Part 2 (1/2)
”Taken,” replied the other ”Now, men,” he shouted, ”remember, a crown, dead or alive!”
The troopers were drawn up in an irregular line along the edge of the road, and had drawn their pistols fro! A man on the extreme left had fired The ball struck the cliff just above the fugitive's head, bringing down a s his hands into the yielding soil, the wretchedbut thirty yards fro! Bang! Two reports in quick succession echoed down the valley This time, whether hit or not, the ht in a projection and stopped his descent
”Not so fast there,” grueant ”If you fire like that, who can claistaff!”
Calan to fire in turn At the sixth shot the ain his former position, but ere he had ascended another two feet a shot struck him in the back of the head, and he tuured corpse
Striding over to the body the sergeant turned it over on its back, made sure that life was extinct, then returned to the door of the coach, and, saluting, said: ”Trooper Jenkins's shot, sir, brought the rogue down”
The elderto his companion, with a lo, presented him with the snuffbox
With this cereht to a close, and the two officers, learning that I was on my way to Portsmouth, consented to let ain, the prisoners firmly bound to two of their nu by the roadside a motionless object that had once been a , the officers plied reat interest inwith the three footpads The older of the two officers was about forty years of age, bronzed with the sun and wrinkled with exposure to the weather His blue eyes twinkled in a kindly manner, while his lips, partly concealed by his closely trimmed moustache and beard, denoted both firmness and discretion
His coer, also wore a beard of Van Dyck cut His appearance, however, denoted a iven to perform actions on the spur of the moment rather than to be ruled by deliberate counsel He was addressed as Middleton by his coather as the na lovelocks, and affected the rich apparel of the Cavaliers, which contrasted vividly with the soarb of their escort
When I mentioned that I was on er of the twain gave his companion a wink that did not escape me, and remarked: ”Then, Master Aubrey, we'll see more of thee anon, if Ideclivity, at the bottoe, which, I was told, boasted of the name of Horndean Here we rested the horses,into the inn, fro me a cup of milk and a plate of coarse brown bread and rich yellow cheese
In half an hour the journey was resuing into a dense wood, which once forth we entered a deep, dark hollohere the shade lare of the sun
Suddenly there was a shrill whistle, followed by a sound of scuffling, a score of round oaths, and the sharp report of fireartheir swords as they did so
I tooto fire into a thicket on the left-hand side of the road, while one of their nu from a severe wound
After the next volley soed by the voice of the sergeant shouting: ”After him, men, at all costs; he cannot be far off”
A moment later there was a sound of harsh voices, the noise of stones striking against steel, th by the return of the troopers bearing between them a man who moaned and cursed lustily as he was carried by none too tender hands
”Ho, Sedgewyke!” thundered his officer ”Who is this? 'Tis not the eant saluted, and told his story: The troop was riding in a straggling manner, one of the men, who had a prisoner bound behind hi in the rear Without warning a stout rope that had been stretched between two trees on opposite sides of the road was dropped, and, catching the unfortunate soldier under the chin, hurled hiround In a moment a party of men had run from the cover of the brushwood, freed the captive, and, after ha the trooper's horse, had made their escape to the depths of the forest before the rest of the escort could realize what had occurred
Pursued by the soldiers, they let fly a shower of stones, and in the confusion that followed had ood their retreat, with one exception-- a h chagrined by the loss of their prisoner, the capture of one of his rescuers was a redeeht before the officers for the purpose of being interrogated
He was a young e, with a heavy poll of red hair His sinewy arms were tattooed with various devices, while on his chest, exposed during the scuffle, a death's-head and cross-bones were crudely drawn When questioned hefor water in a dialect that, country-bred though I am, I could not readily understand
”Methinks I have met others of this kind before,” reer, and, that being so, he's either sler or pirate Whether he be of Poole or Weymouth 'tis all the saht than be cast ashore on the devil-haunted coast of Purbeck Now, Sedgewyke, I pray you dispatch that horse and let us hasten on, unless ish to be benighted on the highway”
The sergeant saluted again and retired, while Middleton and his friend returned to the carriage A shot announced that the s were ended, and the troopers, with their two prisoners now safely in the centre, broke into a trot, the coach swaying to and fro as it ru loe reached the su stretch of chalky dohence I saw Ports in the hilliest and most picturesque part of Halimpse came as a disappointment I saw below me an island so flat as to make it appear difficult to tell where the land ended and where the water began Save for a few trees and some scattered houses there was little to break the dreariness of it, while, the tide being out (as I afterwards learnt), long expanses of mud on either side increased this aspect of monotonous desolation At the far end of the island I could distinguish the cluster of houses that formed the town At the near end was a narrow creek, which we ain our destination, while away on the right was a square tohich, they told me, was the castle of Portchester
This was my first view of Portsmouth, and also of the sea, and I must confess I felt heartily disappointed with both
We soon descended the hill, passed through the little hae A short threeit I saw a large mound of earth, called the Town Mount, crowned by fortifications and fronted by a line of bastions and earthworks, which in turn were encircled with a ht
Beyond rose the red-tiled roofs of the houses, the whole being dominated by the massive square tower of St Thomas's Church
At the Landport Gate ere received by a guard of soldiers, and as we entered the town ht of so much life and bustle
Inside the line of fortification the guard had turned out for the purpose of doing honour to ht of the rows of pikehteen-feet weapons riveteddise of a sour-visaged soldier, with instructions to take me to the house of Master Anderson in St Thomas's Street
Soon I found abled house, where, without waiting,of timidity I knocked, and the door was opened I saw before me a rotund little man with a puffy face that a well-trimmed beard partially concealed His face was pitted with sh living, twinkled in a kindly er
I was unable to utter a word, and stood still, feeling considerably uneasy under his enquiring gaze Neither did he speak; so, driven to desperation, I at length gathered up courage and stammered: ”Sir, I am your nephew, Aubrey Wentworth”
CHAPTER IV
--How Judglers
I soon accustoe treated me with every consideration--a fact that ill-disposed persons would have attributed to the legacy left hi in needy circu as Clerk of the Survey at the dockyard a salary of 50, paid with ularity--it was evident that his brother-in-law's bounty did not coiven a description of my uncle His wife, my father's sister, was tall, sparely built, and so to ascertain that the pair were ill-assorted, and when on certain occasions their dispute waxed hot, my uncle was invariably driven from the house by the unrestrained reproaches of his spouse
They had but two children, Maurice, a lad a year older than myself, and Mercy, a child of nine years I was soon on capital terh, boylike, I treated Mercy with that sort of contee show their fe my uncle the story ofto mention the naood friend 'Tis none other than Colonel Thomas Middleton, lately appointed commissioner of this dockyard, and he who rode with hiue, who coallant Montague, a hting with Blake the fleets of Holland and of Spain, and whose pro co froratitude and favour
On themy arrival I, in company with my cousin Maurice, was taken by my uncle to the dockyard
Here all was activity and noise Most of the fleet--ast which were pointed out to me the Yarmouth, Swiftsure, London, and Ruby--lay at anchor at soside were the Naseby, her naue
There was but one dry dock, and in it lay the Providence; and on a slip, being nearly fit for launching, stood a large shi+p of seventy-six guns, her naed to the Royal Oak
While ere looking on with astonishment at this busy scene, a short, thick-set man, whose portly body was ill supported by a pair of bandy legs, came towards the place where we stood He wore a blue uniform, with three-cornered hat, and carried at his side a sword that trailed behind hiled between his legs
”Ha! Captain Duce of the Lizard! Stand aside, boys, while I have speech with hie