Читать книгу The Collected Novels - William Harrison Ainsworth - Страница 84

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I’ll speak to thee, though hell itself should gape, And bid me hold my peace.

Hamlet.

Time presses. We may not linger in our course. We must fly on before our flying highwayman. Full forty miles shall we pass over in a breath. Two more hours have elapsed, and he still urges his headlong career, with heart resolute as ever, and purpose yet unchanged. Fair Newark, and the dashing Trent, “most loved of England’s streams,” are gathered to his laurels. Broad Notts, and its heavy paths and sweeping glades; its waste — forest no more — of Sherwood past; bold Robin Hood and his merry men, his Marian and his moonlight rides, recalled, forgotten, left behind. Hurrah! hurrah! That wild halloo, that waving arm, that enlivening shout — what means it? He is once more upon Yorkshire ground; his horse’s hoof beats once more the soil of that noble shire. So transported was Dick, that he could almost have flung himself from the saddle to kiss the dust beneath his feet. Thrice fifty miles has he run, nor has the morn yet dawned upon his labors. Hurrah! the end draws nigh; the goal is in view. Halloo! halloo! on!

Bawtrey is past. He takes the lower road by Thorne and Selby. He is skirting the waters of the deep-channelled Don.

Bess now began to manifest some slight symptoms of distress. There was a strain in the carriage of her throat, a dulness in her eye, a laxity in her ear, and a slight stagger in her gait, which Turpin noticed with apprehension. Still she went on, though not at the same gallant pace as heretofore. But, as the tired bird still battles with the blast upon the ocean, as the swimmer still stems the stream, though spent, on went she: nor did Turpin dare to check her, fearing that, if she stopped, she might lose her force, or, if she fell, she would rise no more.

It was now that gray and grimly hour ere one flicker of orange or rose has gemmed the east, and when unwearying Nature herself seems to snatch brief repose. In the roar of restless cities, this is the only time when their strife is hushed. Midnight is awake — alive; the streets ring with laughter and with rattling wheels. At the third hour, a dead, deep silence prevails; the loud-voiced streets grow dumb. They are deserted of all, save the few guardians of the night and the skulking robber. But even far removed from the haunts of men and hum of towns it is the same. “Nature’s best nurse” seems to weigh nature down, and stillness reigns throughout. Our feelings are, in a great measure, influenced by the hour. Exposed to the raw, crude atmosphere, which has neither the nipping, wholesome shrewdness of morn, nor the profound chillness of night, the frame vainly struggles against the dull, miserable sensations engendered by the damps, and at once communicates them to the spirits. Hope forsakes us. We are weary, exhausted. Our energy is dispirited. Sleep does “not weigh our eyelids down.” We stare upon the vacancy. We conjure up a thousand restless, disheartening images. We abandon projects we have formed, and which, viewed through this medium, appear fantastical, chimerical, absurd. We want rest, refreshment, energy.

We will not say that Turpin had all these misgivings. But he had to struggle hard with himself to set sleep and exhaustion at defiance.

The moon had set. The stars,

Pinnacled deep in the intense main,

had all — save one, the herald of the dawn — withdrawn their luster. A dull mist lay on the stream, and the air became piercing cold. Turpin’s chilled fingers could scarcely grasp the slackening rein, while his eyes, irritated by the keen atmosphere, hardly enabled him to distinguish surrounding objects, or even to guide his steed. It was owing, probably, to this latter circumstance, that Bess suddenly floundered and fell, throwing her master over her head.

Turpin instantly recovered himself. His first thought was for his horse. But Bess was instantly upon her legs — covered with dust and foam, sides and cheeks — and with her large eyes glaring wildly, almost piteously, upon her master.

“Art hurt, lass?” asked Dick, as she shook herself, and slightly shivered. And he proceeded to the horseman’s scrutiny. “Nothing but a shake; though that dull eye — those quivering flanks ——” added he, looking earnestly at her. “She won’t go much further, and I must give it up — what! give up the race just when it’s won? No, that can’t be. Ha! well thought on. I’ve a bottle of liquid, given me by an old fellow, who was a knowing cove and famous jockey in his day, which he swore would make a horse go as long as he’d a leg to carry him, and bade me keep it for some great occasion. I’ve never used it; but I’ll try it now. It should be in this pocket. Ah! Bess, wench, I fear I’m using thee, after all, as Sir Luke did his mistress, that I thought so like thee. No matter! It will be a glorious end.”

