_The sleepless Watch.--The mysterious Steps.--The low Whispers.--They
come! They come!--The Garrison roused.--To Arms! To Arms!--The
beleaguered Party.--At Bay.--The decisive Moment.--The Scaling
Ladders.--Onset of the Brigands._
So they all went to Bed.
So great was the confidence which they all felt in their preparations,
precautions, and barricades, that not the slightest thought of
danger remained in the mind of any one of them to create alarm,
with the single exception of Bob.
For some reason or other Bob was more excitable at this time than
the others. It may have been that this was his nature, or it may
have been that his nerves were more sensitive since his tremendous
adventures during the night of horror near Paestum; but whatever
was the cause, certain it is, that on this occasion he remained
wide awake, and incapable of sleep, while all the others were
slumbering the sleep of the innocent.
He and Frank had the same bed, and it was the bed which had been
placed against the door. It had been placed in such a way that the
head of the bed was against the door. On the north side of the
room, and on the left of this bed, was another, in which Uncle
Moses slept; while on the south side, or the right, was the bed
which was occupied by David and Clive. In this way they had disposed
of themselves.
Bob was very wakeful. The beds were father unprepossessing, and
consequently they had all retired without altogether undressing
themselves; but in spite of this comparative discomfort they soon
fell asleep. Bob alone remained awake.
He tried all he could to overcome his wakefulness. He resorted to
all the means for producing sleep that he had ever heard of or read
of. He tried counting, and went on counting and counting tens, and
hundreds, and thousands. He counted fast, and he counted slow. In
vain. Counting was useless, and when he had reached as high as
four thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven, he gave it up in
disgust.
Then he tried another infallible recipe for sleep He imagined, or
tried to imagine, endless lines of rolling waves. This also was
useless.
Then he tried another. He endeavored to imagine clouds of smoke
rolling before him. This was as useless as the others.
Then he tested ever so many other methods, as follows:--
Waving grain.
Marching soldiers.
Funerals.
A shore covered with sea-weed.
An illimitable forest.
A ditto prairie.
The vault of heaven.
The wide, shoreless ocean.
A cataract.
Fireworks.
The stars.
A burning forest.
Looking at his nose.
Wishing himself asleep.
Rubbing his forehead.
Lying on his back,
do. do. right side.
do. do. left side.
do. do. face.
And about seventy-nine other methods, which need not be mentioned,
for the simple reason that they were all equally useless.
At last he gave up in despair, and rising up he sat on the side of
the bed, with his feet dangling down, and looked around.
The moon had risen, and was shining into the room. By its light he
could see the outline of the beds. Around him there ascended a
choral harmony composed of snores of every degree, reaching from
the mild, mellow intonation of Clive, down to the deep, hoarse,
sepulchral drone of Uncle Moses. In spite of his vexation about
his wakefulness, a smile passed over Bob's face, as he listened to
those astonishing voices of the night.
Suddenly a sound caught his ears, which at once attracted his
attention, and turned all his thoughts in another direction.
It was the sound of footsteps immediately in front of the house,
and apparently at the doorway. How much time had passed he did
not know; but he felt sure that it must be at least midnight. He
now perceived that there were some in the house who had not gone
to bed. The footsteps were shuffling and irregular, as though some
people were trying to walk without making a noise. The sound
attracted Bob, and greatly excited him.
In addition to the footsteps there were other sounds. There were
the low murmurs of voices in a subdued tone, and he judged that
there must be at least a half a dozen who were thus talking. To
this noise Bob sat listening for some time. It remained in the same
place, and of course he could make nothing out of it; but it served
to reawaken all the fears of brigands which had been aroused before
they went to bed.
At length he heard a movement from below. The movement was along
the ball. It was a shuffling movement, as of men walking with the
endeavor not to make a noise.
Bob listened.
His excitement increased.
At last he heard the sounds more plainly.
They were evidently at the foot of the stairway.
Bob listened in increasing excitement.
Then there came a creaking sound. It was from the stairway. They
were ascending it.
He thought of waking Frank, but decided to wait.
The sounds draw nearer. There must have been six or seven men upon
the stairway, and they were walking up. What for?
He had no doubt what it was for, and he waited, knowing that they
were coming to this room in which he was.
They tried to walk softly. There were low whispers once or twice,
which ceased as they drew nearer.
Nearer and nearer!
At last Bob knew that they were outside of the door, and as he sat
on the bed, he knew that there could not be more than a yard of
distance Between himself and those bloody-minded, beetle-browed,
ruthless, demoniac, and fiendish brigands.
His blood ran cold in his veins at the very thought.
