A JACOBITE EXILE:

Being the Adventures of a Young Englishmanin the Service of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden

by

G. A. Henty. 

Contents

 Preface. Chapter 1: A Spy in the Household. Chapter 2: Denounced. Chapter 3: A Rescue. Chapter 4: In Sweden. Chapter 5: Narva. Chapter 6: A Prisoner. Chapter 7: Exchanged. Chapter 8: The Passage of the Dwina. Chapter 9: In Warsaw. Chapter 10: In Evil Plight. Chapter 11: With Brigands. Chapter 12: Treed By Wolves. Chapter 13: A Rescued Party. Chapter 14: The Battle Of Clissow. Chapter 15: An Old Acquaintance. Chapter 16: In England Again. Chapter 17: The North Coach. Chapter 18: A Confession. 

Preface. 

My Dear Lads, Had I attempted to write you an account of the whole of theadventurous career of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden, it would, initself, have filled a bulky volume, to the exclusion of all othermatter; and a youth, who fought at Narva, would have been amiddle-aged man at the death of that warlike monarch, before thewalls of Frederickshall. I have, therefore, been obliged to confinemyself to the first three years of his reign, in which he crushedthe army of Russia at Narva, and laid the then powerful republic ofPoland prostrate at his feet. In this way, only, could I obtainspace for the private adventures and doings of Charlie Carstairs, the hero of the story. The details of the wars of Charles theTwelfth were taken from the military history, written at hiscommand by his chamberlain, Adlerfeld; from a similar narrative bya Scotch gentleman in his service; and from Voltaire's history. Thelatter is responsible for the statement that the trade of Polandwas almost entirely in the hands of Scotch, French, and Jewishmerchants, the Poles themselves being sharply divided into the twocategories of nobles and peasants. 

Yours sincerely, G. A. Henty. 

Chapter 1: A Spy in the Household. 

On the borders of Lancashire and Westmoreland, two centuries since, stood Lynnwood, a picturesque mansion, still retaining something ofthe character of a fortified house. It was ever a matter of regretto its owner, Sir Marmaduke Carstairs, that his grandfather had somodified its construction, by levelling one side of the quadrangle, and inserting large mullion windows in that portion inhabited bythe family, that it was in no condition to stand a siege, in thetime of the Civil War. 

Sir Marmaduke was, at that time, only a child, but he stillremembered how the Roundhead soldiers had lorded it there, when hisfather was away fighting with the army of the king; how they hadseated themselves at the board, and had ordered his mother about asif she had been a scullion, jeering her with cruel words as to whatwould have been the fate of her husband, if they had caught himthere, until, though but eight years old, he had smitten one of thetroopers, as he sat, with all his force. What had happened afterthat, he did not recollect, for it was not until a week after theRoundheads had ridden away that he found himself in his bed, withhis mother sitting beside him, and his head bandaged with clothsdipped in water. He always maintained that, had the house beenfortified, it could have held out until help arrived, although, inlater years, his father assured him that it was well it was not ina position to offer a defence. 

"We were away down south, Marmaduke, and the Roundheads weremasters of this district, at the time. They would have battered theplace around your mother's ears, and, likely as not, have burnt itto the ground. As it was, I came back here to find it whole andsafe, except that the crop-eared scoundrels had, from purewantonness, destroyed the pictures and hacked most of the furnitureto pieces. I took no part in the later risings, seeing that theywere hopeless, and therefore preserved my property, when manyothers were ruined. 

"No, Marmaduke, it is just as well that the house was notfortified. I believe in fighting, when there is some chance, even aslight one, of success, but I regard it as an act of folly, tothrow away a life when no good can come of it. "

Still, Sir Marmaduke never ceased to regret that Lynnwood was notone of the houses that had been defended, to the last, against theenemies of the king. At the Restoration he went, for the first timein his life, to London, to pay his respects to Charles the Second. He was well received, and although he tired, in a very short time, of the gaieties of the court, he returned to Lynnwood with hisfeelings of loyalty to the Stuarts as strong as ever. He rejoicedheartily when the news came of the defeat of Monmouth at Sedgemoor, and was filled with rage and indignation when James weakly fled, and left his throne to be occupied by Dutch William. 

From that time, he became a strong Jacobite, and emptied his glassnightly "to the king over the water. " In the north the Jacobiteswere numerous, and at their gatherings treason was freely talked, while arms were prepared, and hidden away for the time when thelawful king should return to claim his own. Sir Marmaduke wasdeeply concerned in the plot of 1696, when preparations had beenmade for a great Jacobite rising throughout the country. Nothingcame of it, for the Duke of Berwick, who was to have led it, failedin getting the two parties who were concerned to come to anagreement. The Jacobites were ready to rise, directly a French armylanded. The French king, on the other hand, would not send an armyuntil the Jacobites had risen, and the matter therefore fellthrough, to Sir Marmaduke's indignation and grief. But he had nowords strong enough to express his anger and disgust when he foundthat, side by side with the general scheme for a rising, a plot hadbeen formed by Sir George Barclay, a Scottish refugee, toassassinate the king, on his return from hunting in RichmondForest. 

"It is enough to drive one to become a Whig, " he exclaimed. "I amready to fight Dutch William, for he occupies the place of myrightful sovereign, but I have no private feud with him, and, if Ihad, I would run any man through who ventured to propose to me aplot to assassinate him. Such scoundrels as Barclay would bringdisgrace on the best cause in the world. Had I heard as much as awhisper of it, I would have buckled on my sword, and ridden toLondon to warn the Dutchman of his danger. However, as it seemsthat Barclay had but some forty men with him, most of them foreigndesperadoes, the Dutchman must see that English gentlemen, howeverready to fight against him fairly, would have no hand in sodastardly a plot as this. 

"Look you, Charlie, keep always in mind that you bear the name ofour martyred king, and be ready ever to draw your sword in thecause of the Stuarts, whether it be ten years hence, or forty, thattheir banner is hoisted again; but keep yourself free from allplots, except those that deal with fair and open warfare. Have nofaith whatever in politicians, who are ever ready to use thecountry gentry as an instrument for gaining their own ends. Dealwith your neighbours, but mistrust strangers, from whomsoever theymay say they come. "

Which advice Charlie, at that time thirteen years old, gravelypromised to follow. He had naturally inherited his father'ssentiments, and believed the Jacobite cause to be a sacred one. Hehad fought and vanquished Alured Dormay, his second cousin, and twoyears his senior, for speaking of King James' son as the Pretender, and was ready, at any time, to do battle with any boy of his ownage, in the same cause. Alured's father, John Dormay, had riddenover to Lynnwood, to complain of the violence of which his son hadbeen the victim, but he obtained no redress from Sir Marmaduke. 

"The boy is a chip of the old block, cousin, and he did right. Imyself struck a blow at the king's enemies, when I was but eightyears old, and got my skull well-nigh cracked for my pains. It iswell that the lads were not four years older, for then, instead oftaking to fisticuffs, their swords would have been out, and as myboy has, for the last four years, been exercised daily in the useof his weapon, it might happen that, instead of Alured coming homewith a black eye, and, as you say, a missing tooth, he might havebeen carried home with a sword thrust through his body. 

"It was, to my mind, entirely the fault of your son. I should haveblamed Charlie, had he called the king at Westminster DutchWilliam, for, although each man has a right to his own opinions, hehas no right to offend those of others--besides, at present it isas well to keep a quiet tongue as to a matter that words cannot setright. In the same way, your son had no right to offend others bycalling James Stuart the Pretender. 

"Certainly, of the twelve boys who go over to learn what the Rectorof Apsley can teach them, more than half are sons of gentlemenwhose opinions are similar to my own. 

"It would be much better, John Dormay, if, instead of complainingof my boy, you were to look somewhat to your own. I marked, thelast time he came over here, that he was growing loutish in hismanners, and that he bore himself with less respect to his eldersthan is seemly in a lad of that age. He needs curbing, and wouldcarry himself all the better if, like Charlie, he had an hour a dayat sword exercise. I speak for the boy's good. It is true that youyourself, being a bitter Whig, mix but little with your neighbours, who are for the most part the other way of thinking; but this maynot go on for ever, and you would, I suppose, like Alured, when hegrows up, to mix with others of his rank in the county; and itwould be well, therefore, that he should have the accomplishmentsand manners of young men of his own age. "

John Dormay did not reply hastily--it was his policy to keep ongood terms with his wife's cousin, for the knight was a man of farhigher consideration, in the county, than himself. His smile, however, was not a pleasant one, as he rose and said:

"My mission has hardly terminated as I expected, Sir Marmaduke. Icame to complain, and I go away advised somewhat sharply. "

"Tut, tut, man!" the knight said. "I speak only for the lad's good, and I am sure that you cannot but feel the truth of what I havesaid. What does Alured want to make enemies for? It may be that itwas only my son who openly resented his ill-timed remarks, but youmay be sure that others were equally displeased, and maybe theirresentment will last much longer than that which was quenched in afair stand-up fight. Certainly, there need be no malice between theboys. Alured's defeat may even do him good, for he cannot but feelthat it is somewhat disgraceful to be beaten by one nearly a headshorter than he. "

"There is, no doubt, something in what you say, Sir Marmaduke, "John Dormay said blandly, "and I will make it my business that, should the boys meet again as antagonists, Alured shall be able togive a better account of himself. "

"He is a disagreeable fellow, " Sir Marmaduke said to himself, as hewatched John Dormay ride slowly away through the park, "and, if itwere not that he is husband to my cousin Celia, I would have noughtto do with him. She is my only kinswoman, and, were aught to happento Charlie, that lout, her son, would be the heir of Lynnwood. Ishould never rest quiet in my grave, were a Whig master here. 

"I would much rather that he had spoken wrathfully, when Istraightly gave him my opinion of the boy, who is growing up anill-conditioned cub. It would have been more honest. I hate to seea man smile, when I know that he would fain swear. I like my cousinCelia, and I like her little daughter Ciceley, who takes after her, and not after John Dormay; but I would that the fellow lived on theother side of England. He is out of his place here, and, though mendo not speak against him in my presence, knowing that he is a sortof kinsman, I have never heard one say a good word for him. 

"It is not only because he is a Whig. There are other Whig gentryin the neighbourhood, against whom I bear no ill will, and can meetat a social board in friendship. It would be hard if politics wereto stand between neighbours. It is Dormay's manner that is againsthim. If he were anyone but Celia's husband, I would say that he isa smooth-faced knave, though I altogether lack proof of my words, beyond that he has added half a dozen farms to his estate, and, ineach case, there were complaints that, although there was nothingcontrary to the law, it was by sharp practice that he obtainedpossession, lending money freely in order to build houses andfences and drains, and then, directly a pinch came, demanding thereturn of his advance. 

"Such ways may pass in a London usurer, but they don't do for uscountry folk; and each farm that he has taken has closed the doorsof a dozen good houses to John Dormay. I fear that Celia has a badtime with him, though she is not one to complain. I let Charlie goover to Rockley, much oftener than I otherwise should do, for hersake and Ciceley's, though I would rather, a hundred times, thatthey should come here. Not that the visits are pleasant, when theydo come, for I can see that Celia is always in fear, lest I shouldask her questions about her life at home; which is the last thingthat I should think of doing, for no good ever comes ofinterference between man and wife, and, whatever I learned, I couldnot quarrel with John Dormay without being altogether separatedfrom Celia and the girl. 

"I am heartily glad that Charlie has given Alured a soundthrashing. The boy is too modest. He only said a few words, lastevening, about the affair, and I thought that only a blow or twohad been exchanged. It was as much as I could do, not to rub myhands and chuckle, when his father told me all about it. However, Imust speak gravely to Charlie. If he takes it up, every time a Whigspeaks scornfully of the king, he will be always in hot water, and, were he a few years older, would become a marked man. We have gotto bide our time, and, except among friends, it is best to keep aquiet tongue until that time comes. "

To Sir Marmaduke's disappointment, three more years went on withoutthe position changing in any Way. Messengers went and came betweenFrance and the English Jacobites, but no movement was made. Thefailure of the assassination plot had strengthened William's holdon the country, for Englishmen love fair play and hate assassination, so that many who had, hitherto, been opponents of William of Orange, now ranged themselves on his side, declaring they could no longersupport a cause that used assassination as one of its weapons. Morezealous Jacobites, although they regretted the assassination plot, and were as vehement of their denunciations of its authors as werethe Whigs, remained staunch in their fidelity to "the king over thewater, " maintaining stoutly that his majesty knew nothing whateverof this foul plot, and that his cause was in no way affected by themisconduct of a few men, who happened to be among its adherents. 

At Lynnwood things went on as usual. Charlie continued his studies, in a somewhat desultory way, having but small affection for books;kept up his fencing lesson diligently and learned to dance;quarrelled occasionally with his cousin Alured, spent a good dealof his time on horseback, and rode over, not unfrequently, toRockley, choosing, as far as possible, the days and hours when heknew that Alured and his father were likely to be away. He wentover partly for his own pleasure, but more in compliance with hisfather's wishes. 

"My cousin seldom comes over, herself, " the latter said. "I know, right well, that it is from no slackness of her own, but that herhusband likes not her intimacy here. It is well, then, that youshould go over and see them, for it is only when you bring her thatI see Ciceley. I would she were your sister, lad, for she is abright little maid, and would make the old house lively. "

Therefore, once a week or so, Charlie rode over early too Rockley, which was some five miles distant, and brought back Ciceley, cantering on her pony by his side, escorting her home again beforenightfall. Ciceley's mother wondered, sometimes, that her husband, who in most matters set his will in opposition to hers, neveroffered any objection to the girl's visits to Lynnwood. She thoughtthat, perhaps, he was pleased that there should be an intimacybetween some member, at least, of his family, and Sir Marmaduke's. There were so few houses at which he or his were welcome, it waspleasant to him to be able to refer to the close friendship of hisdaughter with their cousins at Lynnwood. Beyond this, Celia, whooften, as she sat alone, turned the matter over in her mind, couldsee no reason he could have for permitting the intimacy. That hewould permit it without some reason was, as her experience hadtaught her, out of the question. 

Ciceley never troubled her head about the matter. Her visits toLynnwood were very pleasant to her. She was two years younger thanCharlie Carstairs; and although, when he had once brought her tothe house, he considered that his duties were over until the hourarrived for her return, he was sometimes ready to play with her, escort her round the garden, or climb the trees for fruit or birds'eggs for her. 

Such little courtesies she never received from Alured, who was fouryears her senior, and who never interested himself in the slightestdegree in her. He was now past eighteen, and was beginning toregard himself as a man, and had, to Ciceley's satisfaction, gone afew weeks before, to London, to stay with an uncle who had a placeat court, and was said to be much in the confidence of some of theWhig lords. 

Sir Marmaduke was, about this time, more convinced than ever that, ere long, the heir of the Stuarts would come over from France, withmen, arms, and money, and would rally round him the Jacobites ofEngland and Scotland. Charlie saw but little of him, for he wasfrequently absent, from early morning until late at night, ridingto visit friends in Westmoreland and Yorkshire, sometimes beingaway two or three days at a time. Of an evening, there weremeetings at Lynnwood, and at these strangers, who arrived afternightfall, were often present. Charlie was not admitted to any ofthese gatherings. 

"You will know all about it in time, lad, " his father said. "Youare too young to bother your head with politics, and you would losepatience in a very short time. I do myself, occasionally. Many whoare the foremost in talk, when there is no prospect of doinganything, draw back when the time approaches for action, and it issickening to listen to the timorous objections and paltry argumentsthat are brought forward. Here am I, a man of sixty, ready to risklife and fortune in the good cause, and there are many, not half myage, who speak with as much caution as if they were graybeards. Still, lad, I have no doubt that the matter will straighten itselfout, and come right in the end. It is always the most trying time, for timorous hearts, before the first shot of a battle is fired. Once the engagement commences, there is no time for fear. Thebattle has to be fought out, and the best way to safety is to win avictory. I have not the least doubt that, as soon as it is knownthat the king has landed, there will be no more shilly-shallying orhesitation. Every loyal man will mount his horse, and call out histenants, and, in a few days, England will be in a blaze from end toend. "

Charlie troubled himself but little with what was going on. Hisfather had promised him that, when the time did come, he shouldride by his side, and with that promise he was content to wait, knowing that, at present, his strength would be of but littleavail, and that every week added somewhat to his weight and sinew. 

One day he was in the garden with Ciceley. The weather was hot, andthe girl was sitting, in a swing, under a shady tree, occasionallystarting herself by a push with her foot on the ground, and thenswaying gently backward and forward, until the swing was again atrest. Charlie was seated on the ground, near her, pulling the earsof his favourite dog, and occasionally talking to her, when aservant came out, with a message that his father wanted to speak tohim. 

"I expect I shall be back in a few minutes, Ciceley, so don't youwander away till I come. It is too hot today to be hunting for you, all over the garden, as I did when you hid yourself last week. "

It was indeed but a short time until he returned. 

"My father only wanted to tell me that he is just starting forBristowe's, and, as it is over twenty miles away, he may not returnuntil tomorrow. "

"I don't like that man's face who brought the message to you, Charlie. "

"Don't you?" the boy said carelessly. "I have not noticed him much. He has not been many months with us. 

"What are you thinking of?" he asked, a minute later, seeing thathis cousin looked troubled. 

"I don't know that I ought to tell you, Charlie. You know my fatherdoes not think the same way as yours about things. "

"I should rather think he doesn't, " Charlie laughed. "There is nosecret about that, Ciceley; but they don't quarrel over it. Lasttime your father and mother came over here, I dined with them forthe first time, and I noticed there was not a single word saidabout politics. They chatted over the crops, and the chances of awar in Europe, and of the quarrel between Holstein and Denmark, andwhether the young king of Sweden would aid the duke, who seems tobe threatened by Saxony as well as by Denmark. I did not knowanything about it, and thought it was rather stupid; but my fatherand yours both seemed of one mind, and were as good friends as ifthey were in equal agreement on all other points. But what has thatto do with Nicholson, for that is the man's name who came out justnow?"

"It does not seem to have much to do with it, " she said doubtfully, "and yet, perhaps it does. You know my mother is not quite of thesame opinion as my father, although she never says so to him; but, when we are alone together, sometimes she shakes her head and saysshe fears that trouble is coming, and it makes her very unhappy. One day I was in the garden, and they were talking loudly in thedining room--at least, he was talking loudly. Well, he said--But Idon't know whether I ought to tell you, Charlie. "

"Certainly you ought not, Ciceley. If you heard what you were notmeant to hear, you ought never to say a word about it to anyone. "

"But it concerns you and Sir Marmaduke. "

"I cannot help that, " he said stoutly. "People often say things ofeach other, in private, especially if they are out of temper, thatthey don't quite mean, and it would make terrible mischief if suchthings were repeated. Whatever your father said, I do not want tohear it, and it would be very wrong of you to repeat it. "

"I am not going to repeat it, Charlie. I only want to say that I donot think my father and yours are very friendly together, which isnatural, when my father is all for King William, and your fatherfor King James. He makes no secret of that, you know. "

Charlie nodded. 

"That is right enough, Ciceley, but still, I don't understand inthe least what it has to do with the servant. "

"It has to do with it, " she said pettishly, starting the swingafresh, and then relapsing into silence until it again came to astandstill. 

"I think you ought to know, " she said suddenly. "You see, Charlie, Sir Marmaduke is very kind to me, and I love him dearly, and so Ido you, and I think you ought to know, although it may be nothingat all. "

"Well, fire away then, Ciceley. There is one thing you may be quitesure of, whatever you tell me, it is like telling a brother, and Ishall never repeat it to anyone. "

"Well, it is this. That man comes over sometimes to see my father. I have seen him pass my window, three or four times, and go in bythe garden door into father's study. I did not know who he was, butit did seem funny his entering by that door, as if he did not wantto be seen by anyone in the house. I did not think anything moreabout it, till I saw him just now, then I knew him directly. If Ihad seen him before, I should have told you at once, but I don'tthink I have. "

"I daresay not, Ciceley. He does not wait at table, but is underthe steward, and helps clean the silver. He waits when we haveseveral friends to dinner. At other times he does not often comeinto the room. 

"What you tell me is certainly curious. What can he have to say toyour father?"

"I don't know, Charlie. I don't know anything about it. I do thinkyou ought to know. "

"Yes, I think it is a good thing that I should know, " Charlieagreed thoughtfully. "I daresay it is all right, but, at any rate, I am glad you told me. "

"You won't tell your father?" she asked eagerly. "Because, if youwere to speak of it--"

"I shall not tell him. You need not be afraid that what you havetold me will come out. It is curious, and that is all, and I willlook after the fellow a bit. Don't think anything more about it. Itis just the sort of thing it is well to know, but I expect there isno harm in it, one way or the other. Of course, he must have knownyour father before he came to us, and may have business of somesort with him. He may have a brother, or some other relation, whowants to take one of your father's farms. Indeed, there are ahundred things he might want to see him about. But still, I am gladyou have told me. "

In his own mind, Charlie thought much more seriously of it than hepretended. He knew that, at present, his father was engaged heartand soul in a projected Jacobite rising. He knew that John Dormaywas a bitter Whig. He believed that he had a grudge against hisfather, and the general opinion of him was that he was whollyunscrupulous. 

That he should, then, be in secret communication with a servant atLynnwood, struck him as a very serious matter, indeed. Charlie wasnot yet sixteen, but his close companionship with his father hadrendered him older than most lads of his age. He was as warm aJacobite as his father, but the manner in which William, with hisDutch troops, had crushed the great Jacobite rebellion in Ireland, seemed to him a lesson that the prospects of success, in England, were much less certain than his father believed them to be. 

John Dormay, as an adherent of William, would be interested inthwarting the proposed movement, with the satisfaction of, at thesame time, bringing Sir Marmaduke into disgrace. Charlie couldhardly believe that his cousin would be guilty of setting a spy towatch his father, but it was certainly possible, and as he thoughtthe matter over, as he rode back after escorting Ciceley to herhome, he resolved to keep a sharp watch over the doings of this manNicholson. 

"It would never do to tell my father what Ciceley said. He wouldbundle the fellow out, neck and crop, and perhaps break some of hisbones, and then it would be traced to her. She has not a happyhome, as it is, and it would be far worse if her father knew thatit was she who had put us on our guard. I must find out somethingmyself, and then we can turn him out, without there being the leastsuspicion that Ciceley is mixed up in it. "

The next evening several Jacobite gentlemen rode in, and, as usual, had a long talk with Sir Marmaduke after supper. 

"If this fellow is a spy, " Charlie said to himself, "he will bewanting to hear what is said, and to do so he must either hidehimself in the room, or listen at the door, or at one of thewindows. It is not likely that he will get into the room, for to dothat he must have hidden himself before supper began. I don't thinkhe would dare to listen at the door, for anyone passing through thehall would catch him at it. It must be at one of the windows. "

The room was at an angle of the house. Three windows looked out onto the lawn in front; that at the side into a large shrubbery, where the bushes grew up close to it; and Charlie decided thathere, if anywhere, the man would take up his post. As soon, then, as he knew that the servants were clearing away the supper, he tooka heavy cudgel and went out. He walked straight away from thehouse, and then, when he knew that his figure could no longer beseen in the twilight, he made a circuit, and, entering theshrubbery, crept along close to the wall of the Muse, until withintwo or three yards of the window. Having made sure that at present, at any rate, no one was near, he moved out a step or two to look atthe window. 

His suspicions were at once confirmed. The inside curtains weredrawn, but the casement was open two or three inches. Charlie againtook up his post, behind a bush, and waited. 

In five minutes he heard a twig snap, and then a figure came along, noiselessly, and placed itself at the window. Charlie gave him buta moment to listen, then he sprang forward, and, with his wholestrength, brought his cudgel down upon the man's head. He fell likea stone. Charlie threw open the window, and, as he did so, thecurtain was torn back by his father, the sound of the blow and thefall having reached the ears of those within. 

Sir Marmaduke had drawn his sword, and was about to leap throughthe window, when Charlie exclaimed:

"It is I, father. I have caught a fellow listening at the window, and have just knocked him down. "

"Well done, my boy!

"Bring lights, please, gentlemen. Let us see what villain we havegot here. "

But, as he spoke, Charlie's head suddenly disappeared, and a sharpexclamation broke from him, as he felt his ankles grasped and hisfeet pulled from under him. He came down with such a crash that, for a moment, he was unable to rise. He heard a rustling in thebushes, and then his father leapt down beside him. 

"Where are you, my boy? Has the scoundrel hurt you?"

"He has given me a shake, " Charlie said as he sat up; "and, what isworse, I am afraid he has got away. "

"Follow me, gentlemen, and scatter through the gardens, " SirMarmaduke roared. "The villain has escaped!"

For a few minutes, there was a hot pursuit through the shrubberyand gardens, but nothing was discovered. Charlie had been so shakenthat he was unable to join the pursuit, but, having got on to hisfeet, remained leaning against the wall until his father came back. 

"He has got away, Charlie. Have you any idea who he was?"

"It was Nicholson, father. At least, I am almost certain that itwas him. It was too dark to see his face. I could see the outlineof his head against the window, and he had on a cap with a cock'sfeather which I had noticed the man wore. "

"But how came you here, Charlie?"

"I will tell you that afterwards, father. Don't ask me now. "

For, at this moment, some of the others were coming up. Several ofthem had torches, and, as they approached, Sir Marmaduke sawsomething lying on the ground under the window. He picked it up. 

"Here is the fellow's cap, " he said. "You must have hit him ashrewd blow, Charlie, for here is a clean cut through the cloth, and a patch of fresh blood on the white lining. How did he get youdown, lad?"

"He fell so suddenly, when I hit him, that I thought I had eitherkilled or stunned him; but of course I had not, for it was but amoment after, when I was speaking to you, that I felt my anklesseized, and I went down with a crash. I heard him make off throughthe bushes; but I was, for the moment, almost dazed, and could donothing to stop him. "

"Was the window open when he came?"

"Yes, sir, two or three inches. "

"Then it was evidently a planned thing. 

"Well, gentlemen, we may as well go indoors. The fellow is well outof our reach now, and we may be pretty sure he will never againshow his face here. Fortunately he heard nothing, for the servingmen had but just left the room, and we had not yet begun to talk. "

"That is true enough, Sir Marmaduke, " one of the others said. "Thequestion is: how long has this been going on?"

Sir Marmaduke looked at Charlie. 

"I know nothing about it, sir. Till now, I have not had theslightest suspicion of this man. It occurred to me, this afternoon, that it might be possible for anyone to hear what was said insidethe room, by listening at the windows; and that this shrubberywould form a very good shelter for an eavesdropper. So I thought, this evening I would take up my place here, to assure myself thatthere was no traitor in the household. I had been here but fiveminutes when the fellow stole quietly up, and placed his ear at theopening of the casement, and you may be sure that I gave him notime to listen to what was being said. "

"Well, we had better go in, " Sir Marmaduke said. "There is no fearof our being overheard this evening. 

"Charlie, do you take old Banks aside, and tell him what hashappened, and then go with him to the room where that fellow slept, and make a thorough search of any clothes he may have left behind, and of the room itself. Should you find any papers or documents, you will, of course, bring them down to me. "

But the closest search, by Charlie and the old butler, produced noresults. Not a scrap of paper of any kind was found, and Banks saidthat he knew the man could neither read nor write. 

The party below soon broke up, considerable uneasiness being felt, by all, at the incident of the evening. When the last of them hadleft, Charlie was sent for. 

"Now, then, Charlie, let me hear how all this came about. I knowthat all you said about what took place at the window is perfectlytrue; but, even had you not said so, I should have felt there wassomething else. What was it brought you to that window? Your storywas straight-forward enough, but it was certainly singular yourhappening to be there, and I fancy some of our friends thought thatyou had gone round to listen, yourself. One hinted as much; but Isaid that was absurd, for you were completely in my confidence, andthat, whatever peril and danger there might be in the enterprise, you would share them with me. "

"It is not pleasant that they should have thought so, father, butthat is better than that the truth should be known. This is how ithappened;" and he repeated what Ciceley had told him in the garden. 

"So the worthy Master John Dormay has set a spy upon me, " SirMarmaduke said, bitterly. "I knew the man was a knave--that ispublic property--but I did not think that he was capable of this. Well, I am glad that, at any rate, no suspicion can fall uponCiceley in the matter; but it is serious, lad, very serious. We donot know how long this fellow has been prying and listening, or howmuch he may have learnt. I don't think it can be much. We talked itover, and my friends all agreed with me that they do not rememberthose curtains having been drawn before. To begin with, theevenings are shortening fast, and, at our meeting last week, wefinished our supper by daylight; and, had the curtains been drawn, it would have been noticed, for we had need of light before wefinished. Two of the gentlemen, who were sitting facing the window, declared that they remembered distinctly that it was open. Mr. Jervoise says that he thought to himself that, if it was his place, he would have the trees cut away there, for they shut out thelight. 

"Therefore, although it is uncomfortable to think that there hasbeen a spy in the house, for some months, we have every reason tohope that our councils have not been overheard. Were it otherwise, I should lose no time in making for the coast, and taking ship toFrance, to wait quietly there until the king comes over. "

"You have no documents, father, that the man could have found?"

"None, Charlie. We have doubtless made lists of those who could berelied upon, and of the number of men they could bring with them, but these have always been burned before we separated. Such lettersas I have had from France, I have always destroyed as soon as Ihave read them. Perilous stuff of that sort should never be leftabout. No; they may ransack the place from top to bottom, andnothing will be found that could not be read aloud, without harm, in the marketplace of Lancaster. 

"So now, to bed, Charlie. It is long past your usual hour. "

Chapter 2: Denounced. 

"Charlie, " Sir Marmaduke said on the following morning, atbreakfast, "it is quite possible that that villain who acted asspy, and that other villain who employed him--I need not mentionnames--may swear an information against me, and I may be arrested, on the charge of being concerned in a plot. I am not much afraid ofit, if they do. The most they could say is that I was prepared totake up arms, if his majesty crossed from France; but, as there arethousands and thousands of men ready to do the same, they may fineme, perhaps, but I should say that is all. However, what I want tosay to you is, keep out of the way, if they come. I shall makelight of the affair, while you, being pretty hot tempered, mightsay things that would irritate them, while they could be of noassistance to me. Therefore, I would rather that you were kept outof it, altogether. I shall want you here. In my absence, there mustbe somebody to look after things. 

"Mind that rascal John Dormay does not put his foot inside thehouse, while I am away. That fellow is playing some deep game, though I don't quite know what it is. I suppose he wants to win thegoodwill of the authorities, by showing his activity and zeal; and, of course, he will imagine that no one has any idea that he hasbeen in communication with this spy. We have got a hold over him, and, when I come back, I will have it out with him. He is notpopular now, and, if it were known that he had been working againstme, his wife's kinsman, behind my back, my friends about here wouldmake the country too hot to hold him. "

"Yes, father; but please do not let him guess that we have learntit from Ciceley. You see, that is the only way we know about it. "

"Yes, you are right there. I will be careful that he shall not knowthe little maid has anything to do with it. But we will think ofthat, afterwards; maybe nothing will come of it, after all. But, ifanything does, mind, my orders are that you keep away from thehouse, while they are in it. When you come back, Banks will tellyou what has happened. 

"You had better take your horse, and go for a ride now. Not overthere, Charlie. I know, if you happened to meet that fellow, hewould read in your face that you knew the part he had been playing, and, should nothing come of the business, I don't want him to knowthat, at present. The fellow can henceforth do us no harm, for weshall be on our guard against eavesdroppers; and, for the sake ofcousin Celia and the child, I do not want an open breach. I do notsee the man often, myself, and I will take good care I don't putmyself in the way of meeting him, for the present, at any rate. Don't ride over there today. "

"Very well, father. I will ride over and see Harry Jervoise. Ipromised him that I would come over one day this week. "

It was a ten-mile ride, and, as he entered the courtyard of Mr. Jervoise's fine old mansion, he leapt off his horse, and threw thereins over a post. A servant came out. 

"The master wishes to speak to you, Master Carstairs. "

"No ill news, I hope, Charlie?" Mr. Jervoise asked anxiously, asthe lad was shown into the room, where his host was standing besidethe carved chimney piece. 

"No, sir, there is nothing new. My father thought that I had betterbe away today, in case any trouble should arise out of what tookplace yesterday, so I rode over to see Harry. I promised to do so, one day this week. "

"That is right. Does Sir Marmaduke think, then, that he will bearrested?"

"I don't know that he expects it, sir, but he says that it ispossible. "

"I do not see that they have anything to go upon, Charlie. As weagreed last night, that spy never had any opportunity ofoverhearing us before, and, certainly, he can have heard nothingyesterday. The fellow can only say what many people know, or couldknow, if they liked; that half a dozen of Sir Marmaduke's friendsrode over to take supper with him. They can make nothing out ofthat. "

"No, sir; and my father said that, at the worst, it could be butthe matter of a fine. "

"Quite so, lad; but I don't even see how it could amount to that. You will find Harry somewhere about the house. He has said nothingto me about going out. "

Harry Jervoise was just the same age as Charlie, and was hisgreatest friend. They were both enthusiastic in the cause of theStuarts, equally vehement in their expressions of contempt for theDutch king, equally anxious for the coming of him whom theyregarded as their lawful monarch. They spent the morning together, as usual; went first to the stables and patted and talked to theirhorses; then they played at bowls on the lawn; after which, theyhad a bout of sword play; and, having thus let off some of theiranimal spirits, sat down and talked of the glorious times to come, when the king was to have his own again. 

Late in the afternoon, Charlie mounted his horse and rode for home. When within half a mile of the house, a man stepped out into theroad in front of him. 

"Hullo, Banks, what is it? No bad news, I hope?"

And he leapt from his horse, alarmed at the pallor of the oldbutler's face. 

"Yes, Master Charles, I have some very bad news, and have beenwaiting for the last two hours here, so as to stop you going to thehouse. "

"Why shouldn't I go to the house?"

"Because there are a dozen soldiers, and three or four constablesthere. "

"And my father?"

"They have taken him away. "

"This is bad news, Banks; but I know that he thought that it mightbe so. But it will not be very serious; it is only a question of afine, " he said. 

The butler shook his head, sadly. 

"It is worse than that, Master Charles. It is worse than youthink. "

"Well, tell me all about it, Banks, " Charlie said, feeling muchalarmed at the old man's manner. 

"Well, sir, at three this afternoon, two magistrates, John Cockshawand William Peters--"

("Both bitter Whigs, " Charlie put in. )

"--Rode up to the door. They had with them six constables, andtwenty troopers. "

"There were enough of them, then, " Charlie said. "Did they think myfather was going to arm you all, and defend the place?"

"I don't know, sir, but that is the number that came. Themagistrates, and the constables, and four of the soldiers came intothe house. Sir Marmaduke met them in the hall. 

"'To what do I owe the honour of this visit?' he said, quite coldand haughty. 

"'We have come, Sir Marmaduke Carstairs, to arrest you, on thecharge of being concerned in a treasonable plot against the king'slife. '

"Sir Marmaduke laughed out loud. 

"'I have no design on the life of William of Orange, or of anyother man, ' he said. 'I do not pretend to love him; in that matterthere are thousands in this realm with me; but, as for a designagainst his life, I should say, gentlemen, there are few who knowme, even among men like yourselves, whose politics are opposed tomine, who would for a moment credit such a foul insinuation. '

"'We have nothing to do with that matter, Sir Marmaduke, ' JohnCockshaw said. 'We are acting upon a sworn information to thateffect. '

"Sir Marmaduke was angry, now. 

"'I can guess the name of the dog who signed it, ' he said, 'and, kinsman though he is by marriage, I will force the lie down histhroat. '

"Then he cooled down again. 

"'Well, gentlemen, you have to do your duty. What do you desirenext?'

"'Our duty is, next, to search the house, for any treasonabledocuments that may be concealed here. '

"'Search away, gentlemen, ' Sir Marmaduke said, seating himself inone of the settles. 'The house is open to you. My butler, JamesBanks, will go round with you, and will open for you any cupboardor chest that may be locked. '

"The magistrates nodded to the four soldiers. Two of them tooktheir post near the chair, one at the outside door, and one at theother end of the room. Sir Marmaduke said nothing, but shrugged hisshoulders, and then began to play with the ears of the littlespaniel, Fido, that had jumped up on his knees. 

"'We will first go into the study, ' John Cockshaw said; and I ledthem there. 

"They went straight to the cabinet with the pull-down desk, whereSir Marmaduke writes when he does write, which is not often. It waslocked, and I went to Sir Marmaduke for the key. 

"'You will find it in that French vase on the mantel, ' he said. 'Idon't open the desk once in three months, and should lose the key, if I carried it with me. '

"I went to the mantel, turned the vase over, and the key droppedout. 

"'Sir Marmaduke has nothing to hide, gentlemen, ' I said, 'so, yousee, he keeps the key here. '

"I went to the cabinet, and put the key in. As I did so I said:

"'Look, gentlemen, someone has opened, or tried to open, this desk. Here is a mark, as if a knife had been thrust in to shoot thebolt. '

"They looked where I pointed, and William Peters said to Cockshaw, 'It is as the man says. Someone has been trying to force thelock--one of the varlets, probably, who thought the knight mightkeep his money here. '

"'It can be of no importance, one way or the other, ' Cockshaw saidroughly. 

"'Probably not, Mr. Cockshaw, but, at the same time I will make anote of it. '

"I turned the key, and pulled down the door that makes a desk. Theyseemed to know all about it, for, without looking at the papers inthe pigeonholes, they pulled open the lower drawer, and took twoforeign-looking letters out from it. I will do them the justice tosay that they both looked sorry, as they opened them, and looked atthe writing. 

"'It is too true, ' Peters said. 'Here is enough to hang a dozenmen. '

"They tumbled all the other papers into a sack, that one of theconstables had brought with him. Then they searched all the otherfurniture, but they evidently did not expect to find anything. Thenthey went back into the hall. 

"'Well, gentlemen, ' Sir Marmaduke said, 'have you found anything ofa terrible kind?'

"'We have found, I regret to say, ' John Cockshaw said, 'the lettersof which we were in search, in your private cabinet--letters thatprove, beyond all doubt, that you are concerned in a plot similarto that discovered three years ago, to assassinate his majesty theking. '

"Sir Marmaduke sprang to his feet. 

"'You have found letters of that kind in my cabinet?' he said, in adazed sort of way. 

"The magistrate bowed, but did not speak. 

"'Then, sir, ' Sir Marmaduke exclaimed, 'you have found letters thatI have never seen. You have found letters that must have beenplaced there by some scoundrel, who plotted my ruin. I assert toyou, on the honour of a gentleman, that no such letters have evermet my eye, and that, if such a proposition had been made to me, Icare not by whom, I would have struck to the ground the man whooffered me such an insult. '

"'We are sorry, Sir Marmaduke Carstairs, ' Mr. Peters said, 'mostsorry, both of us, that it should have fallen to our duty to takeso painful a proceeding against a neighbour; but, you see, thematter is beyond us. We have received a sworn information that youare engaged in such a plot. We are told that you are in the habitof locking up papers of importance in a certain cabinet, and therewe find papers of a most damnatory kind. We most sincerely trustthat you may be able to prove your innocence in the matter, but wehave nothing to do but to take you with us, as a prisoner, toLancaster. '

"Sir Marmaduke unbuckled his sword, and laid it by. He was quieterthan I thought he could be, in such a strait, for he has alwaysbeen by nature, as you know, choleric. 

"'I am ready, gentlemen, ' he said. 

"Peters whispered in Cockshaw's ear. 

"'Ah yes, ' the other said, 'I had well-nigh forgotten, ' and heturned to me. 'Where is Master Charles Carstairs?'

"'He is not in the house, ' I said. 'He rode away this morning, anddid not tell me where he was going. '

"'When do you expect him back?'

"'I do not expect him at all, ' I said. 'When Master Charles ridesout to visit his friends, he sometimes stays away for a day ortwo. '

"'Is it supposed, ' Sir Marmaduke asked coldly, 'that my son is alsomixed up in this precious scheme?'

"'It is sworn that he was privy to it, ' John Cockshaw said, 'andis, therefore, included in the orders for arrest. '

"Sir Marmaduke did not speak, but he shut his lips tight, and hishand went to where the hilt of his sword would have been. Two ofthe constables went out and questioned the grooms, and found thatyou had, as I said, ridden off. When they came back, there was sometalk between the magistrates, and then, as I said, four constablesand some soldiers were left in the house. Sir Marmaduke's horse wasbrought round, and he rode away, with the magistrates and the othersoldiers. "

"I am quite sure, Banks, that my father could have known nothing ofthose letters, or of any plot against William's life. I have heardhim speak so often of the assassination plot, and how disgracefulit was, and how, apart from its wickedness, it had damaged thecause, that I am certain he would not have listened to a word aboutanother such business. "

"I am sure of that, too, " the old butler said; "but that is not thequestion, Master Charles. There are the papers. We know that SirMarmaduke did not put them there, and that he did not know thatthey were there. But how is it to be proved, sir? Everyone knowsthat Sir Marmaduke is a Jacobite, and is regarded as the head ofthe party in this part of the country. He has enemies, and one ofthem, no doubt, has played this evil trick upon him, and theputting of your name in shows what the motive is. "

"But it is ridiculous, Banks. Who could believe that such a matteras this would be confided to a lad of my age?"

"They might not believe it in their hearts, but people oftenbelieve what suits their interest. This accusation touches SirMarmaduke's life; and his estate, even if his life were spared, would be confiscated. In such a case, it might be granted toanyone, and possibly even to the son of him they would call thetraitor. But the accusation that the son was concerned, or was, atany rate, privy to the crime intended by the father, would set allagainst him, and public opinion would approve of the estatespassing away from him altogether. 

"But now, sir, what do you think you had best do?"

"Of course I shall go on, Banks, and let them take me to join myfather in Lancaster jail. Do you think I would run away?"

"No, sir, I don't think you would run away. I am sure you would notrun away from fear, but I would not let them lay hands on me, untilI had thought the matter well over. You might be able to do moregood to Sir Marmaduke were you free, than you could do if you werecaged up with him. He has enemies, we know, who are doing theirbest to ruin him, and, as you see, they are anxious that you, too, should be shut up within four walls. "

"You are right, Banks. At any rate, I will ride back and consultMr. Jervoise. Besides, he ought to be warned, for he, too, may bearrested on the same charge. How did you get away without beingnoticed?"

"I said that I felt ill--and I was not speaking falsely--at SirMarmaduke's arrest, and would lie down. They are keeping a sharplookout at the stables, and have a soldier at each door, to seethat no one leaves the house, but I went out by that old passagethat comes out among the ruins of the monastery. "

"I know, Banks. My father showed it to me, three years ago. "

"I shall go back that way again, sir, and no one will know that Ihave left the house. You know the trick of the sliding panel, Master Charles?"

"Yes, I know it, and if I should want to come into the house again, I will come that way, Banks. "

"Here is a purse, " the butler said. "You may want money, sir. Should you want more, there is a store hidden away, in the hidingplace under the floor of the Priest's Chamber, at the other end ofthe passage. Do you know that?"

"I know the Priest's Chamber of course, because you go through thatto get to the long passage, but I don't know of any special hidingplace there. "

"Doubtless, Sir Marmaduke did not think it necessary to show it youthen, sir, but he would have done it later on, so I do not considerthat I am breaking my oath of secrecy in telling you. You know thelittle narrow loophole in the corner?"

"Yes, of course. There is no other that gives light to the room. Itis hidden from view outside by the ivy. "

"Well, sir, you count four bricks below that, and you press hard onthe next, that is the fifth, then you will hear a click, then youpress hard with your heel at the corner, in the angle of the flagbelow, and you will find the other corner rise. Then you get holdof it and lift it up, and below there is a stone chamber, two feetlong and about eighteen inches wide and deep. It was made toconceal papers in the old days, and I believe food was always keptthere, in case the chamber had to be used in haste. 

"Sir Marmaduke uses it as a store place for his money. He has laidby a good deal every year, knowing that money would be wanted whentroops had to be raised. I was with him about three weeks ago, whenhe put in there half the rents that had been paid in. So, if youwant money for any purpose, you will know where to find it. "

"Thank you, Banks. It may be very useful to have such a store, now. "

"Where shall I send to you, sir, if I have any news that it isurgent you should know of?"

"Send to Mr. Jervoise, Banks. If I am not there, he will know whereI am to be found. "

"I will send Will Ticehurst, Master Charles. He is a stout lad, anda shrewd one, and I know there is nothing that he would not do foryou. But you had best stop no longer. Should they find out that Iam not in the house, they will guess that I have come to warn you, and may send out a party to search. "

Charlie at once mounted, and rode back to Mr. Jervoise's. 

"I expected you back, " that gentleman said, as he entered. "Badnews travels apace, and, an hour since, a man brought in the newsthat Sir Marmaduke had been seen riding, evidently a prisoner, surrounded by soldiers, on the road towards Lancaster. So thatvillain we chased last night must have learnt something. I supposethey will be here tomorrow, but I do not see what serious chargethey can have against us. We have neither collected arms, nor takenany steps towards a rising. We have talked over what we might do, if there were a landing made from France, but, as there may be nolanding, that is a very vague charge. "

"Unfortunately, that is not the charge against my father. It is amuch more serious business. "

And Charlie repeated the substance of what Banks had told him, interrupted occasionally by indignant ejaculations from Mr. Jervoise. 

"It is an infamous plot, " he said, when the lad had concluded hisstory. "Infamous! There was never a word said of such a scheme, andno one who knows your father would believe it for an instant. "

"Yes, sir, but the judges, who do not know him, may believe it. Nodoubt those who put those papers there, will bring forward evidenceto back it up. "

"I am afraid that will be the case. It is serious for us all, " Mr. Jervoise said thoughtfully. "That man will be prepared to swearthat he heard the plot discussed by us all. They seized yourfather, today, as being the principal and most important of thoseconcerned in it, but we may all find ourselves in the same casetomorrow. I must think it over. 

"It is well that your man warned you. You had best not stay heretonight, for the house may be surrounded at daybreak. Harry shallgo over, with you, to one of my tenants, and you can both sleepthere. It will not be necessary for you to leave for another two orthree hours. You had better go to him now; supper will be served inhalf an hour. I will talk with you again, afterwards. "

Harry was waiting outside the door, having also heard the news ofSir Marmaduke's arrest. 

"It is villainous!" he exclaimed, when he heard the whole story. "No doubt you are right, and that John Dormay is at the bottom ofit all. The villain ought to be slain. "

"He deserves it, Harry; and, if I thought it would do good, I wouldgladly fight him, but I fear that it would do harm. Such ascoundrel must needs be a coward, and he might call for aid, and Imight be dragged off to Lancaster. Moreover, he is Ciceley'sfather, and my cousin Celia's husband, and, were I to kill him, itwould separate me altogether from them. However, I shall in allthings be guided by your father. He will know what best ought to bedone. 

"It is likely that he, too, may be arrested. This is evidently adeep plot, and your father thinks that, although the papers alonemay not be sufficient to convict my father, the spy we had in ourhouse will be ready to swear that he heard your father, and mine, and the others, making arrangements for the murder of William ofOrange; and their own word to the contrary would count but littleagainst such evidence, backed by those papers. "

They talked together for half an hour, and were then summoned tosupper. Nothing was said, upon the subject, until the servitors hadretired, and the meal was cleared away. Mr. Jervoise was, like SirMarmaduke, a widower. 

"I have been thinking it all over, " he said, when they were alone. "I have determined to ride, at once, to consult some of my friends, and to warn them of what has taken place. That is clearly my duty. I shall not return until I learn whether warrants are out for myapprehension. Of course, the evidence is not so strong against meas it is against Sir Marmaduke; still, the spy's evidence wouldtell as much against me as against him. 

"You will go up, Harry, with your friend, to Pincot's farm. It liesso far in the hills that it would probably be one of the last to besearched, and, if a very sharp lookout is kept there, a body of menriding up the valley would be seen over a mile away, and therewould be plenty of time to take to the hills. There Charlie hadbetter remain, until he hears from me. 

"You can return here, Harry, in the morning, for there is noprobability whatever of your being included in any warrant ofarrest. It could only relate to us, who were in the habit ofmeeting at Sir Marmaduke's. You will ride over to the farm eachday, and tell Charlie any news you may have learnt, or take anymessage I may send you for him. 

"We must do nothing hastily. The first thing to learn, if possible, is whether any of us are included in the charge of being concernedin a plot against William's life. In the next place, who are thewitnesses, and what evidence they intend to give. No doubt the mostimportant is the man who was placed as a spy at Sir Marmaduke's. "

"As I know his face, sir, " Charlie said eagerly, "could I not findhim, and either force him to acknowledge that it is all false, orelse kill him? I should be in my right in doing that, surely, sincehe is trying to swear away my father's life by false evidence. "

"I should say nothing against that, lad. If ever a fellow deservedkilling he does; that is, next to his rascally employer. But hisdeath would harm rather than benefit us. It would be assumed, ofcourse, that we had removed him to prevent his giving evidenceagainst us. No doubt his depositions have been taken down, and theywould then be assumed to be true, and we should be worse off thanif he could be confronted with us, face to face, in the court. Wemust let the matter rest, at present. "

"Would it be possible to get my father out of prison, sir? I amsure I can get a dozen men, from among the tenants and grooms, whowould gladly risk their lives for him. "

"Lancaster jail is a very strong place, " Mr. Jervoise said, "and Ifear there is no possibility of rescuing him from it. Of course, atpresent we cannot say where the trial will take place. A commissionmay be sent down, to hold a special assizes at Lancaster, or thetrial may take place in London. At any rate, nothing whatever canbe done, until we know more. I have means of learning what takesplace at Lancaster, for we have friends there, as well as at mostother places. When I hear from them the exact nature of the charge, the evidence that will be given, and the names of those accused ofbeing mixed up in this pretended plot, I shall be better able tosay what is to be done. 

"Now, I must mount and ride without further delay. I have to visitall our friends who met at Lynnwood, and it will take me untiltomorrow morning to see and confer with them. "

A few minutes after Mr. Jervoise had ridden off, his son andCharlie also mounted. A man went with them, with a supply oftorches, for, although Harry knew the road--which was little betterthan a sheep track--well enough during the day, his father thoughthe might find it difficult, if not impossible, to follow it on adark night. 

They congratulated themselves upon the precaution taken, beforethey had gone very far, for there was no moon, the sky wasovercast, and a drizzling rain had begun to come down. They couldhardly see their horses' heads, and had proceeded but a shortdistance, when it became necessary for their guide to light atorch. It took them, therefore, over two hours to reach themountain farm. 

They were expected, otherwise the household would have been asleep. Mr. Jervoise had, as soon as he determined upon their going there, sent off a man on horseback, who, riding fast, had arrived beforenight set in. There was, therefore, a great turf fire glowing onthe hearth when they arrived, and a hearty welcome awaiting themfrom the farmer, his wife, and daughters. Harry had, by hisfather's advice, brought two changes of clothes in a valise, butthey were so completely soaked to the skin that they decided theywould, after drinking a horn of hot-spiced ale that had beenprepared for them, go at once to bed, where, in spite of thestirring events of the day, both went off to sleep, as soon astheir heads touched the pillows. 

The sun was shining brightly, when they woke. The mists had clearedoff, although they still hung round the head of Ingleborough, sixmiles away, and on some of the other hilltops. The change ofweather had an inspiriting effect, and they went down to breakfastin a brighter and more hopeful frame of mind. As soon as the mealwas over, Harry started for home. 

"I hope it won't be long before I can see you again, Harry, "Charlie said, as he stood by the horse. 

"I hope not, indeed; but there is no saying. My father's orders arethat I am to stay at home, if people come and take possession, andsend a man off to you with the news privately, but that, if no onecomes, I may myself bring you over any news there is; so I may beback here this afternoon. "

"I shall be looking out for you, Harry. Remember, it will behorribly dull for me up here, wondering and fretting as to what isgoing on. "

"I know, Charlie; and you shall hear, as soon as I get the smallestscrap of news. If I were you, I would go for a good walk among thehills. It will be much better for you than moping here. At anyrate, you are not likely to get any news for some hours to come. "

Charlie took the advice, and started among the hills, not returninguntil the midday meal was ready. Before he had finished his dinnerthere was a tap at the door, and then a young fellow, whom he knewto be employed in Mr. Jervoise's stables, looked in. Charlie sprangto his feet. 

"What's the news?" he asked. 

"Master Harry bade me tell you, sir, that a magistrate, and fourconstables, and ten soldier men came today, at nine o'clock. He hadreturned but a half-hour when they rode up. They had an order forthe arrest of Mr. Jervoise, and have been searching the house, highand low, for papers. No one is allowed to leave the place, butMaster Harry came out to the stables and gave me his orders, and Idid not find much difficulty in slipping out without their noticingme. Mr. Harry said that he had no news of Mr. Jervoise, nor anyother news, save what I have told you. He bade me return at onceas, later on, he may want to send me again. I was to be mostcareful that no one should see me when I got back, and, if I wascaught, I was on no account to say where I had been to. "

The farmer insisted upon the young fellow sitting down at thetable, and taking some food, before he started to go back. Herequired no pressing, but, as soon as his hunger was satisfied, hestarted again at a brisk run, which he kept up as long as Charlie'seye could follow him down the valley. 

Although the boy by no means wished Mr. Jervoise to be involved inhis father's trouble, Charlie could not help feeling a certainamount of pleasure at the news. He thought it certain that, if hisfather escaped, he would have to leave the country, and that hewould, in that case, take him as companion in his flight. If Mr. Jervoise and Harry also left the country, it would be vastly morepleasant for both his father and himself. Where they would go to, or what they would do, he had no idea, but it seemed to him thatexile among strangers would be bearable, if he had his friend withhim. It would not last many years, for surely the often talked-oflanding could not be very much longer delayed; then they wouldreturn, share in the triumph of the Stuart cause, and resume theirlife at Lynnwood, and reckon with those who had brought this foulcharge against them. 

That the Jacobite cause could fail to triumph was a contingency towhich Charlie did not give even a thought. He had been taught thatit was a just and holy cause. All his school friends, as well asthe gentlemen who visited his father, were firm adherents of it, and he believed that the same sentiments must everywhere prevail. There was, then, nothing but the troops of William to reckon with, and these could hardly oppose a rising of the English people, backed by aid from France. 

It was not until after dark that the messenger returned. 

"Master Harry bade me tell you, sir, that a gipsy boy he had neverseen before has brought him a little note from his father. He willnot return at present, but, if Mr. Harry can manage to slip awayunnoticed in the afternoon, tomorrow, he is to come here. He is notto come direct, but to make a circuit, lest he should be watchedand followed, and it may be that the master will meet him here. "

Charlie was very glad to hear this. Harry could, of course, givehim little news of what was going on outside the house, but Mr. Jervoise might be able to tell him something about his father, especially as he had said he had means of learning what went on inLancaster jail. 

He was longing to be doing something. It seemed intolerable to himthat he should be wandering aimlessly among the hills, while hisfather was lying in Lancaster, with a charge affecting his lifehanging over him. What he could do he knew not, but anything wouldbe better than doing nothing. Mr. Jervoise had seemed to think thatit was out of the question to attempt a rescue from Lancaster; butsurely, if he could get together forty or fifty determined fellows, a sudden assault upon the place might be successful. 

Then he set to work reckoning up the grooms, the younger tenants, and the sons of the older ones, and jotted down the names oftwenty-seven who he thought might join in the attempt. 

"If Harry could get twenty-three from his people, that would makeit up to the number, " he said. "Of course, I don't know what thedifficulties to be encountered may be. I have ridden there with myfather, and I know that the castle is a strong one, but I did notnotice it very particularly. The first thing to do will be to goand examine it closely. No doubt ladders will be required, but wecould make rope ladders, and take them into the town in a cart, hidden under faggots, or something of that sort. 

"I do hope Mr. Jervoise will come tomorrow. It is horrible waitinghere in suspense. "

The next morning, the hours seemed endless. Half a dozen times hewent restlessly in and out, walking a little distance up the hillrising from the valley, and returning again, with the vain ideathat Mr. Jervoise might have arrived. 

Still more slowly did the time appear to go, after dinner. He wasgetting into a fever of impatience and anxiety, when, about fiveo'clock, he saw a figure coming down the hillside from the right. It was too far away to recognize with certainty, but, by the rapidpace at which he descended the hill, he had little doubt that itwas Harry, and he at once started, at the top of his speed, to meethim. 

The doubt was soon changed into a certainty. When, a few hundredyards up the hill, he met his friend, both were almost breathless. Harry was the first to gasp out:

"Has my father arrived?"

"Not yet. "

Harry threw himself down on the short grass, with an exclamation ofthankfulness. 

"I have run nearly every foot of the way, " he said, as soon as hegot his breath a little. "I had awful difficulty in getting out. One of the constables kept in the same room with me, and followedme wherever I went. They evidently thought I might hear from myfather, or try to send him a message. At last, I got desperate, andran upstairs to that room next mine, and closed and locked the doorafter me. You know the ivy grows high up the wall there, anddirectly I got in, I threw open the casement and climbed down byit. It gave way two or three times, and I thought I was gone, but Istuck to it, and managed each time to get a fresh hold. The momentI was down, I ran along by the foot of the wall until I got roundbehind, made a dash into that clump of fir trees, crawled along ina ditch till I thought I was safe, and then made a run for it. Iwas so afraid of being followed that I have been at least threemiles round, but I don't mind, now that my father hasn't arrived. Iwas in such a fright that he might come and go before I got here. "

Chapter 3: A Rescue. 

The two lads walked slowly down the hill together. Harry had heardno more than Charlie had done, of what was going on. The messengerfrom his father was a young fellow, of seventeen or eighteen, witha gipsy face and appearance. How he had managed to elude thevigilance of the men on watch, Harry did not know. He, himself, hadonly learnt his presence when, as he passed some bushes in thegarden, a sharp whisper made him stop, and a moment later a handwas thrust through the foliage. He took the little note held out, and caught sight of the lad's face, through the leaves, as he leantforward and said:

"Go on, sir, without stopping. They may be watching you. "

Harry had thrust the note into his pocket, and sauntered on forsome time. He then returned to the house, and there read theletter, with whose contents Charlie was already acquainted. Eagerly, they talked over what each had been thinking of since theyhad parted, early on the previous day; and discussed Charlie's ideaof an attack on Lancaster jail. 

"I don't know whether I could get as many men as you say, Charlie. I don't think I could. If my father were in prison, as well asyours, I am sure that most of the young fellows on the estate wouldgladly help to rescue him, but it would be a different thing whenit came to risking their lives for anyone else. Of course I don'tknow, but it does not seem to me that fifty men would be of anyuse, at all, towards taking Lancaster Castle. It always seemed tome a tremendously strong place. "

"Yes, it does look so, Harry; but perhaps, on examining it closely, one would find that it is not so strong as it looks, by a long way. It seems to me there must be some way or other of getting fatherout, and, if there seems even the least bit of a chance, I shalltry it. "

"And you may be sure I will stand by you, Charlie, whatever it is, "Harry said heartily. "We have been just like brothers, and, ofcourse, brothers ought to stick to each other like anything. Ifthey don't, what is the use of being brothers? I daresay we shallknow more, when we hear what my father has to say; and then we maysee our way better. "

"Thank you, Harry. I knew you would stick by me. Of course, I don'twant to do any mad sort of thing. There is no hurry, anyhow, and, as you say, when we know more about it, we may be able to hit uponsome sort of plan. "

It was not until eight o'clock that Mr. Jervoise arrived. He lookedgrievously tired and worn out, but he spoke cheerfully as he camein. 

"I have had a busy two days of it, boys, as you may guess. I haveno particularly good news to tell you, but, on the other hand, Ihave no bad news. I was in time to warn all our friends, and whenthe soldiers came for them in the morning, it was only to find thattheir nests were empty. 

"They have been searching the houses of all Sir Marmaduke'stenants, Charlie, and questioning man, woman, and child as towhether they have seen you. 

"Ah! Here is supper, and I am nearly famished. However, I can go ontalking while I eat. I should have been here sooner, but I havebeen waiting for the return of the messenger I sent to Lancaster. 

"Yesterday morning there was an examination of your father, Charlie, or rather, an examination of the testimony against him. First the two letters that were discovered were put in. Withouthaving got them word for word, my informer was able to give me thesubstance of them. Both were unsigned, and professed to have beenwritten in France. The first is dated three months back. It alludesto a conversation that somebody is supposed to have had with SirMarmaduke, and states that the agent who had visited him, and whois spoken of as Mr. H, had assured them that your father wasperfectly ready to join, in any well-conceived design for putting astop to the sufferings that afflicted the country, through the warsinto which the foreign intruder had plunged it, even though theplan entailed the removal of the usurper. The writer assured SirMarmaduke of the satisfaction that such an agreement on his parthad caused at Saint Germains, and had heightened the high esteem inwhich Sir Marmaduke was held, for his long fidelity to the cause ofhis majesty. It then went on to state that a plan had been alreadyformed, and that several gentlemen in the south were deeply pledgedto carry it out, but that it was thought specially advisable thatsome from the north should also take part in it, as, from theirpersons being unknown near the court, they could act with moresurety and safety. They would, therefore, be glad if he would takecounsel, with the friends he had mentioned, as to what might seemto them the best course of proceeding. There was no occasion forany great haste and, indeed, some weeks must elapse before the blowwas struck, in order that preparations should be made, in France, for taking instant advantage of it. 

"The rest of the letter was to the same purpose, but was really arepetition of it. The second letter was dated some time later, andwas, as before, an answer to one the knight was supposed to havewritten. It highly approved of the suggestions therein made; thatSir Marmaduke and his friends should travel, separately and at afew days' interval, to London, and should take lodgings there indifferent parts of the town, and await the signal to assemble, nearRichmond, when it was known that the king would go hunting there. It said that special note had been made of the offer of SirMarmaduke's son, to mingle among the king's attendants and to firethe first shot, as, in the confusion, he would be able to escapeand, being but a boy, as he said, none would be able to recognizehim afterwards. 

