EVELINE--THE ANTI-LEAGUE.
Eveline did not sit down in supine idleness, and mourn over her sad fate.
True, at times she gave way to her feelings, when the hopelessness of her
situation came upon her, as she strove to penetrate the future, in all its
crushing force; and she would then weep for a time. But there was a
firmness about her character and a strength of determined resolution in her
purposes, which braced her spirit and filled her bosom with feelings such
as only have birth and nourishment in heroic souls. She looked her intended
fate in the face, with the fixed purpose to meet and conquer it, or perish
in the attempt.
In Duffel's absence, she had, on several occasions, searched the rooms of
the cave in which she was confined, to see if there was no secret passage
which communicated with the outer world. Her search had proved unavailing;
but instead of the outlet she was seeking, she found a small, jewel-hilted
dagger in a rich and costly case. It struck her at once that this weapon
might prove of great value to her, and with much care she concealed it in
the folds of her dress, where it was made fast. It was this dagger that
served her so excellently in the interview with Duffel, recorded in a
preceding chapter.
During the interview just referred to, it will be remembered how admirably
she sustained her part, and how triumphantly she thwarted Duffel in all his
villainous calculations, and especially in his attack upon her person.
After the wretch was gone, and she found herself alone, a train of sad
reflections came crowding in upon her mind. Was Hadley indeed dead? she
thought--and then the circumstantial narrative of the two accomplices of
her captor arose fresh in her mind.
"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, "can it be that ravenous beasts fed upon his
flesh? that those arms upon which I have leaned, and which I hoped would
protect me, were torn from his body? that those lips which have smiled so
sweetly and spoken so hopefully and tenderly, and that noble face and brow
were gloated over by howling and bloody jaws! No, no; it cannot be! God is
just! and the wicked shall not triumph."
She tried to drive the horrible picture from her thoughts, and after a time
succeeded; for she felt the necessity of self-control in her trying
situation, and bent all her energies to that point. Then she reflected upon
all that had transpired that day, and she felt that with Duffel there was
no mercy. But she was not overcome by the thought. If worst come to worst,
she resolved that death should save her from the spoiler.
As these reflections occupied her mind, she remembered the declaration of
the villain concerning the secret communication between the two apartments
in which she was imprisoned. Until now it had been a source of no small
consolation to her, that, in case of an emergency, she could retreat to her
own room, and there abide in safety. But now this small comfort was taken
from her, and she felt how completely she was in the power of her
adversary. This feeling, however, did not crush her spirit; for she had
already brought herself to the sublime point of martyrdom, and was prepared
to die for virtue, rather than yield, _in any case_, to become the victim
of sin, or to the wishes of the base wretch who hoped to conquer her.
Life is sweet, and it will never be surrendered by one who has a correct
appreciation of its Author, until every consistent effort has been made to
preserve it. Hence, Eveline determined to use every means to save herself
before having recourse to this last resort.
As she was reflecting upon this matter, the suggestion came, that, perhaps,
she might find this secret passage between the two rooms, and possibly be
able to fasten the entrance way to her apartment on the inside, and thus
bar the miscreant out, who would dare intrude upon her privacy. Acting upon
the supposition that this idea was not beyond the pale of possibility, she
commenced a diligent examination of all that part of the wall of the outer
room which extended as far as the inner one; but she could find no
resemblance to a door, no crack in the solid rocks, no spot on the floor
which gave the least indication of what she sought. All was apparently an
unbroken mass, through which no mortal or living thing had ever passed. She
began to think that, after all, Duffel might possibly be deceived himself,
or else was only trying to frighten her. Determined, however, if there was
such a communication as he spoke of, to find it, if it could be found, she
went into the other room, and commenced the same minute search, having
first locked and bolted the door, so as to make certain of not being
discovered or interrupted, unless the intruder should come by the secret
way. After the closest examination of the wall, with her eyes, to no
purpose, she commenced trying the efficacy of touch, pressing her fingers
over every portion of the surface of the room; but, as no appearance of
what she was laboring to find rewarded her search, she began to despair of
success.
"If there is such a passage," she thought within herself, "it is so guarded
that none may find it, save the possessors of the secret: and my only hope
is in sleepless watchfulness. How long I shall be able to live without
sleep, God knows."
In this manner the night was passed--night in the outer world; for to her
the night and day were alike, and she could only guess as to which
prevailed above her. She sat down to collect her thoughts and form, if
possible, some plan of action by which to be governed. While thus engaged,
she recollected the note she had given to Bill, the memory of which had
been crowded from her mind for the past few hours by the pressure of other
things.
