The Highway Men of Bumbletoad Way

The heavy wooden coach lumbered over the rutted and pocked path known as Bumbletoad Way. Bumbletoad Way served as the road between London and Castleway to the south. Along the way it wound through the lea and forest of Castleway Heath.

The driver clucked to the horses and slapped the reins on their wide backs to urge them into a trot. He did not like this section of the trip because of the dangers many travelers had encountered in Castleway Heath. His aim was to speed their journey through the thick trees that they might avoid meeting that scourge of the roadways, the highwayman.

His good intentions were short-lived. When one coach wheel rolled into a deep hole, severely jostling the occupants, and then lurched fearfully as the team pulled the wheel back onto the road surface, the owner of the coach, Lord Sutton, shouted at the coachman to slow their pace lest they all be killed.

The coachman did as ordered, but kept a wary eye on both sides of the rough dirt path. Though he was loyal to his employer, his greater loyalty lay with his own wellbeing and that of his family. He had heard the tales of coachmen who refused to stop or worse, attempted to drive their team directly at the robber. All had been shot or run through with a saber, and most had died of those injuries.

The coachman had a wife and two children in London. Were he to resist in some way, it was likely he would be killed or severely injured and the highwayman would then still rob the passengers of whatever coin and jewelry they carried.

Such was the wealth of Lord Sutton, a loss such as this would cause him little pain. His life and the life of his family would continue to be one of ease and splendor. He would, though, begrudge even a smaller amount as compensation to the coachman's family should he be killed. They would be left to fend as they could.

The coachman had decided that, were a highwayman to suddenly ride into the road to stop the coach, he would immediately comply. His employer and family would be relieved of their valuables, but he would remain healthy and strong. Doing so could possibly end his employment, but he would remain well and able to seek another employer and continue to support his family.

In the coachman's concentration upon the near, he failed to notice the far. On a hill overlooking the road, a figure dressed all in black and wearing a black mask sat astride a black stallion of magnificent proportions. The figure stroked the arched neck of the stallion.

"Alcazar, my friend, fortune smiles upon us at this very moment. 'Tis the coach of none other than Lord Sutton. Likely he is traveling to visit his manor south of Castleway, and if so, will be accompanied by his wife and two young children. Lord Sutton will surely have ample coin upon his person, and Lady Sutton is known for her love of fine jewelry. A gentleman and his lady should not be burdened by such a great weight. Pray, let us pay a visit and relieve them of that burden."

So saying, the figure urged the stallion to a lope, and descended into the trees at a point where Bumbletoad Way rounded a huge oak.

The coachman lost sight of the road when it turned to the right to avoid the large tree which blocked a straighter path, and only heard the snort of a horse some way ahead. A chill ran down the coachman's back, though he did not yet halt the team. If fortune was with him, it would only be another traveler, perhaps another wealthy man going to London in his carriage. That chill turned into the icy feeling of fear when the coach rounded the bend. There, standing in the center of the road was a black horse and upon that horse sat the highwayman he had feared to meet. The highwayman lifted two pistols, pointed them at the coachman, and ordered, "Stop your coach and dismount".

The coachman halted the team and after looping the reins over the brake lever, rose from his seat and then climbed down. As his right foot touched the ground, the coach door opened and a man descended down the single step. Upon spying the figure in black, the man cursed.

"Who is this damnable scobberlotcher who dares to stop my coach?"

The lips beneath the black mask smiled.

"Tis no scobberlotcher who meets you today, Lord Sutton. I am very employed in the relief of travelers from the weight of their coin and finery. "Tis a quite difficult and trying employment this, perhaps an even more difficult task than sitting upon one's arse and counting coin all day. It undoubtedly requires a more significant effort as evidenced by that tallow ketch that pushes your trousers down under the bulge. Alas, I have not the same with which to demonstrate my riches for I have nought save what travelers so graciously donate to ease my plight."

Lord Sutton smiled a cruel smile.

"By God, you are but a boy. I will not be robbed by a mere rantallion. Go back to your mother's teats, boy, until your beardsplitter grows longer than your sack."

