Book: Ridgeway

S >> Scian Dubh >> Ridgeway




More than an hour had elapsed since the action began, when Evans
sallied forth to gratify not only the wishes of his kinswoman, but to
satisfy his own mind as to how affairs stood. He was armed with his
revolver and dirk only; and felt, notwithstanding his former resolve,
a strange inclination to use them on the side of Ireland. A cowardly
shot, however, he could not fire; and as he knew nothing whatever of
military tactics, he at once dismissed from his mind the idea of
participating in the contest. Perceiving that the conflict did not
verge towards his own dwelling, he was determined to keep his eye upon
that which he had just left, and yet venture as near the field where
the battle was raging as a brave man might. Once he retraced his steps
to inform Kate that so far as he could perceive, both armies were
holding their own; returning again to the edge of a patch of wood
close by. Here he had remained for some time endeavoring to form an
idea as to the probable issue of the struggle, and occasionally warned
of the perilousness of his position by the rifle bullets that now and
then sang around him, when suddenly the red cross of St. George was
seen to waver, and the next moment the British lines were broken and
scattered like chaff before the gallant O'Neill and the victorious
charge of his brave handful of heroes.

The pulses of Evans beat quick with a sort of strange, wild joy, when
he heard the shout of triumph which burst from the ranks of the Irish,
as they swept like a whirlwind in the wake of their retreating foes,
some of whom stood at bay but to be instantly overthrown by their
pursuers. A desperate encounter between a knot of both forces took
place quite near to where he stood concealed: and here, also, the
enemy bit the dust; although at this precise point, they were not
outnumbered. It was here that Barry and his comrades were ordered to
look after the dead and wounded; the point being convenient to
Wilson's, and discernible from it, although a clump of trees shut out
the house from Evans.

When Wilson saw that the day was lost, as quickly as possible, both he
and his comrades, including Darcy and two or three others of a similar
stamp, who joined them in the field, fled and took shelter in his
house, unperceived by Evans or the victorious Irish. From this
dwelling, as already described, they sallied forth in a murderous
assault upon Nicholas and his party; with what success has been
already seen. To account for Evan's opportune appearance at the time
of Barry's being sorely pressed, we have only to observe, that he
witnessed the attack without knowing the point from whence it
proceeded, or recognizing the persons who made it; and only hastened
to the scene of action when he perceived that the assailing party was
masked and that Barry was being overwhelmed by unequal numbers. Having
gained the point where the struggle was being carried on, the butt-end
of his revolver placed Barry on an equal footing with his antagonists;
although as already observed, the young soldier had previously
inflicted a mortal wound upon the most important of his assailants.

Kate and Martha were eye-witnesses from their chamber window of the
whole of this supplementary fight; the former little dreaming, that
the officer attacked by the two ruffianly masks, was the man that was
all the world to her. She perceived, however, that he belonged to the
invading army, and such being the case, she viewed the contest with
breathless anxiety; looking every moment for the fatal stroke that was
to lay him low in the dust forever, until the sudden appearance of
Henry on the spot, decided the day in his favor. The relief that she
experienced was so unutterable that she burst into tears; and when a
few moments subsequently, she learned from the lips of her kinsman
himself that the Irish were every where victorious and the British
forces totally routed and in full retreat upon Ridgeway, the
intelligence was too much for her, and she swooned away into the arms
of Martha, while an expression of ineffable joy overspread her
beautiful face.

The death of Wilson was broken to his wife as feelingly as might be by
Henry. For a moment the poor woman was paralysed, and then gave vent
to a flood of tears of a character so strange, that we shall not pause
to analyse it here. Her life had, indeed, been, for so far, a hard
one, with him; and now that she had discovered his real character, she
almost felt grateful to heaven for removing him from the world he was
so dishonoring and the heart that he had already broken. Yet he had
been her husband, and she remembered that she had loved him once; and
here the woman was touched within her. The die was cast, however; and
now it only devolved upon her to see his remains quietly consigned to
their last resting place. She saw him where he lay, kissed his cold
lips and wept afresh for all his long years of cruelty towards her;
and then turned away to her lonely chamber to which the body was
removed subsequently. Martha was horrified only at the slaughter that
surrounded her; and had no place for grief in a bosom where affection
for the husband of her aunt had never existed. All she saw before her
was her beloved Henry, alive and safe after the conflict had ceased
between the contending armies; while her heart thrilled with the
purest delight on learning from her lover, that which she was as yet
to keep secret, namely, that the officer who had been attacked by the
two masks opposite the house, was the betrothed of Kate who had joined
the invaders with the two-fold purpose of striking for the freedom of
his native land, and unraveling, if possible, the mystery of her
sudden disappearance from Buffalo.