"Oh, if I but knew how it would affect them!" she said, as she suffered her
thoughts to dwell upon the subject. "They will certainly see the folly of
trusting in Duffel, and the imminent danger they are exposed to in his
service; but will they, can they help me? I will hope even if it is vain to
do so. It is a fearful thing to be compelled to throw one's self into the
hands and upon the mercy of such bad men; but God can overrule the evil
intentions of the wicked, and very bad men sometimes perform noble and
generous deeds."
Ah! had she known that at the very moment she was thus endeavoring to
console herself, Bill was taking an impression of the lock to the door of
the outer room, for the purpose of taking her to another prison, farther
from home and hope than the one she was now confined in, how the little
hope from that source would have died in her bosom!
After remaining for some length of time in a state of attempted repose, her
mind, the while, completely absorbed in contemplating her own situation,
she finally concluded to go out into the other apartment, and make another
effort there, to find the entrance, if such there was, to her own room.
She had not been thus employed long, when a knocking at the outer door
attracted her attention. She listened a moment, and then, supposing it to
be Duffel, was about to retire to the inner cavity and bar him out; but
just as she started to put this resolve in execution, her steps were
arrested by hearing her own name called in a voice not like Duffel's. She
instantly paused, and the call was repeated:
"Miss Mandeville! If you are present and hear me, please step to this door
and look into the keyhole. It is a friend, who will aid you, that is now
addressing you."
With a beating heart, she quickly reached the door, and from the place
designated drew a small, compact roll of paper. On it were traced some
lines by one who was evidently a highly accomplished penman. She hastened
to examine the purport of the billet, which read as follows:
"Your appeal to us for assistance was not made in vain. We are fully
satisfied of Duffel's wicked and base intentions toward us, and are
resolved to thwart them. You shall be brought out of this den, and behold
again the sunlight of heaven. By the day after to-morrow we will have our
arrangements completed, when you may expect to hear from us again. Hold
yourself in readiness to leave this place at any moment. Is this
satisfactory to you, fair lady?"
There was no name to this; but it needed none to tell Eveline from whom it
came. She knew it was from Duffel's accomplices, and rejoicing in the
success of her plan, she replied to the inquiry at the close with alacrity:
"Yes, my good friends, this is eminently satisfactory. May God bless you,
as you help me."
"Thank you for the confidence you place in us! we will endeavor to reward
your expectations by delivering you from this dismal prison, at the very
earliest moment possible. Will you now be so good as to burn the little
strip of paper, lest by some unfortunate accident it might betray us to our
mutual enemy, and thereby frustrate our plans?"
"Yes, sir, I will burn it immediately."
"Thank you. Keep up your courage, and be of good cheer."
"Accept my warmest gratitude for your generous aid, gentlemen; and be
assured you shall not go unrewarded for the great service you render me."
"We ask no pay. The service you speak of will be most cheerfully and gladly
rendered; and in your enlargement and the defeat of Duffel, we shall be
more than a thousand times rewarded for the small efforts we shall be
compelled to put forth in your behalf. And now adieu!"
"Adieu, gentlemen, and may Heaven bless you, in your efforts on my behalf."
It would be impossible to describe the feelings of Eveline at the close of
this interview, separated though she was from her expected deliverers by a
door of adamant. She did not take time to think into whose hands she was
about to fall; in her gratitude and enthusiasm she forgot that they were
ruffians, and clothed them in garments and with the glory of heroes, who
for her sake risked their lives! Oh had she seen the blackness of heart
which lay at the bottom of their seeming heroism and noble deeds, how her
poor heart would have grown sick, and her bright hopes gone out in midnight
darkness!
She retired to her room, bolted herself in, again read the note, then
burned it, and gave herself up to the enjoyment of the first delicious hope
that had sent joy to her troubled heart since the sad hour of her capture.
Only two more days, and she would be at liberty! What a joy to her
desponding spirit! Two more days, and she would be free from her fiendish
persecutor, and could fly to her parent, to pour the balm of consolation
into his rent breast, and bind up his lacerated heart! Only two more days!
How the thought swelled her bosom! Alas! that from this high pinnacle of
hope she must so soon be hurled!
From the interview Bill went out to meet Dick, whom he had left on guard,
to give warning if Duffel or others should be coming to the cave.
We may as well remark here as at any other point, that the arrangements of
the order with regard to the cave were these: One of the number was always
expected to be within its precincts, to admit members who wished to obtain
entrance, either to escape the pursuit of officers of justice, or to
deposit booty. If by any possible chance this guarding sentinel should be
called away, without being able to give warning of his departure from the
post assigned him, he was to leave the key in a designated spot, where any
member might find it in case of need. As Bill did not wish any one to know
what he was doing at the door, he very generously offered to take the
sentinel's place for a half-day, and permit him to go out and breathe the
fresh air. The offer was gladly accepted; and Bill succeeded, to his entire
satisfaction, in getting an impression of the lock, while on duty in the
sentinel's stead.
