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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/20791-8.txt b/20791-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ab0640 --- /dev/null +++ b/20791-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10153 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of For Love of Country, by Cyrus Townsend Brady + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: For Love of Country + A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution + +Author: Cyrus Townsend Brady + +Release Date: March 10, 2007 [EBook #20791] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +For Love of Country + + +_A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution_ + + +BY + +CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY + + + + +AUTHOR OF "THE GRIP OF HONOR," "FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE SEA," ETC. + + + + +NEW YORK + +CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + +1908 + + + + +Copyright, 1898, + +BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + + +_All rights reserved._ + + + + +TO THE + +Society of the Sons of the Revolution, + + + _And those kindred organizations whose chief function is to + cultivate a spirit of patriotism and love of country + in the present by recalling the struggles and + sacrifices of the past._ + + + + +PREFACE + +Since the action of this story falls during the periods, and the book +deals with personages and incidents, which are usually treated of in +the more serious pages of history, it is proper that some brief word of +explanation should be written by which I might confirm some of the +romantic happenings hereafter related, which to the casual reader may +appear to draw too heavily upon his credulity for acceptance. + +The action between the Randolph and the Yarmouth really happened, the +smaller ship did engage the greater for the indicated purpose, much as +I have told it; and if I have ventured to substitute another name for +that of the gallant sailor and daring hero, Captain Nicholas Biddle, +who commanded the little Randolph, and lost his life, on that occasion, +I trust this paragraph may be considered as making ample amends. The +remarkable fight between those two ships is worthy of more extended +notice than has hitherto been given it, in any but the larger tones +(and not even in some of those) of the time. As far as my information +permits me to say, there never was a more heroic battle on the seas. + +Again, it is evident to students of history that the character of +Washington has not been properly understood hitherto, by the very +people who revere his name, though the excellent books of Messrs. Ford, +Wilson, Lodge, Fiske, and others are doing much to destroy the popular +canonization which made of the man a saint; in defence of my +characterization of him I am able to say that the incidents and +anecdotes and most of the conversations in which he appears are +absolutely historical. + +If I have dwelt too long and too circumstantially upon the Trenton and +Princeton campaigns for a book so light in character as is this one, it +may be set down to an ardent admiration for Washington as man and +soldier, and a design again to exhibit him as he was at one of the most +critical and brilliant points of his career. Furthermore, I find that +the school and other histories commonly accessible to ordinary people +are not sufficiently awake to the importance and brilliancy of the +campaign, and I cherish the hope that this book may serve, in some +measure, to establish its value. + +I have freely used all the histories and narratives to which I had +access, without hesitation; and if I have anticipated a distinguished +arrival, or hastened the departure of a ship, or altered the date of a +naval battle, or changed its scene, I plead the example of the +distinguished masters of fiction, to warrant me. + +In closing I cannot refrain from thanking those who have so kindly +assisted me with advice and correction during the writing of this story +and the reading of the proof, especially the Rev. A. J. P. McClure. + +C. T. B. + +PHILADELPHIA, PENNA., + _November_, 1897. + + + + +Contents + + +Book I + +THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT + +CHAPTER + + I KATHARINE YIELDS HER INDEPENDENCE + II THE COUNTRY FIRST OF ALL + III COLONEL WILTON + IV LORD DUNMORE'S MEN PAY AN EVENING CALL + V A TIMELY INTERFERENCE + VI A FAITHFUL SUBJECT OF HIS MAJESTY + VII THE LOYAL TALBOTS + VIII AN UNTOLD STORY + IX BENTLEY'S PRAYER + X A SOLDIER'S EPITAPH + + +Book II + +KNIGHTS ERRANT OF THE SEA + + XI CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL JONES + XII AN IMPORTANT COMMISSION + XIII A CLEVER STRATAGEM + XIV A SURPRISE FOR THE JUNO + XV CHASED BY A FRIGATE + XVI 'TWIXT LOVE AND DUTY + XVII AN INCIDENTAL PASSAGE AT ARMS + XVIII DUTY WINS THE GAME + + +Book III + +THE LION AT BAY + + XIX THE PORT OF PHILADELPHIA + XX A WINTER CAMP + XXI THE BOATSWAIN TELLS THE STORY + XXII WASHINGTON--A MAN WITH HUMAN PASSIONS + XXIII LIEUTENANT MARTIN'S LESSON + XXIV CROSSING THE DELAWARE + XXV TRENTON--THE LION STRIKES + XXVI MY LORD CORNWALLIS + XXVII THE LION TURNS FOX + XXVIII THE BRITISH PLAY "TAPS" + XXIX THE LAST OF THE TALBOTS + + +Book IV + +A DEATH GRAPPLE ON THE DEEP + + XXX A SAILOR'S OPINION OF THE LAND + XXXI SEYMOUR'S DESPERATE RESOLUTION + XXXII THE PRISONERS ON THE YARMOUTH + XXXIII TWO PROPOSALS + XXXIV CAPTAIN VINCENT MYSTIFIED + XXXV BENTLEY SAYS GOOD-BY + XXXVI THE LAST OF THE RANDOLPH + XXXVII FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY + XXXVIII PHILIP DISOBEYS ORDERS + XXXIX THREE PICTURES OF THE SEA. + + + +Book V + +THE DEAD ALIVE AGAIN + + XL A FINAL APPEAL + XLI INTO THE HAVEN AT LAST + + + + +BOOK I + +THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT + + +For Love of Country + +CHAPTER I + +_Katharine Yields her Independence_ + +If Seymour could have voiced his thought, he would have said that the +earth itself did not afford a fairer picture than that which lay within +the level radius of his vision, and which had imprinted itself so +powerfully upon his impressionable and youthful heart. It was not the +scenery of Virginia either, the landscape on the Potomac, of which he +would have spoken so enthusiastically, though even that were a thing +not to be disdained by such a lover of the beautiful as Seymour had +shown himself to be,--the dry brown hills rising in swelling slopes +from the edge of the wide quiet river; the bare and leafless trees upon +their crests, now scarce veiling the comfortable old white house, which +in the summer they quite concealed beneath their masses of foliage; and +all the world lying dreamy and calm and still, in the motionless haze +of one of those rare seasons in November which so suggests departed +days that men name it summer again. For all that he then saw in nature +was but a setting for a woman; even the sun itself, low in the west, +robbed of its glory, and faded into a dull red ball seeking to hide its +head, but served to throw into high relief the noble and beautiful face +of the girl upon whom he gazed,--the girl who was sun and life and +light and world for him. + +The most confirmed misogynist would have found it difficult to +challenge her claim to beauty; and yet it would require a more severe +critic or a sterner analyst than a lover would be likely to prove, to +say in just what point could be found that which would justify the +claim. Was it in the mass of light wavy brown hair, springing from a +low point on her forehead and gently rippling back, which she wore +plaited and tied with a ribbon and destitute of powder? How sweetly +simple it looked to him after the bepowdered and betowered misses of +the town with whom he was most acquainted! Was it in the broad low +brow, or the brown, almost black eyes which laughed beneath it; or the +very fair complexion, which seemed to him a strangely delightful and +unusual combination? Or was it in the perfection of a faultless, if +somewhat slender and still undeveloped figure, half concealed by the +vivid "Cardinal" cloak she wore, which one little hand held loosely +together about her, while the other dabbled in the water by her side? + +Be this as it may, the whole impression she produced was one which +charmed and fascinated to the last degree, and Mistress Katharine +Wilton's sway among the young men of the colony was-well-nigh +undisputed. A toast and a belle in half Virginia, Seymour was not the +first, nor was he destined to be the last, of her adorers. + +The strong, steady, practised stroke, denoting the accomplished +oarsman, with which he had urged the little boat through the water, had +given way to an idle and purposeless drift. He longed to cast himself +down before the little feet, in their smart high-heeled buckled shoes +and clocked stockings, which peeped out at him from under her +embroidered camlet petticoat in such a maliciously coquettish manner; +he longed to kneel down there in the skiff, at the imminent risk of +spoiling his own gay attire, and declare the passion which consumed +him; but something--he did not know what it was, and she did not tell +him--constrained him, and he sat still, and felt himself as far away as +if she had been in the stars. + +In his way he was quite as good to look at as the young maiden; tall, +blond, stalwart, blue-eyed, pleasant-featured, with the frank engaging +air which seems to belong to those who go down to the sea in ships, +Lieutenant John Seymour Seymour was an excellent specimen of that +hardy, daring, gallant class of men who in this war and in the next +were to shed such imperishable lustre upon American arms by their +exploits in the naval service. Born of an old and distinguished +Philadelphia family, so proud of its name that in his instance they had +doubled it, the usual bluntness and roughness of the sea were tempered +by this gentle birth and breeding, and by frequent attrition with men +and women of the politest society of the largest and most important +city of the colonies. Offering his services as soon as the news of +Lexington precipitated the conflict with the mother country, he had +already made his name known among that gallant band of seamen among +whom Jones, Biddle, Dale, and Conyngham were pre-eminent. + +The delicious silence which he had been unwilling to break, since it +permitted him to gaze undisturbed upon his fair shipmate, was +terminated at last by that lady herself. + +She looked up from the water with which she had been playing, and then +appearing to notice for the first time his steady ardent gaze, she +laughed lightly and said,-- + +"Well, sir, it grows late. When you have finished contemplating the +scenery, perhaps you will turn the boat, and take me home; then you can +feast your eyes upon something more attractive." + +"And what is that, pray?" he asked. + +"Your supper, sir. You must be very anxious for it by this time, and +really you know you look quite hungry. We have been out so long; but I +will have pity on you, and detain you no longer here. Turn the boat +around, Lieutenant Seymour, and put me on shore at once. I will stand +between no man and his dinner." + +"Hungry? Yes, I am, but not for dinner,--for you, Mistress Katharine," +he replied. + +"Oh, what a horrid appetite! I don't feel safe in the boat with you. +Are you very hungry?" + +"Really, Miss Wilton, I am not jesting at all," he said with immense +dignity. + +"Oh! oh! He is in earnest. Shall I scream? No use; we are a mile +from the house, at least." + +"Oh, Miss Wilton--Katharine," he replied desperately, "I am devoured by +my--" + +"Lieutenant Seymour!" She drew herself up with great hauteur, letting +the cloak drop about her waist. + +"Madam!" + +"Only my friends call me Katharine." + +"And am I not, may I not be, one of your friends?" + +"Well, yes--I suppose so; but you are so young." + +"I am just twenty-seven, madam, and you, I suppose, are--" + +"Never be ungallant enough to suppose a young lady's age. You may do +those things in Philadelphia, if you like, but 't is not the custom +here. Besides, I mean too young a friend; you have not known me long +enough, that is." + +"Long enough! I have known you ever since Tuesday of last week." + +"And this is Friday,--just ten days, ten long days!" she replied +triumphantly. + +"Long days!" he cried. "Very short ones, for me." + +"Long or short, sir, do you think you can know me in that period? Is +it possible I am so easily fathomed?" she went on, smiling. + +Now it is ill making love in a rowboat at best, and when one is in +earnest and the other jests it is well-nigh impossible; so to these +remarks Lieutenant Seymour made no further answer, save viciously to +ply the oars and drive the boat rapidly toward the landing. + +Miss Katharine gazed vacantly about the familiar river upon whose banks +she had been born and bred, and, finally noticing the sun had gone +down, closing the short day, she once more drew her cloak closely about +her and resumed the neglected conversation. + +"Won't you please stop looking at me in that manner, and won't you +please row harder, or is your strength all centred in your gaze?" + +"I am rowing as fast as I can, Miss Wilton, especially with this--" + +"Oh, I forgot your wounded shoulder! Does it hurt? Does it pain you? +I am so sorry. Let me row." + +"Thank you, no. I think I can manage it myself. The only pain I have +is when you are unkind to me." + +At that moment, to his great annoyance, his oar stuck fast in the +oar-lock, and he straightway did that very unsailorly thing known as +catching a crab. + +Katharine Wilton laughed. There was music in her voice, but this time +it did not awaken a responsive chord in the young man. Extricating his +oar violently, he silently resumed his work. + +"Do you like crabs, Mr. Seymour?" she said with apparent irrelevance. + +"I don't like catching them, Miss Wilton," he admitted ruefully. + +"Oh, I mean eating them! We were talking about your appetite, were we +not? Well, Dinah devils them deliciously. I 'll have some done for +you," she continued with suspicious innocence. + +Seymour groaned in spirit at her perversity, and for the first time in +his life felt an intense sympathy with devilled crabs; but he continued +his labor in silence and with great dignity. + +"What am I to infer from your silence on this important subject, sir? +The subject of edibles, which everybody says is of the first +importance--to men--does not appear to interest you at all!" + +He made no further reply. + +The young girl gazed at his pale face at first in much amusement; but +the laughter gradually died away, and finally her glance fell to the +water by her side. A few strong strokes, strong enough, in spite of a +wounded shoulder, to indicate wrathful purpose and sudden determination +to the astute maiden, and the little boat swung in beside the wharf. +Throwing the oars inboard with easy skill, Seymour sat motionless while +the boat glided swiftly down toward the landing-steps, and the silence +was broken only by the soft, delicious lip, lip, lip of the water, +which seemed to cling to and caress the bow of the skiff until it +finally came to rest. The man waited until the girl looked up at him. +She saw in his resolute mien the outward and visible sign of his inward +determination, and she realized that the game so bravely and piquantly +played since she met him was lost. They had nearly arrived at the +foregone conclusion. + +"Well, Mr. Seymour," she said finally, "we are here at last; for what +are you waiting?" + +"Waiting for you." + +"For me?" + +"Ay, only for you." + +"I--I--do not understand you." + +"You understand nothing apparently, but I will explain." He stepped +out on the landing-stage, and after taking a turn or two with the +painter to secure the boat, he turned toward his captive with a +ceremonious bow. + +"Permit me to help you ashore." + +"Oh, thank you, Lieutenant Seymour; if I only could, in this little +boat, I would courtesy in return for that effort," she answered with +tremulous and transparent bravery. But when the little palm met his +own brown one, it seemed to steal away some of the bitterness of the +moment. After he had assisted her upon the shore and up the steps into +the boathouse, he held her hand tight within his own, and with that +promptitude which characterized him he made the plunge. + +"Oh, Miss Wilton--Katharine--it is true I have known you only a little +while, but all that time--ever since I saw you, in fact, and even +before, when your father showed me your picture--I have loved you. +Nay, hear me out." There was an unusual sternness in his voice. My +lord appeared to be in the imperative mood,--something to which she had +not been accustomed. He meant to be heard, and with beating heart +perforce she listened. "Quiet that spirit of mockery but a moment, and +attend my words, I pray you. No, I will not release you until I have +spoken. These are troublous times. I may leave at any moment--must +leave when my orders come, and I expect them every day, and before I go +I must tell you this." + +Her downcast eyes could still see him blush and then pale a little +under the sunburn and windburn of his face, as he went on speaking. + +"I have no one; never had I a sister, I can remember no mother; believe +me, I entreat you, when I tell you that to no woman have I ever said +what I have just said to you. We sailors think and speak and act +quickly, it is a part of our profession; but if I should wait for years +I should think no differently and act in no other way. I love you! +Oh, Katharine, I love you as my soul." + +There was a note of passion in his voice which thrilled her heart with +ecstasy; the others had not made love this way. + +"You seem to me like that star I have often watched in the long hours +of the night, which has shown me the way on many a trackless sea. I +know I am as far beneath you as I am beneath that star. But though the +distance is great, my love can bridge it, if you will let me try. +Katharine--won't you answer me, Katharine? Is there nothing you can +say to me? 'Dost thou love me, Kate?'" he quoted softly, taking her +other hand. How very fair, but how very far away she looked! The +color came and went in her cheek. He could see her breast rise and +fall under the mad beating of a heart which had escaped her control, +though hitherto she had found no difficulty in keeping it well in hand. +There was a novelty, a difference, in the situation this time, a new +and unexpected element in the event. She hesitated. Why was it no +merry quip came to the lips usually so ready with repartee? Alas, she +must answer. + +"I--I--oh, Mr. Seymour," she said softly and slowly, with a downcast +face she fain would hide, he fain would see. "I--yes," she murmured +with great reluctance; "that is--I think so. You see, when you +defended father, in the fight with the brig, you know, and got that +bullet in your shoulder you earned a title to my gratitude, my--" + +"I don't want a title to your gratitude," he interrupted. "I want your +love, I want you to love me for myself alone." + +"And do you think you are worthy that I should?" she replied with a +shadow of her former archness. + +He gravely bent his head and kissed her hand. "No, Katharine, I do +not. I can lay no claim to your hand, if it is to be a reward of +merit, but I love you so--that is the substance of my hope." + +"Oh, Mr. Seymour, Mr. Seymour, you overvalue me. If you do that with +all your possessions, you will be-- Oh, what have I said?" she cried +in sudden alarm, as he took her in his arms. + +"My possessions! Katharine, may I then count you so? Oh, Kate, my +lovely Kate--" It was over, and over as she would have it; why +struggle any longer? The landing was a lonely little spot under the +summer-house, at the end of the wharf; no one could see what happened. +This time it was not her hand he kissed. The day died away in +twilight, but for those two a new day began. + +The army might starve and die, battles be lost or won, dynasties rise +and fall, kingdoms wax and wane, causes tremble in the balances,--what +of that? They looked at each other and forgot the world. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +_The Country First of All_ + +"Oh, what is the hour, Mr.--John? Shall I call you Seymour? That is +your second name, is it not? But what would people say? I-- No, no, +not again; we really must go in. See! I am not dressed for the +evening yet. Supper will be ready. Now, Lieutenant Seymour, you must +let me go. What will my father think of us? Come, then. Your hand, +sir." + +The hill from the boat-landing was steep, but Mistress Kate had often +run like a young deer to the top of it without appreciating its +difficulties as she did that evening. On every stepping-stone, each +steep ascent, she lingered, in spite of her expressed desire for haste, +and each time his strong and steady arm was at her service. She tasted +to the full and for the first time the sweets of loving dependence. + +As for him, an admiral of the fleet after a victory could not have been +prouder and happier. As any other man would have done, he embraced or +improved the opportunity afforded him by their journey up the hill, to +urge the old commonplace that he would so assist her up the hill of +life! And so on. The iterations of love never grow stale to a lover, +and the saying was not so trite to her that it failed to give her the +little thrill of loving joy which seemed, for the moment at least, to +tame her restless spirit, that spirit of subtle yet merry mockery which +charmed yet drove him mad. She was so unwontedly quiet and subdued +that he stopped at the brow of the hill, and said, half in alarm, +"Katharine, why so silent?" + +She looked at him gravely; a new light, not of laughter, in her brown +eyes, saying in answer to his unspoken thought: "I was thinking of what +you said about your orders. Oh, if they should come to-day, and you +should go away on your ship and be shot at again and perhaps wounded, +what should I do?" + +"Nonsense, Katharine dear, I am not going to be wounded any more. I +'ve something to live for now, you see," he replied, smiling, taking +both of her hands in his own. + +"You always had something to live for, even before--you had me." + +"And what was that, pray?" + +"Your country." + +"Yes," he replied proudly, taking off his laced hat, "and liberty; but +you go together in my heart now, Kate,--you and country." + +"Don't say that, John--well, Seymour, then--say 'country and you.' I +would give you up for that, but only for that." + +"You would do well, Katharine; our country first. Since we have +engaged in this war, we must succeed. I fancy that more depends, and I +only agree with your father there, upon the issue of this war than men +dream of, and that the battle of liberty for the future man is being +fought right here and now. Unless our people are willing to sacrifice +everything, we cannot maintain that glorious independence which has +been so brilliantly declared." He said this with all the boldness of +the Declaration itself; but she, being yet a woman, asked him +wistfully,-- + +"Would you give me up, sacrifice me for country, then?" + +"Not for the whole wide--" She laid a finger upon his lips. + +"Hush, hush! Do not even speak treason to the creed. I am a daughter +of Virginia. My father, my brother, my friends, my people, and, yes, I +will say it, my lover are perilling their lives and have engaged their +honor in this contest for the independence of these colonies, for the +cause of this people, and the safeguarding of their liberties; and if I +stood in the pathway of liberty for a single instant, I should despise +the man who would not sweep me aside without a moment's hesitation." +She spoke with a pride and spirit which equalled his own, her head high +in the air, and her eyes flashing. + +She had released her hands and had suited the gesture to the word, +throwing out her hand and arm with a movement of splendid freedom and +defiance. She was a woman of many moods and "infinite variety." Each +moment showed him something new to love. He caught the outstretched +hand,--the loose sleeve had fallen back from the wrist,--he pressed his +lips to the white arm, and said with all his soul in his voice,-- + +"May God prevent me from ever facing the necessity of a choice like +that, Katharine! But indeed it is spirit like yours which makes men +believe the cause is not wholly desperate. When our women can so speak +and feel, we may confidently expect the blessing of God upon our +efforts." + +"Father says that it is because General Washington knows the spirit of +the people, because he feels that even the youths and maidens, the +little children, cherish this feeling, he takes heart, and is confident +of ultimate success. I heard him say that no king could stand against +a united people." + +"Would that you could have been in Paris with your father when he +pleaded with King Louis and his ministers for aid and recognition! We +might have returned with a better answer than paltry money and a few +thousand stand of arms, which are only promised, after all." + +"Would that I were a man instead of being a weak, feeble woman!" she +exclaimed vehemently. + +"Ah, but I very much prefer you as you are, Katharine, and 't is not +little that you can do. You can inspire men with your own patriotism, +if you will. There, for instance, is your friend Talbot. If you could +persuade him, with his wealth and position and influence in this +country, to join the army in New Jersey--" As she shook her head, he +continued: + +"I am sure if he thought as I do of you, you could persuade him to +anything but treachery or dishonor." His calm smile of superiority +vanished in an expression of dismay at her reply,-- + +"Talbot! Hilary Talbot! Why, John, do you know that he is--well, they +say that he is in love with me. Everybody expects that we shall marry +some day. Do you see? These old estates join, and--" + +"Kate, it is n't true, is it? You don't care for him, do you?" he +interrupted in sudden alarm. + +"Care for him? Why, of course I care for him. I have known him ever +since I was a child; but I don't love him. Besides, he stays at home +while others are in the field. Silly boy, would I have let you kiss me +in the summer-house if it were so? No, sir! We are not such fine +ladies as your friends in the city of Philadelphia, perhaps, we +Virginia country girls upon whom your misses look with scorn, but no +man kisses us, and no man kisses me, upon the lips except the one +I--that I must--let me see--is the word 'obey'? Shall you make me obey +you all the time, John?" + +"Pshaw, Katharine, you never obey anybody,--so your father says, at +least,--and if you will only love me, that will be sufficient." + +"Love you!"--the night had fallen and no one was near--"love you, +John!" She kissed him bravely upon the lips. "Once, that's for me, my +own; twice, that's for my country; there is all my heart. Come, sir, +we must go in. There are lights in the house." + +"Ah, Katharine, and there is light in my heart too." + +As they came up the steps of the high pillared porch which completely +covered the face of the building, they were met, at the great door +which gave entrance to the spacious hallway extending through the +house, by a stately and gracious, if somewhat elderly gentleman. + +There was a striking similarity, if not in facial appearance, at least +in the erect carriage and free air, between him and the young girl who, +disregarding his outstretched hand and totally disorganizing his +ceremonious bow, threw her arms about his neck and kissed him with +unwonted warmth, much to his dismay and yet not altogether to his +displeasure. Perhaps he suspected something from the bright and happy +faces of the two young people; but if so, he made no comment, merely +telling them that supper had been waiting this long time, and bidding +them hasten their preparation for the meal. + +Katharine, followed by Chloe, her black maid, who had been waiting for +her, hastily ran up the stairs to her own apartments, upon this signal, +but turned upon the topmost stair and waved a kiss to the two gentlemen +who were watching her,--one with the dim eyes of an old father, the +other with the bright eyes of a young lover. + +"Colonel Wilton," exclaimed Seymour, impulsively, "I have something to +say to you,--something I must say." + +"Not now, my young friend," replied the colonel, genially. "Supper +will be served, nay, is served already, and only awaits you and +Katharine; afterward we shall have the whole evening, and you may say +what you will." + +"Oh, but, colonel--" + +"Nay, sir, do not lay upon me the unpleasant duty of commanding a +guest, when it is my privilege as host to entreat. Go, Mr. Seymour, +and make you ready. Katharine will return in a moment, and it does not +beseem gentlemen, much less officers, to keep a lady waiting, you know. +Philip and Bentley have gone fishing, and I am informed they will not +return until late. We will not wait for them." + +"As you wish, sir, but I must have some private conversation with you +as soon as possible." + +"After supper, my boy, after supper." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +_Colonel Wilton._ + +Left to himself for a moment, the colonel heaved a deep sigh; he had a +premonition of what was coming, and then paced slowly up and down the +long hall. + +He was attired, with all the splendor of an age in which the subject of +dress engrossed the attention of the wisest and best, in the height of +the prevailing mode, which his recent arrival from Paris, then as now +the mould of fashion, permitted him to determine. The soft light from +the wax candles in their sconces in the hall fell upon his thickly +powdered wig, ran in little ripples up and down the length of his +polished dress-sword, and sparkled in the brilliants in the buckles of +his shoes. His face was the grave face of a man accustomed from of old +not only to command, but to assume the responsibility of his orders; +when they were carried out, his manner was a happy mixture of the +haughty sternness of a soldier and the complacent suavity of the +courtier, tempered both by the spirit of frankness and geniality born +of the free life of a Virginia planter in colonial times. + +In his early youth he had been a soldier under Admiral Vernon, with his +old and long-deceased friend Lawrence Washington at Cartagena; later +on, he had served under Wolfe at Quebec. A visitor, and a welcome one +too, at half the courts of Europe, he looked the man of affairs he was; +in spite of his advanced age, he held himself as erect, and carried +himself as proudly as he had done on the Heights of Abraham or in the +court of St. Germain. + +Too old to incur the hardships of the field, Colonel Wilton had yet +offered his services, with the ardor of the youngest patriot, to his +country, and pledged his fortune, by no means inconsiderable, in its +support. The Congress, glad to avail themselves of the services of so +distinguished a man, had sent him, in company with Silas Deane and +Benjamin Franklin, as an embassy to the court of King Louis, bearing +proposals for an alliance and with a request for assistance during the +deadly struggle of the colonies with the hereditary foe of France. +They had been reasonably successful in a portion of their attempt, at +least; as the French government had agreed, though secretly, to furnish +arms and other munitions of war through a pseudo-mercantile firm which +was represented by M. de Beaumarchais, the gifted author of the comedy +"Le Mariage de Figaro." The French had also agreed to furnish a +limited amount of money; but, more important than all these, there were +hints and indications that if the American army could win any decisive +battle or maintain the unequal conflict for any length of time, an open +and closer alliance would be made. The envoys had despatched Colonel +Wilton, from their number, back to America to make a report of the +progress of their negotiations to Congress. This had been done, and +General Washington had been informed of the situation. + +The little ship, one of the gallant vessels of the nascent American +navy, in which Colonel Wilton had returned from France, had attacked +and captured a British brig of war during the return passage, and young +Seymour, who was the first lieutenant of the ship, was severely +wounded. The wound had been received through his efforts to protect +Colonel Wilton, who had incautiously joined the boarding-party which +had captured the brig. After the interview with Congress, Colonel +Wilton was requested to await further instructions before returning to +France, and, pending the result of the deliberations of Congress, after +a brief visit to the headquarters of his old friend and neighbor +General Washington, he had retired to his estate. As a special favor, +he was permitted to bring with him the wounded lieutenant, in order +that he might recuperate and recover from his wound in the pleasant +valleys of Virginia. That Seymour was willing to leave his own friends +in Philadelphia, with all their care and attention, was due entirely to +his desire to meet Miss Katharine Wilton, of whose beauty he had heard, +and whose portrait indeed, in her father's possession, which he had +seen before on the voyage, had borne out her reputation. Seymour had +been informed since his stay at the Wiltons' that he had been detached +from the brig Argus, and notified that he was to receive orders shortly +to report to the ship Ranger, commanded by a certain Captain John Paul +Jones; and he knew that he might expect his sailing orders at any +moment. He had improved, as has been seen, the days of his brief stay +to recover from one wound and receive another, and, as might have been +expected, he had fallen violently in love with Katharine Wilton. + +There were also staying at the house, besides the servants and slaves, +young Philip Wilton, Katharine's brother, a lad of sixteen, who had +just received a midshipman's warrant, and was to accompany Seymour when +he joined the Ranger, then outfitting at Philadelphia; and Bentley, an +old and veteran sailor, a boatswain's mate, who had accompanied Seymour +from ship to ship ever since the lieutenant was a midshipman,--a man +who had but one home, the sea; one hate, the English; one love, his +country; and one attachment, Seymour. + +Colonel Wilton was a widower. As Katharine came down the stairway, +clad in all the finery her father had brought back for her from Paris, +her hair rolled high and powdered, the old family diamonds with their +quaint setting of silver sparkling upon her snowy neck, her fan +languidly waving in her hand, she looked strikingly like a pictured +woman smiling down at them from over the mantel; but to the sweetness +and archness of her mother's laughing face were added some of the +colonel's pride, determination, and courage. He stepped to meet her, +and then bent and kissed the hand she extended toward him, with all the +grace of the old régime; and Seymour coming upon them was entranced +with the picture. + +He too had changed his attire, and now was clad in the becoming dress +of a naval lieutenant of the period. He wore a sword, of course, and a +dark blue uniform coat relieved with red facings, with a single epaulet +on his shoulder which denoted his official rank; his blond hair was +lightly touched with powder, and tied, after the fashion of active +service, in a queue with a black ribbon. + +"Now, Seymour, since you two truants have come at last, will you do me +the honor to hand Miss Wilton to the dining-room?" remarked the +colonel, straightening up. + +With a low bow, Seymour approached the object of his adoration, who, +after a sweeping courtesy, gave him her hand. With much state and +ceremony, preceded by one of the servants, who had been waiting in +attention in the hall, and followed by the colonel, and lastly by the +colonel's man, a stiff old campaigner who had been with him many years, +they entered the dining-room, which opened from the rear of the hall. + +The table was a mass of splendid plate, which sparkled under the soft +light of the wax candles in candelabra about the room or on the table, +and the simple meal was served with all the elegance and precision +which were habitual with the gentleman of as fine a school as Colonel +Wilton. + +At the table, instead of the light and airy talk which might have been +expected in the situation, the conversation assumed that grave and +serious tone which denoted the imminence of the emergency. + +The American troops had been severely defeated at Long Island in the +summer, and since that time had suffered a series of reverses, being +forced steadily back out of New York, after losing Fort Washington, and +down through the Jerseys, relentlessly pursued by Howe and Cornwallis. +Washington was now making his way slowly to the west bank of the +Delaware. He was losing men at every step, some by desertion, more by +the expiration of the terms of their enlistment. The news which +Colonel Wilton had brought threw a frail hope over the situation, but +ruin stared them in the face, and unless something decisive was soon +accomplished, the game would be lost. + +"Did you have a pleasant ride up the river, Katharine?" asked her +father. + +"Very, sir," she answered, blushing violently and looking involuntarily +at Seymour, who matched her blush with his own. + +There was a painful pause, which Seymour broke, coming to the rescue +with a counter question. + +"Did you notice that small sloop creeping up under the west bank of the +river, colonel, this evening? I should think she must be opposite the +house now, if the wind has held." + +"Why, when did you see her, Mr. Seymour? I thought you were looking +at--at--" She broke off in confusion, under her father's searching +gaze. He smiled, and said,-- + +"Ah, Katharine, trained eyes see all things unusual about them, +although they are apparently bent persistently upon one spot. Yes, +Seymour, I did notice it; if we were farther down the river, we might +suspect it of being an enemy, but up here I fancy even Dunmore's +malevolence would scarcely dare to follow." + +Katharine looked up in alarm. "Oh, father, do you think it is quite +safe? Chloe told me that Phoebus told her that the raiders had visited +Major Lithcomb's plantation, and you know that is not more than fifty +miles down the river from us. Would it not be well to take some +precaution?" + +"Tut, tut, child! gossip of the negro servants!" The colonel waved it +aside carelessly. "I hardly think we have anything to fear at present; +though what his lordship may do in the end, unless he is checked, I +hardly like to imagine." + +"But, father," persisted Katharine, "they said that Johnson was in +command of the party, and you know he hates you. You remember he said +he would get even with you if it cost him his life, when you had him +turned out of the club at Williamsburg." + +"Pshaw, Katharine, the wretch would not dare. It is a cowardly +blackguard, Seymour, whom I saw cheating at cards at the Assembly Club +at the capital. I had him expelled from the society of gentlemen, +where, indeed, he had no right of admittance, and I scarcely know how +he got there originally. He made some threats against me, to which I +naturally paid no attention. But what did you think of the vessel?" + +"I confess I saw nothing suspicious about her, sir," replied Seymour. +"She seemed very much like the packets which ply on the river; I only +spoke idly of the subject." + +"But, father, the packet went up last week, the day before you came +back, and is due coming down the river now, while this boat is coming +up," said Katharine. + +"Oh, well, I think we are safe enough now; but, to relieve your unusual +anxiety, I will send Blodgett down to the wharf to examine and +report.