The Three Commanders Part 36

"Oh, Mr Green, Archie and the man with him will be cut off if we don't pull in and help them," cried Tom, who, just as the boat got clear of the smoke, caught sight of the Cossacks.

Green on this pulled to the sh.o.r.e, and part of the two boats' crews landing, just as the Cossacks got within twenty yards of Archie and Tim, they opened fire, which emptied two of their saddles, and made the rest of the troop wheel quickly round; while Archie and Tim, having also fired their muskets, took to their heels and soon joined their shipmates.

"Give way, my lads," cried Higson, as he once more took his seat; "we've done the work effectually, and there's no use stopping to get fired at as we pull down the river."

The dense volume of smoke which rose up from the bank of the river completely concealed the Cossacks, and of course prevented them from seeing the boats, which they possibly might have supposed were still lying off the place, ready to commit other mischief. Higson had received orders, however, on no account to injure private property, and he could only hope that the flames had not reached the buildings he had seen beyond the storehouses. Just as they got a little way beyond the point there came the thundering sound of an explosion.

"That must be a magazine blown up," observed Tom.

"Perhaps one of the vessels has powder on board," said Green; "I think I caught sight of some spars through the smoke, but they may have been fragments of timber."

Just then there came another explosion as loud as the first, and scarcely had its echoes died away among the hills on the left when a third occurred.

"No doubt about it now," said Green; "some of the vessels we set on fire must have been laden with powder."

"I hope no unfortunate people were on board them. A pretty considerable amount of mischief we have done this morning," said Tom; "but I suppose it was our duty, so we mustn't think too much about it."

"Of course it was," answered Green; "if people will go to war, they must take the consequences."

"But perhaps the people didn't want to go to war," said Tom; "it was all their Emperor's doing."

"Then they ought not to live under such an Emperor," said Green.

"How can they help themselves?" asked Tom; "I daresay, if they had been asked they would have preferred remaining at peace."

"I confess that I don't feel any animosity against them; I would much rather be fighting the French; but they, by a sort of hocus-pocus, are our allies," remarked Green. "In reality we are not making war on the Russian people; we are expressly ordered not to injure any of their property; our business is only to destroy Government stores."

"Well, that's some comfort," said Tom, "though it may not always be easy to distinguish one from the other."

This conversation took place as the boats were pulling away, as hard as the men could lay their backs to the oars, down the river. As yet they had seen no Cossacks or foot-soldiers on either bank; possibly they might have remained to try to put out the fire, or the nature of the ground on the left bank, on which the stores were situated, prevented them from making rapid progress over it. As the boats had come up, Green had observed an extensive marsh with a wide stream, which, unless there was a bridge over it, would have alone proved an effectual barrier to the progress of cavalry. To the right, on which the houses had been seen, were high and picturesque hills, some rising almost directly out of the water, with fertile valleys, groves, orchards, and vineyards.

Had any number of armed men been in the neighbourhood, they might greatly have annoyed the boats as they went down. The tide, however, was with them, and they made rapid progress.

They could still see a cloud of smoke collected over the stores and vessels they had set on fire, which convinced them that any attempt which might have been made by the soldiers to extinguish the flames must have proved unsuccessful. They were pulling along, as has been said, at a rapid rate, when, in order to take the shortest course, they kept close round a wooded point on the right bank, the current, which was very strong, helping them along. Scarcely had they rounded the point when both boats struck with great force on a rocky ledge, the existence of which had not been perceived.

"We have made a pretty big hole in our boat, sir," observed Archie.

"Why, the water's running in like a mill-stream! Back all!" cried Higson; "now pull round the port oars."

The men gave way with all their might. Higson steered the boat to the sh.o.r.e. The water was almost up to their thwarts before they reached it; they all leaped out on the bank, or she would have sunk with them.

Green's boat had also received considerable damage, and he, not without difficulty, followed them.

"We are in a pretty plight," exclaimed Tom; "what are we to do now?"

"Repair the damages as fast as we can, and continue our course," said Higson.

To do this, however, it was necessary to haul the boats up; as they were full of water, this was a very difficult matter; they had to tow them along for some distance to a convenient spot, where the bank, shelving gently down, enabled them by degrees to get them up and bale the water out. Should the enemy find them while thus employed they would all be taken prisoners; Higson felt considerable anxiety on this score, his only consolation being that they might be exchanged for the commandant and garrison of the fort. By all working together they first hauled one boat up and then the other. Though the men got pretty wet in the operation, Higson and Green and the midshipmen kept tolerably dry.

"I say, Archie, are you not very hungry?" said Tom.

"Yes," answered Archie; "Mr Higson said he would go up to one of the houses on our way down, and try and get some food; I vote we ask him."

"He has probably forgotten all about it; I'll remind him," said Tom; "I know what will make him as eager as we are for something to eat Mr Higson," he said, going up to him, "don't you think, sir, it would be pleasant if we had a dish of Irish stew, with a few bottles of porter to discuss, while the boats are being put to rights?"

"What made you think of that, youngster?" asked Higson; licking his lips, however, at the bare thoughts of his favourite dish.

"You told Gordon, sir, when you came up, that you thought of putting in to try and get something to eat," answered Tom; "he and I are almost starved; and I should think you and Mr Green and the men must be pretty sharp set also. Now would be a good opportunity, and Gordon says that the cottage we saw a quarter of a mile or so off is the one which you thought so pretty, and where you said you would like to spend the remainder of your days."