When our hero presented himself before the gallant O'Neill, that
distinguished soldier, who was already aware of the services rendered
by Nicholas, complimented him on his bravery and informed him, that he
should now fall back on Fort Erie with his remaining forces; fearing
momently the approach not only of Peacock's army but that of the
numerous other bodies of men that were being concentrated against him
from more than one quarter. Orders were therefore given to dispose as
hastily as possible of the dead and wounded: some prisoners that were
taken having been already paroled; among whom was the officer taken by
Barry on the preceeding day.

When Kate opened her eyes to consciousness again, she found herself in
arms other than those of Martha; and looking up in a state of startled
amazement encountered the radiant face of Nicholas as he pressed her
in ecstasy to his bosom. A cry of joy escaped her lips, as she clung
to him with an embrace as wild as though she feared some adverse fate
should again separate them; and a second time became unconscious.
Soon, nevertheless, she was revived through restoratives used by
Martha; but yet in a state so confused that she could scarcely bring
herself to believe that all was real that was transpiring around her.
By degrees, however, she became convinced that it was in reality her
lover who enfolded her to his heart; and all was well. In due time,
explanations were given, when it was determined that she should at
once return with him to her friends in Buffalo, under the protection
of the victorious army and in a vehicle that Henry volunteered to
furnish for the occasion, and drive in person. The distance to the
frontier was but short; and as Henry's cousin had come up from the
widow's to learn the result of the battle, it was agreed that the one
should remain in the house of death with Martha and her aunt until the
return of the other from Fort Erie; and that, in the interim, he
should collect such of the neighbors as were within reach, and have
the body of Wilson and that of Darcy and the others interred as
speedily as possible.

This once decided upon, Barry possessed himself of such papers and
documents as were on the body of Darcy, hoping thereby, to gain some
insight not only into the Chancery case, but into the intentions of
the Government or their plans in relation to Fenianism. To him
belonged of right any information of this character that could be
realized from a dastardly foe who had been vanquished by his sword.
But little, however, was gleaned from this source, beyond the fact
gathered from a letter received by Darcy from his lawyer a short time
previously, announcing that there was no hope of his winning the suit,
as some private opinions expressed by those who composed the Court,
went to convey the idea that the claims of Kate McCarthy were of a
character not to be set aside or ignored even under the pressure of
the Castle; and further, that the opposing counsel, who was a sterling
lawyer and a man of influence, was pressing the matter so, that a
decision favorable to his client could not fail to be given at no
distant day.

This was, of course, cheering to our hero, although Darcy, just before
his death, had placed him in possession of the contents of the
epistle, and prepared him for the intelligence it contained. Kate
received the information without evincing any great degree of
excitement Her mind had been so perplexed and agitated for the last
few days, that her sudden good fortune, in a pecuniary sense, seemed
lost sight of in the other events that had already transpired, and her
unexpected restoration to her lover. She was certainly surprised at
the fate and the machinations of the pretended Lauder; and felt
relieved by the conviction that the murderous and unprincipled wretch
who had wrought her and Nicholas so much wrong and hardship, and who
had attempted the assassination of her betrothed, and her own ruin,
was no more. This was a great relief to her overburdened heart; as she
now knew, that a man so desperate as he, were he still alive, might
manage, even yet, to work them some further mischief.

