Roland Cashel Volume I Part 14

"You are right," said Roland, in her ear, with a look that spoke his approval far more eloquently.

Although Miss Kennyf.e.c.k had heard nothing that pa.s.sed, her quickness detected the looks of intelligence that were so speedily interchanged, and as she left the room she took occasion to whisper, "Do take advice, dear; there is no keeping up a pace like that."

CHAPTER IX. AN EXCITING ADVENTURE

"Bravo, Toro."

As it chanced that many of Mr. Kennyf.e.c.k's clients were Western gentlemen, whose tastes have an unequivocal tendency to all matters relating to horse-flesh, his stable was not less choicely furnished than his cellar; for, besides being always able to command the shrewdest judgments when he decided to make a purchase, many an outstanding balance of long duration, many a debt significantly pencilled "doubtful"

or "bad," in his note-book, was cleared off by some tall, sinewy steeplechaser from Galway, or some redoubted performer with the "Blazers."

So well known was this fact that several needed no other standard of a neighbor's circ.u.mstances, than whether he had contributed or not to the Kennyf.e.c.k stud. This brief explanation we have been induced to make, to account for the sporting character of a stable whose proprietor never was once seen in the saddle. Far otherwise the ladies of the house; the mother and daughters, but in particular the elder, rode with all the native grace of Galway; and as they were invariably well mounted, and their grooms the smartest and best appointed, their "turn-out" was the admiration of the capital.

It was in vain that the English officials at the Castle, whose superlative tastes were wont to overshadow mere Irish pretension, endeavored to compete with these noted equestrians. Secretaries' wives and chamberlains' daughters, however they might domineer in other matters, were here, at least, surpa.s.sed, and it was a conceded fact, that the Kennyf.e.c.ks rode better, dressed better, and looked better on horseback than any other girls in the country. If all the critics as to horsemans.h.i.+p p.r.o.nounced the elder unequivocally the superior rider, mere admirers of gracefulness preferred the younger sister, who, less courageous and self-possessed, invested her skill with a certain character of timidity that increased the interest her appearance excited.

They never rode out without an immense _cortege_ of followers, every well-looking and well-mounted man about town deeming it his _devoir_ to join this party, just as the box of the reigning belle at the opera is besieged by a.s.siduous visitors The very being seen in this train was a kind of brevet promotion in fas.h.i.+onable esteem, to which each newly-arrived cornet aspired, and thus the party usually presented a group of brilliant uniforms and dancing plumes that rivalled in brilliancy, and far excelled in amus.e.m.e.nt, the staff of the viceroy himself.

It would be uufair to suppose that, with all their natural innocence and artlessness, they were entirely ignorant of the sway they thus exercised; indeed, such a degree of modesty would have trenched upon the incredulous, for how could they doubt what commanders of the forces and deputy-a.s.sistant-adjutants a.s.sured them, still less question the veracity of a prince royal, who positively a.s.serted that they "rode better than Quentin's daughter"?

It was thus a source of no small excitement among the mounted loungers of the capital, when the Kennyf.e.c.ks issued forth on horseback, and not, as usual, making the tour of the "Square" to collect their forces, they rode at once down Grafton Street, accompanied by a single cavalier.

"Who have the Kennyf.e.c.k girls got with them?" said a thin-waisted-looking aide-de-camp to a lanky, well-whiskered fellow in a dragoon undress, at the Castle gate.

"He is new to me--never saw him before. I say, Lucas, who is that tall fellow on Kennyf.e.c.k's brown horse--do you know him?"

"Don't know--can't say," drawled out a very diminutive hussar cornet.

"He has a look of Merrington," said another, joining the party.

"Not a bit of it; he's much larger. I should n't wonder if he's one of the Esterhazys they've caught. There is one of them over here--a Paul or a Nicholas, of the younger branch;--but here 's Linton, he 'll tell us, if any man can."

This speech was addressed to a very dapper, well-dressed man of about thirty, mounted on a small thoroughbred pony, whose splashed and heaving flanks bespoke a hasty ride.

"I say, Tom, you met the Kennyf.e.c.ks,--who was that with them?"

"Don't you know him, my Lord?" said a sharp, ringing voice; "that's our newly-arrived millionnaire,--Roland Cashel, our Tipperary Croesus,--the man with I won't say how many hundred thousands a year, and millions in bank besides."

"The devil it is--a good-looking fellow, too."

