CHAPTER IX
A moment gazed adown the dale, A moment snuffed the tainted gale, A moment listened to the cry, That thickened as the chase drew nigh; Then, as the headmost foe appeared, With one brave bound the copse he cleared, And, stretching forward free and far, Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var. --_Lady of the Lake._
The party under Captain Lawton had watched the retiring foe to his boatswith the most unremitting vigilance, without finding any fit opening fora charge. The experienced successor of Colonel Wellmere knew too wellthe power of his enemy to leave the uneven surface of the heights, untilcompelled to descend to the level of the water. Before he attempted thishazardous movement, he threw his men into a compact square, with itsouter edges bristling with bayonets. In this position, the impatienttrooper well understood that brave men could never be assailed bycavalry with success, and he was reluctantly obliged to hover near them,without seeing any opportunity of stopping their slow but steady marchto the beach. A small schooner, which had been their convoy from thecity, lay with her guns bearing on the place of embarkation. Againstthis combination of force and discipline, Lawton had sufficient prudenceto see it would be folly to contend, and the English were suffered toembark without molestation. The dragoons lingered on the shore till thelast moment, and then they reluctantly commenced their own retreat backto the main body of the corps.
The gathering mists of the evening had begun to darken the valley, asthe detachment of Lawton made its reappearance, at its southernextremity. The march of the troops was slow, and their line extended forthe benefit of ease. In the front rode the captain, side by side withhis senior subaltern, apparently engaged in close conference, while therear was brought up by a young cornet, humming an air, and thinking ofthe sweets of a straw bed after the fatigues of a hard day's duty.
"Then it struck you too?" said the captain. "The instant I placed myeyes on her I remembered the face; it is one not easily forgotten. By myfaith, Tom, the girl does no discredit to the major's taste."
"She would do honor to the corps," replied the lieutenant, with somewarmth. "Those blue eyes might easily win a man to gentler employmentsthan this trade of ours. In sober truth, I can easily imagine such agirl might tempt even me to quit the broadsword and saddle, for adarning-needle and pillion."
"Mutiny, sir, mutiny," cried the other, laughing. "What, you, Tom Mason,dare to rival the gay, admired, and withal rich, Major Dunwoodie in hislove! You, a lieutenant of cavalry, with but one horse, and he none ofthe best! whose captain is as tough as a pepperidge log, and has as manylives as a cat!"
"Faith," said the subaltern, smiling in his turn, "the log may yet besplit, and grimalkin lose his lives, if you often charge as madly as youdid this morning. What think you of many raps from such a beetle as laidyou on your back to-day?"
"Ah! don't mention it, my good Tom; the thought makes my head ache,"replied the other, shrugging up his shoulders. "It is what I callforestalling night."
"The night of death?"
"No, sir, the night that follows day. I saw myriads of stars, thingswhich should hide their faces in the presence of the lordly sun. I dothink nothing but this thick cap saved me for your comfort a littlelonger, mauger the cat's lives."
"I have much reason to be obliged to the cap," said Mason dryly. "Thator the skull must have had a reasonable portion of thickness, I admit."
"Come, come, Tom, you are a licensed joker, so I'll not feign anger withyou," returned the captain, good-humoredly. "But Singleton's lieutenant,I am fearful, will fare better than yourself for this day's service."
"I believe both of us will be spared the pain of receiving promotionpurchased by the death of a comrade and friend," observed Mason kindly."It was reported that Sitgreaves said he would live."
"From my soul I hope so," exclaimed Lawton. "For a beardless face, thatboy carries the stoutest heart I have ever met with. It surprises me,however, that as we both fell at the same instant, the men behavedso well."
"For the compliment, I might thank you," cried the lieutenant with alaugh; "but modesty forbids. I did my best to stop them, butwithout success."
"Stop them!" roared the captain. "Would you stop men in the middle of acharge?"
"I thought they were going the wrong way," answered the subaltern.
"Ah! our fall drove them to the right about?"
"It was either your fall, or apprehensions of their own; until the majorrallied us, we were in admirable disorder."
"Dunwoodie! the major was on the crupper of the Dutchman."
"Ah! but he managed to get off the crupper of the Dutchman. He came in,at half speed, with the other two troops, and riding between us and theenemy, with that imperative way he has when roused, brought us in linein the twinkling of an eye. Then it was," added the lieutenant, withanimation, "that we sent John Bull to the bushes. Oh! it was a sweetcharge--heads and tails, until we were upon them."
"The devil! What a sight I missed!"
"You slept through it all."
"Yes," returned the other, with a sigh; "it was all lost to me and poorGeorge Singleton. But, Tom, what will George's sister say to thisfair-haired maiden, in yonder white building?"
"Hang herself in her garters," said the subaltern. "I owe a properrespect to my superiors, but two such angels are more than justly fallsto the share of one man, unless he be a Turk or a Hindoo."
