CHAPTER XXIII
And now her charms are fading fast, Her spirits now no more are gay: Alas! that beauty cannot last! That flowers so sweet so soon decay! How sad appears The vale of years, How changed from youth's too flattering scene! Where are her fond admirers gone? Alas! and shall there then be none On whom her soul may lean? --_Cynthia's Grave_.
The walls of the cottage were all that was left of the building; andthese, blackened by smoke, and stripped of their piazzas and ornaments,were but dreary memorials of the content and security that had so latelyreigned within. The roof, together with the rest of the woodwork, hadtumbled into the cellars, and a pale and flitting light, ascending fromtheir embers, shone faintly through the windows. The early flight of theSkinners left the dragoons at liberty to exert themselves in saving muchof the furniture, which lay scattered in heaps on the lawn, giving thefinishing touch of desolation to the scene. Whenever a stronger ray oflight than common shot upwards, the composed figures of SergeantHollister and his associates, sitting on their horses in rigiddiscipline, were to be seen in the background of the picture, togetherwith the beast of Mrs. Flanagan, which, having slipped its bridle, wasquietly grazing by the highway. Betty herself had advanced to the spotwhere the sergeant was posted, and, with an incredible degree ofcomposure, witnessed the whole of the events as they occurred. More thanonce she suggested to her companion, that, as the fighting seemed to beover, the proper time for plunder had arrived, but the veteranacquainted her with his orders, and remained inflexible and immovable;until the washerwoman, observing Lawton come round the wing of thebuilding with Sarah, ventured amongst the warriors. The captain, afterplacing Sarah on a sofa that had been hurled from the building by two ofhis men, retired, that the ladies might succeed him in his care. MissPeyton and her niece flew, with a rapture that was blessed with amomentary forgetfulness of all but her preservation, to receive Sarahfrom the trooper; but the vacant eye and flushed cheek restored theminstantly to their recollection.
"Sarah, my child, my beloved niece," said the former, folding theunconscious bride in her arms, "you are saved, and may the blessing ofGod await him who has been the instrument."
"See," said Sarah, gently pushing her aunt aside, and pointing to theglimmering ruins, "the windows are illuminated in honor of my arrival.They always receive a bride thus--he told me they would do no less.Listen, and you will hear the bells."
"Here is no bride, no rejoicing, nothing but woe!" cried Frances, in amanner but little less frantic than that of her sister. "Oh! may heavenrestore you to us--to yourself!"
"Peace, foolish young woman," said Sarah, with a smile of affected pity;"all cannot be happy at the same moment; perhaps you have no brother, orhusband, to console you. You look beautiful, and you will yet find one;but," she continued, dropping her voice to a whisper, "see that he hasno other wife--'tis dreadful to think what might happen, should he betwice married."
"The shock has destroyed her mind," cried Miss Peyton; "my child, mybeauteous Sarah is a maniac!"
"No, no, no," cried Frances, "it is fever; she is lightheaded--she mustrecover--she shall recover."
The aunt caught joyfully at the hope conveyed in this suggestion, anddispatched Katy to request the immediate aid and advice of Dr.Sitgreaves. The surgeon was found inquiring among the men forprofessional employment, and inquisitively examining every bruise andscratch that he could induce the sturdy warriors to acknowledge they hadreceived. A summons, of the sort conveyed by Katy, was instantly obeyed,and not a minute elapsed before he was by the side of Miss Peyton.
"This is a melancholy termination to so joyful a commencement of thenight, madam," he observed, in a soothing manner. "But war must bringits attendant miseries; though doubtless it often supports the cause ofliberty, and improves the knowledge of surgical science."
Miss Peyton could make no reply, but pointed to her niece.
"'Tis fever," answered Frances; "see how glassy is her eye, and look ather cheek, how flushed."
The surgeon stood for a moment, deeply studying the outward symptoms ofhis patient, and then he silently took her hand in his own. It wasseldom that the hard and abstracted features of Sitgreaves discoveredany violent emotion; all his passions seemed schooled, and hiscountenance did not often betray what, indeed, his heart frequentlyfelt. In the present instance, however, the eager gaze of the aunt andsister quickly detected his emotions. After laying his fingers for aminute on the beautiful arm, which, bared to the elbow and glitteringwith jewels, Sarah suffered him to retain, he dropped it, and dashing ahand over his eyes, turned sorrowfully away.