Among the papers belonging to Darcy there was found a small memorandum
book or diary, which, although a riddle to Barry, is worth noting
here, as it contained some entries that may possibly find elucidation
outside the recognition of our hero. One of them was as follows:
"Toronto, April 20th, 1866--Paid to J.G. M---- $20, for information
regarding Hib. Benev. Society." And again: "April 23d--saw Hon. J.
R----; willing to do all he can, but wants to be paid for it. Mean
fellow, whose tenderest passion is absolutely scrofulous, they say."
The other entries related to mere travelling expenses, etc., and to
some transactions which took place in Kingston and other points where
Darcy had been conducting his operations in the interest of the
English, as well as the Canadian government In addition to this, there
was a draft for a considerable amount; but as it needed the signature
of the deceased, it was regarded as valueless and permitted to remain
in the pocket of the dead man--our hero, however it fared afterwards,
feeling a singular repugnance to possessing himself of any property of
this kind, or retaining a single shilling of the current funds found
upon the corpse. These latter were subsequently devoted to defraying
the burial expenses of the deceased, as well as those of his
companions.

When matters were so far arranged as to permit of the departure of our
hero and heroine, Henry was about to leave the premises with a view to
procuring the vehicle that was to carry them to the frontier, when
Wilson's team, that was discovered by a neighbor in the place where it
had been concealed, was driven up to the door. This was opportune, as
Evans, on perceiving the horses and knowing that there was a light
carriage under the shed, determined to put them into requisition at
once. Soon, therefore, the three friends were bringing up the rear of
O'Neill's troops as the latter fell steadily back upon Fort Erie, with
the intention, as before stated, of learning whether landings had been
made at any other point, or whether there were the slightest hopes of
reinforcements crossing the river from Buffalo.

Kate parted from Martha with a warm embrace, and an assurance of
lasting friendship; while on her part, the betrothed of Evans promised
to visit our hero and heroine in Buffalo at no distant day, and there
renew the intimacy that had begun amid such clouds, although now
surrounded with sunshine. On the departure of our little party, then,
Barry's wounded comrades being previously cared for under the
instructions of O'Neill, the bodies of the four accomplices--Wilson,
Darcy, Black Jack and the Kid--were interred with infinitely more
decent observances than their career in life seemed to warrant. The
scruples of Nicholas, however, regarding Darcy's draft, were not
shared by some of those who disposed of his remains; as it was taken
charge of by an individual who fancied it might, one day, be turned to
account by some person authorised to receive it. Of the mask who had
escaped from the conflict opposite Wilson's, we may have occasion to
speak in some future volume; although Evans surmised him simply some
villain who had joined Darcy or the Kid for the purposes of murder or
plunder. Be this as it may, the fugitive had made good his escape,
while those with whom he had acted for the time being, suffered to the
extent of their crimes.




CHAPTER XVIII.


It will be remembered that when the brave O'Neill and his handful of
troops fell down the river from Fort Erie on the night of the first of
June, to go into camp at Newbiggin's Farm, preparations were being
made by the British not only to overpower him with superior numbers
but to cut off his retreat upon the American shore and capture his
whole command. In view of this, troops were being despatched against
him from all points; while the tug Robb, black with artillery and men,
came round from Dunville and patrolled the Niagara River between Fort
Erie and Black Creek, under command of Capt. L. McCallum. This craft
was manned by the Dunville Naval Brigade and the Welland Field
Battery, under Capt. R.S. King, all armed to the teeth with Enfield
rifles. On this vessel there was, we learn, so much mirth when it was
found that the Fenians were cut off from the American shore, that the
force aboard it assumed the air of a sort of military pic-nic party.
They laughed at the dilemma in which they considered the invaders
placed; and landed some of their men at one point on the river to make
a pleasant reconnoisance of the enemy, and give them a warm reception
as they came flying back towards Fort Erie before the victorious
Queen's Own or the University Rifles--either corps being considered
quite sufficient to snuff out the little band of patriots who dared to
beard the British Lion in his den. The wine and the jest passed gaily
round, until so secure were they of their position and the defeat of
the invaders, a landing was effected At Fort Erie where the skull and
cross-bones of St. George once again floated over the village, and
assured the inhabitants that they were not yet lost to wheezy old
England. Lieut. Col. Denis was absolutely in ecstasies and evinced
such instances of personal bravery over his brandy and water, that no
one could have imagined, that, in the space of a couple of hours or
so, he should be found in a hay-loft, shorn of his fierce moustachois,
and endeavoring to imitate the Irish brogue, in the slouched caubeen
and coarse, gray habiliments of some poor, plundered Son of the Sod.
Those who caught a glimpse of the brave commander as he fled before
the dangers that threatened him, report him as presenting the most
ludicrous appearance imaginable, and scarcely worth sending to his
account in a respectable manner. To this disguise alone, we learn, he
owed his escape after the second carnage of the British by the Irish
troops on the memorable day already named, and on their return from
Limestone Ridge.

