Micah Clarke<br />His Statement as made to his three grandchildren Joseph, Gervas and Reuben During by Arthur Conan Doyle (read e books online free txt) ๐
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- Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Read book online ยซMicah Clarke<br />His Statement as made to his three grandchildren Joseph, Gervas and Reuben During by Arthur Conan Doyle (read e books online free txt) ๐ยป. Author - Arthur Conan Doyle
โIf want of knowledge maketh a dangerous swordsman,โ quoth Reuben, โthen am I even more deadly than the unpronounceable gentleman whom you have mentioned. To continue my story, however, which I broke off in order to step down from my horse, I found out early in the morning that ye were gone, and Zachary Palmer was able to tell me whither. I made up my mind, therefore, that I would out into the world also. To this end I borrowed a sword from Solomon Sprent, and my father having gone to Gosport, I helped myself to the best nag in his stablesโfor I have too much respect for the old man to allow one of his flesh and blood to go ill-provided to the wars. All day I have ridden, since early morning, being twice stopped on suspicion of being ill-affected, but having the good luck to get away each time. I knew that I was close at your heels, for I found them searching for you at the Salisbury Inn.โ
Decimus whistled. โSearching for us?โ said he.
โYes. It seems that they had some notion that ye were not what ye professed to be, so the inn was surrounded as I passed, but none knew which road ye had taken.โ
โSaid I not so?โ cried Saxon. โThat young viper hath stirred up the regiment against us. We must push on, for they may send a party on our track.โ
โWe are off the main road now, โI remarked; โeven should they pursue us, they would be unlikely to follow this side track.โ
โYet it would be wise to show them a clean pair of heels,โ said Saxon, spurring his mare into a gallop. Lockarby and I followed his example, and we all three rode swiftly along the rough moorland track.
We passed through scattered belts of pinewood, where the wild cat howled and the owl screeched, and across broad stretches of fenland and moor, where the silence was only broken by the booming cry of the bittern or the fluttering of wild duck far above our heads. The road was in parts overgrown with brambles, and was so deeply rutted and so studded with sharp and dangerous hollows, that our horses came more than once upon their knees. In one place the wooden bridge which led over a stream had broken down, and no attempt had been made to repair it, so that we were compelled to ride our horses girth deep through the torrent. At first some scattered lights had shown that we were in the neighbourhood of human habitations, but these became fewer as we advanced, until the last died away and we found ourselves upon the desolate moor which stretched away in unbroken solitude to the shadowy horizon. The moon had broken through the clouds and now shone hazily through wreaths of mist, throwing a dim light over the wild scene, and enabling us to keep to the track, which was not fenced in in any way and could scarce be distinguished from the plain around it.
We had slackened our pace under the impression that all fear of pursuit was at an end, and Reuben was amazing us by an account of the excitement which had been caused in Havant by our disappearance, when through the stillness of the night a dull, muffled rat-tat-tat struck upon my ear. At the same moment Saxon sprang from his horse and listened intently with sidelong head.
โBoot and saddle!โ he cried, springing into his seat again. โThey are after us as sure as fate. A dozen troopers by the sound. We must shake them off, or goodbye to Monmouth.โ
โGive them their heads,โ I answered, and striking spurs into our steeds, we thundered on through the darkness. Covenant and Chloe were as fresh as could be wished, and soon settled down into a long springy gallop. Our friendโs horse however, had been travelling all day, and its long-drawn, laboured breathing showed that it could not hold out for long. Through the clatter of our horsesโ hoofs I could still from time to time hear the ominous murmur from behind us.
โThis will never do, Reuben,โ said I anxiously, as the weary creature stumbled, and the rider came perilously near to shooting over its head.
โThe old horse is nearly foundered,โ he answered ruefully. โWe are off the road now, and the rough ground is too much for her.โ
โYes, we are off the track,โ cried Saxon over his shoulderโfor he led us by a few paces. โBear in mind that the Bluecoats have been on the march all day, so that their horses may also be blown. How in Himmel came they to know which road we took?โ
As if in answer to his ejaculation, there rose out of the still night behind us a single, clear, bell-like note, swelling and increasing in volume until it seemed to fill the whole air with its harmony.
โA bloodhound!โ cried Saxon.
A second sharper, keener note, ending in an unmistakable howl, answered the first.
โAnother of them,โ said he. โThey have loosed the brutes that we saw near the Cathedral. Gad! we little thought when we peered over the rails at them, a few hours ago, that they would so soon be on our own track. Keep a firm knee and a steady seat, for a slip now would be your last.โ
โHoly mother!โ cried Reuben, โI had steeled myself to die in battleโbut to be dogsmeat! It is something outside the contract.โ
โThey hold them in leash,โ said Saxon, between his teeth, โelse they would outstrip the horses and be lost in the darkness.
Could we but come on running water we might put them off our track.โ
โMy horse cannot hold on at this pace for more than a very few minutes,โ Reuben cried. โIf I break down, do ye go on, for ye must remember that they are upon your track and not mine. They have found cause for suspicion of the two strangers of the inn, but none of me.โ
โNay, Reuben, we shall stand or fall together,โ said I sadly, for at every step his horse grew more and more feeble. โIn this darkness they will make little distinction between persons.โ
โKeep a good heart,โ shouted the old soldier, who was now leading us by twenty yards or more. โWe can hear them because the wind blows from that way, but itโs odds whether they have heard us. Methinks they slacken in their pursuit.โ
โThe sound of their horses has indeed grown fainter,โ said I joyfully.
โSo faint that I can hear it no longer,โ my companion cried.
We reined up our panting steeds and strained our ears, but not a sound could we hear save the gentle murmur of the breeze amongst the whin-bushes, and the melancholy cry of the night-jar. Behind us the broad rolling plain, half light and half shadow, stretched away to the dim horizon without sign of life or movement. โWe have either outstripped them completely, or else they have given up the chase,โ said I. โWhat ails the horses that they should tremble and snort?โ
โMy poor beast is nearly done for,โ Reuben remarked, leaning forward and passing his hand down the creatureโs reeking neck.
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