CHAPTER VIII.
THE DEFENSE OF AN OUTPOST.
The effect of the fresh air and of cordials poured down their throatssoon restored the vigor to Prince Rupert and Harry Furness. They werestill weak, for the great effort which nature had made to resist theforce of the heat during those long hours had taxed their constitutionsto the utmost.
Lady Sidmouth was rejoiced indeed to find them alive, for she had madesure that they were lost. It was not until she had been placed in a roomstrongly barred, and under a guard at Storton, that she perceived thelight arising from her residence, and guessed that the men of theCommons, unable to find the hiding-place of Prince Rupert, had set it onfire. Then she had knocked loudly at the door; but the sentry had givenno answer either to that or to her entreaties for a hearing. She soon,indeed, desisted from her efforts, for the fire which blazed up speedilyconvinced her that all hope was gone. When Jacob and the Royalistsarrived, driving out the small remnant of the Roundheads who remained inthe village, he had found Lady Sidmouth and her daughter bathed intears, under the belief that their guests had perished in the old housethat they loved so well. It was with no hope that they had mounted onthe instant, and ridden at full gallop to the castle, and it was notuntil they saw that that wall was still standing that even the slightesthope entered their minds. Even then it appeared incredible that any onecould be alive, and the shout from the loophole had surprised almost asmuch as it had delighted them.
In the course of three or four hours, refreshed and strengthened by ahearty breakfast and draughts of burgundy, the prince and Harry mountedtheir horses. Lady Sidmouth determined to remain for a few days at oneof her tenant's houses, and then to go quietly on to Oxford--for by thistime the main army of Essex was rapidly moving east, and the countrywould soon be secure for her passage. The prince and Harry rode at fullspeed to rejoin the army. That night, by riding late, they reached it.They found that Essex had, in his retreat, surprised Cirencester and hadpassed Farringdon.
The prince, with five thousand horse, started, and marching with greatrapidity, got between Reading and the enemy, and, near Newbury, fellupon the Parliament horse. For several hours sharp skirmishing went on,and Essex was forced to halt his army at Hungerford. This gave time forthe king, who was marching at the head of his infantry, to come up. Theroyal army occupied Newbury, and by the position they had taken up, werenow between the Roundheads and London.
On the morning of the 20th of September the outpost of each force becameengaged, and the battle soon raged along the whole line. It was to someextent a repetition of the battle of Edgehill. Prince Rupert, with hisCavaliers, swept away the horse of the enemy; but the pikemen of London,who now first were tried in combat, forced back the infantry of theking. Prince Rupert, returning from the pursuit, charged them with allhis cavalry; but so sharply did they shoot, and so steadily did the lineof pikes hold together, that the horse could make no impression uponthem.
The night fell upon an undecided battle, and the next morning theRoundheads, as at Edgehill, drew off from the field, leaving to theRoyalists the honor of a nominal success, a success, however, which wasin both cases tantamount to a repulse.
Three leading men upon the king's side fell--Lords Falkland, Carnarvon,and Sunderland. The former, one of the finest characters of the times,may be said to have thrown away his life. He was utterly weary of theterrible dissensions and war in which England was plunged. He saw thebitterness increasing on both sides daily--the hopes of peace growingless and less; and as he had left the Parliamentary party, because hesaw that their ambition was boundless, and that they purposed to set upa despotic tyranny, so he must have bitterly grieved at seeing upon theside of the king a duplicity beyond all bounds, and want of faith whichseemed to forbid all hope of a satisfactory issue. Thus, then, when theday of Newbury came, Falkland, whose duties in nowise led him into thefight, charged recklessly and found the death which there can be littledoubt he sought.
Although the Cavaliers claimed Newbury as a great victory, instead ofadvancing upon London they fell back as usual to Oxford.
