CHAPTER X.
Bacon heard the rusty bolt shoot into its socket, and then the haspingand locking of the outside door, with a sensation of utter hopelessness.He wandered through the dark precincts of his prison, stumbling now overan old barrel, and anon against a meat block, until he came to some drybundles of fodder, which seemed to have been spread out in one corner toanswer the purpose of a bed. Before throwing himself upon this rudecouch, he resolved to examine the structure of his cell. By passing hishands along the walls, he found that they were built of brick, wellcemented by a long process of time--that the summit upon which thebasement beams of the frame rested, were entirely out of his reach, andthat in the present confined state of his hands, it would be impossiblefor him to make any impression on them, and he could distinctly hear thetramp of more than one sentinel, as they paced their monotonous roundsabout that wing of the building. There was yet much of the dayremaining, and he resolved to spend it in endeavouring to grind off theend of the rivets to the iron bands enclosing his wrists. By rubbingthese against the bricks, he found that he could wear them away by atedious and laborious process. Our hero was not one of those whosurrender themselves up to despondency at the first appearance ofinsurmountable difficulties; decision of character was his most strikingquality, and he knew that his devoted army only waited for him to leadthem to avenge his wrongs. He felt the difficulties which lay betweenhim and Jamestown, but he did not despair, however desperate hiscircumstances. For many hours he persevered in grinding the rivetsagainst the bricks; with wrenching and great danger of dislocating hiswrists, he at length succeeded in so wearing down the iron, that hecould at any moment throw aside the manacles. Encouraged with thissuccess, he moved the meat-block against the wall, and made allpreparations for a breach, as soon as he should be satisfied that thedarkness of night would cover his movements.
To while away the time usefully, he threw himself upon his rude bed, andwas soon, from the effects of great previous mental excitement andbodily fatigue, wrapt in profound slumber.
The shadows of night had closed around this land in the midst of watersin sombre hues, and the prisoner still slept profoundly.
In the mean time circumstances were in progress on the bay, which had amost important bearing upon the fate of every one then at Accomac.
It has already been stated that Sir William Berkley had put inrequisition such of the naval power as he could bring to bear upon hisimmediate designs and pressing necessities. But, after leaving the cityin the precipitate manner which has been related, the citizensdetermined to summon to their aid, such of the ships and other vesselsof war and merchandise, as yet remained in the river, within convenientdistance of the city, and make the old knight a prisoner at Accomac.
The Governor had not long been gone before an armament superior to hisown, was seen steering in the course which he had taken. This consistedof "one ship, a bark of four guns, a sloop and schooner." The expeditionwas under the joint command of Giles Bland and William Carver, bothveteran and experienced seamen. On board of one of the vessels, andsubordinate to the officers just mentioned, was Captain Larimore; he wasone of the most devoted friends of Sir William Berkley, but his personalpredilections and loyal principles were entirely unknown, either atJamestown or on board the fleet. When this (at that time) formidablearmament arrived in sight of the vessels at anchor, which had borne SirWilliam and his partisans to Accomac, it being now dark, (on the sameevening in which Bacon lay sleeping in his dungeon,) Capt. Larimoreproposed to his superior officers, that he would take one or tworesolute tars, and, avoiding the hostile vessels, land and reconnoitrethe position and forces of the Governor.
His proposition was promptly acceded to, and Larimore launched his boat,selected his men, and protected by the thickness of the fog and thedarkness of the night, succeeded in effecting his landing unperceived bythe vessels in the service of the Governor. If he had been aware ofBacon's imprisonment and condemnation, and disposed to do so, he mighthave rendered him the most important services; but whether disposed tohazard any thing in his cause or not, both he and his superiors wereignorant of Bacon's fate.
When the boat containing the adventurer and his two associates struckthe shore, Larimore immediately sprang upon the beach and ordered hissubordinates to push a few yards out into the bay, and remain withinsound of his whistle. He proceeded directly towards the quarters of SirWilliam Berkley, until he was challenged by one of the sentinels withhis carbine at his breast. Larimore desired the sentinel to lead him tothe Governor. As soon as he had made himself known to his Excellency, heinformed him of his disposition to advance the cause of the loyal party,and submitted the following proposition.
