dizziness robbed him of sense, and the next thing hecomprehended was that he was lying on the grass, with a man bathing hisface, and that for a few minutes he could not speak or make out what itall meant.
"Better, my lad?" said a well-known voice; and he recognised the face ofthe general bent down over him, and saw that the morion he wore gleamedin the bright light cast upon it.
"My father!" cried Fred, as his understanding grew more clear.
"Safe. He has just recovered a little. Your servant, too. Yes; herehe is."
"Fred, my boy," said a husky voice. "Thank Heaven! he is safe."
"Safe? Yes, father; only a little giddy. You have escaped?"
"Yes; they dragged us out in time. Look at the poor Hall."
Fred turned to see that from half the windows the flames were rushingout with a fearful violence, the centre of the old building being now aglowing furnace, whose flames fluttered and roared and leaped, while thewings were rapidly being eaten into by the flames.
"And we can save nothing, Hedley," said the colonel, sadly.
"Yes, sir, our lives. We can do no more. Pretty well that we got youout, and that the prisoners left the place."
Fred had risen, and was standing by the general's side, looking at himwildly.
"Well?" said the latter. "What are you thinking?"
"The wounded, sir--the dead?" said Fred, huskily.
"There were no dead. The wounded were all brought out, I feel sure. Myboy, we have done our best. Forrester, are you well enough to move?"
"Yes; better now."
"You see the place is doomed. It is a sad affair; but we are guiltless.I will place the prisoners in your hands. See that they arecourteously treated, and send them off under the escort of a troop toBarnstaple--at once. You can go and help."
This last was to Fred, who accepted the duty eagerly, and the nextminute he was making his way with his father in the direction of theknot of prisoners, whose armour shone in the light of the glowing pile.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.
A FRUITLESS SEARCH.
As Colonel Forrester and his son approached the prisoners, who werelying about on the grass in a variety of easy, careless attitudes,gazing at the fire, which had now assumed terrible proportions, Fredbecame aware of the fact that in place of being despondent, theCavaliers were chatting away in the most indifferent manner.
But their conversation ceased, for from behind came a loud crashingnoise, caused by some floor falling, and a buzz of wonder and admirationarose as the glowing windows suddenly belched forth flame, spark, andglowing flakes of fire, in so many eddying, whirling columns, which roseup and up to mingle and gild the lower surface of the cloud of smokewhich glowed with orange and purple and red, while sparks flashed andglittered as they darted here and there like the flakes of a snowstormsuddenly changed to gold.
The scene was glorious now, for after a moment's pause, the burning woodwhich had fallen formed fresh fuel to the mighty furnace within thethick walls, and the flames rushed up with renewed violence, illuminingthe scene far and near. Great sombre trees grew visible, brightened bythe wondrous glow; the lawn seemed to be cut up into paths of light, andfurther away, ruddy reflections flashed from the lake; while the nobleold Hall seemed to stand out against a dark background, with everyangle, battlement, and vane clearly cut, till the smallest carving wasplainly defined.
But for the horror of the scene, Fred could have stood and gazed withdelight at the wondrous series of changes that were taking place; theclouds of smoke, which seemed to form vast spirals, ever turning, androlling over, now dull red, now bursting into light, as if from firestherein; the eddying scintillations which crackled and exploded, anddisappeared; the ruddy tongues of flame which darted in and out as ifthe long low windows were monstrous dragons' mouths, from which thedarting forks came to play over golden stony lips, and lick the mullionsand buttresses around. Then came a fresh explosion, as pent-up gases,generated by heat, burst forth to augment the fire with hiss, crackle,and flutter, as it seemed to gain its climax, and then sank down with alow dull roar.
From time to time there was a sharp tinkling, as the higher windowscracked, broke, and fell upon the stones. Then came pouring down aspouting torrent of silver fire, shooting right out of a stonegargoyle-mouth as the molten lead from one part of the roof, dammed upby other lead which had not melted, at last forced its way spattering onto the paved terrace below.
