THE ROBBERS OF MARKHAM SWAMP.
After proceeding a few paces the robber chief tied his horse to a
tree, and then bidding Roland follow, made his way through the dark
and silent masses of the wood.
Several times our hero, despite his experience of forest travel, was
tripped up by tree shores, or a tangle of underbrush; and once his
forehead struck a sturdy limb with such force that he became for
several seconds stupefied. The voice of the highwayman recalled him.
'Hallo, Master Duellist, are you trying to escape me?'
'I gave my word,' replied Roland, 'touching that matter. But I am
not experienced in such travel as this.'
'No,' sneered the robber, 'you great heroes of the city and level
field are mighty as travellers only upon the open road.'
'Your opinion as to that gives me no concern,' our hero replied.
'But I have eaten nothing since yesterday save some beech-nuts and a
few rowan-berries. Besides I have lost much blood.'
'Are you wounded?'
'Yes.'
'Where?' Roland informed him.
'Is it bleeding still?' He likewise informed him upon that point.
'I see you are not such a calf after all;' and then Roland heard him
mutter something about 'an acquisition to the band.' The words made
the matter clear enough now to our hero. This ruffian had not saved
him because he had shot Ham, but because he wanted an addition to his
force. Knowing that there was a price upon Roland's head, he believed
that he would find little difficulty in bending him to his infamous
ends.
'Here; let us take your hand. We shall never reach home at this
rate.' It was with a feeling akin to a shudder that Roland felt the
touch of his guide's hand; but the arrangement was successful, and
the two got over the ground at a rapid pace. Every maze and tree in
that dismal swamp seemed to be known to the guide; and he swerved to
right and left,--sometimes so changing his course that it seemed as
if he were retracing his steps--with such astonishing swiftness as to
completely bewilder our hero.
'I wonder,' observed Roland, 'that the law does not reach you here
by the aid of bloodhounds; they filled the wood with dogs this
morning for my benefit.'
'They tried that twice, but it didn't turn out profitable,' replied
the robber.
'How did you elude them?'
'Why we simply posted ourselves at convenient points and caught the
intruding idiots. Out of a pack of twelve only one got out of the
swamp alive.'
'Have the constabulary ever sought you here?'
'Oh, frequently. Once they were permitted to roam about through the
swamp without molestation. They found nothing for all their searching
but a shed built on the lake's edge, and evidently used by fishing
parties. They then returned and declared that the story of the swamp
being infested was all fudge. A couple of years passed, during which
many a bloated butcher and cattle dealer was relieved of his purse;
and a few who were foolish enough to dispute about the coin were
despoiled of more than their money. A girl also disappeared; a buxom
lass with yellow hair and blue eyes, about whom half the country
bumpkins had gone nearly wild.'
Our hero shuddered at the recital; but the robber heeded not his
emotion.
'Then came indisputable proof that only persons living in the jolly
swamp could have stolen the girl, taken the money, and cracked the
few numb-skulls; so they resolved, in the words of the newspapers of
Muddy York, to "clean out the odious nest."
'A force of twenty constables, with about an equal number of
citizens, turned out and approached the swamp. The force here
numbered ten in all. Ah! but we were a sturdy band then. Well, as I
have said, they came, the intrusive damned fools, to the swamp, and
scattered their forces about. They found nothing; and this is the
only fact they ascertained: that when they assembled at Reynold's
inn, of the force of twenty-one that entered the swamp, only nine
returned. They waited till the morrow for their missing comrades, but
they came not. Yet not a cry was heard, though there was no wind
among the leaves, and when murders are done the people say, "you year
shrill screams." Neither was a pistol shot heard, or so much as the
clang of a dagger. Ah! but it was the sport to see bow discreetly the
thing was managed! I see, young man, you would like to find out the
modes. Well, history not infrequently repeats itself in this dark
wood; and I have little doubt that you will have an opportunity of
discovering how we accomplish our ends, and why the _silence_.'