"Spooney, I should say," drawled out the hussar, caressing his moustache.

"One need n't be as smart a fellow as you, Wheeler, with forty thousand a year," said Linton, with a sly glance at the others.

"You don't suppose, Tom," said the former speaker, "that the Kennyf.e.c.ks have any designs in that quarter,--egad! that would be rather aspiring, eh?"

"Very unwise in us to permit it, my Lord," said Linton, in a low tone.

"That's a dish will bear carving, and let every one have his share."

My Lord laughed with a low cunning laugh at the suggestion, and nodded an easy a.s.sent.

Meanwhile the Kennyf.e.c.ks rode slowly on, and crossing Ess.e.x Bridge continued their way at a foot pace towards the park, pa.s.sing in front of the Four Courts, where a very large knot of idlers uncovered their heads in polite salutation as they went.

"That's Kennyf.e.c.k's newly-discovered client," cried one; "a great card, if they can only secure him for one of the girls."

"I say, did you remark how the eldest had him engaged? She never noticed any of us."

"I back Olivia," said another; "she's a quiet one, but devilish sly for all that."

"Depend upon it," interposed an older speaker, "the fellow is up to all that sort of thing."

"Jones met him at dinner yesterday at Kennyf.e.c.k's, and says he is a regular soft one, and if the girls don't run an opposition to each other, one is sure to win."

"Why not toss up for him, then? that would be fairer."

"Ay, and more sisterly, too," said the elder speaker. "Jones would be right glad to claim the beaten horse."

"Jones, indeed,--I can tell you they detest Jones," said a young fellow.

"They told you so, eh, Hammond?" said another; while a very hearty laugh at the discomfited youth broke from the remainder.

And now to follow our mounted friends, who, having reached the park, continued still at a walking pace to thread the greasy paths that led through that pleasant tract; now hid amid the shade of ancient thorn-trees, now gaining the open expanse of plain with its bold background of blue mountains.

From the evident attention bestowed by the two sisters, it was clear that Cashel was narrating something of interest, for he spoke of an event which had happened to himself in his prairie life; and this alone, independent of all else, was enough to make the theme amusing.

"Does this convey any idea of a prairie, Mr. Cashel?" said Miss Kennyf.e.c.k, as they emerged from a grove of beech-trees, and came upon the wide and stretching plain, so well known to Dubliners as the Fifteen Acres, but which is, in reality, much greater in extent. "I have always fancied this great gra.s.sy expanse must be like a prairie."

"About as like as yonder cattle to a herd of wild buffaloes," replied Roland, smiling.

"Then what is a prairie like? Do tell us," said Olivia, eagerly.

"I can scarcely do so, nor, if I were a painter, do I suppose that I could make a picture of one, because it is less the presence than the total absence of all features of landscape that const.i.tutes the wild and lonely solitude of a prairie. But fancy a great plain--gently--very gently undulating,--not a tree, not a shrub, not a stream to break the dreary uniformity; sometimes, but even that rarely, a little muddy pond of rain-water, stagnant and yellow, is met with, but only seen soon after heavy showers, for the hot sun rapidly absorbs it. The only vegetation a short yellowed burnt-up gra.s.s,--not a wild flower or a daisy, if you travelled hundreds of hundreds of miles. On you go, days and days, but the scene never changes. Large cloud shadows rest upon the barren expanse, and move slowly and sluggishly away, or sometimes a sharp and pelting shower is borne along, traversing hundreds of miles in its course; but these are the only traits of motion in the death-like stillness. At last, perhaps after weeks of wandering, you descry, a long way off, some dark objects dotting the surface,--these are buffaloes; or at sunset, when the thin atmosphere makes everything sharp and distinct, some black spectral shapes seem to glide between you and the red twilight,--these are Indian hunters, seen miles off, and by some strange law of nature they are presented to the vision when far, far beyond the range of sight. Such strange apparitions, the consequence of refraction, have led to the most absurd superst.i.tions; and all the stories the Germans tell you of their wild huntsmen are nothing to the tales every trapper can recount of war parties seen in the air, and tribes of red men in pursuit of deer and buffaloes, through the clear sky of an autumn evening."

"And have you yourself met with these wild children of the desert?" said Olivia; "have you ever been amongst them?"

"Somewhat longer than I fancied," replied Roland, smiling. "I was a prisoner once with the Camanches."

"Oh, let us hear all about it,--how did it happen?" cried both together.

