The Pilot (51 page)

"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 to forget my duty to—to—"

"Add yourself, sir!—Mr. Barnstable, 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. Merry, direct
Captain Manual to send in a sergeant and a file of marines."

"Bid him come on himself!" cried Barnstable, maddened to desperation by
his disappointment; "'tis not his whole corps that can disarm me—let
them come on! Hear, there, you Ariels! rally around your captain."

"The man among them who dares to cross that threshold without my order,
dies," cried Griffith, menacing with a naked hanger the seamen who had
promptly advanced at the call of their old commander. "Yield your sword,
Mr. Barnstable, and spare yourself the disgrace of having it forced from
you by a common soldier."

"Let me see the dog who dare attempt it!" exclaimed Barnstable,
flourishing his weapon in fierce anger. Griffith had extended his own
arm 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.

"Barnstable! Barnstable!" cried Katherine, rushing into his arms, "I
will go with you to the ends of the earth!"

Cecilia 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 cry of Miss
Plowden had separated the combatants, before an opportunity for 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 niece 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 Cecilia, 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, sheathe
your sword. 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 Barnstable still encircled the waist of his mistress with
one arm, while with the other he brandished his hanger, and laughed with
scorn at this extraordinary assumption of authority.

"And who is this," he cried, "who dare give such an order to me!"

The eyes of the Pilot flashed with a terrible fire, while a fierce glow
seemed to be creeping over his whole frame, which actually quivered with
passion. But, 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 Barnstable, in 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 wish is to
do no unnecessary acts of severity to the aged and the helpless. But
this officer 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, sir, 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 a 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
Colonel 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 Cecilia Howard, timidly approaching the spot where her
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
Cecilia received this mortifying rejection of her tender attention, the
old man on receiving this order, rushed into the room in a medley; but,
notwithstanding the surly 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 Borroughcliffe was seen to fall back
towards a 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 seamen, seconded by
Griffith, Manual, and Merry, who were armed with such weapons of offence
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; but Barnstable beat down their pikes with his sword, and
sternly ordered them to fall back. Surprise produced the same pacific
result among the combatants; and as the soldiers hastily sought a refuge
behind their own officers, and the released 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 Barnstable, 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 in their barracks by
one party; our officers are released and your sentinels cut off by
another; while, with a third, I hold the centre 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 a composure throughout it, and the
latter laughing, and indulging those buoyant spirits that a boy of his
years and reflection might be supposed to feel even in such a scene. It
was fortunate for her cousin that Katherine had possessed so much
forethought; for the attention of Cecilia Howard was directed much more
to the comforts of her uncle than to those which were necessary for
herself. Attended by Alice Dunscombe, 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, though his eyes keenly 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 seamen addressed themselves for orders to him
alone. In this manner an hour was consumed, when Cecilia and Katherine
appearing in succession attired in a suitable manner for their
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 boatswain once more rang among the galleries and ceilings
of the abbey, and was followed by the deep, hoarse cry of:

"Away, there, you shore-draft! away, there, you boarders! ahead, heave
ahead, sea-dogs!"

This extraordinary summons was succeeded by the roll of a drum and the
strains of a fife, from without, when the whole party moved from the
building in the order that had been previously prescribed by Captain
Manual, who acted as the marshal 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, whether 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 in durance 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-embarkation. 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 cross the human mind induced
Cecilia 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. Twenty tapers were shedding
their useless light in the empty apartments, as if in mockery of the
deserted walls; and Cecilia turned shuddering from the sight, to press
nigher 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 low hum of voices in front, with the occasional strains of the fife,
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.

"A chieftain to the Highlands bound
Cries, 'Boatman, do not tarry!
And I'll give thee a silver pound,
To row us o'er the ferry.'"
Lord Ullin's Daughter
.

The sky 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 seamen, 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 presence
and severe rebukes of their own officers. In the centre of this confused
mass the whole of the common prisoners were placed, but were not
otherwise attended to by their nautical guard than as they furnished the
subjects of fun and numberless quaint jokes. At some distance in their
rear marched Colonel Howard and Borroughcliffe, arm in 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 Dunscombe, and surrounded by the female domestics of the
establishment of St. Ruth. Katherine 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. Barnstable watched her movements with delight, within six
feet of her, but submitted to the air of caprice in his mistress, which
seemed to require that he should come no nearer. Griffith, 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
had ceased by command, and nothing was now audible but the regular tread
of the soldiers, with the sighs of the dying gale, interrupted
occasionally by the voice of an officer, or the hum of low dialogue.

"This has been a Scotch prize that we've taken," muttered a surly old
seaman; "a ship without head-money or 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! let a man's mouth water
ever so much for food and raiment, damme, if the officers would give him
leave to steal even so good a thing as a spare Bible."