"We are satisfied that the ruffians are going over to Colonel Belthorpe"s plantation, to do there what they intended to do here, and we mean to get there before they do," replied Major Lyon. "We believe that everything here is safe for the present."
The party crossed the bridge and came to the saddle horses. By this time all the men on the plantation who had not before been called for duty had a.s.sembled by the horses, and the four white men mounted at once. The breech-loaders were provided with straps, and had been suspended at the backs of those who used them. Eight of the men who had already seen service were mounted and seven more were put into the wagon, provided with weapons which had been sent for.
"Filly!" called Major Lyon, addressing a mulatto who had the reputation of being a very intelligent fellow, "you will go to the fort and tell Levi we are going over to Lyndhall, for we are sure the ruffians mean to burn the house. Take the rest of the hands here with you, and tell him to keep a close watch over the place. I shall take Dexter with me."
The rest of the party had already ridden off at full gallop, fearful that they might be too late to protect the colonel"s property.
"But I have no horse, father," said Deck, who had heard the planter tell Filly that he should take him with him.
"You will go in the wagon," replied his father. "I see that you are gaping, and you must be very tired. Get in; the body is filled with hay, and it will give you a chance to get rested."
Deck did not like the arrangement very well, tired as he was, but he obeyed the order. The negroes made way for him, and fixed him a nice place to lie down in the wagon. He dropped asleep almost instantly, for he had been up all the night before, and had worked hard and been intensely excited since he left his bed just before noon.
Major Lyon had his late brother"s favorite animal, a blood horse that had won a small fortune for his master in the races, and he soon overtook the advance of the party. The wagon could not keep up with him, and was soon left far behind.
Near the east end of the Rapids Bridge over the river was a locality called the "Cross Roads," where four highways came together. At this point the one from the county town pa.s.sing through Barcreek village crossed the stream. Another road branched off here, leading up the creek, from which the private way over the bridge led to Major Lyon"s mansion. It continued half a mile farther up the creek, and then turned to the north-east. This was called the "New Road," and upon it, three miles from the creek bridge, was the plantation of Colonel Belthorpe.
From the Cross Roads also extended what was called the "Old Road," which was laid out nearer to the great river; and six miles distant by the later-built highway the two came together, though it was over eight by the older one. About half a mile of the new road was on the bank of Bar Creek, and upon it had transpired most of the events related.
The ruffians had been driven down this road towards Rapids Bridge. They had taken to the woods between the two highways; and by sending out the village lawyer to reconnoitre, Colonel Belthorpe had discovered that the enemy were marching, not to the bridge, but up the old road, which would take them, after a three miles" walk, to a point near his plantation, where they could easily cross to the new road. The distance by the new road was a mile less than by the other, and the fleet horses would carry the party to Lyndhall in abundant season to confront the marauders.
"I don"t believe the villains can get there before we do," said Colonel Belthorpe, as Major Lyon galloped his horse to his side. "If I had antic.i.p.ated the events of to-night, I should have been prepared for them. My overseer is not a Union man, and I am afraid he will not do his duty. My place is not so well situated for a defence as yours, Major."
"I believe we have force enough to drive the ruffians again, for they don"t like the smell of gun-powder any better than other bullies,"
replied the Riverlawn planter.
"My son Tom is at home, and my nephew, Major Gadbury, is visiting at Lyndhall. But all of them, including my two daughters, have gone to a party at Rock Lodge. I suppose you know the place, Major?"
"Not by that name."
"It is over on the old road, close by Rock Hill, from which it takes its name. You must have met Captain Carms."
"I have met him, and we have called upon him, but I never heard the name of his place before."
"Just at the foot of Rock Hill there is a cart-path connecting the two roads, and the ruffians may come through by that pa.s.sage, though it is very rough. Most of our stone comes from the quarry there, and the teams make bad work with the roads."
"The enemy can"t be a great way behind us by this time," suggested Major Lyon.
"We haven"t wasted any time, and it is some distance they had to travel round by the Cross Roads," replied the colonel, as he urged his steed to greater speed.
Though the road was anything but a smooth one, Deck Lyon slept like a log on the hay. His dusky companions did not speak a loud word for fear of waking him. Nearly half an hour after the hors.e.m.e.n had pa.s.sed it, the wagon was approaching the cross-cut between the two roads at Rock Hill.
Clinker the blacksmith, who had been excused from ambulance duty and another put in his place, was driving the horses.
"Cristofus! Wat"s dat?" he exclaimed, as two very distinct female screams struck his ears, and he set his team into a dead run.
""Pears like it"s women screeching," replied Mose, who was by his side on the front seat. "Dar"s trouble dar!"
"I reckon do screeches comed out"n de cross-cut," added Clinker.
The screams were repeated several times, and as the wagon pa.s.sed the hill the sounds of an encounter were heard. It was evident that a fight of some kind was in progress, and the men in the wagon unslung their breech-loaders ready for action; for they came to the conclusion at once that the ruffians were at the bottom of it. No shots were heard, and it did not appear that the marauders were armed.
