But the doors were tremendously strong and were backed with plates of iron.
The defenders were not idle; all had their allotted places at the windows, and from these a steady return was kept up in answer to the scattering fire without. Ned had caught up the gun which Mr. Cartwright had laid down when he ran to the bell-rope, and with it he kept up a steady fire at the dark figures below. There was a shout of " Bring up Enoch!"
This was a name given to the exceedingly heavy hammers at that time used in the Yorkshire smithies. They were manufactured by the firm of Enoch & James Taylor of Marsden, and were popularly known among the men by the name of their maker. A powerful smith now advanced with one of these heavy weapons and began to pound at the door, which, heavy as it was, shook under his blows. Ned, regardless of the fire of the Luddites, leaned far out of the window so as to be able to aim down at the group round the door, and fired.
The gun was loaded with a heavy charge of buckshot. He heard a hoarse shout of pain and rage, and the hammer dropped to the ground. Another man caught up the hammer and the thundering din recommenced. Mr. Cartwright had now joined Ned, leaving his workman to continue to pull the bell-rope.
"You had better come down, Sankey. The door must give way ere long; we must make a stand there. If they once break in, it will soon be all up with us."
Calling together three or four of the soldiers the manu-
in the mill at the failure of the attack. The defenders gathered in the lower floor.
" I think they are all gone now," Ned said. " Shall we go out, Mr. Cartwright, and see what we can do for the wounded ? There are several of them lying round the door and near the windows, I can hear them groaning."
" No, Ned," Mr. Cartwright said firmly, " they must wait a little longer. The others may still be hiding close ready to make a rush if we come out; besides, it would likely enough be said of us that we went out and killed the wounded; we must wait a while," Presently a voice was heard shouting without:
"Are you all right, Cartwright?"
" Yes," the manufacturer replied. " Who are you ?"
The questioner proved to be a friend who lived the other side of Liversedge, and who had been aroused by the ringing of the alarm-bell. He had not ventured to approach until the firing had ceased, and had then come on to see the issue. Hearing that the rioters had all departed, Mr. Cartwright ordered the door to be opened. The wounded Luddites were lifted and carried into the mill, and Mr. Cartwright sent at once for the nearest surgeon, who was speedily upon the spot.
Long before he arrived the hussars had ridden up, and had been despatched over the country in search of the rioters, of whom, save the dead and wounded, no signs were visible. As day dawned the destruction which had been wrought was clearly visible. The doors were in splinters, the lower window-frames were all smashed in, scarce a pane of glass remained in its place throughout the whole building, the stonework was dotted and splashed with bullet marks, the angles of the windows were chipped and broken, there were dark patches of blood in many places in the court-yard, and the yard itself, and the roads leading from the mill were strewn with guns, picks, levers, hammers, and pikes, which had been thrown away by the discomfited rioters in their retreat.
" They have had a lesson for once," Mr. Cartwright said as he looked round, " they won't attack my mill again in a hurry. I need not say, Sankey, how deeply I am obliged to you for your timely warning. How did you get to know of it?"
Ned related the story of his being awakened by Mary Powlett. He added, " I don't think, after all, my warning was of much use to you. You could have kept them out anyhow."
" I don't think so," Mr. Cartwrioht said. " I imagine that your arrival upset all their plans; they were so close behind you that they must have heard the knocking and the door open and close. The appearance of lights in the mill and the barking of the dog would, at anyrate, have told them that we were on the alert, and seeing that they ran on and opened fire. I have no doubt that their plan was to have stolen quietly up to the windows and commenced an attack upon these in several places, and had they done this they would probably have forced an entrance before we could have got together to resist them. No, my lad, you and that girl have saved the mill between you."
" You will not mention, Mr. Cartwright, to anyone how I learned the news. The girl's life would not be safe were it known that she brought me word of the intention of the Luddites."
" You may rely on me for that; and now, if you please, we will go off home at once and get some breakfast. Amy may have heard of the attack and will be in a rare fright until she gets news of me."
Mr. Cartwright's house was about a mile from the mill. When they arrived there it was still closed and quiet, and it was evident that no alarm had been excited. Mr. Cart-wright's knocking- soon roused the servants, and a few minutes later Amy hurried down.
"What is it, papa? What brings you back so early? it is only seven o'clock now. How do you do, Mr. Sankey ? Why, papa, how dirty and black you both look! What have you been doing? And, oh, papa! you have got blood on your hands!"
" It is not my own, my dear, and you need not be frightened. The attack on the mill has come at last, and we have given the Luddites a handsome thrashing. The danger is all over now, for I do not think the mill is ever likely to be attacked again. But I will tell you all about it presently; run and get breakfast ready as soon as you can, for we are as hungry as hunters, I can tell you. We will go and have a wash, and will be ready in ten minutes."
" We can't be ready in ten minutes, papa, for the fires are not lighted yet, but we will be as quick as we can;
and do please make haste and come and tell me all about this dreadful business."
In half an hour the party were seated at breakfast. Amy had already been told the incidents of the fight, and trembled as she heard how nearly the rioters had burst their way into the mill, and was deeply grateful to Ned for the timely warning which had frustrated the plans of the rioters.
In vain did the soldiers scour the country. The Luddites on their retreat had scattered to their villages, the main body returning to Huddersfield and appearing at their work as usual in the morning.
Large rewards were offered for information which would lead to the apprehension of any concerned in the attack, but these, as well as the notices offering two thousand pounds for the apprehension of the murderers of Mr. Horsfall, met with no responses. Scores of men must have known who were concerned in these affairs, but either fidelity to the cause or fear of the consequences of treachery kept them silent.
Mr. Cartwright was anxious to offer a handsome reward to Mary Powlett for the service she had rendered him, but Ned told him that he was sure she would not accept anything. Mr. Cartwright, however, insisting on the point, Ned saw Mary and sounded her upon the subject. She was indignant at the idea.
" No, Master Ned," she said, " I would not take money, not ever so. I came down to tell you because I thought it wicked and wrong of the men to destroy the mill, and
because they would no doubt have murdered Mr. Cart-wright and the people there; but I would not take money for doing it. Even if nobody ever got to know of it, it would always seem to me as if I had sold the hands, and they have suffered enough, God knows."
" I don't think Mr. Cartwright thought of offering you money. I told him that I was sure that you wouldn't take it, but he hoped that he might be able to do something for you in some other way."