He requested the Governor to send one or two of his most daring andtrusty officers, with one hundred resolute men in boats or canoes,during that portion of the night when he should himself be in command ofthe watch--and promised that he would deliver the whole armament intothe hands of the Governor. Sir William immediately summoned his officersand made the proposition known to them--requesting, at the same timethat any gentleman who desired to be entrusted with the expeditionwould step forward. Philip Ludwell promptly acceded to the offer, andtendered his services, which were as promptly accepted. Ludwell havingselected his supporters from the hardiest of the troops and sailors, heheld himself in readiness to push off as soon as the appointed hourshould arrive. Larimore giving the concerted signal, sprang into hisboat and returned to those who sent him, with a very different accountof Sir William's position and intentions from that we have just related.
All this time Bacon was sleeping as soundly upon his bed of corn blades,as if it was not to be his last sleep on earth. Criminals condemned todeath generally do sleep soundly the night preceding their execution,and Bacon, whether criminal or not, was no exception to the rule.
It was some hours after the sun had gone down, and about the same timethat Larimore put off to his vessel, when Bacon suddenly started up fromhis rude couch, under an oppressive sense of glaring light upon his eyeballs. An aged and decrepid woman was leaning over him; she was restingupon her knees, in one hand holding the lamp and in the other the locketwhich had already exercised such an important influence upon hisdestiny. She had sprung the lid, during his sleep, and was now gazingupon the beautiful picture, with an interest and amazement not lessintense than he had himself manifested on its first discovery in theIndian wigwam. So absorbed was her every faculty, that his sudden startfrom sleep scarcely attracted her attention. Her eyes were filled withwater in the vain endeavour to decipher the outlines with convincingaccuracy. When the date and the initials and the hair were submitted toa like scrutiny, conviction settled at once upon her mind. The feelingoperated slowly at first, but as one doubt gave way after another, herpale and haggard features began perceptibly to assume the life andvigour of deep excitement. The locket fell from her grasp, and sheclasped her hands--but suddenly throwing back the curling masses fromhis brow she exclaimed: "Tell me, my master, are you called NathanielBacon?"
"I am! but tell me in your turn, why do you ask?"
She answered only by exclaiming, "O merciful Heaven! God be praised!Wonderful are the ways of Providence!" Bacon was on his knees also, hismanacled hands laid upon her shoulders as he anxiously and hastilyinquired, "Tell me, good mother, what do you know of Nathaniel Bacon?"
"More than he knows of himself, mayhap!"
"Speak it quickly--moments are more precious than diamonds--say, whencecomes your knowledge? who are you? who am I? for God's sake tell mequickly!"
"You are the son of as worthy a gentleman as ever wore a sword. I knewhim and your honoured mother well--that is, if you are the samemischievous boy whom I have mourned as drowned these many long andlonesome years."
The captive waited to hear no more, but springing upon his feet, pacedwildly round the damp cellar like one in a delirium of joy. The oldwoman still maintained her humble posture, her hands again clasped, andher long wrinkled neck turning with difficulty to follow the stra
ngemovements of the prisoner. Suddenly, and as if stricken down by a cannonshot, he threw himself upon the earth his whole frame convulsed withthoughts of his present hopeless condition. "What matters it whether Iam Nathaniel Bacon or not? What will it avail, this time to-morrow, whenthese limbs, now so full of life and vigour in the renewal of hope, willbe still in the cold embrace of death?"
"Death!" the old woman screamed, rising from her knees, seizing the lampand thrusting it in Bacon's face--"Death, did you say, my son? or did myold ears deceive me with the horrible word?"
"They did not,--truer words were never spoken or heard; to-morrow,before the sun has measured an hour in the heavens, the voice which nowaddresses you, will be silenced in the everlasting sleep of death!"