"I reckon we mus" woke Mars"r Deck," said Clinker, as he reined in his horses at the cross-cut.
One of the men at his side shook the tired boy, and he sprang to his feet; for doubtless he was dreaming of the events of the night. Clinker explained the situation in as few words as his vocabulary would permit.
Deck seized his musket and leaped from the wagon, followed by all but the driver, who drove the horses to a tree and fastened them there.
Deck ran with all his might into the pa.s.sage, and presently came to a road wagon which had been "held up" by a gang of the ruffians. He ordered his six followers to have their arms ready, but not to fire till he gave them the word. With his revolver in his hand, which was a more convenient weapon than the gun, he rushed into the midst of the fight.
The party attacked were the nephew and son of Colonel Belthorpe, with his two daughters, who had been to the party at Rock Lodge.
CHAPTER XXIV
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE RUFFIANS
Deck Lyon rushed furiously down the lane which connected the two roads at this point. It was dark, and it was in vain that he tried to understand the situation from anything he could see. He was sure that the main body of the ruffians were not in the cross-cut, for there was not room enough for them. He had to depend chiefly upon his ears for information, for the trees on one side of the pa.s.sage obscured his way.
The first sound that attracted his attention as he advanced, above the general din, was a half-suppressed scream quite near him. The lane was so rough that he was obliged to move more slowly than when he had left the wagon, and he halted when he heard the cry. A moment later he discovered a man bearing a form in his arms, whose cries he was evidently trying to suppress with one of his hands placed over her mouth.
An opening in the grove enabled him to see so much, and to note the position of the ruffian. With his revolver in his hand he rushed forward; and, finding himself behind the a.s.sailant of the female, he threw himself upon him, and grasped him by the throat with both hands.
He had done some of this kind of work at the schoolhouse in the evening, and the experience was useful to him.
He compelled the villain to release his hold upon his prisoner in order to defend himself. Deck wrenched and twisted him in an effort to throw him down, but his arms were not strong enough to accomplish his purpose, and he called upon Mose to a.s.sist him. The faithful servant was close by him; and perhaps he was desirous of striking a literal blow in defence of his young master, for he delivered one squarely on the head of the ruffian which knocked him six feet from the spot.
At this moment, and just as the captor of the lady went over backwards into a hole by the side of the cart-path, a bright light was flashed upon the scene, and Deck could see where he was and where the ruffian he had encountered was. When Clinker had secured the horses at the end of the lane, he realized the necessity of more light on the subject before the party; for though he heard much he saw little.
Taking a quant.i.ty of the hay from the wagon, he hastened to the scene of the conflict just as Deck had closed with the ruffian who was bearing the lady away. Putting it on the ground, he lighted it with a match, and then heaped on sticks and hits of board and plank scattered about by those who had loaded stone in the pa.s.sage. The blaze revealed the entire situation to Deck and his companions, and it made a weird picture.
"Good, Clinker!" shouted Deck, as he saw the blacksmith standing with his musket in his hand, busy doing what he had undertaken. "Keep the fire up!"
The ruffian whom Mose, who was not much inferior to General and Dummy in bulk and strength, had knocked both literally and slangily "in a hole,"
lay perfectly still. Some five rods ahead of him Deck discovered a road wagon in the lane. Two horses were harnessed to it, and at the head of each of them was a ruffian, doing his best to restrain the spirited animals, frightened by the cries and the movements of the a.s.sailants.
Behind the wagon were two white men engaged in a terrible struggle with half a dozen of the soldiers of the ruffian army. They were getting the worst of it, though they fought with desperate energy.
From their appearance and the fact that they were defending themselves, it was plain enough to Deck that they were in charge of the two females.
They were unarmed, though one of them had procured a piece of board, and was doing good service with it. Just beyond the scene of the fight stood Buck Lagger, holding a female by the arm. She evidently realized that resistance was useless, and she had ceased to struggle or scream.
"Now follow me, boys!" shouted Deck. "You had better walk over to the fire, miss," he added to the young lady redeemed from the hands of the ruffian. "Clinker will see that no harm comes to you."
The six men who had followed the young man in advance of them, marched close to him, with their muskets in readiness for use. Deck could not order them to fire, for they were as likely to hit friends as enemies; but he rushed to the scene of the conflict, where the two white men had just been forced back by the marauders.
"Both fall back this way, gentlemen!" called the young leader.
Major Gadbury and Tom Belthorpe, as the colonel had given the names of those who attended his two daughters to the party, could not help realizing that a.s.sistance was at hand, though they saw only a stout boy and half a dozen negroes, and they promptly detached themselves from their a.s.sailants, and retreated behind the wagon.
"Now fire at them, one at a time!" shouted Deck, when it was safe to do so.