CHAPTER XV
THE SECRET PASSAGE
WHEN I came to, I found myself lying on the grass of the courtyard, with my friends Granville and Colonel Firestone kneeling by my side.
The former had a blood-stained scarf bound round his head, while Firestone's steel cap bore a dent that was a silent testimony to his valour. It was nearly dark, but there was sufficient light to see that on the ground were several motionless objects that but a few short hours before had been the living defenders of my home.
The assault had failed, but the solitary gun still kept up a steady fire.
"How goes the day?" I asked feebly, for my head was whirling, and my throat parched with thirst. "We hurled them back," replied Ralph. "Chaloner's dead we found his body in the breach. At the last moment, when we thought everything was lost, one of the rebels raised a cry that the breach was mined, and they gave back in confusion."
"And how have we fared?"
"Badly. Nine good men killed, and five sorely wounded. There are not ten men left whole. I fear we cannot withstand another onslaught."
"Then we must make use of the secret passage!" I exclaimed, starting painfully to my feet. "None can say that we have not borne ourselves with honour."
Beyond being knocked senseless by the musketeers weapon I was unhurt, and after partaking of food and drink, I felt stronger, though weak in the limbs. For some unexpected reason the rebels did not offer to renew the attack, and in consequence we were able to enjoy a good night's sleep.
Early the following day we had the mournful task of burying the bodies of those who had fallen in the defence of the castle. Especially mournful 'twas as far as I was concerned, since I had known every one of them, save one, from my earliest days. The exception was Sergeant Lawson, who, after slaying four men with his own hand, was shot down at close range by a musketeer.
This done, we inspected the breach, where the bodies of the slain rebels lay thick.
As I looked at Chaloner's corpse, stiff and cold, with the dishonourable wound in the back of his neck plainly visible—for in falling his helmet had come off—I could not help remembering my father's injunction never to let the renegade's footsteps cross our threshold.
I had indeed carried out my sire's instructions, for my enemy had never planted his feet within our walls, though 'twas a near thing.
While at breakfast—the last meal I was fated to partake of within those walls—I questioned the colonel concerning the spiking of the guns.
"'Twas of little avail," he replied. "The mischief was already done. Had we managed it before the breach was made, the result might have been different, and we could still make good our defence. True, we spiked them, but the rebels discovered us ere we made a proper business of the last. I gave the word that each man should look to himself, but I fear they were all overtaken and shot down. For my part, I knew that running was out of the question, so I crawled beneath the gun till those in pursuit had passed by. Then I made good my escape to the woods, but did not hesitate to steal a horse belonging to a rebel officer, and biding my time, rejoined you. As I said, 'twas of little avail, and a matter which anyone could perform."
"A gallant deed, notwithstanding," replied Granville warmly.
"A truce to compliments, young sir," rejoined the colonel. "Look yonder!"
One glance sufficed to show that the rebels were massing for another attack, and if we wished to save ourselves, no time was to be lost.
Our first act was to convey our wounded to the entrance to the secret passage, leaving a man with a lighted lantern to facilitate our retreat. This done, we deliberated whether we should give the rebels warning of our intentions of blowing up the castle, or involve as many of them as possible in the explosion.
Firestone favoured the latter course, arguing that they were rebels, that they refused us quarter, though forsooth we had not asked it, and also that such were the usages of warfare; but Granville and I were opposed to his suggestion.
"They are Englishmen, though they be rebels," I argued, "and the men are acting under the orders of their officers. For my part, I have the satisfaction of knowing that Chaloner will never own this heap of stones, though the rebels seek to gain possession of the castle; but that is no reason why I should like to take life heedlessly."
"As ye will, then," grumbled the colonel. "You were ever a strange lad in such matters. Then we had better take immediate steps to acquaint them with the fact."
We then liberated our sole prisoner, and bidding him inform the Roundhead officers that we intended to blow up the castle, and warning them to keep away, as they valued the safety of their men's lives, we sent the captured pikeman back to the rebel lines.
Meanwhile I had sent a man to the stables for the purpose of shooting our six remaining horses, for though I could not bear to see the deed done, 'twas better than to leave them to the mercy of a horde of rebels, supposing they survived the explosion.