--Blodgett, do you go down to the boat-landing and keep watch +for an hour or two. Take your musket, man; there is no knowing what +you might need it for." + +The old soldier, who had stationed himself behind the colonel's chair, +saluted with military precision, and left the room, saying, "Very good, +sir; I shall let nothing escape my notice, sir." + +"Now, Katharine, I hope you are satisfied." + +"Yes, father; but if it is the raiders, Blodgett won't be able to stop +them." + +"The raiders," laughed the colonel; and pinching his daughter's ear, he +said, "I suspect the only raiders we shall see here will be those who +have designs upon your heart, my bonny Kate,--eh, Seymour?" + +"They would never dare to wear a British uniform in that case, father," +she retorted proudly. + +"Well, Seymour, I hear, through an express from Congress to-day, that +Captain Jones has been ordered to command the Ranger, and that the new +flag--we will drink to it, if you please; yes, you too, Katharine; God +bless every star and stripe in it--will soon be seen on the ocean." + +"It will be a rare sight there, sir," said Seymour; "but it will not be +long before the exploits of the Ranger will make it known on the high +seas, if rumor does not belie her captain." + +"I trust so; but do you know this Captain Jones?" + +"Not at all, sir, save by reputation; but I am told he has one +requisite for a successful officer." + +"And what is that?" + +"He will fight anything, at any time, or at any place, no matter what +the odds." + +Colonel Wilton smiled. "Ah, well, if it were not for men of that kind, +our little navy would never have a chance." + +"No, father, nor the army, either; if we waited for equality before +fighting, I am afraid we should wait forever." + +"True, Katharine. By the way, have you seen Talbot to-day?" + +"No, father." + +"I wish that we might enlist his services in the cause. I don't think +there is much doubt about Talbot himself, is there?" + +"No. It is his mother, you know; she is a loyalist to the core. As +were her ancestors, so is she." + +The colonel nodded gently; he had a soft spot in his heart for the +subject of their discussion. "With her teaching and training, I can +well understand it, Katharine. Proud, of high birth, descended from +the 'loyal Talbots,' and the widow of one of them, she cannot bear the +thought of rebellion against the king. I don't think she cares much +for the people, or their liberties either." + +"Yes, father; with her the creed is, the king can do no wrong." + +"Ah, well," said the colonel, reflectively, "I thought so too once, and +many is the blow I have struck for this same king. But liberty is +above royalty, independence not a dweller in the court; so, in my old +age, I find myself on a different side." He sipped his wine +thoughtfully a moment, and continued,-- + +"Madam Talbot has certainly striven to restrain the boy, and +successfully so far. He is a splendid fellow; I wish we had him. He +would be of great service to the cause, with his name and influence, +and the money he would bring; and then the quality of the young man +himself would be of value to us. You have met him, Seymour, I believe?" + +"Yes, sir, several times; and I agree with you entirely. It is his +mother who keeps him back. I have had one or two conversations with +her. She is a Tory through and through." + +"Not a doubt of it, not a doubt of it," said the colonel. "Katharine, +can't you do something with him?" + +"Oh, father, you know that I have talked with him, pleaded with him, +and begged him to follow his inclination; but he remains by his mother." + +"Nonsense, Katharine! Don't speak of him in that way; give him time. +It is a hard thing: he is her only son; she is a widow. Let us hope +that something will induce him to come over to us." He said this in +gentle reproof of his spirited daughter; and then,-- + +"Permit me to offer you a glass of wine, Seymour,--you are not drinking +anything; and to whom shall we drink?" + +Seymour, who had been quaffing deep draughts of Katharine's beauty, +replied promptly,-- + +"If I might suggest, sir, I should say Mistress Wilton." + +"No, no," said Katharine. "Drink, first of all, to the success of our +cause. I will give you a toast, gentlemen: Before our sweethearts, our +sisters, our wives, our mothers, let us place--our country," she +exclaimed, lifting her own glass. + +The colonel laughed as he drank his toast, saying, "Nothing comes +before country with Katharine." + +And Seymour, while he appreciated the spirit of the maiden, felt a +little pang of grief that even to a country he should be second,--an +astonishing change from that spirit of humility which a moment since +contented itself with metaphorically kissing the ground she walked upon. + +"By the way, father, where is Philip?" asked Katharine. + +"He went up the branch fishing, with Bentley, I believe." + +"But is n't it time they returned? Do you know, I feel nervous about +them; suppose those raiders--" + +"Pshaw, child! Still harping on the raiders? and nervous too! What +ails you, daughter? I thought you never were nervous. We Wiltons are +not accustomed to nervousness, you know, and what must our guest think?" + +"Nothing but what is altogether agreeable," replied Seymour, a little +too promptly; and then, to cover his confusion, he continued: "But I +think Miss Wilton need feel under no apprehension. Master Philip is +with Bentley, and I would trust the prudence and courage and skill of +that man in any situation. You know my father, who was a shipmaster, +when he died aboard his ship in the China seas, gave me, a little boy +taking a cruise with him, into Bentley's charge, and told him to make a +sailor and a man of me, and from that day he has never left me. At my +house, in Philadelphia, he is a privileged character. There never was +a truer, better, braver man; and as for patriotism, love of country is +a passion with him, colonel. He might set an example to many in higher +station in that particular." + +"Yes, I have noticed that peculiarity about the man. I think Philip is +safe enough with him, Katharine, even if those-- Ha! what is that?" +The colonel sprang to his feet, as the sound of a musket-shot rang out +in the night air, followed by one or two pistol-shots and then a +muffled cry. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +_Lord Dunmore's Men Pay an Evening Call_ + +"Oh, father, it must be the raiders! That was Blodgett's voice," cried +Katharine, looking very pale and clasping her hands. + +"Let me go and investigate, colonel," said Seymour, leaping to his feet +and seizing his sword. + +"Do so, Seymour," cried the colonel, as the sailor hastily left the +room. "Phoebus," to the butler, "go tell Caesar to call the slaves to +the house. You, Scipio," to one of the footmen, "go open the +arm-chest. Katharine, reach me my sword. See that the doors are +closed, Billy," said the colonel to the other servant, rapidly and with +perfect coolness. "I think, Katharine, that perhaps you would better +retire to your room;" but even as he spoke the sound of hurried +footsteps and excited voices outside was heard. After a few moments +one of the field-hands, followed by Seymour, burst panting into the +room, his mouth working with excitement and his eyes almost starting +from his head. + +"Well, sir, what is it?" said the colonel. + +"Foh de Lawd's sake, suh, dey'se a-comin', suh, dey'se a-comin'. +Dey'se right behin' me; dey'll be heah in a minute, suh." + +"Who is coming, you idiot!" exclaimed the colonel. + +"De redcoats, de British sojuhs, suh; dey 'se fohty boat-loads ob 'em; +dey'se come off fum de lil' sloop out in de ribah, and dey 'se gwine +kill we all, and bu'n de house down. Dey done shot Mars' Blodgett, and +dey'se coming heah special to get you, suh, Mars' Kunnel, kase I heahd +dem say, when I was lyin' down on de wha'f, dat de man dey wanted was +dat Kunnel Wilton." + +"It is quite true, sir; they seem to be a party of raiders of some +sort," said Seymour, coolly. "I fear that Blodgett has been killed, as +I heard nothing of him. I saw them from the brow of the hill. Perhaps +you may escape by the back way, though there is little time for that. +Do you take Miss Wilton and try it, sir; leave me to hold these men in +play." + +"Yes, yes, father," urged Katharine; "I know it must be Lord Dunmore's +men and Johnson. They know that you have come back from France, and +now the man wants to take you prisoner. You remember what the governor +told you at Williamsburg, that he would make you rue the day you cast +your lot in with the colonists and refused to assist him in the +prosecution of his measures. And you know we have been warned at least +a dozen times about it. Oh, what shall we do? Do fly, and let me stay +here and receive these men." + +"What! my daughter, do you think a Wilton has ever left his house to be +defended by his guest and by a woman! Seymour, I believe, however, as +an officer in the service of our country, your best course is to leave +while there is yet time." + +"I will never leave you, sir; I will stay here with you and Mistress +Katharine, and share whatever fate may have in store for you." + +But even as he spoke, the crowding footsteps of many men were heard at +both entrances to the wide hall-way which ran through the house. At +the same moment the door was violently thrown open, and the dining-room +was filled with an irregular mass of motley, ragged, red-coated men, +whose reckless demeanor and hardened faces indicated that they had been +recruited from the lowest and most depraved classes of the inhabitants +of the colony. They were led by a middle-aged man of dissipated +appearance, whose rough and brutal aspect was not concealed by the +captain's uniform he wore, nor was the malicious triumph in his bearing +and in his voice veiled by the mock courtesy with which he advanced, +pistol in hand. + +"What means this intrusion, sir?" shouted Colonel Wilton, in a voice of +thunder. + +"This is Colonel Wilton, I believe, is it not?" said the leader of the +band, taking off his hat. + +"Yes, sir, it is; you, Mr. Johnson, should be the last to forget it, +and I desire to know at once the meaning of this outrageous descent +upon a peaceful dwelling." + +The man bowed low with mock courtesy. "I shall have to ask your +pardon, my dear sir, for appearing before the great Colonel Wilton so +unceremoniously. But my orders, I regret to say, allow me no +discretion whatever; they are imperative. You are my prisoner. I have +been sent here by my Lord Dunmore, the governor of this colony of +Virginia, to secure the persons of some of the principal rebellious +subjects of his majesty King George, and your name, unfortunately, is +the first and chiefest on the list. I shall have to request you to +accompany me at once." + +The master of the situation smiled mockingly, and the colonel, white +with anger, looked about the room. Resistance was perfectly hopeless; +all the windows even were now blocked up by the irregular soldiery. + +"He has chosen a fit man to do his work," said the colonel, in haughty +scorn; "failing gentlemen, he must needs take blackguards and bullies +into his service as housebreakers and raiders." + +Johnson flushed visibly, as he said with another bow, "Colonel Wilton +would better remember that I am master now." + +"Sir, I am not likely to forget it. There is the family plate. I +presume, from what I know of your habits, that will not be overlooked +by you." + +"Quite so," he returned; "it will doubtless be a welcome contribution +to the treasury of his majesty's colony. Mistress Wilton's diamonds +also," he said meaningly; and then, turning to two of his men, +"Williams, you and Jones bundle up the plate in the tablecloth, get +what's on the sideboard too;" and laying his pistols down upon the +table, he continued: + +"But before Colonel Wilton insults me again, it might be well for him +to remember that I am master not only of his person, but of the persons +of all others who are in this room." + +The colonel started, and Johnson laughed, looking with insolence from +Katharine to her father. + +"What, sir! I reach through your insolent pride now, do I? Curse +you!" with sudden heat, throwing off even the mask of politeness he had +hardly worn. "I swore I would have revenge for that insult at +Williamsburg, and now it's my hour. You are to go with me, and go +peaceably and quietly, or, by God, I 'll have you kicked and dragged +out of the building, or killed like that old fool who tried to stop us +coming up on the landing." + +"What! Blodgett, my old friend Blodgett! You villain, you haven't +dared to kill him, have you? Oh, my faithful--" + +"Silence, sir! We dare anything. What consideration has a rebel a +right to expect at the hands of his majesty's faithful Rangers? You, +Bruce and Denton, seize the old man. If he makes any trouble, knock +him down, or kill him, for aught I care. One of you, take the girl +there. As for you, sir," to Seymour, who had been quietly watching the +scene, "I don't know who you are, but you are in bad company, and you +will have to consider yourself a prisoner; I trust you have sense +enough to come without force being used. And so," clapping his hat on +his head defiantly, "God save the king!" + +Two of the soldiers seized the colonel in spite of the vigorous +resistance he made; another approached Katharine, who had stood with +clasped hands during the whole of the colloquy between Johnson and her +father. The soldier rudely chucked her under the chin, saying, "Come +on, my pretty one! you 'll give us a kiss, won't you, before we start?" +As she drew back, paling at the insult, Seymour, who had seen and heard +it all, quick as a flash drew his sword, and threw himself upon the +soldier; one rapid thrust at the surprised man he made, with all the +force and skill begotten of long practice and a strong arm, and the +hilt of his blade crushed against the man's throat, and he fell dead +upon the floor. At the same instant one of the other soldiers, who had +observed the action, struck Seymour over the head with his clubbed +musket, and he also fell heavily to the floor, and lay there senseless +and still, blood running from a fearful-looking wound in his forehead. +The room was filled with tumult in an instant, and with shouts of "Kill +him!" "Shove your bayonet through the damn rebel hound!" "Shoot him!" +"Kill him!" the men moved towards Seymour. Johnson looked on +unconcernedly. + +"Good God!" shrieked the colonel, writhing in the grasp of the men who +held him, "are you going to allow a senseless, wounded man to be +murdered before your eyes? Oh, how could anybody ever mistake you for +a gentleman for an instant?" he added, with withering contempt; and +then turning his head toward the fierce soldiery, "Stop, stop, you +bloody assassins!" he cried. + +"Silence, sir! He might as well die this way as on the gallows. +Besides, he struck the first blow, and he has killed one of his +majesty's loyal soldiers. The soldier only wanted to kiss the girl +anyway, and she will find, before she gets to camp, that kisses are +cheap." + +"Oh, my God," groaned the father, "and they call this war!" + +At this moment one of the soldiers lifted his bayonet to plunge it into +the prostrate form of the unconscious sailor. There was a blinding +flash of light in the room, and a quick, sharp report. The man's arm +dropped to his side, and he shrieked and groaned with pain. Katharine, +unnoticed in the confusion, had slipped to the side of the table, and +had quickly picked up one of the pistols which Johnson had laid upon it +after the silver had been taken away. Her ready decision and unerring +aim had saved her lover's life. She threw the smoking pistol she had +used with such effect down at her feet, and, seizing the other, she +stepped over to the side of her unconscious lover. + +"I swear," she said, in a shrill, high-pitched voice which just escaped +a scream, and which trembled with the agitation of the moment, "by my +hope of heaven, if a single man of you lay hands on him, he shall have +this bullet also, you cowards!" + +After a moment's hesitation, amid shouts of "Kill the girl!" the men +surged toward her. Chloe, her black maid, flung herself upon her +mistress' breast. + +"Oh, honey, I let dem kill me fust." + +"Well done, Kate! It's the true Wilton blood. Oh, if I had a free +arm, you villains!" cried the still struggling colonel. + +"Seize the girl," Johnson commanded promptly, "and let us get out of +this." + +The men made a rush toward the table where Katharine stood undaunted, +her face flushed with excitement, her mouth tense with resolution. She +cried,-- + +"Have a care, men! have a care!" + +One life she could still command with her loaded pistol. Her hands did +not tremble. She waited to strike once more for love and country, but +it would be all over in a moment. + +The colonel groaned in agony, "Kate, Kate!" but they were almost upon +her, when a new voice rose above the uproar,-- + +"Hold! Are you men? Do you war with old men and women? Back with +you! Get back, you dogs! Back, I say!" + + + + +CHAPTER V + +_A Timely Interference_ + +A young man in the uniform of a British naval lieutenant leaped in +front of the girl with drawn sword, with which he laid about him +lustily, striking some of the men with the flat of it, threatening +others with the point; and backing his actions by the prompt commands +of one not accustomed to be gainsaid, he soon cleared the space in +front of her. + +"How dare you interfere in this matter, my lord?" shouted Johnson, +passionately. "I command this party, and I intend--" + +"I know you do," replied the officer, "and that I am only a volunteer +who has chosen to accompany you, worse luck! but I am a gentleman and a +lieutenant in his Britannic majesty's navy, and by heaven! when I see +old men mishandled, and wounded helpless men about to be assassinated, +and young women insulted, I don't care who commands the party, I +interfere. And I don't propose to bandy words with any runagate +American partisan who uses his commission to further private vengeance. +And I swear to you, on my honor, if you do not instantly modify your +treatment of this gentleman, and call off this ragamuffin crew, you +shall be court-martialled, if I have any influence with Dunmore or +Parker or Lord Howe, or whoever is in authority, and I will have the +rest of you hung as high as Haman. This is outrage and robbery and +murder; it is not fighting or making prisoners," continued the young +officer. "You are not fit to be an officer; and you, you curs, you +disgrace the uniform you wear." + +Johnson glanced at his men, who stood irresolute before him fiercely +muttering. A rascally mob of the lowest class of people in the colony, +to whom war simply meant opportunity for plunder and rapine, they would +undoubtedly back up their leader, in their present mood, in any attempt +at resistance he might make the young officer. But he hesitated a +moment. Desborough was a lord, high in the confidence of Governor +Dunmore, and a man of great influence; his own position was too +precarious, the game was not worth the candle, and the risk of +opposition was too great. + +"Well," he said in sulky acquiescence, "the men meant no special harm, +but have it your own way. Fall back, men! As to what you say to me +personally, you shall answer to me for that at a more fitting time," he +continued doggedly. + +"When and where you please," answered Desborough, hotly, "though I 'd +soil a sword by passing it through you. What was Dunmore thinking of +when he put you in charge of this party and sent you to do this work, I +wonder? Give your orders to your men to unhand this gentleman +instantly. You will give your parole, sir? I regret that we are +compelled to secure your person, but those were the orders; and you, +madam," turning to Katharine, "I believe no order requires you to be +taken prisoner, and therefore you shall go free." + +But Katharine had knelt down by her prostrate lover as soon as the +space in front of her had been cleared, and was entirely oblivious to +all that was taking place about her. + +"Allow me to introduce myself, colonel," he resumed. "I am Lord +Desborough. I have often heard my father, the Earl of Desmond, in +Ireland, speak of you. I regret that we meet under such unpleasant +circumstances, but the governor's orders must be carried out, though I +wish he had sent a more worthy representative to do so. I will see, +however, that everything is done for your comfort in the future." + +"Sir," said the colonel, bowing, "you have rendered me a service I can +never repay. I know your father well. He is one of the finest +gentlemen of his time, and his son has this day shown that he is worthy +of the honored name he bears. I will go with you cheerfully, and you +have my parole of honor. Katharine, you are free; you will be safe in +the house, I think, until I can arrange for your departure." + +She looked up from the floor, and then rose. "Oh, father, he is dead, +he is dead," she moaned. "Yes, I will go with you; take me away." + +"Nay, my child, I cannot." + +"Enough of this!" broke in the sneering voice of Johnson. "She has +been taken in open resistance to the king's forces, and, warrant or no +warrant, orders or no orders, or court-martial either," this with a +malevolent glance at Desborough, "she goes with us as a prisoner." + +"I will pledge my word, Colonel Wilton, that no violence is offered +her," exclaimed Desborough, promptly, and then, turning to Katharine,-- + +"Trust me, madam." + +"I do, sir," she said faintly, giving him her hand. "You are very +kind." + +"It is nothing, mistress," he replied, bowing low over it, as he raised +it respectfully to his lips. "I will hold you safe with my life." + +"Very pretty," sneered Johnson; "but are you coming?" + +"What shall we do with these two, captain?" asked the sergeant, kicking +the prostrate form of Seymour, and pointing to the body of the man who +had been slain. + +"Oh, let them lie there! We can't be bothered with dead and dying men. +One of them is gone; the other soon will be. The slaves will bury +them, and those other three at the foot of the hill--d' ye hear, ye +black niggers? There 's hardly room enough on the sloop for the +living," he continued with cynical indifference. + +"All right, captain! As you say, poor Joe's no good now; and as for +the other, that crack of Welsh's was a rare good one; he will probably +die before morning anyhow," replied the sergeant, there being little +love lost among the members of this philosophic crew; besides, the more +dead, the more plunder for the living. And many of the band were even +now following the example of their leader, and roaming over the house, +securing at will whatever excited their fancy, the wine-cellar +especially not being forgotten. + +"Oh, my God! John," whispered Katharine, falling on her knees again by +his side, "must I leave you now, oh, my love!" she moaned, taking his +head in her arms, and with her handkerchief wiping the blood from off +his forehead, "and you have died for me--for me." + +The colonel saw the action, and knew now what was the subject of the +interview after supper which Seymour had so much desired. He knelt +down beside his daughter, a great pity for her in his soul, and laid +his hand on the prostrate man's heart. + +"He is not dead, Katharine," he whispered. "I do not even think he +will die; he will be all right in an hour. If we don't go soon, +Katharine, Philip and Bentley will return and be taken also," he +continued rapidly. "Come, Katharine," he said more loudly, rising. +"Dearest child, we must go,--you must bear this, my daughter; it is for +our country we suffer." But the talismanic word apparently had lost +its charm for her. + +"What's all this?" said Johnson, roughly; "she must go." She only +moaned and pressed her lover's hands against her heart. + +"And go now! Do you hear? Come, mistress," laying his hand roughly +upon her shoulder. + +"Have a care, sir," said Desborough, warningly. "Keep to yourself, my +dear sir; no harm is done. But we must go; and if she won't go +willingly, she will have to be carried, that's all. Do you hear me? +Come on!" + +"Come, Katharine," said the colonel, entreatingly. + +"Oh, father, father, I cannot leave him! I love him!" + +"I know you do, dear; and worthy he is of your love too. Please God +you shall see him once again! But now we must go. Will you not come +with me?" + +"I cannot, I cannot!" she repeated. + +"But you must, Kate," said the colonel, lifting her up, in deadly +anxiety to get away before his son returned. "You are a prisoner." + +"I can't, father; indeed I can't!" she cried again. + +She struggled a moment, then half fainted in his arms. + +"Who else is here?" said Johnson. + +"Only the slaves," replied the colonel. + +"Well, we don't want them. Move on, then! Your daughter can take her +maid with her if she wishes," he said with surly courtesy. "Is this +the wench? Well, get your mistress a cloak, and be quick about it!" + +Assisted by Chloe, the maid, and Lord Desborough, the colonel half +carried, half led, his daughter out of the room. + +"Seymour, Seymour!" she cried despairingly at the door; but he lay +still where he had fallen, seeing and hearing nothing. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +_Faithful Subject of his Majesty_ + +A few miles up the river from Colonel Wilton's plantation, upon a high +bluff, from which, as at that point the river made a wide bend, one could +see up and down for a long distance in either direction, was the +beautiful home of the Talbots, known as Fairview Hall. + +On the evening of the raid at the Wilton place, Madam Talbot and her son +were having a very important conversation. Madam Talbot was a widow who +had remained unwedded again from choice. Rumor had it that many +gentlemen cavaliers of the neighborhood had been anxious to take to their +own hearthstones the person of the fair young widow, so early bereft, and +incidentally were willing to assume the responsibility of the management +of the magnificent estate which had been left to her by her most +considerate husband. Among the many suitors gossip held that Colonel +Wilton was the chief, and it was thought at one time that his chances of +success were of the best; but so far, at least, nothing had come of all +the agitation, and Madam Talbot lived her life alone, managing her +plantation, the object of the friendly admiration of all the old +bachelors and widowers of the neighborhood. She had devoted herself to +the successful development of her property with all the energy and +capacity of a nature eminently calculated for success, and was now one of +the richest women in the colony. One son only had blessed her union with +Henry Talbot, and Hilary Talbot was a young man just turned twenty-five +years of age, and the idol of her soul. Too self-contained and too proud +to display the depth of her feelings, except in rare instances, and too +sensible to allow them to interfere in the training of the child, she had +spared neither her heart nor her purse in his education, with such happy +results that he was regarded by all who knew him as one of the finest +specimens of young Virginia that it were possible to meet. Of medium +height, active, handsome, dark-eyed, dark-haired, fiery and impetuous in +temperament, generous and frank in disposition, he was a model among men; +trained from his boyhood in every manly sport and art, and educated in +the best institutions of learning in the colonies, his natural grace +perfected by a tour of two years in England and abroad, from which he had +only a year or so since returned, he perfectly represented all that was +best in the young manhood of Virginia. For many years there had been +hopes in the minds of Colonel Wilton and Madam Talbot, that the affection +between the two young people, who had played together from childhood with +all the frankness and simplicity permitted by country life, would develop +into something nearer and dearer, and that by their marriage at the +proper time the two great estates might be united. + +The two children, early informed of this desire, had grown up under the +influence of the idea; as they reached years of discretion, they had +taken it for granted, considering the arrangement as a fact accomplished +by tacit understanding and habit rather than by formal promise. +Personally attached to each other, nay, even fondly affectionate, the +indefinite tie seemed sufficiently substantial to bring about the desired +result. Katharine had, especially during Talbot's absence in Europe, +resisted all the importunities and rejected all the proposals made to +her, and on his account refused all the hearts laid at her feet. Since +Talbot's return, however, and especially since he refused, or hesitated +rather, to cast his lot in with her own people, his neighbors and +friends, in the Revolution, the affair had, on her part at least, assumed +a new phase. Still, there had been nothing said or done to prevent this +consummation so devoutly to be wished until the advent of Seymour. Then, +too, Talbot, calm and confident in the situation, had not noticed +Seymour's infatuation, and was entirely ignorant that the coveted prize +had slipped from his grasp. The insight of the confident lover was not +so keen as that of the watchful father. + +It was believed by the principal men of Virginia that Talbot's sympathies +were with the revolted colonies; but the influence of his mother, to whom +he had been accustomed to defer, had hitherto proved sufficient to +prevent him from openly declaring himself. His visit to England, and the +delightful reception he had met with there, had weakened somewhat the +ties which bound him to his native country, and he found himself in a +state of indecision as humiliating as it was painful. Lord Dunmore and +Colonel Wilton had each made great efforts to enlist his support, on +account of his wealth and position and high personal qualities. It was +hinted by one that the ancient barony of the Talbots would be revived by +the king; and the gratitude of a free and grateful country, with the +consciousness of having materially aided in acquiring that independence +which should be the birthright of every Englishman, was eloquently +portrayed by the other. When to the last plea was added the personal +preference of Katharine Wilton, the balance was overcome, and the hopes +of the mother were doomed to disappointment. + +For his own hopes, however, the decision had come too late, and it may be +safely presumed that his hesitation was one of the main causes through +which the woman he loved escaped him; for Katharine's heart was given to +young Seymour, after a ten days' courtship, almost before his eyes. In +any event, a wiser man would have seen in Seymour a possible, nay, a +certain rival by no means to be disregarded. An officer who had devoted +himself to the cause of his country in response to the first demand of +the Congress, who had been conspicuously mentioned for gallantry in +general orders and reports, who had been severely wounded while +protecting Katharine's father at the risk of his life; as well bred and +as well born as Talbot, of ample fortune, and with a wide knowledge of +men and things acquired in his merchant voyagings as captain of one of +his own ships in many seas,--Seymour's single-hearted devotion eminently +fitted him to woo and win Miss Katharine Wilton, as he had done. + +Nevertheless, a friendship had sprung up between Seymour and the +unsuspecting Talbot which bade fair to ripen into intimacy; and it may be +supposed that the stories of battles in which the older man had +participated, his attractive personality, the consideration in which the +young sailor was held by men of weight and position in the colonies, as a +man from whom much was to be expected, had large influence in determining +Talbot in the course he proposed taking, and which he had not yet +communicated to his mother. + +The evening repast had just been finished, and the mother and son were +walking slowly up and down the long porch overlooking the river in front +of the house. There was a curious and interesting likeness between the +two,--a facial resemblance only, for Madam Talbot was a slender, rather +frail little woman, and looked smaller by contrast as she walked by the +side of her son, who had his arm affectionately thrown over her shoulder. +She was as straight, however, as he was himself, in spite of her years +and cares, and bore herself as proudly erect as in the days of her youth. +Her black eyes looked out with undiminished lustre from beneath her +snowy-white hair, which needed no powder and was covered by the mob cap +she wore. She looked every inch the lady of the manor, nor did her +actions and words belie her appearance. The subject of the conversation +was evidently a serious one. There was a troubled expression upon her +face, in spite of her self-control, which was in marked contrast to the +hesitating and somewhat irresolute look upon the handsome countenance of +her son. + +"My son, my son," she said at last, "why will you persist in approaching +me upon this subject? You know my opinions. I have not hesitated to +speak frankly, and it is not my habit to change them; in this instance +they are as fixed and as immutable as the polar star. The traditions and +customs of four hundred years are behind me. Our family--you know your +father and I were cousins, and are descended from the same stock--have +been called the 'loyal Talbots.' I cannot contemplate with equanimity +the possibility even of one of us in rebellion against the king." + +"Mother--I am sorry--grieved--but I must tell you that that is a +possibility I fear you must learn to face. I have--" + +"Oh, Hilary, do not tell me you have finally decided to join this +unrighteous rebellion. Pause before you answer, my boy--I entreat you, +and it is not my habit to entreat, as you very well know. See, you have +been the joy of my heart all my life, the idol of my soul,--I will +confess it now,--and for you and your future I have lived and toiled and +served and loved. I have dreamed you great, high in rank and place, +serving your king, winning back the ancient position of our family. I +have shrunk from no sacrifice, nor would I shrink from any. 'Tis not +that I do not wish you to risk your life in war,--I am a daughter of my +race, and for centuries they have been soldiers, and what God sends +soldiers upon the field, that I can abide,--but that you should go now, +with all your prospects, your ability, the opportunity presented you, and +engage yourself in this fatal cause, in this unholy attack upon the +king's majesty, connect yourself with this beggarly rabble who have been +whipped and beaten every time they have come in contact with the royal +troops,--I cannot bear it. You are a man now. You have grown away from +your mother, Hilary, and I can no longer command, I must entreat." But +she spoke very proudly, for, as she said, entreaty was not so usual to +her as command. + +"Oh, mother, mother, you make it very hard for me. You know the +colonists have been badly treated, and hardly used by king and +Parliament. Our liberties have been threatened, nay, have been +abrogated, our privileges destroyed, none of our rights respected, and +unless we are to sink to the level of mere slaves and dependants upon the +mother country, we have no other course but an appeal to arms." + +"I know, I know all that," she interrupted impatiently, with a wave of +her hand. "I have heard it all a thousand times from ill-balanced +agitators and popular orators. There may be some truth in it, of course, +I grant you; but in my creed nothing, Hilary, nothing, will justify a +subject in turning against his king. The king can do no wrong. All that +we have is his; let him take what he will, so he leaves us our honor, and +that, indeed, no one can take from us. It is the principle that our +ancestors have attested on a hundred fields and in every other way, and +will you now be false to it, my boy?" + +"I must be true to myself, mother, first of all, in spite of all the +kings of earth; and I feel that duty and honor call me to the side of my +friends and the people of this commonwealth. I have hesitated long, +mother, in deference to you, but now I have decided." + +"And you turn against two mothers, Hilary, when you take this +course,--old England, the mother country, and this one, this old mother, +who stands before you, who has given you her heart, who has lived for +you, who lives in you now, whose devotion to you has never faltered; she +now humbly asks with outstretched arms, the arms that carried you when +you were a baby boy, that you remain true to your king." + +"Nay, but, mamma," he said, calling her by the sweet name of his boyhood, +taking her hand and looking down at her tenderly with tear-dimmed eyes +full of affection, "one must be true to his idea of right and duty first +of all, even at the price of his allegiance to a king; and, after all, +what is any king beside you in my heart? But I feel in honor bound to go +with my people." + +The irresolution was gone from his expression now, and the two determined +faces--one full of pity, the other of apprehension--confronted each other. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +_The Loyal Talbots_ + +"Your people, son?" she said after a long pause. "Come with me a +moment." She drew him into the brilliantly lighted hall. As they +entered, he said to the servant in waiting,-- + +"See that my bay horse is saddled and brought around at once, and do +you tell Dick to get another horse ready and accompany me; he would +better take the black pony." + +"Are you going out, Hilary?" + +"Yes, mother, when our conversation is over, if there is time. I +thought to ride over to Colonel Wilton's. The night is pleasant, and +the moon will rise shortly. What were you about to say to me?" + +She led him up to the great open fireplace, on the andirons of which a +huge log was blazing and crackling cheerfully. Over the mantel was the +picture of a handsome man in the uniform of a soldier of some twenty +years back. + +"Whose face is pictured there, Hilary?" + +"My honored father," he answered reverently, but in some surprise. + +"And how died he?" + +"On the Plains of Abraham, mother, as you well know." + +"Fighting for his king?" + +"Yes, mother." + +"And who is this one?" she said, passing to another picture. + +"Sir James Talbot; he struck for his king at Worcester," he volunteered. + +"Yes, Hilary; and here is his wife, Lady Caroline Talbot, my +grandmother. She kept the door against the Roundheads while the prince +escaped from her castle, to which he had fled after the battle. And +over there is Lord Cecil Talbot, her father; he fell at Naseby. There +in that corner is another James, his brother, one of Prince Rupert's +men, wounded at Marston Moor. Here is Sir Hilary, slain at the Boyne; +and this old man is Lord Philip, your great-uncle. He was out in the +'45, and was beheaded. These are your people, Hilary," she said, +standing very straight, her head thrown back, her eyes aflame with +pride and determination, "and these struck, fought, lived, and died for +their king. I could bear to see you dead," she laid her hand upon her +heart in sudden fear at the idea, in spite of her brave words, "but I +could not bear to see you a rebel. Think again. You will not so +decide?" She said it bravely; it was her final appeal, and as she made +it she knew that it was useless. The sceptre had departed out of her +hand. + +He smiled sadly at her, but shook his head ominously. "Mother, do you +know these last fought for Stuart pretenders against the house of +Hanover? George III., in your creed, has no right to the place he +holds. Do I not then follow my ancestors in taking the field against +him?" + +"Ah, my child, 't is an unworthy subterfuge. They did fight for the +house of Stuart, God bless it! It was king against king then, and at +least they fought for royalty, for a king; but now the house of Stuart +is gone; the new king occupies the throne undisputed, and our +allegiance is due to him. These unfortunate people who are fighting +here strive to create a republic where all men shall be equal! Said +the sainted martyr Charles on the scaffold, ''T is no concern of the +common people's how they are governed.' A common man equal to a +Talbot! Fight, my son, if you must; but oh, fight for the king, even +an usurper, before a republic, a mob in which so-called equality stands +in very unstable equilibrium,--fight for the rightful ruler of the +land, not against him." + +"Mother, if I am to believe the opinions of those whom I have been +taught to respect, the rightful rulers of this colony, of our country, +of any country, are the people who inhabit it." + +"And who says that, pray, my boy?" + +"Mr. Henry." + +"And do you mean to tell me, a Talbot, that you have been taught to +look up to men of the social stamp of Patrick Henry, or to respect +their opinions?" she said with ineffable disdain. + +"Mother, the logic of events has forced all men to do so. Had you +heard his speeches before the Burgesses at Williamsburg, you would have +thought that he was second to no man in the colony, or in the world +beside; but if he be not satisfactory, there is his excellency General +Washington." + +"Mr. Washington," she replied with an emphasis on the "Mr." "Now +there, I grant you, is a man," she said reluctantly. "I cannot +understand the perversion of his destiny or the folly of his course." + +"And, mother, you know his family was as loyal as our own. One of his +forefathers held Worcester for King Charles with the utmost gallantry +and resolution. And he had as a companion in arms in that brave +attempt Sir George Talbot, one of our ancestors. There is an example +for you. I have often heard you speak with the greatest respect of +George Washington." + +"It is true, my son," she replied honestly, "but I am at a loss to +fathom his motive. What can it be?" + +"Mother, I am persuaded of the purity of his motives; his actions +spring from the very highest sense of his personal obligation to the +cause of liberty." + +"'Liberty, liberty,' 't is a weak word when matched with loyalty. But +be this as it may, my son, it is beside the question. Our family, +these men and women who look down upon us, all fought for principles of +royalty. It makes no difference whether or no they fought for or +against one or another king, so long as it was a king they fought for. +Such a thing as a democracy never entered their heads. And if you take +this course, you will be false to every tradition of our past. In my +opinion, the people are not fit to govern, and you will find it so. In +the impious attempt that is being made to reverse what I conceive to be +the divinely appointed polity and law of God, disaster must be the only +end." + +"Mother, I must follow my convictions in the present rather than any +examples in the past. But this is a painful discussion. Should we not +best end it? I honor your opinions, I love you, but I must go." + +There was a long silence. She broke it. "Well, my child," she said in +despair, "you have reached man's estate, and the men of the Talbot race +have ever been accustomed to do as their judgment dictates. If you +have decided to join Washington's rabble and take part among the rebels +in this fratricidal contest, I shall say no more. I cannot further +oppose you. I cannot give you my blessing--as I might in happier +circumstances--nor can I wish success to your cause. I too am a +Talbot, and have my principles, which I must also maintain; but at +least I can gird your sword about you, and express the hope and make +the prayer, as I do, that you may wear and use it honorably; and that +hope, if you are true to the traditions of our house, will never be +broken,--I feel sure of that, at least." + +The young man bent and kissed his mother, a new light shining in his +eyes. "Mother, I thank you. At least, as far as I am concerned, I +will endeavor to do my duty honorably in every field. And now I think, +with your permission, I will go over and tell Katharine that I have at +last made up my mind and cast my lot in with her--I mean with our +country," he said, blushing, but with the thoughtless disregard of +youth as to the meaning and effect of his words. + +"Go, my son, and God be with you!" she said solemnly. + +He stepped quickly out on the porch, and, swinging into the saddle of +the horse which awaited him, with the ease and grace of an accomplished +horseman, galloped off in the moonlight night followed by the groom. + +The little old woman stood rigidly in the doorway a moment, looking +after her departed son, and then she walked quickly down to a rustic +seat on the brow of the hill and sat down heavily, following with +straining eyes and yearning heart his rapidly disappearing figure. The +same pang that every mother must feel, those who have a son at least, +once in her life if no more, came to her heart; all her prayers had +been unavailing, her requests unheeded, her pleas and wishes +disregarded. She had an idea, not altogether warranted perhaps, but +still she had it, that the influence was not so much the example of +General Washington, nor the eloquence of Patrick Henry, nor the force +of neighborly example, nor rigid principle, but the influence of a +sunny head, and a pair of youthful eyes, and a merry laugh, and a young +heart, and a pleading voice. These have always stood in the light of a +mother since the world began, and these have taken her son from her +side. All her hopes gone, her dreams shattered, her sacrifice vain, +her love wasted, she bowed her white head upon her thin hands, and wept +quietly in the silent night. The deep waters had gone over her soul, +and the rare tears of the old woman bespoke a breaking heart. