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Paddy Finn, a fiction by William H. G. Kingston |
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Chapter 11. A Narrow Escape |
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_ CHAPTER ELEVEN. A NARROW ESCAPE The overseer proposed dashing out, with a whip in one hand and a sword in the other. "The rascals won't stop running if they see us coming after them," he said. Mr Talboys, however, wisely ordered all of us to remain inside the walls. "There are brave fellows among them, notwithstanding the cowardice of some, and they are very likely to turn round and cut us to pieces," he observed. This would certainly have been the case, for we heard the blacks shouting and shrieking at no great distance off, though beyond the range of our muskets. They had evidently halted. "We must be ready for another attack, my friends," cried Mr Talboys. "Keep at your posts." Miss Lucy came up to where Tom and I were standing. "We're so much obliged to you," she said. "If those dreadful blacks had got in, we knew that we should all be killed. You have defended us bravely, and we're so glad that no one has been hurt." "When we think that we have you to defend, we'll fight as long as we have a charge of powder and a ball remaining, and after that, too, for we should make good use of our swords, depend on it," answered Tom gallantly. After this the blacks were quiet for some time, but we could not judge whether they intended again to come on. Mr Talboys assured us that they were still in the neighbourhood, and that we must be prepared at any moment for an attack. The time went slowly by. I heard Caesar and Cato talking; and as the danger appeared to lessen, the courage of the former increased. "Dem niggers, how dey did run when we fired at dem! great cowards! Just dey cum on again, and see how we pepper der legs," said Caesar. "Better dey not cum," observed Cato, like a true philosopher, probably doubting his companion's resolution. As there was no necessity to keep at our posts, I went up and asked Mr Talboys if he would allow me to take his place, while he joined the ladies. "Thank you," he said; "I was intending to summon you, for I wish to take a look round our fortifications, to be sure that we have no weak points, for I strongly suspect we have not done with those fellows yet." He was just about to descend, when I caught sight of a bright light away to the northward. "What is that?" I asked, pointing it out to him. "It comes from the direction of Marchant's house," he answered. "I very much fear the rebels have set fire to it. Yes, there is no doubt about it," he added, as forked flames were observed to burst up round the first light, and to extend on either side. Presently another light was seen in the south-east. "That must be from Peek's estate. I hope they had warning, and made their escape in time, or the villains will have murdered them, to a certainty. Fortunately there are no women or children there." We stood watching the progress of the flames. "We'll not tell the Marchants of the disaster," he continued. "It might drive them out of their wits; but they may consider themselves fortunate in having escaped with their lives." Loud shouts rising from the spot where we supposed the blacks to be showed the pleasure they felt at seeing the houses burning. "They would be still more delighted could they destroy Belmont," observed Mr Talboys. "They will, I fear, soon again attempt to carry out their design." He now begged me to remain where I was, and to give him immediate information, should I observe anything suspicious, and went down to carry out his intention of examining every assailable point in the house. I kept, my eyes turned, first to one side, then to the other, peering into the darkness, when I observed something moving, away to the right. It seemed like a black line; and after watching it for a few seconds, I felt sure that it was formed by a number of negroes creeping cautiously on to the right of the house, and endeavouring to conceal themselves. I was afraid that my voice might be heard should I shout out, so I went down the steps and soon found Mr Talboys. The moment I told him what I had seen, he sprang up with me, but we could see nothing, though we watched for some minutes. "If they were really blacks you saw, they intend to take us by surprise," he said. "We must keep a look-out, and be prepared for them." Just as he was speaking, there came a loud crashing sound, and the next instant cries and shouts rang through the house. Mr Talboys sprang down the steps, and I followed him. There was no difficulty in ascertaining in what direction to go. A door had evidently been burst open in the southern wing of the house. A piercing shriek was heard as we hurried on. The rest of the party, deserting their posts, had already gone to drive back our assailants. The