The Buccaneer - A Tale

"No! If you are a friend, you know our pass-word; if a foe, you shall

not know it from me. You can go down the cliff, and ask our commander's

name from yon sleepy Orson; his tongue goes fast enough at all seasons."

The stranger entirely withdrew his hold from Springall, while he moved

towards the summit of the rock. Quick as lightning, the whistle was

applied to the youth's mouth, and three rapid, distinct notes cut

through the night air, and were echoed by the surrounding caverns.

"I thank thee, boy," said the mysterious being, calmly; "that tells of

Hugh Dalton and the Fire-fly."

And he disappeared so instantaneously from the spot, that Springall

rubbed first his eyes, and then his arm, to be assured whether the

events of the last few minutes were not the effects of a distempered

imagination. He had, however, more certain proof of its reality: for,

upon peering closely through the darkness into the thick wood that

skirted the east, he distinctly noted the glitter of steel in two or

three points at the same moment; and apprehensive that their landing

must have been witnessed by more than one person--the hostile intentions

of whom he could scarcely doubt--he examined the priming of his

pistols, called to Jeromio to look out, for that danger was at hand, and

resumed his watch, fearful, not for his own safety, but for that of his

absent commander.

In the mean time, the Skipper, who was known in the Isle of Shepey, and

upon other parts of the coast, by the name of Hugh Dalton, proceeded

uninterruptedly on his way, up and down the small luxuriant hills, and

along the fair valleys of as fertile and beautiful a district as any of

which our England can boast, until a sudden turn brought him close upon

a dwelling of large proportions and disjointed architecture, that

evidently belonged to two distinct eras. The portion of the house

fronting the place on which he stood was built of red brick, and

regularly elevated to three stories in height; the windows were long and

narrow; and the entire of that division was in strict accordance with

the taste of the times, as patronised and adopted by the rulers of the

Commonwealth. Behind, rose several square turrets, and straggling

buildings, the carved and many-paned windows of which were of very

remote date, and evidently formed from the relics of some monastery or

religious house. Here and there, the fancy or interest of the owner had

induced him to remodel the structure; and an ill-designed and ungraceful

mixture of the modern with the ancient gave to the whole somewhat of a

grotesque appearance, that was heightened by the noble trees, which had

once towered in majesty and beauty, being in many places lopped and

docked, as if even the exuberance of nature was a crime in the eyes of

the present lord of the mansion.