CHAPTER IV.

THE GORGE OF CLIVIGER.

The sun had already set as Nicholas Assheton
reached Todmorden, then a very small village indeed,
and alighting at a little inn near the church, found the
ale so good, and so many boon companions assembled
to discuss it, that he would fain have tarried with them
for an hour or so ; but prudence, for once, getting the
better of inclination, and suggesting that he had fifteen
or sixteen miles still to ride, over a rough and lonely
road, part of which lay through the gorge of Cliviger,
a long and solitary pass among the English Appenines,
and, moreover, had a large sum of money about him,
he tore himself away by a great effort.

On quitting the smiling valley of Todmorden, and
drawing near the dangerous defile before mentioned,
some misgivings crossed him, and he almost reproached
himself with foolhardiness in venturing within it at such
an hour, and wholly unattended. Several recent cases of
robbery, some of them attended by murder, had occurred
within the pass; and these now occurred so forcibly to

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 171

the squire, that he was half inclined to ride back to
Todmorden, and engage two or three of the topers he
had left at the inn to serve him as an escort as far as
Burnley, but he dismissed the idea almost as soon as
formed, and, casting one look at the green and woody
slopes around him, struck spurs into Robin, and
dashed into the gorge.

On the right towered a precipice, on the bare crest
of which stood a heap of stones piled like a column
— the remains probably, of a cairn. On this com-
manding point Nicholas perceived a female figure, di-
lated to gigantic proportions against the sky, who, as
far as he could distinguish, seemed watching him, and
making signs to him, apparently to go back, but he
paid little regard to them, and soon afterwards lost
sight of her.

Precipitous and almost inaccessible rocks, of every
variety of form and hue ; some springing perpendicu-
larly up like the spire of a church, others running along
in broken ridges, or presenting the appearance of high
embattled walls; here riven into deep gullies, there
opening into wild savage glens, fit spots for robber
ambuscade ; now presenting a fair smooth surface,
now jagged, shattered, shelving, roughened with
brushwood ; sometimes bleached and hoary as in the
case of the pinnacled crag, called the White Kirk ;
sometimes green with moss or gray with lichen ; some-
times, though but rarely, shaded with timber, as in the
approach to the cavern named the Earl's Bower ; but

172 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

generally bold and naked, and sombre in tint as the
colours employed by the savage Rosa. Such were the
distinguishing features of the gorge of Cliviger when
Nicholas traversed it. Now the high embankments
and mighty arches of a railway fill up its recesses, and
span its gullies ; the roar of the engine is heard
where the cry of the bird of prey alone resounded ; and
clouds of steam usurp the place of the mist-wreaths on
its crags.

Formerly, the high cliffs abounded with hawks ; the
rocks echoed with their yells and screeches, and the
spots adjoining their nests resembled in the words of the
historian of the district, Whitaker, " little charnel houses
for the bones of game." Formerly, also, on some inacces-
sible point built the rock-eagle, and reared its brood
from year to year. The gaunt Avolf had once ravaged
the glens, and the sly fox and fierce cat-a-mountain still
harboured within them. Nor were those the only ob-
jects of dread. The superstitious declared the gorge was
haunted by a frightful, hirsute demon, y 'clept Hobthurst.

The general savage character of the ravine was re-
lieved by some spots of exquisite beauty, where the
traveller might have lingered with delight, if apprehen-
sion of assault from robber, or visit from Hobthurst,
had not urged him on. Numberless waterfalls, gush-
ing from fissures in the hills, coursed down their
seamy sides, looking like threads of silver as they
sprang from point to point. One of the most beautiful
of these cascades, issuing from a gully in the rocks

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 173

near the cavern called the Earl's Bower, fell, in rainy-
seasons, in one unbroken sheet of a hundred and fifty
feet. Through the midst of the gorge ran a swift and
brawling stream, known by the appellation of the Cal-
der; but it must not be confounded with the river flow-
ing past Whalley Abbey. The course of this im-
petuous current was not always restrained within its
rocky channel, and when swollen by heavy rains, it
would frequently invade the narrow causeway running
beside it, and spreading over the whole width of the
gorge, render the road almost impassable.

Through this rocky and sombre defile, and by the
side of the brawling Calder, which dashed swiftly past
him, Nicholas took his way. The hawks were yelling
overhead ; the rooks were cawing on the topmost
branches of some tall timber, on which they built ; a
raven was croaking rustily in the wood ; and a pair of
eagles were soaring in the still glowing sky.

