TANGLING THREADS
My surprise at this unexpected reference to the Lady of the Blended Rose,
almost prevented utterance. What could this partisan ranger know of the
girl? How could he even have identified her from my vague reference?
"Why do you say that?" I asked eagerly. "I did not mention the lady's
name."
"There was no cause for you to do so," and the grim mouth smiled. "No one
else in Philadelphia would have turned the trick so neatly; besides the
fact that your opponent was Grant would have revealed the identity of the
girl."
"You know them both then?"
"Fairly well; he was a boy in these parts, an' I have shod his riding
horse many a time. A headstrong, domineering, spoiled lad he was, and
quarrelsome. Once I gave him a sound thrashing in this very shop, an'
when his father called me to task for it the next day he went home with a
broken collar-bone. That was ten years before the war, an' we have not
spoken pleasantly since. A hard man was Frederick Grant, an' none of his
blood ever forgave an injury. Once the boy's company of Queen's Rangers
raided this shop, but fortunately I was not here."
"But Mistress Mortimer," I interrupted, "is her family also from this
neighborhood?"
"To the northeast of here, near Locust Grove; the properties of the two
families adjoin each other, an' I have heard there is distant kinship
between them, although if that be true all that was good in the strain
must have descended to the one branch, an' all the evil to the other. Day
and night could be no different. Colonel Mortimer is a genial, pleasant
gentleman, an' a loyal friend, although we are in arms against each
other. To tell the truth I half believe his heart is with the Colonies,
although he cast his fortunes with the King. He even has a son in the
Continental Army."
"On Lee's staff," I interrupted. "The daughter told me he was a twin
brother."
"Yes, an' as great a rogue as the girl, with the same laughing blue
eyes."
"And Mistress Claire," I questioned, "on which side is she?"
"Can you ask that after having met her as a Lady of the Blended Rose?
Pshaw, man, I could almost give you a list of the loyalist dames who make
sport for the British garrison, an' Mistress Claire is not least in rank
or beauty among them. What else could you expect of a young girl when her
father wears the green an' white, while her lover has made a reputation
hereabout with his hireling raiders?"
"You mean Grant?"
"Certainly; they have been engaged from childhood, though God pity the
poor girl if they ever marry. His work in the Jerseys has been almost as
merciless as that of 'Red' Fagin, an' 't is even whispered about they
ride together at times. I doubt if she knows the whole truth about him,
though she can scarcely deem him an angel even at that. Surely you never
supposed her on our side?"
"She helped me," I insisted, "knowing who I was, and even said she wished
my cause well."
"The inconsistency of a woman; perhaps the two had had some
misunderstanding, an' she was glad enough to outwit the fellow."
"No, 't was not that, I am sure; I could read truth in her eyes."
"In Claire's eyes!" he laughed outright. "Oh, I know the innocent blue of
them, and warn you not to trust such blindly. Other men have thought the
same, an' found out they read wrongly when the end came--ay! many of
them. When she was but a slip of a lass I found out her eyes played merry
tricks, an' yet I love her as though she were my own daughter. An' she's
a good girl in spite of all the mischief in her."
"And she is truly a loyalist?"
"If not, I know no better. The rebel blood is all in the boy so far as I
can learn, yet I will not answer for what Mistress Claire might do."
We fell silent, my memory with the girl, endeavoring to recall her exact
words, the expression of her face. It was not in my heart to believe she
had deceived me. There was no reason why she should, and it was easy to
conceive how she had naturally become part of the gay pageant, herself an
exile, and with both father and lover in the King's service. Her very
fun-loving disposition would lead her to take interest in the affair,
while beyond doubt her friendships would all influence her in that
direction. Yet down deep in her heart, I still believed, there was
loyalty to the Colonies, a desire to aid them in their struggle, and, I
sincerely hoped, a distrust and growing aversion to the man, Grant.
Certainly she could not love the fellow; that thought was inconceivable.
Whatever prearranged ties might still bind, she was already in almost
open rebellion against them. 'T was not in woman's nature to love one
man, and then aid another to outwit him. And she had done all this, and
of her own free will; done it with her eyes looking frankly into mine,
knowing who I was, and my real purpose in Philadelphia. No statement of
another could shake my confidence, or make me feel she had deliberately
deceived. Only through some action, or some direct word of her own, would
I permit my faith to be shattered.
Plunged deeply in these thoughts, I had almost forgotten where I was, as
well as the presence of my companion, when he suddenly arose to his feet,
and, pushing aside the wooden window shutter, looked out. A glance of his
keen eyes was sufficient.
"Get back into your box, Major," he exclaimed quickly. "Pull the papers
over you."
I was upon my feet, conscious of the distant sound of horses' hoofs.
"What is it? The enemy?"
"Rangers; fifty of them, I judge, an' they'll never pass here without
rummaging around. Quick now, under cover."
"But what about yourself?"
"Don't worry about me; those fellows haven't any evidence against
me--yet. They're after you."
I was through the intervening door with a bound, and an instant later had
burrowed under the crumpled papers. The shifting of the sun had left this
corner of the repair shop in shadow, but I was scarcely outstretched in
my hastily improvised hiding place, when I heard the blacksmith calmly
open his outer door, where he stood smoking, clad in leathern apron,
awaiting the approaching horsemen. They swept about the corner of the
smithy almost at the same moment, pulling up their tired horses at sight
of him. From amid the thud of hoofs, and the rattle of accoutrements, a
voice spoke sharply:
"So you're here, Farrell, you old rebel hypocrite. Well, what are you
hiding now?"