But after these brilliant bursts, which had enchained Fred's attentionfor a time, he turned once more toward the group of prisoners, whoseloud, careless talking had begun again, and he passed between two of theguard stationed round them in a circle, while lying outside, in aconfused heap, just as they had been thrown, were the weapons of whichthe Cavaliers had been deprived.
As Fred drew nearer, he could see that the careless attitudes of some ofthe party were assumed, for in spite of the glow shed by the fire, itwas plain enough that the cheeks of several were of a deathly pallor,and that they were suffering intense pain. One had a scarf tied tightlyround his arm; another had a broad bandage about his brow; hardly oneseemed to have escaped some injury in the desperate sally and defence.But the aim of all was to carry their defeat with an air of the mostcareless indifference--as if wounds were nothing to them, and they heldtheir Puritan captors in the most profound contempt.
"Hallo!" shouted a voice Fred had before heard, "here's my fire-eatingyoung ambassador. Why, hang it all, sirrah! How is it you were not tothe front before? I'd rather have given up my sword to you than havehad it knocked out of my hand by the ugliest crop-eared knave I evermet."
Fred, the moment before, was eagerly scanning the group in search of SirGodfrey and his old companion; but he had searched in vain, and he wasanxiously debating within himself as to whether that meant bad news orgood. Had they escaped? and were they now safe, or--?
He was checked by the greeting of the tall, fair Cavalier, and advancedto him at once, the high-spirited officer continuing his banteringspeech the while.
"Why, you heinous young rebel," he cried, "have you come to trample onyour poor prisoners now you have taken them; or are we to be shot, orhung, or what?"
"Don't talk to me like that, sir," said Fred, eagerly, as he paused bywhere the Cavalier lay; and now he could see that his jerkin wasdarkened in one spot with blood.
"How do you want me to talk, then, eh?"
"Sir Godfrey?--Scarlett Markham? Where are they?"
"Escaped," said a gentleman lying by, with careless levity. "Run forit--broken through your lines, and got clean away."
"Not they," said the tall Cavalier, warmly. "Sir Godfrey Markham wasnot the man to leave his friends in the lurch; and as for my youngfriend Scarlett, he would have stood by us to the end."
"But they are not here?" said Fred, anxiously.
"Here, sir? No. They must be with your other prisoners."
"Other prisoners?" faltered Fred, turning pale, as a horrible thoughtassailed him, and he darted a frightened glance at the burning Hall;"there are no other prisoners but these."
"What!" cried the Cavalier, starting to his feet, and then turningfaint, so that he would have fallen, but for Fred's arm. "Thank you, mylad," he said frankly; "a little weak, I suppose. Yes; I will liedown."
Fred helped him into a reclining position again upon the turf.
"Tell me all you know about them, sir," said Fred, going down on oneknee to help the wounded officer. "Scarlett and I used to be greatfriends. Did they escape right away?"
The Cavalier seemed at first to be about to respond in his old careless,bantering, half-mocking way, but as he saw the eagerness of manner, andthe anxiety in the lad's eyes, his manner changed.
This was no ruse, he saw; no cunning trick to find out which way theMarkhams had gone, but a true honest feeling for one who had been afriend, but was now transformed by political troubles into an enemy.
"Shake hands," he said warmly. "I like you, boy. I'll tell you all Iknow."
&nb
sp; Fred eagerly took the prisoner's hand, as the others looked oncuriously, their assumption of carelessness gone, and a dull look ofdespair making its appearance in their eyes and at the angles of theirmouths. And as Fred took that hand, it was cold and damp, and the gripwas feeble, as its owner said slowly--
"Sir Godfrey Markham and I divided our little force, after drawing lotsfor choice; I won the choice, and selected the task of making the sally.It would have been too irksome to me to stay behind a barrier and waitto be attacked. I suppose you know--your people were too strong for us,and we were beaten back, followed by your men, till we were all togetherstruggling in the dining-room, from there into the hall, and then on thegreat staircase. I saw Sir Godfrey and young Scarlett several timesduring the