The Lighthouse Part 23

"Chroniclers write lies sometimes," interrupted the captain curtly.

"Perhaps they do; but you will admit, I dare say, that the women and children were thrown into a great state of alarm."

"I'm not so sure of that," interposed Ruby. "In a town where the men were so bold, the women and children would be apt to feel very much at their ease. At all events, I am acquainted with _some_ women who are not easily frightened."

"Really, I think it is not fair to interrupt the story in this way,"

said Minnie, with a laugh.

"Right, la.s.s, right," said the captain. "Come, leftenant, spin away at yer yarn, and don't ventur' too much commentary thereon, 'cause it's apt to lead to error, an' ye know, as the poet says--

"`Errors in the heart breed errors in the brain, An' these are apt to twist ye wrong again.'

"I'm not 'xactly sure o' the precise words in this case, but that's the sentiment, and everybody knows that sentiment is everything in poetry, whether ye understand it or not. Fire away, leftenant, an' don't be long-winded if ye can help it."

"Well, to return to the point," resumed Lindsay. "The town was certainly thrown into a tremendous state of _some_ sort, for the people had no arms of any kind wherewith to defend themselves. There were no regular soldiers, no militia, and no volunteers. Everybody ran wildly about in every direction, not knowing what to do. There was no leader, and, in short, the town was very like a shoal of small fish in a pool when a boy wades in and makes a dash amongst them.

"At last a little order was restored by the Provost, who was a sensible old man, and an old soldier to boot, but too infirm to take as active a part in such an emergency as he would have done had he been a dozen years younger. He, with several of the princ.i.p.al men of the town, went down to the beach to receive the bearers of the flag of truce.

"The boat was manned by a crew of five or six seamen, armed with cutla.s.ses and arquebusses. As soon as its keel grated on the sand a smart little officer leaped ash.o.r.e, and presented to the Provost a letter from Captain Fall, which ran somewhat in this fashion:--

"`At Sea, _May twenty-third_.

"`Gentlemen,--I send these two words to inform you, that I will have you to bring-to the French colour in less than a quarter of an hour, or I set the town on fire directly. Such is the order of my master, the King of France, I am sent by. Send directly the Mair and chiefs of the town to make some agreement with me, or I'll make my duty. It is the will of yours,--G. FALL.

"`To Monsieur Mair of the town called Arbrought, or in his absence to the chief man after him in Scotland.'

"On reading this the Provost bowed respectfully to the officer, and begged of him to wait a few minutes while he should consult with his chief men. This was agreed to, and the Provost said to his friends, as he walked to a neighbouring house--

"`Ye see, freens, this whipper-snapper o' a tade-eater has gotten the whup hand o' us; but we'll be upsides wi' him. The main thing is to get delay, so cut away, Tam Cargill, and tak' horse to Montrose for the sodgers. Spare na the spur, lad, an' gar them to understan' that the case is urgent.'

"While Tam Cargill started away on his mission, the Provost, whose chief aim was to gain time and cause delay, penned an epistle to the Frenchman, in which he stated that he had neglected to name the terms on which he would consent to spare the town, and that he would consider it extremely obliging if he would, as speedily as possible, return an answer, stating them, in order that they might be laid before the chief men of the place."

"When the Provost, who was a grave, dignified old man, with a strong dash of humour in him, handed this note to the French officer, he did so with a humble obeisance that appeared to afford much gratification to the little man. As the latter jumped into the boat and ordered the men to push off, the Provost turned slowly to his brother magistrates with a wink and a quiet smile that convulsed them with suppressed laughter, and did more to encourage any of the wavering or timid inhabitants than if he had harangued them heroically for an hour.

"Some time after the boat returned with a reply, which ran thus:--

"`At Sea, _eight o'clock in the Afternoon_.'

"`Gentlemen,--I received just now your answer, by which you say I ask no terms. I thought it was useless, since I asked you to come aboard for agreement. But here are my terms:--I will have 30,000 pounds sterling at least, and six of the chiefs men of the town for otage. Be speedy, or I shot your town away directly, and I set fire to it. I am, gentlemen, your servant,--G. FALL.

"`I sent some of my crew to you, but if some harm happens to them, you'll be sure we'll hang up the mainyard all the prisoners we have aboard.

"`To Monsieurs the chiefs men of Arbrought in Scotland.'

"I'm not quite certain," continued the lieutenant, "what were the exact words of the Provost's reply to this letter, but they conveyed a distinct and contemptuous refusal to accede to any terms, and, I believe, invited Fall to come ash.o.r.e, where, if he did not get precisely what he had asked, he would be certain to receive a great deal more than he wanted.

"The enraged and disappointed Frenchman at once began a heavy fire upon the town, and continued it for a long time, but fortunately it did little or no harm, as the town lay in a somewhat low position, and Fall's guns being too much elevated, the shot pa.s.sed over it.

"Next day another letter was sent to the Provost by some fishermen, who were captured while fishing off the Bell Rock. This letter was as tremendous as the two former. I can give it to you, word for word, from memory.

"`At Sea, _May_ 24th.'