"I was not aware that I had anything to hide, Captain Grant," was the
dignified response. "This is my shop, an' where I should be."
"Oh, hell! We all know you well enough, you old fox, and we'll catch you
red-handed yet, and hang you. But we're not hunting after your kind
to-day. Did you see anything of a fellow in scarlet jacket along here
last night, or this morning?"
I failed to catch Farrell's answer, but the voice of the officer was
sufficiently loud to reach me.
"A rebel spy; the sneaking rascal must have swam the Delaware. We'll look
about your shop just the same before we ride on. Mason, take a half-dozen
men with you, and rake the place over."
I heard the sound of their boots on the floor, and burrowed lower in my
box. Two or three entered the old shop, and began to probe about among
the _débris_. One kicked the box in which I lay, and thrust a bayonet
down through the loose papers, barely missing my shoulder. With teeth
clinched I remained breathless, but the fellow seemed satisfied, and
moved on, after searching the dark corner beyond. At last I heard them
all go out, mumbling to each other, and ventured to sit up again, and
draw a fresh breath. They had left the door ajar, and I had a glimpse
through the crack. Farrell was leaning carelessly in the outer doorway,
smoking, his short legs wide apart, his expression one of total
indifference. A big fellow stepped past him, and saluted some one just
out of sight.
"Nobody in there, sir," he reported.
"All right, Mason," and Grant came into view on a rangy sorrel. "Get your
men back into saddle; we'll move on."
"Think he went this way?" asked the blacksmith carelessly.
"How the hell do I know!" savagely. "He must have started this way, but
likely he took the north road. We'll get the chap before night, unless he
runs into Delavan's fellows out yonder. See here, Farrell," holding in
his horse, "we'll be back here about dark, and will want something to
eat."
"You will be welcome to all you find."
"You impudent rebel, you see that you are here when we come. I know you,
you night raider, and will bring you to book yet. Forward men--trot!
Close up the rank there, sergeant; we'll take the road to the left."
I watched them go past, the dust-covered green uniforms slipping by the
crack of the door, as the men urged their horses faster. Farrell never
moved, the blue tobacco smoke curling above his head, and I stole across
the littered storeroom to a cobwebbed window, from which I could watch
the little column of riders go down the hill. They finally disappeared in
the edge of a grove, and I turned around to find the blacksmith leaning
against his anvil waiting for me.
"Genial young fellow, Grant," he said. "Always promising to hang me, but
never quite ready to tackle the job. Afraid I shall have to disappoint
him again, to-night."
"You will not wait for him?"
"Hardly. You heard what he said about Delavan? That was the very news I
wanted to learn. Now I think both those lads will meet me much sooner
than they expect."
He stepped forward into the open doorway, and blew three shrill blasts on
a silver whistle. The echo had scarcely died away, when, out from a thick
clump of trees perhaps half a mile distant, a horse shot forth, racing
toward us. As the reckless rider drew up suddenly, I saw him to be a
barefooted, freckle-faced boy of perhaps sixteen, his eyes bright with
excitement.
"So it's you on duty, Ben," said Farrell quietly, glancing from the boy
to his horse. "Well, you're in for a ride. Have the men at Lone Tree by
sundown; all of them. See Duval first, an' tell him for me this is a big
thing. Now off with you!"
The boy, grinning happily, swung his horse around, and, jabbing his sides
with bare heels, rode madly away directly south across the vacant land.
Within five minutes he had vanished down a sharp incline. Farrell was
still staring after him, when I asked:
"What is it?"
"A little bit of private war," he said grimly. "If you'll go with me
to-night, Major, I'll show you some guerilla fighting. You heard what
Grant said about Delavan. We've been waiting five days for him to head
back toward Philadelphia. He has twenty wagons, an' a foraging party of
less than fifty men somewhere out Medford way," with sweep of hand to the
northeast. "If he an' Grant get together the two commands will outnumber
us, but we'll have the advantage of surprise, of a swift attack in the
dark. In my judgment that is what Grant was sent out for--to guard
Delavan's wagons. His spy hunting was a personal affair. My advice to
you, Lawrence, is to lie quiet here to-day, and go along with us
to-night. It will be in the same direction you'll have to travel, an' you
might have trouble by daylight. No objections to a fight, have you?"
"None whatever."
"I judged so from your face. Better get what rest you can; we shall have
twenty miles to ride before dark. I'll go over into the timber there an'
feed the horses."
I watched him cross the open land, impressed by the man's immense
shoulders and short limbs. I could scarcely analyze the influence he
already exerted over me, but I felt him to be a natural leader of men, an
intellectual as well as physical giant. I picked up a book lying open on
the bench--it was an English translation of a famous French treatise on
Democracy; within its pages was Payne's pamphlet on the Rights of Man,
its paper margins covered with written comments. This blacksmith was not
only a man of action, but a man of thought also. I lay down on the bench,
pillowing my head on one arm, thinking of him as I first saw him kneeling
alone in prayer, and the simple words of his petition came back to me
with new power. Then my mind drifted to the strange commingling of human
elements in this adventure--to Mistress Claire, and her connection with
Grant, and the intimate knowledge Farrell apparently possessed of them
both. Somehow I was becoming more and more deeply involved in these
lives, and I began to wonder how it was all destined to end. Was the
coming night to add a new chapter? If so, would it be the last? Reviewing
it all, lulled by the silence, I fell asleep.