"In the event, of course, of the first shot failing, the rest ofthe party, gathered in a body, would rush forward, despatch theusurper, cut their way, sword in hand, through any who barred theirpath to the point where their horses were concealed, and then atonce scatter in various directions. For this great service, hismajesty would not fail to evince the deepest gratitude, upon hisrestoration to his rightful throne, and pledged his royal word thateach of the party should receive rank and dignity, together withample estates, from the lands of which the chief supporters of theusurper would be deprived. 

"So you see, Charlie, you were to have the honour of playing thechief part in this tragedy. "

"Honour indeed!" Charlie exclaimed passionately. "Dishonour, sir. Was there ever so infamous a plot!"

"It is a well-laid plot, Charlie, and does credit to the scoundrelwho planned it. You see, he made certain that Sir Marmaduke wouldbe attainted, and his estates forfeited, but there existed just apossibility that, as you are but a boy, though a good big one, itmight be thought that, as you were innocent of the business, aportion at least of the estate might be handed to you. To preventthis, it was necessary that you also should be mixed up in theaffair. "

"Has John Dormay appeared in the matter so far, Mr. Jervoise?"

"Not openly, Charlie. My informant knows that there have been twoor three meetings of Whig magistrates, with closed doors, and thatat these he has been present, and he has no doubt, whatever, thatit is he who has set the ball rolling. Still, there is no proof ofthis, and he did not appear yesterday. The man who did appear wasthe rascal who tried to overhear us the other night. He stated thathe had been instigated by a gentleman of great loyalty--here one ofthe magistrates broke in, and said no name must be mentioned--toenter the household of Sir Marmaduke, a gentleman who, as hebelieved, was trafficking with the king's enemies. He had agreed todo this, in spite of the danger of such employment, moved theretonot so much by the hope of a reward as from his great loyalty tohis majesty, and a desire to avert from him his great danger frompopish plots. Having succeeded in entering Sir Marmaduke's service, he soon discovered that six gentlemen, to wit, myself and fivefriends, were in the habit of meeting at Lynnwood, where they hadlong and secret talks. Knowing the deep enmity and hostility thesemen bore towards his gracious majesty, he determined to run anyhazard, even to the loss of his life, to learn the purport of suchgatherings, and did, therefore, conceal himself, on one occasionbehind the hangings of a window, and on another listened at an opencasement, and did hear much conversation regarding the best mannerin which the taking of the king's life could be accomplished. This, it was agreed, should be done in the forest at Richmond, where allshould lie in wait, the said Sir Marmaduke Carstairs undertakingthat he and his son would, in the first place, fire with pistol ormusquetoon, and that, only if they should fail, the rest shouldcharge forward on horse, overthrow the king's companions, anddespatch him, Mr. William Jervoise undertaking the management ofthis part of the enterprise. No date was settled for this wickedbusiness, it being, however, agreed that all should journeyseparately to London, and take up their lodging there under feignednames; lying hid until they heard from a friend at court, whosename was not mentioned, a day on which the king would hunt atRichmond. He further testified that, making another attempt tooverhear the conspirators in order that he might gather fullerdetails as to the manner of the plot, he was seen by Master CharlesCarstairs, who, taking him by surprise, grievously assaulted him, and that he and the others would have slain him, had he notoverthrown Master Carstairs and effected his escape before theothers, rushing out sword in hand, had time to assail him. 

"During his stay at Lynnwood he had, several times, watched at thewindow of the room where Sir Marmaduke Carstairs sits when alone, and where he writes his letters and transacts business, and that heobserved him, more than once, peruse attentively papers that seemedto be of importance, for, after reading them, he would lay themdown and walk, as if disturbed or doubtful in mind, up and down theroom; and these papers he placed, when he had done with them, inthe bottom drawer of a desk in his cabinet, the said desk beingalways carefully locked by him. 

"That is all that I learnt from Lancaster, save that instructionshave been given that no pains should be spared to secure thepersons of those engaged in the plot, and that a special watch wasto be set at the northern ports, lest they should, finding theirguilt discovered, try to escape from the kingdom. So you see thatyour good father, Sir Marmaduke, is in a state of sore peril, andthat the rest of us, including yourself, will be in a like straitif they can lay hands on us. "

"But it is all false!" Charlie exclaimed. "It is a lie frombeginning to end. "

"That is so, but we cannot prove it. The matter is so cunninglylaid, I see no way to pick a hole in it. We are Jacobites, and assuch long regarded as objects of suspicion by the Whig magistratesand others. There have been other plots against William's life, inwhich men of seeming reputation have been concerned. This man'sstory will be confirmed by the man who set him on, and by otherhidden papers, if necessary. As to the discovery of the documents, we may know well enough that the fellow himself put them there, butwe have no manner of proof of it. It is evident that there isnothing for us but to leave the country, and to await the time whenthe king shall have his own again. My other friends, who were withme this afternoon when the news came from Lancaster, all agreedthat it would be throwing away our lives to stay here. We all havemoney by us, for each has, for years, laid by something for thetime when money will be required to aid the king on his arrival. 

"Having agreed to take this course, we drew up a document, which weall signed, and which will be sent in when we have got clear away. In it we declare that being informed that accusations of beingconcerned in a plot against the life of William of Orange have beenbrought against us, we declare solemnly before God that we, andalso Sir Marmaduke Carstairs and his son, are wholly innocent ofthe charge, and that, although we do not hesitate to declare thatwe consider the title of the said William to be king of this realmto be wholly unfounded and without reason, and should thereforetake up arms openly against it on behalf of our sovereign didoccasion offer, yet that we hold assassination in abhorrence, andthat the crime with which we are charged is as hateful in our sightas in that of any Whig gentleman. As, however, we are charged, aswe learn, by evilly disposed and wicked persons, of this design, and have no means of proving our innocence, we are forced to leavethe realm until such time shall arrive when we can rely on a fairtrial, when our reputation and honour will weigh against the wordof suborned perjurers and knaves. 

"We were not forgetful of your father's case, and we debated longas to whether our remaining here could do him service. We evendiscussed the possibility of raising a force, and attackingLancaster Castle. We agreed, however, that this would be nothingshort of madness. The country is wholly unprepared at present. TheWhigs are on the alert, and such an attempt would cost the lives ofmost of those concerned in it. Besides, we are all sure that SirMarmaduke would be the first to object to numbers of personsrisking their lives in an attempt which, even if, for the moment, successful, must bring ruin upon all concerned in it. Nor do we seethat, were we to remain and to stand in the dock beside him, itwould aid him. Our word would count for no more than would thisprotest and denial that we have signed together. A prisoner's pleaof not guilty has but a feather's weight against sworn evidence. 

"At the same time, Charlie, I do not intend to leave the countryuntil I am sure that nothing can be done. As force is out of thequestion, I have advised the others to lose not an hour in tryingto escape and, by this time, they are all on the road. Two aremaking for Bristol, one for Southampton, and two for London. Itwould be too dangerous to attempt to escape by one of the northernports. But, though force cannot succeed, we may be able to effectyour father's escape by other means, and it is for this purposethat I am determined to stay, and I shall do so until all hope isgone. Alone you could effect nothing; but I, knowing who are oursecret friends, may be able to use them to advantage. 

"We will stay here tonight, but tomorrow we must change ourquarters, for the search will be a close one. During the day wewill go far up over the hills, but tomorrow night we will make forLancaster. I have warned friends there to expect us, and it is thelast place where they would think of searching for us. "

"You will take me with you, too, father?" Harry exclaimed eagerly;while Charlie expressed his gratitude to Mr. Jervoise, for thusdetermining to risk his own life in the endeavour to effect theescape of Sir Marmaduke. 

"Yes, I intend to take you with me, Harry. They will pretend, ofcourse, that, in spite of our assertions of innocence, our flightis a confession of guilt, and you may be sure that we shall becondemned in our absence, and our estates declared confiscated, andbestowed upon some of William's minions. There will be no place foryou here. 

"My own plans are laid. As you know, your mother came from theother side of the border, and a cousin of hers, with whom I am wellacquainted, has gone over to Sweden, and holds a commission in thearmy that the young king is raising to withstand Russia and Saxony;for both are thinking of taking goodly slices of his domains. Icould not sit down quietly in exile, and, being but forty, I am nottoo old for service, and shall take a commission if I can obtainit. There are many Scottish Jacobites who, having fled rather thanacknowledge Dutch William as their king, have taken service inSweden, where their fathers fought under the great GustavusAdolphus; and, even if I cannot myself take service, it may be thatI shall be able to obtain a commission for you. You are nearlysixteen, and there are many officers no older. 

"Should evil befall your father, Charlie, which I earnestly hopewill not be the case, I shall regard you as my son, and shall dothe same for you as for Harry. 

"And now, I will to rest, for I have scarce slept the last twonights, and we must be in the saddle long before daybreak. "

The little bedroom, that Charlie had used the two previous nights, was given up to Mr. Jervoise; while Harry and Charlie slept on somesheep skins, in front of the kitchen fire. Two hours beforedaybreak they mounted and, guided by the farmer, rode to ashepherd's hut far up among the hills. Late in the afternoon, a boycame up from the farm, with the news that the place had beensearched by a party of troopers. They had ridden away withoutdiscovering that the fugitives had been at the farm, but four ofthe party had been left, in case Mr. Jervoise should come there. The farmer, therefore, warned them against coming back that way, ashad been intended, naming another place where he would meet them. 

As soon as the sun was setting they mounted and, accompanied by theshepherd on a rough pony, started for Lancaster. After riding forthree hours, they stopped at a lonely farm house, at which Mr. Jervoise and his friends had held their meeting on the previousday. Here they changed their clothes for others that had been sentfor their use from Lancaster. Mr. Jervoise was attired as a smalltrader, and the lads in garb suitable to boys in the same rank oflife. They still, however, retained their swords, and the pistolsin their holsters. 

Three miles farther they met their host, as arranged, at somecrossroads, and rode on until within three miles of Lancaster. Theythen dismounted, placed their pistols in their belts, and handedtheir horses to the two men, who would take them back to the hut inthe hills, where they would remain until required. 

It was two o'clock in the morning when they entered Lancaster and, going up to a small house, standing in a garden in the outskirts ofthe town, Mr. Jervoise gave three low knocks in quick succession. The door was opened almost immediately. No light was shown, andthey entered in the dark, but as soon as the door was closed behindthem, a woman came out with a candle from an inner room. 

"I am glad to see you safe, Mr. Jervoise, " a man said. "My wife andI were beginning to be anxious, fearing that you might have falleninto the hands of your enemies. "

"No, all has gone well, Herries; but it is a long ride from thehills here, and we walked the last three miles, as we wanted to getthe horses back again before daylight. We are deeply grateful toyou for giving us shelter. "

"I would be ready to do more than that, " the man said, "for thesake of the good cause. My wife's father and mine both fell atNaseby, and we are as loyal to the Stuarts as they were. You areheartily welcome, sir, and, as we keep no servant, there will benone to gossip. You can either remain in the house, in which casenone will know of your presence here; or, if you wish to go abroadin the town, I will accompany you, and will introduce you to anyacquaintance I may meet as a cousin of my wife who, with his twosons, has come over from Preston to pay us a visit. I don't thinkthat anyone would know you, in that attire. "

"I will run no more risks than are necessary, Herries. Those I wishto see will visit me here, and, if I go out at all, it will not beuntil after dark. "

For a fortnight they remained at the house. After dark each day, aman paid Mr. Jervoise a visit. He was the magistrates' clerk, andhad an apartment in the castle. From him they learned that amessenger had been despatched to London, with an account of theevidence taken in Sir Marmaduke's case; and that, at the end oftwelve days, he had returned with orders that all prisoners andwitnesses were to be sent to town, where they would be examined, inthe first place, by his majesty's council; and where SirMarmaduke's trial for high treason would take place. They were tobe escorted by a party of twelve troopers, under the command of alieutenant. 

The fugitives had, before, learned that the search for Mr. Jervoisehad been given up; it being supposed that he, with his son andyoung Carstairs had, with their accomplices, all ridden for thecoast at the first alarm, and had probably taken ship for Francebefore the orders had arrived that all outgoing vessels should besearched. 

Harry and Charlie had both been away for two or three days, and hadbeen occupied in getting together ten young fellows, from the twoestates, who would be willing and ready to attempt to rescue SirMarmaduke from his captors' hands. They were able to judge, withtolerable accuracy, when the messenger would return from Londonand, two days previously, the men had been directed to ride, singlyand by different roads, and to put up at various small inns inManchester, each giving out that he was a farmer in from thecountry, either to purchase supplies, or to meet with a customerlikely to buy some cattle he wished to dispose of. Charlie had paida visit to Lynnwood, and had gone by the long passage into thePriest's Chamber, and had carried off the gold hidden there. 

As soon as it was known that the messenger had returned, Herrieshad borrowed a horse, and had ridden with a note to the farmer, telling him to go up to the hills and bring the horses down, withone of his own, to the place where he had parted from them, whenthey entered Lancaster. There he was met by Mr. Jervoise and thelads and, mounting, they started with the spare horse forBlackburn, choosing that line in preference to the road throughPreston, as there were troops stationed at the latter town. 

The next day they rode on to Manchester. They went round, thatevening, to the various inns where the men had put up, and directedthem to discover whether, as was probable, the escort was to arrivethat night. If so, they were to mount at daybreak, and assemblewhere the road crossed the moor, three miles north of Chapel leFrith, where they would find Mr. Jervoise awaiting them. 

At nine o'clock that evening the troop rode in and, at daybreak, Mr. Jervoise and the boys started. Two of the men were already atthe spot indicated, and, half an hour later, the whole of them hadarrived. 

Mr. Jervoise led them back to a spot that he had selected, wherethe road dipped into a deep valley, in which, sheltered from thewinds, was a small wood. Leaving one at the edge, to give warningdirectly the escort appeared on the road over the brow, he told therest to dismount. Most of them were armed with pistols. All hadswords. 

"Do you, " he said, "who are good shots with your pistols, fire atthe men when I give the word--let the rest aim at the horses. Themoment you have opened fire, dash forward and fall on them. We arealready as numerous as they are, and we ought to be able todismount or disable four or five of them, with our first fire. Ishall give the order as Sir Marmaduke arrives opposite me. Probablythe officer will be riding. I shall make the officer my specialmark, for it may be that he has orders to shoot the prisoner, ifany rescue is attempted. 

"I don't suppose they will be at all prepared for an attack. Theywere vigilant, no doubt, for the first two days but, once out ofLancashire, they will think that there is no longer any fear of anattempt at rescue. Pursue those that escape for half a mile or so, and then draw rein, and, as soon as they are out of sight, strikedue north across the fells. Keep to the east of Glossop, and thenmake your way singly to your homes. It will be better for you totravel up through Yorkshire, till you are north of Ingleborough, soas to come down from the north to your farms. 

"I know that you have all engaged in this affair for love of SirMarmaduke or myself, and because you hate to see a loyal gentlemanmade the victim of lying knaves; but when we come back with theking, you may be sure that Sir Marmaduke and I will well reward theservices you have rendered. "

It was an hour before the man on the lookout warned them that thetroop had just appeared over the hill. They mounted now, and, pistol in hand, awaited the arrival of the party. Two troopers camefirst, trotting carelessly along, laughing and smoking. A hundredyards behind came the main body, four troopers first, then thelieutenant and Sir Marmaduke, followed by the other six troopers. 

With outstretched arm, and pistol pointed through the undergrowth, Mr. Jervoise waited till the officer, who was riding on his side ofthe road, came abreast of him. He had already told the boys that heintended to aim at his shoulder. 

"They are the enemies of the king, " he said, "but I cannot, in coldblood, shoot down a man with whom I have no cause for quarrel. Ican depend upon my aim, and he will not be twelve paces from themuzzle of my pistol. "

He fired. The officer gave a sudden start, and reeled on his horse, and, before he could recover himself, the band, who had fired atthe flash of the first pistol, dashed out through the bushes andfell upon the troopers. Four men had dropped, one horse had fallen, and two others were plunging wildly as, with a shout, theirassailants dashed upon them. All who could turn their horse's headrode furiously off, some along the road forward, others backtowards Manchester. The lieutenant's horse had rolled over withhim, as that of Mr. Jervoise struck it on the shoulder, with thefull impetus of its spring. 

"It is all over, Sir Marmaduke, and you are a free man. We havenothing to do now but to ride for it. "

And, before the knight had fairly recovered from his astonishment, he found himself riding south across the moor, with his son on oneside of him, and Mr. Jervoise and Harry on the other. 

"You have saved my life, Jervoise, " he said, holding out his handto his friend. "They had got me so firmly in their clutches, that Ithought my chances were at an end. 

"How are you, Charlie? I am right glad to see you, safe and sound, for they had managed to include you in their pretended plot, and, for aught I knew, you had been all this time lying in a cell nextmine in Lancaster Castle. 

"But who are the good fellows who helped you?"

Mr. Jervoise briefly gave an account of the affair. 

"They are only keeping up a sham pursuit of the soldiers, so as tosend them well on their way. I told them not to overtake them, asthere was no occasion for any further bloodshed, when you were onceout of their hands. By tomorrow morning they will all be at work ontheir farms again, and, if they keep their own counsel, need notfear. "

Suddenly Sir Marmaduke reined in his horse. 

"We are riding south, " he said. 

"Certainly we are, " Mr. Jervoise said. "Why not? That is our onlychance of safety. They will, in the first place, suspect us ofhaving doubled back to the hills, and will search every farmhouseand cottage. Our only hope of escape is to ride either for Bristol, or one of the southern ports. "

"I must go back, " Sir Marmaduke said doggedly. "I must kill thatscoundrel John Dormay, before I do anything else. It is he who haswound this precious skein, in order to entrap us, expecting, thescoundrel, to have my estates bestowed on him as a reward. "

"It were madness to ride back now, Sir Marmaduke. It would cost youyour life, and you would leave Charlie here fatherless, and withbut little chance of ever regaining the estate. You have but towait for a time, and everything will right itself. As soon as theking comes to his own, your estates will be restored, and then Iwould not seek to stay your hand, if you sought vengeance upon thiscunning knave. "

"Besides, father, " Charlie put in, "much as he deserves anypunishment you can give him, you would not kill cousin Celia'shusband and Ciceley's father. When the truth is all made known, hispunishment will be bitter enough, for no honest man would offer hima hand, or sit down to a meal with him. 

"Ciceley has been as a young sister to me, and her mother has everbeen as kind as if she had been my aunt. I would not see themgrieved, even if that rogue came off scot free from punishment;but, at any rate, father, I pray you to let it pass at present. This time we have happily got you out of the clutches of the Whigs, but, if you fell into them again, you may be sure they would nevergive us another chance. "

Sir Marmaduke still sat irresolute, and Charlie went on:

"Besides, father, Mr. Jervoise has risked his life in lingering inLancashire to save you, and the brave fellows who aided us torescue you have risked theirs, both in the fray and afterwards, iftheir share in it should ever be known; and it would not be fair torisk failure, after all they have done. I pray you, father, beguided by the opinion of your good friend, Mr. Jervoise. "

Sir Marmaduke touched his horse's flank with his heel. 

"You have prevailed, Charlie. Your last argument decided me. I haveno right to risk my life, after my good friends have done so muchto save me. John Dormay may enjoy his triumph for a while, but aday of reckoning will surely come. 

"Now, tell me of the others, Jervoise. Have all escaped in safety?"

"All. Your boy brought me the news of your arrest, and that we werecharged with plotting William's assassination. I rode that nightwith the news, and next day all were on the road to the coast, andwere happily on board and away before the news of their escapecould be sent to the ports. "

"And now, what are your plans, Jervoise--that is, if you have anyplans, beyond reaching a port and taking ship for France?"

"I am going to Sweden, " Mr. Jervoise said, and then repeated thereasons that he had given Charlie for taking this step. 

"I am too old for the wars, " Sir Marmaduke said. "I was sixty lastbirthday, and though I am still strong and active, and could strikea shrewd blow in case of need, I am too old for the fatigues andhardships of campaigning. I could not hope, at my age, to obtain acommission in the Swedish service. "

"No, I did not think of your joining the army, Sir Marmaduke, though I warrant you would do as well as most; but I thought thatyou might take up your residence at Stockholm, as well as at SaintGermains. You will find many Scottish gentlemen there, and not afew Jacobites who, like yourself, have been forced to fly. Besides, both the life and air would suit you better than at Saint Germains, where, by all accounts the life is a gay one, and men come to thinkmore of pleasure than of duty. Moreover, your money will go muchfurther in Sweden than in France. "

Sir Marmaduke, checking the horse's speed, said, "I have not somuch as a penny in my pocket, and methinks I am like to have sometrouble in getting at the hoard I have been collecting, ever sinceDutch William came to the throne, for the benefit of His Majestywhen he arrives. "

"You will have no trouble in getting at that, father, " Charlie saidlaughing, "seeing that you have nothing to do but to lean over, andput your hand into my holsters, which are so full, as you see, thatI am forced to carry my pistols in my belt. "

"What mean you, lad?"

"I mean, father, that I have the whole of the hoard, that wasstowed away in the priest's hiding place;" and he then related howBanks had revealed to him the secret of the hiding place, and howhe had, the night before Sir Marmaduke was removed from LancasterCastle, visited the place and carried away the money. 

"I could not see Banks, " he said, "but I left a few words on ascrap of paper, saying that it was I who had taken the money. Otherwise he would have been in a terrible taking, when hediscovered that it was gone. "

"That is right good news, indeed, lad. For twelve years I have setaside half my rents, so that in those bags in your holsters thereare six years' income, and the interest of that money, laid out ingood mortgages, will suffice amply for my wants in a country likeSweden, where life is simple and living cheap. The money itselfshall remain untouched, for your use, should our hopes fail and theestates be lost for all time. That is indeed a weight off my mind. 

"And you are, I hope, in equally good case, Jervoise, for if not, you know that I would gladly share with you?"

"I am in very good case, Sir Marmaduke, though I none the lessthank you for your offer. I too have, as you know, put aside halfmy income. My estates are not so large as those of Lynnwood. Theiracreage may be as large, but a good deal of it is mountain land, worth but little. My fund, therefore, is not as large as yours, butit amounts to a good round sum; and as I hope, either in the armyor in some other way, to earn an income for myself, it is ample. Ishall be sorry to divert it from the use for which I intended it, but that cannot now be helped. I have had the pleasure, year byyear, of putting it by for the king's use, and, now thatcircumstances have changed, it will be equally useful to myself. "

"Do you know this country well, Jervoise?"

"Personally I know nothing about it, save that the sun tells methat, at present, I am travelling south, Sir Marmaduke. But, forthe last few days I have been so closely studying a map, that Iknow the name of every town and village on the various routes. "

"And whither think you of going?"

"To London or Southampton. Strangers are far less noticed in largetowns than in small, and we could hardly hope to find a ship, boundfor Sweden, in any of the Dorset or Devon ports. "

Chapter 4: In Sweden. 

After much discussion, the party agreed that it would be best tomake for Southampton. The road thither was less frequented thanthat leading to London, and there were fewer towns to be passed, and less chance of interruption. Mr. Jervoise had brought with hima valise and suit of clothes for Sir Marmaduke, of sober cut andfashion. They avoided all large towns and, at the places where theyput up, represented themselves as traders travelling from theMidlands to the southern coast, and they arrived at Southamptonwithout having excited the smallest suspicion. Indeed, throughoutthe journey, they had heard no word of the affray near Chapel leFrith, and knew, therefore, that the news had not travelled as fastas they had. 

At Southampton, however, they had scarcely put up at an inn whenthe landlord said:

"I suppose, gentlemen, they are talking of nothing else, in London, but the rescue of a desperate Jacobite by his friends. The newsonly reached here yesterday. "

"It has occasioned a good deal of scare, " Mr. Jervoise replied. "Isuppose there is no word of the arrest of the man, or hisaccomplices? We have travelled but slowly, and the news may havepassed us on the way. "

"Not as yet, " the landlord replied. "They say that all the northernand eastern ports are watched, and they make sure of catching him, if he presents himself there. The general opinion is that he will, for a time, go into hiding with his friends, in the hills ofCumberland or Westmoreland, or perhaps on the Yorkshire moors; butthey are sure to catch him sooner or later. "

"It is a bad business altogether, " Mr. Jervoise said, "and we canonly hope that all guilty persons will in time get the punishmentthey so well deserve. How can trade be carried on, if the countryis to be disturbed by plots, and conspiracies?"

"How, indeed?" the landlord repeated heartily. "I do not meddle inpolitics, being content to earn my living by my business, and toreceive all who can pay their reckoning, without caring a jotwhether they be Whigs or Tories. "

The next morning Mr. Jervoise and Sir Marmaduke went down to theport, leaving the lads to wander about the town at their pleasure, as two persons were likely to attract less attention than four. They found that there were two vessels in port, loading withmunitions of war for Sweden, and that one of them would sailshortly. They at once went on board her, and saw the captain. 

"Do you carry any passengers?"

"None have applied so far, " the captain said; "but, if they were tooffer, I should not say no to them. "

"We want to take passage for Sweden, " Mr. Jervoise said. "The Kingof that country is, as they say, fitting out an army. Clothes areas necessary for troops as swords and guns, and we think we couldobtain a contract for these goods. There is no hope of doing so, unless we ourselves go over, and, though sorely loath to do so, forneither of us have ever before set foot on board a ship, wedetermined on making the journey, together with our two clerks, forwhom we will take passage at the same rate as for ourselves, seeingthat they are both related to us. "

"Have you any goods with you?"

"We shall take over but a bale or two of cloth, as samples of thegoods we can supply; but, beyond that, we have but little luggage, seeing that our stay may be a very short one. "

There was a little haggling for terms, as the two gentlemen did notwish to appear eager to go; but the matter was finally settled tothe satisfaction of both parties. 

On their return to the inn, Mr. Jervoise took the host aside. 

"We have business connected with our trade in cloth in Sweden, where we hope to obtain a large contract. The matter may occupy usa week, or a month or two for aught we know, and we do not want ourhorses to be eating their heads off, here, while we are away. Besides, we may be able, on our return, to take a passage to one ofthe Devonshire ports, which would suit us much better. But weshould not be able to do so, if there were need for returning herefor our horses. Therefore, we would fain dispose of them, and, ifyou can find us a purchaser by tomorrow night, we will pay you afair commission on the money we receive. "

"I doubt not that I can do that readily enough, " the landlord said. "Three of them are fine animals, fit for any gentleman's riding. The other is a stout hackney. Trust me, I will get the best price Ican for them. "

The next day he came up to their room. 

"I have had a good offer for the horses, " he said. "Two gentlemen, who arrived yesterday from France, and are staying at the inn of afriend of mine, are requiring horses for themselves and theirservants, and I have promised my friend a slice of my commission, if he will bring them round hither. Will you name your price forthem?"

"No, I would rather not, " Mr. Jervoise said cautiously. "If weasked too high a figure, we might frighten the purchasers away. Ifwe should ask too little, we should be the losers. I daresay theyhave named, to your friend, the price they are willing to give. Youhad better ask from them a good bit above that, then you can comedown little by little, and maybe, seeing the horses are really goodones, they may advance a bit. I am not used to a horse deal, andwill leave it to you to make the bargain. We are sorry to part withthe animals, but they might die on the voyage, or get so injured asto be worthless; and, moreover, we shall have no use for themthere. Therefore, as we must sell, we are ready to take the bestterms we can get. "

When they returned to the inn, after an absence of two hours, theyfound that the landlord had sold the horses, for a sum nearlyapproaching their value, the gentlemen being as anxious to purchasethem as they were to sell. The next day, they bought three or fourrolls of west country cloth, and a supply of clothes suitable totheir condition, together with trunks for their carriage. All thesewere sent down to the ship, in the course of the afternoon, andthey themselves embarked late in the evening, as she was to setsail at daybreak. 

The lads, accustomed to spacious and airy rooms, were quite takenaback at the small and stuffy cabin allotted to their joint use, and slept but badly, for the loading of the ship continued bytorchlight, until within an hour of the time of their departure. After tossing about for some hours in their narrow beds, they wereglad to go on deck, and to plunge their heads into a pail of water, and were then, after combing their long hair, able to take aninterest in what was passing round them. 

The sailors were busy; stowing away the cargo last received, tidying the decks, and coiling down the ropes. There were but fewpersons on the quay, for those who had been engaged in loading thecargo had gone off to bed, as soon as the last bale was on board. 

In half an hour the sailors began to hoist the sails, the hawserswere thrown off, and, with a gentle wind blowing aft, the shipglided along past the shore, being helped by the tide, which hadbegun to ebb half an hour before. The lads were greatly interestedin watching the well-wooded slope on the left, with the statelyruins of Tintern Abbey rising above the trees. Then they passed theround fort, at the water's edge, on their right, and issued outfrom Southampton Water into the broad sheet between the island andthe mainland. 

It was dotted with sails; fishing craft and coasters for the mostpart, but with some larger ships bound from the east toSouthampton, and others that had come in through the Solent. Thiswas very entertaining to the boys, and they were still more pleasedwhen they saw the fortifications of Portsmouth, with cannonpointing seaward, and with many vessels riding in the strait by theside of the town. 

"That fort would give the French or the Dutch a hot reception, werethey at any time to think to capture the dockyard and shipping, "Sir Marmaduke said. 

"The Dutch have already captured the place, and that withoutshedding a drop of blood, " Mr. Jervoise remarked. 

"'That is true enough, " the knight said, stamping his foot angrilyon the deck, "but what has been won so easily may be lost asquickly. I have seen several changes since I can first remember, and I hope I may live to see another. However, we need not talk ofthat now. "

"No, indeed, " Mr. Jervoise agreed. "It may be, Sir Marmaduke, thatit would be better if we had talked and thought less of it, duringthe last twelve years; better for ourselves, and for these lads. Wemight still have been ready to join His Majesty as soon as helanded, but as, till then, we could do nothing, it seems to me nowthat it would have been wiser had we gone about our businesswithout worrying our heads, to say nothing of risking them, about amatter that may not take place during our lives; as we know, wellenough, the King of France uses the Stuarts only for his ownconvenience, and at heart cares nothing for them or their cause. Itis convenient to have the means of creating trouble here, and of soweakening William; and it may be that, some day or other, it maysuit him to send over an army here to fight William, with the aidof the Stuarts' friends, instead of fighting him in Holland orelsewhere. But whether he may think fit to do so in one year, or intwenty years hence, who can say? It is a question solely ofmilitary policy. 

"The Stuarts are simply used, by the French king, to pull Englishchestnuts out of the fire. I would that they had establishedthemselves anywhere rather than in France. It does them harm withvast numbers who would otherwise be their friends, at any rate inEngland. In Scotland it is otherwise, for Scotland has always beenin alliance with France; but in England it is different. France hasalways been the national foe; and, had not Charles and James provedthemselves so subservient to Louis, William of Orange would neverhave been crowned king. There are vast numbers in England who wouldrather see a Stuart than a Dutchman on the throne, but who willnever strike a blow to replace them there, and that because theywill come over backed up by French bayonets. 

"Well, let us talk of something else. If the time ever comes toact, we shall be ready, but till then we can let the matter sleep, the more so as we have a new life before us, and plenty of otherthings to occupy our thoughts. "

"What is it, father, " Harry asked, "that the Swedes and Danes aregoing to fight about?"

"It is a difficult question, Harry; but there can be little doubtthat Denmark is in the wrong. The King of Sweden died in April, 1697. His death was unfortunate, for the powers contending inEurope had all agreed to refer their quarrels to his mediation. Athis death, Denmark endeavoured to obtain the honour, but failed;and by the mediation, chiefly, of the Swedish regency, peace wasconcluded between France, England, and Holland, in the autumn ofthat year; and, shortly afterwards, the struggle between the GermanEmperor, France, and Spain was also concluded, but not at all tothe satisfaction of the Swedish mediators. 

"While Sweden was occupied in this matter of the pacification ofEurope, the King of Denmark thought to take advantage of the factthat Charles of Sweden was but a minor, to press Frederick, Duke ofHolstein, who was in close alliance with him. 

"There had long been serious differences between the rulers ofDenmark and Holstein, both of whom were branches of the Oldenburgfamily, and this in reference to the Duchy of Schleswig. Thequarrel had arisen from the act of Christian the Third, of Denmark, who decreed that the descendants of his brother Adolphus shouldgovern Holstein, jointly with the King of Denmark, and thatHolstein and Schleswig should belong to them in common, neithermaking any change in Holstein without the consent of the other Amore foolish arrangement could not have been conceived, for anyonemight have foreseen that it would lead to disputes and troubles. Infact, quarrels continually arose, until, at the Peace of Rosahild, in 1658, the duchy was adjudged to Denmark. 

"Holstein, however, never acquiesced in this, and in 1675 there waswar, when, Holstein being defeated, the Danes imprisoned its duke, Christian Albertus, until he signed a renunciation of all hisrights. 

"His troops were disarmed, and all his towns and fortressesgarrisoned by Danish troops. On his release, the duke went toHamburg, where he remained till, at the Peace of Fontainebleau, four years later, he was replaced in possession of his estates andrights of sovereignty. 

"But this did not last long. New troubles arose, but Sweden, England, and Holland interested themselves in favour of the duke, and a peace was concluded in 1689, by which he was confirmed in therights given him, ten years before, with full liberty to raise acertain number of troops, and of building fortresses, on thecondition that he should raise none to the prejudice of Denmark. 

"This was another of those stipulations which inevitably lead totrouble, for it afforded to Denmark a pretext for continualcomplaint and interference. When Frederick the Fourth succeeded hisfather as Duke of Holstein, in 1694, the quarrel grew so hot thatDenmark would have invaded Holstein, had not the parties to theTreaty of '89 interfered, and brought about a conference. Thislasted all through the year 1696, but the negotiators appointed tosettle the matter were unable to arrive at any conclusion. 

"The following year, Charles of Sweden, who had just succeeded hisfather, furnished the duke with some troops, to help him to buildsome forts that were intended to protect the frontier, in case ofinvasion by Denmark. Christian of Denmark at once attacked andcaptured these forts, and levelled them to the ground. The duke, being too weak to engage in a war with his powerful neighbour, didnot resent this attack, and the negotiations were continued asbefore. In view of the danger of the situation, and the necessityfor a monarch at the head of affairs, the Swedish Diet met, atStockholm, to take part in the funeral of the late king, which wasto be performed on the 24th of November, and to deliberate upon thesituation. 

"By the will of the late king, Charles was not to ascend the throneuntil he reached the age of eighteen, but the diet passed a voteoverruling this, and, as the regency concurred, he was at oncecrowned, and the alliance with Holstein was cemented by themarriage, that had been previously arranged between Charles'seldest sister and the Duke of Holstein, being celebrated atStockholm. Charles the Twelfth at once concluded treaties withFrance, England, and Holland; while Denmark is reported to haveprepared for war by making a secret alliance with Augustus ofSaxony, King of Poland, and the Czar of Russia. Both these monarchswere doubtless desirous of extending their dominions, at the costof Sweden, whose continental possessions are considerable. 

"Augustus is not yet very firmly seated on the throne of Poland. There are several parties opposed to him, and these united inobtaining, from the diet, a refusal to pay the Saxon troopsAugustus had brought with him. The king, no doubt, considered thatthese could be employed for the conquest of Livonia, and that theaddition of so large a territory to Poland would so add to hispopularity, that he would have no further troubles in his kingdom. 

"Charles the Twelfth, being in ignorance of this secret agreement, sent an embassy to Russia, to announce his accession to the throne. The ambassadors were kept a long time waiting for an audience, asthe czar was bringing a war with the Turks to a conclusion, and didnot wish to throw off the mask until he was free to use his wholeforce against Sweden. The ambassadors were, at last, receivedcivilly, but the czar evaded taking the usual oaths of friendship, and, after long delays, the embassy returned to Sweden, feelingsomewhat disquieted as to the intentions of the czar, but having nosure knowledge of them. 

"The King of Poland was more successful in disguising his leaningtowards Denmark, sending the warmest assurances to Charles, requesting him to act as mediator in the quarrel between himselfand the Duke of Brandenburg, and signing a treaty of alliance withSweden. But, while Sweden had no idea of the triple alliance thathad been formed against her, the intention of Denmark to make warwas evident enough, for King Christian was gathering a great navalarmament. 

"The Duke of Holstein, becoming much alarmed at these preparations, hastened on the fortifications of Tonningen, on the Eider, threeleagues from its mouth. The garrison of the place was a weak one, and a thousand Swedish troops were thrown in to strengthen it. TheKing of Denmark complained that this was a breach of the treaty, but, as his own preparations for war were unmistakable, no onecould blame the Duke of Holstein for taking steps to defend histerritories. 

"As you know, Christian of Denmark died about this time, and wassucceeded by his son Frederick the Fourth. 

"Last August, he commenced the war, by sending a naval squadron tocover the passage of four regiments into Pomerania. Charles ofSweden, seeing that Holstein must be crushed by its powerfulneighbour, called upon Holland and the Duke of Lunenburg, who werewith Sweden guarantors of the treaty, to enforce its provisions;and a joint protest was sent to the King of Denmark, who wasinformed that, if he invaded Holstein, they should consider it abreach of the Treaty of Altena, and treat him as a common enemy. Frederick replied by sending some troops into the duchy. 

"No active operations took place, until the beginning of this year. Up to that time, Sweden had not doubted the friendship of the Kingof Poland, and Charles, at first, could hardly believe the reportshe received from the governor of Livonia, that the Saxon troopswere approaching the frontier. 

"A few days later, however, came the news that they were advancingagainst Riga. The governor prepared for defence, and hastilymounted cannon on the walls. His powers of resistance, however, were lessened by the fact that the river Duna was frozen over. Fleming, who commanded the Saxon troops, arrived before the town, early in February, with four thousand men. The governor had setfire to the suburbs on the previous day; and Fleming was surprisedto find that, instead of taking it by surprise, as he had hoped, the place was in a position to offer a stout resistance. However, he attacked the fort of Cobrun, on the opposite side of the river, and carried it by assault. 

"The news was brought to young Charles the Twelfth when he was outhunting, a sport of which he is passionately fond. By all accounts, he is an extraordinary young fellow. He is not content with huntingbears and shooting them, but he and his followers engage them armedonly with forked sticks. With these they attack the bears, pushingand hustling the great creatures, with the forks of their sticks, until they are completely exhausted, when they are bound and sentaway. In this hunt Charles took fourteen alive, one of which nearlykilled him before it was captured. He did not break up the huntingparty, but continued his sport to the end, sending off, however, orders for the concentration of all the troops, in Livonia andFinland, to act against the Saxons. 

"As soon as the King of Denmark heard of the siege of Riga, heordered the Duke of Wurtemberg-Neustadt, his commander-in-chief, toenter Holstein with his army, sixteen thousand strong. All of thatcountry was at once overrun, the ducal domains seized, and greatcontributions exacted from Schleswig and Holstein. Fleming and theSaxons, after one severe repulse, forced the garrison of the fortof Dunamund, commanding the mouth of the Duna, to surrender. Tonningen is the only fortress that now holds out in Holstein. Soyou see, lads, there is every chance of there being brisk fighting, and I warrant the young King of Sweden will not be backward in thefray. A man who is fond of engaging with bears, armed with nothingbut a forked stick, is not likely to hang back in the day ofbattle. 

"But, at present, we will say no more on the matter. Now that wehave got beyond the shelter of the island, the waves are gettingup, and the vessel is beginning to toss and roll. I see that SirMarmaduke has retired to his cabin. I mean to remain here as longas I can, and I should advise you both to do the same. I havealways heard that it is better to fight with this sickness of thesea, as long as possible, and that it is easier to do so in freshair than in a close cabin. "

The lads quite agreed with this opinion, but were, in spite oftheir efforts, presently prostrate. They remained on deck for somehours, and then crawled to their cabin, where they remained for thenext three days, at the end of which time they came on deck again, feeling better, but as weak as if they had suffered from a longillness. 

Mr. Jervoise had been in frequently to see them, having escaped themalady, from which, as he told them, Sir Marmaduke was suffering tothe full as severely as they were. 

"So you have found your feet again, " the captain said, when theyappeared on deck. "You will be all right now. "

"We feel much better, " Harry said, "now that the storm is over. "

"Storm! What storm? The weather has been splendid. We cannot wishfor anything better. It has been just as you see it now--a brightsun, and just enough wind for her to carry whole sail. "

The lads both looked astonished. 

"Then why should we roll and toss about so much?" Harry asked. 

"Roll and toss! Nonsense, lad! There has been a little movement, ofcourse, as there always must be when there is a brisk wind; but asfor rolling and tossing, you must wait till you see a storm, thenyou will begin to have an idea of what the sea is. "

The boys both felt rather crestfallen, for they had flatteredthemselves that their sufferings were caused by something quite outof the ordinary way, and it was mortifying to know that the weatherhad been really fine, and there had been nothing even approaching astorm. 

The rest of the voyage was a pleasant one. They found they hadregained their appetites, and were able to enjoy their meals; stillthey were not sorry when they saw the coast of Sweden, and, a fewhours later, entered the port of Gottenburg, where Sir Marmaduke, for the first time, came on deck--looking a mere shadow of hisformer jovial self. 

"Well, lads, " he said, "I was glad to hear that you got throughthis business quicker than I did. Here we are in Sweden, and hereI, at least, am likely to stay, unless I can pass by land throughHolland, France, and across from Calais, for never again will Iventure upon a long voyage. I have been feeling very ungrateful, for, over and over again, I wished that you had not rescued me, asdeath on Tower Hill would have been nothing to the agonies that Ihave been enduring!"

As soon as the vessel was warped alongside the quay, they landed, and put up at an hotel, Sir Marmaduke insisting that the ground wasas bad as the sea, as it kept on rising and falling beneath hisfeet. Mr. Jervoise agreed to return on board the following day, tofetch the luggage, which would by that time have been got up fromthe hold. 

At the hotel, they met several persons able to speak English, andfrom them learnt how matters had been going on since they had lastheard. The town and fortress of Tonningen had fallen, after avigorous defence; it had been bombarded for eight days, and hadrepulsed one assault, but had been captured at the second attack. England and Holland had agreed to furnish fleets, and an army oftwelve thousand Swedes were in readiness to march, at once, whileother armies were being formed. The king had, the week before, reviewed the army gathered at Malmoe; and had, on the previous day, arrived at Gottenburg, accompanied by the Duke of Holstein. 

Mr. Jervoise went, the same afternoon, to find out some of hisfriends who resided at Gottenburg. He was fortunate enough to findone of them, who was able to inform him that his wife's cousin wasnow a major, in one of the newly-raised regiments stationed atGottenburg. 

He found him without difficulty. Major Jamieson was delighted atthe coming of his former friend. 

"You are the last person I expected to see here, Jervoise. It istrue that, when we met last, you said that if matters went wrong inEngland you should come out here, instead of taking refuge inFrance; but, as everything is quiet, I had little hope of seeingyou again, until I paid another visit to Scotland, of which atpresent there is but little prospect. Have you grown tired of doingnothing, and is it a desire to see something of a stirring lifethat has brought you over here?"

Mr. Jervoise related, shortly, the events by which he had beendriven into exile, and expressed his desire to serve in the army ofSweden, and that his son and young Carstairs should also enter thearmy. 

"They are but sixteen yet, " he said, "but are stout, activefellows, and could hold their own in a day's march or in a stoutfight with many men. Of course, if I could obtain commissions forthem, all the better, but if not they are ready to enlist in theranks. Roughing it will do them no harm. "

"Their age is no drawback, " Major Jamieson said. "There are many noolder, both in the ranks and as officers. Men in Sweden of all agesand of all ranks are joining, for this unprovoked attack, on thepart of Poland, has raised the national spirit to boiling heat. Thechief difficulty is their and your ignorance of the language. Wereit not for that, I could obtain, from the minister of war, commissions for you at once. "

He sat thinking for some minutes, in silence. 

"I think I see how it can be managed, Jervoise. I have some twentyor thirty Scotchmen in my regiment, and I know a colonel who has asmany in his, and these I could manage to get, in exchange for anequal number of my Swedes. Ships are coming daily from Scotland, and most of them bring young fellows who have come out to join thearmy. 

"You know how the Scots fought, under Gustavus Adolphus, and thereis scarce a glen in Scotland where there are not traditions offathers, or grandfathers, who fought in Hepburn's Green Brigade. Therefore, it is natural that, seeing there is no chance ofmilitary service at home, there should be many young fellows comingout to join. 

"I can go across this evening to the minister of war, who is apersonal friend of mine, and get him to give you permission toraise a company of Scotchmen for service. I shall, of course, pointout to him that you will enlist them here. I shall show him theadvantage of these men being gathered together, as their ignoranceof the language makes them, for some time, useless as soldiers ifenrolled in a Swedish regiment. I shall mention that I have twentyin my own corps, who are at present positively useless, and in facta source of great trouble, owing to their understanding nothingthat is said to them, and shall propose that they be at once handedover to you. As to the exchange, we can manage that quietly betweenourselves. You would have no difficulty with fresh-landed men, asthese will naturally be delighted at joining a company of their owncountrymen. "

"Thank you very heartily, Jamieson. This altogether exceeds myhopes, but I fear that I know nothing of drilling them. "

"Two of my men are sergeants, and, having been in the army for someyears, speak Swedish well. They will do the drilling at first. Themanoeuvres are not complicated, and, for a pound or two, they willbe glad to teach you all the orders necessary. I don't know how youare situated as to money, but I can assure you my purse is at yourservice. "

"Thank you; I am, in that respect, excellently well provided, as ismy friend Sir Marmaduke. We have both made provision for unexpectedcontingencies. "

"Then, if you will call tomorrow after breakfast, I shall probablyhave your commission ready. As a matter of course, you will havethe appointment of your own officers, and will only have to send intheir names. Each company is from a hundred and forty to a hundredand fifty strong, and has a captain, two lieutenants, and twoensigns. "

Mr. Jervoise's news was, on his return to the inn, received withdelight by the two lads; and Sir Marmaduke said:

"I wish I could shake off twenty of my years, Jervoise, and joinalso. Well, well, I daresay I shall get on comfortably enough. Iknow there are a good many English and Scotch Jacobites settled inthe town or neighbourhood, and I shall not be long before I meetsomeone I know. 

"As the matter seems settled, I should advise you lads to go down, the first thing in the morning, to the wharves. There is no sayingwhen ships may come in. Moreover, it is likely enough that you maylight upon young fellows who have landed within the last few weeks, and who have been kept so far, by their ignorance of the language, from enlisting. "

"That is a very good idea, " Mr. Jervoise said. "They will bedelighted to hear a friendly voice, and be only too glad to enlistin a Scottish company. You can say that each man will have a freeoutfit given him. "

Accordingly, the next morning early, the two lads went down to thewharf. Presently they saw three young fellows, who were evidentlyScotch by their dress and caps, talking together. They strolled upnear enough to catch what they were saying. 

"It is hard, " one said, "that, now we are here, we can make no oneunderstand us, and it seems to me we had far better have stayed athome. "

"We shall find some one who speaks our language presently, Jock, "another said more cheerfully. "The old man, where we lodged lastnight, said in his broken tongue, that we had but to go over toMalmoe, or some such place as that, where there is a big camp, andwalk up to an officer and say we wish to enlist. "

"Oh, that is all very well, " the other grumbled; "but, if he didnot understand us, we should be no better off than before. "

"Are you wanting to enlist?" Harry said, going up to them. 

The men gave an exclamation of pleasure, at being addressed intheir own tongue. 

"That we do, sir. If you can put us in the way, we shall begrateful. "

"That I can do easily, " Harry said. "My father is raising a companyof Scotch and Englishmen, for the regiment commanded by ColonelJamieson. This will be far better than joining a Swedish company, where no one will understand your language, and you will not beable to make out the orders given. My father will give each man whojoins a free outfit. "

"That is the very thing for us, sir. We expected to find Scotchregiments here, as there were in the old times, and we had hoped tojoin them; but whether it is a company or regiment, it makes butlittle difference, so that we are with those who speak our tongue. "

"Very well, then. If you come to the Lion Inn, at nine o'clock, youwill see my father there. If you know of any others in the samemind as yourselves, and willing to join, bring them with you. "

"There are ten or twelve others who came over in the ship with us, two days since, and I have no doubt they will be fine and glad tojoin. "

"Well, see if you can hunt them up, and bring them with you. "

On returning to the inn, they found that Mr. Jervoise had alreadyreceived his commission as captain, and, by ten o'clock, fifteenyoung Scotchmen had been sworn in. All of them had broughtbroadswords and dirks, and Captain Jervoise at once set to workbuying, at various shops, iron head pieces, muskets, and otheraccoutrements. 

During the next three days ten other English and Scotchmen hadjoined, and then a ship came in, from which they gathered anotherfour-and-twenty recruits. Arms had already been purchased for them, and, on the following day, Captain Jervoise marched off to Malmoewith his forty-nine recruits. Harry accompanied them, Charlie beingleft behind, with his father, to gather another fifty men as theships arrived. 

A week later this number was obtained, and Charlie started withthem for the camp, Sir Marmaduke accompanying them on horseback, inorder to aid Charlie in maintaining order among his recruits. Hehad already fixed upon a small house, just outside the town, and, having met two or three old friends, who had been obliged to leaveEngland at William's accession, he already began to feel at home. 

"Don't you fidget about me, Charlie, " he said. "Ferrers tells methat there are at least a score of Jacobites here, and that theyform quite a society among themselves. Living is very cheap, and hewill introduce me to a man of business, who will see that my moneyis well invested. "

Chapter 5: Narva. 

For the next fortnight, drilling went on from morning till night, the officers receiving instructions privately from the sergeants, and further learning the words of command by standing by while themen were being drilled. At the end of that time, both officers andmen were sufficiently instructed to carry out the simple movementswhich were, alone, in use in those days. 

It was not, however, until two months later that they were calledupon to act. The English and Dutch fleets had arrived, and effecteda junction with that of Sweden, and the Danish fleet had shutthemselves up in the port of Copenhagen, which was closelyblockaded. A large army had crossed to Zeeland, and repulsed theDanes, who had endeavoured to prevent their landing, and had thenmarched up to within sight of the walls of Copenhagen, which theywere preparing to besiege; when the King of Denmark, alarmed atthis unexpected result of his aggression on Holstein, concededevery point demanded, and peace was signed. 

The negotiations were carried on in Holland, and the Swedes wereextremely angry, when they found that they were baulked of theirexpected vengeance on their troublesome neighbours. The peace, however, left Charles the Twelfth at liberty to turn his attentionto his other foes, and to hurry to the assistance of Riga, whichwas beleaguered by the Saxons and Poles; and of Narva, againstwhich city the Russians had made several unsuccessful assaults. 

Without losing an hour, the king crossed to Malmoe. The troopsthere were ordered to embark, immediately, in the vessels in theharbour. They then sailed to Revel, where the Swedish commander, Welling, had retired from the neighbourhood of Riga, his forcebeing too small to meet the enemy in the open field. 

No sooner had the troops landed than the king reviewed them, andGeneral Welling was ordered, at once, to march so as to placehimself between the enemy and Wesenberg, where a large amount ofprovisions and stores for the use of the army had been collected. 

The two lieutenants, in the company of Captain Jervoise, were youngScotchmen of good family, who had three months before come over andobtained commissions, and both had, at the colonel's request, beentransferred to his regiment, and promoted to the rank oflieutenants. Captain Jervoise and his four officers messedtogether, and were a very cheerful party; indeed, their commander, to the surprise both of his son and Charlie, had quite shaken offhis quiet and somewhat gloomy manner, and seemed to have becomequite another man, in the active and bracing life in which he wasnow embarked. Cunningham and Forbes were both active young men, full of life and energy, while the boys thoroughly enjoyed roughingit, and the excitement and animation of their daily work. 

Sometimes they slept in the open air, sometimes on the floor of acottage. Their meals were rough but plentiful. The king's ordersagainst plundering were very severe, and, even when in Denmark, thecountry people, having nothing to complain of, had brought insupplies regularly. Here in Linovia they were in Swedish dominions, but there was little to be purchased, for the peasantry had beenbrought to ruin by the foraging parties of the Russians and Poles. 

There was some disappointment, that the enemy had fallen back atthe approach of Welling's force, but all felt sure that it wouldnot be long before they met them, for the king would assuredly loseno time in advancing against them, as soon as his army could bebrought over. They were not, however, to wait for the arrival ofthe main force, although the cavalry only took part in the firstaffair. General Welling heard that a force of three thousandCircassians had taken up their quarters in a village, some fifteenmiles away, and sent six hundred horse, under Majors Patkul andTisenbausen, to surprise them. They were, at first, successful and, attacking the Circassians, set fire to the village, and wereengaged in slaughtering the defenders, when twenty-one squadrons ofRussian cavalry came up and fell upon them, attacking them on allsides, and posting themselves so as to cut off their retreat. TheSwedes, however, gathered in a body, and charged the Russians sofuriously that they cut a way through their ranks, losing, however, many of their men, while Major Patkul and another officer were madeprisoners. 

The king was at Revel when this engagement took place, and, although but few of the troops had arrived, he was too impatientfor action to wait until the coming of the fleet. He thereforemarched to Wesenberg, with his bodyguard and a few troops fromRevel. He at once despatched a thousand men, to cover the frontier, and issued orders for the rest of the troops to leave the whole oftheir baggage behind them, to take three days' provision in theirhaversacks, and to prepare to march the next morning. 

Major Jamieson came into the cottage, occupied by Captain Jervoiseand his officers, late in the evening. They had a blazing fire, forit was now the middle of November, and the nights were very sharp. 

"Well, Jervoise, what do you think of the orders?" he asked, as heseated himself on a log that had been brought in for the fire. 

"I have not thought much about them, except that we are going to doa long and quick march somewhere. "

"And where is that somewhere, do you think?"

"That, I have not the slightest idea. "

"You would not say that it was to Narva?"

"I certainly should not, considering that we have but five thousandinfantry, and three thousand cavalry, and of these a large numberhave been so weakened, by fever, as to be unfit for fighting; whileat Narva, report says there are eighty thousand Russians, in astrongly intrenched camp. "

"Well, that is where we are going, Jervoise, nevertheless. Atleast, that is what the colonel has told me. "

"He must have been surely jesting, major. We may be going to pushforward in that direction, and occupy some strong position untilthe army comes up, but it would be the height of madness to attackan enemy, in a strong position, and just tenfold our force. "

"Well, we shall see, " Jamieson said coolly. "It is certain thatNarva cannot hold out much longer, and I know that the king has sethis heart on relieving it; but it does seem somewhat too dangerousan enterprise to attack the Russians. At any rate, that is thedirection in which we are going, tomorrow. It is a good seventymiles distant, and, as they say that the whole country has beendevastated, and the villagers have all fled, it is evident thatwhen the three days' bread and meat we carry are exhausted we shallhave to get some food, out of the Russian camp, if nowhere else. "

Captain Jervoise laughed, as did the others. 

"We can live for a short time on the horses, Jamieson, if we arehard pushed for it, though most of them are little beyond skin andbone. "

"That is true. The cavalry are certainly scarcely fit for service. Welling's troops have had a very hard time of it, and we may thankour stars, though we did not think so at the time, that we werekept nearly three months at Malmoe, instead of being here withWelling. "

"But do you seriously think, major, that the king means to attackthe Russians?" Cunningham asked. 

"My own idea is that he does, Cunningham. I cannot see what elsethere is for us to do. At any rate, if he does, you may be surethat we shall make a tough fight for it. The cavalry showed, theother day, that they can stand up against many times their numberof the Russians, and if they can do it, I fancy we can. There isone thing, the very audacity of such an attempt is in its favour. "

"Well, we will all do our best, you may be sure; but sinceThermopylae, I doubt if men have fought against longer odds. "

The next morning the men fell in. Captain Jervoise, who, like allof his rank, was mounted, took his place at the head of hiscompany, and the little army marched away from Wesenberg. It was adreary march to Purts, but the sight of the ruined villages, anddevastated fields, aroused a feeling of indignation and fury amongthe troops, and a fierce longing to attack men who had soruthlessly spread ruin through a fertile country. Orders wereissued, that evening, that the men were to husband their provisionsas much as possible, and the order was more strictly obeyed thansuch orders usually are, for the men saw, for themselves, thatthere was no possibility of obtaining fresh supplies in the wastedcountry, and were well aware that there existed no train of waggonsand horses capable of bringing up stores from Wesenberg. 

There were a few aged men and women remaining at Purts, and fromthese they learned that their next day's march would take them to avery difficult pass, which was held by six hundred of the Russiancavalry, together with a force of infantry and some guns. It wasthe intention of the king to encamp that evening near the pass, and, when within three or four miles of it, General Meidel, who hadwith him the quartermaster of the army, and four hundred cavalry, rode on ahead to choose a site for the camp. He presently saw alarge body of Russian foragers in front of him, and sent back tothe king for permission to attack them. Charles ordered the army tocontinue its march, and, hurrying forward with some of hisofficers, joined General Meidel and charged the foragers, killingmany, taking others prisoners, and putting the rest to flight. Hefollowed close upon their heels, and rode right up to the mouth ofthe pass, in spite of the heavy fire of artillery and musketryopened by the Russians. 

He at once determined to take advantage of the alarm produced bythe defeat of the Russian cavalry, and, although darkness was nowdrawing on, brought up some of his infantry and artillery, andattacked with such vigour that the Russians fled, after offering avery feeble resistance. 

A battalion of foot were ordered to occupy the pass, while the restof the army piled their arms, and lay down where they stood. In themorning, they were astonished at the strength of the position thathad been gained so easily. The defile was deep and narrow, a rapidstream ran through it, and the ground was soft and marshy. A fewdetermined men should have been able to bar the advance of an army. 

The troops were in high spirits at the result of this, their firstaction against the enemy, and were the more pleased that theyfound, in the Russian camp, sufficient provisions to replace thosethey had used. After a hearty meal, they again advanced at a briskmarch. The defile was captured on the evening of the 17th November, and, early in the morning of the 20th, the army reached Lagena, aleague and a half from Narva, and, ordering the troops to follow, the king rode forward to reconnoitre the Russian position. 

The troops were weary with their long marches, and many of thosewho had, but recently, recovered from fever were scarce able todrag themselves along, while great numbers were unfit to take partin a battle, until after two or three days of rest. The officers ofthe Malmoe Regiment, for it had taken its name from the camp whereit had been formed, were gathered in a group at its head, discussing the situation. Most of the officers were of opinionthat, to attack at once, with men and horses worn out with fatigue, was to ensure destruction; but there were others who thought that, in face of so great an army as that gathered in front of them, theonly hope was in an immediate attack. Major Jamieson was one ofthese. 

"The king is right, " he said. "If the Russian army have time toform, and to advance against us in order of battle, we must beannihilated. At present, their camp is an extensive one, for, as Ihear, it extends in a great semi-circle four or five miles long, with the ends resting on the river. They cannot believe that weintend to attack them, and, if we go straight at them, we maypossibly gain a footing in their intrenchments, before the wholearmy can gather to aid those at the point of attack. It will bealmost a surprise, and I think the king is right to attempt it, forit is only by a quick and sudden stroke that we can gain a successover so great an army. "

The halt was but a short one and, as soon as the regiments hadarrived at the positions assigned to them, they advanced. As soonas they appeared, on a rise of ground facing the intrenchments, theenemy opened fire. The king had already reconnoitred a portion oftheir position, exposing himself recklessly to their shot, and, assoon as the troops came up, he issued orders for them to prepare toattack in two columns. First, however, several of the regimentswere ordered to fall out, and to cut down bushes and make fascines, to enable the troops to cross the ditches. 

The intrenchment was a formidable one, being provided with parapetsarmed with chevaux de frise, and flanked by strong exterior works, while several batteries had been placed to sweep the ground acrosswhich an enemy must advance. 

The right column, under General Welling, was to march to a pointnearly in the centre of the great semicircle; while the left, underGeneral Rhenschild, was to assault a point about halfway betweenthe centre and the river, where one of the largest and mostpowerful of the enemy's batteries was placed. The king himself waswith this wing, with his bodyguard, and he hoped that here he mightmeet the czar commanding in person. The Russian emperor had, however, left the camp that morning, to fetch up forty thousand menwho were advancing from Plescow, and the command of the army hadbeen assumed by the Duke of Croy. 

The Swedish left wing had with it a battery of twenty-one guns, while sixteen guns covered the attack on the right. It was twoo'clock in the afternoon when two guns gave the signal for theadvance. Hitherto the weather had been fine, but it had becomegradually overcast, and, just as the signal was given, a tremendousstorm of snow and hail began. It set right in the face of theRussians, and concealed from them the movement of the Swedes, forwhich, indeed, they were wholly unprepared, believing that thesmall force they saw was but the advance guard of a great Swedisharmy, and that no attack need be expected until the main bodyarrived. The consequence was, the Swedes were almost at the edge ofthe ditch before they were perceived, and both columns attackedwith such vigour and courage that, in a quarter of an hour, theyhad gained a footing in the intrenchments, and had so filled up theditch with the fascines that the cavalry were able to follow them. 

The Russians were so astounded at this sudden attack that they lostheart altogether. The Swedish left, as soon as it entered theintrenchments, swept along them, the Russians abandoning their gunsand batteries, and making for their bridge across the river. Unfortunately for them, their huts were built close behind theworks, and in rear was another intrenchment, designed to repelassaults from the town; and the terrified crowd, unable to maketheir way rapidly along, over ground encumbered by their huts, crossed the interior intrenchments, thinking to make their wayfaster through the fields to the bridge. 

The Swedish king, however, placed himself at the head of hisbodyguard, and, followed by the rest of his horse, charged rightupon them, cutting down great numbers, and driving the rest beforethem towards the river, while the infantry kept up a heavy fireupon the fugitives in the intrenchments. 

