CHAPTER XIX. THE QUARREL
While I stood gazing at the uncouth and ragged figure before me, shepushed rudely past, and shutting the door behind her, asked, in a lowwhisper, "Are ye alone?"--and then, without waiting for a reply, threwback the tattered bonnet that covered her head, and removing a wig oflong black hair, stared steadfastly at me.
"Do you know me, now?" said the hag, in a voice of almost menacingeagerness.
"What!" cried I, in amazement; "it surely cannot be--Darby, is thisreally you?"
"Ye may well say it," replied he, bitterly.--"Ye had time enough toforget me since we met last; and 'tis thinking twice your grand friendsthe officers would be, before they 'd put their necks where mine is nowto see you. Read that,"--as he spoke, he threw a ragged and torn pieceof printed paper on the table,--"read that, and you 'll see there 'sfive hundred pounds of blood money to the man that takes me. Ay, andhere I stand this minit in the King's barrack, and walked fifty-fourmiles this blessed day just to see you and speak to you once more. Well,well!" He turned away his head while he said this, and wiping a startingtear from his red eyeball, he added, "Master Tom, 'tis myself wouldnever b'lieve ye done it."
"Did what?" said I, eagerly. "What have I ever done that you shouldcharge me thus?"
But Darby heard me not; his eyes were fixed on vacancy, and his lipsmoved rapidly as though he were speaking to himself.
"Ay," said he, half aloud, "true enough; 'tis the gentlemen thatbetrayed us always,--never came good of the cause where they took apart. But you,"--here he turned full round, and grasping my arm, spokedirectly to me, "you that I loved better than my own kith and kin,that I thought would one day be a pride and glory to us all; you that Ibrought over myself to the cause--"
"And when have I deserted,--when have I betrayed it?"
"When did you desert it?" repeated he, in a tone of mocking irony."Tell me the day and hour ye came here, tell me the first time ye satdown among the red butchers of King George, and I 'll answer ye that. Isit here you ought to be? Is this the home for him that has a heart forIreland? I never said you betrayed us. Others said it; but I stood toit, ye never did that. But what does it signify? 'Tis no wonder ye leftus; we were poor and humble people; we had nothing at heart but the goodcause--"
"Stop!" cried I, maddened by this taunt. "What could I have done? wherewas my place?"
"Don't ask me; if your own heart doesn't teach thee, how can I? But it'sover now; the day is gone, and I must take to the road again. My heartis lighter since I seen you; and it will be lighter again when I giveyou this wamin',--God knows if you 'll mind it. You think yourself safenow since you joined the sodgers; you think they trust you, and thatBarton's eye is n't on ye still. There is n't a word you say is n'tnoted down,--not a man you spake to isn't watched. You don't know it;but I know it. There 's more go to the gallows in Ireland over theirwine, than with the pike in their hands. Take care of your friends, Isay."
"You wrong them. Darby; and you wrong me. Never have I heard from onehere a single word that could offend the proudest heart among us."
"Why would they? what need of it? Ar'n't we down, down? ar'n't we huntedlike wild beasts? is the roof left to shelter us? dare we walk theroads? dare we say 'God save ye!' when we meet, and not be tried forpass words? It 's no wonder they pity us; the hardest heart must meltsometimes."
"As to myself," said I,--for there was no use in attempting to reasonwith him further,--"my every wish is with the cause as warmly as on theday we parted. But I look to France--"
"Ay, and why not? I remember the time your eye flashed and your cheekgrew another color when you spoke of that."
"Yes, Darby," said I, after a pause; "and I had not been here now,but that the only means I possessed of forwarding myself in the Frenchservice are unfortunately lost to me."
"And what was that?" interrupted he, eagerly.
"Some letters which the poor Captain de Meudon gave me," said I,endeavoring to seem as much at ease as I could.
Darby stooped down as I spoke, and ripping open the lining of his cloak,produced a small parcel fastened with a cord, saying, "Are these whatyou mean?"
I opened it with a trembling hand, and to my inexpressible delight,discovered Charles's letter to the head of the Ecole Polytechnique,together with a letter of credit and two cheques on his banker. The noteto his sister was not, however, among them.
"How came you by these papers, Darby?" inquired I, eagerly.
"I found them on the road Barton travelled, the same evening you madeyour escape from the yeomanry; you remember that? They were soon missed,and an orderly was sent back to search for them. Since that, I 've keptthem by me; and it was only yesterday that I thought of bringing them toyou, thinking you might know something about them."
