The Lancashire Witches by William Harrison Ainsworth

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"Dunna ax me," she replied. "Whatever ey ha' been to Christopher
Demdike, ey bear him neaw love now; fo', as ey ha towd yo, he is a
black-hearted murtherin' villain. Boh lemme get up behind yo, an ey'n
bring yo through scatheless. An to-morrow yo may arrest the whole band
at Malkin Tower."

"Malkin Tower!" exclaimed the squire, in fresh surprise. "What, have
these robbers taken up their quarters there? This accounts for all the
strange sights said to have been seen there of late, and which I treated
as mere fables. But, ah! a terrible thought crosses me. What have I
done? Mistress Nutter will be there to-night. And I have sent her. Death
and destruction! she will fall into their hands. I must go there at
once. I cannot take any assistance with me. That would betray the poor
lady."

"If yo'n trust me, ey'n help yo through the difficulty," replied Nance.

"Get up then quickly, lass, since it must be so," rejoined Nicholas.

With this he moved forward, and giving her his hand, she was instantly
seated behind him upon Robin, who seemed no way incommoded by his double
burthen, but dashed down the further side of the causeway, in answer to
a sharp application of the spur. Passing her arms round the squire's
waist, Nance maintained her seat well; and in this way they rattled
along, heedless of the increasing difficulties of the road, or the
fast-gathering gloom.

The mile was quickly passed, and Nance whispered in the squire's ear
that they were approaching the Boulder Stones. Presently they came to a
narrow glen, half-filled with huge rocky fragments, detached from the
toppling precipices on either side, and forming an admirable place of
ambuscade. One rock, larger than the rest, completely commanded the
pass, and, as the squire advanced, a thundering voice from it called to
him to stay; and the injunction being disregarded, the barrel of a gun
was protruded from the bushes covering its brow, and a shot fired at
him. Though well aimed, the ball struck the ground beneath his horse's
feet, and Nicholas continued his way unmoved, while the faulty marksman
jumped down the crag. At the same time four other men started from their
places of concealment behind the stones, and, levelling their calivers
at the fugitives, fired. The sharp discharges echoed along the gorge,
and the shots rattled against the rocks, but none of them took effect,
and Nicholas might have gone on without further hindrance; but, despite
Nance's remonstrances, who urged him to go on, he pulled up to await the
coming of the person who had first challenged him. Scarcely an instant
elapsed before he was beside the squire, and presented a petronel at his
head. Notwithstanding the gloom, Nicholas recognised him.

"Ah! is it thou, accursed traitor?" cried Nicholas. "I could scarcely
believe in thy villainy, but now I am convinced."

"The jade you have got behind you has told you who I am, I see," replied
Fogg. "I will settle with her anon. But this will save further
explanations with you!"

And he discharged the petronel full at the squire. But the ball
rebounded, as if his doublet had been quilted. It was in fact lined with
gold. On seeing the squire unhurt, the robber captain uttered an
exclamation of rage and astonishment.

"You are mistaken, you see, perfidious villain," cried Nicholas. "You
have yet to render an account of all the wrongs you have done me, but
meantime you shall not pass unpunished."

And as he spoke, he snatched the petronel from Fogg, and with the
but-end dealt him a tremendous blow on the head, felling him to the
ground.

By this time the other robbers had descended from the rocks, and, seeing
the fall of their leader, rushed forward to avenge him, but Nicholas did
not tarry for any further encounter; but, fully satisfied with what he
had done, struck spurs into Robin, and galloped off. For a few minutes
he could hear the shouts of the men, but they soon afterwards died away.

Little more than half the ravine had been traversed when the rencounter
above described took place; but, though the road was still difficult and
dangerous, and rendered doubly so by the obscurity, no further hindrance
occurred till just as Nicholas was quitting the gloomy intricacies of
the gorge, and approaching the more open country beyond it. At this
point Robin fell, throwing both him and Nance, and when the animal rose
again he was found to be so much injured that it was impossible to mount
him. There was no resource but to proceed to Burnley, which was still
three or four miles distant, on foot.

In this dilemma, Nance volunteered to provide the squire with another
steed, but he resolutely refused the offer.

"No, no--none of your broomsticks for me," he cried; "no devil's
horses--I don't know where they may carry me. My own legs must serve me
now. I'll just take poor Robin out of the road, and then trudge off for
Burnley as fast as I can."