overseer and clerk, Sinnet and Chaffey, were encountering them bravely. Two had already paid dearly for their temerity, when Mr Talboys, springing forward, attacked them furiously. I kept with him, and did my best with my hanger, cutting and slashing at the woolly pates of the fellows, who evidently were not prepared for so determined a resistance. Those in front gave way, and others who were about to enter hesitated to advance. Mrs Talboys was rendering us good service by holding up a lantern, by which we could see our assailants, while the light, falling on their eyes, prevented them from seeing us. Though I observed my other two messmates, I could nowhere see Tom Pim. What could have become of him? I thought. I was, however, sure that he would not have held back, for though he was but a little fellow, he knew how to use his hanger as well as any of us. The fight didn't last long; another black was killed, two lay wounded on the ground, and the rest bolted out of the door, which, though shattered, was not off its hinges. "Quick! Bring some planks," cried Mr Talboys. There were some near at hand, with which we had intended to secure that particular door. We were not long in putting them up, and placing a heavy chest of drawers against them. Just as this was done, Mrs Talboys exclaimed-- "Where is Lucy?" "And where is Tom Pim?" I cried out. Neither of them answered. Before any search could be made, Mr Marchant, who had been watching at the other side of the house, shouted out-- "The enemy are upon us I the enemy are upon us! Quick! quick!" We hurried to our posts, and before many seconds had elapsed, a shower of bullets came rattling against the walls. "Fire away, my friends," cried Mr Talboys. We obeyed the order with alacrity. I was thinking all the time, however, as to what could have become of Tom and Lucy. In vain I expected my messmate to hasten to his post. Again the blacks were checked. Had they been a minute sooner, the case would have been very different. They calculated, of course, on their friends getting in at the back of the house, and causing a diversion in their favour. For twenty minutes or more we kept loading and firing as fast as we could. Mr Talboys was everywhere, now at one window, now at another, while the clerk and Cato were guarding the back and wings of the house. How the hours had passed by I could not tell, when at length I saw a faint light in the eastern sky. It gradually increased in brightness, and in a wonderfully short time daylight burst upon the world. As the blacks had failed to get into the house during the night, it was less likely that they would succeed during the day. They fired a parting volley, and then, to our great satisfaction, beat a rapid retreat. The search for Lucy and Tom was now renewed. "Oh, my dear husband, what can have become of her?" cried Mrs Talboy in accents of despair. That they were not in the house was very certain. I proposed to sally forth and search for them. "I'll go myself," said Mr Talboys. "The rebels will be on the look-out, and you very probably will be captured if you go alone." He consented, however, to my accompanying him. We went out at the back door, which Mr Talboys ordered to be closed after us. We had not gone far when we discovered a ribbon, which I knew Miss Lucy had worn on her shoulder. "She must have been carried off by the blacks when they first burst into the house," cried Mr Talboys. "The wretches cannot have had the barbarity to injure her," I said. "I don't know! I don't know!" answered her father in an agonised tone of voice. We followed the track of the blacks, which was distinctly marked by the plants and canes being trampled down where they had gone across the garden and plantation, and continued on for some distance. No other trace of Tom or Lucy could we discover. We had to proceed cautiously, as at any time we might come suddenly upon a party of them, when we might find it very difficult to escape. We were, however, both well-armed, with muskets in our hands, braces of pistols in our belts, and swords by our sides, so that we hoped, should we fall in with any enemies, to keep them at bay while we retreated. We looked round on either side, in the expectation of seeing something else that either Lucy or Tom might have dropped; but sometimes I could not help fearing that they might have been killed, and that we should come upon their dead bodies. Still I tried to put away the thought from me, as it was too dreadful I suspect the same idea occurred to Mr Talboys, who looked stern and determined, and seldom spoke, while his eye was ranging round, far and near. We were going in the direction we fancied the blacks had taken. Mr Talboys was of opinion that, finding they could not succeed in destroying Belmont, they had gone off to attack some other house and ravage the plantations. We were making our way across the country