The smile behind the mask became a firm line.

"Do not underestimate me, Lord Sutton, lest a ball from my pistol pierce your breast. You may believe my young age to diminish my ability, but be assured, you shall regret such an error. It shall be your money, or it shall be your life. Remove your purse and throw it to the ground unless you desire Lady Sutton to dress in black for her remaining days in this world."

Lord Sutton blustered and cursed, "You son of a whore. I'll have you hunted down like the vermin you are and see you hang from the gallows at Sutton Common", but he removed the leather pouch on his belt and dropped it at his feet.

The face behind the mask then chuckled.

"Well and good, Lord Sutton. I would now ask your fair lady to step from the coach. I would see if she might perhaps have a bauble or two to add to your purse."

Lady Sutton opened the coach door and after gathering her skirts and underskirts, stepped carefully on the single step between the coach and the ground. Lord Sutton offered his hand, she took it, and then alit with somewhat of a jar. She straightened her skirts, then looked in fear at the highwayman.

"Sir, I beg you to allow me to keep my necklace and the rings upon my fingers. The necklace belonged to my late mother, and the rings were especial gifts from my father, may he rest in peace."

The highwayman laughed.

"Lady Sutton, you know perfectly well your mother is far from sleeping in an eternal bed. She resides in her house in London with your father, who is also still very much alive, though he has an unusual condition caused by his love of gin. He spends his afternoons and evenings tipping the cup until he has rendered himself into a stupor and falls to the floor in his library and his manservant is obliged to assist him to his bedchamber. He wakes only when the pain in his head requires another cup or two to relieve the ache.

"As a result, his rooster no longer crows and your poor mother was forced to hire herself a manservant. He is a young man who is said to be very adept at the game of rumpy-dumpy, and I am told your mother rarely wears any other expression than a broad smile.

"It could be that your baubles were given to you by your parents, but I rather suspect them to have been a gift from your husband in exchange for his wife allowing him the pleasure of being entertained by one of your housekeepers, a Miss Penny Jones, I believe is her name.

"In any event, I would still have them as a memory of our meeting today. Now, remove them and place them in your husband's purse, lest I give your husband a good and proper excuse to take a new, younger wife. Perhaps he would not need the attentions of your housekeeper then."

Lady Sutton trembled as she removed her necklace and rings, and then put them in Lord Sutton's leather purse.

"Ah, you show excellent judgement, Lady Sutton. Now, bid one of your children to bring me that purse."

"Oh please, no. Do not harm my children", cried Lady Sutton.

The highwayman smiled.

"Lady Sutton, I am a knight of the roadway, not some evil demon who delights in causing grief to children. Your children will not be harmed, though if you do not do as I wish, I might see fit to render Lord Sutton incapable of siring another. Perhaps your mother's manservant would take his place, though I fear your mother keeps him in such a state of fatigue you would find him unable to prick the pear, as it were. Now, be quick about it."

After the small boy had carried the purse to the highwayman, the highwayman bade them good day, wheeled the stallion, and galloped off through the trees.

Lord Sutton was beside himself with anger, and berated the coachman for yielding to the highwayman's demand.

"Have you not the least trace of manhood left in you? You should have run the bastard down with your team and trampled his arse into the dust."

The coachman lifted his head.

"Lord Sutton, I sought only to protect you and your family. Only last week, another gentleman was pierced through the heart by a highwayman's ball because his coachman attempted such. The coachman whipped his team and charged at the lone rider, but the rider only rode to the side and then fired his pistol into the coach. The gentleman died on the spot, and he and his wife were still robbed of all they carried. Surely, you would not wish I had caused you and your family the same fate."

Lord Sutton shook his head.

"I too heard this tale, though I did not believe it up until now. Up on your perch, coachman, and continue our journey. What I have lost can be replaced, though it irks me greatly that such a thing has become common."

Lady Sutton was disturbed by losing her necklace and rings, but more upset by how much the highwayman appeared to know about them and her family.