With this, he led the horse to a small green mead skirting the stream,
and taking off his saddle and bridle, and depositing them carefully
under a tree, he patted the animal on the neck, promising to return for
him on the morrow, and then set off at a brisk pace, with Nance walking
beside him. They had not gone far, however, when the clattering of hoofs
was heard behind them, and it was evident that several horsemen were
rapidly approaching. Nance stopped, listened for a moment, and then
declaring that it was Demdike and his band in pursuit, seized the
squire's arm and drew him out of the road, and under the shelter of some
bushes of hazel. The robber captain could only have been stunned, it
appeared; and, as soon as he had recovered from the effects of the blow,
had mounted his horse, which was concealed, with those of his men,
behind the rocks, and started after the fugitives. Such was the
construction put upon the matter by Nance, and the event proved it
correct. A loud shout from the horsemen, and a sudden halt, proclaimed
that poor Robin had been discovered; and this circumstance seemed to
give great satisfaction to Demdike, who loudly declared that they were
now sure of overtaking the runaways.

"They cannot be far off," he cried; "but they will most likely attempt
to hide themselves, so look well about you."

So saying, he rode on, and it was evident from the noise, that the men
implicitly obeyed his injunctions. Nothing, however, was found, and ere
many minutes Demdike came up, and glancing at the hazels, behind which
the fugitives were hidden, he discharged a petronel into the largest
tree, but as no movement followed the report, he said--

"I thought I saw something move here, but I suppose I was mistaken. No
doubt they have got on further than we expected, or have retired into
some of the cloughs, in which case it will be useless to search for
them. However, we will make sure of them in this way. Two of you shall
form an ambuscade near Holme and two further on within half a mile of
Burnley, and shall remain on the watch till dawn, so that you will be
sure to capture them, and when taken, make away with them without
hesitation. Unless my skull had been of the strongest, that butcherly
squire would have cracked it, so he shall have no grace from me; and as
to that treacherous witch, Nance Redferne, she deserves death at our
hands, and she shall have her deserts. I have long suspected her, and,
indeed, was a fool to trust one of the vile Chattox brood, who are all
my natural enemies--but no matter, I shall have my revenge."

The men having promised compliance with their captain's command, he went
on--

"As to myself," he said, "I shall go forthwith, and as fast as my horse
can carry me, to Malkin Tower, and I will tell you why. It is not that I
dislike the game we are upon, but I have better to play just now. Tom
Shaw, the cock-master at Downham, who is in my pay, rode over to Whalley
this afternoon, to bring me word that a certain lady, who has long been
concealed in the Manor-house, will be taken to Malkin Tower to-night.
The intelligence is certain, for he had obtained it from Old Crouch, the
huntsman, who is to escort her. Thus, Mistress Nutter, for you all know
whom I mean, will fall naturally into our hands, and we can wring any
sums of money we like out of her; for though she has abandoned her
property to her daughter, Alizon, she can no doubt have as much as she
wants, and I will take care she asks for plenty, or I will try the
effect of some of those instruments of torture which I was lucky enough
to find in the dungeons of Malkin Tower, and which were used for a like
purpose by my predecessor, Blackburn, the freebooter. Are you content,
my lads?"

"Ay, ay, Captain Demdike," they replied.

Upon this the whole party set forward, and were speedily out of hearing.
As soon as they thought it prudent to come forth, the squire and Nance
emerged from their place of shelter.

"What is to be done?" exclaimed the former, who was almost in a state of
distraction. "The villain has announced his intention of going to Malkin
Tower, and Mistress Nutter will assuredly fall into his hands. Oh! that
I could stop him, or get there before him!"

"Yo shan, if yo like to ride wi' me," said Nance.

"But how--in what way?" asked Nicholas.

"Leave that to me," replied Nance, breaking off a long branch of hazel.
"Tak howld o' this," she cried.

The squire obeyed, and was instantly carried off his legs, and whisked
through the air at a prodigious rate.

He felt giddy and confused, but did not dare to leave go, lest he should
be dashed in pieces, while Nance's wild laughter rang in his ears.

Over the bleached and perpendicular crag--startling the eagle from his
eyry--over the yawning gully with the torrent roaring beneath him--over
the sharp ridges of the hill--over Townley park--over Burnley
steeple--over the wide valley beyond, he went--until at last,
bewildered, out of breath, and like one in a dream, he alighted on a
brown, bare, heathy expanse, and within a hundred yards of a tall,
circular stone structure, which he knew to be Malkin Tower.