"Here is no fever to excite--'tis a case, my dear madam, for time andcare only; these, with the blessing of God, may effect a cure."
"And where is the wretch who has caused this ruin?" exclaimedSingleton, rejecting the support of his man, and making an effort torise from the chair to which he had been driven by debility. "It is invain that we overcome our enemies, if, conquered, they can inflict suchwounds as this."
"Dost think, foolish boy," said Lawton, with a bitter smile, "thathearts can feel in a colony? What is America but a satellite ofEngland--to move as she moves, follow where she wists, and shine, thatthe mother country may become more splendid by her radiance? Surely youforget that it is honor enough for a colonist to receive ruin from thehand of a child of Britain."
"I forget not that I wear a sword," said Singleton, falling backexhausted; "but was there no willing arm ready to avenge that lovelysufferer--to appease the wrongs of this hoary father?"
"Neither arms nor hearts are wanting, sir, in such a cause," said thetrooper, fiercely; "but chance oftentimes helps the wicked. By heavens,I'd give Roanoke himself, for a clear field with the miscreant!"
"Nay! captain dear, no be parting with the horse, anyway," said Betty."It is no trifle that can be had by jist asking of the right person, ifye're in need of silver; and the baste is sure of foot, and jumps like asquirrel."
"Woman, fifty horses, aye, the best that were ever reared on the banksof the Potomac, would be but a paltry price, for one blow at a villain."
"Come," said the surgeon, "the night air can do no service to George, orthese ladies, and it is incumbent on us to remove them where they canfind surgical attendance and refreshment. Here is nothing but smokingruins and the miasma of the swamps."
To this rational proposition no objection could be raised, and thenecessary orders were issued by Lawton to remove the whole party to theFour Corners.
America furnished but few and very indifferent carriage-makers at theperiod of which we write, and every vehicle, that in the least aspiredto that dignity, was the manufacture of a London mechanic. When Mr.Wharton left the city, he was one of the very few who maintained thestate of a carriage; and, at the time Miss Peyton and his daughtersjoined him in his retirement, they had been conveyed to the cottage inthe heavy chariot that had once so imposingly rolled through thewindings of Queen Street, or emerged, with somber dignity, into the morespacious drive of Broadway. This vehicle stood, undisturbed, where ithad been placed on its arrival, and the age of the horses alone hadprotected the favorites of Caesar from sequestration by the contendingforces in their neighborhood. With a heavy heart, the black, assisted bya few of the dragoons, proceeded to prepare it for the reception of theladies. It was a cumbrous vehicle, whose faded linings and tarnishedhammer-cloth, together with its panels of changing color, denoted thewant of that art which had once given it luster and beauty. The "lioncouchant" of the Wharton arms was reposing on the reviving splendor of ablazonry that told the armorial bearings of a prince of the church; andthe miter, that began to shine through its American mask, was a symbolof the rank of its original owner. The chaise which conveyed MissSingleton was also safe, for the stable and outbuildings had entirelyescaped the flames; it certainly had been no part of the plan of themarauders to leave so well-appointed a stud behind them, but thesuddenness of the attack by Lawto
n, not only disconcerted theirarrangements on this point, but on many others also. A guard was left onthe ground, under the command of Hollister, who, having discovered thathis enemy was of mortal mold, took his position with admirable coolnessand no little skill, to guard against surprise. He drew off his smallparty to such a distance from the ruins, that it was effectuallyconcealed in the darkness, while at the same time the light continuedsufficiently power ful to discover anyone who might approach the lawnwith an intent to plunder.
Satisfied with this judicious arrangement, Captain Lawton made hisdispositions for the march. Miss Peyton, her two nieces, and Isabellawere placed in the chariot, while the cart of Mrs. Flanagan, amplysupplied with blankets and a bed, was honored with the person of CaptainSingleton. Dr. Sitgreaves took charge of the chaise and Mr. Wharton.What became of the rest of the family during that eventful night isunknown, for Caesar alone, of the domestics, was to be found, if weexcept the housekeeper. Having disposed of the whole party in thismanner, Lawton gave the word to march. He remained himself, for a fewminutes, alone on the lawn, secreting various pieces of plate and othervaluables, that he was fearful might tempt the cupidity of his own men;when, perceiving nothing more that he conceived likely to overcome theirhonesty, he threw himself into the saddle with the soldierly intentionof bringing up the rear.
