University of Virginia Library

80. CHAPTER LXXX.
THE PRISONERS.

“What's the matter, sentinel?” asked one of the officers,
too intent at winning a trick with an ace to lift his eyes from
the cards, when Fink and Bim entered the detached farm-house.

“Nothing,” said Bim, “only the honors are against you.”

“And I'm a trump!” said Fink, seizing the pistols which
lay conveniently beside the players.

“What does this mean?” exclaimed the players, springing
to their feet.

“Oh, nothing serious!” said Bim. “Only the ladies have
sent you an invitation to come to the Castle.”

“The dence!” exclaimed a Brigadier, gazing round at the
muzzles of the menacing pistols.

“You've lost, General,” said Fink, “and you must submit.
If you resist, it is likely we may be prevented from

having your company at the Castle; but you will surely
die.”

“I see it all!” said Lord Slysir. “There' Bim's face. We
submit. He's the Sergeant, gentlemen, I was telling you
about.”

“No, your Lordship,” said Bim, “I'm no Sergeant.”

“True! He's a Captain now—promoted for capturing
me.”

“I'm not a Captain, either, your Lordship,” said Bim.

“Oh! Major!”

“No, your Lordship.”

“Higher still? A Colonel?”

“Colonel Bim, at your Lordship's service.”

“I shouldn't have been surprised if it had been General,
in this mutable country,” said Slysir, seeing Bim's enjoyment
of the enumeration of the steps he had taken. “Very
well, then, we have the honor surrendering to a Colonel.”

“No, your Lordship,” said Bim, “I'm only a volunteer,
and Major Fink is the commander of the expedition.”

“That tall white-eyed—”

“Scout,” said Fink. “But we have no time for further
parley.”

“General,” said Slysir, addressing the Brigadier (the
others were British Captains on the sick list), “we should
have won the rubber. You might as well take the money;”
and he pointed to some fifty sovereigns lying on the table.

“Excuse me, sir,” said Fink, interposing; “but it seems
to my my partners and myself are the winners here.”

“How is that, your Lordship?” asked Bim. “Is not the
gold fair prize to the captors?”

“You an officer, and ask such a question!” exclaimed the
balked Brigadier.

“I asked for information, sir. Take the gold, Major Fink,
and when we arrive at the Castle we'll consult the books.
Your Lordship must understand that there is a capital military
library at the Castle.”

“Come!” said Fink. “We have not a moment to lose.”

“True, Major!” said Bim. “And his Lordship will
excuse any little seeming rudeness in us newly promoted
officers—”

“Oh, I hope your hard-trotting horse is dead, Bim!”
said his Lordship. “After the great rudeness of being

pummelled to a jelly on that infernal beast, we shall be happy
to excuse any little rudeness on this occasion. But, Colonel
Bim, I have a request to make, and I know I can rely on
your honor—”

“I hope so, your Lordship,” said Bim, somewhat flattered
by the appeal.

“Then I entrust to you this packet of inestimable value.
I will not attempt to conceal or destroy it; but boldly place
it in your hands, relying on your honor as a man and an
officer to see that the seals be not broken without my consent,
and then only in the presence of President Randolph, and
such other witnesses as he may select.”

“My Lord,” said Bim, in tones of solemn gravity, “I
receive the deposit, and you may rely on my honor.”

It was a parcel enveloped in paper, carefully wrapped
with red tape, and sealed at both ends and in the centre
with red wax, bearing the impression of his Lordship's
arms.

This ceremony ended, the prisoners were led off without
further delay to the Castle.

“Who are you? Halt, I say!” said Bim, as a man crossed
his path, and then vanished in the bushes. “Gone! and he
will give the alarm! Lead on, Major Fink—it will not do
for us to be balked now. Take his Lordship's arm and run.
I will keep the others close at your heels. Hey!” he continued,
as the same person who had attracted his notice
reappeared from the bushes and recrossed the path behind
him. “Who the d—l are you? Speak, or I'll send a bullet
after you, although I confess I would rather not make a report
to any ears but my superior officer's.”