CHAPTER V.--THE END OF MALKIN TOWER.

The shades of night had fallen on Downham manor-house, and with an
aching heart, and a strong presentiment of ill, Mistress Nutter prepared
to quit the little chamber which had sheltered her for more than two
months, and where she would willingly have breathed her latest sigh, if
it had been so permitted her. Closing the Bible she had been reading,
she placed the sacred volume under her arm, and taking up a small
bundle, containing her slender preparations for travel, extinguished the
taper, and then descending by a secret staircase, passed through a door,
fashioned externally like a cupboard, and entered a summer-house, where
she found old Crouch awaiting her.

A few whispered words only passed between her and the huntsman, and
informing her that the horses were in waiting at the back of the garden,
he took the bundle from her, and would fain have relieved her also of
the Bible, but she would not part with it, and pressing it more closely
to her bosom, said she was quite ready to attend him.

It was a beautiful, starlight night; the air soft and balmy, and laden
with the perfume of the flowers. A nightingale was singing plaintively
in an adjoining tree, and presently came a response equally tender from
another part of the grove. Mistress Nutter could not choose but listen,
and the melody so touched her that she was half suffocated by repressed
emotion, for, alas! the relief of tears was denied her.

Motioning her somewhat impatiently to come on, Crouch struck into a
sombre alley, edged by clipped yew-trees, and terminating in a
plantation, through which a winding path led to the foot of the hill
whereon the mansion was situated. By daylight this was a beautiful walk,
affording exquisite glimpses through the trees of the surrounding
scenery, and commanding a noble view of Pendle Hill, the dominant point
in the prospect. But even now to the poor lady, so long immured in her
cell-like chamber, and deprived of many of nature's choicest blessings,
it appeared delightful. The fresh air, redolent of new-mown hay, fanned
her pale cheek and feverish brow, and allayed her agitation and
excitement. The perfect stillness, broken only by the lowing of the
cattle in the adjoining pastures, by the drowsy hum of the dor-fly, or
the rippling of the beck in the valley, further calmed her; and the
soothing influence was completed by a contemplation of the serene
heavens, wherein were seen the starry host, with the thin bright
crescent of the new moon in the midst of them, diffusing a pearly light
around her. One blot alone appeared in the otherwise smiling sky, and
this was a great, ugly, black cloud lowering over the summit of Pendle
Hill.

Mistress Nutter noticed the portentous cloud, and noticed also its
shadow on the hill, which might have been cast by the Fiend himself, so
like was it to a demoniacal shape with outstretched wings; but, though
shuddering at the idea it suggested, she would not suffer it to obtain
possession of her mind, but resolutely fixed her attention on other and
more pleasing objects.

By this time they had reached the foot of the hill, and a gate admitted
them to a road running by the side of Downham beck. Here they found the
horses in charge of a man in the dark red livery of Nicholas Assheton,
and who was no other than Tom Shaw, the rascally cock-master. Delivering
the bridles to Crouch, the knave hastily strode away, but he lingered at
a little distance to see the lady mount; and then leaping the hedge,
struck through the plantation towards the hall, chinking the money in
his pockets as he went, and thinking how cleverly he had earned it. But
he did not go unpunished; for it is a satisfaction to record that, in
walking through the woods, he was caught in a gin placed there by
Crouch, which held him fast in its iron teeth till morning, when he was
discovered by one of the under-keepers while going his rounds, in a
deplorable condition, and lamed for life.

Meanwhile, unconscious either of the manner in which she had been
betrayed, or of the punishment awaiting her betrayer, Mistress Nutter
followed her conductor in silence. For a while the road continued by the
side of the brook, and then quitting it, commenced a long and tedious
ascent, running between high banks fringed with trees. The overhanging
boughs rendered it so dark that Mistress Nutter could scarcely
distinguish the old huntsman, though he was not many yards in advance of
her, but she heard the tramp of his horse, and that was enough.

All at once, where the boughs were thickest, and the road darkest, she
perceived a small fiery object on the bank, and in her alarm called out
to the huntsman, who, looking back for a moment, laughed, and told her
not to be uneasy, for it was only a glow-worm. Ashamed of her idle fears
she rode on, but had not proceeded far, when, looking again at the bank,
she saw it studded with the same lights. This time she did not call out
or scream, but gazed steadily at the twinkling fires, hoping to get the
better of her fears. Her alarm, however, rose to absolute terror, as she
beheld the glow-worms--if glow-worms they were--twist together and form
themselves into a flaming brand, such as she had seen in her vision,
grasped by the angel who had driven her from the gates of Paradise.