"Stop, stop," cried a female voice. "Will you leave me alone to bemurdered? The spoon is melted, I believe, and I'll have compensation, ifthere's law or justice in this unhappy land."
Lawton turned an eye in the direction of the sound, and perceived afemale emerging from the ruins, loaded with a bundle that vied in sizewith the renowned pack of the peddler.
"Whom have we here," said the trooper, "rising like a phoenix from theflames? Oh! by the soul of Hippocrates, but it is the identicalshe-doctor, of famous needle reputation. Well, good woman, what meansthis outcry?"
"Outcry!" echoed Katy, panting for breath. "Is it not disparagementenough to lose a silver spoon, but I must be left alone in this lonesomeplace, to be robbed, and perhaps murdered? Harvey would not serve me so;when I lived with Harvey, I was always treated with respect at least, ifhe was a little close with his secrets, and wasteful of his money."
"Then, madam, you once formed part of the household of Mr. HarveyBirch?"
"You may say I was the whole of his household," returned the other;"there was nobody but I, and he, and the old gentleman. You didn't knowthe old gentleman, perhaps?"
"That happiness was denied me. How long did you live in the family ofMr. Birch?"
"I disremember the precise time, but it must have been hard on upon nineyears; and what better am I for it all?"
"Sure enough; I can see but little benefit that you have derived fromthe association, truly. But is there not something unusual in themovements and character of this Mr. Birch?"
"Unusual is an easy word for such unaccountables!" replied Katy,lowering her voice and looking around her. "He was a wonderfuldisregardful man, and minded a guinea no more than I do a kernel ofcorn. But help me to some way of joining Miss Jinitt, and I will tellyou prodigies of what Harvey has done, first and last."
"You will!" exclaimed the trooper, musing. "Here, give me leave to feelyour arm above the elbow. There--you are not deficient in bone, let theblood be as it may." So saying, he gave the spinster a sudden whirl,that effectually confused all her faculties, until she found herselfsafely, if not comfortably, seated on the crupper of Lawton's steed.
"Now, madam, you have the consolation of knowing that you are as wellmounted as Washington. The nag is sure of foot, and will leap likea panther."
"Let me get down," cried Katy, struggling to release herself from hisiron grasp, and yet afraid of falling. "This is no way to put a woman ona horse; besides, I can't ride without a pillion."
"Softly, good madam," said Lawton; "for although Roanoke never fallsbefore, he sometimes rises behind. He is far from being accustomed to apair of heels beating upon his flanks like a drum major on a field day;a single touch of the spur will serve him for a fortnight, and it is byno means wise to be kicking in this manner, for he is a horse that butlittle likes to be outdone."
"Let me down, I say," screamed Katy; "I shall fall and be killed.Besides, I have nothing to hold on with; my arms are full of valuables."
"True," returned the trooper, observing that he had brought bundle andall from the ground. "I perceive that you belong to the baggage guard;but my sword belt will encircle your little waist, as well as my own."
Katy was too much pleased with this compliment to make any resistance,while he buckled her close to his own herculean frame, and, driving aspur into his charger, they flew from the lawn with a rapidity thatdefied further denial. After proceeding for some time, at a rate that agood deal discomposed the spinster, they overtook the cart of thewasherwoman driving slowly over the stones, with a proper considerationfor the wounds of Captain Singleton. The occurrences of that eventfulnight had produced an excitement in the young soldier, that was followedby the ordinary lassitude of reaction and he lay carefully enveloped inblankets, and supported by his man, but little able to converse, thoughdeeply brooding over the past. The dialogue between Lawton and hiscompanion ceased with the commencement of their motions, but a footpacebeing more favorable to speech, the trooper began anew:
"Then, you have been an inmate in the same house with Harvey Birch?"
"For more than nine years," said Katy, drawing her breath, and rejoicinggreatly that their speed was abated.
The deep tones of the trooper's voice were no sooner conveyed to theears of the washerwoman, than, turning her head, where she sat directingthe movements of the mare, she put into the discourse at thefirst pause.
