 26. Mercury. I permit thee to be Socia, again, driving. We must leave the two adventurers winding their way among the broken piles and venturing boldly beneath the tottering arches of the ruin to accompany the reader at the same hour within the more comfortable walls of the abbey where it will be remembered Burlcliff was left in a condition of very equivocal ease. As the earth had however in the interval nearly run its daily round circumstances had intervened to release the soldier from his confinement and no one ignorant of the fact would suppose that the gentleman who was now seated at the hospitable board of Colonel Howard directing with so much discretion the energies of his masticators to the delicacies of the feast could read in his careless air and smiling visage that those foragers of nature had been so recently condemned for four long hours to the mortification of discussing the barren subject of his own sword hilt. Burlcliff however maintained not only his usual post but his well-earned reputation at the table with his ordinary coolness of demeanor, though at times there were fleeting smiles that crossed his military aspect which sufficiently indicated that he considered the matter of his reflection to be of a particularly ludicrous character. In the young man who sat by his side dressed in the deep blue jacket of a seaman with the fine white linen of his collar contrasting strongly with the black silk handkerchief that was tied with studded negligence around his neck and whose easy air and manner contrasted still more strongly with this attire the reader will discover Griffith the captive paid much less devotion to the vines than his neighbor though he affected more attention to the business of the table than he actually bestowed with that sort of consciousness that it would relieve the blushing maiden who presided. The laughing eyes of Catherine plowed and were glittering by the side of the mild countenance of Alice Dunn's comb and at times were fastened in roll interest on the rigid and upright exterior their captain manual maintained directly opposite to where she was seated. A chair had also been placed for Dylan of course it was vacant and so Burrow Cliff cried Colonel Howard with a freedom of voice and a vivacity in his air that announced the increasing harmony of the repast the sea dog left you nothing to chew but the curd of your resentment that and my sword hilt returned the immovable recruiting officer gentlemen I know not how your congress rewards military achievements but if that worthy fellow were in my company he should have a harbored within a week spurs I would not offer him for he affects to spurn their use. Griffith smiled about in silence to the liberal compliment of Burrow Cliff the manual took on himself the task of replying considering the drilling the man has received the conduct has been well enough sir though a well trained soldier would not only have made prisoners but he would have secured them. I perceive my good comrade that your thoughts are running on the exchange said Burrow Cliff good humorably we will feel sir and by permission of the ladies drink to a speedy restoration of rights to both parties the status quo antebellum with all my heart guide the Colonel and Sicily and Miss Catherine will pledge the sentiment in a woman's sit will you not my fair wards Mr. Griffith I honor this proposition of yours which will not only liberate yourself but restore to us my kinsmen Mr. Christopher Dylan Kitt had imagined the thing well ha Burrow Cliff was ingeniously contrived but the fortune of war interposed itself to his success and yet it is a deep and inexplicable mystery to me how Kitt should have been conveyed from the abbey with so little noise and without raising the alarm Christopher is a man who understands the philosophy of silence as well as that of rhetoric returned Burrow Cliff and must have learned in his legal studies that it is sometimes necessary to conduct matters subcelentio you smile at my latin miss plowden but really since I've become an inhabitant of this monkey's abode my little learning is stimulated to unwanted efforts nay you are pleased to be yet more merry I use the language because silence is a theme in which you ladies take but little pleasure Catherine however disregarded the slight peek that was apparent in the soldier's manner but after following the train of her own thoughts and silent enjoyment for a moment longer she seemed to yield to their drowery and laughed until her dark eyes flashed with merriment Cecilia did not assume the severe gravity with which she sometimes endeavored to repress what she thought the unseasonable mirth of her cousin and the wondering Griffith fancy as he glanced his eye from one to the other that he could discern a suppressed smile playing among the composed features of Alice Dunn's comb Catherine however soon succeeded in repressing the paroxysm and with an air of infinitely comic gravity she replied to the remark of the soldier I think I've heard of such a process in nautical affairs as towing but I must appeal to Mr. Griffith for the correctness of the term you could not speak with more accuracy returned the young sailor with a look that sent the conscious blood to the temples of the lady though you have made marine terms your study the profession requires less thought perhaps than you imagine sir but is this towing often done as captain burrow cliff I beg his pardon as the monks have it sub salantea spare me fair lady crowd the captain and we will establish a compact of mutual grace you to forgive my learning and I to suppress my suspicions suspicion sir is a word that a lady must defy and defiance a challenge that a soldier can never receive so I must submit to talk English though the fathers of the church were my companions I suspect that miss plowden has it in her power to explain the manner that Mr. Christopher Dylan's departure the lady did not reply but a second burst of merriment succeeded about liveliness and duration quite equal to the plumber how's this exclaimed the colonel permit me to say miss plowden your mirth is very extraordinary I trust no disrespect has been offered to my kinsman mr. Griffith our terms are that the exchange shall only be made on condition that equally good treatment has been extended to the parties if mr. Dylan can complain of no greater evil than that of being laughed at by miss plowden sir he has reason to call himself a happy fellow I know not sir god forbid that I should forget what is due to my guests gentlemen but ye have entered my dwelling as foes to my prince but not the colonel Howard sir I know no difference mr. Griffith King George or colonel Howard colonel Howard or King George our feelings our fortunes and our fate are as one with the mighty odds that providence has established between the prince and his people I wish no other fortune than to share at an humble distance the wheel or row of my sovereign you are not called upon do you serve to do either by the thoughtlessness of us ladies said Cecilia rising but here comes one who should turn our thoughts to a more important subject our dress the lightness induced colonel Howard who both loved and respected his niece to defer his remarks to another time and Catherine springing from her chair with childish eagerness flew to the side of her cousin who was directing a servant that had announced the arrival of one of those erratic vendors of small articles who supply in remote districts of the country the places of more regular traders to show the lad into the dining parlor the repass with so far ended as to render this interruption less objectionable it has all felt the object of Cecilia to be the restoration of harmony the boy was ushered into the room without further delay the contents of a small basket consisting chiefly of essences and the smaller articles of female economy were playfully displayed on the table by Catherine who declared herself the patroness of the itinerant youth and who laughingly appealed to the liberality of the gentleman and behalf of her protégé you perceive my dear guardian that the boy must be loyal for he offers here perfume that is patronized by no less than two royal dukes do you suffer me to place a box aside for your special use you consent i see it in your eye and captain burrow cliff as you appear to be forgetting the use of your own language here is even a horn book for you how admirably provided he seems to be you must have had saint ruth and view when you laid in your stock child yes my lady the boy replied with a bow that was studiously awkward i've often heard of the grandlady's that dwell in the old abbey and have journeyed a few miles beyond my rounds to gain their custom and surely they cannot disappoint you miss Howard that is a probable hint to your purse and i know not that even miss Alice can escape contribution in these troublesome times come aid me child what have you to recommend in particular to the favor of these ladies the latter approached the basket and rummaged its contents for a moment with the appearance of deep mercenary interest and then without lifting his hand from the confusion he had caused he said while he exhibited something within the basket to the view of his smiling observer this my lady Catherine started and glanced her eyes with a piercing look at the countenance of the boy and then turned them uneasily from face to face with conscious timidity Cecilia had affected her object and had resumed her seat in silent abstraction Alice was listening to the remarks of captain manual and the host as they discussed the propriety of certain military usages Griffith seemed to hold communion with his mistress by imitating her silence but Catherine in her stolen glasses met the keen look of burlcliffe fastened on her face in a manner that did not fail instantly to suspend the scrutiny comes to see it she cried after a pause of a moment we trespass too long on the patience of the gentleman not only to keep possession of our seats 10 minutes after the cloth has been drawn but even to introduce our essences and tapes and needles among the Madeira and shall I add cigars colonel not while we are favored with the company of miss plowden certainly come my cause I perceive the colonel is growing particularly polite which is a never-failing sign that he tires of our presence Cecilia Rosen was leading the way to the door when Catherine turned to the lad and added you can follow us to the drying room child where we can make our purchases without exposing the mystery of our toilets miss plowden has forgotten my horn book I believe said burlcliffe advancing from the standing group who surrounded the table possibly I can find some work in the basket of the boy better fitted for the improvement of our grown-up young gentleman than this elementary treatise Cecilia observing him to take the basket from the lad resumed her seat and her example was necessarily followed by Catherine though not without some manifest indications of vexation come either boy and explain the uses of your wares this is soap and this a pen knife I know but what name do you affix to this that that is tape return the lad within impatience that might very naturally be attributed to the interruption that was thus given to his trade and this that repeated the stripping pausing with a hesitation between sulking us in doubt that come this is a little un-gallant crowd cavern to keep three ladies dying with impatience to possess themselves with their finery while you detain the boy to ask the name of a tambourine needle I should apologize for asking questions that are so easily answered but perhaps he will find the next more difficult to solve the turn burlcliffe placing the subject of his inquiries in the palm of his hand in such a manner as to conceal it from all but the boy and himself this has a name too what is it that that is sometimes called white line perhaps you mean a white lie how sir exclaimed the lad a little fiercely a lie only a white one return the captain what do you call this miss dunce comb we call it bobbin serve general in the north said that placid alice i bobbin or white line they are the same thing added the young trader they are I think now for a professional man you know but little of the terms of your art observed burlcliffe with an effectation of irony I never have seen a youth of your years who knew less what names now would you affix to this and this and this rather captain was speaking he drew from his pockets the several instruments that the coxswain had made use of the proceeding night to secure his prisoner that exclaimed the lad with the eagerness of one who would vindicate his reputation his wetland stuff and this is marline and that is senate enough enough sir burlcliffe you have exhibited sufficient knowledge you convinced me that you do know something of your trade and nothing of these articles Mr. gifford do you claim this boy I believe I must sir so the young c officer who'd been intently listening to the examination on whatever errand you have now ventured here mr. mary it is useless to affect further concealment mary exclaims to see how is it you then my cousin are you too fallen into the power of your enemies was it not enough that the young lady recovered her recollection in time to suppress the remainder of the sentence though the grateful expression of griffith's eyes sufficiently indicated that he had in his thoughts filled the sentence with expressions abundantly flattering to his own feelings how's this again cried the colonel my two words embracing and fondling a vagrant vagabond peddler before my eyes is this treason mr. griffith or what means the extraordinary visit of this young gentleman is it extraordinary sir so mary himself losing his assumed awkwardness in the ease and confidence of one whose faculties have been early exercised that a boy like myself destitute of mother and sisters should take a like risk on himself to visit the only two female relatives he has in the world why this disguise then surely young gentleman it was unnecessary to enter the dwelling of old george howard on such an errand clandestinely even though your tender years have been practiced on to lead you astray from your allegiance mr. griffith and captain manual must pardon me if i express sentiments at my own table that they may find unpleasant but this business requires us to be explicit the hospitality of colonel howard is unquestionable return the board but he has a great reputation for his loyalty to the crown i young gentleman and i trust with some justice would it then be safe to entrust my person in the hands of one who might think it is duty to detain me this is plausible enough captain borough cliff and i doubt not the boy speaks with candor i would know that my kinsman mr christopher dillon were here but i might learn if it would be misprison of treason to movement this youth to depart and molester them without exchange inquire of the