The man was clearly an original; and it was equally evident that Peter knew how to deal with him, and that I did not. I therefore called the former on one side, and desired him, if bribing was of any use, to offer the miller fifty pounds, if through his information we were enabled to overtake the fugitives. Upon this a conversation ensued between the pair, which appeared as if it would never come to a termination; but just as my patience was exhausted, and I was about to break in upon them, Peter informed me that if I would engage to pay Hard-man fifty pounds, and to protect him from Wilford's anger, he would tell me everything he knew, and put me on the right track. To this I agreed, and he proceeded to give me the following account:--

In the course of the previous day, a vagabond of his acquaintance, who called himself a rat-catcher, but was a professional poacher and an amateur pugilist, came to him, and told him that a gentleman who had a little job in hand wanted the use of the cottage, as it was a nice out-of-the-way place, and that, if he would agree, the gent would call and give him his instructions. He inquired -453-- of what the job consisted; and on being told that a girl was going to run away from home with her sweetheart--that being, as he observed, merely an event in the course of nature--he agreed. In the evening he was visited by Wilford, and a man who was addressed as Captain. They directed him to have a room in the cottage ready by the next morning for the reception of a lady; and at the same time a sealed paper was handed to him, which he was directed to lock up in some safe place, and in the event of the lady and her maid-servant being given into his custody unharmed, he was to deliver up the paper to a gentleman who should produce a signet ring then shown him. This being successfully accomplished, he and his friend the poacher were alike to prevent the lady's escape, and protect her against all intrusion, till such time as Wilford should arrive to claim her; for which services the worthy pair were to receive conjointly the sum of twenty pounds.

In pursuance of these instructions, he had locked up the paper, and prepared for locking up the lady. About half an hour before we made our appearance, a carriage had arrived with four smoking posters; it contained two females inside; the Captain and a gentleman (whom the miller recognised as Mr. c.u.mberland of Barstone Priory) were seated in the rumble, while his friend the poacher was located on a portmanteau in front.

c.u.mberland and his companion alighted, and the former immediately asked for the paper, producing the ring, and saying that the plan had been changed, and that the lady was to go on another stage. Joe Hardman, however, was not, as he expressed it, "to be done so easy," and positively refused to give up the paper till the lady was consigned to his custody. A whispered consultation took place between c.u.mberland and the Captain, the carriage door was opened, and the lady and her maid requested to alight. Joe then ushered them into the room prepared for them, the windows of which had been effectually secured, locked them in, and leaving the poacher on guard, hastened to get the paper, which, on receiving the ring, he delivered up to c.u.mberland. No sooner, however, had c.u.mberland secured the doc.u.ment than he made a signal to the Captain; they both threw themselves upon Hardman, and endeavoured to overpower him. He resisted vigorously, shouting loudly to the poacher for a.s.sistance, an appeal to which that treacherous ally responded by bestowing upon him a blow which stretched him on his back, and damaged his -454-- physiognomy in the manner already described. Having put him _hors de combat_, they took the key from him, released the lady, forced her and her maid to re-enter the carriage, and drove off, leaving him to explain her absence as best he might.

They had not been gone more than ten minutes when Wilford and his groom rode up at speed, and on learning the trick which had been played upon him swore a fearful oath to be avenged on c.u.mberland, and after ascertaining which direction they had taken, followed eagerly in pursuit.

He added, that his chief inducement for making this confession, was his conviction that something dreadful would occur unless timely measures were taken to prevent it. He declared c.u.mberland's manner to have been that of a man driven to desperation; and he had noticed that he had pistols with him. Wilford's ungovernable fury, on being informed how he had been deceived, was described by Hardman as enough to make a man's blood run cold to witness. Having, in addition, ascertained the route they had taken, and the means by which we should be likely to trace them, we returned to the carriage,--my heart heavy with the most dire forebodings,--and inciting the drivers, by promises of liberal payment, to use their utmost speed, we once again started in pursuit.

CHAPTER LVI -- RETRIBUTION

"Fell retribution, like a sleuth-hound, still The footsteps of the wicked sternly tracks, And in his mad career o'ertaking him, Brings, when he least expects it, swift destruction, And with a bitter, mocking justice, marks Each sin that did most easily beset him.

The eye that spared not woman in its l.u.s.t, Glaring with maniac terror, sinks in death.

The homicidal hand, whose fiendish skill Made man its victim, crushed and bleeding lies.

The crafty tongue, a ready instrument Of that most subtle wickedness, his brain, Babbles in fatuous imbecility."

--_Holofernes, a Mystery_.

"We meet to part no more."

--_Amatory Sentiment_.