Raising her head upon his shoulder, Dick poured the contents of the bottle down the throat of his mare. Nor had he to wait long before its invigorating effects were instantaneous. The fire was kindled in the glassy orb; her crest was once more erected; her flank ceased to quiver; and she neighed loud and joyously.

“Egad, the old fellow was right,” cried Dick. “The drink has worked wonders. What the devil could it have been? It smells like spirit,” added he, examining the bottle. “I wish I’d left a taste for myself. But here’s that will do as well.” And he drained his flask of the last drop of brandy.

Dick’s limbs were now become so excessively stiff, that it was with difficulty he could remount his horse. But this necessary preliminary being achieved by the help of a stile, he found no difficulty in resuming his accustomed position upon the saddle. We know not whether there was any likeness between our Turpin and that modern Hercules of the sporting world, Mr. Osbaldeston. Far be it from us to institute any comparison, though we cannot help thinking that, in one particular, he resembled that famous “copper-bottomed” squire. This we will leave to our reader’s discrimination. Dick bore his fatigues wonderfully. He suffered somewhat of that martyrdom which, according to Tom Moore, occurs “to weavers and M. P.‘s, from sitting too long;” but again on his courser’s back, he cared not for anything.

Once more, at a gallant pace, he traversed the banks of the Don, skirting the fields of flax that bound its sides, and hurried far more swiftly than its current to its confluence with the Aire.

Snaith was past. He was on the road to Selby when dawn first began to break. Here and there a twitter was heard in the hedge; a hare ran across his path, gray-looking as the morning self; and the mists began to rise from the earth. A bar of gold was drawn against the east, like the roof of a gorgeous palace. But the mists were heavy in this world of rivers and their tributary streams. The Ouse was before him, the Trent and Aire behind; the Don and Derwent on either hand, all in their way to commingle their currents ere they formed the giant Humber. Amid a region so prodigal of water, no wonder the dews fell thick as rain. Here and there the ground was clear; but then again came a volley of vapor, dim and palpable as smoke.

While involved in one of these fogs, Turpin became aware of another horseman by his side. It was impossible to discern the features of the rider, but his figure in the mist seemed gigantic; neither was the color of his steed distinguishable. Nothing was visible except the meagre-looking, phantom-like outline of a horse and his rider, and, as the unknown rode upon the turf that edged the way, even the sound of the horse’s hoofs was scarcely audible. Turpin gazed, not without superstitious awe. Once or twice he essayed to address the strange horseman, but his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth. He fancied he discovered in the mist-exaggerated lineaments of the stranger a wild and fantastic resemblance to his friend Tom King. “It must be Tom,” thought Turpin; “he is come to warn me of my approaching end. I will speak to him.”

But terror o’ermastered his speech. He could not force out a word, and thus side by side they rode in silence. Quaking with fears he would scarcely acknowledge to himself, Dick watched every motion of his companion. He was still, stern, spectre-like, erect; and looked for all the world like a demon on his phantom steed. His courser seemed, in the indistinct outline, to be huge and bony, and, as he snorted furiously in the fog, Dick’s heated imagination supplied his breath with a due proportion of flame. Not a word was spoken — not a sound heard, save the sullen dead beat of his hoofs upon the grass. It was intolerable to ride thus cheek by jowl with a goblin. Dick could stand it no longer. He put spurs to his horse, and endeavored to escape. But it might not be. The stranger, apparently without effort, was still by his side, and Bess’s feet, in her master’s apprehensions, were nailed to the ground. By-and-by, however, the atmosphere became clearer. Bright quivering beams burst through the vaporous shroud, and then it was that Dick discovered that the apparition of Tom King was no other than Luke Rookwood. He was mounted on his old horse, Rook, and looked grim and haggard as a ghost vanishing at the crowing of the cock.

“Sir Luke Rookwood, by this light!” exclaimed Dick, in astonishment. “Why, I took you for ——”

“The devil, no doubt?” returned Luke, smiling sternly, “and were sorry to find yourself so hard pressed. Don’t disquiet yourself; I am still flesh and blood.”

“Had I taken you for one of mortal mould,” said Dick, “you should have soon seen where I’d have put you in the race. That confounded fog deceived me, and Bess acted the fool as well as myself. However, now I know you, Sir Luke, you must spur alongside, for the hawks are on the wing; and though I’ve much to say, I’ve not a second to lose.” And Dick briefly detailed the particulars of his ride, concluding with his rencontre with Barbara. “Here’s the packet,” said he, “just as I got it. You must keep it till the proper moment. And here,” added he, fumbling in his pocket for another paper, “is the marriage document. You are now your father’s lawful son, let who will say you nay. Take it and welcome. If you are ever master of Miss Mowbray’s hand, you will not forget Dick Turpin.”