"How would such an uncouth person know our names and be privy to such information? Few save you and I know of Father's affliction and Mother's arrangement with her manservant, and those who are would never breathe a word of it. That I allow you to see Penny is known only to you, I, my mother, and Penny."

Lord Sutton shook his head.

"I know not how the rascal obtained the information about your mother and father. I would suppose one of the servants has witnessed Penny coming to my library and as you know, servants' tongues wag at the slightest thing. I will speak to Penny, though I do not see how the rogue could possibly know any of our servants. It is enough that he did, and for that and his crime today, he shall pay the dearest price."

The coach trundled along for another two miles. The coachman congratulated himself on avoiding a sudden demise, and smiled at the confidence of the highwayman. He was indeed just a boy, for while his voice had not the high pitch of a child it had not yet matured to the lower tones of a man. A boy with such pluck would no doubt become a strong and powerful man were it not his ultimate fate to be that of swinging from the beam of a gallows. Lord Sutton would see to that.

The coach was rounding another bend and nearing the end of Greenway Heath when the coachman was shaken from his thoughts by another masked and mounted highwayman in the middle of the roadway.

The highway man shouted, "Stand and deliver", then aimed his pistol at the coachman.

The coachman immediately halted his team, then held up his hands.

"You'll get naught from this coach, you bastard, for you are the second of the day, and the first relieved us of all we possessed."

The highwayman smiled.

"An interesting tale, but a tale which I find difficult to believe. You, in the coach, take to the ground lest I send in a ball to urge you on."

When Lord and Lady Sutton stood beside the coach, the highwayman threw a leather sack at their feet and bade them place their valuables inside. Lord Sutton laughed.

"We have nothing left to place in your sack, for as my coachman said, another of your ilk has already taken his pleasure with us in that respect. Be gone with you and good riddance."

The highwayman again smiled.

"I know of no other save myself who collects tolls on this road. You must therefore be lying. Sir, I would have you remove your coat and blouse and drop your trousers to reveal the secreting place of your purse. I would have your lady remove her skirts and dress as well. Women are known to conceal their valuables in their undergarments, and I shall take great delight in seeing where she has hidden hers. Do as I say, or this place shall drink of your lifeblood."

Lord Sutton cursed under his breath. Were it not sufficient anguish to be accosted once and then again on the same journey, now the highwayman had ordered them to disrobe in full view of the coachman and their children.

"Sir, if we must disrobe, spare our children the shock of seeing my wife and I in that state. They are mere babes of six and four, and such a sight will mar them for life. I would have the coachman also turn away as well. 'Tis not proper that a servant, save a personal manservant or womanservant, should see his employer in a state of undress."

The highwayman chuckled.

"I shall not ask your children to view your fat belly and the stick and stones that dangle between your legs, nor shall I ask them to watch as your lady's bubbies bounce when she bares her love nest. Your children shall remain in the coach.

As for the coachman, what say you, coachman? Would you see your employer's cock and tiddles, or would his lady's bubbies and furry cunt capture your interest more?"

The coachman shook his head.

"Nay, Sir. I have no interest in either."

"Then turn your head lest the sight shock you. Now, let us proceed with the undressing. I must be on my way shortly."

}{

As the highwayman rode over the lea and then into the trees, he was both confused and angry. The man and woman in the coach had disrobed and in doing so had proven their prior denial of any valuables. It was not possible anyone traveling in such a fine coach would have nothing of value, therefore, their tale of being robbed by another must be true.

Who was this interloper into the realm from which he earned his income? He would know this intruder's name and know it quickly, for such could not continue. As the second son of Lord Dunwoody of Strathmore, he had received no inheritance upon the Lord's death. His brother, Winston, believed the stipend he gave to Harrison to be sufficient given that Harrison lived at the manor and took his meals with Winston's family. The stipend did furnish Harrison's daily needs, but left nothing for the future.

Harrison did not enjoy his life of ease without purpose, and longed to leave the manor for a residence of his own, but the small amount of the stipend would not allow him to do so. Harrison was not seeking a grand house in London as well as a manor in the country. He had never been one to enjoy the lavish dinners and parties that his father and now Winston hosted almost monthly. He had no desire to join the others who basked in their wealth and position in society.