Mustering the survivors of our little band, I informed them, much to their surprise—for they had fully expected to perish to a man in the assault—that we were able to evacuate the castle without further loss of life.
I next paid them according to my father's orders, thanking them for their loyal services both to His Majesty and to our house. Thereupon they gave three lusty cheers, showing that their courage and patriotism even in danger and defeat were undiminished.
Led by Granville, the men marched in good order and without undue haste through the powder magazine, and down the steps leading to the underground passage. Firestone and I tarried to give a final glance back; then, descending the shattered staircase of the tower, we made our way to the magazine.
Here a double train was already laid, and a light close at hand. With the utmost deliberation Firestone applied a flame to each of the sinister ribbons; then, after making sure that both were well kindled, we hurried down the steps to the passage that led to safety.
By the glare of a pair of torches and a lantern we could see our way without difficulty, though our progress was slow by reason of the transport of the wounded men. The tunnel was paved with rough slabs of stone, while the walls and arched roof were composed of flints set in hard cement. The smoke from the torches dispelled any noxious odours, but of damp we found no trace.
We passed three massive doors in quick succession, and bearing in mind my father's warning, we closed and bolted them as we passed. Then, in silence, broken only by the dull rumble of our feet that re-echoed along the hollow passage, we slowly continued our way.
Suddenly there was a deep boom like the noise of distant thunder, and the solid ground beneath our feet trembled with the shock.
The explosion had taken place. Ashley Castle was no more!
Neither Granville nor Firestone spoke to me, for which I felt thankful, my heart being too full of grief and mortification. Like Ralph, I was now homeless, and except for the fact that I had not laid down my life, I had paid the price of loyalty to the utmost farthing.
Of the future I cared not one jot, though before I was clear of the passage my thoughts, thanks to the buoyancy of youth, assumed a more hopeful nature.
We must have walked for the best part of half an hour, and I was wondering where we should emerge, being ignorant of the direction of the tunnel, when the men who were on in front halted.
"The place is blocked up!" exclaimed one of them, who, holding a torch, was examining the rough flintwork.
Firestone and I were quickly at the spot, and we too could see no signs of an aperture, the tunnel ending in a half-moon-shaped wall.
"Surely we are not caught like rats in a trap!" asked Firestone. "Your father doubtless never explored the passage?"
"He would not have shown it us had it been a trap," I replied. "There must be some signs of a doorway or secret entrance. Perchance we have already passed it."
"If we cannot find it, we have tools wherewith we can dig a way out," said the colonel, indicating our weapons, which we one and all, save the wounded men, retained. "I'll warrant the surface of the ground is not ten feet above our heads."
"If the passage leads under the Downs, it may be five hundred," exclaimed Ralph moodily.
"Talking will not find it, so let's to work," said the colonel cheerfully, and taking a torch from one of the men, he began to retrace his footsteps, looking both at the sides and roof of the tunnel as he went.
"The air seems fresh enough," he said. "So we need not fear suffocation for a while, at any rate. But there's no sign of an opening, though your father expressly mentioned 'twas easy enough to find."
At length he returned to the end of the passage, where we had remained, endeavouring to dislodge some of the flints with a stout knife, but without avail. The man who had built that passage must have meant it to last, for the cement was as hard as the flints.
"Let me mount on your shoulders," said I to one of the men, a tall, broad-shouldered farmer from Compton. From this height I could examine the roof, which at no part was more than seven feet in height, though my face was almost touching the jagged flints of the crown of the arch.
In one place it looked as if a crack existed in the cement, and taking the knife from its owner's hands, I scratched the point against the supposed joint in the stonework.
My efforts met with no success, but just at that moment the knife slipped from my hand and fell to the ground. A shout from Firestone caused me to look down in alarm.
"Has it struck your foot?" I asked anxiously.
"Foot? No," he replied. "Fool that I was not to have thought of it before. Look at the knife!"
The steel was deeply embedded in the floor.
I descended from the farmer's shoulders, and stood by while the colonel directed a man to remove the thick deposit of dust that everywhere covered the floor of the tunnel. This done, a square of wood with a rusted iron ring in its centre was laid bare.
