The Admirable Lady Biddy Fane Part 29

Coming to a distance, she had yet so much feeling that grat.i.tude rose in her bosom above the instinct of self-preservation, and she turned about, raising her arms in the air as if to bless Lady Biddy. At that moment, seeing her thus exposed, a Portugal c.o.c.ks his musket, and, clapping it to his shoulder, fires at her; but by good chance I, standing not more than a yard off, was enabled by a quick movement to fling the fellow's arm up, whereby the ball pa.s.sed harmlessly over her head. With another wild cry of joy she turned about and fled out of sight, nor did any of the Portugals attempt to follow her more than a score of yards or so, for loaded as they were with their arms, to pursue her, who was light on foot as any deer, was a profitless folly.

This business did not prove more clearly than words what a liar Lewis de Pino was, for surely the girl would not so joyously have recovered freedom if that was true that he told of the barbarity of her kinsfolk.

But for all this he did persevere in defending himself as we continued our march, and, to my mortification, Lady Biddy allowed herself, as I judged by her manner, to be beguiled by his crafty tongue. So that I was not much better pleased with her this day than I had been the day before.

Indeed, it was past my comprehension how one of her understanding could fail to see that this Lewis de Pino, for all his good looks and fair speaking, was an arrant rascal; but that was no such extraordinary matter neither, for as the day began to draw in I began to doubt whether I had not suffered him to deceive me, who was by no means under the charm of his personal gifts. For, taking note of the position of the sun pretty frequently, and making all allowance for the turns of the path in winding amongst the mountains, I came to the conclusion that we had been traveling for these two days full south, and rather a point or so to the east of it than to the west. Then calling to mind as well as I could the look of the chart, it grew upon me that we were not making in the direction of Caracas at all, by reason that the chain of mountains there set down ran east and west, with Caracas lying not more than half a dozen leagues from the sea.

As this conviction became stronger, I was troubled beyond description, for to go back was out of the question; while to go on was to lay ourselves more inevitably in the power of Lewis de Pino. So, with a heart like any lump of lead, I laid me in my net that night; yet might I have counted myself a happy man at that time could I have foreseen the greater trouble that was to come, as I shall show in the next chapter.

CHAPTER x.x.xVIII.

I AM OVERCOME AND CLAPPED UP IN ONE OF THOSE STRONG TOWERS.

We set out from that station the next morning about seven o'clock with another pole of six slaves added to our number, and, toiling upwards, in about two hours we came out of the woods into a very wild, rocky country, where scarcely any herb grew for the height and abundance of stone. Sometimes the path wound along the edge of horrid precipices, and sometimes between prodigious high rocks, and this way I counted we crossed over a low chain of mountains; for about noon we began to descend again, but the road so steep and foul with loose stones that 'twas as much as the mules could do to keep their feet at times. As for the poor slaves, their pain was great indeed, by reason of being yoked to the poles one behind the other; for if one slipped she was as good as strangled in her collar; and if those behind could not keep pace with those before, they were like all to be thrown down. To see the sweat pouring down their dusky skins, the agony in their faces, the blood on their feet and legs cut by the sharp stones, was enough to melt any heart of stone. Yet that which did move me was their silence in the midst of their suffering; no herd of spent cattle could have shown more patient endurance.

An hour of sliding and stumbling brought us to a station at the bottom of this rocky valley; but it was unlike the other two, in having no trees around it, and a stone wall in place of a stockade; besides that, it was twice as big. The tower also was greater and stronger here, and the men had not that same aspect, but looked ten times more cruel and brutal. Every man of them carried arms, as if he mistrusted his fellows, and all had a very hang-dog look in their sullen faces. This, I take it, came partly of their living always in that grim, barren valley, where the sun never shone; and partly of their occupation, which was to goad on and watch over the slaves who worked mines in that region; for I observed that men's looks do take on the aspect of the surroundings and the character of the company they keep; and truly these fellows looked as sullen and forbidding as the rocks, with something of that dull, hopeless expression that marked the faces of their slaves.

