"No," replied Pearson, "I will ensure you against that; but your Excellency strikes so fiercely, you allow no time for an answer. Hark! I hear the baying of a hound, and the voice of a man who is quieting him-Shall we break in at once, or hold parley?"
"I will speak to them first," said Cromwell.-"Hollo! who is within there?"
"Who is it enquires?" answered Sir Henry Lee from the interior; "or what want you here at this dead hour?"
"We come by warrant of the Commonwealth of England," said the General.
"I must see your warrant ere I undo either bolt or latch," replied the knight; "we are enough of us to make good the castle: neither I nor my fellows will deliver it up but upon good quarter and conditions; and we will not treat for these save in fair daylight."
"Since you will not yield to our right, you must try our might," replied Cromwell. "Look to yourselves within; the door will be in the midst of you in five minutes."
"Look to yourselves without," replied the stout-hearted Sir Henry; "we will pour our shot upon you, if you attempt the least violence."
But, alas! while he a.s.sumed this bold language, his whole garrison consisted of two poor terrified women; for his son, in conformity with the plan which they had fixed upon, had withdrawn from the hall into the secret recesses of the palace.
"What can they be doing now, sir?" said Phoebe, hearing a noise as it were of a carpenter turning screw-nails, mixed with a low buzz of men talking.
"They are fixing a petard," said the knight, with great composure. "I have noted thee for a clever wench, Phoebe, and I will explain it to thee: "Tis a metal pot, shaped much like one of the roguish knaves" own sugarloaf hats, supposing it had narrower brims-it is charged with some few pounds of fine gunpowder. Then"-
"Gracious! we shall be all blown up!" exclaimed Phoebe,-the word gunpowder being the only one which she understood in the knight"s description.
"Not a bit, foolish girl. Pack old Dame Jellicot into the embrasure of yonder window," said the knight, "on that side of the door, and we will ensconce ourselves on this, and we shall have time to finish my explanation, for they have bungling engineers. We had a clever French fellow at Newark would have done the job in the firing of a pistol."
They had scarce got into the place of security when the knight proceeded with his description.-"The petard being formed, as I tell you, is secured with a thick and strong piece of plank, termed the madrier, and the whole being suspended, or rather secured against the gate to be forced-But thou mindest me not?"
"How can I, Sir Henry," she said, "within reach of such a thing as you speak of?-O Lord! I shall go mad with very terror-we shall be crushed-blown up-in a few minutes!"
"We are secure from the explosion," replied the knight, gravely, "which will operate chiefly in a forward direction into the middle of the chamber; and from any fragments that may fly laterally, we are sufficiently guarded by this deep embrasure."
"But they will slay us when they enter," said Phoebe.
"They will give thee fair quarter, wench," said Sir Henry; "and if I do not bestow a brace of b.a.l.l.s on that rogue engineer, it is because I would not incur the penalty inflicted by martial law, which condemns to the edge of the sword all persons who attempt to defend an untenable post. Not that I think the rigour of the law could reach Dame Jellicot or thyself, Phoebe, considering that you carry no arms. If Alice had been here she might indeed have done somewhat, for she can use a birding-piece."
Phoebe might have appealed to her own deeds of that day, as more allied to feats of melee and battle, than any which her young lady ever acted; but she was in an agony of inexpressible terror, expecting, from the knight"s account of the petard, some dreadful catastrophe, of what nature she did not justly understand, notwithstanding his liberal communication on the subject.
"They are strangely awkward at it," said Sir Henry; "little Boutirlin would have blown the house up before now.-Ah! he is a fellow would take the earth like a rabbit-if he had been here, never may I stir but he would have countermined them ere now, and
-"Tis sport to have the engineer Hoist with his own petard."
as our immortal Shakspeare has it."
"Oh, Lord, the poor mad old gentleman," thought Phoebe-"Oh, sir, had you not better leave alone playbooks, and think of your end?" uttered she aloud, in sheer terror and vexation of spirit.
"If I had not made up my mind to that many days since," answered the knight, "I had not now met this hour with a free bosom-
"As gentle and as jocund as to rest, Go I to death-truth hath a quiet breast.""
As he spoke, a broad glare of light flashed from without, through the windows of the hall, and betwixt the strong iron stanchions with which they were secured-a broad discoloured light it was, which shed a red and dusky illumination on the old armour and weapons, as if it had been the reflection of a conflagration. Phoebe screamed aloud, and, forgetful of reverence in the moment of pa.s.sion, clung close to the knight"s cloak and arm, while Dame Jellicot, from her solitary niche, having the use of her eyes, though bereft of her hearing, yelled like an owl when the moon breaks out suddenly.
"Take care, good Phoebe," said the knight; "you will prevent my using my weapon if you hang upon me thus.-The bungling fools cannot fix their petard without the use of torches! Now let me take the advantage of this interval.-Remember what I told thee, and how to put off time."
"Oh, Lord-ay, sir," said Phoebe, "I will say any thing, Oh, Lord, that it were but over!-Ah! ah!"-(two prolonged screams)-"I hear something hissing like a serpent."
"It is the fusee, as we martialists call it," replied the knight; "that is, Phoebe, the match which fires the petard, and which is longer or shorter, according to the distance."
