Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 106 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

SEE -—~— —.-\ eR ES OE oe, en ee — OO _— - a . —— a ————— SS ———es we te ee ed eee ee er enn OO ee a eS eee - — — _— —_—— nl tne -—= — ¢ a —— = 4 ee aS SS ee ~ tl es a - ——e — ee ee fellows love to ape a military display; pee — a parley cag? see, by Jove! Deuced good idea! you will talk one of the windows, I will soun them,”’ to them and talk against time.”’ “You have hit it, exactly. First, I will ask them what they want; express surprise at the gathering; warn them to disperse, that they are breaking the law, and all that sort of thing; then, when rr de- mand the prisoner, as ard surely will, I time to consult you and O’Glory—’ ‘Yas, but Lsay, by the way, “interrupted Smith- ers, ‘‘has the old rascal ’’—by this affectionate term he referred to his host—“‘ any idea of this attack?” ‘** Not the least in the world, and he oe pcmeng ad will be scared out of his wits when he finds that mansion, of which he boasts so much, is exposed to the danger of attack and pillage.”’ Bang! went a musket in the park near by. It was the signal that danger was near. The Bould Boys of the Mountain were rete The pickets came in, in hot haste, and one and a told the same story; shadowy forms were advancing in all directions. The siege of O’Neal Hall had begun! CHAPTER XXXTII. AN ADVANCE IN FORCE. Att was bustle and confusion within the mansion; the sound of the musket-shot had alarmed every in- mate of the Hall. O’Glory and his wife came rushing down from their private apartment and met Burke and the rest as they came retreating Into the house, in hot haste. ‘Tare and ‘ounds!”’ cried the lawyer, wonderfully excited; ‘‘phat’s the matter? phat the divil is the m’aning of that gun?”’ “Is anybody kilt?” yelled the madam, at the top of her voice; *‘is there anybody kilt? For the love of Heaven, will nobody tell me and not l’ave me to die wid fright? Mr. O’Glory, if ye have got the courage of a hare—which, by the same token, I don’t think ye have—will ye run out and see phat is to the fore?’ But the soldiers being occupied in closing and ba the great front door of the mansion, b Burke’s command, effectually prevented any su action on the part of O’Glory. ‘‘Do not be alarmed, my dear madam,” the cap- tain hastened to say; ‘**no one injured as yet.” “Oh, glory be!’’ cried Mrs, O’Glory, not in the least ee ‘but you mane that some one is Lene be hurted. Phatisit? Who’s going to be 1t?”’ “No one, IT hope, at present,” responded Burke, still busy with superintending the fastening of the door. ' But, captain, dear, who fired that shot?"’ the old lawyer asked, understanding of course from the hasty movements of the soldiers that some great — threatened. ‘Tt was fired by one of my pickets at a skulking re in the dark.”’ ‘Upon my life, captain, I believe there was fifty of them cree in on me!” the soldier averred—he whose mu had sounded the alarm. “* Fifty!’ cried ae bo “Fifty phat? Why don’t ye be afther sp’aking out and notl’ave us to die wid fear?” the lawyer’s wiNpitty of yo esteemed t Mrs. O”’ ‘ of your med countrymen, . O’- Glory,’ Burke answered. ‘*An’ phat do they be afther wanting here?’ the lady asked, in blank amazement, have no call thim; they know that they are not welkim!”’ ** And for that reason, I presume, they have a a ped themselves with various weapons, guns, swords pistols, bill-hooks, scythes, home- e pikes an other implements of war.”’ “Yas, looks as if they intended to win a welcome for themselves,’’ Smithers remarked. For the first time the truth of the matter flashed upon the lawyer and his wife. “* Holy saints!’ cried O’Glory, almost stupefied by the intelligence; ‘‘you don’t mane to say that the byes are ‘up,’ and that they meditate an attack upon the Hall?” ‘Oh, the blaggards—the murthering thaves of the wourld!” screeched Mrs. O’Glory. ‘‘Oh, captain dear, they will niver dare! Shure! they know that they will be bate and hanged, as they ought to be, ivery mother’s son of them!” **My dear Mr. and Mrs. O’Glory it is just as well to look the truth in the face,’ Burke responded, cooler even than usual. “There isn’t the least doubt in the world that the — are ‘up’; and they mean mischief, too. Shamus O’Brien is held a risoner here, and it is their purpose to release “Don’t you do it, captain!’’ yelled Mrs. O’Glory, terribly enraged at the bare thought of the prisoner escaping the doom which on | ago she had predict- edforhim. ‘The mane, dirthy scuts! Shure! they will niver dare to come to the house of wan of the quality wid arms in their hands?” “My dear madam, they have come, and they mean mischief. Itis more than probable that they know we have only a slender guard, and they hope to ei- ther frighten or force us into a compliance with their demands.”’ ‘¢ But you won't do it—you won'tgive Jim O’Brien up?” the lawyer's wife demanded, for the very ought even of such a thing was to her as gall and wormwood. ‘*No, madam; we will not give him up,” Burke repli — _ And then, the door being firmly se- cured, he gave orders to bring all the furniture near at hand and 9 itup in the entry soasto form a barricade in the event of the door being forced. Mrs, O’Glory listened in horror to the order and instantly began to remonstrate against it with re- markable vigor. "Oh, ca tain darlint! the illigant furniture!” she cried. “t's a dale of money it cost! Shure! the byes will niver dare to think of b > = fe) dure? It would be a hanging matter for that!’” ‘*Madam, Tam really sorry, but it is my duty to defend this post while I have a man left, and by ev- por Fw in my power. I have only a handful of soldiers here against a mob—fifty toa hundred men. They are desperate and determined rascals, and un- ask | diers to hold the house, i “Shure, they do | cony, a sort of hoarse, su to come here, wan or fifty! Bad luck to | their throats. RS i _ that the “‘ribils, cr Shamus O’Brien. doubtedly the we refuse to me up the prisoner.”’ By this time O’Glory had got terribly alarmed; he knew how bloodthirsty and destructive a mob of his coun en usually became if success crowned their efforts, so he feared greatly for the safety of his mansion, for if there were fifty or a hundred men in the attacking force it was perfectly — to him that it would be ys impossible for the sol- and if the mob once forced | their way into it, in search of the prisoner, good-by to house, furniture and all valuables, for in the mad fury of triumph, ae as he was known to be an adherent of the government, it was more than likely that when the conquering band quitted the Hall, they would leave naught but a mass of smok- ing ruins behind them; dearly as both the lawyer and his wife loved the English cause, yet neither oe of them was prepared for such a sacrifice as this, ~ coe ae dear, ye will niver be able to keep thim out!’ O’Glory cried, in great apprehension; *‘ ye will niver be able to hould the house again’ thim; Sean’ e better l’ave O’Brien go this time? Shure! ye will able to lay hould of him ag’in.”’ “Tam sorry, Mr. O’Glory, that I cannot accede to zone request; but it is my duty to hold O’Brien, and I shall do so if this house proves the funeral pile of myself and all who are in it.”’ The madam set up a how] at this, and the old law- yor was so exasperated that he was just about to lurt out that Burke was not so firm about holding the outlaw when he thought he was going to make ten thousand pounds we! letting him go, but a pru- dent second thought restrained him, so he contented himself with inquiring of the captain if he thought ‘as he termed them, would surely capture the house. No, I do not think so, and if we can hold out un- til midnight my reénforcements will come; then we will either kill or jail all of these fellows that do not have the «er fortune to get away. We want time; that is all. I wili parley with them first and then you can try your hand. If we can only hold them off with fair words until the troops come up we can cut them all to pieces.” Both husband and wife listened in sore dismay to this assurance, which, to their minds, promised noth- ing atall. There were agood three hours until mid- night, and they knew the temper of the peasantry too well to hope to keep them from the prey within their grasp oF. mere words; so, sullen and discon- tented, they withdrew to the second floor and repair- ed to the drawing-room, the windows of which com- manded a view of the grounds in front of the house where the marauders were assembled—the moon, now high in the heavens, giving ample light for the exciting events which seemed near at hand. The captain had the furniture brought out and with it constructed a complete barricade across the entry. “Tt these fellows don’t manage to overpower us by an attack from half a dozen different points at the same time, we will give them a