Horse-Shoe Robinson: A Tale of the Tory Ascendency

by John Pendleton Kennedy

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  THE TROOPERS MOVE WITH THEIR PRISONERS.

  "Oft he that doth abide, Is cause of his own paine, But he that flieth in good tide, Perhaps may fight again."--_Old Proverb._

  It was with the most earnest solicitude that Butler and his companionwatched the course of events, and became acquainted with the characterof the ruffians into whose hands they had fallen. The presence of JamesCurry in this gang excited a painful consciousness in the mind of thesoldier, that he had powerful and secret enemies at work against him,but who they were was an impenetrable mystery. Then the lawless habitsof the people who had possession of him, gave rise to the most anxiousdistrust as to his future fate: he might be murdered in a fit ofpassion, or tortured with harsh treatment to gratify some concealedmalice. His position in the army was, it seemed, known too; and, foraught that he could tell, his mission might be no secret to his captors.Robinson's sagacity entered fully into these misgivings. He had narrowlyobserved the conduct of the party who had made them prisoners, and withthat acute insight which was concealed under a rude and uneducatedexterior, but which was strongly marked in his actions, he had alreadydetermined upon the course which the safety of Butler required him topursue. According to his view of their present difficulties it wasabsolutely necessary that he should effect his escape, at whateverpersonal hazard. Butler, he rightly conjectured, was the principalobject of the late ambuscade; that, for some unknown purpose, thepossession of this officer became important to those who had procuredthe attack upon him, and that James Curry had merely hired this gang ofdesperadoes to secure the prize. Under these circumstances, he concludedthat the Major would be so strictly guarded as to forbid all hope ofescape, and that any attempt by him to effect it would only be punishedby certain death. But, in regard to himself, his calculation wasdifferent. "First," said he, "I can master any three of this beggarlycrew in an open field and fair fight; and, secondly, when it comes tothe chances of a pell-mell, they will not think me of so much account asto risk their necks by a long chase; their whole eyes would undoubtedlybe directed to the Major." The sergeant, therefore, determined to makethe attempt, and, in the event of his success, to repair to Sumpter, whohe knew frequented some of the fastnesses in this region; or, in thealternative, to rally such friends from the neighboring country as werenot yet overawed by the Tory dominion, and bring them speedily to therescue of Butler. Full of these thoughts, he took occasion during thenight, whilst the guard were busy in cooking their venison, and whilstthey thought him and his comrade wrapt in sleep, to whisper to Butlerthe resolution he had adopted.

  "I will take the first chance to-morrow to make a dash upon theseragamuffins," he said; "and I shall count it hard if I don't get out oftheir claws. Then, rely upon me, I shall keep near you in spite of thesedevils. So be prepared, if I once get away, to see me like a witch thattravels on a broomstick or creeps through a keyhole. But whisht! thedrunken vagabonds mustn't hear us talking."

  Butler, after due consideration of the sergeant's scheme, thought it,however perilous, the only chance they had of extricating themselvesfrom the dangers with which they were beset, and promised the most readyco-operation; determining also, to let no opportunity slip which mightbe improved to his own deliverance. "Your good arm and brave heart,Galbraith, never stood you in more urgent stead than they may doto-morrow," was his concluding remark.

  When morning broke the light of day fell upon a strange and disorderedscene. The drunken and coarse wretches of the night before, now lessenedin number and strength by common broil and private quarrel, laystretched on their beds of leaves. Their motley and ill-assorted weaponslay around in disarray; drinking cups and empty flasks were scatteredover the trodden grass, the skin and horns of the buck, and disjointedfragments of raw flesh were seen confusedly cast about beneath the tree,and a conspicuous object in the scene were the clots of blood and gore,both of men and beast, that disfigured the soil. Two new-made graves, orrather mounds, hastily scratched together and imperfectly concealing thelimbs of the dead, prominently placed but a few feet from the ring oflast night's revelry, told of the disasters of the fight at the ford.The brushwood fire had burned down into a heap of smouldering ashes, andthe pale and sickly features of the wounded trooper were to be discernedupon a pallet of leaves, hard by the heap of embers, surrounded by theremnants of bones and roasted meat that had been flung carelessly aside.In a spot of more apparent comfort, sheltered by an overhanging canopyof vines and alder, lay Butler stretched upon his cloak, and, closebeside him, the stout frame of Horse Shoe Robinson. In the midst of allthese marks of recent riot and carousal, sat two swarthy figures,haggard and wan from night-watching, armed at every point, and keepingstrict guard over the prisoners.

