Wi' coulters and wi' forehammers
We garr'd the bars bang merrily,
Until we came to the inner prison,
Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie.
Old Border Ballad.
We return to Portanferry, and to Bertram and his honest-hearted friend,
whom we left most innocent inhabitants of a place built for the guilty.
The slumbers of the farmer were as sound as it was possible.
But Bertram's first heavy sleep passed away long before midnight, nor
could he again recover that state of oblivion. Added to the uncertain
and uncomfortable state of his mind, his body felt feverish and
oppressed. This was chiefly owing to the close and confined air of the
small apartment in which they slept. After enduring for some time the
broiling and suffocating feeling attendant upon such an atmosphere, he
rose to endeavour to open the window of the apartment, and thus to
procure a change of air. Alas! the first trial reminded him that he was
in jail, and that the building being contrived for security, not
comfort, the means of procuring fresh air were not left at the disposal
of the wretched inhabitants.
Disappointed in this attempt, he stood by the unmanageable window for
some time. Little Wasp, though oppressed with the fatigue of his
journey on the preceding day, crept out of bed after his master, and
stood by him rubbing his shaggy coat against his legs, and expressing
by a murmuring sound the delight which he felt at being restored to
him. Thus accompanied, and waiting until the feverish feeling which at
present agitated his blood should subside into a desire for warmth and
slumber, Bertram remained for some time looking out upon the sea.
The tide was now nearly full, and dashed hoarse and near below the base
of the building. Now and then a large wave reached even the barrier or
bulwark which defended the foundation of the house, and was flung up on
it with greater force and noise than those which only broke upon the
sand. Far in the distance, under the indistinct light of a hazy and
often overclouded moon, the ocean rolled its multitudinous complication
of waves, crossing, bursting, and mingling with each other.
'A wild and dim spectacle,' said Bertram to himself, 'like those
crossing tides of fate which have tossed me about the world from my
infancy upwards. When will this uncertainty cease, and how soon shall I
be permitted to look out for a tranquil home, where I may cultivate in
quiet, and without dread and perplexity, those arts of peace from which
my cares have been hitherto so forcibly diverted? The ear of Fancy, it
is said, can discover the voice of sea-nymphs and tritons amid the
bursting murmurs of the ocean; would that I could do so, and that some
siren or Proteus would arise from these billows to unriddle for me the
strange maze of fate in which I am so deeply entangled! Happy friend!'
he said, looking at the bed where Dinmont had deposited his bulky
person, 'thy cares are confined to the narrow round of a healthy and
thriving occupation! Thou canst lay them aside at pleasure, and enjoy
the deep repose of body and mind which wholesome labour has prepared
for thee!'
At this moment his reflections were broken by little Wasp, who,
attempting to spring up against the window, began to yelp and bark most
furiously. The sounds reached Dinmont's ears, but without dissipating
the illusion which had transported him from this wretched apartment to
the free air of his own green hills. 'Hoy, Yarrow, man! far yaud, far
yaud!' he muttered between his teeth, imagining, doubtless, that he was
calling to his sheep-dog, and hounding him in shepherds' phrase against
some intruders on the grazing. The continued barking of the terrier
within was answered by the angry challenge of the mastiff in the
courtyard, which had for a long time been silent, excepting only an
occasional short and deep note, uttered when the moon shone suddenly
from among the clouds. Now his clamour was continued and furious, and
seemed to be excited by some disturbance distinct from the barking of
Wasp, which had first given him the alarm, and which, with much
trouble, his master had contrived to still into an angry note of low
growling.
At last Bertram, whose attention was now fully awakened, conceived that
he saw a boat upon the sea, and heard in good earnest the sound of oars
and of human voices mingling with the dash of the billows. 'Some
benighted fishermen,' he thought, 'or perhaps some of the desperate
traders from the Isle of Man. They are very hardy, however, to approach
so near to the custom-house, where there must be sentinels. It is a
large boat, like a long-boat, and full of people; perhaps it belongs to
the revenue service.' Bertram was confirmed in this last opinion by
observing that the boat made for a little quay which ran into the sea
behind the custom-house, and, jumping ashore one after another, the
crew, to the number of twenty hands, glided secretly up a small lane
which divided the custom-house from the bridewell, and disappeared from
his sight, leaving only two persons to take care of the boat.
