CHAPTER XVIII. NELL'S WEDDING
IT was agreed that the inhabitants of the cottage must keep more ontheir guard than ever. The threats of old Silfax were too serious to bedisregarded. It was only too possible that he possessed some terriblemeans by which the whole of Aberfoyle might be annihilated.
Armed sentinels were posted at the various entrances to the mine, withorders to keep strict watch day and night. Any stranger entering themine was brought before James Starr, that he might give an account ofhimself. There being no fear of treason among the inhabitants of CoalTown, the threatened danger to the subterranean colony was made knownto them. Nell was informed of all the precautions taken, and becamemore tranquil, although she was not free from uneasiness. Harry'sdetermination to follow her wherever she went compelled her to promisenot to escape from her friends.
During the week preceding the wedding, no accident whatever occurredin Aberfoyle. The system of watching was carefully maintained, but theminers began to recover from the panic, which had seriously interruptedthe work of excavation. James Starr continued to look out for Silfax.The old man having vindictively declared that Nell should never marrySimon's son, it was natural to suppose that he would not hesitate tocommit any violent deed which would hinder their union.
The examination of the mine was carried on minutely. Every passage andgallery was searched, up to those higher ranges which opened out amongthe ruins of Dundonald Castle. It was rightly supposed that throughthis old building Silfax passed out to obtain what was needful for thesupport of his miserable existence (which he must have done, either bypurchasing or thieving).
As to the "fire-maidens," James Starr began to think that appearancemust have been produced by some jet of fire-damp gas which, issuing fromthat part of the pit, could be lighted by Silfax. He was not far wrong;but all search for proof of this was fruitless, and the continued strainof anxiety in this perpetual effort to detect a malignant and invisiblebeing rendered the engineer--outwardly calm--an unhappy man.
As the wedding-day approached, his dread of some catastrophe increased,and he could not but speak of it to the old overman, whose uneasinesssoon more than equaled his own. At length the day came. Silfax had givenno token of existence.
By daybreak the entire population of Coal Town was astir. Work wassuspended; overseers and workmen alike desired to do honor to Simon Fordand his son. They all felt they owed a large debt of gratitude to thesebold and persevering men, by whose means the mine had been restored toits former prosperity. The ceremony was to take place at eleven o'clock,in St. Giles's chapel, which stood on the shores of Loch Malcolm.
At the appointed time, Harry left the cottage, supporting his motheron his arm, while Simon led the bride. Following them came Starr, theengineer, composed in manner, but in reality nerved to expect the worst,and Jack Ryan, stepping superb in full Highland piper's costume. Thencame the other mining engineers, the principal people of Coal Town,the friends and comrades of the old overman--every member of this greatfamily of miners forming the population of New Aberfoyle.
In the outer world, the day was one of the hottest of the month ofAugust, peculiarly oppressive in northern countries. The sultry airpenetrated the depths of the coal mine, and elevated the temperature.The air which entered through the ventilating shafts, and the greattunnel of Loch Malcolm, was charged with electricity, and the barometer,it was afterwards remarked, had fallen in a remarkable manner. Therewas, indeed, every indication that a storm might burst forth beneath therocky vault which formed the roof of the enormous crypt of the very mineitself.
But the inhabitants were not at that moment troubling themselves aboutthe chances of atmospheric disturbance above ground. Everybody, as amatter of course, had put on his best clothes for the occasion. Madgewas dressed in the fashion of days gone by, wearing the "toy" and the"rokelay," or Tartan plaid, of matrons of the olden time, old Simon worea coat of which Bailie Nicol Jarvie himself would have approved.
Nell had resolved to show nothing of her mental agitation; she forbadeher heart to beat, or her inward terrors to betray themselves, and thebrave girl appeared before all with a calm and collected aspect. She haddeclined every ornament of dress, and the very simplicity of her attireadded to the charming elegance of her appearance. Her hair was boundwith the "snood," the usual head-dress of Scottish maidens.
All proceeded towards St. Giles's chapel, which had been handsomelydecorated for the occasion.
The electric discs of light which illuminated Coal Town blazed like somany suns. A luminous atmosphere pervaded New Aberfoyle. In the chapel,electric lamps shed a glow over the stained-glass windows, which shonelike fiery kaleidoscopes. At the porch of the chapel the ministerawaited the arrival of the wedding party.
It approached, after having passed in stately procession along the shoreof Loch Malcolm. Then the tones of the organ were heard, and, precededby the minister, the group advanced into the chapel. The Divine blessingwas first invoked on all present. Then Harry and Nell remained alonebefore the minister, who, holding the sacred book in his hand, proceededto say, "Harry, will you take Nell to be your wife, and will you promiseto love her always?"
"I promise," answered the young man in a firm and steady voice.
"And you, Nell," continued the minister, "will you take Harry to be yourhusband, and--"
Before he could finish the sentence, a prodigious noise resounded fromwithout. One of the enormous rocks, on which was formed the terraceoverhanging the banks of Loch Malcolm, had suddenly given way and openedwithout explosion, disclosing a profound abyss, into which the waterswere now wildly plunging.
In another instant, among the shattered rocks and rushing waves appeareda canoe, which a vigorous arm propelled along the surface of the lake.In the canoe was seen the figure of an old man standing upright. He wasclothed in a dark mantle, his hair was dishevelled, a long white beardfell over his breast, and in his hand he bore a lighted Davy safetylamp, the flame being protected by the metallic gauze of the apparatus.
