THE DOUBLE WARNING.
While his comrades were sleeping in perfect forgetfulness of their
hardships and dangers, the slumbers of Dunwoodie were broken and
unquiet. After spending a night of restlessness he arose, unrefreshed,
from the rude bed where he had thrown himself in his clothes, and
without awaking any of the group around him he wandered into the open
air in search of relief. In this disturbed state of mind the major
wandered through the orchard, and was stopped in his walk by arriving
at the base of those rocks which had protected the Skinners in their
flight, before he was conscious whither his steps had carried him. He
was about to turn and retrace his path to his quarters, when he was
startled by a voice, bidding him--
"Stand or die!"
Dunwoodie turned in amazement, and beheld the figure of a man placed
at a distance above him on a shelving rock with a musket levelled at
himself. The light was not sufficiently powerful to reach the recesses
of that gloomy spot, and a second look was necessary before he
discovered, to his astonishment, that the peddler stood before him.
Comprehending in an instant the danger of his situation, and
disdaining to implore mercy or retreat, had the latter been possible,
the youth cried firmly:
"If I am to be murdered, fire! I will never become your prisoner."
"No, Major Dunwoodie," said Birch, lowering his musket, "it is neither
my intention to capture nor to slay."
"What then would you have, mysterious being?" said Dunwoodie, hardly
able to persuade himself that the form he saw was not a creature of
the imagination.
"Your good opinion," answered the peddler, with emotion; "I would wish
all good men to judge me with lenity.[89] Major Dunwoodie, danger is
near them you love most--danger within and without--double your
watchfulness--strengthen your patrols--and be silent. With your
opinion of me, should I tell you more, you would suspect an ambush.
But remember and guard them you love best."
[Footnote 89: gentleness, kindness.]
The peddler discharged his musket in the air, and threw it at the feet
of his astonished auditor. When surprise and the smoke allowed
Dunwoodie to look again on the rock where he had stood, the spot was
vacant.
The youth was aroused from the stupor which had been created by this
strange scene, by the trampling of horses, and the sound of bugles. A
patrol was drawn to the spot by the report of the musket, and the
alarm had been given to the corps. Without entering into any
explanation with his men, the major returned quickly to his quarters,
followed by many of his officers, and preceded by Sergeant Hollister,
went to the place which was supposed to contain the peddler.
"Well, sir," said the major to the sentinel who guarded the door, "I
trust you have your prisoner in safety."
"He is yet asleep," replied the man, "and he makes such a noise, I
could hardly hear the bugles sound the alarm."
"Open the door and bring him forth."
The order was obeyed; but, to the utter amazement of the honest
veteran who entered the prison, he found the room in no little
disorder--the coat of the peddler where his body ought to have been,
and part of the wardrobe of Betty scattered in disorder on the floor.
The washerwoman herself occupied the pallet, in profound mental
oblivion, clad as when last seen, excepting a little black bonnet,
which she so constantly wore that it was commonly thought she made it
perform the double duty of both day and night cap. The noise of their
entrance, and the exclamations of the party, awoke the woman.
Dunwoodie turned to leave the apartment, and he saw Captain Lawton
standing with folded arms, contemplating the scene with profound
silence. Their eyes met, and they walked together for a few minutes in
close conversation, when Dunwoodie returned and dismissed the guard to
their place of rendezvous.[90]
[Footnote 90: place of meeting.]
Dr. Sitgreaves, who had been carousing at the "Hotel Flanagan,"
suddenly declared his intention of visiting the Locusts, and inquiring
into the state of the wounded. Lawton was ready for the excursion; and
mounting, they were soon on the road, though the surgeon was obliged
to submit to a few jokes from the washerwoman before he could get out
of hearing.
"Listen!" said Lawton, stopping his horse. He had not done speaking,
when a stone fell at his feet and rolled harmlessly across the path.
"A friendly shot, that," cried the trooper; "neither the weapon, nor
its force, implies much ill-will. Oh! here is the explanation along
with the mystery." So saying, he tore a piece of paper that had been
ingeniously fastened to the small fragment of rock which had thus
singularly fallen before him; and opening it, the captain read the
following words, written in no very legible hand:
"A musket ball will go farther than a stone, and things more dangerous
than yarbs for wounded men lie hid in the rocks of Winchester. The
horse may be good, but can he mount a precipice?"
"Thou sayest the truth, strange man," said Lawton, "courage and
activity would avail but little against assassination[91] and these
rugged passes." Remounting his horse, he cried aloud, "Thanks, unknown
friend; your caution will be remembered."
[Footnote 91: murder by secret assault.]
A meagre hand was extended for an instant over a rock, in the air, and
afterwards nothing further was seen or heard in that quarter, by the
soldiers.
The penetrating looks of the trooper had already discovered another
pile of rocks, which, jutting forward, nearly obstructed the highway
that wound directly around the base.
"What the steed cannot mount, the foot of man can overcome," exclaimed
the wary partisan. Throwing himself again from the saddle, and leaping
a wall of stone, he began to ascend the hill at a pace which would
soon have given him a bird's-eye view of the rocks in question,
together with all their crevices. This movement was no sooner made
than Lawton caught a glimpse of the figure of a man stealing rapidly
from his approach and disappearing on the opposite side of the
precipice.
"Spur, Sitgreaves--spur!" shouted the trooper, dashing over every
impediment in pursuit, "and murder the villain as he flies."
The former part of the request was promptly complied with; and a few
moments brought the surgeon in full view of a man armed with a musket,
who was crossing the road, and evidently seeking the protection of the
thick wood on its opposite side.
"Stop, my friend--stop until Captain Lawton comes up, if you please,"
cried the surgeon, observing him to flee with a rapidity that baffled
his horsemanship. But, as if the invitation contained new terrors, the
footman redoubled his efforts, nor paused even to breathe until he had
reached his goal, when, turning on his heel, he discharged his musket
towards the surgeon, and was out of sight in an instant. To gain the
highway and throw himself in the saddle, detained Lawton but a moment,
and he rode to the side of his comrade just as the figure disappeared.
"Which way has he fled?" cried the trooper.
"John," said the surgeon, "am I not a non-combatant?"[92]
[Footnote 92: one not fighting.]
"Whither has the rascal fled?" cried Lawton, impatiently.
"Where you cannot follow--into the wood. But I repeat, John, am I not
a non-combatant?"
The disappointed trooper, perceiving that his enemy had escaped him,
now turned his eyes, which were flashing with anger, upon his comrade,
and gradually his muscles lost their rigid compression, his brow
relaxed, and his look changed from its fierce expression to the covert
laughter which so often distinguished his countenance. The surgeon sat
in dignified composure on his horse, his thin body erect and his head
elevated with the indignation of one conscious of having been unjustly
treated.
Their desultory discourse was soon interrupted by their arrival at
the cottage of Mr. Wharton. No one appearing to usher them into an
apartment, the captain proceeded to the door of the parlor, where
he knew visitors were commonly received. On opening it, he paused
for a moment, in admiration of the scene within. The person of
Colonel Wellmere first met his eye, bending towards the figure of
the blushing Sarah with an earnestness of manner that prevented the
noise of Lawton's entrance from being heard by either party. Certain
significant signs, which were embraced at a glance by the trooper, at
once made him a master of their secret, and he and the surgeon retired
as silently as they had advanced.