AFTER proceeding about a mile, at a pace which consorted ill with the fever of impatience that tormented me, we came once again upon the high road; and having got clear of ruts and mud-holes, were enabled to resume -455-- our speed. Half-an-hour's gallop advanced us above six miles on our route, and brought us to the little town of M--. Here we were compelled to stop to change our smoking horses, and had the satisfaction of learning that a carriage, answering to old Peter's description of the one we were in pursuit of, had changed horses there about twenty minutes before our arrival, and that a gentleman and his groom had since been observed to ride at speed through the town, and to follow the course taken by the carriage without drawing bridle. Whilst making these inquiries, four stout posters had been attached to our vehicle, and we again dashed forward. Another half-hour of maddening suspense followed, although the postboys, stimulated by the promise of reward, exerted themselves to the utmost, till the carriage swung from side to side with a degree of violence which rendered an overturn by no means an improbable contingency. No signs of the fugitives were to be discerned, and I was beginning to speculate on the possibility of their having again attempted to deceive us by turning off from the high road, when an exclamation from Peter Barnett (who, from his exalted station, was able to command a more extended view than ourselves) attracted my attention.

We were at the moment descending a hill, which from its steepness obliged the postilions to proceed at a more moderate pace. Thrusting my head and shoulders out of one of the front windows, and raising myself by my hands, I contrived to obtain a view of the scene which had called forth Peter's e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n. Rather beyond the foot of the hill, where the ground again began to ascend, a group of persons, apparently farming labourers, were gathered round some object by the wayside, while almost in the centre of the road lay a large dark ma.s.s, which, as I came nearer, I perceived to be the dead carcase of a horse; another horse, snorting with terror at the sight of its fallen companion, was with difficulty prevented from breaking away by a groom, who, from his dark and well-appointed livery, I immediately recognised as a servant of Wilford's.

With a sensation of horror, such as I do not remember ever before to have experienced, I shouted to the postboys to stop, and, springing out, hastened to join the crowd collected by the roadside. They made way for me as I approached, thereby enabling me to perceive the object of their solicitude. Stretched at full length upon the gra.s.s, and perfectly motionless, lay the form of Wilford; his usually pale features wore the livid hue of death, and his -456-- long black hair was soaked and matted with blood, which trickled slowly from a fearful contused wound towards the back of the head. His right shoulder, which was crushed out of all shape, appeared a confused ma.s.s of mud and gore, while his right--_his pistol arm_--lay bent in an unnatural direction, which showed that it was broken in more places than one. He was perfectly insensible, but that he was still alive was proved, as well by his hard and painful breathing, as by a low moan of agony to which he occasionally gave utterance. "How has this happened?" inquired I, turning away with a thrill of horror.

"Well, as I make out, the mare crushed him when she fell upon him; but he knows best, for he saw it all," replied one of the countrymen, pointing to the groom, who now came forward.

On questioning the servant, I learned that Wilford, before he went out shooting that morning, had ordered his saddle-horses to be ready for him at a certain hour, adding, that the black mare, of which mention has been so often before made in this history, was to be saddled for his own riding. Immediately after Peter Barnett had returned with the news of Miss Saville's abduction, Wilford had called for his horses in great haste, told the servant to follow him, and ridden off at speed, through fields and along by-lanes, till he arrived at Hardman's mill. There he was made acquainted (as I knew from the miller's confession) with the deception which had been practised upon him, and, muttering imprecations against c.u.mberland, he started in pursuit, riding at such a pace that the groom, although well mounted, had the greatest difficulty in keeping up with him. At length they caught sight of a carriage with four horses descending the steep hill already mentioned, and proceeding at a rate which proved that time was a more important consideration than safety to those it contained. Regardless of the dangerous nature of the ground, Wilford continued his headlong course, and overtook the fugitives just at the bottom of the hill. Riding furiously up to the side of the vehicle, he shouted to the drivers to stop, in a voice hoa.r.s.e with pa.s.sion. Intimidated by his furious gestures, and uncertain whether to obey or not, the postboys, in their irresolution, slackened their speed, when c.u.mberland, urged apparently to desperation, leaned out of the window with a c.o.c.ked pistol in his hand, ordered the drivers to proceed, and turning to Wilford, desired him to give up the pursuit, or (levelling the pistol at him as he spoke) he would blow his brains -457-- out. Wilford, taking no notice of the threat, again shouted to the postilions to stop, and was about to ride forward to compel their obedience, when c.u.mberland, after hesitating for a moment, suddenly changed the direction of the pistol, and aiming at the horse instead of the rider, fired.