The panic had spread quickly, and the Russian troops nearest to thebridge were already pouring over, when the mass of the fugitivesarrived. These pressed upon the bridge in such numbers that itspeedily gave way, cutting off the retreat of their comradesbehind. Ignorant of the result, the terrified crowd pushed on, pressing those in front of them into the river, and the number ofdrowned was no less than that of those who fell beneath thebullets, pikes, and sabres of the Swedes. 

In their despair the Russians, rallied by some of their generals, now attempted to defend themselves, and, by occupying some housesand barracks, and barricading the passages between these withoverturned waggons, they fought bravely, and repulsed, for sometime, every effort of the Swedes. 

Darkness was now falling, and the king hastened to the spot wherethe battle was fiercely raging. As he ran towards it, he fell intoa morass, from which he was rescued with some difficulty, leavinghis sword and one boot behind him. However, he at once pushed on, and placed himself at the head of the infantry engaged in theassault. But even his presence and example did not avail. TheRussians maintained their position with desperate courage, and, when it became quite dark, the assault ceased. 

The right column had met with equal success. It had penetrated theintrenchments, defeated all the Russians who opposed it, and nowmoved to assist the left wing. 

The king, however, seeing that the Russian defences could not becarried, by a direct assault, without great loss, gathered the armyin the space between the town and the Russian intrenchments, andplaced them in a position to repel an attack, should the Russianstake the offensive; giving orders that, at daylight, the hill onwhich the enemy had their principal battery should be assaulted. The guns here commanded all the intrenchments, and the capture ofthat position would render it impossible for the Russians tocontinue their defence, or for the now separated wings of the armyto combine. 

The officers in command of the Russian right wing, findingthemselves unable to cross the river on their broken bridge, andsurrounded by the Swedes, sent in to surrender in the course of theevening, and two battalions of the Swedish Guards took possessionof the post that had been so gallantly defended. The king grantedthem permission to retire with their arms, the colours andstandards being given up, and the superior officers being retainedas prisoners of war. 

The broken bridge was repaired and, early the next morning, theRussian troops passed over. Their left wing was, after thesurrender of their right, in a hopeless position, for on that sideno bridge had been thrown over the river, and their retreat waswholly cut off. On learning, before daybreak, that the right winghad surrendered, they too sent in to ask for terms. The kinggranted them freedom to return to their country, but without theirstandards or arms. They filed off before him, officers and soldiersbareheaded, and passed over the bridge, their numbers being sogreat that all had not crossed until next morning. 

The Russians lost over 18, 000 men killed or drowned, a hundred andforty-five cannon, and twenty-eight mortars, all of which were new, besides vast quantities of military stores and provisions. Ahundred and fifty-one colours, and twenty standards, and thegreater proportion of their muskets, together with the militarychest, the Duke of Croy, their commander-in-chief, and the whole oftheir generals, colonels, majors, and captains, fell into the handsof the Swedes, as prisoners of war. The total loss in killed andwounded of the Swedes was under two thousand, the chief loss beingdue to the desperate resistance of the Russians, after the battlewas irretrievably lost. It may be doubted whether so complete andsurprising a victory, between armies so disproportionate in force, was ever before gained. 

The king had exposed himself, throughout the day, most recklessly, and was everywhere in the thick of the Russian bullets, and yet heescaped without so much as a scratch. The Malmoe Regiment had beenwith the left wing, but suffered comparatively little loss, as theywere one of the last to enter the intrenchments, and it was onlywhen darkness was closing in that they were called up to take apart in the attack on the position held by the Russians. 

"Never was the saying, that fortune favours the brave, moresignally verified, Jervoise, " Major Jamieson said, as he sat downto a rough breakfast with the officers of the Scottish company, onthe morning after the Russian surrender. 

"That's true enough, but Russians are brave, too, as they showed atthe end of the day. I fancy you have a scotch proverb to the effectthat 'fou folk come to no harm. ' I think that is more applicable inthe present case. "

The major laughed. 

"The fou folk relates rather to drunkenness than madness, Jervoise. But, of course, it would do for both. I own that the wholeenterprise did seem, to me, to be absolute madness, but the resulthas justified it. That sudden snowstorm was the real cause of ourvictory, and, had it not been for that, I still think that we couldnot have succeeded. The Russian cannon certainly continued to fire, but it was wholly at random, and they were taken by surprise whenwe suddenly appeared at the side of the ditch, while we were acrossbefore they could gather any force sufficient to defend it. 

"After that, panic did the rest. The commander in chief fell earlyinto our hands. There was no one to give orders, no one to rallythem, and I expect the Russian soldiers gave us credit for havingbrought on that storm, to cover our assault, by the aid of malignspirits. 

"Well, lads, and how did you feel when the shots were whistlingabout?"

"I did not like it at all, major, " Charlie said. "It seemed such astrange thing, marching along in the thick of that snowstorm, hearing the rush of cannonballs overhead, and the boom of guns, andyet be unable to see anything but the rear files of the company infront. "

"It was an uncanny feeling, Charlie. I felt it myself, and was verygrateful that we were hidden from the enemy, who, of course, wereblazing away in the direction in which they had last seen us. Weonly lost three killed and twelve wounded, altogether, and I thinkthose were, for the most part, hit by random shots. 

"Well, if this is the way the king means to carry on war, we shallhave enough of it before we are done. "

The sick and wounded were sent into the town, the first thing, butit was not until the Russians had all crossed the river that theking, himself, rode triumphantly into the place, surrounded by hisstaff, amid the wild enthusiasm of the inhabitants, whom hisvictory had saved from ruin and massacre. 

The town, although strongly fortified, was not a large one, and itshouses were so dilapidated, from the effects of the Russianbombardment, that but few of the troops could be accommodatedthere. The rest were quartered in the Russian huts. On the 26th, asolemn service of thanksgiving for the victory was celebrated, witha salute from all the cannon of the town and camp, and by salvos ofmusketry from the troops. 

The question of provisions was the most important now. It was truethat large quantities had been captured in the Russian camp, but, beyond a magazine of corn, abandoned by the fugitives at Tama andbrought in, there was no prospect of replenishing the store whenexhausted, for the whole country, for a great distance round, hadbeen completely devastated by the Russians. These had not retreatedfar, having been rallied by the czar at Plescow, and quartered inthe towns of the frontier of Livonia, whence they made incursionsinto such districts as had not been previously wasted. 

"This is dull work, " Archie Cunningham said, one day. "The soonerwe are busy again, the better. There is nothing to do, and verylittle to eat. The cold is bitter, and fuel scarce. One wantssomething to warm one's blood. "

"You are not likely to have anything of that kind, for some monthsto come, " Major Jamieson replied dryly. "You don't suppose we aregoing to have a battle of Narva once a week, do you? No doubt therewill be a few skirmishes, and outpost encounters, but beyond thatthere will be little doing until next spring. You can make up yourmind, for at least five months, of the worst side of a soldier'slife--dull quarters, and probably bad ones, scanty food, cold, anddisease. "

"Not a very bright lookout, major, " Forbes laughed. "I hope itwon't be as bad as that. "

"Then I advise you to give up hoping, and to make up your mind torealities, Forbes. There is a good deal of illness in the camp now, and there will be more and more as the time goes on. There isnothing like inaction to tell upon the health of troops. However, we certainly shall not stay here. It would be impossible to victualthe army, and I expect that, before long, we shall march away andtake up quarters for the winter. 

"As to operations on a great scale, they are out of the question. After the thrashing they have had, the Russians will be monthsbefore they are in a condition to take the offensive again; whilewe are equally unable to move because, in the first place, we arenot strong enough to do so, and in the second we have no baggagetrain to carry provisions with us, and no provisions to carry if wehad it. "

On the 13th of December, the king quitted Narva with the army, andon the 19th arrived at Lais, an old castle six miles from Derpt, and here established his headquarters. A few of the troops werestationed in villages, but the greater part in rough huts in theneighbourhood, and along the frontier. 

It was not long before Major Jamieson's predictions were verified. A low fever, occasioned by the fatiguing marches and the hardshipsthey had endured, added to the misery from the cold and wet thatpenetrated the wretched huts, spread rapidly through the army. Manydied, and great numbers were absolutely prostrated. 

The king was indefatigable in his efforts to keep up the spirits ofthe troops. He constantly rode about from camp to camp, enteringthe huts, chatting cheerfully with the soldiers, and encouragingthem by kind words and assurances that, when the spring came, theywould soon gain strength again. 

At Narva the four young officers had all purchased horses. Most ofthe Swedish officers were mounted; and the king encouraged this, as, on occasion, he could thereby collect at once a body of mountedmen ready for any enterprise; but their own colonel preferred that, on the march, the lieutenants and ensigns should be on foot withtheir men, in order to set them an example of cheerful endurance. Those who wished it, however, were permitted to have horses, whichwere, on such occasions, led in the rear of the regiment. 

Captain Jervoise had approved of the purchase of the horses, whichwere got very cheaply, as great numbers had been captured. 

"If we can get over the difficulty of the forage, " he said, "youwill find them very useful for preserving your health during thewinter. A ride will set your blood in motion, and, wherever we arequartered, there are sure to be camps within riding distance. Theking approves of officers taking part in dashing expeditions, soyou may be able to take a share in affairs that will break themonotony of camp life. "

They found great benefit from being able to ride about. Forage wasindeed very scarce. They had no means of spending their pay onluxuries of any kind, their only outlay being in the purchase ofblack bread, and an occasional load of forage from the peasants. Their regiment was with the force under the command of ColonelSchlippenbach, which was not very far from Marienburg, a place opento the incursions of the Russians. Baron Spens was at Signiz, andColonel Alvedyhl at Rounenberg, and to both these places theyoccasionally paid a visit. 

In order to keep the company in health, Captain Jervoise encouragedthe men to get up games, in which the four young officers tookpart. Sometimes it was a snowball match in the open; at other timesa snow fort was built, garrisoned, and attacked. Occasionally therewere matches at hockey, while putting the stone, throwing thecaber, running and wrestling matches, were all tried in turn; andthe company suffered comparatively little from the illness whichrendered so large a proportion of the Swedish army inefficient. 

Colonel Schlippenbach was an energetic officer, and had, severaltimes, ridden past when the men were engaged in these exercises. Heexpressed to Captain Jervoise his approval of the manner in whichhe kept his men in strength and vigour. 

"I shall not forget it, " he said, one day, "and if there is serviceto be done, I see that I can depend upon your company to do it. "

In January, he took a party of horse, and reconnoitred along theRiver Aa, to observe the motions of the Saxons on the other side;and, hearing that a party of them had entered Marienburg, hedetermined to take possession of that place, as, were they tofortify it, they would be able greatly to harass the Swedes. Sending word to the king of his intention, and asking for anapproval of his plan of fortifying the town, he took threecompanies of infantry and four hundred horse, made a rapid march toMarienburg, and occupied it without opposition. 

He had not forgotten his promise, and the company of CaptainJervoise was one of those selected for the work. Its officers weredelighted at the prospect of a change, and, when the party started, Captain Jervoise was proud of the show made by his men, whoseactive and vigorous condition contrasted strongly with the debilityand feebleness evident, so generally, among the Swedish soldiers. 

As soon as Marienburg was entered, the men were set to work, toraise and strengthen the rampart and to erect bastions; and theywere aided, a few days later, by a reinforcement of two hundredinfantry, sent by the king, with some cannon, from the garrison ofDerpt. As the place was surrounded by a morass, it was, ere long, put into a position to offer a formidable defence against any forcethat the Russians or Saxons might bring against it. 

The Swedes engaged on the work gained strength rapidly, and, by thetime the fortifications were finished, they had completely shakenoff the effects of the fever. 

Chapter 6: A Prisoner. 

A fortnight after the fortifications of Marienburg were completed, Colonel Schlippenbach sent off Lieutenant Colonel Brandt, with fourhundred horse, to capture a magazine at Seffwegen, to which theSaxons had forced the inhabitants of the country round to bring intheir corn, intending later to convey it to the headquarters oftheir army. The expedition was completely successful. The Saxonguard were overpowered, and a thousand tons of corn were brought, in triumph, into Marienburg. Some of it was sent on to the army, abundance being retained for the use of the town and garrison, incase of siege. 

It was now resolved to surprise and burn Pitschur, a town on thefrontier from which the enemy constantly made incursions. It washeld by a strong body of Russians. 

Baron Spens was in command of the expedition. He had with him boththe regiments of Horse Guards. Much excitement was caused, inMarienburg, by the issue of an order that the cavalry, and aportion of the infantry, were to be ready to march at daylight; andby the arrival of a large number of peasants, brought in by smallparties of the cavalry. Many were the surmises as to the operationto be undertaken, its object being kept a strict secret. 

Captain Jervoise's company was one of those in orders, and paradedat daybreak, and, after a march of some distance, the force joinedthat of Baron Spens. The troops were halted in a wood, and orderedto light fires to cook food, and to prepare for a halt of somehours. Great fires were soon blazing and, after eating their meal, most of the troops wrapped themselves in the blankets that theycarried, in addition to their greatcoats, and lay down by thefires. 

They slept until midnight, and were then called to arms again. Theymarched all night, and at daybreak the next morning, the 13th ofFebruary, were near Pitschur, and at once attacked the Russian campoutside the town. Taken completely by surprise, the Russians foughtfeebly, and more than five hundred were killed before they enteredthe town, hotly pursued by the Swedes. Shutting themselves up inthe houses, and barricading the doors and windows, they defendedthemselves desperately, refusing all offers of surrender. 

The Livonian peasants were, however, at work, and set fire to thetown in many places. The flames spread rapidly. Great stores ofhides and leather, and a huge magazine filled with hemp, added tothe fury of the conflagration, and the whole town was burned to theground; numbers of the Russians preferring death by fire, in thehouses, to coming out and surrendering themselves. 

Many of the fugitives had succeeded in reaching a strong positionon the hill commanding the town. This consisted of a convent, surrounded by strong walls mounted with cannon, which played uponthe town while the fight there was going on. As Baron Spens had noguns with him, he was unable to follow up his advantage by takingthis position, and he therefore gave orders to the force to retire, the peasants being loaded with booty that they had gathered beforethe fire spread. 

The loss of the Swedes was thirty killed and sixty wounded, thisbeing a small amount of loss compared with what they had inflictedupon the enemy. 

"I call that a horrible business, Captain Jervoise, " Charlie said, when the troops had returned to Marienburg. "There was no realfighting in it. "

"It was a surprise, Charlie. But they fought desperately after theygained the town. "

"Yes, but we did nothing there beyond firing away at the windows. Of course, I had my sword in my hand; but it might as well havebeen in its sheath, for I never struck a blow, and I think it wasthe same with most of our men. One could not cut down those poorwretches, who were scarce awake enough to use their arms. I wasglad you held our company in rear of the others. "

"Yes; I asked the colonel before attacking to put us in reserve, incase the enemy should rally. I did it on purpose, for I knew thatour men, not having, like the Swedes, any personal animosityagainst the Russians, would not like the work. If it had come tostorming the convent, I would have volunteered to lead the assault. At any rate, I am glad that, although a few of the men are wounded, no lives are lost in our company. "

Harry cordially agreed with his friend. "I like an expedition, Charlie, if there is fighting to be done; but I don't want to haveanything more to do with surprises. However, the cavalry had a gooddeal more to do with it than we had; but, as you say, it was aghastly business. The only comfort is they began it, and have beenrobbing the peasants and destroying their homes for months. "

Many small expeditions were sent out with equally favourableresults; but Captain Jervoise's company took no part in theseexcursions. 

Charles the Twelfth was passionately fond of hunting and, in spiteof his many occupations, found time occasionally to spend a day ortwo in the chase. A few days after the attack upon Pitschur, hecame to Marienburg to learn all particulars of the Russian positionfrom Colonel Schlippenbach, as he intended, in the spring, toattack the triangle formed by three fortresses, in order to drivethe Russians farther back from the frontier. 

"I hear that there are many wolves and bears in the forest, fiveleagues to the north. I want a party of about fifty footmen todrive the game, and as many horse, in case we come across one ofthe parties of Russians. I want some hearty, active men for themarch. I will send the foot on this afternoon, and ride with thehorse so as to get there by daybreak. Which is your best company ofinfantry?"

"My best company is one composed chiefly of Scotchmen, though thereare some English among them. It belongs to the Malmoe Regiment, andis commanded by Captain Jervoise, an Englishman. I do not say thatthey are braver than our Swedes; they have not been tested in anydesperate service; but they are healthier and more hardy, for theirofficers, since the battle of Narva, have kept them engaged insports of all kinds--mimic battles, foot races, and other friendlycontests. I have marked them at it several times, and wonderedsometimes at the rough play. But it has had its effect. While therest of Suborn's regiment suffered as much from fever as the othertroops, scarce a man in this company was sick, and they have, allthe winter, been fit for arduous service at any moment. "

"That is good indeed, and I will remember it, and will see that, another winter, similar games are carried on throughout the army. Let the company be paraded at once. I will, myself, inspect them. "

The company's call was sounded, and, surprised at a summons just asthey were cooking their dinners, the troops fell in, in front oftheir quarters, and the officers took their places in front ofthem, and waited for orders. 

"I wonder what is up now, " Nigel Forbes said to Harry. "You havenot heard anything, from your father, of our being wanted, haveyou?"

"No; he was just as much surprised as I was, when a sergeant ran upwith Schlippenbach's order that the company were to fall in. "

Five minutes after they had formed up, three officers were seenapproaching on foot. 

"It is the colonel himself, " Forbes muttered, as Captain Jervoisegave the word to the men to stand to attention. 

A minute later, Captain Jervoise gave the order for the salute, andHarry saw that the tall young officer, walking with the colonel, was the king. Without speaking a word, Charles walked up and downthe line, narrowly inspecting the men, then he returned to thefront. 

"A fine set of fellows, Schlippenbach. I wish that, like mygrandfather, I had some fifteen thousand of such troops under myorders. Present the captain to me. "

The officers were called up, and Captain Jervoise was presented. 

"Your company does you great credit, Captain Jervoise, " the kingsaid. "I would that all my troops looked in as good health andcondition. Colonel Schlippenbach tells me that you have kept yourmen in good health, all through the winter, by means of sports andgames. It is a good plan. I will try to get all my officers toadopt it another winter. Do the men join in them willingly?"

Captain Jervoise and his officers had all, during the nine monthsthat had passed since they landed in Sweden, done their best toacquire the language, and could now speak and understand itthoroughly. 

"They like it, your majesty. Our people are fond of games of thiskind. My four officers take part in them with the men. "

The king nodded. 

"That is as it should be. It must create a good feeling on bothsides. Present your officers to me, Captain Jervoise. "

This was done, and the king spoke a few words to each. Charlie hadoften seen the king at a distance, but never before so close as tobe able to notice his face particularly. He was a tall youngfellow, thin and bony. His face was long, and his foreheadsingularly high and somewhat projecting. This was the mostnoticeable feature of his face. His eyes were quick and keen, hisface clean-shaven, and, had it not been for the forehead and eyes, would have attracted no attention. His movements were quick andenergetic, and, after speaking to the officers, he strode a step ortwo forward and, raising his voice, said:

"I am pleased with you, men. Your appearance does credit toyourselves and your officers. Scottish troops did grand serviceunder my grandfather, Gustavus Adolphus, and I would that I hadtwenty battalions of such soldiers with me. I am going huntingtomorrow, and I asked Colonel Schlippenbach for half a company ofmen who could stand cold and fatigue. He told me that I could notdo better than take them from among this company, and I see that hecould not have made a better choice. But I will not separate you, and will therefore take you all. You will march in an hour, and Iwill see that there is a good supper ready for you, at the end ofyour journey. "

Colonel Schlippenbach gave Captain Jervoise directions as to theroad they were to follow, and the village, at the edge of theforest, where they were to halt for the night. He then walked awaywith the king. Highly pleased with the praise Charles had giventhem, the company fell out. 

"Get your dinners as soon as you can, men, " Captain Jervoise said. "The king gave us an hour. We must be in readiness to march by thattime. "

On arriving at the village, which consisted of a few small housesonly, they found two waggons awaiting them, one with tents and theother with a plentiful supply of provisions, and a barrel of wine. The tents were erected, and then the men went into the forest, andsoon returned with large quantities of wood, and great fires werespeedily lighted. Meat was cut up and roasted over them, and, regarding the expedition as a holiday, the men sat down to theirsupper in high spirits. 

After it was eaten there were songs round the fires, and, at nineo'clock, all turned into their tents, as it was known that the kingwould arrive at daylight. Sentries were posted, for there was neverany saying when marauding parties of Russians, who were constantlyon the move, might come along. 

Half an hour before daybreak, the men were aroused. Tents werestruck and packed in the waggon, and the men then fell in, andremained until the king, with three or four of his officers andfifty cavalry, rode up. Fresh wood had been thrown on the fires, and some of the men told off as cooks. 

"That looks cheerful for hungry men, " the king said, as he leapedfrom his horse. 

"I did not know whether your majesty would wish to breakfast atonce, " Captain Jervoise said; "but I thought it well to beprepared. "

"We will breakfast by all means. We are all sharp set already. Haveyour own men had food yet?"

"No, sir. I thought perhaps they would carry it with them. "

"No, no. Let them all have a hearty meal before they move, thenthey can hold on as long as may be necessary. "

The company fell out again, and, in a quarter of an hour, they andthe troopers breakfasted. A joint of meat was placed, for the useof the king and the officers who had come with him, and CaptainJervoise and those with him prepared to take their meal a shortdistance away, but Charles said:

"Bring that joint here, Captain Jervoise, and we will all takebreakfast together. We are all hunters and comrades. "

In a short time, they were all seated round a fire, with their meaton wooden platters on their knees, and with mugs of wine besidethem; Captain Jervoise, by the king's orders, taking his seatbeside him. During the meal, he asked him many questions as to hisreasons for leaving England, and taking service with him. 

"So you have meddled in politics, eh?" the king laughed, when heheard a brief account of Captain Jervoise's reason for leavinghome. "Your quarrels, in England and Scotland, have added many athousand good soldiers to the armies of France and Sweden, and, Imay say, of every country in Europe. I believe there are some ofyour compatriots, or at any rate Scotchmen, in the czar's camp. Isuppose that, at William's death, these troubles will cease. "

"I do not know, sir. Anne was James' favourite daughter, and it maybe she will resign in favour of her brother, the lawful king. Ifshe does so, there is an end of trouble; but, should she mount thethrone, she would be a usurper, as Mary was up to her death in '94. As Anne has been on good terms with William, since her sister'sdeath, I fear she will act as unnatural a part as Mary did, and, inthat case, assuredly we shall not recognize her as our queen. "

"You have heard the news, I suppose, of the action of theparliament last month?"

"No, sir, we have heard nothing for some weeks of what is doing inEngland. "

"They have been making an Act of Settlement of the succession. Anneis to succeed William, and, as she has no children by George ofDenmark, the succession is to pass from her to the Elector ofHanover, in right of his wife Sophia, as the rest of the childrenof the Elector of the Palatinate have abjured Protestantism, andare therefore excluded. How will that meet the views of the Englishand Scotch Jacobites?"

"It is some distance to look forward to, sire. If Anne comes to thethrone at William's death, it will, I think, postpone our hopes, for Anne is a Stuart, and is a favourite with the nation, in spiteof her undutiful conduct to her father. Still, it will be felt thatfor Stuart to fight against Stuart, brother against sister, wouldbe contrary to nature. Foreigners are always unpopular, and, asagainst William, every Jacobite is ready to take up arms. But Ithink that nothing will be done during Anne's reign. The Elector ofHanover would be as unpopular, among Englishmen in general, as isWilliam of Orange, and, should he come to the throne, there willassuredly ere long be a rising to bring back the Stuarts. "

Charles shook his head. 

"I don't want to ruffle your spirit of loyalty to the Stuarts, Captain Jervoise, but they have showed themselves weak monarchs fora great country. They want fibre. William of Orange may be, as youcall him, a foreigner and a usurper, but England has greater weightin the councils of Europe, in his hands, than it has had since thedeath of Elizabeth. "

This was rather a sore point with Captain Jervoise, who, thoroughJacobite as he was, had smarted under the subservience of Englandto France during the reigns of the two previous monarchs. 

"You Englishmen and Scotchmen are fighting people, " the king wenton, "and should have a military monarch. I do not mean a king likemyself, who likes to fight in the front ranks of his soldiers; butone like William, who has certainly lofty aims, and is a statesman, and can join in European combinations. "

"William thinks and plans more for Holland than for England, sire. He would join a league against France and Spain, not so much forthe benefit of England, which has not much to fear from thesepowers, but of Holland, whose existence now, as of old isthreatened by them. "

"England's interest is similar to that of Holland, " the king said. "I began this war, nominally, in the interest of the Duke ofHolstein, but really because it was Sweden's interest that Denmarkshould not become too powerful. 

"But we must not waste time in talking politics. I see the men havefinished their breakfast, and we are here to hunt. I shall keeptwenty horse with me; the rest will enter the forest with you. Ihave arranged for the peasants here to guide you. You will marchtwo miles along by the edge of the forest, and then enter it andmake a wide semicircle, leaving men as you go, until you come downto the edge of the forest again, a mile to our left. 

"As soon as you do so, you will sound a trumpet, and the men willthen move forward, shouting so as to drive the game before them. Asthe peasants tell me there are many wolves and bears in the forest, I hope that you will inclose some of them in your cordon, whichwill be about five miles from end to end. With the horse you willhave a hundred and thirty men, so that there will be a man everysixty or seventy yards. That is too wide a space at first, but, asyou close in, the distances will rapidly lessen, and they must makeup, by noise, for the scantiness of their numbers. If they find theanimals are trying to break through, they can discharge theirpieces; but do not let them do so otherwise, as it would frightenthe animals too soon, and send them flying out all along the openside of the semicircle. "

It was more than two hours before the whole of the beaters were inposition. Just before they had started, the king had requestedCaptain Jervoise to remain with him and the officers who hadaccompanied him, five in number. They had been posted, a hundredyards apart, at the edge of the forest. Charlie was the firstofficer left behind as the troop moved through the forest, and itseemed to him an endless time before he heard a faint shout, followed by another and another, until, at last, the man stationednext to him repeated the signal. Then they moved forward, eachtrying to obey the orders to march straight ahead. 

For some time, nothing was heard save the shouts of the men, andthen Charlie made out some distant shots, far in the wood, andguessed that some animals were trying to break through the lines. Then he heard the sound of firing directly in front of him. Thiscontinued for some time, occasionally single shots being heard, butmore often shots in close succession. Louder and louder grew theshouting, as the men closed in towards a common point, and, in halfan hour after the signal had been given, all met. 

"What sport have you had, father?" Harry asked, as he came up toCaptain Jervoise. 

"We killed seventeen wolves and four bears, with, what is moreimportant, six stags. I do not know whether we are going to haveanother beat. "

It soon turned out that this was the king's intention, and thetroops marched along the edge of the forest. Charlie was in thefront of his company, the king with the cavalry a few hundred yardsahead, when, from a dip of ground on the right, a large body ofhorsemen suddenly appeared. 

"Russians!" Captain Jervoise exclaimed, and shouted to the men, whowere marching at ease, to close up. 

The king did not hesitate a moment, but, at the head of his fiftycavalry, charged right down upon the Russians, who were at leastfive hundred strong. The little body disappeared in the melee, andthen seemed to be swallowed up. 

"Keep together, shoulder to shoulder, men. Double!" and the companyset off at a run. 

When they came close to the mass of horsemen, they poured in avolley, and then rushed forward, hastily fitting the short pikesthey carried into their musket barrels; for, as yet, the modernform of bayonets was not used. The Russians fought obstinately, butthe infantry pressed their way step by step through them, untilthey reached the spot where the king, with his little troop ofcavalry, were defending themselves desperately from the attacks ofthe Russians. 

The arrival of the infantry decided the contest, and the Russiansbegan to draw off, the king hastening the movement by plunging intothe midst of them with his horsemen. 

Charlie was on the flank of the company as it advanced, and, afterrunning through a Russian horseman with the short pike that wascarried by officers, he received a tremendous blow on his steelcap, that stretched him insensible on the ground. When herecovered, he felt that he was being carried, and soon awoke to thefact that he was a prisoner. 

After a long ride, the Russians arrived at Plescow. They had lostsome sixty men in the fight. Charlie was the only prisoner taken. He was, on dismounting, too weak to stand, but he was half carriedand half dragged to the quarters of the Russian officer in command. The latter addressed him, but, finding that he was not understood, sent for an officer who spoke Swedish. 

"What were the party you were with doing in the wood?"

"We were hunting wolves and bears. "

"Where did you come from?"

"From Marienburg. "

"How strong were you?"

"Fifty horse and a hundred and forty foot, " Charlie replied, knowing there could be no harm in stating the truth. 

"But it was a long way to march, merely to hunt, and your officersmust have been mad to come out, with so small a party, to a pointwhere they were likely to meet with us. "

"It was not too small a party, sir, as they managed to beat off theattack made upon them. "

The Russian was silent for a moment, then he asked:

"Who was the officer in command?"

"The officer in command was the King of Sweden, " Charlie replied. 

An exclamation of surprise and anger broke from the Russiangeneral, when the answer was translated to him. 

"You missed a good chance of distinguishing yourself, " he said tothe officer in command of the troops. "Here has this mad King ofSweden been actually putting himself in your hands, and you havelet him slip through your fingers. It would have got you two stepsin rank, and the favour of the czar, had you captured him, and nowhe will be in a rage, indeed, when he hears that five hundredcavalry could do nothing against a force only a third of theirnumber. "

"I had no idea that the King of Sweden was there himself, " theofficer said humbly. 

"Bah, that is no excuse. There were officers, and you ought to havecaptured them, instead of allowing yourself to be put to flight bya hundred and fifty men. "

"We must have killed half the horsemen before the infantry cameup. "

"All the worse, colonel, that you did not complete the business. The infantry would not have been formidable, after they dischargedtheir pieces. However, it is your own affair, and I wash my handsof it. What the czar will say when he hears of it, I know not, butI would not be in your shoes for all my estates. "

As Charlie learned afterwards, the colonel was degraded from hisrank by the angry czar, and ordered to serve as a private in theregiment he commanded. The officer who acted as translator saidsomething in his own tongue to the general, who then, through him, said:

"This officer tells me that by your language you are not a Swede. "

"I am not. I am English, and I am an ensign in the MalmoeRegiment. "

"All the worse for you, " the general said. "The czar has declaredthat he will exchange no foreign officers who may be takenprisoners. "

"Very well, sir, " Charlie said, fearlessly. "He will be onlypunishing his own officers. There are plenty of them in the King ofSweden's hands. "

The general, when this reply was translated to him, angrily orderedCharlie to be taken away, and he was soon lodged in a cell in thecastle. His head was still swimming from the effects of the blowthat had stricken him down, and, without even trying to think overhis position, he threw himself down on the straw pallet, and wassoon asleep. 

It was morning when he woke and, for a short time, he was unable toimagine where he was, but soon recalled what had happened. He hadbeen visited by someone after he had lain down, for a platter ofbread and meat stood on the table, and a jug of water. He was alsocovered with two thick blankets. These had not been there when helay down, for he had wondered vaguely as to how he should pass thenight without some covering. 

He took a long draught of water, then ate some food. His headthrobbed with the pain of the wound. It had been roughly bandagedby his captors, but needed surgical dressing. 

"I wonder how long I am likely to be, before I am exchanged, " hesaid to himself. "A long time, I am afraid; for there are scores ofRussian officers prisoners with us, and I don't think there arehalf a dozen of ours captured by the Russians. Of course, noexchange can take place until there are a good batch to send over, and, it may be, months may pass before they happen to lay hands onenough Swedish officers to make it worth while to trouble aboutexchanging them. "

An hour later the door opened, and an officer entered, followed bya soldier with a large bowl of broth and some bread. 

"I am a doctor, " he said in Swedish. "I came in to see youyesterday evening, but you were sound asleep, and that was a bettermedicine than any I can give; so I told the man to throw those twobarrack rugs over you, and leave your food in case you should wake, which did not seem to me likely. I see, however, that you didwake, " and he pointed to the plate. 

"That was not till this morning, doctor. It is not an hour since Iate it. "

"This broth will be better for you, and I daresay you can manageanother breakfast. Sit down and take it, at once, while it is hot. I am in no hurry. "

He gave an order in Russian to the soldier, who went out, andreturned in a few minutes with a small wooden tub, filled with hotwater. By this time Charlie had finished the broth. The doctor thenbathed his head for some time in hot water, but was obliged to cutoff some of his hair, in order to remove the bandage. As heexamined the wound, Charlie was astounded to hear him mutter tohimself:

"It is a mighty nate clip you have got, my boy; and, if your skullhad not been a thick one, it is lying out there on the turf youwould be. "

Charlie burst into a fit of laughter. 

"So you are English, too, " he exclaimed, as he looked up into thesurgeon's face. 

"At laste Irish, my boy, " the doctor said, as surprised as Charliehad been. "To think we should have been talking Swedish to eachother, instead of our native tongue. And what is your name? Andwhat is it you are doing here, as a Swede, at all?"

"My name is Charles Carstairs. I come from Lancashire, just on theborders of Westmoreland. My father is a Jacobite, and so had toleave the country. He went over to Sweden, and I, with some friendsof his, got commissions. "

"Then our cases are pretty much alike, " the doctor said. "I hadgone through Dublin University, and had just passed as a surgeon, when King James landed. It didn't much matter to me who was king, but I thought it was a fine opportunity to study gunshot wounds, soI joined the royal army, and was at the battle of the Boyne. I hadplenty of work with wounds, early in the day, but when, after theIrish had fairly beat the Dutchman back all day, they made up theirminds to march away at night, I had to lave my patients and be offtoo. Then I was shut up in Limerick; and I was not idle there, asyou may guess. When at last the surrender came, I managed to slipaway, having no fancy for going over with the regiments that wereto enter the service of France. I thought I could have gone back toDublin, and that no one would trouble about me; but someone putthem up to it, and I had to go without stopping to ask leave. Ilanded at Bristol, and there, for a time, was nearly starving. 

"I was well nigh my wits' end as to what to do for a living, andhad just spent my last shilling, when I met an English captain, whotold me that across at Gottenburg there were a good many Irish andScotchmen who had, like myself, been in trouble at home. He gave mea passage across, and took me to the house of a man he knew. Ofcourse, it was no use my trying to doctor people, when they couldnot tell me what was the matter with them, and I worked at onething and another, doing anything I could turn my hands to, forfour or five months. That is how I got to pick up Swedish. Thensome people told me that Russia was a place where a doctor mightget on, for that they had got no doctors for their army who knewanything of surgery, and the czar was always ready to take onforeigners who could teach them anything. I had got my diploma withme, and some of my friends came forward and subscribed enough torig me out in clothes and pay my passage. What was better, one ofthem happened to have made the acquaintance of Le Ford, who was, asyou may have heard, the czar's most intimate friend. 

"I wished myself back a hundred times before I reached Moscow, butwhen I did, everything was easy for me. Le Ford introduced me tothe czar, and I was appointed surgeon of a newly-raised regiment, of which Le Ford was colonel. That was eight years ago, and I amnow a sort of surgeon general of a division, and am at the head ofthe hospitals about here. Till the war began I had not, for fiveyears, done any military work, but had been at the head of acollege the czar has established for training surgeons for thearmy. I was only sent down here after that business at Narva. 

"So, you see, I have fallen on my feet. The czar's is a goodservice, and we employ a score or two of Scotchmen, most of them ingood posts. He took to them because a Scotchman, General Gordon, and other foreign officers, rescued him from his sister Sophia, whointended to assassinate him, and established him firmly on thethrone of his father. 

"It is a pity you are not on this side. Perhaps it isn't too lateto change, eh?"

Charlie laughed. 

"My father is in Sweden, and my company is commanded by a man whois as good as a father to me, and his son is like my brother. Ifthere were no other reason, I could not change. Why, it was onlyyesterday I was sitting round a bivouac fire with King Charles, andnothing would induce me to fight against him. "

"I am not going to try to persuade you. The czar has treated mewell, and I love him. By the way, I have not given you my nameafter all. It's Terence Kelly. "

"Is not the czar very fierce and cruel?"

"Bedad, I would be much more cruel and fierce if I were in hisplace. Just think of one man, with all Russia on his shoulders. There is he trying to improve the country, working like a horsehimself, knowing that, like every other Russian, he is as ignorantas a pig, and setting to improve himself--working in the dockyardsof Holland and England, attending lectures, and all kinds ofsubjects. Why, man, he learnt anatomy, and can take off a leg asquickly as I can. He is building a fleet and getting together anarmy. It is not much good yet, you will say, but it will be someday. You can turn a peasant into a soldier in six months, but ittakes a long time to turn out generals and officers who are fit fortheir work. 

"Then, while he is trying everywhere to improve his country, everyman jack of them objects to being improved, and wants to go alongin his old ways. Didn't they get up an insurrection, only becausehe wanted them to cut off their beards? Any other man would havelost heart, and given it up years ago. It looks as hopeless a taskas for a mouse to drag a mountain, but he is doing it. 

"I don't say that he is perfect. He gets into passions, and it ismighty hard for anyone he gets into a passion with. But who wouldnot get into passions, when there is so much work to be done, andeveryone tries to hinder instead of to help? It would break theheart of Saint Patrick! Why, that affair at Narva would have brokendown most men. Here, for years, has he been working to make anarmy, and the first time they meet an enemy worthy of the name, what do they do? Why, they are beaten by a tenth of their number ofhalf-starved men, led by a mad-brained young fellow who had neverheard a shot fired before, and lose all their cannon, guns, ammunition, and stores. Why, I was heartbroken, myself, when Iheard of it; but Peter, instead of blowing out his brains, ordrowning himself, set to work, an hour after the news reached him, to bring up fresh troops, to re-arm the men, and to prepare to meetthe Swedes again, as soon as the snow is off the ground. 

"If James of England had been Peter of Russia, he would be rulingover Ireland now, and England and Scotland, too. 

"But now, I must be off. Don't you worry about your head. I haveseen as bad a clip given by a blackthorn. I have got to go roundnow and see the wounded, and watch some operations being done, butI will come in again this evening. Don't eat any more of theirmesses, if they bring them in. You and I will have a snug littledinner together. I might get you put into a more dacent chamber, but the general is one of the old pig-headed sort. We don't pulltogether, so I would rather not ask any favours from him. 

"The czar may come any day--he is always flying about. I will speakto him when he comes, and see that you have better entertainment. "

Chapter 7: Exchanged. 

Late in the afternoon, Doctor Kelly came in again to the cell. 

"Come along, " he said; "I have got lave for you to have supper withme, and have given my pledge that you won't try to escape till itis over, or make any onslaught on the garrison, but will behavelike a quiet and peaceable man. "

"You are quite safe in giving the pledge, doctor, " Charlie laughed. 

"Come along then, me boy, for they were just dishing up when I cameto fetch you. It is cold enough outside, and there is no sinse inputting cold victuals into one in such weather as this. "

They were not long in reaching a snugly-furnished room, where a bigfire was burning. Another gentleman was standing, with his back toit. He was a man of some seven or eight and twenty, with largefeatures, dark brown hair falling in natural curls over his ears, and large and powerful in build. 

"This is my friend, Charlie Carstairs, " the doctor said. 

"This, Carstairs, is Peter Michaeloff, a better doctor than most ofthose who mangle the czar's soldiers. "

"Things will better in time, " the other said, "when your pupilsbegin to take their places in the army. "

"I hope so, " the doctor said, shrugging his shoulders. "There isone comfort, they can't be much worse. "

At this moment a servant entered, bearing a bowl of soup and threebasins. They at once seated themselves at the table. 

"So you managed to get yourself captured yesterday, " DoctorMichaeloff said to Charlie. "I have not had the pleasure of seeingmany of you gentlemen here. "

"We don't come if we can help it, " Charlie laughed. "But theCossacks were so pressing, that I could not resist. In fact, I didnot know anything about it, until I was well on the way. "

"I hope they have made you comfortable, " the other said, sharply. 

"I can't say much for the food, " Charlie said, "and still less forthe cell, which was bitterly cold. Still, as the doctor gave me tworugs to wrap myself up in, I need not grumble. "

"That is not right, " the other said angrily. "I hear that the Kingof Sweden treats our prisoners well. 

"You should have remonstrated, Kelly. "

The Irishman shrugged his shoulders. 

"I ventured to hint to the general that I thought an officer had aright to better treatment, even if he were a prisoner, but I wastold sharply to mind my own business, which was with the sick andwounded. I said, as the prisoner was wounded, I thought it was amatter that did come to some extent under my control. "

"What did the pig say?"

"He grumbled something between his teeth, that I did not catch, and, as I thought the prisoner would not be kept there long, andwas not unaccustomed to roughing it, it was not worthwhile pressingthe matter further. "

"Have you heard that an officer has been here this afternoon, witha flag of truce, to treat for your exchange?" Doctor Michaeloffsaid, turning suddenly to Charlie. 

"No, I have not heard anything about it, " Charlie said. 

"He offered a captain for you, which you may consider a highhonour. "

"It is, no doubt, " Charlie said, with a smile. "I suppose hismajesty thought, as it was in his special service I was caught, hewas bound to get me released, if he could. "

"It was a hunting party, was it not?"

"Yes. There was only the king with four of his officers there, andmy company of foot, and fifty horse. I don't think I can call it anescort, for we went principally as beaters. "

"Rustoff missed a grand chance there, Kelly. 

"What regiment do you belong to?"

And he again turned to Charlie. 

"The Malmoe Regiment. The company is commanded by an Englishgentleman, who is a neighbour and great friend of my father. Hisson is an ensign, and my greatest friend. The men are all eitherScotch or English, but most of them Scotch. "

"They are good soldiers, the Scotch; none better. There are a goodmany in the Russian service, also in that of Austria and France. They are always faithful, and to be relied upon, even when nativetroops prove treacherous. And you like Charles of Sweden?"

"There is not a soldier in his army but likes him, " Charlie saidenthusiastically. "He expects us to do much, but he does morehimself. All through the winter, he did everything in his power forus, riding long distances from camp to camp, to visit the sick andto keep up the spirits of the men. If we live roughly, so does he, and, on the march, he will take his meals among the soldiers, andwrap himself up in his cloak, and sleep on the bare ground, just asthey do. And as for his bravery, he exposes his life recklessly--toorecklessly, we all think--and it seemed a miracle that, always in thefront as he was, he should have got through Narva without a scratch. "

"Yes, that was a bad bit of business, that Narva, " the other saidthoughtfully. "Why do you think we were beaten in the horrible waywe were?--because the Russians are no cowards. "

"No; they made a gallant stand when they recovered from theirsurprise, " Charlie agreed. "But in the first place, they were takenby surprise. "

"They ought not to have been, " the doctor said angrily. "They hadnews, two days before, brought by the cavalry, who ought to havedefended that pass, but didn't. "

"Still, it was a surprise when we attacked, " Charlie said, "forthey could not suppose that the small body they saw were going toassail them. Then, we had the cover of that snowstorm, and they didnot see us, until we reached the edge of the ditch. Of course, yourgeneral ought to have made proper dispositions, and to havecollected the greater part of his troops at the spot facing us, instead of having them strung out round that big semicircle, sothat, when we made an entry they were separated, and each half wasignorant of what the other was doing. Still, even then they mighthave concentrated between the trenches and the town. But no ordershad been given. The general was one of the first we captured. Theothers waited for the orders that never came, until it was toolate. If the general who commanded on the left had massed histroops, and marched against us as we were attacking the positionthey held on their right, we should have been caught between twofires. "

"It was a badly managed business, altogether, " Doctor Michaeloffgrowled; "but we shall do better next time. We shall understandCharles's tactics better. We reckoned on his troops, but we did notreckon on him. 

"Kelly tells me that you would not care to change service. "

"My friends are in the Swedish army, and I am well satisfied withthe service. I daresay, if Russia had been nearer England thanSweden is, and we had landed there first, we should have been asglad to enter the service of the czar as we were to join that ofKing Charles. Everyone says that the czar makes strangers welcome, and that he is a liberal master to those who serve him well. As tothe quarrel between them, I am not old enough to be able to give myopinion on it, though, as far as I am concerned, it seems to methat it was not a fair thing for Russia to take advantage ofSweden's being at war with Denmark and Augustus of Saxony, to fallupon her without any cause of quarrel. "

"Nations move less by morality than interest, " Doctor Michaeloffsaid calmly. "Russia wants a way to the sea--the Turks cut her offto the south, and the Swedes from the Baltic. She is smotheredbetween them, and when she saw her chance, she took it. That is notgood morality. I admit that it is the excuse of the poor man whorobs the rich, but it is human nature, and nations act, in the longrun, a good deal like individuals. "

"But you have not told me yet, doctor, " Charlie said, turning theconversation, "whether the proposal for an exchange was accepted. "

"The general had no power to accept it, Carstairs. It had to bereferred to the czar himself. "

"I wish his majesty could see me, then, " Charlie laughed. "He wouldsee that I am but a lad, and that my release would not greatlystrengthen the Swedish army. "

"But then the czar may be of opinion that none of his officers, whoallowed themselves to be captured by a handful of men at Narva, would be of any use to him, " Doctor Michaeloff laughed. 

"That may, doubtless, be said of a good many among them, " Charliesaid, "but, individually, none of the captains could be blamed forthe mess they made of it. "

"Perhaps not, but if all the men had been panic stricken, therewere officers enough to have gathered together and cut their waythrough the Swedes. "

"No doubt there were; but you must remember, Doctor Michaeloff, that an officer's place is with his company, and that it is hisduty to think of his men, before thinking of himself. Supposing allthe officers of the left wing, as you say, had gathered togetherand cut their way out, the czar would have had a right to blamethem for the capture of the whole of the men. How could they tellthat, at daybreak, the general would not have given orders for theleft wing to attack the Swedes? They were strong enough still tohave eaten us up, had they made the effort, and had the czar beenthere in person, I will warrant he would have tried it. "

"That he would, " Doctor Michaeloff said warmly. "You are rightthere, young sir. The czar may not be a soldier, but at least he isa man, which is more than can be said for the officer who orderedsixty thousand men to lay down their arms to eight thousand. "

"I am sure of that, " Charlie said. "A man who would do as he hasdone, leave his kingdom, and work like a common man in dockyards, to learn how to build ships, and who rules his people as he does, must be a great man. I don't suppose he would do for us in England, because a king has no real power with us, and Peter would never putup with being thwarted in all his plans by parliament, as Williamis. But for a country like Russia, he is wonderful. Of course, ourcompany being composed of Scotchmen and Englishmen, we have noprejudices against him. We think him wrong for entering upon thiswar against Sweden, but we all consider him a wonderful fellow, just the sort of fellow one would be proud to serve under, if wedid not serve under Charles of Sweden. 

"Well, Doctor Kelly, when do you think the czar will be here?"

The doctor did not reply, but Michaeloff said quietly:

"He arrived this afternoon. "

"He did!" Charlie exclaimed excitedly. 

"Why did you not tell me before, Doctor Kelly? Has he been askedabout my exchange, and is the Swedish officer still here?"

"He is here, and you will be exchanged in the morning. 

"I have other things to see about now, and must say goodnight; andif you should ever fall into the hands of our people again, andDoctor Kelly does not happen to be near, ask for Peter Michaeloff, and he will do all he can for you. "

"Then I am really to be exchanged tomorrow, doctor?" Charlie said, as Doctor Michaeloff left the room. 

"It seems like it. "

"But did not you know?"

"No, I had heard nothing for certain. I knew the czar had come, butI had not heard of his decision. I congratulate you. "

"It is a piece of luck, " Charlie said. "I thought it might bemonths before there was an exchange. It is very good of the king tosend over so quickly. "

"Yes; and of the czar to let you go. "

"Well, I don't see much in that, doctor, considering that he gets acaptain in exchange for me; still, of course, he might haverefused. It would not have been civil, but he might have done it. "

"What did you think of my friend, Charlie?"

"I like him. He has a pleasant face, though I should think he hasgot a temper of his own. He has a splendid figure, and looks morelike a fighting man than a doctor. I will write down his name, soas not to forget it, as he says he might be able to help me if I amever taken prisoner again, and you did not happen to be with thearmy. It is always nice having a friend. Look at the difference ithas made to me, finding a countryman here. "

"Yes, you may find it useful, Carstairs; and he has a good deal ofinfluence. Still, I think it probable that if you ever should getinto a scrape again, you will be able to get tidings of me, for Iam likely to be with the advanced division of our army, wherever itis, as I am in charge of its hospitals. 

"You had better turn in now, for I suppose you will be startingearly, and I have two or three patients I must visit again before Igo to bed. This is your room, next to mine. I managed, after all, to get it changed. "

"That is very good of you, doctor, but it really would not havemattered a bit for one night. It does look snug and warm, with thatgreat fire. "

"Yes, the stoves are the one thing I don't like in Russia. I liketo see a blazing fire, and the first thing I do, when I get intofresh quarters, is to have the stove opened so that I can see one. This is a second room of mine. There were three together, you see, and as my rank is that of a colonel, I was able to get them, and itis handy, if a friend comes to see me, to have a room for him. "

An hour later, just as Charlie was dozing off to sleep, the doctorput his head in to the door. 

"You are to start at daybreak, Carstairs. My servant will call youan hour before that. I shall be up. I must put a fresh bandage onyour head before you start. "

"Thank you very much, doctor. I am sorry to get you up so early. "

"That is nothing. I am accustomed to work at all hours. Goodnight. "

At eight o'clock, having had a bowl of broth, Charlie descended tothe courtyard in charge of an officer and two soldiers, the doctoraccompanying him. Here he found a Swedish officer belonging to theking's personal staff. The Russian handed the lad formally over tohis charge, saying:

"By the orders of the czar, I now exchange Ensign Carstairs forCaptain Potoff, whom you, on your part, engage to send off atonce. "

"I do, " the Swede said; "that is, I engage that he shall be sentoff, as soon as he can be fetched from Revel, where he is nowinterned, and shall be safely delivered under an escort; and thatif, either by death, illness, or escape, I should not be able tohand him over, I will return another officer of the same rank. "

"I have the czar's commands, " the Russian went on, "to express hisregret that, owing to a mistake on the part of the officercommanding here, Ensign Carstairs has not received such worthytreatment as the czar would have desired for him, but he has givenstringent orders that, in future, any Swedish officers who may betaken prisoners shall receive every comfort and hospitality thatcan be shown them. "

"Goodbye, Doctor Kelly, " Charlie said, as he mounted his horse, which had been saddled in readiness for him. "I am greatly obligedto you for your very great kindness to me, and hope that I may someday have an opportunity of repaying it. "

"I hope not, Carstairs. I trust that we may meet again, but hopethat I sha'n't be in the position of a prisoner. However, strangethings have happened already in this war, and there is no sayinghow fortune may go. Goodbye, and a pleasant journey. "

A Russian officer took his place by the side of the Swede, and anescort of twenty troopers rode behind them, as they trotted outthrough the gate of the convent. 

"It was very kind of the king to send for me, " Charlie said to theSwede, "and I am really sorry that you should have had so long aride on my account, Captain Pradovich. "

"As to that, it is a trifle, " the officer said. "If I had not beenriding here, I should be riding with the king elsewhere, so that Iam none the worse. But, in truth, I am glad I came, for yesterdayevening I saw the czar himself. I conversed with him for some time. He expressed himself very courteously with respect to the king, andto our army, against whom he seems to bear no sort of malice forthe defeat we inflicted on him at Narva. He spoke of it himself, and said, 'you will see that, some day, we shall turn the tablesupon you. '

"The king will be pleased when I return with you, for we all fearedthat you might be very badly hurt. All that we knew was that someof your men had seen you cut down. After the battle was over, asearch was made for your body. When it could not be found, questions were asked of some of our own men, and some woundedRussians, who were lying near the spot where you had been seen tofall. 

"Our men had seen nothing, for, as the Russians closed in behindyour company as it advanced, they had shut their eyes and lay as ifdead, fearing that they might be run through, as they lay, by theCossack lances. The Russians, however, told us that they had seentwo of the Cossacks dismount, by the orders of one of theirofficers, lift you on to a horse, and ride off with you. There wastherefore a certainty that you were still living, for the Russianswould assuredly not have troubled to carry off a dead body. Hismajesty interested himself very much in the matter, and yesterdaymorning sent me off to inquire if you were alive, and if so, topropose an exchange. 

"I was much pleased, when I reached Plescow yesterday, to learnthat your wound is not a serious one. I saw the doctor, who, Ifound, was a countryman of yours, and he assured me that it wasnothing, and made some joke that I did not understand about thethickness of North Country skulls. 

"The czar arrived in the afternoon, but I did not see him untillate in the evening, when I was sent for. I found him with thegeneral in command, and several other officers, among whom was yourfriend the doctor. The czar was, at first, in a furious passion. Heabused the general right and left, and I almost thought, at onetime, that he would have struck him. He told him that he haddisgraced the Russian name, by not treating you with properhospitality, and especially by placing you in a miserable cellwithout a fire. 

"'What will the King of Sweden think?' he said. 'He treats hisprisoners with kindness and courtesy, and after Narva gave them abanquet, at which he himself was present. The Duke of Croy writesto me, to say he is treated as an honoured guest rather than as aprisoner, and here you disgrace us by shutting your prisoner in acheerless cell, although he is wounded, and giving him food such asyou might give to a common soldier. The Swedes will think that weare barbarians. You are released from your command, and will atonce proceed to Moscow and report yourself there, when a post willbe assigned to you where you will have no opportunity of showingyourself ignorant of the laws of courtesy. 

"'Doctor, ' he went on, 'you will remember that all prisoners, officers and men, will be henceforth under the charge of themedical department, and that you have full authority to make sucharrangements as you may think necessary for their comfort andhonourable treatment. I will not have Russia made a byword amongcivilized peoples. '

"Then he dismissed the rest of them, and afterwards sat down andchatted with me, just as if we had been of the same rank, puffing apipe furiously, and drinking amazing quantities of wine. Indeed, myhead feels the effects of it this morning, although I was quiteunable to drink cup for cup with him, for, had I done so, I shouldhave been under the table long before he rose from it, seeminglyquite unmoved by the quantity he had drank. I have no doubt hesummoned me especially to hear his rebuke to the general, so that Icould take word to the king how earnest he was, in his regrets foryour treatment. "

"There was nothing much to complain of, " Charlie said; "and, indeed, the cell was a palace after the miserable huts in which wehave passed the winter. I am glad, however, the czar gave thegeneral a wigging, for he spoke brutally to me on my arrival. Youmay be sure, now, that any prisoners that may be taken will be welltreated; for Doctor Kelly, who has been extremely kind to me, willcertainly take good care of them. As to my wound, it is of littleconsequence. It fell on my steel cap, and I think I was stunned byits force, rather than rendered insensible by the cut itself. "

After three hours' riding they came to a village. As soon as theywere seen approaching, there was a stir there. A man riding aheadwaved the white flag that he carried, and, when they entered thevillage, they found a party of fifty Swedish cavalry in the saddle. 

The Russian escort, as soon as the Swedish officer and Charlie hadjoined their friends, turned and rode off. A meal was in readiness, and when Charlie, who was still feeling somewhat weak from theeffects of his wound, had partaken of it, the party proceeded ontheir way, and rode into Marienburg before nightfall. 

Two or three miles outside the town, they met Harry Jervoise. Twosoldiers had been sent on at full speed, directly Charlie reachedthe village, to report that he had arrived there and was notseriously wounded, and, knowing about the time they would arrive, Harry had ridden out to meet his friend. 

"You are looking white, " he said, after the first hearty greeting. 

"I am feeling desperately tired, Harry. The wound is of noconsequence, but I lost a good deal of blood, and it is as much asI can do to keep my saddle, though we have been coming on quietlyon purpose. However, I shall soon be all right again, and I needhardly say that I am heartily glad to be back. "

"We have all been in a great way about you, Charlie, for we madesure that you were very badly wounded. I can tell you, it was arelief when the men rode in three hours ago, with the news that youhad arrived, and were not badly hurt. The men seemed as pleased aswe were, and there was a loud burst of cheering when we told themthe news. Cunningham and Forbes would have ridden out with me; butCunningham is on duty, and Forbes thought that we should like tohave a chat together. "

On his arrival, Charlie was heartily welcomed by Captain Jervoiseand the men of the company, who cheered lustily as he rode up. 

"You are to go and see the king at once, " Captain Jervoise said ashe dismounted. "I believe he wants to hear, especially, how youwere treated. Make the best of it you can, lad. There is nooccasion for the feeling of Charles against the Russians beingembittered. "

"I understand, " Charlie said. "I will make things as smooth as Ican. "

He walked quickly to the little house where the king had taken uphis quarters. There was no sentry at the door, or other sign thatthe house contained an occupant of special rank. He knocked at thedoor, and hearing a shout of "Enter, " opened it and went in. 

"Ah, my young ensign; is it you?" the king said, rising from a lowsettle on which he was sitting by the fire, talking with ColonelSchlippenbach. 

"Hurt somewhat, I see, but not badly, I hope. I was sure that youwould not have been taken prisoner, unless you had been injured. "

"I was cut down by a blow that clove my helmet, your majesty, andstunned me for some time; but, beyond making a somewhat long gashon my skull, it did me no great harm. "

"That speaks well for the thickness of your skull, lad, and I amheartily glad it is no worse. Now, tell me, how did they treatyou?"

"It was a somewhat rough cell into which I was thrown, sir, but Iwas most kindly tended by an Irish doctor high in the czar'sservice, and, when the czar himself arrived, and learned that I hadnot been lodged as well as he thought necessary, I hear he was soangered that he disgraced the general, deprived him of his command, and sent him to take charge of some fortress in the interior ofRussia; and I was, by his orders, allowed to occupy the doctor'squarters, and a bedroom was assigned to me next to his. I heardthat the czar spoke in terms of the warmest appreciation of yourtreatment of your prisoners, and said that any of your officers whofell into his hands should be treated with equal courtesy. "

Charles looked gratified. 

"I am glad to hear it, " he said. "In the field, if necessary, bloodmust flow like water, but there is no reason why we should notbehave towards each other with courtesy, when the fighting is over. You know nothing of the force there, at present?"

"No, sir, I heard nothing. I did not exchange a word with anyone, save the doctor and another medical man; and as the former treatedme as a friend, rather than as an enemy, I did not deem it right toquestion him, and, had I done so, I am sure that he would havegiven me no answer. "

"Well, you can return to your quarters, sir. Your company did megood service in that fight, and Colonel Schlippenbach did not speakin any way too warmly in their favour. I would that I had more ofthese brave Englishmen and Scotchmen in my service. "

Charlie's head, however, was not as hard as he had believed it tobe; and the long ride brought on inflammation of the wound, sothat, on the following morning, he was in a high state of fever. Itwas a fortnight before he was convalescent, and the surgeon thenrecommended that he should have rest and quiet for a time, as hewas sorely pulled down, and unfit to bear the hardships of acampaign; and it was settled that he should go down with the nextconvoy to Revel, and thence take ship for Sweden. 

He was so weak, that although very sorry to leave the army just asspring was commencing, he himself felt that he should be unable tosupport the fatigues of the campaign, until he had had entire restand change. A few hours after the decision of the surgeon had beengiven, Major Jamieson and Captain Jervoise entered the room wherehe was sitting, propped up by pillows. 

"I have a bit of news that will please you, Charlie. The king sentfor the major this morning, and told him that he intended toincrease our company to a regiment, if he could do so. He had heardthat a considerable number of Scotchmen and Englishmen had comeover, and were desirous of enlisting, but, from their ignorance ofthe language, their services had been declined. He said that he wasso pleased, not only with the conduct of the company in that fight, but with its discipline, physique, and power of endurance, that hehad decided to convert it into a regiment. He said he was sorry tolose its services for a time; but, as we lost twenty men in thefight, and have some fifteen still too disabled to take theirplaces in the ranks, this was of the less importance. 

"So we are all going to march down to Revel with you. MajorJamieson is appointed colonel, and I am promoted to be major. Theking himself directed that Cunningham and Forbes shall havecommissions as captains, and you and Harry as lieutenants. Thecolonel has authority given him to nominate Scotch and Englishgentlemen of good name to make up the quota of officers, while mostof our own men will be appointed non-commissioned officers, todrill the new recruits. The king has been good enough, at ColonelJamieson's request, to say that, as soon as the regiment is raisedand organized, it shall be sent up to the front. "

"That is good news, indeed, " Charlie said, with more animation thanhe had evinced since his illness. "I have been so accustomed to beattended to, in every way, that I was quite looking forward withdread to the journey among strangers. Still, if you are all going, it will be a different thing altogether. I don't think you will belong in raising the regiment. We only were a week in getting thecompany together, and, if they have been refusing to accept theservices of our people, there must be numbers of them atGottenburg. "

Early on the following morning, Charlie and the men unable to marchwere placed in waggons, and the company started on its march toRevel. It was a heavy journey, for the frost had broken up, and theroads were in a terrible state from the heavy traffic passing. There was no delay when they reached the port, as they at oncemarched on board a ship, which was the next day to start forSweden. Orders from the king had already been received that thecompany was to be conveyed direct to Gottenburg, and they enteredthe port on the fifth day after sailing. 

The change, the sea air, and the prospect of seeing his fatheragain greatly benefited Charlie, and, while the company was marchedto a large building assigned to their use, he was able to make hisway on foot to his father's, assisted by his soldier servant, JockArmstrong. 

"Why, Charlie, " Sir Marmaduke Carstairs exclaimed as he entered, "who would have thought of seeing you? You are looking ill, lad;ill and weak. What has happened to you?"

Charlie briefly related the events that had brought about hisreturn to Gottenburg, of which Sir Marmaduke was entirely ignorant. Postal communications were rare and uncertain, and Captain Jervoisehad not taken advantage of the one opportunity that offered, afterCharlie had been wounded, thinking it better to delay till the ladcould write and give a good account of himself. 