"What business has he to be telling you what I said?" exclaimed Higson; "I don't approve of you youngsters chattering about me."

"Of course not, sir," said Tom; "but it was the thought of the Irish stew, or some other nice dish, which the good people of the house might be inclined to set before us, made us propose asking you to let us go up and try what we could get."

"Well, I have no objection to make an excursion to the house," said Higson, "provided we can ascertain that the coast is clear, and I will take one of you with me. As you can talk French, I shall take you and leave Gordon to a.s.sist the master."

"Thank you, sir," said Tom; "I am pretty sure that there are no Russians in the neighbourhood, or they would have been down on us some time ago."

Before starting, however, Higson, accompanied by Tom, took the precaution of climbing to the top of a hill, from whence they could look up and across the river, and over a considerable part of the right bank.

Not a human being was visible moving anywhere, nor was a boat of any description to be seen floating on the surface of the stream. Had it not been for the houses and the cultivated ground, they might have supposed that they were in some wild country; the fact being, probably, that the male part of the population had been drawn off either to garrison the forts or to serve in the army, while the women were attending to their household duties within doors.

Higson, directing Green to launch the boats as soon as they were repaired, and to fire a musket should any enemy appear, and promising to bring the party some food if he could obtain it, set off with Tom in the direction of the country-house he had thought so attractive. The first part of their way was over wild ground, without any beaten track; but as it was tolerably open, they were able to get along without difficulty.

At length they came upon a path which led apparently from the house to a landing-place, near which a small, gaily-painted boat was hauled up, and a boathouse, which they concluded contained a larger craft.

"Now, this looks as if the people in the house yonder are well to do,"

observed Higson, "and are likely to have a good store of provisions."

"That is of the chief consequence to us just now," said Tom; "shall we go up to the front entrance and tell them our errand, or find out the back door, and get a servant to go in and say what we want?"

"Go in at once and explain what we require," answered Higson.

While speaking they were making their way along the path they had discovered. In a short time they reached a small gate, and seeing the roof of the house over the shrubbery, they concluded that by going through the gate they could make a shorter cut through it. As time was of consequence, they accordingly proceeded on by the pathway which led through the shrubbery, when, just as they were about to emerge from it, they heard the sound of a female voice singing in an accomplished and very sweet manner. Higson put his hand on Tom's arm, and signed to him to stop.

Those who have for many months been accustomed to the roar of guns, the howling of the tempest, and the gruff voice of the boatswain, may conceive what effect such dulcet notes were likely to produce on the lieutenant and midshipman. They stopped for some time listening with delight.

"I would not for the world run the risk of frightening her, whoever she is," said Higson, when at length the lady ceased singing; "if we go on, we shall come directly in front of the room in which she is sitting; the window is open, or we should not hear the sound so plainly. We must try and find some other way of approaching the house."

"If you will let me, sir, I'll creep forward and try to get a look through the trees without being seen," said Tom, who was highly delighted with the adventure, which promised, as he hoped, to be of a romantic character. He was more of an age to enjoy the sort of thing than his lieutenant. Higson, however, preferred looking for himself, as he was, in reality, quite as much interested as Tom. They could just see that the path opened out on a gravel walk, which ran along the well-kept, smooth lawn, with flower-beds dotted about on it. Just at this juncture they heard a childish laugh, and caught sight of a little boy with a hat in his hand, running across the lawn in chase of a b.u.t.terfly, presently pursued by a young lady in a white muslin dress, who, overtaking him, lifted him up in her arms, and was returning with him to the window, from which she had apparently issued, when her eyes fell on the two strangers. She stopped and looked at them, without exhibiting any particular sign of alarm, apparently wondering who they could be and what had brought them there.

The little boy, however, uttered a loud cry, which produced a question from another person who was yet invisible. As they were now discovered, they did the best thing that, under the circ.u.mstances, they could do.

Taking off their caps, they advanced with low bows, when they saw another young lady who had just come through the Venetian window which opened on to the lawn, under a broad verandah running along the side of the house.

"Pray do not be frightened, young ladies," said Higson, bowing first to one and then to the other; "we had no intention of intruding on you so suddenly, and I beg you ten thousand pardons."

As neither of the ladies replied, Tom thought that they probably did not understand English, and began repeating in French, as far as his knowledge of the language enabled him, what his lieutenant had said.

The young lady who had just appeared at the window, and who was evidently the elder of the two, smiled as she listened to Tom's bad French. "You have not alarmed us, I a.s.sure you," she answered at length, in very good English. "Gentlemen, I know, would not act uncourteously. I am surprised, however, at seeing you, as our two nations are unhappily at war; but may I inquire whence you have come, and what it is you want?"

Higson, of course, did not think it necessary to say that they had been up the river burning the Russian granaries and vessels, and he merely therefore explained that they had landed from some men-of-war's boats, and, having come away without provisions, would be very much obliged if they could be informed where they could obtain food for themselves and their men.

"This seems very strange," said the young lady; "I thought that none of the enemy's boats could come up the river past the fort at its entrance, of which our papa is the commandant. We heard a great deal of firing yesterday evening, and were very anxious to know what it was about; but were a.s.sured by Herr Groben, our brothers' tutor, that some English vessels, which were attacking it, had been beaten off, and that no harm could have happened to the defenders; indeed, three of our war-steamers went out from the river, and we of course supposed a.s.sisted to put the English to flight. You have, I hope, therefore, come up with a flag of truce? Surely Herr Groben could not have been mistaken. Can you give us any tidings of our papa?"