The crescent moon sank like a thin curve of light in the western sky
soon after nine o'clock that night. At ten the last light disappeared
at both places connected with the adventure, when Mark Eden lowered
himself from his window on to the top of the dining-hall bay, and from
thence to the ground.
Soon after, there was a faint whispering and chinking, and three dark
figures, carrying swords and pikes, descended the steep zigzag to the
bottom of the great tongue of rock, where six men were lying down
waiting; and a few minutes later, all well-armed, they were tramping in
single file through the darkness toward Steeple Stone. Their young
leader, armed only with his sword, and wearing a steel morion of rather
antiquated date, which could only be kept in place by a pad formed of a
carefully folded silk handkerchief, was at their head; and in obedience
to his stern command, not a word was spoken as they made for the
appointed tryst.
A similar scene had taken place in the dry moat of Cliff Castle; and at
the head of his little party of eight, Ralph Darley was silently on his
way to the Steeple Stone, a great rugged block of millstone-grit, which
rose suddenly from a bare place just at the edge of the moor.
The night was admirable for the venture, for it was dark, but not too
much so, there being just enough light to enable the men to avoid the
stones and bushes that lay in their way, which was wide of any regular
path or track.
Ralph's heart throbbed high with excitement, and in imagination he saw
the gang of ruffians beaten and wounded, secured by the ropes he had had
the foresight to make Nick Garth and Ram Jennings bring, and dragged
back at dawn to the Castle to receive the punishment that his father
would measure out.
He was a little troubled about that, for he felt that it was possible
some objection might be raised by Mark Eden; and he was also a little
uneasy about the first encounter of the two little bands of men so
hostile to one another. But his followers were amenable to discipline,
and one and all so eager for the fray, that he soon forgot all about
these matters in the far greater adventure to come, and marched steadily
on, keeping a bright look out, till he was nearing the solitary rock.
"See any one, Nick?" he whispered to his head man.
"No, sir. All as still and lonesome as can be."
"Then we are first," whispered Ralph. "I am glad. We'll march close
up, and then crouch down round the stone till the others come."
Nick grunted; and they tramped softly on over the grass and heath, with
all looking grim and strange, the utter stillness of the night out there
adding to the solemnity of the scene.
But they had not taken half-a-dozen paces toward the block, seen dimly
against the starless sky, when there was a sharp chink, and a familiar
voice cried:
"Who goes there?"
"`Allies,'" said Ralph promptly.
"Halt!" cried the leader.
"Advance!" came back; and directly after, the two lads were face to
face, comparing notes.
"Began to think you were Purlrose's men," whispered Mark.
"And I that you had not come."
"Been here some time, and the lads are all lying down. Now then, what
are our plans? I want to get to work."
"March together in single file, about five yards apart, straight for the
cave. Get within fifty yards, halt, and let two advance softly to
reconnoitre."
"Can't do better," said Mark softly. "But we must keep very quiet, in
case any of them are out marauding."
"Yes, of course. When we get up to the mouth of the cave, we must halt
on one side, light our torches, and rush in. We must leave it to the
men then."
"Oh yes; they'll do it. They've all got their blood up. We must
succeed."
"But what about the torches?"
"Got plenty for both, and two men have got mine lanterns alight under
their gaberdines. Better pass round torches for your men now."
Ralph agreed that this would be best, and Mark summoned Dummy with a
faint bird-like chirrup, and made him bring the links.
Then at a word, Mark's men sprang up, and after marking down the spot
below the dimly-seen top of the mountain-limestone ridge, beneath which,
half-way down, as they well knew, the cavern lay, the two parties
marched on in silence side by side, pausing every few minutes, in
response to a shrill chirp, while the leaders took a few paces ahead to
make a keen observation and whisper a few words.
"All still," said Ralph, after the last of these pauses, which took
place where the slope had grown steep, and they had about a quarter of a
mile to go upward to reach the entrance to the cavern.
"Are you sure we're aiming right?" whispered Mark.
"Certain. The hole is below that sharp point you can see against the
sky. I remember it so well. Saw it when the men had surrounded us, and
the captain was making signs."
"Keep on, then," whispered Mark. "Let's get one on each side of the
mouth, light our torches, and rush in. We'll go in side by side, and
the men must follow as they can."
The march upward in the darkness was resumed almost without a word, but
no regular lines could be kept to now, on account of the blocks of stone
projecting, rough bushes, and cracks and deep crevices, which became
more frequent as they progressed. Then, too, here and there they came
upon heaps of broken fragments which had fallen from above, split away
by the frosts of winter.
Hearts beat high from excitement and exertion, for the slope grew more
steep now, and an enemy would have been at great advantage above them,
if bent on driving them back.
