CHAPTER EIGHT.
ON GUARD.
It seemed as if it had all been a dream when I awoke and found Uncle Bobwas shaking me.
"Come, young fellow," he cried; "breakfast's ready."
I did not feel ready for my breakfast if it was, especially a breakfastof bread and meat with no chair, no table, no cloth, no tea, coffee, orbread and butter.
Such a good example was shown me, though, that I took the thick sandwichoffered to me, and I was soon forgetting my drowsiness and eatingheartily.
We were not interrupted, and when we had ended our meal, went round theplace to see what was to be done.
The first thing was placing the property that could be claimed by themen close by the gate ready for them, and when this was done Piter and Iwalked up and down the yard listening to the steps outside, and waitingto give a signal if any of the men should come.
No men came, however, and there was not a single call till afternoon,when a sharp rapping at the gate was answered by two of my uncles, andthe dog, who seemed puzzled as to the best pair of legs to peer between,deciding at last in favour of Uncle Bob's.
To our surprise, when the gate was opened, there were no men waiting,but half a dozen women, one of whom announced that they had came fortheir masters' "traps," and the said "traps" being handed to them, theywent off without a word, not even condescending to say "Thank you."
"Come," said Uncle Bob, after the various things had been carried off,and Piter had stood looking on twitching his ears and blinking at them,as if he did not war with women, "Come, we've won the game."
"Don't be too sure, my boy," said Uncle Dick.
"But they have, given up."
"Given up expecting to use the works. But what are they going to do inrevenge?"
"Revenge!"
"Yes. You may depend upon it we are marked men, and that we shall haveto fight hard to hold our own."
As the day went on--a day busily spent in making plans for the future ofour factory, we had one or two applications from men who were seekingwork, and if we had any doubt before of how our coming was to bereceived, we realised it in the yells and hootings that greeted the menwho came in a friendly spirit.
Uncle Dick went off directly after breakfast to see about the machinerywaiting at the railway being delivered, and it was late in the afternoonbefore he returned.
"One of us will have to stay always on the premises for the present," hesaid, "so I have ordered some furniture and a carpenter to come andboard up and make that corner office comfortable. We must make shift."
The matter was discussed, and finally it was settled that two of ourparty were to be always on the premises, and until we were satisfiedthat there was no more fear of interference, one was to keep watch halfthe night with the dog, and then be relieved by the other.
"We shall have to make a man of you, Cob," said Uncle Jack. "You musttake your turn with us."
"I'm ready," I replied; and very proud I felt of being trusted.
Of course I felt nervous, but at the same time rather disappointed, foreverything went on in the most business like way. Carpenters andfitters were set to work, and, helped by the indomitable perseveranceand energy of my uncles, a great deal of fresh machinery was soon inposition. New shafts and bands, a new furnace for preparing our ownsteel after a fashion invented by Uncle Dick. New grindstones andpolishing-wheels, new forges with tilt-hammers, and anvils.
By degrees I found what was going to be our chief business, and that wasthe production of cutlery of a peculiar temper especially for surgicalinstruments and swords, Uncle Dick having an idea that he could produceblades equal to Damascus or the finest Spanish steel.
The days glided by with the works growing more complete, and each nighthalf our party on guard at Fort Industry, as Uncle Bob christened theplace. And though the couple who had slept at the lodgings went down tothe place every morning feeling nervous, and wondering whether anythinghad happened in the night, it was always to find that all was going onperfectly smoothly, and that there was nothing to mind.
Piter had a kennel just inside the entry, and as each new hand wasengaged he was introduced to the dog, who inspected him, and neverafterwards so much as growled.
Uncle Dick took the lead, and under his orders the change rapidly tookplace.
There was one hindrance, though, and that occurred in connection withthe furnaces, for the chimney-shaft needed some repair at the top.This, however, proved to be an easy task, scaffolding not beingnecessary, projecting bars answering the purpose of the rounds of aladder having been built in when the shaft was erected, with this end inview.
At last everything was, as Uncle Dick called it, complete for thepresent. There was a good supply of water, and one morning the furnacewas lit, so were the forges, and step by step we progressed till therewas quite a busy scene, the floors and rafters in the forge and furnacebuilding glowing and seeming turned to gold; while from out of thechimney there rose every morning a great volume of smoke that rolled outand bent over, and formed itself into vast feathery plumes.
I could hardly believe it true when it was announced that we had beendown in Arrowfield a month: but so it was.
But little had been done beyond getting the machinery at the works readyfor work to come; now, however, some of the projects were to be put inaction.