During the skirmishes Harry had an opportunity of doing a service to anold friend. The Parliament horse, although valiant and better trainedthan that of the Royalists, were yet unable to withstand the impetuositywith which the latter always attacked, the men seeming, indeed, to beseized with a veritable panic at the sight of the gay plumes of Rupert'sgentlemen. In a fierce skirmish between Harry's troop and a party ofParliament horse of about equal strength, the latter were defeated, andHarry, returning with the main body, found a Puritan officer dismounted,with his back against a tree, defending himself from the attacks ofthree of his men. Harry rode hastily up and demanded his surrender. Theofficer looked up, and to his surprise Harry saw his friend Herbert.
"I am your prisoner, Harry," Herbert said, as he lowered the point ofhis sword.
"Not at all!" Harry exclaimed. "It would indeed be a strange thing,Herbert, were I to make you a prisoner. I thought you settled atAbingdon?"
Ordering one of his troopers to catch a riderless horse which wasgalloping near, he spoke for a moment or two with his friend, and then,as the horse was brought up, he told him to mount and ride.
"But you may get into trouble for releasing me," Herbert said.
"I care not if I do," Harry replied. "But you need not be uneasy aboutme, for Prince Rupert will stand my friend, and hold me clear of anycomplaint that may be made. I will ride forward with you a little, tillyou can join your friends."
As Harry rode on by the side of Herbert a Royalist officer, one SirRalph Willoughby, dashed up.
"What means this?" he exclaimed. "Do I see an officer of his majestyriding with one of the Roundheads? This is treason and treachery!"
"I will answer to the king, if need be," Harry said, "for my conduct. Iam not under your orders, Sir Ralph, and shall use my discretion in thismatter. This gentleman is as a brother to me."
"And I would cut down my brother," Sir Ralph said furiously, "if I foundhim in the ranks of the enemy!"
"Then, sir, we differ," Harry replied, "for that would not I. There areyour friends," he said to Herbert, pointing to a body of Roundheads at ashort distance, "Give me your word, however, that you will not drawsword again to-day."
Herbert readily gave the required promise, and riding off, was soonwith his friends. Sir Ralph and Harry came to high words after he hadleft; and the matter might then and there have been decided by thesword, had not a party of Roundheads, seeing two cavalry officers sonear to them, charged down, and compelled them to ride for their lives.
The following day Sir Ralph reported the circumstance to the general,and he to Prince Rupert. The prince laughed at the charge.
"Harry Furness," he said, "is as loyal a gentleman as draws sword in ourranks, and as he and I have been well-nigh roasted together, it werevain indeed that any complaint were made to me touching his honor. Iwill speak to him, however, and doubt not that his explanation will besatisfactory."
The prince accordingly spoke to Harry, who explained the circumstancesof his relations with the young Roundhead.
"Had he been a great captain, sir," Harry said, "I might have deemed itmy duty to hold him in durance, however near his relationship to myself.But as a few weeks since he was but a schoolboy, methought that theaddition of his sword to the Roundhead cause would make no greatdifference in our chances of victory that afternoon. Moreover, I hadreceived his pledge that he would not draw sword again in the battle."
As even yet, although the bitterness was quickly increasing, it was farfrom having reached that point which it subsequently attained, andprisoners on both sides were treated with respect, no more was saidregarding Harry's conduct in allowing his friend to escape. But fromthat moment, between himself and Sir Ralph Willoughby there grew up astrong feeling of animosity, which only needed some fitting pretext tobreak out.
It was, indeed, an unfortunate point in the royal cause, that there wasvery far from being unity among those who fought s
ide by side. Therewere intrigues and jealousies. There were the king's men, who would havesupported his majesty in all lengths to which he might have gone, andwho were ever advising him to resist all attempts at pacification, andto be content with nothing less than a complete defeat of his enemies.Upon the other hand, there were the grave, serious men, who had drawnthe sword with intense reluctance, and who desired nothing so much aspeace--a peace which would secure alike the rights of the crown and therights of the people.