“I will not,” said Luke, eagerly grasping the certificate; “but she never may be mine.”

“You have her oath?”

“I have.”

“What more is needed?”

“Her hand.”

“That will follow.”

“It shall follow,” replied Sir Luke, wildly. “You are right. She is my affianced bride — affianced before hell, if not before heaven. I have sealed the contract with blood — with Sybil’s blood — and it shall be fulfilled. I have her oath — her oath — ha, ha! Though I perish in the attempt, I will wrest her from Ranulph’s grasp. She shall never be his. I would stab her first. Twice have I failed in my endeavors to bear her off. I am from Rookwood even now. To-morrow night I shall renew the attack. Will you assist me?”

“To-morrow night!” interrupted Dick.

“Nay, I should say to-night. A new day has already dawned,” replied Luke.

“I will: she is at Rookwood?”

“She languishes there at present, attended by her mother and her lover. The hall is watched and guarded. Ranulph is ever on the alert. But we will storm their garrison. I have a spy within its walls — a gipsy girl, faithful to my interests. From her I have learnt that there is a plot to wed Eleanor to Ranulph, and that the marriage is to take place privately to-morrow. This must be prevented.”

“It must. But why not boldly appear in person at the hall, and claim her?”

“Why not? I am a proscribed felon. A price is set upon my head. I am hunted through the country — driven to concealment, and dare not show myself for fear of capture. What could I do now? They would load me with fetters, bury me in a dungeon, and wed Eleanor to Ranulph. What would my rights avail? What would her oath signify to them? No; she must be mine by force. His she shall never be. Again, I ask you, will you aid me?”

“I have said — I will. Where is Alan Rookwood?”

“Concealed within the hut on Thorne Waste. You know it — it was one of your haunts.”

“I know it well,” said Dick, “and Conkey Jem, its keeper, into the bargain: he is a knowing file. I’ll join you at the hut at midnight, if all goes well. We’ll bring off the wench, in spite of them all — just the thing I like. But in case of a break-down on my part, suppose you take charge of my purse in the mean time.”

Luke would have declined this offer.

“Pshaw!” said Dick. “Who knows what may happen? and it’s not ill-lined either. You’ll find an odd hundred or so in that silken bag — it’s not often your highwayman gives away a purse. Take it, man — we’ll settle all to-night; and if I don’t come, keep it — it will help you to your bride. And now off with you to the hut, for you are only hindering me. Adieu! My love to old Alan. We’ll do the trick to-night. Away with you to the hut. Keep yourself snug there till midnight, and we’ll ride over to Rookwood.”

“At midnight,” replied Sir Luke, wheeling off, “I shall expect you.”

“‘Ware hawks!” hallooed Dick.

But Luke had vanished. In another instant Dick was scouring the plain as rapidly as ever. In the mean time, as Dick has casually alluded to the hawks, it may not be amiss to inquire how they had flown throughout the night, and whether they were still in chase of their quarry.

With the exception of Titus, who was completely done up at Grantham, “having got,” as he said, “a complete bellyful of it,” they were still on the wing, and resolved sooner or later to pounce upon their prey, pursuing the same system as heretofore in regard to the post-horses. Major Mowbray and Paterson took the lead, but the irascible and invincible attorney was not far in their rear, his wrath having been by no means allayed by the fatigue he had undergone. At Bawtrey they held a council of war for a few minutes, being doubtful which course he had taken. Their incertitude was relieved by a foot traveller, who had heard Dick’s loud halloo on passing the boundary of Nottinghamshire, and had seen him take the lower road. They struck, therefore, into the path at Thorne at a hazard, and were soon satisfied they were right. Furiously did they now spur on. They reached Selby, changed horses at the inn in front of the venerable cathedral church, and learnt from the postboy that a toilworn horseman, on a jaded steed, had ridden through the town about five minutes before them, and could not be more than a quarter of a mile in advance. “His horse was so dead beat,” said the lad, “that I’m sure he cannot have got far; and, if you look sharp, I’ll be bound you’ll overtake him before he reaches Cawood Ferry.”

Mr. Coates was transported. “We’ll lodge him snug in York Castle before an hour, Paterson,” cried he, rubbing his hands.

“I hope so, sir,” said the chief constable, “but I begin to have some qualms.”

“Now, gentlemen,” shouted the postboy, “come along. I’ll soon bring you to him.”