"For," said Uncle Dick, "if we should go on forging and grinding asother manufacturers do, we only enter into competition with them, and Idare say we should be beaten. We must do something different andbetter, and that's why we have come. To-morrow I begin to make my newtempered steel."
Uncle Dick kept his word, and the next morning men were at workarranging fire-bricks for a little furnace which was duly made, and thenso much blistered steel was laid in a peculiar way with so much iron,and a certain heat was got up and increased and lowered several timestill Uncle Dick was satisfied. He told me that the colour assumed bythe metal was the test by which he judged whether it was progressingsatisfactorily, and this knowledge could only come by experience.
Everything was progressing most favourably. The men who had beenengaged worked well; we had seen no more of those who had had to vacatethe works, and all was as it should be. In fact our affairs were soprosperous that to me it seemed great folly for watch to be kept in theworks night after night.
I thought it the greatest nonsense possible one night when I had beenvery busy all day, and it had come to my turn, and I told Uncle Jack so.
"Those fellows were a bit cross at having to turn out," I said. "Ofcourse they were, and they made a fuss. You don't suppose they willcome again?"
"I don't know, Cob," said Uncle Jack quietly.
"But is it likely?" I said pettishly.
"I can't say, my boy--who can? Strange things have been done down inArrowfield by foolish workmen before now."
"Oh, yes!" I said; "but that's in the past. It isn't likely that theywill come and annoy us. Besides, there's Piter. He'd soon startle anyone away."
"You think then that there is no occasion for us to watch, Cob?"
"Yes," I cried eagerly, "that's just what I think. We can go to bed andleave Piter to keep guard. He would soon give the alarm."
"Then you had better go to bed, Cob," said Uncle Jack quietly.
"And of course you won't get up when it comes to your turn."
"No," he said; "certainly not."
"That's right," I cried triumphantly. "I am glad we have got over thisscare."
"Are you?" he said dryly.
"Am I, Uncle Jack! Why, of course I am. All is locked up. I'll go andunchain Piter, and then we'll go and get a good night's rest."
"Yes," he said; "you may as well unchain Piter."
I ran and set the dog at liberty, and he started off to make the circuitof the place, while I went back to Uncle Jack, who was lighting thebull's-eye lantern that we always used when on guard.
"Why, uncle," I said wonderingly; "we sha'n't want that to-night."
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sp; "I shall," he said. "Good-night!"
"No, no," I cried. "We arranged to go to bed."
"You arranged to go to bed, Cob, but I did not. You don't suppose Icould behave so unfairly to my brothers as to neglect the task theyplaced in my hands."
He did not say any more. It was quite sufficient. I felt the rebuff,and was thoroughly awake now and ashamed of what I had proposed.
Without a word I took the lantern and held out my hand.
"Good-night, Uncle Jack!" I said.
He had seemed cold and stern just before. Now he was his quiet old selfagain, and he took my hand, nodded, and said:
"Two o'clock, Cob. Good-night!"
I saw him go along the great workshop, enter the office and close thedoor, and then I started on my rounds.
It was anything but a cheerful task, that keeping watch over the worksduring the night, and I liked the first watch from ten to two less thanthe second watch from two to six, for in the latter you had the daybreaking about four o'clock, and then it was light until six.
For, however much one might tell oneself that there was no danger--nolikelihood of anything happening, the darkness in places, the faint glowfrom partly extinct fires, and the curious shadows cast on thewhitewashed walls were all disposed to be startling; and, well as I knewthe place, I often found myself shrinking as I came suddenly upon somepiece of machinery that assumed in the darkness the aspect of somehorrible monster about to seize me as I went my rounds.
Upon the other hand, there was a pleasant feeling of importance in goingabout that great dark place of a night, with a lantern at my belt, astout stick in my hand, and a bull-dog at my heels, and this sensationhelped to make the work more bearable.
On this particular night I had paced silently all about the placeseveral times, thinking a good deal about my little encounter with UncleJack, and about the last letters I had had from my father. Then, as allseemed perfectly right, I had seated myself by the big furnace, whichemitted a dull red glow, not sufficient to light the place, but enoughto make it pleasantly warm, and to show that if a blast were directed inthe coals, a fierce fire would soon be kindled.
I did not feel at all sleepy now; in fact, in spite of the warmth thisfurnace-house would not have been a pleasant place to sleep in, for thewindows on either side were open, having no glass, only iron bars, andthose on one side looked over the dam, while the others were in the wallthat abutted on the lane leading down to the little river.
Piter had been with me all through my walk round, but, seeing me settledown, he had leaped on to the hot ashes and proceeded to curl himself upin a nice warm place, where the probabilities were that he would soonbegin to cook.
