stone wall of the Hallgarden, to take refuge there.
As they reached this haven, a trumpet sounded a recall, and the pursuingsquadron missed their opportunity of capturing the flying band, while,when they advanced again, it was to find that the horses were wellsecured within the Hall yard, whose stout oaken gates were closed, andthat the old house was garrisoned by a desperate little force ready towithstand a siege.
"Better than giving up as prisoners, Scar, my boy," said Sir Godfrey,sadly; "and better than being hunted down. All was over, and it was invain to keep up the fight. It only meant the useless loss of bravemen."
"Will they attack us here, sir?" said Scarlett.
"Most likely, and if they do, we'll fight till the very end--fight forour hearth and home, my boy. But there, we must do all we can to makethe place more secure before night comes."
"Look!" said Scarlett, pointing.
"Yes, I see, my boy," said Sir Godfrey, sadly; "completely scattered,and a strong body in pursuit. Ah, they are going to bivouac there, andwe shall have them here directly foraging for food and shelter. Well,cheer up. These are times of reverses. They were here yesterday; it isour turn to-day."
And without another word, Sir Godfrey went into the hall, to pay thedouble part of commander and host, his words and example soon puttingspirit in the disheartened band.
"But we shall have to surrender, Sir Godfrey, shall we not, unless wewait till dark, and then take our horses and try to get away?"
"You may depend upon one thing, gentlemen," said Sir Godfrey, "the enemyare far stronger than we think. Every path will be carefully guarded,our horses are worn-out, and we are safe to be taken."
"But we cannot defend this place, sir," said another.
"Why not? I say, defend it as long as one stone stands upon another."
"But food--ammunition."
"Plenty, sir, for a month," continued the general, "unless all wascarried off by our friends. No fear. Their occupation was too short,and we took them too much by surprise. Why, look there," he said,pointing to one corner of the hall, "there are enough of their piecesthere to arm us all. What is it to be, gentlemen? Surrender or fight?"
For answer, hats were tossed in the air, and the carved beams of theroof rang with the hearty cheers of the Cavaliers, and the cry of--
"God save the king!"
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
WHAT FRED FOUND IN THE WOOD.
"Why, Fred, my boy, what a long face. What's the matter?"
For answer, Fred pointed to the trampled garden, the litter in the park,and the desolation visible at the Hall, where window casements had beeneither smashed or taken off, and rough barricades erected; so that whereall had once been so trim and orderly, desolation seemed to reign.
For the little band of devoted Royalists, under Sir Godfrey Markham, hadoffered a desperate defence to every attempt made by the attackingparty, which for want of infantry and guns, had settled down to the taskof starving them out.
The prisoners and the wounded from the barn, irrespective of party, hadbeen sent to the nearest town; and as no immediate call was being madeupon his services, and his orders were to wait for reinforcements, so asto render the men under his command something like respectable innumber, General Hedley set himself seriously to the task of cripplingthe Royalist forces, by securing the person of Sir Godfrey Markham,whose influence in the district was very great, and whose prowess as asoldier had worked terrible disaster to the Puritan cause.
The little siege of the Hall had been going on four days, when ColonelForrester, who had been with the relieving party, found his soncontemplating the ruin.
"Yes," he said, "it is bad; but better so than that these Royalistsshould be destroying our home, my boy."
"Is it, father?" said Fred, doubtingly.
"Is it, sir? Of course. That is the home of our most deadly enemy, aman who has wrought endless mischief to our cause and country. Why, youdo not sympathise with him?"
"I was not thinking of sympathy, father, but of the happy days ScarMarkham and I used to spend here."
"Pish! Don't talk like a child, sir. You are growing a man, and youhave your duty to do."
"Yes, father, and I'm going to try and do it."
"Of course. That's better, Fred. As to Markham, we are behaving noblyto him by having his wife and daughter at the Manor, and caring for themthere."
"I don't see much in that, father."
"What, sir?"
"Men do not make war upon women, and I think it was our duty to protectLady Markham, and I acted accordingly."
Colonel Forrester turned fiercely upon his son, but checked himself.
"Humph! Yes. I suppose you were right, Fred. There, we need not arguesuch points as these. Too much to do."
"Of course, father; but one cannot quite forget the past."
"No, certainly not. But do your duty to your country, my boy, and leavethe rest."
"Yes, father," said Fred; "but are we going to attack the place againsoon?"
"Yes; and this time most vigorously. The nest of hornets must becleared out, eh, Hedley?" he said, as the general came up from the roughtent erected under one of the spreading trees.
"Of what are you talking?"
"My boy, here, asks me if we are going to attack the Hall again."
"Yes; if they do not march out by to-night, and give themselves up, Ishall attack, and as I shall send them word, they must expect littlemercy. By the way, Forrester, I want to talk to you." The pair marchedslowly away, leaving Fred to his contemplation of the Hall and itssurroundings; and he seated himself upon the mossy roots of a huge beechon the slope facing the old red stone building, and gazed eagerly at thedistant figures which appeared at the window openings from time to time,wondering whether either of them was Scarlett, if he was with hisfather, for he was not among the wounded, or whether he had escapedamong the scattered Royalists after that last fierce charge.
"He is sure to be there," said the lad to himself, as he sat on therough buttress with his sword across his knees. "Poor old Scar! how Iremember our taking down the swords and fighting, and Sir Godfrey comingand catching us. It seemed a grand thing to have a sword then--muchgrander than it seems now," he added, as he looked gloomily at theweapon he held.
He gazed moodily across the lake again, and then thought of his father'swords about his duty to his country; and his young brow grew more andmore wrinkled.
"Yes," he said; "I ought to do my duty to my country. Those people canhold us off, and there'll be a desperate fight, and some of our men willbe killed, and nearly all theirs. I could stop it all and make an endof the fight easily enough by doing my duty to my country. But if Idid, I should be sending Sir Godfrey and poor old Scar to prison,perhaps get them killed, because they would fight desperately, and Ishould make Lady Markham and poor little Lil miserable, and be behavinglike a wretch. I don't like doing such duty."
"Let me see," continued Fred, as he gazed across the lake, "how should Ido it? Easily enough. Get thirty or forty men, and take them in theold boat across to the mouth of the passage, ten at a time. Whatnonsense! March them after dark round to the wilderness, pull away theboughs, drop down, and thread our way right along the old passage intothe Hall, surprise every one, and the place would be ours.
"And a nice treacherous thing to do; and I should fail," he criedjoyously, "for Scar will have given me the credit of planning such athing, and I'll be bound to say he has blocked the place up with stones.
"No; I couldn't do that, and if ever we meet again as friends, and Scartells me he was sure I should attack them there, and that he guardedagainst it, I'll kick him for thinking me such a dishonourable traitor."
Fred sat musing still--wondering what the garrison were doing, andfighting hard to keep the thought of the secret passage out of his mind.
What would his father say if he knew of the secret he was keeping back?and conscience ran him very hard on the score of duty to his country.
"But," he said at last, "duty to one's country does not mean beingtreacherous to one's old friends. I'm obliged to fight against them;but I'll fight fairly and openly. I will not, duty to my country or noduty, go crawling through passages to stab them in the dark."
It was a glorious day, succeeding two during which a western gale hadbeen blowing, drenching the attacking party, and making everythingwretched around; and as Fred rose from where he had been seated andwalked slowly along by the edge of the lake towards its eastern end, thewater, moor, and woodlands looked so lovely that there was a mingledfeeling of joy and misery in the lad's breast.
He thought of the besieged, then of those who were