Arrah Neil; or, Times of Old

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  There was a jingling of arms and a shouting of words of command at thedoor of the inn, somewhat too much of the trumpet, and a great dealtoo much talking for a veteran force; and then the order was given tomarch, followed by trampling of horses' feet in not the most orderlyprogression upon the road. The mouth of Captain Barecolt had been busyfor the last five minutes upon beef and cabbage, and much executionhad it done in that course of operations; but no sooner had the soundsof the retiring party diminished than it opened, evidently with thepurpose of giving utterance to the pent-up loquacity which had longbeen struggling in his throat. But the Earl of Beverley made him asecond significant sign to be silent, and his caution was notunnecessary, for at that moment mine host was standing at the back ofthe door with a few silver pieces in his hand, grumbling internally atthe small pay of the parliamentary party, and ready to overhearanything that was said by his other guests. The next moment he openedthe door of the room in which they were dining, and found them alleating and drinking in very edifying silence. His presence did notseem to discompose them in the least, and the only effect it had uponany one, was to induce the earl to point to the huge black jack in themidst of the table, saying the few but gratifying words "More ale!"

  The landlord hastened to replenish the tankard; but as there were noingenious contrivances in those days for conjuring up various sorts ofbeer at will from the depths of a profound cellar, and, as the houseboasted no tapster, the host himself had to draw the liquor from thecask, and the earl took advantage of his absence to say to Barecoltand Falgate, "One more draught, my friends, if you will, and then toour horses' backs. Are you rested enough to travel on, fair lady, forI have business of much importance on hand?"

  "Quite, sir," replied Arrah Neil; "I am only too glad to go on."

  "I am rejoiced to see you here," continued the earl; "but we must notventure to speak more till we have nothing but the free air aroundus."

  The next instant the landlord re-appeared, and the earl, taking theblack jack from his hands, put his lips to it, but passed it on, afterbarely tasting the contents. Barecolt did it more justice, in a longdeep draught; and Falgate well nigh drained it to the bottom. As soonas this ceremony was concluded. Barecolt and the rest of the partyrose, and the earl returned thanks for the daily bread they hadreceived, at less length, but with greater devotion than his companionmight have done.

  "Now, Captain Jeraval," he said, when this was done, "you see to thehorses, while I pay the score." And when Barecolt returned, he foundthe face of his host bearing a much better satisfied look, aftersettling with his present guests, than it had assumed after thedeparture of him whom the good man mentally termed a beggarly cornetof horse.

  The earl then placed Arrah Neil in the saddle, sprang upon the back ofa handsome, powerful charger, and, followed quickly by Barecolt, andslowly by Falgate, took his way along the lane in which the housestood, choosing without hesitation many a turning and many a by-path,much to the admiration of the worthy captain, who had a naturalfondness for intricate ways.

  "You seem to know the road right well," he said in a low tone to theearl, when he could refrain no longer.

  "I have known it from my boyhood," replied Lord Beverley; but he madeno farther answer, and rode on in silence till the path they followedopened out upon one of the wide open moors, not unfrequently met witheven now in that part of the country, and which at that season was allpurple with the beautiful flower of the heath.

  "Now," observed the earl, "we can speak freely. You are full of wonderand curiosity, I know, captain; but first tell me," he continued,looking behind towards Diggory Falgate, who was labouring after themabout three hundred yards in the rear, "whom have you got there?"

  "Oh! a very honest fellow, my lord," replied Barecolt; "who must needsgo join the king, and be a soldier."

  "Put him into the infantry, then," said the earl. "But are you sure ofhim?"

  "Quite," replied Barecolt; "he aided me last night to get speech withyou in the block-house; and would not have cared if it had put hisneck in a noose."

  "Enough--enough!" said the earl; "it had well nigh been an unluckybusiness for all; but that matters not. The man showed his devotion,and therefore we may trust him; and now, fair lady, so long, and soanxiously sought, I can scarcely believe my eyes to find you here uponthe coast of Yorkshire. But, doubtless, you do not know me; let me saythat I am an old friend of Lord Walton."

  "Oh! yes, sir," replied Arrah Neil; "I remember you well. You were atBishop's Merton that terrible night before the fire. You passed me asI sat by the well watching for Lord Walton's return, to tell him whatthey plotted against him; and you asked your way, and spoke kindly tome. Oh I remember you well; but I wonder you remember me, for I ammuch changed."

  "You are, indeed," replied the earl, "not only in dress but in speech.I could hardly at that time wring a word from you, though I wasanxious to know if I could give you aid or help."

