 | CHAPTER II. The pilot |  |
2. CHAPTER II.
If not, let him kill the next Percy himself;
I look to be either Earl or Duke, I can assure you.”
Falstaff.
Manual cast several discontented and sullen
looks from his captors to the remnant of his own
command, while the process of pinioning the latter
was conducted, with much discretion, under
the directions of Sergeant Drill, when meeting, in
one of his dissatisfied glances, with the pale and
disturbed features of Griffith, he gave vent to his
ill-humour, by saying—
“This results from neglecting the precautions
of military discipline. Had the command been
with me, who, I may say, without boasting, have
been accustomed to the duties of the field, proper
picquets would have been posted, and instead of
being caught like so many rabbits in a burrow,
to be smoked out with brimstone, we should have
had an open field for the struggle, or we might
have possessed ourselves of these walls, which I
could have made good for two hours at least,
against the best regiment that ever wore King
George's facings.”
“Defend the outworks before retreating to the
citadel!” cried Borroughcliffe; “'tis the game of
war, and shows science; but had you kept closer
to your burrow, the rabbits might now have all
eyes of a timid hind were greeted this morning,
while journeying near this wood, with a passing
sight of armed men, in strange attire, and as he
fled, with an intent of casting himself into the sea,
as fear will sometimes urge one of his kind to do,
he luckily encountered me on the cliffs, who humanely
saved his life, by compelling him to conduct
us hither. There is often wisdom in science,
my worthy contemporary in arms, but
there is sometimes safety in ignorance.”
“You have succeeded, sir, and have a right to
be pleasant,” said Manual, seating himself
gloomily on a fragment of the ruin, and fastening
his looks on the melancholy spectacle of the lifeless
bodies, as they were successively brought
from the vault and placed at his feet; “but these
men have been my own children, and you will
excuse me if I cannot retort your pleasantries.
Ah! Captain Borroughcliffe, you are a soldier,
and know how to value merit. I took those very
fellows, who sleep on these stones so quietly, from
the hands of nature, and made them the pride of
our art. They were no longer men, but brave
lads, who ate and drank, wheeled and marched,
loaded and fired, laughed or were sorrowful,
spoke or were silent, only at my will. As for
soul, there was but one among them all, and that
was in my keeping! Groan, my children, groan
freely now; there is no longer a reason to be silent.
I have known a single musket-bullet cut
the buttons from the coats of five of them in a
row, without raising the skin of a man. I could
ever calculate, with certainty, how many it would
be necessary to expend in all regular service, but
this accursed banditti business has robbed me of
the choicest of my treasures. You `stand at ease'
“That are not weakened by undue burthens
of this nature,” interrupted his captain,
significantly; “if we let the news of this affair
reach the ears of those hungry dragoons, they
would charge upon us, open mouthed, like a pack
of famished beagles, and claim at least half the
credit, and certainly all the profit.”
“But, your honour, there was not a man of
them even—”
“No matter, Drill; I've known troops that
have been engaged, and have suffered, cheated
out of their share of victory by a well-worded
despatch. You know, fellow, that in the smoke
and confusion of a battle, a man can only see
what passes near him, and common prudence requires
that he only mention in his official letters
what he knows can't be easily contradicted. Thus
your Indians, and, indeed, all allies, are not entitled
to the right of a general order, any more
than to the right of a parade. Now, I dare say,
you have heard of a certain battle of Blenheim?”
“Lord! your honour, 'tis the pride of the
British army, that and the Culloden! 'Twas
when the great Corporal John beat the French
king, and all his lords and nobility, with half his
nation in arms to back him!”
“Ay! there is a little of the barrack readings
in the account, but it is substantially true; know
you how many French were in the field, that day,
Mister Drill?”
“I have never seen the totals of their muster,
sir, in print, but judging by the difference betwixt
the nations, I should suppose some hundreds
of thousands.”
“And yet, to oppose this vast army, the duke
had only some ten or twelve thousand well-fed
Englishmen! You look astounded, sergeant!”
“Why, your honour, that does seem rather an
random shot would sweep away so small a force.”
“And yet the battle was fought, and the victory
won! but the Duke of Marlborough had a
certain Mr. Eugene, with some fifty or sixty
thousand High-Dutchers, to back him. You
never heard of Mr. Eugene?”
“Not a syllable, your honour; I always
thought that Corporal John—”
“Was a gallant and great general; you
thought right, Mister Drill. So would a certain
nameless gentleman be also, if his majesty would
sign a commission to that effect. However, a
majority is on the high road to a regiment, and
with even a regiment a man is comfortable! In
plain English, Mister Drill, we must get our prisoners
into the abbey with as little noise as possible,
in order that the horse may continue their
gambols along the coast, without coming to devour
our meal. All the fuss must be made at the
war-office. For that trifle you may trust me; I
think I know who holds a quill that is as good in
its way as the sword he wears. Drill is a short
name, and can easily be written within the folds
of a letter.”