"Belike, then, good woman, ye're knowing whether or no he's akin toBeelzeboob," said Betty. "It's Sargeant Hollister who's saying thesame, and no fool is the sargeant, anyway."
"It's a scandalous disparagement" cried Katy, vehemently, "no kindersoul than Harvey carries a pack; and for a gownd or a tidy apron, hewill never take a king's farthing from a friend. Beelzebub, indeed! Forwhat would he read the Bible, if he had dealings with the evil spirit?"
"He's an honest divil, anyway; as I was saying before, the guinea waspure. But then the sargeant thinks him amiss, and it's no want ofl'arning that Mister Hollister has."
"He's a fool!" said Katy tartly. "Harvey might be a man of substance,were he not so disregardful. How often have I told him, that if he didnothing but peddle, and would put his gains to use, and get married, sothat things at home could be kept within doors, and leave off hisdealings with the rig'lars, and all incumberments, that he would soonbecome an excellent liver. Sergeant Hollister would be glad to hold acandle to him, indeed!"
"Pooh!" said Betty, in her philosophical way; "ye're no thinking thatMister Hollister is an officer, and stands next the cornet, in thetroop. But this piddler gave warning of the brush the night, and it's nosure that Captain Jack would have got the day, but for thereenforcement."
"How say you, Betty," cried the trooper, bending forward on his saddle,"had you notice of our danger from Birch?"
"The very same, darling; and it's hurry I was till the boys was inmotion; not but I knew ye're enough for the Cowboys any time. But widthe divil on your side, I was sure of the day. I'm only wonderingthere's so little plunder, in a business of Beelzeboob's contriving."
"I'm obliged to you for the rescue, and equally indebted to the motive."
"Is it the plunder? But little did I t'ink of it till I saw the movableson the ground, some burnt, and some broke, and other some as good asnew. It would be convanient to have one feather bed in thecorps, anyway."
"By heavens, 'twas timely succor! Had not Roanoke been swifter thantheir bullets, I must have fallen. The animal is worth his weightin gold."
"It's continental, you mane, darling. Goold weighs heavy, and is noplenty in the states. If the nagur hadn't been staying and frighting thesargeant with his copper-colored looks, and a matter of blarney 'boutghosts, we sh
ould have been in time to have killed all the dogs, andtaken the rest prisoners."
"It is very well as it is, Betty," said Lawton. "A day will yet come, Itrust, when these miscreants shall be rewarded, if not in judgments upontheir persons, at least in the opinions of their fellow citizens. Thetime must arrive when America will distinguish between a patriot anda robber."
"Speak low," said Katy; "there's some who think much of themselves, thathave doings with the Skinners."
"It's more they are thinking of themselves, then, than other peoplethinks of them," cried Betty. "A t'ief's a t'ief, anyway; whether hestales for King George or for Congress."
"I know'd that evil would soon happen," said Katy. "The sun set to-nightbehind a black cloud, and the house dog whined, although I gave him hissupper with my own hands; besides, it's not a week sin' I dreamed thedream about the thousand lighted candles, and the cakes burnt inthe oven."
"Well," said Betty, "it's but little I drame, anyway. Jist keep an 'asyconscience and a plenty of the stuff in ye, and ye'll sleep like aninfant. The last drame I had was when the boys put the thistle tops inthe blankets, and then I was thinking that Captain Jack's man wascurrying me down, for the matter of Roanoke, but it's no trifle I mindeither in skin or stomach."
"I'm sure," said Katy, with a stiff erectness that drew Lawton back inhis saddle, "no man shall ever dare to lay hands on bed of mine; it'sundecent and despisable conduct."
"Pooh! pooh!" cried Betty; "if you tag after a troop of horse, a smallbit of a joke must be borne. What would become of the states andliberty, if the boys had never a clane shirt, or a drop to comfort them?Ask Captain Jack, there, if they'd fight, Mrs. Beelzeboob, and they noclane linen to keep the victory in."
"I'm a single woman, and my name is Haynes," said Katy, "and I'd thankyou to use no disparaging terms when speaking to me."
"You must tolerate a little license in the tongue of Mrs. Flanagan,madam," said the trooper. "The drop she speaks of is often of anextraordinary size, and then she has acquired the freedom of asoldier's manner."