“Don't shoot, Sergeant!” said the stranger.

“Sergeant? You're a fool!” said Bim. “But since you
ask for mercy, you shall have it. Come out of the bushes,
and let me scan your phiz as well as the darkness will permit.”

“I'm not an enemy, Sergeant,” said the other, gliding
to his side.

“You'll make me your enemy if you call me Sergeant
again!” said Bim.

“Oh, I forgot! I meant to say Captain Bim.”

“Captain! I'm no Captain, either!” said Bim.

“Major, then. I shouldn't be surprised if you—”

“Nor Major, either.”

“What then? A General?”

“Not yet. One step more first.”

“Colonel Bim!”

“Now you've hit it. But, stranger, what are you?”

“Me? I'm a ship-carpenter by trade.”

“Ship-carpenter?”

“Yes. Don't you know me? We were together in the
deep ditch, after we lost all our men in the big battle at
Bladensburg.”

“What! Is this you, Sergeant Punt?”

“I'm not Sergeant Punt, now.”

“Not Sergeant. Have you been stepping up too, travelling
the same road? Captain—Major?”

“No—nothing of the sort. I quit fighting from the day
of our falling into the ditch. You know I went to work on
the sloop at the Navy Yard. And so I'm now out on a
collecting tour, hunting for President Randolph, or some
of his men who have his money, to get my wages.”

“Now I know all about you,” said Bim. “But you can't
get at the President, conveniently, just at this time, and I
don't know how he's off for money. He's in arrears to me,
or rather the country is—but I'll fight, you know, for the
love of it.”

“And hang me if I'll fight at all,” said Punt, “because
I don't see any use in it. I don't know who's right and
who's wrong, and I'll let everybody alone if they'll let me
alone. That's what I told General Maller this very night,
when they had me up before him. And I showed him a
pass, writ by Mrs. Punt, now in the White House, for me
to go where I pleased, and so he discharged me.”

“Here we are at the Castle gate, Punt,” said Bim, “and
you must excuse me, for I'm the chief officer. But you
shall see Miss Alice, the President's daughter, and perhaps
she'll pay her father's debt.”

The Colonel hastened forward, and conducted the prisoners,
accompanied by Major Fink, up to the great saloon
where the ladies, and Senator Langdon, and Dr. Love, anxiously
awaited the result of the expedition.

Lord Slysir stepped forward, and in the most friendly and
cordial manner shook hands with his old acquaintances.
Then, turning round, he introduced his fellow-prisoners.

“This is Brigadier General Gordon,” said he; “this
Captain Ponsonby, and this Captain Ashburton, all in Her
Majesty's service, all in the line of the Peerage, ladies, and
all on the sick list.”

“Pray be seated, gentlemen,” said Alice.

“Sick gentlemen,” said Edith, “should not stand, and
above all, should not be exposed to the night air. But I
must say,” she continued, addressing Slysir, “that the ague
and fever have not left their usual marks on your Lordship's
face; and I congratulate your Lordship on your speedy
recovery.”

“True,” said Alice; “and I had forgotten that his Lordship's
messenger, only the other day, alleged that his Lordship
had been made a victim of that cruel disease of our
unfortunate climate. But really the color has not all departed
from his cheeks.”

“Ah, Miss Alice!” said his Lordship, “if you could have
seen me when the chill was on—”

“Oh, I am quite familiar with the phases of the terrible
complaint,” said Alice. “And I am aware of the change
it makes in one's complexion when the fever succeeds. And,
I must say, Colonel Bim—or rather Major Fink—that it
was no proof of humanity to make his Lordship a prisoner,
and rudely drag him from his couch when the fever was
on—”

“I beg your pardon, madam,” said Fink, not comprehending
the drift—“but as I'm a man of honor and an officer
of truth, though a Wild Western Scout, that red-faced
man—and for that matter they are all red-faced enough—
was sitting at a table and playing cards, and drinking
liquor—”

“Hist, Major Fink!” said Bim, in a whisper, “she's only
making fun of him.”