“Lord, your honour!” said the gratified halberdier,
“I'm sure such an honour is more—but
your honour can ever command me.”
“I do; and it is, to be close, and to make your
men keep close, until it shall be time to speak,
when, I pledge myself, there shall be noise
enough.” Borroughcliffe shook his head, with a
grave air, as he continued—“It has been a devil
of a bloody fight, sergeant! look at the dead and
wounded; a wood on each flank—supported by
a ruin in the centre. Oh! ink! ink! can be
spilt on the details with great effect. Go, fellow,
and prepare to march.”
Thus enlightened on the subject of his commander's
agent of the captain's wishes proceeded to give
suitable instructions to the rest of the party, and
to make the more immediate preparations for a
march. The arrangements were soon completed.
The bodies of the slain were left unsheltered, the
seclusion of the ruin being deemed a sufficient
security against the danger of any discovery,
until darkness should favour their removal, in
conformity with Borroughcliffe's plan, to monopolize
the glory. The wounded were placed on
rude litters, composed of the muskets and blankets
of the prisoners, when the conquerors and vanquished
moved together in a compact body from
the ruin, in such a manner as to make the former
serve as a mask to conceal the latter from the
curious gaze of any casual passenger. There was
but little, indeed, to apprehend on this head, for
the alarm and the terror consequent on the exaggerated
reports that flew through the country, effectually
prevented any intruders on the usually
quiet and retired domains of St. Ruth.
The party was emerging from the wood, when
the cracking of branches, and rustling of dried
leaves, announced, however, that an interruption
of some sort was about to occur.
“If it should be one of their rascally patroles!”
exclaimed Borroughcliffe, with very obvious displeasure;
“they trample like a regiment of cavalry!
but, gentlemen, you will acknowledge
yourselves, that we were retiring from the field of
battle when we met the reinforcement, if it should
prove to be such.”
“We are not disposed, sir, to deny you the glory
of having achieved your victory single handed,”
said Griffith, glancing his eyes uneasily in the
direction of the approaching sounds, expecting
to see the pilot issue from the thicket in which he
of his enemies.
“Clear the way, Cæsar!” cried a voice at no
great distance from them;” “break through the
accursed vines, on my right, Pompey!—press forward,
my fine fellows, or we may be too late to
smell even the smoke of the fight.”
“Hum!” ejaculated the captain with his philosophic
indifference of manner entirely re-established,
“this must be a Roman legion just
awoke from a trance of some seventeen centuries,
and that the voice of a Centurion. We will halt,
Mister Drill, and view the manner of an ancient
march!”
While the captain was yet speaking, a violent
effort disengaged the advancing party from the
thicket of brambles in which they had been entangled,
when two blacks, each bending under a
load of fire-arms, preceded Colonel Howard
into the clear space where Borroughcliffe had
halted his detachment. Some little time was necessary
to enable the veteran to arrange his disordered
dress, and to remove the perspiring effects
of the unusual toil from his features, before he
could observe the addition to the captain's numbers.
“We heard you fire,” cried the old soldier,
making, at the same time, the most diligent application
of his bandanna, “and I determined to
aid you with a sortie, which, when judiciously
timed, has been the means of raising many a
siege; though, had Montcalm rested quietly within
his walls, the plains of Abram might never have
drunk his blood.”
“Oh! his decision was soldierly, and according
to all the rules of war,” exclaimed Manual, “and
had I followed his example, this day might have
produced a different tale!”
“Why, who have we here!” cried the colonel
in astonishment; “who is it that pretends to criticise
battles and sieges, dressed in such a garb!”
“'Tis a dux incognitorum, my worthy host,”
said Borroughcliffe, “which means, in our English
language, a captain of marines in the service
of the American Congress.”
“What! have you then met the enemy! ay!
and by the fame of the immortal Wolfe you have
captured them!” cried the delighted veteran;
“I was pressing on with a part of my garrison to
your assistance, for I had seen that you were
marching in this direction, and even the report
of a few muskets were heard.”
“A few!” interrupted the conqueror; “I know
not what you call a few, my gallant and ancient
friend; you may possibly have shot at each other
by the week in the days of Wolfe, and Abercrombie,
and Braddock, but I too have seen smart
firing, and can hazard an opinion in such matters.
There was as pretty a roll made by firearms
at the battles on the Hudson, as ever rattled
from a drum; it is all over, and many live to
talk of it; but this has been the most desperate
affair, for the numbers, I ever was engaged in!
I speak always with a reference to the numbers.
The wood is pretty well sprinkled with dead, and
we have contrived to bring off a few of the desperately
wounded with us, as you may perceive.”
“Bless me!” exclaimed the surprised veteran,
“that such an engagement should happen within
musket shot of the Abbey, and I know so little of
it! My faculties are on the wane, I fear, for the
time has been when a single discharge would
rouse me from the deepest sleep.”