  "I was at that time in deep grief," replied Arrah Neil, "and that withme is always silent; but, besides, I had one of my cloudy fits uponme--those cloudy fits that are now gone for ever."

  "Indeed!" said the earl; "what has happened to dissipate them?"

  "Memory," replied Arrah Neil. "At that time all the past was coveredwith darkness, previous to that period at which I arrived at Bishop'sMerton; but still, in the darkness it seemed as if I saw figuresmoving about, different from those that surrounded me, and as if Iheard tongues speaking that had ceased to sound upon my ear. And solongingly, so earnestly, used I to look upon that cloud over thepast--so completely used it to withdraw my thoughts from thepresent--so anxious used I try to see those figures, and to hear thosevoices more distinctly, that I do not wonder people thought me mad. Ithought myself so at times."

  "But still," rejoined Lord Beverley, "how has all this been removed?"

  "Because the cloud is gone," replied Arrah Neil, with a smile thatmade her fair face look angelic--"because to remember one scene, onehour, one person, connected with the past, woke up memory as if shehad been sleeping; and daily and hourly since she has been bringing upbefore me the pictures of other days, till all is growing clear andbright."

  "I can understand all that," said the earl, with interest; "but Iwould fain hear how it happened, that memory had for so long failedyou at a particular point."

  "It is strange, indeed," said Arrah Neil, thoughtfully; "but I supposeit sometimes happens so, after such a terrible fever as that which Ihad at Hull, and of which my poor mother died."

  "That explains the whole," replied the earl; "such is by no means anuncommon occurrence. Was this many years ago?"

  "Oh, yes," replied Arrah Neil; "when I was very young. I could not bemore than eight or nine years old; for that good kind woman, thelandlady of the inn, where we then lodged, told me the other day thatit was between nine and ten years ago. Those were sad times," shesaid.

  "They were, indeed," said the Earl of Beverley, a deep shade comingover his brow; "as sad to you it seems as to me, for we both then lostthose that were dearest to us."

  He paused for a moment or two, looking down upon his horse's crestwith a stern and thoughtful expression of countenance; and then,raising his head, he shook his rein with a quick and impatientgesture, saying, "It is not good to think of such things. Come,Barecolt, now to satisfy your curiosity as far as is reasonable. I seethat you have scarcely been able to keep it within bounds; but firstlet me thank you for your efforts to set me free; and, understand me,I am not one to limit my gratitude to words."

  "But your lordship said it had well nigh been an unlucky business forus all," exclaimed Captain Barecolt; "and, to say truth, as soon asthe door was open, I saw that I had got into the wrong box, as it iscalled. There was somebody behind the curtain, I suspect; and I do notknow," he continued, "whether it would be discreet to ask who it was."

  "There need be no secret about it now;" replied the earl. "It was noother than my worthy friend Sir Jo
hn Hotham, the governor, who wishedto hold some private communication with me. He feared when you triedto open the door, that it was some one come to spy upon his actions;and to tell the truth, I was very apprehensive lest your inopportuneappearance should be the means not only of breaking off myconversation with him, but of getting you yourself hanged for a spy. Ihad no time for consideration, and therefore it was that I told you toget out of Hull as fast as possible, and wait for me on the road. Ihad still less time to think of what account I should give of you toSir John; but the truth when it can be told, my good captain, isalways the best; and as the governor had already promised to set me atliberty speedily, I thought fit to tell him that you were an attacheddependant of mine, who had foolishly thought fit to risk your own lifeto set me free. I told him, moreover, that I had directed you to getout of the town as soon as you could, and wait for me on the road,trusting to his promise for speedy liberation. He pronounced the plana good one, and made arrangements for sending Colonel Warren with meto insure my passing safe, if I should meet this party of horse withwhom I just now found you embroiled."

  "This Colonel Warren must be quick at taking a hint." repliedBarecolt; "for he certainly entered into your lordship's schemes in mypoor favour with great skill and decision."

  "He is a very good man, and well affected," replied the earl; "theonly one, indeed, in Hull on whom Sir John Hotham can rely. He wasprepared, however; for, just before we set out this morning, as hetold me afterwards, first a rumour, and then a regular report from thegates, reached the governor, to the effect that you had run away fromthe town. Sir John replied coldly to the officer who brought him theintelligence, that you had not run away, but had been sent by him onbusiness of importance; and that for the future, when on guard at thegates, he had better mind his own business, which was to prevent theenemy from coming in, and not to meddle with those who went out. Hethen explained to Warren that we should find you on our way; and inhalf-an-hour we came up the river in a boat, mounted the horses whichhad been sent to meet us a couple of miles from the town, and fell inwith the party of horse, as you know."