instead of along the high road, where the blacks might have discovered us at a distance; but sometimes the foliage was so thick that we could not see a dozen yards ahead. This had its advantages and its disadvantages. It was evidently the line which the party of blacks who had nearly surprised us had followed. Now and then we got close to the high road, and we were able, while still keeping under shelter ourselves, to look along it either way. "The rebels have not, I suspect, gone off altogether, and we may not be far from them now," whispered Mr Talboys. "Be very cautious; keep under cover as much as you can, and avoid making any rustling among the branches." We had moved on scarcely a dozen paces after this, when suddenly a number of black heads appeared above the bushes close in front of us. The white eyes of the negroes, as they caught sight of us, showed that they were more astonished than we were at the sudden encounter. Exclamations of surprise escaped from their lips. "On, lads," shouted Mr Talboys at the top of his voice, as, drawing his sword, he sprang forward. "Send those rascals to the right about." Uttering a shout, I imitated his example. The blacks, evidently supposing that a strong body of whites was upon them, turned, and endeavoured to make their way through the brushwood, without looking back to see who was pursuing them. As they had no other encumbrances than their muskets, they soon distanced us. Not one of them fell, for Mr Talboys refrained from firing, as did I, waiting until he told me to do so. "Now, my young friend, it will be well to beat a retreat before these rascals discover that we are alone," he said. We were about to do as he proposed, when, unfortunately, one of the blacks, who was nearer to us than the rest, looked round, and seeing no one besides us, shouted to his companions. Now one stopped, now another, till the whole party came to a stand-still, turned round, and faced us. "Spring back and try to get under cover," said Mr Talboys in a low voice. "If the fellows advance, fire; but not till then. I'll speak to them." He then shouted, "You have carried off two young people from my house. Give them up at once unhurt, and we will not punish you as you deserve; but if they're injured, not one of you shall escape hanging." "We not got de young white folks here," sang out a voice from among the negroes. "You talk ob hanging, massa; take care we not hang you. What we stop here for?" continued the speaker to his companions; "dere not many dere, or dey cum on." From the way the blacks were looking, I guessed that they were trying to discover how many persons were opposed to them; but as yet they fancied that there were others behind us. "Do you quietly retreat, my young friend," said Mr Talboys in a low voice. "Make your way back to the house as fast as you can, and tell them to be on their guard. I can manage these fellows as well alone, and your life would be needlessly risked by remaining." "I will do as you wish, sir; but if there's to be fighting, I should prefer to stay by you," I answered. "I'll try to avoid it, then," said my friend, and once more he spoke to the blacks. "If the young folks are not with you, tell me where they are." "We know nothin'," answered the black. "Maybe by dis time dey hang from de branch ob one tree." "I don't believe that any of you would have had the cruelty to kill them," he cried out. "Do as I wish you," he continued, in a low voice, to me. Still I could not bring myself, for the sake of saving my own life, to leave him to be taken by the blacks; for it seemed to me that he would have but a small chance of escaping from them. I was hesitating, when I heard a shout from beyond where they were standing, and presently a number more rushed up, who by their furious gestures, as soon as they saw us, seemed to threaten our immediate destruction. "I'll kill the first who comes on," cried Mr Talboys. They answered with derisive cries, and several of them levelled their muskets. Mr Talboys and I kept ours pointed at them, sheltering ourselves as we could behind the trunks of two trees which stood close together. Our chance of escaping appeared very small. While we thus kept the blacks in check, a sound in the rear struck my ears. It was the tramp of many feet. It became louder and louder. The blacks, jabbering away as they were to each other, did not apparently hear it. Mr Talboys did, however, and he knew that it was more important than ever to refrain from firing. He again shouted to them-- "Do any of you who have just come know where my daughter and young friend are gone to?" They didn't reply, but we heard them talking to one another. This further put off the time. The sound of tramping feet grew louder. "You make fool ob us, Massa Talboys," at last said one of the blacks, who, probably from his understanding English, had been chosen as spokesman. Gesticulating