Dacres

“ But at last Dacres staked every thing on the issue, and asked it:
"Arethusa! oh, Arethusa! do you—do you love—the—the Italian?"
"The Italian!" said Mrs. Willoughby—"love the Italian! me!" and then in a moment she thought that this was his delirium, and she must humor it. "Poor fellow!" she sighed again; "how he fought them! and no doubt he has had fearful blows on his head."
"Do you? do you? Oh, answer, I implore you!" cried Dacres.
"No!" said Mrs. Willoughby, solemnly. "I hate him as I never hated man before." ”

“ But we drive bold Dacres back
With our muskets' snap and crack—
All the while our crashing broadsides boom and burn.
'Tis but half an hour, bare,
When that pretty Guerrière
Not a stick calls hers aloft or hers alow,
Save the mizzen's shattered mast,
Where her "meteor flag" 's nailed fast
Till, a fallen star, we quench its ruddy glow.
Dacres, injured, o'er our side
Slowly bears his sword of pride,
Holds it out, as Hull stands there in his renown:
No, no! says th' American,
Never, from so brave a man—
But I see you're wounded, let me help you down. ”

“ The brigands now turned their attention to their own men. Two of these had received bad but not dangerous wounds from the dagger of Dacres, and the scowls of pain and rage which they threw upon Hawbury and the other captives boded nothing but the most cruel fate to all of them. Another, however, still lay there. It was the one who had intercepted 87 Dacres in his rush upon Girasole. He lay motionless in a pool of blood. They turned him over. His white, rigid face, as it became exposed to view, exhibited the unmistakable mark of death, and a gash on his breast showed how his fate had met him. ”

“ Dacres turned, and Mrs. Willoughby had just grasped Minnie's hand to follow, when suddenly they heard footsteps below.
They stopped, appalled.
The robbers had not all gone, then. Some of them must have remained on guard. But how many?
Dacres listened and the ladies listened, and in their suspense the beating of each heart was audible. The footsteps below could be heard going from room to room, and pausing in each.
"There seems to be only one man," said Dacres, in a whisper. "If there is only one, I'll engage to manage him. While I grapple, you run for your lives. ”

“ The engineer was still lying face downwards upon the foot-plate.
"Now what's to be done?" asked Dacres, more of himself than with the idea of asking Henri's opinion. "Here we are stranded fifty miles from the 'Meteor' and with that rotten town of La Paz between us and our friends."
"We must walk," said the Frenchman. "See, there is our guide: the peaks of the Sierras. But this poltroon?" and he pointed to the motionless Valderian.
"Let him stop," replied Dacres. "He'll buck up when he finds he's alone. It will be all the better for us if he doesn't see in which direction we go." ”

“ We got there all right—no kidding, we did."
"Get up and turn out," said Dacres authoritatively.
The seaman, disciplined to obey orders implicitly, attempted to rise. He realized that he was addressed by some one having authority; but to arise was beyond the power of his numbed limbs and exhausted body.
"We'll have to unship the tent," declared Dacres as he rejoined his comrades. "There's one of them alive, if not more; but he cannot move."
"Is there a lamp burning?" asked Dr. Hambrough.
"No; there is one but it's gone out," replied Whittinghame. ”

“ In addition to this the trees gave every assistance toward the escape of a fugitive, while they threw every impediment in the way of a pursuer. The consequence was, therefore, that Dacres soon put a great distance between himself and his pursuers, and, what is more, he ran in such a circuitous route that they soon lost all idea of their own locality, and had not the faintest idea where he had gone. In this respect, however, Dacres himself was not one whit wiser than they, for he soon found himself completely bewildered in the mazes of the forest ”

“ At this Hawbury started up, stared at Dacres, gave a loud whistle, and then exclaimed,
"By Jove!"
"I may be mistaken," said Dacres, modestly.
"Mistaken? Why, old chap, you're mad. Marriage? Good Lord! don't you know nothing can abrogate that? Of course, in case of crime, one can get a divorce; but there is no other way. Seven years? By Jove! A good idea that. Why, man, if that were so, the kingdom would be depopulated. Husbands running off from wives, and wives from husbands, to pass the required seven years abroad. By Jove! You see, too, there's another thing, my boy. ”