young gentleman after their casique returned the recruiting officer who apparently satisfied in producing the exposure of mary had resumed his seat at the table perhaps he is in verity an ambassador in power to treat on behalf of his highness i'll say you demanded the colonel do you know anything of my kinsman the anxious eyes of the whole party were fastened on the boy for many moments witnessing the sudden change from careless freedom to deep horror expressed in his countenance had linked the other in an undertone the secret of dillon's fate he is dead dead repeated every voice in the room yes dead said the boy gazing at the pallid faces of those who surrounded him along in fearful silence succeeded the announcement of this intelligence which was only interrupted by griffith who said explain the matter of his death sir and where his body lies his body lies and in the sands returned mary with a deliberation that proceeded from an opening perception that if he uttered too much he might betray the loss of the aerial and consequently endanger the liberty of bond stable in the sands was active from every part of the room i in the sands but how he died i cannot explain he has been murdered exclaimed colonel howard whose commander veterans was now amply restored to him he has been treacherously and dastardly and basically murdered he has not been murdered said the board firmament nor did he meet his death among those who deserve the name either of traitors or of dastards said you not that he was dead that my kinsman was buried in the sands of the sea sure both are true sir and you refuse to explain how he met his death and why he has been thus ignominiously interred he received his interment by my orders sir and if there be ignominy about his grave his own acts have heated on him as to the manner of his death i cannot and will not speak be calm my cousin says to see it in an imploring voice respect the age of my uncle and remember his strong attachment to mr dylan the veteran had however so far mastered his feedings as to continue the dialogue with more recollection mr griffith he said i shall not act hastily you and your companions will be pleased to retire to your several apartments i will so far respect the son of my brother harry's friend as to believe your parole will be sacred go gentlemen you are unguarded the two prisoners bowed low to the ladies and their host and retired griffith however lingered a moment on that threshold to say colonel howard i leave the boy to your kindness and consideration i know you will not forget that his blood mingles with that of one who is most dear to you enough enough sir said the veteran waving his hand to him to retire and you ladies this is not a place for you either never will i quit this job said captain while such a horrid imputation lies on him colonel howard act your pleasure on us both for i suppose you have the power but his fate shall be my fate there is a trust some misconception in this bell and collie affair said barrow cliff advancing into the center of the agitated group and i should hope by calmness and moderation all may yet be explained young gentleman you have bowed arms and must know notwithstanding your youth what it is to be in the power of your enemies never return the proud boy i'm a captive for the first time i speak sir in reference to our power you may order me to a dungeon or as i have entered the abbey in disguise possibly to a jibbit and is that a fate to be met so calmly by one so young you dare not do it captain burrow cliff cried catherine involuntarily throwing an arm around the boy as if to shield him from harm you would blush to think of such a cold-blooded active vengeance colonel howard if we could examine the young man wear the warmth of feeling which these ladies exhibit might not be excited said the captain apart to his host we should gain important intelligence miss howard and you miss plowden said the veteran in a manner that long habit had taught his words to respect your young kinsman is not in the keeping of savages and you can safely confide him to my custody i'm sorry that we have so long kept miss ala standing but she will find relief on the couches of your drawing room cecilia cecilia catherine permitted themselves to be conducted to the door by their polite but determined guardian weary bowed to their retiring persons with the exceeding courtesy that he never failed to use when in the least excited you appear to know your danger mr mary said burrow cliff after the door was closed i trust you also know what duty would dictate to one in my situation do it sir return the boy you have a king to render an account to and i have a country i may have a country also said burrow cliff with a calmness that was not in the least disturbed by the taunting air with which the youth delivered himself it is possible for me however to be lenient even merciful when the interests of that prince to whom you allude are served you came out on this enterprise alone sir had i come better attended captain burrow cliff might have heard these questions instead of putting them i'm happy sir that your retinue has been so small and yet even the rebel schooner called the ariel might have furnished you with a more becoming attendance i cannot but think that you are not far distant from your friends he is near his enemies your honor said sergeant drill who had entered the room unobserved for here is a boy who says he has been seized in the old ruin and robbed of his goods enclosed and by his description this lab should be the thief burrow cliff signed to the boy he stood in the background to advance and he was instantly obeyed with all that eagerness which a sense of injury on the part of the sufferer could excite the tale of this unexpected intruder was soon told and was briefly this he'd been assaulted by a man and a boy the letter was in presence while arranging his effects in the ruin preparatory to exhibiting them to the ladies of the abbey and had been robbed of such part of his attire as the boy had found necessary for his disguise together with his basket of valuables he'd been put into an apartment of an old tower by the man for safekeeping but as the latter frequently ascended to its turf to survey the country he had to build himself of this remissness to escape and to conclude he demanded the restoration of his property and vengeance for his wrongs Mary heard his loud and angry details was scornful composure and before the offended peddler was through his narrative he had divested himself of the barred garments which he threw to the other with singular disdain we are beleaguered mine host beset besieged cried burrow cliff when the other had ended here is a rare plan to rob us of our laurels high and there are rewards but hard to drill they have old soldiers to deal with and we shall look into the matter one would wish to try and front foot you understand me there was no horse in the battle go fellow i see you grow wiser take this young gentleman and remember he is a young gentleman put him in safekeeping but see him supplied with all he wants burrow cliff out politely to the haughty bend of a body with which Mary who now began to think himself a martyr to his country followed the orderly from the room there is metal in the lab exclaimed the captain and if he lived to get a beard will be a hearty dog who ventures to pluck it i'm glad mine hosts that this wandering jew has arrived to save the poor fellow's feelings for i detest tampering with such a noble spirit i saw by his eye that he had squinted off an over a gun then threw a needle but they have murdered my kinsman the lawyer the learned it the ingenious mr christopher dylan if they have done so they shall be made to answer it said burrow cliff receding himself at the table with a coolness that furnished an ample pledge of the impartiality of his judgment but let us learn the facts before we do art hastily colonel howard was feigned to comply with so reasonable a proposition and he resumed his chair while his companion proceeded to institute a close examination of the peddler boy we shall defer until the proper time may arrive recording the result of his inquiries but shall so satisfy the curiosity of our readers has to tell them that the captain learned sufficient to convince him a very serious attempt was meditated on the abbey and as he thought enough also to enable him to avert the danger end of chapter 26 chapter 27 of the pilot by james fenimore cooper this lever box recording is in the public domain chapter 27 i've not seen so likely an ambassador of love merchant of venice sissy and kathryn separated from alice dunne's comb in the lower gallery of the cloisters and the cousins ascended to the apartment which was assigned them as a dressing room the intensity of beating that was gradually accumulating in the breast of the ladies as circumstances brought those in whom their deepest interests were centered into situations of extreme delicacy if not of actual danger perhaps in some measure prevented them from experiencing all that concern which the detection and the rest of mary might be supposed to excite the boy like themselves was an only child of one of those three sisters who caused the close connection of so many of our characters and his tender years had led his cousins to regard him with an affection that exceeded the ordinary interest of such an affinity but they knew that in the hands of colonel howard his person was safe though his liberty might be endangered when the first emotions therefore which were created by his sudden appearance after so long an absence had subsided their thoughts were rather occupied by the consideration of what consequences to others might proceed from his arrest than by any reflections on the midshipman's actual condition secluded from the observations of any strange eyes the two maidens indulged their feelings without restraint according to their several temperaments kathryn moved to and fro in the apartment with feverish anxiety while miss howard by concealing her countenance under the ringlets of her luxuriant dark hair and shading her eyes with a fair hand seemed to be willing to commune with her thoughts more quietly barn stable cannot be far distant said the former after a few minutes had passed for he'd never would have sent that child on such an errand by himself sissy raised her mild blue eyes to the countenance of her cousin as she answered all thoughts of an exchange must now be abandoned and perhaps the persons of the prisoners will be held as pledges to answer for the life of dylan can the wretch be dead or is it merely a threat or some device of that urchin he is a forward child that would not hesitate to speak and act boldly on emergency he is dead returns to the city of veiling her face again in horror the eyes of the boy his whole countenance confirmed his words i fear kathryn that mr barn stable has suffered his resentment to overcome his discretion when he learned the treachery of dylan surely surely through the hard usages of war may justify so dreadful a revenge on an enemy it was unkind to forget the condition of his own friends mr barn stable has done neither miss howard said kathryn checking her uneasy footsteps her light form swelling with pride mr barn stable is equally incapable of murdering an enemy or of deserting a friend but retaliation is neither deemed nor called murder by men and arms think it what you will call it what you will cecilia howard i will pledge my life that richard barn stable has to answer for the blood of none but the open enemy southeast country the miserable man may have fallen a sacrifice to the anger of that terrific seaman who led him hence as a captive that terrific seaman miss howard has a heart as tender as your own he is naikathryn interrupted cecilia you chide me unkindly let us not add to our unavoidable misery by such harsh contention i do not contend with you cecilia i merely defend the absent and the innocent from your unkind suspicions my cousin say rather your sister return miss howard their hands involuntarily closing upon each other who we are surely sisters but let us strive to think of something less horrible poor poor dylan now that he has met a fate so terrible i can even fancy him less artful and more upright than we had thought him you agree with me kathryn i see by your countenance and we will dwell no longer on the subject kathryn my cousin kate what see you miss plowden as she relinquished her pressure at the hand of cecilia had renewed her walk without more regulated step but she was yet making her first turn across the room when her eyes became keenly set on the opposite window and her whole frame was held in an attitude of absorbed attention the rays of the setting sun fell bright upon her dark glances which seemed fastened on some distant object and gave an additional glow to the mantling color that was slowly stealing across her cheeks to her temples such as sudden alteration in the manner and appearance of her companion had not failed to catch the attention of cecilia who in consequence interrupted herself by the agitated question we have related kathryn slowly beckoned her companion to her side and pointing in the direction of the wood that lay in view she said see yon tower in the ruin do you observe those small spots of pink and yellow that are fluttering above its walls i do they are the lingering remnants of the foliage of some tree but they want the vivid tints which grace the autumn of our own dear america when is the work of god and the other has been produced by the art of man cecilia those are no leaves but they are my own childish signals and without doubt barn stable himself is on that ruin tower mary cannot will not betray him my life should be a pledge for the honor of our little cousin cecilia but you have the telescope of my uncle at hand ready for such an event one look through it will ascertain the truth kathryn sprang to the spot where the instrument stood and with eager hands she prepared it for the necessary observation it is he she cried the instant her eye was put to the glass i even see his head above the stones how i'm thinking to expose himself so unnecessarily but what says he kathryn exclaimed cecilia you alone can interpret his meaning the little book which contained the explanations of miss plodden's signals was now hastily produced and its leaves rapidly run over in quest of the necessary number it is only a question to gain my attention i must let him know he is observed when kathryn is much to indulge her secret propensities as with any hope of its usefulness have devised this plan for communicating with barn stable she had luckily not forgotten to arrange the necessary means to reply to his interrogatories a very simple arrangement of some of the ornamental cords of the window curtains enabled her to affect this purpose and her nimble fingers soon fastened the pieces of silk to the lines which were now thrown