"It happened absurdly enough, at least you will say so, when I tell you; but to a prairie-hunter the adventure would seem nothing singular. It chanced that some years ago I made one of a hunting-party into the Rocky Mountains, and finally as far as Pueblo Santo, the last station before entering the hunting-grounds of the Camanches, a very fierce tribe, and one with whom all the American traders have failed to establish any relations of friends.h.i.+p or commerce. They care nothing for the inventions of civilization, and, unlike all other Indians, prefer their own bows and arrows to firearms.

"We had been now four days within their boundary, and yet never met one of the tribe. Some averred that they always learned by the scouts whenever any invasion took place, and retired till they were in sufficient force to pour down and crush the intruders. Others, who proved better informed, said that they were hunting in a remote tract, several days' journey distant. We were doubly disappointed, for besides not seeing the Camanches, for which we had a great curiosity, we did not discover any game. The two or three trails we followed led to nothing, nor could a hoof-track be seen for miles and miles of prairie. In this state of discomfiture, we were sitting one evening around our fires, and debating with ourselves whether to turn back or go on, when, the dispute waxing warm between those of different opinions, I, who hated all disagreements of the kind, slipped quietly away, and throwing the bridle on my horse, I set out for a solitary ramble over the prairie.

"I have the whole scene before me this instant,--the solemn desolation of that dreary track; for scarcely had I gone a mile over what seemed a perfectly level plain, when the swelling inequalities of the ground shut out the watch-fires of my companions, and now there was nothing to be seen but the vast expanse of land and sky, each colored with the same dull leaden tint of coming night; no horizon was visible, not a star appeared, and in the midst of this gray monotony, a stillness prevailed that smote the heart with something more appalling than mere fear. No storm that ever I listened to at sea, not the loudest thunder that ever crashed, or the heaviest sea that ever broke upon a leeward sh.o.r.e at midnight, ever chilled my blood like that terrible stillness. I thought that the dreadful roll of an avalanche or the heaving ground-swell of an earthquake had been easier to bear. I believe I actually prayed for something like sound to relieve the horrible tension of my nerves, when, just as if my wish was heard, a low booming sound, like the sea within a rocky cavern, came borne along on the night wind. Then it lulled again, and after a time grew louder. This happened two or three times, so that, half suspecting some self-delusion, I stopped my ears, and then on removing my hands, I heard the noise increasing till it swelled into one dull roaring sound, that made the very air vibrate. I thought it must be an earthquake, of which it is said many occur in these regions, but, from the dreary uniformity, leave no trace behind.

"I resolved to regain my companions at once; danger is always easier to confront in company, and so I turned my horse's head to go back. The noise was now deafening, and so stunning that the very ground seemed to give it forth. My poor horse became terrified, his flanks heaved, and he labored in his stride as if overcome by fatigue. This again induced me to suspect an earthquake, for I knew by what singular instincts animals are apprised of its approach. I therefore gave him the spur, and urged him on with every effort, when suddenly he made a tremendous bound to one side, and set off with the speed of a racer. Stretched to his fullest stride, I was perfectly powerless to restrain him; meanwhile, the loud thundering sounds filled the entire air,--more deafening than the greatest artillery; the cras.h.i.+ng uproar smote my ears, and made my brain ring with the vibration, and then suddenly the whole plain grew dark behind and at either side of me, the shadow swept on and on, nearer and nearer, as the sounds increased, till the black surface seemed, as it were, about to close around me; and now I perceived that the great prairie, far as my eyes could stretch, was covered by a herd of wild buffaloes; struck by some sudden terror, they had taken what is called 'the Stampedo,' and set out at full speed. In an instant they were around me on every side,--a great moving sea of dark-backed monsters,--roaring in terrible uproar, and tossing their savage heads wildly to and fro, in all the paroxysm of terror. To return, or even to extricate myself, was impossible; the dense ma.s.s pressed like a wall at either side of me, and I was borne along in the midst of the heaving herd, without the slightest hope of rescue. I cannot--you would not ask me, if even I could--recall the terrors of that dreadful night, which in its dark hours compa.s.sed the agonies of years. Until the moon got up, I hoped that the herd might pa.s.s on, and at last leave me at liberty behind; but when she rose, and I looked back, I saw the dark sea of hides, as if covering the whole wide prairie, while the deep thunder from afar mingled with the louder bellowing of the herd around me.