"Yes, yes," said the captain, quickly, "the major is ever preachingmorality to the youngsters, but he is a sly fellow in the main. Do youobserve how fond he is of the cross roads above this valley? Now, if Iwere to halt the troops twice in the same place, you would all swearthere was a petticoat in the wind."
"You are well known to the corps."
"Well, Tom, a slanderous propensity is incurable--but," stretchingforward his body in the direction he was gazing, as if to aid him indistinguishing objects through the darkness, "what animal is movingthrough the field on our right?"
"'Tis a man," said Mason, looking intently at the suspicious object.
"By his hump 'tis a dromedary!" added the captain, eying it keenly.Wheeling his horse suddenly from the highway he exclaimed, "HarveyBirch!--take him, dead or alive!"
Mason and a few of the leading dragoons only understood the sudden cry,but it was heard throughout the line. A dozen of the men, with thelieutenant at their head, followed the impetuous Lawton, and their speedthreatened the pursued with a sudden termination of the race.
Birch prudently kept his position on the rock, where he had been seen bythe passing glance of Henry Wharton, until evening had begun to shroudthe surrounding objects in darkness. From this height he had seen allthe events of the day, as they occurred. He had watched with a beatingheart the departure of the troops under Dunwoodie, and with difficultyhad curbed his impatience until the obscurity of night should render hismoving free from danger. He had not, however, completed a fourth of hisway to his own residence, when his quick ear distinguished the tread ofthe approaching horse. Trusting to the increasing darkness, hedetermined to persevere. By crouching and moving quickly along thesurface of the ground, he hoped yet to escape unseen. Captain Lawton wastoo much engrossed with the foregoing conversation to suffer his eyes toindulge in their usual wandering; and the peddler, perceiving by thevoices that the enemy he most feared had passed, yielded to hisimpatience, and stood erect, in order to make greater progress. Themoment his body arose above the shadow of the ground, it was seen, andthe chase commenced. For a single instant, Birch was helpless, his bloodcurdling in his veins at the imminence of the danger, and his legsrefusing their natural and necessary office. But it was only for amoment. Casting his pack where he stood, and instinctively tighteningthe belt he wore, the peddler betook himself to flight. He knew that bybringing himself in a line with his pursuers and the wood, his formwould be lost to sight. This he soon effected, and he was strainingevery nerve to gain the wood itself, when several horsemen rode by himbut a short distance on his left, and cut
him off from this place ofrefuge. The peddler threw himself on the ground as they came near him,and was passed unseen. But delay now became too dangerous for him toremain in that position. He accordingly rose, and still keeping in theshadow of the wood, along the skirts of which he heard voices crying toeach other to be watchful, he ran with incredible speed in a parallelline, but in an opposite direction, to the march of the dragoons.
The confusion of the chase had been heard by the whole of the men,though none distinctly understood the order of Lawton but those whofollowed. The remainder were lost in doubt as to the duty that wasrequired of them; and the aforesaid cornet was making eager inquiriesof the trooper near him on the subject, when a man, at a short distancein his rear, crossed the road at a single bound. At the same instant,the stentorian voice of Lawton rang through the valley, shouting,--
"Harvey Birch--take him, dead or alive!"
Fifty pistols lighted the scene, and the bullets whistled in everydirection round the head of the devoted peddler. A feeling of despairseized his heart, and in the bitterness of that moment he exclaimed,--
"Hunted like a beast of the forest!"
He felt life and its accompaniments to be a burden, and was about toyield himself to his enemies. Nature, however, prevailed. If taken,there was great reason to apprehend that he would not be honored withthe forms of a trial, but that most probably the morning sun wouldwitness his ignominious execution; for he had already been condemned todeath, and had only escaped that fate by stratagem. Theseconsiderations, with the approaching footsteps of his pursuers, rousedhim to new exertions. He again fled before them. A fragment of a wall,that had withstood the ravages made by war in the adjoining fences ofwood, fortunately crossed his path. He hardly had time to throw hisexhausted limbs over this barrier, before twenty of his enemies reachedits opposite side. Their horses refused to take the leap in the dark,and amid the confusion of the rearing chargers, and the execrations oftheir riders, Birch was enabled to gain a sight of the base of the hill,on whose summit was a place of perfect security. The heart of thepeddler now beat high with hope, when the voice of Captain Lawton againrang in his ears, shouting to his men to make room. The order wasobeyed, and the fearless trooper rode at the wall at the top of hishorse's speed, plunged the rowels in his charger, and flew over theobstacle in safety. The triumphant hurrahs of the men, and thethundering tread of the horse, too plainly assured the peddler of theemergency of his danger. He was nearly exhausted, and his fate nolonger seemed doubtful.
"Stop, or die!" was uttered above his head, and in fearful proximity tohis ears.
