Springhaven: A Tale of the Great War

by R. D. Blackmore

  CHAPTER XLIV

  DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN

  That grand review at Shotbury was declared by all who took part in it,or at all understood the subject, to have been a most remarkable andquite unparalleled success. Not only did it show what noble stuff thereis in Englishmen, and how naturally they take to arms, but also itinspired with martial feeling and happy faith the wives and mothers ofall the gallant warriors there. It would make the blood-stained despotcower upon his throne of murder, and teach him the madness of invadingany land so fortified.

  However, Napoleon failed to see the matter in that wholesome light, andsmiled a grim and unkind smile as he read Caryl Carne's report of those"left-handed and uncouth manoeuvres." "One of your Majesty's feeblestregiments would send the whole of those louts to the devil; and Iam bound to impress once more, with all deference to your infalliblejudgment, the vast importance of carrying out your grand designs atthe first moment. All is prepared on my part. One day's notice is all Ineed."

  So wrote Carne; and perhaps the truth, as usual, lay about half-waybetween the two opinions. Even Carne was not admitted to a perfectknowledge of his master's schemes. But to keep things moving and menalert, the Emperor came to the coast at once, busy as he was in Paris,and occupied for several weeks, with short intervals of absence, thehouse prepared for him near Boulogne, whence he watched and quickenedthe ripening of his mighty plans against us.

  Now Carne himself, while working with new vigour and fresh enterprise,had a narrow escape from invasion. Captain Stubbard, stirred up now andagain by Mr. Twemlow, had thoroughly searched all covered places, likelyto harbour gunpowder, within at least six miles of his fort, that is tosay, all likely places, save and except the right one. By doing thishe had done for himself--as regards sweet hospitality--among all theleading farmers, maltsters, tanners, and millers for miles around. Eventhose whose premises were not entered, as if they had been Frenchmen,had a brother-in-law, or at least a cousin, whose wooden bars had beenknocked up. And the most atrocious thing of all, if there could beanything worse than worst, was that the Captain dined one day, at amarket-ordinary, with Farmer, or you might say Squire Hanger--for thebest part of his land followed to him from his father--and had rum andwater with him, and spoke his health, and tucked Mrs. Hanger up into theshay, and rode alongside to guarantee them; and then the next day, onthe very same horse, up he comes at Hanger-dene, and overhauls every tubon the premises, with a parchment as big as a malt-shovel! Such a manwas not fit to lay a knife and fork by.

  Some sense of the harm he had done to himself, without a bit of good toany one, dwelt heavily in the Captain's mind, as he rode up slowly uponthe most amiable of the battery-horses--for all sailors can ride, fromlong practice on the waves--and struck a stern stroke, with a stick likea linstock, upon the old shutter that served for a door and thefront entrance to Carne Castle. There used to be a fine old pieceof workmanship in solid and bold oak here, a door divided in themiddle--else no man might swing it back--and even so pierced with awicket, for small people to get through. That mighty door was not wornout, for it was not three hundred years old yet, and therefore scarcelyin middle life; but the mortgagees who had sacked the place of all thatwas worth a sack to hold it, these had a very fine offer for that door,from a rich man come out of a dust-bin. And this was one of the manylittle things that made Caryl Carne unpleasant.

  "I do not require production of your warrant. The whole place is open toyour inspection," said Carne, who had long been prepared for this visit;"open to all the winds and rains, and the lower part sometimes filledwith water. The upper rooms, or rather the few that remain of them, arescarcely safe for a person of any weight to walk in, but you are mostwelcome to try them, if you like; and this gentleman, I think, might notfall through. Here are my quarters; not quite so snug as my little roomat the widow's; but I can offer you some bread and cheese, and a glassof country cider. The vaults or cellars have held good wine in theirtime, but only empty casks and broken bottles now."

  Captain Stubbard had known for many years the silent woes of poverty,and now he observed with some good-will the young man's sad but haughtysmile. Then he ordered his young subaltern, his battery-mate, as hecalled him, to ascend the broad crumbling staircase, and glance into thedismantled chambers, while himself with the third of the party--a trustyold gunner--should inspect the cellarage.

  "We will not keep you long, sir," he said to Carne; "and if you are kindenough to show us the way, which is easily lost in a place of this kind,we shall be all the quicker. Wilkins, when you have done up there, waithere for us. Shall we want a light, sir?"

  "In the winter, you could hardly do without one, but at this time ofyear, I think you may. At any rate I will bring a lantern, and we canlight it if wanted. But the truth is that I know next to nothing ofthose sepulchral places. They would not be very tempting, even without aghost, which they are said to have."