But all remained still: there was no warning of alarm uttered by sentry,
no shrill whistle; and so utterly death-like was all around, that Ralph
whispered to Mark, who was close beside him now:
"I believe they must be all out on some raid."
"Seems like it," whispered back Mark; and they paused to let their men
get close up, for the entrance could now dimly be made out, some twenty
yards higher.
"Better take your lantern," whispered Mark. "Then give the word after
you are up, on one side, and we the other. We must go in at once then,
for the light will startle them if they're there."
The lantern, carefully shaded, was passed to Nick Garth, and once more
they pressed on, the men spreading out a little on either side now, so
as to get level with the entrance, which gradually grew more plain, in
the shape of a narrow cleft, little more than wide enough to admit one
at a time; and they saw now that stones had been roughly piled beneath
it to form a rough platform in front.
Still no sound was heard, and the next minute the two little groups
clustered in their places close by the platform; Ralph gave the word,
the lanterns were bared, and thrown open, and three links at a time
thrust in, to begin burning, though not so quickly as their owners
wished, while men stood on either side with pikes levelled, ready to
receive the enemy should a rush be made from inside.
It was a picturesque scene, as the light from the lanterns gleamed dimly
upon eager faces, and lit up the bright steel weapons. Then, one after
the other, the torches began to burn and send upward little clouds of
pitchy smoke, the light growing brighter and brighter, and throwing up
the grey stones and darkening the shadows, till all were armed with a
blazing light in their left hands, and sword or pike in their right,
while between the two parties the mouth of the cave lay dark and
forbidding, but silent as the grave.
"Ready?" whispered Ralph.
"Ready!" came from Mark.
"Then forward!" cried the former, and, sword in hand, the two lads
stepped from right and left on to the platform, their shadows sent first
into the dark rift; while the Ruggs crowded after Mark, and Nick Garth
and Ram Jennings shouldered them in their effort to keep their places
close behind Ralph.
"Hang the link!" cried Mark suddenly. "Here, Darley, do as I do."
He threw his flaming torch right forward into the cave as far as it
would go, and it struck against the wall and dropped some dozen yards
in, and lay burning and lighting up the rugged passage.
"I'll keep mine till we get past yours," said Ralph in a hoarse whisper;
and the lads pressed in, side by side, to find that the link was burning
at an abrupt corner, the passage turning sharply to the right.
Mark stopped and picked up his link, but before he could throw it again,
Ralph stepped before him over the rugged floor and hurled his light, to
see it fall right ahead, after also striking against the wall.
"Zigzags," said Mark in a sharp whisper. "Here, mind what you're doing
with those pikes."
"All right," was growled, but the men who held the weapons did not
withdraw them, two sharp points being thrust right forward, so as to
protect the two leaders, the holders being Dan Rugg and Nick Garth.
Both Mark and Ralph objected to this again, but it was no time for
hesitation. At any moment they might be attacked, and they were all
wondering that they had heard nothing of the enemy, all being singularly
still, save a low murmuring sound as of falling water at a distance.
"They must be all out," said Mark in a low voice. "Gone on some raid.
Well, we shall catch them when they come back."
Chirp!
"Who did that?" said Ralph quickly, at the sound of a steel weapon
striking against the rock.
But no one answered; and as they advanced slowly, and Mark stooped to
pick up his burning link once more where it lay against the corner of
the natural passage, Ralph seized the opportunity to change his sword to
his left hand, and swing his round the corner out of sight.
They heard it fall, and the glow struck against the wall to their left,
lighting up the passage beyond the corner.
"Take care, Master Mark," whispered Dan Rugg.
"Ay, and you too, Master Ralph," whispered Nick Garth. "P'r'aps they're
lying wait for us."
"No," said Mark, aloud. "They're away somewhere, and I hope they
haven't seen our lights."
Whizz--thud!
There was an involuntary start from the attacking party, for at that
moment the burning link Ralph had thrown came sharply back, struck
against the wall where the glow had shone just before, and dropped,
blazing and smoking, nearly at their feet.
"That settles it," said Mark excitedly.
"Yes, and that explains the chink I heard. They're waiting for us.
Ready? We must charge."
Ralph's words were followed by the pressing forward of the men behind--
those of each family being eager to prove their valour by being before
their rivals; and the next minute half-a-dozen were round the corner,
with the two lads at their head, to find that the passage had suddenly
widened out into a roomy chamber, toward whose high roof the smoke from
the torches slowly ascended, and contracted again at the end, about a
dozen yards away.
"Yes, I remember," whispered Ralph. "I had forgotten: it goes off in a
passage round to the left again at that corner."
The men crowded in after them, finding ample room now, and all looked
about, puzzled, for the enemy who had hurled back the link, several of
those present being ready to place a strange interpretation upon the
mystery.
But the explanation was plain enough when they reached the end of the
chamber, where the onward passage was but a crack some two feet wide,
with a bristling palisade of pike-heads to bar their further progress.