"'Tis evident we must go down ere we go up!" remarked Firestone, with a laugh. "Now—pull together!"
Accordingly, the big farmer and another strong yeoman tugged at the ring, but the next instant they were sent crashing into the stone wall of the tunnel, which alone saved them from falling backwards, with the rusted iron held firmly in their hands.
"It has broken off short we must be careful lest we are unable to make use of what is left in the ring," cautioned the colonel, and directing the men to secure a better grip of the fragment of iron that still remained in the slab by means of a strip of cloth, while others used their weapons as levers, the barrier between us and freedom was removed.
Another short flight of steps, followed by a passage less than twenty feet in length and lower than the one we had just traversed, terminating in a spiral staircase.
At the top of these steps was a massive stone slab, balanced on a heavy iron pivot, while two strong bolts kept it in position, so that it could not be moved, save from the side on which we were.
Remembering that extreme caution was necessary, we carefully withdrew the bolts, and slowly pushed the stone, Without a sound, the whole slab turned easily on its pivot, and, to my great surprise, I found that we were looking into a building, while my astonishment was even greater when I discovered it was none other than Chalton Church!
Many a time had I noticed a large tomb in one corner of the church, with a brass showing the effigy of a knight with his legs crossed at the knees and his feet resting on a lion, while I had often tried to decipher the almost illegible writing, "Ci gist..." But up to that very moment I had not the faintest idea, nor had anyone else in or around Chalton, I feel certain, that the tomb was in reality not a tomb, but the egress from a secret tunnel from Ashley Castle.
It was a tedious struggle to worm our bodies through the narrow slit; especially so was it with the wounded men, and deep groans involuntarily rose from their lips as we literally dragged their helpless forms through the aperture.
At length we succeeded, and as we closed the movable slab we heard a faint click. The bolts on the inside had by some ingenious mechanism slipped back into their places, and the exit from the underground passage was firmly closed. Nothing short of the demolition of the spurious tomb would ever reveal the secret tunnel.
Fortunately, the church was deserted, and no one had witnessed our appearance; not that any of the villagers would have betrayed us, for they were stamped with unswerving loyalty, but for the benefit of those who were to inhabit Ashley Castle at some future date (for I had a presentiment that a new castle would rise phoenix-like from the scorched ruins of the old) it was undesirable that the secret should be public property.
I then addressed the sorry remnant of my faithful garrison once more, urging them to return as quickly and secretly to their homes as they were able, and requested them honourably to preserve the secret of their means of escape.
This they promised most readily to do, and after telling the men, ere they set out for their homes, to take their wounded comrades across to the Red Lion till they should recover—for Master Anthony, the worthy host, was as staunch a Royalist as could be found in Hamptonshire—I bade them farewell.
Then, accompanied by Firestone and Ralph, I crossed the little green, and entered this inn, where I made arrangements for the accommodation of the wounded, forcing Master Anthony, much against his wish, to accept a sum of money to recompense horn for his assistance.
As the rebel horse was swarming over the neighbourhood—nay, over the whole county—'twould be unwise for the three of us to travel together, so we resolved to separate and each take his own chance. But before doing so we had a farewell dinner, the last we were likely to have together for many a long day, while our host kept a careful watch for fear of roving parties of the rebel troops.
Firestone had resolved to make his way westward once more, and naturally Granville desired to do the same, so they agreed on a rendezvous at Stoney Cross, in the heart of the New Forest, the colonel journeying by way of Southampton, and Ralph through Bishopstoke and Romsey. Each agreed to wait three days for the other, and if one failed to keep this tryst, the other would continue his journey alone, concluding that some misfortune had befallen his would-be companion.
For my part, I was determined to seek a quiet retreat in the Isle of Wight, and to live there in strict seclusion till the dawn of better days. Little did I dream how Fate was to cross my wish, and what exciting times were in store!
In the midst of setting our plans word was brought that a body of rebel horse was approaching. Our wounded men were already placed in bed in the upper rooms of the inn, and Master Anthony concealed us in some huge barrels that stood on a low oaken bench at one end of the large drinking-room.
