Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 278: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

oe 276 La could be made. The walls were composed of solid blocks ot wood of great thickness, and very securely clamped popetner, so there was no hope of breaking through them. There was, however, one weak point of the defences | which was entirely overlooked and never thought of. How this was is hard to say, but the fact remains the same, notwithstanding. ; The weak part in the hut was what is generally the the weakest part in all buildings, and that is the ruof. In some buildings, however, the roof 1s quite inac- cessible, but this was not the case with the hut. It was not nine feet above the ground at the most in its lowest part. ; It was composed of thatch, but not thatch simply. Underneath the thin covering of straw was & series of wooden poles laid as closely together as their shape would admit. . These were firmly secured to other pieces of wood lying at right angles tothem, the ends of which were fastened to the walls and to the beam at the top. It was the chief of police, who was really a bold brave man, who first thought of endeavouring to make a breach through the roof. The wound he had received made him physically incom- petent to have headed the attempt as he would have wished, so he was forced to content himself with issuing orders merely. ‘Kenrick,’ he said, addressing one of the men who next to him had the control of the others, ‘* Kenrick !”’ “Yes, sir.” * Get the men together, and attack the roof.” ** Very good, sir.” ‘Leave the door to itself now. Make no more noise than you can possibly help, or you may be picked off in the same way as before. Ab! curses!” The chief of police’s wound gave him rather a sudden twinge as he spoke. Kenrick moved off, and gave the order to the men, who sect about obeying it with more alacrity than they had recently displayed. The roof was reached with very little trouble, and then they commenced stripping off the thatch. This was done easily enough. Doubtless, they anticipated that when they had done this their work was over, but they soon found their mis- take when the longitudinal beams of wood were bronght to view. They had their entlasses drawn, however, and com- menced hacking them away. Those within seemed determined not to surrender until they had done all the mischief they possibly could, for though they saw that capture was so imminent, they fired another volley at the men on the roof. Its efficacy was at once attested, too, by the cries which followed, and then a rumbling noise succeeded, caused by those who had been killed or wounded rolling down the roof on to the ground. The numbers of the men were now seriously reduced, but their blood seemed to get heated by the slaughter they saw around them, and they returned to the attack with greater energy than ever. The position of those within the hut was an excellent one, for while they were able to do so much damage, they were themselves free from all consequences of it. They could tell exactly where the besiegers were, and take a deadly aim accordingly, but the besiegers could not so well ascertain their precise situation, though very many shots had been fired into the hut, and both Blueskin and Johnson had been slightly wounded by them. And now one of the police-officers, by an exertion of great strength, caught hold of one of the poles we have mentioned, and wrenched it from its place. Assistance was rendered him as soon as the others naw what he was abont, and a breach in the roof was fairly nnd really made. For the first time the officers could see into the interior cf the hut. But beyond a patch of darkness, they could make out nothing. Our three friends had been tolerably well supplied with ammunition, but as they had fed a great many volleys, and as each volley consisted of six shots, they soon reduced their supply to a very small amount. BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE. But when they saw the opening made in the roof they prepared to fire, but waited until the heads of several of their foes appeared at the orifice. “hey then drew their triggers. (he police had done precisely as they had, and fired at the same moment. To be sure, there aim was not 80 accurate, but the bullets scattered about in rather an alarming manner. But owing to the confined space in which their heads appeared, the three friends had done a terrible amount of execution. The officers were again repulsed, and the whole of them who were on the roof either rolled or tumbled to the ground. They were now in a state of the greatest exasperation, and acted more like madmen than human beings, They could never have believed it Jay in the power of three persons intrenched in a hut to do them so much damage. But they found it out to their cost, as we have seen. The chief of the police uttered some awtul curses when he saw his men again repulsed. Kenrick had been shot, and the officers were now with out a leader. ‘Fire the hut!” cried the chief, in a perfect rage. ‘Set fire toit. Smoke them out. That is the only way. We shall be sure to have them.” ** Hurrah !”’ responded the others then, who all burned for personal vengeance. ‘‘ Hurrah! that will do it.” Half-a-dozen rushed off for brushwood, plenty of which grew close at hand, and having gathered a large quantity, they piled it up against the door in a huge heap. Some phosphorous matches were then produced, and several having been lighted were held to the wood. The bottom part of the combustible heap was formed of dry leaves and twigs of trees, which caught fire in a moment, and blazed up brightly. The flames soon communicated themselves to the upper portion. ; Ee volumes of smoke arose, and the fire crackled oudly. The police-officers surrounded the hut, and kept as close to the flames as they could, while they watched their progress with unfeigned satisfaction. The inflammable materials had been piled against the door of the hut with considerable art, although it was done so hastily. They were arranged so that the main body of the flames played upon it. An ominous silence followed the last attempt to carry the hut by storm. No sound whatever could be heard to come from the inmates of it, who had defended themselves with so much bravery and desperation. They thought when so terrible an alternative was offered them as to be burned out by fire, that they would then and there have cried out for mercy, and surrendered. But Blueskin was not exactly the sort of man to do that, let the peril with which he was menaced be what it might. @ Rather than give in, he would fight to the last gasp. The fire still burned. Its violence increased, and the long, red flames that shot upward seized upon everything within their reach and devoured it. They canght tlie thatched roof, and soon the whole of the top was one sheet of fire. The‘roaring and crackling was terrific. Again and again did the officers cry out aloud to those within to surrender; but on no occasion was any reply vouchsafed to their words. The fierceness of the heat compelled them from time to time to increase their distance from the flames; but, notwithstanding that, the circle around the building was unbroken. — They were quite certain that neither of those within had left it. Silence still. Higher and higher mounted the red flames, fiercer and fiercer they became, but still no change was made, no cry for aid or help came from the lips of those within. The Gre was fast getting a firm hold of the entire building. >