CHAPTER IV.
HOLBEACH.
Avoiding the high road, and traversing an unfrequented part of thecountry, the conspirators shaped their course towards Stourbridge. Asthey reached Forfield Green, they perceived a large party descending thehilly ground near Bromsgrove, and evidently in pursuit of them. Animmediate halt was ordered, and taking possession of a farm-house, theyprepared for defence.
Seeing these preparations, their pursuers, who proved to be Sir RichardWalsh the Sheriff of Worcestershire, Sir John Foliot, three gentlemennamed Ketelbye, Salwaye, and Conyers, attended by a large posse of men,all tolerably well armed, drew up at some distance from the farm, andappeared to be consulting as to the prudence of making an attack.Topcliffe was with them; and Catesby, who reconnoitered theirproceedings from a window of the dwelling, inferred from his gesturesthat he was against the assault. And so it proved. The royalist partyremained where they were, and as one or two of their number occasionallydisappeared, Catesby judged, and correctly, that they were despatchedfor a reinforcement.
Not willing to wait for this, he determined to continue his march, and,accordingly, forming his men into a close line, and bringing up the rearhimself, they again set forward. Sir Richard Walsh and his partyfollowed them, and whenever they were in a difficult part of the road,harassed them with a sudden attack. In this way, several stragglers werecut off, and a few prisoners made. So exasperated did Catesby become bythese annoyances, that, though desirous to push forward as fast aspossible, he halted at the entrance of a common, and prepared for anengagement. But his purpose was defeated, for the royalist party tookanother course, nor did he see anything more of them for some time.
In about an hour the rebels arrived at the banks of the river Stour, notfar from the little village of Churchill, and here, just as they werepreparing to ford the stream, the sheriff and his followers again madetheir appearance. By this time, also, the forces of their opponents wereconsiderably augmented, and as more than a third of their own party wereengaged in crossing the stream, which was greatly swollen by the recentrains, and extremely dangerous, their position was one of no slightperil.
Nothing daunted, Catesby instantly drew up his men on the bank, and,after a short skirmish, drove away the enemy, and afterwards contrivedto cross the river without much loss. He found, however, that thebaggage-cart had got immersed in the stream, and it was feared that thepowder would be damaged. They remained on the opposite bank for sometime; but as their enemies did not attempt to follow them, they took theway to Holbeach, a large and strongly built mansion belonging, as hasbeen already stated, to Stephen Littleton. Here they arrived withoutfurther molestation, and their first business was to put it into acomplete state of defence.
_The Explosion at Holbeach_]
After a long and anxious consultation, Sir Everard Digby quitted them,undertaking to return on the following day with succours. StephenLittleton also disappeared on the same evening. His flight produced astrong impression on Catesby, and he besought the others not to abandonthe good cause, but to stand by it, as he himself meant to do, to thelast. They all earnestly assured him that they would do so, exceptRobert Winter, who sat apart, and took no share in their discourse.
Catesby then examined the powder that had been plunged in the water incrossing the Stour, and found it so much wetted as to be nearly useless.A sufficient stock of powder being of the utmost consequence to them, hecaused all the contents of the barrel, not dissolved by the immersion,to be poured into a large platter, and proceeded to dry it before a firewhich had been kindled in the hall. A bag of powder, which had likewisebeen slightly wetted, was also placed at what was considered a safedistance from the fire.
"Heaven grant this may prove more destructive to our enemies than thecombustibles we placed in the mine beneath the Parliament House!"observed Percy.
"Heaven grant so, indeed!" rejoined Catesby, with a moody smile. "Theywould call it retribution, where we to perish by the same means which wedesigned for others."
"Jest not on so serious a matter, Catesby," observed Robert Winter. "Formy own part, I dread the sight of powder, and shall walk forth till youhave dried this, and put it away."
"You are not going to leave us, like Stephen Littleton?" rejoinedCatesby, suspiciously.
"I will go with him," said Christopher Wright; "so you need be under noapprehension."
Accordingly, he quitted the hall with Robert Winter, and they proceededto the court-yard and were conversing together on the dismal prospectsof the party, when a tremendous explosion took place. The roof of thebuilding seemed rent in twain, and amidst a shower of tiles, plaster,bricks, and broken wood falling around, the bag of powder droppeduntouched at their feet.
"Mother of mercy!" exclaimed Christopher Wright, picking it up. "Here isa providential occurrence. Had this exploded, we must all have beendestroyed."
"Let us see what has happened," cried Robert Winter.
And, followed by Christopher Wright, he rushed towards the hall, andbursting open the door, beheld Catesby enveloped in a cloud of smoke,and pressing his hand to his face, which was scorched and blackened bythe explosion. Rookwood was stretched on the floor in a state ofinsensibility, and it at first appeared that life was extinct. Percy wasextinguishing the flames, which had caught his dress, and John Grant wassimilarly occupied.
"Those are the very faces I beheld in my dream," cried Robert Winter,gazing at them with affright. "It was a true warning."
Rushing up to Catesby, Christopher Wright clasped him in his arms, andextinguishing his flaming apparel, cried, "Wretch that I am! that Ishould live to see this day!"
"Be not alarmed!" gasped Catesby. "It is nothing--it was a mereaccident."
"It is no accident, Catesby," replied Robert Winter. "Heaven is againstus and our design."
And he quitted the room, and left the house. Nor did he return to it.
"I will pray for forgiveness!" cried John Grant, whose vision was somuch injured by the explosion that he could as yet see nothing. Anddragging himself before an image of the Virgin, he prayed aloud,acknowledging that the act he had designed was so bloody that it calledfor the vengeance of Heaven, and expressing his sincere repentance.
"No more of this," cried Catesby, staggering up to him, and snatchingthe image from him. "It was a mere accident, I tell you. We are allalive, and shall yet succeed."
On inquiry, Christopher Wright learnt that a blazing coal had shot outof the fire, and falling into the platter containing the powder, hadoccasioned the disastrous accident above described.