Horror struck his auditor dumb; her shrivelled lips moved with atremulous motion, as if she desired to speak--but she spoke not. An ashypaleness overspread her features, and she staggered backward and wouldhave fallen, had she not been caught in the arms of her long-lostfoster son. A tumult of thoughts crowded upon her enfeebled mind, as sherecovered, gasping with the unusual excitement, and her aged frameheaved as if it would burst in the effort. At length a ray of hopeseemed to dawn upon her mental vision; her eye sparkled with thethought, as she resumed the lamp which Bacon had taken from her hand,and placed upon the ground. "It must not, shall not be, my son. There isyour coarse food, Heaven forgive me for not offering you better, butlittle did my thoughts turn upon such a godsend. I have a thousandthings to ask and tell, but as you say, life--precious life--hangs uponevery moment lost, so--"
At this moment the sentinel advanced directly before them, and takingthe old woman rudely by the arm, said, "Come, old Tabby, the prisonercan find the way to his mouth without the light; give him his bread andwater, and be off;" thrusting her up the steps, as he spoke, slammingthe door, and once more turning the grating bolt upon the unfortunateprisoner.
Bacon's late reviving hopes almost died within him as he listened to theunwelcome sounds and the retreating footsteps of his visiters.
He threw himself once more upon his rude couch and abandoned himself todespair. But youthful hope never despairs utterly, however desperate thecircumstances; a few moments after saw him with his handcuffs thrownoff, and busily engaged in piling the loosened bricks upon the floor.In less than an hour, he beheld the stars lightly twinkling in theHeavens, through the aperture created by the removal of a single brick,which he had taken from the outer layer before he was aware of hisprogress. Cautiously and intently he listened for the footsteps of thesentinel; strange sounds seemed to come from off the water, but all inhis immediate vicinity was as quiet as the grave, except the tumultuousthrobbing of his own heart. Again he proceeded cautiously in his work,until he had completed an aperture sufficiently large to admit thepassage of his body. Then, bracing his nerves, he proceeded to effecthis exit through the opening, and was vigorously struggling to freehimself, when a musket ball whistled by his ear and buried itself in thewooden sill of the house. He sprang back into the cellar, and stood inconfusion and amazement, until the short chuckling laugh of the sentinelroused him from his delusive dream of hope. He could distinctly hear themarksman who had exhibited such a dangerous proof of his skill, laughingand telling his comrade, who paced before the door at the end of thehouse, "how he had shaved the prisoner's head." The unfortunate captivenow abandoned himself to despair in earnest. A thousand times he cursedhis ill fated stars, for thus leading the old nurse into his cell torouse his dormant hopes, and give a new impulse to his desires forfreedom.
While these matters were in progress at the prison of our hero, thenaval armament under the command of Bland, Carver and Larimore,belonging to and put in motion by his friends among the citizens, andwhich might have rendered him such effectual assistance had the twoprincipal officers been aware of his situation, was itself about toperform its share in the contest. The expedition under Ludwell, as hadbeen promised to the traitor Larimore, was sent out at the exact timespecified, and with muffled oars skimmed along the surface of thetranquil lake, keeping under the shadow of the ships. As theyapproached, signals were exchanged, which satisfied Ludwell thatLarimore was indeed in command of the watch, and still ready to betrayhis trust. Once or twice, indeed, a suspicion shot across his mind, thatLarimore might only be an agent in the hands of Bland and Carver, andthat his proposal was but a scheme laid to entrap himself and followersinto the power of the rebels, as the Governor's party were pleased tocall the patriots; but it was as speedily dissipated by the favourabletrain in which every thing seemed to lie, as the traitor had promised.