tougher fight than they anticipate, I think,” Burke observed imly, as he gy his slender force with good udgment, and then, accompanied by Smithers and three of the best marksmen in the command, took his way up-stairs to the balcony, access to which could be had from the drawing-room. As the sm ee | Irishmen, gathering under the shelter of the trees in the park, a hundred yards or so distant from the balcony, beheld the glitter of the weapons as the soldiers s epped out upon the bal- ued yell escaped from “Sounds like the wild animals {n the Zoo’ gardens, when they see the man with the meat coming,’ Smithers remarked. ‘ bv are not their meat yet,’’ Burke replied, quietly. The lawyer and his wife ring over the shoulders of the soldiers, looked wit dismay upon the dark mass gathered under the old trees, the right rays of the moon playing now and then upon the naked weapons which the insurgents carried in their hands. ** These fellows are in earnest, by Jove!’’ Smithers declared, and he peered curiously at the throng to .| see if he could recognize in it any of the men who had held him prisoner, “Oh, that old Father Time would grease the wheels of his chariot, and that twelve o’clock was near!”’ the a muttered. Then, upon the air rose a loud and savage yell, and the insurgents brandished their weapons. Was a 5 She signal for an attack? The soldiers guns. But, out step a brawny man, his face dis- guised with b crape, and then it was plain that a a sf was desired. Talk—time! That was exactly what Burke wanted. CHAPTER XXXIV. O’GLORY TRIES HIS HAND, In his hand the man carried a “ bit of a stick” to which a white handkerchief was tied. Waving his flag of truce he advanced boldly, a parently confident in the protection of the whi flag, until he came within a hundred feet of the bal- cony + oe which the group stood; then he halted. Smithers had alread recognized the man. It was the same fellow who had ed on the conversa- tion with him in the glen—the man who had decreed the punishment of Dooney MacDarrow, and who had dispatched the ag re pg J message relative to Shamus O’Brien:—in brief, the leader of the in- nts. He had taken upon himself the dangerous duty of opening communication with the soldiers; an dangerous indeed it was, for, despite the slender force at his command, had not the necessity for gaining time been so urgent, Burke, in his anger, would most surely have ordered his fellows to open fire upon the man as he came on despite the flag he displayed. “That is the fellow who held me in the moun- tains,” the lieutenant declared, as soon as he could fairly distinguish the man. ‘* Do you recognize him, O’Glory?” Burke asked. | ‘How canI wid the black mask over his face? the lawyer replied. ‘* But, captain coat for the love of Heaven spake fairly to him. n thousand pounds wouldn’t more than pay me if these rap- parees bring fire and sword inte the house, Spake will attempt to storm the house if rr rr nr ee fairly to him, and if re find that they mane to push us to the last extrem ty.why, thin, in Heaven’s name, give thim Jim O’Brien and don’t be afther sega all to the danger of having our throats cut. You don’t know these min whin Te get their blood up and the crape on their faces! Shure, they would as lave murdher a man as not!” **We will hold out to the last,’’ Burke answered, fi , “and you had better get a gun, O’Glory, 80 as to be able to take an active part in the fight. “A gun!’ howled Mrs. O’Glory; ‘“‘sorra a bit of it! Upon me wourd, I'm not going to be made a : “Tae of afore me time!”’ . wus "7 your persuasive eloquence upon these fel- py. ng for, if they do attack, ine house is like to be a tomb to a good many of us.”’ There was not the least sign of a compromise in Desmond Burke’s manner, and both the lawyer and his wife groaned in horror. They were strong enough partisans of England, but, great as was their love for the dominant cause, it was not strong enough to stand such a draft upon it as they were now called upon to honor. ‘‘Upon me sowl, if I had expected a like this I would have seen ye allin the fiery pit ore I would have given ye l’ave to bring Jim O’Brien into this house,”’ the old lawyer muttered. The address of the envoy at this point put a stop to further conversation. ‘* Will ye have the kindness, the politeness and the civility to be afther hearing a few words from me, if ye plase?” asked the insurgent leader, and there was a mockery in the spe that