[Ill.u.s.tration: page457 The Retribution]

Simultaneously with the report, the mare plunged madly forward, reared up till she stood almost erect, pawed the air wildly with her fore-feet, and then dropped heavily backwards, bearing her rider with her, and crushing him as she fell. The ball had entered behind the ear, and pa.s.sing in an oblique direction through the brain, had produced instant death. Without waiting to ascertain the effect of his shot, c.u.mberland again compelled the postboys to proceed, and by the time the groom reached the scene of action the carriage was rapidly getting out of sight. The servant being unable to extricate his master from the fallen horse, was about to ride off for a.s.sistance, when some labourers, attracted by the report of the pistol, had come up, and by their united efforts had succeeded in freeing the sufferer, but only, as it seemed, to die from the serious nature of the injuries he had sustained.

"Umph! eh!--the man's a dead man, or next door to it," exclaimed Mr. Frampton, who had joined me while the groom was giving the above recital. "Nevertheless, we must do what we can for him, scoundrel as he is. How's a doctor to be obtained. Umph?"

"Where does the nearest surgeon live?" asked I.

"There ain't none nearer than M----" was the reply, naming the town through which we had pa.s.sed.

"I must leave you to settle this matter," continued I; "too much time has already been lost for me to attempt to overtake c.u.mberland with the carriage; I must follow them on horseback. Take off the leaders and shift the saddle on to the led horse; he seems the freshest."

"Umph! go and get shot, like the wretched man here," put in Mr.

Frampton. "You shan't do it, Frank."

"With his fate before me, I will be careful, sir," replied I; "but think of Clara in the power of that villain! Your niece must be rescued at all hazards; still, even for her sake, I will be cautious.--Is that horse ready?"

"If you please, sir," said one of the postilions, a quick, intelligent lad, who, while we were speaking, had removed the saddle from the dead mare to the back of the off leader, "if you will take me with you, I can show you how to stop them." He then explained, that about five miles farther on there was a turnpike at the top of a long hill, which a heavy carriage must ascend slowly, and that -458-- he knew a short cut across some fields, by means of which, if we made the best of our way, we might reach the turnpike in time to close the gate before those of whom we were in pursuit should arrive. This plan appeared so sensible and comparatively easy of execution, that even Mr. Frampton could offer no objection to it, and, mounting our horses, we again resumed the chase.

And now, for the first time since I had heard of Clara's abduction, did I at all recover my self-command, or venture to hope the affair would be brought to a favourable issue. But the change from inaction to vigorous exertion, and the refreshing sensation of the cool air as it whistled round my throbbing temples, tended to restore the elasticity of my spirits, and I felt equal to any emergency that might arise. After following the high road for about a mile, we turned down a lane on the right, and leaving this when we had proceeded about half a mile farther, we entered a large gra.s.s field, which we dashed over in gallant style, and making our way across sundry other fields, and over, through, and into (for the post-horses, though not by any means despicable cattle in their degree, were scarcely calculated for such a sudden burst across country as that to which we were treating them) the respective hedges and ditches by which they were divided, we regained the high road, after a rattling twenty minutes' gallop. The point at which we emerged was just at the top of a very steep hill, up which the road wound in a serpentine direction.

"Are we before them, do you think?" inquired I of my companion, as we reined in our panting steeds.

"I'm sure as we must be, sir, by the pace we've come. I didn't think the old 'osses had it in 'em; but you does ride slap hup, sir, and no mistake--pity as you ain't on the road, your honour."

"If I pa.s.s behind those larch trees," asked I, smiling at the postboy's compliment, "I can see down the hill without being seen, can I not?"

His reply being in the affirmative, I advanced to the spot I had indicated, and, to my delight, perceived a carriage and four making its way up the hill with as great rapidity as the nature of the ground rendered possible. Turning my horse's head, I rejoined my companion, and we rode on to the turnpike.

Half a dozen words served to convey my wishes to the turnpike-man, as many shillings rendered him my firm friend, and half the number of minutes sufficed to close and effectually bolt and bar the gate.

-459-- The postboy having by my orders tied up the horses to a rail on the other side of the gate, we all three entered the turnpike-house, where, with breathless impatience, I awaited the arrival of the carriage. In less time than even I had imagined possible, the sound of horses' feet, combined with the rattle of wheels, and the shouting of the drivers, when they perceived the gate was shut, gave notice of their approach.

"Wait," exclaimed I, laying my hand on the boy's arm to restrain his impetuosity, "wait till they pull up, and then follow me, both of you; but do not interfere unless you see me attacked, and likely to be overpowered."