  "Truth is best, as you say," replied Barecolt; "but yet I do honour aman who, when need compels him, can tell a sturdy lie with a calm andhonest countenance; and in this respect the worthy Colonel Warrencertainly deserves high renown, for he vouched for my being CaptainJersval, with as sincere and as innocent a face as a lamb's head atEaster."

  "I fear he does not merit your praise." replied the earl, "and I donot think he would exactly covet it; but at all events he did not knowyou to be any other than Captain Jersval; for my conversation aboutyou with Sir John Hotham was but short, and it did not occur to me tomention your real name."

  "Lucky discretion!" cried Barecolt; "but, in good sooth, my lord, wemust wait a little for my good friend, Diggory Falgate, whose bonesare already aching from his first acquaintance with a horse's back,and who cannot keep up with us at the pace we go."

  "What hour is it?" said the earl. "We have not yet made much way, andI would fain be at Market Wighton or at Poklington before night. Wehave taken a great round to avoid some dangers on the Beverley road,otherwise the distance to York is not more than forty miles."

  Having ascertained that it was not yet more than two o'clock, the earlagreed to pause a little for the benefit of good Diggory Falgate, and,about two miles farther on, stopped at a little village to feed thehorses, in order to enable them to make as long a journey as possiblebefore night.

  The aspect of the landlord and landlady of the house at which they nowpaused was very different from that of their late host. The latter wasa buxom dame of forty-five, with traces of beauty passed away, acoquettish air, a neat foot and instep, and a bodice laced with whatthe Puritans would have considered very indecent red ribbons. Herhusband was a jovial man, some ten years older than herself, with aface as round and rosy as the setting sun, a paunch beginning to besomewhat unwieldy, but with a stout pair of legs underneath it, whichbore it up manfully. He wore his hat on one side as he came out togreet his new guests, and a cock's feather therein, as if to markpeculiarly his abhorrence of puritanical simplicity.

  The first appearance of Lord Beverley and his party, the plainness oftheir dress, and the soberness of their air, did not seem much toconciliate his regard; but the nose of Captain Barecolt had somethingpleasant and propitious in his eyes, and the light ease with which theEarl of Beverley sprang to the ground and lifted Arrah Neil from thesaddle also found favour in his sight; for the worthy landlord had avery low estimation of the qualities of all the parliamentary party,and could not make up his mind to believe that any one belonging to itcould sit a horse, wield a sword, or fire a shot, with the same graceand dexterity as a Cavalier.

  Just as the earl was leading in Arrah Neil, however, and Barecolt wasfollowing, Diggory Falgate, to use a nautical term, hove in sight; andthe landlord, who was giving orders to his ostler for the care of thehorses, rubbed his eyes and gazed, and then rubbed his eyes again,exclaiming, "By all the holy martyrs! I do believe that it is thatjovial blade Falgate, who painted my sign, and kept us in a roar allthe time it was doing."

  "Ay, sir, that's just Diggory," answered the ostler, "though I wonderto see him a-horseback; for, if you remember, he once got upon ourmare, and she shot him over her head in a minute."

  "Ah, jolly Falgate!" cried the landlord, advancing towards him; "howgoes it with you?"

  "Hardly, hardly, good Master Stubbs," answered the painter. "Thisaccursed beast has beaten me like a stockfish; and I am sure that myknees, with holding on, are at this moment all black and blue, andgreen and yellow, like an unscraped pullet."

  "Faith, I am sorry to hear it," replied the landlord; "but you willcome to it--you will come to it, Master Falgate. All things are beateninto us by an application on the same part, from our first schoolingto our last. But tell me, do you know who these people are who havejust come?"

  "Tell you! To be sure," cried Diggory Falgate; "I am of their party.One is a great lord."

  "What! the long man with the nose?" cried the worthy host. "'Tis alordly nose--that I'll vouch for."

  "No, no; not he," replied the painter: "he is a great fire-eatingcaptain, the devil of a fighting soldier, who swallows you up a wholesquadron in a minute, and eats up a battalion of infantry, pikes andall, like a boy devouring a salt herring, and never caring for thebones. No, no; 'tis the other is the lord."

  "He's mighty plainly dressed for a lord," replied the host. "Why, myjerkin's worth his, and a shilling to boot!"