"There 's a mark on this one," said I, still gazing on the paper in myhand; "it looks like blood."
"If it is, it 's mine, then," said Darby, doggedly. And after a pause,he continued: "The soldier galloped up the very minute I was stoopingfor the papers. He called out to me to give them up; but I pretended notto hear, and took a long look round to see what way I could escape wherehis horse could n't follow me. But he saw what I was at; and the sameinstant his sabre was in my shoulder, and the blood running hot down myarm. I fell on my knees; but if I did, I took this from my breast" (herehe drew forth a long-barrelled rusty pistol), "and shot him through theneck."
Darby Exchanges Compliments with a "Sodger" 188]
"Was he killed?" said I, in horror at the coolness of the recital.
"Sorrow one o' me knows. He fell on his horse's mane, and I saw thebeast gallop with him up the road with his arms hanging at each side ofthe neck. And then I heard a crash, and I saw that he was down, and thehorse was dragging him by the stirrup; but the dust soon hid him frommy sight. And indeed I was growing weak too; so I crept into the bushesuntil it was dark, and then got down to Glencree."
The easy indifference with which he spoke, the tone of coolness in whichhe narrated this circumstance, thrilled through me far more painfullythan the most passionate description; and I stood gazing on him with afeeling of dread that unhappily my features but too plainly indicated.He seemed to know what was passing in my mind; and as if stung by whathe deemed my ingratitude for the service he had rendered me, his facegrew darkly red, the swollen veins stood out thick and knotted in hisforehead, his livid lips quivered, and he said in a thick, gutturalvoice,--
"Maybe ye think I murdered him?" And then, as I made no answer, heresumed in a different tone: "And faix, ye war n't long larnin' theirlessons. But hear me now: there never was a traitor to the cause had ahappy life or an easy death; there never was one betrayed us but we wererevenged on him or his. I don't think ye 're come to that yet; for if Idid, by the mortial--"
As he pronounced the last word, in a tone of the fiercest menace, thesound of many voices talking without, and the noise of a key turningin the lock, broke in upon our colloquy; and Darby had scarcely timeto resume his disguise when Bubbleton entered, followed by three of hisbrother officers, all speaking together, and in accents that evidentlybetokened their having drunk somewhat freely.
"I tell you, again and again, the diamond wins it But here we are,"cried Bubbleton; "and now for a pack of cards, and let 's decide thething at once."
"You said you 'd bet fifty, I think?" drawled out Crofts, who wasunquestionably the most sober of the party. "But what have we here?" Atthis instant his eye fell upon Darby, who had quietly ensconced himselfbehind the door, and hoped to escape unseen. "Eh, what's this, I say?"
"What!" cried Bubbleton; "what do I see? A nymph with bright andflowing hair; a hag like Hecuba, by Jove! Tom Burke, my man, how comesthe damsel here?"
"'Tis Kitty, ould Kitty Cole, your honor--The young gentleman wasbuying a ballad from me, the Heavens prosper him!" said Darby.
"Nothing treasonous, I hope; no disloyal effusion, Tom; no scandal aboutQueen Elizabeth, my boy,--eh?"
"Come, old lady," said Cradock, "let's have the lates
t novelty of theLiberty."
"Yes," said Bubbleton; "strike the harp in praise of--Confound theword!"
"Hang the old crone!" broke in Hilliard. "Here are the cards. The gamestands thus: a spade is led,--you 've got none; hearts are trumps."
"No, you mistake; the diamond's the trump," said Cradock.
"I cry halt," said Crofts, holding up both his hands; "the first thingis, what's the bet?"
"Anything you like," cried Bubbleton; "fifty,--a hundred,--fivehundred."
"Be it then five hundred. I take you," said Crofts, coolly, taking amemorandum book from his pocket.
"No, no," interposed Hilliard; "Bubbleton, you sha'n't do any suchthing. Five,--ten,--twenty, if you wish; but I 'll not stand by at sucha wager."
"Well, then, if twenty be as much as you have got permission to bet,"replied Crofts, insolently, "there's my stake." So saying, he threwa note on the table, and looked over at Bubbleton, as if awaiting hisdoing the same.
I saw my poor friend's embarrassment, and without stirring from myplace, slipped a note into his hand in silence. A squeeze of his fingersreplied to me, and the same instant he threw the crumpled piece of paperdown, and cried out, "Now for it; decide the point."