grated harshly upon the ears of the listeners, for it argued a ower that boded ill for O'Neal Hall and its de- enders. ‘* Proceed, sir; what do you wish?” Burke re- sponded; and then, as the envoy hesitated for a mo- ment, apparently to collect his thoughts, the captain ut t NN wag again quickly to O’Glory: ‘‘ Do you ow %? *Sorra a bit; he’s a stranger; it is a thrick that the boys do be afther having. The man that spakes, and who may be recognized after the scrimmage is over, is always a stranger from some other district; thin, whin the affair is over, he gets back to his own town, fifty miles off, maybe.” The lawyer was quite right in this statement, and from this cunning precaution it has always been a difficult matter for the authorities to trace and pun- _ — who are active in agrarian outrages in Ire- and. ‘““We have only got a few wourds to say to ye, Captain Burke,’’ the envoy said, ‘and ye, I take it, are Captain Burke.” “You are quite right, sir, in your supposition. I am Captain Burke,” the officer answered. * And phen same token, if me eyes do not de- save me, that’s Letftenant Smithers wid ye?” “Yas, you are quite right, sir,’’ Smithers replied. ‘The top of the morning to yees, leftenant!’’ and the insurgent leader ducked his head at the officer. “Ye had the luck to slip through our fingers, the other night, but we'll lay hould of that blaggard, Paddy Doolin, who betrayed the cause he swore to wid his life, within three days, if he is in the ‘*‘Ah, there is where you are out, my esteemed friend,’’ Smithers informed his visitor; ‘‘ Doolin had an idea that you might not enjoy the little trick he we oe you, and so he gave leg-bail at once, and by this time, I have no doubt, he is on the high sea, bound for America. So, if you, or any of your fellows, are anxious to see him, you will have to cross the ocean, and no doubt, in the new worl from the qualities he has Gaperes here, he w speedily rise, and you will find him an alderman, or something of that sort.” ‘‘He’s small game compared to that we’re afther now,” the Irishman replied, meaningly. ‘‘ But, ye know us, leftenant; ye can tell ee Burke that we are not to be trifled with, and phat we spake we m 29 ane. **I am listening to you, my fellow, with all the ears in my head,”’ the cap observed, in the most courteous manner, “‘And, although I am somewhat need a at perceiving such a number of men congregated, with arms in their hands, yet I am ready to listen attentively to anyth you may erp tee say, and to accommodate you in any way ye . PM Faix! captain, dear, maybe ye wouldn’t be af- ther being so accommodatin it wasn’t for the arums that we have,” the Irishman reminded. “T really regret to see you assembled thus, evi- dently in defiance of the law; and, from past expe- rience, you ought to know that every man in this il- re is bringing destruction down upon ead.’ “Oh, we’ve counted the cost, and if we pay the fiddler be shure we mane to dance long enough to get the worth of our money!” the insurgent leader retorted, with bitter accent. ‘‘And now, captain dear, fair and aisy, we want Mister Jim O’Brien, if ou_pl’ase!”’ alert Yan sorry, my friends; it really pains me that [am unable to comply with your request, but, situated as I am, it is utterly impossible for me to give O’Brien up without an order from my superior officers at head-quarters,” Burke replied, in the smoothest manner a ae syin i ti; os we won’t put you at trouble, yer honor,” the other replied, with mock politeness. wy will give the order; ye must look upon me as your superior officer, jist for this wance, and there’s not the laste nade in the wourld for ye to sind as far as Dublin. I say to yees, rel’ase Jim O’Brien, and mighty soon, too, or we'll be afther pulling O'Neal down about your ears so quickly that ye’ll have ~ work to jump out from under the ing tim- rs O’Glory couid restrain himself no longer, so ad- vanced to the front of the balcony. “For the love of Heaven, byes, be r’asonable, and don’t be afther making Judys of yerselves. The captain is here wid Kis sodgers, and they are all armed, too!”’ he shouted. .,. And so are we!” interrupted the Irish leader, armed to the teeth! and we mane to use our arms, do ye mind!” Then he waved his hand, evidently asa to his followers, and they immediately responded with a fierce and savage yell, bran ing their weapons wildly in the air as they gave voice like hungry wolves, (Opel oXeXo) * gn CO