The loyal party under his command was in a very few minutes silently andstealthily climbing up the sides of the vessels. Having gained thedecks, they proceeded at once to disarm and bind the sentinels. Theseunfortunate fellows had been induced by the traitor Larimore, to believethat the party under Ludwell were deserters from the ranks of SirWilliam Berkley, and were not undeceived until they found themselvesbound hand and foot, and such other precautions taken that they couldnot alarm their sleeping comrades below. In less time than we have takento record the transaction, the whole naval armament in the service ofthe patriots, together with the officers, crews and military stores,were delivered into the hands of Governor Berkley. The success of theenterprise was announced to the anxious expectants on shore, by adischarge of artillery, which was joyously answered on their part. SirWilliam Berkley was transported with delight--so lately abandoned by themajority of the citizens and soldiers of the capital, and compelled todesert the legitimate seat of government, he now saw himself inpossession of a naval and military power, more than sufficient tocommand the obedience, if he could not win the affections of therebellious citizens. He immediately called together his officers, andsuch of the cavalier gentry as had followed his fortunes to this remotecorner of the colony, and imparted to them his determination to embarkhis land forces on board the ships brought over by himself, and thosesurrendered by Larimore, and sail within the hour for the capital.
It may be readily imagined that this sudden change in their fortunes wasnot received with murmurs and discontent; on the contrary preparationswere eagerly and joyously commenced. The captured and betrayed patriotswere divided among all the vessels, so as to preclude effectually anychance of their rising upon the Governor and his party. The soldiers,artillery and baggage were placed on board, and the signal given for theembarkation of the old knight and his staff--family and attendants.
Our gentle heroine was not forgotten--she too had been roused, not fromher slumbers, for she had not slept, but from her restless and feverishpillow, and commanded to prepare for instant departure for the capital.The stern old Cavalier, her uncle, stood in the open plot in front ofthe house surrounded by his partisans, impatiently waiting her descent.At length she appeared, leaning upon the arm of Frank Beverly on oneside, and that of her female attendant upon the other--her auntfollowing in evident dejection of spirits. Virginia's countenance waswhite as the spotless attire in which she was enveloped. Her eye wildlywandered over the faces crowding around, as she emerged from the house,but soon settled again in sullen composure as she perceived the absenceof the one sought. The pine torches, borne by the negroes, shed aglaring and unsteady light on the objects around; the steady tramp ofthe soldiers, as they marched to and embarked on board the boats, wereheard in the direction of the water, while other parties were seen inlike manner provided with torches, floating in the barks already laden,toward the ships moored in the offing. As the party that had justemerged from the house was about to move in the same direction, Beverlyspoke aloud to the Governor.
"Sir William, are you going to leave the prisoner in the cellar?"
"True--true, my boy," he replied, "I was so overjoyed at trapping somany of his compeers, that I had entirely forgotten his generalship; butwe will care for his standing, and that right speedily. We will elevatehim--I will not say above his desert--but certainly to a position towhich he has long had eminent claims. Ho! Sir Hangman! Ludwell,
orderthe hangman into our presence; we need a cast of his office before weset sail."
"It was customary with the Romans, you know, Sir William, to offer up asacrifice before they embarked upon any important enterprise," saidBeverly, laughing at his own wretched attempt at wit. But there was onecountenance in the group upon which the first intimation of Beverlyconcerning the neglect of the prisoner, wrought a fearful change.Virginia threw her eyes wildly round, searching from face to face, forsome small evidence of sympathy on which to cast her hopes, but theywere all steeled in imperturbable apathy, or clad in more appallingsmiles of derision. As her eye glanced around the circle, it fell atlast upon the youth supporting her own enfeebled steps. Her knees werejust sinking under her from weakness and dismay, but the sight of FrankBeverly's smiling countenance aroused her energies. Her muscles wereinstantly braced, her eye shot forth scorn and contempt, while she threwhis arms from her, as she would have started from the touch of someloathsome reptile. The youth, with a grim smile, folded his arms inquiet serenity, to await the appearance of the prisoner, as if consciousthat his hour of sweet revenge was near at hand.