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +_An Untold Story_ + +There were two roads which led from Fairview Hall to the home of the +Wiltons,--one by the river, and the other over the hills farther +inland. Talbot had chosen the river-road, and was riding along with a +light heart, forgetful of his mother and those tears which indeed she +would not have shown him, and full of pleasant anticipations as to the +effect of his decision upon Katharine. + +As he rode along in the moonlight, his mind, full of that calm repose +which comes to men when they have finally arrived at a decision upon +some point which has troubled them, felt free to range where it would, +and naturally his thoughts turned toward the girl he loved. He was +getting along in life, twenty-four his last birthday, while Katharine +was several years his junior. It was time to settle himself; and if he +must ride away to the wars, it were well, pleasant at least, to think +that he was leaving at home a wife over whom he had thrown the +protecting aegis of his name. + +Katharine would be much happier,--his thoughts dwelt tenderly upon +her,--and the definite arrangement would be better than this tacit +understanding, which of course was sufficiently binding; though, now he +thought of it, Katharine had seemed a little difficult of late, +probably because of the indefinite character of the tie. He laughed +boyishly in pleasure at his own thought. It was another proof that she +loved him, that she resented any assumption on his part based on hopes +indulged in and plans formed by her father and his mother. He must +declare himself at once. Poor mother! it was hard for her; but she +would soon get over all that, and when he came back distinguished and +honored by the people, she would feel very differently. As for the +capricious Katharine, he would speak out that very night, never +doubting the issue, and get it done with. Of course, that was all that +was necessary. + +When she knew that he was engaged heart and soul in the cause of the +Revolution, she would be ready to yield him anything. Not that he had +any doubt of the result of his proposal in any case; as soon doubt that +the nature and orderly sequence of events should be suddenly and +violently interrupted, as imagine that these cherished plans, in which +they had both acquiesced so long ago, should fall through. And so my +lord was prepared to drop the handkerchief at the feet of my lady for +her to pick up! It was a time, however, he might have remembered, in +which the old established order of events in other fields, which men +had long since conceived of as fixed as natural laws, was being rudely +broken and destroyed. Many things which had heretofore been habitually +taken for granted, now were required to be proved, and Talbot was +destined to meet the fate of every over-confident lover. Devotion, +self-abnegation, persistency,--these during ten days had held the +field; and the result of the campaign had been that inevitable one +which may always be looked for when the opposing forces, even after +years of possession, muster under the banner of habit, assurance, +confidence, and neglect. + +So musing, the light-hearted gentleman galloped along. The intervening +distance was soon passed over, and Talbot found himself entering the +familiar stretch of woodland which marked the beginning of the +colonel's estate. Under the trees and beneath the high bank of the +river the shadows deepened; scarcely any light from the moon fell on +the road. It was well, therefore, that our cavalier drew rein, and +somewhat checked the pace of his horse, advancing with some caution +over the familiar yet unseen road; for just as he came opposite the +land end of the pier which led out to the boat-house, the animal +stopped with such suddenness that a less practised rider would have +suffered a severe fall. The horse snorted and trembled in terror, and +began rearing and backing away from the spot. Looking down in the +darkness, Talbot could barely discern a dark, bulky object lying in the +road. + +"Here, Dick!" he called to the groom, who had stopped and reined in his +own horse, apparently as terrified as the other, a few paces back of +his master; and tossing his bridle rein toward him, "take my horse, +while I see what stopped him." + +Lightly leaping to the ground, and stepping up to the object before +him, he bent down and laid his hand upon it, and then started back in +surprise and horror. "It's a man," he exclaimed; "dead, yet warm +still. Who can it be?" The moonlight fell upon the pebbly beach of +the river a little farther out; overcoming his reluctance, he half +lifted, half carried the body out where the light would fall upon its +face. This face, which was unknown to him, was that of a +desperate-looking ruffian, who was dressed in a soiled and tattered +uniform, the coat of which was red; the man's hand tightly clasped a +discharged pistol; he had been shot in the breast, for where his coat +had fallen open might be seen a dark red stain about a ragged hole in +his soiled gray shirt; the bullet had been fired at short range, too, +for there were powder marks all about his breast. Talbot noticed these +things rapidly, his mind working quickly. + +"Oh, Mars' Hil'ry--wha-wha's de mattah? I kyarnt hol' dese hosses; +dey'se sumfin wrong, sho'ly," broke in the groom, his teeth chattering +with terror. + +"Quiet, man! don't make so much noise. This is the dead body of a man, +a soldier; he has been shot too. Take the horses back beyond the old +tree on the little bend there; tie them securely, and come back here +quickly. Make no noise. Bring the pistols from your holsters." + +As the man turned to obey him, Talbot glanced about in perplexity, and +his eyes fell upon a small sloop rapidly disappearing down the river, +under full sail in the fresh breeze which had sprung up. She was too +far away now to make out any details in the moonlight, but the sight +was somewhat unusual and alarming, he scarcely knew why. + +"I got dem tied safe, Mars' Hil'ry," called out the voice of the boy +from the road. + +"All right, Dick! We will leave this one here, and try to find out +what's wrong; you follow me, and keep the pistols ready." + +"Yes, Mars', I got dem." The man was brave enough in the presence of +open danger; it was only the spiritual he feared. + +They had scarcely gone ten paces farther toward the path, when, at the +foot of it, they stumbled over another body. + +"Here is another one. What does it mean? See who it is, Dick." + +The groom, mastering his instinctive aversion, bent down obediently, +and lifting the face peered into it. It was lighter here, and he +recognized it at once. + +"Hit's Mars' Blodgett, de kunnel's old sojuh man. Him got a +bullet-hole in de fohaid, suh; him a dead man sholy, an' heah is his +gun by his han'," he said in an awestruck whisper. + +"Blodgett! Good God, it can't be." + +"Yes, suh, it's him, and dere's anoder one ober dah. See, suh!" He +laid his hand upon another body, in the same uniform as the first one. +This man groaned slightly. + +"Dis one's not daid yit," said Dick, excitedly; "he been hit ober de +haid, his face all bloody. Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, dem raidahs you done tell +me 'bout been heah. Mars' Blodgett done shot dat one by de riber on de +waf, an' den hit dis one wid his musket, an' den dey done shoot Mars' +Blodgett. Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, le' 's get out ob heah." + +Talbot saw it all now,--the slow and stealthy approach of the boat from +the little sloop out in the river (it had disappeared round the bend, +he noticed), Blodgett's quiet watch at the foot of the path, the +approach of the men, Blodgett's challenge, the first one shot dead as +he came up, the pistol-shot which missed him, the rush of the men at +the indomitable old soldier, the nearest one struck down from the blow +of the clubbed musket of the sturdy old man, the second pistol-shot, +which hit him in the forehead, his fall across the path. Faithful unto +death at the post of duty. The little drama was perfectly plain to +him. But who were these raiders? Who could they be? And Katharine? + +"Oh, my God," he exclaimed, stung into quick action at the thought of a +possible peril to his love. "Come, Dick, to the house; she may be in +danger." + +"But dis libe one, Mars' Hil'ry?" + +"Quick, quick! leave him; we will see about him later." + +With no further attempt at caution, they sprang recklessly up the steep +path, and, gaining the brow of the hill, ran at full speed toward the +house. He noticed that there were no lights in the negro quarters, no +sounds of the merry-making usually going on there in the early evening. +Through the open windows on the side of the house, he had a hasty +glimpse of the disordered dining-room. The great doors of the hall +were open. They were on the porch now,--now at the door of the hall. +It was empty. He paused a second. "Katharine, Katharine!" he called +aloud, a note of fear in his voice, "where are you? Colonel Wilton!" +In the silence which his voice had broken he heard a weak and feeble +moan, which struck terror into his heart. + +He ran hastily down the hall, and stopped at the dining-room door +aghast. The smoking candles in the sconces were throwing a somewhat +uncertain light over a scene of devastation and ruin; the furniture of +the table and the accessories of the meal lay in a broken heap at the +foot of it, the chairs were overturned, the curtains torn, the great +sideboard had been swept bare of its usual load of glittering silver. + +At his feet lay the body of a man, in the now familiar red uniform, +blood from a ghastly sword-thrust clotted about his throat, the floor +about his head being covered with ominous stains. A little farther +away on the floor, near the table, there was the body of another man, +in another uniform, a naked sword lying by his side; he had a +frightful-looking wound on his forehead, and the blood was slowly +oozing out of his coat-sleeve, staining the lace at his left wrist. +Even as he looked, the man turned a little on the floor, and the same +low moan broke from his lips. Talbot stepped over the first body to +the side of the other. + +"My God, it's Seymour," he said. He knelt beside him, as Katharine had +done. "Seymour," he called, "Seymour!" The man opened his eyes +slowly, and looked vacantly at him. + +"Katharine," he murmured. + +"What of her? is she safe?" asked Talbot, in an agony of fear. + +"Raiders--prisoner," continued Seymour, brokenly, in a whisper, and +then feebly murmured, "Water, water!" + +"Here, Dick, get some water quickly! First hand me that decanter of +wine," pointing to one which had fortunately escaped the eyes of the +marauders. He lifted Seymour's head gently, and with a napkin which he +had picked up from the floor, wiped the bloody face, washing it with +the water the groom quickly brought from the well outside. + +Then he poured a little of the wine down the wounded man's throat, next +slit the sleeve of his coat, and saw that the scarcely healed wound in +the arm had broken out again. He bandaged it up with no small skill +with some of the other neglected table linen, and the effect upon +Seymour of the stimulant and of these ministrations was at once +apparent. With a stronger voice he said slowly,-- + +"Dunmore's men--Captain Johnson--colonel a prisoner--Katharine +also--God grant--no harm intended." + +"Hush, hush! I understand. But where are the slaves?" + +"Terrified, I suppose--in hiding." + +"Dick, see if you can find any of them. Hurry up! We must take Mr. +Seymour back to Fairview tonight, and report this outrage to the +military commander at Alexandria. Oh that I had a boat and a few men!" +he murmured. Katharine was gone. He would not tell his story +to-night; she was in the hands of a gang of ruffians. He knew the +reputation of Johnson, and the motives which might actuate him. There +had been a struggle, it was evident; perhaps she had been wounded, +killed. Agony! He knew now how he loved her, and it was too late. + +Presently the groom returned, followed by a mob of frightened, +terror-stricken negroes who had fled at the first advent of the party. +Talbot issued his orders rapidly. "Some of you get the carriage ready; +we must take Lieutenant Seymour to Fairview Hall. Some of you go down +to the landing and bring up the bodies of the three men there. You go +with that party, Dick. Phoebus, you get this room cleared up. Hurry, +stir yourselves! You are all right now; the raiders have gone and are +not likely to return." + +"Why, where is Master Philip, I wonder? Was he also taken?" he said +suddenly. "Have any of you seen him?" he asked of the servants. + +"He done gone away fishin' wid Mars' Bentley," replied the old butler, +pausing; "and dey ain't got back yit, tank de Lawd; but I spec 'em ev'y +minute, suh." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +_Bentley's Prayer_ + +As he spoke, a fresh youthful voice was heard in the hall. "Father, +Kate, where are you? Come see our string of-- Why, what's all this?" +said a young man, standing astonished in the door of the room. It was +Philip Wilton, holding a long string of fish, the result of their day's +sport; behind him stood the tall stalwart figure of the old sailor. +"Talbot--you? Where are father and Kate? What are these men doing in +the dining-room? Oh, what is that?" he said, shrinking back in horror +from the corpse of the soldier. + +"Dunmore's raiders have been here." + +"And Katharine?" + +"A prisoner, with your father, Philip, but I trust both are uninjured." + +"Mr. Seymour, sir, where is he?" said the deep voice of the boatswain, +as he advanced farther into the room. The light fell full upon him. +He was a splendid specimen of athletic manhood; tall, powerful, +long-armed, slightly bent in the shoulders; decision and courage were +seen in his bearing, and were written on his face, burned a dull +mahogany color by years of exposure to the weather. He was clothed in +the open shirt and loose trousers of a seafaring man, and he stood with +his feet slightly apart, as if balancing himself to the uneasy roll of +a ship. Honesty and fidelity and intelligence spoke out from his eyes, +and affection and anxiety were heard in his voice. + +"Lieutenant Seymour," he repeated, "where is he, sir?" + +"There," said Talbot, stepping aside and pointing to the floor. + +"Not dead, sir, is he?" + +"Not yet, Bentley," Seymour, with regaining strength, replied; "I am +not done for this time." + +"Oh, Mr. John, Mr. John," said the old man, tenderly, bending over him, +"I thank God to see you alive again. But, as I live, they shall pay +dear for this--whoever has done it,--the bloody, marauding, ruffians!" + +"Yes, Bentley, I join you in that vow," said Talbot. + +"And I too," added Philip, bravely. + +"And I," whispered the wounded man. + +"It's one more score that has got to be paid off by King George's men, +one more outrage on this country, one more debt we owe the English," +Bentley continued fiercely. + +"No; these were Americans, Virginians,--more's the shame,--led by that +blackguard Johnson. He has long hated the colonel," replied Talbot. + +"Curses on the renegades!" said the old man. "Who is it that loves +freedom and sees not that the blow must be struck to-day? How can any +man born in this land hesitate to--" He stopped suddenly, as his eyes +fell upon Talbot, whose previous irresolution and refusal had been no +secret to him. + +"Don't stop for me, Bentley," said that young man, gently; "I am with +you now. I came over this evening to tell our friends here that I +start north tomorrow as a volunteer to offer my services to General +Washington." + +"Oh, Hilary," exclaimed Philip, joyfully, "I am so glad. Would that +Katharine and father could hear you now!" + +Seymour lifted his unwounded arm, and beckoned to Talbot. "God bless +you, Talbot," he said; "to hear you say that is worth a dozen cracks +like this, and I feel stronger every minute. If it were not for the +old wound, I would n't mind this thing a bit. But there is something +you must do. There is an armed cutter stationed up the river at +Alexandria; send some one to notify the commander of the Virginia naval +militia there. They will pursue and perhaps recapture the party. But +the word must be carried quickly; I fear it will be too late as it is." + +"I will go, Hilary, if you think best." + +"Very well, Philip; take your best horse and do not delay a moment. +Katharine's liberty, your father's life perhaps, depend upon your +promptness. Better see Mr. West as you go through the town,--your +father's agent, you know,--and ask him to call upon me to-morrow. Stop +at the Hall as you come back." + +"All right, Hilary, I will be in Alexandria in four hours," said +Philip, running out. + +"Bentley, I am going to take Lieutenant Seymour over to my plantation. +Will you stay here and look after the house until I can notify Colonel +Wilton's agent at Alexandria to come and take charge, or until we hear +from the colonel what is to be done? You can come over in the morning, +you know, and hear about our protégé. I am afraid the slaves would +never stay here alone; they are so disorganized and terrorized now over +these unfortunate occurrences as to be almost useless." + +"Ay, ay, sir; if Lieutenant Seymour can spare me, I will stay." + +"Yes, Bentley, do; I shall be in good hands at Fairview Hall." + +"This is arranged, then," said Talbot. "It is nine o'clock. I think +we would better start at once. I will go out and see that the +arrangements about the carriage are made properly, myself," he said, +stepping through the door. + +Seymour's hand had closed tightly over something which had happened to +fall near where it lay. "Bentley," he called, "what is this in my +hand?" + +"It is a handkerchief, Mr. John,--a woman's handkerchief too, sir, and +covered with blood." + +"Has it any marks on it?" said Seymour, eagerly. + +"Yes, sir; here are the letters K. W. embroidered in this corner." + +"I thought so," he smiled triumphantly. "Will you put it inside my +waistcoat, there, over my heart? Yes," he added, as if in answer to +the old man's anxious look, "it is true; I love her, and she has +confessed that she loves me. Oh, who will protect her now?" + +"God, sir," said Bentley, solemnly, but with a strange pang of almost +womanly jealousy in his faithful old heart. + +"Ay, old friend, He will watch over her. He knows best. Now help me +up." + +"No, sir. Beg pardon for disobeying orders, but you are to lie still. +We will carry you to the carriage. Nay, sir, you must. You are too +weak from loss of blood with two wounds on you to stand it. A few days +will bring you about all right, though, I hope, sir." + +"All ready, Bentley?" said Talbot, coming into the room. "The negro +boys have rigged up a stretcher out of a shutter, and with a mattress +and blankets in the carriage, I think we can manage, driving carefully, +to take him over without any great discomfort. I have sent Dick on +ahead to ride over to Dr. Craik's and bid him come to the Hall at once; +so Mr. Seymour will be well looked after. By the way, Blodgett is +dead. I had almost forgotten him. He evidently met and fought those +fellows at the landing. We found him at the foot of the steps by the +boat-landing with two bodies. That reminds me, one of them was alive +when we came by. I told the men to bring all three of the bodies up. +Here they are now. Are any of them alive yet, Caesar?" + +"No, suh, dey 'se all ob 'em daid." + +"Take the two redcoats into the dining-room with the other one. Lay +Blodgett here in the hall. He must have been killed instantly. Well; +good-by, I shall be over in the morning," he exclaimed, extending his +hand. + +"Good-by, sir," said the seaman, taking it in his own huge palm. "Take +care of Lieutenant Seymour." + +"Oh, never fear; we will." + +"And may God give the men who did this into our hands!" added Bentley, +raising his arms solemnly. + +"Amen," said Talbot, with equal gravity. + +Seymour was tenderly lifted into the carriage, and attended by Talbot, +who sat by his side. Followed by two servants who had orders to get +the horses, which they found tied where they had been left, the +carriage drove off to the Hall. With what different thoughts was the +mind of the young man busy! Scarcely an hour had elapsed since he +galloped over the road, a light-hearted boy, flushed with hope, filled +with confidence, delighted in his decision, anticipating a reception, +meditating words of love. In that one hour the boy had changed from +youth to man. The love which he had hardly dreamed was in his heart +had risen like a wave and overwhelmed him; the capture and abduction of +his sweetheart, the whole brutal and outrageous proceeding, had filled +him with burning wrath. He could not wait to strike a blow for liberty +against such tyranny now, and his soul was full of resentment to the +mother he had loved and honored, because she had held him back; all of +the devoted past was forgotten in one impetuous desire of the present. +To-morrow should see him on the way to the army, he swore. He wrung +his hands in impotent passion. + +"Katharine, Katharine, where are you?" he murmured. Seymour stirred. +"Are you in pain, my friend?" + +"No," said the sailor quietly, his heart beating against the +blood-stained handkerchief, as he echoed in his soul the words he had +heard: "Katharine, Katharine, where are you? where are you?" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +_A Soldier's Epitaph_ + +Left to himself in the deserted hall, the old sailor walked over to the +body of the old soldier. Many a quaint dispute these two old men had +held in their brief acquaintance, and upon no one thing had they been +able to agree, except in hatred of the English and love of their common +country. Still their disputes had been friendly, and, if they had not +loved, they had at least respected each other. + +"I wish I had not been so hard on the man. I really liked him," +soliloquized the sailor. "Poor Blodgett, almost forgotten, as Mr. +Talbot says. He died the right way, though, doing his duty, fighting +for his country and for those he loved. Well, he was a brave man--for +a soldier," he murmured thoughtfully. + +Out on the river the little sloop was speeding rapidly along. Ride as +thou wilt, Philip, she cannot be overtaken. Most of the exhausted men +lay about the decks in drunken slumber. Johnson stood moodily by the +man at the helm; his triumph had been tempered by Desborough's +interference. Two or three of the more decent of his followers were +discussing the events of the night. + +"Poor Joe!" said one. + +"Yes, and Evans and Whitely too," was the reply. + +"Ay, three dead, and nobody hurt for it," answered the other. + +"You forget the old fellow at the landing, though." + +"Yes, he fought like the devil, and came near balking the whole game. +That was a lucky shot you got in, Davis, after Evans missed and was +hit. That fellow was a brave man--for a rebel," said the raider. + + +In the cabin of the sloop Colonel Wilton was sitting on one of the +lockers, his arm around Katharine, who was leaning against him, +weeping, her hands before her face. Desborough was standing +respectfully in front of them. + +"And you say he made a good fight?" asked the colonel, sadly. + +"Splendid, sir. We stole up to the boat-house with muffled oars, +wishing to give no warning, and before he knew it half of us were on +the wharf. He challenged, we made a rush; he shot the first man in the +breast and brained the next with his clubbed musket, shouting words of +warning the while. The men fell back and handled their pistols. I +heard two or three shots, and then he fell, never making another sound. +But for Johnson's forethought in sending a second boat load to the +upper landing to get to the back of the house, you might have escaped +with the warning and the delay he caused. He was a brave man, and died +like a soldier," continued the young man, softly. + +"He saved my life at Cartagena, and when I caught the fever there, he +nursed me at the risk of his own. He was faithfulness itself. He died +as he would have liked to die, with his face to the enemy. I loved him +in a way you can hardly understand. Yes, he was a brave man,--my poor +old friend." + + +On the rustic bench beside the driveway overlooking the river sat a +little woman, older by ten years in the two hours which had elapsed +since she looked after the disappearing figure of her son. + +She heard the sound of wheels upon the gravel road, and recognized +Colonel Wilton's carriage and horses coming up the hill; there were her +own two horses following after, but neither of the riders was her son. +What could have happened? She rose in alarm. The carriage stopped +near her. + +"What, mother, are you still here?" said Hilary, opening the door and +stepping out, his voice cold and stern. + +"Yes, my son; what has happened?" + +"Dunmore's men have raided the Wilton place. Katharine and her father +have been carried away by that brute Johnson, who commanded the party. +Seymour has been wounded in defending Katharine. I have brought him +here. This is the way," he went on fiercely, "his majesty the king +wages war on his beloved subjects of Virginia." + +"'They that take the sword, shall perish with the sword,'" she quoted +with equal resolution. + +"And Blodgett is killed too," he added. + +"What else have those who rebel against their rightful monarch a right +to expect?" she replied. "Is Mr. Seymour seriously wounded?" + +"No, madam," answered that young man, from the carriage; "but I fear me +my cause makes me an unwelcome visitor." + +"Nay, not so, sir. No wounded helpless man craving assistance can ever +be unwelcome at my--at the home of the Talbots, whatever his creed. +How died Blodgett, did you say, Hilary?" + +"Fighting for his master, at the foot of the path, shot by those +ruffians." + +"So may it be to all enemies of the king," she replied; "but after all +he was a brave man. 'T is a pity he fell in so poor a cause." + + +And that was thy epitaph, old soldier; that thy requiem, honest +Blodgett,--from friend and foe alike,--"He was a brave man." + + + + +BOOK II + +KNIGHTS ERRANT OF THE SEA + + +CHAPTER XI + +_Captain John Paul Jones_ + +"You would better spread a little more canvas, Mr. Seymour. I think we +shall do better under the topgallantsails. We have no time to lose." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the young executive officer; and then lifting +the trumpet to his lips, he called out with a powerful voice, "Lay +aloft and loose the topgallantsails! Man the topgallant sheets and +halliards!" + +The crew, both watches being on deck, were busy with the various duties +rendered necessary by the departure of a ship upon a long cruise, and +were occupied here and there with the different details of work to be +done when a ship gets under way. Some of them, their tasks +accomplished for the moment, were standing on the forecastle, or +peering through the gun ports, gazing at the city, with the tall spire +of Christ Church and the more substantial elevation of the building +even then beginning to be known as Independence Hall, rising in the +background beyond the shipping and over the other buildings which they +were so rapidly leaving. In an instant the quiet deck became a scene +of quick activity, as the men left their tasks and sprang to their +appointed stations. The long coils of rope were thrown upon the deck +and seized by the groups of seamen detailed for the purpose; while the +rigging shook under the quick steps of the alert topmen springing up +the ratlines, swarming over the tops, and laying out on the yards, +without a thought of the giddy elevation, in their intense rivalry each +to be first. + +"The main royal also, Mr. Seymour," continued the captain. "I think +she will bear it; 'tis a new and good stick." + +"Ay, ay, sir. Main topgallant yard there." + +"Sir?" + +"Aloft, one of you, and loose the royal as well." + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +After a few moments of quick work, the officers of the various masts +indicated their readiness for the next order by saying, in rapid +succession,-- + +"All ready the fore, sir." + +"All ready the main, sir." + +"All ready the mizzen, sir." + +"Handsomely now, and all together. I want those Frenchmen there to see +how smartly we can do this," said the captain, in reply, addressing +Seymour in a tone perfectly audible over the ship. + +"Let fall! Lay in! Sheet home! Hoist away! Tend the braces there!" +shouted the first lieutenant. + +Amid the creaking of blocks, the straining of cordage, and the lusty +heaving of the men, with the shrill pipes of the boatswain and his +mates for an accompaniment, the sheets were hauled home on the yards, +the yards rose on their respective masts, and the light sails, the +braces being hauled taut, bellied out in the strong breeze, adding +materially to the speed of the ship. + +"Lay down from aloft," cried the lieutenant, when all was over. + +"Ay, that will do," remarked the captain. "We go better already. I am +most anxious to get clear of the Capes before nightfall. Call the men +aft, and request the officers to come up on the quarterdeck. I wish to +speak to them." + +"Ay, ay, sir.--Mr. Wilton," said the young officer, turning to a young +midshipman, standing on the lee-side of the deck, "step below and ask +the officers there, and those forward, to come on deck. Bentley," he +called to the boatswain, "call all hands aft." + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +Again the shrill whistling of the pipes was heard, followed by the deep +tones of Bentley, which rolled and tumbled along the decks of the ship +in the usual long-drawn monotonous cry, which could be heard, above the +roar of the wind or the rush of the water or the straining of the +timbers, from the truck to the keelson: "All hands lay aft, to the +quarter-deck." + +The captain, standing upon the poop-deck, was not, at first glance, a +particularly imposing figure. He was small in stature, scarcely five +and a half feet high at best, with his natural height diminished, as is +often the case with sailors, by a slight bending of the back and +stooping of the shoulders; yet he possessed a well-knit, vigorous, and +not ungraceful figure, whose careless poise, and the ease with which he +maintained his position, with his hands clasped behind his back, in +spite of the rather heavy roll and pitch of the ship, in the very +strong breeze, indicated long familiarity with the sea. + +His naturally dark complexion was rendered extremely swarthy by the +long exposure to weather, and tropic weather at that, which he had +undergone. The expression of his face was of that abstract and +thoughtful, nay, even melancholy, cast which we commonly associate with +the student rather than the man of affairs. He was dressed in the +prescribed uniform of a captain of the American navy, in the +Revolutionary period: a dark blue cloth coat with red lapels, slashed +cuffs, and stand-up collar, flat gold buttons (this last a piece of +unusual extravagance); blue breeches, and a red waistcoat heavily +laced; silk stockings and buckled shoes, with a curved cross-hilted +sword and cocked hat, completed his attire. As the men came crowding +aft to the main mast, the idlers tumbling up through the hatches in +response to the command, his indifferent look gave way to one of quick +attention, and each individual seaman seemed to be especially embraced +in the severe scrutiny with which he regarded the mass. In truth, they +were a crew of which any officer might well be proud; somewhat motley +and nondescript as to uniform and appearance, perhaps, and unused to +the strict discipline of men-of-war, but hardy, bold, resolute seamen, +with whom, properly led, all things were possible,--men who would +hesitate at nothing in the way of attack, and who were permeated with +such an intensity of hate for England and for British men-of-war as +made them the most dangerous foes that country ever encountered on the +seas. Several of them, Bentley among the number, had been pressed, at +one time or another, on English war vessels; and one or two had even +felt the lash upon their backs, and bore shocking testimony, in +deep-scarred wounds, to the barbaric method of punishment in vogue for +the maintenance of discipline in the British navy, and, indeed, in all +the great navies of the world,--a practice, however, but little +resorted to by the American navy. + +The officers, gathered in a little knot on the lee side of the +quarter-deck, several midshipmen among them, were worthy of the crew +and the commander. + +"Men," said the captain, in a clear, firm voice, removing his cocked +hat from his thick black hair, tied in a queue and entirely devoid of +powder, as he looked down at them from the break of the poop with his +piercing black eyes, "we are bound for English waters--" + +"Hurrah, hurrah!" cried many voices from the crew, impetuously. + +"We will show the new flag for the first time on the high seas," he +continued, visibly pleased, and pointing proudly to the stars and +stripes, which his own hand had first hoisted, fluttering gayly out at +the peak; "and I trust we may strike a blow or two which will cause it, +and us, to be long remembered. While you are under my orders I shall +expect from you prompt, unquestioned compliance with my commands, or +those of my officers, and a ready submission to the hard discipline of +a ship-of-war, to which most of you, I suspect, are unfamiliar, unless +you have learned it in that bitter school, a British ship. You will +learn, however, while principles of equality are very well in civil +life, they have no place in the naval service. Subordination is the +word here; this is not a trading-vessel, but a ship-of-war, and I +intend to be implicitly obeyed," he continued sternly, looking even +more fiercely at them. "Nevertheless," he added, somewhat relaxing his +set features, "although we be not a peaceful merchantman, yet I expect +and intend to do a little trading with the ships of the enemy, and in +any prizes which we may capture, you know you will all have a just, +nay, a liberal, share. It must not be lost sight of, however, that the +first business of this ship, as of every other ship-of-war of our +country, is to fight the ships of the enemy of equal, or of not too +great, force. Should we find such a one, as is most likely, in the +English Channel, we must remember that the honor and glory of our flag +are above prize money." + +"Three cheers for Captain John Paul Jones!" cried one of the seamen, +leaping on a gun and waving his hat; they were given with a mighty rush +from nearly two hundred lusty throats, the ship being heavily +overmanned for future emergencies. + +"That will do, men," said the captain, smiling darkly. "Remember that +a willing crew makes a happy cruise--and don't wake the sleeping +cat![1] Mr. Seymour, have the boatswain pipe all hands to grog, then +set the watches. Mr. Talbot," he added, turning to the young officer +in the familiar buff and blue of the Continental army, who stood by his +side, an interested and attentive spectator to all that had occurred, +"will you do me the honor of taking a glass of wine with me in the +cabin?--I should be glad if you would join us also, Mr. Seymour, after +the watch has been called, and you can leave the deck. Let Mr. +Wallingford have the watch; he is familiar with the bay. Tell him to +take in the royal and the fore and mizzen topgallantsails if it blows +heavily," he continued, after a pause, and then, bowing, he left the +deck. + + + +[1] The cat-o'-nine-tails, used for punishment by flogging. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +_An Important Commission_ + +Meanwhile, interesting conversations were going on forward, of which +this is a sample. + +"I 'm blest if I like this orderin' business," said one grizzled +seaman; "they said he was h--l on orders, but what I shipped for was +prize money and a chance to get a lick at them bloody Britishers; not +for to clean brass work, an' scrape spars, an' flemish down, an' +holy-stone decks, which he won't let us spit terbacker on. I don't +call this no fighting fur liberty, not by a durn sight." + +"Shut up, Bill," replied another; "you've got to obey orders. This +yere ain't no old tea wagon, no fishing-boat, you old scowbanker, it's +a wessel-o'-war; and may I never see Nantucket again if the old man," +using a merchantman's expression, "ain't goin' to be captain of the old +hooker while he's in it. And if you call this hard work and growl at +this kind o' dissyplin'--well, all I got ter say, you'd oughter been on +the old Radnor. Curse the British devils!" he cried, grinding his heel +in the deck. "I 'd give twenty years of my life to be alongside her in +a ship half her size; yes, even in this one, and I tell ye yon 's the +man to put her there, if he gets a chance. Ain't that so, mates?" + +"Ay, ay, Jack, 'tis true," came a deep-toned chorus of approval. + +"Besides," went on the forecastle orator, "we all know'd wot kind of a +officer he is. Fightin' and prize money is wot we all want; and here +'s where we 'll git it, you 'll see, eh, mates?" + +"Ay, ay; Jack's right, Bill." + +"Then blow the dissyplin', say I; I'll take orders from a man wot ain't +afraid o' nothin', wot hates the red rag we knows of, wot won't send me +where he won't go himself. Fightin' and prize money, he 's our man. +Besides, wot's the use o' kickin', we got to do it; we're bound by them +articles of war we signed," continued this deep-sea philosopher. "Now, +pass me my can o' grog, Tom, I 'm dry as a cod. Here 's to America, +and damn the British, too," continued this sea lawyer, drinking his +toast amid shouts of approval from the men. + +Left to himself, Seymour, after the men had received their grog, and +other necessary duties had been attended to, turned the deck over to +Lieutenant Wallingford, whose watch it was with Philip Wilton, and, +descending the poop-deck ladder, disappeared through the same door +which had received the two officers into the cabin. + +Three weeks had elapsed since the raid upon the Wilton place, and the +scene had shifted from Virginia to the sea, or rather to the great bay +which gives entrance to it, from the Delaware River. It was a clear +cold day in the early part of December, and the American Continental +ship Ranger had just left her moorings off Philadelphia, with orders to +proceed to English waters; stopping at Brest to receive the orders of +the commissioners in Paris, and then, in case no better ship could be +found, to ravage the English Channel and coast, as a warning that like +processes, on the part of England on our own shores, should not go +unpunished. + +John Paul Jones, who had already given evidence, not only of that +desperate courage and unyielding tenacity which had marked him as among +the most notable of sea officers the world has seen,--lacking nothing +but opportunity to have equalled, if not surpassed a Nelson--but of +consummate seamanship and great executive ability as well, had been +appointed to command the ship. Before proceeding on the mission, +however, an important undertaking had been allotted to him. The +commissioners had sent word from France, by a fast-sailing armed +packet, of the near departure of a transport from England, called the +Mellish, laden with two thousand muskets, twenty field-pieces, powder, +and other munitions of war, and ten thousand suits of winter clothes, +destined for the army that was assembling at Halifax and Quebec for the +invasion of the colonies, by way of the St. Lawrence River and Lake +Champlain. + +Congress had transmitted the letter from France to Captain Jones, with +directions that he endeavor to intercept and capture this transport. +The destitution of the American army at this period of the war was +frightful: devoid of clothes, arms, provisions, powder,--everything, in +fact, which is apparently vital to the existence of an army; +continually beaten, menaced by a confident, well-equipped, and +disciplined enemy in overwhelming force, and before whom they had been +habitually retreating, they were only held together by the indomitable +will and heroic resolution of one man, George Washington. The fortunes +of the colonies were never at a lower ebb than at that moment, and +there was apparently nothing further to look forward to but a +continuation of the disintegration until the end came. The meagre +resources of the lax confederacy were already strained to the utmost, +and the capture of a ship laden as this one was reported to be, would +be of incalculable service. Clothes and shoes to cover the nakedness +of the soldiery and protect them from the inclemency of the winter, now +fast approaching, and arms to put in their hands, by means of which +they could assume the offensive and attack the enemy, or at least +defend themselves--what more could they desire! The desperate nature +of the situation, the dire need of just such additions to the equipment +of the army, had been plainly communicated to Captain Jones, and he was +resolved to effect the capture if it were humanly possible. The matter +had also been reported to General Washington; and such was his opinion +of the necessity of a prompt distribution and a speedy forwarding of +the supplies, if they could be secured, by the blessing of Providence, +and so little was his faith in the inefficient commissariat, which, +moreover, had to endeavor to keep the balance between different +colonies and different bodies of troops, more or less loosely coherent, +that he had detailed one of his own staff officers to accompany the +ship, with explicit instructions as to the exact distribution and the +prompt forwarding which the needs of the troops rendered necessary, +when the captured ship should reach port, which would probably be +Boston, though circumstances might render it advisable to take the +longer journey to Philadelphia. The officer to whom this duty had been +allotted was Talbot, of whose capacity and energy General Washington +already thought highly; the three weeks of their military association +only confirming his previous opinion. It was understood that Seymour, +who was Jones' first lieutenant, and would shortly be promoted to a +captaincy, would bring back the transport if they were lucky enough to +capture it. In case they were unsuccessful, Talbot was to report +himself to the commissioners at Paris as military secretary, until +further orders; and Seymour was to command the Ranger, when Jones +should get a better ship in France. + +The Ranger was a small sloop of war, a corvette of perhaps five hundred +tons, with a raised poop and a topgallant forecastle, built at +Portsmouth, New Hampshire; a new ship, and one of the first of those +built especially for naval purposes. She was originally intended for +twenty-six guns, but the number, through the wisdom of her captain, who +had fathomed the qualifications of the ship, had been reduced to +eighteen, four long twelves, and the rest six pounders, and smaller, +with one long eighteen forward. She had been some days in commission, +and the effect of Jones' iron discipline was already apparent in the +absence of confusion and in the cleanness and order of the ship. The +vessel had been very popular with the good people of Philadelphia, her +commander and officers likewise, many of the latter, like Seymour, +being natives of the town; and a constant stream of visitors had +inspected her, at all permitted hours. The presence of these visitors, +of course including many ladies, coupled with an inherent vanity and +love of finery and neatness on the part of the captain,--and, to do him +justice, his appreciation of the necessity for order and neatness,--had +caused him to maintain his ship in the handsomest possible trim, and he +had not scrupled to employ his private fortune to beautify the vessel +in many small ways, the details of which would have escaped any eye but +that of a seaman, though the general results were apparent. + +That general appearance which should always distinguish a trim and +well-ordered vessel of war from the clumsy and disorderly trader, was +due entirely to his efforts. The crew, as we have seen, had chafed +under the unusual restraints of this stern discipline; but they were +unable, as, indeed, in the last resort they would have been unwilling, +to oppose it. Some of the older men, too, and some of those who had +sailed with Jones in his already famous cruises, held out the hope of +large prize money, and, what was better with many of them, the chance +of a blow at the enemy, if any of her cruisers of anything like equal +force appeared,--a chance sure to come about in the frequented waters +of the English Channel. The crew of an American man-of-war at that +period, at least the native portion of it, always in overwhelming +majority, was of much higher class than the general run of seafaring +men. Among those in the Ranger were several who had been mates of +merchantmen,--Bentley again among the number,--men of some education, +and able to serve their country as officers with credit, had the navy +been increased as it should have been, and whose subordinate positions +only indicated their intense patriotism. The low and degraded element +which sometimes is such a source of mischief and disaster in ships' +crews, was conspicuous by its absence. The reputation of Captain Jones +as a disciplinarian was very well known among sailors generally, and +only his reputation as a fighter and a successful prize-taker would +have enabled him to assemble the remarkable crew to which he had +spoken, and which was to back him up so gallantly in many desperate +undertakings and wonderful sea fights, of this and his succeeding +phenomenal cruise. + +Seymour had rapidly recovered from his wounds under Madam Talbot's +careful nursing and ministrations, and when his orders reached him he +had been ready, accompanied by Philip Wilton and Bentley, to join his +ship at once. + +He still carried the blood-stained handkerchief, and many and many a +time had laid it, with its initials, "K. W.," embroidered by her own +hand, upon his lips. This was not his only treasure, however. In a +wallet in the breast pocket of his coat he carried and treasured a +letter, only the veriest scrap of paper, with these few lines hastily +written upon it. + + +_These by a friendly hand. We are to accompany Lord Dunmore to England +next week as prisoners in the ship Radnor. Both well, but very +unhappy. I love you.----Katharine._ + + +This note had been brought to him, the day before his departure from +Fairview Hall, by one of the slaves from the Wilton place, who had in +turn received it from a stranger who had handed it to him with the +orders that it be given to Lieutenant Seymour if he were within the +neighborhood; if not, it was to be destroyed. There was no address on +the outside of the letter, which, indeed, was only a soiled and torn +bit of paper, and unsealed. Seymour had hitherto communicated this +news to no one, and was hesitating whether or no to tell Talbot, who +had that day joined the ship. + +Seymour found Talbot and the captain together, when, after giving his +name to the negro boy, Joe, who waited in attendance, for Captain Jones +was one of the most punctilious of men, he was ushered into the +captain's cabin. + +"Come in, Seymour," said the captain, genially, laying aside the formal +address of the quarter-deck. "Joe, a glass of wine for Mr. Seymour. +Has the watch been set?" + +"Yes, sir, and Lieutenant Wallingford has the deck." + +"Ah, that's well; he knows the channel like a pilot. Sit down, man." + +"Thank you, captain. How do you like your first experience on a +ship-of-war, Talbot?" + +"Very much, indeed," answered the young officer; "and if we shall only +succeed in capturing the transport I shall like it much better." + +"Well, gentlemen," said Captain Jones, "I will give you a toast. Here +'s to a successful cruise, many prizes, good chances at the enemy, and, +of course, first of all, the capture of the transport, though that will +deprive me of the pleasure of your society. I intend to bear away to +the northeast immediately we pass the Capes, and I count upon striking +the transport somewhere off Halifax. If we should succeed in capturing +her, I am of the opinion, if her cargo proves as valuable as reported, +that my best course would be to convoy her to one of our ports, or at +least so far upon her way as to insure her safe arrival. The cargo +would be too important to be lost or recaptured under any +circumstances," he continued meditatively. "Well, I think I would +better go on deck for the present. You will excuse me, Mr. Talbot, I +am sure. You will both dine with me to-night. Seymour, a word with +you," he continued, opening the door and going out, followed by his +executive officer. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +_A Clever Stratagem_ + +Six days out from the Capes of Delaware Bay, and the Ranger was +cruising between Halifax and Boston, about one hundred leagues east of +Cape Sable. If there be truth in the maxim that a ship is never fit +for action until she has been a week at sea, the Ranger might be +considered as ready for any emergency now. The crew had thoroughly +learned their stations; they and the officers had become acquainted +with each other; the possibilities of the ship in different weather, +and on various points of sailing, had been ascertained. The drill at +quarters twice daily, and the regular target practice with great guns, +and the exercises with small arms, had materially developed the +offensive and defensive possibilities of the ship. + +The already warm friendship between Seymour and Talbot, now thrown into +close association by the necessary confinement of a small ship, had +grown into an intimacy, and they held many discussions concerning their +absent friends in the long hours of the night watches. Talbot had +learned through common rumor before they sailed, that Colonel Wilton +would probably be sent to England with Lord Dunmore, whose retirement, +under the vigorous policy pursued by the Virginians under the +leadership of Patrick Henry, who had been elected governor, was +inevitable; and he did not doubt but that Katharine would accompany her +father. He had never told Seymour of the plans which had involved the +destinies of Katharine and himself, and something had restrained him +from mentioning either his hopes or his affection for her, though time +and absence had but intensified his passion, until it was the consuming +idea of his soul. + +This reserve was matched by a similar reticence on the part of Seymour, +who had said nothing of the note he had received, and had not +communicated the news of his own successful suit to his unsuspecting +rival. Seymour had a much clearer apprehension of the situation than +Talbot, and, intrenched in Katharine's confession, could endure it +without disquiet, magnanimously saying nothing which could disturb his +less favored rival. The situation, however, was clearly an impossible +one, and that there would be a sudden break in the friendship, when +Talbot found out the true state of affairs, he did not doubt. This was +a grief to him, for he really liked the young man, and would gladly +have spared his friend any pain, if it were possible; however, since +there was only one Kate in the world, and she was his, he saw no way +out of the difficulty, and could only allow Talbot to drift along +blindly in his fool's paradise, until his eyes were opened. Both the +young men were favorites with Captain Jones, and he treated them in a +very different manner from that he usually assumed to his subordinates, +for Jones was a man to be respected and feared rather than loved. + +Late in the afternoon, the ship being under all plain sail, on the port +tack, heading due west, the voice of the lookout on the mainroyal-yard +floated down to the deck in that hail which is always thrilling at sea, +and was doubly so in this instance,-- + +"Sail ho!" + +Motioning to the officer of the deck, Jones himself replied in his +powerful voice,-- + +"Where away?" + +"Broad off the lee-beam, sir." + +"Can you make her out?" + +"No, sir, not yet." + +"Well, keep your eye lifting, my man, and sing out when you do. Mr. +Simpson," he said, turning to the officer of the deck, "let her go off +a couple of points." + +"Ay, ay, sir. Up with the helm, quartermaster, round in the +weather-braces, rise tacks and sheets." + +The speed of the ship going free was materially increased at once, and +in a few moments the lookout once more hailed the deck,-- + +"I can make her out now, sir." + +"What is it?" + +"A ship, sir, ay, and there is another one with her, and a third. I +can't tell what she is, sir. The first one looks like a large ship." + +"Mr. Wallingford, take the glass and go up the crosstrees and see what +you make of them, sir," said the captain. + +"Very good, sir," replied the lieutenant, springing into the main +rigging and rapidly ascending to the crosstrees, glass in hand. + +"Gentlemen, we will have a nearer look at these gentry," continued the +captain, glancing back at the officers, who had all come up from below, +while the men, equally interested, were crowding on the forecastle, and +gazing eagerly in the direction of the reported sails, which were not +yet visible from the deck. + +"On deck, there." + +"Ay, ay, what is it?" + +"I can make out five ships, and two brigs, and a schooner, and some +other sails just rising, all close hauled on the port tack. I think +there are more of them, sir, but I can't say yet. We are rapidly +drawing down on them, and shall be able to make them out in a minute. +I think it is a convoy or a fleet." + +"That will do, Mr. Wallingford; lay down on deck, sir; give the glass +to the man on the royal-yard, though, before you come. Who is he?" + +"It is me, sir, Jack Thompson." + +"Keep a bright lookout then, Thompson, and if yon 's an enemy's fleet +or convoy, it means a glass of grog and a guinea for you when your +watch is over." + +"Thankee, sir," cried the delighted seaman. + +"Mr. Wallingford, could you make anything out of the size of the ships?" + +"One of them I should say was a large ship, a frigate or ship of the +line possibly, the others were too far off." + +"It can't be a fleet," replied Captain Jones; "there are not so many of +the enemy's ships together in these waters, if we are correctly +informed. I suspect it must be a lot of merchantmen and transports, +convoyed by two or three men of war. Now is our opportunity, +gentlemen," he continued, his eyes sparkling with delight. "They are +apparently beating in for Halifax, and probably the Mellish, our +transport, will be among them. We will pay them a visit to-night in +any event. I would n't let them pass by without a bow or two, if they +were a fleet of two deckers!" + +Apparently this reckless bravado entirely suited the ship's company, +for one of the men who had heard the doughty captain's speech called +for three cheers, which were given with a will. + +"Ay, that's a fine hearty crew, and full of fight. Call on all hands, +Mr. Simpson." + +This was more or less a perfunctory order, since every man from the +jack-of-the-dust to the captain was already on deck. + +"Mr. Seymour," said Jones to the first lieutenant, who had taken the +trumpet at the call of all hands, "we must dress for the ball, and our +best disguise for the present will be that of a merchantman. I don't +suppose that the English imagine that we have a ship afloat in these +waters, and possibly they can't see us, against this cloud bank in this +twilight, as we can see them against the setting sun; but we will be on +the safe side for the few moments of daylight left us. They may be +looking at us over there, so we will hoist the English flag at once; +and as we are nearing them a little too rapidly, better brail up the +fore and main sails, and take in the royals and the fore and mizzen +topgallantsails for the present, and slack off the running gear. Then +beat to quarters, and have the guns run in and double shotted, close +the ports, and have the arms distributed; clear the forecastle too, +except of two or three men, and bid everybody observe the strictest +quiet, especially when we get in among the convoy," he continued +rapidly. + +"You can see them now from the deck, sir," said Lieutenant Simpson, +handing the glass to the captain. + +"Ay, so you can, but not well. Mainroyal there! Can you make them out +any better?" + +"Yes, sir. There's eighteen sail of them; one is a frigate and one +looks like a sloop of war, sir; the rest is merchantmen, some of 'em +armed." + +"Very good. Have they seen us yet?" + +"Don't appear to take no notice on us so far, sir." + +"Come down from aloft then, and get your grog and guinea, Jack; we +won't need you up there any more; it is getting too dark to see +anything there, anyway. Beat to quarters, Mr. Seymour. Ah, there go +the lights in the convoy." + +For the next few moments the decks presented a scene of wild confusion, +which gradually settled down into an orderly quiet, the various +directions of the captain were promptly carried out, and the ship was +speedily prepared for the conflict, though outwardly she had lost her +warlike appearance, and now resembled a peaceful trader. + +While the Ranger had been slowly drawing nearer to the sluggish fleet +of merchantmen and their convoy, the early twilight of the late season +faded away and soon gave place to darkness; the night was cloudy, the +sky being much overcast, and there was no moon, all of which was well +for their present purpose. + +The men thoroughly appreciated the hazardous nature of this advance +upon the unsuspecting fleet, protected by two heavy vessels of war, +either of which was probably much stronger than their own ship; but the +very audacity and boldness with which the affair was being carried out +thoroughly suited the daring crew. + +Most of them had stripped to the waist in anticipation of the coming +conflict, for they felt confident that the fleet would not escape +without a battle; and during the next hour they clustered about the +guns, quietly whispering among themselves, and eagerly waiting the +events of the night. The nervous strain appeared to affect everybody +except the imperturbable captain, but the deep silence was unbroken +save by low-voiced commands from the first lieutenant. All sail had +been made as soon as it had become thoroughly dark, the yards properly +braced, and the guns run out again. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +_A Surprise for the Juno_ + +The Ranger, a new and swift-sailing ship, and going free also, rapidly +edged down upon the slow moving convoy on the wind. The frigate, it +was noticed, was several miles ahead in the van; the other ships were +carelessly strung out in a long line, probably not suspecting the +existence of any possible enemy in those waters. The sloop of war +appeared to be among the rear ships, while the nearest vessel to the +Ranger was a large schooner, whose superior sailing qualities had +permitted her to reach several miles to windward of the square-rigged +ships; she appeared to be light in ballast also. All of the convoy +showed lights. The Ranger, on the contrary, was as dark as the night, +not even the battle lanterns being lighted. She rapidly overhauled the +schooner, and almost before her careless people were aware of it, she +was alongside. + +"Schooner ahoy!" called out the captain of the ship, standing on the +rail, trumpet in hand. + +"Ahoy, there!" came back from the schooner; "what ship is that?" + +"His Britannic majesty's sloop of war Southampton, Captain Sir James +Yeo. I have a message from the admiral for this convoy, which we have +been expecting. Send a boat aboard." + +"Ay, ay, sir. Will you heave to for us?" + +"Yes, swing the main-yard there, Mr. Seymour, and heave to." + +In a few moments the splash of oars was heard, and a small boat drew +out of the darkness to the starboard gangway of the Ranger. A man +stood up in the stern sheets, and seizing the man ropes thrown to him +climbed up on the deck. + +"Ah, Sir James," he commenced, taking off his hat, "how do you do? How +dark you are! Why, what's all this?" he exclaimed in surprise and +terror, as he made out the strange uniforms in the dim light. He +hesitated a moment, and then stepped back hastily to the gangway, +lifting his hand. + +"Seize him," cried a stern voice, "shoot him if he makes a sound." + +The captain of the unlucky schooner was soon dragged, struggling and +astonished, to the break of the poop. + +"Oh, Sir James, what is the meaning of this outrage, sir, on a British +ship-master? I shall report--" + +"Silence, sir, this is the American Continental ship Ranger, and you +are a prisoner," replied the same voice. "Answer my questions now at +once; your life depends on it. What are these ships to leeward?" + +"Sixteen merchantmen from London, to Halifax, under convoy of two +men-of-war, sir." + +"And what are they?" + +"The Acasta, thirty-six, and the Juno, twenty-two, sir." + +"Very good; is the transport Mellish among them?" + +The man made no reply. + +"Answer me." + +"Ye--yes, sir." + +"Which is she?" + +"Oh, sir, I can't tell you that, sir; she is the most valuable ship of +them all," he said incautiously. + +"You have got to tell me, my man, if you ever want to see daylight +again; which is she?" + +"No, sir, I can't tell you," he replied obstinately. + +"Put the muzzle of your pistol to his forehead, Williams, and if he +does not answer by the time I count ten, pull the trigger. One, two, +three, four--" + +"Mercy, mercy," cried the frightened skipper, as he felt the cold +barrel of the pistol pressed against his temple. + +"Eight, nine--" went on the voice in the darkness, imperturbably. + +"I'll tell, I'll tell." + +"Ah, I thought so; which one is she?" + +"The last one, sir." + +"And the Juno?" + +"The fourth from the rear; the frigate 's the first one, sir," he +volunteered. "Oh, don't kill me, gentlemen." + +"Have you told me the truth, sirrah? Williams, keep your pistol there." + +"Oh, sir, yes, so help me; oh, gentlemen, for God's sake don't murder +me. I've a wife and--" + +"Peace, you fool! We won't hurt you if you 've told the truth; you +shall even be released presently and have your schooner again--we don't +want her; but if you have lied to me, you shall hang from that yard-arm +in the morning, as sure as my name is John Paul Jones." + +"O Lord!" said the now thoroughly frightened man, looking up and +meeting the gaze of two eyes which gleamed in the dim light from the +deck above him, "I 've told you the truth, sir." + +"Very well. Go call your boat's crew on deck. Stand by to capture +them as soon as they reach the gangway, some of you, then stow them all +below; let their boat tow astern. And when that's done, you, sir, hail +your schooner and tell her to heave to until your return. Say just +what I tell you to and nothing more--the pistol at your head is loaded +still. Watch him carefully, men, and then send him below with the +rest. Fill away again, Mr. Seymour." + +The ponderous yards were swung, and the Ranger soon gathered way again +and rapidly overhauled the last of the fleet. The first trick had +worked so well that it was worth trying again. As soon as she drew +near the doomed ship, she showed lights like those of the frigate and +sloop of war. Ranging alongside the weather quarter of the transport, +the captain again hailed,-- + +"Ship ahoy!" + +"Ahoy, what ship is that?" + +Again the same deluding reply,-- + +"His Britannic majesty's sloop of war Southampton, Captain Sir James +Yeo. What ship is that?" + +"The transport Mellish." + +"Very well, you are the one we want. I have a message for you. The +Yankees are about, and the admiral has sent us to look up the convoy. +Where is the Acasta?" + +"In the van, Sir James, about two leagues ahead; the corvette is about +a mile forward there, sir." + +"Very good. Heave to and send a boat aboard and get your orders. Look +sharp now, I must speak the corvette and the frigate as well." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the Englishman, as his mainyard was promptly +swung. + +Immediately the Ranger was hove to as well, and on her weather side, +which was that away from the transport, two well-manned boats, their +crews heavily armed, one commanded by Seymour, who had Talbot with him, +and the other by Philip Wilton, accompanied by Bentley, had been +silently lowered into the water, and were pulling around the Ranger +with muffled oars; making a large detour not only to avoid the boat of +the captain of the Mellish, but also to enable one of them to approach +the unsuspecting ship on the lee side. The night was pitch dark, and +the plan was carried out exactly as anticipated. The utterly +unsuspecting captain of the Mellish was seized as he came on deck and +nearly choked to death before he could make an outcry, then sent below +with the rest; his boat's crew were tempted on deck also by an +invitation to partake of unlimited grog, and treated in the same way, +and the two boats of the Ranger reached the Mellish undiscovered. The +watch on the deck of the transport, diminished by the absence of the +boat's crew, were overwhelmed by the rush of armed men, from both sides +of the ship, and after a few shots from two or three men on the +quarter-deck, some yelling and screaming, and a brief scuffle, in which +one man of the Mellish was killed, the ship was mastered. The hatches +were at once secured, before the watch below scarcely knew of the +occurrence. A company of soldiers, about seventy-five in number, of +the Seaforth Highlanders, found themselves prisoners ere they awakened, +the only resistance having come from the mate and two or three of their +officers, who had not yet turned in. + +"Have you got her, Mr. Seymour?" hailed the Ranger. + +"Yes, sir." + +"What is she?" + +"She 's the Mellish right enough, sir." + +"Good. Anybody hurt?" + +"One of the enemy killed, sir; all of ours are all right." + +"What's her crew?" + +"Fifteen men, they say, and seventy-five soldiers. We have the hatches +battened down, and I think with the men we have, we can manage her all +right." + +"Very well, sir. I congratulate you. I am sending the second cutter +off to you with the men's dunnage and your boxes. You have your +orders. Present my compliments to General Washington, with that ship +as a Christmas present, if you bring her in. God grant you get in +safely. Good-by. Better put out that light; we will take your place +in the fleet, and see what happens." + +"Good-by, sir," cried the young lieutenant; "a prosperous cruise to +you." + +In a moment the boat from the Ranger was alongside, the bags and boxes +were speedily shifted, and the cutter, with the other two boats in tow, +dropped back to the Ranger, which by a shift of the helm had drawn much +nearer. Then the Mellish filled away, and presently wearing round on +her heel went off before the wind, and, all her lights having been +extinguished, faded speedily away in the darkness. The boats were +hoisted on the Ranger, she braced up on the port tack, and took the +place vacated by the Mellish. But these things had not happened +without attracting some attention. + +The captain of the vessel next ahead of the Mellish had heard the +pistol shots and shouting. Luffing up into the wind to check his own +headway, he made out a second ship in the darkness alongside his next +astern. In doubt as to what was happening, but certain that something +was wrong, he acted promptly, and caused a blue light to be burned on +his forecastle; this was the agreed signal of danger, and it +immediately awakened the unsuspecting fleet into action. Several of +the ships at different intervals in the long line repeated the signal, +which was finally answered by the frigate, hull down ahead. The +corvette, a half mile away perhaps, responded immediately, and wearing +short round came to on the other tack, and headed for the last of the +line, beating to quarters the while. + +A less audacious man might have thought that he had done enough in +cutting out with so little loss so valuable a transport from under the +guns of two ships of war, either of greater force than his own, and +therefore would have taken advantage of the night to effect his own +escape. But this would not have suited the daring nature of Captain +Jones, and he resolved to await the advent of the sloop of war, +trusting that the advantage of a surprise might compensate for the +great difference in the batteries of the two ships. Besides the +natural desire to fight the enemy, there was a method in the apparent +madness. If he could successfully disable the sloop before the arrival +of the frigate, he would ensure the escape of the captured Mellish, for +the sloop would be in no condition to pursue, and the frigate could not +safely leave her convoy. So with rather a mixture of ideas, he trusted +to the God of battles and the justice of his cause, and also to the +darkness and his own mother-wit and great skill in seamanship, to make +his own escape after the battle, resolutely putting out of his head the +fact that the loss of a spar or two would in all probability result in +the capture of his own ship. To sum it all up, Jones was not a man to +decline battle when there was the slightest prospect of success, and +the very audacity of the present situation enchanted him. All the +lanterns of the Ranger were again extinguished, therefore, and the men +sent quietly to their quarters, with the strictest injunctions not to +make a sound or fire a gun until ordered, under pain of death. Every +other preparation had long since been made for action, so the officers +slipped on their boarding caps, loosened their swords in their sheaths, +and looked to the priming of their pistols; then receiving their final +commands, departed quietly to their several stations,--Simpson, now +occupying the position of first lieutenant, vacated by Seymour, having +charge of the batteries, and Wallingford, on deck with the captain, in +command of the sail trimmers, who were clustered about the masts, the +sloop being still heavily manned. + +"Man the starboard battery," said the captain, in a low but distinct +voice; "men, we 've got our work cut out for us to-night. No cheering +until the first shot is fired, and no firing till I give the order, and +then, all together, give it to them. Do you understand?" + +A chorus of subdued "Ay, ays" indicated that the orders were heard. + +"Mr. Wallingford, do you stand ready to back the maintopsail when she +is alongside, though if she attempts to pass in front of us we 'll up +helm and take her on the port side. Two of you after-guards go below +and bring up the captain of the Mellish. Lively, we shall soon have +the sloop down on us." + +In a few moments the unfortunate British skipper was standing on the +poop-deck beside Captain Jones. + +"Now, my man, you are the master of the Mellish, are you not?" + +"I was a few moments ago," replied the man, sullenly. + +"Well, you are to stand right here, and answer hails just as I tell +you; do you understand?" + +"Yes." + +"Williams, you and another hold him, and if he hesitates to answer, or +answers other than I tell him, blow his brains out. Now we have +nothing to do but wait. Keep her a good full at the helm there." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the veteran quartermaster, stationed at the con. +Meanwhile the Juno had come abeam of the vessel next ahead of the +Ranger, and the conversation which followed was as plainly audible in +the latter ship as had been the beating to quarters just after she wore. + +"Providence ahoy there!" came from the Juno. "What is the matter? +What are you burning blue lights for?" + +"Nothing is the matter with us, sir, but we heard pistol shots and +cries on the Mellish astern, and thought we saw two ships instead of +one. It's so beastly black to-night we could n't make out anything +very well." + +"All right; better keep off a little, out of the way. I will run down +and see what's wrong." + +The present course of the Juno would have brought her across the bows +of the Ranger, but the ships were nearing so rapidly that a collision +would have resulted, so the Juno was kept away a little, and soon ran +down on the lee bow of the Ranger. The two ships were thus placed side +by side, the Ranger on the port tack having the advantage of the +weather gauge of the Juno, which had the wind free,--an advantage the +captain of the English ship would never have yielded without an effort, +had he imagined the character of the ship opposite him. The battle +lanterns of the Juno were lighted, the ports triced up, and she +presented a brilliant picture of a gallant ship ready for action. The +Ranger, black as the night and silent as death, could barely be +discerned in dim outline from the Juno. + +"Mellish ahoy." + +"Ahoy, the Juno." + +"What's wrong on board of you?" + +"Nothing, sir." + +"Pistol shots and screams were heard by the ship ahead; but who +hails--where is Captain Brent?" + +"Answer him," hissed Jones, in the ear of the British captain; "tell +him there were some drunken soldiers of the Highlanders in a row. +Speak out, man," he continued threateningly. + +"Why don't you answer?" came from the Juno. "I shall send a boat +aboard. Call away the first cutter," the voice continued. But the +British seaman on the Ranger's deck was made of sterner stuff than the +other. By a violent and unexpected movement he wrenched his arm free +from the grasp of one of the men, struck the other heavily in the +chest, and before any one could seize him he leaped upon the rail, +shouting loudly, "Treachery! You are betrayed. This is a Yankee +pirate." Then he sprang into the water between the two ships. +Williams raised his pistol. + +"Let him go," cried Jones, "he is a brave fellow;" then lifting his +powerful voice he shouted, "This is the American Continental ship +Ranger. Stand by!"--the port shutters dropped or were pulled up with a +crash, a moment's hasty aim was taken at the brilliantly lighted ship +full abeam.--"Fire! Let them have it, men," he cried in a voice of +thunder. Instantly the black side of the Ranger gave forth a sheet of +flame, and the startling roar of the full broadside in the quiet night +was followed by shrieks and cries and the crashing of woodwork, which +told that the shots had taken effect. Three hearty British cheers rang +out, however, in reply, and the broadside was promptly returned, but +with nothing like the effect of that from the Ranger, for the first +blow counts for as much at sea as in any other contest. + +The next moment the maintopsail of the Juno was gallantly laid to the +mast, that of the Ranger following suit, and the two ships, side by +side, at half pistol-shot distance, continued the dreadful combat, both +crews being encouraged and stimulated by their captains and other +officers. A battle lantern or two, which had been hastily lighted here +and there, shed a dim uncertain light over the decks of the Ranger. +The men, half naked, covered with sweat and dust and powder stains, or +splashed with blood from some more unfortunate comrade, some with heads +tied up, fighting though wounded, served the guns. Several brave +fellows were arranged on the weather side of the deck, dead, their +battles ended; one or two seriously wounded men were lying groaning by +the hatchway, waiting their turn to be carried below to the cockpit to +be committed to the rough surgery of the period, while the fleet-footed +powder boys were running to and fro from the different guns with their +charges, leaping over the wounded and dying with indifference. The +continuous roar of the artillery, for the guns were served with that +steady, rapid precision for which the American seamen soon became +famous, the crackling of musketry, from the men in the tops, with the +yells and cheers and curses and groans of the maddened men, completed a +scene which suggested a bit of hell. + +"This is warm work, Wallingford," said the captain, coolly, though his +eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Do we gain any advantage?" + +"I think so; their fire does not seem to be so heavy. Does it not +slacken a little, sir?" + +"Ay, I think so too. I trust our sticks hold." + +"I have not had any serious damage reported so far, sir." + +"Well, we must end it soon, or that frigate will be down on us; in half +an hour at most, I should say. Ha! what was that?" he said, as a loud +crash from the Juno interrupted him. + +"Their maintopmast 's gone by the board, hurrah!" shouted Wallingford, +looking toward the ship, after springing on the rail, from whence a +moment later he fell back dead, with a bullet in his breast. + +"Poor fellow!" murmured Jones, and then called out, "Give it to them, +lads, they have lost their maintopmast." A cheer was the answer. But +the matter must be ended at once. + +"Johnson," said Jones, to the young midshipman by his side, "run +forward and have the main-yard hauled; give her a good full, +quartermaster," he said to the veteran seaman at the helm, and then +watched the water over the side to see when she gathered headway +through it. "Now! Hard up with the helm! Flatten in the head sheets! +Round in the weather braces! Cease firing, and load all!" + +The ship gathered way, forged ahead slowly, fell off when the helm was +put up, and in a trice was standing across the stern of the Juno, which +endeavored to meet the manoeuvre as soon as it was seen; but, owing to +the loss of the jib and maintopsail and the fouling of the gear, she +did not answer the helm rapidly enough to escape the threatening danger. + +"Stand by to rake her! Ready! Fire! Stand by to board!" + +The effect of this raking broadside delivered at short range was awful; +the whole stern of the Juno was beaten in, and the deadly projectiles +had free range the full length of the devoted ship, which reeled and +trembled under the terrible shock. A moment of silence followed, +broken by shrieks and groans and a few feeble cheers from some +undaunted spirits. Then the Ranger, still falling off, a rank sheer of +the helm brought her beam against the stern of the Juno, when eager +hands hove the grapnels which bound the two ships together. + +"Away, boarders!" + +Certain of the men left their quarters at the guns, and cutlass and +pistol in hand, led by Jones himself, swarmed over the rail and on the +poop of the Juno. Two or three men were standing there among the dead +and wounded men, half dazed by the sudden catastrophe, but they bravely +sprang forward. + +"Do you surrender?" cried Jones. + +"No, you damned rebel!" answered the foremost, in the uniform of an +officer, crossing swords with him gallantly; but in a moment the sword +of the impetuous American beat down his guard and was buried in his +breast. With a hollow groan, he fell dying on the deck of the ship he +had so gallantly defended, while his men, borne back by the determined +rush of the Rangers, after a feeble resistance, threw down their arms, +crying, "Quarter, quarter!" + +All this time the guns of that ship had been firing, one or two of them +depressed by Simpson's orders so as to pierce the hull below the +water-line, the rest sending their heavy shot ripping and tearing +through the length of the Juno, which was unable to bring a single gun +to bear in reply. + +"Do you strike?" called Jones, from the break of the poop, his men +massed behind him for a rush through the gangways, to one or two of the +officers who were stationed there. + +"Yes, yes, God help us," cried a wounded officer; "what else can we do?" + +"Where's your captain?" + +"Dead, sir," answered one of the seamen who had been seized by the +boarders. "Him you killed when you boarded." + +"Poor fellow, he was a brave man, and fought his ship well." + +"Captain, the frigate is bearing down upon us!" cried one of the +Ranger's men. + +"Ay, ay. Well, gentlemen, we cannot take possession, so we will have +to leave you to your consort," he said to the British officers. "Give +the captain of the Acasta the compliments of Captain John Paul Jones, +of the American Continental ship Ranger, and say that he will find me +in the British Channel. Thank him for our entertainment to-night," he +said, bowing courteously, and then--"Back to the ship, all you +Rangers.