'Strange to say,' the robber went on, 'the good people of York took
the matter tamely enough, and many declared their belief that those
men who never came back must have fallen into shaking bogs or hollow
swamps. 'Ha, ha!' the fellow chuckled, 'they were not very far
astray! The "hollow swamp" was almost like an inspiration. Well,
youngster, we have been frequently visited by _posses_ since,
but for the greater part we permit them to roam our labyrinths
unmolested. Now and again, however, one, or two, or three intruders
are missing; but considering what a wonderful man-trap the swamp is,
these small matters do not make very much commotion in the outside
world. But we are almost at our journey's end.' As he spoke the ruddy
glare of a fire could be seen a short way off.
A huge rock lifted itself in the wood, and behind this the gang had
assembled. Their manner at once became changed upon the approach of
the captain; but they could not conceal their astonishment at the
sight of our hero; for they had read in their leader's eyes that he
was not destined for harm.
'I bring a friend, lads, who is henceforth a member of our family.
He pinked his man to-day in a duel, and was clearing off in a devil
of a hurry, when I offered him our hospitalities.'
'Pinked his man, aye?' exclaimed one of the gang, a hideous looking
ruffian with small eyes, bushy eye-brows, and draggled red hair. 'He
seems better cut out to pink toads.'
'If we want your opinion upon such matters we will ask for it,' the
captain observed, looking sternly upon the insulting ruffian.
'We are to live together, so we may as well commence by getting
acquainted with one another, youngster,' the captain said. 'This
fellow, whose tongue has just wagged, is Joe Murfrey, a famous
blackguard in his own particular line. Yon respectable flaxen
gentleman,' pointing to a villainous looking person with a greenish
skin, of flaxen hair, and an unsteady, treacherous eye, 'gives moral
tone to our little household. He, on occasion, devotes himself with
much ardour to religious exercises. For the sake of being familiar we
call him Jud Sykes.'
The hateful looking scoundrel bowed and said:
'I am happy to welcome you to our poor abode.' And as he drew near:
'Ah, so young and so fair, to stain his soul with the blood of a
fellow-creature! Oh, my poor young man, repentance, repentance with
us here in nature's sanctuary, where the grandeur of God's works,
without any of the disfigurement of man, is all that remains to you
now. I welcome you, my poor fallen son;' and he stretched out his
hand. But our hero simply gave the blasphemous vagabond a look of
scorn and turned away.
'There is one other, the fourth and last of the male members of our
humble dwelling, to whom let me also present you. This is a young
gentleman of a very meek and unobtrusive disposition. He never raises
his voice to a high pitch, or makes a noise when performing any
little job that requires skill. It would seem as if his good parents
were inspired in bestowing a name upon him. They called him Lifter.
We have slightly varied the name, took a small grammatical liberty
with it, so to speak. We call him The Lifter. Let me, Mr. Gray,
introduce you to The Lifter.' Roland bowed with the same air of
haughtiness and disgust. But now that he was among the unholy crew he
felt that he must make the best of the situation, conformably, of
course, with his sense of honour. The description given of this
miscreant by the robber chief indicates his appearance. He was
somewhat below the medium height, and though not stoutly built,
revealed strongly knit shoulders, and muscles enduring as twisted
steel. He had a fawning air, a dark, rolling eye, and most villainous
brows.
'These young women attend to the domestic portion of our labours,'
the chief said, 'This one is our Nancy, and this is Silent Poll.'
Roland bowed to each of the girls in turn; and he perceived that while
both were handsome, they had that bold, free stare, which must always
repel a man of refined or proper feeling. The handsomer of the two was
Nancy; and Roland imagined that he perceived behind the forwardness of
her manner a kind of reckless despair; that indescribable sort of
vivacity which arises when hope, and honour, and everything that is
dear are dead, and only what is worse remains to live for. This girl
had evidently at some time moved in a society different far from this;
for her speech was somewhat refined, and her bearing that of a woman
more or less well-bred.