Virginia threw herself at the feet, first of her uncle, and then of heraunt, and earnestly prayed for the life of her lover, as she heard theorders for bringing him forth, but from the first she received only acontemptuous glance, and from the latter silent tears. She was stillkneeling upon the grass at the feet of the latter, her head fallen indespair and exhaustion upon her bosom, when the soldiers rushed out fromthe cellar, and proclaimed the escape of the prisoner. An electricstream poured into Virginia's sinking frame could not have more suddenlyrestored her to life and animation. She screamed, clasped her hands,sprang to her feet, and fell back into the arms of her aunt in aparoxysm of mingled joy and agitation.
Sir William Berkley gnashed his teeth, and swearing vengeance againstthe traitors who had permitted his enemy's escape, seized one of thepine torches and rushed into the cellar to satisfy himself that he wasnot concealed behind some of the rubbish of the apartment; but soonfound convincing evidence of his escape, in the irons that lay upon theground, and the aperture through which he had made his exit. Thesentinels were all called up, who had at any time stood guard over theprisoner through the night. It appeared that the one who had dischargedhis piece so near to the head of the prisoner, had been some time sincerelieved, and that he had merely mentioned to his successor, the attemptof Bacon to escape, with his own amusement in showing him how near hecould shoot to his head without wounding him.
"Would to God you had lodged the ball in his skull," exclaimed theenraged governor. The truth was, that the sentinel had supposed theprisoner still loaded with his irons when he appeared at the breach,having merely discovered one of the many evidences of dilapidation inthe house, and had consequently left him in the care of his successor,with the full confidence that he would not make a second attempt. How hewas induced to make that second attempt will appear in the sequel. Thesoldier on duty, at the time when he was supposed to have escaped, wasimmediately ordered to be put in irons.
Lady Berkley was about having her niece conveyed to the house, but herenraged husband harshly ordered those supporting her now prostrate form,to convey her to the vessel, which was accordingly done. The Governor,his suite and followers were soon also on board, and a roar of artilleryannounced their final departure from the "eastern shore."
When Bacon threw himself upon his couch, after his last unfortunateattempt to escape, every thought of once more gaining his libertyabandoned him. He very naturally supposed that his failure would onlyredouble the vigilance of his guards, and therefore resumed his irons,with the desperate resolution of throwing them off, when he should beled to execution on the following morning, and selling his life asdearly as he might.
He had lain for some hours in a state of mind that may be readilyimagined from the late scenes through which he had passed, when atlength he heard his own name softly whispered in his gloomy cell; thevoice appeared to be in his immediate vicinity. He arose and followedthe supposed direction of the sound, and again he heard it on theopposite side--proceeding from the still unclosed aperture in the wall.He answered in the same subdued whisper. "Come this way," said the voiceof the old woman, the shadow of whose head he could now perceivedarkening the partial light which broke through. "Come this way, MasterBacon. Tim Jones, the sentinel, has gone into my cabin to eat a chickensupper, and drink some aqua vitae which I procured for him; his place issupplied by a soldier whom I engaged to be ready, as if by accident. Hepretends to be asleep under the big tree yonder. Do you come forth andproceed round the opposite end of the house to that occupied by theother sentinel, until you come to the bushes at the end of the gardenpalings--there wait until I come to you--for your life do not stir,until I join you there."
Bacon succeeded in avoiding the notice of the sentry and in gaining thespot indicated by the old woman, where he had scarcely concealedhimself, before the discharge of artillery from the betrayed fleetstartled him from his recumbent posture. He supposed that his owncapture had been ascertained at Jamestown, and that vessels had beendespatched to rescue him. This idea had scarcely entered his mind,before he sprang over the palings and was running at his utmost speedacross the garden toward the bay, for the purpose of procuring a boat,but his attention was instantly arrested by the appearance of theGovernor and his suite collecting in the yard in front of the house. Hewas on the point of running into the hands of the sentinel whosetemporary absence had afforded him the chance of escape, and who now satwith his weapon ready for action, securely guarding, as he supposed, theperson who stood just behind him. The man hailed him as soon as he heardthe rustling among the shrubbery, but the liberated captive had seen andheard enough to induce him to seek his hiding-place once more.