Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick

by G. A. Henty

"I saw the bullets strike the water, close to you, when you came up again. I saw you look round, and guessed ye was thinking what was the best thing to do. Then we saw no more of ye. I didn't think you had been hit, for I saw you go down regular, as if you were diving in the sea for pleasure; and not sharp, as you would have done if a bullet had hit you. I guessed as you were meaning to swim up the stream, and I did the only thing I could to stop them from following up, by shouting that I saw ye, and throwing a big stone into the water close to where I had seen your head before, knowing that, by that time, ye must be nigh a hundred yards up.

"The fools didn't stop to think, but they took to throwing stones, and firing as hard as they could, and by the time they had done I knew, if ye were alive, ye must be nigh a quarter of a mile up the river. Some of them did run up, and I kept with them, but sorrah a glimpse of ye did we get. At last, everyone made sure that you were kilt entirely, and went their ways.

"I went off to our lodgings, but took good care not to go in. And it was well I didn't, for, half an hour later, a troop of sodgers came up, and some of them went in.

"They were led by that black villain who used to come wid messages from Mr. O'Brian, and I have no doubt it was he who set the sodgers upon you. Anyhow, they didn't find much there, but four of them waited till morning inside, the others all going away, so that, if you had got out of the river, they might catch ye in a trap.

"I waited till they had left this morning, thinking, I suppose, that it was no use to stay longer, and then started to see if your honour were here.

"Sometimes I thought I should find you, then again, I tould myself that if you had been alive I must have seen you come up agin; for, knowing the strength of the stream, and how fast you could swim, I could tell pretty nigh about where you would come up, if you were keeping straight up the river. How did you manage it at all, Master Walter?"

"I turned, and swam back again to the bank, Larry. I knew everyone would be watching the middle of the river, and would not be looking at the water in front of them. Of course, the stream took me up a long way. I only came up once, on my back, took a breath, and went down again, and the second time I was right under the bank and well out of sight, though I could hear them talking above me. It was just when I looked round, then, that I saw them throwing stones and firing into the middle of the river, two hundred yards lower down, and after that I had only to keep on swimming under water, close to the bank."

"And that is how ye managed it! It was a grand thought, entirely, to swim back to us. I never thought of that. I was most afraid you would go for the opposite shore, and there were plenty had gathered there, ready to seize you. I didn't think I could have missed you, if you'd kept on in the middle, and I have been puzzled altogether as to what could have become of you, if ye were really alive.

"I have got some bread in my bundle here, and a bottle of spirits, and you had better have a bite and a sup before we go on, for it's pretty nigh as white as a ghost ye are."

The meal seemed to put new life and strength into Walter, and, after its conclusion, he was ready to step out again with fresh energy. They thought it better at once to leave the road, and tramp across the country. By so doing they avoided all parties of the English troops, and reached the Irish army without adventure. Walter at once reported himself to General Sarsfield, and related all that had taken place in Dublin.