Harvey stole a glance over his shoulder, and saw, within a bound of him,the man he most dreaded. By the light of the stars he beheld theuplifted arm and the threatening saber. Fear, exhaustion, and despairseized his heart, and the intended victim fell at the feet of thedragoon. The horse of Lawton struck the prostrate peddler, and bothsteed and rider came violently to the earth.
As quick as thought, Birch was on his feet again, with the sword of thediscomfited dragoon in his hand. Vengeance seems but too natural tohuman passions. There are few who have not felt the seductive pleasureof making our injuries recoil on their authors; and yet there are somewho know how much sweeter it is to return good for evil.
All the wrongs of the peddler shone on his brain with a dazzlingbrightness. For a moment the demon within him prevailed, and Birchbrandished the powerful weapon in the air; in the next, it fell harmlesson the reviving but helpless trooper. The peddler vanished up the sideof the friendly rock.
"Help Captain Lawton, there!" cried Mason, as he rode up, followed by adozen of his men; "and some of you dismount with me, and search theserocks; the villain lies here concealed."
"Hold!" roared the discomfited captain, raising himself with difficultyon his feet. "If one of you dismount, he dies. Tom, my good fellow, youwill help me to straddle Roanoke again."
The astonished subaltern complied in silence, while the wonderingdragoons remained as fixed in their saddles, as if they composed part ofthe animals they rode.
"You are much hurt, I fear," said Mason, with something of condolence inhis manner, as they reentered the highway, biting off the end of acigar for the want of a better quality of tobacco.
"Something so, I do believe," replied the captain, catching his breath,and speaking with difficulty. "I wish our bonesetter was at hand, toexamine into the state of my ribs."
"Sitgreaves is left in attendance on Captain Singleton, at the house ofMr. Wharton."
"Then there I halt for the night, Tom. These rude times must abridgeceremony; besides, you may remember the old gentleman professed akinsman's regard for the corps. I can never think of passing so good afriend without a halt."
"And I will lead the troop to the Four Corners; if we all halt there, weshall breed a famine in the land."
"A condition I never desire to be placed in. The idea of that gracefulspinster's cakes is no bad solace for twenty-four hours in thehospital."
"Oh! you won't die if you can think of eating," said Mason, with alaugh.
"I should surely die if I could not," observed the captain, gravely.
"Captain Lawton," said the orderly of his troop, riding to the side ofhis commanding officer, "we are now passing the house of the peddlerspy; is it your pleasure that we burn it?"
"No!" roared the captain, in a voice that startled the disappointedsergeant. "Are you an incendiary? Would you burn a house in cold blood?Let but a spark approach, and the hand that carries it will neverlight another."
"Zounds!" muttered the sleepy cornet in the rear, as he was nodding onhis horse, "there is life in the captain, notwithstanding his tumble."
Lawton and Mason rode on in silence, the latter ruminating on thewonderful change produced in his commander by his fall, when theyarrived opposite to the gate before the residence of Mr. Wharton. Thetroop continued its march; but the captain and his lieutenantdismounted, and, followed by the servant of the former, they proceededslowly to the door of the cottage.
Colonel Wellmere had already sought a retreat in his own room; Mr.Wharton and his son were closeted by themselves; and the ladies wereadministering the refreshments of the tea table to the surgeon of thedragoons, who had seen one of his patients in his bed, and the otherhappily enjoying the comforts of a sweet sleep. A few natural inquiriesfrom Miss Peyton had opened the soul of the doctor, who knew everyindividual of her extensive family connection in Virginia, and who eventhought it possible that he had seen the lady herself. The amiablespinster smiled as she felt it to be improbable that she should everhave met her new acquaintance before, and not remember hissingularities. It however greatly relieved the embarrassment of theirsituation, and something like a discourse was maintained between them;the nieces were only listeners, nor could the aunt be said to bemuch more.
"As I was observing, Miss Peyton, it was merely the noxious vapors ofthe lowlands that rendered the plantation of your brother an unfitresidence for man; but quadrupeds were--"
"Bless me, what's that?" said Miss Peyton, turning pale at the report ofthe pistols fired at Birch.
"It sounds prodigiously like the concussion on the atmosphere made bythe explosion of firearms," said the surgeon, sipping his tea with greatindifference. "I should imagine it to be the troop of Captain Lawtonreturning, did I not know the captain never uses the pistol, and that hedreadfully abuses the saber."
"Merciful providence!" exclaimed the agitated maiden, "he would notinjure one with it, certainly."
"Injure!" repeated the other quickly. "It is certain death, madam; themost random blows imaginable; all that I can say to him will have noeffect."
"But Captain Lawton is the officer we saw this morning, and is surelyyour friend," said Frances, hastily, observing her aunt to be seriouslyalarmed.