There was, also, in a far corner of the outer cave, or rather, in an
apartment by itself, a kind of kitchen, where food was prepared. It was
from this place that Duffel supplied Eveline with nourishment, taking her
meals to her himself, which, by the way, though ample and of good quality,
were generally served up cold, or, to speak plainly, were left in the
captain's room for her to partake of when and as she saw proper; for she
would touch nothing that he brought, in his presence, nor would she have
done so at any other time, could she have lived without food; it was only
to be preserved from starvation, that she forced herself to eat in that
cheerless abode.
In another part of the cave, separated from the main room partly by natural
and partly by artificial means, was a kind of magazine, where powder, lead
and arms were kept. To this the men had access at any time, and always
resorted when in need of weapons or ammunition. With this brief
explanation, the reader will be able to understand how things were managed
by this band of freebooters, as, also, some of the succeeding portions of
this story.
As we said, Bill left the cave and went out to see Dick, who was stationed
along the passage-way in the bank of the stream, to impart to him the
success of their operations thus far, and to finish the details of some of
their arrangements for the future. The two worthies remained in
conversation some two or three hours awaiting the return of the sentinel;
and then Bill, becoming impatient, left the cave in Dick's care, and
hastened away to get his key made. A portion of their conversation while
together will be given hereafter, when a third party will be introduced as
a listener; a party who at _once_ became most deeply interested in their
plans, and caught every word with the greatest eagerness, and with such
emotions as may be supposed to agitate a human bosom only in cases where
life and death are pending in the balances.
Will the contest be villain for villain? and life against life? We shall
see! What, in the meantime, will become of the so recently hopeful Eveline?
Will she be lost in the strife where murderer wages war against his brother
murderer? Let us not anticipate.
Before proceeding with the direct thread of our narrative, we will again
glance at the action of the "Anti-Horse-Thief League," organized, as
already intimated, to put down the bold land-pirates, whose depredations
upon property had become so unbearable the honest portion of community had
no alternative left but to "become a law unto themselves," and by direct
and combined action clear the country of the host of desperadoes with which
it had become infested and overrun. Many of our aged readers will remember
those exciting times; perhaps some of them can call to mind the very hour
when _they_ were forced to take their rifles in hand and go forth to defend
their property.
On the very night that Bill and Dick made their ineffectual attempt on
'Squire Williams' horses, two others of the "Horse Thief League," as the
gang of thieves were christened by the honest portion of community, went on
a similar excursion into a different neighborhood, some five or six miles
away, and met with a still warmer reception from the farmer whose stock
they endeavored to remove without his consent, than did Bill and Dick in
their attempt; for one of them was so badly wounded as to be scarcely able,
with the assistance of his companion, to get away from the field and to his
own home. Next day it was rumored that such a neighbor was badly wounded,
and it was very doubtful if he recovered. Of course the wound was accounted
for on strictly honorable grounds; but people understood the matter; and
when, the second day, his remains were borne to the tomb, people shook
their heads, but kept their lips compressed. If his children could grow up
honest men, the crime for which their father died should never be imputed
to them, or cast reproach upon their after lives. Then, too, it would not
do to speak too plainly about a man's being killed, as it might lead to
unpleasant consequences in after years, perhaps; for men were acting
unlawfully in thus defending their property with arms.
These things caused still more active and energetic measures to be adopted
by the Anti-League. A vigilance committee was appointed, consisting at
first of three, and afterward of five men, who were to serve one month, and
then be relieved by other five, each member taking his turn, until all had
served. The duty of this committee was to keep a constant watch upon the
movements of all suspected characters; and when a horse was stolen, to
follow up the thief until, if possible, the offender was taken and the
horse recovered. 'Squire Williams volunteered to serve on this committee as
one of the first five, and four others joined themselves with him. For
himself, without naming his suspicions to any one, he kept an eye upon
Duffel's movements, resolved, if he was guilty, to prove him so, by the
collection of such facts as would convict him in a court of justice. The
neighbor who was with him on the night of the attack became his companion
on the committee, and took upon himself the task of watching Bill and Dick.
This arrangement was made the day after the thieves had been shot at; so
that while Duffel was busy making his arrangements with the members of the
Thief League, in anticipation of a speedy removal of the head quarters of
operations to another part of the country, and while Bill and Dick were
busy with their plans of villainy, having in view the defeat of Duffel and
the possession of Eveline, the committee were also busy, endeavoring by the
most active and vigilant efforts, conducted at the same time with great
celerity, to circumvent the villains; not that they knew the particular
plots and counter-plots that were going on among the common enemy, for of
these they were ignorant; but they were determined to hunt them up and stop
their depredations.
Thus it will be seen that the elements are at work; and from the determined
character of all the operators and their great desire to have things done
speedily, we may expect stirring times.