by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXIX
A NEW METHOD OF OPERATIONS
The fall of the two ruffians evidently created a panic among therobbers, for they all retreated from the head of the staircase. Theycould not see the person who had fired the shots. Fronklyn had used theheavy revolver of the trooper, reserving his carbine for more difficultpractice. There was a pause, for no more victims were in sight.
"You are in a dangerous position, Lieutenant Lyon," said the sergeant,as soon as Deck rushed into the hall.
"Where are you, Sergeant?" asked the officer, as he retired from hisexposed situation.
"Behind the safe," replied Fronklyn. "Ask one of the planter's sons ifthere are any other stairs from above."
"Another staircase at the rear of the hall," answered Warren.
"Go there quick!" said Deck, as soon as he had mastered the situation."If any one attempts to come down, shoot him on the instant! But letthem surrender if they will do so."
"Surrender!" exclaimed Harlan in disgust. "I don't feel exactly likeletting one of the men that want to hang my father surrender."
"Let them surrender!" replied Deck very decidedly.
"From my position I could manage the whole of them," interposed thesergeant.
"You are in a safe place to do so," added the lieutenant.
"Some of the party ought to look out for the outside of the house, orthe ruffians will escape from the windows," suggested the sergeant.
"Colonel Hickman is out-doors, with his negroes, to keep watch of thewindows," answered Deck. "You have begun the fight here on the plan weadopted at Mr. Halliburn's."
"I was thinking of fighting it out alone when one of the ruffiansup-stairs shouted that Colonel Hickman was coming; and the cry was tohang him. They started to come down, and I dropped two of them; theothers ran away. I can dispose of them as fast as they showthemselves," Fronklyn explained.
"Give them a chance to surrender before you kill them, Sergeant."
At that moment a shot was heard from the rear end of the hall, and thelieutenant hastened to ascertain the occasion of it. One of theruffians had attempted to come down the back stairs, and Warren had puta rifle-ball through his head. There were only seven of the maraudersleft in the house, and the two parties were equalized.
"Up-stairs!" hailed Deck, when the third ruffian had fallen.
"What's wanted?" shouted some one who was prudent enough to keep out ofsight.
"You may surrender if you prefer that to being shot," replied Deck.
"On what terms may we surrender?" demanded the spokesman of the secondfloor.
"No terms."
"Do you mean to murder us all?"
"It would serve you right. You came here to hang Colonel Hickman, andyou would have done so if he had not found friends to assist him indefending his property and his life," added the lieutenant with properindignation.
"We did not intend to hang him if he gave up his money. He is a richman, and he could afford to part with some of it," said the spokesman.
"That is the argument of pirates and robbers. If you wish to surrender,say so; and do it quick!"
"We have nothing more to say," returned the spokesman.
For an hour longer the situation remained the same. But it requiredonly Fronklyn at the main staircase, and Warren at the rear one, tokeep the seven ruffians where they were. The villains were all armed,the planter said; and the lieutenant was not willing to sacrifice thelife of even a single member of the loyal party. But the sergeant wasimpatient to terminate the affair. Deck had seated himself in theparlor in the midst of the broken furniture, where he could talk withthe sergeant.
"This is becoming rather monotonous," said the latter.
"I don't think it is prudent to go up and attack the ruffians," repliedDeck.
"But I think that something can be done from the outside," suggestedFronklyn.
"What?" asked Deck.
"I don't know."
"I will go out and see if anything can be done. I should like to returnto the camp of the Riverlawns; for I suppose my father and the othersstill believe that you and I were killed in the fight at theintrenchments," replied Deck, as he passed out of the house at thefront door.
He found Colonel Hickman on the end piazza of the mansion, seated inone of the armchairs. But he was astonished to see the display of armsnear him; and he concluded that the weapons the planter kept in hisspring-house had been brought up by the negroes to the piazza. At leasta dozen rifles were standing against the side of the house, and a boxof revolvers was near them. On each side of the colonel was a brassfield-piece, with several boxes which he supposed contained ammunitionfor them.
"You seem to be ready for battle, Colonel Hickman," said Deck, as hesurveyed the armament.
"I am ready; and I expect to have a use for these rifles andfield-pieces before night," replied the planter.
"To-day?" queried Deck.
"I expected three times as many as came this morning; but I suppose therest of them have cleaned out some other mansion. The ruffians in thehouse promised to come with thirty men when they were here before. Ifall the white men belonging on the plantation had not been absent, weshould never have let this lot of infernals come near the place."
"But I think we had better get rid of the lot here now before weentertain another horde of them," suggested the lieutenant.
"The sergeant appears to have locked up the ruffians in the secondstory as though he meant to keep them there the rest of their naturallives," replied the planter. "We have not yet lost a single one of ournumber."
"It is the policy of war to save your own men while you destroy theenemy," added Deck. "The next thing to be done is to drive the ruffiansout of the house."