--Let that man's sword alone, sirrah! He used it well, let it +remain with him on his own ship; but first haul down and bring the +Juno's flag with us." + +The men hastily scrambled over the rails to their own ship, the +grapnels were cut loose, and none too soon the ship slowly gathered way +and slipped by the stern of the Juno, whose mizzenmast fell a moment +after, and she lay rolling, a ghastly shattered hulk on the waters, +fire breaking out forward. + +The frigate, coming down rapidly on the starboard tack, luffed up into +the wind, and fired a broadside at the rapidly disappearing Ranger, +which, however, did no harm, and was only answered by a musket-shot in +contempt, and then she ranged down beside her battered and shattered +consort. As soon as she reached the side of the Juno she was hove to, +and a boat was sent off at once. An officer stepped on board. He was +horrified at the scene of carnage which presented itself. The ship +aloft was a wreck, the decks were a perfect shambles, wounded and dying +men lay around in every position. The masts were gone, the ship was +full of shot-holes, the water was rushing and gurgling in through the +shot-holes below the waterline, flames were breaking out forward. + +"Where is Captain Burden?" cried the officer. + +"Dead," replied the wounded first lieutenant, in a hollow voice. + +"Did you strike?" + +"Yes." + +"What was the ship with which you fought?" + +"The American ship Ranger, Captain John Paul Jones. He says he will +see you in the English Channel. Oh, God, Lawless, isn't this awful? +Three-fourths of ours are dead or wounded! The cursed rebel captured +the Mellish, we ranged alongside at quarters; they got in the first +broadside; the maintopmast went, then the jib; they fell off, raked us +through the stern, boarded; Jones cut down Burden with his sword; we +could not get a gun to bear, they were pounding through us. We could +not keep the men at quarters, we struck; they took our flag too; then +you came down, and he sheered off; then the mizzenmast went. I expect +the fore will go next." + +"What's his force? Was it a frigate?" + +"I can answer that," said the brave master of the Mellish, who had +gained the Juno and fought well in the fight; "she's a sloop of +eighteen guns." + +"Less than ours! We have twenty-two. Oh, Lawless, what a disgrace! I +can't understand it. Our men did well. And she goes free, and look at +us!" + +"Ship is making water fast; we can't get at the fire forward either, +sir," reported one of the Juno's officers. + +"Good God, can't we save the ship?" queried Lieutenant Lawless, of the +Acasta. + +"No, it will be as much as we can do to get off the wounded, I fear." + +"Back," cried Lawless, turning to the cutter in which they had come, +"to the Acasta, and tell her to send all her boats alongside; this ship +is a perfect wreck. She must sink in a few minutes. We have hardly +time to get the wounded off. Lively, bear a hand for your lives, men." + +However, in spite of all that could be done by willing and able hands, +some of the helpless men were still on board when the Juno pitched +forward suddenly and then sank bow foremost into the dark waters, +carrying many of her gallant defenders into the deep with her. Among +them on the quarter-deck lay the body of the dead captain, the sword +which the magnanimity of his conqueror had left to him lying by his +side. + +And this is war upon the sea! + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +_Chased by a Frigate_ + +Three days after the sinking of the Juno, the Mellish, which had +escaped in the dark without pursuit from the fleet, after witnessing +the successful termination of the action between the two sloops of war, +was heading about northwest-by-west for Massachusetts Bay and Boston, +with single reefs in her topsails and close hauled on the starboard +tack. Seymour's orders had left him sufficient discretion as to his +destination, but Boston being the nearest harbor held by the Americans, +he had deemed it best to try to make that port rather than incur +further risk of recapture by making the longer voyage to Philadelphia. + +The weather had turned cloudy and cold; there was a decided touch of +winter in the air. The men were muffled up in their pea-jackets, and +the little squad of prisoners, tramping up and down, taking exercise +and air under a strong guard, looked decidedly uncomfortable, not to +say disgusted, with the situation. + +It had been a matter of some difficulty to disarm the prisoners, +especially the soldiers, and to feed and properly exercise them; but +the end had been successfully arrived at through the prudence and +ability of Seymour, who was well aided by Talbot and Wilton, and who +profited much by many valuable suggestions born of the long experience +of the old boatswain. + +On this particular afternoon, about ten days before Christmas, the +young captain, now confident of carrying his prize into the harbor, +felt very much relieved and elated by his apparent command of the +situation. He knew what a godsend the ship's cargo, which he and +Talbot had ascertained to be even more valuable than had been +represented, would be to the American army. It might be said without +exaggeration, that the success of the great cause depended upon the +fortune of that one little ship under his command. Talbot had properly +classified and inventoried the cargo according to orders, and was +prepared to make immediate distribution of it upon their arrival in +port. Both of the young men were as happy as larks, and even the +thought of their captured friends did not disquiet them as it might +under less fortunate circumstances, for among the captives on the +Mellish was a Colonel Seaton of the Highlanders, whom they trusted to +be able to exchange for Colonel Wilton, and they did not doubt in that +case that Katharine would return with her father. + +While indulging themselves in these rosy dreams, natural to young men +in the elation of spirit consequent upon the events of their short and +exciting cruise,--the capture and successful escape of the transport, +the apparent assurance of bringing her in, and the daring and brilliant +night-action which they had witnessed,--they had neither of them +ventured to touch upon the subject uppermost in each heart,--the love +each bore for Katharine,--and the subject still remained a sealed book +between them. The cruise was not yet over, however, and fate had in +store for them several more exciting occurrences to be faced. Seymour, +often accompanied by Talbot, and Wilton, always accompanied by Bentley, +kept watch and watch on the brief cruise of the transport. On the +afternoon of the third day, about three bells in the afternoon watch, +or half after one o'clock, Seymour, whose watch below it was, was +called from the cabin by old Bentley, who informed him that a +suspicious sail had been seen hull down to the northeast, and Wilton +had desired that his commanding officer be informed of it. Seizing a +glass and springing to his feet, he hastened on deck. + +"Well, Mr. Wilton," he said to that young officer, proud of his +responsibilities, "you keep a good lookout. Where away is the sail +reported?" + +"Broad off the weather bow, sir, due north of us. You can't see her +from the deck yet," replied Wilton, flushing with pride at the +compliment. + +Seymour sprang into the main rigging, and rapidly ascended to the +crosstrees, glass in hand. There he speedily made out the +topgallantsails of a large ship, having the wind on the quarter +apparently, and slowly coming into view. He subjected her to a long +and careful scrutiny, during which the heads of her topsails rose, +confirming his first idea that she was a ship-of-war, and if so, +without doubt, one of the enemy. She was coming down steadily; and if +the two vessels continued on their present courses they would pass each +other within gun-shot distance in a few hours, a thing not to be +permitted under any circumstances, if it could be avoided. He +continued his inspection a moment longer, and then closing the glass, +descended to the deck with all speed by sliding down the back-stay. + +"Forward, there!" he shouted. "Call the other watch, and be quick +about it! Philip, step below and ask Mr. Talbot to come on deck at +once. Bentley, that seems to be a frigate or a heavy sloop going free; +she will be down on us in a few hours if we don't change our course. +Take a look at her, man," he said, handing him the glass, "and let me +know what you think of her." + +While the men were coming on deck, Bentley leaped into the mizzen +rigging and ran up the shrouds with an agility surprising in one of his +gigantic figure and advanced age. After a rapid survey he came down +swiftly. "It's an English frigate, and not a doubt of it, sir, and +rising very fast." + +"I thought so. Man the weather braces! Up with the helm! Bear a hand +now, my hearties! Now, then, all together! Brace in!" He himself set +a good example to the short crew, who hastened to obey his rapid +commands, by assisting the two seamen stationed aft to brail in the +spanker, in which labor he was speedily joined by Talbot, who had come +on deck. Young Wilton and Bentley lent the same assistance forward, +and in an astonishingly brief time, considering her small crew, the +Mellish, like the stranger, was going free with the wind on her +quarter, her best point of sailing, her course now making a wide obtuse +angle with that of the approaching ship. + +"Now, then, men, lay aloft, and shake the reefs out of the topsails. +Stand by to loose the fore and main topgallantsails as well." + +"Why, what's wrong, Seymour?" said Talbot, in surprise. "I rather +expected we should be in Massachusetts Bay this evening, and here we +are, heading south again. Isn't that Cape Cod,--that blue haze yonder? +Why are we leaving it? What's the matter?" + +"Take the glass, man; there, aft on the starboard quarter, a sail! You +should be able to see her from the deck now. Can you make her out?" + +"Yes, by heaven, it's a ship, and a large ship too! What is it, think +you, Seymour?" + +"An English ship, of course, a frigate; we have no ships like that in +these waters, or in our navy, either--more's the pity." + +"Whew! This looks bad for us." + +"Well, we 're not caught yet by a long sight, Talbot. A good many +leagues will have to be sailed before we are overhauled, and there 's +many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, you know; that old stale maxim +is truer on the sea than any place else, and truer in a chase, too; a +thousand things may help us or hinder her. See, we are going better +now that the reefs are out and the topgallantsails set. But it's a +fearful strain on our spars. They look new--pray God they be good +ones," he continued, gazing over the side at the masses of green water +tossed aside from the bows and sweeping aft under the counter in great +swirls. + +The spars and rigging of the Mellish were indeed fearfully tested, the +masts buckling and bending like a strained bow. The wind was +freshening every moment, and there was the promise of a gale in the +lowering sky of the gray afternoon. The ship felt the increased +pressure from the additional sail which had been made, and her speed +had materially increased, though she rolled and pitched frightfully, +wallowing through the water and smashing into the waves with her broad, +fat bows, and making rather heavy weather of it. In spite of all this, +however, the chase gained slowly upon them, until she was now visible +to the naked eye from the decks of the Mellish. Seymour, full of +anxiety, tried every expedient that his thorough seamanship and long +experience could dictate to accelerate the speed of his ship,--rather a +sluggish vessel at best, and now, heavily laden, slower than ever. The +stream anchors were cut away, and then one of the bowers also; all the +boats, save one, the smallest, were scuttled and cast adrift; purchases +were got on all the sheets and halliards, and the sails hauled flat as +boards, and kept well wetted down; some of the water tanks were pumped +out, to alter the trim and lighten her; the bulwarks and rails partly +cut away, and, as a final resort, the maintopmast studdingsail was set, +but the boom broke at the iron and the whole thing went adrift in a few +moments. Talbot, anxious to do something, suggested the novel +expedient of breaking out a field-piece from the fore hold and mounting +it on the quarter-deck to use as a stern-chaser. This had been done, +but the frigate was yet too far away for it to be of any service. + +In spite of all these efforts, they were being overhauled slowly, but +Seymour still held on and did not despair. There was one chance of +escape. Right before them, not a half league away, lay a long shoal +known as George's Shoal, extending several leagues across the path of +the two ships; through the middle of this dangerous shoal there existed +a channel, narrow and tortuous, but still practicable for ships of a +certain size. He was familiar with its windings, as was Bentley, as +they both had examined it carefully in the previous summer with a view +to just such a contingency as now occurred. The Mellish was a large +and clumsy ship, heavily laden, and drawing much water, but he felt +confident that he could take her through the pass. At any rate the +attempt was worth making, and if he did fail, it would be better to +wreck her, he thought, than allow her to be recaptured. The English +captain either knew or did not know of the shoal and the channel. If +he knew it, he would have to make a long detour, for in no case would +the depth of water in the pass permit a heavy ship as was the pursuing +vessel to follow them; and, aided by the darkness rapidly closing down, +the Mellish would be enabled to escape. + +If the English captain were a new man on the station, and unacquainted +with the existence of the shoal, as was most likely--well, then he was +apt to lose his ship and all on board of her, if he chased too far and +too hard. The problem resolved itself into this: if the Mellish could +maintain her distance from the pursuer until it was necessary to come +by the wind for a short tack, and still have sufficient space and time +left to enable her to run up to the mouth of the channel without being +sunk, or forced to strike by the batteries of the frigate, they might +escape; if not--God help them all! thought Seymour, desperately, for in +that event he resolved to run the vessel on the rocky edge of the shoal +at the pass mouth and sink her. + +They were rapidly drawing down upon the shoal at the point from which +they must come by the wind, on the starboard tack. Some far-away +lights on Cape Cod had just been lighted, which enabled Seymour to get +his bearing exactly. He had talked the situation over quietly with +Bentley, and they had not yet lost hope of escaping. The men had +worked hard and faithfully, carrying out the various orders and +lightening ship, and now, having done all, some few were lying about +the deck resting, while the remainder hung over the rails gazing at +their pursuer. One of the men, the sea philosopher Thompson, of the +Ranger's crew, finally went aft to the quarter-deck to old Bentley, who +was privileged to stand there under the circumstances, and asked if he +might have a look through the glass for a moment at the frigate. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +_'Twixt Love and Duty_ + +"Ay, it's as I thought," he remarked, returning the glass after a long +gaze; "that's the Radnor, curse her!" + +"The Radnor, mate? Are you quite sure?" + +"Bosun, does a man live in a hell like that for a year and a half, and +forget how it looks? I 'd know her among a thousand ships!" + +"What's that you say, my man?" eagerly asked Seymour, stopping +suddenly, having caught some part of the conversation as he was passing +by. + +"Why, that that 'ere ship is the Radnor, sir." + +Talbot and his men were busy with the gun aft; no one heard but Seymour +and Bentley. + +"The Radnor! How do you know it, man?" + +"I served aboard her for eighteen months, sir. I knows every line of +her,--that there spliced fore shroud, the patch in the mainsail,--I put +it on myself,--besides, I know her; I don't know how, but know her I +do, every stick in her. Curse her--saving your honor's presence--I 'm +not likely to forget her. I was whipped at the grating till I was +nearly dead, just for standing up for this country, on board of her, +and me a freeborn American too! I 've got her sign manual on my back, +and her picture here, and I 'd give all the rest of my life to see her +smashed and sunk, and feel that I 'd had some hand in the doing of it. +Ay, I know her. Could a man ever forget her!" continued the seaman, +turning away white with passion, and shaking his fist in convulsive +rage at the frigate, which made a handsome picture in spite of all. +Seymour's face was as white as Thompson's was. + +"The Radnor! The Radnor! Why, that's the ship Miss Wilton is on. Oh, +Bentley, what can be done now?" he said, the whole situation rising +before him. "If we lead that ship through the pass it means wreck for +her. Dacres, who commands the Radnor, is a new man on this station. +And if we don't try the pass, this ship is captured. And our country, +our cause, receives a fatal blow! Was ever a man in such a situation +before?" + +Bentley looked at him with eyes full of pity. "We are approaching the +shoal now, sir, and unless we would be on it, we will have to bring the +ship by the wind at once." + +This, at least, was a respite. Seymour glanced ahead, and at once gave +the necessary orders. When the course was altered it became necessary +to take in the fore and main topgallantsails, on account of the wind, +now blowing a half gale and steadily rising. The speed of the ship, +therefore, was unfortunately sensibly diminished, and she was soon +pitching and heaving on the starboard tack, much to the astonishment of +Talbot and the crew, who were ignorant of the existence of the shoal, +and the latter of whom could see no necessity for the dangerous +alteration in the course; they, however, of course said nothing, and +Talbot, whose ignorance of seamanship did not qualify him to decide +difficult questions, after a glance at Seymour's stern, pale face, +decided to ask nothing about it. This present course being at right +angles to that of their pursuer, whom neither Seymour nor Bentley +doubted to be the Radnor, would speedily bring the two ships together. +They had gained a small but precious advantage, however, as the +frigate, apparently as much surprised by the unexpected manoeuvre as +their own men, had allowed some moments to elapse before her helm was +shifted and the wind brought on the other quarter; the courses of the +two ships now intersected at an angle of perhaps seventy degrees, which +would bring them together in a short time. + +The people on the Mellish could plainly hear the drums of the frigate, +now almost in range, beating to quarters. They were near enough to +count the gunports; it was indeed a heavy frigate,--a thirty-six, just +the rating of the Radnor. Talbot had made ready his field-piece, and +in a moment the heavy boom of the gun echoed over the waters. The shot +fell a little short, but was in good line. Much encouraged, the men +hastened to load the piece again, while the Mellish crept along, all +too slowly for the eager anxiety of her crew, toward the mouth of the +channel, of which most of them, however, knew nothing. The frigate, +partly because in order to bring a gun to bear on the chase it would +have to luff up into the wind and thus lose valuable distance, and also +because the rapidity with which the Mellish was being overhauled +rendered it unnecessary, had hitherto refrained from using its +batteries. The chances of escape under the present conditions were +about even, had it not been for the complication introduced by the +presence of Katharine and her father upon the frigate. + +Seymour was in a painful and frightful state of indecision. What +should he do? The dilemma forced upon him was one of those which +Katharine had foreseen, and of which they had talked together. He, +apparently, must decide between his love and his country. If he held +on when he reached the mouth of the channel and passed it by, the +capture of the ship was absolutely inevitable. If he went through the +channel and enticed the English ship after him, the death of his +sweetheart was likewise apparently inevitable. + +Chasing with the determination shown by the English captain, who had +his topgallantsails still set, and with the little warning he would +have of the existence of the shoal, owing to the rapid closing of the +day, the frigate would have to attempt the channel, and in that way for +that ship lay destruction. + +Save Katharine-- Lose the ship. Save the ship-- Lose Katharine. +Love or Duty--which should it be? The man was attacked in the two most +powerful sources of human action. He saw on one side Katharine tossed +about by the merciless waves, white-faced with terror, and stretching +out her hands to him in piteous appeal from that angry sea in the +horror of darkness and death. And every voice which spoke to the human +heart was eloquent of her. And then on the other side there stood +those grim and frozen ranks, those gaunt, hungry, naked men. They too +stretched out hands to him. "Give us arms, give us raiment," they +seemed to say. "You had the opportunity and you threw it away for +love. What's love--to liberty?" + +And every incentive which awakens the soul of honor in men appealed to +him then. Behind him stood the destinies of a great people, the fate +of a great cause; on him they trusted, upon his honor they had +depended, and before him stood one woman. He saw her again as he had +seen her before on the top of the hill on that memorable night in +Virginia. What had she said?-- + +"_If I stood in the pathway of liberty for one single instant, I should +despise the man who would not sweep me aside without a moment's +hesitation._" + +Oh, Katharine, Katharine, he groaned in spirit, pressing his hands upon +his face in agony, while every breaking wave flung the words, "duty and +honor," into his face, and every throb of his beating heart whispered +"love--love." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +_An Incidental Passage at Arms_ + +There were two entrances to the channel, lying perhaps a half mile +apart, the first the better and more practicable, and certainly, with +the frigate rapidly drawing near, the safer. They were almost abreast +of the first one now. Bentley, who had been observing him keenly, came +up to him. + +"We are almost abreast the first pass, Mr. Seymour," he said +respectfully. + +Seymour turned as if he had been struck. Was the decision already upon +him? He could not make it. + +"We--we will try the second, Bentley." + +"Sir," said the old man, hesitating, and yet persisting, "the frigate +is coming down fast; we may not be able to make the second pass." + +"We will try the second, nevertheless," said the young man, +imperatively. + +"But, Mr. John--" + +"Silence, sir! When have you bandied words with me before?" shouted +Seymour, in a passion of temper. "Go forward where you belong." + +The old man looked at him steadily: "When, sir? Why, ever since I took +you from your dead father's arms near a score of years ago. Oh, sir, I +know what you feel, but you know what you must do. It's not for me to +tell you your duty," said the old man, laying heavy emphasis upon that +talismanic word "duty," which seems to appeal more powerfully to seamen +than to any other class of men. "Love is a mighty thing, sir. I know +it, yes, even I," he went on with rude eloquence, "ever since I took +you when you were a little lad, and swore to watch over you, and care +for you, and make a man of you--Ay, and I 've done it too--and the love +of woman, they say, is stronger than the love of man, though of that I +know nothing, but honor and duty are above love, sir; and upon your +honor, and your doing your duty, our country depends. Yes, love of +woman, Mr. Seymour, but before that love of country; and now," said the +old man, mournfully, "after twenty years of--of friendship, if I may +say it, you order me forward like a dog. But that's neither here nor +there, if you only save the ship. Oh, Mr. John, in five minutes more +you must decide. See," pointing to the frigate, "how she rises! Think +of it. Think of it once more before you jeopard the safety of this +ship for any woman. Honor, sir, and duty--it's laid upon you, you must +do it--they come before everything." + +Seymour looked at the old man tenderly, and then grasped him by the +hand. "You are right, old friend. Forgive my rough words. I will do +it. It kills me, but I will do it--the country first of all. O God, +pity me and help me!" he cried. + +"Amen," said Bentley, his face working with grief, yet iron in its +determination and resolution. + +Seymour turned on his heel and sprang aft, bringing his hand the while +up to his heart. As he did so, his fingers instinctively went to the +pocket of his waistcoat and sought the letter he carried there. + +He took it out half mechanically and glanced at the familiar writing +once more, when a sudden gust of wind snatched it out of his hand and +blew it to the feet of Talbot. + +"My letter!" cried Seymour, impulsively. + +The soldier courteously stooped and picked it up and glanced down at +the open scrap mechanically, as he extended his hand toward Seymour; +then the next moment he cried,-- + +"Why, it's from Katharine!" + +One unconscious inspection sufficed to put him in possession of the +contents. "Where did you get this note, sir?" he exclaimed, his face +flushing with jealousy and sudden suspicion; "it is mine, I am the one +she loves. How came it in your possession?" he continued, in rising +heat. + +Seymour, already unstrung by the fearful strain he had gone through and +the frightful decision he would have to make later on, nay, had made +after Bentley's words, was in no mood to be catechized. + +"I am not in the habit of answering such personal questions, sir. And +I recognize no right in you to so question me." + +"Right, sir! I find a letter in your possession with words of love in +it, from my betrothed, a note plainly meant for me, and which has been +withheld. How comes it so?" + +"And I repeat, sir, I have nothing to say except to demand the return +of my letter instantly; it is mine, and I will have it." + +"Do you not know, Mr. Seymour, that we have been pledged to each other +since childhood, that we have been lovers, she is to be my wife? I +love her and she loves me; explain this letter then." + +"It is false, Mr. Talbot; she has pledged herself to me,--yes, sir, to +me. I care nothing for your childish love-affairs. She is mine, if I +may believe her words, as is the letter which you have basely read. +You will return it to me at once, or I shall have it taken from you by +force." + +"I give you the lie, sir, here and now," shrieked Talbot, laying his +hand upon his sword. "It is not true, she is mine; as for the note--I +keep it!" + +Seymour controlled himself by a violent effort, and looked around for +some of his men. Wilton and Bentley had come aft in great anxiety, and +the whole crew were looking eagerly at them, attracted by the aroused +voices and the passionate attitude of the two men. For a moment the +chase was forgotten. + +"Oh, Hilary," said Philip, addressing his friend. + +"Hush, Philip, this man insults your sister. I am defending her honor." + +The lad hesitated a moment; discipline was strong in his young soul. +"That is my duty--Mr. Seymour," he said. + +Seymour turned swiftly upon him. "What are you doing here, Mr. Wilton? +All hands are called, are they not? Your station is on the forecastle, +then, I believe," he said with deadly calm. "Oblige me by going +forward at once, sir." + +"Go, Philip," cried Talbot; "I can take care of this man." + +"Aft here, two or three of you," continued Seymour, his usually even +voice trembling a little. "Seize Lieutenant Talbot. Arrest him. Take +his sword from him, and hand me the letter he has in his hand, and then +confine him in his cabin." + +Two or three of the seamen came running aft. Talbot whipped out his +sword. + +"The first man that touches me shall have this through his heart," he +said fiercely. But the seamen would have made short work of him, if it +had not been for the restraining hand of Bentley. + +"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" he said. + +"Out of the way, Bentley. You have changed my plans once. I will not +be balked again. I am the captain of this ship, and I intend to be +obeyed." + +"'T is well that Mr. Seymour is on his ship and surrounded by his +bullies. He dare not meet me man to man, sword to sword. Would we +were on shore! You coward!" screamed Talbot, advancing toward him, +"shall I strike you?" + +"You will have it then, sir," said Seymour, at last giving way. "No +man so speaks to me and lives. Back, men!" and white with passion and +rage he drew his own sword and sprang forward. No less resolutely did +Talbot meet him. Their blades crossed and rang against each other. +Bentley wrung his hands in dreadful indecision, not knowing what to do; +he dared not lay hands upon his superior officer, yet this combat must +cease. But the fierce sword-play, both men being masters of the +weapon, as was the habit of gentlemen of that day, was suddenly +interrupted. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +_Duty Wins the Game_ + +A booming roar came down upon them from the frigate, which had fired a +broadside, which was followed presently by the whistling of shot over +their heads. Great rents were seen in the canvas, pieces of running +gear fell to the deck, there was a crashing, rending sound, and a part +of the rail, left standing abaft the mizzen shrouds, smashed into +splinters and drove inboard under the impact of a heavy shot. + +One splinter struck the man at the helm in the side; he fell with a +shriek, and lay white and still by the side of the wheel, which, no +longer restrained by his hand, spun round madly. Another splinter hit +the sword of Talbot, breaking the blade and sweeping it from his hands, +and the unlucky scrap of paper was blown into the sea. The spanker +sheet was cut in two, and the boom swept out to windward, knocking one +of the men overboard. There was neither time nor opportunity to pick +him up, and he went to his death unheeded. + +Seymour dropped his sword, every instinct of a sailor aroused, and +sprang to the horse-block. The ship, left to itself, fell off rapidly +before the wind. Bentley jumped to seize the helm. + +"Flow the head sheets there!" cried the lieutenant; "lively! Aft here +and haul in the spanker! Brail up the foresail! Down, hard down with +the helm!" + +There was another broadside from the heavy guns of the frigate. Talbot +replied with his stern-chaser, and a cloud of splinters showed that the +shot took effect, whereat the men at the gun cheered and loaded, and +then crash went the mizzen topgallant mast above their heads! + +"Lively, men!" shouted Seymour, "we must get on the wind again or we +are lost." + +"Breakers on the starboard bow!" shrieked the lookout on the forecastle +suddenly. "Breakers on the port bow!" His voice ran aft in a shrill +scream, fraught with terror, "Breakers ahead!" + +"Down, hard down with the helm, Bentley," said Seymour, himself +springing over to assist the old man at the wheel. + +But Bentley raised his hand and kept the wheel steady. "Too late, sir, +for that," he cried, "we are in the pass. God help us now, sir. Mr. +Seymour, look to the ship, sir, look to the ship!" + +The young officer sprang back on the horse-block, his soul filled with +horror. So fate had decided for him at last, and duty, not love, had +won the mighty game. A third broadside passed harmlessly over the +ship, doing little damage, the rough weather making aiming uncertain. +Again the field-piece replied. Seymour never turned his head in the +direction of the frigate. He could not look upon the catastrophe; +besides, the exigency of the situation demanded that he give his whole +mind to conning the ship through the narrow pass. Bentley himself, +assisted by a young sailor, kept the helm; the oldest seamen had charge +of the braces. The wreck of the mizzen topgallant mast was allowed to +hang for the present. + +The white water dashed about the ship in sheets of foam; they were well +in the breakers now, and the most ignorant eye could see the danger. +One false movement meant disaster for the ship for whose safety Seymour +had sacrificed so much. He did not make it. To his disordered fancy +Katharine's white face looked up at him from every breaking wave. He +steeled his heart and gave his orders with as much ease and precision +as if it had been a practice cruise. To the day of his death he could +not account for his ability to do so. He made a splendid figure, +standing on the horse-block, his hair flowing out in the wind, his face +deadly pale; calm, cool, steady; his voice clear and even, but heard in +every part of the ship. The heart of the old sailor at the helm +yearned toward him, and the seamen looked at him as if he had been a +demigod. He never once looked back, but from the cries of the men he +could follow every motion of the frigate behind him. The frigate, the +unsuspicious frigate, had followed the course of the transport exactly, +and was coming down to the deadly rocks like a hurricane. + +Talbot, his quarrel forgotten for the moment, ceased firing, and stood, +with all of the men who could be spared from their stations, looking +aft at the tremendous drama being played. + +"The frigate! Look at the frigate! She 's going to strike, sir!" +cried one of the seamen, excitedly,--old Thompson, who had sailed upon +her. "See, they see the breakers. Now there go the head yards. It +won't do. It's too late. My God, she strikes, she strikes! I 'll +have one more shot at her before she goes," he shrieked, taking hasty +aim over the loaded field-piece and touching the priming. "Ay, and a +hit too. Hurrah! hurrah! To h--l with ye, where you belong, ye--" + +"Silence aft!" shouted Seymour, in a voice of thunder. "Keep fast that +gun; and another cheer like that, and I put you in irons, Thompson." + +The water in the front of the Mellish suddenly became darker, the +breakers disappeared, the ship was in deep water again; she had the +open sea before her, and was through the channel. + +"We are through the pass, sir," said Bentley. + +"I know it," answered Seymour, at last. "I suppose there is no use +beating back around the shoal, Bentley?" he said tentatively. + +"No, sir, no use; and besides in this wind we could not do it; and, +sir, you know nothing will live in such a sea. Look at the Englishman +now, sir." + +The captain turned at last. The frigate was a hopeless wreck. All +three of her masts had gone by the board; she had run full on the rocky +ledge of the shoal at the mouth of the channel. The wind had risen +until it blew a heavy gale; no boat, no human being, could live in such +a sea. The waters rushed over her at every sweep, and she was fast +breaking up before them. Night had fallen, and darkness at last +enshrouded her as she faded out of view. A drop of snow fell lightly +upon the cold cheek of the young sailor, and the men gazed into the +night in silence, appalled by the awful catastrophe. Bentley, +understanding it all, laid his hand lightly on Seymour's arm, saying +softly,-- + +"Better clear the wreck and get the mizzen topsail and the fore and +main sail in, sir, and reef the fore and main topsails; the spars are +buckling fearfully. She can't stand much more." + +"Oh, Bentley," he said with a sob, and then, mastering himself, he gave +the necessary orders to clear away the wreck and take in the other +sails, and close reef the topsails, in order to put the ship in proper +trim for the rising storm; after which, the wind now permitting, the +ship was headed for Philadelphia. + +As Seymour turned to go below, he came face to face with Talbot. The +two men stood gazing at each other in silence. + +"We still have an account to settle, Mr. Talbot," he said sternly. + +"My God," said Talbot, hesitatingly, "was n't it awful? How small, +Seymour, are our quarrels in the face of that!" pointing out into the +darkness,--"such a tremendous catastrophe as that is." + +Seymour looked at him curiously; the man had not yet fathomed the depth +of the catastrophe to him, evidently. + +"As for our quarrel," he continued in a manly, generous way, +"I--perhaps I was wrong, Mr. Seymour. I know I was, but I have loved +her all my life. I am sorry I spoke so, and I beg your pardon; +but--won't you tell me about the note now?" + +A great pity for the young man filled Seymour's heart in spite of his +own sorrow. "I loved her too," he said quietly. "The note was sent to +me from Gwynn's Island, where they were confined. I had offered myself +to her the night of the raid,--just before it, in fact,--and she +accepted me. The note was mine. Where is it?" + +"Oh!" said Talbot, softly, lifting his hand to his throat, "and I loved +her too, and she is yours. Forgive me, Seymour, you won her honorably. +I was too confident,--a fool. The note is gone into the sea. We +cannot quarrel about it now." + +"There can be no quarrel between us now, Talbot. She is mine no more +than she is yours. She--she--" He paused, choking. "She--" + +"Oh, what is it? Speak, man," cried Talbot, in sudden fear which he +could not explain. Philip Wilton had drawn near and was listening +eagerly. + +"That ship there--the Radnor, you know--is lost, and all on board of +her must have perished long since." + +"Yes, yes, it's awful; but what of that? what of Katharine?" + +"Don't you remember the note? Colonel Wilton and she were on the +Radnor." + +The strain of the last hour had undermined the nervous strength of the +young soldier. He looked at Seymour, half dazed. + +"It can't be," he murmured. "Why did you do it? How could you?" The +world turned black before him. He reeled as if from a blow, and would +have fallen if Seymour had not caught him. Philip strained his gaze +out over the dark water. + +"Oh, my father, my father!" he cried. "Mr. Seymour, is there no hope, +no chance?" + +"None whatever, my boy; they are gone." + +"Oh, Katharine, Katharine! Why did you do it, Seymour?" said Talbot, +again. + +Seymour turned away in silence. He could not reply; now that it was +done, he had no reason. + +The dim light from the binnacle lantern fell on the face of Bentley; +tears were standing in the old man's eyes as he looked at them, and he +said slowly, as if in response to Talbot's question,-- + +"For love of country, gentlemen." + +And this, again, is war upon the sea! + + + + +BOOK III + +THE LION AT BAY + + +CHAPTER XIX + +_The Port of Philadelphia_ + +The day before Christmas, the warden of the port of Philadelphia, +standing glass in hand on one of the wharves, noticed a strange vessel +slowly coming up the bay. This in itself was not an unusual sight. +Many vessels during the course of a year arrived at, or departed from, +the chief city of the American continent. Not so many small traders or +coasting-vessels or ponderous East Indiamen, perhaps, as in the busy +times of peace before the war began; but their place was taken by +privateers and their prizes, or a ship from France, bringing large +consignments of war material from the famous house of Rodrigo Hortalez +& Co., of which the versatile and ingenuous [Transcriber's note: +ingenious?] M. de Beaumarchais was the _deus ex machina_; and once in a +while one of the few ships of war of the Continental navy, or some of +the galleys or gunboats of Commodore Hazelwood's Pennsylvania State +defence fleet. But the approaching ship was evidently neither a +privateer nor a vessel of war, neither did she present the appearance +of a peaceful merchantman. There was something curious and noteworthy +in her aspect which excited the attention of the port warden, and then +of the loungers along Front Street and the wharves, and speedily +communicated itself to the citizens of the town, so that they began to +hasten down to the river, in the cold of the late afternoon. Finally, +no less a person than the military commander of the city himself +appeared, followed by one or two aids, and attended by various bewigged +and beruffled gentlemen of condition and substance; among whose finery +the black coat of a clergyman and the sober attire of many of the +thrifty Quakers were conspicuous. Here and there the crowd was +lightened by the uniform of a militiaman or home guard, or the faded +buff and blue of some invalid or wounded Continental. In the doorways +of some of the spacious residences facing the river, many of the fair +dames for which Philadelphia was justly famous noted eagerly the +approaching ship. As she came slowly up against the ebb tide, it was +seen that her bulwarks had been cut away, all her boats but one +appeared to be lost, her mizzen topgallant mast was gone, several great +patches in her sails also attracted attention; there too was a +field-piece mounted and lashed on the quarter-deck as a stern-chaser. +The fore royal was furled, and two flags were hanging limply from the +masthead; the light breeze from time to time fluttering them a little, +but not sufficiently to disclose what they were, until just opposite +High Street, where she dropped her only remaining anchor, when a sudden +gust of wind lifted the two flags before the anxious spectators, who +saw that one was a British and the other their own ensign. As soon as +the eager watchers grasped the fact that the red cross of St. George +was beneath the stars and stripes, they broke into spontaneous cheers +of rejoicing. Immediately after, the field-gun on the quarterdeck was +fired, and the report reverberated over the water and across the island +on the one side, and through the streets of the town on the other, with +sufficient volume to call every belated and idle citizen to the +river-front at once. + +Immediately after, a small boat was dropped into the water and manned +by four stout seamen, into which two officers rapidly descended,--one +in the uniform of a soldier, and the other in naval attire. When they +reached the wharf at the foot of High Street, they found themselves +confronted by an excited, shouting mass of anxious men, eager to hear +the news they were without doubt bringing. + +"It's Lieutenant Seymour!" cried one. + +"Yes, he went off in the Ranger about two weeks ago," answered another. + +"So he did. I wonder where the Ranger is now?" + +"Who is the one next to him?" said a third. + +"That's the young Continental from General Washington's staff, who went +with them," answered a fourth voice. + +"Back, gentlemen, back!" + +"Way for the general commanding the town!" + +"Here, men, don't crowd this way on the honorable committee of +Congress!" cried one and another, as a stout, burly, red-faced, honest, +genial-looking man, whose uniform of a general officer could not +disguise his plain farmer-like appearance, attended by two or three +staff-officers and followed by several white-wigged gentlemen of great +dignity, the rich attire and the evident respect in which they were +held proclaiming them the committee of Congress, slowly forced their +way through the crowd. + +"Now, sir," cried the general officer to the two men who had stepped +out on the wharf, "what ship is that? We are prepared for good news, +seeing those two flags, and the Lord knows we need it." + +"That is the transport Mellish, sir; a prize of the American +Continental ship Ranger, Captain John Paul Jones." + +"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried the crowd, which had eagerly pressed near to +hear the news. + +"Good, good!" replied the general. "I congratulate you. How is the +Ranger?" + +"We left her about one hundred leagues off Cape Sable about a week ago; +she had just sunk the British sloop of war Juno, twenty-two guns, after +a night action of about forty minutes. We left the Ranger bound for +France, and apparently not much injured." + +"What! what! God bless me, young men, you don't mean it! Sunk her, +did you say, and in forty minutes! Gentlemen, gentlemen, do you hear +that? Three cheers for Captain John Paul Jones!" + +Just then one of the committee of Congress, and evidently its +chairman,--a man whose probity and honor shone out from his open +pleasant face,--interrupted,-- + +"But tell me, young sir,--Lieutenant Seymour of the navy, is it not? +Ah, I thought so. What is her lading? Is it the transport we have +hoped for?" + +"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Talbot here has her bills of lading and her +manifest also." + +"Where is it, Mr. Talbot?" interrupted the officer; "let me see it, +sir. I am General Putnam, in command of the city." + +The general took the paper in his eagerness, but as he had neglected to +bring his glasses with him, he was unable to read it. + +"Here, here," he cried impatiently, handing it back, "read it yourself, +or, better, tell us quickly what it is." + +"Two thousand stand of arms, twenty field-pieces, powder, shot, and +other munitions of war, ten thousand suits of winter clothes, blankets, +shoes, Colonel Seaton and three officers and fifty men of the Seaforth +Highlanders and their baggage, all _en route_ for Quebec," said Talbot, +promptly. + +The crowd was one seething mass of excitement. Robert Morris turned +about, and lifting his hat from his head waved it high in the air amid +frantic cheers. Putnam and his officers and the other gentlemen of the +committee of Congress seized the hands of the two young officers in +hearty congratulation. + +"But there is something still more to tell," cried Mr. Morris; "your +ship, her battered and dismantled condition, the rents in the +sails--you were chased?" + +"Yes, sir," replied Seymour, "and nearly recaptured. We escaped, +however, through a narrow channel extending across George's Shoal off +Cape Cod, with which I was familiar; and the English ship, pursuing +recklessly, ran upon the shoal in a gale of wind and was wrecked, lost +with all on board." + +"Is it possible, sir, is it possible? Did you find out the name of the +ship?" + +"Yes, sir; one of our seamen who had served aboard her recognized her. +She was the Radnor, thirty-six guns." + +"That's the ship that Lord Dunmore is reported to have returned to +Europe in," said Mr. Clymer, another member of the committee. A +shudder passed over the two young men at this confirmation of their +misfortunes. Seymour continued with great gravity,-- + +"We have reason to believe that some one else in whom you have deeper +interest than in Lord Dunmore was on board of her,--Colonel Wilton, one +of our commissioners to France, and his daughter also. They must have +perished with the rest." + +There was a moment of silence, as the full extent of this calamity was +made known to the multitude, and then a clergyman was seen pushing his +way nearer to them. + +"What! Mr. Seymour! How do you do, sir? Did I understand you to say +that all the company of that English ship perished?" + +"Yes, Dr. White." + +"And Colonel Wilton and his daughter also?" + +"Alas, yes, sir." + +"I fear that it is as our young friend says," added Robert Morris, +gloomily. "I remember they were to go with Dunmore." + +"Oh, Mr. Morris, our poor friends! Shocking, shocking, dreadful!" +ejaculated the saintly-looking man; "these are the horrors of war;" and +then turning to the multitude, he said: "Gentlemen, people, and +friends, it is Christmas eve. We have our usual services at Christ +Church in a short time. Shall we not then return thanks to the Giver +of all victory for this signal manifestation of His Providence at this +dark hour, and at the same time pray for our bereaved friends, and also +for the widows and orphans of those of our enemies who have been so +suddenly brought before their Maker? I do earnestly invite you all to +God's house in His name." + +The chime of old Christ Church ringing from the steeple near by seemed +to second, in musical tones, the good man's invitation, as he turned +and walked away, followed by a number of the citizens of the town. +General Putnam, however, engaged Talbot in conversation about the +disposition of the stores, while Robert Morris continued his inquiries +as to the details of the cruise with Seymour. The perilous situation +of the shattered American army was outlined to both of them, and Talbot +received orders, or permission rather, to report the capture of the +transport to General Washington the next day. Seymour asked permission +to accompany him, which was readily granted. + +"If you do not get a captain's commission for this, Mr. Talbot," +continued Putnam, as they bade him good-night, "I shall be much +disappointed." + +"And if you do not find a captain's commission also waiting for you on +your return here, Lieutenant Seymour, I shall also be much surprised," +added Robert Morris. + +"Give my regards to his excellency, and wish him a merry Christmas from +me, and tell him that he has our best hopes for success in his new +enterprise. I will detach six hundred men from Philadelphia, +to-morrow, to make a diversion in his behalf," said the general. + +"Yes," continued Robert Morris, "and I shall be obliged, Lieutenant +Seymour, if you will call at my house before you start, and get a small +bag of money which I shall give you to hand to General Washington, with +my compliments. Tell him it is all I can raise at present, and that I +am ashamed to send him so pitiable a sum; but if he will call upon me +again, I shall, I trust, do better next time." + +Bidding each other adieu, the four gentlemen separated, General Putnam +to arrange for the distribution and forwarding of the supplies to the +troops at once; Robert Morris to send a report to the Congress, which +had retreated to Baltimore upon the approach of Howe and Cornwallis +through the Jerseys; and Seymour and Talbot back to the ship to make +necessary arrangements for their departure. + +Seymour shortly afterward turned the command of the Mellish over to the +officer Mr. Morris designated as his successor; and Talbot delivered +his schedule to the officer appointed by General Putnam to receive it. +Refusing the many pressing invitations to stay and dine, or partake of +the other bounteous hospitality of the townspeople, the young men +passed the night quietly with Seymour's aunt, his only relative, and at +four o'clock on Christmas morning, accompanied by Bentley and Talbot, +they set forth upon their long cold ride to Washington's camp,--a ride +which was to extend very much farther, however, and be fraught with +greater consequences than any of them dreamed of, as they set forth +with sad hearts upon their journey. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +_A Winter Camp_ + +About half after one o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, December +25th, being Christmas day, and very cold, four tired horsemen, on jaded +steeds, rode up to a plain stone farmhouse standing at the junction of +two common country roads, both of which led to the Delaware River, a +mile or so away. In the clearing back of the house a few wretched +tents indicated a bivouac. Some shivering horses were picketed under a +rude shelter, formed by interlacing branches between the trunks of a +little grove of thickly growing trees which had been left standing as a +wind-break. Bright fires blazed in front of the tents, and the men who +occupied them were enjoying an unusually hearty meal. The faded +uniforms of the men were tattered and torn; some of the soldiers were +almost barefoot, wearing wretched apologies for shoes, which had been +supplemented when practicable by bits of cloth tied about the soles of +the feet. The men themselves were gaunt and haggard. Privation, +exposure, and hard fighting had left a bitter mark upon them. Hunger +and cold and wounds had wrestled with them, and they bore the indelible +imprint of the awful conflict upon their faces. It was greatly to +their credit that, like their leader, they had not yet despaired. A +movement of some sort was evidently in preparation; arms were being +looked to carefully, haversacks and pockets were being filled with the +rude fare of which they had been thankful to partake as a Christmas +dinner; ammunition was being prepared for transportation; those who had +them were wrapping the remains of tattered blankets about them, under +the straps of their guns or other equipments; and the fortunate +possessors of the ragged adjuncts to shoes were putting final touches +to them, with a futile hope that they would last beyond the first mile +or two of the march; others were saddling and rubbing down the horses. + +A welcome contribution had been made to their fare in a huge steaming +bowl of hot punch, which had been sent from the farmhouse, and of which +they had eagerly partaken. + +"What's up now, I wonder?" said one ragged veteran to another. + +"Don't know--don't care--couldn't anything be worse than this," was the +reply. + +"We 've marched and fought and got beaten, and marched and fought and +got beaten again, and retreated and retreated until there is nothing +left of us. Look at us," he continued, "half naked, half starved, and +we 're the best of the lot, the select force, the picked men, the +head-quarters guard!" he went on in bitter sarcasm. + +"Yes, that 's so," replied the other, laughing; then, sadly, "Those +poor fellows by the river are worse off than we are, though. What +would n't they give for some of that punch? My soul, wasn't it good!" +he continued, smacking his lips in recollection. + +"Where are we going, sergeant?" asked another. + +"Don't know; the command is, 'Three days' rations and light marching +order.'" + +"Well, we're all of the last, anyway. Look at me! No stockings, +leggings torn, no shirt; and you'd scarcely call this thing on my back +a coat, would you? What could be lighter? So comfortable, too, in +this pleasant summer weather!" + +"Oh, shut up, old man; you 're better off than I am, anyway; you've got +rags to help your shoes out, and just look at mine," said another, +sticking out a gaunt leg with a tattered shoe on the foot, every toe of +which was plainly visible through the torn and worn openings. "And +just look at this," he went on, bringing his foot down hard on the +snow-covered, frost-bound soil, making an imprint which was edged with +blood from his wounded, bruised, unprotected feet. "That's my +sign-manual; and it 's not hard to duplicate in the army yonder, +either." + +"That's true; and to think that the cause of liberty's got down so low +that we are its only dependence. And they call us the grand army!" + +"Well, as you say," went on another, recklessly, "we can't get into +anything worse, so hurrah for the next move, say I." + +"Three days' rations and light marching order, meaning, I suppose, that +we are to leave our heavy overcoats and blankets and foot stoves and +such other luxuries behind; that rather indicates that we are going to +do something besides retreat; and I should like to get a whack at those +mercenary Dutchmen before I freeze or starve," was the reply. + +"Bully for you!" + +"I'm with you, old man." + +"I, too." + +"And I," came from the group of undaunted men surrounding the speaker. + +"And to think," said another, "of its being Christmas day, and all +those little children at home--oh, well," turning away and wiping his +eyes, "marching and fighting may make us forget, boys. I wouldn't mind +suffering for liberty, if we could only do something, have something to +show for it but a bloody trail and a story of defeat. I 'm tired of +it," he continued desperately. "I 'd fight the whole British army if +they would only let me get a chance at them." + +"We're all with you there, man, and I guess this time we get a chance," +replied one of the speakers, amid a chorus of approval which showed the +spirit of the men. + +While the men were talking among themselves thus, the four riders on +the tired horses had ridden up to the farmhouse. A soldier dressed no +better than the rest stood before the door. + +"Halt! Who are you?" he cried, presenting his musket. + +"Friends. Officers from Philadelphia, with messages for his +excellency," replied the foremost. "Don't you recognize me, my man?" + +"Why, it's Lieutenant Talbot! Pass in, sir, and these other gentlemen +with you," answered the soldier, saluting. "It's glad the general will +be to see you." + +Without further preliminaries the young man opened the door and +entered, followed by his three companions. A cheerful fire of logs was +blazing and crackling in the wide fireplace in the long low room. On +the table before it stood a great bowl of steaming punch, and several +officers were sitting or standing about the room in various positions. +The uniforms of all save that of one of them were scarcely less worn +and faded, if not quite so tattered, than were those of the escort; the +same grim enemies had left the same grim marks upon them as upon the +soldiers. The only well-dressed person in the room was a bright-eyed +young man, a mere boy, just nineteen, wearing the brilliant uniform of +an officer of the French army. He was tall and thin, red-haired, with +a long nose and retreating forehead; his bright eyes and animated +manner expressed the interest he felt in a conversation carried on in +the French language with his nearest neighbor, another young man +scarcely a year his senior. The contrast between the new and gay +French uniform of the one and the faded Continental dress of the other +was not less startling than that suggested by the difference in their +size. The American officer was a small, a very small man; but, in +spite of his insignificant stature, the whole impression of the man was +striking, and even imposing. In contrast to the other, his face was +very handsome, the head finely shaped, the features clear-cut and +regular; he had a decisive mouth, bespeaking resolution and firmness, +and two piercing eyes out of which looked a will as hard and imperious +as ever dwelt in mortal man. + +In front of the fire were two older men, each in the uniform of a +general officer, one of thirty-five or six years of age, the other +perhaps ten years older. The younger of the two, a full-faced, +intelligent, active, commanding sort of man, whose appearance indicated +confidence in himself, and the light of whose alert blue eyes told of +dashing brilliancy in action and prompt decision in perilous moments, +which made him one of those who succeed, would have been more noticed +had not his personality been so overshadowed by that of the officer who +was speaking to him. The latter was possessed of a figure so tall that +it dwarfed every other in the room: he was massively moulded, but well +proportioned, with enormous hands and feet, and long, powerful limbs, +which indicated great physical force, and having withal an erect and +noble carriage, easy and graceful in appearance, which would have +immediately attracted attention anywhere, even if his face had not been +more striking than his figure. He had a most noble head, well +proportioned, and set upon a beautiful neck, with the brow broad and +high, the nose large and strong and slightly aquiline; his large mouth, +even in repose, was set in a firm, tense, straight line, with the lips +so tightly closed from the pressure of the massive jaws as to present +an appearance almost painful, the expression of it bespeaking +indomitable resolution and unbending determination; his eyes were a +grayish blue, steel-colored in fact, set wide apart, and deep in their +sockets under heavy eyebrows. He wore his plentiful chestnut hair +brushed back from his forehead, and tied with a black ribbon in a queue +without powder, as was the custom in the army at this juncture,--a +fashion of necessity, by the way; and his ruddy face was burned by sun +and wind and exposure, and slightly, though not unpleasantly, marked +with the smallpox. + +There was in his whole aspect evidence of such strength and force and +power, such human passion kept in control by relentless will, such +attributes of command, that none looked upon him without awe; and the +idlest jester, the lowest and most insubordinate soldier, subsided into +silence before that noble personality, realizing the ineffable dignity +of the man. The grandeur of that cause which perhaps even he scarcely +realized while he sustained it, looked out from his solemn eyes and was +seen in the gravity of his bearing. His was the battle of the people +of the future, and God had marked him deeply for His own. And yet it +was a human man, too, and none of the immortal gods standing there. On +occasion his laugh rang as loudly, or his heart beat as quickly as that +of the most careless boy among his soldiers. He was fond of the good +things of life too,--loving good wine, fair women, a well-told story, a +good jest, pleasant society, and delighting in struggle and contest as +well. He preserved habitually the just balance of his strong nature by +the exercise of an unusual self-control, and he rarely allowed himself +to step beyond that mean of true propriety, so well called the happy, +except at long intervals through a violent outbreak of his passionate +temper, rendered more terrible and blasting from its very infrequency. +And this was the man upon whom was laid the burden of the war of the +Revolution, and to whom, under God, were due the mighty results of that +epoch-making contest. Seldom, if ever, do we see men of such rare +qualities that when they leave their appointed places no other can be +found to fill them; but if such a one ever did live, this was he. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +_The Boatswain Tells the Story_ + +One or two other men were writing at a table, and another stalwart +officer of rank was sitting by the fire reading. None of the four men +coming into the room had seen the general before, except Talbot. As +the door opened, his excellency glanced up inquiringly, and, +recognizing the first figure, stepped forward quickly, extending his +hand, all the other officers rising and drawing near at the same time. + +"What, Talbot! I trust you bring good news, sir?" + +"I do, sir," said the young officer, saluting. + +"The transport?" said the general, in great anxiety. + +"Captured, sir." + +"Her lading?" + +"Two thousand muskets, twenty field-pieces, powder, shot, intrenching +tools, other munitions of war; ten thousand suits of winter clothes, +blankets, and shoes; and four officers and fifty soldiers; all bound +for Quebec, where the British army is assembling." + +"Now Almighty God be praised!" exclaimed the general, with deep +feeling. "From whence do you come now?" + +"From Philadelphia, sir." + +"Ah! You thought best to take your prize there instead of Boston. It +was a risk, was it not? But now that you are there, it is better for +us here. Who are your companions, sir? Pray present them to me." + +"Lieutenant Seymour, sir, of the navy, who brought in the prize." + +"Sir, I congratulate you. I am glad to see you." + +"And this is Philip Wilton, a midshipman. I think you know him, +general." + +"Certainly I do; the son of my old friend the commissioner, Colonel +Wilton of Virginia, now unhappily a prisoner. You are very welcome, my +boy. And who is this other man, Talbot?" + +"William Bentley, sir, bosun of the Ranger, at your honor's service," +answered the seaman himself. + +"Well, my man," said the general, smiling, "if the Ranger has many like +you in her crew, she must show a formidable lot of men. I am glad to +see you all. These are my staff, gentlemen, the members of my family, +to whom I present you. General Greene, General Knox; and these two +boys here are Captain Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de La Fayette, +a volunteer from France, who comes to serve our country without money +or without price, for love of liberty. This is Major Harrison, this +Captain Laurens, this Captain Morris of the Philadelphia troop, our +only cavalry; they serve like the marquis, for love of liberty. I know +not how I could dispense with them." The gentlemen mentioned bowed +ceremoniously, and some of them shook hands with the new-comers. + +"Billy," continued Washington, turning to his black servant, "I wish +you to get something to eat for these gentlemen. It's only bread and +meat that we can offer you, I am sorry to say; we are not living in a +very luxurious style at present,--on rather short rations, on the +contrary. But meanwhile you will take a glass of this excellent punch +with us, and we will drink to a merry Christmas. Fill your glasses, +gentlemen all. Your news is the first good news we have had for so +long that we have almost forgot what good news is. It is certainly +very pleasant for us, eh, gentlemen? Now give us some of the details +of the capture of the transport. How was it? You, Mr. Seymour, are +the sailor of the party; do you tell us about it." + +Then, in that rude farmhouse among the hills on that bitter winter day, +Seymour told the story of the sighting of the convoy, and the ruse by +which the capture of the two ships had been effected, at which General +Washington laughed heartily. Then he described in a graphic seamanlike +way the wonderful night action; the capture of the Juno by the heroic +captain of the Ranger, the successful escape of that ship from the +frigate, and the sinking of the Juno. He was interrupted from time to +time by exclamations and deep gasps of excitement from the officers +crowding about him; even Billy bringing the dinner put it down +unheeded, and listened with his eyes glistening. And then Seymour +delivered Jones's message to General Washington. + +"Wonderful man! wonderful man!" he said. "We shall hear of him, I +think, in the English Channel; and the English also, which is more to +the point. But your own ship--had you an eventless passage, Mr. +Seymour? And, gentlemen, you look as solemn as if you were the bearers +of bad news instead of good tidings, or had been retreating with us for +the past six months. Thank goodness, that's about over tonight. Fill +your glasses, gentlemen. 'T is Christmas day. Now for your own story. +Did you meet an enemy's ship?" + +"We did, sir.--Talbot, you tell the story." + +"No, no, I cannot; 't is your part, Seymour." + +Here, in the presence of friends, and friends who knew and loved +Colonel Wilton and his daughter, neither of the young men felt equal to +the tale. Each day brought home to them their bitter sorrow more +powerfully than before, and each hour but deepened the anguish in their +hearts. + +"Why, what is this? What has happened? The transport is safe, you +said," continued the general, in some anxiety. "What is it?" + +"I can tell, if your honor pleases, sir," said the deep voice of +Bentley. + +"Speak, man, speak." + +"It happened this way, sir: we were off Cape Cod, heading northwest by +west for Boston, about a week ago, close hauled on the starboard tack +in a half gale of wind. Your honor knows what the starboard tack is?" + +"Yes, yes, certainly; go on." + +"When about three bells in the afternoon watch,--your honor knows what +three bells--Ay, ay, sir," continued the seaman, noting the general's +impatient nod. "Well, sir, we spied a large sail coming down on us +fast; we ran off free, she following. Pretty soon we made her out a +frigate, a heavy frigate of thirty-six guns, and a fast one too, for +she rapidly overhauled us. We cracked on sail, even setting the +topmast stunsail, till it blew away. Then we cut away bulwarks and +rails, flattened the sails by jiggers on the sheets and halliards until +they set like boards, pumped her out, cast adrift the boats, cut away +anchors, but it was n't any use; she kept a-gaining on us. By and by +we came to George's Shoal extending about three leagues across our +course to the southeast of Cape Cod. There is a pass through the +shoal; Lieutenant Seymour knows it, we surveyed it this last summer. +We brought the ship to on the wind on the same tack again, near the +shoal, and ran for the mouth of the pass. The frigate edged off to run +us down. Lieutenant Talbot broke out a field-piece from the hold and +mounted it as a stern-chaser, and used it too--" + +"Good! well done!" said the general, nodding approvingly. "Go on." + +"We came to the mouth of the pass. The frigate fired a broadside. One +shot carried away the mizzen topgallant mast; another sent a shower of +splinters inboard, killing the man at the wheel. The ship falls off +and enters the pass. I seize the helm. Mr. Seymour conned us through. +The frigate chased madly after us. She sees the breakers; she can't +follow us, draws too much water; she makes an effort to back off. It +is too late; she strikes. The wind rises to a heavy gale. We see her +go to pieces, and never a soul left to tell the story, never a plank of +her that hangs together. She's gone, and we go free. That's all, your +honor, and may God have mercy on their souls, say I," added the solemn +voice of the boatswain in the silence. + +"A frightful catastrophe, indeed, and a terrible one! I do not wonder +at your sadness. But, young gentlemen, do not take it so to heart. It +is the fate of war, and war is always frightful." + +"Did you find out the name of the ship, boatswain?" asked General +Greene. + +"Yes, your honor; the Radnor, thirty-six." + +"Could no one have been saved?" queried General Knox. + +"No one, sir. No boat could have lived in that sea a moment. We could +n't put back, could do no good if we had, and so we came on to +Philadelphia, and that's all." + +"No, general," cried Seymour; "it's not all. We will tell the general +the whole story, Talbot. You remember, sir, the raid on the Wilton +place and the capture of the colonel and his daughter?" The general +nodded. "Well, sir, before the Ranger sailed, I received a note from +Miss Wilton saying they were to be sent to England in the Radnor." + +"You received the note? I thought she was Mr. Talbot's betrothed, Mr. +Seymour!" + +"I thought so too, general; but it seems that we are both wrong. +Lieutenant Seymour captured her during his visit there with Colonel +Wilton," said Talbot, with a faint smile. + +"I am very sorry for you, Talbot, and you are a fortunate man, Mr. +Seymour. But go on; we are all friends here. Did you say they were to +go on the Radnor?" + +"Yes, sir. The pursuing frigate was recognized by one of my men who +had been pressed and flogged while on her, as the Radnor, the ship on +which they were. I heard the man say so just as we neared the reef. +To go through the pass was to lead the English ship to destruction and +cause the death of those we--of the colonel, sir," continued Seymour, +in some confusion. "To refrain from attempting the pass was to lose +the ship and all it meant for our cause. I could not decide. I say +frankly I could not condemn those I--our friends to death, and I could +not lose the ship either. This old man knew it all. He has known me +from a child. He spoke out boldly, and laid my duty before me, and +pleaded with me--" + +"He did not need it, your honor. No, sir; he would have done it +anyway," interrupted Bentley. + +The general took the hand of the embarrassed old boatswain and shook it +warmly; then, fixing his glowing eyes upon the two young men, said,-- + +"Continue, Mr. Seymour." + +"I know not what I might have done, but the old seaman's appeal to my +honor decided me. I went aft with horror in my heart, but resolved to +do my duty. On my way there I took out of my pocket the little note +received from Miss Wilton; a gust of wind blew it to the hand of Mr. +Talbot. It was only a line. As he picked it up, he read it +involuntarily. We had some words. I drew on him, sir. It was my +fault." + +"No, no, general, the fault was mine!" interrupted Talbot. "I said it +was my letter, refused to give it up, insulted him. He would have +arrested me. Bentley and Philip interfered. I taunted him, advanced +to strike him. He had to draw or be dishonored." + +"Nay, general, but the fault was mine. I was the captain of the ship; +the safety of the ship depended on me." + +"Go on, go on, Mr. Seymour," said the general; "this dispute does honor +to you both." + +"The rest happened as has been told you. One of the splinters struck +Mr. Talbot's sword and swept it into the sea; the note went with it, +and then the frigate was wrecked, and Colonel Wilton and his daughter, +with all the rest, lost." + +It was very still in the room. + +"My poor friend, my poor friend," murmured the general, "and that +charming girl. Without a moment's warning! Young gentlemen," taking +each of the young men by the hand, "I honor you. You have deserved +well of our country,--for the frankness with which one of you admits +his fault, for it was a fault, and takes the blame upon himself, and +for the heroic resolution by which the other sacrifices his love for +his duty. Laurens, make out a captain's commission for Mr. Talbot. +Hamilton, I wish you would write out a general order declaring the +capture of the transport and her lading, and the sinking of the Juno +and the wreck of the English frigate; it will hearten the men for our +enterprise to-night. As for you, Mr. Seymour, I shall use what little +influence I may be able to exert to get you a ship at once; meantime, +as we contemplate attacking the enemy at last, I shall be glad to offer +you a position as volunteer on my staff for a few days, if your duties +will permit. And to you, Philip, let me be a father indeed--my poor +boy! As for you, boatswain, what can I do for you?" + +"Nothing, your honor, nothing, sir. You have shaken me by the hand, +and that's enough." The old man hesitated, and then, seeing only +kindness in the general's face, for the old sailor attracted and +pleased him, he went on softly: "Ay, love's a mighty thing, your honor; +we knows it, we old men. And love of woman's strong, they say, but +these boys have shown us that something else is stronger." + +"And what is that, pray, my friend?" + +"Love of country, sir," said Bentley, in the silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +_Washington--a Man with Human Passions_ + +Half an hour later, after the four travellers had taken some +refreshment, hasty steps were heard outside the door, followed by the +sentry's hail. + +"Ah!" said the general, looking up eagerly from the book he had been +reading, "perhaps that is Mr. Martin with news from the enemy." Then +laying aside his book, he rose to his feet to meet the new-comer, who +proved to be the man he had expected. The young man stood at attention +and saluted, while the general addressed him sharply,-- + +"Well, sir, what have you learned?" + +The young officer appeared extremely embarrassed. "I--well, the fact +is, sir, nothing at all," he stammered. + +"Nothing!" said the general, loudly, with rising heat, "nothing, sir! +Did you not cross the river as I directed you?" + +"No, sir. That is, I tried to, but there was so much floating ice, and +it was so difficult to manage a boat that I thought it would be hardly +worth while to attempt it, sir. In fact, the crossing is impracticable +for troops," he went on more confidently; but his face changed as he +looked up at his infuriated superior. The general was a picture of +wrath; the lines in his forehead standing out plainly, his mouth shut +more tightly and grimly than ever. It was evident that he was +furiously angry, and his face had in it something terrible from his +rage. The young officer stood before him now, white and frightened to +death. + +"I saw him this way at Kip's Landing," whispered Hamilton to Seymour. +"Look! he has lost control of himself completely, there will be an +explosion sure." + +The general struggled for a moment, and then broke away. + +"Impracticable, sir! impracticable!" he roared out in a voice of +thunder. "How dare you say what this army can or can not do! And what +do you mean by not crossing the river and ascertaining the facts I +desire to know!" The next moment he stepped forward and, seizing a +heavy leaden inkstand from the table near him, threw it with all his +force full at the man, crying fiercely,-- + +"Damnation, sir! Be off and send me a _man_." + +The officer dodged the missile, which struck the wall with a crash, +saluted, and ran out of the door as if his life depended on it; feeling +in his heart that he would face any danger rather than brave another +storm of wrath like that he had just sustained. The general continued +to pace up and down the room restlessly for a few moments, until he +recovered his composure. + +"I depended upon that information, and I must have it," he +soliloquized. "If that man does not bring it back to us before we +cross the river, I 'll have him cashiered. Shall I send another man? +No, I 'll give him another chance." + +Seymour picked up the book the general had been reading. It was the +Bible, and open at the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Joshua. +His eye fell full upon the twenty-second verse, which was marked. "The +Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall +know; if; _it be_ in rebellion, or if in transgression against the +Lord, (save us not this day.)" + +Just then the little daughter of Keith, the owner of the farmhouse at +which they were staying, entered the room. As the little miss came up +fearlessly to the general, he stopped and smiled down at her. + +"Father and mother wish to know if you will want supper to-night, sir?" + +"No, my little maid," he replied; "not here, at any rate. And which do +you like the better now, the Redcoats or the Continentals?" + +"The Redcoats, sir, they have such pretty clothes," said the nascent +woman. + +"Ah, my dear," he replied blithely, catching her up in his arms and +kissing her the while, "they look better, but they don't fight. The +ragged fellows are the boys for fighting." + +"Singular man!" mused Seymour, contrasting the outbreak of wrath at the +recalcitrant officer, the open Bible he had been reading, and the last +merry, tender greeting to the child. But his musings were interrupted +by the general himself, speaking. + +"General Greene, you would better ride over to the landing and place +the different brigades; take Hamilton with you, and perhaps General +Knox will go also to look out for the artillery. The brigades were to +start at three o'clock for McConkey's Ford, and the nearest of them +should be there now. We shall move in two divisions after we leave +Birmingham on the other side. I wish you to command the first one, +which will comprise the brigades of Sterling, Mercer, and De Fermoy, +with Hand's riflemen and Hausegger's Germans and Forest's battery. I +shall accompany your column. General Sullivan will take the second +division, with Sargeant's and St. Clair's brigades, and Glover's +Marblehead men, and Stark's New Hampshire riflemen. The two columns +will divide at Birmingham. You will take the east, or inland road, and +Sullivan that by the river. Have you that order I spoke of for the +troops, Mr. Hamilton? If so, you will give a copy of it to General +Greene, who will publish it to the troops as soon as they arrive. +Captain Morris, I think you would better go also. You will muster your +troop; the men will have returned from carrying my orders to the +different brigades, and can be assembled once more. I desire you to +attend my person to-night as our only cavalry. Talbot, you would +better go with General Greene; you also, marquis, so that you can be +with your friend Captain Hamilton. The rest of us will follow you +shortly." + +The officers designated bowed, and in a few moments were on the road. +The officers left at the headquarters were speedily busy with their +necessary duties, and Seymour and his two companions, one of whom, the +boatswain, was most unfamiliar with and uncomfortable upon a horse, +were able to get a couple of hours of needed rest before starting out +upon what they felt would be an arduous journey. About half after six +o'clock the signal to mount was given, and the whole party, led by the +general himself, and followed by the ragged guard, was soon upon the +road. + +It was intensely cold, and the night bade fair to be the severest of +the winter. The sky was cloudless, however, and there was a bright +moon. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +_Lieutenant Martin's Lesson_ + +As they rode along slowly, the general explained his plans. General +Howe had pursued him relentlessly through the Jerseys, until he had +crossed into Pennsylvania, only escaping further pursuit and certain +defeat because he had had the forethought to seize every boat upon the +Delaware and its tributaries for miles in every direction, and bring +them with his army to the west bank of the river, so that Howe was +unable to cross. The English general had threatened, however, to wait +until the river was frozen and then cross on the ice, and after +brushing aside the miserable remains of Washington's army, march on to +Philadelphia and establish himself in the rebel capital. Making that +most serious of mistakes for a military man of despising his opponents, +Howe had scattered his army, for convenience in quartering, in various +small detachments along the river. The small American army, +supplemented by the Pennsylvania militia, had been placed opposite the +different fords from Yardley to New Hope, to hold the enemy in check in +case an attempt should be made to force a crossing. + +The fortunes of the country were at the lowest ebb. But there was to +be a speedy reversal of conditions, and the world was to learn how +dangerous a man was leading the Continental troops. Washington, to +whom a retreat was as hateful as it had been necessary, had long +meditated an attack whenever any chance whatever of success might +present itself. The necessity for a change was apparent, not merely +for the material result which would flow from a victory, but for the +moral effect as well. The fancied security of the enemy, their exposed +positions, disconnected from each other, and the contempt they felt for +his own troops, were large factors in determining him to strike then; +but another factor had still more weight, and that was the fact that +the time of the enlistment of nearly the whole of his own army expired +with the end of the year, and whatever was to be done must be done +quickly. He therefore conceived the daring and brilliant design of +suddenly collecting his scattered forces, crossing the river, and +falling upon his unsuspecting enemy at Trenton, where a small brigade +of Hessians, under Colonel Rahl, was stationed. + +It would be a piece of unparalleled audacity. To turn, as it were, +just before the dissolution of his army, and cross a wide and deep +river full of ice, in the dead of winter, and strike, like the hammer +of Thor, upon his unwary foe, rudely disturbing his complacent dreams, +was a conception of exceeding brilliancy, and it at once stamped +Washington as a military genius of the first order. And with such an +army to make such an attempt! Said one of the officers of the period +in his memoirs: "An army without cavalry, partially provided with +artillery, deficient in transportation for the little they had to +carry; without tents, tools, or camp equipage,--without magazines of +any kind; half clothed, badly armed, debilitated by disease, +disheartened by misfortune." But their leader was a Lion, and the Lion +was at last at bay! There was another factor which contributed greatly +to the efficiency of the army, and that was the high quality and +overwhelming number of the American officers. + +Orders had been given to the brigades and troops mentioned to +concentrate at McConkey's Ferry, about nine miles above Trenton. +Another division under Ewing was to cross a mile below Trenton and +seize the bridge and fords across the Assunpink, to check the retreat +of the enemy and co-operate with the main attack. + +Cadwalader's Pennsylvania militia under Gates were to cross at Bristol +or below Burlington, and attack Von Donop at that point, while Putnam, +in conjunction with him, was to make a diversion from Philadelphia. +The movements were to be simultaneous, and the result it was hoped +would accord with the effort. The main column, and the one upon which +the most dependence was to be placed, was that which Washington himself +was to accompany, which was composed of veteran Continentals, to the +number of twenty-four hundred, with eighteen pieces of artillery. + +All this was briefly explained by the general to Seymour and the staff, +while they rode slowly along the frozen road. About eight o'clock they +arrived at the ford, near which the troops who had arrived before them +now stood shivering on the high ground by the river. A few fires were +burning in the ravines back of the banks, around which the men took +turns in warming themselves, as they munched their frugal fare from the +haversacks. A large number of boats had been collected for their +transportation, but the river itself was in a most unpromising +condition, full of great cakes of ice which the swift current kept +churning and grinding against each other. + +The general surveyed the scene in silence, as his staff and the general +officers gathered about him. + +"There is something moving in the river, general," suddenly said +Seymour, pointing, his practised eye detecting a dark object among the +cakes of ice. "It is a boat, sir!" + +"Ah," replied the general, "you have sharp eyes. Where is it?" + +"There, sir, coming nearer every minute; there is a man in it." + +"I see now. So there is. Who can it be?" + +"Probably it is Lieutenant Martin," remarked General Greene, quietly. +"You know you sent him back." + +"Oh, so I did," replied the general, nodding sternly at the +recollection. Meanwhile the man in the boat was skilfully making his +way between the great cakes of ice, which threatened every moment to +crush his frail skiff. He rapidly drew near until he finally jumped +ashore, and, having tied his boat, hastened up to where the general sat +on his horse. He stopped. + +"I have been across, general," he said, saluting. + +"So I perceive, sir. How did you get across?" + +"When I left you, sir, this afternoon," went on the young man, gravely, +"I was in such a hurry that I did not wait for anything. I swam it, +sir, with my horse." + +"Swam it!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Very well done, indeed! Was it cold?" + +"Not very, sir. At least I was too excited to feel it, and a good hard +gallop on the other side soon warmed me up." + +"Where did your ride take you?" + +"Almost to Trenton, sir." + +"And what is the situation there?" + +"Very confident, the guard very negligent, the men carousing in the +houses. I examined both roads, and neither of them is well picketed. +I should think a surprise would not be very difficult, sir." + +"Humph! Where's your horse?" + +"He fell dead on the other side just as I got back. I found that leaky +skiff, and came over to report, sir." + +"You have done well, Mr. Martin, very well indeed! I think you must +have found that man I sent you for!" continued the general, smiling +grimly, while the young soldier blushed with pleasure. "Meanwhile we +must get you another horse. Who has a spare one?" + +"May it please your honor," spoke out Bentley, who had attached himself +to Seymour, "he can have mine. I am as much at sea on him as you would +be on the royal yard, begging your honor's pardon, and I 'll feel +better carrying a gun or pulling an oar with the men there than here." + +The general laughed. + +"There 's your horse, Mr. Martin. Where do you belong, sir?" + +"To Colonel Stark's regiment, sir." + +"Good! Keep at it as you have begun and you will meet with a better +reception when you call upon me again. Now God grant that fortune may +favor us. Gentlemen, if the brigades are all up, we will undertake the +crossing. It looks dangerous, but it can be done--it must be done. +Who will lead us?" + +"I will, sir, with your permission, with my Marblehead fishermen," said +Colonel Glover, stepping out. + +"Ah, gentlemen, this is our marine regiment. Go on, sir! You shall +have the right of way across the river. I think none will dispute it +with you. Mr. Seymour, as a seaman, perhaps you can render efficient +service, and your boatswain will find here more opportunities for his +peculiar talents than in carrying a musket. General Greene, will you +and your staff go over with the first boat to make proper disposition +of the brigades as they arrive? I shall come over after the first +division has passed. Then General Sullivan, and lastly our friend +General Knox with his artillery. I expect we shall have to wait for +him. Well, we cannot dispense with either him or the guns." + +"You won't have to wait any longer than is absolutely necessary to get +the guns and horses over, general." + +"I know that, Knox, I know that. Now, gentlemen, forward! and may God +bless you!" + +In a few moments the terrible passage began. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +_Crossing the Delaware_ + +The men, divided into small squads, marched down to the boats,--large +unwieldy scows, which had been hauled up against the shore,--and each +boat was speedily filled to its utmost capacity. The most experienced +seized the oars; three or four Marblehead fishermen armed with long +poles took their stations forward and aft along the upper side of the +boat, with one to steer and one to command; and then, seizing a +favorable opportunity, the boat was pushed off from the shore, and +threading its way in and out between the enormous ice-cakes grinding +down upon her, the difficult and dangerous passage began. Should the +heavily laden boat be overturned, very few of its occupants would be +able to reach the shore. Once on the other side, the fishermen took +the boat back, and the weary process was gone over again. Fortunately +it was yet bright moonlight, though ominous clouds were banking up in +the northeast, and everything could be clearly seen; each boat was +perfectly visible all the way across to the eager watchers on the +shore, and a sigh of relief went up after each fortunate passage. In +this labor Seymour and Bentley, and in a less degree Philip Wilton, +aided Colonel Glover's men; Seymour having the helm of one boat +continuously, Bentley that of another. + +About half-past nine it was reported to General Washington that all of +the first division had crossed, and the boat was now ready for him +according to his orders. The largest and best boat had been selected +for the commander-in-chief, one sufficiently capacious to receive his +horses and those of his staff who accompanied him. Seymour was to +steer the boat; Bentley stood in the bow; Colonel Glover stationed +himself amidships, with three or four of his trustiest men, to +superintend the crossing, and all the oars were manned by the hardy +fishermen instead of the soldiers. The general dismounted and walked +toward the boat, leading his horse. Just as he was about to enter, an +officer on a panting steed rode up rapidly, and saluted. + +"General Washington?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"A letter, sir!" + +"What a time is this to hand me letters!" + +"Your excellency, I have been charged to do so by General Gates." + +"By General Gates! Where is he?" + +"I left him this morning in Philadelphia, sir." + +"What was he doing there?" + +"I understood him that he was on his way to Congress." + +"On his way to Congress!" said the general earnestly, with much +surprise and disgust in his tone. And then, after a pause, he broke +the seal and read the letter, frowning; after which he crumpled the +paper up in his hand, and then turned again to the officer. "How did +you find us, sir?" + +"I followed the bloody footprints of the men on the snow, sir." + +"Poor fellows! Did you learn anything of General Ewing or General +Cadwalader?" + +"No, sir." + +"And General Putnam?" + +"He bade me say that there were symptoms of an insurrection in the +city, and he felt obliged to stay there. He has detached six hundred +of the Pennsylvania militia, however, under Colonel Griffin, to advance +toward Bordentown." + +"'T is well, sir. Do you remain to participate in our attack?" + +"Yes, sir, I belong to General St. Clair's brigade." + +"You will find it over there; it has not yet crossed. Now, gentlemen, +let us get aboard." + +The general stepped forward in the boat, where Bentley, an enormous +pole in his hands, was stationed, and the remainder of the party soon +embarked. The order was given to shove off. The usual difficulties +and the usual fortune attended the passage of the boat with its +precious freight, until it neared the east bank, when one of the +largest cakes that had passed swiftly floated down upon it. + +"Pull, men, pull hard!" cried Colonel Glover, as he saw its huge bulk +alongside. "Head the boat up the stream, Mr. Seymour. Forward, +there--be ready to push off with your poles." As the result of these +prompt manoeuvres, the oncoming mass of ice, which was too large to be +avoided, instead of crashing into them amidships and sinking the boat, +struck them a quartering blow on the bow, and commenced to grind along +the sides of the boat, which heeled so far over that the water began to +trickle in through the oar-locks on the other side. + +"Steady, men," said Glover, calmly. "Sit still, for your lives." + +Bentley had thrown his pole over on the ice-cake promptly, and was now +bearing down upon it with all the strength of his powerful arms. But +the task was beyond him; the ice and the boat clung together, and the +ice was reinforced by several other cakes which its checked motion +permitted to close with it. The vast mass crashed against the side of +the boat; the oar of the first rower was broken short off at the +oar-lock; if the others went the situation of the helpless boat would +be, indeed, hopeless. The general himself came to the rescue. +Promptly divining the situation, he stepped forward to Bentley's side, +and threw his own immense strength upon the pole. Great beads of sweat +stood out on Bentley's bronzed forehead as he renewed his efforts; the +stout hickory sapling bent and crackled beneath the pressure of the two +men, but held on, and the boat slowly but steadily began to swing clear +of the ice. These two Homeric men held it off by sheer strength, until +the boat was in freewater, and the men, who had sat like statues in +their places, could once more use their oars. The general stepped back +into his place, cool and calm as usual, and entirely unruffled by his +great exertions. Bentley wiped the sweat from his face, and turned and +looked back at him in admiration. + +"Friend Bentley," he said quietly, "you are a man of mighty thews and +sinews. Had it not been for your powerful arms, I fear we would have +had a ducking--or worse." + +"Lord love you, your honor," said the astonished tailor, "I 've met my +match! It was your arm that saved us. I was almost done for. I never +saw such strength as that, though when I was younger I would have done +better. What a man you would be for reefing topsails in a gale o' +wind, your honor, sir!" he continued, thrusting his pole vigorously +into a small and impertinent cake of ice in the way. The general was +proud of his great strength, and not ill pleased at the genuine and +hearty admiration of this genuine and hearty man. + +A few moments later they stepped ashore, and a mighty cheer went up +from the men who had crowded upon the banks, at the safety of their +beloved general. Greene met him at the landing, and the two men +clasped hands. The general immediately mounted his powerful white +horse, and stationed himself on a little hillock to watch the landing +of the rest of the men, engaging General Greene in a low conversation +the while. + +"Do you know, Greene, that Gates has refused my entreaty to stop one +day at Bristol, and take command of Reed's and Cadwalader's troops and +help us in the attack! I did not positively order him to do so; only +requested him to delay his journey by a day or two. I can't understand +his action. A letter was handed me just before we crossed by +Wilkinson, telling me that he had gone on to Congress." + +"To Congress! What wants he there? Oh, general, it seems as if you +had to fight two campaigns,--one against the enemy, and the other +against secret, nay open, attempts to minimize your authority and check +your plans." + +"It seems so, Greene; but with a just cause to sustain, and the +blessing of God to help our efforts, we cannot ultimately fail, though, +indeed, it may be better that I give place to another man, more able to +save the country," went on the general, solemnly. + +"Forbid it, Heaven!" cried Greene, passionately. "We, at least, in the +army, know to whom has been committed this work; ay, and who has done +it, and will do it, too! We will stand by you to the last. Could you +not feel in the cheers of those frozen men, when you landed, the love +they bear you?" + +"Yes, I know that you are with me, and they too. 'T is that alone that +gives me heart. Did you publish the orders about the capture of the +transport?" + +"Yes, sir, and it put new heart in the men, I could see. I wish we had +the supplies, the clothing especially, now. It grows colder every +moment." + +"Ay, and darker, too; I think we shall have snow again before we get +through with the night. I wonder how the others down the river have +got along. But who comes here?" continued the general, as two men +walked hastily up to him and saluted. + +"Well, sir?" he said to the first. + +"Message from General Ewing, sir." + +"Did he get across?" + +"No, sir, the ice was so heavy he bade me say he deemed it useless to +try it." + +"One piece removed from the game, General Greene," said Washington, +smiling bitterly. "Now your news, sir?" to the other. + +"General Cadwalader got a part of his men across, but the ice banks so +against the east side that not a single horse or piece of artillery +could be landed, so he bade me say he has recrossed with his men, sir." + +"And there's the other piece gone, too! Now, what is to be done?" + +General Sullivan, having crossed with the last of his division, at this +moment rode up. + +"The troops are all across, general," he said. + +"Well done! What time is it, some one?" + +"Half after eleven, sir," answered a voice. + +"Very well, indeed! We have now only to wait for the guns. But, +gentlemen, I have just heard that Ewing made no attempt to cross, and +that Cadwalader, having tried it, failed. He could get his men over, +but no horses and guns, on account of the ice on the bank, and +therefore he returned, and we are here alone. What, think you, is to +be done now?" + +There was a moment's silence. + +"Perhaps we would better recross and try it again on a more favorable +night," finally said De Fermoy, in his broken accents. + +"Yes, yes, that might be well," said one or two others, simultaneously. +The most of them, however, said nothing. The general waited a moment, +looking about him. + +"Gentlemen, it is too late to retreat. I promised myself I would not +return without a fight, and I intend to keep that promise. We will +carry out the plan ourselves, as much of it at least as we can. I +trust Putnam got Griffin off, and that his skirmishers may draw out Von +Donop. But be that as it may, we will have a dash at Trenton, and try +to bag the game, and get away before the enemy can fall upon us in +force. General Greene, you, of course have sent out pickets?" + +"Yes, sir, the first men who crossed over, a mile up the road, on the +hill yonder." + +"Good! Ha, what was that? Snow, as I live, and the moon 's gone, too! +How dark it has grown! I think you might allow the men to light fires +in those hollows, and let them move about a little; they will freeze to +death standing still--I wonder they don't, anyway. How unfortunate is +this snow!" + +"Beg pardon, your excellency?" said the first of the two messengers. + +"What is it, man? Speak out!" + +"Can we stay here and take part in your attack, sir?" + +"Certainly you may. Fall in with the men there. Where are your +horses?" + +"We left them on the other side, sir." + +"Well, they will have to stay there for this time, and you 'll have to +go on foot with the rest." + +"Thank you, sir," said the men, eagerly, darting off in the darkness. + +"That's a proper spirit, isn't it? Well, to your stations, gentlemen! +We have nothing to do now but wait. Don't allow the men to lie down or +to sleep, on any account." + +And wait they did, for four long hours, the general sitting motionless +and silent on his horse, wrapped in his heavy cloak, unheeding, alike, +the whirling snow or the cutting sleet of the storm, which grew fiercer +every moment. He strained his eyes out into the blackness of the river +from time to time, or looked anxiously at the troops, clustered about +the fires, or tramping restlessly up and down in their places to ward +off the deadly attack of the awful winter night, while some of them +sought shelter, behind trees and hillocks, from the fury of the storm. +Filled with his own pregnant thoughts, and speaking to no one, he +waited, and no man ventured to break his silence. At half after three +General Knox, whose resolute will and iron strength had been exerted to +the full, and whose mighty voice had been heard from time to time above +the shriek of the fierce wind, was able to report that he had got all +the artillery over without the loss of a man, a horse, or a gun, and +was ready to proceed. The men were hastily assembled, and, leaving a +strong detail to guard the boats, at four o'clock in the morning the +long and awful march to Trenton was begun, the general and his staff, +escorted by the Philadelphia City Troop, in the lead. The storm was at +its height. All hopes of a night attack and surprise had necessarily +to be abandoned. Still the general pressed on, determined to abide the +issue, and make the attack as soon as he reached the enemy. It was the +last effort of liberty, conceived in desperation and born in the throes +of hunger and cold! What would the bringing forth be? + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +_Trenton--The Lion Strikes_ + +The route, for the first mile and a half, lay up a steep hill, where +the men were much exposed and suffered terribly; after that, for three +miles or so, it wound in and out between the hills, and through forests +of ash and black oak, which afforded some little shelter. The storm +raged with unabated fury, and the progress of the little army was very +slow. The men were in good spirits, however, and they cheerfully +toiled on over the roads covered with deep drifts, bearing as best they +might the driving tempest. It was six in the morning when they reached +the little village of Birmingham, where the two columns divided: +General Greene's column, accompanied by Washington, taking the longer +or inland road, called the Pennington road, which entered the town from +the northeast; while Sullivan's column followed the lower road, which +entered the town from the west, by way of a bridge over the Assunpink +Creek. As Greene had a long detour to make, Sullivan had orders to +wait where the cross-road from Rowland's Ferry intersected his line of +march, until the first column had time to effect the longer circuit, so +that the two attacks might be delivered together. General Washington +himself rode in front of the first column. It was still frightfully +cold. + +About daybreak the general spied an officer on horseback toiling +through the snowdrifts toward him. As the horseman drew nearer, he +recognized young Martin. + +"What is it now, sir?" + +"General Sullivan says that the storm has rendered many of his muskets +useless, by wetting the priming and powder. He wishes to know what is +to be done, sir?" + +"Return instantly, and tell him he must use the bayonet! When he hears +the firing, he is to advance and charge immediately. The town must be +taken, and I intend to take it." + +"Very good, sir," said the young man, saluting. + +"Can you get through the snow in time?" + +"Yes, sir," he replied promptly. "I can get through anything, if your +excellency will give the order." + +The general smiled approvingly. It was evident that young man's first +lesson had been a good one; his emphasis, he was glad to see, had not +been misapplied. + +When Martin rejoined Sullivan's column, which had been halted at the +cross-roads, the men who had witnessed his departure were eagerly +waiting his return. As he repeated the general's reply, they began +slipping the bayonets over the muzzles of their guns without orders. +So eager were they to advance, that Sullivan had difficulty in +restraining them until the signal was given. Such was their temper and +spirit that, in the excitement of the moment, they recked little of the +freezing cold and the hardships of their terrible march. The +retreating army was at last on the offensive, they were about to attack +now, and no attack is so dangerous as that delivered by men from whom +the compelling necessity of retreat has been suddenly removed. + +It was about eight o'clock in the morning when they came in sight of +the town. The village of Trenton then contained about one hundred +houses, mostly frame, scattered along both sides of two long streets, +and chiefly located on the west bank of the Assunpink, which here bent +sharply to the north before it flowed into the Delaware. The Assunpink +was fordable in places at low water, but it was spanned by a +substantial stone bridge, which gave on the road followed by Sullivan, +at the west end of the village. Washington came down from the north, +and entered the village from the other side. About half a mile from +the edge of the town, the column led by him came abreast of an old man, +chopping wood in a farm-yard by the roadside. + +"Which is the way to the Hessian picket?" said the general. + +"I don't know," replied the man, sullenly. + +"You may tell," said Captain Forest, riding near the general, at the +head of his battery, "for this is General Washington." + +The man's expression altered at once. + +"God bless and prosper you!" he cried eagerly, raising his hands to +heaven. "There! The picket is in that house yonder, and the sentry +stands near that tree." + +The intense cold and heavy snow had driven the twenty-five men, who +composed the advance picket, to shelter, and they were huddled together +in one of the rude huts which served as a guard-house. The snow +deadened the sound of the American advance, and the careless sentry did +not perceive them. No warning was given until the lieutenant in +command of the guard stepped out of the house by chance, and gave the +alarm in great surprise. The picket rushed out, and the men lined up +in the road in front of the column, the thick snow preventing them from +forming a correct idea of the approaching force. The advance guard of +the Continentals, led by Captain William A. Washington and Lieutenant +James Monroe, instantly swept down upon them. After a scattered volley +which hurt no one, they fled precipitately back toward the village, +giving the alarm and rallying on the main guard, posted nearer the +centre of the town, which had been speedily drawn up, to the number of +seventy-five men. Meanwhile Sullivan's men, with Stark at the head, +had routed the pickets on the other road in the same gallant style. +This picket was composed of about fifty Hessian chasseurs, and twenty +English light dragoons, under command of Lieutenant Grothausen of the +chasseurs. They all fled so precipitately that they did not stop to +alarm the brigade which they had been stationed to protect, but rapidly +galloped down the road, and, crossing the bridge over the Assunpink, +made good their escape toward Bordentown. Grave suspicions of +cowardice attached thereafter to their commanding officer. Had Ewing +performed his part in the plan, the bridge would have been held, and +they would have been captured with the rest. Stark's men, followed by +the rest of Sullivan's division, were now pushed on rapidly for the +town, and the cheers of the New England men were distinctly heard by +Washington and his men on the main road. The main guard on the upper +road, almost as completely surprised as the other by the dashing +onslaught of the Americans, made another futile attempt at resistance +to Greene's column, but they soon fell back in great disorder upon the +main body. + +It was broad daylight now, and the violence of the storm had somewhat +abated. In the town, where the firing had been heard, the drums of the +three regiments were rapidly beating the assembly. Colonel Rahl was in +bed, sleeping off the effects of his previous night's indulgences, when +he heard the commotion. Jumping from the bed and running rapidly to +the window, still undressed, he thrust out his head and asked the +acting brigade adjutant, Biel,--who was hurriedly galloping past,--what +it was all about. There was a total misapprehension on all sides, even +at this hour, as to the serious nature of the attack; so the confused +colonel, satisfied with Biel's surmise that it was a raid, ordered him +to take a company and go to the assistance of the main guard, in the +supposition that it was only a skirmishing party, and never dreaming of +a general attack. Nevertheless he then dressed rapidly, and, running +down to the street, mounted his horse, which had been brought around. +The three regiments which comprised his brigade and command were +already forming; they were the regiment Rahl, the regiment Von +Lossburg, and the regiment Von Knyphausen. At this moment the advance +party and the main guard came running through the streets in great +confusion, crying that the whole rebel army was down upon them. The +regiment Rahl and the regiment Von Lossburg at once began retreating to +an apple orchard back of the town; firing ineffectively in their +excitement, as they ran, from behind the houses, at the head of the +column, which had now appeared in the street; while the regiment Von +Knyphausen, under the command of Major Von Dechow, the second in +command of the brigade, separated from the two others and made for the +bridge over the Assunpink. + +King and Queen streets run together at the east end of the town. There +Washington stationed himself, on the left of Forest's battery, which +was immediately unlimbered and opened up a hot fire. The general's +position was much exposed, and after his horse had been wounded, his +officers repeatedly requested him to fall back to a safer point, which +he peremptorily refused to do. The joy of battle sparkled in his eyes; +he had instinctively chosen that position on the field from whence he +could best see and direct the conflict, and nothing but a successful +charge of the enemy upon them could have moved him to retire. + +A few of the cooler-headed men among the Hessians had rallied some of +the Lossburg regiment, and two guns had been run out into the street +and pointed up toward the place where Washington stood, to form a +battery, which might, could it have been served, have held the American +army in check until such time as the startled Germans could recover +their wits and make a stand. General Washington pointed them out to +the officer of the advance guard, which had already done such good +service, with a wave of his sword. The little handful of men, led by +Captain Washington and Lieutenant Monroe, charged down upon the guns, +which the party had not had time to load. A scattering volley received +them. Captain Washington and Monroe and one of the men were wounded, +another fell dead; the men hesitated. Talbot sprang to the head of the +column, in obedience to the general's nod, and they rallied, advanced +on the run, and the guns were immediately captured. + +Meanwhile the fire of Stark's riflemen could be heard at the other end +of the town. St. Clair's brigade held the bridge; the regiment Von +Knyphausen lost a few precious moments endeavoring to extricate its +guns, which had become mired in the morass near the bridge, and then +charged upon St. Clair. But it was too late; Von Dechow was seriously +wounded, and when the regiment saw itself taken in the flank by +Sargeant's brigade, it retired in disorder, though some few men escaped +by the fords. + +At this juncture Rahl re-formed his scattered troops in the apple +orchard. He seems to have had an idea of retreating toward Princeton +at first, with the two regiments still under his command; at any rate, +he also lost precious moments by hesitation. It was even then too late +to effect a successful retreat, for Washington, foreseeing the +possibility, had promptly sent Hand's Pennsylvania riflemen along the +Pennington road back of the town to check any move in that direction. +As fast as the other brigades of Greene's column came up, they were +sent down through the streets of the town, until Stirling, in the lead, +joined Sullivan's men. Rahl's brigade was practically surrounded, +though he did not know it. The commander completely lost his head, +though he was a courageous man, brave to rashness, and a veteran +soldier who had hitherto distinguished himself in this and many other +wars. The town was full of plunder gathered by the troops, the +Hessians having been looting the country for weeks; and he could not +abandon it without a struggle. The idea of flying from a band of +ragged rebels whom he had scouted, was intolerable. He had been, he +now felt, more than culpable in neglecting many warnings of attack, and +had lamentably failed in his duty as a soldier, in refraining from +taking the commonest precautions against surprise. He had refused to +heed the urgent representations of Von Dechow, and other of his high +officers. Now his honor was at stake; so he rashly made up his mind to +charge. + +"We will retake the town. All who are my grenadiers--forward!" he +cried intrepidly. + +The men, with fixed bayonets, advanced bravely, and he led them +gallantly forward, sword in hand. The Americans fired a volley; +Forest's battery, which enfiladed them, poured in a deadly fire. Rahl +in the advance, upon his horse, received a fatal wound and fell to the +ground. The Continentals, cheering madly, charged forward with fixed +bayonets. The Hessians stopped--hesitated--wavered--their chief was +gone--the battle was lost--they broke and fled! Disregarding the +commands and appeals of their officers, they turned quickly to the +right, and ran off into the face of Hand's riflemen, who received them +with another volley. Many of them fell. A body of Virginia troops led +by Talbot now gained their left flank, the Philadelphia City Troop +encircled their rear. The helpless men stopped, completely bewildered, +huddled together in a confused mass. Washington, seeing imperfectly, +and thinking they were forming again, ordered the guns from Forest's +battery, which had been loaded with canister, to be discharged upon +them at once. + +"Sir, they have struck!" cried Seymour the keen-eyed, preventing the +men from firing. + +"Struck!" cried the general, in surprise. + +"Yes, sir; their colors are down." + +"So they are," said Washington, clasping his hands and raising his eyes +to heaven; then, putting spurs to his horse, he galloped over toward +the men. The firing had ceased in every direction, and the day was his +own; the three regiments were surrendering at discretion, two to him +and the other to Lord Stirling. As Major Wilkinson galloped up from +the lower division for instructions, Colonel Rahl, pale and bleeding, +and supported by two sergeants, presented his sword, which Washington +courteously declined to receive. The general then gave orders that +every care and assistance should be afforded the unfortunate soldier, +who died the next day in a room in Potts' Tavern. + +"This is indeed a glorious day for our country," said the general to +Seymour. + +It was in fact the turning-point in the history of the nation. The +captives numbered nearly one thousand men, with twelve hundred stand of +arms, six field-pieces, twelve drums, and four colors, including the +gorgeous banner of the Anspachers, the Von Lossburg regiment. + +Of the Continentals, only two were killed and four wounded, while +upward of one hundred of the Hessians were killed and wounded, among +the killed being Rahl and Von Dechow, the first and second in command. +The whole of this brilliant affair scarcely occupied an hour. + +As none of the other divisions had got across, it was scarcely safe for +Washington to remain on the east side of the river in the presence of +the vastly superior forces of the enemy, which would be concentrated +upon him without delay. So that, after giving the men a much needed +rest, securing their booty, and burying the dead, the evening found the +little army, with its prisoners, retracing its steps toward the ford +and its former camping-ground. + +But with what different feelings the hungry, worn-out, tattered mass of +men marched along in the bitter night! The contrast between the +well-clothed and well-fed Hessians and their captors was surprising, +but not less striking than that between their going out and coming in. +Little recked the frozen men of the hardships of the way. They had +shown the world that they possessed other capabilities than facility in +retreating, and no American army, however small or feeble, would ever +again be despised by any foe. + +The return passage was made without incident, save that just on the +crest of the hills leading down to the Ford, the general, who was in +advance again, noticed a suspicious-looking, snow-covered mound by the +roadside. Riding up to it, one of his aids dismounted and uncovered +the body of a man, a Continental soldier, frozen to death. The cold +weapon was grasped tightly in the colder hand. A little farther on +there was another body asleep in the snow,--another soldier! The last +was that man of the headquarters guard who had spoken of his little +children at home on Christmas day. They would wait a long time before +they saw him again. He had been willing to fight the whole English +army! Ah, well, a sterner foe than any who marched beneath the red +flag of Great Britain had grappled with him, and he had been +defeated,--but he had won his freedom! + +For forty hours now that little band of men had marched and fought, and +when it reached its camp at midnight the whole army was exhausted. The +only man among them all who preserved his even calmness, and was +apparently unaffected by the hardships of the day, was the commander +himself,--the iron man. Late into the night he dictated and wrote +letters and orders, to be despatched in every direction in the morning. +The successful issue of his daring adventure entailed yet further +responsibilities, and the campaign was only just begun. As for +himself, the world now knew him for a soldier. And a withered old man +in the palace of the Sans Souci in Berlin, who had himself known +victories and defeats, who had himself stood at bay, facing a world in +arms so successfully that men called him "The Great," called this and +the subsequent campaign the finest military exploit of the age! + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +_My Lord Cornwallis_ + +And so the departure of my Lord Cornwallis was necessarily deferred. +The packet upon which he had engaged passage, and which had actually +received his baggage, sailed without him. It would be some days before +he would grace the court of St. James with his handsome person, and a +long time would elapse before he would once more rejoice in the sight +of his beloved hills; when he next returned it would not be with the +laurels of a conqueror either! He was to try conclusions once and +again with the gentleman he had so assiduously pursued through the +Jerseys; and this time, ay, and in the end too, the honors were to be +with his antagonist. The Star and Order of the Bath, which his +gracious and generous Britannic majesty had sent over to the new +Caesar, General Howe, with so much laudation and so many words of +congratulation, was to have a little of its lustre diminished, and was +destined to appear not quite so glorious as it had after Long Island; +in fact, it was soon to be seen that it was only a pyrotechnic star +after all, and not in the order of heaven! Both of these gentlemen +were to learn that an army--almost any kind of an army--is always +dangerous until it is wiped out; and it is not to be considered as +wiped out as long as it has any coherent existence at all, even if the +coherent existence only depends upon the iron will of one man,--which +is another way of saying the game is never won until it is ended. + +There was mounting in hot haste in New York, and couriers and orders +streamed over the frozen roads, and Lord Cornwallis himself galloped at +full speed for Princeton. The calculations of a certain number of his +majesty's faithful troops were to be rudely disturbed, and the +comfortable quarters in which they had ensconced themselves were to be +vacated forthwith. Concentration, aggregation, synthesis, were the +words; and this time the reassembled army was not to disintegrate into +winter quarters until this pestilent Mr. Washington was attended to, +and attended to so effectually that they could enjoy the enforced +hospitality of the surly but substantial Jerseymen through the long +winter nights undisturbed. For his part, Mr. Washington, having tasted +success, the first real brilliant offensive success of the campaign, +was quite willing to be attended to. In fact, in a manner which in +another sex might be called coquettish, he seemed to court attention. +Having successfully attacked with his frost-bitten ragged regiments a +detachment, he was now to demonstrate to the world that not even the +presence of an army could stop him. + +Things were not quiet on the Pennsylvania side of the river either; +there were such comings and goings in Newtown as that staid and +conservative village had never before seen. Our two friends, the +sad-hearted, were both busily employed. Talbot had galloped over the +familiar road, and had electrified the good people of Philadelphia with +his news, and then had hastened on to Baltimore to reassure the spirits +of the frightened Congress. Honest Robert Morris was trotting around +from door to door upon New Year's morning, hat in hand, begging for +dollars to assist his friend George Washington, and the cause of +liberty, and the suffering army; and Seymour, become as it were a +soldier, and with Philip for esquire, was waiting to take what he could +get, be the amount ever so little, back to General Washington. The +sailor had been granted a further leave of absence by the naval +committee, at the general's urgent request, and was glad to learn that +he should soon have command of the promised ship of war, which was even +then making ready in the Delaware. Honest Bentley--beloved of the +soldiery in spite of his genuinely expressed contempt for land +warriors--was lending what aid he could in keeping up the spirits of +the men, and in other material ways in the camp. Some of the clothing, +some of the guns from the Mellish, some of the material captured from +the Hessians had gone into the hands and over the backs and upon the +feet of the men. But the clothed and the naked were equally happy, for +had they not done something at last? Ay! they had given assurance that +they were men to be reckoned with. + +Fired by the example set them by the Continentals, the Pennsylvania +militia, under Cadwalader and Ewing and Mifflin, had at last crossed +the Delaware and joined Griffin's men. Washington had followed them, +and the twenty-ninth of December found him established in new +headquarters at Trenton. A number of mounds in the fields, covered +with snow, some bitter recollections and sad stories of plunder, +robbery, rapine, and worse, told with gnashing teeth or breaking heart +by the firesides, were all that remained of their strange antagonists +in the town. But the little town and the little valley were to be once +more the scene of war. The great game was to be played again, and the +little creek of the Assunpink was to run red under its ice and between +its banks. + +On the twenty-ninth, Washington's troops began to cross the river +again. Two parties of light dragoons were sent on in advance under +Colonel Reed, assisted by parties of Pennsylvania riflemen despatched +by Cadwalader. They clung tenaciously to the flanks of Von Donop. +That unfortunate commander had been led away from his camp at +Burlington in pursuit of Griffin's gallant six hundred. When he +returned, unsuccessful, the news from Trenton had so alarmed him that +he fled precipitately, abandoning his heavy baggage and some of his +artillery. It was a work of joy for