Ridgeway: An Historical Romance of the Fenian Invasion of Canada

by Scian Dubh

CHAPTER X.

It was on the night of Sunday the 27th of May, 1866, that Barry and his comrades were to attempt their escape from the Fort; and, as already seen, it was on the same night that the deserter was conveyed in a cab to The Harp, by Greaves. Two o’clock in the morning was the time decided upon, and a rendezvous having been appointed, our hero, who was on guard, saw, without challenging them, six figures steal by him into the darkness and immediately disappear. No sooner had the last of them vanished, than he placed his musket bolt upright in his sentry box, and the next moment was lost also in the gloom, and in the direction in which the figures had melted from his vision. Soon he reached the side of the river, where he found Tom with a boat, beside which stood his six companions. On recognizing him, they all leaped into the boat, and, although the moon was in the heavens, sheltered by the dark overhanging clouds that fortunately filled the sky, they dropped down the river, and landing Tom at a point previously decided upon, they all wrung his hand in silence, and once more put forth into the gloom, heading their craft towards the American shore, under the guidance of a pilot who knew every island and turn in the channel, and who joined them at the spot where O’Brien bid them farewell. With muffled oars and in the most profound silence, they moved along until they arrived at a turn in the channel, where they were instructed to bend to their work by the stranger who held the tiller; when, taking heart from their good fortune, for so far, they made their willing craft almost leap out of the water, as they gave a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether.

As day was beginning to shape the world around them, they found themselves nearing the American shore, and now perceiving themselves beyond the reach of danger and out of the jurisdiction of the flag they had so long and so cordially detested, they rested on their oars, and giving three hearty cheers for the land they were fast approaching, again set to with a will, and soon found themselves beneath the Stars and Stripes of the glorious Republic before which all the nations of the earth now bow, however reluctantly. On leaping ashore, they discovered a short distance from the water a small village to which, on securing their boat, they all posted; and having gained a neat little tavern, the shutters of which were just being opened, they explained their situation to the proprietor, and ordered breakfast, determined to rest themselves for a period, and deliberate upon their future movements, although the destination of Barry had, of course, long been decided upon.

On hearing that they were deserters from the British army, and that, without an exception, they were all Irishmen, who had come to the United States with a view to aiding in any project that had for its object the humiliation of England, and the freedom of Ireland, the landlord, who was a six-footer from Tipperary—one of the Cummingses—gave “a yell out of him” that brought his wife and children in deshabille to the bar-room door, proceeded by a boy of all work, who evidently shared their alarm and surprise to the fullest extent; but when, instead of a bar-room disturbance, they perceived the master of the premises shaking hands over and over again with the new arrivals, and bidding them welcome to the land of the free, they soon disappeared from the hall and regained their chambers, from which they had been so unceremoniously summoned. Cummings was literally in his glory, and instantly had his counter be-littered with glasses, bottles and decanters; while, with genuine hospitality, he made the fugitives partake more than once of some one of the beverages that he had placed before them. Ere long a smoking, hot breakfast was in readiness for them, prepared by the mistress of the house,—herself a comely Irishwoman, with a set of teeth that you’d almost let bite you, they were so white and sunny, and a handsome, fair face, with a cead mille failte in every line and dimple of it. Already the poor adventurers began to feel the exhilarating effects of freedom, and, as soon as they had satisfied their appetites, each set about changing his soldier’s coat for a rough, plain one, which had been provided by O’Brien and his friends, and which they found awaiting them when they first entered the boat.