In a loud voice this old man shouted, "The fire-damp is upon you!Woe--woe betide ye all!"
At the same moment the slight smell peculiar to carburetted hydrogen wasperceptibly diffused through the atmosphere. And, in truth, the fallof the rock had made a passage of escape for an enormous quantity ofexplosive gas, accumulated in vast cavities, the openings to which hadhitherto been blocked up.
Jets and streams of the fire-damp now rose upward in the vaulted dome;and well did that fierce old man know that the consequence of what hehad done would be to render explosive the whole atmosphere of the mine.
James Starr and several others, having hastily quitted the chapel, andperceived the imminence of the danger, now rushed back, crying out inaccents of the utmost alarm, "Fly from the mine! Fly instantly from themine!"
"Now for the fire-damp! Here comes the fire-damp!" yelled the old man,urging his canoe further along the lake.
Harry with his bride, his father and his mother, left the chapel inhaste and in terror.
"Fly! fly for your lives!" repeated James Starr. Alas! it was too lateto fly! Old Silfax stood there, prepared to fulfill his last dreadfulthreat--prepared to stop the marriage of Nell and Harry by overwhelmingthe entire population of the place beneath the ruins of the coal mine.
As he stood ready to accomplish this act of vengeance, his enormousowl, whose white plumage was marked with black spots, was seen hoveringdirectly above his head.
At that moment a man flung himself into the waters of the lake, and swamvigorously towards the canoe.
It was Jack Ryan, fully determined to reach the madman before he coulddo the dreadful deed of destruction.
Silfax saw him coming. Instantly he smashed the glass of his lamp, and,snatching out the burning wick, waved it in the air.
Silence like death fell upon the astounded multitude. James Starr, inthe calmness of despair, marvelled that the inevitable explosion waseven for a moment delayed.
Silfax, gazing upwards with wild and contracte
d features, appearedto become aware that the gas, lighter than the lower atmosphere, wasaccumulating far up under the dome; and at a sign from him the owl,seizing in its claw the lighted match, soared upwards to the vaultedroof, towards which the madman pointed with outstretched arm.
Another second and New Aberfoyle would be no more.
Suddenly Nell sprang from Harry's arms, and, with a bright look ofinspiration, she ran to the very brink of the waters of the lake."Harfang! Harfang!" cried she in a clear voice; "here! come to me!"
The faithful bird, surprised, appeared to hesitate in its flight.Presently, recognizing Nell's voice, it dropped the burning match intothe water, and, describing a wide circle, flew downwards, alighting atthe maiden's feet.
Then a terrible cry echoed through the vaulted roofs. It was the lastsound uttered by old Silfax.
Just as Jack Ryan laid his hand on the edge of the canoe, the old man,foiled in his purpose of revenge, cast himself headlong into the watersof the lake.
"Save him! oh, save him!" shrieked Nell in a voice of agony. ImmediatelyHarry plunged into the water, and, swimming towards Jack Ryan, he divedrepeatedly.
But his efforts were useless. The waters of Loch Malcolm yielded nottheir prey: they closed forever over Silfax.
CHAPTER XIX. THE LEGEND OF OLD SILFAX
Six months after these events, the marriage, so strangely interrupted,was finally celebrated in St. Giles's chapel, and the young couple, whostill wore mourning garments, returned to the cottage. James Starrand Simon Ford, henceforth free from the anxieties which had so longdistressed them, joyously presided over the entertainment which followedthe ceremony, and prolonged it to the following day.
On this memorable occasion, Jack Ryan, in his favorite character ofpiper, and in all the glory of full dress, blew up his chanter, andastonished the company by the unheard of achievement of playing,singing, and dancing all at once.
It is needless to say that Harry and Nell were happy. These lovinghearts, after the trials they had gone through found in their union thehappiness they deserved.
As to Simon Ford, the ex-overman of New Aberfoyle, he began to talk ofcelebrating his golden wedding, after fifty years of marriage with goodold Madge, who liked the idea immensely herself.
"And after that, why not golden wedding number two?"
"You would like a couple of fifties, would you, Mr. Simon?" said JackRyan.
"All right, my boy," replied the overman quietly, "I see nothing againstit in this fine climate of ours, and living far from the luxury andintemperance of the outer world."
Will the dwellers in Coal Town ever be called to witness this secondceremony? Time will show. Certainly the strange bird of old Silfaxseemed destined to attain a wonderful longevity. The Harfang continuedto haunt the gloomy recesses of the cave. After the old man's death,Nell had attempted to keep the owl, but in a very few days he flew away.He evidently disliked human society as much as his master had done, and,besides that, he appeared to have a particular spite against Harry. Thejealous bird seemed to remember and hate him for having carried off Nellfrom the deep abyss, notwithstanding all he could do to prevent him.Still, at long intervals, Nell would see the creature hovering aboveLoch Malcolm.
Could he possibly be watching for his friend of yore? Did he strive topierce, with keen eye, the depths which had engulfed his master?
The history of the Harfang became legendary, and furnished Jack Ryanwith many a tale and song. Thanks to him, the story of old Silfax andhis bird will long be preserved, and handed down to future generationsof the Scottish peasantry.
Transcriber's Note: I have made the following changes to the text:
PAGE LINE ORIGINAL CHANGED TO 285 31 Collander Callander 296 4 quarternary quaternary 301 36 intersting interesting 349 1 unusued unused 350 8 lengendary legendary 379 35 her her. 390 38 Tarton Tartan
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