into the air when these signals and miniature were instantly displayed in the breeze he sees them cried cecilia and is preparing to change his flags keep then your eye on him my cousin and tell me the colors that he shows with their order and i will endeavor to read his meaning he is expert as yourself there are two more of them fluttering above the stones again the upper is white and the lower black white over black repeated kathryn rapidly to herself as she turned the leaves of her book my messenger has he been seen to that we must answer the unhappy truth here it is yellow white and red he is a prisoner how fortunate that i should have prepared such a question and answer what says he says see you to this news he is busy making his changes dear day kathryn you shake so violently as to move the glass now he is done to his yellow over black this time griffith or who he does not understand us but i thought of the poor boy in making out the numbers ah here it is yellow green and red my cousin mary he cannot fail to understand us now he's already taken in his flags the news seems to alarm him for e is less expert than before he shows them now they are green red and yellow the question is am i safe to his that which made him tardy miss howard continued kathryn barn's table is ever slow to consult his safety but how shall i answer him should we mislead him now how could we ever forgive ourselves of andrew mary there is no fear returns to see you and i think your captain burrow cliff had any intimation of the proximity of his enemies he would not continue at the table he will stay there while wine will sparkle and man can swallow said kathryn but we know by sad experience that he is a soldier on an emergency and yet i'll trust to his ignorance this time here i have an answer you are yet safe but be wary he reads your meaning with a quick eye kathryn and he is ready with his answer to he shows green over white this time well do you not hear me to his green over white why you are dumb what says he do still kathryn answered not and her cousin raised her eyes from the glass and beheld her companion gazing earnestly at the open page while the glow which excitement had before brought to her cheek was increased to a still deeper bloom i hope your blushes and his signals are not ominous kate that is to see again green imply his jealousy as white does your purity what says he does he talks like yourself much nonsense said kathryn turning to her flags with the petish air that was singularly contradicted by a gratified countenance but the situation of things requires that i should talk to barn's table more freely i can retire such as see you rising from her chair with her with a grave manner nasa see i do not deserve these looks to you who exhibit levity now but you can perceive before yourself that evening is closing in and that some other medium full conversation besides the eyes may be adopted here is a signal which will answer when the abbey clock strikes nine come with care to the wicket which opens at the east side of the paddock on the road until then keep secret i've repaired this very signal in case an interview should be necessary well he sees it returns to see you who had resumed her place by the telescope and seems disposed to obey you for i no longer discern his flags or his person miss our now arose from before the glass her observations being ended but kathryn did not return the instrument to its corner without fastening one long and anxious look through it on what now appeared to be the deserted tower the interest and anxiety produced by this short and imperfect communication between miss palton and her lover did not fail to excite reflections in both the ladies that furnished materials to hold them in earnest discourse until the entrance of alice dunce com announced that their presence was expected below even the unsuspecting alice on entering observed to change in the countenances and demeanor of the two cousins which betrayed that their secret conference had not been entirely without contention the features of the city were disturbed and anxious and their expression was not unlike melancholy while the dark flashing eye flashed temples and proud determined step of kathryn exhibited in an equal if not a greater degree a very different emotion as no reference to the subject of their conversation was however made by either of the young ladies after the entrance of alice she led the way in silence through the drawing room the ladies were received by colonel howard and burrow cliff with marked attention in the former there were moments when a deep gloom would in spite of his very obvious exertions to the contrary steal over his open generous countenance but the recruiting officer maintained an air of immovable coolness and composure 20 times that he detect the piercing looks of kathryn fastened on him with an intentness that a less deliberative man might have had the vanity to misinterpret but even this flattering testimonial of his power to attract failed to disturb his self possession it was in vain that kathryn endeavored to read his countenance where everything was fixed to military rigidity though his department appeared more than usually easy and natural tired at length with her fruitless scrutiny the excited girl turned her gaze upon the clock to her amazement she discovered that it was on the stroke of nine and just regarding a deprecating glance from her cousin she arose and quitted the apartment burrow cliff opened the door for her exit and while the lady civilly bowed her head in acknowledgement of his attention their eyes once more met but she glided quickly by him and found herself alone in the gallery kathryn hesitated more than a minute to proceed before she thought she had detected in that glance a lurking expression that manifested conscious security mingled with secret design it was not her nature however to hesitate when circumstances required that she should be both prompt and alert and throwing over her slight personal large cloak that was in readiness for the occasion she stole rarely from the building although kathryn suspected most painfully that burrow cliff had received intelligence that might prove dangerous to her lover she looked around her in vain on gaining the open air to discover any alteration in the arrangements for the defense of the abbey which might confirm her suspicions or the knowledge of which might enable her to instruct barn stable how to avoid the secret danger every disposition remained as it had been since the capture of grievous and his companion she heard the heavy quick steps of the sentinel who was posted beneath their windows endeavoring to warm himself on his confined post and as she paused the listen she also detected the rattling of arms from the soldier who as usual guarded the approach of that part of the building where his comrades were courted the night had set in cloudy and dark although the gale had greatly subsided towards the close of the day still the wind swept heavily and at moments with a russian noise among the irregular walls of the edifice and it required the utmost nicety of ear to distinguish even these well-known sounds among such accompaniments when kathryn however was satisfied that her organs had not deceived her she turned an anxious eye in the direction of what burlcliffe called his barracks everything in that direction appeared so dark and still as to create a sensation of an easiness by its very quiet it might be the silence of sleep that now probated the ordinarily gay and mirthful apartment or it might be the stillness of a fearful preparation there was no time however for further hesitation and kathryn drew her cloak more closely about her form and proceeded with light and guarded steps to the appointed spot as she approached the wicket the clock struck the hour and she again paused while the mournful sounds were borne by her on the wind as if expecting that each stroke on the bell would prove a signal to amass some secret design of burlcliffe as the last vibration melted away she opened the little gate and issued on the highway the figure of a man sprang forward from behind an angle of the wall as she appeared and while her heart was still throbbing with the suddenness of the alarm she found herself in the arms of barn stable after the first few words of recognition and pleasure which the young sailor uttered he acquainted his mistress with the loss of his schooner and the situation of the survivors and now kathryn he concluded you have come i trust never to quit me or at most to return no more to that old abbey unless it be to aid in liberating grift and then to join me again forever why truly there is so much to tempt a young woman to renounce her home and friends in the description you have just given of your condition that i hardly know how to refuse your request barn stable you were very tolerably provided with the dwelling in the ruin and i suppose certain predatory schemes are to be adopted to make it habitable st ruth is certainly well supplied with the necessary articles but whether we should not be shortly removed to the castle at york or the jail at new castle is a question that i put to your discretion why yield your thoughts to such silly subjects lovely trifler said barn stable when the time and the occasion both are just to be in earnest it is a woman's province to be thrifty and to look after the comforts of domestic life returned his mistress and i would discharge my functions with credit but i feel you're vexed for it to see your dark countenance is out of the question on such a night when do you propose to commence housekeeping if i should yield to your proposals i'm not concluded relating my plans and you're provoking with the noismy the best life taken will unquestionably come into the land as the gale dies and i intend making my escape and her after beating this Englishman and securing the liberty of miss Howard and yourself i could see the frigate in the offering even before we left the cliffs this certainly sounds better rejoin Catherine in a manner that indicated she was musing on their prospects and yet there may exist some difficulties in the way that you little suspect difficulties there are none there can be none speak not irreverently of the mazes of love mr barn stable when was it ever known to exist unfettered or embarrassed even i have an explanation to ask of you that i would much rather let alone of me ask would you will or how you will i am a careless unthinking fellow miss plodden but do you i have little to answer for unless a foolish sort of adoration be an offense against your merits barn stable felt the little hand that was supported on his arm pressing glim as Catherine replied in a tone so changed from its former force levity that he started as the first sounds reached his ears mary has brought in a horrid report she said i would i could believe it untrue but the looks of the boy and the absence of dylan both confirm it poor mary he too has fallen into the trap but they shall yet find one who is too cunning for them is it to the fate of that wretched dylan that you allude he was a wretch continued Catherine in the same voice and he deserved much punishment at your hands barn stable but life is the gift of god and is not to be taken whenever human vengeance would appear to require a victim his life was taken by him who bestowed it said the seller is it Catherine plodden who would suspect me of a deed of a dastard i do not suspect you i did not suspect you cried Catherine i will never suspect any evil of you again you are not you cannot be angry with me barn stable had you heard the cruel suspicions of my cousin says see you and had your imagination been busy in portraying your wrongs and the temptations to forget mercy like mine even while my tongue denied your agency in the suspected deed you would you would at least have learned how much easier it is to defend those we love against the open attacks of others than against our own jealous feelings those words love and jealousy will obtain your acquittal cried barn stable in his natural voice and after uttering a few more consoling assurances to Catherine whose excited feelings found vent in tears he briefly related the manner of Dylan's death i'd hoped i stood higher in the estimation of miss Howard than to be subjected to even her suspicions he said when he had ended his explanation griffith has been but uh sorry representative of our trade if he has left such an opinion of its pursuits i do not know that mr griffith would altogether have escaped my conjectures had he been the disappointed commander and you the prisoner return Catherine you know not how much we have both studied the usages of war and with what dreadful pictures of hostages retaliations and military executions our minds are stored but a mountain is raised off my spirits and i could almost say that i am now ready to descend the valley of life into your company it is a discrete determination my good Catherine god bless you for it the companion may not be so good as you deserve but you will find him ambitious of your praise now let us devise means to affect our objects therein lies another of my difficulties griffith i much fear will not urge cecilia to another flight against her her what shall i call it barn stable her caprice or her judgment cecilia would never consent to desert her uncle and i cannot must have the courage to abandon my poor cousin in the face of the world in order to take shelter with even mr richard barn stable speak you from the heart now Catherine very nearly if not exactly then have i been cruelly deceived it is easier to find a path in the trackless ocean without chart or compass than to note the windings of a woman's heart nay nay foolish man you forget that i am but small and how very near my head is to my heart to know i fear for the discretion of their mistress but is there no method of forcing griffith and cecilia to their own good without undue violence it cannot be done he is my senior in rank in the instant i release him he will claim the command a question might be raised at a leisure moment on the merits of such a claim but even my own men are as you know nothing but a draft from that frigate and they would not hesitate to obey the orders of the first lieutenant who was not a man to trifle on matters of duty to his vexatious truly say Catherine that all my well-conserved schemes and behalf of this wayward pair should be frustrated by their own willful conduct but after all have you justly estimated your strength barn stable are you certain that you would be successful and that without hazard too if you should make the attempt morally and what is better physically certain my men are close to hit where no one suspects an enemy to lie they are anxious for the enterprise and the sadness of the attack will not only make the victory sure but it will be rendered bloodless you will aid us in our entrance Catherine