"I find no fault with his want of friendship; the man is well enough ifhe would learn to cut scientifically. All trades, madam, ought to beallowed to live; but what is to become of a surgeon, if his patients aredead before
he sees them!"
The doctor continued haranguing on the probability and improbability ofits being the returning troop, until a loud knock at the door gave newalarm to the ladies. Instinctively laying his hand on a small saw, thathad been his companion for the whole day, in the vain expectation of anamputation, the surgeon, coolly assuring the ladies that he would standbetween them and danger, proceeded in person to answer the summons.
"Captain Lawton!" exclaimed the surgeon, as he beheld the trooperleaning on the arm of his subaltern, and with difficulty crossing thethreshold.
"Ah! my dear bonesetter, is it you? You are here very fortunately toinspect my carcass; but do lay aside that rascally saw!"
A few words from Mason explained the nature and manner of his captain'shurts, and Miss Peyton cheerfully accorded the required accommodations.While the room intended for the trooper was getting ready, and thedoctor was giving certain portentous orders, the captain was invited torest himself in the parlor. On the table was a dish of more substantialfood than ordinarily adorned the afternoon's repast, and it soon caughtthe attention of the dragoons. Miss Peyton, recollecting that they hadprobably made their only meal that day at her own table, kindly invitedthem to close it with another. The offer required no pressing, and in afew minutes the two were comfortably seated, and engaged in anemployment that was only interrupted by an occasional wry face from thecaptain, who moved his body in evident pain. These interruptions,however, interfered but little with the principal business in hand; andthe captain had got happily through with this important duty, before thesurgeon returned to announce all things ready for his accommodation inthe room above stairs.
"Eating!" cried the astonished physician. "Captain Lawton, do you wishto die?"
"I have no particular ambition that way," said the trooper, rising, andbowing good night to the ladies, "and, therefore, have been providingmaterials necessary to preserve life."
The surgeon muttered his dissatisfaction, while he followed Mason andthe captain from the apartment.
Every house in America had, at that day, what was emphatically calledits best room, and this had been allotted, by the unseen influence ofSarah, to Colonel Wellmere. The down counterpane, which a clear frostynight would render extremely grateful over bruised limbs, decked theEnglish officer's bed. A massive silver tankard, richly embossed withthe Wharton arms, held the beverage he was to drink during the night;while beautiful vessels of china performed the same office for the twoAmerican captains. Sarah was certainly unconscious of the silentpreference she had been giving to the English officer; and it is equallycertain, that but for his hurts, bed, tankard, and everything but thebeverage would have been matters of indifference to Captain Lawton, halfof whose nights were spent in his clothes, and not a few of them in thesaddle. After taking possession, however, of a small but verycomfortable room, Doctor Sitgreaves proceeded to inquire into the stateof his injuries. He had begun to pass his hand over the body of hispatient, when the latter cried impatiently,--
"Sitgreaves, do me the favor to lay that rascally saw aside, or I shallhave recourse to my saber in self-defense; the sight of it makes myblood cold."
"Captain Lawton, for a man who has so often exposed life and limb, youare unaccountably afraid of a very useful instrument."
"Heaven keep me from its use," said the trooper, with a shrug.
"You would not despise the lights of science, nor refuse surgical aid,because this saw might be necessary?"
"I would."
"You would!"
"Yes; you shall never joint me like a quarter of beef, while I have lifeto defend myself," cried the resolute dragoon. "But I grow sleepy; areany of my ribs broken?"
"No."
"Any of my bones?"
"No."
"Tom, I'll thank you for that pitcher." As he ended his draft, he verydeliberately turned his back on his companions, and good-naturedlycried, "Good night, Mason; good night, Galen."
Captain Lawton entertained a profound respect for the surgical abilitiesof his comrade, but he was very skeptical on the subject ofadministering internally for the ailings of the human frame. With a fullstomach, a stout heart, and a clear conscience, he often maintained thata man might bid defiance to the world and its vicissitudes. Natureprovided him with the second, and, to say the truth, he strove manfullyhimself to keep up the other two requisites in his creed. It was afavorite maxim with him, that the last thing death assailed was theeyes, and next to the last, the jaws. This he interpreted to be a clearexpression of the intention of nature, that every man might regulate, byhis own volition, whatever was to be admitted into the sanctuary of hismouth; consequently, if the guest proved unpalatable, he had no one toblame but himself. The surgeon, who was well acquainted with these viewsof his patient, beheld him, as he cavalierly turned his back on Masonand himself, with a commiserating contempt, replaced in their leathernrepository the phials he had exhibited, with a species of care that wasallied to veneration, gave the saw, as he concluded, a whirl of triumph,and departed, without condescending to notice the compliment of thetrooper. Mason, finding, by the breathing of the captain, that his owngood night would be unheard, hastened to pay his respects to theladies--after which he mounted and followed the troop at the top of hishorse's speed.