Piter had been corrected for this half a dozen times over, but he had tobe bullied again, and leaping off the hot ashes he had lowered his tailand trotted back to his kennel, where he curled himself up.
All was very still as I sat there, except that the boom and throb of thebusy town where the furnaces and steam-engines were at work kept goingand coming in waves of sound; and as I sat, I found myself thinkingabout the beauty of the steel that my uncles had set themselves toproduce; and how, when a piece was snapped across, breaking like a bitof glass, the fracture looked all of a silvery bluish-grey.
Then I began thinking about our tall chimney, and what an unpleasantplace mine would be to sit in if there were a furious storm, and theshaft were blown down; and then, with all the intention to be watchful,I began to grow drowsy, and jumping up, walked up and down thefurnace-house and round the smouldering fire, whose chimney was a greatinverted funnel depending from the open roof.
I grew tired of walking about and sat down again, to begin thinking oncemore.
How far is it from thinking to sleeping and dreaming? Who can answerthat question?
To me it seemed that I was sitting thinking, and that as I thought therein the darkness, where I could see the fire throwing up its feeble glowon to the dim-looking open windows on either side, some great animalcame softly in through the window on my left, and then disappeared for afew moments, to appear again on my right where the wall overlooked thelane.
That window seemed to be darkened for a minute or two, and then becamelight again, while once more that on my left grew dark, and I saw thefigure glide out.
I seemed, as I say, to have been thinking, and as I thought it allappeared to be a dream, for it would have been impossible for any one tohave crept in at one window, passing the furnace and back again withoutdisturbing me.
Yes; I told myself it was all fancy, and as I thought I told myself thatI started awake, and looked sharply at first one window, and then at theother, half expecting to see someone there.
"I was asleep and dreaming," I said to myself; and, starting upimpatiently, I walked right out of the furnace-house across the strip ofyard, and in at the door, making Piter give his stumpy tail a sharprapping noise upon the floor of his kennel.
I went on all through the grinding workshop, and listened at the end ofthe place to the water trickling and dripping down in the greatwater-floored cellar.
That place had an attraction for me, and I stood listening for someminutes before walking back, thoroughly awake now.
I was so used to the place that I had no need to open the lantern, butthreaded my way here and there without touching a thing, and I was ableto pass right through to the upper floor in the same way.
Everything was correct, and Uncle Jack sleeping soundly, as I hoped tobe after another hour or so's watching.
I would not disturb him, but stole out again, and along the workshop tothe head of the stairs, where I descended and stooped to pat Piter againbefore looking about the yard, and then walking slowly into the warmfurnace-house.
Then, after a glance at the windows where I had fancied I had seensomeone creep in, I sat down in my old place enjoying the warmth, andonce more the drowsy sensation crept over me.
How long it was before I dropped asleep I can't tell, but, bad watchmanthat I was, I did drop asleep, and began dreaming about the great dammiles away up the valley; and there it seemed to me I was fishing with along line for some of the great pike that lurked far down in the depths.
As I fished my line seemed to pass over a window-sill and scrapedagainst it, and made a noise which set me wondering how large the fishmust be that was running away with it.
And then I was awake, with the perspiration upon my forehead and myhands damp, listening.
It was no fishing-line. I was not by the great dam up the river, butthere in our own furnace-house, and something was making a strangerustling noise.
For some few moments I could not tell where the noise was. There wasthe rustling, and it seemed straight before me. Then I knew it wasthere, for immediately in front on the open fire something was movingand causing a series of little nickers and sparkles in the glowingashes.
What could it be? What did it mean?
I was so startled that I was ready to leap up and run out of the place,and it was some time before I could summon up courage enough to stretchout a hand, and try to touch whatever it was that moved the glowingashes.
Wire!
Yes; there was no doubt of it--wire. A long thin wire stretched prettytightly reached right across me, and evidently passed from the windowoverlooking the lane across the furnace and out of the window by theside of the dam.
What did it mean--what was going to happen?
I asked myself these questions as I bent towards the furnace, touchingthe wire which glided on through my hand towards the window by the dam.
It was all a matter of moments, and I could feel that someone must bedrawing the wire out there by the dam, though how I could not tell, forit seemed to me that there was nothing but deep water there.
"Some one must have floated down the dam in a boat," I thought in aflash; but no explanation came to the next part of my question, what wasit for?
As I bent forward there wondering what it could mean, I began tounderstand that there must be som
e one out in the lane at the other endof the wire, and in proof of this surmise I heard a low scraping noiseat the window on my right, and then a hiss as if someone had drawn hisbreath in between his lips.
What could it mean?
I was one moment for shouting, "Who's there?" the next for turning on mybull's-eye; and again the next for running and rousing up Uncle Jack.