"Pooh! captain, darling," cried Betty, "why do you bother the woman?Talk like yeerself, dear, and it's no fool of a tongue that ye've got inyeer own head. But jist here-away that sargeant made a halt, thinkingthere might be more divils than one stirring, the night. The clouds areas black as Arnold's heart, and deuce the star is there twinkling amongthem. Well, the mare is used to a march after nightfall, and is smellingout the road like a pointer slut."
"It wants but little to the rising moon," observed the trooper. Hecalled a dragoon, who was riding in advance, issued a few orders andcautions relative to the comfort and safety of Singleton, and speaking aconsoling word to his friend himself, gave Roanoke the spur, and dashedby the car, at a rate that again put to flight all the philosophy ofKatharine Haynes.
"Good luck to ye, for a free rider and a bold!" shouted the washerwoman,as he passed. "If ye're meeting Mister Beelzeboob, jist back the basteup to him, and show him his consort that ye've got on the crupper. I'mthinking it's no long he'd tarry to chat. Well, well, it's his life thatwe saved, he was saying so himself--though the plunder is nothingto signify."
The cries of Betty Flanagan were too familiar to the ears of CaptainLawton to elicit a reply. Notwithstanding the unusual burden thatRoanoke sustained, he got over the ground with great rapidity, and thedistance between the cart of Mrs. Flanagan and the chariot of MissPeyton was passed in a manner that, however it answered the intentionsof the trooper, in no degree contributed to the comfort of hiscompanion. The meeting occurred but a short distance from the quartersof Lawton, and at the same instant the moon broke from a mass of clouds,and threw its light on objects.
Compared with the simple elegance and substantial comfort of theLocusts, the "Hotel Flanagan" presented but a dreary spectacle. In theplace of carpeted floors and curtained windows, were the yawning cracksof a rudely-constructed dwelling, and boards and paper were ingeniouslyapplied to supply the place of the green glass in more than half thelights. The care of Lawton had anticipated every improvement that theirsituation would allow, and blazing fires were made before the partyarrived. The dragoons, who had been charged with this duty, had conveyeda few necessary articles of furniture, and Miss Peyton and hercompanions, on alighting, found something like habitable apartmentsprepared for their reception. The mind of Sarah had continued to wanderduring the ride, and, with the ingenuity of the insane, she accommodatedevery circumstance to the feelings that were uppermost in her own bosom.
"It is impossible to minister to a mind that has sustained such a blow,"said Lawton to Isabella Singleton. "Time and God's mercy can alone cureit, but something more may be done towards the bodily comfort of all.You are a soldier's daughter, and used to scenes like this; help me toexclude some of the cold air from these windows."
Miss Singleton acceded to his request, and while Lawton was endeavoring,from without, to remedy the defect of broken panes, Isabella wasarranging a substitute for a curtain within.
"I hear the cart," said the trooper, in reply to one of herinterrogatories. "Betty is tender-hearted in the main; believe me, poorGeorge will not only be safe, but comfortable."
"God bless her, for her care, and bless you all," said Isabella,fervently. "Dr. Sitgreaves has gone down the road to meet him, I know.What is that glittering in the moon?"
Directly opposite the window where they stood, were the outbuildings ofthe farm, and the quick eye of Lawton caught at a glance the object towhich she alluded.
"'Tis the glare of firearms," said the trooper, springing from thewindow towards his charger, which yet remained caparisoned at the door.His movement was quick as thought, but a flash of fire was followed bythe whistling of a bullet, before he had proceeded a step. A loud shriekburst from the dwelling, and the captain sprang into his saddle; thewhole was the business of but a moment.
"Mount--mount, and follow!" shouted the trooper; and before hisastonished men could understand the cause of alarm, Roanoke had carriedhim in safety over the fence which lay between him and his foe. Thechase was for life or death, but the distance to the rocks was again tooshort, and the disappointed trooper saw his intended victim vanish intheir clefts, where he could not follow.
"By the life of Washington," muttered Lawton, as he sheathed his saber,"I would have made two halves of him, had he not been so nimble on thefoot--but a time will come!" So saying, he returned to his quarters,with the indifference of a man who knew his life was at any moment to beoffered a sacrifice to his country. An extraordinary tumult in the houseinduced him to quicken his speed, and on arriving at the door, thepanic-stricken Katy informed him that the bullet aimed at his own lifehad taken effect in the bosom of Miss Singleton.