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Wallace D. Wattles Ultimate Collection — Chapter-60: Hellfire Harrison Chapter Four
- Source: /library/Wallace D. Wattles Ultimate Collection/source-file.pdf
- PDF pages: 229–234
- Pages without text: 231
- Note: Work: Hellfire Harrison, section 4 of 8.
Chapter Four Table of Contents TRAINOR found the elder Harrison sitting by a table, in the tap-room of the inn, with a bottle of wine at his elbow. Sitting down, the ruffian pushed the table so roughly that the bottle was upset. Harrison, who instantly comprehended the whole plan, rose to his feet and drew his sword. “Draw!” said he to Trainor. " You seek to provoke a quarrel, but I bandy no words with a scoundrel of your kidney. Draw, or by Heaven, I will run you through, where you sit!” “Would you murder me? “blustered the fellow, as half willing, half afraid, he slowly rose and drew his weapon. “No; but I will find out whether you are the swordsman you are said to be. On guard!” They crossed blades, and after a few passes had been exchanged, Harrison's smile grew more contemptuous. “I see that you cannot fence,” said he, “and so we may as well make a finish of it. Look out, now; I am going to slice your nose across the middle, and cut the sign of the cross on your left cheek.” And, with three lightning strokes of his razor-edged sword, he carried out his threat. “You are the devil!” cried the bully, staggering backward as he wiped the blood from his face. “I will not fight you more!” “You are easily satisfied, my friend,” said Harrison, wiping his sword carefully and sheathing it, and then he took snuff, smiling, while the innkeeper hurried the wounded ruffian away to the village leech.
So, half an hour later, when Hogg and his two remaining scoundrels saw Richard coming in the distance, it happened that they also heard the hoofbeats of a horse coming from the opposite direction, and turning, saw Harrison, who rode past them with a courteous salute. Joining his son a little way down the road, he turned about, and the two came on together. Hogg and his friends perceived that Trainor had failed in his mission, but they did not guess how grievously, and they were puzzled as to what to do. They discussed the situation hurriedly for a few minutes, and then Andrew burst out with a great oath, declaring that the whole matter should be settled then and there. They took their stand in the centre of the highway, facing the Harrisons, who were coming in a walk, chatting carelessly together. Andrew Hogg was a powerful man, more than six feet tall and very muscular; his swarthy face was bloated and swollen by hard drinking, and he wore his long hair unpowdered and badly combed, while his dress was slovenly. But he did not lack for brute courage, nor did either of his two companions, who were like him in a general way. They were all good swordsmen, and fighters of experience, and they awaited with confidence the coming of the Virginian and his son, who now rode up and drew rein, seeing that the way was blocked. “Good evening, gentlemen,” said Harrison. “What would you have of us?” “A pinch of snuff!” growled Hogg, expecting a refusal. Harrison drew his handsomely engraved snuff-box from his pocket, and riding close to Hogg, presented it, open, with a courtly gesture, and the other, who did not use snuff was so confused and taken aback that he took up a pinch with clumsy and not overclean fingers. Harrison instantly tossed the box, with its remaining contents, into the ditch beside the road.