"So Jervoise, and his son, and that good fellow Jamieson are allback again? That is good news, Charlie; and you have been promoted?That is capital too, after only a year in the service. And you havebeen wounded, and a prisoner among the Russians? You have hadadventures, indeed! I was terribly uneasy when the first news ofthat wonderful victory at Narva came, for we generally have to waitfor the arrival of the despatches giving the lists of the killedand wounded. I saw that the regiment had not been in the thick ofit, as the lists contained none of your names. I would have given alimb to have taken part in that wonderful battle. When you get asold as I am, my boy, you will feel a pride in telling how youfought at Narva, and helped to destroy an entire Russian army withthe odds ten to one against you. 

"Of course, you will stay here with me. I suppose you have leave atpresent?"

"Yes, father, Colonel Jamieson told me that my first duty was toget strong and well again, and that I was to think of no otheruntil I had performed that. And how have you been getting on, father?"

"Very well, lad. I don't pretend that it is not a great change fromLynnwood, but I get along very well, and thank heaven, daily, thatfor so many years I had set aside a portion of my rents, littlethinking that the time would come when they would prove my means ofexistence. My friends here have invested the money for me, and itbears good interest, which is punctually paid. With the English andScotch exiles, I have as much society as I care for, and as I findI am able to keep a horse--for living here is not more than halfthe cost that it would be in England--I am well enough contentedwith my lot. 

"There is but one thing that pricks me. That villain John Dormayhas, as he schemed for, obtained possession of my estates, and hasbeen knighted for his distinguished services to the king. I heardof this some time since, by a letter from one of our Jacobitefriends to whom I wrote, asking for news. He says that the newknight has no great cause for enjoyment in his dignity andpossessions, because, not only do the Jacobite gentry turn theirbacks upon him, when they meet him in the town, but the betterclass of Whigs hold altogether aloof from him, regarding hiselevation, at the expense of his wife's kinsman, to be disgraceful, although of course they have no idea of the evil plot by which hebrought about my ruin. There is great pity expressed for his wife, who has not once stirred beyond the grounds at Lynnwood since hetook her there, and who is, they say, a shadow of her former self. Ciceley, he hears, is well. That cub of a son is in London, andthere are reports that he is very wild, and puts his father to muchcost. As to the man himself, they say he is surrounded by thelowest knaves, and it is rumoured that he has taken to drink forwant of better company. It is some comfort to me to think that, although the villain has my estates, he is getting no enjoyment outof them. 

"However, I hope some day to have a reckoning with him. The Stuartsmust come to their own, sooner or later. Until then I am content torest quietly here in Sweden. "

Chapter 8: The Passage of the Dwina. 

A few hours after Charlie's arrival home, Major Jervoise and Harrycame round to the house. 

"I congratulate you, Jervoise, on your new rank, " Sir Marmadukesaid heartily, as he entered; "and you, too, Harry. It has been agreat comfort to me, to know that you and Charlie have beentogether always. At present you have the advantage of him in looks. My lad has no more strength than a girl, not half the strength, indeed, of many of these sturdy Swedish maidens. "

"Yes, Charlie has had a bad bout of it, Carstairs, " Major Jervoisesaid cheerfully; "but he has picked up wonderfully in the last tendays, and, in as many more, I shall look to see him at work again. I only wish that you could have been with us, old friend. "

"It is of no use wishing, Jervoise. We have heard enough here, ofwhat the troops have been suffering through the winter, for me toknow that, if I had had my wish and gone with you, my bones wouldnow be lying somewhere under the soil of Livonia. "

"Yes, it was a hard time, " Major Jervoise agreed, "but we all gotthrough it well, thanks principally to our turning to at sports ofall kinds. These kept the men in health, and prevented them frommoping. The king was struck with the condition of our company, andhe has ordered that, in future, all the Swedish troops shall takepart in such games and amusements when in winter quarters. Ofcourse, Charlie has told you we are going to have a regimententirely composed of Scots and Englishmen. I put the Scots first, since they will be by far the most numerous. There are alwaysplenty of active spirits, who find but small opening for theirenergy at home, and are ready to take foreign service whenever thechance opens. Besides, there are always feuds there. In the olddays, it was chief against chief. Now it is religion againstreligion; and now, as then, there are numbers of young fellows gladto exchange the troubles at home for service abroad. There havebeen quite a crowd of men round our quarters, for, directly thenews spread that the company was landing, our countrymen flockedround, each eager to learn how many vacancies there were in theranks, and whether we would receive recruits. Their joy was extremewhen it became known that Jamieson had authority to raise a wholeregiment. I doubt not that many of the poor fellows are in greatstraits. "

"That I can tell you they are, " Sir Marmaduke broke in. "We havebeen doing what we can for them, for it was grievous that so manymen should be wandering, without means or employment, in a strangecountry. But the number was too great for our money to go far amongthem, and I know that many of them are destitute and well-nighstarving. We had hoped to ship some of them back to Scotland, andhave been treating with the captain of a vessel sailing, in two orthree days, to carry them home. "

"It is unfortunate, but they have none to blame but themselves. They should have waited until an invitation for foreigners toenlist was issued by the Swedish government, or until gentlemen ofbirth raised companies and regiments for service here. However, weare the gainers, for I see that we shall not have to wait here manyweeks. Already, as far as I can judge from what I hear, there mustbe well-nigh four hundred men here, all eager to serve. 

"We will send the news by the next ship that sails, both toScotland and to our own country, that men, active and fit forservice, can be received into a regiment, specially formed ofEnglish-speaking soldiers. I will warrant that, when it is known inthe Fells that I am a major in the regiment, and that your son andmine are lieutenants, we shall have two or three score of stoutyoung fellows coming over. "

The next day, indeed, nearly four hundred men were enlisted intothe service, and were divided into eight companies. Each of these, when complete, was to be two hundred strong. Six Scottish officerswere transferred, from Swedish regiments, to fill up the list ofcaptains, and commissions were given to several gentlemen of familyas lieutenants and ensigns. Most of these, however, were held over, as the colonel wrote to many gentlemen of his acquaintance inScotland, offering them commissions if they would raise and bringover men. Major Jervoise did the same to half a dozen youngJacobite gentlemen in the north of England, and so successful werethe appeals that, within two months of the return of the company toGottenburg, the regiment had been raised to its full strength. 

A fortnight was spent in drilling the last batch of recruits, frommorning till night, so that they should be able to take theirplaces in the ranks; and then, with drums beating and coloursflying, the corps embarked at Gottenburg, and sailed to join thearmy. 

They arrived at Revel in the beginning of May. The port was full ofships, for twelve thousand men had embarked, at Stockholm and otherports, to reinforce the army and enable the king to take the fieldin force; and, by the end of the month, the greater portion of theforce was concentrated at Dorpt. 

Charlie had long since regained his full strength. As soon as hewas fit for duty, he had rejoined, and had been engaged, early andlate, in the work of drilling the recruits, and in the generalorganization of the regiment. He and Harry, however, found time totake part in any amusement that was going on. They were madewelcome in the houses of the principal merchants and otherresidents of Gottenburg, and much enjoyed their stay in the town, in spite of their longing to be back in time to take part in theearly operations of the campaign. 

When they sailed into the port of Revel, they found that thecampaign had but just commenced, and they marched with all haste tojoin the force with which the king was advancing against theSaxons, who were still besieging Riga. Their army was commanded byMarshal Steinau, and was posted on the other side of the riverDwina, a broad stream. Charles the Twelfth had ridden up to ColonelJamieson's regiment upon its arrival, and expressed warmgratification at its appearance, when it was paraded for hisinspection. 

"You have done well, indeed, colonel, " he said. "I had hardly hopedyou could have collected so fine a body of men in so short a time. "

At his request, the officers were brought up and introduced. Hespoke a few words to those he had known before, saying to Charlie:

"I am glad to see you back again, lieutenant. You have quiterecovered from that crack on your crown, I hope. But I need notask, your looks speak for themselves. You have just got back intime to pay my enemies back for it. "

The prospect was not a cheerful one, when the Swedes arrived on thebanks of the Dwina. The Saxons were somewhat superior in force, andit would be a desperate enterprise to cross the river, in the teethof their cannon and musketry. Already the king had caused a numberof large flat boats to be constructed. The sides were made veryhigh, so as to completely cover the troops from musketry, and werehinged so as to let down and act as gangways, and facilitate alanding. 

Charlie was standing on the bank, looking at the movements of theSaxon troops across the river, and wondering how the passage was tobe effected, when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking round, he saw it was the king, who, as was his custom, was moving about onfoot, unattended by any of his officers. 

"Wondering how we are to get across, lieutenant?"

"That is just what I was thinking over, your majesty. "

"We want another snowstorm, as we had at Narva, " the king said. "The wind is blowing the right way, but there is no chance of suchanother stroke of luck, at this time of year. "

"No, sir; but I was thinking that one might make an artificialfog. "

"How do you mean?" the king asked quickly. 

"Your majesty has great stacks of straw here, collected for foragefor the cattle. No doubt a good deal of it is damp, or if not, itcould be easily wetted. If we were to build great piles of it, allalong on the banks here, and set it alight so as to burn veryslowly, but to give out a great deal of smoke, this light windwould blow it across the river into the faces of the Saxons, andcompletely cover our movements. "

"You are right!" the king exclaimed. "Nothing could be better. Wewill make a smoke that will blind and half smother them;" and hehurried away. 

An hour later, orders were sent out to all the regiments that, assoon as it became dusk, the men should assemble at the great foragestores for fatigue duty. As soon as they did so, they were orderedto pull down the stacks, and to carry the straw to the bank of theriver, and there pile it in heavy masses, twenty yards apart. Thewhole was to be damped, with the exception of only a small quantityon the windward side of the heaps, which was to be used forstarting the fire. 

In two hours, the work was completed. The men were then ordered toreturn to their camps, have their suppers, and lie down at once. Then they were to form up, half an hour before daybreak, inreadiness to take their places in the boats, and were then to liedown, in order, until the word was given to move forward. 

This was done, and just as the daylight appeared the heaps of strawwere lighted, and dense volumes of smoke rolled across the river, entirely obscuring the opposite shore from view. The Saxons, enveloped in the smoke, were unable to understand its meaning. Those on the watch had seen no sign of troops on the bank, beforethe smoke began to roll across the water, and the general wasuncertain whether a great fire had broken out in the forage storesof the Swedes, or whether the fire had been purposely raised, either to cover the movements of the army and enable them to marchaway and cross at some undefended point, or whether to cover theirpassage. 

The Swedish regiments, which were the first to cross, took theirplaces at once in the boats, the king himself accompanying them. Ina quarter of an hour the opposite bank was gained. Marshal Steinau, an able general, had called the Saxons under arms, and was marchingtowards the river, when the wind, freshening, lifted the thick veilof smoke, and he saw that the Swedes had already gained the bank ofthe river, and at once hurled his cavalry against them. 

The Swedish formation was not complete and, for a moment, they weredriven back in disorder, and forced into the river. The water wasshallow, and the king, going about among them, quickly restoredorder and discipline, and, charging in solid formation, they drovethe cavalry back and advanced across the plain. Steinau recalledhis troops and posted them in a strong position, one flank beingcovered by a marsh and the other by a wood. He had time to effecthis arrangements, as Charles was compelled to wait until the wholeof his troops were across. As soon as they were so, he led themagainst the enemy. 

The battle was a severe one, for the Swedes were unprovided withartillery, and the Saxons, with the advantages of position and apowerful artillery, fought steadily. Three times Marshal Steinauled his cavalry in desperate charges, and each time almostpenetrated to the point where Charles was directing the movementsof his troops; but, at last, he was struck from his horse by a blowfrom the butt end of a musket; and his cuirassiers, withdifficulty, carried him from the field. As soon as his fall becameknown, disorder spread among the ranks of the Saxons. Someregiments gave way, and, the Swedes rushing forward with loudshouts, the whole army was speedily in full flight. 

This victory laid the whole of Courland at the mercy of the Swedes, all the towns opening their gates at their approach. 

They were now on the confines of Poland, and the king, brave torashness as he was, hesitated to attack a nation so powerful. Poland, at that time, was a country a little larger than France, though with a somewhat smaller population, but in this respectexceeding Sweden. With the Poles themselves he had no quarrel, forthey had taken no part in the struggle, which had been carried onsolely by their king, with his Saxon troops. 

The authority of the kings of Poland was much smaller than that ofother European monarchs. The office was not a hereditary one; theking being elected at a diet, composed of the whole of the noblesof the country, the nobility embracing practically every free man;and, as it was necessary, according to the constitution of thecountry, that the vote should be unanimous, the difficulties in theway of election were very great, and civil wars of constantoccurrence. 

Charles was determined that he would drive Augustus, who was theauthor of the league against him, from the throne; but he desiredto do this by means of the Poles themselves, rather than to unitethe whole nation against him by invading the country. Poland wasdivided into two parts, the larger of which was Poland proper, which could at once place thirty thousand men in the field. Theother was Lithuania, with an army of twelve thousand. These forceswere entirely independent of each other. The troops were for themost part cavalry, and the small force, permanently kept up, wascomposed almost entirely of horsemen. They rarely drew pay, andsubsisted entirely on plunder, being as formidable to their ownpeople as to an enemy. 

Lithuania, on whose borders the king had taken post with his army, was, as usual, harassed by two factions, that of the Prince Sapiehaand the Prince of Oginski, between whom a civil war was going on. 

The King of Sweden took the part of the former, and, furnishing himwith assistance, speedily enabled him to overcome the Oginskiparty, who received but slight aid from the Saxons. Oginski'sforces were speedily dispersed, and roamed about the country inscattered parties, subsisting on pillage, thereby exciting amongthe people a lively feeling of hatred against the King of Poland, who was regarded as the author of the misfortunes that had befallenthe country. 

From the day when Charlie's suggestion, of burning damp straw toconceal the passage of the river, had been attended with suchsuccess, the king had held him in high favour. There was but a fewyears' difference between their ages, and the suggestion, sopromptly made, seemed to show the king that the young Englishmanwas a kindred spirit, and he frequently requested him to accompanyhim in his rides, and chatted familiarly with him. 

"I hate this inactive life, " he said one day, "and would, athousand times, rather be fighting the Russians than setting thePoles by the ears; but I dare not move against them, for, wereAugustus of Saxony left alone, he would ere long set all Polandagainst me. At present, the Poles refuse to allow him to bring inreinforcements from his own country; but if he cannot get men hecan get gold, and with gold he can buy over his chief opponents, and regain his power. If it costs me a year's delay, I must waituntil he is forced to fly the kingdom, and I can place on thethrone someone who will owe his election entirely to me, and inwhose good faith I can be secure. 

"That done, I can turn my attention to Russia, which, by allaccounts, daily becomes more formidable. Narva is besieged by them, and will ere long fall; but I can retake Narva when once I candepend upon the neutrality of the Poles. Would I were king ofPoland as well as of Sweden. With eighty thousand Polish horse, andmy own Swedish infantry, I could conquer Europe if I wished to doso. 

"I know that you are as fond of adventure as I am, and I amthinking of sending you with an envoy I am despatching to Warsaw. 

"You know that the Poles are adverse to business of all kinds. Thepoorest noble, who can scarcely pay for the cloak he wears, and whois ready enough to sell his vote and his sword to the highestbidder, will turn up his nose at honest trade; and the consequenceis, as there is no class between the noble and the peasant, thetrade of the country is wholly in the hands of Jews and foreigners, among the latter being, I hear, many Scotchmen, who, while theymake excellent soldiers, are also keen traders. This class musthave considerable power, in fact, although it be exercised quietly. The Jews are, of course, money lenders as well as traders. Largenumbers of these petty nobles must be in their debt, either formoney lent or goods supplied. 

"My agent goes specially charged to deal with the archbishop, whois quite open to sell his services to me, although he poses as oneof the strongest adherents of the Saxons. With him, it is not aquestion so much of money, as of power. Being a wise man, he seesthat Augustus can never retain his position, in the face of theenmity of the great body of the Poles, and of my hostility. But, while my agent deals with him and such nobles as he indicates asbeing likely to take my part against Augustus, you could ascertainthe feeling of the trading class, and endeavour to induce them, notonly to favour me, but to exert all the influence they possess onmy behalf. As there are many Scotch merchants in the city, youcould begin by making yourself known to them, taking with youletters of introduction from your colonel, and any other Scotchgentleman whom you may find to have acquaintanceship, if not withthe men themselves, with their families in Scotland. I do not, ofcourse, say that the mission will be without danger, but that will, I know, be an advantage in your eyes. What do you think of theproposal?"

"I do not know, sire, " Charlie said doubtfully. "I have noexperience whatever in matters of that kind. "

"This will be a good opportunity for you to serve anapprenticeship, " the king said decidedly. "There is no chance ofanything being done here, for months, and as you will have noopportunity of using your sword, you cannot be better employed thanin polishing up your wits. I will speak to Colonel Jamieson aboutit this evening. Count Piper will give you full instructions, andwill obtain for you, from some of our friends, lists of the namesof the men who would be likely to be most useful to us. You willplease to remember that the brain does a great deal more than thesword, in enabling a man to rise above his fellows. You are a braveyoung officer, but I have many a score of brave young officers, andit was your quick wit, in suggesting the strategy by which wecrossed the Dwina without loss, that has marked you out from amongothers, and made me see that you are fit for something better thangetting your throat cut. "

The king then changed the subject with his usual abruptness, anddismissed Charlie, at the end of his ride, without any furtherallusion to the subject. The young fellow, however, knew enough ofthe king's headstrong disposition to be aware that the matter wassettled, and that he could not, without incurring the king'sserious displeasure, decline to accept the commission. He walkedback, with a serious face, to the hut that the officers of thecompany occupied, and asked Harry Jervoise to come out to him. 

"What is it, Charlie?" his friend said. "Has his gracious majestybeen blowing you up, or has your horse broken its knees?"

"A much worse thing than either, Harry. The king appears to havetaken into his head that I am cut out for a diplomatist;" and hethen repeated to his friend the conversation the king had had withhim. 

Harry burst into a shout of laughter. 

"Don't be angry, Charlie, but I cannot help it. The idea of yourgoing, in disguise, I suppose, and trying to talk over the Jewishclothiers and cannie Scotch traders, is one of the funniest thingsI ever heard. And do you think the king was really in earnest?"

"The king is always in earnest, " Charlie said in a vexed tone;"and, when he once takes a thing into his head, there is nogainsaying him. "

"That is true enough, Charlie, " Harry said, becoming serious. "Well, I have no doubt you will do it just as well as another, andafter all, there will be some fun in it, and you will be in a bigcity, and likely to have a deal more excitement than will fall toour lot here. "

"I don't think it will be at all the sort of excitement I shouldcare for, Harry. However, my hope is, that the colonel will be ableto dissuade him from the idea. "

"Well, I don't know that I should wish that if I were in yourplace, Charlie. Undoubtedly, it is an honour being chosen for sucha mission, and it is possible you may get a great deal of creditfor it, as the king is always ready to push forward those who dogood service. Look how much he thinks of you, because you made thatsuggestion about getting up a smoke to cover our passage. "

"I wish I had never made it, " Charlie said heartily. 

"Well, in that case, Charlie, it is likely enough we should not betalking together here, for our loss in crossing the river underfire would have been terrible. "

"Well, perhaps it is as well as it is, " Charlie agreed. "But I didnot want to attract his attention. I was very happy as I was, withyou all. As for my suggestion about the straw, anyone might havethought of it. I should never have given the matter anothermoment's consideration, and I should be much better pleased if theking had not done so, either, instead of telling the colonel aboutit, and the colonel speaking to the officers, and such a ridiculousfuss being made about nothing. "

"My dear Charlie, " Harry said seriously, "you seem to be forgettingthat we all came out here, together, to make our fortune, or at anyrate to do as well as we could till the Stuarts come to the throneagain, and our fathers regain their estates, a matter concerningwhich, let me tell you, I do not feel by any means so certain as Idid in the old days. Then, you know, all our friends were of ourway of thinking, and the faith that the Stuarts would return waslike a matter of religion, which it was heresy to doubt for aninstant. Well, you see, in the year that we have been out hereone's eyes have got opened a bit, and I don't feel by any meanssanguine that the Stuarts will ever come to the throne of Englandagain, or that our fathers will recover their estates. 

"You have seen here what good soldiers can do, and how powerlessmen possessing but little discipline, though perhaps as brave asthemselves, are against them. William of Orange has got goodsoldiers. His Dutch troops are probably quite as good as our bestSwedish regiments. They have had plenty of fighting in Ireland andelsewhere, and I doubt whether the Jacobite gentlemen, howevernumerous, but without training or discipline, could any more makehead against them than the masses of Muscovites could against theSwedish battalions at Narva. All this means that it is necessarythat we should, if possible, carve out a fortune here. So far, Icertainly have no reason to grumble. On the contrary, I have hadgreat luck. I am a lieutenant at seventeen, and, if I am not shotor carried off by fever, I may, suppose the war goes on and thearmy is not reduced, be a colonel at the age of forty. 

"Now you, on the other hand, have, by that happy suggestion ofyours, attracted the notice of the king, and he is pleased tonominate you to a mission in which there is a chance of yourdistinguishing yourself in another way, and of being employed inother and more important business. All this will place you muchfarther on the road towards making a fortune, than marching andfighting with your company would be likely to do in the course oftwenty years, and I think it would be foolish in the extreme foryou to exhibit any disinclination to undertake the duty. "

"I suppose you are right, Harry, and I am much obliged to you foryour advice, which certainly puts the matter in a light in which Ihad not before seen it. If I thought that I could do it well, Ishould not so much mind, for, as you say, there will be some fun tobe got out of it, and some excitement, and there seems littlechance of doing anything here for a long time. But what am I to sayto the fellows? How can I argue with them? Besides, I don't talkPolish. "

"I don't suppose there are ten men in the army who do so, probablynot five. As to what to say, Count Piper will no doubt give youfull instructions as to the line you are to take, the arguments youare to use, and the inducements you are to hold out. That is sureto be all right. "

"Well, do not say anything about it, Harry, when you get back. Istill hope the colonel will dissuade the king. "

"Then you are singularly hopeful, Charlie, that is all I can say. You might persuade a brick wall to move out of your way, as easilyas induce the King of Sweden to give up a plan he has once formed. However, I will say nothing about it. "

At nine o'clock, an orderly came to the hut with a message that thecolonel wished to speak to Lieutenant Carstairs. Harry gave hisfriend a comical look, as the latter rose and buckled on his sword. 

"What is the joke, Harry?" his father asked, when Charlie had left. "Do you know what the colonel can want him for, at this time of theevening? It is not his turn for duty. "

"I know, father; but I must not say. "

"The lad has not been getting into a scrape, I hope?"

"Nothing serious, I can assure you; but really, I must not sayanything until he comes back. "

Harry's positive assurance, as to the impossibility of changing theking's decision, had pretty well dispelled any hopes Charlie mightbefore have entertained, and he entered the colonel's room with agrave face. 

"You know why I have sent for you, Carstairs?"

"Yes, sir; I am afraid that I do. "

"Afraid? That is to say, you don't like it. "

"Yes, sir; I own that I don't like it. "

"Nor do I, lad, and I told his majesty so. I said you were tooyoung for so risky a business. The king scoffed at the idea. Hesaid, 'He is not much more than two years younger than I am, and ifI am old enough to command an army, he is old enough to carry outthis mission. We know that he is courageous. He is cool, sharp, andintelligent. Why do I choose him? Has he not saved me from the lossof about four or five thousand men, and probably a total defeat? Ayoung fellow who can do that, ought to be able to cope with Jewishtraders, and to throw dust in the eyes of the Poles. 

"I have chosen him for this service for two reasons. In the firstplace, because I know he will do it well, and even those whoconsider that I am rash and headstrong, admit that I have the knackof picking out good men. In the next place, I want to reward himfor the service he has done for us. I cannot, at his age, make acolonel of him, but I can give him a chance of distinguishinghimself in a service in which age does not count for so much, andCount Piper, knowing my wishes in the matter, will push himforward. Moreover, in such a mission as this, his youth will be anadvantage, for he is very much less likely to excite suspicion thanif he were an older man. '

"The king's manner did not admit of argument, and I had only towait and ask what were his commands. These were simply that you areto call upon his minister tomorrow, and that you would then receivefull instructions. 

"The king means well by you, lad, and on turning it over, I thinkbetter of the plan than I did before. I am convinced, at any rate, that you will do credit to the king's choice. "

"I will do my best, sir, " Charlie said. "At present, it all seemsso vague to me that I can form no idea whatever as to what it willbe like. I am sure that the king's intentions are, at any rate, kind. I am glad to hear you say that, on consideration, you thinkbetter of the plan. Then I may mention the matter to MajorJervoise?"

"Certainly, Carstairs, and to his son, but it must go no farther. Ishall put your name in orders, as relieved from duty, and shallmention that you have been despatched on service, which might meananything. Come and see me tomorrow, lad, after you have receivedCount Piper's instructions. As the king reminded me, there are manyScotchmen at Warsaw, and it is likely that some of them passedthrough Sweden on the way to establish themselves there, and I mayvery well have made their acquaintance at Gottenburg or Stockholm. 

"Once established in the house of one of my countrymen, yourposition would be fairly safe and not altogether unpleasant, andyou would be certainly far better off than a Swede would be engagedon this mission. The Swedes are, of course, regarded by the Polesas enemies, but, as there is no feeling against Englishmen orScotchmen, you might pass about unnoticed as one of the family of aScottish trader there, or as his assistant. "

"I don't fear its being unpleasant in the least, colonel. Nor do Ithink anything one way or the other about my safety. I only fearthat I shall not be able to carry out properly the missionintrusted to me. "

"You will do your best, lad, and that is all that can be expected. You have not solicited the post, and as it is none of yourchoosing, your failure would be the fault of those who have sentyou, and not of yourself; but in a matter of this kind there is nosuch thing as complete failure. When you have to deal with one manyou may succeed or you may fail in endeavouring to induce him toact in a certain manner, but when you have to deal with aconsiderable number of men, some will be willing to accept yourproposals, some will not, and the question of success will probablydepend upon outside influences and circumstances over which youhave no control whatever. I have no fear that it will be a failure. If our party in Poland triumph, or if our army here advances, or ifAugustus, finding his position hopeless, leaves the country, thegood people of Warsaw will join their voices to those of themajority. If matters go the other way, you may be sure that theywill not risk imprisonment, confiscation, and perhaps death, bygetting up a revolt on their own account. The king will beperfectly aware of this, and will not expect impossibilities, andthere is really no occasion whatever for you to worry yourself onthat ground. "

Upon calling upon Count Piper the next morning, Charlie found that, as the colonel had told him, his mission was a general one. 

"It will be your duty, " the minister said, "to have interviews withas many of the foreign traders and Jews in Warsaw as you can, onlygoing to those to whom you have some sort of introduction from thepersons you may first meet, or who are, as far as you can learnfrom the report of others, ill disposed towards the Saxon party. Here is a letter, stating to all whom it may concern, that you arein the confidence of the King of Sweden, and are authorized torepresent him. 

"In the first place, you can point out to those you see that, should the present situation continue, it will bring grievous evilsupon Poland. Proclamations have already been spread broadcast overthe country, saying that the king has no quarrel with the people ofPoland, but, as their sovereign has, without the slightestprovocation, embarked on a war, he must fight against him and hisSaxon troops, until they are driven from the country. This you willrepeat, and will urge that it will be infinitely better that Polandherself should cast out the man who has embroiled her with Sweden, than that the country should be the scene of a long and sanguinarystruggle, in which large districts will necessarily be laid waste, all trade be arrested, and grievous suffering inflicted upon thepeople at large. 

"You can say that King Charles has already received promises ofsupport from a large number of nobles, and is most desirous thatthe people of the large towns, and especially of the capital, should use their influence in his favour. That he has himself noambition, and no end to serve save to obtain peace and tranquillityfor his country, and that it will be free for the people of Polandto elect their own monarch, when once Augustus of Saxony hasdisappeared from the scene. 

"In this sealed packet you will find a list of influentialcitizens. It has been furnished me by one well acquainted with theplace. The Jews are to be assured that, in case of a friendlymonarch being placed on the throne, Charles will make a treaty withhim, insuring freedom of commerce to the two countries, and willalso use his friendly endeavours to obtain, from the king and Diet, an enlargement of the privileges that the Jews enjoy. To theforeign merchants you will hold the same language, somewhataltered, to suit their condition and wants. 

"You are not asking them to organize any public movement, the timehas not yet come for that; but simply to throw the weight of theirexample and influence against the party of the Saxons. Of courseour friends in Warsaw have been doing their best to bring roundpublic opinion in the capital to this direction, but the country isso torn by perpetual intrigues, that the trading classes hold aloofaltogether from quarrels in which they have no personal interest, and are slow to believe that they can be seriously affected by anychanges which will take place. 

"Our envoy will start tomorrow morning. His mission is an open one. He goes to lay certain complaints, to propose an exchange ofprisoners, and to open negotiations for peace. All these are butpretences. His real object is to enter into personal communicationwith two or three powerful personages, well disposed towards us. 

"Come again to me this evening, when you have thought the matterover. I shall then be glad to hear any suggestion you may like tomake. "

"There is one thing, sir, that I should like to ask you. It willevidently be of great advantage to me, if I can obtain privateletters of introduction to Scotch traders in the city. This Icannot do, unless by mentioning the fact that I am bound forWarsaw. Have I your permission to do so, or is it to be kept aclose secret?"

"No. I see no objection to your naming it to anyone you canimplicitly trust, and who may, as you think, be able to give yousuch introductions, but you must impress upon them that the mattermust be kept a secret. Doubtless the Saxons have in their paypeople in our camp, just as we have in theirs, and were word ofyour going sent, you would find yourself watched, and perhapsarrested. We should, of course wish you to be zealous in yourmission, but I would say, do not be over anxious. We are not tryingto get up a revolution in Warsaw, but seeking to ensure that thefeeling in the city should be in our favour; and this, we think, may be brought about, to some extent, by such assurances as you cangive of the king's friendship, and by such expressions of a beliefin the justice of our cause, and in the advantages there would bein getting rid of this foreign prince, as might be said openly byone trader to another, when men meet in their exchanges or upon thestreet. So that the ball is once set rolling, it may be trusted tokeep in motion, and there can be little doubt that such expressionsof feeling, among the mercantile community of the capital, willhave some effect even upon nobles who pretend to despise trade, butwho are not unfrequently in debt to traders, and who hold theirviews in a certain respect. "

"Thank you, sir. At what time shall I come this evening?"

"At eight o'clock. By that time, I may have thought out fartherdetails for your guidance. "

Chapter 9: In Warsaw. 

Upon leaving the quarters of Count Piper, Charlie returned to thecamp, and, after discussing the matter with Major Jervoise, proceeded with him to the colonel's hut. 

"Well, you look brighter this morning, Carstairs. Are you betterpleased, now you have thought the matter over?"

"Yes, sir. What you said last night has been quite confirmed byCount Piper, and the matter does not really seem so difficult. I ammerely, as a foreigner in the employment of the King of Sweden, totalk with foreigners in Warsaw, to assure them that the king issincere in his desire to avoid war with Poland, and will gladlymake a lasting peace between the two countries, to urge upon themto show themselves favourable to his project for securing such apeace, by forcing Augustus to resign the crown, and to use whatinfluence they can in that direction, both upon their fellowtraders and upon the Poles. "

"There is nothing very difficult about that, " Colonel Jamieson saidcheerfully, "as it happens to be quite true; and there can be noreal question as to the true interest of Poland, and especially ofthe trading classes in the great towns, from whom heavycontributions towards the expenses of war are always exacted bytheir own rulers, and who have to pay a ruinous ransom in case oftheir city being captured by the enemy. The traders of Warsaw willneed no reminder of such well-known facts, and will be only tooglad to be assured that, unless as a last resource, our king has nointention of making war upon Poland, and they will certainly beinclined to bestir themselves to avert such a possibility. Youhave, I suppose, a list of names of the people with whom you hadbest put yourself into communication?"

"Yes, sir. Here is a list. There are, I see, ten Scotchmen, fifteenFrenchmen, and about as many Jews. "

"I know nothing of the Frenchmen, and less of the Jews, " thecolonel said, taking the list; "but I ought to know some of theScotchmen. They will hail from Dundee and Glasgow, and, it may be, Dumfries. "

He ran his eye down the list. 

"Aha! Here is one, and we need go no further. Allan Ramsay; we werelads together at the High School of Glasgow, and were classmates atthe College. His father was a member of the city council, and wasone of the leading traders in the city. Allan was a wild lad, as Iwas myself, and many a scrape did we get into together, and hadmany a skirmish with the watch. Allan had two or three halfbrothers, men from ten to twenty years older than himself, and, ayear or two after I came out to Sweden and entered the army as anensign, who should I meet in the streets of Gottenburg, but AllanRamsay. 

"We were delighted to see each other, and he stopped with me nearlya week. He had, after leaving the College, gone into his father'sbusiness, but when the old man died he could not get on with hishalf brothers, who were dour men, and had little patience withAllan's restlessness and love of pleasure. So, after a finalquarrel, they had given him so much money for his share of thebusiness, and a letter of introduction to a trader in Poland, whohad written to them saying that he wanted a partner with somecapital; and Allan was willing enough to try the life in a strangecountry, for he was a shrewd fellow, with all his love of fun. 

"Five years afterwards, he came through Gottenburg again. I did notsee him, for my regiment was at Stockholm at the time, but he wroteme a letter saying that he had been in Scotland to marry and bringback one Janet Black, the daughter of a mercer, whom I rememberwell enough as an old flame of his. 

"He reported that he was doing well, and that the Poles were notbad fellows to live among, though less punctual in their paymentsthan might be wished. He said he did not suppose that, as a Swedishofficer, I should ever be in Poland, unless Sweden produced anotherGustavus Adolphus; but if I was, he would be delighted to welcomeme, and that anyone I asked in Warsaw would direct me to his shop. I wonder that I did not think of him before; but that is ten yearsago, and it had altogether passed out of my mind, till I saw hisname here. Unless he is greatly changed, you may be sure of ahearty welcome from Allan Ramsay, for my sake. We need not troubleabout the other names. He will know all about them, and will beable to put you in the way of getting at them. "

This was a great relief to Charlie, who felt that it would be animmense advantage to have the house of someone, from whom he mightexpect a welcome, to go to on his arrival in Warsaw; and he wasable, during the day, to talk over the prospects of the journey, with Harry Jervoise, with a real sense of interest and excitementin his mission. 

In the evening, he again went to the house of the minister. Thelatter, a close observer of men, saw at once that the young officerwas in much better spirits than he had been in the morning. 

"Have you obtained information respecting any of the persons whosenames I gave you?" he asked. 

"Yes, sir. It seems that, most fortunately, the trader named AllanRamsay is an old friend of Colonel Jamieson, and the colonel hasgiven me a letter to him which will, he assures me, procure me ahearty welcome. "

"And have you thought anything more of your best plan of action?"

"Yes, sir. It seems to me that I had better dress myself in anattire such as might be worn by a young Scotchman, journeyingthrough the country to place himself with a relation established inbusiness. I could ride behind the royal envoy, as if I had receivedpermission to journey under the protection of his escort, and coulddrop behind a few miles from the capital, and make my way in alone. I could not, of course, inquire for Allan Ramsay in Polish, but Iknow enough French to ask for him at any shop having a French nameover it, if I did not happen to light upon one kept by aScotchman. "

"Yes, that plan will do very well. But you will have no difficultyin finding the house, as I have arranged that a man shall accompanyyou as servant. He is a Lithuanian, and is the grandson of asoldier of Gustavus Adolphus, who married and settled there. Hisgrandfather kept up his connection with his native country, and theyoung fellow speaks Swedish fairly, and, of course, Polish. For thelast three weeks I have employed him in various matters, and findhim shrewd and, I believe, faithful. Such a fellow would be ofgreat use to you, and could, if necessary, act as your interpreterin any interviews you may have with Polish Jews, although you willfind that most of these men speak other languages besides theirown. "

He touched a bell, and on a servant entering, said:

"Bring Stanislas Bistron here. "

An active, well-built young fellow of some four and twenty years ofage entered the room a minute later. His fair hair and blue eyesshowed that he took after his Swedish ancestors. 

"This is the gentleman, Stanislas, that you are to accompany toWarsaw, as his servant. You will obey him, in all respects, as ifhe had hired you in his service, and, should he arrive at anysituation of danger or difficulty, I trust that you will not befound wanting. "

The man had looked closely at Charlie. 

"I will do my best, sir, and I doubt not that the gentleman'sservice will suit me. He has the look of one who would be kind tohis servants. "

"Wait at the outside door, " the count said. "Captain Carstairs willspeak to you as he leaves. "

The man bowed and went out, and the count then said, with a smileat the look of surprise on Charlie's face:

"It was not a slip of the tongue. Here is a commission, signed byhis majesty, appointing you to the rank of captain, as he has longconsidered that you had well won your promotion, by your suggestionwhich enabled him to cross the Dwina without loss; but he thoughtthere would be a difficulty in placing you over the heads of somany officers senior to yourself. This inconvenience no longerexists, now that you have what may be considered a staffappointment, and the rank may, moreover, add to your weight andinfluence in your interviews with persons at Warsaw. 

"You will need money. Here is a purse for your expenses. You maymeet with some of these men, especially among the Jewish traders, who may need a bribe. Bribery is common, from the highest to thelowest, in Poland. You will find, in this letter of instructions, that you are authorized to promise sums of money to men whoseassistance may be valuable. It is impossible to fix the sums. Thesemust depend upon the position of the men, and the value of theirservices; and I can only say do not be lavish, but at the same timedo not hesitate to promise a sum that will secure the services ofuseful men. Your best plan will be to find out, if you are able, what each man expects, and to make what abatement you can. The onlylimit placed is that you must not commit the royal treasury to atotal sum exceeding ten thousand crowns. You will, I hope, find asmaller sum suffice. 

"The envoy will start at six tomorrow morning. I do not know thatthere are any further instructions to give you. You will finddetails, in these written instructions, as to the manner in whichyou are to communicate, from time to time, the result of yourmission, and you will receive orders when to return. "

Outside the house, Charlie saw his new servant waiting him. 

"You have a horse, Stanislas?"

"Yes, sir, I have been provided with one. I have also a brace ofpistols, and a sword. "

"I hope you will not have to use them, but in these disturbed timesthey are necessaries. "

"I have better clothes than these, sir, if you wish me to lookgay. "

"By no means, " Charlie replied. "I am going in the character of ayoung Scotchman, on my way to join a relative in business inWarsaw, and you accompany me in the capacity of guide and servant. As I should not be in a position to pay high wages, the more humbleyour appearance, the better. We start at six in the morning. Theenvoy will leave the royal quarters at that hour, and we travelwith his escort. Join me a quarter of an hour before that at myhut. You had better accompany me there now, so that you may knowthe spot. I shall not require your services before we start, as mysoldier servant will saddle my horse, and have all in readiness. "

Harry came to the door of the hut, as he saw his friendapproaching. 

"Well, Charlie, is all satisfactorily settled?

"Yes, quite satisfactorily, I think. That is my new servant. CountPiper has appointed him. He speaks Swedish and Polish. "

"That will be a great comfort to you, Charlie. Jock Armstrong, whohas not picked up ten words of Swedish since he joined, would havebeen worse than useless. "

"I have another piece of news, Harry, that I am in one way veryglad of, and in another sorry for. I had always hoped that weshould keep together, and that, just as we joined together, andwere made lieutenants at the same time, it would always be so. "

"You have got another step?" Harry exclaimed. "I am heartily gladof it. I thought very likely you might get it. Indeed, I wassurprised that you did not get it, at once, after our fight withthe Saxons. I am sure you deserved it, if ever a fellow did, considering what it saved us all. "

"Of course it is for that, " Charlie replied, "though I think it isvery absurd. Count Piper said the king would have given it to me atonce, only it would have taken me over the heads of so many menolder than myself; but he considered that, now I am going on a sortof staff work, away from the regiment, I could be promoted, and hethought, too, that the title of Captain would assist me in mymission. "

"Of course it will, " Harry said, warmly. "That is just what I toldyou, you know. This business was not quite to your liking, but itwas a good long step towards making your fortune. Don't you thinkthat I shall be jealous of your going ahead, for I am not in theleast. I am sorry you are going away, for I shall miss youterribly; but I am quite content to be with the regiment, and towork my way up gradually. As it is, I am senior lieutenant in theregiment, and the first battle may give me my company; though Idon't expect it, for I do not think my father would wish thecolonel to give me the step, if it occurred, for all the otherlieutenants are older than we are, though they are junior to us inthe regiment, and I feel sure that he would prefer me to remain foranother two or three years as lieutenant. In fact, he said as muchto me, a short time ago. Still, when I am fit to command a company, there is no doubt I shall get it. 

"Of course, I am sorry you are going, very sorry, Charlie; but, even if you go altogether on to the staff, I shall see a good dealof you, for, as the king is always with the army, this must be yourheadquarters still. 

"I wonder how long you will be away. I like the look of the fellowwho is going with you. It was an honest, open sort of face, as faras I saw it. At any rate, it is a comfort to think that you won'tbe absolutely alone, especially among people whose language youdon't know. Mind, if you are sending letters to Count Piper, besure you send a few lines, by the same messenger, to let me knowhow you are going on. Not long letters, you know; I expect you willhave your hands pretty well full; but just enough to give me anidea of how you are, and what you are doing. "

The following morning, Charlie started. He had said goodbye to noone, except the colonel, Major Jervoise, and Harry, as it was notconsidered advisable that his departure with the envoy for Warsawshould be talked about. He only joined the party, indeed, afterthey had ridden out of the camp. He had laid aside his uniform, andwas dressed in clothes which Major Jervoise had procured for him, from one of the last-joined recruits who had but just received hisuniform. The lieutenant commanding the escort of twenty troopersrode up to him, as he joined the party. 

"Baron Seckers informs me that he has given permission to a youngScotchman and his servant, travelling to Warsaw, to ride under hisprotection. Are you the person in question, sir?"

"It is all right, Lieutenant Eberstein, " Charlie said, with asmile. "Don't you recognize me?"

"Of course--Lieutenant Carstairs. I was at the hunt where you weretaken prisoner; but I did not expect to see you in this garb. "

"I am going on duty, " Charlie said, "and am dressed according toorders. Do not address me by my name. I am at present SandyAnderson, going to join a relation in Warsaw. "

"Ah, ah! Is that so? Going to put your head into the den of theLion Augustus. Well, I rather envy you, for it is likely, by allaccounts, to be dull work here for some time. It is hard to besitting idle, while the Russian guns are thundering round Narva. Now, I must join the baron again. Where would you ratherride--after us, or behind the escort?"

"Behind the escort. I think it will be more natural, and I can chatmore freely with my servant. He is a Lithuanian, but speaksSwedish, and I hope to get some information from him. "

The lieutenant rode on, and, as he passed the troopers, he toldthem that the two men behind had the baron's permission to ridewith them, in order that they might have protection from the bandsof pillagers who were roaming through the country. 

"Now, Stanislas, " Charlie said. "We can talk freely together. Doyou know Warsaw?"

"I have been there several times, sir, but I never stopped therelong. Still, I can find my way about the town. "

"When were you there last?"

"Some two months ago. It was just before I entered the Swedishservice. "

"And what do the people say about the war?"

"They are bitterly opposed to it. The king entered upon it withoutconsulting the diet, which was altogether contrary to theconstitution. It is true that the king may do so, in cases ofemergency, and obtain the sanction of the diet afterwards. Therewas no urgency here, and the king made his agreement with the czarand the king of Denmark without anyone knowing of it. He certainlyobtained a sort of sanction from the diet afterwards, but everyoneknows how these things are worked. He has a strong party, ofcourse, because it is the interest of a great many people to retainhim in power, as no one can say who would be chosen to succeed him. But among the people in general, the traders and the peasants, heis hated, and so are his Saxon soldiers. 

"Suppose he had gained a slice of Swedish territory. It would nothave benefited them; while, as it is, all sorts of misfortunes andtroubles have come upon the country, and none can say how muchgreater may ensue. 

"Poland is always split up into parties. They used to unite againstthe Turk, and they would unite again against the Swedes, if theircountry was invaded; but as long as King Charles keeps his armybeyond the frontier, they are too deeply engaged in their ownquarrels to think of anything else. "

"Then, even if I were known, in the city, to be in the Swedishservice, there would be little danger, Stanislas?"

"I do not say that, at all, " the man said gravely. "In the firstplace, Warsaw is held by Saxon soldiers, who would show you butscant mercy, were you known to be a Swedish officer; and, in thesecond place, the lower classes are ever ready to make tumults;and, if worked upon by the archbishop, or the nobles of the king'sparty, they would readily enough tear a stranger to pieces. 

"Going as you do as a Scotchman, there is, I hope, little danger, especially if you are received into a Scottish household. "

The journey passed without incident, until they were within a fewmiles of Warsaw, when Charlie, after formally thanking BaronSeckers for the protection his escort had afforded him, fell behindwith his servant. Several parties of armed men had been met with, but they knew better than to interfere with the little body ofSwedish cavalry; while, in the towns through which they passed, thebaron was respectfully received as the envoy of the dreaded King ofSweden. 

"Is there another gate to the city, on this side of the town, beside that by which the Swedes will enter? If so, it would be aswell to use it, so that there should seem to be no connectionbetween us and them, " said Charlie. 

There was another gate, and by this they rode into Warsaw, at thattime a city of far greater importance than it is at present. Thegate was unguarded, and they passed through without question. Thecitizens were talking excitedly in groups, evidently discussing thequestion of the arrival of the Swedish envoy, and the chances ofpeace; and no attention was paid to the travellers, whoseappearance denoted them to be persons of no importance. Richly-attired nobles, in costumes of almost oriental magnificence, galloped through the streets on splendid horses, scattering thegroups of citizens, and paying no attention whatever to the angrymurmurs that followed them. 

Charlie stopped at a small inn, and there the horses were put up. Stanislas made inquiries for the shop of Allan Ramsay, mentioningthat his employer was a relation of the Scottish merchant, and hadcome out to be with him, until he had learned the language. 

"The Scots know their business, " the landlord grumbled. "They andthe French and the Jews, together, have their hand in everyone'spocket. They buy the cattle and grain of the peasants, for whatthey choose to give for them, and send them out of the country, getting all the profits of the transaction; while, as to thenobles, there is scarce one who is not deep in their books. "

"Still, you could not do without them, " Stanislas said. "There mustbe somebody to buy and to sell, and as the nobles won't do it, andthe peasants can't, I don't see that the foreigners are to beblamed for coming in and taking the trade. "

"That is true enough, " the landlord admitted reluctantly. "Still, there is no doubt the country is kept poor, while, between them, these men gather up the harvest. "

"Better that than let it rot upon the ground, " Stanislas saidunconcernedly; and then, having obtained the name of the streetwhere several of the Scottish traders had places of business, heand Charlie started on foot. They were not long in finding the shopwith the sign of the merchant swinging over the door. 

"You had better wait outside, Stanislas, while I go in and see themaster. No; if he is not in the shop, his men will not understandme, so come in with me till you see that I have met him, and thengo back to the inn for the night. Whether I join you there willdepend upon the warmth of my welcome. "

Two or three young Poles were in the shop. Stanislas asked them forAllan Ramsay, and they replied that he was taking his evening mealupstairs, whereupon Charlie produced the letter from ColonelJamieson, and Stanislas requested one of them to take it up to themerchant. Three minutes later the inner door opened, and a tall manwith a ruddy face and blue eyes entered, holding the open letter inhis hand. Charlie took a step forward to meet him. 

"So you are Sandy Anderson, " he said heartily, with a merry twinklein his eye, "my connection, it seems, and the friend of my dearclassmate Jamieson? Come upstairs. Who is this Scotch-looking ladwith you?"

"He is my servant and interpreter. His grandfather was a Swede, andto him he owes his fair hair and complexion. He is a Lithuanian. Heis to be trusted, I hope, thoroughly. He was sent with me by--"

"Never mind names, " the Scotchman said hastily. "We will talk abouthim afterwards. Now come upstairs. Your letter has thrown me quiteinto a flutter. 

"Never say anything in English before those Poles, " he said, as heleft the shop; "the fellows pick up languages as easily as I candrink whisky, when I get the chance. One of them has been with metwo years, and it is quite likely he understands, at any rate, something of what is said. 

"Here we are. "

He opened a door, and ushered Charlie into a large room, comfortably furnished. His wife, a boy eight years of age, and agirl a year older, were seated at the table. 

"Janet, " the merchant said, "this is Captain Carstairs, alias SandyAnderson, a connection of ours, though I cannot say, for certain, of what degree. "

"What are you talking of, Allan?" she asked in surprise; for herhusband, after opening and partly reading the letter, had jumped upand run off without saying a word. 

"What I say, wife. This gentleman is, for the present, SandyAnderson, who has come out to learn the business and language, withthe intent of some day entering into partnership with me; also, which is more to the point, he is a friend of my good friend JockJamieson, whom you remember well in the old days. "

"I am very glad, indeed, to see any friend of Jock Jamieson, " JanetRamsay said warmly, holding out her hand to Charlie, "though I donot in the least understand what my husband is talking about, orwhat your name really is. "

"My name is Carstairs, madam. I am a captain in the Swedishservice, and am here on a mission for King Charles. ColonelJamieson, for he is now colonel of the regiment to which Ibelong--"

"What!" the merchant exclaimed. "Do you mean to say that our JockJamieson is a colonel? Well, well, who would have thought he wouldhave climbed the tree so quickly?"

"It is a regiment entirely of Scotch and Englishmen, " Charlie said;"and he was promoted, to take its command, only a short timesince. "

"Well, please to sit down and join us, " Mrs. Ramsay said. "It isbad manners, indeed, to keep you talking while the meat is gettingcold on the table. When you have finished, it will be time enoughto question you. "

While the meal was going on, however, many questions were asked asto Colonel Jamieson, the regiment, and its officers. 

"As soon as matters are more settled, " the merchant said, "I willgive myself a holiday, and Janet and I will go and spend a few dayswith Jock. Many of the names of the officers are well known to me, and two or three of the captains were at Glasgow College with Jockand myself. It will be like old times, to have four or five of ustalking over the wild doings we had together. "

The supper over, the children were sent off to bed. Allan Ramsaylit a long pipe. A bottle of wine and two glasses were placed onthe table, and Mrs. Ramsay withdrew, to see after domestic matters, and prepare a room for Charlie. 

"Now, lad, tell me all about it, " Allan Ramsay said. "Jock tells meyou are here on a mission, which he would leave it to yourself toexplain; but it is no business of mine, and, if you would ratherkeep it to yourself, I will ask no questions. "

"There is no secret about it, as far as you are concerned, Mr. Ramsay, for it is to you and to other merchants here that I havecome to talk it over;" and he then went fully into the subject. 

The Scotchman sat, smoking his pipe in silence, for some minutesafter he had concluded. 

"We do not much meddle with politics here. We have neither voicenor part in the making of kings or of laws, and, beyond that welike to have a peace-loving king, it matters little to us whom thediet may set up over us. If we were once to put the tips of ourfingers into Polish affairs, we might give up all thought of trade. They are forever intriguing and plotting, except when they arefighting; and it would be weary work to keep touch with it all, much less to take part in it. It is our business to buy and tosell, and so that both parties come to us, it matters little; one'smoney is as good as the other. If I had one set of creditors deeperin my books than another, I might wish their party to gain the day, for it would, maybe, set them up in funds, and I might get mymoney; but, as it is, it matters little. There is not a customer Ihave but is in my debt. Money is always scarce with them; for theyare reckless and extravagant, keeping a horde of idle loons aboutthem, spending as much money on their own attire and that of theirwives as would keep a whole Scotch clan in victuals. But, if theycannot pay in money, they can pay in corn or in cattle, in wine orin hides. 

"I do not know which they are fondest of--plotting, or fighting, orfeasting; and yet, reckless as they are, they are people to like. If they do sell their votes for money, it is not a Scotchman thatshould throw it in their teeth; for there is scarce a Scotch noble, since the days of Bruce, who has not been ready to sell himself forEnglish gold. Our own Highlanders are as fond of fighting as thePoles, and their chiefs are as profuse in hospitality, and asreckless and spendthrift. 

"But the Poles have their virtues. They love their country, and areready to die for her. They are courteous, and even chivalrous, theyare hospitable to an excess, they are good husbands and kindlymasters, they are recklessly brave; and, if they are unduly fond offinery, I, who supply so many of them, should be the last to findfault with them on that score. They are proud, and look down uponus traders, but that does not hurt us; and, if they were to take totrading themselves, there would be no place for us here. But thishas nothing to do with our present purpose. 

"Certainly, if it was a question of Polish affairs, neither theforeign nor the Jewish merchants here would move a finger one wayor the other. We have everything to lose, and nothing to gain. Suppose we took sides with one of the parties, and the other gotthe upper hand. Why, they might make ordinances hampering us inevery way, laying heavy taxes on us, forbidding the export ofcattle or horses, and making our lives burdensome. True, if theydrove us out they would soon have to repeal the law, for all tradewould be at an end. But that would be too late for many of us. 

"However, I do not say that, at the present time, many would not bedisposed to do what they could against Augustus of Saxony. We areaccustomed to civil wars; and, though these may cause misery andruin, in the districts where they take place, they do not touch ushere in the capital. But this is a different affair. Augustus has, without reason or provocation, brought down your fiery King ofSweden upon us; and, if he continues on the throne, we may hear theSwedish cannon thundering outside our walls, and may have the citytaken and sacked. Therefore, for once, politics become our naturalbusiness. 

"But, though you may find many well wishers, I doubt if you canobtain any substantial aid. With Saxon troops in the town, and thenobles divided, there is no hope of a successful rising in Warsaw. "

"The king did not think of that, " Charlie said. "His opinion was, that were it evident that the citizens of Warsaw were stronglyopposed to Augustus of Saxony, it would have a great moral effect, and that, perhaps, they might influence some of the nobles who, asyou say, are deeply in their books, or upon whose estates they mayhold mortgages, to join the party against the king. "

"They might do something that way, " Allan Ramsay agreed. "Ofcourse, I have no money out on mortgages. I want badly enough allthe money I can lay hands on in my own business. Giving credit, aswe have to, and often very long credit, it requires a large capitalto carry on trade. But the Jews, who no doubt do hold largemortgages on the land, cannot exert much power. They cannot holdland themselves, and, were one of them to venture to sell theproperty of any noble of influence, he would be ruined. The wholeclass would shrink from him, and, like enough, there would be atumult got up, his house would be burned over his head, and he andhis family murdered. 

"Still, as far as popular opinion goes, something might be done. Atany rate, I will get some of my friends here tomorrow, andintroduce you to them and talk it over. But we must be careful, forAugustus has a strong party here, and, were it suspected that youare a Swedish officer, it would go very hard with you. 

"Tomorrow you must fetch your servant here. I have already sentround to the inn, and you will find your valises in your room. Yousaid you could rely thoroughly upon him?"

"Yes, he was handed over to me by Count Piper himself; andmoreover, from what I have seen of him, I am myself confident thathe can be trusted. He is of Swedish descent, and is, I think, avery honest fellow. "

For a fortnight, Charlie remained at Allan Ramsay's, and then, inspite of the pressing entreaties of his host and hostess, took alodging near them. He had, by this time, seen a good many of theleading traders of the town. The Scotch and Frenchmen had allheartily agreed with his argument, that it was for the benefit ofPoland, and especially for that of Warsaw, that Augustus of Saxonyshould be replaced by another king, who would be acceptable toCharles of Sweden; but all were of opinion that but little could bedone, by them, towards bringing about this result. 

With the Jewish traders his success was less decided. They admittedthat it would be a great misfortune, were Warsaw taken by theSwedes, but, as Poles, they retained their confidence in thenational army, and were altogether sceptical that a few thousandSwedes could withstand the host that could be put in the fieldagainst them. 

Several of them pointedly asked what interest they had in thematter, and, to some of these, Charlie was obliged to use his powerof promising sums of money, in case of success. 

There were one or two, however, of whom he felt doubtful. Chiefamong these was Ben Soloman Muller, a man of great influence in theJewish community. This man had placed so large a value upon hisservices, that Charlie did not feel justified in promising him sucha sum. He did not like the man's face, and did not rely upon thepromises of silence he had given, before the mission was revealedto him. It was for this reason, principally, that he determined togo into lodgings. Should he be denounced, serious trouble mightfall upon Allan Ramsay, and it would at least minimize this risk, were he not living at his house when he was arrested. Ramsayhimself was disposed to make light of the danger. 

"I believe myself that Ben Soloman is an old rogue, but he is not afool. He cannot help seeing that the position of the king isprecarious, and, were he to cause your arrest, he might get littlethanks and no profit, while he would be incurring the risk of thevengeance of Charles, should he ever become master of the town. Didhe have you arrested, he himself would be forced to appear as awitness against you, and this he could hardly do without the matterbecoming publicly known. 

"I do not say, however, that, if he could curry favour with theking's party by doing you harm, without appearing in the matter, hewould hesitate for a moment. 

"Even if you were arrested here, I doubt whether any great harmwould befall me, for all the Scotch merchants would make commoncause with me, and, although we have no political power, we have agood deal of influence one way or another, and Augustus, at thistime, would not care to make fresh enemies. However, lad, I willnot further dispute your decision. Were I quite alone, I would notlet you leave me, so long as you stop in this city, without takinggreat offence; but, with a wife and two children, a man is moretimid than if he had but himself to think of. "

Charlie therefore moved into the lodging, but every day he went forthree or four hours to the shop, where he kept up his assumedcharacter by aiding to keep the ledgers, and in learning from thePolish assistants the value of the various goods in the shop. 

One evening, he was returning after supper to his lodging, whenStanislas met him. 

"I observed three or four evil-looking rascals casting glances atthe house today, and there are several rough-looking fellowshanging about the house this evening. I do not know if it meansanything, but I thought I would let you know. "

"I think it must be only your fancy, Stanislas. I might be arrestedby the troops, were I denounced, but I apprehend no danger from menof the class you speak of. However, if we should be interferedwith, I fancy we could deal with several rascals of that sort. "

At the corner of his street, three or four men were standing. Oneof them moved, as he passed, and pushed rudely against him, sendinghis hat into the gutter. Then, as his face was exposed, the fellowexclaimed:

"It is he, death to the Swedish spy!"

They were the last words he uttered. Charlie's sword flew from itsscabbard, and, with a rapid pass, he ran the man through the body. The others drew instantly, and fell upon Charlie with fury, keepingup the shout of, "Death to the Swedish spy!" It was evidently asignal--for men darted out of doorways, and came running down thestreet, repeating the cry. 

"Go, Stanislas!" Charlie shouted, as he defended himself against adozen assailants. "Tell Ramsay what has happened; you can do nogood here. "

A moment later, he received a tremendous blow on the back of thehead, from an iron-bound cudgel, and fell senseless to the ground. 

Chapter 10: In Evil Plight. 

When Charlie recovered his senses, he found himself lying bound ina room lighted by a dim lamp, which sufficed only to show that thebeams were blackened by smoke and age, and the walls constructed ofrough stone work. There was, so far as he could see, no furniturewhatever in it, and he imagined that it was an underground cellar, used perhaps, at some time or other, as a storeroom. It was sometime before his brain was clear enough to understand what hadhappened, or how he had got into his present position. Graduallythe facts came back to him, and he was able to think coherently, inspite of a splitting headache, and a dull, throbbing pain at theback of his head. 

"I was knocked down and stunned, " he said to himself, at last. "Iwonder what became of Stanislas. I hope he got away. 

"This does not look like a prison. I should say that it was acellar, in the house of one of the gang that set upon me. It isevident that someone has betrayed me, probably that Jew, BenSoloman. What have they brought me here for? I wonder what are theygoing to do with me. "

His head, however, hurt him too much for him to continue the strainof thought, and, after a while, he dozed off to sleep. When heawoke, a faint light was streaming in through a slit, two or threeinches wide, high up on the wall. He still felt faint and dizzy, from the effects of the blow. Parched with thirst, he tried to callout for water, but scarce a sound came from his lips. 

Gradually, the room seemed to darken and become indistinct, and heagain lapsed into insensibility. When he again became conscious, someone was pouring water between his lips, and he heard a voicespeaking loudly and angrily. He had picked up a few words of Polishfrom Stanislas--the names of common things, the words to use incase he lost his way, how to ask for food and for stabling for ahorse, but he was unable to understand what was said. He judged, however, that someone was furiously upbraiding the man who wasgiving him water, for the latter now and then muttered excuses. 

"He is blowing the fellow up, for having so nearly let me slipthrough their fingers, " he said to himself. "Probably they want toquestion me, and find out who I have been in communication with. They shall get nothing, at present, anyhow. "

He kept his eyes resolutely closed. Presently, he heard a dooropen, and another man come in. A few words were exchanged, and, this time, wine instead of water was poured down his throat. Thenhe was partly lifted up, and felt a cooling sensation at the backof his head. Some bandages were passed round it, and he was laiddown again. There was some more conversation, then a door openedand two of the men went out; the third walked back to him, muttering angrily to himself. 

Charlie felt sure that he had been moved from the place in which hehad been the evening before. His bonds had been loosed, and he waslying on straw, and not on the bare ground. Opening his eyelids theslightest possible degree, he was confirmed in his belief, byseeing that there was much more light than could have entered thecellar. He dared not look farther, and, in a short time, fell intoa far more refreshing sleep than that he before had. 

The next time he woke his brain was clearer, though there was stilla dull sense of pain where he had been struck. Without opening hiseyes, he listened attentively. There was some sound of movement inthe room, and, presently, he heard a faint regular breathing. Thiscontinued for some time, and he then heard a sort of grunt. 