  The occasional snort and pawing of horses in the neighboring wood showedthat these animals were alert at the earliest dawn; whilst among thefirst who seemed aware of the approach of day, was seen rising from theearth, where it had been flung in stupid torpor for some hours, thebloated and unsightly person of Hugh Habershaw, now much the worse forthe fatigue and revelry of the preceding night. A savage and surlyexpression was seated on his brow, and his voice broke forth more thanordinarily harsh and dissonant, as he ordered the troop to rouse andprepare for their march.

  The summons was tardily obeyed; and while the yawning members of thesquad were lazily moving to their several duties and shaking off thefumes of their late debauch, the captain was observed bending over theprostrate form of Gideon Blake, and directing a few anxious inquiriesinto his condition. The wounded man was free from pain, but his limbswere stiff, and the region of the stab sore and sensitive to the leasttouch. The indications, however, were such as to show that his wound wasnot likely to prove mortal. By the order of Habershaw, a better litterwas constructed, and the troopers were directed to bear him, by turns,as far as Christie's, where he was to be left to the nursing of thefamily. It was a full hour before the horses were saddled, the scatteredfurniture collected, and the preparations for the march completed. Whenthese were accomplished the prisoners were provided with the twosorriest horses of the troop, and they now set forward at a slow pace,under the escort of four men commanded by James Curry. The two trooperswho bore the sick man followed on foot; Habershaw with the remainder,one of whom had appropriated Captain Peter, whilst he led the horses ofthe dismounted men, brought up the rear.

  On the journey there was but little spoken by any member of the party;the boisterous and rude nature of the men who composed the troop seemedto have been subdued by sleep into a temper of churlish indifference orstolid apathy. Peppercorn, or James Curry, as the reader now recogniseshim, strictly preserved his guard over the prisoners, manifesting aseverity of manner altogether different from the tone of carelessrevelry which characterized his demeanor on the preceding night. Itnever relaxed from an official and sullen reserve. A moody frown satupon his brow, and his communication with the prisoners was confined toshort and peremptory commands; whilst, at the same time, he forbade theslightest intercourse with them on the part of any of the guard. Duringthe short progress to Christie's he frequently rode apart withHabershaw; and the conversation which then occupied these two wasmaintained in a low tone, and with a serious air that denoted some gravematter of deliberation.

  It was more than an hour after sunrise when the cavalcade reached thepoint of their present destination. There were signs of an anxiouspurpose in the silence of the journey, broken as it was only by lowmutterings amongst the men, above which sometimes arose an expression ofimpatience and discontent, as the subject of their whispered discussionsappeared to excite some angry objection from several of the party; andthis mystery was not less conspicuous in the formal order of the halt,and in the pause that followed upon their arrival at the habitation.

  The house, in front of which they were drawn up, was, according to theprevailing fashion of the time, a one-storied dwelling covering an amplespace of ground, built partly of boards and partly of logs, with a longpiazza before it, termina
ting in small rooms, made by inclosing thesides for a few feet at either extremity. Being situated some twentypaces aside from the road, the intervening area was bounded by a fencethrough which a gate afforded admission. A horse-rack, with a fewfeeding troughs, was erected near this gate; and a draw-well, in thesame vicinity, furnished a ready supply of water. With the exception ofa cleared field around the dwelling, the landscape was shaded by thenatural forest.

  A consultation of some minutes' duration was held between Habershaw andCurry, when the order to dismount was given, accompanied with anintimation of a design to tarry at this place for an hour or two; butthe men, at the same time, were directed to leave their saddles upontheir horses. One or two were detailed to look after the refreshment ofthe cattle, whilst the remainder took possession of the principal room.The first demands of the troop were for drink, and this being indulged,the brute feeling of conviviality which in gross natures dependsaltogether upon sensual excitement, began once more to break down thebarriers of discipline, and to mount into clamor.

  The scenes of the morning had made a disagreeable impression upon thefeelings of Butler and his comrade. The changed tone and the ruffianmanners of the band, the pause, and the doubts which seemed to agitatethem, boded mischief. The two prisoners, however, almost instinctivelyadopted the course of conduct which their circumstances required. Theyconcealed all apprehension of harm, and patiently awaited the end. HorseShoe even took advantage of the rising mirth of the company when drinkbegan to exhilarate them, and affected an easy tone of companionshipwhich was calculated to throw them off their guard. He circulated freelyamongst the men, and by private conference with some of the individualsaround him, who, attracted by his air of confiding gaiety, seemedinclined to favor his approaches of familiarity, he soon discovered thatthe gang were divided in sentiment in regard to some important subjecttouching the proposed treatment of himself and his friend. A party, atleast, he was thus made aware, were disposed to take his side in thesecret disputes which had been in agitation. He was determined to profitby this dissension, and accordingly applied himself still moreassiduously to cultivate the favorable sentiment he found in existence.

