_ CHAPTER THREE. ABOUT THE ENEMY
"Shall I fasten the door, father?" cried Ralph excitedly.
"No," said Sir Morton firmly. "I know my man of old."
Ralph looked on and listened, as a low growl arose; but, bully and coward or no, it was evident that Captain Purlrose was master of his men, who stood listening and nodding their heads, one or two slapping the hilts of their swords menacingly, and at last the leader of the ragged crew turned and shook his fist threateningly at the house, and ended by striding jauntily away through the embattled gateway, followed by his gang.
"Will they come back, father, at night?" said Ralph, after uttering a sigh of relief.
"No, my boy; I judge the men by their leader. Michael Purlrose always had a wholesome love of keeping his skin sound; his men have, without doubt, the same. He will execute his threat, though, of going to Eden's."
"And if Sir Edward takes them into his service, it will be awkward for us, father."
"Yes, _if_, my boy; but I do not think that Eden will. We shall hear no more of the vagabonds, unless Purlrose comes back to beg."
"I'll go and watch them, father," cried Ralph eagerly.
"Yes; but you will not go near, so as to run any risk? If they found you alone, they would attack and strip you of everything of value you have."
"I'll take care," cried the lad. "I can get up to the side of the cliff, and watch them right away. I can see the path to the Black Tor from there."
"Yes; go," said Sir Morton, and the boy hurried out, crossed the little court, and passing through a small side-door, reached the slope of the cliff upon which the old castle was built, and then by a narrow pathway, clambered a couple of hundred feet higher, starting the jackdaws from their resting-places, making them fly off, uttering angry cries of _tah_! _tah_! Then throwing himself down behind a great block of limestone, which had fallen from above, and which looked as if a thrust would send it hurtling down some hundred feet, into the river below, he waited till, as he fully expected, he saw the party of men appear down below in the track; and then he followed their course, seeing them disappear behind the trees, appear again, and after making divers short cuts, as if their leader were well acquainted with the place, make off for the ford. Then he watched them as they straggled across the river, and struck into the narrow cliff path which led to the great dark-hued cliff known as the Black Tor, where the Edens' impregnable stronghold stood, perched upon a narrow ledge of rock which rose up like a monstrous tongue from the earth, connected on one side by a narrow natural bridge with the main cliff, the castellated building being protected on all sides by a huge rift fully a couple of hundred feet deep, the tongue being merely a portion of the cliff split away during some convulsion of nature; or perhaps gradually separated by subsidence, the top affording sufficient space for the building, and its courtyards.
Ralph watched the men until the last had disappeared; and then, knowing from the configuration of the place as he had seen it from another point of view, that he would probably not see them again for an hour or two, perhaps not again that day, if Sir Edward Eden received the proposals of Captain Purlrose favourably, he began slowly and thoughtfully to descend. For he knew that it would be a serious matter for his father if Sir Edward Eden seized upon the opportunity for strengthening his retainers and attacking his rival.
The feud between the two families had lasted for generations, beginning so far back that the origin was lost in the mists of time. All that Ralph Darley knew was, that in the days of Henry the Eighth, an Eden had done a Darley deadly injury that could never be forgiven, and ever since the wrong had been handed down from father to son as a kind of unpleasant faith by which it was the duty of all Darleys to be prepared to exterminate all Edens; and if they could not exterminate them and seize upon their possessions, to do them all the injury they could.
There was another version of the story, as Ralph well knew, and it was precisely the same, saving for the following exception: that in the beginning it was a Darley who did the deadly wrong to an Eden. But one thing was certain--the two families had carried on their petty warfare in the most determined way. Edens had fallen by the sword; so had Darleys. There was a grim legend, too, of an Eden having been taken prisoner, and starved to death in one of the dungeons of Cliffe Castle, in Queen Mary's time; and Ralph had often gone down below to look at the place, and the staple ring and chain in the gloomy place, shuddering at the horror of the prisoner's fate.
For this the Edens had waited their time, and surprised the castle one night, driving the occupants from place to place, till they took refuge in the central tower, from which they could not be dislodged; so the Edens contented themselves by the following reprisal: they set fire to the castle in a dozen places before they retired, the flames raging till there was no more woodwork to destroy, and nothing was left but the strong central tower and the sturdy walls. The place was restored, though, soon after, and the Sir Ralph Darley of Elizabeth's time made an expedition one night to give tit-for-tat, but only to find out that it was impossible to get across the stoutly-defended natural bridge at Black Tor, and that it was waste of time to keep on shooting arrows, bearing burning rags soaked in pitch, on to the roofs of the towers and in at the loopholes. So he retreated, with a very sore head, caused by a stone thrown from above, dinting in his helmet, and with half his men carrying the other half, wounded or dead.
