“Art thou awake, fellow?” said he, in a gruff voice. “Stir thyself; get upon thy legs.”
His orders were enforced by no very gentle application of his military boot.
“Friend,” said I, rising with difficulty, “you need not insult a dying man. You have been sent hither to conduct me to death. Lead on! My trust is in God, that He will forgive me my sins, and receive my soul, redeemed by the blood of His Son.”
There here intervened a pause of some length, at the end of which the soldier said, in the same gruff voice, but in a lower key:
“Look ye, comrade, it will be your own fault if you die this night. On one condition I promise to get you out of this hobble with a whole skin; but if you go to any of your d⸺d gammon, by G⸺, before two hours are passed, you will have as many holes in your carcase as a target.”
“Name your conditions,” said I, “and if they consist with honour, I will never balk at the offer.”
“Here they are: you are to be shot tonight, by Captain Oliver’s orders. The carbines are cleaned for the job, and the cartridges served out to the men. By G⸺, I tell you the truth!”
Of this I needed not much persuasion, and intimated to the man my conviction that he spoke the truth.
“Well, then,” he continued, “now for the means of avoiding this ugly business. Captain Oliver rides this night to headquarters, with the papers which you carried. Before he starts he will pay you a visit, to fish what he can out of you with all the fine promises he can make. Humour him a little, and when you find an opportunity, stab him in the throat above the cuirass.”
“A feasible plan, surely,” said I, raising my shackled hands, “for a man thus completely crippled and without a weapon.”
“I will manage all that presently for you,” said the soldier. “When you have thus dealt with him, take his cloak and hat, and so forth, and put them on; the papers you will find in the pocket of his vest, in a red leather case. Walk boldly out. I am appointed to ride with Captain Oliver, and you will find me holding his horse and my own by the door. Mount quickly, and I will do the same, and then we will ride for our lives across the bridge. You will find the holster-pistols loaded in case of pursuit; and, with the devil’s help, we shall reach Limerick without a hair hurt. My only condition is, that when you strike Oliver, you strike home, and again and again, until he is finished; and I trust to your honour to remember me when we reach the town.”
I cannot say whether I resolved right or wrong, but I thought my situation, and the conduct of Captain Oliver, warranted me in acceding to the conditions propounded by my visitant, and with alacrity I told him so, and desired him to give me the power, as he had promised to do, of executing them.
With speed and promptitude he drew a small key from his pocket, and in an instant the manacles were removed from my hands.
How my heart bounded within me as my wrists were released from the iron grip of the shackles! The first step toward freedom was made—my self-reliance returned, and I felt assured of success.
“Now for the weapon,” said I.
“I fear me, you will find it rather clumsy,” said he; “but if well handled, it will do as well as the best Toledo. It is the only thing I could get, but I sharpened it myself; it has an edge like a skean.”
He placed in my hand the steel head of a halberd. Grasping it firmly, I found that it made by no means a bad weapon in point of convenience; for it felt in the hand like a heavy dagger, the portion which formed the blade or point being crossed nearly at the lower extremity by a small bar of metal, at one side shaped into the form of an axe, and at the other into that of a hook. These two transverse appendages being muffled by the folds of my cravat, which I removed for the purpose, formed a perfect guard or hilt, and the lower extremity formed like a tube, in which the pike-handle had been inserted, afforded ample space for the grasp of my hand; the point had been made as sharp as a needle, and the metal he assured me was good.
Thus equipped he left me, having observed, “The captain sent me to bring you to your senses, and give you some water that he might find you proper for his visit. Here is the pitcher; I think I have revived you sufficiently for the captain’s purpose.”
With a low savage laugh he left me to my reflections.
Having examined and adjusted the weapon, I carefully bound the ends of the cravat, with which I had secured the cross part of the spearhead, firmly round my wrist, so that in case of a struggle it might not easily be forced from my hand; and having made these precautionary dispositions, I sat down upon the ground with my back against the wall, and my hands together under my coat, awaiting my visitor.
The time wore slowly on; the dusk became dimmer and dimmer, until it nearly bordered on total darkness.
“How’s this?” said I, inwardly; “Captain Oliver, you said I should not see the moon rise tonight. Methinks you are somewhat tardy in fulfilling your prophecy.”
As I made this reflection, a noise at the outer door announced the entrance of a visitant. I knew that the decisive moment was come, and letting my head sink upon my