When O'Neill left Ridgeway, after pursuing the routed English forces
through and beyond the village, he took the Garrison Road and, as
already mentioned, fell back on Fort Erie. Here he came upon the
Welland Field Battery and Dunville Naval Brigade just referred to.
Flushed with the victory of the morning, he was upon them like a
whirlwind, and, in the twinkling of an eye sent them flying to cover
in every direction. His horse being much jaded with the march of the
previous night, and the dreadful fatigues of the battle of the
morning, he could scarcely get him to move a leg when he entered the
village; and this circumstance was near leading to the most fatal
results; for, in passing a house in which a number of the enemy had
taken shelter, one of them came to the door, and seeing the animal
going at so slow a pace, took deliberate aim with a rifle, and fired,
in the hope of bringing down his rider. The all but murderous ball
displaced the hair just over the right temple of O'Neill, lodging in a
building opposite; the hero escaping all the dangers of the day, to
the amazement of those who had marked him galloping among the carnage
and bullets of the morning, in what might be termed a constant hand to
hand struggle with death. It is sometimes thus with the men who show
the most daring front in battle, and at the call of duty expose
themselves to dangers the most appalling; while such as are more
cautious often fall in their first encounter with the enemy.

The British forces at Fort Erie, from the very nature of things, had
the Fenians at great advantage on the return of the latter from
Ridgeway. The troops under O'Neill were fatigued and hungry, and after
a desperate battle and a long march, while the English had been
resting on their oars and feasting all day long, or at least for many
hours. Still, with all these advantages in their favor, they were
whipped instantly a second time; many of them being killed and
wounded; Captain King of the Welland Battery losing a leg upon the
occasion, and others being terribly maimed. In addition, some of them
were so terror-stricken as to roll from the bank into the river, and
conceal themselves as best they could, with their heads just over the
water, and sheltered by whatever chanced to float against them or
project into the flood. In one case they fought for a few minutes from
behind some cord-wood: but from this they were soon dislodged by the
terrible bayonets of their enemies, and scattered like sheep in and
about the village. It was here that the brave Colonel Michael Bailey
was dangerously wounded by a rifle ball from a house where the enemy
had already hung out a flag of truce. He was riding at the head of his
men when he was tumbled from his horse, the ball having entered his
left breast, damaging the breast bone and passing out just under his
right nipple. The wound was at the time considered mortal; but the
gallant soldier survived it for upwards of a year. Still it was the
occasion of his death ultimately; for, from the hour that he received
it, he drooped gradually into his grave. Only for the timely
interference of O'Neill, the house from which this treacherous shot
was fired, like that from which he himself had nigh received his
death, would have been burned to the ground. He saw, of course, how
cowardly the act, to first hang out a flag of truce and then follow
the white emblem with so diabolical an attack; but he perceived, also,
that if one building chanced to be fired, Fort Erie might be burned to
the ground. He therefore quelled the rising tempest at this foul play,
and with his iron will held the whole command in the hollow of his
hand and made those who composed it trample on their feelings and curb
their just anger for the good of the cause--a noble sentiment emulated
by the brave Dr. Edward Donnelly, of Pittsburgh, who at the risk of
his life and liberty, remained among the wounded of both parties and
assisted by the humane Drs. Blanchard and Trowbridge, of Buffalo,
attended upon the sufferers even after the troops had recrossed the
river, and the British had again taken possession of Fort Erie.

If we except the death of the brave Lonergan and that of half a dozen
other noble fellows, whose names are unfortunately not at our command
at this moment, and take into consideration the capture by the British
of the Christian and chivalrous Father McMahon, who, regardless of his
own personal safety, remained with the dead and dying, after the
forces of O'Neill had recrossed the river, the victory of Ridgeway was
completely unclouded. This patriotic priest and some other friends of
Ireland are now suffering for their love of Fatherland in an English
bastile at Kingston, in the New Dominion; but the thought strikes us,
the hour of their redemption draws nigh. Subsequently, one or two
others, including the gallant Bailey, died from the effects of their
wounds upon that memorable field; but such are the contingencies of
war, and such the fate of some of the truest of our race.