  Whilst breakfast was in preparation, and Habershaw and Curry wereoccupied with the wounded man in an adjoining apartment, the sergeant,playing the part of a boon companion, laughed with the rioters, and,uninvited, made himself free of their cups.

  "I should like to know," he said to one of the troopers, "why you aregiving yourselves all this trouble about a couple of simple travellersthat happened to be jogging along the road? If you wanted to make apitched battle you ought to have sent us word; but if it was only upon adrinking bout you had set your hearts, there was no occasion to bebreaking heads for the honor of getting a good fellow in your company,when he would have come of his own accord at the first axing. There wasno use in making such a mighty secret about it; for, as we weretravelling the same road with you, you had only to show a man thecivility of saying you wanted our escort, and you should have had it ata word. Here's to our better acquaintance, friend!"

  "You mightn't be so jolly, Horse Shoe Robinson," said Shad Green--or,according to his nickname, Red Mug, in a whisper; "if some of them thattook the trouble to find you, should have their own way. It's a d----dtight pull whether you are to be kept as a prisoner of war, or shovedunder ground this morning without tuck of drum. That for your privateear."

  "I was born in old Carolina myself," replied Horse Shoe, aside to thespeaker; "and I don't believe there is many men to be found in it whowould stand by and see the rules and regulations of honorable warblackened and trod down into the dust by any cowardly trick of murder.If it comes to that, many as there are against two, our lives will notgo at a cheap price."

  "Whisht!" returned the other, "with my allowance, for one, it shan't be.A prisoner's a prisoner, I say; and damnation to the man that would makehim out worse."

  "They say you are a merry devil, old Horse Shoe," exclaimed he who wascalled Bow Legs, who now stepped up and slapped the sergeant on theback. "So take a swig, man; fair play is a jewel!--that's my doctrine.Fight when you fight, and drink when you drink--and that's the sign toknow a man by."

  "There is some good things," said the sergeant, "in this world that'sgood, and some that's bad. But I have always found that good and bad isso mixed up and jumbled together, that you don't often get much of onewithout a little of the other. A sodger's a sodger, no matter what sidehe is on; and they are the naturalest people in the world forfellow-feeling. One day a man is up, and then the laugh's on his side;next day he is down, and then the laugh's against him. So, as a sodgerhas more of these ups and downs than other folks, there's the reason hisheart is tenderer towards a comrade than other people's. Here's yourhealth, sir. This is a wicked world, and twisted, in a measure, upsidedown; and it is well known that evil communications corrupts goodmanners; but sodgers were made to set the world right again, on itslegs, and to presarve good breeding and Christian charity. So there's asarmon for you, you tinkers!"

  "Well done, mister preacher!" vociferated a prominent reveller. "If youwill desert and enlist with us you shall be the chaplain of the troop.We want a good swearing, drinking, and tearing blade who can hold adiscourse over his liquor, and fence with the devil at long words.You're the very man for it! Huzza for the blacksmith!"

  "Huzza for the blacksmith!" shouted several others in the apartment.

  Butler, during this scene, had stretched himself out at full length upona bench, to gain some rest in his present exhausted and uncomfortablecondition, and was now partaking of the refreshment of a bowl of milkand some coarse bread, which one of the troopers had brought him.

  "What's all this laughing and uproar about?" said Habershaw, enteringthe room with Curry, just at the moment of the acclamation in favor ofthe sergeant "Is this a time for your cursed wide throats to be brayinglike asses! We have business to do. And you, sir," said he, turning toButler, "you must be taking up the room of a half dozen men on a benchwith your lazy carcase! Up, sir; I allow no lolling and lying about torascally whigs and rebels. You have cost me the death of a dog that isworth all your filthy whig kindred; and you have made away with two ofthe best men that ever stept in shoe leather. Sit up, sir, and thankyour luck that you haven't your arms pinioned behind you, like a horsethief."

  "Insolent coward," said Butler, springing upon his feet; "hired ruffian!you shall in due time be made to pay for the outrage you have inflictedupon me."