"He is asleep, " he said to himself, and, opening his eyes slightlylooked round. He was in another chamber. It was grimy with dirt, and almost as unfurnished as the cellar, but there was a windowthrough which the sun was streaming brightly. He, himself, lay upona heap of straw. At the opposite side of the room was a similarheap, and upon this a man was sitting, leaning against the wall, with his chin dropped on his chest. 

The thought of escape at once occurred to Charlie. Could he reachthe window, which was without glass and a mere opening in the wall, without awakening his guard, he could drop out and make for AllanRamsay's. As soon as he tried to move, however, he found that thisidea was for the present impracticable. He felt too weak to lifthis head, and, at the slight rustle of straw caused by the attempt, the man opposite roused himself with a start. 

He gave another slight movement, and then again lay quiet with hiseyes closed. The man came across and spoke, but he made no sign. Some more wine was poured between his lips, then the man returnedto his former position, and all was quiet. 

As he lay thinking his position over, Charlie thought that thosewho had set his assailants to their work must have had twoobjects--the one to put a stop to his efforts to organize anagitation against the king, the second to find out, by questioninghim, who were those with whom he had been in communication, inorder that they might be arrested, and their property confiscated. He could see no other reason why his life should be spared by hisassailants, for it would have been easier, and far lesstroublesome, to run him through as he lay senseless on the ground, than to carry him off and keep him a prisoner. 

This idea confirmed the suspicion he had first entertained, thatthe assault had been organized by Ben Soloman. He could have noreal interest in the king, for he was ready to join in theorganization against him, could he have obtained his own terms. Hemight intend to gain credit with the royal party, by claiming tohave stopped a dangerous plot, and at the same time to benefithimself, by bringing about the expulsion or death of many of hisforeign trade rivals. For this end, the Jew would desire that heshould be taken alive, in order to serve as a witness against theothers. 

"He will not get any names from me, " he said. "Besides, none ofthem have promised to take any active measures against Augustus. Idid not ask them to do so. There is no high treason in trying toinfluence public opinion. Still, it is likely enough that the Jewwants to get me to acknowledge that an insurrection was intended, and will offer me my freedom, if I will give such testimony. As Iam altogether in his power, the only thing to do is to pretend tobe a great deal worse than I am, and so to gain time, till I amstrong enough to try to get away from this place. "

All this was not arrived at, at once, but was the result ofhalf-dreamy cogitation extending over hours, and interrupted byshort snatches of sleep. He was conscious that, from time to time, someone came into the room and spoke to his guard; and that, threeor four times, wine was poured between his lips. Once he was raisedup, and fresh cloths, dipped in water, and bandages applied to hishead. 

In the evening, two or three men came in, and he believed that herecognized the voice of one of them as that of Ben Soloman. One ofthe men addressed him suddenly and sharply in Swedish. 

"How are you feeling? Are you in pain? We have come here to giveyou your freedom. "

Charlie was on his guard, and remained silent, with his eyesclosed. 

"It is of no use, " Ben Soloman said in his own language. "Thefellow is still insensible. The clumsy fool who hit him would farebadly, if I knew who he was. I said that he was to be knocked down, silenced, and brought here; and here he is, of no more use than ifhe were dead. "

"He will doubtless come round, in time, " another said in anapologetic tone. "We will bring him round, if you will havepatience, Ben Soloman. "

"Well, well, " the other replied, "a few days will make nodifference; but mind that he is well guarded, directly he begins togain strength. I will get him out of the town, as soon as I can. Allan Ramsay has laid a complaint, before the mayor, that hiscountryman has been attacked by a band of ruffians, and has beeneither killed or carried off by them. It is a pity that servant ofhis was not killed. "

"We thought he was dead. Two or three of us looked at him, and Icould have sworn that life was out of him. "

"Well, then, you would have sworn what was not true, for he managedto crawl to Ramsay's, where he lies, I am told, dangerously ill, and an official has been to him, to obtain his account of the fray. It was a bungled business, from beginning to end. "

"We could not have calculated on the fellows making such aresistance, " the other grumbled. "This one seemed but a lad, andyet he killed three of our party, and the other killed one. A nicebusiness that; and you will have to pay their friends well, BenSoloman, for I can tell you there is grumbling at the price, whichthey say was not enough for the work, which you told them would beeasy. "

"It ought to have been, " the Jew said sullenly. "Fifteen or twentymen to overpower a lad. What could have been more easy? However, Iwill do something for the friends of the men who were fools enoughto get themselves killed, but if I hear any grumbling from theothers, it will be worse for them; there is not one I could not layby the heels in jail. 

"Well, as to this young fellow, I shall not come again. I do notwant to be noticed coming here. Keep a shrewd lookout after him. "

"There is no fear about that, " the man said. "It will be long erehe is strong enough to walk. "

"When he gets better, we will have him taken away to a safe placeoutside the town. Once there, I can make him say what I like. "

"And if he does not get well?"

"In that case, we will take away his body and bury it outside. Iwill see to that myself. "

"I understand, " the other sneered. "You don't want anyone to knowwhere it is buried, so as to be able to bring it up against you. "

"You attend to your own business, " the Jew said angrily. "Whyshould I care about what they say? At any rate, there are somematters between you and me, and there is no fear of your speaking. "

"Not until the time comes when I may think it worth my while tothrow away my life, in order to secure your death, Ben Soloman. "

"It is of no use talking like that, " the Jew said quietly. "We areuseful to each other. I have saved your life from the gibbet, youhave done the work I required. Between us, it is worse thanchildish to threaten in the present matter. I do not doubt that youwill do your business well, and you know that you will be well paidfor it; what can either of us require more?"

Charlie would have given a good deal to understand theconversation, and he would have been specially glad to learn thatStanislas had escaped with his life; for he had taken a great fancyto the young Lithuanian, and was grieved by the thought that he hadprobably lost his life in his defence. 

Three days passed. His head was now clear, and his appetitereturning, and he found, by quietly moving at night, when his guardwas asleep, that he was gaining strength. The third day, there wassome talking among several men who entered the room; then he waslifted, wrapt up in some cloths, and put into a large box. He feltthis being hoisted up, it was carried downstairs, and then placedon something. A minute afterwards he felt a vibration, followed bya swaying and bumping, and guessed at once that he was on a cart, and was being removed, either to prison or to some other place ofconfinement. The latter he considered more probable. 

The journey was a long one. He had no means of judging time, but hethought that it must have lasted two or three hours. Then therumbling ceased, the box was lifted down, and carried a shortdistance, then the lid was opened and he was again laid down onsome straw. He heard the sound of cart wheels, and knew that thevehicle on which he had been brought was being driven away. 

He was now so hungry that he felt he could no longer maintain theappearance of insensibility. Two men were talking in the room, andwhen, for a moment, their conversation ceased, he gave a low groan, and then opened his eyes. They came at once to his bedside, withexclamations of satisfaction. 

"How do you feel?" one asked in Swedish. 

"I do not know, " he said in a low tone. "Where am I, how did I gethere?"

"You are with friends. Never mind how you got here. You have beenill, but you will soon get well again. Someone hit you on the head, and we picked you up and brought you here. "

"I am weak and faint, " Charlie murmured. "Have you any food?"

"You shall have some food, directly it is prepared. Take a drink ofwine, and see if you can eat a bit of bread while the broth ispreparing. "

Charlie drank a little of the wine that was put to his lips, andthen broke up the bread, and ate it crumb by crumb, as if it were agreat effort to do so, although he had difficulty in restraininghimself from eating it voraciously. When he had finished it, heclosed his eyes again, as if sleep had overpowered him. An hourlater, there was a touch on his shoulder. 

"Here is some broth, young fellow. Wake up and drink that, it willdo you good. "

Charlie, as before, slowly sipped down the broth, and then reallyfell asleep, for the jolting had fatigued him terribly. 

It was evening when he awoke. Two men were sitting at a blazingfire. When he moved, one of them brought him another basin ofbroth, and fed him with a spoon. 

Charlie had been long enough in the country to know, by theappearance of the room, that he was in a peasant's hut. He wonderedwhy he had been brought there, and concluded that it must bebecause Allan Ramsay had set so stringent a search on foot in thecity, that they considered it necessary to take him away. 

"They will not keep me here long, " he said to himself. "I am surethat I could walk now, and, in another two or three days, I shallbe strong enough to go some distance. That soup has done me a dealof good. I believe half my weakness is from hunger. "

He no longer kept up the appearance of unconsciousness, and, in themorning, put various questions, to the man who spoke Swedish, as towhat had happened and how he came to be there. This man wasevidently, from his dress and appearance, a Jew, while the otherwas as unmistakably a peasant, a rough powerfully-built man with anevil face. The Jew gave him but little information, but told himthat in a day or two, when he was strong enough to listen, a friendwould come who would tell him all about it. 

On the third day, he heard the sound of an approaching horse, andwas not surprised when, after a conversation in a low tone outside, Ben Soloman entered. Charlie was now much stronger, but he hadcarefully abstained from showing any marked improvement, speakingalways in a voice a little above a whisper, and allowing the men tofeed him, after making one or two pretended attempts to convey thespoon to his mouth. 

"Well, Master Englishman, " Ben Soloman said, as he came up to hisbedside, "what do you think of things?"

"I do not know what to think, " Charlie said feebly. "I do not knowwhere I am, or why I am here. I remember that there was a fray inthe street, and I suppose I was hurt. But why was I brought here, instead of being taken to my lodgings?"

"Because you would be no use to me in your lodging, and you may bea great deal of use to me here, " Ben Soloman said. "You know youendeavoured to entrap me into a plot against the king's life. "

Charlie shook his head, and looked wonderingly at the speaker. 

"No, no, " he said, "there was no plot against the king's life. Ionly asked if you would use your influence among your friends toturn popular feeling against Augustus. "

"Nothing of the kind, " the Jew said harshly. "You wanted himremoved by poison or the knife. There is no mistake about that, andthat is what I am going to swear, and what, if you want to saveyour life, you will have to swear too; and you will have to givethe names of all concerned in the plot, and to swear that they wereall agreed to bring about the death of the king. Now you understandwhy you were brought here. You are miles away from another house, and you may shout and scream as loud as you like. You are in mypower. "

"I would die rather than make a false accusation. "

"Listen to me, " the Jew said sternly. "You are weak now, too weakto suffer much. This day week I will return, and then you had bestchange your mind, and sign a document I shall bring with me, withthe full particulars of the plot to murder the king, and the namesof those concerned in it. This you will sign. I shall take it tothe proper authorities, and obtain a promise that your life shallbe spared, on condition of your giving evidence against thesepersons. "

"I would never sign such a villainous document, " Charlie said. 

"You will sign it, " Ben Soloman said calmly. "When you findyourself roasting over a slow charcoal fire, you will be ready tosign anything I wish you to. "

So saying, he turned and left the room. He talked for some time tothe men outside, then Charlie heard him ride off. 

"You villain, " he said to himself. "When you come, at the end of aweek, you will not find me here; but, if I get a chance of having areckoning with you, it will be bad for you. "

Charlie's progress was apparently slow. The next day he was able tosit up and feed himself. Two days later he could totter across theroom, and lie down before the fire. The men were completelydeceived by his acting, and, considering any attempt to escape, inhis present weak state, altogether impossible, paid but little heedto him, the peasant frequently absenting himself for hourstogether. 

Looking from his window, Charlie saw that the hut was situated in athick wood, and, from the blackened appearance of the peasant'sface and garments, he guessed him to be a charcoal burner, andtherefore judged that the trees he saw must form part of a forestof considerable extent. 

The weather was warm, and his other guard often sat, for a while, outside the door. During his absence, Charlie lifted the logs ofwood piled beside the hearth, and was able to test his returningstrength, assuring himself that, although not yet fully recovered, he was gaining ground daily. He resolved not to wait until theseventh day; for Ben Soloman might change his mind, and returnbefore the day he had named. He determined, therefore, that on thesixth day he would make the attempt. 

He had no fear of being unable to overcome his Jewish guard, as hewould have the advantage of a surprise. He only delayed as long aspossible, because he doubted his powers of walking any greatdistance, and of evading the charcoal burner, who would, on hisreturn, certainly set out in pursuit of him. Moreover, he wished toremain in the hut nearly up to the time of the Jew's return, as hewas determined to wait in the forest, and revenge himself for thesuffering he had caused him, and for the torture to which heintended to put him. 

The evening before the day on which he decided to make the attempt, the charcoal burner and the Jew were in earnest conversation. Theword signifying brigand was frequently repeated, and, although hecould not understand much more than this, he concluded, from thepeasant's talk and gestures, that he had either come across some ofthese men in the forest, or had gathered from signs he hadobserved, perhaps from their fires, that they were there. 

The Jew shrugged his shoulders when the narration was finished. Thepresence of brigands was a matter of indifference to him. The nextday, the charcoal burner went off at noon. 

"Where does he go to?" Charlie asked his guard. 

"He has got some charcoal fires alight, and is obliged to go andsee to them. They have to be kept covered up with wet leaves andearth, so that the wood shall only smoulder, " the man said, as helounged out of the hut to his usual seat. 

Charlie waited a short time, then went to the pile of logs, andpicked out a straight stick about a yard long and two inches indiameter. With one of the heavier ones he could have killed theman, but the fellow was only acting under the orders of hisemployer, and, although he would doubtless, at Ben Soloman'scommands, have roasted him alive without compunction, he had notbehaved with any unkindness, and had, indeed, seemed to do his bestfor him. 

Taking the stick, he went to the door. He trod lightly, but in thestillness of the forest the man heard him, and glanced round as hecame out. 

Seeing the stick in his hand he leaped up, exclaiming, "You youngfool!" and sprang towards him. 

He had scarce time to feel surprise, as Charlie quickly raised theclub. It described a swift sweep, fell full on his head, and hedropped to the ground as if shot. 

Charlie ran in again, seized a coil of rope, bound his hands andfeet securely, and dragged him into the hut. Then he dashed somecold water on his face. The man opened his eyes, and tried to move. 

"You are too tightly bound to move, Pauloff, " he said. "I couldhave killed you if I had chosen, but I did not wish to. You havenot been unkind to me, and I owe you no grudge; but tell yourrascally employer that I will be even with him, someday, for theevil he has done me. "

"You might as well have killed me, " the man said, "for he will doso when he finds I let you escape. "

"Then my advice to you is, be beforehand with him. You are asstrong a man as he is, and if I were in your place, and a man whomeant to kill me came into a lonely hut like this, I would takeprecious good care that he had no chance of carrying out hisintentions. "

Charlie then took two loaves of black bread and a portion of goat'sflesh from the cupboard; found a bottle about a quarter full ofcoarse spirits, filled it up with water and put it in his pocket, and then, after taking possession of the long knife his captivewore in his belt, went out of the hut and closed the door behindhim. 

He had purposely moved slowly about the hut, as he made thesepreparations, in order that the Jew should believe that he wasstill weak; but, indeed, the effort of dragging the man into thehut had severely taxed his strength, and he found that he was muchweaker than he had supposed. 

The hut stood in a very small clearing, and Charlie had nodifficulty in seeing the track by which the cart had come, for themarks of the wheels were still visible in the soft soil. Hefollowed this until, after about two miles' walking, he came to theedge of the wood. Then he retraced his steps for a quarter of amile, turned off, and with some difficulty made his way into apatch of thick undergrowth, where, after first cutting a formidablecudgel, he lay down, completely exhausted. 

Late in the afternoon he was aroused from a doze by the sound offootsteps, and, looking through the screen of leaves, he saw hislate jailers hurrying along the path. The charcoal burner carried aheavy axe, while the Jew, whose head was bound up with a cloth, hada long knife in his girdle. They went as far as the end of theforest, and then retraced their steps slowly. They were talkingloudly, and Charlie could gather, from the few words he understood, and by their gestures, something of the purport of theirconversation. 

"I told you it was of no use your coming on as far as this, " theJew said. "Why, he was hardly strong enough to walk. "

"He managed to knock you down, and afterwards to drag you into thehouse, " the other said. 

"It does not require much strength to knock a man down with a heavyclub, when he is not expecting it, Conrad. He certainly did drag mein, but he was obliged to sit down afterwards, and I watched himout of one eye as he was making his preparations, and he could onlyjust totter about. I would wager you anything he cannot have gonetwo hundred yards from the house. That is where we must search forhim. I warrant we shall find him hidden in a thicket thereabouts. "

"We shall have to take a lantern then, for it will be dark beforewe get back. "

"Our best plan will be to leave it alone till morning. If we sitoutside the hut, and take it in turns to watch, we shall hear himwhen he moves, which he is sure to do when it gets dark. It will bea still night, and we should hear a stick break half a mile away. We shall catch him, safe enough, before he has gone far. "

"Well, I hope we shall have him back before Ben Soloman comes, " thecharcoal burner said, "or it will be worse for both of us. You knowas well as I do he has got my neck in a noose, and he has got histhumb on you. "

"If we can't find this Swede, I would not wait here for any money. I would fly at once. "

"You would need to fly, in truth, to get beyond Ben Soloman'sclutches, " the charcoal burner said gruffly. "He has got agents allover the country. "

"Then what would you do?"

"There is only one thing to do. It is our lives or his. When herides up tomorrow, we will meet him at the door as if nothing hadhappened, and, with my axe, I will cleave his head asunder as hecomes in. If he sees me in time to retreat, you shall stab him inthe back. Then we will dig a big hole in the wood, and throw himin, and we will kill his horse and bury it with him. 

"Who would ever be the wiser? I was going to propose it last time, only I was not sure of you then; but, now that you are in it asdeep as I am--deeper, indeed, for he put you here specially to lookafter this youngster--your interest in the matter is as great asmine. "

The Jew was silent for some time, then he said:

"He has got papers at home which would bring me to the gallows. "

"Pooh!" the other said. "You do not suppose that, when it is foundthat he does not return, and his heirs open his coffers, they willtake any trouble about what there may be in the papers there, except such as relate to his money. I will warrant there are papersthere which concern scores of men besides you, for I know that BenSoloman likes to work with agents he has got under his thumb. But, even if all the papers should be put into the hands of theauthorities, what would come of it? They have got their hands fullof other matters, for the present, and with the Swedes on theirfrontier, and the whole country divided into factions, who do youthink is going to trouble to hunt up men for affairs that occurredyears ago? Even if they did, they would not catch you. They havenot got the means of running you down that Ben Soloman has. 

"I tell you, man, it must be done. There is no other way out ofit. "

"Well, Conrad, if we cannot find this fellow before Ben Solomancomes, I am with you in the business. I have been working for himon starvation pay for the last three years, and hate him as much asyou can. "

When they reached the hut they cooked a meal, and then prepared tokeep alternate watch. 

Charlie slept quietly all night, and, in the morning, remained inhis hiding place until he heard, in the distance, the sound of ahorse's tread. Then he went out and sat down, leaning against atree by the side of the path, in an attitude of exhaustion. 

Presently he saw Ben Soloman approaching. He got up feebly, andstaggered a few paces to another tree, farther from the path. Heheard an angry shout, and then Ben Soloman rode up, and, with atorrent of execrations at the carelessness of the watchers, leaptfrom his horse and sprang to seize the fugitive, whom he regardedas incapable of offering the slightest resistance. 

Charlie straightened himself up, as if with an effort, and raisedhis cudgel. 

"I will not be taken alive, " he said. 

Ben Soloman drew his long knife from his girdle. "Drop that stick, "he said, "or it will be worse for you. "

"It cannot be worse than being tortured to death, as you said. "

The Jew, with an angry snarl, sprang forward so suddenly andunexpectedly that he was within the swing of Charlie's cudgelbefore the latter could strike. He dropped the weapon at once, andcaught the wrist of the uplifted hand that held the knife. 

The Jew gave a cry of astonishment and rage, as they clasped eachother, and he found that, instead of an unresisting victim, he wasin a powerful grasp. For a moment there was a desperate struggle. 

The Jew would, at ordinary times, have been no match for Charlie, but the latter was far from having regained his normal strength. His fury at the treatment he had received at the man's hands, however, enabled him, for the moment, to exert himself to theutmost, and, after swaying backwards and forwards in desperatestrife for a minute, they went to the ground with a crash, BenSoloman being undermost. 

The Jew's grasp instantly relaxed, and Charlie, springing to hisfeet and seizing his cudgel, stood over his fallen antagonist. Thelatter, however, did not move. His eyes were open in a fixed stare. Charlie looked at him in surprise for a moment, thinking he wasstunned, then he saw that his right arm was twisted under him inthe fall, and at once understanding what had happened, turned himhalf over. He had fallen on the knife, which had penetrated to thehaft, killing him instantly. 

"I didn't mean to kill you, " Charlie said aloud, "much as youdeserve it, and surely as you would have killed me, if I hadrefused to act as a traitor. I would have broken your head for you, but that was all. However, it is as well as it is. It adds to mychance of getting away, and I have no doubt there will be many whowill rejoice when you are found to be missing. 

"Now, " he went on, "as your agents emptied my pockets, it is norobbery to empty yours. Money will be useful, and so will yourhorse. "

He stooped over the dead man, and took the purse from his girdle, when suddenly there was a rush of feet, and in a moment he wasseized. The thought flashed through his mind that he had falleninto the power of his late guardians, but a glance showed that themen standing round were strangers. 

"Well, comrade, and who are you?" the man who was evidently theleader asked. "You have saved us some trouble. We were sleeping ahundred yards or two away, when we heard the horseman, and saw, ashe passed, he was the Jew of Warsaw, to whom two or three of us oweour ruin, and it did not need more than a word for us to agree towait for him till he came back. We were surprised when we saw you, still more so when the Jew jumped from his horse and attacked you. We did not interfere, because, if he had got the best of you, hemight have jumped on his horse and ridden off, but directly he fellwe ran out, but you were so busy in taking the spoil that you didnot hear us. 

"I see the Jew is dead; fell on his own knife. It is just as wellfor him, for we should have tied him to a tree, and made a bonfireof him, if we had caught him. "

Charlie understood but little of this, but said when the otherfinished:

"I understand but little Polish. "

"What are you then--a Russian? You do not look like one. "

"I am an Englishman, and am working in the house of Allan Ramsay, aScotch trader in Warsaw. "

"Well, you are a bold fellow anyhow, and after the smart way inwhich you disposed of this Jew, and possessed yourself of hispurse, you will do honour to our trade. "

"I hope you will let me go, " Charlie said. "My friends in Warsawwill pay a ransom for me, if you will let me return there. "

"No, no, young fellow. You would of course put down this Jew'sdeath to our doing, and we have weight enough on our backs already. He is a man of great influence, and all his tribe would be pressingon the government to hunt us down. You shall go with us, and thepurse you took from Ben Soloman will pay your footing. "

Charlie saw that it would be useless to try and alter the man'sdecision, especially as he knew so little of the language. Hetherefore shrugged his shoulders, and said that he was ready to gowith them, if it must be so. 

The Jew's body was now thoroughly searched. Various papers werefound upon him, but, as these proved useless to the brigands, theywere torn up. 

"Shall we take the horse with us?" one of the men asked the leader. 

"No, it would be worse than useless in the forest. Leave itstanding here. It will find its way back in time. Then there willbe a search, and there will be rejoicing in many a mansionthroughout the country, when it is known that Ben Soloman is dead. They say he has mortgages on a score of estates, and, though Isuppose these will pass to others of his tribe, they can hardly beas hard and mercenary as this man was. 

"I wonder what he was doing in this forest alone? Let us follow thepath, and see where he is going. 

"Honred, you have a smattering of several languages, try then ifyou can make our new comrade understand. "

The man tried in Russian without success, then he spoke in Swedish, in which language Charlie at once replied. 

"Where does this pathway lead to?"

"To a hut where a charcoal burner lives. I have been imprisonedthere for the last fortnight. It was all the Jew's doing. It wasthrough him that I got this knock here;" and he pointed to theunhealed wound at the back of his head. 

"Well, we may as well pay them a visit, " the chief said, when thiswas translated to him. "We are short of flour, and they may havesome there, and maybe something else that will be useful. "

Chapter 11: With Brigands. 

The man who had spoken to Charlie drew the long knife from the backof the Jew, wiped it on the grass, and handed it to him. 

"That ought to be your property, " he said. "It has done you goodservice. "

Not sorry to have a weapon in addition to his cudgel, Charlieplaced it in his belt, and then started with the bandits. He wouldnot have cared to face the charcoal burner alone; but now that theband regarded him as enrolled among their number, he felt nouneasiness respecting him. 

When they issued from the trees, the Jew was seen standing at thedoor of the hut. He at once ran in on seeing them, and came outagain, accompanied by the charcoal burner, who carried his axe onhis shoulder. The Jew started, on catching sight of Charlie amongthe ranks of the brigands, and said a word or two to his companion. 

"Well, Master Charcoal Burner, " the leader of the party said, "howis it that honest woodmen consort with rogues of the town?"

"I don't know that they do so, willingly, " the man said gruffly. "But some of us, to our cost, have put our heads into nooses, andthe rogues of the town have got hold of the other end of the ropes, and we must just walk as we are told to. "

"Well, that is true enough, " the brigand said. 

"And you, Jew, what are you doing here?"

"I am like Conrad, " he replied, sulkily. "It is not only countrymenwho have their necks in a noose, and I have to do what I amordered. "

"By a bigger rogue than yourself?"

"That is so; bigger and cleverer. "

"You are expecting him here now, our new comrade tells us. Well, you need expect him no longer. He will not come. If you will goalong the path, you will come upon his body, and may bury him ifyou like to take the trouble. "

An exclamation of satisfaction broke from the two men. 

"You have done us a service, indeed, " the charcoal burner said. "Wehad thought to do it for ourselves, this morning, for after theescape of him you call your new comrade, he would have shown us nomercy. "

"You may thank our new comrade, and not us, " the brigand said. "Weonly arrived on the spot when it was all over. "

The Jew looked at Charlie in astonishment. 

"What! Did he kill Ben Soloman?"

"That did he; or rather, the Jew killed himself. There was agrapple hand to hand, and a wrestle. The Jew fell undermost, andwas pierced with his own knife. "

"But the lad is but just out of a sickbed, and has no strength fora struggle, and Ben Soloman, though past middle life, was strongand active. "

"Neither strong enough nor active enough, " the man laughed. "Youhave been nicely taken in. Who would have thought that two Jews anda Pole would have been cheated by an English lad? His face showsthat he has been ill, and doubtless he has not yet recovered hisfull strength, but he was strong enough, anyhow, to overthrow BenSoloman. 

"Now, what have you in the hut? We are in need of provisions. "

The hut was ransacked; the flour, two bottles of spirits, and askin of wine seized, and the meat cut up and roasted over the fire. After the meal was eaten, the captain called upon Charlie to tellhis story more fully, and this he did, with the aid of the man whospoke Swedish; starting, however, only at the point when he wasattacked in the street, as he felt it better to remain silent as tohis connection with the Swedish army. 

"But what was the cause of Ben Soloman's hostility to you?"

"There are some in Warsaw who are of opinion that Augustus ofSaxony has done much harm to Poland, in engaging without cause inthe war against Charles of Sweden, and who think that it would bewell that he should be dethroned, and some other prince made kingin his place. To this party many of the traders belong, and the Jewhad reason to think that I was acquainted with the design, andcould give the names of those concerned in it. There was really noplot against Augustus, but it was only intended that a populardemonstration against his rule should be made. But Soloman wantedme to give evidence that there was a conspiracy against the king'slife, so that he might gain great credit by exposing it, and mightat the same time rid himself of many of his rivals in the trade. "

"He was an artful fox, " the leader of the brigands said, when thishad been translated to him. "But where is the Jew he put over you?"

Three or four of the men sprang to their feet and ran out, but theJew was nowhere to be seen. The captain was furious, and abused hismen right and left, while his anger was in no way mitigated whenone of them told him that, if he had wanted the Jew kept, he shouldhave given one of them orders to look after him. This was soevident that the chief was silenced for a moment. 

"How long is it since any of you saw him last?"

"He went round with the wineskin, and filled our cups just as wesat down to breakfast, " one of the men said. "I have not noticedhim since. "

Nor had any of the others. 

"Then it will be no use to pursue. He has had more than half anhour's start, and long before this he will have mounted BenSoloman's horse, and have ridden off. 

"Well, comrade, " he said, turning to Charlie, "this settles yourmovements. I was but half in earnest before as to your joining us;but it is clear now that there's nothing else for you to do, forthe present. This fellow will, directly he gets to Warsaw, denounceyou as the murderer of his master. That he is sure to do to avertsuspicion from himself, and, if you were to return there, it wouldgo hard with you. So, for a time, you must throw in your lot withus. "

When this was translated to Charlie, he saw at once the force ofthe argument. He could not have denied that the Jew had fallen in ahand-to-hand struggle with himself, and, were he to appear inWarsaw, he might be killed by the co-religionists of Ben Soloman;or, if he escaped this, might lie in a dungeon for months awaitinghis trial, and perhaps be finally executed. There was nothing forhim now but to rejoin the Swedes, and it would be some time, yet, before he would be sufficiently recovered to undertake such ajourney. 

"I should not mind, if I could send a letter to Allan Ramsay, totell him what has befallen me. He will be thinking I am dead, andwill, at any rate, be in great anxiety about me. "

"I have taken a liking to you, young fellow, " the leader said, "andwill send in one of my men to Warsaw with a letter; that is, if youcan write one. "

"Yes, I can write. Fortunately there are paper, pen, and an inkhorn on that shelf. Ben Soloman brought them the last time he came, to write down the lies he wanted me to testify to. I am greatlyobliged to you, and will do it at once. "

As he had, only the day before he was attacked, sent off amessenger to Count Piper, telling him all he had done the previousweek, there was no occasion to repeat this, and he had only to givean account of his capture, and the events that had since occurred. 

"You see, " he said, "I cannot return to Warsaw. The Jew who washere unfortunately heard that it was in a struggle with me BenSoloman was killed, and he will, of course, denounce me as hismurderer, though the deed was done in fair fight. I should have allhis tribe against me, and might be imprisoned for months awaitingtrial. I am still very weak, and could not attempt the journey tothe frontier. I am, however, gaining strength, and, as soon as I amquite recovered, I shall take the first opportunity of leaving themen I am with, and making for the Swedish camp. Please forward thisnews by a sure hand to Count Piper, and express my sorrow that mymission has not been completed, although, indeed, I do not thinkthat my further stay at Warsaw would have been any great service, for it is clear that the great majority of the traders will notmove in the matter until the Swedes advance, and, from their pointof view, it is not to their interest to do so. 

"I know but little of the men I am with at present, beyond the factthat they are bandits, nor can I say whether they are disbandedsoldiers, or criminals who have escaped from justice; but at anyrate they show me no ill will. I have no doubt I shall be able toget on fairly with them, until I am able to make my escape. I wishI had poor Stanislas with me. Only one of the men here speaksSwedish, and he does not know very much of the language. I cannotsay, at present, whether the twenty men here are the whole of theband, or whether they are only a portion of it. Nor do I knowwhether the men subsist by plundering the peasants, or venture onmore serious crimes. Thanking you for your great kindness during mystay at Warsaw, I remain, yours gratefully--

"Charlie Carstairs. "

While he was occupied in writing this letter, an animatedconversation was going on between the bandits. Charlie gatheredthat this related to their future operations, but more than this hecould not learn. In a postscript to the letter, he requested AllanRamsay to hand over to the bearer some of the clothes left in hislodgings, and to pay him for his trouble. 

"As to the money I left in your hands, I do not think it worthwhile for you to send it. However much these men may consider me acomrade, I have not sufficient faith in their honesty to believethat money would reach me safely; but, if you send me a suit ofclothes, two or three gold pieces might be wrapped up in a piece ofcloth and shoved into the toe of a shoe. The parcel must be a smallone, or there would be little chance of the man carrying it far. Iwill ask him, however, to bring me a sword, if you will buy one forme, and my pistols. "

He folded up the letter and gave it to the captain. There was nomeans of fastening it, but this mattered little, because, beingwritten in English, there was no chance of its being read. Thecaptain handed it to one of the men, with instructions for itsdelivery. The messenger started at once. The others, afterremaining a short time in the hut, set out through the forest. 

After an hour's walking, Charlie was unable to go further. Thecaptain, seeing this, ordered four of the men to stop with him, andto follow the next morning. As soon as he had gone on with the restof the band, the men set about collecting sticks and making a fire. Charlie, who was utterly exhausted, threw himself on the ground, and was not long before he fell sound asleep. 

When he awoke, the shades of evening were already falling, and themen were sitting over the fire, roasting a portion of a goat, oneof a flock they had fallen in with in the wood, where large numbersroamed about in a semi-wild state. 

The man who could speak Swedish was one of those who had remainedwith him, and, from him, he learnt that the present headquarters ofthe band were some six miles farther away. This distance wasperformed next morning, frequent halts being made to enable him tosit down and rest; and it was not till five hours after the startthat they arrived. 

Overgrown as it now was, with trees and undergrowth, he could seethat a village once stood there. It must, however, have beenabandoned a very long time, as trees of considerable size grewamong the low walls and piles of stones that marked where cottageshad stood. The place occupied by the brigands had, in former times, been a castellated building of some strength, standing on a knollin the middle of the village, which had probably been inhabited bythe retainers of its owner. Part of the wall had fallen, but alarge arched room, that had doubtless been the banqueting hall ofthe castle, remained almost intact, and here the brigands hadestablished themselves. Several fires burned on the flagged floors, the smoke finding its way out through holes and crevices in theroof. Some fifty men were gathered round these, and were occupiedin cooking their midday meal. 

"I am glad to see that you have arrived, " the captain said, comingacross to Charlie. "I expected you two hours ago, and intended, assoon as we had finished our meal, to send out another four men tomeet you and help to carry you in. "

"Thank you, " Charlie said. "It is not the men's fault we are late, but the last part of the way we came on very slowly. I was gettingso exhausted that I had to stop every few hundred yards. "

"Well, you had better eat something, and then lie down for a sleep. Meat is plentiful with us, for there are thousands of goats in theforest, and occasionally we get a deer or wild boar. If we had butbread and wine we should live like nobles. Our supplies, however, are low at present, and we shall have to make an expedition, tomorrow or next day, to replenish them. "

Charlie ate a few mouthfuls of meat, and then lay down and slept, for some hours, on a bed of leaves. He was awoke by loud andexcited talking among the men, and learnt from Honred that one ofthe men, who had been left on watch at the mouth of the path bywhich he had entered the forest, had just brought in the news thata party of a hundred infantry, led by the Jew, had arrived with acart. In this the body of Ben Soloman had been sent off, while thetroops had established themselves in the little clearing round thehut. 

"This comes of letting that Jew escape, " the captain said. "Nodoubt he told the story his own way, and the Jewish traders went tothe governor and asked that troops should be sent to root us out. Well, they are far enough away at present, and I have sent off tohave their movements watched. It is a good nine miles, from here tothe hut, and they may look for a week before they find this place, unless that rascally Jew has heard of it from the woodman, or theyget hold of the fellow himself, though I should think they willhardly do that. I fancy he has some cause of quarrel with theauthorities, and will not put himself in the way of beingquestioned closely, if he can help it. "

The next morning when Charlie awoke, two men were standing besidehim. His eyes first fell on the one who had been to the town, andwho held a large bundle in his hand. Then he turned his eyes to theother, and gave an exclamation of pleasure, as he saw that it wasStanislas. He looked pale and weak, and was evidently justrecovering from a severe illness. 

"Why, Stanislas!" he exclaimed. "This is a pleasure, indeed. Inever for a moment dreamt of seeing you. I heard from the Jew whoguarded me that you got away, but I was afraid that you had beenbadly wounded. Why, my brave fellow, what brings you here?"

"I have come to be with your honour, " the man said. "It was, ofcourse, my duty to be by your side. I was very ill for a week, forI had half a dozen wounds, but I managed, after the assailants leftme, to crawl back to Mr. Ramsay's to tell him what had happened. Idon't remember much about the next few days. Since then I have beenmending rapidly. None of the wounds were very serious, and it wasmore loss of blood, than anything else, that ailed me. Mr. Ramsaysearched high and low for you, and we had all given you up fordead, till a few hours before this man arrived with your letter. 

"We heard you had killed Ben Soloman. I had a long talk with yourmessenger, who received a handsome present from Mr. Ramsay, and heagreed to conduct me here, upon my solemn promise that, if thecaptain would not receive me, I would not give any information, onmy return, as to the whereabouts of the band. Mr. Ramsay hired alight cart, and that brought us yesterday far into the forest. Wecamped there, and I had not more than a couple of miles to walk toget here this morning. "

"Have you seen the captain?" Charlie asked eagerly. 

"Yes. I was stopped by some sentries, a quarter of a mile away, andwas kept there while my guide came on and got permission of thecaptain for me to be brought in. When I met him, I had no greatdifficulty in persuading him to let me stop, for Mr. Ramsay hadgiven me fifty rix-dollars to give him; and so, your honour, here Iam, and here is a letter from Mr. Ramsay himself. "

"I cannot tell you how glad I am to have you, Stanislas. I amgetting better, but I am so weak that I took five hours, yesterday, to get six miles. Now I have got you to talk to, I shall pick upstrength faster than I have been doing, for it has been very dullwork having no one who could understand me. There is only one manhere who understands a word of Swedish. "

"We will soon get you round, sir, never fear. I have brought withme four casks of wine. They were left at the place where the cartstopped last night, but the captain has sent off men already tobring them in. You will be all the better for a suit of cleanclothes. "

"That I shall. It is a month now since I had a change, and myjerkin is all stained with blood. I want a wash more than anything;for there was no water near the hut, and the charcoal burner usedto bring in a small keg from a spring he passed on his way to hiswork. That was enough for drinking, but not enough for washing--amatter which never seemed to have entered into his head, or that ofthe Jew, as being in the slightest degree necessary. "

"There is a well just outside, " Stanislas said. "I saw them drawingwater in buckets as we came in. I suppose it was the well of thiscastle, in the old time. "

"I will go and have a wash, and change my clothes the first thing, "Charlie said. "Mr. Ramsay's letter will keep till after that. "

They went out to the well together. 

"So you heard the story, that I had killed Ben Soloman, before youleft?"

"Yes; before your letter arrived, Mr. Ramsay sent for me, and toldme a Jewish trader had just informed him that news had come thatBen Soloman had been murdered, and the deed had been done by theyoung Scotchman who had been with him. Mr. Ramsay did not believethe story in the slightest. He admitted that Ben Soloman might havebeen murdered, and even said frankly that, hated as he was, it wasthe most natural end for him to come to; but that you should havedone so was, he said, absurd. In the first place, he did not thinkthat you were alive; and in the second, it was far more probablethat you had been murdered by Ben Soloman, than that he should havebeen murdered by you. 

"However, even before your letter came, three or four hours later, there seemed no longer any doubt that you had killed the Jew. Bythat time, there was quite an uproar among his people. He was theleader of their community, and had dealings with so many noblesthat his influence was great; and, although he was little liked, hewas regarded as an important person, and his loss was a very heavyone to the Jewish community. A deputation went to the governor, andwe heard that troops would be at once sent out to capture you, andthe band of brigands you had joined. Mr. Ramsay told me that it wasfortunate, indeed, that you had not returned to the city. But, nodoubt, he has told you all that in the letter. "

"I feel quite another man, Stanislas, " Charlie said, when he hadchanged his garments. "Now I can read the letter you brought me. "

After expressing the great satisfaction he felt, at the news thatCharlie was alive, Mr. Ramsay went on to say that, even were hewell, he could not return to Warsaw in the present state of publicfeeling. 

"Your story that you were attacked, grievously wounded, and, afterbeing confined here for some days, carried away and confined in thewood, by order of Ben Soloman, and that he visited you there, wouldbe treated with derision. The version given by the man who broughtin the story of the Jew's death was that he himself was staying inthe cottage of a charcoal burner, an acquaintance of his, and thata party of brigands, of whom you were one, arrived there, and thatthey were boasting of having caused the death of Ben Soloman, whohad fallen by your hand. He managed to escape from the brigands, and on the road found the dead body of his employer, who was, heknew, that morning coming out to give him some instructions. Myopinion, and that of my friends who knew you, was that the fellowhad himself killed and robbed his master; but your letter, ofcourse, showed that his account was true to some extent--that BenSoloman had fallen in a struggle with you, and that you yourselfwere a prisoner in the hands of these bandits. Still, as it wouldbe next to impossible for you to prove the truth of your story, andas the Jews of the place, who are numerous and influential, aredead against you, your life would certainly be forfeited were youto be captured. 

"I know your story to be true, but it would appear wildlyimprobable, to others, that this wealthy Jew should have conspired, in the first place, to cause an attack to be made upon an unknownyoung stranger, still less that he should have had him carried offto the forest, and should have gone to visit him there. Theexplanation that you were a Swedish officer in disguise would notbenefit you in any way, while it would involve us who knew you inyour danger, and would cause the Jew to be regarded as a man whohad lost his life in endeavouring to unmask a plot against Poland. Therefore, I think it is extremely fortunate that you are, for thepresent, safe in the hands of these brigands, and should certainlyadvise you to make no attempt to leave them, until you areperfectly well and strong. 

"I have, as you directed me, hidden a few pieces of gold in yourshoe, and have handed the rest of your money to your man, who isstarting to join you. He will conceal it about him. I have justheard that a body of troops are starting at once for the forest, and that orders have been sent to other towns, to send detachmentsinto it at different points, so it is evident the authorities aredetermined to catch you, if possible. If you had killed half adozen traders in a smaller way, they would have cared little aboutit; but just at present, pressed as the king is by want of money, he is bound to do everything he can to please the Jewish traders, as it is upon them that he must rely for loans for the payment ofhis troops. 

"In this matter, then, he will leave no stone unturned to gratifythem, and I should strongly advise your band to move away from theneighbourhood, at any rate for a time. They may plunder wholevillages with impunity, but what is regarded as the murder of therichest citizen of Warsaw, a man mixed up in business and politicswith half the principal nobles of the land, is a different matteraltogether. Do not think of trying to traverse the country untilyou are perfectly strong. It will be a dangerous business at thebest, but with your man with you, to bear the brunt of replying toquestions, I have every confidence that you will succeed in makingyour way through. As to this, I can give no advice, as there is nosaying as to the point from which you may start, or the directionsin which you may travel. 

"Should you, at any time, find yourself in a town in which thereare any of my countrymen established in trade, and you will findthem nearly everywhere, use my name. I think it is pretty generallyknown to Scotchmen in Poland. You will see I have inclosed a notethat will be useful to you. "

The inclosure contained only a few words:

"I, Allan Ramsay, merchant of Warsaw, do declare the bearer of thisnote to be my friend, and beg any countrymen of mine, to whom hemay present himself, to assist him in every way, and, should herequire money, to furnish him with it, I undertaking to make myselfresponsible for the same, and to pay all monies and other chargesthat he may incur. "

"The first thing to do, " Charlie said, as he placed the letters inhis doublet, "is to let the leader of our band know that otherbodies of troops, besides that at the hut, are about to enter theforest. He may decide that it is necessary to march away at once. "

As soon, indeed, as the outlaw received the tidings, he issuedorders for the band to prepare for instant departure. 

"A party of five or six men together, " he said to Charlie, "mighthide in this forest for years. But a band of fifty is too large tobe long concealed. To begin with, they must get food, and musteither buy it or hunt for it; and in the second, there are aconsiderable number of men living in the forest, charcoal burnersand herders of goats and swine, and any of these, if questioned bythe troops, might mention that they had seen a considerable numberof men passing. As it is, we will break up into parties of seven oreight, and appoint a rendezvous where we may meet again. "

The band was speedily mustered, for, with the exception of thosewho were watching the forest through which the troops at the hutmust march to reach them, the whole were close at hand. A messengerwas sent off to call in the scouts. Then the booty that had beentaken during their late excursions was brought out, and emptied onthe ground. It consisted of money and jewellery. It was dividedinto equal portions, of which each member took one, the lieutenantsof the band two, and the captain three. 

"You don't share this time, " the latter said to Charlie; "but nexttime, of course, you and your comrade will each have your portion. "

When this was done, the men were told off in parties of six orseven, and instructions given as to the point of rendezvous. Eachband chose its own leader, and, in an hour from the reception ofthe news, the place was deserted, and the parties were making theirway in different directions through the forest. 

Charlie and Stanislas formed part of the captain's own force, whichnumbered ten in all. 

"Do you think they will all turn up at the meeting place?" Charlieasked the leader, whose name he now ascertained was LadislasKoffski. 

"They may, " he said. "But it is seldom that bands, when they oncedisperse like this, ever come together again. It is impossible tocontent everyone, and any man who is chosen leader of a party may, if he is dissatisfied, persuade those with him to join some otherband. Even if they do not go in a body, many are sure to break offand make for their homes, to enjoy the booty they have gathered. 

"But, upon the other hand, as we go we shall gather up freshrecruits. With so many disbanded soldiers and discontented menroaming the country, there is no difficulty in getting as many menas one cares to keep together. 

"Fifty is the outside that is advisable, for with more, even if onemakes a good haul, it comes to so little, a head, that the men aredissatisfied. Of course they work in small parties, but this doesnot succeed so well as when a small band are under a singleleader. "

"How long have you been at this work?"

"Since last autumn. "

"And you find it pay?"

"We do not get much in money. As you saw, there were but four rixdollars a head, and that is the result of a month's work. Still, that is not bad for men who might otherwise starve. Sometimes we doworse and sometimes better, but that is about the average. Still, the life is a pleasant one, and unless we disbanded soldiers tookto it, what would there be for us to do? If government would keepus on regular pay, there would soon be no brigands left, except themen who have escaped from justice. But the treasury is empty, and, even at the best of times, the troops are badly and irregularlypaid, and are forced to plunder to keep life together. They arealmost in rags, and though we Poles do not mind fighting, there isgenerally a difficulty in getting sufficient infantry. As for thecavalry, they are nobles, and draw no pay. 

"How do you feel today?"

"Better. The night's rest, and a wash and change of clothes thismorning, have made me feel another man. How far do you intend tomarch?"

"We shall go slowly for a day or two. The other parties have allpushed on ahead fast, but by taking matters quietly, and by keepinga sharp lookout, we need have no great fear of being surprised. Iknow the forest well, and its thickest hiding places, so we canafford to travel slowly, and as you become accustomed to it youwill be able to make longer journeys. "

For ten days they travelled through the forest, increasing theirdistance daily, as Charlie regained his strength. The last day ortwo they did not make less than twenty miles a day. Their faceswere turned steadily east. Occasionally they passed large tracts ofcleared land, villages, and cultivated fields. At some of thesethey stopped and replenished their stock of flour, which they tookwithout paying for it, but did no farther damage. 

Of meat they had abundance. Two or three men started each day assoon as they halted, and, in a short time, returned with a goat oryoung pig. 

"We are now close to the Bug River, " Ladislas said at their lasthalting place. "Tomorrow we shall meet some, at least, of ourcomrades. I do not expect a great many, for we were pretty equallydivided as to the direction we should travel in. Practically, wewere safe from pursuit when we had gone fifteen miles, for theforest there spreads out greatly, and those in search of us wouldknow that further pursuit would be useless. Many of my men did notcare about going farther, but all this part of the country has beenso harried, for the last two or three years, that we thought itbest to try altogether new ground. When we have crossed the Bug weshall be beyond the forest, but there are great swamps andmorasses, and hills with patches of wood. Many streams take theirrise there, all meeting farther on, and forming the Dnieper. Wemust keep north of that river, for to the south the country isthinly populated, and we should have difficulty in maintainingourselves. "

Charlie made no comment, but he was glad to hear that the bandintended to keep to the north of the Dnieper, for that river wouldhave formed a serious obstacle to his making his way to rejoin theSwedes. The next day, they reached the bank of the Bug, and, following the river down, came after an hour's walking upon a greatfire, round which fifteen men were stretched. These, as thecaptain's party approached, rose to their feet with a shout ofwelcome. 

"That is better than I expected, " Ladislas said, as they came up tothem. "Five and twenty is quite enough for work here. In theforests one can do with more, but, moving steadily on, as we meanto do, till we get pretty near the eastern frontier, five andtwenty is ample. It is enough, when together, to surprise avillage; and it is not too many, travelling in twos and threes, toattract attention. Things always go on better, too, after adispersal. Many who are discontented, or who want to command a bandof their own, break off, and one starts fresh, with just the menone likes best to keep. "

"We had begun to give you up, captain, " one of the men said, as hejoined the other party. "We have been here six days. "

"We travelled but slowly, at first, and it is only the last twodays we have really made fair journeys; but there was no reason forany great haste. The world is all our own, and, at any rate, aslong as we were in the forest, there was no fear of wanting food. 

"So I see some of our comrades have left us. "

"We can do very well without them, captain. There were thirty of ushere two days ago. Essos and Polinski quarrelled, and Essos waskilled. Then Polinski wanted us to elect him captain, and to moveaway at once. Four or five, who have always been grumblers, joinedhim at once, and persuaded some of the others, till we were aboutequally divided. It came pretty nearly to a fight; but neitherliked to begin, and they moved away. "

"There are quite enough of us left, " Ladislas said. "As to Essosand Polinski, I am heartily glad that they have gone. I know theyhave both been scheming for the leadership for some time. Most ofthe others can be very well spared, too. There are plenty of ushere for travel. There is no doubt, as we agreed before starting, that there is not much more to be done in this part of the country. What with the civil wars, and the bands of soldiers without aleader, and others like ourselves who do not mean to starve, thepeasants have been wrought up into a state of desperation. Theyhave little left to lose, but what they have got they are ready tofight to the death for, and, lately, at the first alarm they havesounded the bells and assembled for miles round, and, equipped withscythes and flails, routed those who meddled with them. We had morethan one hot fight, and lost many good men. Besides, many of thenobles who have suffered have turned out, with their followers, andstruck heavy blows at some of the bands; so that the sooner we getout of this country, which is becoming a nest of hornets, thebetter, for there is little booty and plenty of hard blows to begot. 

"We will go on, as we agreed, till near the eastern frontier. Thecountry is well covered with forest there, and we can sally out onwhich side we like, for, if there is not much gold to be had in theRussian villages, there is plenty of vodka, and sometimes thingsworth taking in their churches. The priests and headmen, too, havegenerally got a little store, which can be got at with the aid of afew hot coals, or a string twisted tight enough round a thumb. Atany rate we sha'n't starve; but we must move on pretty fast, for weshall have to get up a warm hut in the forest, and to lay in astock of provisions before the winter sets in. So we must only stopto gather a little plunder when a good opportunity offers. "

Chapter 12: Treed By Wolves. 

Charlie and Stanislas were, that evening, sitting apart from therest, at a short distance from the fire, talking over the future. They agreed that it would be comparatively easy to withdraw fromthe band as they journeyed forward, if, as seemed likely, theytravelled in very small parties. If, indeed, they found themselveswith two others, they could leave openly, for these would scarcelycare to enter upon a desperate struggle, merely for the sake ofretaining two unwilling companions in the band. 

The difficulties would only begin when they started alone. As theywere talking, the captain came across to them. 

"I can guess, " he said, "that you are talking together as to thefuture. I like you, young Englishman, and I like your companion, who seems an honest fellow, but I would not keep you with me byforce. I understand that you are not placed as we are. We have tolive. Most of us would live honestly if we could, but at present itis the choice of doing as we do, or starving. We occasionally takea few crowns, if we come across a fat trader, or may ease a richfarmer of his hoard, but it is but seldom such a chance comes inour way. As a rule, we simply plunder because we must live. It isdifferent with you. Your friends may be far away, but if you canget to them you would have all that you need. Therefore, this life, which is hard and rough, to say nothing of its danger, does notsuit you; but for all that, you must stay with us, for it would bemadness for you to attempt to escape. 

"As I told you, the peasants are maddened, and would kill anypassing stranger as they would a wild beast. They would regard himas a spy of some band like ours, or of a company of disbandedsoldiers, sent forward to discover which houses and villages arebest worth plundering. In your case, you have other dangers tofear. You may be sure that news has been sent from Warsaw to allthe different governors, with orders for your arrest for killingBen Soloman, and these orders will be transmitted to every town andvillage. Your hair and eyes would at once betray you as strangers, and your ignorance of the language would be fatal to you. If, therefore, you escaped being killed as a robber by the peasants, you would run the risk of arrest at the first town or village youentered. 

"Translate that to him, Stanislas. He is learning our languagefast, but he cannot understand all that. "

"That is just what we were talking about, " Charlie said, whenStanislas had repeated the captain's speech, "and the danger seemstoo great to be risked. Think you, that when we get farther to theeast, we shall be able to make our way more easily up intoLivonia?"

"Much more easily, because the forest is more extensive there; butnot until the winter is over. The cold will be terrible, and itwould be death to sleep without shelter. Besides, the forests areinfested with wolves, who roam about in packs, and would scent andfollow and devour you. But when spring comes, you can turn yourfaces to the north, and leave us if you think fit, and I promiseyou that no hindrance shall be thrown in your way. I only ask younot to risk your lives by trying now to pass through Poland alone. "

"I think you are right, Ladislas, and I promise you that we willnot attempt to leave you during our journey east. As you say, itwould be impossible for us to travel after winter had once set in. It is now the end of September. "

"And it will be November before we reach our destination. We shallnot travel fast. We have no motive for doing so. We have to live bythe way, and to gather a little money to help us through thewinter. We may shoot a bear or an elk sometimes, a few deer, andhares, but we shall want two or three sacks of flour, and somespirits. For these we must either get money, or take the goods. Thefirst is the best, for we have no means of dragging heavy weightswith us, and it would not do to infuriate the peasants byplundering any of them within twenty miles of the place where wemean to winter. That would set them all against us. "

"I tell you frankly, Ladislas, that we shall not be willing to aidin any acts of robbery. Of course, when one is with an army one hasto plunder on a large scale, and it has often gone terribly againstthe grain, when I have had to join parties sent out to forage. Butit has to be done. I would rather not join men in taking food, yetI understand that it may be necessary. But as to taking money, Iwill have nothing to do with it. At the same time, I understandthat we cannot share your food, and be with you, without doingsomething. Stanislas has brought me a little money from Warsaw, andI shall be ready to pay into the common treasury a sum sufficientto pay for our share of the food. As to money taken, we shall notexpect any share of it. If you are attacked, we shall of coursefight, and shall be ready to do our full share in all work. So, atany rate, you will not be losers by taking us with you. "

"That is fair enough, " the captain said, when Stanislas hadtranslated what Charlie said, suppressing, however, his remarksabout foraging with the army, as the brigands were ignorant thatCharlie and he had any connection with the Swedes, or that he wasnot, as he had given out, a young Englishman come out to set up asa trader. 

The band now journeyed slowly on, keeping near the north bank ofthe Dnieper. They went by twos and threes, uniting sometimes andentering a village or surrounding a farmhouse at night, and takingwhat they wanted. The people were, however, terribly poor, and theywere able to obtain but little beyond scanty supplies of flour, andoccasionally a few gold or silver trinkets. Many other bands ofplunderers had passed along, in the course of the summer, and therobbers themselves were often moved to pity by the misery that theyeverywhere met with. 

When in small parties they were obliged to avoid entering anyvillages, for once or twice furious attacks were made upon thosewho did so, the women joining the men in arming themselves with anyweapon that came to hand, and in falling upon the strangers. 

Only once did they succeed in obtaining plunder of value. They hadvisited a village, but found it contained nothing worth taking. Oneof the women said:

"Why do you trouble poor people like us? There is the count'schateau three miles away. They have every luxury there, while weare starving. "

After leaving the village, the man to whom she had spoken repeatedwhat she had said, and it was agreed to make the attempt. At thefirst cottage they came to they made further inquiries, and foundthat the lord of the soil was very unpopular; for, in spite of thebadness of the times, he insisted on receiving his rents withoutabatement, and where money was not forthcoming, had seized cattleand horses, assessing them at a price far below what they wouldhave fetched at the nearest market. 

They therefore marched to the house. It was a very large one. Thecaptain thoughtfully placed Charlie and Stanislas among the six menwho were to remain without, to prevent any of the inmates leavingthe chateau. With the rest, he made a sudden attack on the greatdoor of the house, and beat it down with a heavy sledge hammer. Just as it gave way, some shots were fired from the inside, butthey rushed in, overpowered the servants, and were soon masters ofthe place. 

In half an hour they came out again, laden with booty. Each mancarried half a dozen bottles of choice wine, from the count'scellar, slung at his belt. On their shoulders they carried bundlescontaining silver cups and other valuables; while six of them hadbags of silver money, that had been extracted from the count bythreats of setting fire to the chateau, and burning him and hisfamily. 

A halt was made two or three miles away, when the silver wasdivided into shares as usual, the men being well satisfied whenthey learned that Charlie and his companion claimed no part of it. Some of the provisions they had also taken were eaten. Each man hada flask of wine, with which the count's health was derisivelydrunk. 

"This has been a good night's work, " the leader said, "and you haveeach sixty rix dollars in your pockets, which is more than you havehad for months past. That will keep us in provisions and spiritsall through the winter; but mind, although we took it without muchtrouble, we have not heard the last of the business. No doubt, bythis time, the count has sent off a messenger to the nearest townwhere there are troops, and, for a day or two, we shall have tomarch fast and far. It is one thing to plunder villages, andanother to meddle with a rich nobleman. "

For the next forty-eight hours they marched by night instead of byday, keeping always together, and prepared to resist an attack. Onemorning they saw, from their hiding place among some high reedsnear the river, a body of about sixty horsemen ride past at adistance. They were evidently searching for something, for partiescould be seen to break off several times, and to enter woods andcopses, the rest halting till they came out again. 

As the band had with them enough food for another three days, theyremained for thirty-six hours in their hiding place, and then, thinking the search would by that time be discontinued, went onagain. The next day they killed two or three goats from a herd, theboy in charge of them making off with such speed that, though hotlypursued and fired at several times, he made his escape. Theycarried the carcasses to a wood, lit a fire, and feasted upon them. Then, having cooked the rest of the flesh, they divided it amongthe band. 

By this time the wine was finished. The next day they again sawhorsemen in the distance, but remained in hiding till they haddisappeared in the afternoon. They then went into a village, butscarcely had they proceeded up the street when the doors wereopened, and from every house men rushed out armed with flails, clubs, and axes, and fell upon them furiously, shouting "Death tothe robbers!"

They had evidently received warning that a band of plunderers wereapproaching, and everything had been prepared for them. The bandfought stoutly, but they were greatly outnumbered, and, as but fewof them carried firearms, they had no great advantage in weapons. Charlie and Stanislas, finding that their lives were at stake, wereforced to take part in the fray, and both were with the survivorsof the band, who at last succeeded in fighting their way out of thevillage, leaving half their number behind them, while some twentyof the peasants had fallen. 

Reduced now to twelve men and the captain, they thought only ofpushing forward, avoiding all villages, and only occasionallyvisiting detached houses for the sake of obtaining flour. Thecountry became more thinly populated as they went on, and there wasa deep feeling of satisfaction when, at length, their leaderpointed to a belt of trees in the distance, and said:

"That is the beginning of the forest. A few miles farther, and weshall be well within it. "

By nightfall they felt, for the first time since they had set outon their journey, that they could sleep in safety. A huge fire waslit, for the nights were now becoming very cold, and snow hadfallen occasionally for the last four or five days, and in the opencountry was lying some inches deep. The next day they journeyed afew miles farther, and then chose a spot for the erection of a hut. It was close to a stream, and the men at once set to work, withaxes, to fell trees and clear a space. 

It was agreed that the captain and two of the men, of the mostpacific demeanour, should go to the nearest town, some forty milesaway, to lay in stores. They were away five days, and then returnedwith the welcome news that a cart, laden with flour and a couple ofbarrels of spirits, was on a country track through the forest amile and a half away. 

"How did you manage, captain?" Charlie asked. 

"We went to the house of a well-to-do peasant, about a mile fromthe borders of the wood. I told him frankly that we belonged to aband who were going to winter in the forest, that we would do himno harm if he would give us his aid, but that if he refused hewould soon have his place burnt over his head. As we said we wereready to pay a fair sum for the hire of his cart, he did nothesitate a moment about making the choice. The other two remainedat his cottage, so as to keep his family as hostages for his goodfaith, and I went with him to the town, where we bought six sacksof good flour and the two barrels of spirits. We got a few otherthings--cooking pots and horns, and a lot of coarse blankets, and athick sheepskin coat for each man. They are all in the car. I seethat you have got the hut pretty nearly roofed in, so, in a day ortwo, we shall be comfortable. "

They went in a body to the place where the cart had been left, butit required two journeys before its contents were all transportedto the hut. Another three days and this was completed. It wasroughly built of logs, the interstices being filled in with moss. There was no attempt at a door, an opening being left four feethigh and eighteen inches wide for the purpose of an entry. The skinof a deer they had shot, since they arrived, was hung up outside;and a folded rug inside. There was no occasion for windows. Acertain amount of light made its way in by an orifice, a footsquare, that had been left in the roof for the escape of smoke. Thehut itself consisted of one room only, about eighteen feet square. 

When this was finished, all hands set to work to pile up a greatstack of firewood, close to the door, so as to save them from thenecessity of going far, until snow had ceased falling, and winterhad set in in earnest. 

The cart had brought six carcasses of sheep, that had beenpurchased from a peasant; these were hung up outside the hut tofreeze hard, and the meat was eaten only once a day, as it would beimpossible to obtain a fresh supply, until the weather becamesettled enough to admit of their hunting. 

The preparations were but just finished when the snow began to fallheavily. For a week it came down without intermission, the windhowled among the trees, and even Charlie, half stifled as he was bythe smoke, felt no inclination to stir out, except for half anhour's work to clear away the snow from the entrance, and to carryin wood from the pile. 

The time passed more cheerfully than might have been expected. Hehad by this time begun to talk Polish with some facility, and wasable to understand the stories that the men told, as they sat roundthe fire; sometimes tales of adventures they themselves had gonethrough, sometimes stories of the history of Poland, its frequentinternal wars, and its struggles with the Turks. 

