Part 10 (1/2)
It was the end of harvest-time; the weather was very sultry, and the night cloudy and overcast.
I thought, as I hurried home, we should soon have a heavy thunder-storm, and fancied the summer lightning was more vivid than usual.
Just as I reached my father's door, I was startled by the sudden flas.h.i.+ng of a fierce flame in the direction of the mansion of the new heir to the splendid estate he inherited from his uncle.
I doubted for a moment, but then was perfectly sartain the Hall was on fire.
I dashed off at the top of my speed, taking the nearest cut across the fields to the scene of the conflagrashun.
As I was pelting along, I heard the fire-bell sounding from the police barracks, but I got to the place before the sogers or peelers had a chance of reaching it.
A glance convinced me the ould place was doomed; the flames had burst through the lower windows, and were carried by the lattice-work, that reached high above the portico, to the upper story.
While I was looking at the blazing pile, a horseman galloped at full speed up the avenue. Just as he had almost reached the Hall door, and was reining in his horse to dismount, four or five dark figures appeared to spring suddenly out of the ground, and I heard the report of fire-arms--two distinct shots I could swear to. At the first, one of the party, who sought to intercept the mounted man, fell; at the second, the rider rolled from his saddle heavily to the ground, and then the other figures disappeared as suddenly as they had at first sprung up.
I was so thunderstruck, that for some few minutes I could not stir from the spot.
Seeing no sign of the approach of the military or police, curiosity, or some strong feeling, got the better of my prudence, and I hurried forward to the scene of slaughter, for such in my heart I felt it was-- in the case of at least of one of the fallen men. And there, with the lurid light of the burning building flas.h.i.+ng across his deathlike face, and the purple blood welling up from a wound in his chest through his cambric s.h.i.+rt-frill, lay, stretched in death, the newly appointed agent, and, close beside him, O'Rourke, still living, but drawing every breath with such difficulty that I felt certain his last hour had come.
I raised his head, and spoke to him. He knew my voice, and, by a superhuman effort, managed to support himself on his elbow, as he took a small purse from his breast-pocket; he placed it in my hand, and said, ”Phil, darlin', I know you've the brave and thrue heart, though it's only a boy you are. Listen to my last words. Kape my secret, for my sake; never let on to man or mortial you saw me here. Give that purse to Mary--take her to her frinds in Amerikay--she'll never hear of _this_ there, and may larn in time to forget me. Tell her we shall meet in a better place; and hark! my eyes are growing dark, but I can hear well enough, there are futsteps--they are coming this way; run, for your life; if you are found here, you will die on the gallows, and that would break your poor old father and mother's hearts! Bless you, Phil, alanna! Remember my last words, and, as you hope for mercy, do my bidding!”
He drew a deep sigh, fell heavily from my arms, rolled over on his side, and there--with the dead agent's fixed and gla.s.sy eyes staring the frightful stare of death straight at him--lay cowld and still!
The sound of the futsteps came nearer and nearer. I started at my best speed for home. When I stepped into the house, the children had been put to bed, but the ould people were still talking by the dim light of the nearly burnt-out turf fire. I wished them good-night, plading fataigue, and reached my small room without their having an opportunity of noticing the state of alarm and agitation I was in.
The next day was an awful one for me. The violent death of the middleman was in every one's mouth; but it was some relief to find no mention was made of the finding the corpse of poor O'Rourke.
I concluded the footsteps we had both heard were those of some of his a.s.sociates, and that they had carried off and concealed his body.
I fulfilled O'Rourke's wishes to the best of my power; saw Mary Sheean safe on boord s.h.i.+p, put her in the care of a dacent, middle-aged countrywoman of her own--and as I was a.s.suring her, in O'Rourke's words, that he would soon join her, all I had to say was cut short by the arrival of a parcel of peelers on boord, and the rason of their coming was the a.s.sa.s.sination of the agent had been discovered. O'Rourke was missing, and so suspicion fell on him--and there was a reward of two hundred pounds offered for him. It was thought possible he might be on boord the _George Was.h.i.+ngton_, and they had come, with a full description of his person, to sarch the s.h.i.+p.
The pa.s.sengers--and it was a tadeous job--were all paraded--over three hundred in the steerage, let alone the cabin and the crew--every part of the s.h.i.+p was overhauled, but, as may naturally be supposed, no Miles O'Rourke was found.
I need scarcely tell yez, boys, what a relief that was to pretty Mary Sheean and myself.
When the police-officers had left the _George Was.h.i.+ngton_, she beckoned me to her, and whispered, ”Thanks be to the Lord he was not on boord!
though I know he would never take any man's life; still, as he was out that night, it would have gone hard wid him. But, never fear, he'll come by the next s.h.i.+p; and so I'll wait and watch for him at New York.
There's his box--take care of it for him till we get there; and see, here's the kay--mind that, too; maybe I'd lose it.”
I hadn't the heart to undecaive her, so I answered her as cheerfully as I could, put the kay in my pocket and the box in my locker, and went about my business, wid a mighty heavy heart entirely.
All went on smoothly enough--but about the tenth day after we sailed, a report got afloat that the s.h.i.+p was haunted.
At first, the captain only laughed at such an absurd rumour; but finding the men believed it, and went unwillingly about their duty after dark, unless in couples, he set to work to find out who had been the first person to circulate the story.
After a deal of dodging and prevarication, it was traced to black Sam, the n.i.g.g.e.r cook.
The skipper called the ould darky up to the quarter-deck, and then, in the hearing of the cabin-pa.s.sengers and most of the crew, the cook stated, afther we had been at say for a few days, that one night, as he was dozing in the caboose, he was startled by the appearance of a tall figure, with a face as pallid as death, noiselessly entering through the half-open door. The ghost--for such Sam was willing to swear it was, to use his own words, ”on a stack of bibles as high as the main topmast”-- had on a blood-stained shroud. It slowly approached the terror-stricken cook, who, fearing it intended to do him some bodily harrum, sprang from his bunk, and yell'd loudly for a.s.sistance. At the first sound of Sam's voice, the lamp wint out of itself, and the ghost vanished.
Several sailors bore testimony to hearing the cook screaming for help-- to the fearful state of fright he was in; and, as they could see no trace of the apparition Sam so minutely described, confirmed his report as to the sudden disappearance of the supernatural intruder.