When O'Neill conquered and captured all the British force at Fort
Erie, he at once sent a despatch to Buffalo asking for reinforcements
and stating that if it were necessary to the success of any movement
that might be going on at some other point, he would hold Fort Erie
and make it a slaughter-pen to the last man of his command. General
Lynch having arrived at Buffalo some short time previously, it was
decided to send reinforcements; but on its being found, subsequently,
that a sufficient number to be of real service could not be then sent
to the Canada side, the idea was abandoned and transportation prepared
for the victorious troops to re-cross the river.

When the British entered Fort Erie in the morning, they captured some
Fenian stragglers who were, of course, set free on the arrival of
O'Neill from Ridgeway; and now after being themselves captured in turn
they were released on their parole; O'Neill having no other means of
disposing of them. Nicholas was not engaged in this latter affair; as,
not anticipating it, he had kept in the rear of the army with Kate and
Evans; so that now when he came up, he was both ashamed and mortified
that even an engagement so trifling, when compared with that of the
morning, was fought without his having participated in it. However,
the day was doubly won, and as he explained to his gallant Commander,
the peculiarity of his position, with a smile and a hearty shake of
the hand, he got permission to re-cross the river with his betrothed.
This much accomplished, Henry turned his horses and drove down the
bank at a quick pace, until he arrived at the house of a friend who
kept a boat; and prevailing on him to take our hero and heroine to the
American side a little below the Lower Rock, he made his warm
_adieux_, with a promise soon to visit Buffalo with Martha, where,
meeting an express desire from the lips of Kate, he agreed that they
should be made man and wife. And so the friends parted for the time
being--Nicholas and Kate, in the course of an hour, finding themselves
under the Stars and Stripes once more, and beneath the hospitable roof
that had so long sheltered her.

Here to their utter astonishment they found Big Tom who had just
arrived from Canada; he having been obliged to turn over his
establishment hastily to his trusty friend, Burk, and fly the
Province; as through some successful espionage, his connection with
the Brotherhood had been discovered. From a friendly detective who had
learned the true state of the case and the danger that threatened him,
he received the hint that urged him to make his escape, and which
doubtless saved him from the horrors of a dungeon if not from death.
His sister was to follow him as soon as a sale of his establishment
could be effected, and then, as he said himself, "good bye to the
tyrant until we meet on the battle field." He was astounded at the
disclosures regarding the pretended Greaves, and all but paralysed at
the frightful position from which Kate had so miraculously escaped.
When, however, he heard of the glorious victory of the arms of the
Irish Republic at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, under O'Neill, he forgot
everything else and leaped to his feet with a cheer that shook the
house to its very foundation. In the ecstasy of joy that seized him,
he took everybody near him by the hand ten times over, and added cheer
to cheer until it was deemed expedient to recall him to something like
reason. A more genuine display of heartfelt pleasure and patriotic
feeling was never witnessed or experienced by any individual or
indulged in a manner more original or unsophisticated.

"Tell it to me again, Nick! Tell it to me again!" he exclaimed for the
twentieth time; "and did you see them run, and how many of them are
kilt? Have you a soord or a gun or anythin belongin to them? for if
you have I'll give you tin times the value of it for a keepsake."

"Oh!" replied Barry, amused at this unusual display on the part of the
sedate and phlegmatic Tom, "there will be no lack of keepsakes in
Buffalo to-morrow; for the field was covered with their coats, arms,
and knapsacks; and some of these, I am sure, will be got for a mere
song."

This seemed to satisfy O'Brien, who soon flowed into conversation
touching all that had transpired regarding Kate and Darcy, as well as
in relation to Nicholas himself. During the narrative, he referred to
the doubts that he had from the first entertained regarding the spy;
although he confessed he was not altogether clear at times upon the
subject.

Copyright (c) 2007. knowncrafts.net. All rights reserved.