violently, the whole body now gave vent to loud shouts and cries, and dashed forward, with the intention of overwhelming us. We both fired, in the hopes of delaying their advance, and then sprang back to the shelter of some other trees we had noted behind us. The blacks, as they rushed on, fired, but their bullets passed high above our heads, stripping off the bark and branches, which came rattling down upon us. We had but a small chance of again escaping, should we attempt the same proceeding; but, as the blacks were within twenty paces of us, a party of redcoats dashed through the brushwood, one of their leaders being a small naval officer whom, to my joy, I recognised as Tom Pim. The blacks saw the soldiers, and, without waiting to encounter the sharp points of their bayonets, turned, and scampered off as fast as they could manage to get through the bushes, the speed of most of them being increased by the bullets poured in on them, while several bit the ground. The soldiers continued the pursuit till the blacks, scattering in all directions, got out of range of their muskets. Mr Talboys and I accompanied them; but not till the halt was called had we an opportunity of speaking to Tom. "And where is Lucy, my dear fellow?" asked Mr Talboys, grasping Tom by the hand. "All right, sir," answered Tom. "She's safe in the house. When the blacks broke in last night, she was close to the door, and a piece of wood striking her, she fell to the ground. The blacks, rushing in, seized her before I was able to lift her up, and while I was shouting out for assistance, and trying to defend her, they got hold of me, and carried us both off. It was only a short time ago that I knew you were safe; for I was dreadfully afraid that they had got into the house, and murdered you all. Fortunately, the blacks allowed Miss Lucy and me to remain together; so I told her to keep up her spirits, and that I would try and help her to run away. Most of the blacks who at first had charge of us hurried back, expecting to pillage the house, and only two remained. We heard the shots you fired, but I still did not know that you had driven them out. Meantime our two black guards were so occupied in trying to find out what was going on, that I took the opportunity of drawing my hanger, which had not been taken from me, and giving one a slash across the eyes, and another a blow which nearly cut off his arm. I seized Miss Lucy's hand, and we ran off as fast as we could. Neither of our guards were in a condition to follow us, and we ran and ran, scarcely knowing in what direction we were going. Miss Lucy said that she thought we were on the high road to Kingston; but she became at last so tired that she could go no further, and we had to rest. It soon became daylight; and just as we were going on again, we met with the soldiers, who were being brought up by Captain Ryan to your assistance." "You behaved most bravely, and I am deeply indebted to you, my young friend," said Mr Talboys, grasping Tom's hand. "Had you not offered so determined a resistance, I believe that the blacks would have got into the house, and we should all have been destroyed." As the men had had a long and rapid march, their commander was glad to accept Mr Talboys' invitation to return at once to Belmont, to partake of the refreshments they so much needed. Miss Lucy on our arrival rushed into her father's arms, and was warm in her praises of the gallant way in which Tom had rescued her. Everybody was engaged either in cooking or carrying provisions to the soldiers, who had assembled under the shade of the trees in front of the house. Sentries were of course placed, to give due notice should the blacks rally and attempt another attack, though Mr Talboys considered it very improbable that such would be made. As our leave was to expire the day after these events took place, having enjoyed a sound sleep, early in the morning we started in the carriages that had brought us, Cato driving Tom and me. We were glad to think that our kind friends were well protected, as Captain Ryan said that his orders were to remain there until reinforcements arrived. I won't describe our parting, or what Tom said to Miss Lucy; if not affecting, it was cordial. On our way we met more troops moving towards Belmont. We got back to Kingston, and thence on board the frigate, within the time Mr Saunders had given us leave to be absent. The account of our adventures created great interest on board. When I told Larry of our narrow escape with Mr Talboys-- "Thin, Maisther Terence dear, don't be after going on shore again without me," he exclaimed. "If you had been killed I'd never have lifted up my head, nor shown my face at Ballinahone again; for they would be saying that I ought to have been by your side, and died with you if I could not save you." I promised Larry not to go anywhere, if I could help