Harrison had always been a lover of the fields and forest, and had often dreamed of a simpler life, a life outside the pompous and posh into which he was born. He wished a life filled with challenge but rewards for meeting those challenges, a life with a wife and children, a life in which he was master to none save himself and beholden only to his family and friends.

While Winston had eagerly absorbed the teachings of the volumes in their father's library, Harrison had just as eagerly absorbed the knowledge of the woodcutters, huntsmen, and gamekeeper who lived on the estate. Winston spent his day in the management of the family business in London and in the management of the estate. Harrison spent his days hunting, fishing, or just taking a ride through the leas and forest. He had turned to the occupation of highwayman in order to accumulate sufficient wealth to pursue his dream of striking out on his own. Now, an upstart was robbing him of the ability to do so.

Harrison knew that just as was his practice, another highwayman would likely confine his raids of the roadway to a small area. This was because it would not do to be observed riding into his residence dressed all in black and with a purse of coin or a sack of gold and silver jewelry. A highwayman required a cache in which to secret the means and the results of his efforts. The coinage would remain there to be spent as needed. The jewelry would await a journey to London and the merchants there who paid well and asked no questions.

Such a hiding place would have to be somewhat near the point of the raid, for though a man on horseback could travel across country much faster than a coach or a man on foot, a horse could run only for a limited distance before requiring a rest.

Lord Sutton's coachman had identified the location of the prior robbery. Harrison would watch that place over the coming days and upon seeing the interloper, follow him to his cache and then take his loot and drive him from that area of the country.

That evening, as was his custom, Harrison rode a bay mare named Bess the four miles from the manor to the small inn with the name of "Boar's Head Inn". His excuse was the fine ale brewed by the innkeeper. His reason was to determine if any coaches or carriages would be traveling through Greenway Heath on the morrow.

The wealthy travelers, the travelers who would yield much in return for the effort of separating them from some of their riches, would send a servant ahead that the innkeeper might be prepared for their arrival. The wealthy had their preferences, be it a chicken stew instead of the usual pease porridge or the availability of a bed for the comfort of a lady. The servant would relay these requests to the innkeeper and then proceed to the next stopping point, be that an inn in Castleway or the ultimate destination, the manor or country house of the man and his family. Some friendly conversation with the innkeeper would usually reveal that information to Harrison.

It was this information that allowed Harrison to surprise an unsuspecting coach or carriage and make off with their valuables. It was also this information that would allow Harrison to observe and then follow the rogue highwayman. To his chagrin, he learned that no servants had called at the inn that day.

Only on his third evening visit to the Boar's Head Inn did he learn of a coach traveling Bumbletoad Way the next day. A manservant had informed the innkeeper that Lord Kent and his new wife would be traveling the road and would stop at the inn for noon victuals. The innkeeper was to prepare a fine stew of lamb with potatoes and carrots and have it bubbling in the pot by noon. The Lady Kent would also require a room with a basin of water and cloths that she might refresh herself.

The following afternoon Harrison rode the same mare to what appeared to be a decrepit stone farmhouse at the edge of the manor grounds nearest Bumbletoad Way. Half an hour later, he was dressed in black, sitting on his hill and holding the reins of Zandar, the tall and fast bay gelding he used in his adventures on the roadway. Zandar had been bred for racing, and had proven himself to be surefooted and fast. The horse had cost Harrison a pretty penny, but he needed such a horse to make his exit from the site of his escapades, and would also need such a horse to follow the other highwayman.

From just after noon until the sun began to stretch the shadows of the trees upon the ground, Harrison watched the area before seeing a coach enter an opening in the trees about a mile away. It rumbled and rocked over the road at a cautious pace and would arrive at the other highwayman's apparent favorite spot in less than an hour.

Harrison scanned the surrounding area for another few minutes before seeing a figure dressed in black and mounted upon a black horse as large and tall as Zandar. The horseman rode to the top of a low hill, then looked to another opening in the trees that lined Bumbletoad Way.