After I had eaten my dinner (Lady Biddy having gone to her chamber to rest until it was time to set out again) I went to the door of the hut, and looking up saw Lewis de Pino in close conversation with a fellow who seemed to be the chief of the gang. When I saw how they lay their heads together, speaking low so that not a sound of their voices could I hear, my mind misgave me; but presently the rogue whom I called the chief goes up to the slaves and examines them, opening their eyes and pinching their flesh, as if to know if they were healthy or not; and then he takes Lewis de Pino to a box and shows him some pieces of metal, so that I concluded they were only trafficking their wares. Wherefore, being disgusted with the whole business, I turned my back on them, and flung myself on the net that hung in the hut, where I presently fell asleep.

How long I had lain there I know not (nor is it any great matter), but I was awoke rudely enough by four st.u.r.dy rascals laying hands on me at the same time that a fifth did cram a filthy clout in my mouth by way of gag. Seeing they meant to do me mischief, I put out all my strength to get free of their hands, and out of that accursed net on to the firm ground, where I might better defend myself; but all to no purpose, for the net gave no hold to my feet or vantage-point of any kind, so that I presently found myself bound hand and foot to my bed, with no more power to get out of it than if it had been my skin. And all this was done without so much as a word or any perceptible sound, for their feet were bare.

Seeing I was secure, they cut the cords that fastened the two ends of the net to the roof, and one fellow shouldering the end at my head and another that at my heels, they carried me out of the hut, and so jogged along pretty briskly till they reached the tower. Here the stairs being narrow and awkward, they flung me on the ground till they had tied a long cord to my feet, when four of them went to the head of the stairs, and pulling on to the cord with a will, they dragged me to the upper story like any bag of malt. From the landing they hauled me into a dim chamber, and there they left me to get out of my bonds as I might; going out by the door, which they barred and bolted close.

For a few moments I lay there stupefied by the rough usage I had been put to (for being dragged up heels foremost in the way I have described had thrown the blood into my head), but as my intelligence returned I saw that I had been clapped up in order that Lewis de Pino might carry off my Lady Biddy without opposition from me. No sooner did this idea come into my mind than I set to like a madman struggling to burst the cords that bound me; but this rash endeavor only drew the knots tighter, without breaking a strand of those hard ropes; yet was I made so frantic by the image of harm coming to my dear lady that I never paused to consider whether my strength might be better employed than in these vain efforts, nor heeded the wounds I inflicted on my own flesh, but still tore at the bonds with my bleeding wrists, as if my life depended on getting free; nay, I do believe that had a tiger been in that chamber, drawing near to tear me with his b.l.o.o.d.y fangs, I could have looked upon him with greater calm than I could support the image of my lady being borne away from me. So in a frenzy that grew with the conviction of my impotency rather than diminished, I labored as though I would tear my hands off to free my arms, until all my strength was spent, and I lay motionless, but for the throbbing of my chest, as I panted for breath.

This brought me to a more reasonable state of mind, and as I got out of my faintness I began to wriggle my hands about without straining overmuch, and, thanks to the rope being made somewhat slippery with the blood from my wrists, I presently got one hand loose, and after that it was but a trifling matter (when I had freed my mouth from that beastly thing they had crammed in to gag me withal) to free the other, and after that my legs and ankles.

And now, seeing that I had done more to get my freedom by a ten minutes'

patient endeavor than I had come, at in furiously struggling for the best part of an hour (and that without doing myself any mischief), I made up my mind to go about my business in a reasonable fashion henceforth. So getting on my legs I looked about me to find what part of my prison it was easiest to break through; and this gave me but little comfort, for no part seemed weaker than the rest, but all alike prodigious stout and strong.

The four walls were of solid stone, with no opening save the door, and six narrow slits, no bigger than rifts for shooting arrows, to admit light, and they higher up than I could get at with my hand, standing on my toes. The roof sprang from the walls about fifteen feet from the floor, and the cross-beams were boarded over. But casting my eye this way and that way, I saw a c.h.i.n.k of light here and there, which led me to think these boards were not nailed down, but laid loosely down for the convenience of making a c.o.c.k-loft there, and also that the roof must have some opening for the light thus to creep through.

Now I thought that if I could once get into the c.o.c.k-loft the affair would be best part done; for if there were no dormer window, yet might I shift the shingles or the tiles of the roof, and so make an opening wide enough to creep through; and I counted that those cords which had bound me, tied together with the net-bed, which might be cut into three strips, and yet have strength to bear my weight, would serve to let me down some part of the way to the ground. What I should do after I got to the ground I did not trouble myself to consider; the main thing was to get out of the tower safely.