i shall first secure this recruiting officer and his command will then surrender without striking a blow perhaps after all griffith will hear reason if you do not i will not yield my authority to a release captive without a struggle god send that there shall be no fighting murmured his companion a little appalled at the images his language had raised before her imagination and barn stable and join you most solemnly by all your affection for me and by everything you deem most sacred to protect the person of Colonel Howard at every hazard there must be no excuse no pretense for even an insult to my passionate good obstinate but kind old guardian i believe i've given him already more trouble than i am entitled to give anyone in heaven forbid that i should cause him any seriousness fortune he shall be saved and not only he but all that are within as you will perceive Catherine when you hear my plan three hours shall not pass over my head before you will see me master that old abbey griffith i griffith must be content to be my inferior until we get a float again attempt nothing unless you feel certain of being able to maintain your advantage not only against your enemies but also against your friends said the anxious Catherine rely on it both to see you and griffith are refining so much on their feelings that neither will be your ally this comes of passing the four best years of his life within walls of brick pouring over latin grammars and syntaxes and such other nonsense when he should have been rolling them away in a good box of live oak and studying at most how to sum up his day's work until where his ship lies after a blow your college learning may answer well enough for a man who has to live by his wits but it can be a little used to one who is never afraid to read human nature by looking his fellow creatures full in the face and whose hand is as ready as his tongue i've generally found the eye that was good at latin was dull at a compass or in a night squall and yet griff is a semen though i have heard him even read the testament in greek thank god i had the wisdom to run away from school the second day they undertook to teach me a strange tone and i believe i am the more honest man and the better semen for my ignorance there is no telling what you might have been barn stable under other circumstances retorted his mistress with the playfulness of matter that she could not always repress though it was indulged at the expense of him she most loved i doubt not but under proper training you would have made a reasonably good priest if you talk of priest kathryn i shall remind you that we carry one in the ship but listen to my plan we may talk further of priest craft when an opportunity may offer barn stable then proceeded to lay before his mistress a project he had formed for a surprising the abbey that night which was so feasible that kathryn notwithstanding her recent suspicions of burrow cliffs designs came gradually to believe it would succeed the young semen answered her objections with the readiness of an ardent mind bent on executing its purposes and with the fertility of resources that proved he was no contemptible enemy in matters that required spirited action of mary's remaining firm and faithful he had no doubt and although he acknowledged the escape of the peddler boy he urged that the lad had seen no other of his party besides himself whom he must took for a common marauder as the disclosure of these plans was frequently interrupted by little digressions connected with the peculiar emotions of the lovers more than an hour flew by before they separated but kathryn at length reminded him how swiftly the time was passing and how much remained to be done when he reluctantly consented to see her once more through the wicked where they parted miss plowden adopted the same precaution in returning to the house she had used on leaving it and she was congratulating herself on its success when her eye caught a glimpse of the figure of a man who was apparently following at some little distance in her footsteps and dogging her motions as the obscure form however paused also when she stopped to give it an alarmed though inquiring look and then slowly retired towards the boundary of the paddock kathryn believing it to be barn stable watching over her safety entered the abbey with every idea of alarm entirely lost in the pleasing reflection of her lover's solicitude end of chapter 27 chapter 28 of the pilot but james fenimore cooper this libra vox recording is in the public domain chapter 28 he looks abroad and soon appears or horncliffe hill a plump of spears beneath a pen and gay marmian the sharp sounds of the supper bell were ringing along the gallery as miss plowden gained the gloomy passage and she quickened her steps to join the ladies in order that no further suspicions might be excited by her absence alice denscomb was already proceeding to the dining parlor as kathryn passed through the door of the drawing room but miss howard had loitered behind and was met by her cousin alone you have then been so daring as to venture kathryn exclaimed cecilia i have returned the other throwing herself into a chair to recover her agitation i have cecilia and i have met barn stable who will soon be in the abbey and its master the blood which had rushed to the face of cecilia on first seeing her cousin now retreated to her heart leaving every part of her fine countenance of the whiteness of her polished temples as she said and we are to have a night of blood we are to have a night of freedom miss howard freedom to you and to me to andrew mary to grifter and to his companion but freedom more than we now enjoy kathryn is needed by two young women thank you i can remain silent and see my uncle betrayed before my eyes his life perhaps endangered your own life in person will not be held more sacred cecilia howard than that of your uncle if you will condemn griffith to a prison and perhaps to a gibbet betrayed barn stable as you have threatened an opportunity will not be wanting at the supper table with her eye shall lead the way since the mistress of the house appears to forget her duty kathryn arose and with a firm step and proud eye she moved along the gallery to the room where their presence was expected by the rest of the family cecilia followed in silence and the whole party immediately took their several places at the board the first few minutes were passed and the usual attentions of the gentleman to the ladies and the ordinary civilities of the table during which kathryn had so far regained the equanimity of her feelings as to commence a watchful scrutiny of the manners and looks of her guardian and burrow clip in which she determined to persevere until the eventful hour when she was to expect barn stable should arrive colonel howard had however so far got the command of himself as no longer to betray his former abstraction in its place kathryn fancied at moments that she could discover a subtle look of conscious security mingled a little with an expression of severe determination such as in her earlier days she learned to dread as sure indications of the indignant but upright justice of an honorable mind brew cliff on the other hand was cool polite and as attempted to the vines as usual with the alarming exception of discovering much less devotion to the pride of the vineyards than he commonly manifested on such occasions in this manner the meal passed by and the cloth was removed though the ladies appeared willing to retain their places longer than was customary colonel howard filling up the glasses of alice dunce comb and himself passed the bottle to the recruiting officer and with a sort of effort that was intended to rouse the dormant cheerfulness of his guests cried come burrow cliff the ruby lips of your neighbors would be still more beautiful where they moistened with this rich cordial and that too accompanied by some loyal sentiment miss alice is ever ready to express her fealty to her sovereign in her name i can give the health of his most sacred majesty with the beating death to all traders if the prayers of a humble subject in one of the sex that has but little need to mingle in the turmoil of the world and that has less right to pretend to understand the subtleties of statesmen can much avail a high and mighty prince like him who sits on the throne then will he never know temple evil returned alice meekly but i cannot wish death to anyone not even to my enemies if any i have and much less to a people who are the children of the same family with myself children of the same family the colonel repeated slowly and with a bitterness of manner that did not feel to attract the painful interest of kathryn children of the same family i even as apsham was the child of david whereas judas was of the family of the holy apostles but let it pass someplace let it pass the accursed spirit of rebellion has invaded my dwelling and i no longer know where to find one of my household that has not been assailed by its malign influence assailed that may have been among others returned alice but not corrupted if purity in this instance consists in loyalty what sound is that interrupted the colonel was startling suddenness was it not the crash of some violence captain burlkliff it may have been one of my rascals who's met with a downfall and passing from the festive board where you know i regale them tonight in honor of our success to his blanket return the captain with admirable indifference or it may be the very spirit of whom you have spoken so freely my host that has taken umbrage at your remarks and is passing from the hospitable walls of saint ruthen to the open air without submitting to the small trouble of ascertaining the position of doors in the latter case there may be some dozen perches or so of wall to replace in the morning the colonel had risen glanced his eyes uneasily from the speaker to the door and was evidently but little disposed to enter into the pleasantry of his guests there are unusual noises captain burlkliff in the grounds of the abbey if not in the building itself he said advancing with the fine military air from the table to the center of the room and as master of the mansion i will inquire who it is that thus unseasonably disturbs these domains if as friends they shall have welcome though their visit be unexpected and if enemies they shall also meet with such a reception as will become an old soldier no no cries cecilia entirely thrown off regard by the manner and language of the veteran and rushing into his arms go not out my uncle go not into the terrible fray my kind my good uncle you are old you have already done more than your duty why should you be exposed to danger the girl is mad with terror burlkliff cried the colonel bending his glistening eyes fondly on his knees and you will have to furnish my good for nothing gaudy old person with the corporal's guard to watch my nightcap with a silly child will have an uneasy pillow till the sun rises once more but you do not stir sir why should i cried the captain miss plowden yet deans to keep me company and it is not in the nature of one of the the to desert his bottle and his standard at the same moment for to his true soldier the smiles of a lady are as imposing in the parlor as the presence of his colors in the field i continue undisturbed captain burlkliff said captain because i have not been an inhabitant for so many months of st ruth and not learned to know the tunes which the wind can play among its jimmies and pointed roots the noise which has taken colonel howard from his seat in which has so unnecessarily alarmed my cousin cicely is nothing but the aeolian harp of the abbey sounding a double bass the captain fastened on her composed countenance while she was speaking a look of open admiration that brought though totally the color more deeply to her cheeks and he answered with something extremely equivocal both in his emphasis and his air i've allowed my allegiance and i will abide by it so long as miss plowden will gain to bestow her company so long will she find me among her most faithful and persevering attendance come who may or what will you compel me to retire return captain rising whatever it may have been my gracious intentions in the matter for even female vanity must crimson at an adoration so profound as that which can chain captain burlkliff to a supper table as your alarm has now dissipated my cousin will you leave the way miss ellis and myself attend you but not into the paddock surely miss plowden said the captain the door the key of which you have just turned communicates with the vestibule this is the passage to the drawing room the lady faintly laughed as if in derision of her own forgetfulness while she bowed her acknowledgement and moved towards the proper passage she observed the madness of fear has assailed some i believe who have been able to affect a better disguise than miss howard is it the fear of present danger or of that which is in reserve asked the captain but as you have stipulated so generously in behalf of my worthy host here and of one also who shall be nameless because he has not deserved such a favor at your hands your safety shall be one of my special duties in these times of peril there's peril then exclaims the cilia your looks announcing captain burlkliff the changing countenance of my cousin tells me that my fears are too true the soldier had now risen also in casting aside the error of batonage which he so much delighted in he came forward into the center of the apartment with a manner of one who felt it was time to be serious a soldier is ever in peril when the enemies of his king are at hand miss howard he answered and that such is now the case miss plowden can testify if she will but you are the allies of both parties retire them to your own apartments and await the result of the struggle which is at hand you speak of danger and hidden perils said alice dunes comb no ye ought that justifies your fears i know all burlkliff cooly reply all exclaim captain all echoed alice in tones of horror if then you know all you must know his desperate courage and powerful hand when opposed yielding quiet and he will not harm you believe me believe one who knows his very nature that no lamb can be more gentle than he would be with unresisting women nor any lion more fierce with his enemies as we happen not to be of the feminine gender return burlkliff with an air somewhat splinetic we must abide the fury of the king of beasts his paw is even now at the out of door and if my orders have been obeyed his entrance will be yet easier than that of the wolf to the respectable female ancestor of the little red riding hood stay your hand for one single moment said gatham breathless with interest you are the master of my secret captain burlkliff and bloodshed may be the consequence i can yet go forward and perhaps save many in estimable lives pledge to me your honor that they who come