Averting her gaze, she would have hastened on, but a hand suddenly laid
upon her bridle, held back her horse; and she then perceived a tall dark
man, mounted on a sable steed, riding beside her. The supernatural
character of the horseman was manifest, inasmuch as no sound was caused
by the tread of his steed, nor did he appear to be visible to Crouch
when the latter looked back. Mistress Nutter maintained her seat with
difficulty. She well knew who was her companion.

"Soh, Alice Nutter," said the horseman at length, in a low deep tone,
"you have chosen to shut yourself up in a narrow cell, like a recluse,
for more than two months, denying yourself all sort of enjoyment,
practising severest abstinence, and passing your whole time in useless
prayer--ay, useless, for if you were to pray from now till
doomsday--come when it will, a thousand years hence, or to-morrow--it
will not save you. When you signed that bond to my master, sentence was
recorded against you, and no power can recall it. Why, then, these
unavailing lamentations? Why utter prayers which are rejected, and
supplications which are scorned? Shake off this weakness, Alice, and be
yourself again. Once you had pride enough, and a little of it would now
be of service to you. You would then see the folly of this abject
conduct--humbling yourself to the dust only to be spurned, and suing for
mercy only to be derided. Pray as loud and as long as you will, the ears
of Heaven will remain ever deaf to you."

"I hope otherwise," rejoined the lady, meekly.

"Do not deceive yourself," replied the horseman. "The term granted you
by your compact will not be abridged, but it is your own fault if it be
not extended. Your daughter is destroying herself in the vain hope of
saving you. Her prayers are unavailing as your own, and recoil from the
Judgment Throne unheard. The youth upon whom her affections are fixed is
stricken with a deadly ailment. It is in your power to save them both."

Mistress Nutter groaned deeply.

"It is in your power, I say, to save them," continued the horseman, "by
returning to your allegiance to your master. He will forgive your
disobedience if you prove yourself zealous in his service; will restore
you to your former worldly position; avenge you of your enemies; and
accomplish all you may desire with respect to your daughter."

"He cannot do it," replied Mistress Nutter.

"Cannot!" echoed the horseman. "Try him! For many years I have served
you as familiar; and you have never set me the task I have failed to
execute. I am ready to become your servant again, and to offer you a yet
larger range of control. Put no limits to your desires or ambition. If
you are tired of this narrow sphere, take a wider. Look abroad. But do
not shut yourself up in a narrow cell, and persuade yourself you are
accomplishing your ultimate deliverance, when you are only wasting
precious time, which might be more advantageously and far more agreeably
employed. While laughing at your folly, my master deplores it; and he
has, therefore, sent me as to one for whom notwithstanding all
derelictions from duty, he has still a regard, with an offer of full
forgiveness, provided you return to him at once, and renew your
covenant, proving your sincerity by casting from you the book you hold
under your arm."

"Your snares are not laid subtle enough to catch me," replied Mistress
Nutter. "I will never part with this holy volume, which is my present
safeguard, and on which I build my hopes of salvation--hopes which your
very proposals have revived in my breast; for I am well assured your
master would not make them if he felt confident of his power over me.
No; I defy him and you, and I command you in Heaven's name to get hence,
and to tempt me no longer."

As the words were uttered, with a howl of rage and mortification, like
the roar of a wild beast, the dark horseman and his steed vanished.
Alarmed by the sound, Crouch stopped, and questioned the lady as to its
cause; but receiving no satisfactory explanation from her, he bade her
ride quickly on, affirming it must be the boggart of the clough.

Soon after this they again came upon Downham beck, and were about to
cross it, when their purpose was arrested by a joyous barking, and the
next moment Grip came up. The dog, it appeared, had been shut up in the
stable, his company not being desired on the expedition; but contriving
in some way or other to get out, he had scented his master's course, and
in the end overtaken him. Crouch did not know whether to be angry or
pleased, and at first gave utterance to an oath, and raised his whip to
chastise him, but almost instantly the latter feeling predominated, and
he welcomed the faithful animal with a few kind words.

"Ey suppose theaw thowt ey couldna do without thee, Grip," he said, "and
mayhap theaw'rt reet."

They are now across the beck, and speeding over the wide brown waste.
The huntsman warily shapes his course so as to avoid any
limestone-quarries or turf-pits. He points out a jack-o'-lantern dancing
merrily on the surface of a dangerous morass, and tells a dismal tale of
a traveller lured into it by the delusive light, and swallowed up.