  "A ghost!" cried the Captain; "I don't like that. Not that I have muchfaith in them; although one never can be sure. But at this time ofday--What is it like?"

  "I have never seen her, and am quite content without it. It is said tobe an ancestress of mine, a Lady Cordelia Carne, who was murdered, whenher husband was away, and buried down there, after being thrown into themoat. The old people say that whenever her ghost is walking, the waterof the moat bursts in and covers the floor of the vaults, that she mayflit along it, as she used to do. But of course one must not listen tothat sort of fable."

  "Perhaps you will go in front, sir, because you know the way. It is myduty to inspect these places; and I am devilish sorry for it; but myduty must be done."

  "You shall see every hole and corner, including the stone that was putup to commemorate her murder and keep her quiet. But I should explainthat these vaults extend for the entire length of the building, exceptjust in the middle, where we now stand. For a few yards the centre ofthe building seems to have never been excavated, as to which you willconvince yourself. You may call the cellars east and west, or right andleft, or north and south, or uphill and downhill, or anything else, forreally they are so much alike, and partitioned into cells so much alike,that I scarcely know which is which myself, coming suddenly from thedaylight. But you understand those things much better. A sailor alwaysknows his bearings. This leads to the entrance of one set."

  Carne led the Captain and old Gunner Bob--as he was called in thebattery--along a dark and narrow passage, whose mouth was browed withivy. Half-way through, they found an archway on the right-hand side,opening at right angles into long and badly lighted vaults. In this archthere was no door; but a black step-ladder (made of oak, no doubt), verysteep and rather rickety, was planted to tempt any venturesome foot.

  "Are you sure this ladder is safe?"--the Captain was by no means in lovewith the look of it. "My weight has increased remarkably in the fine airof Springhaven. If the bottom is rotten, the top won't help us."

  "Let me go first. It is my duty, as the owner; and I have no familydependent on me. My neck is of no value, compared to yours, Captain."

  "How I have mistaken this young man!" thought the brave yet prudentStubbard. "I called him a Frenchified fool, whereas he is a downrightEnglishman! I shall ask him to dinner next week, if Jemima can get a newleg for the dripping-pan."

  Following warily, with Gunner Bob behind him, and not disdaining thestrong arm of the owner, the Captain of Foxhill was landed in the vault,and being there, made a strict examination. He even poked his shortsword into the bung-holes of three or four empty barrels, that Bob mightbe satisfied also in his conscience. "Matter of form," he said, "matterof form, sir, when we know who people are; but you might have to do ityourself, sir, if you were in the service of your King. You ought to bethat, Mr. Carne; and it is not too late, in such days as these are, tobegin. Take my advice--such a fine young man!"

  "Alas, my dear sir, I cannot afford it. What officer can live upon hispay for a generation?"

  "Gospel truth!" cried the Captain, warmly; "Gospel truth! and
more thanthat--he must be the last of his generation, or else send his young 'unsto the workhouse. What things I could tell you, Mr. Carne! But here weare at the end of the vaults; all empty, as I can certify; and I hope,my dear sir, that you may live to see them filled with good wine, asthey used to be."

  "Thank you, but there is no hope of that. Shall we take the vaultsof the other end next, or examine the chapel, and the outerbuildings--outer ruins, I should say?"

  "Oh, a little open air first, for goodness sake!" said the Captain,going heavily up the old steps; "I am pretty nearly choked with all thismildew. A little fresh air, before we undertake the other lot."

  As soon as the echo of their steps was dead, Charron, old Jerry, andanother man jumped down from a loop-hole into the vault they had left,piled up a hoarding at the entrance, and with a crowbar swung back aheavy oak hatch in the footings of the outer wall. A volume of waterpoured in from the moat, or rather from the stream which had oncesupplied it. Seeing this, they disappeared with a soft and pleasantchuckle.

  The owner kept Stubbard such a time among the ruins, telling him somefine old legends, and otherwise leading him in and out, that when a bitof food and a glass of old Cognac was proposed by way of interlude,the Captain heartily embraced the offer. Then Carne conducted his threevisitors, for Wilkins had now rejoined them, into a low room poorlyfurnished, and regaled them beyond his promise. "Rare stuff!" exclaimedStubbard, with a wink at Carne. "Ah, I see that free-trade still exists.No concern of mine, except to enjoy its benefits. Here's to your verygood health, sir, and I am proud to have made your acquaintance."