"That seems to be easier said than done," replied the colonel, with aninquiring look at the young officer. "How do you propose to do it?"
"I don't know that it can be done; but there is nothing like trying. Isuppose you are still a rifleman, Colonel Hickman?"
"I am, as I have been since I was a dozen years old. I have my oldrifle here," he answered, pointing to the dozen of them resting againstthe side of the house. "I judge that you have some plan in your busyyoung head, Lieutenant. I am ready to obey all your orders, withoutregard to my age."
Deck stated his plan, which he had arranged after a survey of thesurroundings of the mansion. It involved a change of position among themen, the most important of which was placing the planter behind thesafe in the hall, thus releasing Fronklyn for more active duty. Thecolonel was willing, and even glad, to take the position assigned tohim, and, like a good soldier, asked no questions.
"But what about the attack you expect this afternoon?" asked Deck.
"I have put my servants on picket, as they have been for several days.They are all mounted, just as they came back from the avenue. They areall faithful to me, though I don't expect them to do any fighting; butthey can keep watch as well as white men."
"Then, if you are ready, Colonel, we will go to the front hall of thehouse," said the lieutenant, as he led the way.
At the door he called the sergeant from behind his breastwork, and putthe planter in his place. The old soldier had hardly shown himself inthe hall before a shot was fired down the stairway. Doubtless one ormore of the ruffians had been on the lookout for the appearance of aman in the hall below; and as the planter passed behind the open door,the opportunity had been used.
Fortunately the venerable planter was not hit; for the enemy had onlysuch old flint-lock guns as General Crittenden describes in his reportof the battle of Mill Springs, and they were far from being reliableweapons. The bullet shattered the edge of the door, and no other damagewas done. The veteran proved that he was still an active man; for assoon as he was behind the steel fortress, he cast a searching glance upthe stairs.
On the landing he discovered a head on the floor; for the man who hadfired the shot was lying where he could see down into the hall. Itwould have been better for him if his feet had been where hi
s head was;for the planter raised his rifle, and fired at almost the same instant.His companions drew his body back without exposing themselves to thedeadly fire from the hall.
"Flickens is killed!" exclaimed one of them; and the enemy were oneless in number.
The planter, with his rifle in position for instant use, fixed his gazeupon the head of the staircase; but no one now was to be seen there.Deck and the sergeant had passed into the parlor, the door of which wasnext to the safe, after the colonel had discharged his rifle.
"Are you all right, sir?" asked the lieutenant, stopping in a safeplace near the door of the apartment.
"I am better off than the fellow I just hit in the top of his head,"replied the planter. "I wish another of them would try that experimentagain."
"I know you can hold this position, and I will see what can be doneelsewhere," returned Deck, as he moved towards the door of the rearroom.
"You need not be concerned about me; I can finish the affair if thevillains will only show themselves," replied the colonel; and hischeerful tones indicated that he was happy in his new position.
Deck and Fronklyn passed around into the rear of the hall, where theyfound Warren Hickman standing at the door of the dining-room, where hecould not be seen from the head of the back stairs. He was informedthat an attempt would be made to drive the enemy from the second story.He was to remain in his present position. The lieutenant and thesergeant passed out at the back door into the kitchen, some distancefrom the mansion. Here they found the other two sons of the planter,watching the windows on that side of the house.
The end of the cook-room extended back into a grove of trees whichsurrounded the mansion, and which had given Deck his first suggestionof his method of future operations. Taking the two Hickmans with them,the four went through a window into the grove. The building containingthe kitchen concealed them from the view of the ruffians, if any ofthem went to the windows.
The trees around the mansion, like those in the avenue, were large, andthe foliage dense. Deck explained to his companions his plan, and thendirected one of them to proceed by the grove to each of the sides ofthe house, reserving the one by the stable for himself.
"What then?" inquired Fronklyn.
"Each of you will sling his rifle, and then climb a tree commanding allthe windows on his side of the mansion," replied Deck. "When you seeone of the enemy at a window, use your rifle. I shall be on the stableside."
The lieutenant, who had provided himself with a rifle on the piazza,followed the grove in the direction of the stable, outside of all theout-buildings, while the other three proceeded the opposite way. Therewere no trees between the mansion and the stable; but Deck made his wayto the hayloft, which commanded a view of all the windows of theformer. He waited long enough to enable his companions to secure theirplaces in the trees, and then opened a window, which enabled him toobtain a safe position for himself.
While he was waiting, he took a couple of horse-blankets from theharness-room, and fastened them up before the only two windows in theloft. This made the place quite dark, though there was light enough toenable him to find his way. Then he kneeled about ten feet from theopen window, darkened to within a foot of the bottom. From this pointhe discovered, by looking through the window directly opposite hisopening, three men sitting on a bed.
He fired his rifle, and saw one of the ruffians drop on the floor.