"
In this arrangement the colonel reluctantly acquiesced, and the three
followed the soldier to the dwelling, at a pace that was adapted to the
infirmities of its master. The excitement of the onset, and the current
of his ideas, had united, however, to banish every amicable thought from
the breast of the colonel, and he entered the abbey with a resolute
determination of seeing justice dealt to Griffith and his companions,
even though it should push them to the foot of the gallows.
As the gentlemen disappeared from his view, among the shrubbery of the
grounds, the Pilot replaced the weapon that was hanging from his hand,
in his bosom, and, turning with a saddened and thoughtful brow, he
slowly re-entered the wood.
CHAPTER XXI
----"When these prodigies
Do so conjointly meet, let not men say.
These are their reasons,--They are natural,
For, I believe they are portentous things
Unto the climate that they point upon."
_Casca._
The reader will discover, by referring to the time consumed in the
foregoing events, that the Ariel, with her prize, did not anchor in the
bay already mentioned, until Griffith and his party had been for several
hours in the custody of their enemies. The supposed capture of the rebel
schooner was an incident that excited but little interest, and no
surprise, among a people who were accustomed to consider their seamen as
invincible; and Barnstable had not found it a difficult task to practise
his deception on the few rustics whom curiosity induced to venture
alongside the vessels during the short continuance of daylight.
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