They were shocked, too, by the riotous and profligate ways of some ofthe wilder spirits, and deemed that their cause was sullied by thereckless conduct and wild ways of many of their party. Sir Henry Furnessbelonged to this section of the king's adherents, and Harry, who hadnaturally imbibed his father's opinions, held himself a good deal alooffrom the wild young spirits of the king's party.
Skirmishes took place daily between the cavalry outposts of the twoarmies. Sir Henry was asked by the prince to send some of his troopsacross the river to watch the enemy, and he chose that commanded byHarry, rather for the sake of getting the lad away from the temptationsand dissipation of Oxford than to give him an opportunity ofdistinguishing himself. The troop commanded by Sir Ralph Willoughby wasalso on outpost duty, and lay at no great distance from the village inwhich Harry quartered his men after crossing the river. The Roundheadcavalry were known to be but three or four miles away, and the utmostvigilance was necessary.
Harry gave orders that the troops should be distributed through thevillage--five men to a house. Straw was to be brought in at night, andlaid on the floor of the kitchens, and the men were there to sleep, withtheir arms by their sides, ready for instant service. One of each partywas to stand sentry over the five horses which were to be picketed tothe palings in front of the house. At the first alarm he was at once toawake his comrades, who were to mount instantly, and form in column inthe street. Two pickets were placed three hundred yards from thevillage, and two others a quarter of a mile further in advance. Harryand Jacob took up their residence in the village inn, and arrangedalternately to visit the pickets and sentries every two hours.
"They shall not catch us napping, Jacob. This is my first command ondetached duty. You and I have often remarked upon the reckless ways ofour leaders. We have an opportunity now of carrying our own ideas intoeffect."
At three o'clock Jacob visited the outposts. All was still, and nothinghad occurred to give rise to any suspicion of the vicinity of an enemy.Half an hour later one of the advanced pickets galloped in. They heard,he said, a noise as of a large body of horse, away to the right, and itseemed as if it was proceeding toward Chalcombe, the village where SirRalph Willoughby's troop was quartered. Two minutes later, thanks toHarry's arrangements, the troop were mounted and in readiness foraction.
The first faint dawn of day had begun. Suddenly the stillness was brokenby the sound of pistol shots and shouts from the direction of Chalcombe,which lay a mile away.
"It is likely," Harry said, "that Sir Ralph has been caught napping. Heis brave, but he is reckless, and the discipline of his troop is of theslackest. Let us ride to his rescue."
The troop filed out from the village, and turned down the side roadleading to Chalcombe. Harry set spurs to his horse and led the column ata gallop. The sound of shots continued without intermission, andpresently a bright light shot up.
"Methinks," Harry said to Jacob, "the Roundheads have caught our menasleep, and it is an attack upon the houses rather than a cavalryfight."
It was scarcely five minutes from the time they started when theyapproached the village. By the light of a house which had been set onfire, Harry saw that his conjecture was well founded. The Roundheadswere dismounted, and were attacking the houses.
Halting just outside the village, Harry formed his men with a frontacross the whole road, and directed the lines to advance, twenty yardsapart. Then, placing himself at their head, he gave the word, andcharged down the street upon the Roundheads. The latter, occupied bytheir attack upon the houses, were unconscious of the presence of theirfoe until he was close upon them, and were taken utterly by surprise.The force of the charge was irresistible, and the Roundheads, dispersedand on foot, were cut down in all directions. Groups of twos and threesstood together and attempted resistance, but the main body thought onlyof regaining their horses. In three minutes after the Royalists enteredthe village the surviving Roundheads were in full flight, hotly pursuedby the victorious Cavaliers. These, being for the most part bettermounted, overtook and slew many of the Roundheads, and not more thanhalf the force which had set out returned to their quarters at Didcot.The pursuit continued to within half a mile of that place, and thenHarry, knowing that there was a force of Roundhead infantry there, drewoff from the pursuit, and returned to Chalcombe. He found that morethan half of Sir Ralph Willoughy's men had been killed, many having beencut down before they could betake themselves to their arms, thosequartered in the inn, and at two or three of the larger houses, havingalone maintained a successful resistance until the arrival of succor.