“ Whereupon Dacres stopped, and, without a word, raised her in his arms as though she were a little child, and ran up the bank. He plunged into the woods. Then he ran on farther. Then he turned and doubled.
Mrs. Willoughby begged him to put her down.
"No," said he; "they are behind us. You can not go fast enough. I should have to wait and defend you, and then we would both be lost."
"But, oh! we are losing Minnie."
"No, we are not," cried Dacres; "that man is ten times stronger than I am. He is a perfect elephant in strength. ”

“ I happened to call one day, and found him with the ladies."
"The ladies—ah!" and Dacres's eyes lighted up with a bad, hard light. "I suppose he's another of those precious cavaliers—the scum of all lands—that dance attendance on my charming wife."
"Oh, see here now, my dear fellow, really now," said Hawbury, "none of that, you know. This fellow is a friend of mine, and one of the best fellows I ever saw. You'd like him, old chap. He'd suit you."
"Yes, and suit my wife better," said Dacres, bitterly.
"Oh, come now, really, my dear boy, you're completely out. He don't know your wife at all. ”

“ Dacres’s bold talk of a test made no suggestion. Should my invention be more fertile? I thought of something.
‘You have said nothing to her yet?’ I asked.
‘Nothing. I don’t think she suspects for a moment. She treats me as if no such fell design were possible. I’m none too confident, you know,’ he added, with longer face.
‘We go straight to Agra. Could you come to Agra?’
‘Ideal!’ he cried. ‘The memory of Mumtaz! The garden of the Taj! I’ve always wanted to love under the same moon as Shah Jehan. ”

“ Dacres paid scant heed to these ominous warnings. His one desire was to get into touch with human beings once more. Standing upon the lowermost wire and holding upon the one above, he wriggled adroitly through the fence, then hurried through the wood, half expecting to find himself upon the road.
But no highway rewarded his efforts. Pine trunk after pine trunk he passed until it began to occur to him that he was in danger of being lost in a wood, which was as undesirable as being adrift in the midst of a foggy moorland. ”

“ Dacres said nothing.
"You're rich, not over old, handsome, well born, well bred, and have saved the lady's life by extricating her from the crater of a volcano. She seems too young and childlike to have had any other affairs. She's probably just out of school; not been into society; not come out; just the girl. Confound these girls, I say, that have gone through engagements with other fellows!"
"Oh, as to that," said Dacres, "this little thing is just like a child, and in her very simplicity does not know what love is. Engagement! By Jove, I don't believe she knows the meaning of the word! ”

“ Any American could have assured the English press that British frigates before the Guerrière had struck to American; and even in England men had not forgotten the name of the British frigate Serapis, or that of the American captain Paul Jones. Yet the Times's ignorance was less unreasonable than its requirement that Dacres should have gone down with his ship,--a cry of passion the more unjust to Dacres because he fought his ship as long as she could float. Such sensitiveness seemed extravagant in a society which had been hardened by centuries of warfare ”

“ The first family, called Lord Dacres of the South, held the castle of the same name, and are ancestors to the present Lord Dacre. The other family, descended Seat of Lord Dacre. from the same stock, were called Lord Dacres of the North, and were Barons of Gillesland and Graystock. A chieftain of the latter branch was warden of the West Marshes, during the reign of Edward VI. He was a man of a hot and obstinate character, as appears from some particulars of Lord Surrey's letter to Henry VIII., giving an account of his behaviour at the siege and storm of Jedburgh. ”

“ Hawbury encountered his glance without any expression. He merely sat and smoked and passed his fingers through his pendent whiskers.
"Excuse me," said Dacres, abruptly.
"Certainly, my dear boy, a thousand times; only I hope you will allow me to remark that your style is altogether a new one, and during the whole course of our acquaintance I do not remember seeing it before. You have a melodramatic way that is overpowering. Still I don't see why you should swear at yourself in a place like Naples, where there are so many other things to swear at. ”

