THE ATTACK UPON THE VAMPYRE’S HOUSE.—THE FURY OF THE ATTACK.—THE
FORCING OF THE DOORS, AND THE STRUGGLE.
A council of war was now called among the belligerents, who were
somewhat taken aback by the steady refusal of the servant to admit
them, and their apparent determination to resist all endeavours on the
part of the mob to get into and obtain possession of the house. It
argued that they were prepared to resist all attempts, and it would
cost some few lives to get into the vampyre’s house. This passed
through the minds of many as they retired behind the angle of the wall
where the council was to be held.
Here they looked in each others’ face, as if to gather from that the
general tone of the feelings of their companions; but here they saw
nothing that intimated the least idea of going back as they came.
“It’s all very well, mates, to take care of ourselves, you know,” began
one tall, brawny fellow; “but, if we bean’t to be sucked to death by a
vampyre, why we must have the life out of him.”
“Ay, so we must.”
“Jack Hodge is right; we must kill him, and there’s no sin in it, for
he has no right to it; he’s robbed some poor fellow of his life to
prolong his own.”
“Ay, ay, that’s the way he does; bring him out, I say, then see what we
will do with him.”
“Yes, catch him first,” said one, “and then we can dispose of him
afterwards. I say, neighbours, don’t you think it would be as well to
catch him first?”
“Haven’t we come on purpose?”
“Yes, but do it.”
“Ain’t we trying it?”
“You will presently, when we come to get into the house.”
“Well, what’s to be done?” said one; “here we are in a fix, I think,
and I can’t see our way out very clearly.”
“I wish we could get in.”
“But how is a question I don’t very well see,” said a large specimen of
humanity.
“The best thing that can be done will be to go round and look over the
whole house, and then we may come upon some part where it is far easier
to get in at than by the front door.”
“But it won’t do for us all to go round that way,” said one; “a small
party only should go, else they will have all their people stationed
at one point, and if we can divide them, we shall beat them because
they have not enough to defend more than one point at a time; now we
are numerous enough to make several attacks.”
“Oh! that’s the way to bother them all round; they’ll give in, and then
the place is our own.”
“No, no,” said the big countryman, “I like to make a good rush and
drive all afore us; you know what ye have to do then, and you do it, ye
know.”
“If you can.”
“Ay, to be sure, if we can, as you say; but can’t we? that’s what I
want to know.”
“To be sure we can.”
“Then we’ll do it, mate—that’s my mind; we’ll do it. Come on, and let’s
have another look at the street-door.”
The big countryman left the main body, and resolutely walked up to the
main avenue, and approached the door, accompanied by about a dozen or
less of the mob. When they came to the door, they commenced knocking
and kicking most violently, and assailing it with all kinds of things
they could lay their hands upon.
They continued at this violent exercise for some time—perhaps for five
minutes, when the little square hole in the door was again opened, and
a voice was heard to say,—
“You had better cease that kind of annoyance.”
“We want to get in.”
“It will cost you more lives to do so than you can afford to spare. We
are well armed, and are prepared to resist any effort you can make.”
“Oh! it’s all very well; but, an you won’t open, why we’ll make you;
that’s all about it.”
This was said as the big countryman and his companions were leaving the
avenue towards the rest of the body.
“Then, take this, as an earnest of what is to follow,” said the man,
and he discharged the contents of a blunderbuss through the small
opening, and its report sounded to the rest of the mob like the report
of a field-piece.
Fortunately for the party retiring the man couldn’t take any aim, else
it is questionable how many of the party would have got off unwounded.
As it was, several of them found stray slugs were lodged in various
parts of their persons, and accelerated their retreat from the house of
the vampyre.
“What luck?” inquired one of the mob to the others, as they came back;
“I’m afraid you had all the honour.”
“Ay, ay, we have, and all the lead too,” replied a man, as he placed
his hand upon a sore part of his person, which bled in consequence of a
wound.
“Well, what’s to be done?”
“Danged if I know,” said one.
“Give it up,” said another.
“No, no; have him out. I’ll never give in while I can use a stick. They
are in earnest, and so are we. Don’t let us be frightened because they
have a gun or two—they can’t have many; and besides, if they have, we
are too many for them. Besides, we shall all die in our beds.”
“Hurrah! down with the vampyre!”
“So say I, lads. I don’t want to be sucked to death when I’m a-bed.
Better die like a man than such a dog’s death as that, and you have no
revenge then.”
“No, no; he has the better of us then. We’ll have him out—we’ll burn
him—that’s the way we’ll do it.”