  "Have another drop; it can hurt no one," Carne declared, and the Captainacquiesced.

  "Well, I suppose we must finish our job," the official visitor at lengthpronounced; "a matter of form, sir, and no offence; but we are boundto carry out our duty. There is nothing left, except the other lot ofvaults; but the light begins to fail us, for underground work. I hopethey are not so dark as those we have been through."

  "Just about the same. You would hardly know one set from the other, asI told you, except for the stone that records the murder. Perhaps we hadbetter light the lantern now?"

  "By all means. I don't half like that story of the lady that walks onthe water. It does seem so gashly and unchristian altogether. Not that Ihave any fear of ghosts--not likely, for I have never even seen one."

  "I have," said Gunner Bob, in a deep voice, which made them all glancethrough the ivy. "I have, and a fearful one it were."

  "Don't be a fool, Bob," the Captain whispered; "we don't want to hearabout that now. Allow me to carry the lantern, Mr. Carne; it throws suchshadows from the way you hold it. Why, surely, this is where we werebefore!"

  "You might easily fancy so," Carne answered, smiling, "especially with amind at all excited--"

  "My mind is not excited, sir; not at all excited; but as calm as it everwas in all its life."

  "Then two things will show you that these are the other vaults. The archis on your left hand, instead of on your right"--he had brought them innow from the other end of the passage--"and this entrance, as you see,has a door in it, which the other had not. Perhaps the door is to keepthe ghost in"--his laugh sounded hollow, and like a mocking challengealong the dark roof--"for this is the part she is supposed to walk in.But so much for the door! The money-lenders have not left us a door thatwill stand a good kick. You may find our old doors in Wardour Street."

  As he spoke, he set foot against the makeshift door, and away it went,as he had predicted. Crashing on the steps as it fell, it turned over,and a great splash arose at the bottom.

  "Why, bless my heart, there is a flood of water there!" cried Stubbard,peeping timidly down the steps, on which (if the light had been clear,and that of his mind in the same condition) he might have seen the marksof his own boots. "A flood of water, perhaps six feet deep! I couldscarcely have believed, but for that and the door, that these were notthe very vaults that we have examined. But what business has the waterthere?"

  "No business at all, any more than we have," Carne answered, with somerudeness, for it did not suit him to encourage too warmly the friendshipof Captain Stubbard; "but I told you that the place becomes covered withwater whenever the ghost intends to walk. Probably there is not morethan a foot of water"--there was in fact about three inches--"and as youare bound to carry out your duty--"

  "My dear sir, I am satisfied, perfectly satisfied. Who could keepgunpowder under water, or even in a flooded cellar? I shall have thegreatest pleasure in reporting that I searched Carne Castle--not ofcourse suspiciously, but narrowly, as we are bound to do, in executionof our warrant--"

  "If you would not mind looking in this direction," whispered Carne, whocould never be contented, "I think I could show you, just beyond themurder-stone--yes, and it seems to be coming towards us, as white as awinding-sheet; do come and look."

  "No, sir, no; it is not my duty"--the Captain turned away, with his hairupon the rise. "I was sent here to look for saltpetre, not spectres. Noofficer in His Majesty's service can be expected--Bob, and Wilkins, areyou there?"

  "Yes, sir, yes--we have had quite enough of this; and unless you givethe orders--"

  "Here she comes, I do declare!" whispered Carne, with extraordinarycalmness.

  "Bob, and Wilkins, give me one arm each. Make for daylight in closeorder. You may be glad to see your grandmother, young man; but I declineto have anything to say to her. Bob, and Wilkins, bear a hand; I feel alittle shaky in my lower timbers. Run for your lives, but don't leaveme behind. Run, lads, like the very devil!" For a groan of sepulchraldepth, and big enough to lift a granite tombstone, issued from thevault, and wailed along the sombre archway. All the Artillerymen fled,as if the muzzle of their biggest gun was slewed upon them, and verysoon the sound of horses' heels, urged at a perilous pace down the hill,rang back as the echo of that grand groan.

  "I think I did that pretty well, my Captain," cried Charron, ascendingfrom the vault with dripping boots; "I deserve a glass of Cognac, ifthey have left me any. Happy is Stoobar that he was contented, withoutbreaking his neck at the inspector's step."

  "He has satisfied his conscience," Carne answered, grimly; "yet itcannot be blameless, to make him run so fast. I am glad we have beensaved from killing them. It would have been hard to know what to donext. But he will never trouble us here again."