There was no hesitation. At the sight of something real to attack, Mark
uttered a shout.
"Here they are, lads," he cried. "Now for it! Pikes."
The men, Edenites and Darleyites, closed in together, forgetting all
their animosities, and their pike-heads gathered into a dense mass,
clashing against those which bristled in the narrow opening, clinked
against the stone sides, and rattled, as the holders thrust and stabbed
away past their young leaders' shoulders, for, to their great disgust,
both Mark and Ralph found that they could do nothing with their swords.
And now the silence which had reigned was further broken by the excited
cries of the men, given at every thrust they made into the opening,
their attack eliciting yells of defiance, oaths, and threats of what
would be done directly.
The fight went on for a few minutes, with apparently no effect on either
side, the attacking party being unable to reach the defenders, while the
latter seemed to be too much crippled for space to attack in turn,
contenting themselves with presenting their bristling points against the
advance.
"Halt!" cried Mark suddenly. "This is of no use."
"No," growled Nick Garth, as, in obedience to the order, the men drew
back a couple of yards, to stand, though, with their pikes directed at
the narrow opening.
"Come out, you rats, and fight fair," roared Dan Rugg; and there was a
derisive shout of laughter, which echoed through the chamber, followed
by the hoarse voice of Captain Purlrose.
"Go home, bumpkins!" he shouted, "or we'll spit you all together like
larks."
"Beast!" shouted back Mark; and stepping forward he hurled his link
right in over the pike-heads, amongst their holders, eliciting a series
of thrusts and furious yells, as he took one step back, and fell back
the next. A savage roar rose from his men, answered by another from
within.
"Hurt, Mark Eden?" cried Ralph excitedly, catching at his brother
leader, and saving him from going down.
"No: feel stupid," panted Mark, who looked confused and dizzy; "point
struck this stupid steel cap;" and he tore it off, and threw it down,
though it had in all probability saved his life; the step back he had
taken, however, had lessened the force of the thrust. "Better now.--
Here, stop them. They are doing no good."
For enraged by what had taken place, the attacking party had rushed in
again, to go on stabbing and thrusting away with their pikes, keeping up
a series of rattlings and clashings, till Ralph made his voice heard,
and they drew back, growling angrily, and the weird light shed by the
torches showed that blood had begun to flow from hands and arms.
"We must do something different to this," cried Ralph, as soon as the
yells of derision which greeted their repulse were over.
"Yes, young idiot! Go home to bed," shouted the captain hoarsely. Then
he burst into a savage tirade of curses, for Dummy, in his rage at being
right at the back, had thrown another blazing torch straight in over the
bristling pike-heads, lighting up the interior, and showing the savage
faces of the defenders close together. Ralph judged that the link had
struck the captain.
"Stand fast, men," he whispered. "We may make them charge out that way.
Go on, Dummy, and half-a-dozen more of you throw in your links all
together."
The order was obeyed, after the torches had been waved into a fierce
blaze, and they flew in, scattering drops of burning pitch, bringing
forth an outburst of yells of rage and pain, and a quick movement showed
that the marauders were about to rush out. But the voice of Captain
Purlrose was heard thundering out the words:
"Stand fast! Only a few drops of pitch, and a singe or two. Here, two
of you, throw them back." An exchange of burning missiles now took
place for a few minutes, which soon ended on the part of the defenders,
who, roaring with rage and pain, kept on trampling out the torches now
thrown.
"Stop!" cried Mark. "It's of no good. The cowards will not come out.
Here, Ralph Darley."
There was a few moments' whispering, resulting in orders being given to
the men, two of the Edens, and two of the Darleys standing aside, ready
for some action.
"Now for another charge," whispered Mark. "Take as long a hold of your
pikes as you can, and when I give the order, let your points be all
together like one. Ready? Forward!"
As the little party advanced, with their pike-heads almost touching,
while those of their enemies were advanced to defend the opening, the
two men on either side darted close up, shielded by the wall, passed
their arms over with a quick motion, and each grasped and held fast one
or two pike-shafts, in spite of the efforts of their holders to get them
free.
But there were enough left to defend the hole, and one by one, in spite
of the desperate efforts made to hold them, the imprisoned weapons were
at last dragged away, to reappear, stabbing furiously, till, breathless
with their exertions, the men once more drew back, several of the Edens
in their rage snatching their small mining-picks from their belts, one
hurling his into the hole, a wild yell telling that it had done its
work.
"Well," said Mark despondently, "what can we do?"
"Wait and see if they will come out and attack us. We are wasting
strength."
"Yes. It's no good. We ought to have brought a lot of blasting-powder,
Dan, and blown them out."
"Yes, Master Mark; but we didn't know. My advice is that we go back
now, and come again."