“ So narrow was the track that Dacres wondered what would happen if they met persons coming in the opposite direction.
"That is easily managed," replied Henri when his companion expressed his doubts. "We would dismount. The other travellers would do likewise. We speak with them; they speak with us. There is no hurry in these parts. Then the mules going that way would crouch down, and the mules coming this way would step over them. It is so simple when one knows how." ”

“ They would as easily serve one master as another; but they would betray my father."
"If that is the only objection I don't see that that matters in the slightest," observed Dacres. "After this it will not be safe for your father or any of your family to remain in Valderia while Zaypuru is in power. Whittinghame will see you all safely through and send you back to France with a guarantee of sufficient money to keep you in comfort for the rest of your days."
"Very good: I am content," replied the young Frenchman simply.
"Then send the Indians on to the town," continued Dacres. ”

“ Said Dacres, as he hauled his flag below."
Although the Guerriere was a hopeless wreck, her captain, with true bulldog courage, kept the British ensign floating from the stump of her fallen mizzen-mast.
The blow must have been severe to the gallant English officer, for he had fully believed the Guerriere to be invulnerable.
The Constitution drew away, but kept firing continuously, and soon secured a raking position.
Dacres' eyes filled with tears.
"It is no use," he exclaimed to his first officer. "Haul down the flag."
"Must we surrender?" asked the officer. ”

“ Dacres now felt tolerably certain of success. Even had the sentries emerged from their unauthorized place of shelter the sudden transition from artificial light to the darkness of the night would have prevented them from seeing anything for at least half a minute.
With a slight tremor the detached portion of the "Meteor" alighted fairly equidistant from the encircling wall. Quickly Dacres and eight men descended and anchored the craft by means of ropes secured to the railings surrounding the patio. ”

“ He wishes to know if you need the aid of a surgeon or surgeon's mate."
"Have you not business enough on your own ship for all your doctors?" asked Dacres.
"Oh, no!" said Read. "We have only seven men wounded, and their wounds are all dressed."
Captain Dacres was obliged to enter Read's boat and be rowed to the Constitution. He had been wounded, and could not climb very well, so Captain Hull helped him to the deck.
"Give me your hand, Dacres," he said, "I know you are hurt."
Captain Dacres offered his sword, but the American captain would not take it. ”

“ During the time he commanded the former vessel, he captured the Vigilante, a national cutter, mounting 6 guns. In the spring of 1797, Captain Dacres was removed into the Astrea frigate, and soon after performed a most essential service by effecting his escape from the Nore during the height of the general mutiny, and convoying a valuable fleet in safety to the Baltic. Whilst in that ship he also captured several French and Dutch privateers. ”

“ Captain Dacres of the Guerriere is a rattling good fellow—for an Englishman. 'Well, Dacres,' I said I one day, 'you may just take care of that ship of yours, if ever I catch her with the Constitution.' Captain Dacres laughed good humoredly, and [Pg 56] offered to bet me a sum of money that, in case of a conflict, I should be the loser. 'No,' said I, 'I'll bet no money on it; but I will stake you a hat that the Constitution comes out victorious.' 'Done!' cried Dacres, and so the bet was made. ”

“ Dallington House made its fair mistress a neighbour of her relations, the Dacres. No one could be a more fascinating companion than Mrs. Dallington Vere. May Dacre read her character at once, and these ladies became great allies. She was to assist Miss Dacre in her plans for rousing their Catholic friends, as no one was better qualified to be her adjutant. ”

“ Dacres simply roared. The rumours were so utterly unlikely.
"It may be true," said Henri gravely. "The best generalled armies make the mistake at times. The Italians at Adowah, the Russians in Manchuria, and the English in South Africa, par exemple."
"Then, if it is true we'll find the Cavarale chock-a-block with British prisoners," said Dacres. "So we'll wait and see."
When, after a slow and irksome journey, the train entered Naocuanha station, Dacres and his companion were pounced upon and questioned by half a dozen gaudily-uniformed officials. ”