  "Tie him up!" cried Habershaw; "tie him up! And now I call you all tobear witness that he has brought the sentence upon himself; it shall bedone without waiting another moment. Harry Gage, I give the matter overto you. Draw out four men, take them into the yard, and dispatch theprisoners off-hand! shoot the traitors on the spot, before we eat ourbreakfasts! I was a fool that I didn't settle this at daylight thismorning--the rascally filth of the earth! Have no heart about it, men;but make sure work by a short distance. This is no time for whining.When have the Whigs shown mercy to us!"

  "It shall be four against four, then!" cried out Shadrach Green,seconded by Andrew Clopper; "and the first shot that is fired shall beinto the bowels of Hugh Habershaw! Stand by me, boys!"

  In a moment the parties were divided, and had snatched up their weapons,and then stood looking angrily at each other as if daring each tocommence the threatened affray.

  "Why, how now, devil's imps!" shouted Habershaw. "Have you come to amutiny? Have you joined the rebels? James Curry, look at this! By thebloody laws of war, I will report every rascal who dares to lift hishand against me!"

  "The thing is past talking about," said the first speaker, coolly. "HughHabershaw, neither you nor James Curry shall command the peace if youdare to offer harm to the prisoners. Now, bully, report that as mysaying. They are men fairly taken in war, and shall suffer no evil pastwhat the law justifies. Give them up to the officer of the nearestpost--that's what we ask--carry them to Innis's camp if you choose; butwhilst they are in our keeping there shall be no b
lood spilled withoutmixing some of your own with it, Hugh Habershaw."

  "Arrest the mutineers!" cried Habershaw, trembling with rage. "Who aremy friends in this room? Let them stand by me, and then--blast me if Idon't force obedience to my orders!"

  "You got off by the skin of your teeth last night," said Green, "whenyou tried to take the life of Gideon Blake. For that you deserved abullet through your skull. Take care that you don't get your reckoningthis morning, captain and all as you are."

  "What in the devil would you have?" inquired Habershaw, stricken into amore cautious tone of speech by the decided bearing of the man opposedto him.

  "The safety of the prisoners until they are delivered to the commanderof a regular post; we have resolved upon that!" was the reply.

  "Curry!" said Habershaw, turning in some perplexity to the dragoon as iffor advice.

  "Softly, Captain; we had better have a parley here," said Curry, whothen added in a whisper: "There's been some damned bobbery kicked uphere by the blacksmith. This comes of giving that fellow the privilegeof talking."

  "A word, men," interposed Horse Shoe, who during this interval hadplanted himself near Butler, and with him stood ready to act as theemergency might require. "Let me say a word. This James Curry is my man.Give me a broadsword and a pair of pistols, and I will pledge the handand word of a sodger, upon condition that I am allowed five minutes'parole, to have a pass, here in the yard, with him--it shall be in sightof the whole squad--I pledge the word of a sodger to deliver myself backagain to the guard, dead or alive, without offering to take any chanceto make off in the meantime. Come, James Curry, your word to the back ofthat, and then buckle on your sword, man. I heard your whisper."

  "Soldiers," said Curry, stepping into the circle which the party had nowformed round the room, "let me put in a word as a peace-maker. CaptainHabershaw won't be unreasonable. I will vouch for him that he willfulfil your wish regarding the conveying of the prisoners to a regularpost. Come, come, let us have no brawling! For shame! put down yourguns. There may be reason in what you ask, although it isn't so muchagainst the fashion of the times to shoot a Whig either. But anythingfor the sake of quiet amongst good fellows. Be considerate, noblecaptain, and do as the babies wish. As for Horse Shoe's brag--he is anold soldier, and so am I; that's enough. We are not so green as to put abroadsword and a brace of pistols into the hands of a bullying prisoner.No, no, Horse Shoe! try another trick, old boy! Ha, ha, lads! you are aset of fine dashing chaps, and this is only one of your mad-cap bits ofspunk that boils up with your liquor. Take another cup on it, my merryfellows, and all will be as pleasant as the music of a fife. Come,valiant Captain of the Tiger, join us. And as for the prisoners--why letthem come in for snacks with us. So there's an end of the business. Allis as mild as new milk again."

  "Well, well, get your breakfasts," said Habershaw gruffly. "Blast you! Ihave spoiled you by good treatment, you ungrateful, carnivorous dogs!But, as Peppercorn says, there's an end of it! So go to your feeding,and when that's done we will push for Blackstock's."