Crofts at once drew his chair to the table, and began with the utmostcoolness to arrange the cards; while the others, deeply interested inthe point at issue, looked on without speaking. I thought this agood opportunity for Darby to effect his escape, and raising my handnoiselessly, I pointed to the door. Darby, who had been only waiting forthe fortunate moment, stole quietly towards it; but while his hand wason the lock, Crofts lifted his eyes towards me, and then throwing themhalf round, intimated at once that he observed the manoeuvre. The bloodsuffused my face and temples, and though I saw the door close behindthe piper, I could not recover from my embarrassment, or the fear thatpressed on me lest Crofts should have penetrated the secret of Darby'sdisguise, and augured from the fact something to my discredit.
"The game is now arranged," said he. "The spade being led here, thesecond player follows suit; the third, having none, trumps the card, andis overtrumped by the last in play. The trick is lost, therefore, andwith it the game."
"No, no," interrupted Bubbleton, "you mistake altogether. Thediamond,--no, the heart; I mean the--the--What the deuce is it? I say,Cradock, I had it all correct a minute ago; how is it, old fellow?"
"Why, you 've lost, that's all," said the other, as he looked intentlyon the table, and seemed to consider the point.
"Yes, Bubbleton, there's no doubt about it; you've lost. We forgot allabout the last player," said Hilliard.
A violent knocking at the outer door drowned the voices of all within,while a gruff voice shouted out, "Captain Bubbleton, the grand round iscoming up Parliament Street."
Bubbleton snatched up his sword, and dashing through the room, wasfollowed by the others in a roar of laughter, Crofts alone remainingbehind, proceeded leisurely to open the folded piece of bank paper thatlay before him, while I stood opposite unable to take my eyes fromhim. Slowly unfolding the note, he flattened it with his hand, and thenproceeded to read aloud,--
"Payez au porteur la somme de deux mille livres--,'
"I beg pardon," interrupted I. "There's a mistake there; that belongs tome."
"I thought as much," replied Crofts, with a very peculiar smile; "Iscarcely supposed my friend Bubbleton had gone so far."
"There's the sum, sir," said I, endeavoring to control my temper, andonly eager to regain possession of what would at once have compromisedme, if discovered. "This is what Captain Bubbleton lost; twenty pounds,if I mistake not?"
"I must entreat your pardon, sir," said Crofts, folding up the Frenchbillet de hanque, "My wager was not with you, nor can I permit you topay it. This is at present my property, and remains so until CaptainBubbleton demands it from me."
I was struck dumb by the manner in which these words were spoken. Itwas clear to me, that not only he suspected the disguise of theballad-singer, but that by the discovery of the French note he connectedhis presence with its being in my possession. Rousing myself for theeffort, I said,--
"You force me, sir, to speak of what nothing short of the circumstancecould have induced me to allude to. It was I gave Captain Bubbleton thatnote. I gave it in mistake for this one."
"I guessed as much, sir," was the cool answer of Crofts, as he placedthe note in his pocket-book and clasped it. "But I cannot permit yourcandid explanation to alter the determination I have already cometo,--even had I not the stronger motive which as an officer in hisMajesty's pay I possess,--to inform the Government, on such infallibleevidence, how deeply interested our French neighbors are in our welfarewhen they supply us with a commodity which report says is scarce enoughamong themselves."
"Do not suppose, sir, that your threat--for as such I understand it--hasany terror for me. There is, it's true, another whose safety might becompromised by any step you might take in this affair; but when I tellyou that it is one who never did, never could have injured you,and, moreover, that nothing treasonous or disloyal lies beneath yourdiscovery--"
"You are really taking a vast deal of trouble, Mr. Burke," said he,stopping me with a cold smile, "which I am forced to say is unnecessary.Your explanation of how this _billet de banque_ came into yourpossession may be required elsewhere, and will, I am certain, meet withevery respect and attention. As for me, an humble captain, with only oneprinciple to sustain me, one clue to guide me, in what I am disposed toconsider a question of some importance, I shall certainly ask advice ofothers better able to direct me."
"You refuse, then, sir, to restore me what I have assured you is mine?"
"And what I have no doubt whatever you are correct in calling so," addedhe, contemptuously.
"And you persist in the refusal?" said I, in a voice which unhappilybetrayed more temper than I had yet shown.
"Even so, sir," said he, moving towards the door.
"In that case," said I, springing before him, and setting my backagainst it, you don't leave this room until in the presence of a thirdparty,--I care not who he be,--I have told you somewhat more of myopinion of you than it is necessary I should say now.