From the moment of Roland's arrival she seemed to be more thoughtful;
and the melancholy in her eyes became more pronounced! He seemed--if
one could judge of the varying expressions in her face--to call back
within her a thousand memories long dead; to bring before her mind
again a world which she had forgotten. Her eyes were almost constantly
upon him; and when he spoke she listened with eagerness to every
syllable that he uttered.
One of the first to perceive this was Joe; and a hideous light
gleamed in his dull and sunken eye.
As for Silent Poll; not one word could be said in her favour. What
she once might have been God alone can tell; but she seemed well
content with the vile lot to which she had fallen. Indeed, when
Roland saw her flaming eyes, and heard her speech, he doubted if
companionship different from this had ever been vouchsafed her.
Preparations for supper had been progressing for some time before the
captain's arrival. In front of the bluff of rock blazed a fire made of
birch and maple, and on a spit before this a huge piece of venison was
roasting. A hideous old woman, with eyes like a rattlesnake, and
draggled hair coloured like the moss upon an aged fir, stood by the
spit, which every few moments she turned. Silent Poll had some lard in
a cup, and a small quantity of this she put upon the meat each time
that the hag turned the spit. Nancy extended a sort of camp-table and
upon it placed the drinking vessels; and Roland perceived that these
lawless persons lived in a very sumptuous manner.
Nor can it be said that the white bread, the butter, the large mealy
potatoes, and other vegetables, together with the juicy haunch before
the fire were indifferent to his stomach after his long ride.
'I'll get the grog,' growled Murfrey; and turning he disappeared,
seeming to sink directly into the earth. In a few seconds he returned
with a small keg which he placed beside the table.
The rays of the fire enabled our hero to get an indistinct view
around; and he observed that they were surrounded by dense tangled
forest, with the face of the rock forming an immediate screen from
outside intrusion.
'You wonder, I presume, youngster,' the chief observed, 'why our
good company run the risk of building a fire at night in this wood.
Well, such an indiscretion we are not guilty of when the moon is out;
but to-night no foot save a practised one could make its way through
the underwood.'
'But might they not carry lanterns?'
'I grant you; but a light is an object that we as well as they can
see. Besides, coming here in the dark is about the last thing in this
wide world that the guardians of order would think of doing. Their
visits were too fatal in the open day for that.'
At the table the liquor circulated freely, and as it was cognac,
twenty years old, as the robber chief swore, it soon brought up the
spirits of the gang. To his great disgust, Roland perceived that the
girls drank almost as freely as the men. After Nancy had quaffed a
couple of horns, the melancholy which the new-comer had a little
while before noticed so plainly in her face disappeared; and she
began to bestow marked attentions upon the handsome and well-bred
stranger. Not an act of hers escaped the jealous eye of Murfrey; and
as the miserable girl was in the act of passing something to Roland,
the robber gave her a violent blow upon the arm.
'You are too d--d ready with your attentions,' he growled, and then
swore a terrible oath. Nancy turned and looked upon him with flashing
eyes; and ferocious and bloody as the man was, she did not fear him.
A little later she raised her horn and looking the stranger in the
face, said:
'I pledge you welcome, sir; will you drink good-will and long
friendship with me?'
Roland, as we have seen, had from the first resolved to make the
best of the deplorable set, so with easy courtesy and good nature, he
raised his horn and said, 'I drink with pleasure.' But before he had
swallowed his sip Joe had risen from his seat and reached his side;
and without word or warning dealt him a severe blow on the head.
Roland's blood boiled in his veins and were his life the issue ten
times over he would not submit to the indignity. He sprang from his
chair, weak though he was from his wound.
'Infamous ruffian,' he thundered, 'How do you dare?' and striking
the desperado once, twice, upon the temple felled him like a beast
upon the turf. For a moment the villain lay, as if he had received
his death-blow; then he moved, raised himself, and was upon his feet
again. At first he reeled and staggered, though not from brandy; and
putting his hand to his hip he drew his knife. Roland saw the
reflection of the glittering blade flash upon the front of the sombre
forest; but he did not move. The miscreant approached him with his
weapon raised; but our hero was prepared. Drawing his pistol he
cocked it. 'One step forward and I blow your brains out.' Further
mishap was prevented by the chief who sprang between the two.
