his own handwriting, but so briefthat, without some clue, little could be made of it. At the top stoodthe name of Hugh O'Donnell; then came the words, "Whose daughter washer mother?" Below that was written, "Are there any of them living?What's the county? Ulster, it would seem? Sequestrated? or attainted?Where did the money come from? How much a-year? What will he take?"
Bearing this away, after having made another search in the bag, andthrown it down upon the scattered articles of clothing which remainedupon the floor, worthy Captain Barecolt retrod his steps to the roomof Arrah Neil, and there, with the fair girl herself, and the worthylandlady, he pored over the paper, and endeavoured to gain somefurther insight into its meaning.
Conjectures enough were formed, but with them we will not trouble thereader. Suffice it that Captain Barecolt determined to copy the paper,which being done, he replaced it with Mr. Dry's apparel in that worthygentleman's bags, and then left him to sleep off his drunkenness,wishin
g him heartily that sort of sickening headache which is theusual consequence of such intemperance as he had indulged in thatnight.
To Arrah Neil he subsequently explained, that his various avocationsin the town of Hull would give him enough to do during the followingday, but that he did hope and trust, about midnight, or very early thenext morning, to be able to guide her safely forth from the gates ofthe town, together with a friend of his who, he explained to her, wasstill a captive in the hands of the governor.
After bidding her adieu, he descended once more to the little parlourof Mrs. White, and there held a long and confidential conference withher regarding his proceedings on the following day. He found the goodlady all that he could have desired, a staunch royalist at heart, andthoroughly acquainted with the character, views, and principles of amultitude of the officers and soldiers of the train-bands. She toldhim whom he could depend upon, and whom he could not; where, when, andhow they were to be found, and what were the best means of renderingthem accessible to his solicitations. She also furnished him with theaddress of Mr. Hugh O'Donnell, and having gained all this information,the worthy captain retired to bed to rise prepared for action on thefollowing day.
Profound were his slumbers. No dream shook the long and cumbrous bodythat lay there, like some colossal column fallen on the sands of thedesert, and he scarcely moved or stirred a finger till the youngMorning peeped with her grey eye in at the window, when up he started,rubbing his head, and exclaiming--"There's the trumpet, by----!"
It was the first vision he had had; but in a moment or two he was wideawake again, and, remembering his appointment with the governor ofHull, he plunged his head into cold water, wiped it with the towelsprovided, drew, his beard into a neat point, and, putting on hisclothes, again descended to seek for some breakfast before he set out.
He had not got through half the flagon of beer, however, nordemolished above a pound of beef, when Captain Jenkins arrived, andfound him speaking execrable English to Nancy, in order to hurry herwith some fried eggs, which she was preparing as an addition to themeal.
"Begar, I never vas see such voman as de English cooks! Dem can nomore make de omlet dan dey can fly. Vait but von leetle meenute, mydear Captain Jenkin, and I go vid you."
"I can't wait," said Captain Jenkins, in a rough tone; "it's time tobe there now. If you had lodged at the 'Rose,' we should not have hadhalf so far to go."
"Ah, dat is very true! dat is very true!" cried Barecolt. "I lodgedere anoder time; but if ye must go, vy den here goes," and puttingthe tankard to his mouth, with one long and prodigious draught hebrought the liquor within to the bottom.
Being then once more conducted to the presence of the governor, he wasdetained some little time, while Sir John gave various orders anddirections, and then set out with him upon a tour of thefortifications, followed, as we have represented the party, by threesoldiers, Captain Jenkins having been dismissed for the time. IfBarecolt, however, had won upon the governor during their firstinterview, on this second occasion he ingratiated himself stillfurther with the worthy officer. Nor, indeed, was it without causethat Barecolt rose high in the opinion of Sir John, for he had his ownsense of what was honest and right, though it was a somewhat twistedand perverted one, and he would not, on any account, so long as hisadvice was asked, and likely to be taken, have given wrong anddangerous counsel upon the pretence of friendship and service.
He pointed out, then, to the governor, with great shrewdness anddiscrimination, numerous weak points in the defences, gave him varioushints for strengthening them without the loss of much time; and, whilepausing before the block-house in which he knew Lord Beverley wasconfined, he drew upon the ground the plan of a small fort, which heshowed the governor might be very serviceable in the defence of thetown upon the river side.
Having now gone nearly half round the walls, and being pressed byhunger as much as business, Sir John returned to break his fast, andonce more placed Captain Barecolt under the guidance of Jenkins;adding a hint, however, to the latter, that his suspicions of theFrenchman were removed, and that every assistance was to be given himin carrying into execution the suggestions he had made.
Barecolt's difficulty now was, how to get rid of his companion; but asthe citizen-soldier was somewhat pursy and heavy in his temperament,our worthy friend contrived, in the space of a few hours, to cast himinto such a state of perspiration and fatigue, by rapid motion fromone part of the town to the other, that he was ready to drop. In thecourse of these perambulations, he led him, as we have seen, once morepast the block-house, in order to confer for a moment with LordBeverley; after which he brought him dexterously into theneighbourhood of his own dwelling, and then told him if he would goand get his dinner, while he did the same, they would meet again intwo hours at a spot which he named.
The proposal was a blessed relief to the captain of the train-bands,who internally promised himself to take very good care to give thelong-legged Frenchman as little of his company as possible.