By-and-by, the glen contracted, and a wall of steep
rocks on either side hemmed the shuddering traveller
in. Instinctively, he struck spurs into his horse, and
accelerated his pace.

The narrow glen expands, the precipices fall further
back, and the traveller breathes more freely. Still, he
does not relax his speed, for his imagination has been
at work in the gloom, peopling his path with lurking
robbers, or grinning boggarts. He begins to fear he
shall lose his gold, and execrates his folly for incurring
such heedless risk. But it is too late now to turn back.

174 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

It grows rapidly dusk, and objects became less and
distinct, assuming fantastical and fearful forms. A
blasted tree, clinging to a rock, and thrusting a bare
branch across the road, looks to the squire like a bandit ;
and a white owl bursting from a bush scares him as if
it had been Hobthurst himself. However, in spite of
these and other alarms, for which he is indebted to ex-
cited fancy, he hurries on, and is proceeding at a thun-
dering pace, when all at once his horse comes to a stop,
arrested by a tall female figure, resembling that
seen near the mountain cairn at the entrance of the
gorge.

Nicholas's blood ran cold, for though in this case he
could not apprehend plunder, he was fearful of personal
injury, for he believed the woman to be a witch. Mus-
tering up courage, however, he forced Robin to pro-
ceed.

If his progress was meant to be barred, a better spot
for the purpose could not have been selected. A narrow
road, scarcely two feet in width, ran round the ledge of
a tremendous crag jutting so far into the glen that it
almost met the steep barrier of rocks opposite it. Be-
tween these precipitous crags dashed the river in a
foaming cascade, nearly twelve feet in height, and the
steep narrow causeway winding beside it as above de-
scribed was rendered excessively slippery and dangerous
from the constant cloud of spray arising from the fall.

At the highest and narrowest point of the ledge, and
occupying nearly the whole of its space, with an over-

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 175

hanging rock on one side of her and a roaring torrent on
the other, stood the tall woman, determined, apparently,
from her attitude and deportment, to oppose the
squire's further progress. As Nicholas advanced, he
became convinced it was the same person he had seen
near the cairn, but when her features grew distin-
guishable, he found to his surprise, that it was Nance
Redferne.

11 Halloa ! Nance," he cried. " What are you doing
here lass, eh ?"

" Cum to warn ye, squoire," she replied ; " yo
once did me a sarvice, an ey hanna forgetten it. That's
why I watched ye fro' the cairn cliffs, an motioned
ye to ge back. Boh ye didna onderstand my signs, or
wouldna heed Jem, so ey be cum'd here to stay ye.
Yo're i7 dawnger, ey tell ye."

" In danger of what, my good woman ?" demanded
the squire, uneasily.

" O' bein' robbed, and plundered o' your gowd," re-
plied Nance; "there are five men waitin' to set upon
ye a mile further on, at the Bowder Stoans."

" Indeed !" exclaimed Nicholas; " they will get little
for their pains. I have no money about me."

" Dunna think to deceive me, squoire," rejoined
Nance; "ey knoa yo ha borrowed three hundert
punds i' gowd fro"' yung Ruchot Assheton ; an os
surely os ye ha it aw under your jerkin, so surely win
yo lose it, if yo dunna turn back, or ge on without me
keepin' ye company."

176 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

" I have no objection on earth to your company,
Nance/' replied the squire; " quite the contrary. But
how the devil should these rascals expect me ! And,
above all, how should they conjecture I should come
so well provided ! For, sooth to say, such is not ordi-
narily the case with me."

" Ey knoa it weel, squoire," replied Nance, with a
laugh ; " boh they ha received sartin information o'
your movements.

" There is only one person who could give them
such information," cried Nicholas; " but I cannot, will
not suspect him."

" If yo're thinkin' o' Lawrence Fogg, yo're na far
wide o' th' mark, squoire," replied Nance.

"What! Fogg leagued with robbers — impossible!"
exclaimed Nicholas.

" Neaw, it's nah so unpossible os aw that," returned
Nance; " yo 'n stare when ey tell yo he has robbed yo
mony a time without your being aware on it. Yo
were on wise enough to send him round to your friends to
borrow money for yo."

" True, so I was. But, luckily, no one would lend
me any," said Nicholas.

" There yo're wrong, squoire, fo' unluckily, they aw
did," replied Nance, with a scarcely-suppressed laugh.
" Roger Nowell gied him one hundred ; Tummus
Whitaker, of Holme, another ; Ruchot Parker, o'
Browsholme, another. An more i' th' same way."