Barely were we safely hidden than the door was unceremoniously thrown open, and several soldiers—a dozen at least by the noise they made strode into the room.
Roughly ordering the landlord to bring them drink, and plenty of it, they sat down, removed their steel caps, and began to discourse on the events of the day.
They were, judging by the manner of their conversation, dragoons of Chaloner's regiment, and held their late leader in scant respect, for they even expressed satisfaction at his death. Rough soldiers they were, with a true contempt for cowardice, and Chaloner's behaviour on several occasions had not escaped their notice; while, on the other hand, they confessed to a certain amount of admiration at our desperate deed of self-sacrifice, for, in common with every man in the rebel host that had lain around the castle, they firmly believed that the devoted garrison had perished in the explosion.
The barrels in which we had taken refuge were large, so that we were by no means cramped, but the one in which I lay hidden was encrusted with dried lees of wine, and before long I was seized with an uncontrollable desire to sneeze. Clapping both hands on my mouth, I strove to suppress the sound.
"What's that noise?" demanded one of the dragoons. There was instant silence in the room, though I felt my heart thumping violently against my ribs. Had I not stood in the centre of the cask, I felt certain the barrel would have shaken.
"Ho, there!" shouted one of the soldiers, bringing his tankard down with a crash upon the oak table. "Come hither, rascal!"
I heard Master Anthony shuffling down the stoneflagged passage.
"What do yonder casks hold, sirrah?" demanded the dragoon.
"They are empty, sir," replied the landlord, in a trembling voice.
"Empty, thou lying rogue? I heard someone sneeze!"
"'Twas I, sir. A bad cold, I assure you," pleaded the landlord.
"You are getting light-headed in your cups, Dick!" exclaimed another half-tipsy trooper. "But I'll swear there's good liquor in those casks."
Master Anthony vehemently protested that they were empty. Then, to my horror, I heard another man exclaim:
"Stand aside, you knock-kneed ale-seller! A pistolbullet will show whether you speak the truth."
"Wouldst spoil a good man's casks?" protested the landlord; but his words were of no avail, and I heard the dragoon cock his pistol.
There were, I remember, four of these casks in a row, and three were occupied by us, while one of the two middle ones was empty. There was a chance that the empty one would be the target of the rebel's pistol, but directly I heard the sound of the pistol being cocked, I squeezed myself close to one side of the cask, so that my body was clear of the centre. Then I braced myself up, resolving, even if I were hit, to endeavour to suppress a cry lest I and my companions should be discovered.
It seemed ages ere I heard the report, and with a splintering of wood a hole was drilled through the cask where I stood, the bullet passing close to my knees, and burying itself in the opposite side.
"The old rascal is right, the cask is empty," said one of the men, with a laugh.
"I'll wager a tankard of cider that you'll not nick my mark," exclaimed the soldier who had fired.
"Done cried the other. I tell you, you've lost already."
"A truce to this foolery," interrupted another, evidently a sergeant. "We must needs be back in the camp outside Basing ere dark, and 'tis well over a good twenty miles. To horse! To horse, I say!"
Grumbling and swearing, the soldiers trooped out of the inn, and for the present our peril was past.
At dusk three men in rustic garb emerged from the Red Lion. One set off at a swinging pace down the lane leading to Clanfield, the second strode with awkward gait along a pathway over the hills towards Horndean, and the third, carrying a load of faggots, turned off down the Havant road. 'Twas the parting of the three staunch comrades.
My love-locks had been shorn close to my head, a rough smock covered a suit of worn clothes that would ill become even a farmer, while the faggots I bore served a twofold purpose. They formed a fitting complement to my disguise as a countryman, while in the centre of the bundle reposed my trusty sword, which I would not part with under any circumstances.
I had thought to return under cover of darkness to the thicket on the downs where I had buried the iron box containing the deeds and other documents relating to my home. But on further consideration I came to the conclusion that 'twould be best to let the box remain till a more convenient season.
So, shouldering my burden, I took a long last look in the direction of the distant ruined castle, and then set off resolutely along the southern road.