hither as your enemies this night shall depart in peace and i will pledge to you my life for the safety of the abbey oh hear her and shed not human blood cried sisi a loud crash interrupted further speech and the sounds of heavy footsteps were heard in the adjoining room as if many men were alighting on his floor in quick succession burlkliff drew back with great coolness to the opposite side of the large apartment and took out she's sword from the table where it had been placed at the same moment the door was pressed open and barn stable entered alone but heavily armed you are my prisoner's gentleman said the sailor as he advanced resistance is useless and without it you shall receive favor harm as proud my advice was that you should not be present at this scene barn stable we are arbitrary cried the agitated captain but it is not yet too late but it's not yet been spilled and you can retire without that dreadful alternative with honor go then delay not another moment for should the soldiers of captain burlkliff come to the rescue of their commander the abbey would be a scene of horror go you away go Catherine set her lover with impatience this is no place for such as you but captain burlkliff if such be your name you must perceive that resistance is in vain i have 10 good pikes in this outer room in 20 better hands and it will be madness to fight against such odds show me your strengths of the captain that i may take counsel with mine honor your honor shall be appeased my brave soldier for such as you're bearing till your livery is my aversion and your cause most unholy heave ahead boys but hold your hands for orders the party of fierce looking sailors whom barn stable led on receiving this order rushed into the room in a medley but notwithstanding the soda glances and savage characters of their dress and equipments they struck no blow nor committed any act of hostility the ladies shrank back appalled as this terrific little band took possession of the hall and even burlkliff was seen to fall back towards the door which in some measure covered his retreat the confusion of the sub-movement had not yet subsided when sounds of strife were heard rapidly approaching from a distant part of the building and presently one of the numerous doors of the apartment was violently opened when two of the garrison of the abbey rushed into the hall vigorously pressed by twice their number of seamen seconded by griffith manual and mary who were armed with such weapons of offense as had presented themselves to their hands at their unexpected liberation there was a movement on the part of the seamen who were already in possession of the room that threatened instant death to the fugitives the barn stable beat down their pikes with his sword and sternly ordered them to fall back surprised produced the same pacific result among the combatants and as the soldiers hastily sought a refuge behind their own officers and the release captives with their liberators joined the body of their friends the quiet of the hall which had been so rudely interrupted was soon restored you see sir said barn stable after grasping the hands of griffith and manual in a warm and cordial pressure that all my plans have succeeded your sleeping guard are closely watched and their barracks by one party our officers are released and your sentinels cut off by another while with a third eye hold the center of the abbey and them substantially in possession of your own person in consideration therefore of what is due to humanity and to the presence of these ladies let there be no struggle i shall impose no difficult terms nor any long imprisonment the recruiting officer manifested a composure throughout the whole scene that would have excited some uneasiness in his invaders have there been opportunity for minute observation but his countenance now gradually assumed an appearance of anxiety and his head was frequently turned as if listening for further and more important interruptions he answered however to this appeal with his ordinary deliberation you speak of conquests sir before they are achieved my venerable host and myself are not so defenseless as you may choose to imagine while speaking he threw aside the cloth of a side table from beneath which the colonel and himself were instantly armed with a brace of pistols each here are the death warrants of four of your party and these brave fellows at my back can account for two more i believe my transatlantic warrior that we are now something in the condition of cortez and the mexicans when the former overran part of your continent i being cortez armed with artificial thunder and lightning and you the indians with nothing but your pikes and sling and such other antler deluvian inventions shipwrecks and seawater our fatal dampers of gunpowder that we are unprovided with our arms i will not deny said barn stable but we are men who are used from infancy to depend on our good right arms for life and safety and we know how to use them though we should even grapple with that as for the trifles in your hands gentlemen you are not to suppose that men who are trained to look in at one end of about 32 pounder loaded with grape while the match is put to the other will so much as wink at their report though you fired them by fifties what say you boys is a pistol weapon to repel borders the discordant and disdainful laughs that burst from the restrained semen were a sufficient pledge of their indifference to so trifling a danger burrow cliff noted their hardened boldness and taking the supper bell which was lying near him he rang it for a minute with great violence the heavy tread of train footsteps soon followed this extraordinary summons and presently the several doors of the apartment were opened and filled with armed soldiers wearing the livery of the english crown if you hold the smaller weapons in such vast contempt said the recruiting officer when he perceived that his men had possessed themselves of all the avenues it is in my power to try the virtue of some more formidable after this exhibition of my strength gentlemen i presume you cannot hesitate to submit as prisoners of war the semen had been formed in something like military array by the aciduity of manual during the preceding dialogue and as the different doors had discovered fresh accessions to the strength of the enemy the marine industriously offered new fronts until the small party was completely arranged in a hollow square that might have proved formidable in a charge bristled as it was with the deadly pikes of the aerial here has been some mistakes a griffith after glancing his eye at the formidable array of the soldiers i take precedence of mr barns table and i shall propose to you captain burrow cliff terms that may remove this scene of strike from the dwelling of colonel howard the dwelling of colonel howard cried the veteran is the drawing of his king or of the meanest servant of the crown so burrow cliff spare not the traders on my behalf except no other terms than such unconditional submission as his meat to exact from the rebellious subjects of the anointed of the lord while griffith spoke barn stable folded his arms in affected composure and glanced his eyes expressively at the shivering catherine who with her companions still continued agitated spectators of all that past chained to the spot by their apprehensions but to this formidable denunciation of the master of the abbey he deemed proper to reply now by every hope i have of sleeping again on saltwater old gentlemen if it were not for the presence of these three trembling females i should feel tempted to dispute it once the title of his majesty you may make such a covenant as you will with mr griffith but if it contains one syllable about submission to your king or of any other allegiance than that which i owe to the continental congress and the state of massachusetts you may as well consider the terms violated at once for not an article of such an agreement will i consider as binding on me or on any that shall choose to follow me as leader here are but two leaders mr barn stable interrupted the haughty griffith the one of the enemy and the other of the arms of america captain burrow cliff do you as the former i address myself the great objects of the contest which now unhappily divides england from our ancient colonies can be in no degree affected by the events of this night while on the other hand by a rigid adherence to military notions much private evil and deep domestic calamity must follow any struggle in such a place we have but to speak sir and these rudeman who already stand impatiently handling their instruments of death will aim them at each other's lives and who can say that he shall be able to stay their hands when and where he will i know you to be a soldier and that you are not yet to learn how much easier it is to stimulate to blood than to blood vengeance burrow cliff unused to the admission of violent emotions and secure in the superiority of his own party both in numbers and equipments hurt him with the coolest composure to the end and then answered in his customary manner i honor your logic sir your premises are indisputable and the conclusion most obvious commit them these worthy tars to the good keeping of honest drew who will see their famished natures revived by diverse eatables and a due proportion of suitable fluids while we can discuss the manner in which you are to return to the colonies around a bottle of liquor which my friend manual there assures me has come from the sunny side of the island of medir to be drunk in a quarter of that of britain by my palate but the rascals brighten at the thought they know by instinct sir that a shipwreck mariner is a fitter companion to a ration of beef and a pot of porter than to such unsightly things as bayonets and boarding pipes trifle not unseasonably exclaim the impatient young sailor you have the odds in numbers but whether it will avail you much in a deadly struggle of hand to hand is a question you must put to your prudence we stand not here to ask terms but to grant them you must be brief sir for the time is wasting while we delay i've offered to you the means of obtaining imperfection the enjoyment of the three most ancient of the numerous families of the arts eating drinking and sleeping what more do you require that you order these men who fill the past to the outer door to fall back and give us room i would take in peace these are men from before the eyes of those who are unused to such sites before you oppose this demand think how easily these hearty fellows can make a way for themselves against your divided force your companion the experience captain manual will tell you that such a maneuver would be very unmilitary with a superior body in your rear i've not leisure surf with this folly cried the indignant griffith do you refuse us an unmolested retreat from the abbey i do griffith turned with a look of extreme emotion to the ladies and back into them to retire unable to give utterance to his wishes and words after a moment of deep silence however he wants more address burcliffe in the tones of conciliation if manual and myself will return to our prisons and submit to the will of your government he said can the rest of the party return to the frigate unmilested they cannot reply the soldier who perceiving that the crisis approach was gradually losing his artificial department in the interest of the moment you and all others who willingly invade the peace of these realms must abide the issue then god protect the innocent and defend the right amen give way billens sit quiet griffith facing the party that held the outer door give way or you shall be riddled with our pikes show them your muzzles men shouted burcliffe but pulled no trigger till they advanced there was an instant of bustle and preparation in which the rattling of firearms blended with the suppressed execrations and threats of the intended combatants as the sea and cathrine had both covered their faces to veil the horrid site that was momentarily expected when a la stunts come advanced boldly between the points of the threatening weapons and spoken a voice that stayed the hands that were already uplifted hear me men if men eb and not demons thirsting for each other's blood though you walk abroad in the semblance of him who died that he might be elevated to the rank of angels called he this war is this the glory that is made to warm the hearts of even silly and confiding women is the peace of families to be destroyed to gratify your wicked lust or conquest in his life to be taken in vain in order that he may boast of the foul deed in your wicked revels fall back then ye british soldiers if he be worthy of that name and give passage to a woman and remember that the first shot that is fired will be buried in her bosom the men thus enjoined shrank before her commanding mean and away was made for her exit through that very door which griffith had in vain so this is did might be cleared for himself and party but alice instead of advancing appeared to have suddenly lost the use of those faculties which had already affected so much her figure seemed rooted to the spot where she had spoken and her eyes were fixed in a subtle gaze as if dwelling on some horrid object while she yet stood in this attitude of unconscious helplessness the doorway became again darkened and the figure of the pilot was seen on his threshold clad as usual in the humble vestments of his profession but heavily armed with the weapons of naval war for an instant he stood a silent spectator of the scene and then advanced calmly but with searching eyes into the center of the apartment end of chapter 28 chapter 29 of the pilot by James Spenna more cooper this LibriVox recording is in the public domain chapter 29 Don Pedro welcome senior you are almost come to part almost afraid much ado about nothing down with your arms you Englishman said the daring intruder and you who fight in the cause of sacred liberty stay your hands that no unnecessary blood may flow yield yourself proud written to the power of the 13 republics ha exclaimed burrow clip grasping a pistol with an air of great resolution the work thickens i had not included this man in my estimate of their numbers is he a samson that his single arm can change the face of things so suddenly down with your own weapon you masquerader or at the report of this pistol your body shall be made a target for 20 bullets and then for a hundred return the pilot without their wind your call fellow and bring in our numbers we will let this confident gentleman feel his weakness he had not done speaking before the shrill whistle of a boats and rose gradually on the ears of the listeners until the sense of hearing became painfully oppressed by the piercing sounds that rang under the arched roof of the hall and penetrated even to the most distant recesses of the abbey a tremendous rush of men followed who drove in before them