CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
A GRAND SURPRISE.
Roy had to go the whole round of the ramparts that night before he foundBen, who had always been visiting the parts he reached a few minutesbefore. But he came upon him at length, just at the door-way of thesouth-east tower, where it opened upon the southern rampart between thatplace and the great gate-way.
"Ladyship says I'm to have the garden to turn back to a propercourt-yard?" said Ben, after hearing his master's report.
"Yes."
"And Master Pawson is turning out of his chamber, but he is to keep thelower place?"
"Yes; that is the arrangement, Ben; and you can have the upper chamberfor use at once."
"Well, that's a good thing for the men who'll be up there, sir; but whatdoes Master Pawson want with that lower room? I meant to have threefirelock men there."
"Be content with what you can have, Ben. My mother did not want to betoo hard upon Master Pawson."
"No, sir; she wouldn't be. But you've come all round the ramparts?"
"Yes."
"Kep' looking out of course, sir? What did you hear?"
"I? Nothing."
"Then you didn't try."
"Yes, I did; twice on each rampart. There was nothing to hear."
Ben chuckled.
"Ears aren't so sharp for night-work as they will be, sir, before you'vedone. I heard them on the move every time I stopped."
"What! the enemy?"
"Yes, sir; they're padrolling the place round and round. You listen."
Roy reached over the battlement, and gazed across the black moat, tryingto pierce the transparent darkness of the dull soft night. The dew thatwas refreshing the herbage and flowers of field, common, and copse sentup a deliciously moist scent, and every now and then came the call of amoor-hen paddling about in the moat, the soft piping and croaking of thefrogs, and the distant _hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo_! of an owl, but he could makeout nothing else, and said so.
"No; they're pretty quiet now, sir; don't hear nothing myself.--Yes;there!"
"Yes, I heard that," said Roy; "it was a horse champing his bit; andthere again, that must have been the jingle of a spur."
"Right, sir, right. You'll hear plenty of that sort of thing if youkeep on listening. There, hear that?"
"Yes, plainly. A horse stumbled and plunged to save itself."
"Enough to make it," said Ben, gruffly; "going to sleep, and him on itjigged the spurs into its flanks to rouse it up. There, you can hear'em on the move again, going to and fro."
"Yes, quite plainly," whispered Roy; "why, they must have come in muchnearer."
"No, sir. Everything's so quiet that the sounds seem close. They won'tcome in nigher for fear of a shot."
"But they must know we could not see them."
"Not yet, sir; but the moon'll be up in a couple of hours, and they knowit'll rise before long, and won't run any risks after what they've seenof my gunners--I mean your--sir. Ah! it's a bad job about those tenpoor lads. They would have been able to shoot. Master Raynes is in afine taking about 'em."
"Can't be helped, Ben; we must do our best without them."
"Ay, sir, we must, even if it's bad."
They remained silent for a few minutes, gazing outward, hearing thejingle of harness, and the soft trampling of hoofs, all of which soundedwonderfully near.
The pause was broken by Ben, who whispered suddenly:
"You're right, Master Roy, after all; they are coming in a bit closerand no mistake. Mind coming round with me?"
"No. What are you going to do?"
"Have a word with the lads all round to be on the lookout. I don't wantto make a noise, and get blazing away powder and shot for nothing; butthey must be taught their distance, sir."
"With the cannon?"
"No; I think a few firelock shots might do it to-night, sir; and thatwouldn't be so wasteful. Do our boys good too. They haven't firedtheir pieces yet in earnest."
Roy's heart began to beat a little faster, for this was exciting; andsilently passing on with his lieutenant, post after post was visited,the men challenging, receiving the word, and then a sharp warning to beon the alert; while, after this, Ben and Roy passed on to listen againand again.
"Yes, sir," whispered the former; "there's no mistake they're a goodhundred yards closer in. I almost fancied I could see one of 'em movingagainst that lighter bit of sky."
"I can, Ben," whispered Roy. "There, just to the left of where theruins must lie--between it and the tower we just passed. Stay, though;why didn't we go up and see how they're getting on with clearing MasterPawson's chamber? There is a light up there."
"'Cause we've got something more serious on the way, sir."
"Halt! stand, or I fire!" came from the top of the north-west tower, andRoy was about to call out--
"Don't, you idiot; we gave you the word just now," when a voice frombeyond the moat uttered a low "Whist!"
"Stand, or I fire!"
"If you do, Dick Davis, I'll punch your head, as sure as you standthere," came from across the moat. "Can't you see we're friends?"
"Give the word."
"Stop! Who's there?" cried Roy.
"That you, sir? Please speak to Dick Davis, or he'll be shootingsomebody with that gun of hisn."
"Is that Brian Wiggins?"
"Yes, sir, and the rest on us, sir. But pst! The enemy's closebehind."
"Quick! round to the bridge!"
"No, sir; there's a whole lot of 'em come close in. They nearly had usan hour ago, and we've had a fine job to creep through all in a line onearter t'other."
"Hist! cease talking," whispered Roy, "or you'll be heard."
The warning came too late, for an order delivered in a low tone a shortdistance away was followed by a tramping as if a line of horses wasapproaching cautiously.
"How many of you can swim? Now, as many as can, come across."
But no one stirred, and the trampling came on.
"Do you hear?" said Roy, in an angry whisper; "are you afraid?"
"Fear'd to leave our comrades as can't swim, sir," said the man who hadfirst spoken.
"What's to be done," exclaimed Roy, excitedly.
