"What is death?" cried the hectic youth. "A short, dim passage from
darkness into light; the antechamber of the white court of God; the
curtain that we lift; the veil that we tear--and SEE! My soul longeth
for death, yea, even fainteth for the courts of God! But He will not
call His servants until His work is done. Wherefore let us haste to
rise up and slay, to work the Lord's work, and go from hence!"
"Yea!" cried the Muggletonian. "I fear not death! I fear not the
Throne and the Judgment seat. The Two Witnesses will speak for me! But
Death is not upon us; he passeth by the weak, and seizeth upon the
strong. The Malignants shall die, for the word of the Lord has gone out
against them. 'Thy foot shall be dipped in the blood of thy enemies,
and the tongue of thy dogs into the same! They shall fall by the sword,
they shall be a portion for foxes; as smoke is drawn away so shall they
vanish, as wax melteth before the fire so shall they perish! He that
sitteth in the heavens shall have them in derision. And the righteous
shall rejoice in His vengeance!'"
"Amen," drawled Trail through his nose. "Verily, we will fatten on the
good things of the land, we will spend our days in ease and
pleasantness! The Malignants shall work for us. They shall toil in our
tobacco fields, their women shall be our handmaidens, we will drink
their wines, and wear their rich clothing, and our pockets shall be
filled with their gold and silver--"
"Silence!" cried Landless fiercely. "Once more I tell you, mad dreamers
that you are, that there shall be no such devil's work! Major Havisham,
there are not among us many of this ilk. Two thirds of our number are
men of the stamp of Robert Godwyn and yourself. These men rave."
"I heed them not," said Havisham with a slighting gesture of the hand;
then, "Let us recapitulate. Upon this appointed day we whom they call
Oliverians, and the great majority of the redemptioners, are to rise
throughout the colony. We--"
"Are to do no damage to property nor offer any unnecessary violence to
masters and overseers," said Landless firmly.
"We are simply to arm ourselves, seize horses or boats, and resort to
this appointed place."
"Yes."
"Calling upon the slaves to follow us?"
"Which they will do. Yes."
"And when all are assembled, to oppose any force sent against us?"
"Yes."
"And if we conquer, then--"
"Then the Republic,--Commonwealth,--anything you choose--at any rate,
freedom."
"It is a desperate plan."
"We are desperate men."
"Yes," Havisham said thoughtfully: "it is the best chance for that
escape of which we all dream, and which two of our number, I see, have
attempted in vain. I had set to-morrow night for my own attempt. This
promises better."
"Yea," said Porringer, "the stars in their courses fight against the
refugee! Four times have I tried, to be retaken, and handled, as you
see. Twice has this man tried and failed. And the murderer of Robert
Godwyn failed."
"That remains to be seen," said Trail. "Roach has broken gaol."
The Muggletonian exclaimed, and Landless turned upon the forger. "How
do you know?" he asked sternly.
"I heard," was the smooth reply.
"I am sorry for it," said Landless grimly, and stood with a sternly
thoughtful countenance.
There was a silence in the tobacco house broken by Havisham.
"And now--for time passes and the overseer may come and find us not at
our tasks--tell me the day upon which we are to rise, and the place to
which all are to resort."
"Both are close at hand," said Landless slowly. "The day is--" he broke
off and leaned forward, staring through the dusk.
"What is it?" cried Havisham.
"My eyes met other eyes. There, behind that great crack between the
logs!"
The Muggletonian rushed to the door, flung it open, and vanished; the
branded man followed. The remaining occupants of the tobacco house
started to their feet, and Havisham picked from the floor a pole and
broke from it a stout cudgel. Godfrey Landless strode forward into the
broad shaft of sunshine that entered through the opened door and met the
eavesdropper face to face, as, with either arm in the rude grasp of the
fanatics, she crossed the threshold.
The conspirators, recognizing the lady of the manor, were stricken dumb.
In the three minutes of dead silence which ensued they saw their plans
defeated, their hopes ruined, their cause vanquished, their lives lost.
The graceful figure with white scorn in the beautiful face was death
come upon them. The shadow fell heavy and cold upon their souls, the
very air seemed to darken and grow chill around them.
The figure of the woman in their midst gathered up the sunshine, became
ethereal, transplendent, a triumphant white and gold Spirit of Evil.
Landless was the first to speak. "Unhand her!" he said in a suppressed
voice.
The men obeyed, but the Muggletonian placed himself between his prisoner
and the door. She saw the movement and said scornfully, "You need not
fear; I shall not run away." Upon her bare, white arms, where they had
been clasped too rudely, were fast darkening marks. She glanced from
them to the scarred face of the Muggletonian. "_They_ will wear out,"
she said.
"Madam," said Landless hoarsely, "how long were you in that place?"
She flashed upon him a look that was like a blow. "Liar! be silent!"
she said, then turned to the row of faces that frowned upon her from out
the shadow. "To you others I address myself. Traitors, rebellious
servants, base plotters! I hold your lives in my hand."
"And your own?" said Trail.
"Cursed daughter of the mother of evil!" cried the Muggletonian, a
baleful light burning in his eyes. "Scarlet woman, whose vain apparel,
whose uncovered hair and bared bosom, whose light songs and laughter
have long been an offense and a stumbling-block to the righteous--thy
cup of iniquity is full, thy life is forfeit, thy hour is come!" He
drew a knife from his bosom and with an unearthly cry flourished it
above his head, then rushed upon her, to be met by Landless, who hurled
himself upon the would-be murderer with a force that sent them both
staggering against the wall. A struggle ensued, which ended in Landless
securing the knife. With it in his hand he sprang to the side of the
girl, who stood unflinching, a pride that was superb in her still white
face and steadfast eyes.
"Who touches her dies," he said between his teeth.
Havisham came to his aid. "Men, are you mad? You cannot murder a
defenseless woman! Moreover such a deed would prove our utter ruin."
"If her body were found, yes!" cried the hectic youth. "But the water
is near, and who is to know that the devil sent her hither?"
"It is her death or ours," cried the branded man.
The Muggletonian tossed his arms into the air.
"The cause! the cause! Cursed be he that putteth his hand to the plough
and finisheth not the furrow! Ride on! Ride on! though it were over
the bodies of a thousand painted Jezebels such as this!"
"Time presses!" cried the branded man. "Woodson may come!"
They closed in upon the three who stood at bay. In their dark faces were
a passion and an exaltation--they saw in the woman fallen into their
hands, a sacrifice bound to the altar. Trail alone looked uneasy and
held back, muttering between his teeth.
Landless stepped in front of Patricia and faced them with a still and
deadly eye, and with the hand that held the knife drawn back against his
breast, Knowing them, he saw no use in any appeal; also he saw that it
was indeed her life or theirs. On the one hand, the downfall of all
their hopes, the death or perpetual enslavement of many, and for himself
surely the gibbet and the rope; on the other--
He made a gesture of command. "Thou shalt do no murder!" he cried.
"It is not murder; it is sacrifice."
"There must be another way!" cried Havisham.
"Find it!"
Havisham turned to the prisoner. "Madam, will you swear to be silent
concerning what you have heard?"