Mistress Nutter pays little heed to him, but ever and anon looks back,
as if in dread of some one behind her. But no one is visible, and she
only sees the great black cloud still hovering over Pendle Hill.

On--on--they go; their horses' hoofs now splashing through the wet sod,
now beating upon the firm but elastic turf. A merry ride it would be if
their errand were different, and their hearts free from care. The air is
fresh and reviving, and the rapid motion exhilarating. The stars shine
out, and the crescent moon is still glittering in the heavens, but the
black cloud hangs motionless on Pendle Hill.

Now and then some bird of night flies past them, and they hear the
whooping of the owl, and see him skimming like a ghost over the waste.
Then more fen fires arise, showing that other treacherous quagmires are
at hand; but Crouch skirts them safely. Now the bull-frog croaks in the
marsh, and a deep booming tells of a bittern passing by. They see the
mighty bird above them, with his wide heavy wings and long neck. Grip
howls at him, but is instantly checked by his master, and they gallop
on.

They are now by the side of Pendle Water, and within sight of Rough Lee.
What tumultuous thoughts agitate the lady's breast! The ground she
tramples on was once her own; the woods by the river side were planted
by her; the mansion before her once owned her as mistress, and now she
dares not approach it. Nor does she desire to do so, for the sight of it
brings back terrible recollections, and fills her again with despair.

They are now close upon it, and it appears dark, silent, and deserted.
How different from what it was of yore in her husband's days--the
husband she had foully slain! Speed on, old huntsman!--lash your panting
horse, or the remorseful lady will far outstrip you, for she rides as if
the avenging furies were at her heels.

She is rattling over the bridge, and Crouch, toiling after her, and with
Grip toiling after him, shouts to her to moderate her pace. She looks
back, and beholds the grim old house frowning full upon her, and hurries
on. Huntsman and dog are left behind for awhile, but the steep ascent
soon compels her to slacken speed, and they come up, Crouch swearing
lustily, and Grip, with his tongue out of his mouth, limping as if
foot-sore.

The road now leads through a thicket. The horses stumble frequently, for
the stones are loose, and the footing consequently uncertain. Crouch has
a fall, and ere he can remount the lady is gone. It is useless to hurry
after her, and he is proceeding slowly, when Grip, who is a little in
advance, growls fiercely, and looks back at his master, as if to
intimate that danger is at hand. The huntsman presses on, but he is too
late, if, indeed, he could at any time have rendered effectual
assistance. A clearing in the thicket shows him the lady dismounted, and
surrounded by several wild-looking men armed with calivers. Part of the
band bear her shrieking off, and the rest fire at him, but without
effect, and then chase him as far as the steepest part of the hill,
down which he dashes, followed by Grip. Arrived at the bottom, he pauses
to listen if he is pursued, and hearing nothing further to alarm him,
debates with himself what is best to be done; and, not liking to alarm
the village, for that would be to betray Mistress Nutter, he gets off
his horse, ties him to a tree, and with Grip close at his heels,
commences the ascent of the hill by a different road from that he had
previously taken.

Meanwhile, Mistress Nutter's captors dragged her forcibly towards the
tower. Their arms and appearance left her no doubt they were
depredators, and she sought to convince them she had neither money nor
valuables in her possession. They laughed at her assertions, but made no
other reply. Her sole consolation was, that they did not seek to deprive
her of her Bible.

On reaching the tower, a signal was given by one of the foremost of the
band, and the steps being lowered from the high doorway, she was
compelled to ascend them, and being pushed along a short passage,
obscured by a piece of thick tapestry, but which was drawn aside as she
advanced, she found herself in a circular chamber, in the midst of which
was a massive table covered with flasks and drinking-cups, and stained
with wine. From the roof, which was crossed by great black beams of oak,
was suspended a lamp with three burners, whose light showed that the
walls were garnished with petronels, rapiers, poniards, and other
murderous weapons; besides these there were hung from pegs long
riding-cloaks, sombreros, vizards, and other robber accoutrements,
including a variety of disguises, from the clown's frieze jerkin to the
gentleman's velvet doublet, ready to be assumed on an emergency. Here
and there was an open valise, or a pair of saddle-bags with their
contents strewn about the floor, and on a bench were a dice-box and
shuffle-board, showing, with the flasks and goblets on the table, how
the occupants of the tower passed their time.