the terrified fragment of burrow cliffs command that had held the vestibule and the outer room became filled with a dark mass of human bodies let them hear ye lads quiet their leader the abbey is your own the roaring of a tempest was not louder than the shout that burst from his followers who continued their jeers peel on peel until the very roof of the edifice appeared to tremble with their vibrations numerous dark and shaggy heads were seen moving around the passage some cased in the iron bound caps of the frigates borders and others glittering with the brazen ornaments of her marine guard the side of the ladder did not fail to attract the eye of manual who rushed among the throng and soon reappeared followed by a trusty band of his own men who took possession of the post held by the soldiers of burrow cliff while the dialogue was continued between the leaders of the adverse parties thus far colonel howard had yielded to his guest with a deep reverence for the principles of military subordination the functions of a commander but now that affairs appeared to change so materially he took on himself the right to question these intruders into his dwelling by what authority sir the colonel demanded is it that you dare thus to invade the castle of a subject of this realm do you come back by the commission of the lord lieutenant of the county or has your warrant the signature of his majesty secretary for the home department i bear no commission from any quarter return the pilot i rank only and humble follower of the friends of america and having led these gentlemen into danger i have thought it my duty to see them extricated they are now safe and the right to command all that hear me rest with mr griffith who is commissioned by the continental congress for such service when he had spoken he fell back from the position he occupied in the center of the room to one of its sides where leaning his body against the wane scott he stood a silent observer of what followed it appears then that it is to you degenerate son of a most worthy father that i must repeat my demand to continue the veteran but what right is my dwelling thus rudely assailed and why is my quiet and the peace of those i protect so daringly violated i might answer you colonel howard by saying that it is according to the laws of arms or rather in retaliation for the thousand evils that your english troops have inflicted between main and georgia but i wish not to increase the unpleasant character of this scene and i therefore won't tell you that our advantage shall be used with moderation the instant that our men can be collected and our prisoners properly secured your dwelling shall be restored to your authority we are no freebooters sir and you will find it so after our departure captain manuel draw off your guard into the grounds and make your dispositions for a return march to our boats let the borders fall back there out with you out with you tumble out you borders the amicable order of the young lieutenant which was delivered after the stern quick fashion of his profession operated on the cluster of dark figures that were grouped around the door like a charm and as the men whom barn stable had led followed their shipmates into the courtyard the room was now left to such only as might be termed the gentleman of the invading party and the family of colonel howard barn stable had continued silent since the senior officer had assumed the command listening most attentively to each syllable that fell from either side but now that's so few remained and the time pressed he spoke again if we were to take boats so soon mr. griffith it would be seemingly that due preparations should be made to receive the ladies who are to honor us with their presence shall i take that duty on myself the abrupt proposal produced a universal surprise in his hearers though the abashed and conscious expression of captain plowden's features sufficiently indicated that to her at least it was not altogether unexpected the long silence that succeeded the question was interrupted by colonel howard you are masters gentlemen help yourselves to whatever best suits your inclinations my dwelling my goods and my wards are alike at your disposal or perhaps miss alice here good in kindness alistons go may suit the taste of some among you uh edward griffith edward griffith little did i ever breathe not that name in levity again thou scoffer or even your years may prove a feeble protection set a stern startling voice from behind all eyes turned involuntarily at the unexpected sounds and the muscular form of the pilot was seen resuming its attitude of repose against the wall though every fiber of his frame was working with suppressed passion when the astonished looks of griffith ceased to dwell on this extraordinary exhibition of interest in his companion they were turned imploringly towards the fair cousins who still occupied the distant corner wither fear had impelled them i've said that we are not midnight more orders colonel howard he replied but if any there be here who will deign to commit themselves to our keeping i trust it will not be necessary to say at this hour what will be their reception we have not time for unnecessary compliments cried the impatient barn stable here is mary who by years in blood is a suitable assistant for them in arranging their little baggage what say you urchin can you play the lady's maid on emergency i sir and better than i acted the peddler boy cried the gay youngster to have my mary cousin kate and my good cousin cistly for shipmates i could play our common grandmother come cuz let us be moving you will have to allow a little leeway in time for my awkwardness stand back young man said miss howard repulsing his familiar attempt to take her arm and then advancing with a maiden lead dignity nire to her guardian she continued i cannot know what stipulations have been agreed to by my cousin plowden in the secret treaty she has made this night with mr barn stable this for myself colonel howard i would have you credit your brother's child when she says that to her the events of the hour have not been more unexpected than to yourself the veteran gazed at her for a moment with an expression of his eye that denoted reviving tenderness but gloomy doubts appeared to cross his mind again and he shook his head as he walked proudly away nay then at its asia her head dropping neatly on her bosom i may be discredited by my uncle but i cannot be disgraced without some act of my own she slowly raised her mild countenance again and bending her eyes on her lover she continued while a rich rush of blood passed over her fine features edward griffith i will not i cannot say how humiliating it is to think that you can for an instant believe i would again forget myself so much as to wish to deserve him whom god has given me for a protector for one chosen by my own worrying passions and you andrew mary learned to respect the child of your mother's sister if not for her own sake at least for that of her who watched your cradle here appears to be some mistakes had barn stable who participated however in no trifling degree in the embarrassment of the abashed boy but like all other mistakes on such subjects it can be explained away i suppose mr. griffith remains for you to speak damn it man he whispered you are as dumb as a codfish i'm sure so finally a woman is worth a little fair weather talk you are muter than a four-footed beast even a nascan bray we will hasten our departure mr barn stable said griffith signed heavily and rousing himself as if from a trance these rude sights cannot but appalled the ladies you will please serve to direct the order of our march to the short captain manual has charge of our prisoners who must all be secured to answer for an equal number of our own countrymen and our countrywomen said barn stable are they to be forgotten in the selfish recollection of our own security with them we have no right to interfere unless at their request by heaven mr griffith this may smack of learning quite the other and it may plead bookish authority as its precedent but let me tell you sir for savers but little of a sailor's love is it one worthy of a seaman and a gentleman to permit the woman he calls his mistress to be so other than in name well then griff i pity you from my soul i would rather have had a sharp struggle for the happiness that i shall now obtain so easily than that you should be thus cruelly disappointed but you cannot blame me my friend that i avail myself a fortune's favor miss plowden your fair hand colonel howard i return you a thousand thanks for the care you have taken here the two of this precious charge and believe me sir that i speak frankly when i say then next to myself i should choose to entrust her with you in preference to any man on earth the colonel turned to the speaker and bowed low while he answered with grave courtesy sir you repay my slight services with too much gratitude if miss catherine plowden has not become under my guardianship all that her good father captain john plowden of the royal navy could have wished a daughter of his to be the fault unquestionably is to be attributed to my inability to instruct and to know inherent quality in the young lady herself i will not say take her sir since you have her in your possession already and it would be out of my power to alter the arrangement therefore i can only wish that you may find her as dutiful as a wife as she has been hitherto as a ward and a subject gatham had yielded her hand passively to her lover and suffered him to lead her more into the circle than she had before been but now she threw off his on and shaking aside the dark curls which she had rather invited to fall in disorder around her brow she raised her face and looked proudly up with an eye that sparkled with the spirit of its mistress and a face that grew pale with emotion at each moment as she proceeded gentleman the one may be as ready to receive as the other is to reject but as the daughter of john plowden her voice in this cool disposal of her person if her guardian tires of her presence other habitations may be found without inflicting so severe a penalty on this gentleman as to compel him to provide for her accommodation in the vessel which must be already straightened for room she turned and rejoined her cousin with such an air of maidenly resentment as a young woman would be apt to discover who found herself the subject of matrimonial arrangement without her own feelings being at all consulted barn stable who knew but little of the windings of the female harder how necessary to his mistress notwithstanding her previous declarations the countenance of the c was to any decided an open act in his favor stood in stupid wonder at her declaration he could not conceive that a woman who had already ventured so much in secret in his behalf and who had so often about her weakness should shrink to declare it again at such a crisis though the eyes of a universe were on her he looked from one of the party to the other and met in every face an expression of delicate reserve except in those of the guardian of his misfist and of burrow cliff the colonel had given a glance of returning favor at her whom he now conceived to be his repentant ward while the countenance of the entrapped captain exhibited a look of droll's surprise blended with the expression of bitter ferocity it had manifested since the discovery of his own mishap perhaps sir said barn stable addressing the letter fiercely you see something amusing about the person of this lady to divert you thus unseasonably we tolerate no such treatment of our women in america nor do we quarrel before ours in england returned the soldier throwing back the fierce glance of the sailor with interest but i was thinking of the revolution's time can produce nothing more i do assure you it is not half an hour since i felt myself a most happy fellow secured my plans for overreaching the scheme you had laid to surprise me and now i am as miserable a dog is wears a single epaulette and has no hope of seeing its fellow and in what manner sir can this sudden change apply to me as captain with all her spirit certainly not to your perseverance in the project to assist my enemies madam return the soldier with affected humility nor to your zeal for their success or your consummate coolness at the supper table but i find it is time that i should be super annuated i can no longer serve my king with credit and should take to serving my god like all other worn out men of the world my herring is surely defective or a paddock wall has a most magical effect in determining sounds captain waited not to hear the close of this sentence but walk to a distant part of the room to conceal the burning blushes that covered her countenance the manner in which the plans of barn stable had become known to his vote was no longer a mystery her conscience also reproached her a little with some unnecessary coca-tree as she remembered the quite one half of the dialogue between her lover and herself under the shadow of that very wall to rich pearl cliff alluded had been on a subject altogether formed to contention on two malts as the feelings of barn stable were by no means so sensitive as those of his mistress and his thoughts much occupied with the means of attaining his object he did not so readily comprehend the indirect illusion of the soldier but turned abruptly away to griffith and observed with a serious air i feel it my duty mr griffith to suggest that we have standing instructions to secure all the enemies of america wherever they may be found and to remind you that the states have not hesitated to make prisoners of females in many instances bravo cry burrow cliff if the ladies will not go as your mistresses take them as your captives tis well for you so that you are a captive yourself or you should be made to answer for this speech retorted the irritated barn stable it is a responsible command mr griffith and must not be disregarded to your duty mr barn stable said griffith again rousing from deep abstraction you have your order sir let them be executed promptly i've also the orders of our common superior captain munson mr griffith and i do assure you sir that in making out my instructions for the aerial poor thing there are no two of her timbers hanging together but my instructions were decidedly particular on that head and my orders now supersede them but am i justifiable in obeying a verbal order from an inferior indirect opposition to a written instruction griffith had hitherto manifested in his department nothing more than a cold determination to act but the blood now flew to every vessel in his cheeks and forehead and his dark eyes flashed fire as he cried authoritatively how sir do you hesitate to obey by heaven sir i would dispute the command of the continental congress itself should they bid me so far as to forget my duty to to end yourself sir mr barn stable let