Making bread and cooking occupied some portion of the time, andmuch was spent in sleep. At the end of a week the snow ceasedfalling and the sun came out, and all were glad to leave the hutand enjoy the clear sky and the keen air. 

While they had been confined to the hut, two of the men had made alarge number of snares for hares, and they at once started into theforest, to set these in spots where they saw traces of the animals'passage over the snow. The rest went off in parties of twos andthrees in search of other game. 

With the exception of Charlie, all were accustomed to the woods;but, as Stanislas had much less experience than the others, thecaptain decided to go with them. 

"It is easy for anyone to lose his way here, " he said. "In fact, except to one accustomed to the woods, it would be dangerous to gofar away from the hut. As long as it is fine, you will find yourway back by following your own tracks, but if the weather changedsuddenly, and it came on to snow, your case would be hopeless. Oneof the advantages of placing our hut on a stream is that it forms agreat aid to finding one's way back. If you strike it above, youfollow it down; if below, upwards, until you reach the hut. Ofcourse you might wander for days and never hit it, still it is muchmore easy to find than a small object like the hut, though evenwhen found, it would be difficult to decide whether it had beenstruck above or below the hut. 

"Now, there is one rule if, at any time, you get lost. Don't beginto wander wildly about, for, if you did, you would certainly walkin a circle, and might never be found again. Sit down quietly andthink matters over, eat if you have got any food with you; thenexamine the sky, and try to find out from the position of the sun, or the direction in which the clouds are going, which way the hutought to lie. Always take with you one of your pistols; if you fireit three times, at regular intervals, it will be a signal that youwant help, and any of us who are within hearing will come to aidyou. "

With the exception of hares, of which a good many were snared, thehunting was not productive. Tracks of deer were seen notunfrequently, but it was extremely difficult, even when the animalswere sighted, to get across the surface of the snow to within rangeof the clumsy arquebuses that two or three of the men carried. Theydid, however, manage to shoot a few by erecting a shelter, justhigh enough for one man to lie down under, and leaving it until thenext snowstorm so covered it that it seemed but a knoll in theground, or a low shrub bent down and buried under the weight of thesnow. These shelters were erected close to paths taken by the deer, and, by lying patiently all day in them, the men occasionallymanaged to get a close shot. 

Several bears were killed, and two elks. These afforded food for along time, as the frozen flesh would keep until the return ofspring. Holes were made in the ice on the stream, and baited hooksbeing set every night, it was seldom that two or three fish werenot found fast on them in the morning. 

Altogether, therefore, there was no lack of food; and as, under theteaching of the captain, Charlie in time learnt to be able to keephis direction through the woods, he was often able to go out, either with Stanislas or alone, thus keeping clear of the closesmoky hut during the hours of daylight. Upon the whole he found thelife by no means an unpleasant one. 

Among the articles purchased by the captain were high boots, linedwith sheepskin, coming up to the thigh. With these and the coats, which had hoods to pull over the head, Charlie felt the cold butlittle during the day; while at night he found the hut oftenuncomfortably warm, sleeping, as they all did, in the same attirein which they went out. 

In February the weather became excessively severe, more so, thepeasants and charcoal burners they occasionally met with declared, than they ever remembered. The wild animals became tamer, and inthe morning when they went out, they frequently found tracks ofbears that had been prowling round the hut in search of offal, orbones thrown out. They were now obliged to hang their supply ofmeat, by ropes, from boughs at some distance from the ground, bywhich means they were enabled to prevent the bears getting at it. 

They no longer dared to venture far from the hut, for large packsof wolves ranged through the forest, and, driven by hunger, evenentered villages, where they attacked and killed many women andchildren, made their entrance into sheds, and tore dogs, horses, and cattle to pieces, and became at last so dangerous that thevillagers were obliged to keep great fires burning in the streetsat night, to frighten them away. Several times the occupants of thehut were awakened by the whining and snarling of wolves outside. But the walls and roof were alike built of solid timber, and aroughly-made door of thick wood was now fastened, every night, against the opening, and so stoutly supported by beams behind it asto defy assault. Beyond, therefore, a passing grumble at beingawakened by the noise, the men gave themselves no trouble as to thesavage animals outside. 

"If these brutes grow much bolder, " the captain said one day, "weshall be prisoners here altogether. They must have come down fromthe great forest that extends over a large part of Russia. Thevillages are scarce there, and the peasants take good care to keepall their beasts in shelter, so no doubt they are able to pick upmore at the edge of the forest here. "

"How far are we from the Russian frontier?"

"I do not think anyone could tell you. For aught I know, we may bein Russia now. These forests are a sort of no man's land, and Idon't suppose any line of frontier has ever been marked. It isRussia to the east of this forest, some thirty miles away, and itis Poland to the west of it. The forest is no good to anyone exceptthe charcoal burners. I have met both Russians and Poles in thewood, and, as there is plenty of room for all--ay, and would bewere there a thousand to every one now working in it--they are onfriendly terms with each other, especially as the two nations are, at present, allied against Sweden. "

In spite of the wolves, Charlie continued his walks in the forest, accompanied always by Stanislas. Both carried axes and pistols, and, although Charlie had heard many tales of solitary men, andeven of vehicles, being attacked by the wolves in broad daylight, he believed that most of the stories were exaggerations, and thatthe chances of two men being attacked in daylight were small, indeed. 

He had found that the track, by which the cart had brought thestores, was a good deal used, the snow being swept away or levelledby the runners of sledges, either those of peasants who came intothe forest for wood or charcoal, or of travellers journeyingbetween Russia and Poland. He generally selected this road for hiswalk, both because it was less laborious than wading through theuntrodden snow, and because there was here no fear of losing hisway, and he was spared the incessant watchfulness for signs thatwas necessary among the trees. At first he had frequently metpeasants' carts on the road, but, since the cold became more severeand the wolves more numerous and daring, he no longer encounteredthem. He had indeed heard, from some of the last he saw, that theyshould come no more, for that the charcoal burners were allabandoning their huts, and going into the villages. 

One afternoon, when they had, on their return, nearly reached thespot where they left the road to strike across the forest to thehut, they heard a noise behind them. 

"That is a pack of wolves, in full cry!" Stanislas exclaimed. "Youhad better get up into a tree. They are after something. "

They hastily clambered into a tree, whose lower branches were butsix or seven feet from the ground. A moment later two horses, wildwith fright, dashed past, while some twenty yards behind them camea pack of fifty or sixty wolves. They were almost silent now, withtheir red tongues hanging out. 

"The brutes have been attacking a sledge, " Stanislas said in a lowtone. "You saw the horses were harnessed, and their broken traceswere hanging by their side. It is easy to read the story. Thesledge was attacked; the horses, mad with fear, broke their tracesand rushed off, or perhaps the driver, seeing at the last momentthat escape was impossible, slashed the ropes with his knife, so asto give the horses a chance. I expect they got a start, for thewolves would be detained a little at the sledge. "

"Do you think the poor beasts will get safe out of the forest, Stanislas?"

"I don't think so, but they may. The chase has evidently been along one, and the wolves have tired themselves with their firstefforts to come up to them. It did not seem to me that they weregaining when they passed us. It is simply a question of endurance, but I fancy the wolves will last longest. 

"See, here is a party of stragglers. I suppose they stopped longerat the sledge. "

"It seems to me they are on our scent, Stanislas. Do you see, theyare coming along at the side of the road where we walked, withtheir heads down. "

"I am afraid they are. Well, we shall soon see. Yes, they areleaving the road where we did. "

A moment later a dozen wolves ran up to the trunk of the tree, andthere gathered snuffing and whining. Presently one caught sight ofthe two figures above them, and with an angry yelp sprang up in theair, and immediately all were growling, snarling, and leaping. Charlie laughed out loud at their impotent efforts. 

"It is no laughing matter, sir, " Stanislas said gravely. 

"They cannot climb up here, Stanislas. "

"No, but they can keep us here. It will be dark in an hour, andlikely enough they will watch us all night. "

"Then we had better shoot two of them, and jump down with ourhatchets. Keeping back to back, we ought to be able to face tenwolves. "

"Yes, if that were all; but see, here come three or four more, andthe dozen will soon swell to a score. No, we shall have to waithere all night, and probably for some time tomorrow, for the menare not likely to find us very early, and they will hardly hear ourpistols unless some of them happen to come in this direction. "

"Do you think, if we shoot two or three of them, the rest will go?"

"Certainly not. It will be all the worse. Their comrades would atonce tear them to pieces and devour them, and the scent of bloodwould very soon bring others to the spot. "

"Well, if we have got to wait here all night, Stanislas, we hadbetter choose the most comfortable place we can, at once, before itgets dark. We must mind we don't go to sleep and tumble off. "

"There will be no fear of our sleeping, " Stanislas said. "The coldwill be too great for that. We shall have to keep on swinging ourhands and feet, and rubbing our noses, to prevent ourselves fromgetting frostbitten. "

"Well, I have never felt the cold in these clothes, " Charlie said. 

"No, sir, but you have never been out at night, sitting cramped ona tree. "

Hour after hour passed. Even in the darkness they could see thewolves lying in the snow below them, occasionally changing theirposition, keeping close together for warmth, and often snarling orgrowling angrily, as one or two shifted their position, and triedto squeeze in so as to get into a warm spot. 

The cold was intense and, in spite of swinging his legs and arms, Charlie felt that his vital heat was decreasing. 

"This is awful, Stanislas. I do not think we can last on tillmorning. "

"I begin to have doubts myself, sir. Perhaps it would be better toleap down and make a fight of it. "

"We might shoot some of them first, " Charlie said. "How manycharges have you?"

"I have only two, besides one in the barrel. "

"And I have only three, " Charlie said. "Powder has run very short. The captain was saying, yesterday, that we must send to the villageand try to get some more. Still, six shots will help us. "

"Not much, sir. There must be thirty or forty of them now. I haveseen some come from the other way. I suppose they were part of thepack that followed the horses. "

Charlie sat for some time thinking. Then he exclaimed:

"I think this is a dead tree. "

"It is, sir. I noticed it when we climbed up. The head has gone, and I think it must have been struck with lightning last summer. "

"Then I think we can manage. "

"Manage what, sir?" the man asked in surprise. 

"Manage to make a fire, Stanislas. First of all, we will crawl outtowards the ends of the branches as far as we can get, and breakoff twigs and small boughs. If we can't get enough, we can cutchips off, and we will pile them all where these three big boughsbranch off from the trunk. We have both our tinderboxes with us, and I see no reason why we should not be able to light a fire uphere. "

"So we might, " Stanislas said eagerly. "But if we did, we might setthe whole tree on fire. "

"No bad thing, either, " Charlie rejoined. "You may be sure the firewill keep the wolves at a respectful distance, and we could getdown and enjoy the heat without fear. "

"I believe your idea will save our lives, sir. Ten minutes ago Iwould not have given a crown for our chances. "

They at once crawled out upon two of the great branches, and arenewed chorus of snarls from below showed that their foes werewatchful. The snapping of the small branches excited a certainamount of uneasiness among them, and they drew off a shortdistance. In ten minutes Charlie and his companion workedthemselves back to the main trunk, each carrying an armful oftwigs. They first cut off a number of small dry chips, and made apile of these at the junction of one of the branches with thetrunk. They then got out their tinderboxes and bunches of rags, shook a few grains of powder from one of the horns among the chips, and then got the tinder alight. A shred of rag, that had beenrubbed with damp powder, was applied to the spark and then placedamong the shavings. A flash of light sprang up, followed by asteady blaze, as the dried chips caught. One by one at first, andthen, as the fire gained strength, several sticks at a time werelaid over the burning splinters, and in five minutes a large firewas blazing. 

Charlie and his companion took their seats where the other two bigbranches shot out from the trunk. These were two or three feethigher than that on which the fire had been lighted, and, ere long, a sensation of genial warmth began to steal over them. Fresh stickswere lighted as the first were consumed, and before long the trunk, where the flames played on it, began to glow. Light tongues offlame rose higher and higher, until the trunk was alight ten ortwelve feet up. 

"The wolves are all gone, " Charlie said, looking down. 

"I don't suppose they have gone very far, sir. But when the treeonce gets fairly alight, you may be sure they won't ventureanywhere near it. "

They had already been forced to move some little distance away fromthe trunk, by the heat, and as the flames rose higher and higher, embracing in the course of half an hour the whole of the trunk andupper branches, they felt that it was perfectly safe to drop offinto the snow beneath them. 

Blazing brands soon began to fall. They stood a short distanceaway, so as to be beyond the risk of accident, but, at Charlie'ssuggestion, they ran in from time to time, gathered up the brandsand laid them at the foot of the trunk, and in a short time asecond fire was kindled here. 

The tree was now a pyramid of fire, lighting up the snow for a longdistance round. Outside this circle the wolves could be heardwhining and whimpering, occasionally uttering a long-drawn howl. 

"They know that they are baulked of their prey, " Stanislas said. "We shall have some of the big branches falling soon, and shall beable to keep up a roaring fire, that will last until daylight. Ishould think by that time the wolves will be tired of it, and willmake off; but if not, the captain will be sure to send men out tosearch for us. He will guess we have been treed by wolves, and wehave only to get into another tree, and fire our pistols, to bringthem in this direction. "

"But they may be attacked, too, " Charlie remarked. 

"There are ten of them, and they are sure to come armed with axesand swords. They ought to be able to fight their way through agood-sized pack. Besides, the wolves will be so cowed by this greatfire, that I don't think they will have the courage to meddle withso strong a party. "

One by one the arms of the tree fell, burnt through at the pointwhere they touched the trunk. They would have been far too heavy tobe dragged, but three or four of them fell across the lower fire, and there lay blazing. Not knowing which way the tree itself wouldfall, Charlie and his companion were obliged to remain at somedistance off, but the heat there was amply sufficient for them. Atlast the trunk fell with a crash, and they at once establishedthemselves as near the fire as they could sit, without beingscorched, and there chatted until morning began to break. 

They felt sure that some, at least, of the wolves were around them, as they occasionally caught sight of what looked like two sparksamong the undergrowth; these being, as they knew, the reflection ofthe fire in the eyes of a wolf. There was a tree hard by in whichthey could, if necessary, take refuge, and they therefore resolvedto stay near the fire. 

Fortunately the night had been perfectly still, and, as the treethey had fired was a detached one, the flames had not spread, asCharlie had at one time been afraid they would do. 

Half an hour after daylight had fairly broken, they dischargedthree shots at regular intervals with their pistols, then theywaited half an hour. 

"Shall we fire again?"

"No. Not until we hear shots from them, " Charlie replied. "We havebut four charges left, and if the wolves made a sudden rush, wemight want to use them. "

After a time, both thought they heard the distant report of amusket. Stanislas looked at Charlie inquiringly. The latter shookhis head. 

"No, no! Stanislas. That gun would be heard twice as far as one ofthese pistols. Let us wait until we are pretty sure that they arenear. I don't like leaving ourselves without other protection thanour axes. "

Chapter 13: A Rescued Party. 

After a considerable pause, a gun was again fired, this time muchnearer to them. Charlie drew out his pistol and was about to reply, when his companion touched his arm. 

"Look!" he said. 

Charlie turned in time to see several gray forms flit rapidlybetween the bushes. He stepped to the edge of the road, and sawsome wolves spring out through the bushes, and go straight alongthe road. 

"What can have scared them?" he asked, in surprise. "The gun wasnot near enough for that. "

"No, besides they would have fled deeper into the forest, insteadof taking to the road. Perhaps they hear something coming. "

Almost at the same moment, two shots were heard in the directiontowards which the wolves were making. 

"That is it!" Charlie excitedly exclaimed. "Another body of wolveshave attacked a passing traveller. Heap the wood on, Stanislas. Ifwe make a great fire, and they get as far as this, possibly theycould spring off and take refuge here. At any rate, the brands willbe better weapons even than our axes. "

The ends of such branches as they were able to move were broughttogether, and a few blows with their axes speedily broke offseveral of the outer ends of charred wood. These were thrown on, and the fire soon blazed up high again. 

Two more shots were heard, this time close at hand. 

They ran into the road. A sledge, with several figures in it, wascoming along at full speed. It was almost surrounded by wolves, and, as they looked, two of them sprang at the horses' heads; buttwo shots again rung out, and they dropped backwards among theircompanions, many of whom threw themselves at once upon theirbodies, while the sledge continued on its headlong course. 

"Here! here!" Charlie shouted at the top of his voice, waving hishands to show the direction which they were to take. 

A moment later the sledge dashed past them, and swept up to thefire. 

"Seize the blazing brands!" Charlie shouted, as those in the sledgethrew themselves out. 

He and Stanislas rolled the two first wolves over with theirpistols, and then joined the others. 

The driver had run at once to the horses, and had muffled them, bythrowing his coat over the head of one, and a rug over the head ofthe other, and, though snorting and trembling in every limb, theystood quiet until he had thrown a head rope round each of theirnecks, and fastened them to the heaviest of the branches. Then heseized a handful of fallen leaves, which were exposed by themelting of the snow above them, and threw them into the fire, whence a dense smoke poured out. 

The wolves had again stopped to devour the two animals that hadbeen shot, and this gave time to the men, by their united efforts, to move a heavy branch and place it across two others, whose endslay in the fire, so as to form with them a sort of triangularbreastwork, the face of which, next to them, was manned by the twotravellers, their servants, Charlie, and Stanislas, with blazingbrands. 

Charlie and his companion hastily loaded their pistols again. Thetwo gentlemen had each rifles and a brace of pistols, as had theirservants. A lady and child had been lifted from the sledge, andthese crouched down at the angle by the fire. The sledge and thetwo horses protected one of the faces of the position, and thedriver, at his master's orders, took his position on the front seatagain, so as to shoot down any wolf that might try to attack theflank of the outside horse. 

The wolves looked doubtful at the appearance of the dense smokerising up, but, after a little hesitation, they rushed to theattack. Four were rolled over by bullets from the rifles, and, asthey came within a few yards, the pistols cracked out in rapidsuccession. As soon as these were all emptied, the six men caughtup the blazing brands, and struck full in the faces of the wolves, shouting loudly as they did so. 

Seized with a momentary panic, the animals turned and fled, andthen a fierce fight took place between the injured wolves and theircompanions. There was but just time to recharge the rifles andpistols, when they came on again. Although the fire of thedefenders was as deadly as before, the wolves seemed this timedetermined to get at their victims. In vain were blows showered ontheir heads, while those who first sprang on the tree were stabbedwith the knives the defenders held in their left hands. 

The contest could have had but one termination, when suddenly twoshots were heard, and then, with loud shouts, a party of men burstthrough the forest, and with pistol and axe fell on the wolves. This unexpected onslaught had a decisive effect, and, with loudhowls and yelps, the wolves turned and fled. 

Up to this time, not a word had been exchanged by the defenders, beyond Charlie's first shout of "Lay this branch across those two, "and the order of one of the gentlemen to the coachman to take hisplace in the sledge--where he had done his work well, for fourwolves lay dead by the flank of the outside horse. Several of thosethat had sprung at the heads of the horses had been shot or cutdown by the master, who had placed himself close to them, and thehorses' thick mufflings had saved them from any serious injury. 

As soon as the wolves fled, the gentleman turned to Charlie, and, flinging down his weapons, threw his arms round his neck. 

"You have preserved us from death, sir. You have saved my wife andchild from being torn to pieces. How can I express my thanks toyou?"

"It was fortunate that we happened to be here, " Charlie said, "andthat we had this fire handy. "

A cry from the child called off the gentleman's attention, and heran to his wife, who had sunk fainting on the ground; and Charlie, not a little pleased at this diversion, turned to Ladislas and hismen, who were looking on with the most intense astonishment at thescene. Charlie leapt over the branch, and grasped Ladislas by thehand. 

"You have arrived at the nick of time, Ladislas. Another threeminutes, and it would have been all over with us. "

"Yes, I could see it was a close thing as soon as I caught sight ofyou. We have been wondering all night what became of you, and setout as soon as it was light. We fired a shot occasionally, but welistened in vain for your three shots. "

"We fired them half an hour after daylight, " Charlie said; "but, aswe had then only five charges left between us, and there werewolves all round, we dared not waste them. "

"We heard firing at last, " the captain went on. "First two shotsfaintly, then two nearer, and a minute later two others. We knewthen that you must be engaged with wolves, and we were running ashard as we could in the direction of the shots, when we heard anumber fired close together. Of course we could make nothing of it, but on we ran. Then there was another outbreak of firing, this timequite close. A moment later we caught sight of a confused mass. There was a fire, and a sledge with two horses, and a man standingup in it shooting; and we could see a desperate fight going on withthe wolves in front, so Alexander and Hugo fired their pieces intothe thick of them. We set up a yell, and went at them with ouraxes, yet I did not feel by any means sure that they would not betoo many for us. 

"But what on earth does it all mean? And how is it that you havelived through the night? We had no expectation of finding youalive. However, that fire tells its own tale, as though nothingless than burning up a big tree would content you. "

"I will tell you all, presently. It is too long a story now. Let ushelp these travellers to go their way, before the wolves rallyagain. "

"They will not do that, " the captain said confidently. "If it wasnight, they might hang about the neighbourhood, but they arecowardly beasts in the daytime, and easily scared. They are stillgoing away at their best pace, I will be bound. "

While Charlie was speaking to Ladislas, one of the travellers hadbeen talking to Stanislas, who, in answer to his question, hadinformed him that he was in Charlie's service, and that the latterwas an English gentleman, who had, from a variety of circumstances, especially the suspicion with which all strangers were regarded, been unable to travel through the country, and had therefore beenpassing the winter hunting, with this company of disbanded soldierswho had so opportunely arrived to their assistance. 

The other traveller had, by this time, carried his wife beyond theheat of the fire, and had applied some snow to her forehead, pouring a little brandy from the flask between her lips. She hadnow begun to revive, and, leaving her, he approached the party. Hisbrother met him, and in a few words told him what he had learnedfrom Stanislas. 

"My friends, " he said, "my brother tells me that you are a party ofdischarged soldiers, who are passing the winter in a hut here inthe forest, supporting yourselves by shooting and fishing. I haveto thank Providence for the thought that sent you here. I have tothank you for your prompt assistance, to which we are indebted forour lives. 

"I am Count Nicholas Staroski, and can at least make a substantialreturn for the service you have done me. My estates lie some sixtymiles to the north. You will have no difficulty in finding me. Present yourselves there at Easter. I shall certainly be at mychateau then. I will then talk over what can be done for you. Thosewho like to settle down on land shall have land, those who wouldlike employment in my household shall have it, those who wouldprefer money to go their own way and settle in their own villagesshall each have a heavy purse. "

Then he turned to Charlie. 

"You, sir, as my brother has learned from your brave follower here, are an English gentleman. To you I owe far heavier obligation thanto these soldiers, for you and your man incurred a terrible risk, and well-nigh sacrificed your lives for ours. I pray you come withus, and stay with us for a time. I shall then hear your plans, andyour object in visiting this country, and if I can in any wayfurther them, you may be sure I will do so to the utmost; for thepresent, I can promise you at least excellent hunting, and theheartiest welcome. "

"I thank you very heartily, Count Staroski, and accept gladly yourinvitation; but I must first speak to the captain of these men, towhom I am much beholden for the kindness he has shown me. "

He went across to Ladislas, who had heard what was said. 

"You will not think it ungrateful for me to quit you so suddenly, Ladislas, " he said in a low voice. 

"Assuredly not. You have done us a service, indeed, in thusenabling us to obtain favour with the count. He is one of ourrichest and most powerful nobles, and our fortunes are as good asmade. "

"I will introduce you to him personally, " Charlie said. 

"This, count, is the leader of the party. He has shown me verygreat kindness, and has proved a true friend. From what I have seenof him, I have no doubt whatever that, in spite of certain acts oflawlessness to which he and his friends have been driven of late, you will find him, in any position you may be good enough to givehim, an honest and thoroughly trustworthy man. "

"I will bear it in mind, " the count said. "Now, the sooner we areoff, the better. How far is it to the next village?"

"About seven miles, count. "

The count gave orders for the sledge to be taken on to the roadagain. 

"One moment, " the captain said, taking Charlie aside. "Pray tellus, in a few words, what has happened. The burning of the tree is amystery to us, and we shall die of curiosity if we have to remainhere for another two months with the matter unexplained. "

In as few words as possible, Charlie related to the men the storyof the preceding night, which was greeted with exclamations ofsurprise and admiration. 

"Truly, you have your wits about you, " the captain said. "I shouldhave been frozen to death, if I had been in your position, for Ishould certainly never have thought of lighting a fire up in atree. 

"Well, goodbye, if we do not see you again, may all good fortuneattend you, and may the saints protect you from all danger. "

Charlie shook hands with the men all round, and then hurried downto the sledge. The coachman was already in the front seat, thecountess and her child had taken their places, and the two armedservants and Stanislas were standing behind, in readiness to jumpon to a board fastened above the runners. 

"I must apologize for keeping you waiting, countess, " Charlie saidas he ran up. "I had to explain to my friends, in a few words, howthis had all come about. "

"We are also longing to know, " the count said. "But I have not yetintroduced you to my wife, nor have I learned the name of thegentleman to whom I owe so much. "

"Ah, sir, " the young countess said, holding out her hand afterCharlie had given his name, "what do we not owe you? I shall neverforget it all, never. "

"We will talk when we have started, Feodora. Let us get out of thisforest as soon as we can. "

He took his place beside his wife, and set the child on his knees;his brother and Charlie sitting opposite to him. The servantsspread a bearskin rug over their knees, and then jumped into theirplaces, as the driver cracked his whip, and the horses started. 

"You must think us almost mad to be driving through the forest, atthis time of the year, " the count said to Charlie. "But thecountess is a Russian. We have been staying two months at herfather's place, a hundred miles to the east. My two youngestchildren are at home, and two days since a message arrived, sayingthat one of them was dangerously ill. We had heard, of course, manytales of the numbers and fierceness of the wolves, but we hopedthat, by travelling only by day and with excellent horses, therewas not much to fear, especially as we were five armed men. 

"We fell in with a few wolves yesterday, but beat them off easilyenough. Last night, we stopped at a little village in the forest. They certainly made me feel uneasy there, with their tales aboutthe wolves, but there was no help for it. We started as soon as daybroke, and had driven some fifteen miles, before we came up to you. We had not gone five when the wolves began to show themselves. 

"At first, they kept well behind us, but presently we came upon alarge number, who joined in near where we saw an overturned sledge, with the snow stained with blood all round it. From there we keptup a running fight, and must have killed a score; but their numbersincreased, rather than diminished, and when a fresh pack came upfrom ahead, a quarter of a mile before we saw you, it looked as ifour case was hopeless; for the horses, which had been going at thetop of their speed from the time we started, were beginning toflag, while the wolves were fast closing in upon us, and were justbeginning to attack the horses, when I saw you in the road. 

"And now, pray tell us how you came to be there so opportunely, andhow it was that you had that great fire blazing. "

Charlie gave the full history of the previous night's adventure. 

"Wonderful!" the count and his brother exclaimed; and the formerwent on: "I have heard many stories of escapes from wolves, butnever one like yours. It was an admirable thought, indeed, that ofat once obtaining heat and frightening the wolves away, by settingthe tree on fire. That thought saved our lives as well as your own, for our fate would have been the same as those unfortunatetravellers, whose horses you saw, and who brought the wolves uponyou. 

"And now, sir, would it be impertinent to ask for what purpose youhave come to Poland? Believe me, I only put the question in orderto see if I can in any way be of assistance to you. "

"I do not know, count, whether my avowal will affect youunfavourably, but I know that it will make no difference in yourconduct towards me. I am, as my servant told you, an Englishman bybirth; but I and my father were obliged, in consequence ofpolitical opinions, to leave the country, and I am now a captain inthe service of Charles of Sweden. "

Exclamations of surprise broke from his hearers. 

"Well, sir, " the count said, smiling, "as his majesty King Charles, although not yet one-and-twenty, is one of the greatest generals inEurope, I cannot consider it strange that you, who appear to me tobe no older, should be a captain in his service. But I own that Ipictured, to myself, that the officers of these wonderful soldierswere fierce-looking men, regular iron veterans. "

"I am but eighteen, " Charlie said, "and I myself feel it absurdthat I should be a captain. It is but two years since I wasappointed an ensign, and the king happening to be with my company, when we had a sharp fight with the Russians, he rewarded us byhaving us made into a regiment; so each of us got promotion. I wasappointed captain last May, as a reward for a suggestion thatturned out useful. "

"May I ask what it was, Captain Carstairs, for it seems to me thatyou are full of happy ideas?"

"King Charles, as you may have heard, speaks freely to officers andsoldiers as he moves about the camp. I was standing on the edge ofthe river, looking across at the Saxons, on the day before we madethe passage, when the king came up and spoke to me. He said therewas no hope of our passage being covered--as our advance againstthe Russians at Narva had been--by a snowstorm; and I said that, asthe wind was at our backs, if we were to set fire to the greatstraw stacks the smoke would hide our movements from the Saxons. The idea was a very simple one, and would no doubt have occurred tothe king himself; however, he put it into execution with success, and was good enough, afterwards, to promote me to the rank ofcaptain. "

"So it was owing to you that our army--or rather the Saxon army, for but few Poles were engaged in the battle--was defeated, " thecount said, smiling. "Well, sir, it will do you no harm with us, for personally we are entirely opposed to Augustus of Saxony. Butyou have not yet explained how you, an officer in the Swedishservice, came to be here. "

"I was sent by King Charles to Warsaw, to ascertain the feeling ofthe trading classes there. I had an introduction to a Scottishmerchant, and I passed as a countryman of his, who had come out toenter his business. One of the objects of my mission was toendeavour to induce the foreign merchants in Warsaw to do what theycould to promote a feeling in favour of peace with the Swedes, andthe substitution of another king in place of Augustus. "

"It is not very clear, Captain Carstairs, how you can be fulfillingthat object by passing your winter with a party of robbers--for Isuppose your disbanded soldiers were little better--in a forest onthe confines of Russia. "

Charlie laughed. 

"It is rather a long story, count. Perhaps you will kindly tell methe news about public affairs, first. "

"By no means, " the count said. "That is a long story, too, and mywife would much rather hear yours than listen to it. She has notyet recovered from the events of this morning. But we will waituntil we are at the village. We have left the forest behind us, andanother half hour will take us to Stromoff, where we can get prettygood accommodation. "

The horses, a splendid pair of animals, had, during their passagethrough the forest, shown every sign of fear; starting nervously, swerving, and going in sharp, sudden rushes, and always needing aconstant strain on the reins to keep them from bolting. Once awayfrom the trees, however, they settled down into a fast trot, andthe seven miles to Stromoff were done in less than half an hour. 

No sooner did the landlord of the inn learn the name of his guest, than he, his wife, and sons bustled about in the greatest haste tomake things comfortable for them. Huge fires were lighted in theguest rooms, and the common room was cleared of the othercustomers, until the chamber should be sufficiently warmed foroccupation; while in the kitchen preparations were made for a meal, to which, in half an hour from their arrival, the party in thesledge sat down. When this was over, settles were placed round thefire, and Charlie then gave a full account of his adventures, fromthe time he was attacked in the streets of Warsaw. 

"So it was you, Captain Carstairs, after whom there was so keen asearch in September. The death of Ben Soloman made a great stir, and I can assure you that there are a great many people who owe youa debt of gratitude. The man had no sons, and all his propertypassed to his widow, whom he had, it seems, treated harshly duringhis lifetime. She was from Holland, and wished to return to herpeople, so, as his means were very large, she made the easiestterms with all those on whose estates her husband had heldmortgages, in order to wind up her affairs as soon as possible. Thus, his death was the subject of wide rejoicings. However, if youhad been caught at the time, I fear it would have gone hard withyou; for the Jews were all very keen about it--as the man, rascalthough he was, was one of the chief heads of their religion--andwere you to fall into their hands in any of the towns, they wouldeither kill you or send you to Warsaw. "

"And now, sir, will you tell me what has taken place sinceSeptember?"

"Things have moved slowly. Augustus endeavoured, after his defeaton the Dwina, to make peace with Charles on his own account, andwithout the knowledge of the diet, but Charles refused to giveaudience to any of his agents, and would not even see the beautifulCountess of Konigsmark, who is, you know, herself a Swede, and whomAugustus sent, thinking that her blandishments might win over theyoung king. It was useless. Charles maintained the ground that hetook up from the first--namely, that he would treat with the diet, but would have nothing whatever to say to Augustus. So the dietsent an embassy of four senators. 

"Instead of receiving them with every pomp and ceremony, as theyexpected, the king met them on horseback. He demanded that, as afirst condition, they should dethrone Augustus. Parties in the dietwere pretty equally divided; but the proposal was rejected, foreven those most hostile to Augustus resented the proposal that we, a free and unconquered people, should be ordered by a foreignprince to change our king. So nothing came of it. 

"The Swedish army advanced a certain distance into Poland, andthere were a great number of skirmishes, but there has been noserious fighting, nor is there much chance of any, until the snowhas gone and the country dried up in the spring. At present, Augustus is quarrelling with the diet, who still set themselvesagainst the importation of more Saxon troops. But doubtless, beforethe campaign begins in earnest, he will have settled matters withthe senators, and will have his own way in that respect. There is, however, little chance of the diet agreeing to call out the wholeforces of the country, and the next battle will, like the last, bebetween the Swedes and the Saxons, who may have with them perhaps afew thousand Poles, belonging to the king's party. "

"You don't belong to the king's party, count?"

"No. I, like the majority of our nobles, have no interest whateverin the war, for we were never consulted before it began. It is anaffair between Saxony and the Swedes. Let them fight it out. Itwould be a bad day for Poland, if Augustus and the Russians were toovercome and despoil Sweden. We want no addition of territory, forthat would be to strengthen our kings against us. We see thetrouble caused by Augustus having Saxony at his command, and if hehad other territory, the country would be divided into two parts, one of which would have nothing in common with the other. 

"Still less do we wish to see Russia gain territory to the north ofus. Hitherto we have thought but little of the Muscovites, but thiswar has shown that they can put great armies into the field, andthe czar is making them into a nation which may some day beformidable to us. 

"Charles has sent every assurance that he has no ill will towardsPoland, and is an enemy not of the country but of its king--who hadformed a coalition against him in a time of profound peace--andthat his hostility will altogether cease with the overthrow andexpulsion of Augustus. So you see, we who live at a distance fromthe capital, and hold ourselves altogether aloof from the intriguesof court, look on at the fray as if it were one in which we have nopart or lot. If Augustus drives out the Swedes, we shall probablyhave trouble with him afterwards. If Charles drives out Augustus, we shall have a fresh king, and shall no doubt choose one upon therecommendation of Charles, who will then march away again, leavingus to manage our own affairs. Therefore, we have no animositywhatever against you as a Swedish officer, but for comfort's sakeit is better that nothing should be said of this, and that I shouldintroduce you to my friends simply as an English gentleman, who hasrendered me the greatest possible service. "

The countess retired to bed, a short time after they had finishedtheir meal, and the others sat up talking until late in theevening. Charlie learnt that the country was still in a greatlydisturbed state. Parties of disbanded soldiers and others, rendereddesperate by cold and hardship, were everywhere plundering thepeasantry, and many encounters had taken place between them and thenobles, who, with their retainers, had marched against them. Travelwould be dangerous for a long time to come. 

"Therefore, until the spring, you must not think of moving, " thecount said. "Indeed, I think that your best plan, when you start, will be to work due north, and join the Swedish forces near Narva. It will be shorter as well as less dangerous. Still, we can talk ofthat later on. "

The next morning they started early, and arrived in the afternoonat the chateau of the count. It was not a fortified building, forthe Poles differed from the western nations, abstaining fromfortifying their towns and residences, upon the ground that theywere a free people, capable of defending their country from foreigninvasion, and therefore requiring no fortified towns, and that suchplaces added to the risks of civil war, and enabled factions to setthe will of the nation at defiance. 

The building was a large one, but it struck Charlie as beingsingularly plain and barn-like in comparison with the residences ofcountry gentlemen in England. A number of retainers ran out as theydrove up into the courtyard, and exclamations of surprise anddismay rose, as the wounds on the horses' flanks and legs werevisible; and when, in a few words, the count told them that theyhad been attacked by wolves, and had been saved principally by theEnglish gentleman and his follower, the men crowded round Charlie, kissed his hands, and in other ways tried to show their gratitudefor his rescue of their master and mistress. 

"Come along, " the count said, taking his arm and leading him intothe house. "The poor fellows mean well, and you must not be vexedwith them. "

The countess's first question had been for her child, and with anexclamation of thankfulness, when she heard that it was better, shehad at once hurried into the house. As soon as they had entered, the count left Charlie in charge of his brother, and also hurriedaway. He was not long before he returned. 

"The child is doing well, " he said, "and now that it has got itsmother again, it will, I think, improve rapidly. The doctor saidthis morning that he considered it out of danger, but that itneeded its mother sorely, to cheer and pet it. "

In a very short time the tables were laid. The count, his brother, and Charlie sat at an upper table, and the hall was filled with thevarious officers and retainers. The count's arrival was expected, for a horseman had been sent forward on their arrival at the innthe evening before. The dinner had therefore been cooked inreadiness, and Charlie was astonished at the profusion with whichit was served. Fish, joints, great pies, and game of many kindswere placed on the table in unlimited quantities; the drink being aspecies of beer, although excellent wine was served at the hightable. He could now understand how often the Polish noblesimpoverished themselves by their unbounded hospitality and love ofdisplay. 

"I suppose, for tomorrow, you will like to remain quiet, " the countsaid, "but after that we will try to amuse you. There is game ofall sorts to be shot, or if you have had enough sport, lately, there will be a sledge and horses at your disposal, whenever youchoose to ride or drive, and in a few days we will give anentertainment, in honour at once of our return, your visit, and thechild's restoration to health. Then you will have an opportunity ofseeing our national dances. "

Charlie had had enough shooting, but he greatly enjoyed the drivesin the sledges, behind the spirited horses. The entertainment cameoff a fortnight after his arrival at the chateau. The guests, forthe most part, arrived early in the afternoon, many having drivenin from great distances. The preparations had been on an immensescale, and the scene at night was a brilliant one. 

Never had Charlie seen anything like the magnificence of thedresses, not of the ladies only, but also of the gentlemen; thePoles having the true oriental love for rich costumes, a taste thattheir national dress permitted them to gratify to the utmost. Nextto the splendour of the dresses, Charlie was surprised at the graceand spirit of the dancing, which was far more vivacious than thatof western nations. The Poles were long considered to be the bestdancers in the world. It was their great national amusement; andall danced, from noble to peasant, entering into it with spirit andenthusiasm, and uniting the perfection of rhythmical motion withthe grace and ease peculiar to them, and to their kinsmen theHungarians. 

The dancing was kept up, with unflagging energy, during the wholenight; and then, after a substantial breakfast, the men and womenwere muffled up in furs, and took their places in the sledges. 

The count would gladly have had Charlie remain with him untilspring began, but he was anxious to rejoin the army; and, seeingthat this was so, the count did everything in his power tofacilitate his journey, which, after talking it over, had beendecided should be direct towards the royal camp. The count'sbrother insisted upon accompanying him on the journey, as in thisway many of the difficulties would be avoided. Two sledges wereprepared, the one for the use of Charlie and Count John, and theother for the two servants and baggage. Both were horsed by thefastest animals in the count's stables. 

Charlie himself had been loaded with presents, which he had beenobliged somewhat reluctantly to accept, as he saw that a refusalwould hurt and mortify his kind hosts. He had, on his arrival, beenprovided with an ample wardrobe of clothes of all kinds, and tothese were now added dolmans, cloaks, rugs, and most costly furs. Asplendid gun, pistols, and a sword, with the hilt studded withgems, completed his outfit; while Stanislas had been presented witha heavy purse of money. 

The whole of the retainers of the castle were assembled to see themstart, and the count and countess, at parting, made him promise tocome and pay them another visit, if the fortune of war should bringhim within the possibility of reaching them. 

The journey was a delightful one. Each night they put up at thechateau of some nobleman. To many of these Count John Staroski waspersonally known; at the others, his name secured at once a heartywelcome for himself and his companion. Travelling only by day, andat the full speed of the horses, they escaped interruption by themarauding bands, and in fourteen days after starting they droveinto the town where Charles of Sweden had his headquarters, afterbeing twice stopped and questioned by bodies of Swedish horse. 

The town was crowded with troops, and they had some difficulty infinding a lodging for themselves, and stabling for the horses. Assoon as this was done, Charlie proceeded alone to the quarters ofCount Piper. 

Chapter 14: The Battle Of Clissow. 

Charlie sent in his name, and was shown in at once. 

"I glad, indeed, to see you, Captain Carstairs, " the minister said, as he entered. "We had given you up for lost. We heard first thatyou had been murdered in the streets of Warsaw. A month later, aman brought a letter to me from your Scotch friend Ramsay, to saythat you were accused of the murder of a Jew trader, a man, itseems, of some importance in Warsaw. Ramsay said that you were inthe company of a band of brigands, and that the man who went withyou as your servant had joined you, and had taken you some money. He forwarded the letter you had sent him explaining your position, and said he thought that, upon the whole, it was the best thing youcould have done, as a vigorous search had been set on foot, at theinstance of the Jews, and there would have been but little chanceof your making your way through the country alone. He added that hefelt confident that, if alive, you would manage somehow to rejoinus before the campaign opened in the spring. 

"I am glad that you have been able to do so, but your appearance, at present, is rather that of a wealthy Polish noble, than of acompanion of brigands. "

"I was able to do some service to Count Staroski, as, whentravelling with his wife and child, and his brother, Count John, hewas attacked by a pack of wolves. I have been staying with him forsome weeks, and his brother has now had the kindness to accompanyme here. He has thereby made my passage through the country easy, as we have travelled with fast horses in his sledge, and havealways put up at the chateaux of nobles of his acquaintance. Ihave, therefore, avoided all risk of arrest at towns. In the letterforwarded to you I explained the real circumstances of the death ofthe Jew. "

"Yes, we quite understood that, Captain Carstairs. You had a verynarrow escape from death at his hands, and, as the danger wasincurred purely in the king's service, it will not be forgotten. Upto the time when the Jew organized the attack upon you in Warsaw, Iwas well satisfied with your reports of your work. So far nothinghas come of it, as Augustus has been too strong for any movementagainst him, but we hope, ere long, to defeat him so decisivelythat our friends will be able to declare against him. I will informthe king of your return, and I have no doubt he will be glad tohear your story from your own lips. He loves tales of adventure, and time hangs somewhat heavily on hand, as, until the frostbreaks, nothing can be done in the field. "

On the following day, indeed, Charlie was sent for to the royalquarters, and had to recount the story of his adventures in full tothe king, who was highly interested in them, and at the conclusionrequested him to introduce Count John Staroski, in order that hemight express to him his obligation for the service he had renderedto one of his officers. This done, Charlie drove out with the countto the village where Colonel Jamieson's regiment was quartered, andwhere his return was received with delight by Harry, and with greatpleasure by Major Jervoise and his fellow officers. He was obligedto give a short outline of what he had been doing since he left, but put off going into details for a future occasion. 

"And are you coming back to us now, Charlie?" Harry asked. 

"Certainly. My success in the diplomatic way was not sufficientlymarked for them to be likely to employ me in that line again. Wemust return this afternoon, as the king has invited us both to supwith him tonight. "

Two days later, Count John Staroski started upon his returnjourney, much pleased with the reception he had met with from theKing of Sweden, and determined to work vigorously, among the noblesof his acquaintance, to bring about the dethronement of Augustus ofSaxony. Charlie had already seen Count Piper, who had told himthat, although the king and himself were both well satisfied withthe work he had done, there was not at present any mission of thesame sort on which he could be employed. Indeed, it was evidentthat, until the Saxons had been decisively defeated, politicalaction would be useless, and that, therefore, for the present hecould either remain at headquarters, or rejoin his regiment. Charlie at once chose the latter alternative. 

"Very well, Captain Carstairs, you can rejoin when you like, butremember I may claim your services again. You see, now that youhave acquired a knowledge of Polish, your value for this sort ofwork is largely increased. "

As soon as the frost had broken, the Swedish army commenced itsadvance. Skirmishes frequently took place, but Augustus had, asyet, no army with which he could meet them in the field, and hesummoned a diet at Warsaw, in hopes of persuading the Poles todecide upon calling out the whole national force. 

In this he failed altogether. The citizens, led by the foreigntraders, were already openly opposed to him, and their attitude soencouraged his opponents in the diet, that many of these rose andopenly denounced the government, and the conduct of the king, thathad brought the country into its present difficulties. 

As the Swedish army advanced, they were joined by the Duke ofHolstein, and, in spite of the efforts of a considerable body ofthe enemy, under Prince Wisniowiski, progressed steadily, crossedthe river Memel, and, when near Grodno, were met by an embassy sentby the diet, to endeavour to persuade Charles not to advancefurther. 

An interview took place between the king, the Poles, and hisministers, the conversation on both sides being in Latin. But asthe ambassadors had no definite plans to propose, and their leaderswere wholly devoted to Augustus, the king refused to allow hisadvance to be arrested, and continued his march. When near Pragathey crossed the plain where Charles Gustavus, King of Sweden, haddefeated the Polish army in a great battle, that had lasted forthree days. The city was occupied, and a contribution of 20, 000crowns imposed upon it, in addition to food for the army while itremained there. Plundering, however, was strictly forbidden, and, as the king issued a proclamation declaring that he was no enemy ofthe Polish Republic, but simply of their king, the inhabitantswere, on the whole, well satisfied with the conduct of theinvaders. 

A halt was made here for some time, and a bridge was thrown acrossthe Vistula, while the army rested after the long and fatiguingmarches it had made. A fresh attempt was made to arrest the advanceof the Swedes, and the Cardinal Primate, himself, met the king; butnothing came of the negotiations, and the army entered Warsaw. Herethey were warmly received, and great entertainments were given tothe king. 

Towards the end of June, they again advanced to meet the force thatAugustus had gathered, and on the 6th of July the Swedes arrivedwithin a few miles of Clissow. The next day some reinforcementsarrived, and the king decided to give battle on the following day, which was the anniversary of the victory on the Dwina, the previousyear. 

His army was twelve thousand strong, while that of Augustus wasnearly double that strength, and was very strongly posted, his campbeing surrounded by morasses, although situated on rising groundwhich commanded the whole of the country round it. The bogs in thefront were found to be so impassable, that the Swedes were forcedto make a circuit to the left, where the ground was firmer. Thismovement obliged the enemy also to change front, a movement thatcaused considerable confusion, as they themselves were forced totraverse boggy ground, to take up a new position facing that bywhich the Swedes would now advance. 

The attack was commenced by the division commanded by the Duke ofHolstein, but, scarcely had he set his troops in motion than he wasmortally wounded, by a ball from a falconet. His troops, however, pushed forward vigorously. The Polish division opposed to themresisted the two first assaults bravely, but gave way at the thirdattack, and were driven from the ground, in such confusion thatthey took no further part in the engagement. 

While this was going on, the Saxon cavalry had been repulsed bythat of Charles, and, passing in their retreat under the fire ofthree infantry regiments, suffered so heavily that they left thefield. The Swedish foot now advanced all along the line, and in thecentre destroyed several battalions of Saxons. 

But the Swedish right was attacked so vigorously by the Saxon left, under Field Marshal Steinau, that for a time the conflict wasdoubtful. The Swedish horse guards and other cavalry, however, charged with such determination that the Saxon horse on this flankwere also defeated, and driven off the field, while the Swedishinfantry, advancing without firing, drove several battalions ofSaxon foot into a village, where, being surrounded, almost all werekilled or taken prisoners. 

The Saxon horse, gathering once more, attempted bravely to retrievethe fate of the day, and engaged the Swedish horse with suchdesperate valour, that a considerable portion of the Saxon infantrywere enabled, under cover of the conflict, to draw off, cross themorasses, and make their escape. 

The battle lasted four hours, and had been, throughout, severelycontested. The Saxons lost four thousand killed and wounded, andthree thousand taken prisoners, while the Swedes had eleven hundredkilled and wounded. Forty-eight cannon were captured by thevictors, together with all the baggage and waggons. The death ofthe Duke of Holstein, a gallant prince who was exceedingly popularwith the army, and beloved by the king, cast a gloom over thisgreat victory, which virtually laid Poland at the feet of thevictors, and insured the fulfilment of the object for which Charleshad persisted in the war. 

Jamieson's regiment had been on the left wing, but, as it had beenheld in reserve, to strengthen the line at any point at which itmight give way, the Scotch had taken but a small share in thefighting, and had but thirty men killed and wounded by the shot andbullets that passed over the heads of the fighting line. 

The captain of one of the companies was among those killed, andCharlie, who had, since he rejoined the regiment, been doing dutyas lieutenant, now took the vacant place. 

The army still advanced. Augustus sent in several proposals forpeace, but these were all rejected. The Saxons had speedily ralliedafter the battle, but were not in a position to oppose the advanceof the victorious Swedes, who occupied Cracow without meeting withany resistance. Seeing that Augustus would not be strong enough tohazard another pitched battle, Charles had, on the morning afterthe victory, ordered three of his regiments, of which Jamieson'swas one, to march with all speed to reinforce Major GeneralSchlippenbach, who had sent an urgent request for aid, as he heardthat the Russian army, fifty thousand strong, was preparing tocross the frontier; and as he had but six thousand, he could nothope to oppose their advance successfully. 

As the king's orders enjoined the troops to march with the greatestpossible speed, they performed the journey back to Warsaw in fourdays, although the distance exceeded a hundred miles. Mountedmessengers had been sent on before them, and, on reaching the town, they found boats already prepared to take them down the river toDanzic, where orders had already been sent for ships to be inreadiness to convey them to Revel. The fatigues since the campaignopened had been severe, and the troops all enjoyed the long days ofrest, while the craft that conveyed them dropped quietly down theVistula. Then came the short sea passage. 

On their arrival at Revel, bad news met them. They had come toolate. On the 16th of July the Russian army had passed the frontier, and the Swedes had tried to oppose them at the passage of the riverEmbach; but the water was low, from the effects of a long drought, and the Russians were enabled to ford it at several points. TheSwedes fell upon those who first crossed, and for two hoursrepulsed their attacks, obtaining at some points considerableadvantage, and capturing some guns, but, as fresh reinforcementspoured across the river, the tide of battle turned. The Russiancavalry drove back the Swedish horse, who, as they retreated, rodethrough the infantry and threw them into disorder. These wereattacked by the Russians before they could recover from theirconfusion, and were almost entirely destroyed or taken prisoners. 

The general, and many of the mounted officers, effected theirescape, rallied the broken cavalry, and fell back towards Revel. The Russians spread over the country and plundered it, burning thelittle town of Valk, murdering its inhabitants, and carrying offinto slavery the whole of the population who fell into their hands. 

The arrival of the three regiments was hailed with muchsatisfaction by the people of Revel, who feared that the Russiansmight besiege the town. They did not, however, approach within manymiles, but, after completely wasting the country, retired acrossthe frontier. 

The victory that had been gained over the Swedes at Embach, and thedestruction of the greater part of General Schlippenbach's force, enabled the czar to turn his arms against Ingria, the extremeeastern province of Sweden, which included the shores of LakeLadoga and the whole of the coast of the Baltic between Narva andFinland. Urgent messages were sent by the governor of that provinceto General Schlippenbach, requesting him to send him aid, as he hadnot even sufficient men to garrison the walled towns. The generalwas, however, afraid that Narva would be again besieged, and hetherefore dared not reduce his small force to any considerabledegree, but drew one company from each of the three regiments, andembarked them on board a ship for the mouth of the Neva. 

As there seemed little prospect of service, for a time, near Revel, all the officers were eager that their company should be chosen forthe service in Ingria. Colonel Jamieson therefore said:

"I do not wish to choose one company more than another; all canequally be depended upon. Therefore, I think the fairest way willbe to draw lots as to which shall go. "

The lot fell upon Charlie's company, which therefore formed part ofthe expedition. On reaching the mouth of the Neva, they heard thatthe town of Notteburg, situated at the point where the Neva issuesfrom the lake, was already besieged by the Russians, and that theSwedish vessels on the lake had been obliged to come down theriver. A fort had been raised by the Russians on the bank, toprevent succour being conveyed into the town, and two thousand menhad crossed the river and occupied a small redoubt on the northernside, so that the town was completely invested. 

The newly-arrived force was ordered to march, at once, with ahundred horse and four field pieces, the whole under the command ofMajor Sion, who was well acquainted with the country. 

"What do you think of this expedition, Captain Carstairs?" hislieutenant, John Bowyer, asked him. 

"I would rather be back with King Charles, " Charlie replied. "Ofcourse, I don't know the geography of the place, but if theRussians keep their eyes at all open, I don't see how a force likeours, with cavalry and guns, can hope to enter the town unnoticed. The addition of the horsemen seems to me altogether ridiculous, asthey could be no good whatever, if they did enter the town. As forthose four field pieces, they will hamper our march; and as theysay the Russians have already some forty cannon in position aboutthe town, those little pieces would be useless. 

"Four hundred infantry, making the attempt at night under goodguidance, might manage to slip into the place, but this processionof ours is, to my mind, tempting destruction, for we certainlycannot hope to cut our way, by force, through the whole Russianarmy. 

"But even if we do get inside the town, our plight can be nobetter. The Russians' cannon are bombarding it, night and day, andmore batteries are in course of erection, and Schlippenbach thegovernor, who is, I believe, a brother of the general, has but afew pieces to reply to them. 

"Were there an army advancing to the relief of the place, it wouldbe different altogether, for our reinforcement might be of vitalimportance in repelling assaults, until aid arrived. But there isno hope of aid. The king's army is some nine hundred miles away, and his hands are full. General Schlippenbach has sent as many menas he could spare. They say there are at least twenty thousandRussians round the town, and where is an army to come from that cancompel them to raise the siege? To my mind, we shall either bedestroyed making our way into the town, or, if we do get in, shallbe made prisoners of war, if not massacred--for the Russians havebut vague ideas as to giving quarter--when the town falls, whichmay be a fortnight hence. "

"It seems a bad lookout, altogether, " the lieutenant remarked. 

"Very much so. The best possible thing that could befall us wouldbe for the Russians to make us out, before we get too far intotheir lines, in which case we may be able to fall back before theycan gather in overwhelming strength, and may thus draw off withoutany very great loss. "

Major Sion called the captains of the infantry companies, and thetroop of horse, to a sort of council of war, when the little forcehalted for an hour at three o'clock in the afternoon. 

"We have another ten miles to march, gentlemen, and I should liketo ask your opinion as to whether it would be best to try to forceour way in as soon as we get there, or to halt at a distance ofthree or four miles from the Russians, and make our effort atdaybreak before they are fairly afoot. "

The other three officers gave their opinion in order of seniority, and all advocated the plan of falling upon the Muscovites atdaybreak. 

"And what do you think, Captain Carstairs?" Major Sion askedCharlie. 

"I regret to say, major, that my opinion differs from that of theother gentlemen, and this for several reasons. In the first place, ifwe halt so near the Russians, our presence in their neighbourhoodmay be betrayed by a peasant, and we may be surprised in the night. If no such mishap should take place, we should have to be on foot twohours before sunrise. I in no way doubt your knowledge of the road, but it is at all times difficult to make out a mere track, like thatwe are following, at night, and in the morning we might well findourselves involved in the Russian intrenchments, from which we couldnot extricate ourselves before a large force had gathered round us, in which case we must be all either killed or taken prisoners. Myown suggestion would be that we should remain here another two hours, and then continue our march so as to reach the spot, where we are toendeavour to break through their line, about sunset. Should we beobserved, as we most likely should be, we might at that hour be takenfor a freshly-arrived body of Russian troops. There would be no riskof losing our way, and we might hope to be close upon them before wewere discovered to be enemies. If we succeed, as I trust we shall, inbreaking our way through and reaching the town, well and good. If, on the other hand, we find greater obstacles than we expect, and areforced to fall back fighting, we shall have the advantage thatdarkness will be setting in. The Russians, the greater part of whomwill be ignorant of our strength, will lose time before they move, fearing they may be assaulted in other quarters, and in the darknesswe might be able to make good our escape, which it is certain none ofus would do, should we meet with a repulse at daybreak. "

"Your reasons are very just, Captain Carstairs. Though certainly myopinion was in accordance with that given by your fellow officers, I am bound to say that your argument seems unanswerable. 

"What say you, gentlemen? I have two objects in view--the first toreinforce the garrison of Notteburg, the second to save the troopsunder my command, if I should fail in doing so. I know the countrywell, but its features will be considerably altered. Trees willhave been cut down, houses levelled, intrenchments thrown up, campsscattered here and there, and I own that in the dark, I might, asCaptain Carstairs says, very easily miss my way. I think hisproposal therefore unites the greatest chances of getting throughtheir line and entering the town, with a possibility of drawing offthe troops without great loss, in case of failure. "

The other three officers at once agreed, and orders were issued forthe men to lie down until five o'clock and rest themselves beforepursuing their march. 

It was past that hour before they were in motion again. Major Sion, with a peasant from the neighbourhood of Notteburg, rode ahead. Then came the troop of cavalry, with the guns close behind them, followed by the infantry. As they approached the Russian lines, thepeasant several times went on in advance, and presently a trooperrode down the line, with the order that the troops with firearmswere to light their matches, and the spearmen to keep in a compactbody. 

They were now not far from the Russian lines, and the destructionthat had been wrought during the last ten days was visible to them. Every tree and bush had been felled, for use in the intrenchmentsor for the erection of shelters. A few blackened walls alone showedwhere houses had stood. Gardens had been destroyed, and orchardslevelled. 

Light smoke could be seen rising at many points from the Russianfires, and, when the troops were halted, they were but half a milefrom the intrenchments. 

Word was passed down that the rapid Swedish march was to bemoderated, and that they were to move carelessly and at a slowrate, as if fatigued by a long march, and that the spears were tobe carried at the trail, as they were so much longer than thoseused by the Russians that their length would, if carried erect, atonce betray the nationality of the troops. There was no attempt atconcealment, for the cavalry would be visible for a considerabledistance across the flat country. Considerable bodies of men couldbe seen, gathered round fires at a distance of not more than aquarter of a mile on either hand, but, as the column passed betweenthem, there was no sign of any stir. 

In a short time, the order was passed for the troops to form fromcolumn into line, and the cavalry officer who brought it said thatthere was a Russian battery erected right across the road, a littlemore than a quarter of a mile ahead. 

"Things look better, Captain Carstairs, " the lieutenant said, asthe company, which happened to be leading, fell into line. 

"Yes, I have no doubt we shall take their battery, coming down, aswe do, upon its rear. The question is, are there any intrenchmentsahead? Major Sion told us, when we halted, that the peasant assuredhim that there were no works beyond it, and that it was the weakestpoint of the line; but it is three days since he came out fromNotteburg, and, working hard as the Russians evidently do, they mayhave pushed on their intrenchments far in advance of the battery bythis time. "

The force halted for a moment. The guns were unlimbered, turnedround, and loaded. Then the line of cavalry opened right and left, the four pieces poured a discharge of grape into the Russians, clustered thickly in the battery four hundred yards away, and then, with a shout, the Swedish cavalry charged, the infantry coming onat a run behind them. 

The surprise was complete. With cries of terror, the Russians forthe most part leapt from the battery and fled, and the few whoattempted to defend their guns were sabred by the cavalry. 

"There are other works ahead!" Major Sion exclaimed, as, sitting onhis horse, he looked over the parapet, "and bodies of troopsscattered all about. Push forward, men, at a double, and do you, Captain Sherlbach, cut a way for us with your cavalry. "

The sun had set a few minutes before the guns were fired, andCharlie, as he led his men over the earthwork, and saw the Russianlines in front, congratulated himself upon the fact that, inanother half hour, it would be quite dark. As they approached thenext line of works, a scattering fire of musketry opened upon them, but the aim was wide, and without loss they reached the work. TheRussians, though inferior in numbers, defended themselvesobstinately, and continually received reinforcements of bodies ofmen, running up from all sides. In five minutes the Swedes clearedthe works of them, but, as they prepared to advance again, they sawa large body of horse riding down to bar their advance, whilenumbers of footmen were running to occupy some intrenchments aheadof them. Trumpets were sounding to the right, left, and rear. 

"We cannot force our way farther, " the major said to Charlie. "Weknew nothing of these works, and they are fatal to our enterprise. We must retreat while we can. Do you not think so?"

"Yes, sir, I think the enterprise is quite hopeless. "

The order was given. The troops faced about, formed into closerorder, and at the double retraced their steps, the spearmen of eachcompany forming its front line, and the musketeers the second. 

Already it was growing dusk. The cavalry, riding ahead, scatteredthe small bodies of men who threw themselves in their way, and thebattery they had first taken was entered without loss. There was amomentary halt here, for the men to recover their wind. Then themusketeers poured a volley into a dark line advancing upon them, the horsemen charged in among them, the long pikes of the frontline cleared the way, and, with a shout, the Swedes passed throughtheir foes and pressed forward. 

But more troops were gathering to bar their way, and the majorchanged the line of march sharply to the right, sweeping along bythe side of the force through which they had just cut their way, the musketeers on the flank firing into them as they passed. Themovement was an adroit one, for in the gathering darkness the enemyin front would not be able to distinguish friends from foes, or toperceive the nature of the movement. For a few minutes they wereunmolested, then the course was again changed, and Charlie wasbeginning to think that, in the darkness, they would yet make theirescape, when a dull heavy sound was heard in their rear. 

"That's the Russian cavalry, Bowyer. Take the musketeers on withyou, and keep close to the company ahead. I will break them up withthe pikemen. If they do come up to you, give them a volley and thencontinue your retreat with the rest. "

While the captains of the other two companies had placed theirpikemen in the front line, Charlie had placed his in the rear, inorder to repel any attack of cavalry from that direction. He nowformed them in a close clump, taking his place among them. TheRussian squadrons came along with a deep roll like that of thunder. They were but thirty yards away when they perceived the littlecluster of men with levelled lances. A few, unable to check theirhorses, rushed upon the points, but most of them reined in theirlittle steeds in time. In a moment, the Swedes were surrounded by awall of yelling horsemen, some of whom tried to break through thehedge of spears, while others discharged their pistols. 