He did not dare to move. He sat rigid, with every sense on the
alert, his eyes fixed on the door, listening.
Then came a slight creaking sound--the sound of a pressure against
the door, which yielded slightly, but was prevented by the heavy
bed from being opened at all. It was an unmistakable sound. They
were trying to open the door. They were also trying to do it as
noiselessly as possible. Evidently they thought that their victims
were all asleep, and they wished to come in noiselessly, so as to
accomplish their fearful errand.
For a moment it seemed to Bob as though the bed was being pushed
back. The thought gave him anguish inexpressible, but he soon found
that it was not so. Then he expected a savage push at the door from
the baffled brigands. He thought that they would drop all attempts
at secrecy, and begin an open attack.
But they did not do so.
There were whispers outside the door. Evidently they were
deliberating. They were unwilling, as yet, to resort to noisy
violence. They wished to effect their full purpose in secret and
in silence. Such were Bob's thoughts, which thoughts were strengthened
as he heard them slowly move away, and descend the stairs, with
the same carefulness, and the same shuffling sound, with which they
had ascended.
"They are going to try the windows," thought Bob.
And now as this thought came to him, he could restrain himself no
longer. It was no time for sleep. He determined to rouse the others.
He laid his hand on Frank's forehead, and shook his bead. Then,
bending down dose to him, he hissed in his ear,--
"Wake! wake! Brigands! Don't speak! don't speak! silence!"
Frank was a light sleeper, and a quick-witted lad, who always
retained his presence of mind. At Bob's cry he became wide awake,
and without a single word sat up in bed and listened. All was still.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
Bob told Him all in a few words.
Upon this Frank got up, stole noiselessly to the window on tiptoe,
and listened. Bob followed. As they stood close to the window,
they heard the sound of murmuring voices immediately beneath.
Several of the panes of glass were out of this window, so that the
voices were perfectly audible; though of course their ignorance of
the language prevented them from understanding what was said.
As they listened, there arose a movement among them. The voices
grew louder. The men were evidently walking out of the house. The
listeners heard the sound of their footsteps on the ground as they
walked away, and at a little distance off they noticed that the
voices became more free and unrestrained.
"They'll be back again," said Frank.
"Let's wake the others," said Bob.
Upon this suggestion they both proceeded at once to act, waking
them carefully, and cautioning them against making any noise. The
cautions against noise were so earnest, that not a word was spoken
above a whisper; but Clive and David, and finally Uncle Moses,
stepped out upon the floor, and the whole party proceeded to put
their heads together.
"I've got a chair," said Clive.
"I've got a knife," said Frank.
"I've got a chair," said Bob.
"I've got a knife," said David.
"An I've got my razor, which I shoved under my pillow," said Uncle
Moses; "an so let em come on. But where are they now?"
"H-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-h!" Said Frank.
All were silent, and listened. There came out from without the
sound of footsteps approaching the house, and of low voices.
"They're coming back again," said Bob.
The rest listened.
Frank stole to the window and looked cautiously out.
By the moonlight he saw plainly the figures of four men. They were
coming from the road to the house, and they were carrying a ladder.
The ladder was very long. The sight sent a shudder through him. He
had thought of the windows as being out of the reach of danger;
the idea of a ladder had never entered his head at all. Yet he now
saw that this-was one of the most simple and natural plans which
could be adopted by the brigands.
He came back and told the others. All felt the same dismay which
Frank had felt. None of them said a word, but they all stole up to
the window, and looking out they saw for themselves.
The brigands approached the house, carrying the ladder; and on
reaching it, they put their load on the ground, and rested for a
short time. As they did so, the boys noticed that they all looked
up at the upper windows of the house.
Then they saw the brigands gathering close together, and the murmur
of their conversation came up to their ears.
It was a thrilling sight. The boys stood in dread suspense. No one
said a word, not even a whisper.
The conversation among the brigands was followed by a movement on
their part which brought things nearer to a climax. They raised
the ladder once more, and moving it a little farther away, they
proceeded to put it up against the house. The ladder was put up
at the south end of the house, and as it was being carried there
for the purpose of erection, the boys and Uncle Moses all stole
over to that south window, where, standing a little distance back,
so as to be out of observation, they looked out. Each one grasped
his weapon of defence.
Clive his chair.
Frank his knife.
Bob his chair.
David his knife.
Uncle Moses his razor.
"Be ready, boys," said Uncle Moses, in a firm voice, as he grasped
his razor. "The hour air come, and the decisive moment air at hand!"
He said this in a whisper, and the boys made no reply whatever.
