cried Samson.
"No, no; look! The dear old Hall!" cried Fred. "Don't you see?"
"Smoke, sir? Yes."
"No, no, my good fellow, not smoke alone; the poor old place is onfire."
And without another word, Fred, followed closely by Samson, dashed downthe hill.
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT.
"IS THERE NOTHING WE CAN SAVE?"
It was too true.
Whether started by some smouldering wad, or by a piece of furniturebeing driven into one of the fire-places, or, as was more probable, bythe wilful act of one of the Royalist party, who was determined that thevictors should not profit by their success, the Hall was on fire, andthe smoke, which rapidly increased in volume, showed that the dangermust be great.
"Don't run quite so fast, Master Fred," panted Samson. "You can't keepup at that pace. Better take it a bit more coolly."
There was wisdom in the hurried words, and Fred slackened his speed alittle, so as to allow his follower to come alongside; and in this way,taking in the whole proceedings as they ran, they continued their coursedown the park slope, toward the lake.
There before them in the evening glow was the fine old house, with thedense cloud of smoke slowly rising, and shouts reached them as men wereseen running to and fro in obedience to the orders, but what thoseorders were it was impossible to tell.
In front of the building a strong body of the general's men was drawnup, and in their midst the prisoners stood in a knot, while from time totime horsemen came slowly in, leading other prisoners, who had evidentlybeen captured in efforts to escape.
But though Fred strained his eyes eagerly, the distance kept him fromrecognising any familiar faces, and a terrible sense of heart-sinkingincreased as he hurried on.
All at once the thundering of horses' hoofs was heard behind, and afamiliar voice shouted Fred's name.
He turned to see that it was his father, who slightly checked hispowerful horse as he came up.
"Quick! you two," he cried; "lay hold of the mane, and run."
Fred grasped the idea in an instant, seized the horse's thick mane, anddropped into step as the sturdy beast trotted on. But the mane was allon Fred's side, and Samson missed his opportunity, but as the horsepassed on, he made a snatch at the tail, twisted his hand in the thickhair, was nearly jerked off his feet, but recovered himself, and heldon, improving his position by degrees, and contriving to keep up.
"They must have done this themselves, Fred," said Colonel Forrester, ina deeply troubled voice. "Hah! that's right. We must save the place."
"What are they doing, father?"
"Our men are joining line toward the stable yard, and getting buckets, Ithink. Hold on tightly."
"I'm quite right, father," panted Fred; and he kept up till they reachedthe men who surrounded the prisoners, and who burst into a cheer as thecolonel came up.
Fred's position prevented him from seeing exactly who were numberedamong the prisoners, and at that moment the general drew rein at theirside.
"You shouldn't have let them fire the place, Hedley," said ColonelForrester, in a voice full of reproach.
"It was not our doing, man. Some of their own party started it. Therewas a fire in the big dining-room. Hangings, chairs, and linen werethrown upon it. The fire blazed up the oak panellings, and the openwindows fanned the draft."
"We must save it. Come on."
"We are doing everything possible, man; but the water is in a well, andwhat can we do with three or four buckets?"
"Give me a score of men to try and tear down the burning part," criedColonel Forrester, who had leaped from his horse, and thrown the reinsto the nearest soldier. "Here, quick! fifty of you come on."
He was close up to the porch, from which the men were tearing down thebarricade, but the general was bending over him directly.
"Look at me, Forrester," he said.
The latter gazed up at him sharply, to see that his face was blackenedwith smoke, and the general's lips parted to speak.
"I stayed in yonder till I was driven out by the fire. It is not safeto go."
"But we must save the place," cried the colonel; and he dashed throughthe opening the men had made, followed by Fred and Samson, a dozen more,including the general, influenced by his friend's example, rushing afterthem.