  "Ay, because we have just made our escape from Hull," replied thepainter, "and we are all in disguise; but I can tell you,nevertheless, that he is a great lord, and very much trusted by theking."

  "Then I'm the man for him!" said the landlord; and hurrying in, hat inhand, he addressed the Earl of Beverley, saying, "What's yourlordship's pleasure? What can I get for you, my lord? Has yourlordship any news from Nottingham or York? I am upon thorns till Ihear from Nottingham; for I've got two sons--fine boys as ever you setyour eyes upon--gone to join the king there, just a week ago lastMonday, and my two best horses with them."

  "In whose regiment are they?" asked the earl.

  "Oh, in the noble Earl of Beverley's," replied the host; "he's ourlord and master here, and as soon as one of his people came down toraise men, my boys vowed they'd go."

  "They shall be taken care of," said the earl, laying his hand upon thelandlord's shoulder, with a meaning smile, which let worthy MasterStubbs into the secret of his name in a moment. "And now, my goodfriend," he continued, "forget 'your lordship' with me, and, if youwant really to serve me, send somebody to the top of the hill, tobring me word if he sees any parties moving about in the country. Ihave heard of such things, and would be upon my guard."

  The landlord winked one small black eye till it was swallowed up inthe rosy fat that surrounded it. Then, shutting the door of the room,he approached the earl, saying in a mysterious tone, "You are quiteright--you are quite right, my lord. There are
such things in thecountry. One troop passed through the village this morning, and thereis another handful of them left over at the hamlet, beyond the edge,as we call the hill. There are not above a score of them; and if theywere to come into the village, we would soon show them the way out,for we have surly fellows amongst us, and do not love Roundheads here.I will send over to watch them, sure enough; but if your lordshipwould like to make a sweep of them, we could mount half-a-dozen men inthe village, who would break some heads with right good will; and intwo or three hours we could have help over from the Lady MargaretLangley's, for one of her people was here yesterday, and told me thatthey expected a party of Cavaliers there, either that day or to-day."

  Lord Beverley paused and meditated for a moment; but he then replied,"No, my good friend--no. The business I am on is too important to runany risks before it is accomplished; and, in the next place, it wouldnot be right to bring down the vengeance of these people upon goodLady Margaret. It is about nine miles to her house, I think, too; sothat would cause delay. Send some one to watch the gentry from thehill. Have the horses fed with all despatch, and give us a flagon ofwine, for we have two thirsty men in our company."

  "You shall have of the best in the land, my lord," replied the jollyhost. "Only to think of my not knowing you!"

  The wine was soon brought; and Barecolt, who had been deliveringhimself of a few marvels in the kitchen, followed it quickly andshared in the draught. The horses, accustomed to hard work, were notwithout appetite for their provender, so that their meal was speedilydespatched. But when the earl and his companions once issued forth topursue their way, he was surprised to find four stout men mounted andarmed by the care of the good landlord, to escort him on his journey.He might perhaps have preferred a less numerous party, in the hope ofpassing unobserved; but, while he was discussing the matter with thehost, a boy who had been sent up to watch ran back into the village,bringing the news that the men were moving from Little Clive, alongthe high-road towards the top of the hill.

  "Well, then, I will take the road to the right--towards Beverley,"said the earl. "Mount, mount! and let us away with all speed. Amongstthe trees they will hardly see us, if we can get a mile on the way.Come, Master Falgate; we must have no lagging behind, or, by heaven,you will fall into their hands!"

  "I would rather be bumped to death," replied Falgate, clambering upinto his saddle; "and that wine has healed some of my bruises."

  "We'll make a good fight of it if they do catch us," said one of themounted men: "there are not above a score of them."

  "Come on, then--come on quick!" cried the earl; and setting spurs tohis horse, he rode out of the village, fair Arrah Neil placed betweenhimself and Barecolt, Falgate with their escort bringing up the rear.

  They had reached the wooded lane which led along under the slopetowards Beverley before the party of horse which had been seen by theboy appeared upon the top of the hill. But a break of some two orthree hundred yards in length in the hedgerow occurred at the distanceof about a mile, and by the movements that the earl remarked amongstthe troopers, whom he now saw distinctly, he judged that his littleparty was also observed.

  "Spur on, my lord!" cried Barecolt, who had also turned round to look."They are coming after us; but we have got a fair start. Spur on,Falgate, or you will be caught!" and, putting their horses to theirutmost speed, they rode along the lane, while the faint blast of atrumpet was borne by the wind from above, and the small body ofcavalry was seen to take its way quickly over the open fields, as ifto cut them off.