"And the rascal pocketed it all, and never brought

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 177

me back one farthing," cried Nicholas, in a transport of
rage. " I'll have him hanged — pshaw! hanging's too
good for him. To deceive me, his friend, his bene-
factor, his patron, in such a manner. To dwell in my
house, eat at my table, drink my wine, wear my habili-
ments, ride my horses, hunt with my hounds. Has the
dog no conscience ?"

" Varry little, ey'm afear'd," replied Nance.

" And the worst of it is," continued the squire, new
lights breaking upon him, " I shall be liable for all the
sums he has received. He was my confidential agent,
and the lenders will come upon me. It must be six or
seven hundred pounds that he has obtained in this ne-
farious way. Zounds ! I shall go mad."

" Yo wur to blame fo' trustin him, squoire," rejoined
Nance. " Yo ought to ha' made proper inquiries about
him at first, an then yo'd ha' found out what sort o'
chap he wur. Boh now ey'n tell ye. Lawrence Fogg
is chief o' a band o' robbers, an aw the black an vil-
lanous deeds done of late i' this place ha' been parpe-
trated by his men. A poor gentleman wur murdert
by 'em i' this varry spot th' week efore last, an his
body cast into t* river. Fogg, of course, had no hont
in the fow deed, boh he would na ha interfered to pre-
vent it if he had bin here, fo' he never scrupled shedding
blood. An if he had bin content wi' robbin' yo, squoire,
ey wadna ha betrayed him, boh when he proposed to cut
your throttle, bekose, os he said, dead men tell neaw

VOL. III. N

178 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

teles, ey could howd out nah longer, an resolved to gi'
yo warnin."

" What a monstrous and unheard-of villain !" cried
the squire. " But is he one of the ambuscade ?"

Nance replied in the affirmative.

"Then, by heaven! I will confront him — I will
hew him down," pursued Nicholas, griping the hilt of
his sword.

" Neaw use ey tell ye — yo'n be overpowert an kilt,"
said Nance. " Tak me wi' yo, an ey'n carry yo safely
through em aw ; boh ge alone, or yo'n ne'er see Down-
ham again. An now it's reet ey should tell ye who
Lawrence Fogg really is."

" What new wonder is in store for me ?" cried
Nicholas. "Who is he?"

" Maybe yo ha heerd tell that Mother Demdike had
a son and a dowter," replied Nance; "the dowter
bein5, of course, Elizabeth Device ; and the son,
Christopher Demdike, being supposed to be dead.
Howsomever, this is not the case, for Lawrence Fogg
is he."

" I guessed as much when you began," cried Nicho-
las. " He has a cursedly bad look about the eyes — a
damned Demdike physiognomy. What an infernal
villain the fellow must be ! — without a jot of na-
tural feeling. Why he has this very day assisted at
his nephew's capture, and caused his own sister to be
arrested. Oh I have been properly duped ! To lodge

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 179

a son of that infernal hag in my house — feed him,
clothe him, make him my friend — take him, the viper !
to my bosom ! I have been rightly served. But he
shall hang! — he shall hang. That is some conso-
lation, though slight. But how do you know all this,
Nance ?"

*■ Dunna ax me," she replied. M Whatever ey ha'
been to Christopher Demdike, ey bear him neaw love
now ; fo', os 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."

66 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 be to betray the poor lady."

" If yo'n trust me ey'n help yo through the diffi-
culty," 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 bur-
N 2

180 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

then, but clashed 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, heed-
less 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

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 181

was beside the squire, and presented a petronel at his
head. Notwithstanding the edoom Nicholas recognised
him.

M Ah ! it is thou, accursed traitor," cried Nicholas.

" I could scarcely believe in thy villany, but now
I am convinced."

M 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 excla-
mation 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 butt-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 orf.
For a few minutes he could hear the shouts of the men,
but they soon afterwards died away.

182 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

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 hin-
drance 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

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 183

moment, and then declaring 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 circum-
stance seemed to give great satisfaction to Demdike
who loudly declared that they were now sure of over-
taking the runaways.

" They cannot be far off," 4ie 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 fol-
lowed 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
doughs, in which case it will be useless to search for

184 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

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 hand?, 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 ene-
mies— but no matter, I shall have my revenge."

The men having promised compliance with their cap-
tain'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

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 185

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 — start-

186 THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES.

ling the eagle from his eyrie — 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.

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES. 187