  The morning meal was soon despatched, and the party reassembled in theroom where the late disturbance had taken place. The good-nature ofRobinson continued to gain upon those who had first taken up his cause,and even brought him into a more lenient consideration with the others.Amongst the former I have already noted Andrew Clopper, a rough andinsubordinate member of the gang, who, vexed by some old grudge againstthe fat captain, had efficiently sustained Green in the late act ofmutiny, and who now, struck with Horse Shoe's bold demeanor towardsCurry, began to evince manifest signs of a growing regard for the worthysergeant. With this man Horse Shoe contrived to hold a short and secretinterview that resulted in the quiet transfer of a piece of gold intothe freebooter's hand, which was received with a significant nod ofassent to whatever proposition accompanied it. When the order of "bootand saddle" was given by Habershaw, the several members of the trooprepaired to their horses, where a short time was spent in making readyfor the march; after which the whole squad returned to the porch andoccupied the few moments of delay in that loud and boisterous carousalwhich is apt to mark the conduct of such an ill-organized body in theinterval immediately preceding the commencement of a day's ride. Thiswas a moment of intense interest to the sergeant, who kept his eyessteadily fixed upon the movements of Clopper, as that individuallingered behind his comrades in the equipment of his horse. Thissolicitude did not, however, arrest his seeming mirth, as he joined inthe rude jests of the company and added some sallies of his own.

  "Give me that cup," he said at length, to one of the men, as he pointedto a gourd on a table; "before we start I have a notion to try thestrength of a little cold water, just by way of physic, after all theliquor we have been drinking," and, having got the implement in hishand, he walked deliberately to the draw-well, where he dipped up adraught from the bucket that stood on its brink. As he put the water tohis lips and turned his back upon the company, he was enabled to take asurvey of the horses that were attached to the rack near him: then,suddenly throwing the gourd from him, he sprang towards his own trustysteed, leaped into his saddle at one bound, and sped, like an arrow froma bow, upon the highway. This exploit was so promptly achieved that noone was aware of the sergeant's purpose until he was some twenty pacesupon his journey. As soon as the alarm of his flight was spread, somethree or four rifles were fired after him in rapid succession, duringwhich he was seen ducking his head and moving it from side to side witha view to baffle the aim of the marksmen. The confusion of the moment inwhich the volley was given rendered it ineffectual, and the sergeant wasalready past the first danger of his escape.

  "To horse and follow!" resounded from all sides.

  "Look to the other prisoner!" roared out Habershaw; "if he raises hishead blow out his brains! Follow, boys, follow!"

  "Two or three of you come with me," cried Curry, and a couple of fileshastened with the dragoon to their horses. Upon arriving at the rack itwas discovered that the bridles of the greater part of the troop weretied in hard knots in such a manner as to connect each two or threehorses together.

  A short delay took place whilst the horsemen were disentangling theirreins, and Curry, being the first to extricate his steed, mounted andset off in rapid pursuit. He was immediately followed by two others.

  At the end of half an hour the two privates returned and reported thatthey had been unable to obtain a view of the sergeant or even of Curry.Shortly afterwards the dragoon himself was descried retracing his stepsat a moderate trot towards the house. His plight told a tale upon him ofdiscomfiture. One side of his face was bleeding with a recent bruise,his dress disarranged and his back covered with dust. The side of hishorse also bore the same taint of the soil.

  He rode up to Habershaw--who was already upon the road at the head ofthe remaining members of the squad, having Butler in charge--andinformed him that he had pursued the sergeant at full speed until hecame in sight of him, when the fugitive had slackened his gait as if onpurpose to allow himself to be overtaken.

  "But, the devil grip the fellow!" he added, "he has a broad-side like aman-of-war! In my hurry I left my sword behind me, and, when I came upwith him, I laid my hand upon his bridle; but, by some sudden sleightwhich he has taught his horse, he contrived, somehow or other, to upsetme--horse and all--down a bank on the road-side. And, when I lay on theground sprawling, do you think the jolly runagate didn't rein up andgive me a broad laugh, and ask me if he could be of any _sarvice_ to me?He then bade me good bye, saying he had an engagement that prevented himfrom favoring me any longer with his company. Gad! it was so civillydone that all I could say was, luck go with you, Mr. Horse Shoe; and,since we are to part company so soon, may the devil pad your saddle foryou! I'll do him the justice to say that he's a better horseman than Itook him for. I can hardly begrudge a man his liberty who can win it ascleverly as he has done."

  "Well, there's no more to be said about it," remarked Habershaw. "He isonly game for another day. He is like a bear's cub; which
is as much asto signify that he has a hard time before him. He would have only givenus trouble; so let him go. Now, boys, away for Blackstock's; I willengage I keep the fox that's left safely enough."

  With these words the troop proceeded upon their march.