JACK OF THE MILL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2388, 29 October 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

JACK OF THE MILL.

\ , v ; VII • Kil || w II"I si. many ~ ; ~,, ■, , ,_f , tint tlm bmilei’laml between I',II. I ail 1 S ’.itland was considered fair |.,,A-vp mud fur ih'isu wlm lived within ~ , J.. , list-nice <d tie- Tweed. It Was i i,y -,. v ,t i! Im-il-, who probably had small riirht to, but. wlm tried to enforce til- ir rigb'- -vitb little regard to the jus\t -r Clevv Cluseihe ill.fi ding between the bonier elms became stiff mure bill.’;-, itiff involved the unhappy people ,v 1 1 1 v■ ff ill til" m ivMamrhooil in -til! I; iv-it. r mi-'-ry than before. The raids of tli" EngJ-h were avenged by the Scots, ami ■ r. r- /, and numberl'a-s p. tty en- , ~U i a, r- took place, of which neither history Iff ballad lakes any note. ’jn on of Mellon was mm of the i'aid raider-. In fact, in spite of bititle, he -vis no better titan a common robber, ' 'is deeds were connived at by tie p.iiao-'i Hovernineril, W:uim> he was n-ei'el in cheeking the advance of the Se of wlm.-e inroads into England tie ;e Was a . ou-tanl dread. So the baron was permit!' d to enrich himself as well as he could from the plunder of his neigh bom-. There was, however, a tl oru in the bacon's side, .lack o' the Mill was a man of no account socially speaking. He bad been a plain miller, till his mill had been plundered and bis cattle driven off' hv the baron. H" bad boon molested several times before, but had managed to cam- on his business in spile of it. That last attack, however, convinced him that it was useless to try and continue his peaceable trade wliil.-t such men as the baron were within a short night's ride. Bo be gave tip his grinding and turned his mid into the nearest approach to a fortress that ho could contrive. The situation greatly favoured him. By building a barricade acoross a narrow path which ran along the side of the precipitous ruck bank of the river which fed his mill he was able to render it impregnable on one side. By raising the dam of bis mill-stream he was able to flood marshy ground around him, so that on Hm whole be was well defended, Add to this the approaches to the mill, with the exception of the barricaded path, were through a tangled glen of which scarcely any ono know the secrets. [t was not long before Jack had a following of nearly a score of men who had suffered from the incursions of the English, and were eager for revenge. They made occasional expeditions on their own account as they grew' stronger, and soon became known through the country-side. They made no attempt to attack the large castles and stronghold of the English, but confined themselves to exploits which were not hazardous. Jock's chief desire was to revenge himself on the baron, yet he durst not attack him openly. But every now and then a ,shower of arrows would drop into the castle when least expected, wounding or perhaps killing a man or two, and the baron guessed rightly that Jock was at the bottom of it, though uo trace of any one could he found. More than once the baron's march home had been annoyed and impeded by sadden and rapid attacks, the enemy disappearing almost before they were seen. All this was very annoying to the baron, who was a powerful lord, able to muster a hundred mea-at-arms at need. He determined to rout out Jock and set itis mill oa lire, disposing of him ones for all. 8o with fifty men he marched to the mill one dark night. That was the most disastrous expedition lie had ever made, lie was ignorant of the existence of the barricade, so went steadily forward until it was reached. The hinder riders pressed on those in front; one horse went over the ■precipice, not without noise ; Jock’s sentinels were aware of something going on and hastened to give tilt! alarm. The attacking party soon found boulders rolling down on their heads; the confusion became still worse. By flic time they re- ■ < dtu'.l a pln v of safetv (heir number was reduced by nearly a third.

