"You won"t stop us, my good man," answered d.i.c.k, going up and slipping a silver crown into his hand. "We have come to see our father, and surely you would not interfere with two young children like us, who can do no harm to anyone."
The man, a fresh recruit, who knew nothing about military discipline, having pocketed the coin, was easily persuaded to allow us to proceed.
The next sentry d.i.c.k managed in the same way. We advanced, d.i.c.k holding my hand, until we were within the camp. Several persons spoke to us, but did not seem to think it necessary to interfere with our progress, and at length, by dint of inquiring the way we found ourselves standing before a large tent, occupied we were told, by Prince Maurice.
We were waiting for leave to enter, when the curtain was drawn aside, and a Cavalier in cuira.s.s and plumed hat, a light moustache, his locks curling over his shoulders, came forth.
"Who are you, my pretty maiden?" he asked, looking at d.i.c.k.
"An" it please you, sir, I"ve come to see my father, who, we have heard, is a prisoner in the camp, though why or wherefore he is detained we cannot tell, for no more peaceable gentleman is to be found in the south of England. We wish to deliver some messages to him, and learn how he fares. Have we your permission, for you are, I opine, the general of this army?"
The Prince, for that such he was we knew by the way the officers who stood round addressed him, smiled as he replied--
"Say, who is your father?"
"Master Harvey, your highness," answered d.i.c.k.
"You have an arrant rebel for a father, then, I fear," said the Prince.
"Please, your highness, I know nothing of politics; all I desire is to have a few words with my father, whom I am bound to honour, whether Royalist or Roundhead, and then to quit the camp and return home."
The Prince, after exchanging a few words with one of the gentlemen standing by, handed a piece of paper, on which he had written a few lines, to d.i.c.k.
"Take this, maiden," he said; "it will gain your object. But, understand, after you have seen your father, for your own sake, without loss of time, you must return home."
Thankful that we had so easily accomplished the first part of our enterprise--accompanied by one of the officers, who undertook to show us the way--we set off for the cottage in which we were told Mr Harvey with other prisoners were confined.
CHAPTER THREE.
IN THE ENEMY"S HANDS.
Mr Harvey looked so astonished when d.i.c.k and I were introduced, that he almost betrayed us. Quickly, however, recovering himself, he opened his arms and embraced us affectionately. The other prisoners, gentlemen well acquainted with him, seeing that he wished to be alone, retired to the farther end of the room, when d.i.c.k lost no time in whispering into his ear the plan we had arranged for his liberation.
He listened with a thoughtful brow, and d.i.c.k continued to press its adoption, but I much feared that he would not agree.
"I will try it," he said at last; "but you, my children, must hasten from the camp; it is no place for young persons, and should I fail to escape, you will be made to suffer."
Though d.i.c.k begged hard to remain, his father was firm, and told us to return by the way we had come, hoping that we might get free without further questions being asked us.
Having taken an affectionate farewell of Mr Harvey, we set out, d.i.c.k cleverly replying to all the questions put to us, and, with much less difficulty than we had expected, we gained the outskirts of the camp.
Instead of returning to Lyme, we kept on towards Charmouth, to a spot where we had agreed to meet Lancelot. To our infinite satisfaction we found that he had obtained a horse and left if in Charmouth Wood as arranged, under charge of a lad who had been directed to stay there until Mr Harvey appeared, being supplied with food for himself and corn for the animal.
We would gladly have remained to see the success of our undertaking, but Lancelot was impatient to get back to relieve the anxiety which his father and mother would feel when his absence was discovered. We therefore set off to return to the sh.o.r.e, keeping a look-out to ascertain that we were not watched.
We had reached the top of the cliffs, and were about to descend, when we caught sight in the distance of a party of horse galloping towards us.
"They are out on a foraging expedition, probably," observed Lancelot.
"We must get away before they come here, or they will be apt to inquire our business."
Whether we had been seen or not, it was impossible to say. We, however, made the best of our way down the cliff; on reaching the bottom we found Tom waiting for us, and forthwith set to work to launch the boat. We had scarcely got her into the water when some of the men we had before seen appeared at the top of the cliffs. They hailed us, and ordered us to come back.
"Very likely," said Lancelot. "Shove away, Tom. Let them halloo as long as they like."
We had got out the oars, and the boat was soon in deep water. d.i.c.k took the helm while the rest of us rowed, as there was not wind enough to fill the sail had we hoisted it.
A voice from the top of the cliff again ordered us to come back, and presently several shots pattered into the water close alongside.
"Cowards!" exclaimed Lancelot. "Even though they fancy they see a girl steering, they make no scruple of trying to hit us." The shot only made us pull the harder. Presently we saw some of the men descending the cliff, and making towards a boat which lay hauled up on the beach at some distance.
"They suspect something, and intend to pursue us," observed Lancelot.
"Nevertheless, we have a good start of them, and when we get farther out, we shall feel the breeze and be able to make sail."
"And maybe the other boat hasn"t any oars in her, and if so we can laugh at them," said Tom.
Lancelot told d.i.c.k to steer right out to sea. "They won"t be inclined to follow us far away from the land," he observed; "and if we make for Lyme, they will guess where we come from."
We saw the men reach the boat, and presently they began to launch her.
By this time we had got well beyond the range of their firearms.
"Hurrah!" cried d.i.c.k, who had been looking to the eastward. "I see a sail coming up from Portland. She"s more likely to be a friend than an enemy, and if we can get on board her we may defy our pursuers."
This announcement encouraged us. We had need, however, to exert ourselves, for the soldiers had almost launched the boat, which showed us that they had found oars, or they would not have taken the trouble of putting her into the water. We could only just see what they were about, but we made out that four or five fellows had got into her.
Directly afterwards, her head being turned towards us, they gave way.
Though the boat was heavy, four stout hands were more than a match for us, for though Tom pulled a strong oar, Lancelot and I were scarcely equal in strength to one man.
d.i.c.k kept looking eastward. Again he cried out, "There"s another sail, and another; a whole fleet of them!"
"If they are Parliament ships, they"ll soon make the fellows in the boat astern put about," exclaimed Tom; but we were pulling too hard to turn our heads even for a moment. Our pursuers still kept on, but they were not near enough to allow them to fire with any chance of hitting us.
They had undoubtedly seen the ships, and thought we were going out to carry them information. This probably made them more anxious to catch us. At length the breeze, as we expected it would, freshened.
"I"ll step the mast; you, Master Lancelot, go to the helm. Stand by to hoist the sail, Master Ben," cried Tom; and in half a minute we had the mast stepped, the sail hoisted, and the sheet hauled aft, when, again getting out the oars, we glided rapidly through the water. We saw that our pursuers had no sail, or they would have hoisted it. This was satisfactory, though they were pulling harder than ever.
Should the wind hold, we had good hope that they would soon be left behind, still it would be folly to relax our efforts.
"Hurrah! we are distancing them," cried Tom.
As he spoke, our pursuers fired two shots at us, but the bullets fell into the water astern.
"Blaze away as fast as you like!" cried Lancelot; "every shot you fire will help us to get ahead of you."
The men in the boat had to throw in their oars to fire, while they lost some time in reloading.
The ships were still a long way off, and it was very probable that, as evening came on, the wind would fail before we could reach them. There was, however, one frigate ahead, which, propelled by oars as well as sails, was making good way. We steered for her.
"All right, boys," cried Tom; "I see the Parliamentary flag flying from her peak, and if those fellows come near us they"ll have to rue it."