The Pilot (25 page)

"Away! away! the covey's fled the cover;
Put forth the dogs, and let the falcon fly—
I'll spend some leisure in the keen pursuit,
Nor longer waste my hours in sluggish quiet."

The soldier passed the remainder of the night in the heavy sleep of a
bacchanalian, and awoke late on the following morning, only when aroused
by the entrance of his servant. When the customary summons had induced
the captain to unclose his eyelids, he arose in his bed, and after
performing the usual operation of a diligent friction on his organs of
vision, he turned sternly to his man, and remarked with an ill-humor
that seemed to implicate the innocent servant in the fault which his
master condemned:

"I thought, sirrah, that I ordered Sergeant Drill not to let a drumstick
touch a sheepskin while we quartered in the dwelling of this hospitable
old colonel! Does the fellow despise my commands? or does he think the
roll of a drum, echoing through the crooked passages of St. Ruth, a
melody that is fit to disturb the slumbers of its inmates?"

"I believe, sir," returned the man, "it was the wish of Colonel Howard
himself, that on this occasion the sergeant should turn out the guard by
the roll of the drum."

"The devil it was!—I see the old fellow loves to tickle the drum of his
own ear now and then with familiar sounds; but have you had a muster of
the cattle from the farmyard too, as well as a parade of the guard? I
hear the trampling of feet, as if the old abbey were a second ark, and
all the beasts of the field were coming aboard of us!"

"'Tis nothing but the party of dragoons from—, who are wheeling into
the courtyard, sir, where the colonel has gone out to receive them."

"Courtyard! light dragoons!" repeated Borroughcliffe, in amazement; "and
has it come to this, that twenty stout fellows of the —th are not
enough to guard such a rookery as this old abbey, against the ghosts and
northeast storms, but we must have horse to reinforce us? Hum! I suppose
some of these booted gentlemen have heard of this South Carolina
Madeira."

"Oh, no, sir!" cried his man; "it is only the party that Mr. Dillon went
to seek last evening, after you saw fit, sir, to put the three pirates
in irons."

"Pirates in irons," said Borroughcliffe, again passing his hands over
his eyes, though in a more reflecting manner than before: "ha! oh! I
remember to have put three suspicious looking rascals in the black-hole,
or some such place; but what can Mr. Dillon, or the light dragoons, have
to do with these fellows?"

"That we do not know, sir; but it is said below, sir, as some suspicions
had fallen on their being conspirators and rebels from the colonies, and
that they were great officers and Tories in disguise; some said that one
was General Washington, and others that it was only three members of the
Yankee parliament, come over to get our good old English fashions to set
themselves up with."

"Washington! Members of Congress! Go—go, simpleton, and learn how many
these troopers muster, and what halt they make; but stay, place my
clothes near me. Now, do as I bid you, and if the dragoon officer
enquire for me, make my respects, and tell him I shall be with him soon.
Go, fellow; go."

When the man left the room, the captain, while he proceeded with the
business of the toilet, occasionally gave utterance to the thoughts that
crowded on his recollection, after the manner of a soliloquy.

"Ay! my commission to a half-pay ensigncy, that some of these lazy
fellows, who must have a four-legged beast to carry them to the wars,
have heard of the 'south side.' South side! I believe I must put an
advertisement in the London Gazette, calling that amphibious soldier to
an account If he be a true man, he will not hide himself under his
incognito, but will give me a meeting. If that should fail, damme, I'll
ride across to Yarmouth, and call out the first of the mongrel breed
that I fall in with. 'Sdeath! Was ever such an insult practised on a
gentleman and a soldier before? Would that I only knew his name! Why,
if the tale should get abroad, I shall be the standing joke of the mess-
table, until some greater fool than myself can be found. It would cost
me at least six duels to get rid of it. No, no; not a trigger will I
pull in my own regiment about the silly affair: but I'll have a crack at
some marine in very revenge; for that is no more than reasonable. That
Peters! if the scoundrel should dare whisper anything of the manner in
which he was stamped with the breech of the musket! I can't flog him for
it; but if I don't make it up to him the first time he gives me a
chance, I am ignorant of the true art of balancing regimental accounts."