The dash of these men's oars at first, and latterly the suppressed
sounds of their voices, had excited the wrath of the wakeful sentinel
in the courtyard, who now exalted his deep voice into such a horrid and
continuous din that it awakened his brute master, as savage a ban-dog
as himself. His cry from a window, of 'How now, Tearum, what's the
matter, sir? down, d--n ye, down!' produced no abatement of Tearum's
vociferation, which in part prevented his master from hearing the
sounds of alarm which his ferocious vigilance was in the act of
challenging. But the mate of the two-legged Cerberus was gifted with
sharper ears than her husband. She also was now at the window. 'B--t
ye, gae down and let loose the dog,' she said; 'they're sporting the
door of the custom-house, and the auld sap at Hazlewood House has
ordered off the guard. But ye hae nae mair heart than a cat.' And down
the Amazon sallied to perform the task herself, while her helpmate,
more jealous of insurrection within doors than of storm from without,
went from cell to cell to see that the inhabitants of each were
carefully secured.
These latter sounds with which we have made the reader acquainted had
their origin in front of the house, and were consequently imperfectly
heard by Bertram, whose apartment, as we have already noticed, looked
from the back part of the building upon the sea. He heard, however, a
stir and tumult in the house, which did not seem to accord with the
stern seclusion of a prison at the hour of midnight, and, connecting
them with the arrival of an armed boat at that dead hour, could not but
suppose that something extraordinary was about to take place. In this
belief he shook Dinmont by the shoulder. 'Eh! Ay! Oh! Ailie, woman,
it's no time to get up yet,' groaned the sleeping man of the mountains.
More roughly shaken, however, he gathered himself up, shook his ears,
and asked, 'In the name of Providence what's the matter?'
'That I can't tell you,' replied Bertram; 'but either the place is on
fire or some extraordinary thing is about to happen. Are you not
sensible of a smell of fire? Do you not hear what a noise there is of
clashing doors within the house and of hoarse voices, murmurs, and
distant shouts on the outside? Upon my word, I believe something very
extraordinary has taken place. Get up, for the love of Heaven, and let
us be on our guard.'
Dinmont rose at the idea of danger, as intrepid and undismayed as any
of his ancestors when the beacon-light was kindled. 'Od, Captain, this
is a queer place! they winna let ye out in the day, and they winna let
ye sleep in the night. Deil, but it wad break my heart in a fortnight.
But, Lordsake, what a racket they're making now! Od, I wish we had some
light. Wasp, Wasp, whisht, hinny; whisht, my bonnie man, and let's hear
what they're doing. Deil's in ye, will ye whisht?'
They sought in vain among the embers the means of lighting their
candle, and the noise without still continued. Dinmont in his turn had
recourse to the window--'Lordsake, Captain! come here. Od, they hae
broken the custom-house!'
Bertram hastened to the window, and plainly saw a miscellaneous crowd
of smugglers, and blackguards of different descriptions, some carrying
lighted torches, others bearing packages and barrels down the lane to
the boat that was lying at the quay, to which two or three other
fisher-boats were now brought round. They were loading each of these in
their turn, and one or two had already put off to seaward. 'This speaks
for itself,' said Bertram; 'but I fear something worse has happened. Do
you perceive a strong smell of smoke, or is it my fancy?'
'Fancy?' answered Dinmont, 'there's a reek like a killogie. Od, if they
burn the custom-house it will catch here, and we'll lunt like a
tar-barrel a' thegither. Eh! it wad be fearsome to be burnt alive for
naething, like as if ane had been a warlock! Mac-Guffog, hear ye!'
roaring at the top of his voice; 'an ye wad ever hae a haill bane in
your skin, let's out, man, let's out!'
The fire began now to rise high, and thick clouds of smoke rolled past
the window at which Bertram and Dinmont were stationed. Sometimes, as
the wind pleased, the dim shroud of vapour hid everything from their
sight; sometimes a red glare illuminated both land and sea, and shone
full on the stern and fierce figures who, wild with ferocious activity,
were engaged in loading the boats. The fire was at length triumphant,
and spouted in jets of flame out at each window of the burning
building, while huge flakes of flaming materials came driving on the
wind against the adjoining prison, and rolling a dark canopy of smoke
over all the neighbourhood. The shouts of a furious mob resounded far
and wide; for the smugglers in their triumph were joined by all the
rabble of the little town and neighbourhood, now aroused and in
complete agitation, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, some from
interest in the free trade, and most from the general love of mischief
and tumult natural to a vulgar populace.
Bertram began to be seriously anxious for their fate. There was no stir
in the house; it seemed as if the jailor had deserted his charge, and
left the prison with its wretched inhabitants to the mercy of the
conflagration which was spreading towards them. In the meantime a new
and fierce attack was heard upon the outer gate of the correction
house, which, battered with sledge-hammers and crows, was soon forced.
