FIRE! FIRE!
Anne was standing close to the pantry door, listening to Stephen's
mysterious movements in utter bewilderment, hardly knowing whether she
ought to call her uncle, but not coming to a decision about it until the
boy appeared before her. His first quick action was to secure the door
by fastening a rusty bolt which was on the outside, and then, in a few
hurried sentences, he explained his strange conduct by telling her how
Tim had conveyed to him the design of some of the colliers for breaking
into the master's house. There had been several similar robberies in the
country during the strike for wages, and Miss Anne was greatly alarmed,
while Stephen felt all the tender spirit of a brave man aroused within
him, as she sank faint and trembling upon the nearest seat.
'Don't be afraid,' he said courageously; 'they shall tear me to pieces
afore they touch you, Miss Anne. I'm stronger than you'd think; but if I
can't take care of thee, God can. Hasn't He sent me here, afore they
come, on purpose? They'd have come upon you unawares, but for God.'
'You are right, Stephen,' answered Miss Anne. 'He says, "Thou shalt not
be afraid for the terror by night." But what shall we do? How can we
make ourselves safer? I'll try not to be afraid; but we must do all we
can ourselves. Hark! there's a footstep already!'
Yes, there was a footstep, and not a very stealthy one, approaching the
house, and the dog bounded forward to the full length of his chain, but
he was beaten down with a blow that stunned him. The men were too strong
in numbers, and too secure in the extreme loneliness of the dwelling, to
care about taking many precautions. Miss Anne and Stephen heard Mr.
Wyley cross the floor of his room above, and open his window; but there
was silence again, and the chime of the house clock striking eleven was
the only sound that broke the silence until the casement above was
reclosed, and the master's footfall returned across the room.
'I must go and tell him,' said Miss Anne; 'perhaps he can secure some of
his money, lest Martha should be stopped on the way, or not come in
time. Stay here and watch, Stephen, and let me know if you hear
anything.'
She stole up-stairs in the dark, lest those without should see the
glimmer of her candle through the fanlight in the hall; and then she
spoke softly to her uncle through his locked and bolted door.
Down-stairs Stephen listened with his quickened hearing to the footsteps
gathering round the house; and presently the latch of the pantry door
was lifted with a sudden click that made him start and catch his breath;
but Jack Davies could come no further, now the rusty bolt was drawn on
the outside. There was a whispered conversation through the pantry
window, and the sound of some one getting out again; and then Stephen
crept across the dark kitchen into the hall through which Miss Anne had
gone. At the head of the staircase was the door of the master's room,
now standing open; and the light from it served to guide him across the
strange hall, and up the stairs, until he reached the doorway, and could
look in. The chamber had a low and sloping ceiling, and a gable-window
in the roof, which was defended by strong bars. Near this window was an
open cabinet, containing many little drawers and divisions, all of which
were filled with papers; while upon a leaf in the front there lay rolls
of bank notes, and heaps of golden money, which the master had been
counting over. He stood beside his cabinet as if he had just risen from
this occupation, and was leaning upon his chair, panic-stricken at the
tidings Miss Anne had uttered. His grey hair was scattered over his
forehead, instead of being smoothly brushed back; and the long, loose
coat, which hung carelessly around his shrivelled form and stooping
shoulders, made him look far older than he did in the day-time. As
Stephen's eyes rested upon the sunken form and quaking limbs of the aged
man, he felt, for the first time, how helpless and infirm his enemy was,
instead of the rich, full, and prospering master he had always
considered him.
'Keep off!' cried the old miser, as he caught sight of Stephen on the
threshold; and he raised his withered arm as if to ward him from his
treasures. 'Keep off! Stephen Fern, is it you? You've come to take your
revenge. The robbers and murderers have got in! O God, have pity upon
me!'
'I'm come to take care of Miss Anne,' said Stephen, 'They've not got in
yet, master. And, please God, help will be here afore long with Martha.
The doors and windows are safe.'
'Anne, take him away!' implored Mr. Wyley. 'I don't know if it is true,
but take him away. I'm not safe while he's there; they will murder me!
Go, go!'
Miss Anne led Stephen away; and no sooner were they outside the room,
than the master rushed forward and locked and barred the door securely
behind them. There was a window in the landing, looking over the yard
where the housebreakers were, and they stood at it in silence, straining
their eyes into the darkness. But it did not remain dark long; for a
thin, bright flame burst up from behind the dairy wall, and by its
fitful blaze they could see the figures of four men coming rapidly round
from that corner of the old building.
'Fire! fire!' they shouted, in wild voices of alarm, and beating the
iron-studded door with heavy sticks. 'Wake up, master! wake up! the
house is on fire!'
Their only answer was a frantic scream from the servant, who thrust her
head out of her window, and echoed their shouts with piercing cries. But
Stephen and Miss Anne did not move; only Miss Anne laid her hand upon
his arm, and he felt how much she trembled.
'They're only trying to frighten us,' he said quietly; 'that's only the
wood-stack on fire. They think to frighten us to open the door, by
making believe that the house is on fire. Miss Anne, I'm praying to God
all the while to send Martha in time.'