“The bayonet is a silent weapon,” returned
the composed captain, with a significant wave of
his hand; “'tis the Englishman's pride, and every
“The Cacique is a man of discretion,” observed
the captain, with his usual dryness of
manner, “and will doubtless recollect his obligations
to posterity and himself, though he be found
entangled in the mazes of a combat. But I marvel
that he does not return, for some time has
now elapsed since the schooner struck her flag,
as my own eyes have witnessed.”
“You will pardon me, gentlemen,” said Griffith,
advancing towards them with uncontrollable
interest; “but I have unavoidably heard part of
your discourse, and cannot think you will find it
necessary to withhold the whole truth from a disarmed
captive; say you that a schooner has been
captured this morning?”
“It is assuredly true,” said Borroughcliffe,
with a display of nature and delicacy in his manner
that did his heart infinite credit; “but I forbore
to tell you, because I thought your own
misfortunes would be enough for one time. Mr.
Griffith, this gentleman is Colonel Howard, to
whose hospitality you will be indebted for some
favours before we separate.”
“Griffith!” echoed the colonel, in quick reply,
“Griffith! what a sight for my old eyes to witness!—the
child of worthy, gallant, loyal Hugh
Griffith a captive, and taken in arms against his
prince! Young man, young man, what would
thy honest father, what would his bosom friend,
my own poor brother Harry, have said, had it
pleased God that they had survived to witness
this burning shame and lasting stigma on thy respectable
name?”
“Had my father lived, he would now have
been upholding the independence of his native
land,” said the young man, proudly; “I wish to
respect even the prejudices of Colonel Howard,
and beg he will forbear urging a subject on which
I fear we never shall agree.”
soon terminate.”
“This war!” echoed the Colonel, shaking
loose the grasp which Griffith held on his arm;
“ay! what of this war, young man? Is it not
an accursed attempt to deny the rights of our
gracious sovereign, and to place tyrants, reared
in kennels, on the throne of princes! a scheme
to elevate the wicked at the expense of the good!
a project to aid unrighteous ambition, under the
mask of sacred liberty and the popular cry of
equality! as if there could be liberty without order!
or equality of rights, where the privileges of
the sovereign are not as sacred as those of the
people!”
“You judge us harshly, Colonel Howard,”
said Griffith—
“I judge you!” interrupted the old soldier,
who, by this time, thought the youth resembled
any one rather than his friend Hugh; “it is not
my province to judge you at all; if it were! but
the time will come, the time will come. I am a
patient man, and can wait the course of things;
yes, yes, age cools the blood, and we learn to
suppress the passions and impatience of youth;
but if the ministry would issue a commission of
justice for the colonies, and put the name of old
George Howard in it, I am a dog, if there should
be a rebel alive in twelve months. Sir,” turning
sternly to Borroughcliffe, “in such a cause,
I could prove a Roman, and hang—hang! yes, I
do think, sir, I could hang my kinsman, Mister
Christopher Dillon!”
“Spare the Cacique such an unnatural elevation,
before his time,” returned the captain, with
a grave wave of the hand; “but, sir,” pointing
towards the wood, “there is a more befitting subprudent
to the rear. Holla! Colonel Howard,
my worthy host, fall back on your reinforcements;
the wood is full of armed men; they
cannot escape us; I only wait for the horse to
cut off the retreat.”
The veteran, who had advanced to within a short
distance of the single man, who thus deliberately
awaited the attack, halted at this summons, and,
by a glance of his eye, ascertained that he stood
alone. Believing the words of Borroughcliffe to
be true, he slowly retired, keeping his face manfully
towards his enemy, until he gained the support
of the captain.
“Recall the troops, Borroughcliffe!” he cried,
“and let us charge into the wood; they will fly
before his majesty's arms like guilty scoundrels,
as they are. As for the negroes, I'll teach the
black rascals to desert their master at such a moment.
They say Fear is pale, but d—e, Borroughcliffe,
if I do not believe his skin is black.”
“I have seen him of all colours; blue, white,
black, and party-coloured,” said the captain; “I
must take the command of matters on myself,
however, my excellent host; let us retire into the
Abbey, and trust me to cut off the remainder of
the rebels.”
In this arrangement, the colonel reluctantly
acquiesced, and the three followed the soldier to
the dwelling, at a pace that was adapted to the
infirmities of its master. The excitement of the
onset, and the current of his ideas, had united,
however, to banish every amicable thought
from the breast of the Colonel, and he entered
the Abbey with a resolute determination of seeing
that justice was dealt to Griffith and his companions,
even though it should push them to the
foot of the gallows.
As the gentlemen disappeared from his view,
among the shrubbery of the grounds, the Pilot
replaced the weapon that was hanging from his
hand, in his bosom, and, turning with a saddened
and thoughtful brow, he slowly re-entered the
wood.
| CHAPTER II. The pilot | |