The brigands meanwhile elevated the ladder, and the upper end struck
the building. The dull thud of that stroke sent a thrill to the
hearts of those listeners in the room. As they saw one of the
brigands seize the ladder in order to mount, they all involuntarily
shrank back one step.
"It isn't this window, at any rate," said Frank, in a whisper.
This remark encouraged them for a moment. No, it was not their
window, but the attic window. They watched in silence now, and
saw the four brigands go up.
Overhead they heard the sound that announced them as they stepped
in through the window.
One brigand!
Two brigands!!
Three brigands!!!
Four brigands!!!!
And now the momentary relief which they had experienced at seeing
that the attack was not made upon their window was succeeded by
the darkest apprehensions, as they heard the entrance of those four
brigands, and knew that these desperate men were just above them.
They were there overhead. The hatchway was open. Through that
opening they could drop down one by one.
The same thought came to all of them, and with one common impulse
they moved softly to where the step-ladder lay on the floor. Frank
made this movement first; the others followed.
They stood ranged along the step-ladder.
First, Frank, with his knife.
Second, Bob, with his chair.
Third, Clive, with his chair.
Fourth, David, with his knife.
Fifth, Uncle Moses, with his razor.
Every one held his weapon in a grasp which the excitement of the
moment had rendered convulsive. Every eye was fixed upon the
hatchway above, which lay concealed in the gloom. Overhead they
heard, whispering, but no movement whatever.
"Let's jump out of the windows and run," whispered Bob, hurriedly.
"No," said Frank, "they are watching below--no use."
But further remarks were prevented by the sudden glimmer of a light
above. It was a light in the attic, not very bright, yet sufficiently
so to show the opening through which their enemies were about to
come.
The brigands had lighted a lamp!
The excitement grew stronger.
Voices arose, low and hushed.
Then footsteps!
The light above the opening grew brighter!
It was an awful moment!
The suspense was terrible!
Yet in the midst of that suspense they had no thought of surrender.
In fact, they did not think that surrender would be possible. These
bloody-minded miscreants would show no quarter; and the besieged
party felt the task imposed upon them of selling their lives as
dearly as possible. And so it was, that as the brigands came nearer
to the opening,--
Frank grasped his knife more firmly.
Bob do. " chair do.
David do. " knife do.
Clive do. " chair do.
While Uncle Moses held up his razor in such a way, that the first
brigand who descended should fall full upon its keen edge.
The light grew brighter over the opening. The shuffling footsteps
drew nearer. Then there was a pause, and low whispers arose. The
brigands were immediately above them. The light shone down into
the room.
The suspense was now intolerable. It was Frank who broke the silence.
"_Who's there?_" he cried in a loud, strong, stern, menacing voice,
in which there was not the slightest tremor.
At this the whispering above ceased. Everything was perfectly still.
"WHO'S THERE?" cried Frank a second time, in a louder, stronger,
sterner, and more menacing voice.
No answer.
All was still.
What did it mean?
"WHO'S THERE?" cried Frank a third time, in the loudest, strongest,
sternest, and most menacing tone that he could compass, "SPEAK, OR
I'LL FIRE!!!!!!!!!"
This tremendous threat could not have been carried out, of course,
with the knives, chairs, and razor of the party below; but at any
rate it brought a reply.
"Alla raight!" cried a voice. "O, yais. It's onalee me. Alla safe.
Come up here to get some straps for de vettura. Alla raight. I haf
joosta come back from Velletre. Haf brot de oder vettura. Scusa de
interruption, but haf to-get de straps; dey up here. Alla raight!"
It was the voice of their driver!
At the first sound of that voice there was an instantaneous and
immense revulsion of feeling. The dark terror of a moment before
was suddenly transformed to an absurdity. They had been making
fools of themselves. They felt this very keenly. The chairs were
put quietly upon the floor; the knives were pocketed very stealthily;
and Uncle Moses' razor was slipped hurriedly into the breast pocket
of his coat.
"O!" said-Frank, trying to speak in an easy, careless, matter-of-fact
tone. "We didn't know. Shall we leave in the morning?"
"O, yais. Alla r-r-raight," said the driver.
Soon after the party descended the ladder, and took it away. The
boys and Uncle Moses made no remark whatever. They all crept
silently, and rather sheepishly, back to their beds, feeling very
much ashamed of themselves.
And yet there was no reason for shame, for to them the danger seemed
real; and believing it to be real, they had not shrunk, but had
faced it with very commendable pluck.
This was the end of their troubles on the road. For the remainder
of that night they slept soundly. In the morning they awaked
refreshed, and found a good breakfast waiting for them. They
found also another carriage, in which they entered and resumed
their journey.