Charlie listened anxiously for the roll of a volley of musketry, but no sound came, and he felt sure that the whole body of cavalryhad halted round him, and that his movement had saved the rest, whowould now, if fortunate, be able to make their way off in thedarkness. But the men were falling now from the pistol fire of theCossacks, and, feeling that the work had been done, he determinedto make one effort to save the men with him. 

"Level your spears, and charge through them shoulder to shoulder, "he said. "It is your only chance. Once through, throw away yourspears, and break up in the darkness. Most of you may escape. 

"Now!"

With a shout, the Swedes rushed forward in a body. Horses andriders went down before them. There was a rush from behind. Charlieshouted to the rear rank, to face about, but in the confusion anddin his words were unheard. There was a brief struggle in thedarkness. Charlie emptied his pistols, and cut down more than oneof his opponents, then a sword fell on his shoulder, while at thesame moment he was ridden over by a Cossack, and was stunned by theforce of his fall. 

When he recovered consciousness, several men with torches weremoving about him, and, at the orders of an officer, were examiningthe bodies of the fallen. He saw them pass their swords through thebodies of three of his own men, who were lying near him, and asthey came up to him he closed his eyes, expecting a similar fate. 

"This is an officer, captain, " one of the torch bearers said inRussian. 

"Very well. Carry him to the camp, then. If he is alive, thegeneral may want to question him. "

Seeing that he breathed, four of the Russian soldiers took him upontheir shoulders, and carried him away. The pain of his wound, caused by the movement, was acute, but he retained consciousnessuntil, after what seemed to him a journey of immense length, he wasagain laid down on the ground, close to a large fire. Severalofficers stood round him, and he asked, first in Polish and then inSwedish, for water, and at the orders of one who seemed of superiorrank to the others, some was at once brought to him. 

"Your king treats his prisoners well, " the officer said. "We willdo everything we can for you. "

Half an hour later, a doctor came to his side, and cutting open hiscoat, applied a bandage to his shoulder. 

"Is it a serious wound?" Charlie asked in Swedish. 

"It might be worse, but it will be a troublesome one; it is a sabrecut, and has cleft right through your shoulder bone. Are you hurtanywhere else?"

"No, I do not think so. I was knocked down in the dark, and Ibelieve stunned, though I have a sort of recollection of beingtrampled on, and I feel sore all over. "

The surgeon felt his ribs and limbs, repeatedly asking him if ithurt him. When he finished the examination, he said:

"You are doubtless badly bruised, but I don't think anything isbroken. Our Cossack horses are little more than ponies. Had theybeen heavy horse, they would have trod your life out. "

A few moments later there was a sound of trampling horses. Theyhalted close by. The officers drew back, and a moment later MarshalScheremetof, the commander of the Russian army, came up toCharlie's side. 

"Which of you speaks Swedish?" he asked the officers, and one ofthem stepped forward. 

"Ask him what force was this that attacked us, and with whatobject. "

As Charlie saw no reason for concealment, he replied that it was abody of four hundred Swedish infantry, and a troop of horse, withfour guns, and that their object was to enter the town. 

"They must have been mad to attempt to cut their way through ourwhole army, " the general said, when the answer was translated tohim; "but, by Saint Paul, they nearly succeeded. The Swedes aremad, but this was too much even for madmen. Ask him whence theforce came. It may be that a large reinforcement has reachedVyburg, without our knowing it. "

"We arrived two days since, " Charlie replied, when the question wasput to him. "We came in a ship together from Revel. "

"Did others come with you?" was next asked, at the general'sdictation. 

"No other ship but ours has arrived. "

"But others are coming?"

As Charlie had no doubt that great efforts would be made to sendfurther reinforcements, he replied:

"Many more troops are coming, but I cannot say when they willarrive. "

"Will it be soon?"

"That I cannot say, but I don't think they will come from Revel. There was a talk of large reinforcements, but whether from Swedenor from the king's army, I cannot say. "

"Are you a Swede?" the general asked. 

"I am an Englishman in the Swedish service, general. "

"We have many of your countrymen with us, " the general said. "Itwould have been better for you, had you come to the czar. 

"See that he is well treated, " he said to the officers, and thenmounted and rode away. 

Chapter 15: An Old Acquaintance. 

The next morning Charlie was placed in a tent, in which lay severalofficers who had been wounded, either the night before or by shotsfrom the town. He learned with great pleasure, upon questioning thedoctor, that the Swedes had got off safely in the darkness. Someeight or ten men only had straggled and been made prisoners, andnot more than twenty had been left dead on the field. He had thesatisfaction, therefore, of knowing that the defence made by hisown pikemen had been the means of saving the whole force. In otherrespects he had nothing to complain of, for he was well attendedto, and received the same treatment as the Russians. 

For another ten days the roar of the cannon continued, some seventyguns keeping up an incessant fire on the town. At the end of thattime the governor capitulated, and was allowed to march out withthe honours of war. 

Only forty out of the brave garrison remained unwounded at the endof the siege. They, as well as such of their comrades as werestrong enough to travel, passed through the lines of the Russians, and marched to Vyburg. 

Three weeks after being made a prisoner, Charlie's wound was so farhealed that the surgeon pronounced him able to sit a horse, and, under the escort of an officer and four Cossacks, he was taken byeasy stages to Bercov, a prison fortress a short distance fromMoscow. He had inquired from the surgeon who attended him forDoctor Kelly. The doctor knew him, but said that he was not withthe army, but was, he believed, away visiting some towns on theVolga, where a serious pestilence was raging. 

Charlie remained but a short time at Bercov. His wound was healingrapidly, and the surgeon who attended him assured him that therewas every prospect of his making a complete cure, if he would butkeep his arm, for some weeks, in a sling. 

He had nothing to complain of, either as to his comfort or food. The governor, who spoke a little Polish, visited him every day, andasked many questions as to his native country. On one of thesevisits he said to him:

"You asked me yesterday if I knew Doctor Kelly, one of the chiefsurgeons of the army, who, as you had heard, was at present on theVolga. You mentioned that he was a friend of yours, and that youhad made his acquaintance, when you were unlucky enough before tobe a prisoner in our hands. I am sorry to say that I have todayseen an official report, in which his name appears among the listof those who have fallen victims to the pestilence. "

"I am sorry to hear that, " Charlie exclaimed; "both because he wasvery kind to me, and I liked him much, and because, in the secondplace, I was sure that he would have used his influence, with theczar, to obtain my exchange as soon as possible. "

"It is very unfortunate, " the governor said, "especially as theseexchanges are of rare occurrence. A few officers may be takenprisoners on each side in the skirmishes, but the numbers are toosmall to make the loss of any importance, either to Russia orSweden, and it is months since either have taken any steps to bringabout exchanges. I myself have no influence. My appointment here isa sort of punishment, for having offended the czar by not havingbrought up my regiment in time to take part in the fight, when youattacked us at Narva. I saved the regiment, but that was notregarded as any excuse for having been three days longer on themarch than the czar expected; so I was sent here, as a sort ofdismissal from active service. 

"You know no one else who could move in your matter?"

"No one. The governor of the castle at Plescow was a surly fellow, and was reprimanded by the czar, at least so I heard, for nothaving treated me sufficiently well. I was only three or four daysthere, and the only officer I saw besides Doctor Kelly was a friendof his, another doctor. He was at the table when I dined withKelly. He seemed to me to be a fine fellow, and, by the by, he didsay jokingly that, if I was ever made prisoner again, I was to askfor him, and that he would do anything he could for me. "

"What was his name?" the governor asked. 

"Peter Michaeloff. 

"Do you know him?" he added, as he saw a look of surprise in thegovernor's face. 

"I know one of that name, " the governor said doubtfully, "I don'tknow that he is a doctor; though he may be, for he knows somethingof many things. "

"Oh, he was a doctor, " Charlie said confidently. "I know Kelly saidhe could take off a limb as well as he could do it, himself. "

"What sort of man was he?"

"He was a tall, strong man, with black hair and gray eyes. He hasrather a positive way of talking, and seemed to have very strongopinions about things. He looked good tempered, but I should saythat he could be passionate enough, if he were put out. "

"That might be the Peter Michaeloff I know, " the governor said. "You are sure he said that you were to ask for him, if you were asecond time taken prisoner?"

"I am quite certain he said so, though I don't know whether thepromise meant much. But he certainly spoke as if he thought hemight be able to help me, and, though it did not seem likely that Icould have such bad luck twice, I think he meant at the time whathe said, and I should think he was the sort of man who would keephis word. "

"I will make some inquiries, " the governor said, "and find out, ifI can, where he is at present. Yes, I should think that he would beable to assist you, if he chose to interest himself in the matter. "

Ten days later, the governor came into Charlie's room. 

"An officer has arrived, with an order for your removal, " he said. "You are to be taken up again to Notteburg. "

"I am very sorry, " Charlie said. "I have been very comfortablehere. You have been very kind to me, and I feel sure the changewill not be for the better. Besides, we are nearly into Septembernow, and in that marshy country round the lake and river, thewinter will be even more severe than it is here. The only thing Ican think of is that the Swedes at Vyburg may have taken a Russiancaptain prisoner, and that they are going to exchange us. "

The governor shook his head. 

"There are no longer any Swedes at Vyburg. All Ingria is in ourhands and the Swedes have retired into Finland. It may be that itis the work of your friend. I sent a message to Peter Michaeloff, should he be found in that neighbourhood, by an officer who wasgoing there, telling him that you were here, and that, having methim when a prisoner at Plescow, you relied on his good offices. Should the officer have found him there, and have given him mymessage, he may probably have begged the field marshal to order youto be taken to the prison there, where he could be near you, andvisit you sometimes. "

"Your doctors must have a good deal more influence in your armythan they have among the Swedes, " Charlie remarked, "if that is howit has come about. "

"It would be a matter of favour, " the governor said. "If Michaeloffis acquainted with the field marshal, or had attended him whenunwell, he could ask a little favour of that sort. If the fieldmarshal sent you here, he could send for you again without moretrouble than signing his name to the order. "

"Well, if it is Michaeloff who has done this, " Charlie grumbled;"no doubt he meant it kindly, but I would much rather that he leftme here. A ride of two hundred and fifty miles, in August, is notpleasant to begin with, and the thought of winter in those swampsis enough to make one shiver. "

"With a comfortable room and a warm stove, you will not find muchto complain of, Captain Carstairs, " the governor said with a smile;"and, no doubt, Michaeloff may be enabled to obtain leave for youto go out with him on parole. I was about myself to ask you, nowthat you are strong and well again, whether you would like to giveyour parole, and offer you the use of my horse for a ride, wheninclined for it. "

"Thank you, governor. If Michaeloff can do that, it will certainlybe a boon, but I am not disposed to agree that the change can behis work. In the first place, we don't know that he is there. Inthe second, I can hardly think that he could have managed it; and, most of all, I do not see he could possibly have had a hand in thematter, for, even supposing the officer had found him directly hearrived, and then given him the message, and he had acted upon itat once, there would have been no time for the order to get here. It would have needed a messenger riding night and day, withfrequent relays of horses, to have got to Notteburg and back sincethe day I spoke to you about the matter. 

"When am I to start?"

"As soon as you have eaten your breakfast. The order says 'send atonce, ' and field marshals expect their orders to be attended topromptly. "

On descending to the courtyard after breakfast, Charlie wassurprised to see that, instead of a horse as he had expected, awell-appointed carriage, with an ample supply of rugs, was standingthere. The governor was there to see him off. 

"Well, sir, " Charlie said. "If this is the way in which you conveyprisoners from one place to another in Russia, I shall certainly beable, when I meet King Charles, to report to him most favourably asto the treatment of his officers who have fallen into the czar'shands. This will make the journey a very much more pleasant onethan I had expected. "

"I am glad you are pleased, " the governor said, "and that you haveno unpleasant recollection of your stay here. "

A minute later, the carriage dashed out through the gate of theprison. An officer was seated by Charlie's side, two Cossacksgalloping in front, while two others rode behind. 

"It was worth making the change, if only for this drive, " Charliethought cheerfully, as the dust flew up in a cloud before thehorses' hoofs, and he felt a sense of exhilaration from the keenair that blew in his face. 

The journey was performed with great rapidity. One of the Cossacksgalloped ahead, as soon as they arrived at the station where theychanged horses, and had fresh ones in readiness at the next posthouse. The Cossacks themselves were changed at every other station, fresh relays from the men stationed there taking their place. Excellent meals were served three times a day, and each night acomfortable bed was provided, at the last post house where theystopped. 

The officer was a pleasant fellow, but he spoke nothing exceptRussian, and, although Charlie fancied he understood him to someextent when he spoke to him in Polish, he shook his head and gaveno answers in that language. 

Late in the evening of the third day, they arrived at Notteburg. The building at which the carriage stopped was of considerablesize. It stood in the heart of the town, and had no outwardappearance of a prison. It was apparently at a side entrance atwhich they stopped. On the officer knocking at the door, it wasopened by two Cossacks, who, after exchanging a few words inRussian with the officer, led Charlie along a passage and up anarrow staircase, which led into a somewhat spacious corridor. Theyopened a door, and he found himself in a comfortable room. A tablelaid for dinner with handsome silver and appointments stood in themiddle of the room, which was carpeted with tartar rugs. One of theCossacks opened an inner door, which led into a bedroom, snuglyfurnished. 

"It must be the doctor, after all, " Charlie murmured to himself, ingreat surprise. "I see now that there was plenty of time for aletter to come up here and have gone back again, and I suppose thegood fellow has got leave for me to stay for a night in hisquarters, before I am handed over to the prison. Well, for the lastthree days I have travelled like a prince, and this is the closingact of it. "

He enjoyed a good wash, then returned to the other room, and satdown in a comfortable chair to wait for his host. He was on thepoint of dozing off, when the door opened, and Peter Michaeloffentered. Charlie sprang to his feet. 

"Well, Captain Carstairs, " the Russian said, holding out his hand, "so it seems you had bad luck again. You must have quite anaffection for our prisons. "

"I shall have, at least, a pleasant remembrance of the kindnessshown to me as a prisoner, " Charlie said; "and I am sure it is youthat I have to thank for my transfer here, and for the pleasantjourney I have had. I could not have travelled more comfortably, ifI had been a Russian grandee. "

"Well, I am glad to meet you again, " the doctor said heartily. "Letme see, it is some twenty months since we supped together last atKelly's quarters. Poor fellow! I shall miss him greatly. You haveheard of his death?"

"The governor of Bercov told me of it, a fortnight ago. I wasindeed sorry to hear it. I shall never forget his kindness to me. "

"Yes, he was a good man, skilful in his profession, and full ofzeal and energy. The blood runs faster somehow, in the veins of youislanders, than of us sluggish Muscovites. If we could but at onesweep banish every Russian official, from the highest to thelowest, and fill their places with men from your islands, whatprogress we should make, what work could we get done, what reformscould be carried out!

"However, at present, " he went on, changing the subject abruptly, "the point is supper. I am as hungry as a bear, for I have been atwork since daylight, and have eaten nothing since I broke my fast. "

He rang a handbell placed on the table. Two Cossacks enteredbearing dishes, and the doctor and his guest at once fell to on thesupper, which was excellent. 

"Hard work deserves good food, " the Russian said, in reply to aremark of Charlie's as to the excellence both of the food and wine. "Your Charles does not think so, I hear, and lives on the roughestof food. What will be the consequence? He will wear himself out. His restless activity will exhaust his powers, and weaken hisjudgment. I can eat rough food if I can get no better, but I takethe best, when opportunity offers. 

"What have you been doing ever since you left Plescow? I inquiredafter you the other day, when our troops broke up Schlippenbach'sforce on the Embach. I found you were not among the prisoners, andI wondered if you were among the killed. "

"I was not in Livonia at the time. I was with the king's army atWarsaw. Three regiments were sent off, the day after the battle ofClissow, by boats down the Vistula, and then by ship to Revel. Minewas one of them, but we arrived a fortnight too late. "

"Then you were present at Charles' third victory? How that youngfellow handles his troops, and what wonderful troops they are! Nowwe will get into our easy chairs again, and you shall tell mesomething about what you have been doing, since we last met. "

Charlie gave a sketch of his adventures. 

"So you fought at the Dwina, too? You have had luck in goingthrough three battles without a wound. "

When Charlie stated that he had gone to Warsaw on a privatemission, whose nature was immaterial to the story, the doctor brokein:

"You need not tell me what it was, it was of course something to dowith Augustus. The way Charles is hunting down that unfortunateking is shocking, it is downright malignity. Why, he has wastedfifteen months over it already, and it has cost him Ingria. Hecould have made any terms with Poland he liked, after his victoryon the Dwina, and would then have been free to use all his forcesagainst us. As it is, he has wasted two summers, and is likely towaste another, and that not for any material advantage, but simplyto gratify his hatred against Augustus; and he has left us to takeIngria almost without a blow, and to gain what Russia has wantedfor the last hundred years, a foothold on the Baltic. He may be agreat general, but he is no politician. No real statesman wouldthrow away solid advantages in order to gratify personal pique. "

"He considers Augustus the author of this league against him, "Charlie said. "He and the czar had no grounds at all of quarrelagainst him. "

"We talked over that, the last time we met, " the doctor said with alaugh, "and I told you then that a foothold on the Baltic was sonecessary to Russia, that she would have accepted the alliance ofthe Prince of Darkness himself to get it. As to Augustus, I don'tdefend him. He was ambitious, as I suppose most of us are. Hethought he saw an opportunity of gaining territory. He has foundthat he has made a mistake, and will of course lose a province. ButCharles' persecution of him goes beyond all bounds. Never beforedid a sovereign insist upon a nation consenting to dethrone itsking at his dictation. 

"But go on with your story. "

He listened without remark, until Charlie concluded. 

"I wish you had been in our service, " he said, "instead of that ofSweden. You would have mounted fast. You have all the requisitesfor success, above all, promptitude of decision and quickness ofinvention. You did well in getting away from that Jewish scoundrelin the hut, and in killing his master, but it was your adventurewith the wolves that showed your quality. That idea of setting fireto the tree in which you were sitting, in order at once to warmyourself and to frighten away the wolves, would never have occurredto a Russian, and the quickness with which you formed, with threelogs, a redoubt against the wolves, showed a quick military eye, and the ability to think and act in a moment of danger. 

"Now tell me how it was that you were the only officer captured theother day. "

Charlie briefly related how he, with the pikemen of his company, had stayed behind to check the pursuit of the Russian horse, and togain time for the main body to lose themselves in the darkness. TheRussian struck his fist on the arm of his chair. 

"It was well done, " he said. "There is the difference. A Russiancaptain would have done it, if he had been ordered, and he and hismen would, without a question, have sacrificed themselves to coverthe retreat of the rest, but he would never have done it on his owninitiative. The idea would never have struck him. He would haveplodded along until the enemy's cavalry came up and annihilatedthem all. By the way, why did you not ask for me at once?"

"I had asked for Doctor Kelly the day after I was taken prisoner, and was told that he had gone to the Volga. I thought that he wouldbe back before long, and it was only when I heard of his death thatit occurred to me to endeavour to find one who had kindly promised, after a few hours' acquaintance only, to befriend me should I everfind myself in a similar scrape. "

"It would have saved you the journey down to Moscow. I heard, ofcourse, that a Swedish captain had been made prisoner that night, but I was myself at Moscow at the time, and did not happen tonotice the name of the officer taken. Were you well treated atBercov?"

"The governor there was most kind, and all the arrangements of theprison seem excellent. I had no reason whatever to complain. Thegovernor was good enough to come frequently himself to talk to me. He is a fine soldierly man, and though he did not say much, I thinkhe is eating his heart out at being laid on the shelf there, instead of aiding to fight the battles of his country. "

The Russian took out a pocketbook and made a note, then he rose. 

"It is time for bed, " he said. "I am up at daybreak. "

"I hope I shall see you often in the prison, " Charlie said. "Isuppose I shall go in there tomorrow morning. I am indebted to you, indeed, for the very great kindness you have shown me. "

"No, you will not go in early. I have got leave for you for anotherday, and I am going to take you for a drive in the morning. Youwill be called an hour before sunrise. Take your breakfast as soonas you are dressed. Do not wait for me. I have work to do before Istart, and shall breakfast elsewhere. "

As soon as Charlie had breakfasted the next morning, a Cossack toldhim that the carriage was below, and he followed him to the doorwhere he had entered on the previous evening. The carriage was asimple one, but the three horses harnessed abreast to it weremagnificent animals. Charlie stood admiring them for some littletime. 

"I should think, " he said to himself, "the doctor must be a man oflarge property, and most likely of noble family, who has taken uphis profession from pure love of it. He is evidently full ofenergy, and has an intense desire to see Russia greater and higherin the rank of nations. I suppose that, like Kelly, he is one ofthe principal medical officers in the army. Certainly he must be aman of considerable influence to obtain my transfer here so easily, and to see that I travelled so comfortably. I wonder where he isgoing to take me this morning. "

Four or five minutes later Charlie's friend appeared at the door. He was evidently out of temper. He sprung hastily into the vehicle, as if he had altogether forgotten that he had asked Charlie toaccompany him. 

Then, as his eye fell on him, he nodded and said briefly, "Jumpin. "

A little surprised at the unceremonious address, Charlie spranginto the seat beside him without hesitation, seeing that hiscompanion was evidently so much out of temper that he was notthinking of what he was doing at the moment. The coachman crackedhis whip, and the spirited horses went off, at a rate of speed thatthreatened danger to persons traversing the narrow streets of thetown. The cracking of the coachman's whip, and an occasional loudshout and the jangling of the bells, gave, however, sufficientwarning of their approach. 

Charlie smiled at the alacrity with which every one sprang out ofthe way, and either leapt into doorways or squeezed themselvesagainst the wall. He was surprised, however, to see that not onlydid the townspeople show no resentment, at the reckless pace atwhich the carriage was driven, but that the soldiers, officers aswell as men, cleared out as quickly, and without any expression ofindignation or anger. 

Indeed, most of them, as soon as they gained a place of safety, saluted his companion. 

"These Russians have evidently a higher respect for their doctorsthan have the Swedes, " he said to himself. "I am sure that not eventhe chief surgeon of the army would be treated with anything likethe same respect, and, indeed, no one would recognize him at all, if he were not in uniform. "

The doctor seemed to pay no attention to what was passing roundhim, but was muttering angrily to himself. It was not until theydashed out into the open country that he seemed to rememberCharlie's presence at his side. 

"These people are enough to vex one of the saints, by theirstupidity, " he said. "Unless they have some one standing behindthem with a whip, they cannot be trusted to do what they are told. It is not that they are not willing, but that they are stupid. Noone would believe that people could be so stupid. They drive mewell nigh to madness sometimes, and it is the more irritatingbecause, against stupidity, one is powerless. Beating a man orknocking him down may do him good if he is obstinate, or if he iscareless, but when he is simply stupid it only makes him morestupid than before. You might as well batter a stone wall. 

"You slept well and breakfasted well, Captain Carstairs?"

"Excellently well, thank you. What superb horses you have, doctor. "

"Yes. I like travelling fast. Life is too short to throw away timein travelling. A busy man should always keep good horses. "

"If he can afford to do so, " Charlie said with a laugh. "I shouldsay that every one, busy or not, would like to sit behind suchhorses as these, and, as you say, it would save a good deal of timeto one who travelled much. But three such horses as these wouldonly be in the reach of one with a very long purse. "

"They were bred here. Their sire was one of three given by the kingof England to the czar. The dams were from the imperial stables atVienna. So they ought to be good. "

Charlie guessed that the team must have been a present from theczar, and, remembering what Doctor Kelly had said of the czar'spersonal communications with him, he thought that the ruler ofRussia must have a particular liking for doctors, and that themedical profession must be a more honoured and profitable one inRussia than elsewhere. 

After driving with great rapidity for upwards of an hour along thebanks of the Neva, Charlie saw a great number of people at work onan island in the middle of the river, some distance ahead, and soonafterwards, to his surprise, observed a multitude on the flat, lowground ahead. 

"This is what I have brought you to see, " his companion said. "Doyou know what they are doing?"

"It seems to me that they are building a fortress on that island. "

"You are right. We have got a footing on the sea, and we are goingto keep it. While Charles of Sweden is fooling away his time inPoland, in order to gratify his spite against Augustus, we arestrengthening ourselves here, and never again will Sweden wrestIngria from our hands. "

"It is marvellous how much has been done already, " Charlie said, ashe looked at the crowd of workmen. 

"Everything was prepared, " his companion said. "While the army wasinvading Livonia, and driving the remnant of the Swedes into Revel, thousands of carts laden with piles of wood, stone, and cement weremoving towards Ingria. Tens of thousands of workmen and peasantswere in motion from every part of Russia towards this point, and, the day after Notteburg surrendered, they began their work here. Itwas the opportunity in the lifetime of a nation, and we have seizedit. The engineers who had, in disguise, examined it months ago, hadreported that the island was covered at high tides, and was unfitto bear the foundations of even the slightest buildings. Piles arebeing driven in, as close as they will stand, over every foot ofground in it. Over this a coating of concrete many feet thick willbe laid, and on this the fortress, which is to be the centre andheart of Russia, will rise. In the fort will stand a pile, whichwill be the tomb of the future czars of Russia, and there in frontof us, where you see fifty thousand peasants at work, shall be thefuture capital of the empire. "

"But it is a swamp, " Charlie said in astonishment, alike at thevastness of the scheme, and the energy with which it was beingprosecuted. 

"Nature has made it a swamp, " his companion said calmly, "but manis stronger than nature. The river will be embanked, the morassdrained, and piles driven everywhere, as has been done in theisland, and the capital will rise here. The fort has already beennamed the Fortress of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The capital willbe named alike after the patron saint and its founder--Petersburg. "

They had now reached the spot. The carriage stopped and theyalighted. Charlie saw, with astonishment, that a wide deep cut hadbeen driven, between the road and the river, in a straight line. Looking down into it, he saw that it was paved with the heads ofpiles, and that carts were already emptying loads of concrete downupon it. 

"Every bag of cement, every stone that you see, has been broughtfrom a great distance, " his companion said. "There is not a stoneto be had within fifty miles of this spot. The work would seemwell-nigh impossible, but it is the work of a nation. In anothermonth, there will be a hundred and fifty thousand peasants at workhere, and well nigh as many carts, bringing materials for the workand provisions for the workers. "

"It is stupendous! But it will take years to complete, and it willsurely be terribly unhealthy here?"

"I calculate the work will occupy ten years, and will cost ahundred thousand, maybe two hundred thousand lives, " the other saidcalmly; "but what is that to the making of a nation? Before, Russiawas stifled, she could not grow. Now we have a communication withthe world. The island that lies at the mouth of the Neva will befortified, and become a great naval arsenal and fort. Along thewalls which will rise here will be unloaded the merchandise ofEurope, and in exchange the ships will carry away our products. Some day we shall have another port on the south, but for thepresent this must suffice. You will say that this is dangerouslynear our frontier, but that will soon be remedied. As we havepushed the Swedes out of Ingria, so in time shall we drive themfrom Livonia on the west, and from Finland on the north. 

"But I must to work. "

And he motioned to a group of five or six officers, who had beenstanding a short distance away, to approach him. 

Charlie was struck with the air of humility with which they salutedhis companion, who at once asked a number of questions as to thesupplies that had arrived, the progress that had been made, at apoint where they had met with a deep slough into which the pileshad penetrated without meeting with any firm ground, the number ofhuts that had been erected during the past three days for thereception of labourers, the state of stocks of meat and flour, andother particulars. To each he gave short, sharp orders. When theyhad left, he turned to Charlie. 

"You guess who I am, I suppose?"

"I guess now, your majesty, " Charlie said respectfully, "but untilnow the idea that my kind friend was the czar himself never enteredmy mind. I understood, from Doctor Kelly, that you were a surgeon. "

"I don't think he said so, " the czar replied. "He simply said thatI could perform an amputation as well as he could, which was notquite true. But I studied surgery for a time in Holland, andperformed several operations under the eyes of the surgeons there. 

"I saw that you did not recognize my name. It is known to everyRussian, but doubtless you never heard of me save as Peter theCzar. Directly you mentioned it to the commandant at Bercov, anddescribed my appearance, he knew who it was you were speaking of, and despatched a messenger at once to me. He will be here in thecourse of a week or so. Upon your report of the state of theprison, I at once despatched an order for him to hand over hiscommand to the officer next in rank, and to proceed hither at once. He is evidently a good administrator, and heaven knows I have needof such men here. 

"I was pleased with you, when I saw you with my friend DoctorKelly. It was pleasant not to be known, and hear a frank opinionsuch as you gave me, and as you know, I sent you back on thefollowing morning. I certainly told Kelly, at the time, not tomention who I was, but I did not intend that he should keep you inignorance of it after I had left, and it was not until I heard, from your jailer at Bercov, that you were ignorant that PeterMichaeloff was the czar, that I knew that he had kept you inignorance of it until the end. 

"I should have liked to have kept you as my guest for a time, butwinter comes on early and suddenly, and if you did not go now youmight be detained here until the spring. I have therefore givenorders that one of the Swedish vessels we captured on the lakeshould be got in readiness, and its crew placed on board again. Youshall embark in an hour, and it shall carry you to any port inSweden you may choose. The wind is from the east, and you haveevery chance of a quick run thither. "

Charlie expressed his warm thanks to the czar for his thoughtfulkindness. 

"I have much to do now, " the czar said, "and must hand you over tothe care of one of my officers. He will accompany you, in mycarriage, to the spot where the vessel is lying, near the mouth ofthe river, and will there see you on board. Should the fortune ofwar again throw you into our hands, do not lose an hour in sendinga message to Peter Michaeloff. "

So saying, the czar shook hands with Charlie, beckoned an officerto him and gave him instructions, and then moved away among theworkmen, while Charlie, with his conductor, took their places inthe vehicle and drove rapidly off. 

An hour later, he was on board the Swedish vessel, whose master andcrew were delighted at their sudden and unlooked for release. Theformer was overjoyed, for the vessel was his own property. 

"You will find your things in your cabin, sir, " he said. "They weresent on board this morning, together with food and wine sufficientfor a month's voyage, whereas, with this wind, we ought not to bemore than four days. At which port will you land?"

"I would rather go to Gottenburg, captain, though it is farther foryou than Stockholm. "

"It shall be Gottenburg, sir. It is thanks to you that I have gotmy liberty and my ship, and a day or two can make no difference tome. "

Charlie, indeed, had thought the matter over as he drove along. Hewould not be able to rejoin the army until it had gone into winterquarters, and therefore decided that he would go to Gottenburg, apply for six months' leave, and spend the winter with his father. Somewhat puzzled at the mention of his things having gone on board, he went into the cabin, and found there a handsome pelisse trimmedwith costly furs, two robes composed of valuable skins, and achange of clothes. 

The wind held fair, blowing strongly, and four days later hearrived at Gottenburg. 

Chapter 16: In England Again. 

Charlie was received with delight by his father, whom he had notseen since the spring of the previous year. 

"Then you got my letter, Charlie?" Sir Marmaduke asked, when thefirst greetings were over. "And yet, I do not see how you couldhave done so. It is little over a fortnight since I wrote, and Ihad not looked for you for another month yet. "

"I have certainly received no letter, father. A fortnight ago I wasin a Russian prison, and my arrival here, in so short a time, seemsto me almost miraculous;" and he then briefly related his singularexperiences. 

"Now about the letter, father, " he said, as he concluded. "Isuppose you must have written to ask me to get leave for a time, asit seems that you were expecting me shortly. I suppose you feltthat you would like me with you, for a time. "

"So I should, lad, of that you may be sure, but I should not havecalled you away for that. No, I had this letter the other day fromold Banks. You know he writes to me once a year. His letters havebeen only gossip so far, for you know my precious cousin kicked himout of the house, as soon as he took possession; but this is adifferent matter. Read it for yourself. "

Charlie took the letter, and with some trouble spelt through thecrabbed handwriting. 

It began:

"Honoured sir and master, I hope that this finds you and CaptainCharles both well in health. I have been laid up with rhematis inthe bones, having less comfort in my lodgings than I used to haveat Lynnwood. Your honour will have heard that King William hasfallen from his horse, and broken his collarbone, and died. May theLord forgive him for taking the place of better men. Anne has cometo the throne, and there were some hopes that she would, ofherself, step aside and let him to whom the throne rightly belongscome to it. Such, however, has not been the case, and those whoknow best think that things are no forwarder for William's death, rather indeed the reverse, since the Princess Anne is better likedby the people than was her sister's husband. 

"There is no sure news from Lynnwood. None of the old servants arethere; and I have no one from whom I can learn anything forcertain. Things however are, I hear, much worse since young Mr. Dormay was killed in the duel in London, of which I told you in mylast letter. 

"Dame Celia and Mistress Ciceley go but seldom abroad, and whenseen they smile but little, but seem sad and downcast. The usurperhas but small dealing with any of the gentry. There are always menstaying there, fellows of a kind with whom no gentleman wouldconsort, and they say there is much drinking and wild going on. AsCaptain Charles specially bade me, I have done all that I could togather news of Nicholson. Till of late I have heard nothing of him. He disappeared altogether from these parts, just after your honourwent away. News once came here from one who knew him, and who hadgone up to London on a visit to a kinsman, that he had met himthere, dressed up in a garb in no way according with his formerposition, but ruffling it at a tavern frequented by loose blades, spending his money freely, and drinking and dicing with the best ofthem. 

"A week since he was seen down here, in a very sorry state, lookingas if luck had gone altogether against him. Benjamin Haddock, wholives, as you know, close to the gate of Lynnwood, told me that hesaw one pass along the road, just as it was dusk, whom he couldswear was that varlet Nicholson. He went to the door and lookedafter him to make sure, and saw him enter the gate. Next dayNicholson was in Lancaster. He was spending money freely there, androde off on a good horse, which looked ill assorted with hisgarments, though he purchased some of better fashion in the town. It seemed to me likely that he must have got money from theusurper. I do not know whether your honour will deem this news ofimportance, but I thought it well to write to you at once. Anyfurther news I may gather, I will send without fail. 

"Your humble servant, "John Banks. "

"There is no doubt that this is of importance, " Charlie said, whenhe had read the letter through. "It is only by getting hold of thisvillain that there is any chance of our obtaining proof of the foultreachery of which you were the victim. Hitherto, we have had noclue whatever as to where he was to be looked for. Now, there canbe little doubt that he has returned to his haunts in London. Iunderstand now, father, why you wanted me to get leave. You meanthat I shall undertake this business. "

"That was my thought, Charlie. You are now well-nigh twenty, andwould scarce be recognized as the boy who left four years ago. Thefellow would know me at once, and I might be laid by the heelsagain under the old warrant; besides being charged with breakingaway from the custody of the soldiers. Besides, in this businessyouth and strength and vigour are requisite. I would gladly takethe matter in my own hands, but methinks you would have a betterchance of bringing it to a favourable issue. Now that Anne is onthe throne, she and her advisers will look leniently upon the menwhose only fault was devotion to her father; and if we can once getthis foul charge of assassination lifted from our shoulders, I andJervoise and the others who had to fly at the same time, may all bepermitted to return, and obtain a reversal of the decree of the Actof Confiscation of our estates. 

"I have no friends at court, but I know that Jervoise was a closeacquaintance, years ago, of John Churchill, who is now Duke ofMarlborough, and they say high in favour with Anne. I did not thinkof it when I wrote to you, but a week later it came to my mind thathis intervention might be very useful, and I took advantage of anofficer, leaving here for the army, to send by him a letter toJervoise, telling him that there was now some hope of getting atthe traitor who served as John Dormay's instrument in his plotagainst us. I said that I had sent for you, and thought it probableyou would take the matter in hand; and I prayed him to send me aletter of introduction for you to the duke, so that, if you couldby any means obtain the proof of our innocence of this pretendedplot, he might help you to obtain a reversal of the Act ofConfiscation against us all. I have asked him to write at once, andI will send the letter after you, as soon as I get it. 

"I know nothing of London, but I have heard of the Bull's Head, inFenchurch Street, as being one frequented by travellers from thecountry. You had best put up there, and thither I will forward thenote from Jervoise. "

"The letter will be a useful one, indeed, father, when I have oncewrung the truth from that villain Nicholson. It will be anexpedition after my own heart. There is first the chance ofpunishing the villain, and then the hope of restoring you to yourplace at dear old Lynnwood. "

"You must be careful, Charlie. Remember it would never do to killthe rascal. That would be the greatest of misfortunes; for, withhis death, any chance of unmasking the greater villain woulddisappear. "

"I will be careful, father. I cannot say how I shall set about thematter, yet. That must depend upon circumstances; but, as you say, above all things I must be careful of the fellow's life. When isthere a ship sailing, father?"

"The day after tomorrow, Charlie. You will want that time forgetting clothes, suitable to a young gentleman of moderatecondition, up from the country on a visit to London. You must makeup your mind that it will be a long search before you light on thefellow, for we have no clue as to the tavern he frequents. As aroistering young squire, wanting to see London life, you could gointo taverns frequented by doubtful characters, for it is probablyin such a place that you will find him. 

"However, all this I must leave to you. You showed yourself, inthat Polish business, well able to help yourself out of a scrape, and if you could do that among people of whose tongues you wereignorant, you ought to be able to manage on English soil. "

"At any rate, I will do my best, father, of that you may be sure. Ihave the advantage of knowing the fellow, and am pretty certainthat he will not know me. "

"Not he, Charlie, " his father said confidently. "Even in the lasttwo years, since you were here with Jervoise and the others, youhave changed so much that I, myself, might have passed you in thestreet without knowing you. 

"Now, you had better go off and see about your things. There is notime to be lost. I have drawn out a hundred guineas of my money, which will, I should say, serve you while you are away; but don'tstint it, lad. Let me know if it runs short, and I will send youmore. "

"I have money, too, father. I have four months' pay due, besidesmoney I have in hand, for there was but little need for us to putour hands in our pockets. "

Ten days later, Charlie arrived in the Port of London, and took uphis abode at the Bull's Head, where he found the quarterscomfortable, indeed, after the rough work of campaigning. The nextmorning he took a waiter into his confidence. 

"I have come to London to see a little life, " he said, "and I wantto be put into the way of doing it. I don't want to go to placeswhere young gallants assemble. My purse is not deep enough to standsuch society. I should like to go to places where I shall meethearty young fellows, and could have a throw of the dice, or see amain fought by good cocks, or even sally out and have a little funwith the watch. My purse is fairly lined, and I want someamusement--something to look back upon when I go home again. Whatis the best way to set about it?"

"Well, sir, if that is your humour, I have a brother who is one ofthe mayor's tipstaffs. He knows the city well, ay, and Westminster, too, and the purlieus of Saint James's, and whether you want tomeet young gallants or roistering blades, or to have a look in atplaces where you can hire a man to cut another's throat for a fewcrowns, he can show you them. He will be on duty now, but I willsend him a message to come round this evening, and I warrant me hewill be here. He has showed young squires from the country over thetown before this, and will guess what is on hand when he gets mymessage. "

Having nothing to do, Charlie sauntered about the town during theday, looking into the shops, and keeping a keen eye on passers by, with the vague hope that he might be lucky enough to come acrosshis man. 

After he had finished his supper, the waiter came up and told himthat his brother was outside. 

"I have spoken to him, sir, and he warrants that he can take youinto the sort of society you want to meet, whatever it may be. "

Charlie followed him out. A man was standing under the lamp thatswung before the door. 

"This is the gentleman I was speaking to you of, Tony. "

As the man took off his cap, Charlie had a good view of his face. It was shrewd and intelligent. 

"You understand what I want?" he asked, as the waiter ran into thehouse again, to attend to his duties. 

"Yes, sir. So far as I understood him, you wish to go to taverns ofsomewhat inferior reputations, and to see something of that side ofLondon life. If you will pardon my boldness, it is somewhat of adangerous venture. In such places brawls are frequent, and rapierssoon out. 

"You look to me like one who could hold his own in a fray, " headded, as his eye ran over the athletic figure before him, "but itis not always fair fighting. These fellows hang together, and whileengaged with one, half a dozen might fall upon you. As to yourpurse, sir, it is your own affair. You will assuredly lose yourmoney, if you play or wager with them. But that is no concern ofmine. Neither, you may say, is your life; but it seems to me thatit is. One young gentleman from the country, who wanted, like you, to see life, was killed in a brawl, and I have never forgivenmyself for having taken him to the tavern where he lost his life. Thus, I say that, though willing enough to earn a crown or twooutside my own work, I must decline to take you to places where, asit seems to me, you are likely to get into trouble. "

"You are an honest fellow, and I like you all the more, forspeaking out frankly to me, " Charlie said, "and were I, as I toldyour brother, thinking of going to such places solely foramusement, what you say would have weight with me. But, as I seethat you are to be trusted, I will tell you more. I want to find aman who did me and mine a grievous ill turn. I have no intention ofkilling him, or anything of that sort, but it is a matter of greatimportance to lay hand on him. All I know of him is that he is afrequenter of taverns here, and those not of the first character. Just at present he is, I have reason to believe, provided withfunds, and may push himself into places where he would not showhimself when he is out of luck. Still, it is more likely he is tobe found in the lowest dens, among rascals of his own kidney. I maylose a little money, but I shall do so with my eyes open, andsolely to obtain a footing at the places where I am most likely tomeet him. "

"That alters the affair, " the man said gravely. "It will add toyour danger; for as you know him, I suppose he knows you, also. "

"No. It is four years since we met, and I have so greatly changed, in that time, that I have no fear he would recognize me. At anyrate, not here in London, which is the last place he would suspectme of being in. "

"That is better. Well, sir, if that be your object, I will do mybest to help you. What is the fellow's name and description?"

"He called himself Nicholson, when we last met; but like enoughthat is not his real name, and if it is, he may be known by anotherhere. He is a lanky knave, of middle height; but more than that, except that he has a shifty look about his eyes, I cannot tellyou. "

"And his condition, you say, is changeable?"

"Very much so, I should say. I should fancy that, when in funds, hewould frequent places where he could prey on careless young fellowsfrom the country, like myself. When his pockets are empty, I shouldsay he would herd with the lowest rascals. "

"Well, sir, as you say he is in funds at present, we will thisevening visit a tavern or two, frequented by young blades, some ofwhom have more money than wit; and by men who live by their witsand nothing else. But you must not be disappointed, if the searchprove a long one before you run your hare down, for the indicationsyou have given me are very doubtful. He may be living in Alsatia, hard by the Temple, which, though not so bad as it used to be, isstill an abode of dangerous rogues. But more likely you may meethim at the taverns in Westminster, or near Whitehall; for, if hehas means to dress himself bravely, it is there he will mostreadily pick up gulls. 

"I will, with your permission, take you to the better sort to beginwith, and then, when you have got more accustomed to the ways ofthese places, you can go to those a step lower, where, I shouldthink, he is more likely to be found; for such fellows spend theirmoney freely, when they get it, and unless they manage to fleecesome young lamb from the country, they soon find themselves unableto keep pace with the society of places where play runs high, andmen call for their bottles freely. Besides, in such places, whenthey become unable to spend money freely, they soon get the coldshoulder from the host, who cares not to see the money that shouldbe spent on feasting and wine diverted into the pockets of others. 

"I shall leave you at the door of these places. I am too well knownto enter. I put my hand on the shoulder of too many men, during theyear, for me to go into any society without the risk of someoneknowing me again. "

They accordingly made their way down to Westminster, and Charlievisited several taverns. At each he called for wine, and wasspeedily accosted by one or more men, who perceived that he was astranger, and scented booty. He stated freely that he had just comeup to town, and intended to stay some short time there. He allowedhimself to be persuaded to enter the room where play was going on, but declined to join, saying that, as yet, he was ignorant of theways of town, and must see a little more of them before he venturedhis money, but that, when he felt more at home, he should be readyenough to join in a game of dice or cards, being considered a goodhand at both. 

After staying at each place about half an hour, he made his wayout, getting rid of his would-be friends with some littledifficulty, and with a promise that he would come again, ere long. 

For six days he continued his inquiries, going out every eveningwith his guide, and taking his meals, for the most part, at one orother of the taverns, in hopes that he might happen upon the man ofwhom he was in search. At the end of that time, he had a greatsurprise. As he entered the hotel to take supper, the waiter saidto him:

"There is a gentleman who has been asking for you, in the publicroom. He arrived an hour ago, and has hired a chamber. "

"Asking for me?" Charlie repeated in astonishment. "You must bemistaken. "

"Not at all, sir. He asked for Mr. Charles Conway, and that is thename you wrote down in the hotel book, when you came. "

"That must be me, sure enough, but who can be asking for me Icannot imagine. However, I shall soon know. "

And, in a state of utter bewilderment as to who could have learnthis name and address, he went into the coffee room. There happened, at the moment, to be but one person there, and as he rose andturned towards him, Charlie exclaimed in astonishment and delight:

"Why, Harry, what on earth brings you here? I am glad to see you, indeed, but you are the last person in the world I should havethought of meeting here in London. "

"You thought I was in a hut, made as wind tight as possible, beforethe cold set in, in earnest. So I should have been, with six monthsof a dull life before me, if it had not been for Sir Marmaduke'sletter. Directly my father read it through to me he said:

"'Get your valises packed at once, Harry. I will go to the coloneland get your leave granted. Charlie may have to go into all sortsof dens, in search of this scoundrel, and it is better to have twoswords than one in such places. Besides, as you know the fellow'sface you can aid in the search, and are as likely to run againsthim as he is. His discovery is as important to us as it is to him, and it may be the duke will be more disposed to interest himself, when he sees the son of his old friend, than upon the strength of aletter only. '

"You may imagine I did not lose much time. But I did not start, after all, until the next morning, for when the colonel talked itover with my father, he said:

"'Let Harry wait till tomorrow. I shall be seeing the king thisevening. He is always interested in adventure, and I will tell himthe whole story, and ask him to write a few lines, saying thatHarry and Carstairs are young officers who have borne themselvesbravely, and to his satisfaction. It may help with the duke, andwill show, at any rate, that you have both been out here, and notintriguing at Saint Germains. '

"The colonel came in, late in the evening, with a paper, which theking had told Count Piper to write and sign, and had himself puthis signature to it. I have got it sewn up in my doublet, with myfather's letter to Marlborough. They are too precious to lose, butI can tell you what it is, word for word:

"'By order of King Charles the Twelfth of Sweden. This is totestify, to all whom it may concern, that Captain CharlesCarstairs, and Captain Harry Jervoise--'"

"Oh, I am glad, Harry!" Charlie interrupted. "It was horrid that Ishould have been a captain, for the last year, and you alieutenant. I am glad, indeed. "

"Yes, it is grand, isn't it, and very good of the king to do itlike that. Now, I will go on--

"'Have both served me well and faithfully during the war, showinggreat valour, and proving themselves to be brave and honourablegentlemen, as may be seen, indeed, from the rank that they, thoughyoung in years, have both attained, and which is due solely totheir deserts. '

"What do you think of that?"

"Nothing could be better, Harry. Did you see my father atGottenburg?"

"Yes. The ship I sailed by went to Stockholm, and I was luckyenough to find there another, starting for England in a few hours. She touched at Gottenburg to take in some cargo, and I had time tosee Sir Marmaduke, who was good enough to express himself asgreatly pleased that I was coming over to join you. "

"Well, Harry, I am glad, indeed. Before we talk, let us go in andhave supper, that is, if you have not already had yours. If youhave, I can wait a bit. "

"No; they told me you had ordered your supper at six, so I toldthem I would take mine at the same time; and, indeed, I can tellyou that I am ready for it. "

After the meal, Charlie told his friend the steps he was taking todiscover Nicholson. 

"Do you feel sure that you would know him again, Harry?"

"Quite sure. Why, I saw him dozens of times at Lynnwood. "

"Then we shall now be able to hunt for him separately, Harry. Goingto two or three places, of an evening, I always fear that he maycome in after I have gone away. Now one of us can wait till thehour for closing, while the other goes elsewhere. "

For another fortnight, they frequented all the places where theythought Nicholson would be most likely to show himself; then, aftera consultation with their guide, they agreed that they must lookfor him at lower places. 

"Like enough, " the tipstaff said, "he may have run through hismoney the first night or two after coming up to town. That is theway with these fellows. As long as they have money they gamble. When they have none, they cheat or turn to other evil courses. Nowthat there are two of you together, there is less danger in goingto such places; for, though these rascals may be ready to pick aquarrel with a single man, they know that it is a dangerous game toplay with two, who look perfectly capable of defending themselves. "

For a month, they frequented low taverns. They dressed themselvesplainly now, and assumed the character of young fellows who hadcome up to town, and had fallen into bad company, and lost whatlittle money they had brought with them, and were now ready for anydesperate enterprise. Still, no success attended their search. 

"I can do no more for you, " their guide said. "I have taken you toevery house that such a man would be likely to use. Of course, there are many houses near the river frequented by bad characters. But here you would chiefly meet men connected, in some way, withthe sea, and you would be hardly likely to find your man there. "

"We shall keep on searching, " Charlie said. "He may have gone outof town for some reason, and may return any day. We shall not giveit up till spring. "

"Well, at any rate, sirs, I will take your money no longer. Youknow your way thoroughly about now, and, if at any time you shouldwant me, you know where to find me. It might be worth your while topay a visit to Islington, or even to go as far as Barnet. Thefellow may have done something, and may think it safer to keep inhiding, and in that case Islington and Barnet are as likely to suithim as anywhere. "

The young men had, some time before, left the inn and taken alodging. This they found much cheaper, and, as they were away frombreakfast until midnight, it mattered little where they slept. Theytook the advice of their guide, stayed a couple of nights atIslington, and then went to Barnet. In these places there was nooccasion to visit the taverns, as, being comparatively small, theywould, either in the daytime or after dark, have an opportunity ofmeeting most of those living there. 

Finding the search ineffectual, Charlie proposed that they shouldgo for a long walk along the north road. 

"I am tired of staring every man I meet in the face, Harry. And Ishould like, for once, to be able to throw it all off and take agood walk together, as we used to do in the old days. We will goeight or ten miles out, stop at some wayside inn for refreshments, and then come back here for the night, and start back again fortown tomorrow. "

Harry at once agreed, and, taking their hats, they started. 

They did not hurry themselves, and, carefully avoiding all mentionof the subject that had occupied their thoughts for weeks, theychatted over their last campaign, their friends in the Swedishcamp, and the course that affairs were likely to take. After fourhours' walking they came to a small wayside inn, standing backtwenty or thirty yards from the road. 

"It is a quiet-looking little place, " Charlie said, "and does but asmall trade, I should say. However, no doubt they can give us somebread and cheese, and a mug of ale, which will last us well enoughtill we get back to Barnet. "

The landlord placed what they demanded before them, and then leftthe room again, replying by a short word or two to their remarks onthe weather. 

"A surly ill-conditioned sort of fellow, " Harry said. 

"It may be, Harry, that badness of trade has spoiled his temper. However, so long as his beer is good, it matters little about hismood. "

They had finished their bread and cheese, and were sitting idly, being in no hurry to start on their way back, when a man onhorseback turned off from the road and came up the narrow lane inwhich the house stood. As Charlie, who was facing that way, lookedat him he started, and grasped Harry's arm. 

"It is our man, " he said. "It is Nicholson himself! To think of oursearching all London, these weeks past, and stumbling upon himhere. "

The man stopped at the door, which was at once opened by thelandlord. 

"All right, I suppose, landlord?" the man said, as he swung himselffrom his horse. 

"There is no one here except two young fellows, who look to me asif they had spent their last penny in London, and were travellingdown home again. "

He spoke in a lowered voice, but the words came plainly enough tothe ears of the listeners within. Another word or two was spoken, and then the landlord took the horse and led it round to a stablebehind, while its rider entered the room. He stopped for a momentat the open door of the taproom, and stared at the two young men, who had just put on their hats again. They looked up carelessly, and Harry said:

"Fine weather for this time of year. "

The man replied by a grunt, and then passed on into the landlord'sprivate room. 

"That is the fellow, sure enough, Charlie, " Harry said, in a lowtone. "I thought your eyes might have deceived you, but I rememberhis face well. Now what is to be done?"

"We won't lose sight of him again, " Charlie said. "Though, if wedo, we shall know where to pick up his traces, for he evidentlyfrequents this place. I should say he has taken to the road. Therewere a brace of pistols in the holsters. That is how it is that wehave not found him before. Well, at any rate, there is no usetrying to make his acquaintance here. The first question is, willhe stay here for the night or not--and if he does not, which waywill he go?"

"He came from the north, " Harry said. "So if he goes, it will betowards town. "

"That is so. Our best plan will be to pay our reckoning and start. We will go a hundred yards or so down the road, and then lie downbehind a hedge, so as to see if he passes. If he does not leavebefore nightfall, we will come up to the house and reconnoitre. Ifhe does not leave by ten, he is here for the night, and we mustmake ourselves as snug as we can under a stack. The nights aregetting cold, but we have slept out in a deal colder weather thanthis. However, I fancy he will go on. It is early for a man tofinish a journey. If he does, we must follow him, and keep him insight, if possible. "

Two hours later they saw, from their hiding place, Nicholson rideout from the lane. He turned his horse's head in their direction. 

"That is good, " Charlie said. "If he is bound for London, we shallbe able to get into his company somehow; but if he had gone up tosome quiet place north, we might have had a lot of difficulty ingetting acquainted with him. "

As soon as the man had ridden past they leapt to their feet, and, at a run, kept along the hedge. He had started at a brisk trot, butwhen, a quarter of a mile on, they reached a gate, and looked upthe road after him, they saw to their satisfaction that the horsehad already fallen into a walk. 

"He does not mean to go far from Barnet, " Charlie exclaimed. "If hehad been bound farther, he would have kept on at a trot. We willkeep on behind the hedges as long as we can. If he were to lookback and see us always behind him, he might become suspicious. "

They had no difficulty in keeping up with the horseman. Sometimes, when they looked out, he was a considerable distance ahead, havingquickened his pace; but he never kept that up long, and by briskrunning, and dashing recklessly through the hedges running at rightangles to that they were following, they soon came up to him again. 

Once, he had gone so far ahead that they took to the road, andfollowed it until he again slackened his speed. They thus kept himin sight till they neared Barnet. 

"We can take to the road now, " Harry said. "Even if he should lookround, he will think nothing of seeing two men behind him. We mighthave turned into it from some by-lane. At any rate, we must chanceit. We must find where he puts up for the night. "

Chapter 17: The North Coach. 

Barnet was then, as now, a somewhat straggling place. Soon afterentering it, the horseman turned off from the main road. Hispursuers were but fifty yards behind him, and they kept him insight until, after proceeding a quarter of a mile, he stopped at asmall tavern, where he dismounted, and a boy took his horse and ledit round by the side of the house. 

"Run to earth!" Harry said exultantly. "He is not likely to movefrom there tonight. "

"At any rate, he is safe for a couple of hours, " Charlie said. "Sowe will go to our inn, and have a good meal. By that time it willbe quite dark, and we will have a look at the place he has goneinto; and if we can't learn anything, we must watch it by turnstill midnight. We will arrange, at the inn, to hire a horse. Onewill be enough. He only caught a glimpse of us at that inn, andcertainly would not recognize one of us, if he saw him alone. Theother can walk. "

"But which way, Charlie? He may go back again. " "It is hardlylikely he came here merely for the pleasure of stopping the nightat that little tavern. I have no doubt he is bound for London. Youshall take the horse, Harry, and watch until he starts, and thenfollow him, just managing to come up close to him as he gets intotown. I will start early, and wait at the beginning of the houses, and it is hard if one or other of us does not manage to find outwhere he hides. "

They had no difficulty in arranging with the landlord for a horse, which was to be left in a stable he named in town. They gave him adeposit, for which he handed them a note, by which the money was tobe returned to them by the stable keeper, on their handing over thehorse in good condition. 

After the meal they sallied out again, and walked to the tavern, which was a small place standing apart from other houses. There wasa light in the taproom, but they guessed that here, as at the otherstopping place, the man they wanted would be in a privateapartment. Passing the house, they saw a light in a side window, and, noiselessly opening a little wicket gate, they stole into thegarden. Going a short distance back from the window, so that thelight should not show their faces, they looked in, and saw the manthey sought sitting by the fire, with a table on which stood abottle and two glasses beside him, and another man facing him. 

"Stay where you are, Harry. I will steal up to the window, and findout whether I can hear what they are saying. "

Stooping close under the window, he could hear the murmur ofvoices, but could distinguish no words. He rejoined his companion. 

"I am going to make a trial to overhear them, Harry, and it isbetter that only one of us should be here. You go back to the inn, and wait for me there. "

"What are you going to do, Charlie?"

"I am going to throw a stone through the lower part of the window. Then I shall hide. They will rush out, and when they can find noone, they will conclude that the stone was thrown by somemischievous boy going along the road. When all is quiet again Iwill creep up to the window, and it will be hard if I don't manageto learn something of what they are saying. "

The plan was carried out, and Charlie, getting close up to thewindow, threw a stone through one of the lowest of the littlediamond-shaped panes. He heard a loud exclamation of anger inside, and then sprang away and hid himself at the other end of thegarden. A moment later he heard loud talking in the road, and a manwith a lantern came round to the window; but in a few minutes allwas quiet again, and Charlie cautiously made his way back to thewindow, and crouched beneath it. He could hear plainly enough, now, the talk going on within. 

"What was I saying when that confounded stone interrupted us?"

"You were saying, captain, that you intended to have a week inLondon, and then to stop the North coach. "

"Yes, I have done well lately, and can afford a week's pleasure. Besides, Jerry Skinlow got a bullet in his shoulder, last week, intrying to stop a carriage on his own account, and Jack Mercer'smare is laid up lame, and it wants four to stop a coach neatly. Jack Ponsford is in town. I shall bring him out with me. "

"I heard that you were out of luck a short time ago. "

"Yes, everything seemed against me. My horse was shot, and, just atthe time, I had been having a bad run at the tables and had lost mylast stiver. I was in hiding for a fortnight at one of the cribs;for they had got a description of me from an old gentleman, who, with his wife and daughter, I had eased of their money and watches. It was a stupid business. I dropped a valuable diamond ring on theground, and in groping about for it my mask came off, and, like afool, I stood up in the full light of the carriage lamp. So Ithought it better, for all reasons, to get away for a month or so, until things quieted down. I wanted to visit my banker, and it wasa good many miles to tramp. "

"Oh, you have got a banker, captain?"

"I have one who is just as good, though I cannot say he shells outhis money willingly--in fact he was rude enough to say, when Icalled this time, that if I ever showed my face to him again hewould shoot me, even if he were hung for it. Bad taste, wasn't it?At any rate, I mustn't call on him again too soon. "

"You haven't settled on the night yet, I suppose, captain?"

"About the end of next week. Friday will be a full moon, I think, and I like a moon for the work. It gives light enough to see whatyou are doing, and not light enough for them to see much of you. SoI suppose I may as well fix Friday. I will send up a message forJack Mercer and Jerry Skinlow to be here on Thursday evening. Iwill be here that afternoon, and settle matters with them as towhere they shall meet me, and what each man shall do. Then I willride back to town, and come out again just as it gets dark, withJack Ponsford. "

"I suppose you will do it north of here?"

"No, I will do it a mile or two out of town. The road north of thisis getting rather a bad reputation, and in going out of Barnet theguard now looks to his blunderbuss, and the passengers get theirpistols ready. It isn't once in a hundred times they have pluckenough to use them, but they always think they will, until the timecomes. Near town we shall take them by surprise, and stop thembefore they have time to think of getting out their arms. 

"Confound that window. Shove something into the hole, Johnson. Ican feel the cold right down my back. "

A cloth was pushed into the broken pane, and Charlie could hear nomore of what was said inside. He had heard, indeed, enough for hispurpose, but he had hoped to gather the name of the place at whichthe man would put up in London. However, he was well satisfied withhis success, and at once made his way back to the inn. 

"Well, Charlie, how have you succeeded?" Harry asked, as he satdown at the table. 

"Could not be better, Harry, though I did not find out where heputs up in London. However, that is of small consequence. In thefirst place, I found out that our suspicions were right, and thatthe fellow is a highwayman, and seems to be captain of a gangconsisting anyhow of three, and perhaps of more, fellows likehimself. In the second place, he intends, with his three comrades, to attack the coach on Friday week, two or three miles out of town. Nothing could better suit our purpose, even if we had planned theaffair ourselves. Of course, we will be there. If we can capturehim while engaged in that work, we can get anything out of him. Hehas either got to confess or be hanged. "

"That is a stroke of good luck, indeed, " Harry exclaimed. "It willbe rather difficult to manage, though. The fellows will be sure tobe masked; and, if we were to shoot him instead of one of theothers, it would be fatal. "

"Yes, that would be awkward. Besides, " Charlie said, "even if wedid recognize him and shot his horse, he might jump up behind oneof the other men, or might make off across the country, and wemight lose sight of him before we could get down from the top ofthe coach to pursue. "

"It might be better if we were mounted, instead of being on thecoach. "

"Better in some ways, Harry; but if they heard two mounted mencoming along beside the coach, they would probably take the alarmand not attack at all; while, if we were to keep a bit behind, andride up as soon as we heard the firing--for they generally shootone of the horses to bring the coach to a standstill--they mightride off as soon as they heard the sound of the horses on the road. Those fellows are splendidly mounted. Their lives depend upon it, and nothing we should be able to hire would be likely to have achance with them. "

"Well, we shall have plenty of time to think this over, Charlie. Isuppose we shall carry out our plan tomorrow, as we arranged. "

"Certainly. It is as important to find out where he lives in Londonas it was before, for if he gets away, we can then look him upthere. We may as well go to bed at once, for I shall start at four, so as to get to town before him, however early he may be off. Butas we know, now, he is going up on pleasure and not on business, Idon't suppose he will be in any hurry in the morning. "

Charlie arrived in town about eight o'clock, and, havingbreakfasted at the first tavern he came to, walked along for somedistance, to decide upon the spot where he should take up hisposition. As Nicholson was going up, as he said, to enjoy himself, it was not likely that he would put up at Islington, but would takeup his quarters in the centre of the town. He therefore decided towalk on, until he came to some junction of important roads; andthere wait, as the man might make either for the city orWestminster, though the latter appeared the more probabledirection. 