As I spoke, the horses were cheeked so suddenly as to throw them on their haunches, and, amidst a volley of oaths at the supposed inattention of the turnpike-man, one of the party (in whose coa.r.s.e bloated features and corpulent figure I at once recognised my _ci-devant_ acquaintance of the billiard-room, Captain Spicer) jumped down to open the gate. This was the moment I had waited for, and bounding forward, followed by my satellites, I sprang to the side of the carriage. A cry of joy from Clara announced that I was recognised, and with an eager hand she endeavoured to let down the gla.s.s, but was prevented by c.u.mberland, who was seated on the side nearest the spot where-! was standing. In an instant my resolution was taken: wrenching open the carriage door, and flinging down the steps, I sprang upon him, and seizing him by the coat-collar before he had time to draw a pistol, I dragged him out head foremost, an I, giving way to an ungovernable impulse of rage, shook him till I could hear all the teeth rattle in his head, and threw him from me with such violence that he staggered and fell. In another moment Clara was in my arms.

[Ill.u.s.tration: page459 The Rescue]

"Clara, dearest! my own love!" whispered I, as, shedding tears of joy, she rested her head upon my shoulder, "what happiness to have saved you!"

There are moments when feeling renders us eloquent, when the full heart pours forth its riches in eager and impa.s.sioned words; but there are other times, and this was one of them, when language is powerless to express the deep emotion of the soul, and our only refuge is in silence.

Clara was the first to speak.

"Frank--tell me--what has become of Mr. Fleming--the pistol-shot--that maddened plunging horse--I am sure something dreadful has happened."

"He is indeed severely injured by the fall," replied I, wishing the truth to break upon her by degrees; "but -460- I was unable to remain to learn a surgeon's opinion--and this reminds me that I have still a duty to perform; c.u.mberland must be detained to answer for his share in this transaction;" and leading Clara to a bench outside the turnpike-house, I proceeded to put my intentions into practice.

But whilst I had been thus engrossed, affairs had a.s.sumed a somewhat different aspect. The turnpike-man was actively engaged in a pugilistic contest with Captain Spicer, who, on his attempting to lay hands on him, had shown fight, and was punishing his adversary pretty severely.

c.u.mberland's quick eye had perceived the horses the moment he had regained his feet, and when he saw that I was fully occupied, he had determined to seize the opportunity for effecting his escape. Springing over the gate, he untied one of the horses, and striking down the boy who attempted to prevent him, rode away at a gallop, at the moment I reappeared upon the scene; while the second horse, after struggling violently to free itself, had snapped the bridle and dashed off in pursuit of its retreating companion. This being the case, it was useless to attempt to follow him; and not altogether sorry that circ.u.mstances had rendered it impossible for me to be his captor, I turned to a.s.sist my ally, the turnpike-man, who, to use the language of the "Chicken,"

immortalised by d.i.c.kens, appeared in the act of being "gone into and finished" by the redoubtable Captain Spicer. Not wishing to have my facial development disfigured by the addition of a black eye, however, I watched my opportunity, and springing aside to avoid the blow with which he greeted me, succeeded in inserting my fingers within the folds of his neckcloth, after which I had little difficulty in choking him into a state of incapacity, when he submitted to the indignity of having his hands tied behind him, and was induced to resume his seat in the rumble as a prisoner, till such time as I should learn Mr. Framp-ton's opinion as to the fittest manner of disposing of him. I then replaced Clara in the carriage, which by my orders had turned round, rewarded the turnpike-man, as well as the boy to whose forethought and able guidance I was mainly indebted for my success, and taking my seat beside my prisoner, we started on our return.

One naturally feels a certain degree of awkwardness in attempting to make conversation to a man, whom only five minutes before one has nearly succeeded in strangling, however thoroughly the discipline may have been deserved--and yet silence is worse; at least I found it so; and -461-- after clearing my throat once or twice, as if I had been the person half-throttled rather than the throttler, I began:--

"It is some years since we have met, Captain Spicer".

The individual thus addressed turned round quickly as I spoke, and favoured me with a scrutinising glance--it was evident he did not recognise me.

"Have you forgotten the billiard-room in F---- Street, and the way in which your pupil and a.s.sociate, Mr. c.u.mberland, cheated my friend Oaklands?"

The captain, on having this somewhat unpleasant reminiscence of bygone hours forced upon him, turned--I was going to say pale, but that was an impossibility--rather less red than usual ere he replied:--

"I beg pardon, Mr. Fairlegh, but I'd quite forgotten you, sir; 'pon my conscience I had. Ah, that was a foolish piece of business, sir; but Mr.

c.u.mberland, he always was a bad un."