it, without him. We expected soon to have sailed, but we were detained by Sir Peter Parker, then the admiral at Jamaica. There were also several other frigates and three line-of-battle ships in the harbour. Tom and I especially wanted to be off, as we could not expect to obtain leave again to go on shore, though we determined if the ship was detained to ask for it. "Not much chance of that," observed Nettleship, who had just come from the shore. "The people are expecting an attack from the French and Spaniards, who have large fleets out here under the Count De Grasse, and the Governor has just got a letter, it is said, taken on board a prize, in which the whole plan for the capture of the island is detailed. The inhabitants are everywhere up in arms, and vow that they will fight to the last sooner than yield. More troops are expected, and every preparation is being made for the defence of the island." We had seen the _Triton_ frigate go out that morning, though we were not aware of her destination. She carried despatches from Sir Peter Parker, giving Lord Howe the information which had been received, and requesting that reinforcements might immediately be sent to the island. The people on shore were actively engaged in strengthening Fort George, Fort Augusta, and the Apostles' Battery, and throwing up new forts in various directions. While the blacks were labouring at the fortifications, all the white men were being drilled to serve in the militia, which was numerous and enthusiastic; so we hoped that even should the French and Spaniards land, they would be soundly thrashed. Some days passed before we received any news of our friends at Belmont. No leave was granted, as the captain could not tell at what moment we should be ordered to sea. Tom and I were therefore unable to go to Kingston to make inquiries about them. At length a shore-boat came off with letters, and one, which I knew by the superscription to be from Mr Talboys, was handed to me. As I opened it, a small delicate note-- addressed, Tom Pim, Esquire, H.M.S. _Liffy_--fell out. As Tom was standing close to me at the time, he eagerly snatched it up. I was right in my surmises with regard to my letter. Mr Talboys having again expressed his thanks for the services my messmates and I had rendered him, after saying that his family were all well, went on to inform me that the outbreak of the blacks had been quickly suppressed, the ringleaders having been caught and hanged. Mr Marchant's house and three others had alone been destroyed, and with the exception of an overseer and two clerks, the remainder of the inhabitants had managed to escape. "I hope," he added, "that we shall see you and your messmates again, and I shall be especially pleased to welcome that brave young fellow who so gallantly rescued my daughter." "What does your letter say, Tom?" I asked, when I had finished mine. "Well, I shouldn't like to show it to any one else," he said; "but as you know how I regard Miss Lucy, I will to you. I can't say that I am quite satisfied with it. It's a little too patronising, as if she thought herself a great deal older than I am. You shall have it," and he handed me the note.
Tom, however, looked very melancholy, and some time afterwards Chaffey observed to me that he was sure something was amiss with Tom, as he was completely off his feed. While we were allowed to go on shore our life was pleasant enough, but when confined on board it was somewhat dreary work, and we all longed for a change of some sort. A climate with the thermometer at ninety doesn't conduce to high spirits. We were aroused one evening as most of us were below, by Sinnet rushing into the berth, and exclaiming-- "The _Glasgow_ is on fire, and the boats are ordered away to her assistance." The _Glasgow_ was a frigate, lying at no great distance from us, and was to have sailed with the land breeze with a company of troops to the westward. We hurried on deck. Our boats were being lowered, as were those of the other ships in the harbour. Smoke in dense volumes was rising from the hatchways of the _Glasgow_, and more was pouring out of her ports. Her crew were at their stations, hauling up buckets of water, and labouring like brave men to quench the rising flames; but all their efforts, as far as I could see, were ineffectual. Nettleship and some of the older midshipmen went off in the boats. "I hope that they'll draw the charges of their guns, or we shall have some of their shot rattling on board us," said Tom. "There are plenty of boats, so I don't suppose any of the crew will be lost." "I should think not, unless the magazine catches fire," I answered. "They'll drown that the first thing, if they can," remarked Tom. "I wish we could have gone in one of the boats. I don't like to see people in danger and be unable to try and help them." _ |
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