Here the knight"s discourse was cut short by a dreadful explosion, which, as he had foretold, shattered the door, strong as it was, to pieces, and brought down the gla.s.s clattering from the windows with all the painted heroes and heroines, who had been recorded on that fragile place of memory for centuries. The women shrieked incessantly, and were answered by the bellowing of Bevis, though shut up at a distance from the scene of action. The knight, shaking Phoebe from him with difficulty, advanced into the hall to meet those who rushed in, with torches lighted and weapons prepared.
"Death to all who resist-life to those who surrender!" exclaimed Cromwell, stamping with his foot. "Who commands this garrison?"
"Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley," answered the old knight, stepping forward; "who, having no other garrison than two weak women, is compelled to submit to what he would willingly have resisted."
"Disarm the inveterate and malignant rebel," cried Oliver. "Art thou not ashamed, sir, to detain me before the door of a house which you had no force to defend? Wearest thou so white a beard, and knowest thou not, that to refuse surrendering an indefensible post, by the martial law, deserves hanging?"
"My beard and I," said Sir Henry, "have settled that matter between us, and agree right cordially. It is better to run the risk of being hanged, like honest men, than to give up our trust like cowards and traitors."
"Ha! say"st thou?" said Cromwell; "thou hast powerful motives, I doubt not, for running thy head into a noose. But I will speak with thee by and by.-Ho! Pearson, Gilbert Pearson, take this scroll-Take the elder woman with thee-Let her guide you to the various places therein mentioned-Search every room therein set down, and arrest, or slay upon the slightest resistance, whomsoever you find there. Then note those places marked as commanding points for cutting off intercourse through the mansion-the landing-places of the great staircase, the great gallery, and so forth. Use the woman civilly. The plan annexed to the scroll will point out the posts, even if she prove stupid or refractory. Meanwhile, the corporal, with a party, will bring the old man and the girl there to some apartment-the parlour, I think, called Victor Lee"s, will do as well as another.-We will then be out of this stifling smell of gunpowder."
So saying, and without requiring any farther a.s.sistance or guidance, he walked towards the apartment he had named. Sir Henry had his own feelings, when he saw the unhesitating decision with which the General led the way, and which seemed to intimate a more complete acquaintance with the various localities of Woodstock than was consistent with his own present design, to engage the Commonwealth party in a fruitless search through the intricacies of the Lodge.
"I will now ask thee a few questions, old man," said the General, when they had arrived in the room; "and I warn thee, that hope of pardon for thy many and persevering efforts against the Commonwealth, can be no otherwise merited than by the most direct answers to the questions I am about to ask."
Sir Henry bowed. He would have spoken, but he felt his temper rising high, and became afraid it might be exhausted before the part he had settled to play, in order to afford the King time for his escape, should be brought to an end.
"What household have you had here, Sir Henry Lee, within these few days-what guests-what visitors? We know that your means of house-keeping are not so profuse as usual, so the catalogue cannot be burdensome to your memory."
"Far from it," replied the knight, with unusual command of temper, "my daughter, and latterly my son, have been my guests; and I have had these females, and one Joceline Joliffe, to attend upon us."
"I do not ask after the regular members of your household, but after those who have been within your gates, either as guests, or as malignant fugitives taking shelter."
"There may have been more of both kinds, sir, than I, if it please your valour, am able to answer for," replied the knight. "I remember my kinsman Everard was here one morning-Also, I bethink me, a follower of his, called Wildrake."
"Did you not also receive a young cavalier, called Louis Garnegey?" said Cromwell.
"I remember no such name, were I to hang for it," said the knight. "Kerneguy, or some such word," said the General; "we will not quarrel for a sound."
"A Scotch lad, called Louis Kerneguy, was a guest of mine," said Sir Henry, "and left me this morning for Dorsetshire."
"So late!" exclaimed Cromwell, stamping with his foot-"How fate contrives to baffle us, even when she seems most favourable!-What direction did he take, old man?" continued Cromwell-"what horse did he ride-who went with him?"
"My son went with him," replied the knight; "he brought him here as the son of a Scottish lord.-I pray you, sir, to be finished with these questions; for although I owe thee, as Will Shakspeare says,
Respect for thy great place, and let the devil Be sometimes honoured for his burning throne,- yet I feel my patience wearing thin."
Cromwell here whispered to the corporal, who in turn uttered orders to two soldiers, who left the room. "Place the knight aside; we will now examine the servant damsel," said the General.-"Dost them know," said he to Phoebe, "of the presence of one Louis Kerneguy, calling himself a Scotch page, who came here a few days since?"
"Surely, sir," she replied, "I cannot easily forget him; and I warrant no well-looking wench that comes into his way will be like to forget him either."
"Aha," said Cromwell, "sayst thou so? truly I believe the woman will prove the truer witness.-When did he leave this house?"
"Nay, I know nothing of his movements, not I," said Phoebe; "I am only glad to keep out of his way. But if he have actually gone hence, I am sure he was here some two hours since, for he crossed me in the lower pa.s.sage, between the hall and the kitchen."
"How did you know it was he?" demanded Cromwell.
"By a rude enough token," said Phoebe.-"La, sir, you do ask such questions!" she added, hanging down her head.