The keeper, as great a coward as a bully, with his more ferocious wife,
had fled; their servants readily surrendered the keys. The liberated
prisoners, celebrating their deliverance with the wildest yells of joy,
mingled among the mob which had given them freedom.
In the midst of the confusion that ensued three or four of the
principal smugglers hurried to the apartment of Bertram with lighted
torches, and armed with cutlasses and pistols. 'Der deyvil,' said the
leader, 'here's our mark!' and two of them seized on Bertram; but one
whispered in his ear,' Make no resistance till you are in the street.'
The same individual found an instant to say to Dinmont--'Follow your
friend, and help when you see the time come.'
In the hurry of the moment Dinmont obeyed and followed close. The two
smugglers dragged Bertram along the passage, downstairs, through the
courtyard, now illuminated by the glare of fire, and into the narrow
street to which the gate opened, where in the confusion the gang were
necessarily in some degree separated from each other. A rapid noise, as
of a body of horse advancing, seemed to add to the disturbance. 'Hagel
and wetter, what is that?' said the leader; 'keep together, kinder;
look to the prisoner.' But in spite of his charge the two who held
Bertram were the last of the party.
The sounds and signs of violence were heard in front. The press became
furiously agitated, while some endeavoured to defend themselves, others
to escape; shots were fired, and the glittering broadswords of the
dragoons began to appear flashing above the heads of the rioters.
'Now,' said the warning whisper of the man who held Bertram's left arm,
the same who had spoken before, 'shake off that fellow and follow me.'
Bertram, exerting his strength suddenly and effectually, easily burst
from the grasp of the man who held his collar on the right side. The
fellow attempted to draw a pistol, but was prostrated by a blow of
Dinmont's fist, which an ox could hardly have received without the same
humiliation. 'Follow me quick,' said the friendly partizan, and dived
through a very narrow and dirty lane which led from the main street.
No pursuit took place. The attention of the smugglers had been
otherwise and very disagreeably engaged by the sudden appearance of
Mac-Morlan and the party of horse. The loud, manly voice of the
provincial magistrate was heard proclaiming the Riot Act, and charging
'all those unlawfully assembled to disperse at their own proper peril.'
This interruption would, indeed, have happened in time sufficient to
have prevented the attempt, had not the magistrate received upon the
road some false information which led him to think that the smugglers
were to land at the bay of Ellangowan. Nearly two hours were lost in
consequence of this false intelligence, which it may be no lack of
charity to suppose that Glossin, so deeply interested in the issue of
that night's daring attempt, had contrived to throw in Mac-Morlan's
way, availing himself of the knowledge that the soldiers had left
Hazlewood House, which would soon reach an ear so anxious as his.
In the meantime, Bertram followed his guide, and was in his turn
followed by Dinmont. The shouts of the mob, the trampling of the
horses, the dropping pistol-shots, sunk more and more faintly upon
their ears, when at the end of the dark lane they found a post-chaise
with four horses. 'Are you here, in God's name?' said the guide to the
postilion who drove the leaders.
'Ay, troth am I,' answered Jock Jabos, 'and I wish I were ony gate
else.'
'Open the carriage then. You, gentlemen, get into it; in a short time
you'll be in a place of safety, and (to Bertram) remember your promise
to the gipsy wife!'
Bertram, resolving to be passive in the hands of a person who had just
rendered him such a distinguished piece of service, got into the chaise
as directed. Dinmont followed; Wasp, who had kept close by them, sprung
in at the same time, and the carriage drove off very fast. 'Have a care
o' me,' said Dinmont, 'but this is the queerest thing yet! Od, I trust
they'll no coup us. And then what's to come o' Dumple? I would rather
be on his back than in the Deuke's coach, God bless him.'
Bertram observed, that they could not go at that rapid rate to any very
great distance without changing horses, and that they might insist upon
remaining till daylight at the first inn they stopped at, or at least
upon being made acquainted with the purpose and termination of their
journey, and Mr. Dinmont might there give directions about his faithful
horse, which would probably be safe at the stables where he had left
him. 'Aweel, aweel, e'en sae be it for Dandie. Od, if we were ance out
o' this trindling kist o' a thing, I am thinking they wad find it hard
wark to gar us gang ony gate but where we liked oursells.'
While he thus spoke the carriage, making a sudden turn, showed them
through the left window the village at some distance, still widely
beaconed by the fire, which, having reached a store-house wherein
spirits were deposited, now rose high into the air, a wavering column
of brilliant light. They had not long time to admire this spectacle,
for another turn of the road carried them into a close lane between
plantations, through which the chaise proceeded in nearly total
darkness, but with unabated speed.