The more I looked at the c.h.i.n.ks above, the more I liked my project; but how to make my way up into the c.o.c.k-loft, as I call it, was the plague.

I pa.s.sed my hands carefully over every part of the walls within reach, hoping to find some hole or cranny to climb up by; but the stones were all smooth and flush, so that a cat could not have climbed up them. Nor was there anything in the shape of furniture that I might build up for a ladder. There was naught within these four walls but myself and the net I had been trussed up in. Taking up one of the cords from the ground, and weighing it in my hand, I asked myself if I could by any means turn it to my purpose; after thinking some little while, it came into my mind that if I made a big knot at one end, and thrust it through one of the rifts so that it would hitch on the outer side of the wall, I might then make a loop or two in the loose end, by which I could raise myself against the wall to the height of the said rift, and so reach up to the loose boards, if loose they were, above. The scheme was wild enough, but as I saw no better I began at once to put it into execution.

First of all I chose the longer of the cords, and made two loops in it to serve me as stirrups; then, taking a piece of the net, I rolled it into a hard ball, about as big as I might thrust through the rift; and, having bound this about with another cord, I fastened it securely to my stirrups, with length enough, as I judged, to allow the ball to pa.s.s through to the outer edge of the wall, where I hoped it would hitch.

When I had done this to my satisfaction, I began to cast about how I was to get it through the rift, which was a difficulty I had not foreseen.

"If I had only a pole," says I to myself--"a pole about two yards long!"

But, Lord! while I was about it I might just as well have wished for a step-ladder of three yards to carry me at once into the c.o.c.k-loft.

However, growing a little desperate to find myself thus baulked for want of a stick, I made a spring upward, and, getting my hand in the rift, I contrived to hang there some while; but as to dragging myself up so that I could get my knot through with my other hand, that I could not do, strive as I might; nor do I think it possible that any man, though he were l.u.s.ty as Samson, could have compa.s.sed that business.

Now was I pretty well at my wits' end; yet, being of a stubborn nature, I would not allow myself to be beaten, and still clung to the notion of scaling the wall with my precious rope stirrups. But it was clear that I could do nothing without some sort of hold for my foot to rest on as I hung from the rift, and so once more I began to feel about the wall for a hole to set my toes in.

There was a joint in the stonework about four feet from the ground, where the mortar gave way under my nail, but the crack was not as wide as my finger. However, I had a clasp-knife in my pocket, which Dom Sebastian had given me (for the Portugals do never go about without such weapons for their defense), and with this I determined to cut away the stone if I might. So at it I went without more ado.

I had scarcely begun this toil when I heard some one ascending the stairs that led to my prison.

"Now," thinks I, "am I undone. For if they come in here and see my knotted rope, they will certainly take it from me, and there will be an end of my only hope."

The steps came nearer and stopped; then I heard the bar being taken down. Upon this, with the hope of exciting fear, I set up a most violent shout, as if I were beside myself with rage, and rushing to the door beat it furiously with my fists and feet, whereupon there was a silence outside, as if the fellow was considering whether he had not best leave me alone for the present; and that he had come to this conclusion was made evident presently by his clapping up the bar again. After this I heard a shuffling on the ground, and the next minute his steps, as he descended the stairs.

I was mightily pleased with myself at the success of my stratagem, and, going back to the wall, set to work again at cutting the stone with my knife.

I ground and sc.r.a.ped till the blade of my knife was as hot as fire, but when I examined the stone with my finger, to see if the hole were anything like big enough yet, I found that I had made no perceptible difference in it whatever, which did so vex me that I was ready to tear my hair, or commit any other extravagance. Then, casting my eyes at the wall where the light from the rift fell, I was terrified to observe how the shadow had shifted since I first began, so that I concluded it must be getting towards sundown, by which I reckoned I must have been four or five hours at this business, and was pretty near as far as ever from making my escape. Whereupon I was beset with a kind of rage, and, accusing myself of indolence, cut again at the stone with redoubled energy. The result of this mad haste was that the blade of my knife snapped in half before I had worked a couple of minutes. Then I flung it down on the ground, and, resting my arm against the wall, I laid my face there, and could have wept for vexation.

But this was not to be endured for any time. Glancing again at the wall, it seemed to me the shadow had traveled a foot further.