But there was no response, for he was standing there upon the rampartalone.
The boy was in an agony of doubt and dread, for the right thing to do insuch an emergency would not come to his inexperienced brain. He divinedthat Ben had gone for assistance, but he felt that before he could beback, the brave fellows who were trying to come to their aid would besurrounded by the enemy and taken prisoners.
To add to his horror and excitement, he plainly heard from the enemy'sline the word given to dismount. This was followed by the jingle ofaccoutrements as the men sprang from their horses, and a loud bang--evidently of a steel headpiece falling to the ground.
To speak to the unarmed men from the farm was to obtain an answer andproclaim their whereabouts to the enemy; so Roy was baffled there; and,at his wit's end, he was about to order them to make their way to thebridge, when the man on the tower above challenged again:
"Stand, or I fire!"
"Draw swords! Forward, quick!" came from out of the darkness.
The sharp rattle and noise told that the party must be large, and like acall just then a horse uttered a tremendous neigh.
Involuntarily, at the first order from beyond the moat, Roy had halfdrawn his own sword, but thrust it angrily back as he realised hisimpotence, and reached forward to try and make out what was going onbelow him; for there was a loud splashing noise in the water as if themen were lowering themselves into the moat, the reeds and rushescrackled and whispered, and there was a panting sound and a lowejaculation or two.
"Now, every one his man," said some one, sharply.
_Bang, bang_! and a couple of flashes of light from the top of the towerjust above Roy's head; and as the splashing went on, there was a loudtrampling of feet.
"On with you!" roared the same voice. "Th
ey'll be an hour loading, andit's too dark to hit."
At that moment, from some distance along the rampart to the right, cameflash after flash, and the reports of ten or a dozen muskets, followedby the rush of feet; and Ben's voice said, in a low stern tone--
"Steady, steady! No hurry. Reload!"
There was the rustling and rattling of bandoleer and ramrod, and thetwinkling of sparks of light, as the reloading went on; while from theangry orders being given, some distance back in the darkness, it wasevident that the volley had sent the enemy off in a scare, which wasmade worse by the plunging, snorting, and galloping of horses which hadevidently dashed off, escaping from the men who held their reins.
"How many are you above there?" cried Roy.
"Three, sir."
"Only two fired."
"No. My piece wouldn't go."
"Are you reloaded?"
"Yes, sir."
"Be ready."
"They're coming on again, sir. He's rallied 'em," growled Ben; "but weshall be ready for 'em when they come."
Meanwhile, the sound of splashing and swimming came up from the moat,accompanied by a good many spluttering and choking noises, and now headswere dimly made out approaching the bank of the moat below.
"How many are there of you across?" said Roy.
"Eight of us, sir," came up in a panting voice; "we're going back forthe other two."
"Who are--how many?"
"Four on us, sir," said one man; "they're hiding in the reeds. Can'tswim."
"Can you bring them across?"
"Yes, sir. We did bring three as couldn't take a stroke, and they'redown here half drowned."
"That's a loy," said a gruff voice; "I aren't: on'y full o' water."
The men lowered themselves into the moat again, and began to swim back,but just as they were nearly across, there came the thudding sound ofhorses passing along at a trot, and a rush of men towards the edge ofthe moat.
"Fire!" shouted Roy; and over the swimmers' heads a ragged volley tore,the flashes cutting the darkness, and once more, in spite of angrycurses and yelled-out orders, horse and man were driven to theright-about, all save about a dozen, who came right on to the edge ofthe moat.
"Surrender!" roared a voice, as there was a quick splashing among thereeds below the bank. Then a shot was fired from a pistol, followed byanother; but the men summoned to surrender had done so to theircomrades, who whispered to them to trust themselves to their strongarms, two of the swimmers taking a non-swimmer between them, andbringing him across in safety to the rest, crouching upon the narrowstrip of bank beneath the walls.
Another volley sent the attacking party back into the darkness, and abrief colloquy took place.
"All safe?" cried Roy.
"Yes, sir, and as wet as wet," came up in answer.
"Fall in, then, and quick march for the sally-port," cried Roy; and themen tramped round by the north-west tower, along beneath the westernrampart, turned the southern corner, and were admitted by the littlesally-port beside the portcullis, where, bedraggled as they were, theyreceived a tremendous hand-shaking and a roar of cheers.
In half an hour the missing men were in dry clothes, ready to recounttheir adventures. The enemy had retired to a distance to continue theirnight patrol of the place; while the men upon the ramparts were reducedto the regular watch, and those off duty were being addressed by Ben,who sarcastically lectured them upon what he called their modesty.
"When the captain gives the order to fire," he said, "you're all to pulltrigger together, and every man not to let his comrade fire first forgood manners."
But here Roy interposed.
"No more to-night, sergeant," he said, firmly. "We are all fresh to ourwork. But I thank you all for the brave and manly way in which you haveshown what you can do. This has been a grand night's work: your tencomrades safely brought in, and the enemy sent to the right-about. Thesergeant has been finding fault, but he is as proud of you all as I am.Come, Martlet, what do you say?"
"Might ha' done better, captain," replied the old fellow, gruffly. "Butit warn't so bad. Wait a few days, though, and we'll show you somethingbetter than that.--What do you say, lads?"
The answer was a hearty cheer, which was repeated, and was still echoingthrough the place, when Roy, thrilling still with the excitement of thepast hour, made his way towards his mother's room to fully set her mindat rest with his last good news.