Sir Ralph Willoughby was furious. The disaster was due to his owncarelessness in having contented himself with placing two pickets inadvance of the village, and permitting the whole remainder of his forceto retire to bed. Consequently the picket, on riding in upon theapproach of the enemy, were unable to awake and call them to arms beforethe Roundheads were upon them. In his anger he turned upon Harry, andfiercely demanded why he had not sent him news of the approach of theenemy.
"You must have known it," he said. "Your men were all mounted and inreadiness, or they could not have arrived here so soon. You must havebeen close at hand, and only holding off in order that you might boastof having come to my relief."
Harry, indignant at these words, turned on heel without deigning to givean answer to the angry man, and at once rode back to his own quarters.Two hours later Prince Rupert rode up. The firing had been reported, andPrince Rupert had ridden with a body of horse to Chalcombe. Here he hadheard Sir Ralph Willoughby's version of the story, and had requestedthat officer to ride with him to Harry's quarters. The prince, withseveral of his principal officers, alighted at the inn, outside whichHarry received him. Prince Rupert led the way into the house.
"Master Furness," he said, "Sir Ralph Willoughby accuses you of havingplayed him false, and left his party to be destroyed on account of thequarrel existing between you, touching that affair at Newbury. Whathave you to say to this? He alleges that you must have been close athand, and moved not a finger to save him until half his troop wasdestroyed."
"It is wholly false, sir," Harry said. "Seeing that the enemy were soclose, I had placed my pickets well in advance, and ordered my men tolie down in their clothes, with their arms beside them, on straw in thekitchens, ready to mount at a moment's warning. I quartered five in eachhouse, having their horses fastened in front, and one of each partystationed at the door, where he could observe the horses and wake themen on the instant. Thus, when my pickets came in with the news thattroops were heard moving toward Chalcombe, my troop was in less than twominutes in the saddle. As we rode out of the village we heard the firstshot, and five minutes later charged the Roundheads in the streets ofthe village. Had we not hastened, methinks that neither Sir RalphWilloughby nor any of his troops would have been alive now to tell thetale. You can question, sir, my lieutenant, or any of my troopers, andyou will hear that matters went precisely as I have told you."
"You have done well indeed, Master Furness," Prince Rupert said warmly,"and I would that many of my other officers showed the samecircumspection and care as you have done. Now, Sir Ralph, let me hearwhat arrangements you made against surprise."
"I set pickets in front of the village," Sir Ralph said sulkily.
"And what besides?" the prince asked. "Having done that, did you andyour officers and men go quietly to sleep, as if the enemy were ahundred miles away?"
Sir Ralph was silent.
"Fie, for shame, sir!" the prince said sternly. "Your own carelessnesshas
brought disaster upon you, and instead of frankly owning your fault,and thanking Master Furness for having redeemed your error, saved theremnant of your troop, and defeated the Roundheads heavily, yourjealousy and envy of the lad have wrought you to bring false accusationsagainst him. Enough, sir," he said peremptorily, seeing the glance ofhatred which Sir Ralph cast toward Harry. "Sufficient harm has been donealready by your carelessness--see that no more arises from your badtemper. I forbid this quarrel to go further; until the king's enemiesare wholly defeated there must be no quarrels between his friends. Andshould I hear of any further dispute on your part with Master Furness, Ishall bring it before the king, and obtain his warrant for yourdismissal from this army."
The following day Harry and his troop moved further down the river, theenemy having fallen back from Didcot. He was placed at a village wherethere was a ford across the river. The post was of importance, as itsposition prevented the enemy from making raids into the country, wherestores of provisions and cattle had been collected for the use of thearmy at Oxford. Harry's force was a small one for the defense of such apost; but there appeared little danger of an attack, as Prince Rupert,with a large force of cavalry, lay but a mile or two distant. A few daysafter their arrival, however, Prince Rupert started with his horse todrive back a party of the enemy whom he heard were lying some milesnorth of Reading.