“That's it, hey?” responded Fink, “then I'll not interfere.”

“The color,” said his Lordship, “is produced by the
doctor's prescription. He advises brandy—and the abominable
stuff they call brandy in the country, would make
the devil blush!”

“It was hot whisky punch, Miss Alice!” said Bim, in a
whisper, “for I drank some.”

“So. But, Colonel,” continued Alice, “what is it that

you grasp so carefully? A prize of value, or a file of his
Lordship's secret instructions?”

“I know not what, Miss Alice,” said he; “but his Lordship
produced it himself, and received my word that it
should be sacredly kept until the President demanded the
breaking of the seals. It may be important papers, for
what I know, or even diamonds and rubies, and I must say,
upon reflection, that I regret it was entrusted to my care.”

“Very well, Colonel,” said Lord Slysir, rising and receiving
the deposit from his hands: “I relieve you of the
responsibility. Miss Alice, this packet contains what, if
once lost, could never be replaced; and therefore, by your
leave, I will entrust it to your keeping, relying wholly on
your generosity to oblige me so far as not to break the seals—”

“I certainly will not break them,” said she, “without
your permission, or the orders of my father.”

“Enough! I am content,” said his Lordship.

“The packet seems to have been carefully prepared,”
said Senator Langdon, archly, “as if in anticipation of such
an event as has just happened.”

“Surely you do not mean to intimate that his Lordship
exposed himself in the tempting farm-house for the purpose
of being captured!” said Dr. Love, in a low tone.

“That is precisely what I meant,” said the aged Senator.

“And now, our prisoners being rested,” said Fink, “the
next question is, what shall be done with them? Colonel
Bim, I think you said there was a secure dungeon under the
Castle?”

“Yes, Major, a dark and strong one! But it is a little
damp. I went into it yesterday with a candle, and stumbled
over some rats—”

“Rats!” said Brigadier Gordon.

“There was a great squeaking among them,” continued
Bim. “And on stepping down I found the cause of it. A
tremendous rattlesnake had got in through the wall, and
was swallowing them—”

“A rattlesnake!” said Captain Ponsonby.

“Oh, none of your dungeons, Colonel Bim!” said Lord
Slysir. “A dark dungeon, under ground, for officers with
the ague and fever!”

“My Lord,” said Alice, “I cannot interfere with the

rules of the service. Whatever Colonel Bim and Major
Fink may deem their duty, will, no doubt—”

“Heavens!” exclaimed Captain Ashburton, “a dungeon!”

“And is this to be the result of your Lordship's stratagem?”
said General Gordon.

“Stratagem!” cried Edith, “what stratagem?”

“I will confess,” said Lord Slysir, “that for several days,
or rather nights, it was my confident expectation that we
would be captured. The fare is infamous in Maller's camp.
And now, after this confession, you will not, you cannot,
consign us to a dungeon!”

“We will have your Lordship and companions,” said
Edith, with all the seriousness she could command, “provided
with the best food our poor larder may furnish. You
shall have calomel, jalap, quinine, and brandy; and then—”

“Oh, don't mention them!” said Slysir. “I know very
well that we shall not be sent to the dungeon—”

“By your leave,” said Bim, “that must be as the Commander
of the garrison decides. You must not be at liberty,
except on parole—”

“There you are right, Colonel,” said Slysir; “and we are
prepared to accede to the condition. We pledge ourselves
not to escape, and to be present whenever and wherever
our presence may be required. That being understood, I
have to request a private interview with Miss Alice, on a
matter of special importance—”

“A private interview!” exclaimed Alice.

“Or, if you desire it, Miss Edith may be present. Permit
me to whisper a word in your ear before you refuse my
request.” Saying this, he did whisper something in the ear
of Alice which seemed to interest her greatly.

“I will see you, sir,” said she, “at once, and alone. Come
with me into the library.” And she led the way out, followed
by his Lordship.