this be the last of it to your duty sir my duty calls me here mr griffith i must act then or be bearded by my own officers mr mary direct captain manual to send in a sergeant and a file of marines bidding come on himself cried barn stable maddened to desperation by his disappointment does not his whole court that can disarm me let them come on here there you aerials rally around your captain the man among them who dares to cross that threshold without my order dies cried griffith munson with a naked hanger the seaman who had promptly advanced at the call of their old commander yield your sword mr barn stable and spare yourself the disgrace of having it forced from you by a common soldier let me see the dog who dare attempted exclaimed barn stable flourishing his weapon in fierce anger griffith had extended his own on in the earnestness of his feelings and their hangers crossed each other the clashing of the steel operated on both like the sound of the clarion on a war horse and there were sudden and rapid blows and as rapid parries exchanged between the flashing weapons barn stable barn stable cried captain rushing into his arms i will go with you to the ends of the earth sissy howard did not speak but when griffith recovered his coolness he beheld her beautiful form kneeling at his feet with her pale face bent imploringly on his own disturbed countenance the quietness plodden had separated the combatants before an opportunity before shedding blood had been afforded but the young men exchanged looks of keen resentment notwithstanding the interference of their mistresses at this moment colonel howard advanced and raising his knees from her humble posture said this is not a situation for a child of harry howard though she knelt in the presence and before the throne of her sovereign behold my dear sissy the natural consequences of this rebellion it scatters discord in their ranks and by its damnable leveling principles destroys all distinction of rank among themselves even these rash boys know not where obedience is due it is due to me said the pilot who now stepped forward among the agitated group and it is time that i enforce it mr griffith she and you sir who have defied the authority of your senior officer and have forgotten the obligation of your oath submit and return to your duty griffith started at the sounds of his calm voice as if with sudden recollection and then bowing low he returned the weapon to its scabbard but barn stable still encircled the waist of his mistress with one arm while with the other he brandished his anger and laughed with scorn at this extraordinary assumption of authority and who is the secret who dare give such an order to me the eyes of the pilot flashed with a terrible fire while a fierce close seemed to be creeping over his whole frame which actually quivered with passion that suppressing this exhibition of his feelings by a sudden and powerful effort he answered in an emphatic manner one who has a right to order and who will be obeyed the extraordinary manner of the speaker contributed as much as his singular assertion to induce barn stable and his surprise to lower the point of his weapon with an air that might easily have been mistaken for submission the pilot fastened his glowing eyes on him for an instant and then turning to the rest of the listeners he continued more mildly it is true that we came not here as marauders and that our wishes to do no unnecessary acts of severity to the aged and the helpless but this office of the crown and this truant american in particular are fairly our prisoners as such they must be conducted on board our ship but the main object of our expedition said griffith tis lost returned the pilot hastily tis sacrificed to more private feelings tis like a hundred others ended in disappointment and is forgotten so forever but the interests of the republics must not be neglected mr griffith though we are not madly to endanger the lives of those gallant fellows to gain our love smile from one young beauty neither are we to forget the advantages they may have obtained for us in order to procure one of approbation from another this carnal howard will answer well in a bargain with the minions of the crown and may purchase the freedom of some worthy patriot who is deserving of his liberty nay nay suppress that haughty look and turn that proud eye on any rather than me he goes to the frigate sir and that immediately then said sisi howard timidly approaching the spot we were uncle stood a disdainful witness of the dissensions among his captors then will i go with him he shall never be a resident among his enemies alone it would be more ingenuous and more worthy of my brother's daughter said her uncle coldly if she ascribed her willingness to depart to its proper motive disregarding the look of deep distress with which sisi received this mortifying rejection of her tender attention the old man on receiving this order rushed into the room in a medley but notwithstanding those surly glances and savage characters of their dress and equipments they struck no blow nor committed any act of hostility the lady shrank back appalled as this terrific little band took possession of the hall and even borough cliff was seen to fall back towards the door which in some measure covered his retreat the confusion of this sudden movement had not yet subsided when sounds of strife were heard rapidly approaching from a distant part of the building and presently one of the numerous doors of the apartment was violently opened when two of the garrison of the abbey rushed into the hall vigorously pressed by twice their number of semen seconded by griffith manual and mary who were armed with such weapons of offense as had presented themselves to their hands at their unexpected liberation there was a movement on that part of the semen who were already in possession of the room that threatened instant death to the fugitives the barn stable beat down their pikes with his sword and stony ordered them to fall back surprised produced the same pacific result among the combatants and as the soldiers hastily sought a refuge behind their own officers and the release captives with their liberties joined the body of their friends the quiet of the hall which had been so rudely interrupted was soon restored you see sir said barn stable after grasping the hands of griffith manual in a warm and cordial pressure that all my plans have succeeded your sleeping guard are closely watched in their barracks by one party our officers are released and your sentinels cut off by another while with a third I hold the center of the abbey and am substantially in possession of your own person in consideration therefore of what is due to humanity and to the presence of these ladies let there be no struggle I shall impose no difficult terms nor any long imprisonment the recruiting officer manifested the composure throughout it and the latter laughing and indulging those buoyant spirits that a boy of his years in reflection might be supposed to feel even in such a scene it was fortunate for her cousin that Catherine had possessed so much forethought for the attention of Cecy Howard was directed much more to the comforts of her uncle then to those which were necessary for herself attended by Alice Dunn's comb the young mistress of st. Ruth moved through the solitary apartments of the building listening to the mild religious consolation of her companion in silence at times yielding to those bursts of mortified feeling that she could not repress or again as calmly giving her orders to her maids as if the intended movement was one of but ordinary interest all this time the party in the dining hall remained stationary the pilot as if satisfied with what he had already done sank back to his reclining attitude against the wall those eyes king leet watched every movement of the preparations in a manner which denoted that his was the master spirit that directed the whole griffith had however resumed in appearance the command and the busy seaman addressed themselves for orders to him alone in this manner an hour was consumed when Cecy and Catherine appearing in succession attired in a suitable manner for the departure and the baggage of the whole party having been already entrusted to a petty officer and a party of his men griffith gave forth the customary order to put the whole in motion the shrill piercing whistle of the boats and once more rang among the galleries and ceilings of the abbey and was followed by the deep horse cry of away there you short raft away there you borders ahead eve ahead sea dogs this extraordinary summons was succeeded by the role of a drum and the strains of a fight but from about when the whole party moved from the building in the order that had been previously prescribed by captain manual who acted as the march of the forces on the occasion the pilot had conducted his surprise with so much skill and secrecy as to have secured every individual about the abbey with a male or female soldier or civilian and as it might be dangerous to leave any behind who could convey intelligence into the country griffith had ordered that every human being found in the building should be conducted to the cliffs to be held endurance at least until the departure of the last boat to the cutter which he was informed lay close in to the land awaiting their re-embarcation the hurry of the departure had caused many lights to be kindled in the abbey and the contrast between the glare within and the gloom without attracted the wandering looks of the captives as they issued into the paddock one of those indefinable and unaccountable feelings which so often crossed the human mind induced to see you to pause at the great gate of the grounds and look back at the abbey with a presentiment that she was to behold it for the last time the dark and ragged outline of the edifice was clearly delineated against the northern sky while the open windows and neglected doors permitted a view of the solitude within 20 tapers were shedding their useless light in the empty apartments as if in mockery of the deserted walls as the sea turned shattering from the sight to press Nair to the person of her indignant uncle with a secret impression that her presence would soon be more necessary than ever to his happiness the lohama voices in front with the occasional strains of the fight and the stern mandates of the sea officers soon recalled her however from these visionary thoughts to the surrounding realities while the whole party pursued their way with diligence to the margin of the ocean end of chapter 29 chapter 30 of the pilot by james fenimore cooper this libra vox recording is in the public domain chapter 30 achieved into the highlands bound cries boatman do not tarry and i'll give the a silver pound to roas or the fairy lord ooland's daughter this guy had been without a cloud during the day the gale having been dry and piercing and thousands of stars were now shining through a chill atmosphere as the eye therefore became accustomed to the change of light it obtained a more distinct view of surrounding objects at the head of the line that was stretched along the narrow pathway marched a platoon of the marines who maintained the regular and steady front of trained warriors they were followed at some little distance by a large and confused body of semen heavily armed whose disposition to disorder and rude merriment which became more violent from their treading on solid ground was with difficulty restrained by the presidents and severe rebukes of their own officers in the center of this confused mass the whole of the common prisoners were placed but were not otherwise attended to by their nautical guard then as they furnished the subjects of fun and numberless quaint jokes at some distance in their rear marched colonel howard and burrow cliff arm and arm both maintaining the most rigid and dignified silence though under the influence of very bitter feelings behind these again and pressing as nigh as possible to her uncle was miss howard leaning on the arm of alice dunce comb and surrounded by the female domestics of the establishment of st. ruth cathrine plowden moved lightly by herself in the shadow of this group with elastic steps but with a maiden coyness that taught her to veil her satisfaction with the semblance of captivity barn stable watched her movements with delight within six feet of her but submitted to the air of caprice and his mistress which seemed to require that he should come no nearer grift avoiding the direct line of the party walked on its skirts in such a situation that his eye could command its whole extent in order if necessary to direct the movements another body of the marines marched at the close of the procession and manual in person brought up the rear the music has ceased by command and nothing was now audible but the regular tread of the soldiers with the size of the dungale interrupted occasionally by the voice of an officer of the hum of low dialogue this has been a scotch prize that we've taken but it uh a surly old seaman a ship without head money or a cargo there was kitchen timber enough in the old jug of a place to have given an outfit in crockery and knee buckles to every lad in the ship but no letter man's mouth water ever so much for food and raiment dammy if the officers would give him leave to steal even so good a thing as a spare bible you may say all that and then make but a short yarn of the truth return the messmate who walked by his side if there had been such a thing as already made prayer handy they would have choused the poor fellow out of the use of it i say ben i'll tell you what it's my opinion that if a chap is to turn soldier and carry a musket he should have soldiers play and leave to plunder a little now the devil a thing have i laid my hands on tonight except this fire lock and might cut lash unless you can call this bit of a tablecloth something of a windfall i you have fallen in there with a fresh bolt of duck i see said the other in manifest admiration of that texture of his companion's prize why he would spread his broader clue as our miz and royal if it was loosened well your luck hasn't been every man's luck for my part i think this here has made for some fellows great toe i've rigged it on my head both for an aft and a thwart ships because the inch cannot drive it down i say sam you'll give us a shirt off that tablecloth i you can have one corner of it or for that matter you can take the full half nick but i don't see that we go off to the ship any richer than we landed unless you may muster she cattle among your prize money no richer interrupted a waggy young sailor who had been hitherto a silent listener to the conversation between his older and more calculating shipmates i think we are set up for a cruise in them seas where the day watches last six months don't you see we have caught a double allowance of midnight while speaking he laid his