By the time the recruiting officer had concluded this soliloquy, which
affords a very fair exposition of the current of his thoughts, he was
prepared to meet the new comers, and he accordingly descended to the
courtyard, as in duty bound, to receive them in his proper person.
Boroughcliffe encountered his host, in earnest conversation with a young
man in a cavalry uniform, in the principal entrance of the abbey, and
was greeted by the former with:

"A good morning to you, my worthy guard and protector! here is rare news
for your loyal ears. It seems that our prisoners are enemies to the king
in disguise; and, Cornet Fitzgerald—Captain Borroughcliffe, of the
—th, permit me to make you acquainted with Mr. Fitzgerald of the —th
light dragoons." While the soldiers exchanged their salutations, the old
man continued: "The cornet has been kind enough to lead down a
detachment of his troop to escort the rogues up to London, or some other
place, where they will find enough good and loyal officers to form a
court-martial, that can authorize their execution as spies. Christopher
Dillon, my worthy kinsman, Kit, saw into their real characters at a
glance; while you and I, like two unsuspecting boys, thought the rascals
would have made fit men to serve the king. But Kit has an eye and a head
that few enjoy like him, and I would that he might receive his dues at
the English bar."

"It is to be desired, sir," said Borroughcliffe, with a grave aspect,
that was produced chiefly by his effort to give effect to his sarcasm,
but a little, also, by the recollection of the occurrences that were yet
to be explained; "but what reason has Mr. Christopher Dillon to believe
that the three seamen are more or less than they seem?"

"I know not what; but a good and sufficient reason, I will venture my
life," cried the colonel; "Kit is a lad for reasons, which you know is
the foundation of his profession, and knows how to deliver them manfully
in the proper place; but you know, gentlemen, that the members of the
bar cannot assume the open and bold front that becomes a soldier,
without often endangering the cause in which they are concerned. No, no;
trust me, Kit has his reasons, and in good time will he deliver them."

"I hope, then," said the captain carelessly, "that it may be found that
we have had a proper watch on our charge, Colonel Howard; I think you
told me the windows were too high for an escape in that direction, for I
had no sentinel outside of the building."

"Fear nothing, my worthy friend," cried his host; "unless your men have
slept, instead of watching, we have them safe; but, as it will be
necessary to convey them away before any of the civil authority can lay
hands on them, let us proceed to the rear, and unkennel the dogs. A
party of the horse might proceed at once with them to—, while we are
breaking our fasts. It would be no very wise thing to allow the
civilians to deal with them, for they seldom have a true idea of the
nature of the crime."

"Pardon me, sir," said the young officer of horse; "I was led to
believe, by Mr. Dillon, that we might meet with a party of the enemy in
some little force, and that I should find a pleasanter duty than that of
a constable; besides, sir, the laws of the realm guarantee to the
subject a trial by his peers, and it is more than I dare do to carry the
men to the barracks, without first taking them before a magistrate."

"Ay! you speak of loyal and dutiful subjects," said the colonel; "and,
as respects them, doubtless, you are right; but such privileges are
withheld from enemies and traitors."

"It must be first proved that they are such, before they can receive the
treatment or the punishment that they merit," returned the young man, a
little positively, who felt the more confidence, because he had only
left the Temple the year before. "If I take charge of the men at all, it
will be only to transfer them safely to the civil authority."

"Let us go and see the prisoners," cried Borroughcliffe, with a view to
terminate a discussion that was likely to wax warm, and which he knew to
be useless; "perhaps they may quietly enroll themselves under the
banners of our sovereign, when all other interference, save that of
wholesome discipline, will become unnecessary."

"Nay, if they are of a rank in life to render such a step probable,"
returned the cornet, "I am well content that the matter should be thus
settled. I trust, however, that Captain Borroughcliffe will consider
that the —th light dragoons has some merit in this affair, and that we
are far short of our numbers in the second squadron."