Then I thought that I would shout and call to Piter; but I felt that ifI did either of these things I should lose the clue that was glidingthrough my hands.
What could it mean?
The wire, invisible to me, kept softly stirring the glowing ashes, andseemed to be visible there. Elsewhere it was lost in the black darknessabout me, but I felt it plainly enough, and in my intense excitement,hundreds of yards seemed to have passed through my hand before I felt acheck and in a flash knew what was intended.
For, all at once, as the wire glided on, something struck against myhand gently, and raising the other it came in contact with a largecanister wrapped round and round with stout soft cord.
What for?
I knew in an instant; I had read of such outrages, and it was to guardagainst them that we watched, and kept that dog.
I had hold of a large canister of gunpowder, and the soft cord wrappedaround it was prepared fuse.
I comprehended too the horrible ingenuity of the scheme, which was todraw, by means of the wire, the canister of gunpowder on to the furnace,so that the fuse might catch fire, and that would give the miscreantswho were engaged time to escape before the powder was fired and broughtthe chimney-shaft toppling down.
For a moment I trembled and felt ready to drop the canister, and run formy life.
Then I felt strong, for I knew that if I kept the canister in my handsthe fuse could not touch the smouldering ashes and the plan would fail.
But how to do this without being heard by the men who must be on eitherside of the furnace-house.
It was easy enough; I had but to hold the canister high up above thefire, and pass it over till it was beyond the burning ashes and then letit continue its course to the other window.
It was a great risk, not of explosion, but of being heard; but with acurious feeling of reckless excitement upon me I held up the canister,stepping softly over the ash floor, and guiding the terrible machine ontill the danger was passed.
Then stealing after it I climbed gently on to the broad bench beneaththe clean window, and with my head just beneath it touched the wire, andwaited till the canister touched my hand again.
I had made no plans, but, urged on by the spirit of the moment, I seizedthe canister with both hands, gave it a tremendous jerk, and with myface at the window roared out:
"Now, fire! Fire! Shoot 'em down!"
I stood on the work-bench then, astounded at the effect of my cry.
Behind me there was a jerk at the wire, which snapped, and I heard therush of feet in the lane, while before me out from the window there camea yell, a tremendous splash, and then the sound of water being beaten,and cries for help.
At the same moment Piter came rushing into the furnace house, barkingfuriously, and directly after there was the noise of feet on the stairs,and Uncle Jack came in.
"What is it, Cob? Where's your light?" he cried.
I had forgotten the lantern, but I turned it on now as I tucked thecanister beneath my arm.
"There's a man or two men drowning out here in the dam," I pantedhoarsely; and Uncle Jack leaped on to the bench by my side.
"Give me the lantern," he cried; and, taking it from my wet hands, heturned it on, held it to the open window, and made it play upon thesurface of the dam.
"There are two men there, swimming to the side," he cried. "Stop, youscoundrels!" he roared; but the beating noise in the water increased.One seemed to get his footing and held out his hand to his companion indistress. The next minute I saw that they had gained the stone wall atthe side, over which they clambered, and from there we heard them dropdown on to the gravel stones.
"They're gone, Cob," said my uncle.
"Shall we run after them?" I said.
"It would be madness," he replied. "Down, Piter! Quiet, good dog!"
"Now what's the meaning of it all?" he said after turning the lightround the place. "What did you hear? Were they getting in?"
"No," I said; "they were trying to draw this canister on to the firewith the wire; but I heard them and got hold of it."
Uncle Jack turned the light of the bull's-eye on to the canister I held,and then turned it off again, as if there were danger of its doing someharm with the light alone, even after it had passed through glass.
"Why, Cob," he said huskily, "did you get hold of that?"
"Yes, I stopped it," I said, trembling now that the excitement hadpassed.
"But was the fuse alight?"
"No," I said; "they were going to draw it over the fire there, only Ifound it out in time."
"Why, Cob," he whispered, "there's a dozen pounds of powder here wrappedround with all this fuse. Come with me to put it in a place of safety:why, it would have half-wrecked our works."
"Would it?" I said.
"Would it, boy! It would have been destruction, perhaps death. Cob,"he whispered huskily, "ought we to go on watching?"
"Oh, Uncle Jack," I said, "I suppose I am foolish because I am soyoung!"
"Cob, my boy," he said softly; "if you had been ten times as old youcould not have done better than you have done to-night. Here, let'splace this dreadful canister in the water chamber: it will be saferthere."
"But the men; will they come again?"
"Not to-night, my lad. I think we are safe for a few hours to come.But what of the future, if these blind savages will do such things asthis?"