“Lambert! What of Lambert?” said Cromwell, very sharply.
“Only,” said Pearson, “that I long since hesitated whether I should follow your Excellency or him—and I begin to be uncertain whether I have made the best choice, that’s all.”
“Lambert!” exclaimed Cromwell impatiently, yet softening his voice lest he should be overheard descanting on the character of his rival,—“What is Lambert?—a tulip-fancying fellow, whom nature intended for a Dutch gardener at Delft or Rotterdam. Ungrateful as thou art, what could Lambert have done for thee?”
“He would not,” answered Pearson, “have stood here hesitating before a locked door, when fortune presented the means of securing, by one blow, his own fortune, and that of all who followed him.”
“Thou art right, Gilbert Pearson,” said Cromwell, grasping his officer’s hand, and strongly pressing it. “Be the half of this bold accompt thine, whether the reckoning be on earth or heaven.”
“Be the whole of it mine hereafter,” said Pearson hardily, “so your Excellency have the advantage of it upon earth. Step back to the rear till I force the door—there may be danger, if despair induce them to make a desperate sally.”
“And if they do sally, is there one of my Ironsides who fears fire or steel less than myself?” said the General. “Let ten of the most determined men follow us, two with halberts, two with petronels, the others with pistols—Let all their arms be loaded, and fire without hesitation, if there is any attempt to resist or to sally forth—Let Corporal Humgudgeon be with them, and do thou remain here, and watch against escape, as thou wouldst watch for thy salvation.”
The General then struck at the door with the hilt of his sword—at first with a single blow or two, then with a reverberation of strokes that made the ancient building ring again. This noisy summons was repeated once or twice without producing the least effect.
“What can this mean?” said Cromwell; “they cannot surely have fled, and left the house empty.”
“No,” replied Pearson, “I will ensure you against that; but your Excellency strikes so fiercely, you allow no time for an answer. Hark! I hear the baying of a hound, and the voice of a man who is quieting him—Shall we break in at once, or hold parley?”