They reached the Hall, but only to find that the flames were literallyrushing out of the great dining-room door, on the one side, and runningup the panelled walls, setting the beautiful ceiling ablaze, while fromthe library, on the other, there was a furnace-like roar, as the flamesliterally charged up the oaken staircase, whose balusters were alreadyglowing, and the gallery and corridor were fast flaring up as the firelicked and darted and played about.
"You see," said the general, as he seized the colonel's arm again, "ifwe had ample water and the proper means, we could do nothing."
Colonel Forrester groaned as he saw the fire darting up the panels, thecarved beams of fine old oak already well alight, and the variousfamiliar objects falling victims to the flames. Even as he gazed, withthe cool air of evening rushing in behind them through the porch, andwafting the clouds of smoke upward to pass rapidly along the corridor asif it were some large horizontal chimney, he saw the canvases of the oldfamily paintings heave and crumple up, while the faces of Sir Godfrey'sancestors seemed to Fred to be gazing fiercely through the lurid light,and reproaching him for helping to desolate their home.
Frames, panelling, the oaken gallery rails, blazed up as if they hadbeen of resin in the tremendous heat; the stained-glass in the variouswindows crackled, flew, and fell tinkling down.
"Well," said the general, quietly, "you see, the place was fired in twoplaces. We can do nothing?"
"No," groaned Colonel Forrester, as he looked wildly round. Then, in adespairing tone, as he gripped his son's arm, "Fred, is there nothing wecan save?"
As he spoke, a great burning fragment of the gallery balustrade fellwith a crash on to the oaken floor, the embers scattering in alldirections, the gallery floor rose in the intense heat, as if a wavewere passing through it, and as all backed involuntarily toward thedoor, one of the suits of armour fell forward with a crash.
"It would be utter madness," said General Hedley. "At least here. Wecould not have stayed a minute but for the cool air rushing in behind.If you wish to try and save anything, we must break in through thewindows from outside."
The argument was unanswerable; and after a last wild gaze round, thelittle party gave way step by step, and were literally driven out by thetremendous heat, Fred's last look back being at the splendid staircase,now one raging mass of fire, which was spreading upward with terrificspeed.
As they stood outside once more, the dense clouds of smoke were pouringthrough the upper windows, and directly after, from the broad casementabove the porch, where Fred had held converse with the Cavaliers in hischaracter of ambassador, a great billowy wave of lurid smoky flamelapped and flapped like a fiery banner, and then floated upward into thesoft cool air.
The afternoon had been calm and windless, but now it seemed as if asharp breeze was setting in toward the doomed house, fanning the flamesand making them roar, while overhead, and rapidly increasing in volume,floated a huge cloud of smoke, spreading and spreading till it resembledthe head of a gigantic tree, whose black and purply grey foliagebrightened from time to time with a lurid glow.
But by this time axes were at work breaking down the stout boarding fromthe wide drawing-room window to the right of the porch. This great widewindow had been completely covered, as a means of defence, save thathere and there slits had been left to enable the defenders to fire ontheir enemies.
So stoutly was this work done with boards torn from stabling and barn atthe back of the house, that it took some time to clear an opening anddash in a portion of the casement, and the fire had been gainingstrength so potent, that as the first casement was driven in a volume ofhot stifling smoke shot out, was apparently driven in by the air whichrushed toward t
he house, there was a dull report, and the interior, thathad been black the moment before, suddenly glowed with dull red, whichwas brightened by flashes.
Colonel Forrester was checked for the moment, as he tried to climb in,but calling on Samson and his son to follow, he rushed on.
Samson was second, and Fred had reached the sill, when there was abright flame, which illumined the smoke-filled room, and he uttered acry for help, and hesitated, for he had caught a glimpse of those whohad preceded him lying prone upon the floor.
The help was quickly rendered, a dozen stalwart troopers dashing in,half to come struggling out choking and blinded.
What followed, Fred hardly recalled. He knew that he had leaped down totry and drag his father out, when something seemed to seize him by thethroat, a terrible