"Every moment," says I to myself, "puts my lady further from me. Coward or fool! are you content to do nothing? Will you give up the hope of saving her because of a trifle? Have you no more heart and hardihood than this?"

With this, I picked up my knife again, and finding yet a couple of inches left of the blade, I once more set to work, but with more prudence. Yet every now and then would I turn to watch the shadow, saying to myself, "Now she is a league further away--she has been carried a full mile since last I looked," etc.

Sometimes my heart would grow heavy as stone with despair, as I noted the little effect I made; and then, that I might not lose courage, I would not feel what progress I had made, but ground on steadily, like the movement of a clock. But, though I did not tax my strength, the sweat streamed down my face and body, so that my shirt clung cold to my body with the wet from my skin, by reason of my anxiety.

After a while, when the light was sensibly fading, a faintness came upon me, and I felt dried up with thirst. Resting for strength to come, I bethought me that perhaps my jailer had no intention but to give me food when he came to the door. Then the hope led me to think that perhaps he had come back softly, and, hearing no sound, had ventured to open the door quietly, and slip a pitcher of water within for my comfort.

I went to the door, and, groping on the ground (for in that part it was very dark), I laid my hand on a loose piece of paper. It occurred to me in an instant (so quickly do our wishes summon conjecture) that Lady Biddy had found means to send me a message, and that the man who was charged with it, fearing to enter, had slid it beneath the door, which explained the shuffling sound I had heard before he went down.

I rushed back with the precious treasure, and, holding it as near the light from the rift as I could, read the inscription on the outside: "To my dear Cousin Benet."

And then, laughing like a fool for joy, I claps it to my mouth and kisses it.

CHAPTER x.x.xIX.

HOW I WAS LED ON BY Pa.s.sION TO CUT A MAN'S THROAT.

As soon as I had got the better of my ecstasy, I held the letter again up to the light, yet could not make out one word of it, for the tears of gladness in my eyes. However, I brushed these away with my hand impatiently, and so held the letter up again, but still with the knife in my hand, for I was now more eager than ever to accomplish my design and overtake my lady, who, I doubted not, had writ me some comforting words to let me know how I might best come at her. And now, my eyes being clear, I read her letter, which I can repeat word for word; for, sure, I read it a hundred times, and each word did engrave itself into my memory.

"We are overtaken," the letter began, "by soldiers charged to carry us back to Castello Lagos, and surrender us into the hands of Rodrigues. To save me from such a fate, which was worse than death tenfold, Senhor de Pino has offered to convey me to Caracas. I have tried, but in vain, to obtain the same favor for you; but he dare not venture upon it. Indeed, he endangers his own life in saving me, wherefore I look to you to support the story he has given out to account for not obeying the governor's orders to the letter--to wit, that I have perished by the way. I know you are too reasonable and too generous to bear me ill-will for abandoning you, for sure you will own I have no choice but to do so.

Farewell, Benet. Oh, may Providence be merciful to you!"

When I had came to the end, and turned it about, to see if there was not some little kind word that I had overlooked and could find none, the knife dropped from my hand; and truly all vigor and power seemed gone from my body, so that my limbs trembled under me as if I had just risen from a bed of sickness.

Then I could not believe I had read aright, and so went through it again and again and again; after that, pondering each word, to see if I could not make it appear a little better than it looked.

At last, when I could no longer see the writing for want of light, I flung myself p.r.o.ne on the ground, and gave myself up to the most miserable reflections ever man endured. It was as if a miser had suddenly discovered all his gold turned to fine ashes; for no miser ever prized his pieces for their true ring and bright l.u.s.tre more than I valued Lady Biddy for her loyalty, and generous, loving disposition; and now I could find nothing but heartless ingrat.i.tude and careless cruelty in her nature, to abandon me thus, without a word of regret or comfort.

It seemed to me as if her chief end in writing was to obtain security for herself and Lewis de Pino, by persuading me to support the story of her death; and with such a cold, cruel heart, to invoke the mercy of Providence towards me was nothing but hypocrisy, with a taint of blasphemy.

"Had she studied to crush the love out of my heart she could not have writ more unkindly," says I to myself. Then it came to my mind that this cruelty was studied to that end, in order that my pa.s.sion might not give me the power to escape and rejoin her. And the more I thought of this, the more likely it appeared. "She has Lewis de Pino," says I, grinding my teeth in rage, "and has no further need of me."