'Enough,' he cried, raising his hand, 'replace your weapons; and
reserve them for other uses. You have my congratulations, youngster.
You are the right stuff; just such metal as we want here. As for you,
Joe, you got what you deserve richly. Not another word.' No other
word was spoken; but the robber glared upon the victor like a foiled
beast.
As for the robber himself whose appearance I have not sought to
describe so far, his stature was certainly a splendid one. He stood
not less than six feet two inches high; his chest was full, and his
neck and limbs such as a sculptor might take as a model for a
Hercules. His face was not unhandsome, but it was marred by an
all-prevading expression of cruelty. In his eye there was no room for
pity or remorse; nor was there a feature in his face that could
harbour a generous or kindly impulse; or one of honour. His hair was
dark, but tinged with grey; and the cruelties of the man's career had
left wide and horrible furrows extending from the corners of his
mouth into his cheek. It would be too generous to say that the man
had been born under an evil star; that some great cross had come to
him and turned his being to evil. For there was no trace of any good;
the face, the voice, the _tout ensemble_ of the man were evil.
Roland simply shuddered as he looked upon him; and he shuddered too
when he reflected that the monster had set his heart to turning him
into a highwayman.
The gang lighted their pipes when the supper was ended, and the
girls cleared the board. Poor Roland, with the cold heavy hand of
Despair squeezing his heart, walked a few paces away from the camp
fire, and sat upon a tree-bole. In a little while the fire had grown
so low that no light came from it save the scarlet glow from the
smouldering embers. A deep gloom was everywhere; but it was not
darker than the shadow that had fallen upon his life. Suddenly the
gates of the dusk seemed to open, and a flood of silvery light fell
upon the world. Looking, he perceived that the clouds were breaking,
and through a rift in the pall the moonlight flood had been sluiced
upon the darksome swamp. With the light came a stirring of hope at
his heart; and for a minute he surrendered himself to the sweet
thought that a time might come when he, with honour untarnished,
could issue from the toils, and take his place in that world from
which his crime had banished him.
'It will be forgotten in two or three years at most,' he mused, and at
the end of that time she may still remember. And then divers avenues
of escape from the hideous toils were open to his imagination. Why
could he not, after the lapse of a few months, disguise himself, go
boldly out of the wood and cross the frontier? In a republican city he
could engage in some honourable occupation; and perhaps his beloved
might care to hear something of his fortunes. His dreams had become
very rosy when he heard the voice of the chief asking him if he did
not want to 'go to bed to-night.'
He saw no camps, no blankets, no dwelling, and he marvelled as to
where they slept or found shelter from the storm. One by one his
companions seemed to sink into the bowels of the earth, as the robber
before supper seemed to have done, till at last nobody remained but
The Lifter.
'I am waiteen to show you to your bed,' the fellow said in a voice
as soft as the ripple of an oily stream.
'Why, where on earth does your company sleep?'
'Nowhere _on earth_,' returned the soft-voiced Lifter.
'Come; we go under the earth;' and taking our hero's hand he led him
to what looked like the mouth of a pit. A faint light beneath revealed
a sort of step-ladder, and by this Roland, following his guide,
descended into what seemed a cavern. The air was not foul, as one
might suppose, but there was an earthy smell which at first was
disagreeable enough to the nostrils of our hero. Taking a taper, which
was left burning below, The Lifter led the way for a considerable
distance, and then turning to the right entered a sort of aperture or
pocket in the clayey wall to his right. The flickering of the light
here revealed a small bed; and setting down the candle the Lifter
said:
'This is to be your room while you stay with us; good night.' In
spite of the sickening sensation that came over Roland as he entered
this underground lair, and the feeling of pain and shame at the part
he was compelled to act, he was soon asleep, and dreaming once again
of days that held no evil.