hands on the bear and woolly heads of colonel howards to black slaves who were moving near him both occupied in mournful forebodings on the results they were to flow from this unexpected loss of their liberty slew your faces this way gentlemen he's added there don't you think that a sight to put out the binocle lamps there's darkness visible for you let the niggers alone grumble one of the more aged speakers what are you sky larking with the like of them for the next thing they'll sing out and then you'll hear one of the officers in your wake from my part nick i can't see why it is that we keep dodging along sure here with less than 10 fathoms under us when by stretching into the broad atlantic we might fall in with a jamaican man every day or two and have sugar hogs heads and rum punchins as plenty abort us as hard fare is now it is all owing to that pilot return the other for dsc if there was no bottom there would be no pilots this is dangerous cruising ground where we stretch into five thousandths and then drop our lead on a sandpit or a rock besides they make night work of it too if we had daylight for 14 hours instead of seven the man might trust defeating his way for the other 10 when i ain't you a couple of old horse marines again interrupted the young sailor don't you see that congress wants us to cut up johnny bull's coasters and that old blow heart has found the days too short for his business and so he's landed a party to get hold of night here we have him and then we get off to the ship we shall put him under hatches and then you'll see the face of the sun again come my lilies let those two gentlemen look into your cabin windows what you won't then i must squeeze your woollen nightcaps for you the niggers who had been submitting to his humors with the abject humility of slavery now gave certain low intimations that they were suffering pain under the rough manipulation of their tormentor what's that quite a stern voice whose voyage tone seemed to mock the air of authority that was assumed by the speaker whose that i'd say raising that cry among the willful young man slowly removed his two hands from the woolly poles of the slaves but as he suffered them to fall reluctantly along their stable temples he gave the ear of one of the blocks a tweak that caused him to give vent to another cry that was uttered with a much greater confidence of sympathy than before do you hear their repeated merry who's sky larking with those niggers there's no one sir the sailor answered with the effect of gravity one of the pale faces as it is gin against the cobweb and it has made his ear ache arcie you mr jack joker how came you in the midst of the prisoners did not i order you to handle your pike sir and to keep in the outer line ii sir you did and i obeyed orders as long as i could but these niggers have made the night so dark that i lost my way a low laugh passed through the confused crowd of semen and even the midshipman might have been indulging himself in a similar manner at this specimen of quaint humor from the fellow who was one of those licensed men that are to be found in every ship edling well sir he said you have found out your false reckoning now so get you back to the place where i bid you stay ii sir i'm going by all the blunders in the purses book mr mary but that cobweb has made one of these niggers shed tears do let me stay to catch a little ink sir to write a letter with to my poor old mother devil the line has she had for me since we sail from the chest of peak if you don't mind me at once mr jack joker i'll lay my cutlass over your head return mary his voice now betraying a much greater sympathy and the sufferings of that abject race who are still in some measure but who formulate were much more the butts of the unthinking in life sentious among our low countrymen then you can write your letter in red ink if you will i wouldn't do it for the world so joker sneaking away towards his proper station the old lady wouldn't forget the hand and swear it was a forgery i wonder though if the breakers on the coast of guinea be black as i've heard seamen say who have cruised in them latitudes his idle levity was suddenly interrupted by a voice that spoke above the low hum of the march with an air of authority and a severity of tone that could always quell by a single word the most violent ebullition of merriment in the crew the low buzzing sounds of i there goes mr griffith and uh jack has woke up the first lieutenant he had better now go to sleep himself were heard passing among the men but these suppressed communications soon ceased and even jack joker himself pursued his way with diligence on the skirts of the party as mutely as if the power of speech did not belong to his organization the reader has too often accompanied us over the ground between the abbey and the ocean to require any description of the route pursued by the seaman during the pre-seeding characteristic dialogue and we shall at once pass to the incidents which occurred on the arrival of the party at the cliffs as the man who had so unexpectedly assumed a momentary authority within saint root had unaccountably disappeared from among them griffith continued to exercise the right of command without referring to any other for consultation he never addressed himself to barn stable and it was apparent that both the haughty young men felt that the tie which had hitherto united them in such close intimacy was for the president at least entirely severed indeed griffith was only restrained by the presence of secy and catherine from arresting his refractory inferior on the spot in barn stable who felt all the consciousness of error without its proper humility with difficulty so far repressed his feelings as to forebear exhibiting in the presence of his mistress such a manifestation of his spirit as his wounded vanity induced him to imagine was necessary to his honor the two however acted in harmony on one subject though it was without concert or communication the first object with both the young men was to secure the embarkation of its fair cousins and barn stable proceeded instantly to the boats in order to hasten the preparations that were necessary before they could receive these unexpected captives the descent of the pilot having been made in such force as to require the use of all the frigates boats which were left riding in the outer edge of the surf awaiting the return of the expedition allowed call from barn stable gave notice to the officer in command and in a few moments the beach was crowded with the busy and active crews of the cutters launches barges jolly boats penises about whatever names the custom of the times attached to the different attendance of vessels of war had the fears of the ladies themselves been consulted the frigates launch would have been selected for their use on account of its size but barn stable who would have thought such a choice on his part humiliating to his guests ordered the long low barge of captain munson to be drawn upon the sand it being peculiarly the boat of honor the hands of fifty men were applied to the task and it was soon announced to colonel howard and his boards that the little vessel was ready for their reception manual had halted on the summit of the cliffs with the whole body of the marines where he was busily employed in posting pickets and sentinels and giving the necessary instructions to his men to cover the embarkation of the seaman in a style that he conceived to be altogether military the mass of the common prisoners including the inferior domestics of the abbey and the men of burrow cliff were also held in the same place under a suitable guard but colonel howard and his companion attended by the ladies and their own maids had descended the rugged path to the beach and were standing passively on the sands when the intelligence that the boat waited for them was announced whereas he asked alice dunce comb turning her head as if anxiously searching for some other than those around her whereas who inquired barn stable we are all here and the boat waits and will he tear me even me from the home of my infancy the land of my birth and my affections i know not of whom you speak madam but if it be of mr griffith he stands there just without that cluster of seaman griffith hearing himself thus named approached the ladies and for the first time since leaving the abbey addressed them i hope i'm already understood he said in that it is unnecessary for me to say that no female here is a prisoner though should any choose to trust themselves on board our ship i pledge them to the honor of an officer that they shall find themselves protected and safe then will i not grow said alice it is not expected of you said cecilia you have no ties to bind you to any here the eyes of alice were still wandering over the listeners go then miss alice and be the mistress of st ruth until my return or she added timondly until colonel howard may declare his pleasure i obey you dear child but the agent of colonel howard at b blank will undoubtedly be authorized to take charge of his effects well no one but his knee saluted to his will the master of the abbey had found in his resentment a sufficient apology for his rigid demeanor but he was far too well bred to bear in silence such a modest appeal to his wishes from so fair and so loyal a subject as alice dunce comb to relieve you madam and for no other reason will i speak on this subject he said otherwise i should leave the doors and windows of st ruth open as a bell and collet monument of rebellion and seek my future compensation from the crown when the confiscated estates of the leaders of this accursed innovation on the rights of princes shall come to the hammer but you miss alice are entitled to every consideration that a lady can expect from a gentleman be pleased therefore to write to my agent and request him to seal up my papers and transmit them to the office of his majesty secretary of state they breathe no trees and madam and are entitled to official protection the house and most of the furniture as you know are the property of my landlord who in due time will doubtless take charge of his own interests i kiss your hand miss alice and i hope we shall yet meet at st james's depend on it madam that the royal charlotte shall yet honor your merits i know she cannot but estimate your loyalty here i was born in humble obscurity here i have lived and here i hope to die in quiet return to me callus if i have known any pleasure in late years beyond that which every christian can find in our daily duties it has been my sweet friends in your accidental society such companions in this remote corner of the kingdom has been a boom too precious to be enjoyed without alloy it seems and i have now to exchange the past pleasure for present pain i do my young friend let your trust be in him to whose eyes both prince and peasant european and the american are alike and we shall meet again though it be neither in the island of britain nor on your own wide continent that said general howard advancing and taking her hand with kindness that is the only disloyal sentiment i've ever heard fall from the lips of miss alice duncecomb is it to be supposed that heaven has established borders among men and that it does not respect the works of its own formation but it do you no doubt if time was allowed us for suitable explanations we should find that little or no difference of opinion on this subject alice did not appear to consider the matter as worthy of further discussion at such a moment before she gently returned the kernels leave taking and then gave her undivided attention to her female friends to see her wept bitterly on the shoulder of her respective companion giving vent to her regret at parting and her excited feelings at the same moment and katharine pressed to the side of alice with the kindlyness prompted by her warm but truant heart their embraces were given and received in silence when each of the young ladies moved towards the boat as she withdrew herself from the arms of miss duncecomb general howard would not proceed his wards neither would he assist them into the barge that attention they received from barn stable who after seeing the ladies and their attendance seated turned to the gentleman and observed the boat waits well miss alice said borough cliff and bitter irony you are entrusted by our excellent host with a message to his agent will you do a similar service to me and write a report to the commander of the district and just tell him what a dope i use the plainest terms and say what an ass one captain borough cliff has proved himself in this affair you may throw in that way of episode that he has been playing bow peep with a rebellious young lady from the colonies and like a great boy has had his head broken for his pains come my worthy host or rather fellow prisoner i follow you as in duty bound stay clad griffith captain borough cliff does not embark in that boat hosser am i to be herded with the common men forget you that i have the honor to bear the commission of his britannic majesty and that i forget nothing that a gentleman is bound to remember captain borough cliff among other things i recollect the liberality of your treatment to myself when a prisoner the instant the safety of my command will justify such a step not only you but your men shall be set at liberty borough cliff started in surprise but his feelings were too much salad by the destruction of those visions of glory in which he had been luxuriously indulging for the last day or two to admit of his answering as became a man he swallowed his emotions therefore by a violent effort and walked along the beach affecting to whistle a low but lively air will then crowd barn stable all our captives are seated the boat waits only for its officers in his turn griffith walked away in haughty silence as if disdaining to hold communion with his former friend barn stable paused a moment from a deference that long habit had created for his superior officer in which was not to be shaken off by every burst of angry passion but perceiving that the other had no intention to return he ordered the seaman to raise the boat from the sand and bear it bodily into the water the command was instantly obeyed and by the time the young lieutenant was in his seat the barge was floating in the still heavy though no longer dangerous surf and the crew sprang into their places bearer off boys he cried never mind a wet jacket i've seen many of worthy fellow tumbling on the speech and at worse time than this now you have a head to see giveaway my souls give away the seaman rose simultaneously at their oars and by an united effort obtained the command of their boat which after making a few sudden descents and as many heavy pitches in the breaker's game the smoother seas of the swelling ocean and stem the waters in a direction for the place where the alacrity was supposed to be in waiting in the chapter 30