Barecolt, however, though his appetite, as the reader knows, was of acapacious and ever-ready kind, sacrificed inclination to what heconsidered duty, and hastened, without breaking bread, to seek two ofthose persons whom Mrs. White had pointed out to him as worthy of allconfidence, and likely to engage in the adventure which he had inhand.
He had some difficulty, however, in making the first of these, who wasan ancient of the train-bands, and well affected to the king, reposeany trust in him--for the man was prudent, and somewhat suspicious bynature, and he entertained shrewd doubts as to the honesty, of CaptainBarecolt's purpose towards him. He shook his head, assumed a blank andsomewhat unmeaning countenance, vowed he did not understand, and whenthe worthy captain spoke more plainly, told him that he had bettertake care how he talked such stuff in Hull.
On this hint Barecolt withdrew, suspecting that the information he hadreceived from his landlady was not the most accurate in the world. Heresolved, however, to make another effort, and try to gain assistancefrom the second person she had mentioned, though he, having displayedhis loyalty somewhat too openly, was not one to be placed in asituation of confidence by the officers of the parliament.
The abode of this man, who was a sign-painter by trade, named Falgate,was with much difficulty discovered up two pair of stairs in a backstreet; but when Captain Barecolt had climbed to his high dwelling, hefound a personage of a frank and joyful countenance hewing away at theremain of a leg of mutton on a large wooden trencher, and washing hisfood down with copious draughts of very good beer. His propensitytowards these creature-comforts was a favourable omen in the eyes ofour worthy captain; but he was joyfully surprised when good DiggoryFalgate started up, with his mouth all shining with mutton fat, andembraced him heartily, exclaiming, "Welcome, my noble captain! I havebeen expecting you this last hour."
He proceeded, however, speedily to explain that he had looked in atthe "Swan" a short time before to take his morning draught, and thatthe good landlady had given him information of Captain Barecolt'scharacter and objects.
With him all arrangements were very easy. Diggory Falgate was readyfor any enterprise that might present itself; and, with the gay anddashing spirit which reigned amongst Cavaliers of high and low degree,he was just as willing to walk up to a cannon's mouth in the serviceof the king as to a tankard of strong waters on his own behalf, to cutdown a Roundhead, to make love to a pretty maiden, to spend his money,or to sing his song.
"Ha! ha! ha!" he exclaimed, as Barecolt intimated to him the rebuffthat he met with from the ancient of the train-bands; "Billy Hazard isa cunning rogue. I'll bet you a pint of sack that he thought you someRoundhead come to take him in. Stay here, stay here, and finish mytankard for me. I'll run and fetch him, and you will soon see adifference."
Barecolt willingly agreed to play the part his companion proposed, andbefore he had made free more than twice with the large black jug thatgraced his new friend's table, Falgate had himself returned, followedby his more sedate and cautious acquaintance.
"Here he is, here he is! as wise as a whipping-post," exclaimed thesign-painter, "which receives all the lashes, and never says a word.There sits Captain Barecolt, ancient Hazard; so to him, and tell himwhat you would do to serve the king."
"A great deal," replied Hazard. "I beg your pardon, sir, for givingyou such a rough answer just now, but I did not know you."
"Always be cautious, always be cautious, mine ancient," repliedBarecolt; "so will you be a general in time, and a good one; but nowlet us to business as fast as possible. You must know that there's aprisoner----"
"Ay, I know, in the block-house," cried Diggory Falgate, "and he is tobe taken out to-night. Isn't it so, noble captain? Now, I'll bet youthree radishes to a dozen of crowns that this is some man of greatconsequence."
Barecolt nodded his head.
"Is it the king?" asked Falgate, in a whisper.
"Phoo, nonsense!" cried Barecolt. "The king's at the head of his army,and, before ten days are over, will march into Hull with drum andcolours, will hang the governor, disband the garrison, and overthrowthe walls. Why, the place can no more hold out against the power thatthe king has, than a fresh egg can resist the side of a frying-pan.No; this gentleman is a man of the greatest consequence, in whom theking places vast reliance, and he must be got out at all risks. If youcan but get rid of that cursed guard, if it be but for ten minutes, Iwill do all the rest."
"That will be no difficult matter," replied Hazard, after thinking fora moment. "Here, Diggory and I will manage all that; but how will youget him out of the town when you've done?"
"That's all arranged already," replied Barecolt: "I have a pass forvisiting the walls and gates at any hour between sunrise and sunset,to inspect and repair the fortifications, forsooth I will manage thewhole of that matter; but how will you contrive to get away theguard?"
Diggory and his companion consulted for a moment together, and atlength the former clapped his hands, exclaiming, "That will do! thatwill do! Hark ye, Captain Barecolt! we are not particularly strictsoldiers here, and I will get the fellow away to drink with me."
"He won't do it!" exclaimed Barecolt. "It's death by the law."
"Then I'll quarrel with him," replied Diggory; "and in either case upcomes mine ancient here, rates him soundly, relieves him of his guard,sends him back to the guardhouse, and bids him order down the nextupon the roll. In the mean while you get your man out, and away withhim, locking the door behind you; and no one knows anything of thematter."
"It will do! it will do!" cried Barecolt; and after some furtherconversation, in which all the particulars of their plan werearranged, Barecolt took his leave, appointing them to meet him at the"Swan" that night towards ten o'clock, and proceeded on his way toseek out the house of Mr. Hugh O'Donnell.