His successor had tried again and again to master the Edens and seize their possessions. Amongst these was the Black Tor lead-mine, approached by steps in the side of the cliff; its galleries honeycombed the place, running right under the earth, and into natural caverns of the large opposite cliffs of limestone, where the jackdaws built their nests.
Ralph Darley, living as he did that day in the days of King James, pondered on all those old legends as he descended to give his father the information he had acquired; and as he stepped down, he knit his brows and began to think that it was quite time this feud had an end, and that it must be his duty to finish it all off, in spite of the addition to the strength at Black Tor, by waiting his opportunity, and meeting, and in fair fight slaying, young Mark Eden, who was about his own age, seventeen, and just back home from one of the great grammar-schools. This done, he would make a scheme for seizing the Black Tor, putting Sir Edward Eden and his mercenaries to the sword, but sparing the men who were miners, so that they might go on working for the Darleys. By this means he would end the feud, secure peace, and make his father a rich and happy man, having proved himself a thoroughly good and chivalrous son.
Ralph felt very brave, and proud, and happy, when he had reached this point, which was just as he opened the door of his father's room, which contained a very small library--books being rare and precious in those days--plenty of handsome armour and war-like weapons of offence, and a corner set apart for alchemy and the study of minerals; for, in a desultory way, Sir Morton Darley, bitten by the desire to have a mine of his own to produce him as good an income as that of his enemy neighbour, had been given to searching without success for a good lode of lead.
Sir Morton was reading an old tome as his son entered the room, hot, eager, and excited.
"Well, boy," he said, looking up dreamily; "what is it?"
"They've gone straight to Black Tor, father."
"The Edens? Have they? I did not know they had been away."
"No, no, father; that captain fellow and his men."
"Oh, of course. I had almost forgotten them. Tut, tut, tut! It will be very awkward for us, Ralph, if Sir Edward listens to that scoundrel's proposals. But there, it cannot be helped. There never was an Eden yet who was a gentlemen, and all we have to do is to be well prepared. The old tower is stronger than ever, and if they come we'll fight them from the outer gate to the wall, from the wall to the inner wall, and if they drive us from that, there is the tower, where we can set them at defiance."
"As old Sir Ralph did, father," cried the boy, flushing with pride.
"Exactly, my boy; and I do not feel much fear of Captain Purlrose and his men."
"No, father; I suppose he will keep on half-drawing his sword, and thrusting it back with a clang."
"Exactly, Ralph, boy," cried Sir Morton, laughing. "Just that one act shows the man's character to a T. Bluster, and then retreat. But suppose it should come to fighting, my boy. Hadn't you better go back to school, and stay till the trouble's over?"
"What!" cried Ralph fiercely.
"You surely don't want to fight, boy?"
"No, father, I don't want to fight; but if you are obliged to--Oh, father, you will not send me away?"
Sir Morton looked searchingly at the flushed countenance before him for some moments before speaking.
"If you wish to stay, Ralph, certainly I shall not send you away. I only gave you the opportunity to go if you wished. However, perhaps we shall hear no more of the matter. Eden may not listen to that scoundrel. If he does, we may set to work and furbish up our arms, lay in stores of provisions, and be prepared for our defence."
"Then I hope he will engage the men, father," cried Ralph.
"Eh? And pray why, boy?" exclaimed Sir Morton.
"Because, father," said the lad, speaking in a deeply-moved tone of voice, his eyes flashing and his cheeks flushed. "You have done nothing lately to show how deeply you resent all the old wrongs; and if the Edens hire these men, it will be a good opportunity for fighting our old foes, beating them and taking possession, and ending the feud."
"Yes," said Sir Morton, smiling, "a good opportunity, boy; but we might lose the day."
"We will not lose the day, father," cried the lad hotly. "Those men who fight for pay are cowards at heart, and they will lead the Edens to their destruction."
"But suppose that, after all, the Darleys were the ones to blame?"
"Oh, father, we can't stop to think of that. We do know that they have committed outrage after outrage against our family, and you have always taught me that it was our duty to punish the Edens."
"Yes, my boy, I have, as my father and my grandfather taught me; but I have often wished the wretched business were at an end. I want to be at peace."
"And you shall be, father, and soon, too, now," cried Ralph excitedly. "But you will begin at once?"
"What, making peace?"
"No, father, war," cried the lad eagerly.
"Yes," said Sir Morton sternly, "if the Edens do."
"Oh, father, how calmly you take it all. I should have thought you would be ready to begin at once."
"Yes, Ralph, because you are young, and have never seen what even the pettiest war means, not even the bright side, with its chivalry and panoply, and gay show. I have seen that, and the other side too."
"But you would fight, father?" cried the lad, looking astonished.
"Yes," said Sir Morton, with his face turning hard and stern, "if the need arises, boy, and to the death." _