“What do you mean by that?” roared Hogg, his dark face turning fiery red. “I can feed swine,” said the American with his most pleasant smile, “but I will not root in the trough with them.” “By Heaven!” shouted Andrew, “be careful, or you will feel the swine's tusk!” and he laid his hand on his sword. “Be careful yourself !” replied Harrison, unmoved. “I am too much of a Jew to eat pork, but just enough of a Christian to kill hogs, especially those possessed of devils.” Young Richard burst out laughing, while the three ruffians sat hesitating; the calm assurance of Harrison, and his evident anxiety for a fight daunted them. He faced them in silence for several seconds, still sitting within arm's length of Andrew; and then as they made no move, he spoke again. “If you dare not fight, draw aside and let us pass,” said he; and under the compelling power of his steady eye, the three involuntarily reined their horses toward the roadside. The father and son rode on slowly, conversing as if nothing had happened; and though they knew that their discomfited enemies had pistols in their holsters, neither of the pair so much as turned his head. “We have them cowed,” said Harrison. “I think we shall hear no more from them.” But in that he was mistaken, good judge of men as he was; he underestimated Andrew Hogg. That night Hogg and two of his men rode away toward London, leaving the wounded rascal, Trainor, alone at Hackthorn Hall, and no one about Farnham saw either of them for a week. During this time young Richard's wooing progressed smoothly, and his father relaxed his vigilance a little, for he came to believe that Hogg, seeing only formidable and dangerous opposition ahead, had given the whole matter up. At the end of the week came a surprise; for a Captain Keatley, with an escort of half a dozen troopers, appeared in Farnham village with a letter from the King, requesting the presence of Gerald Harrison at Saltire Castle, thirty miles away, where his majesty was making a short visit. The letter merely set forth that the King, learning that Master Harrison, brother
to his well-beloved Lord Wycherly, had but lately come from the United States of America, requested the presence of Master Harrison, so and so; and as the audience was set for the day following the one on which Harrison received the letter, it was imperative that he should set off at once with the escort. The Virginian was caught napping; he did not think of connecting Andrew Hogg with the King's invitation, which he supposed to be due to Wycherly's influence; he knew that his brother and other liberal statesmen were working to eradicate the ill feeling toward the new republic which existed at court, and he never once thought of refusing to comply with the request, which was, indeed, tantamount to a command. Richard was at Sladden's farm when the message came; so, after hastily writing him a note bidding him exercise all possible care and watchfulness, Harrison rode over to Farnham Court to bid Lady Alicia farewell for a day or so. Her suspicions were instantly aroused, and she became very anxious. “I do not like this message, coming at this time,” said she. “If you go away, I am afraid for Richard — and for Mary. There is more in this than we see, Gerald. It is only the fear of you that has held Hogg in check so long, and when he gets you away he will do some devilish thing. I would you did not have to go, but the King's commands must be obeyed.” “Tut, tut!” said Harrison. “You are frightened at shadows. I do not think our Hogg has influence enough at court to have brought all this about; it is not his doing. He and his crew are away on some cut-purse expedition; we have scared them out. I have left a word of caution for Richard, and hang it, Alicia, the boy is no baby; he can take care of himself. If I did not know that, I would stay for all of fifty kings.” Lady Alicia shook her head reprovingly; in those days the conservatives clung to an exaggerated respect for the pretensions of royalty, for which the radicals manifested an equally exaggerated contempt. “Blaspheme not the Lord's anointed!” said the lady. “But there is only one man in England who is a match for black Hogg and his bloody three, and that is you, Gerald. Go, since you must, and come back quickly. I shall have no peace until I see you again.” So, smiling at her fears, he kissed her hand and went. It was well on in the afternoon when he rode out of Farnham with his escort. They had planned to ride until after midnight, for the moon was full, and then to lie at Shoresby until morning, reaching Saltire Castle early in the following day.
Now, the King's invitation had been brought about in this way: Hogg, going up to London to devise some means of getting rid of Harrison, had fallen in with an American tory named Cunningham, who hated the Virginian and all things connected with the republic over seas, and who had some influence at court. This man had impressed Andrew with the danger of meeting Harrison in fight, because of the latter's almost supernatural skill with the sword; and, by putting their wits together, the two had formed a cunning plan for getting him out of the way. Cunningham had procured the invitation to an audience with the King, and had seen that the letter was intrusted to Captain Keatley, an honest but somewhat thick-headed soldier, who was violently prejudiced against republican ideas. The tory had intimated to the Captain that in case Harrison should insult Royalty by declining the invitation he was to be brought to Saltire Castle by force, and the soldier, understanding that his mission was to make an arrest under pretence of an invitation to court, was quite prepared to use strenuous measures. As soon as the Virginian's back was turned on Farnham, Hogg and his three villains were to waylay Richard and kill him; and then, when Harrison returned, they were to take refuge in Hackthorn Hall and stand guard with loaded pistols, trusting to shoot him down before he could come to close quarters. They had arrived at the hall during the night previous to the coming of the King's messenger, and they watched the Virginian from a distance, as he rode away with his escort.