'So am I,' she answered, sobbing; 'but oh, Stephen, I am frightened.'
'Miss Anne,' he said, in a comforting tone, 'that chapter about faith
you've been teaching me, it says something about quenching fire.'
'"Quenched the violence of fire,"' she murmured; '"out of weakness were
made strong."'
She hid her face for a minute or two in both her hands; and then she was
strong enough to go to the servant's room, where the terrified girl was
still calling for help. The wild shouts and the deafening clamour at the
door rang through the house; but the blaze was gone down again; and when
Stephen threw open the window just over the heads of the group of men in
the yard below, there was not light enough for him to distinguish their
faces.
'I'm here,' he said,--'Stephen Fern. I found out what you are up to, and
Martha's gone to Longville for help. She'll be here afore long, and you
can't force the door open. Put out the fire in the wood-stack, and go
home. Maybe if you're not found here you'll get off; for I've seen none
of you, and I can only guess at who you are. Go home, I say.'
There was a low, deep growl of disappointment, and a hurried
consultation among the men. But whether they would follow Stephen's
counsel, it was not permitted them to choose; for suddenly a strong,
bright flame burst up in a high column, like a beacon, into the midnight
air, and every one gazing upwards saw in a moment that the thatch over
the farthest gable had caught fire. The house itself was now burning,
and the light, blazing full upon their upturned faces, revealed to
Stephen the well-known features of four of his former comrades. The
shout that rang from their lips was one of real alarm now.
'Stephen, lad, open the door!' cried Black Thompson. 'We thought to
smoke the old fox out of his kennel, but it's took fire in earnest.
We'll not hurt him, nor Miss Anne. Lad! the old house will burn like
tinder.'
What a glaring light spread through the landing! The face of Miss Anne
coming from the servant's room shone rosy and bright in it, though she
was pale with fear. Through the open window drifted a suffocating smoke
of burning wood and thatch, and the crackling and splitting of the old
roof sounded noisily above their voices; but Miss Anne commanded
herself, and spoke calmly to Stephen.
'We must open the door to them now,' she said; 'God will protect us from
these wicked men. Uncle! uncle! the house is really on fire, and we want
the keys. Let me in.'
She knocked loudly at his door, and lifted up her voice to make him
hear, and Stephen shouted; but there was no answer. Without the keys of
the massive locks it would not be possible to open the doors, and he had
them in his own keeping; but he gave no heed to their calls, nor the
vehement screams of the frightened servant. Perhaps he had fallen into a
fit; and they had no means of entering his chamber, so securely had he
fastened himself in with his gold. Stephen and Miss Anne gazed at one
another in the dazzling and ominous light, but no words crossed their
trembling lips. Oh, the horror of their position! And already other
voices were mingled with those of the assailants; and every one was
shouting from without, praying them to open the door, and be saved from
their tremendous peril.
'I'll not open the door!' said Mr. Wyley from within; 'they will rob and
murder me. They are come to kill me, and I may as well die here. There's
no help.'
'There is help, dear uncle!' cried Miss Anne; 'there are other people
from Botfield; and help is coming from Longville. Oh, let me in!'
'No,' said the master, 'they all hate me. They'll kill me, and say it
was done in the fire. I'll not open to anybody.'
She prayed and expostulated in vain; he cared little for their danger,
so hardened was he by a selfish fear for himself. The fire was gaining
ground quickly, for a brisk wind had sprung up, and the long-seasoned
timber in the old walls burnt like touchwood. The servant lay insensible
on the threshold of the master's chamber; and Miss Anne and Stephen
looked out from a front casement upon the gathering crowd, who implored
them, with frenzied earnestness, to throw open the door.
'Miss Anne,' cried Stephen, 'you can get through the pantry window; you
are little enough. Oh, be quick, and let me see you safe!'
'I cannot,' she answered: 'not yet! Not till the last moment. I dare not
leave my uncle and that poor girl. Oh, Stephen, if Martha would but
come!'
She rested her head against the casement, sobbing, as though her grief
could not be assuaged. Stephen felt heart-sick with his intense longing
for the arrival of help from Longville, as he watched the progress of
the fire; but at last, after what appeared ages of waiting, they heard a
shout in the distance, and saw a little band of horsemen galloping up to
the burning house.
'They are come from Longville, uncle,' cried Miss Anne. 'You must open
now; there is not a moment to spare. The fire is gaining upon us fast.'
He had seen their approach himself, and now he opened the doors, and
gave the keys to Miss Anne. He had collected all his papers and notes in
one large bundle, which he had clasped in his arms; and as soon as the
crowd swept in through the open doors, he cried aloud to the constable
from Longville to come and guard him. There was very little time for
saving anything out of the house, for before long the flames gathered
such volume and strength as to drive every one out before them; and as
Stephen stood beside the miserable old man, who was shivering in the
bitter night wind, he beheld his dwelling destroyed as suddenly and
entirely as the hut at Fern's Hollow had been.