"`Gentlemen,--See whether you will come to some terms with me, or I come in presently with my cutter into the arbour, and I will cast down the town all over. Make haste, because I have no time to spare. I give you a quarter of an hour to your decision, and after I'll make my duty. I think it would be better for you, gentlemen, to come some of you aboard presently, to settle the affairs of your town. You'll sure no to be hurt. I give you my parole of honour. I am your, G. FALL.'

"When the Provost received this he looked round and said, `Now, gentlemen all, we'll hae to fight. Send me Ogilvy.'

"`Here I am, Provost,' cried a stout, active young fellow; something like what the captain must have been when he was young, I should think!"

"Ahem!" coughed the captain.

"Well," continued Lindsay, "the Provost said, `Now, Ogilvy, you're a smart cheel, an' ken aboot war and strategy and the like: I charge ye to organise the men o' the toon without delay, and tak' what steps ye think adveesable. Meanwhile, I'll away and ripe oot a' the airms and guns I can find. Haste ye, lad, an' mak' as muckle noise aboot it as ye can.'

"`Trust me,' said Ogilvy, who appeared to have been one of those men who regard a fight as a piece of good fun.

"Turning to the mult.i.tude, who had heard the commission given, and were ready for anything, he shouted, `Now, boys, ye heard the Provost. I need not ask if you are all ready to fight--'

"A deafening cheer interrupted the speaker, who, when it ceased, proceeded--

"`Well, then, I've but one piece of advice to give ye: _Obey orders at once_. When I tell ye to halt, stop dead like lampposts; when I say, "Charge!" go at them like wild cats, and drive the Frenchmen into the sea!' `Hurrah!' yelled the crowd, for they were wild with excitement and rage, and only wanted a leader to organise them and make them formidable. When the cheer ceased, Ogilvy cried, `Now, then, every man who knows how to beat a kettledrum and blow a trumpet come here.'

"About twenty men answered to the summons, and to these Ogilvy said aloud, in order that all might hear, `Go, get you all the trumpets, drums, horns, bugles, and trombones in the town; beat the drums till they split, and blow the bugles till they burst, and don't give in till ye can't go on. The rest of you,' he added, turning to the crowd, `go, get arms, guns, swords, pistols, scythes, pitchforks, pokers--any thing, everything--and meet me at the head of Market-gate--away!'

"No king of necromancers ever dispersed his legions more rapidly than did Ogilvy on that occasion. They gave one final cheer, and scattered like chaff before the wind, leaving their commander alone, with a select few, whom he kept by him as a sort of staff to consult with and despatch with orders.

"The noise that instantly ensued in the town was something pandemoniacal. Only three drums were found, but tin kettles and pans were not wanting, and these, superintended by Hugh Barr, the town drummer, did great execution. Three key-bugles, an old French horn, and a tin trumpet of a mail-coach guard, were sounded at intervals in every quarter of the town, while the men were marshalled, and made to march hither and thither in detached bodies, as if all were busily engaged in making preparations for a formidable defence.

"In one somewhat elevated position a number of men were set to work with spades, picks, and shovels, to throw up an earthwork. When it had a.s.sumed sufficiently large dimensions to attract the attention of the French, a body of men, with blue jackets, and caps with bits of red flannel hanging down the sides, were marched up behind it at the double, and posted there.

"Meanwhile Ogilvy had prepared a dummy field piece, by dismounting a cart from its wheels and fixing on the axle a great old wooden pump, not unlike a big gun in shape; another cart was attached to this to represent a limber; four horses were harnessed to the affair; two men mounted these, and, amid a tremendous flourish of trumpets and beating of drums, the artillery went crashing along the streets and up the eminence crowned by the earthwork, where they wheeled the gun into position.

"The artillerymen sprang at the old pump like true Britons, and began to sponge it out as if they had been bred to gunnery from childhood, while the limber was detached and galloped to the rear. In this operation the cart was smashed to pieces, and the two hindmost horses were thrown; but this mattered little, as they had got round a corner, and the French did not see it.

"Fall and his brave men seem to have been upset altogether by these warlike demonstrations, for the moment the big gun made its appearance the sails were shaken loose, and the French privateer sheered off; capturing as he left the bay, however, several small vessels, which he carried off as prizes to France. And so," concluded the lieutenant, "Captain Fall sailed away, and never was heard of more."

"Well told; well told, leftenant," cried the captain, whose eyes sparkled at the concluding account of the defensive operations, "and true every word of it."

"That's good testimony to my truthfulness, then," said Lindsay, laughing, "for you were there yourself!"

"There yourself, uncle?" repeated Minnie, with a glance of surprise that quickly changed into a look of intelligence, as she exclaimed, with a merry laugh, "Ah! I see. It was _you_, uncle, who did it all; who commanded on that occasion--"

"My child," said the captain, resuming his pipe with an expression of mild reproof on his countenance, "don't go for to pry too deep into things o' the past. I _may_ have been a fire-eater once--I _may_ have been a gay young feller as could--; but no matter. Avast musin'! As Lord Bacon says--

"`The light of other days is faded, An' all their glory's past; My boots no longer look as they did, But, like my coat, are goin' fast.'

"But I say, leftenant, how long do you mean to keep pullin' about here, without an enemy, or, as far as I can see, an object in view? Don't you think we might land, and let Minnie see some of the caves?"

"With all my heart, captain, and here is a convenient bay to run the boat ash.o.r.e."