The insulting expression of Crofts' features changed suddenly as Ispoke, the color left his cheek, and he became as pale as death; hiseye wandered round the room with an uncertain look, and then was fixedsteadfastly on the door, against which I stood firmly planted. Atlength his face recovered its wonted character, and he said, in a cool,distinct manner,--
"Your difficulties have made you bold, sir."
"Not more bold than you 'll find me whenever you think fit to callon me. But perhaps I am wrong for suggesting a test, which report, atleast, says Captain Crofts has little predilection for."
"Insolent cub!" said he, half drawing his sword from the scabbard, andas hastily replacing it when he perceived that I never moved a musclein my defence, but stood as if inviting his attack. "Let me pass, sir,"cried he, impetuously; "stand by this instant."
I made no reply, but crossing my arms on my breast, stared at him firmlyas before. He had now advanced within a foot of me, his face purple withpassion, and his hands trembling with rage.
"Let me pass, I say!" shouted he, in an accent that boded his passionhad completely got the ascendant. At the same instant he seized me bythe collar, and fixing his grip firmly in my clothes, prepared to hurlme from the spot.
The moment had now come that for some minutes past I had been expecting,and with my open hand I struck him on the cheek, but so powerfully thathe reeled back with the stroke. A yell of rage burst from him, and inan instant his sword leaped from the scabbard, and he darted fiercely atme. I sprang to one side, and the weapon pierced the door and broke offshort; still, more than half the blade remained, and with this he flewtowards me. One quick glance I gave to look for something which mightserve to arm me; and the same moment the sharp steel pierced my side,and I fell backwards with the shock, carrying my antagonist along withme. The struggle was no
w a dreadful one; for while he endeavored towithdraw the weapon from the wound, my hands were on his throat, and inhis strained eyeballs and livid color might be seen that a few secondsmore must decide the contest. A sharp pang shot through me. Just then ahot gush of warm blood ran down my side, and I saw above me the shiningsteel, which he was gradually shortening in his hand before he venturedto strike. A wild cry broke from me; while at the instant, with a crash,the door of the room fell forward, torn from its hinges. A heavy footapproached, and the blow of a strong arm felled Crofts to the earth,where he lay stunned and senseless. In a second I was on my feet. Mysenses were reeling and uncertain; but I could see that it was Darbywho came to my rescue, and who was now binding a sash round my wound tostanch the blood.
"Now for it,--life or death 's on it now," said he, in a low butdistinct whisper. "Wipe the blood from your face, and be calm as you canwhen you're passing the sentry."
"Is he--" I dared not speak the word as I looked on the still motionlessbody that lay before me.
Darby raised one arm, and as he let it go, it fell heavily on theground. He stooped down, and placing his lips near the mouth, endeavoredto ascertain if he breathed; and then, jumping to his feet, he seized myarm, and, in a tone I shall never forget, he said, "It 's over now!"
I tottered back as he spoke. The horrible thought of murder,--thefrightful sense of crime, the heaviest, the blackest that can stain theheart of man,--stunned me. My senses reeled; and as I looked on thatcorpse stretched at my feet, I would have suffered my every bone to bebroken on the rack, to see one quiver of life animate its rigid members.
Meanwhile Darby was kneeling down, and seemed to search for somethingbeside the body. "Ah! right! Come now," said he; "we must be far fromthis before daybreak. And it 's lucky if we We the means to do it."
I moved onward like one walking ib a dream when horrible images surroundhim and dreadful thoughts are ever crowding fast; but where, amid all,some glimmering sense of hope sustains him, and he half feels that theterrors will pass away, and his soul be calm and tranquil once more.What is it? what has happened? was the ever-rising question, as I heardDarby groping his way along the dark gallery and the darker stairs.
"Be steady, now," said he, in a whisper; "we 're at the gate."
"Who comes there?" cried the sentry.
"A friend!" said Darby, in a feigned voice, answering for me, while hedropped behind me.
The heavy bolts were withdrawn, and I felt the cold air of the streetson my cheek.
"Where to, now?" said I, with a dreamy oonsciousness that some place ofsafety must be sought, without well knowing why or wherefore.
"Lean on me, and don't speak," said Darby. "If you can walk as far asthe end of the quay, we 're all safe."
I walked on without further questioning, and almost without thought; andthough, from time to time, Darby spoke to several persons as we passed,I heard not what they said, nor took any notice of them.