"Prince Rupert never seems to have room for two ideas in his head at thesame time," Jacob said. "The moment he hears of an enemy off he rides atfull gallop, forgetting that he has left us alone here. It is well ifthe Roundheads at Reading do not sally out and attack us, seeing howuseful this ford would be to them."
"I agree with you, Jacob, and we will forthwith set to work to renderthe place as defensible as we may."
"We had best defend the other side of the ford, if they advance," Jacobsaid. "We could make a far better stand there."
"That is true, Jacob; but though we could there bar them from enteringour country, they, if they obtained the village, would shut the door toour entering theirs. No, it is clear that it our duty to defend thevillage as long as we can, if we should be attacked."
Harry now set his men to work to make loopholes in the cottages andinclosure walls, and to connect the latter by banks of earth, havingthorn branches set on the top. Just at the ford itself stood a largewater-mill, worked by a stream which here ran into the river. Harryplaced sacks before all the windows, leaving only loopholes throughwhich to fire. Some of the troop carried pistols only; others hadcarbines; and some, short, wide-mouthed guns, which carried largecharges of buckshot. Pickets were sent forward a mile toward Reading.
Early in the afternoon these galloped in with the news that a heavycolumn of infantry and cavalry, with two pieces of artillery, wereapproaching along the road. Harry at once dispatched a messenger, withorders to ride until he found Prince Rupert, to tell him of the state hewas in, and ask him to hurry to his assistance, giving assurance that hewould hold the village as long as possible. All now labored vigorouslyat the works of defense. Half an hour after the alarm had been given theenemy were seen approaching.
"There must be over five hundred men, horse and foot," Jacob said, asfrom the upper story of the mill he watched with Harry the approach ofthe enemy. "With fifty men we shall never be able to defend the circuitof the village."
"Not if they attack all round at once," Harry agreed. "But probablythey will fall upon us in column, and behind stone walls we can do much.We must keep them out as long as we can; then fall back here, andsurround ourselves with a ring of fire."
As soon as it was known that the enemy were approaching Harry had givenorders that all the inhabitants should evacuate their houses and crossthe river, taking with them such valuables as they could carry. Therewere several horses and carts in the village, and these were at once putin requisition, and the people crossing and recrossing the river rapidlycarried most of their linen and other valuables over in safety, the mencontinuing to labor for the preservation of their goods, even after thefight commenced.
The Roundheads halted about four hundred yards from the village. Just asthey did so there was a trampling of horses, and Sir Ralph Willoughby,with his troop, now reduced to thirty strong, rode into the village. Hedrew up his horse before Harry.
"Master Furness," he said, "Prince Rupert has forbidden me to test yourcourage in the way gentlemen usually do so. But there is now a meansopen. Let us see which will ride furthest--you or I--into the ranks ofyonder horsemen."
Harry hesitated a moment; then he said gravely:
"My life is not my own to throw away, Sir Ralph. My orders are to holdthis place. That I can best do on foot, for even if our troops unitedwere to rout the enemy's cavalry, their footmen would still remain, andwould carry the village. No, sir, my duty is to fight here."
"I always thought you a coward!" Sir Ralph exclaimed; "now I know it,"and, with a taunting laugh, he ordered his men to follow him, issuedfrom the village, and prepared, with his little band, to charge theRoundhead horse, about a hundred and fifty strong.
Just as they formed line, however, the enemy's' guns opened, and a shotstruck Sir Ralph full in the chest, hurling him, a shattered corpse, tothe ground.
His men, dismayed at the fall of their leader, drew rein.
"Fall back, men," Harry shouted from behind, "fall back, and make astand here. You must be cut to pieces if you advance."
The troop, who had no other officer with them, at once obeyed Harry'sorders. They had heard the conversation between him and their leader,and although prepared to follow Sir Ralph, who was the landlord of mostof them, they saw that Harry was right, and that to attack so numerous abody of horse and foot was but to invite destruction.