"We shall not be difficult at a compromise," returned the captain;
"there is one apiece for us, and a toss of a guinea shall determine who
has the third man. Sergeant! follow, to deliver over your prisoners, and
relieve your sentry."

As they proceeded in compliance with this arrangement, to the building
in the rear, Colonel Howard, who made one of the party, observed:

"I dispute not the penetration of Captain Borroughcliffe, but I
understand Mr. Christopher Dillon that there is reason to believe one of
these men, at least, to be of a class altogether above that of a common
soldier; in which case, your plans may fall to the ground."

"And who does he deem the gentleman to be?" asked Borroughcliffe—"a
Bourbon in disguise, or a secret representative of the rebel congress?"

"Nay, nay: he said nothing more; my kinsman Kit keeps a close mouth
whenever Dame Justice is about to balance her scales. There are men who
may be said to have been born to be soldiers; of which number I should
call the Earl Cornwallis, who makes such head against the rebels in the
two Carolinas; others seem to be intended by nature for divines, and
saints on earth, such as their graces of York and Canterbury; while
another class appears as if it were impossible for them to behold things
unless with discriminating, impartial, and disinterested eyes; to which
I should say, belong my Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, and my kinsman,
Mr. Christopher Dillon. I trust, gentlemen, that when the royal arms
have crushed this rebellion, his majesty's ministers will see the
propriety of extending the dignity of the peerage to the colonies, as a
means of reward to the loyal, and a measure of policy to prevent further
disaffection; in which case I hope to see my kinsman decorated with the
ermine of justice bordering the mantle of a peer."

"Your expectations, my excellent sir, are right reasonable; as I doubt
not your kinsman will become, at some future day, that which he is not
at present, unhappily for his deserts, right honorable," said
Borroughcliffe. "But be of good heart, sir; from what I have seen of his
merits, I doubt not that the law will yet have its revenge in due
season, and that we shall be properly edified and instructed how to
attain elevation in life, by the future exaltation of Mr. Christopher
Dillon; though by what title he is to be then known, I am at a loss to
say."

Colonel Howard was too much occupied with his own ex-parte views of the
war and things in general, to observe the shrewd looks that were
exchanged between the soldiers; but he answered with perfect simplicity:

"I have reflected much on that point, and have come to the opinion, that
as he has a small estate on that river, he should, cause his first
barony to be known by the title of 'Pedee.'"

"Barony!" echoed Borroughcliffe; "I trust the new nobles of a new world
will disdain the old worn-out distinctions of a hackneyed universe—
eschew all baronies, mine host, and cast earldoms and dukedoms to the
shades. The immortal Locke has unlocked his fertile mind to furnish you
with appellations suited to the originality of your condition and the
nature of your country. Ah! here comes the Cacique of Pedee, in his
proper person!"

As Borroughcliffe spoke, they were ascending the flight of stone steps
which led to the upper apartments, where the prisoners were still
supposed to be confined; and, at the same moment, the sullen, gloomy
features of Dillon were seen as he advanced along the lower passage,
with an expression of malicious exultation hovering above his dark brow,
that denoted his secret satisfaction. As the hours passed away the
period had come round when the man who had been present at the escape of
Griffith and his friends was again posted to perform the duty of
sentinel. As this soldier well knew the situation of his trust, he was
very coolly adjusted, with his back against the wall, endeavoring to
compensate himself for his disturbed slumbers during the night, when the
sounds of the approaching footsteps warned him to assume the appearance
of watchfulness.

"How, now, fellow!" cried Borroughcliffe; "what have you to say to your
charge!"

"I believe the men sleep, your honor; for I have heard no noises from
the rooms since I relieved the last sentinel."

"The lads are weary, and are right to catch what sleep they can in their
comfortable quarters," returned the captain. "Stand to your arms,
sirrah! and throw back your shoulders; and do not move like a crab, or a
train-band corporal; do you not see an officer of horse coming up? Would
you disgrace your regiment?"

"Ah! your honor, Heaven only knows whether I shall ever get my shoulders
even again."