it nn .m -ily imagined that the! baron did not intend to sit down idle under this ivhnir. He vowed the most tfrriiie iv.rii'.’e. But he was wise enough to sec tint he must he more cautious next time, .loci; was not an enemy to bo despised. !So tlio baron despatched some spies, wiio were to discover th" way down the glen so as to avoid tic path dong the hillside. Bib the spies wore singularly unsuccessful in their search. The fact was that the first had been caught and killed on the spot, and the rest saw that to venture into the glen was certain death, for dock was now always on the alert. But the baron suspecting thatcowardico was at tlio bottom of their reports, gave the last comer, ,a hind named Bierce, a taste of his heavy hand and sent him out again, vowing to hang him if he came back without certain news of the approaches to the mill. It was a week before he returned. The baron had almost given him up. “ Have you succeeded asked his lord imperiously. I have penetrated even to the mill itself. I know every approach,'' replied Bierce, humbly. “ (lood for yon that von do," said the baron, “or your bones would soon be whitening ! Lead the way to-night, and tell the men-at-arms to prepare 7" “ In single file through the glen, but there is open space enough close to the mill.’ “ That will do," said the baron. When night fell the little army sailed forl.li. Bierce rode in front to lead the way, promoted for the time to the dignity of a horse. The baron followed with his company, leaving those on font to make the best of their way in the rear. He knew the ground would soon he so diliicnlt that they would overtake the horsemen. The journey was made without mishap. By four o'clock they wore at the head of the glen. The moon was low on the horizon, but on the east wore some signs of dawn. > They plunged into the dark wood, closely followed at their heels by Bierce. “I don’t quite like this," said the baron, as his steed stumbled dowu the narrow l>dh. ‘ ~ ~T I. “It will ha better soon, said Bierce. It certainly was, and progress became more easy than they had anticipated. But there soon came a check. The horses sank rather deep into the miry ground and the baron halted “ Is there no way round the quag ?” ho a Led. “ We shall sink over our heads in Hiii, by the way it looks." Bierce slipped oil' hi i horse. There is a path if yon will follow ini', ’’ h- replied. He led Ids horse straight on. The baron tried to follow. Then Biere-'s horse began to sing ; he made desperate struggles, but got deeper and. Bi' ive, however, did not stay to help him out, but leaping lightly from boulder to cu.-h-tiift, was quickly out of reach. It was hopeless to trv and follow him. There was a bog on each side of the path, and tie- floundering Imr-e blocked lie.vivaul ie-1 fled to o - Hie nrop, ; .stepping-T-hnva, even hud t he men known them. Tim arehi-v. were in the rear, ignorant, of what hud happened, so that Bur, " in ule, his escape without even risking a senileli. It evid' ill the hii'oii wa> betrayed, tie gave orders for an immediate retreat, lint it was not to lie end.-d without interf, iviu", Bi'oiii all sides there soon came a galling tower of arrows. The horsemen eoiild di nothing amongst the trees, and the footmen and aradens were at a ;enable disadvantage fighting against invisib/,o foes and ignorant of the ground. By the time they emerged from the glen half thoLr number were either killed or -rounded, among tin; latter the baron ' dmnelf. ’ Mocking shouts greeted them ,us they left tie; wood, I’ieree's voice being esp' cial'y distinct. pi,,, ex plan ition of the ambush is cs ay. i'n roe was tired of the baron’s severities,

:ii!l \v 1 1 ■ ■ll he was Ihn-alened with hanging mil' -- .-ui-ci'.sfiil in Ids nronnitre, thought tint lie,' MTiiph si way would bo In turn I t ,iitor at. unco and make his nock safe. He was warmly welcomed by .lock and persuaded to return and lead ihe tyrannical baron into tbe ghm. lb' was made complete master of the intricacies of the bogs, as the event showed, and had the satisfaction of seeing his stratagem suo-ec.,-f„l. Jock's d»siro was accomplished. Ho had not anticipated so easy a victory. Ho knew, however, that the baron most ultimately lie ton strong for him, so ho and his companions left the neighborhood and secretly joined the .Scottish king's army. So that when the baron did at hint penetrate to tlm mill he found no one there on whom to wreak his vengeance. However he burnt the mill to the ground, and tried to persuade himself he had gained a victory.