As Barry, who was regarded as chief of the little party, avowed his intention of pushing on direct for Buffalo, the others, who had no fixed point in view, determined to join him; so, when they had taken a few hours repose, they parted from their kind host and hostess, who would not permit them to pay a single shilling for anything they had drank or eaten since they entered the friendly hostel. During the time they were waiting at the railway station, they heard various rumors as to the intended invasion of the Province they had but just left; and from numerous significant hints which they had received, they were fully convinced that some important movement was on foot, which would soon develope itself in bolder outline. On entering the cars that were to take them west, they found the subject of Fenianism freely discussed, and in many cases with a friendliness that showed there was, in some instances at least, a feeling hostile to England among the American people. As they pursued their journey and received other accessions to their numbers as travellers, they found that this aversion was both widely spread and deeply rooted, so that by the time they reached their destination, they were fully satisfied that the people of America, and those of the adjoining English Colony, could never become true friends so long as the latter adheared to the standard of Great Britain, or remained part and parcel of the British empire. The antagonism of institutions, the infamous conduct of England during the late civil war, and the fixed impression of every true American, that the Canadas belong of right to the great people who now rule the continent, made it strikingly apparant that England had but a precarious foot-hold upon the shores of the New World.

On the arrival of the train at Black Rock, Barry, who had been previously informed as to the precise locality in which the relatives of Kate were to be found, stepped off the cars, informing his comrades that he would join them in the city during the day. With but little difficulty he found the dwelling of his friends, and entering it, was received with open arms, and was instantly asked as to where he left Kate. For a moment he did not comprehend the question, but when by degrees he heard the fearful disclosure, that she had secretly left the house, by night, about a week previously, he fell into a chair, almost fainting, while the greatest consternation seized all those about him. Slowly, and with their hearts sinking within them, they recounted the circumstance of the note that had been written and left for them on her bedroom table, and the fact of her having taken some of her wearing apparel with her, but as to where she had gone, or with whom, they were in the most profound darkness. No one had called at the house,—no previous intimation had been given them by her as to her intentions; and, in so far as they were concerned, all was darkness. Lauder, they knew, had been in the vicinity of the Rock, but then, of course, he could have had no hand in the strange transaction, as her detestation of him precluded, as they thought, the possibility of his exercising the slightest influence over any of her actions. However, she was gone, and now, as it appeared, was the victim of some horrible plot or mistake beyond the reach of any elucidation, for the present at least.

Never was a strong man so bowed to the dust as the poor young fellow who now found all his hopes so rudely and unexpectedly dashed to the earth. With a face pale as death he shook throughout every limb in a manner fearful to behold. In vain he looked from one face to another for some explanation of the dreadful calamity that had befallen him—all was dark and blank and silent around him. Even conjecture was paralysed, so completely was the disappearance of his betrothed enveloped in mystery. As a preliminary step, to gain even the feeblest information of her, he did not know how, or when or where to move. Could he get even the slightest glimpse of any link in the chain, he could set about unravelling the tangled and gloomy skein; but as it was, he was as helpless as a child. Secure in her fidelity, however, and trusting to Providence, crushed as he was, his young heart, after the first blow, began to rise within him, and collecting himself, he set about making such enquiries in the neighborhood as he thought were likely to throw some light upon the subject. In this he was warmly aided by the alarmed wife of his friend, who learned that on the very evening of the night of her disappearance, after having given her last music lesson in the house of one of her pupils, she was seen in company with a man, who was recognized as no very respectable character, by one of the hands employed in the rolling mills, who happened to catch a glimpse of them in conversation as he was returning from his work. The name of this latter individual having been ascertained, Barry at once visited the mills and heard, to his consternation, that the suspicious person seen in company with Kate on the evening referred to, was neither more nor less than the Kid, previously introduced to the reader, as one of the keepers of the low gambling house already mentioned, where we first met him and his partner of the blue shirt, alluded to also as a burglar and robber.

This much ascertained, Nicholas prevailed upon the workman to accompany him to the den in question, into which they accidentally dropped as it were. The person they sought was, as usual, about the premises; but from him Barry could gain no information whatever, beyond the circumstance, that he did remember, about a week ago, accosting a lady near Black Bock, having taken the liberty of enquiring of her, whether a certain person whom he was anxious to find resided in the neighborhood.

“I know that’s a lie,” said the workman, when he and Nicholas had gained the street once more, “for as I happened to come upon them just as they were separating, I heard the lady say, before she perceived me, and as I was turning a corner of the road, ‘I’ll not fail to be there,’ or words to that effect.”