“Ay, so we will; only let us get in.”
At that moment a chosen party returned who had been round the house to
make a reconnaissance.
“Well, well,” inquired the mob, “what can be done now—where can we get
in?”
“In several places.”
“All right; come along then; the place is our own.”
“Stop a minute; they are armed at all points, and we must make an
attack on all points, else we may fail. A party must go round to the
front-door, and attempt to beat it in; there are plenty of poles and
things that could be used for such a purpose.”
“There is, besides, a garden-door, that opens into the house—a kind
of parlour; a kitchen-door; a window in the flower-garden, and an
entrance into a store-room; this place appears strong, and is therefore
unguarded.”
“The very point to make an attack.”
“Not quite.”
“Why not?”
“Because it can easily be defended, and rendered useless to us. We must
make an attack upon all places but that, and, while they are being at
those points, we can then enter at that place, and then you will find
them desert the other places when they see us inside.”
“Hurrah! down with the vampyre!” said the mob, as they listened to this
advice, and appreciated the plan.
“Down with the vampyre!”
“Now, then, lads, divide, and make the attack; never mind their guns,
they have but very few, and if you rush in upon them, you will soon
have the guns yourselves.”
“Hurrah! hurrah!” shouted the mob.
The mob now moved away in different bodies, each strong enough to carry
the house. They seized upon a variety of poles and stones, and then
made for the various doors and windows that were pointed out by those
who had made the discovery. Each one of those who had formed the party
of observation, formed a leader to the others, and at once proceeded to
the post assigned him.
The attack was so sudden and so simultaneous that the servants were
unprepared; and though they ran to the doors, and fired away, still
they did but little good, for the doors were soon forced open by the
enraged rioters, who proceeded in a much more systematic operation,
using long heavy pieces of timber which were carried on the shoulders
of several men, and driven with the force of battering-rams—which, in
fact, they were—against the door.
Bang went the battering-ram, crash went the door, and the whole party
rushed headlong in, carried forward by their own momentum and fell
prostrate, engine and all, into the passage.
“Now, then, we have them,” exclaimed the servants, who began to
belabour the whole party with blows, with every weapon they could
secure.
Loudly did the fallen men shout for assistance, and but for their
fellows who came rushing in behind, they would have had but a sorry
time of it.
“Hurrah!” shouted the mob; “the house is our own.”
“Not yet,” shouted the servants.
“We’ll try,” said the mob; and they rushed forward to drive the
servants back, but they met with a stout resistance, and as some of
them had choppers and swords, there were a few wounds given, and
presently bang went the blunderbuss.
Two or three of the mob reeled and fell.
This produced a momentary panic, and the servants then had the whole
of the victory to themselves, and were about to charge, and clear the
passage of their enemies, when a shout behind attracted their attention.
That shout was caused by an entrance being gained in another quarter,
whence the servants were flying, and all was disorder.
“Hurrah! hurrah!” shouted the mob.
The servants retreated to the stairs, and here united, they made a
stand, and resolved to resist the whole force of the rioters, and they
succeeded in doing so, too, for some minutes. Blows were given and
taken of a desperate character.
Somehow, there were no deadly blows received by the servants; they were
being forced and beaten, but they lost no life; this may be accounted
for by the fact that the mob used no more deadly weapons than sticks.
The servants of Sir Francis Varney, on the contrary, were mostly armed
with deadly weapons, which, however, they did not use unnecessarily.
They stood upon the hall steps—the grand staircase, with long poles
or sticks, about the size of quarter-staves, and with these they
belaboured those below most unmercifully.
Certainly, the mob were by no means cowards, for the struggle to close
with their enemies was as great as ever, and as firm as could well be.
Indeed, they rushed on with a desperation truly characteristic of John
Bull, and defied the heaviest blows; for as fast as one was stricken
down another occupied his place, and they insensibly pressed their
close and compact front upon the servants, who were becoming fatigued
and harassed.
“Fire, again,” exclaimed a voice from among the servants.
The mob made no retrograde movement, but still continued to press
onwards, and in another moment a loud report rang through the house,
and a smoke hung over the heads of the mob.
[Illustration: The conflict between the mob and Varney’s servants.]
A long groan or two escaped some of the men who had been wounded, and a
still louder from those who had not been wounded, and a cry arose of,—
“Down with the vampyre—pull down—destroy and burn the whole place—down
with them all.”
A rush succeeded, and a few more discharges took place, when a shout
above attracted the attention of both parties engaged in this fierce
struggle. They paused by mutual consent, to look and see what was the
cause of that shout.