"Why, you're hurt," said Ralph excitedly, as he saw the blood streaming
down the man's arm.
"Ah, so's a lot of us, young master," growled the man. "Look at your
own lads."
Ralph took and raised a torch, and saw that half his own party,
including Nick Garth and Ram Jennings, were suffering from cuts and
stabs in their arms.
"Oh, they're nowt," growled Nick. "They've got it worse inside. Now
then, let's go at 'em again, or we shall never do it."
Another yell of defiance came from the passage, followed by mocking
invitations to them to come on again.
"Yah! You aren't men," roared Ram Jennings. "Rats, that's what you
are--rats. Only good to go and fight wi' women."
"It's of no good," said Mark bitterly. "I feel done. I haven't had a
single cut or thrust at one of the brutes; neither have you. We can't
do it."
"I don't like to say so," said Ralph, "but my father was a soldier, and
he said a good officer never wasted his men."
"Well, we're wasting ours," said Mark bitterly, "We must give up, and
come again."
"Stop," whispered Ralph. "I know. Give orders to your men quietly, and
I'll do so to mine. Then we'll throw the torches in at them with all
our might, and give a shout, and retreat as if we were beaten."
"And stop on each side of the mouth to catch them as they pursue us,"
said Mark excitedly, catching at the idea. "That's it."
The next moment they were hurrying from man to man, who heard them
sulkily, growling and panting in their rage. But they obeyed their
leaders' orders, getting their remaining links well ablaze, the holders
forming in front, and the rest quietly and quickly filing out by the
other end of the chamber.
"Now!" shouted Ralph suddenly. "In with them."
There was a rush of light, and the fiery missiles flew in through the
opening, falling amongst the defenders, and leaving the chamber in
comparative darkness, amidst which was heard the quick tramping of feet,
mingled with the yells of rage from the defenders.
The next minute, with Mark and Ralph coming last, all were outside the
mouth of the cavern, grouped in two parties, with presented weapons,
breathing the soft, cool night air, and waiting for the attack of their
foes.
Sound after sound came from the opening, but not such as they longed
with bated breath to hear. Once there was a loud order which came
rolling out, and a little later a gleam of lights was seen, but no rush
of footsteps, no sign of pursuit; and suddenly a voice broke the silence
of the peaceful night air, as Nick Garth roared out:
"'Taren't likely. Rats won't show for hours after the dogs have hunted
'em in their holes."
"Ah! might wait for a week," growled Dan Rugg. "It's all over for
to-night."
"They're right, Eden," whispered Ralph.
"Yes: they're right," said Mark, with a groan. "We're beaten--beaten,
like a pack of cowards. Let's go home."
"I did not see much cowardice," said Ralph bitterly. "But it's all
over, and we must retreat. Give the word."
"What! to retreat?" cried Mark passionately. "I'll die first."
"It is not fair to the men to keep them longer."
"Well, you're a soldier's son, and know best, I suppose. Give the word
yourself."
Ralph hesitated, for his companion's words seemed to be tinged by a
sneer, but he knew that it was madness to stay, and hesitating no
longer, he gave the word to retire.
"We're not going back for your orders," said one of Mark's followers
surlily.
"Yes, you are," cried his young master fiercely. "Back home now.
March!"
There was a low growling on both sides, but the orders were obeyed, and
slowly and painfully the two parties, stiff with exertion, and smarting
with wounds, filed over the steep stone-besprinkled slope.
As they walked down, the two lads drew closer together, and at last
began to talk in a low voice about their failure.
"Head hurt much?" said Ralph.
"Yes, horribly; and I've left that old iron pot behind. Air's cool to
it, though."
"Shall I bind it up?"
"No: don't bleed. I say."
"Yes."
"How are we going to meet our fathers to-morrow morning? Nice state the
poor lads are in."
Ralph uttered a gasp at the thought of it. There was no leading
prisoners back in triumph, with their hands bound behind them. They
were beaten--cruelly beaten, and he was silent as his companion, as they
tramped slowly on, at the head of their men, till the Steeple Stone was
seen looming up ahead, where they would separate, little thinking that
the worst was to come.
The lads halted to listen whether there was any sound of pursuit, and
the men filed slowly by till they were fifty yards ahead, when all at
once voices were heard in altercation, angry words were bandied from
side to side; and spurred by the same feeling of dread, the two leaders
dashed forward again.
Too late! The smouldering fires of years of hatred had been blown up by
a few gusty words of bitter reproach. Nick Garth had in his pain and
disappointment shouted out that if the party had been all Darleys the
adventure would have succeeded.
Dan Rugg had yelled back that it was the Darleys who played coward and
hung back; and the next moment, with a shout of rage, the two little
parties were at one another, getting rid of their rage and
disappointment upon those they looked upon as the real enemies of their
race.