Oliver deliberately folded up the papers with which I had been commissioned,and placing them in the pocket of his vest,he said:'Cunning,cunning Master Hardress Fitzgerald hath made a false step;the old fox is in the toils.Hardress Fitzgerald,Hardress Fitzgerald,I will blot you out.'
He repeated these words several times,at the same time rubbing his finger strongly upon the table,as if he sought to erase a stain:
'I WILL BLOT YOU OUT!'
There was a kind of glee in his manner and expression which chilled my very heart.
'You shall be first shot like a dog,and then hanged like a dog:shot to-night,and hung to-morrow;hung at the bridge-head--hung,until your bones drop asunder!'
It is impossible to describe the exultation with which he seemed to dwell upon,and to particularise the fate which he intended for me.
I observed,however,that his face was deadly pale,and felt assured that his conscience and inward convictions were struggling against his cruel resolve.Without further comment the two officers left the room,I suppose to oversee the preparations which were being made for the deed of which I was to be the victim.
A chill,sick horror crept over me as they retired,and I felt,for the moment,upon the brink of swooning.This feeling,however,speedily gave place to a sensation still more terrible.A state of excitement so intense and tremendous as to border upon literal madness,supervened;my brain reeled and throbbed as if it would burst;thoughts the wildest and the most hideous flashed through my mind with a spontaneous rapidity that scared my very soul;while,all the time,I felt a strange and frightful impulse to burst into uncontrolled laughter.
Gradually this fearful paroxysm passed away.I kneeled and prayed fervently,and felt comforted and assured;but still Icould not view the slow approaches of certain death without an agitation little short of agony.
I have stood in battle many a time when the chances of escape were fearfully small.
I have confronted foemen in the deadly breach.I have marched,with a constant heart,against the cannon's mouth.Again and again has the beast which I bestrode been shot under me;again and again have I seen the comrades who walked beside me in an instant laid for ever in the dust;again and again have I been in the thick of battle,and of its mortal dangers,and never felt my heart shake,or a single nerve tremble:but now,helpless,manacled,imprisoned,doomed,forced to watch the approaches of an inevitable fate--to wait,silent and moveless,while death as it were crept towards me,human nature was taxed to the uttermost to bear the horrible situation.
I returned again to the closet in which I had found myself upon recovering from the swoon.
The evening sunshine and twilight was fast melting into darkness,when I heard the outer door,that which communicated with the guard-room in which the officers had been amusing themselves,opened and locked again upon the inside.
A measured step then approached,and the door of the wretched cell in which Ilay being rudely pushed open,a soldier entered,who carried something in his hand;but,owing to the obscurity of the place,I could not see what.
'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 to-night,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 head-quarters,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.