Here he walked up and down for an hour, and then, entering atavern, took his place at the window, where he could see up thestreet, called for a stoup of wine, and prepared for a long wait. 

It was not, indeed, until three o'clock that he saw Nicholsoncoming along. He was more gaily dressed than he had been on theprevious day. He had on a green cloth coat with gold braid roundthe cuffs, an embroidered waistcoat, yellow breeches, top boots, and three-cornered hat. He was riding at foot pace. 

Charlie went to the door as soon as he passed, and saw that, as heexpected, he took the road to Westminster. Looking round, he sawHarry riding about a hundred yards behind. Charlie had nodifficulty in keeping up with Nicholson, and traced him to a housein a quiet street lying behind the Abbey. A boy came out and heldthe horse, while its rider dismounted, and then led it away to thestable of an inn a short distance away. Charlie turned at once, andjoined Harry. 

"I need not have taken all the trouble I have, Harry, still therewas no knowing. Evidently the fellow has no fear of being detected, and is going to pass, for a week, as a gentleman from the country. I suppose he is in the habit of stopping at that house whenever hecomes up with his pockets lined, and is regarded there as arespectable gentleman by the landlord. Now you had better take yourhorse to the stable, where you agreed to hand it over, and we willmeet at our lodgings and plan what to do next. "

The discussion did not lead to much. There did not seem, to them, anything to do until the day when the coach was to be attacked, butthey agreed it would be well to take the advice of their friend thetipstaff. Hitherto, they had not told him more of their motive fordesiring to find Nicholson, than Charlie had said at his firstinterview with him. They thought it would be better, now, to makehim more fully acquainted with the facts, for they had found himshrewd, and eager to assist them to the best of his power. Theytherefore sent a boy with a note to him, at the court, and at seveno'clock he came to their lodgings. 

"We have found our man, " Charlie said as he entered. 

"I am very glad to hear it, gentlemen. I had quite given up allhopes that you would be able to do so, and thought he must haveleft town altogether for a time. "

"Sit down and take a glass of wine. We want your advice in thismatter, and unless you know how much there is at stake, you willnot be able to enter fully into the affair. 

"Some four years ago, this fellow was concerned in a plot by whichsix gentlemen, among whom were our friends, were brought to ruin. They were in the habit of meeting together, being all of similarpolitical opinions, and advantage was taken of this by a man, whohoped to profit largely by their ruin, especially by that of myfather. In order to bring this about, he recommended this fellow weare in search of to my father, who happened, at the time, to be inwant of a servant. 

"The fellow undoubtedly acted as a spy, for I once caught him atit. But spying alone would have been of no use, for there wasnothing at any time said that would have brought harm upon them. They simply discussed what thousands of other people havediscussed, the measures that should be taken on behalf of theStuarts, if one of them came over from France supported by a Frenchforce. The fellow, however, swore that the object of these meetingswas to arrange for an assassination of William. He gave fulldetails of the supposed plot, and in order to give substance to hisstatements, he hid, in a cabinet of my father's, a number ofcompromising papers, professing to be letters from abroad. 

"These were found by the officers sent to arrest my father. He andhis five friends managed to escape, but their estates wereforfeited. Of course, what we want to prove is the connectionbetween this spy and his employer, who, for his services inbringing this supposed plot to light, received as a reward myfather's estates. There is no way of doing this, unless this mancan be brought to confess his own villainy in the matter of theletters, and to denounce the scoundrel whose agent he was. Probably, by this time, he has got nearly all he can expect fromhis employer, and will at least feel no scruples in exposing him, if by so doing he can save his own neck. 

"Now, we have not only discovered the man, but have found out thathe is a notorious highwayman, and the leader of a gang; but more, Ihave found out the day and hour on which he proposes to stop androb the North coach. "

"Well, Mr. Carstairs, if you have done that, " the man said, "youhave done marvels. That you should find the man might be a piece ofgood luck, but that you should have learned all this about himseems to me wonderful. "

"It was a lucky accident, altogether. We saw him, watched him, andmanaged to overhear a conversation from which we gathered thesefacts. It was all simple enough. Of course, our idea is that weshould, if possible, catch him in the act of robbing the coach, bind and take charge of him, saying that we should hand him over tojustice, when the coachman and passengers would, of course, appearto testify against him. Instead of doing this, we should take himsomewhere, and then give him the option of either making a cleanbreast of the whole story, and remaining in our custody untilcalled upon to testify to his statement in a court of justice, whenever required; or of being handed over to the authorities, tobe tried and hung as a highwayman. 

"One of our greatest difficulties is how to effect his capture. Theattack will be made at night on the coach, and in the darkness wemight shoot him, or he might get away. He is at present in London, at a lodging in a street behind the Abbey, where, doubtless, hisreal profession is altogether unsuspected by the people of thehouse. 

"Now you know the whole affair. Let us have your opinion as to themanner in which we had best set about the business. "

The man sat for some time, in silence. 

"I can think of no better plan than yours, sir, and yet it seems tome that there is scarcely any chance of your catching him at thecoach. Of course, it would be easy enough if you did not carewhether you killed or caught him. All you would have to do would beto get half a dozen stout fellows, armed with pistols, on the coachwith you instead of passengers, and then you would be prettycertain to kill some of them, perhaps all; but, as you can't dothat, and are afraid to shoot lest you should kill him, it seems tome that you have a very small chance of catching him that way. "

Charlie and his friend so thoroughly saw this, that they sat silentwhen he ceased speaking. 

"We could not arrest him now, I suppose?" Harry said at last. 

"Well, you see, you have got nothing against him. He may have beena Knight of the Road for the last five years, but you have nowitnesses to prove it, and it is not much use to accuse him ofintending to rob the North mail. You have no proofs, even of that. It is only your word against his. 

"There is no doubt that, after they have robbed the coach, theywill separate. They may go away in twos, or singly. Now, you see, we know three of this fellow's hiding places. He would hardlychoose the one at Barnet. It is too close. It is more likely hewould choose the next place, the little inn in which you saw himfirst; but I think it more likely still that he and his mates willdivide the plunder, half a mile or so from the place where theystopped the coach, and will then separate, and I am inclined tothink his most likely course is to strike off from the main road, make a long round, and come down before morning to where he is now. He may take his horse into its stable, or, more likely, he mayleave it at some place he may know of on the road leading outthrough Putney, and then arrive at his lodgings just aboutdaybreak. He would explain he had been at a supper, and had kept itup all night, and no one would even have a suspicion he had beenengaged in the affair with the coach. I am sure that is his mostlikely plan. "

"Then, what would you do?" Harry asked. 

"What I should do is this. I will get two sharp active boys. I knowof two who would just do, they have done jobs for us before now. Iwill give them the exact description of those two taverns, and sendthem down the day before the coach is to be attacked, and tell themthat, that night, they are each to keep watch over one of them, seewho goes in, watch till they come out, and then follow them, fordays if necessary, and track them down. Then they can send word upby the guard of the coach, each day; so that, if we find our mandoes not come back here by Saturday morning, we shall have newsthat will put us on his track again, before long. 

"However, I think he is sure to come back here. You had betterpoint out to me, this evening, where he lodges, and I shall be ableto find out, before long, whether they are respectable people, orwhether they are likely to be pals of his. 

"If they are respectable, I will see them on Friday evening, showthem my badge, and tell them that the man who has been lodging hereis a notorious highwayman, and that I am going to arrest him. Toprevent any chance of a mistake, I will put three or four of mymates round the house, to see that no one goes out to give him thealarm. I will come down and open the door for you, at two o'clockin the morning. You can then come up with me into his bedroom, andas he comes in, I will nab him. 

"If, on the other hand, I find the people of the house have adoubtful reputation in the neighbourhood, we must simply hide indoorways, make a rush upon him as he goes up to the house, andoverpower him there. If one stands in his doorway, and leaps out onhim as he comes up, he won't have much chance of using a pistol. Iwill have a cart ready, close by. We will truss him up tightly, gaghim and put him into it, and I will have some place ready for us todrive him to, if you think that plan is as good as any other. "

"I think it is an excellent plan, and could not be better, " Charlieexclaimed, and his friend heartily agreed with him. 

"I think you will be able to get anything out of him, when you gethim there, " said the tipstaff. "He is sure to have some of the swagabout him, and, even if none of the passengers of the coach areable to swear to him, that and the talk you overheard would besufficient to hang him. "

"Can those boys you speak of write?"

"Not they, sir. "

"There might be a difficulty about a verbal message. "

"The guard will give it, all right, if he gets half a crown withit. You need not trouble about that, sir. I will have a man to meeteach coach, as it comes in. 

"And now we have arranged matters, sir, I will go with you to seethe house, and will send a sharp fellow down tomorrow, to makeinquiries about the people of the place. "

When they returned, the friends sat for a long time, talkingtogether. The suggested plan looked so hopeful that they feltconfident of its success. 

"I think, Charlie, " Harry said, "it would be a good thing for us topresent ourselves to the Duke of Marlborough. Then we shall see ifhe is disposed to take an interest in us, and help us. If he is, hewill tell us what had best be done towards getting Nicholson'sstatement made in the presence of some sort of official who willact on it. If he gives us the cold shoulder, we shall have to do asbest we can in some other direction, and it will be well to havethe matter settled, if possible, before we catch the fellow. "

"I think that will be a very good plan, Harry. I know where helives. I inquired directly I came over. Tomorrow morning we can gothere and inquire, at the door, at what hour he receives callers. "

The next day at eleven o'clock the young men, dressed in their bestattire, called at the duke's. They were informed that the great manwas at home, and would be as likely to see them then as at anyother hour. Accordingly they entered, and were shown into ananteroom, and sent their names in by a footman. He returned with arequest that they would follow him, and were shown into a library, where a singularly handsome man, in the prime of life, was sittingat a desk. He looked at them in some surprise. 

"Is there not some mistake, young gentlemen?" he asked. "My servantgave the names as Captain Jervoise, and Captain Carstairs. I do notrecall the names as those of officers in her majesty's service. "

"No, my lord, we have the honour to be captains in the service ofKing Charles of Sweden, as this document, signed both by hisminister, Count Piper, and by the king himself, will testify. "

The duke took the paper, and read it. 

"The king of Sweden speaks very highly of you both, gentlemen, " hesaid cordially. "It is no mean credit to have gained such warmpraise from the greatest general of his time. What can I do foryou? Do you wish to be transferred from the service of Sweden tothat of her majesty? We have need of good officers, and I canpromise that you shall receive the same rank that you now hold, andit is likely that, before long, you will have an opportunity ofseeing some service under your national flag. "

"I thank you warmly for your kindness, my lord, but it is not withthat view that we have now come to you, though I am sure that weboth should prefer to fight under our own flag, rather than underthat of a foreign king, however kindly he may be disposed to us, personally. We have called upon a private matter, and I am thebearer of this letter from my father, who had once the honour ofyour lordship's friendship. "

"Jervoise, " the duke repeated, as he took the letter. "Not MatJervoise, surely?"

"That is my father's name, sir. "

"Do I remember him? Why, he was one of my closest friends when Iwas a lad, and I once stayed with him at his father's place, for afortnight, on a journey I took to the north. But I will read hisletter--

"What changes happen, " he said, as he laid it down. "To think thatMat Jervoise should be an exile, his old home in the hands ofstrangers, and he a major in the Swedish service; and that I shouldnever have heard a word about it!

"Well, young sir, " and he held out his hand to Harry, "I canpromise you my aid and protection, to the utmost, in whatevermatter you may be concerned. I seem to remember the name of yourcompanion, too. "

"His father, Sir Marmaduke, was a neighbour of ours. There hasalways been great friendship between the two families. "

"Of course, I remember him now. He was some fifteen or twenty yearsolder than your father. I remember that I went over with yourfather and grandfather, and dined at his place. He is still aliveand well, I hope?"

"He is both, sir, " Charlie said; "but, like Major Jervoise, anexile. "

"You amaze me, but I will not ask you to tell me more, now. I haveto be at Saint James's at twelve. 

"Let me see, this evening I shall be engaged. Come tomorrowmorning, at half past eight, and I shall then be able to give youan hour, or maybe two, if necessary, and will then hear the wholestory fully. "

The young men, on presenting themselves the next morning, at thehour named, were at once ushered in. 

"Now, let us lose no time, " the duke said, after shaking handsheartily. "Which of you will tell the story?"

"Carstairs will do so, my lord, " Harry replied. "The mischief washatched in his house, and my father, and six other gentlemen, werethe victims of the treachery of a kinsman of his. "

Charlie told the story of the events that had brought about theruin of his father and friends. 

"It is monstrous!" the duke exclaimed indignantly, when he hadbrought this part of his story to a conclusion. "That my oldfriend, Mat Jervoise, should be concerned in a plot forassassination, is, I would pledge my life, untrue; and SirMarmaduke Carstairs was, I know, an honourable gentleman, who wouldbe equally incapable of such an act. That they were both Jacobites, I can well believe, for the Jacobites are strong everywhere in thenorth, but, as half of us are or have been Jacobites, that canscarcely be counted as an offence. At any rate, a Stuart is uponthe throne now, and, as long as she reigns, there is no fear that acivil war will be set up by another of the race. The story, as youhave told it, sir, is, I doubt not for a moment, true, but atpresent it is unsupported; and though, on my assurance of theirloyalty, I think I can promise that her majesty would extend apardon to the gentlemen who have been so unjustly accused, I fearthat she could not, by her own act, restore the estates that havebeen confiscated, unless you can bring some proof that this fellowyou speak of was suborned to get up false evidence against them. "

"That, sir, is what I shall have the honour to inform you now. "

And Charlie then related the story of their quest for the manNicholson, and its result. 

"Rarely devised and carried out, " the duke said warmly. "Do you laythe knave by the heels, and frighten him into confessing the truth, and I will see to the rest of the matter. I do not know that Iought to let the North coach be robbed, after the information youhave given me, but, as we will hunt down all the other fellows, andshall probably recover the booty they carry off, the passengerswill have no reason to grumble. 

"Well, young sirs, the king of Sweden has given you a testimonialas to your bravery and conduct. If necessary, I will give you onefor your ingenuity in planning and carrying out a difficult scheme. 

"So you have both been with the Swedes through their campaignagainst the Russians and Poles. I envy you. King Charles' serviceis a grand school for soldiers, and that victory of Narva is themost extraordinary one ever seen. Had you the honour of anypersonal intercourse with the king?"

"Only during three days, when our company formed part of his escortat a hunting expedition, " Harry, whom he addressed, replied. "ButCarstairs spoke to him more frequently. He has been a captainnearly two years, while I only had my promotion two months ago. Wewere in the same regiment, and of the same rank, but Carstairs waspromoted by the king, after the battle at the passage of the Dwina, as a reward for the suggestion he made in conversation with him, that the passage might be made under the screen of smoke caused bythe lighting of the forage stacks. "

"I must have a long talk with you both. It is certain that, nextspring, the campaign with France will re-open, and your experiencein the field will be very useful to me. The Swedes are wonderfulsoldiers. The Muscovites, at present, are little better thanbarbarians carrying European arms, but the Saxons are good troops, and the Swedes have twice beaten them heavily, and they evidentlyretain the fighting qualities that, under Gustavus Adolphus, shookthe imperial power to its centre. 

"The trouble is to find time. I am pestered with men desirous ofemployment in the army, with persons who want favours at court, with politicians of both parties, with people with schemes andintrigues of all kinds. I have to be in attendance at the palace, and to see into the whole details of the organization of the army. I have no doubt that, at present, my antechamber is crowded withpeople who want to see me. "

He looked at his tablets. 

"Next Wednesday evening I am free, except for a reception at LordGodolphin's, but I can look in there late. I will not ask you here, because I want you to myself. I will have a private room atParker's coffee house in Covent Garden. We will sup at seven. Whenyou go there, ask for Mr. Church's room, and make yourselfcomfortable there until I come, for I can never answer for my ownhours. In that way, we shall be free from all chance ofinterruption, and I can pick your brains undisturbed. You willremember the day and hour. Should there be any change in thisprivate matter of yours, do not hesitate to come to me here. "

Tony Peters, their guide and adviser, reported favourably as to thepeople with whom the highwayman was lodging. 

"The house is kept by the widow of an usher at the palace. Sheentertains gentlemen from the country, who come up on business atthe courts of justice, or with people of influence at court. I haveascertained that our man passes as a well-to-do trader ofSalisbury, who comes up, two or three times a year, to transactbusiness, and to enjoy for a short time the pleasures of town. Heis liberal in his payments, and is held in high respect by thewoman, whose only objection to him, as a lodger, is the late hourshe keeps. He is a crafty fellow this, for by always going to thesame house, and comporting himself with moderation, he secures aplace of retirement, where, however close the quest after him, there will be no suspicion whatever, as to his profession, on thepart of the people he is with. 

"My man found out all these matters from the servant wench. Weshall have no difficulty in taking him quietly. The woman will beso terrified, when I tell her what he is wanted for, that she willdo anything rather than have a scandal that would damage thereputation of the house. "

He assured Charlie that he need give the matter no further thought. All the arrangements would be made, and, unless he heard fartherfrom him, he and Harry would only have to present themselves, atthe door of the house in question, at two o'clock on the morning ofSaturday. 

The evening with the duke passed off pleasantly. The general'squestions turned, not so much upon the actual fighting, as upon theorganization of the Swedes, their methods of campaigning, ofvictualling the army, of hutting themselves in winter, themaintenance of discipline in camp, and other military points thatwould be of service to him in his next campaign. 

"Your king is very wise, in so strictly repressing all plunderingand violence, " he said. "Only so can a general maintain an army inan enemy's country. If the peasantry have confidence in him, andknow that they will get a fair price for their produce, they willbring it into the market gladly, in spite of any orders their owngovernment may issue to the contrary. I am determined that, if Iagain lead an English army in the field, I will follow KingCharles' example; though I shall find it more difficult to enforcemy orders than he does, for he is king as well as general, and hisSwedes are quiet, honest fellows, while my army will be composed ofne'er-do-wells--of men who prefer to wear the queen's uniform to aprison garment, of debtors who wish to escape their creditors, andof men who find village life too quiet for them, and prefer to seethe world, even at the risk of being shot, to honest labour on thefarms. It requires a stern hand to make a disciplined army out ofsuch materials, but when the time of fighting comes, one need wishfor no better. "

Before parting with them, the duke inquired farther into theirarrangements for the arrest of the highwayman, and said he shouldexpect to see them on Saturday, and that, if he heard that all hadgone well, he would at once take steps for bringing the matterbefore a court that would deal with it. 

The young men felt restless, as the day approached. They had seenno more of Tony, but they felt complete confidence in him, and weresure that they would hear if any difficulties arose; but though, throughout Friday, they did not quit their lodging, no messagereached them. 

Chapter 18: A Confession. 

At the appointed hour, as the clock of the Abbey was striking, theygave three gentle knocks at the door of the house. It wasimmediately opened by Tony, who held a candle in his hand, closedthe door quietly behind them, and then led them into a parlour. 

"Well, Tony, I suppose all has gone well, as we have not heard fromyou. "

"There was nothing to tell you, sir, and, indeed, I have beenmightily busy. In the first place, I got two days' leave from thecourts, and went down myself, in a light cart, with the boys andtwo men. That way I made sure that there should be no mistake as tothe houses the boys were to watch. The two men I sent on, ten milesbeyond the farthest tavern there to watch the road, and if anyhorseman goes by tonight, to track him down. 

"This evening I came here. I brought with me one of my comradesfrom the courts, and we told the good woman the character of thelodger we had seen leave the house a quarter of an hour before. Shealmost fainted when we showed her our badges, and said we mustarrest him, on his return, as a notorious highwayman and breaker ofthe laws. She exclaimed that her house would be ruined, and it tooksome time to pacify her, by saying that we would manage the job soquietly that no one in the house need know of it, and that wewould, if possible, arrange it so that the place of his arrestshould not be made public. 

"At that, she at once consented to do all that we wished her. Wesearched his room carefully, and found some watches, rings, andother matters, that answered to the description of those stolenfrom a coach that was stopped near Dorking, three weeks ago. Mymate has taken them away. As she was afraid that a scuffle in thebedroom might attract the attention of the four other gentlemen whoare lodging here, I arranged that it should be done at the door. Inthat case, if there was any inquiry in the morning, she could saythat it was some drunken fellow, who had come to the house bymistake, and had tried to force his way in. 

"So she put this parlour at our disposal, and, as I have got theshutters up and the curtains drawn, there is no fear of hisnoticing the light, for, as we may have some hours to wait, it ismore pleasant to have a candle, than to sit in the dark. "

"Does she come down to let him in?" Harry asked. 

"No, sir, the door is left on the latch. She says he finds his wayup to his room, in the dark, and the candle and a tinderbox arealways placed handy for him there. We will take our shoes offpresently, and, when we hear footsteps come up to the door andstop, we will blow out the candle and steal out into the passage, so as to catch him directly he closes the door. I have gothandcuffs here, some rope, and a gag. "

"Very well, then. I will undertake the actual seizing of him, "Charlie said. "You slip on the handcuffs, and you, Harry, if youcan find his throat in the dark, grip it pretty tightly, till Tonycan slip the gag into his mouth. Then he can light the candleagain, and we can then disarm and search him, fasten his legs, andget him ready to put in the cart. "

The hours passed slowly, although Tony did his best to divert them, by telling stories of various arrests and captures in which he hadbeen concerned. The clock had just struck five, when they heard astep coming up the quiet street. 

"That is likely to be the man, " Tony said. "It is about the hour weexpected him. "

He blew out the candle and opened the door quietly, and they wentout into the passage. A moment later the step stopped at the door, the latch clicked, and it was opened. A man entered, and closed thedoor behind him. As he did so Charlie, who had marked his exactposition, made a step forward and threw his arms round him. 

The man gave an exclamation of surprise and alarm, and thenstruggled fiercely, but he was in the hands of one far strongerthan himself. A moment later, he felt that his assailant was notalone, for he was grasped by the throat, and at the same time hefelt something cold close round his wrists. There was a sharpclick, and he knew that he was handcuffed. 

Then a low voice said, "I arrest you, in the name of the queen, forbeing concerned in the robbery of the Portsmouth coach at Dorking. "

Then a gag was forced between his teeth. Bewildered at thesuddenness of the attack, he ceased to struggle, and remainedquiet, in the grasp of his captors, till there was the sound of thestriking of flint and steel hard by. Then Tony came out of theparlour with a lighted candle, the highwayman was lifted into theroom, and the door was shut. 

He then saw that his captors were three in number. There were twoyoung gentlemen, and a smaller man, who, as he looked at him, heldout a badge, and showed that he was an officer of the law. Hispistols and sword were removed, then his pockets were searched, andtwo watches and three purses, with some rings and bracelets, weretaken out and laid on the table. 

"It came off, you see, " Tony said to Charlie. 

"Well, Master Nicholson, to use one of your aliases, of which youhave, no doubt, a score or more, you may consider yourself underarrest, not only for the robbery of the Portsmouth coach threeweeks ago, but of the North coach last evening. "

The prisoner started. It seemed impossible to him that that affairshould be known yet, still less his connection with it. 

"You know what that means?" Tony went on grimly. "Tyburn. Now I amgoing to make you a little safer still. You have been a hard birdto catch, and we don't mean to let you slip through our fingersagain. "

So saying, he bound his arms closely to his side with a rope, andthen, with a shorter piece, fastened his ankles securely together. 

"Now I will fetch the cart. "

He had been gone but five minutes, when they heard a vehicle stopat the door. The others lifted the highwayman by his shoulders andfeet, carried him out, and laid him in the cart. Tony closed thedoor quietly behind them, and then jumped up by the side of thedriver, who at once started the horse at a brisk trot. They crossedWestminster Bridge, and, after another ten minutes' drive, stoppedat a small house standing back from the road, in a garden of itsown. 

"We will carry him in, Tony, " Charlie said, "if you will get thedoor open. "

They carried him in through the door, at which a woman wasstanding, into a room, where they saw, to their satisfaction, ablazing fire. The prisoner was laid down on the ground. Leaving himto himself, Charlie and his friends sat down to the table, whichwas laid in readiness. Two cold chickens, and ham, and bread hadbeen placed on it. 

"Now, Tony, sit down. You must be as hungry as we are. "

"Thank you, gentlemen. I am going to have my breakfast in thekitchen, with my wife. "

As he spoke, the woman came in with two large tankards full ofsteaming liquid, whose odour at once proclaimed it to be spicedale. 

"Well, wife, we have done a good night's work, " Tony said. 

"A good night's work for all of us, " Charlie put in. "Your husbandhas done us an immense service, Mrs. Peters, and, when our fatherscome to their own again, they will not forget the service he hasrendered us. "

When they had made a hearty meal, Tony was called in again. 

"Now, Tony, we will proceed to business. You have got pen and inkand paper, I suppose?"

"I have everything ready, sir. I will clear away this table, so asto have all in order. "

When this was done, the highwayman was lifted up and placed in achair, and the gag removed from his mouth. 

"You don't remember us, I suppose, my man?" Charlie began. "Thelast time I saw you was when I brought my stick down on your head, when you were listening outside a window at Lynnwood. "

An exclamation of surprise broke from the prisoner. 

"Yes, I am Charlie Carstairs, and this gentleman is Harry Jervoise. By the way, I have made a mistake. I have seen you twice sincethen. The first time was in a wayside tavern, some twelve milesbeyond Barnet, nine days ago. The second time was at another tavernin Barnet. You will remember that a mischievous boy threw a stone, and broke one of the lattice panes of the window, where you weresitting talking over this little affair of the North coach. "

A deep execration broke from the lips of the highwayman. 

"Now you see how we know all about it, " Charlie went on. "Now, itentirely depends on yourself whether, in the course of anotherhour, we shall hand you over to a magistrate, as the leader of thegang who robbed the North coach, and took part in the robbery nearDorking--we have found some of the watches and other plunder inyour bedroom--or whether you escape trial for these offences. Youmay be wanted for other, similar affairs. "

"Yes, sir, " Tony put in. "Now I see him, he answers exactly to thedescription of a man the officers have been in search of, for along time. He goes by the name of Dick Cureton, and has beenengaged in at least a dozen highway robberies, to my knowledge. "

"You see, " Charlie went on, "there is no doubt whatever what willhappen, if we hand you over to the officers. You will be hung atTyburn, to a moral certainty. There is no getting out of that. 

"Now, on the other hand, you have the alternative of making a cleanbreast of your dealings with John Dormay, of how he put you atLynnwood to act as a spy, how you hid those two letters he gave youin my father's cabinet, and how he taught you the lying story youafterwards told before the magistrates at Lancaster. After havingthis story written down, you will sign it in the presence of thisofficer and his wife, and you will also repeat that story beforeany tribunal before which you may be brought. 

"I don't know whether this is a hanging matter, but, at any rate, Ican promise that you shall not be hung for it. The Duke ofMarlborough has taken the matter in hand, and will, I have nodoubt, be able to obtain for you some lesser punishment, if youmake a clean breast of it. I don't say that you will be let free. You are too dangerous a man for that. But, at any rate, yourpunishment will not be a heavy one--perhaps nothing worse thanagreeing to serve in the army. You understand that, in that case, nothing whatever will be said as to your being Dick Cureton, or ofyour connection with these last coach robberies. You will appearbefore the court simply as Robert Nicholson, who, having metCaptain Jervoise and myself, felt constrained to confess thegrievous wrong he did to our fathers, and other gentlemen, at thebidding of, and for money received from, John Dormay. "

"I do not need any time to make up my mind, " the highwayman said. "I am certainly not going to be hung for the advantage of JohnDormay, who has paid me poorly enough, considering that it wasthrough me that he came into a fine estate. I take it that you giveme your word of honour, that if I make a clean breast of it, andstick to my story afterwards, this other business shall not bebrought up against me. "

"Yes, we both promise that on our word of honour. "

"Very well then; here goes. "

The story he told was in precise accordance with the suspicionsthat his hearers had entertained. He had been tramping through thecountry, sometimes pilfering, sometimes taking money as a footpad. He had, one day, met John Dormay and demanded his money. He wasarmed only with a heavy cudgel, and thought Dormay was defenceless. 

The latter, however, produced a pistol from his pocket, andcompelled him to drop his stick; and then, taking him by thecollar, made him walk to his house. He had asked him questions asto his previous life, and had then given him the choice of going tojail, or of acting under his instructions, in which case he wouldbe well rewarded. Naturally, he had chosen the second alternative. And, having him completely under his thumb, John Dormay had madehim sign a paper, acknowledging his attempt at highway robbery uponhim. 

The rest of the story was already known to his hearers. He had, several times, overheard the conversations in the dining room, buthad gathered nothing beyond talk of what would be done, if thePretender came over. John Dormay had taught him the story of theassassination plot, and had given him the letters to hide. He nowswore that the whole story was false, and had been told entirely atthe dictation of John Dormay, and from fear of the consequence tohimself, if he refused to obey his orders. 

When he had finished, Tony's wife was called in, and she made hermark, and her husband signed his name, as witnesses to thesignature of Robert Nicholson. 

"Now, I hope I may have something to eat, " the man said, recklessly. "I am ready to tell my story to whomsoever you like, but am not ready to be starved. "

"Give him food, Tony, " Charlie said, "and keep a sharp lookoutafter him. We will go across, and show this paper to the duke. "

"I will bring the matter, at once, before the council, " the generalsaid, when Charlie gave him the document, and briefly stated itscontents. "There is a meeting at three o'clock today. I shall seethe queen previously, and will get her to interest herself in thematter, and to urge that justice shall be done without any delay. Iwill arrange that the man shall be brought before the council, atthe earliest date possible. If you will come here this evening, Imay be able to tell you more. Come at eight. I shall be in then todress, as I take supper at the palace, at nine. "

"I have ventured to promise the man that he shall not be hung, mylord. "

"You were safe in doing so. The rogue deserves the pillory orbranding, but, as he was almost forced into it, and was the mereinstrument in the hands of another, it is not a case for hanginghim. He might be shipped off to the plantations as a rogue and avagabond. 

"What are you smiling at?"

"I was thinking, sir, that, as you said there were a good many ofthat class in the army, the man might have the option of enlistinggiven him. "

"And so of getting shot in the Netherlands, instead of getting hungat Tyburn, eh? Well, I will see what I can do. "

At eight o'clock, they again presented themselves. The duke lookedat them critically. 

"You will do, " he said. "Put your cloaks on again, and come withme. Where do you suppose that you are going?"

"Before the council, sir, " Harry suggested. 

"Bless me, you don't suppose that your business is so pressing, that ministers have been summoned in haste to sit upon it. No, youare going to sup with the queen. I told her your story thisafternoon. She was much interested in it, and when I informed herthat, young as you both were, you had fought behind Charles ofSweden, in all his desperate battles, and that he had not onlypromoted you to the rank of captain, but that he had, under his ownhand, given you a document expressing his satisfaction at yourconduct and bravery, she said that I must bring you to supper atthe palace. I told her that, being soldiers, you had brought withyou no clothes fit for appearance at court; but, as at littlegatherings there is no ceremony, she insisted that I should bringyou as you are. 

"My wife Sarah went on half an hour ago, in her chair. There willprobably be two others, possibly Godolphin and Harley, but morelikely some courtier and his wife. 

"You do not feel nervous, I hope? After being accustomed to chatwith Charles of Sweden, to say nothing of the Czar of Russia, Carstairs, you need not feel afraid of Queen Anne, who is goodnature itself. "

Nevertheless, both the young men felt nervous. After beingconducted up some private stairs, the duke led them into anoak-panelled room, of comparatively small size, lighted by numeroustapers, which displayed the rich hangings and furniture. A lady wassitting by the fire. A tall, handsome woman, with a somewhatimperious face, stood on the rug before her, talking to her, whilea pleasant-looking man, who by his appearance and manner might havebeen taken for a country squire, was sitting opposite, playing withthe ears of a spaniel lying on his knee. 

The tall lady moved aside, as they entered, and Charlie noticed alittle glance of affectionate welcome pass between her and theduke--for the pair were devotedly attached to each other--then hebowed to the seated lady. 

"Madam, " he said, "allow me to present to you the two youngofficers, of whose bravery Charles of Sweden has written sostrongly, and whose parents have, with other gentlemen, been drivenfrom the land by villainy. "

The young men bowed deeply. Anne held out her hand, and each inturn, bending on one knee, raised it to his lips. 

"There, " she said, "let that be the beginning and end of ceremony. This is not a court gathering, but a family meeting. I want to hearyour stories, and I want you, for the time, to forget that I amAnne of England. I know that your fathers have always been faithfulto our house, and I hope that their sons will, ere long, do as goodservice for me as they have done for a foreign prince. 

"You have not seen these gentlemen yet, Sarah?"

"No, my husband has kept them to himself. "

"I have had but little time to give them, Sarah, and wanted it all, to question them on the Swedish modes of warfare. "

"And you thought I should be an interruption?

"I am glad to meet you both, nevertheless. Since my husband likesyou, I am sure to do so;" and she smiled pleasantly, as she gave ahand to each. 

They were then introduced to the Prince Consort, George of Denmark. 

At this moment, supper was announced. The queen and the duchesswent in together, followed by the four gentlemen. 

"Lord Godolphin and Mr. Harley were to have been of the partytonight, " the queen said, as she took her seat at table, "but I putthem off till tomorrow, as I wanted to hear these gentlemen'sstory. "

During the meal, the conversation was gay. As soon as the last dishwas removed, the party returned to the other room. Then the queencalled upon the young men to tell their story. 

Charlie began, and related up to the time when he had aided in therescue of his father from the hands of his escort. Harry told thestory of their military experiences, and then Charlie related hisnarrow escape at Warsaw, his adventure with the brigands, and thefight with the wolves. 

"That is the most exciting of all, " the queen said. 

"I think that even you, general, would rather have gone through thebattle of Narva, than have spent that night among the wolves. "

"That would I, indeed, madam, and I doubt if I should have got aswell through it as Captain Carstairs did. I am sure, madam, youwill agree with me, that these young gentlemen ought to be fightingunder our flag, rather than that of Sweden. There is no blame tothem, for they were most unjustly driven from the country; but Ihope that, by Monday at this time, I shall have the pleasure ofpresenting a document for your majesty's signature, stating that, in the opinion of the council, a very grave miscarriage of justicehas taken place; and that the gentlemen, whose estates were fouryears ago confiscated, are proved to be innocent of the crime ofwhich they were accused, and are true and faithful subjects of yourmajesty; and that the proceedings against them are hereby quashed, and their estates restored to them. 

"I had the honour of relating to you, this afternoon, the manner inwhich these gentlemen have succeeded in bringing the truth tolight. "

Shortly afterwards, the party broke up, the queen speaking mostgraciously to each of the young men. 

On Monday morning, they received a summons to appear before thecouncil, at two o'clock in the afternoon, and to produce one RobertNicholson, whose evidence was required in a matter of moment. Theyhired a carriage, and took the highwayman with them to SaintJames's, and were conducted to the council chamber; where theyfound Lord Godolphin, the Marquis of Normanby, Mr. Harley, and theDuke of Marlborough, together with two judges, before whom thedepositions, in the case of Sir Marmaduke Carstairs and hisfriends, had been laid. 

Lord Normanby, as privy seal, took the chair, and briefly saidthat, having heard there had been a grievous miscarriage ofjustice, he had summoned them to hear important evidence which wasproduced by Captains Carstairs and Jervoise, officers in theservice of the king of Sweden. 

"What have you to say, Captain Carstairs?"

"I have, sir, only to testify that this man, who stands beside me, is Robert Nicholson, who was in my father's employment for twoyears, and was, I believe, the principal witness against him. Captain Jervoise can also testify to his identity. I now producethe confession, voluntarily made by this man, and signed in thepresence of witnesses. "

He handed in the confession, which was read aloud by a clerkstanding at the lower end of the table. A murmur of indignationarose from the council, as he concluded. 

"You have acted the part of a base villain, " Lord Normanby said toNicholson. "Hanging would be too good for such a caitiff. Whatinduced you to make this confession?"

"I have long repented my conduct, " the man said. "I was forced intoacting as I did, by John Dormay, who might have had me hung forhighway robbery. I would long ago have told the truth, had I knownwhere to find the gentlemen I have injured; and, meeting them bychance the other day, I resolved upon making a clean breast of it, and to take what punishment your lordships may think proper;hoping, however, for your clemency, on account of the fact that Iwas driven to act in the way I did. "

One of the judges, who had the former depositions before him, askedhim several questions as to the manner in which he had put thepapers into Sir Marmaduke's cabinet. 

He replied that he found the key in a vase on the mantel, and aftertrying several locks with it, found that it fitted the cabinet. 

"His statement agrees, my lords, " the judge said, "with that madeby Sir Marmaduke Carstairs in his examinations. He then said thathe could not account for the papers being in his cabinet, for itwas never unlocked, and that he kept the key in a vase on themantel, where none would be likely to look for it. "

In a short time, all present were requested to withdraw, but inless than five minutes they were again called in. 

"Gentlemen, " Lord Normanby said to the young officers, "I havepleasure in informing you, that the council are of opinion that theinnocence of your fathers and friends, of the foul offence of whichthey were charged, is clearly proven; and that they have decidedthat the sentence passed against them, in their absence, shall bequashed. They will also recommend, to her majesty, that thesentence of confiscation against them all shall be reversed. 

"As to you, sir, seeing that you have, however tardily, endeavouredto undo the evil you have caused, we are disposed to dealleniently, and, at the request of the Duke of Marlborough, we haveagreed, if you are ready to leave the country and enlist at once, as a soldier in the army of Flanders, and there to expiate yourfault by fighting in the service of your country, we will notrecommend that any proceedings shall be taken against you. But if, at any time, you return hither, save as a soldier with a report ofgood conduct, this affair will be revived, and you will receive thefull punishment you deserve. 

"For the present you will be lodged in prison, as you will beneeded to give evidence, when the matter of John Dormay comes upfor hearing. "

Nicholson was at once removed in custody. The two young officersretired, an usher bringing them a whispered message, fromMarlborough, that they had better not wait to see him, as thecouncil might sit for some time longer; but that, if they wouldcall at his house at five o'clock, after his official reception, hewould see them. 

"This is more than we could have hoped for, " Harry said, as theyleft Saint James's. "A fortnight ago, although I had no intentionof giving up the search, I began to think that our chances of eversetting eyes on that rascal were of the slightest; and noweverything has come right. The man has been found. He has been madeto confess the whole matter. The case has been heard by thecouncil. Our fathers are free to return to England, and theirestates are restored to them; at least, the council recommends thequeen, and we know the queen is ready to sign. So that it is asgood as done. "

"It seems too good to be true. "

"It does, indeed, Charlie. They will be delighted across the water. I don't think my father counted, at all, upon our findingNicholson, or of our getting him to confess; but I think he hadhoped that the duke would interest himself to get an order, that nofurther proceedings should be taken in the matter of the allegedplot. That would have permitted them to return to England. He spoketo me, several times, of his knowledge of the duke when he was ayoung man; but Churchill, he said, was a time server, and hascertainly changed his politics several times; and, if a man isfickle in politics, he may be so in his friendships. It was a greatmany years since they had met, and Marlborough might not have beeninclined to acknowledge one charged with so serious a crime. 

"But, as he said to me before I started, matters have changed sincethe death of William. Marlborough stands far higher, with Anne, than he did with William. His leanings have certainly been, allalong, Jacobite, and, now that he and the Tories are in power, andthe Whigs are out of favour, Marlborough could, if he chose, dovery much for us. It is no longer a crime to be a Jacobite, andindeed, they say that the Tories are intending to upset the act ofsuccession, and bring in a fresh one, making James Stuart thesuccessor to Anne. 

"Still, even if we had succeeded so far, by Marlborough'sinfluence, that our fathers could have returned to England withoutfear of being tried for their lives, I do not think that either ofthem would have come, so long as the charge of having beenconcerned in an assassination plot was hanging over them. 

"Now that they are cleared, and can come back with honour, it willbe different, altogether. It will be glorious news for them. Ofcourse, we shall start as soon as we get the official communicationthat the estates are restored. We shall only have to go back tothem, for, as you know, yours is the only estate that has beengranted to anyone else. The others were put up for sale, but no onewould bid for them, as the title deeds would have been worthnothing if King James came over. So they have only been let tofarmers, and we can walk straight in again, without dispossessinganyone. "

"I don't know what to do about John Dormay, " Charlie said. "Thereis no doubt that, from what the judge said, they will prosecutehim. "

"So they ought to, " Harry broke in. "He has striven, by falseswearing, to bring innocent men to the scaffold. Why, it is worsethan murder. "

"I quite agree with you, Harry, and, if I were in your place, Iwould say just as strongly as you do that he ought to be hung. Butyou see, I am differently situated. The man is a kinsman of ours bymarriage. My cousin Celia has been always most kind to me, and ismy nearest relative after my father. She has been like an aunt, and, indeed, did all she could to supply the place of a mother tome; and I am sure my little sweetheart Ciceley has been like asister. This must have been a most terrible trial to them. It was abad day for cousin Celia when she married that scoundrel, and I amsure that he has made her life a most unhappy one. Still, for theirsake, I would not see his villainy punished as it deserves, norindeed for our own, since the man is, to a certain extent, ourkinsman. 

"Besides, Harry, as you must remember well enough, Ciceley and I, in boy and girl fashion, used to say we should be some day husbandand wife, and I have never since seen anyone whom I would so soonmarry as my bonny little cousin; and if Ciceley is of the samemind, maybe some day or other she may come to Lynnwood as itsmistress; but that could hardly be, if her father were hung forattempting to swear away the life of mine. "

"No, indeed, Charlie. I know how fond you were of your cousin. "

"Indeed, Harry, there was a talk between my father and cousinCelia, a few months before the troubles came, of a formal betrothalbetween us, and, had it not been for the coolness between ourfathers, it would have taken place. "

"Yes, I remember now your telling me about it, Charlie. 

"Well, what is to be done? for I agree with you that, if possible, John Dormay must escape from the punishment he deserves. But how isit to be done?"

"Well, Harry, a week or two will make no difference to our fathers. They will have no expectation of hearing from us, for a long timeto come. I should say it were best that I should go down and warnhim, and I shall be glad if you will go with me. "

"Of course I will go, " Harry said. "Indeed, it were best that the warningcame from me. The man is a villain, and a reckless one; and in hispassion, when he hears that his rascality is known, the prize for whichhe schemed snatched from him, and his very life in danger, might evenseek to vent his rage and spite upon you. Now it is clear, Charlie, thatyou could not very well kill a man, and afterwards marry his daughter. The thing would be scarce seemly. But the fellow is no kinsman of mine. He has grievously injured us, and I could kill him without the smallestcompunction, and thereby rid the world of a scoundrel, and you of aprospective father-in-law of the most objectionable kind. "

Charlie laughed. 

"No, Harry; we will have no killing. We will go down and see himtogether. We will let him know that the orders are probably alreadyon the road for his arrest, and that he had best lose not an hour, but at once cross the water. I should not think that he would wishto encumber himself with women, for I never thought he showed theleast affection to either his wife or daughter. At any rate, wewill see that he does not take them with him. I will tell him that, if he goes, and goes alone, I will do my best to hush up thematter; and that, so long as he remains abroad, the tale of hisvillainy shall never be told; but that, if he returns, theconfession of Nicholson shall be published throughout the country, even if no prosecution is brought against him. "

When they called upon the duke, he shook them warmly by the hand. 

"This parchment is the royal assent to the decision of the council, that the estates of those inculpated in the alleged plot for theassassination of the late king should be forthwith restored tothem, it having been clearly proved that they have been falselyaccused of the said crime, and that her majesty is satisfied thatthese gentlemen are her true and loyal subjects. 

"I think I may say, " the duke continued with a smile, "that noaffair of state has ever been so promptly conducted and carriedthrough. "

"We feel how deeply indebted we are, for our good fortune, to yourkindness, your grace, " Charlie said. "We know that, but for you, months might have elapsed, even years, before we could haveobtained such a result, even after we had the confession ofNicholson in our hands. "

"I am glad, in every way, to have been able to bring this about, "the duke said. "In the first place, because I have been able toright a villainous piece of injustice; in the second, because thoseinjured were loyal gentlemen, with no fault save their steadfastadherence to the cause of the Stuarts; and lastly, because one ofthese gentlemen was my own good friend, Mat Jervoise, of whosecompany I have so many pleasant recollections. 

"I hope that, as soon as you have informed your fathers that theirnames are cleared, and their property restored, you will think ofwhat I said, and will decide to quit the service of Sweden, andenter that of your queen. 

"An officer fighting for a foreign monarch is, after all, but asoldier of fortune, however valiantly he fights. He is fighting fora cause that is not his own, and, though he may win rewards andhonours, he has not the satisfaction that all must feel who haverisked their lives, not for gold, but in the service of theircountry. But I do not want any answer from you on that head now. Itis a matter for you to decide upon after due thought. I only saythat I shall go out, early in the spring, to take command of thearmy; and that, if you present yourselves to me before I leave, Ishall be glad to appoint you on my personal staff, with the samerank you now hold. 

"You can now leave the country without any farther trouble. As tothe affair of the man Dormay, a messenger has been sent off, thisafternoon, with an order to the magistrates at Lancaster, to arresthim on the charge of suborning false evidence, by which the livesof some of her majesty's subjects were endangered; and of forgingletters whereby such evil designs might be furthered. I do notsuppose I shall see you again before you sail, for tomorrow we godown to our country place, and may remain there some weeks. I maysay that it was the desire to get your affair finished, before weleft town, that conduced somewhat to the speed with which it hasbeen carried through. "

After again thanking the duke most warmly for his kindness, andsaying that they would lay his offer before their fathers, and thattheir own inclinations were altogether in favour of accepting it, the young men took their leave. 

"It is unfortunate about Dormay. "

"Most unfortunate, " Harry said. 

"I think, if we start tomorrow morning, Harry, we shall be in time. There is no reason why the messenger should travel at anyextraordinary speed, and, as he may be detained at Lancaster, andsome delay may arise before officers are sent up to Lynnwood tomake the arrest, we may be in time. 

"We must take a note of the date. It is one we shall remember allour lives. It is the 25th of November, and we will keep it up as aday of festivity and rejoicing, as long as we live. "

"That will we, " Harry agreed. "It shall be the occasion of anannual gathering of those who got into trouble from those suppersat Sir Marmaduke's. I fancy the others are all in France, but theirfriends will surely be able to let them know, as soon as they hearthe good news. 

"I think we shall have a stormy ride tomorrow. The sky looks verywild and threatening. "

"It does, indeed; and the wind has got up very much, in the lasthour. ''

"Yes, we are going to have a storm, beyond all doubt. "

The wind got up hourly, and when, before going to bed, they went topass an hour at a tavern, they had difficulty in making their wayagainst it. Several times in the night they were awoke by thegusts, which shook the whole house, and they heard the crashing offalling chimney pots above the din of the gale. 

They had arranged to start as soon as it was light, and had, theevening before, been to a posting inn, and engaged a carriage withfour horses for the journey down to Lancashire. 

"There is no starting today, gentlemen, " the landlord said, as theywent down to breakfast by candlelight. "I have looked out, and thestreet is strewn with chimney pots and tiles. Never do I remembersuch a gale, and hour by hour it seems to get worse. Why, it isdangerous to go across the street. "

"Well, we must try, " Charlie said, "whatever the weather. It is amatter of almost life and death. "

"Well, gentlemen, you must please yourselves, but I am mistaken ifany horse keeper will let his animals out, on such a day as this. "

As soon as they had eaten their breakfasts, they wrapped themselvesup in their cloaks, pressed their hats over their heads, andsallied out. It was not until they were in the streets that theyrealized how great was the force of the gale. Not only were thestreets strewn with tiles and fragments of chimney pots, but therewas light enough for them to see that many of the upper windows ofthe houses had been blown in by the force of the wind. Tiles flewabout like leaves in autumn, and occasionally gutters and sheets oflead, stripped from the roofs, flew along with prodigiousswiftness. 

"This is as bad as a pitched battle, Charlie. I would as lief bestruck by a cannonball as by one of those strips of lead. "

"Well, we must risk it, Harry. We must make the attempt, anyhow. "

It was with the greatest difficulty that they made their way along. Although powerful young fellows, they were frequently obliged tocling to the railings, to prevent themselves from being swept awayby the gusts, and they had more than one narrow escape from fallingchimneys. Although the distance they had to traverse was not morethan a quarter of a mile, it took them half an hour to accomplishit. 

The post master looked at them in surprise, as they entered hisoffice flushed and disordered. 

"Why, gentlemen, you are not thinking of going on such a day asthis? It would be a sheer impossibility. Why, the carriage would beblown over, and if it wasn't, no horses would face this wind. "

"We would be willing to pay anything you may like to ask, " Charliesaid. 

"It ain't a question of money, sir. If you were to buy the fourhorses and the carriage, you would be no nearer, for no post boywould be mad enough to ride them; and, even supposing you got onestage, which you never would do, you would have to buy horsesagain, for no one would be fool enough to send his animals out. Youcould not do it, sir. Why, I hear there are half a dozen houses, within a dozen yards of this, that have been altogether unroofed, and it is getting worse instead of better. If it goes on like this, I doubt if there will be a steeple standing in London tomorrow. 

"Listen to that!"

There was a tremendous crash, and, running out into the street, they saw a mass of beams and tiles lying in the roadway--a housetwo doors away had been completely unroofed. They felt that, insuch a storm, it was really impossible to proceed, and accordinglyreturned to their lodgings, performing the distance in a fractionof the time it had before taken them. 

For some hours the gale continued to increase in fury. Not a soulwas to be seen in the streets. Occasional heavy crashes told of thedamage that was being wrought, and, at times, the house shook sothat it seemed as if it would fall. 

Never was such a storm known in England. The damage done wasenormous. The shores were strewn with wrecks. Twelve ships of theroyal navy, with fifteen hundred men, were lost; and an enormousnumber of merchant vessels. Many steeples, houses, and buildings ofall kinds were overthrown, and the damage, in London alone, wasestimated at a million pounds. 

There were few who went to bed that night. Many thought that thewhole city would be destroyed. Towards morning, however, the furyof the gale somewhat abated, and by nightfall the danger hadpassed. 

The next morning the two friends started, and posted down toLancashire. The journey was a long one. In many places the road wascompletely blocked by fallen trees, and sometimes by the ruins ofhouses and barns. In the former case, long detours had often to bemade through villainous roads, where the wheels sank almost totheir axles, and, in spite of the most liberal bribes to post boysand post masters, the journey occupied four days longer than theusual time. 

At last, they reached the lodge gate of Lynnwood. A man came outfrom the cottage. He was the same who had been there in SirMarmaduke's time. 

Charlie jumped out of the post chaise. 

"Why, Norman, don't you know me?"

The man looked hard at him. 

"No, sir, I can't say as I do. "

"What, not Charlie Carstairs?"

"Bless me, it is the young master!" the man said. "To think of mynot knowing you. But you have changed wonderful. Why, sir, I havebeen thinking of you often and often, and most of all the lastthree days, but I never thought of you like this. "

"Why the last three days, Norman?"

"Haven't you heard the news, sir?"

"No, I have heard nothing. Captain Jervoise and I--my old friend, you know, Norman--have posted all the way from London, and shouldhave been here six days ago, if it had not been for the storm. "

"Well, sir, there is bad news; at least, I don't know whether youwill consider it bad. Most of the folk about here looks at it theother way. But the man in there shot hisself, three days ago. Amagistrate, with some men from Lancaster, came over here. They sayit was to arrest him, but I don't know the rights of the case. Anyhow, it is said they read some paper over to him, and then heopened a drawer at the table where he was sitting, and pulled out apistol, and shot hisself before anyone could stop him. 

"There have been bad goings here of late, Mr. Charles, very bad, especially for the last year. He was not friends with his son, theysay, but the news of his death drove him to drink, worse thanbefore; and besides, there have been dicing, and all sorts ofgoings on, and I doubt not but that the ladies have had a terribletime of it. There were several men staying in the house, but theyall took themselves off, as soon as it was over, and there are onlythe ladies there now. They will be glad enough to see you, I willbe bound. "

Charlie was shocked; but at the same time, he could not but feelthat it was the best thing that could happen, and Harry freelyexpressed himself to that effect. 

"We won't take the carriage up to the house, " Charlie said, after along pause. "Take the valises out, and bring them up to the housepresently, Norman. "

He paid the postilion who had brought them from Lancaster, andstood quiet until the carriage had driven off. 

"I hope Sir Marmaduke is well, sir. We have missed him sorelyhere. "

"He was quite well when I saw him, ten weeks ago. I hope he will behere before long. I am happy to say that his innocence of thecharge brought against him has been proved, and his estates, andthose of Mr. Jervoise and the other gentlemen, have been restoredby the queen. "

"That is good news, indeed, sir, " the man exclaimed. "The best Ihave heard for many a long year. Everyone about here will go wildwith joy. "

"Then don't mention it at present, Norman. Any rejoicings would beunseemly, while John Dormay is lying dead there. "

"Shall I go up with you, Charlie, or will you go alone?" Harryasked. "Of course, there are some horses here, and you could lendme one to drive over to our own place. "

"You shall do that presently, Harry, and tell them the news. Butcome in now. You know my cousin and Ciceley. It will be all thebetter that you should go in with me. "

His cousin received Charlie with a quiet pleasure. She was greatlychanged since he had seen her last, and her face showed that shehad suffered greatly. Ciceley had grown into a young woman, and methim with delight. Both were pleased to see Harry. 

"We were talking of you but now, Charlie, " Mrs. Dormay said. "Ciceley and I agreed that we would remove at once to our oldplace, and that this should be kept up for you, should you at anytime be able to return. Now that Queen Anne is on the throne, andthe Tories are in power, we hoped that you, at least, would erelong be permitted to return. How is your dear father?"

"He is well, cousin, and will, I trust, be here ere long. Ourinnocence of the charge has been proved, the proceedings against usquashed, and the Act of Confiscation against my father, Mr. Jervoise, and the others reversed. "

"Thank God for that, " Mrs. Dormay said earnestly, and Ciceley gavean exclamation of pleasure. "That accounts, then, for what hashappened here. 

"I do not want to talk about it, Charlie. You may imagine howCiceley and I have suffered. But he was my husband, spare him formy sake. "

"I will never allude to the subject again, cousin, " Charlie said. "But I must tell you that Harry and I have posted down from London, in hopes of being in time to warn him, and enable him to escape. Ineed not say we did so because he was your husband, and Ciceley'sfather. "

Harry then turned the subject, by a remark as to the effects of thestorm. Then Ciceley asked questions as to their life abroad, andthere was so much to tell, and to listen to, that even Mrs. Dormay's face brightened. Harry willingly allowed himself to bepersuaded to remain for the night, and to ride over to his place inthe morning. 

The funeral took place two days later. Charlie went as solemourner. 

"He was my kinsman, " he said to Harry, "and, though I can pretendno sorrow at his death, my attendance at the funeral will dosomething towards stopping talk, and will make it easier for mycousin. "

The next day, Mrs. Dormay and Ciceley returned to Rockley, whosetenant had fortunately left a few weeks before. Charlie and Harryboth went over with them, and stayed for three or four days, andthey were glad to see that Mrs. Dormay seemed to be shaking off theweight of her trouble, and was looking more like her old self. 

They then rode to Lancaster, and returned to London by coach. Theycrossed to Gottenburg by the first vessel that was sailing, and SirMarmaduke was delighted to hear the success of their mission, andthat he was at liberty to return at once, as master of Lynnwood. 

"Luck favoured you somewhat, Charlie, in throwing that vagabond inyour way, but for all else we have to thank you both, for themanner in which you have carried the affair out, and captured yourfox. As for John Dormay, 'tis the best thing that could havehappened. I have often thought it over, while you have been away, and have said to myself that the best settlement of the businesswould be that you, Harry, when you obtained proofs, should go down, confront him publicly, and charge him with his treachery, force himto draw, and then run him through the body. Charlie would, ofcourse, have been the proper person, in my absence, so to settlethe matter, but he could not well have killed my cousin's husband, and it would have added to the scandal. 

"However, the way it has turned out is better altogether. It willbe only a nine days' wonder. The man has been cut by all thegentry, and when it is known that he shot himself to escape arrest, many will say that it was a fit ending, and will trouble themselvesno more concerning him. 

"You are coming back with me, I hope, Charlie. I have seen butlittle of you for the last four years, and if you are, as you say, going with the Duke of Marlborough to the war in the spring, Idon't want to lose sight of you again till then. You can surelyresign your commission here without going back to the army, especially as you have leave of absence until the end of March. "

Charlie hesitated. 

"I think so, too, " Harry said. "I know that the colonel told theking the whole story, when he asked for leave for me and obtainedthat paper. He told my father that the king was greatly interested, and said: 'I hope the young fellows will succeed, though I suppose, if they do, I shall lose two promising young officers. ' So he willnot be surprised when he hears that we have resigned. 

"As for me, I shall, of course, go on at once. My father will, I amsure, be delighted to return home. The hardships have told upon hima good deal, and he has said several times, of late, how much hewished he could see his way to retiring. I think, too, he willgladly consent to my entering our own service, instead of that ofSweden. He would not have done so, I am sure, had William beenstill on the throne. Now it is altogether different. "

"Well, Harry, if you do see the king, as it is possible you may do, or if you do not, you might speak to the colonel, and ask him, inmy name, to express to Charles my regret at leaving his service, inwhich I have been so well treated, and say how much I feel thekindly interest that his majesty has been pleased to take in me. Ifthere had been any chance of the war coming to an end shortly, Ishould have remained to see it out; but, now that the Polishbusiness may be considered finished, it will be continued withRussia, and may go on for years, for the czar is just as obstinateand determined as Charles himself. "

Accordingly, the next morning, Charlie sent in the formalresignation of his commission to the war minister at Stockholm, andHarry left by ship for Revel. Sir Marmaduke placed his businessaffairs in the hands of a Scotch merchant at Gottenburg, withinstructions to call in the money he had lent on mortgage, and, twodays later, took passage with Charlie for Hull, whence they postedacross the country to Lancaster, and then drove to Lynnwood. 

As soon as the news spread that Sir Marmaduke had returned, thechurch bells rang a joyous peal, bonfires were lighted, the tenantsflocked in to greet him, and the gentry for miles round rode overto welcome and congratulate him. 

The next morning he and Charlie rode over to Rockley. 

"Oh, Marmaduke, " cried Celia, "I am happy indeed to know that youare back again. I have never known a day's happiness since youwent. "

"Well, don't let us think any more about it, Celia, " Sir Marmadukesaid, as he kissed her tenderly. "Let us look on it all as an uglydream. It has not been without its advantages, as far as we areconcerned. It has taken me out of myself, and broadened my view ofthings. I have not had at all an unpleasant time of it in Sweden, and shall enjoy my home all the more, now that I have been awayfrom it for a while. As to Charlie, it has made a man of him. Hehas gained a great deal of credit, and had opportunities of showingthat he is made of good stuff; and now he enters upon life withevery advantage, and has a start, indeed, such as very few youngfellows can have. He enters our army as a captain, under the eye ofMarlborough himself, with a reputation gained under that of thegreatest soldier in Europe. 

"So we have no reason to regret the past, cousin, and on that scoreyou have no cause for grief. As to the future, I trust that it willbe bright for both of us, and I think, " he added meaningly, "ourformer plans for our children are likely to be some day realized. "

Four years later, indeed, the union that both parents had at hearttook place, during one of the pauses of the fierce struggle betweenthe British forces under Marlborough, and the French. At Blenheim, Ramillies, and Oudenarde, and in several long and toilsome sieges, Charlie had distinguished himself greatly, and was regarded byMarlborough as one of the most energetic and trustworthy of hisofficers. He had been twice severely wounded, and had gained therank of colonel. Harry Jervoise--who had had a leg shot away, belowthe knee, by a cannonball at Ramillies, and had then left the armywith the rank of major--was, on the same day as his friend, marriedto the daughter of one of the gentlemen who had been driven intoexile with his father. 

In the spring Charlie again joined the army, and commanded abrigade in the desperate struggle on the hill of Malplaquet, one ofthe hardest fought battles in the history of war. Peace was madeshortly afterwards, and, at the reduction of the army thatfollowed, he went on half pay, and settled down for life atLynnwood, where Tony Peters and his wife had, at the death of theformer occupant of the lodge, been established. 

When Harry Jervoise returned to the Swedish headquarters, with thenews that his father was cleared, he was the bearer of a veryhandsome present from Charlie to his faithful servant Stanislas, who had, on their return from Poland, been at once employed byCount Piper on other service. 

When, years afterwards, the young Pretender marched south with theHighland clans, neither Charlie nor Harry were among the gentlemenwho joined him. He had their good wishes, but, having served in theBritish army, they felt that they could not join the movement inarms against the British crown; and indeed, the strong Jacobitefeelings of their youth had been greatly softened down by theircontact with the world, and they had learned to doubt much whetherthe restoration of the Stuarts would tend, in any way, to thebenefit or prosperity of Britain. 

They felt all the more obliged to stand aloof from the struggle, inasmuch as both had sons, in the army, that had fought valiantlyagainst the French at Dettingen and Fontenoy. The families alwaysremained united in the closest friendship, and more than onemarriage took place between the children of Charlie Carstairs andHarry Jervoise.