the pursued to pursue, a reversal +of conditions which put the heavy German veterans at a strange +disadvantage compared with their alert and active pursuers. They had +marched through that country with a high hand, plundering and abusing +its inhabitants in a frightful way, and they were now being made to +experience the hatred they themselves had enkindled. The country +people rose against them, and cut them off without mercy. + +It took two days to get the troops across, on account of the ice in the +river. And now came another difficulty. The time of the major part of +the Americans had expired on the last day of the year, but Washington +had them paraded and had ridden up and addressed them in a brilliant, +soldier-like fashion, and they had to a man volunteered to remain with +him for six weeks longer, or as much more time as was necessary to +enable him to complete his campaign before he went into winter +quarters. He was at last able to pay them their long deferred salary +out of the fifty thousand dollars sent him by Robert Morris, which +Seymour and Talbot that day had brought him; and for their future +reward he cheerfully pledged his own vast estate, an example of +self-sacrifice which Greene, Stark, Talbot, Seymour, and others of the +officers who possessed property, at once emulated. The men were put in +good spirits by a promise of ten dollars' bounty also, and they were +ready and eager for a fight. + +Reed, attended by six young gentlemen of the Philadelphia Troop, had +been sent out to reconnoitre. Up toward Princeton they had surprised a +British outpost composed of a sergeant and twelve dragoons; the +sergeant escaped, but the twelve dragoons, panic-stricken, were +captured after a short resistance; and Reed and his gallant young +cavaliers returned in triumph to headquarters. Valuable information +was gained from this party. Cornwallis had joined Grant at Princeton, +and with seven or eight thousand men was assembling wagons and +transportation, preparing for a dash on Trenton. Confirmation of this +not unexpected news came by a student from the college, who had escaped +to Cadwalader and been sent up to General Washington. The situation of +Washington was now critical, but he took prompt measures to relieve it. +Cadwalader from the Crosswicks, and Mifflin from Bordentown, with +thirty-six hundred men, were ordered forward at once. They promptly +obeyed orders, and by another desperate night march reached Trenton on +the morning of the first day of the year. + +There was heavy skirmishing all day on the second. Cornwallis, +advancing in hot haste from Princeton with eight thousand men, was +checked, and lost precious time, by a hot rifle fire from the wood on +the banks of the Shabbakong Creek, near the road he followed in his +advance. The skirmishers under Greene, seconded by Hand, after doing +gallant service and covering themselves with glory by delaying the +advance for several hours, giving Washington ample time to withdraw his +army across the Assunpink and post it in a strong defensive position, +had retired in good order beyond the American line. In the skirmish +Lieutenant Von Grothausen, he who had galloped away with the dragoons +at Trenton and had been under suspicion of cowardice ever since, had +somewhat redeemed his reputation in that he had boldly ridden down upon +the riflemen, and had been killed. It was late in the evening when the +advance parties crossed the bridge over the creek and sought safety +behind the lines. Indefatigable General Knox had concentrated thirty +pieces of cannon at the bridge--"A very pretty battery," he called it. + +It was dusk when the eager Americans saw the head of the British army +coming through the streets. They remained silent while the enemy +formed, and advanced to attack the bridge and the fords in heavy +columns at the same time. The men came on in a solid mass for the +bridge head, cheering gallantly. They were met by Knox's artillery and +a steady fire from the riflemen. Three times they crashed on that +bridge like a mighty wave, and three times like a wave broken they fell +back before an awful storm of fire. General Washington himself, +sitting on his white horse, gave the orders at the bridge, and the +brave enemy were repulsed. The position was too strong to be taken by +direct assault without great loss; besides, it was not vital after +all--so reasoned Cornwallis. The British soldiery were weary, they had +marched all day at a hot pace and were exhausted. They had not lived +in a chronic state of exhaustion for so long that they never gave it a +thought; they were not used to it, as were the Continentals, and when +the British were tired they had to rest. They would be in better +spirit on the morrow. The creek was fordable in a dozen places, but +Cornwallis resisted the importunities of some of his officers, who +wished to ford it and attack at once; he sent urgent messengers off to +Princeton to bring up the two thousand men left there with Von Donop, +and to hurry up Leslie with the rear guard, six miles away; when they +arrived they could turn the right flank of the Americans, and it would +be all up with them then. He thought he had Washington at such a +disadvantage that he could not escape, though the small advantage of +position might enable him to make a desperate resistance, even with his +inferior forces. + +"We will wait," he said to Erskine, "until Von Donop comes up, and +Leslie, and then we 'll bag the 'old fox' in the morning!" + +So, after brisk firing on both sides until night closed down, the +camp-fires were lighted on both sides of the creek; and the British +officer went to sleep, calmly confident that he had held the winning +cards, and all that was necessary was that the hand should be played +out in the morning, to enable him to take the game again. He did +indeed hold the higher cards, but the "old fox" showed himself the +better player. + +On the other side of the creek, in the house of good Mistress +Dagworthy, anxious hearts were debating. General Washington had +summoned a council of war, which expressed the usual diversity of +opinion on all subjects, except an unwillingness to fight, upon which, +like every other council of war, it was agreed. Indeed the odds were +fearful! Ten thousand seasoned, well-equipped, well-trained, veteran +troops, ably led, and smarting with the late defeat and the check of +the day against five thousand or six thousand wretchedly provided +soldiers, three-fifths of whom were raw militiamen, who had never heard +a shot fired in anger! + +Not even a leader like Washington, and officers to second him like +Greene, Sullivan, Knox, St. Clair, Stephen, Stirling, Cadwalader, +Sargeant, Mercer, Mifflin, Reed, Stark, Hand, Glover, and the others, +could overcome such a disparity and inequality. + +Cornwallis had only to outflank them, crumple them up, roll them back +on the impassable Delaware, and then--God help them all! + +There was no disguising the critical nature of their situation, and the +army had never before been in so desperate a position. It needed no +great skill to see the danger now to be faced, but the mistake of +Cornwallis gave them a brief respite, of which they promptly availed +themselves. Washington was not a man before whom it was ever safe to +indulge in mistakes, and the more difficult his position, the more +dangerous he became. Trial, danger, hazard, seemed to bring out all of +the most remarkable qualities of the man in the highest degree. +Nothing alarmed him, nothing dismayed him, nothing daunted him; the +hotter the conflict, the more pressing the danger, the cooler he +became. No man on earth was ever more ready and quick to avail himself +of time and opportunity, once he had determined upon a course of +action. This campaign was the most signal illustration, among many +others, which his wonderful career affords. Action, prompt, bold, +decisive, was as the breath of life to him; but before coming to a +decision, contrary to the custom of great commanders generally, he +usually called a council of war, which, on account of his excessive +modesty, he sometimes allowed to overrule his own better judgment, to +the great detriment of the cause. Alone he was superb! Given equal +resources, the world has not seen a general with whom he could not +successfully be matched. In this particular juncture, fortunately for +the country, he insisted upon having his own way. + +There were apparently but three alternatives before the council. The +first was a retreat with all speed down the river, leaving the heavy +baggage and artillery, and then crossing at Philadelphia if they could +get there in time. But this would be to abandon the whole colony of +New Jersey, to lose the results of the whole campaign, and leave the +enemy in fine position to begin again in the spring; and if this were +the end, they might better have stayed on the west side of the river. +Besides, successes were vital and must be had. Another retreat meant +disintegration and ruin, in spite of the lucky stroke at Trenton. The +second alternative was a battle where they stood, and that meant total +defeat,--a thing not to be considered a moment. The army must win or +die; and as dying could do no good, it had to win. A brilliant idea, +however, had occurred to the commander-in-chief, the man of brilliant +ideas. He communicated it to the council, where it instantly found +adherents, and objectors, too. It was the third alternative. A +circuitous road called the Quaker road, recently surveyed and just +made, led in a roundabout way from the rear of the camp toward the +Princeton road, which it entered two miles from that town. +Washington's plan was to steal silently away in the night by this road, +leaving bright fires burning to deceive the confident enemy, and press +with all speed toward Princeton, strike Cornwallis' rear-guard there at +daybreak with overwhelming force, crush it before that general could +retrace his steps, and then make a dash for the British supplies at New +Brunswick. If it were not practicable to reach that point, Washington +could take a position on the hills above Morristown, on the flank of +the British, and, by threatening their communications, force the +superior army to retreat and abandon the field, or else attack the +Americans in their intrenchments in the hills, with a probable result +even more disastrous to the attacking party than at Bunker Hill. It +was a conception as simple and beautiful as it was bold, brilliant, and +practicable. + +But now the objectors began; it had been snowing, sleeting, and raining +for several days; the roads were impassable, they had no bottom. +Objections were made on all sides: the artillery could not possibly be +moved, no horses could pull the wagons through the mud, the troops +could not march in it. But Washington, with true instincts, held to +his carefully devised plan with an unusual resolution. Arguing, +explaining, suggesting, convincing, persuading, the hours slipped away, +until at ten o'clock at night there came a sudden change in the +weather, perceptible even to those in the house. Washington ran +eagerly to the door and opened it. Followed by the general officers, +he stepped out into the night. It was dark and cloudy, no moon or +stars even, and growing colder every moment under the rising northeast +wind. + +"Gentlemen," he cried gayly, "Providence has decided for us. The wind +has shifted. The army will move in two hours." + +At the time specified by the commander, the muddy roads were frozen +hard. The heavy baggage was sent down to Burlington, and a strong +party of active men was left to keep bright fires burning, and charged +to show themselves as much as possible and make a great commotion by +throwing up fortifications and loud talking, with instructions to slip +away and join the main body early next day as best they could. At one +o'clock in the morning the astonished army started out upon their +adventurous journey,--another long cold night march. The untravelled +roads were as smooth and hard as iron. With muffled wheels they +succeeded in stealing away undetected. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +_The Lion Turns Fox_ + +The Quaker road led southeast from Trenton until it reached the village +of Sandtown, where it turned to the northwest again, and it was not +until that point was reached that the surprised soldiers realized the +daring nature of the manoeuvre, and the character of that night march, +which they had at first considered another hopeless retreat. It was +astonishing, then, with what spirit and zeal the soldiers tramped +silently over the frozen roads; the raw, green militia vied with the +veterans, in the fortitude with which they sustained the dreadful +fatigue of the severe march. The long distance to be traversed, on +account of the detour to be made, rendered it necessary that the men be +moved at the highest possible speed. The road itself being a new one, +lately cleared, the stumps and roots of trees not yet grubbed up, made +it difficult to transport the artillery and the wagons: but the tired +men cheerfully assisted the tired horses, and the little army made +great progress. The morning of Friday, January the 5th, dawned clear +and cold, with the ground covered with hoar frost. About sunrise the +army, with Washington again in the lead, reached the bridge over Stony +Brook about three miles from the village of Princeton. Leading the +main body across the bridge, they struck off from the main highway +through a by-road which was concealed by a grove of trees in the lower +ground, and afforded a short cut to the town. + +General Mercer was an old friend and comrade of the commander-in-chief; +he had been a companion of Prince Charles Edward in his romantic +invasion of England in '45, a member of Braddock's unfortunate +expedition, and wounded when that general's army was annihilated; and +sometime commander of Fort Du Quesne, after its capture by General +Forbes. He was detailed, with a small advance party comprising the +remnants of Smallwood's Marylanders, Haslet's Delawareans, and +Fleming's Virginians, and a small body of young men from the first +families of Philadelphia, to the total number of three hundred, to +continue up the road along the brook until he reached the main road, +where he was to try and hold the bridge in order to intercept fugitives +from Princeton, or check any retrograde movement of the troops which +might have advanced toward Trenton. The little band had proceeded but +a short distance on their way, when they unexpectedly came in sight of +a column of the enemy. + +It was the advance of the British, a part of Von Donop's leading +brigade, _en route_ for Trenton to assist Cornwallis in bagging the +"old fox" according to orders,--the Seventeenth Regiment, under Colonel +Mawhood. Mercer's troops being screened by the wood, their character +was not visible to Mawhood, who conjectured that they must be a body of +fugitives from the front. Under this impression, and never dreaming of +the true situation, Mawhood promptly deployed his regiment and moved +off to the left to intercept Mercer, at the same time despatching +messengers to bring up the other two regiments, the Fortieth and +Fifty-fifth, which had not yet left Princeton. Both parties rushed for +a little rising ground on the edge of a cleared field, near the house +of a peaceful Quaker named Clark. The Americans were nearer the goal +than their opponents, and reached it first. Hastily deploying his +column, Mercer sought shelter behind a hedge fence which crowned the +eminence, and immediately opened up a destructive fire from his +riflemen, which temporarily checked the advancing enemy. The British, +excellently led, returned the fire with great spirit, and with such +good effect that, after a few volleys, Mercer's horse was wounded in +the leg and his rider thrown violently to the ground, Talbot's was +killed under him, and several of the officers and men fell,--among them +the brave Colonel Haslet, who was mortally wounded. In the confusion +thus unfortunately caused, the Americans could hear sharp commands of +the English officers, then the rattling of steel on the gun-barrels, +and the next moment the red-coated men broke out of the smoke and, +unchecked by a scattering fire from the Americans, gallantly rushed up +at them with fixed bayonets. There were unfortunately no bayonets in +this small brigade of the Continental army. A few of the men clubbed +their muskets resolutely as the two lines met, and made a stout +resistance; but the on-coming British would not be denied, and, as the +charge was pressed home, the Americans wavered, broke, and fell back in +some disorder before the vigorous onslaught of the veteran troops. +Mercer, filled with shame, strove in vain to rally his men. Disdaining +himself to retreat, and gallantly calling upon them to advance, he +threw himself upon the advancing British line, sword in hand, followed +by his officers, and for a brief space there was an exciting męlée on +the hill. A blow from the butt end of a musket felled the general to +the ground. Talbot sprang to his side, and swept the bayonet away from +his heart by a blow of his sword delivered with a quick movement of his +powerful arm. Mercer profited by the moment's respite to leap to his +feet. + +"Thank you, my lad," he said. + +"Do you get to the rear and rally the men, general," cried Talbot, +firing a pistol at short range into the midst of the crowding enemy. +"I 'll hold these men in play." But the fighting blood of the old +Scotchman was up, and for answer he struck boldly at the man opposite +him. + +"Surrender, you damned rebels!" cried an officer near them. + +"Never!" replied Mercer, cutting down the man with whom he was engaged, +while Talbot did the like to the one next him. With a roar of rage the +British sprang on the two men. In a trice one of the bayonets got past +Mercer's guard and grazed his arm, another buried itself in his bosom, +a third struck him in the breast. The old man struck out weakly, +dropped his sword and fell, pierced by a dozen wounds, but still +breathing. Talbot, who was as yet unharmed, though covered with blood +and dust, his hat gone, stepped across his body. + +He might have retreated, being young and active; but that was not the +custom of his family, neither would he abandon the body of his brave +commander; besides, every moment of delay was precious. Surely they +would be reinforced and rallied; he knew the promptness of Washington +too well to doubt it for a moment; and, last of all, what was life +without Kate? One glance he cast to the bright sky, flushed with the +first rays of the rising sun, and then he stood on guard. The young +man's eyes were burning with the intoxication of the fight, and his +soul filled with great resolve; but his sword-play was as cool and as +rapid as it had been in the Salle des Armes at Paris, where few could +be found to master him. The little group of British paused a moment in +admiration of his courage. + +"One at a time, gentlemen," he cried, smiling, and warding off a +vicious bayonet thrust. "Are there none here who will cross swords +with me, for the honor of their flag?" + +The young lieutenant in command of that part of the line promptly +sprang forward and engaged; the two blades rang fiercely together, and +grated along each other a moment later. The men stepped back. But the +brave lieutenant had met his match, and, with set lips and iron arm, +Talbot drove home his blade in the other's heart. Ere he could recover +himself or withdraw his sword, he was beaten to his knees by a blow +from a gun-barrel; the blood ran down over his face. + +"Surrender! surrender!" they cried to him, "and we will spare your +life." + +For answer his hand sought his remaining pistol. The first one of his +opponents fell dead with a bullet through his heart, and the next +moment the deadly steel of a bayonet was buried in Talbot's throat. + +"Kate--Kate!" he cried in agony, the blood bubbling from his lips, and +then another bayonet found his gallant heart; and he sank down on his +face, at the foot of the dying officer, his lips kissing the soil of +that country in defence of whose liberties he had fallen. + +As was customary with his family, he had died on the field, grimly +facing fearful odds to the last. The last of his line, he had made a +good ending, not unworthy his distinguished ancestry; for none of the +proud and gallant race had ever died in the service of a better cause, +be it that of king or Parliament, than this young soldier who had just +laid down his life for love of his country! + +The slight check afforded by the interposition of the Americans was +over. The British were sweeping everything before them, when Colonel +Mawhood, the cool-headed officer, who had been sitting on a little +brown pony, with a small switch in his hand, directing the combat, +became aware of a large body of men coming up on his right flank +through the wood. With the readiness of a practised soldier, he +instantly stopped the advance of his men, wheeled them about, brought +up his guns, and prepared to open fire. The American officers had time +to mark with admiration the skill with which the manoeuvre was +effected, and the beautiful precision with which the men carried out +their orders. Then the force, a large body of Pennsylvania militia +which Washington had despatched at the first sound of firing in the +direction of Mercer, broke out of the wood, and advanced rapidly. The +muskets of the redcoats were quickly brought to the shoulder, and at +the word of command the British line was suddenly tipped with fire and +then covered with smoke. Many of the militia fell at this volley +delivered at close range; some of the fallen lay still and motionless, +while others groaned with pain; the raw troops fired hastily into the +smoke, then hesitated and stopped uncertainly as the volley was +repeated. It was another critical moment, and the hour brought the man. + +Washington himself had most opportunely arrived on the field in advance +of the troops, attended by Seymour. One glance showed him Mercer's +broken retreating column and the hesitating Pennsylvania militia! +Everything was at stake. It was not a time for strategic manoeuvres +now, but for men--nay, there were men there as good as ever fought--but +for a man then. Providentially one was at hand. Putting spurs to his +gallant white horse, he rode down the line in front of the Pennsylvania +militia, waving his hat and cheering them on. + +"An old-fashioned Virginia fox-hunt, gentlemen!" he cried gayly, giving +the view halloo! Galloping forward under the fire of the British +battery, he called to Mercer's shattered men. They halted and faced +about; the Seventh Virginia broke through the wood on the flank of the +British; Hitchcock's New Englanders came up on the run with fixed +bayonets; Moulder's Philadelphia battery opened fire from the hill on +the opposing guns. + +The fire of a warrior had now supplanted the coolness of a general. +Dashing boldly forward, reckless of the storm of bullets, to within +thirty yards of the British line, and smiling with stern pleasure in +the crisis which seemed to develop and bring out every fibre of his +deep nature, he called upon his men to come on. Recovering themselves, +they responded with the utmost gallantry. Mawhood was surrounded and +outnumbered, his victory suddenly changed to defeat; but, excellent +soldier that he was, he fought on with desperate resolution, and the +conflict was exceedingly hot. Washington was in the thick of it. +Seymour, who had followed him closely until the general broke away in +the smoke to lead the charge, lost sight of him for a moment, enveloped +as he was in the dust and smoke of the battle. When he saw him emerge +from the cloud, waving his sword, and beheld the enemy giving way on +every side, he spurred up to him. + +"Thank God!" he said; "your excellency is safe." + +"Away! away! my dear Seymour," he cried, "and bring up the troops. The +day is our own!" + +To the day of his death Seymour never lost the splendid impression of +that heroic figure, the ruddy face streaked with smoke and dust, the +eyes blazing with the joy of battle, the excitement of the charge, the +mighty sweep of the mighty arm! Mawhood's men were, indeed, routed in +every direction; most of them laid down their arms. A small party +only, under that intrepid leader, succeeded in forcing its way through +the American ranks with the bayonet, and ran at full speed toward +Trenton under the stimulus of a hot pursuit. + +Meanwhile the Fifty-fifth Regiment had been vigorously attacked by St. +Clair's brigade, and, after a short action, those who could get away +were in full retreat towards New Brunswick. The last regiment, the +Fortieth, had not been able to get into action at all; a part of it +fled in a panic, with the remains of the Fifty-fifth, towards New +Brunswick, hotly pursued by Washington with the Philadelphia City Troop +and what cavalry he could muster, and the rest took refuge in the +college building in Princeton, from which they were dislodged by +artillery and compelled to surrender. The British loss was about five +hundred in killed and wounded and prisoners, the American less than one +hundred; but among the latter were many valuable officers,--Colonels +Haslet and Potter, Major Morris, Captains Shippen, Fleming, Talbot, +Neal, and General Mercer. + +After following the retiring and demoralized British for a few miles, +Washington determined to abandon the pursuit. The men were exhausted +by their long and fatiguing marches, and were in no condition to make +the long march to New Brunswick; most of them were still ill equipped +and entirely unfitted for the fatigue and exposure of a further winter +campaign,--even those iron men must have rest at last. The flying +British must have informed Leslie's troops, six miles away, of the +situation; they would soon be upon them, and they might expect +Cornwallis with his whole force at any time. He drew off his troops, +therefore, and, leaving a strong party to break down the bridge over +Stony Brook and impede the advance of the English as much as possible, +he pushed on towards Pluckamin and Morristown, officers and men +thoroughly satisfied with their brilliant achievements. + +Early in the morning the pickets of Cornwallis' army discovered that +something was wrong in the American camp; the guard had been withdrawn, +the fires had been allowed to die away, and the place was as still as +death. A few adventurous spirits, cautiously crossing the bridge, +found that the guns mounted in front of it were only "quakers," and +that the whole camp was empty,--the army had decamped silently, and +stolen away before their eyes! My Lord Cornwallis, rudely disturbed +from those rosy dreams of conquest with which a mocking spirit had +beguiled his slumber, would not credit the first report of his +astonished officers; but investigation showed him that the "old fox" +was gone, and he would not be bagged that morning--nor on any other +morning, either! But where had he gone? For a time the perplexed and +chagrined commander could not ascertain. + +The Americans had vanished--disappeared--leaving absolutely no trace +behind them, and it was not until he heard the heavy booming of cannon +from the northeast, borne upon the frosty air of the cold morning about +sunrise, that he divined the brilliant plan of his wily antagonist and +discovered his whereabouts. He had been outfought, outmanoeuvred, +outflanked, and outgeneralled! The disgusted British were sent back +over the familiar road to Princeton, now in hotter haste than before. +His rear-guard menaced, perhaps overwhelmed, his stores and supplies in +danger, Cornwallis pushed on for life this time. The English officer +conceived a healthy respect for Washington at this juncture which did +not leave him thereafter. + +The short distance between Trenton and Princeton on the direct road was +passed in a remarkably short time by the now thoroughly aroused and +anxious British. A little party under command of Seymour and Kelly, +which had been assiduously engaged in breaking down the bridge over +Stony Brook, was observed and driven away by two field-pieces, which +had been halted and unlimbered on a commanding hill, and which opened +fire while the troops advanced on a run; but the damage had been done, +and the bridge was already impassable. After a futile attempt to +repair it, in which much time was lost, the indefatigable earl sent his +troops through the icy water of the turbulent stream, which rose +breast-high upon the eager men, and the hasty pursuit was once more +resumed. A mile or so beyond the bridge the whole army was brought to +a stand by a sudden discharge from a heavy gun, which did some +execution; it was mounted in a breastwork some distance ahead. The +army was halted, men were sent ahead to reconnoitre, and a strong +column deployed to storm what was supposed to be a heavy battery. When +the storming party reached the works, there was no one there! A lone +thirty-two-pounder, too unwieldy to accompany the rapid march of the +Americans, had been left behind, and Philip Wilton had volunteered to +remain, after Seymour's party had passed, and further delay the British +by firing it at their army as soon as they came in range. These delays +had given Washington so much of a start that Cornwallis, despairing of +ever overtaking him, finally gave up the pursuit, and pushed on in +great anxiety to New Brunswick, to save, if possible, his magazines, +which he had the satisfaction in the end of finding intact. + +To complete this brief _résumé_ of one of the remarkable campaigns of +history, Washington strongly fortified himself on Cornwallis' flank at +Morristown, menacing each of the three depots held by the British +outside New York; Putnam advanced from Philadelphia to Trenton, with +the militia; and Heath moved down to the highlands of the Hudson. The +country people of New Jersey rose and cut off scattered detachments of +the British in every direction, until the whole of the field was +eventually abandoned by them, except Amboy, Newark, and New Brunswick. +The world witnessed the singular spectacle of a large, well-appointed +army of veteran soldiery, under able leaders, shut up in practically +one spot, New York and a few near-by villages, and held there +inexorably by a phantom army which never was more than half the size of +that it held in check! The results of the six months' campaign were to +be seen in the possession of the city of New York by the British army. +That army, which had won, practically, all the battles in which it had +engaged, which had followed the Americans through six months of +disastrous defeat and retreat, and had overrun two colonies, now had +nothing to show for all its efforts but the ground upon which it stood! +And this was the result of the genius, the courage, the audacity of one +man,--George Washington! The world was astounded, and he took an +assured place thenceforward among the first soldiers of that or any age. + +Even the English themselves could not withhold their admiration. The +gallant and brave Cornwallis, a soldier of no mean ability himself, and +well able to estimate what could be done with a small and feeble force, +never forgot his surprise at the Assunpink; and when he congratulated +Washington, at the surrender of Yorktown years after, upon the +brilliant combination which had resulted in the capture of the army, he +added these words: "But, after all, your excellency's achievements in +the Jerseys were such that nothing could surpass them!" And the witty +and wise old cynic, Mr. Horace Walpole, with his usual discrimination, +wrote to a friend, Sir Horace Mann, when he heard of the affair at +Trenton, the night march to Princeton, and the successful attack there: +"Washington, the dictator, has shown himself both a Fabius and a +Camillus. His march through our lines is allowed to have been a +prodigy of generalship!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +_The British Play "Taps"_ + +The day after the battle Washington sent his nephew, Major Lewis, under +protection of a flag of truce, to attend upon the wounded General +Mercer; the exigency of his pursuit of the flying British and their +subsequent pursuit of him having precluded him from giving to his old +friend that personal attention which would have so accorded with his +kindly heart and the long affection in which he had held the old +Scotchman. Seymour received permission to accompany Lewis, in order to +ascertain if possible what had become of Talbot. + +The men of Mercer's command reported that they had seen the two +officers dismounted and fighting bravely, after having refused to +retreat. The two young officers were very melancholy as they rode +along the familiar road. Lewis belonged to a Virginia regiment, and +had known both Mercer and Talbot well, and in fact all the officers who +had been killed. The officers of that little army were like a band of +brothers, and after every battle there was a general mourning for the +loss of many friends. The casualties among the officers in the sharp +engagement had been unusually severe, and entirely disproportioned to +the total loss; the bulk of the loss had fallen upon Mercer's brigade. + +They found the general in Clark's farmhouse, near the field of battle, +lingering in great pain, and slowly dying from a number of ferocious +bayonet wounds. He was attended by his aid, Major Armstrong, and the +celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush came especially from Philadelphia to give +the dying hero the benefit of his skill and services. He had been +treated with the greatest respect by the enemy, for Cornwallis was +always quick to recognize and respect a gallant soldier. The kindly +Quakers had spared neither time nor trouble to lighten his dying hours, +and the women of the household nursed him with gentle and assiduous +care. He passed away ten days after the battle, leaving to his +descendants the untarnished name of a gallant soldier and gentleman, +who never faltered in the pursuit of his high ideals of duty. Brief as +had been his career as a general in the Revolution, his memory is still +cherished by a grateful posterity, as one of the first heroes of that +mighty struggle for liberty. + +Details of the British were already marching toward the field of action +to engage in the melancholy work of burying the dead, when Seymour, +under Major Armstrong's guidance, went over the ground in a search for +Talbot. He had no difficulty in finding the place where his friend had +fallen. The field had not been disturbed by any one. A bloody frozen +mass of ice and snow had shown where Mercer had fallen, and across the +place where his feet had been lay the body of Talbot. In front of him +lay the lieutenant with whom he had fought, the sword still buried in +his breast; farther away were the two men that the general and he had +cut down in the first onslaught, and at his feet was the corpse of the +man he had last shot, his stiffened hands still tightly clasping his +gun. Around on the field were the bodies of many others who had +fallen. Some of the Americans had been literally pinned to the earth +by the fierce bayonet thrusts they had received in the charge; some of +the British had been frightfully mangled and mashed by blows from the +clubbed rifles of the Americans before they had retreated. Off to the +right a long line of motionless bodies marked where the Pennsylvania +militia had advanced and halted; there in the centre, lying in heaps, +were the reminders of the fiercest spot of the little conflict, where +Moulder's battery had been served with such good effect; here was the +place where Washington had led the charge. + +In one brief quarter of an hour nearly three hundred men had given up +their lives, on this little farm, and there they lay attesting in mute +silence their fidelity to their principles, warm red coat and tattered +blue coat side by side, peace between them at last; indifferent each to +the severities of nature or the passions of men; unheeding alike the +ambitions of kings, the obstinacy of parliaments, or the desire of +liberty on the part of peoples. Some were lying calmly, as if their +last moments had been as peaceful as when little children they laid +themselves down to sleep; others twisted and contorted with looks of +horror and anguish fixed upon their mournful faces, which bespoke +agonies attending the departure of life like to the travail pains with +which it had been ushered into existence. Seymour with a sad heart +stooped and turned over the body of his friend, lifting his face once +more to that heaven he had gazed upon so bravely a few hours since--for +it was morning again, but oh, how different! The face was covered with +blood from the wound in the forehead, by which he had been beaten down. +Sadly, tenderly, gratefully, remembering an hour when Talbot had knelt +by his side and performed a similar service, he endeavored to wipe the +lurid stains from off his marble brow. Then a thought came to him. +Taking from his breast Katharine's handkerchief, which had never left +him, he moistened it in the snow, and finding an unstained place where +her dainty hand had embroidered her initials "K. W.," he carefully +wiped clean the white face of his dead friend. There was a little +smile upon Talbot's lips, and a look of peace and calm upon his face, +which Seymour had not seen him wear since the sinking of the frigate. +His right hand, whiter than the lace which drooped over it, was pressed +against his heart, evidently as the result of his last conscious +movement. Seymour bent down and lifted it up gently; there was +something beneath it inside his waistcoat. The young sailor reverently +inserted his hand and drew it forth. It was a plain gold locket. +Touching the spring, it opened, and there were pictured the faces of +the two women Talbot had loved,--on the one side the mother, stately, +proud, handsome, resolute, the image of the man himself; on the other, +the brown eyes and the fair hair and the red lips of beautiful +Katharine Wilton. There was a letter too in the pocket. The bayonet +thrust which had reached his heart had gone through it, and it, and the +locket also, was stained with blood. The letter was addressed to +Seymour; wondering, he broke the seal and read it. It was a brief +note, written in camp the night of the march. It would seem that +Talbot had a presentiment that he might die in the coming conflict; +indeed the letter plainly showed that he meant to seek death, to court +it in the field. His mother was to be told that he had done his duty, +and had not failed in sustaining the traditions of his honorable house; +and the honest soldierly little note ended with these words,-- + + +_As for you, my dear Seymour, would that fate had been kinder to you! +Were Katharine alive, I would crave your permission to say these words +to her: 'I love you, Kate,--I've always loved you--but the better man +has won you.' My best love to the old mother. Won't you take it to +her? And good-by, and God bless you!----Hilary Talbot._ + + +The brilliance went out of the sunshine, the brightness faded out of +the morning, and Seymour stood there with the tears running down his +cheeks,--not ashamed to weep for his friend. And yet the man was with +Kate, he thought, and happy,--he could almost envy him his quiet sleep. +The course of his thoughts was rudely broken by the approach of a party +of horsemen, who rode up to where he stood. Their leader, a bold +handsome young man, of distinguished appearance, in the brilliant dress +of a British general officer, reined in his steed close by him, and +addressed him. + +"How now, sir! Weeping? Tears do not become a soldier!" + +"Ah, sir," said Seymour, saluting, and pointing down to Talbot's body +at the same time, "not even when one mourns the death of a friend?" + +"Your friend, sir?" replied the general officer, courteously, +uncovering and looking down at the bodies with interest; his practised +eye immediately taking in the details of the little conflict. + +"He did not go to his death alone," he said meaningly. "'Fore Gad, +sir, here has been a pretty fight! Your name and rank, sir?" + +"Lieutenant John Seymour, of the American Continental navy, volunteer +aid on his excellency General Washington's staff." + +"And what do you here? Are you a prisoner?" + +"No, sir, I came with Major Lewis to visit General Mercer, and to look +for my friend, under cover of a flag of truce." + +"Ha! How is General Mercer?" + +"Frightfully wounded; he cannot live very long now." + +"He was a gallant fellow, so I am told, sir, and fought the father of +his majesty in the '45." + +"Yes," said Seymour, simply; "this is where he fell." + +The general looked curiously about him. + +"And who was your dead friend?" he continued. + +"Captain Hilary Talbot, of Virginia, of General Washington's staff." + +"What! Not Talbot of Fairview Hall on the Potomac?" said one of the +officers. + +"The same, sir." + +"Gad, my lord, Madam Talbot's a red-hot Tory! She swears by the king. +I 've been entertained at the house,--not when the young man was there, +but while he was away,--and a fine place it is. Well, here 's a house +divided truly!" + +"Is it indeed so, Mr. Seymour?" + +The young man nodded affirmatively. + +"What were you proposing to do with the body?" + +"Bury it near here, sir, in the cemetery on the hill by the college. +We have no means of transporting it hence." + +"Well, you shall do so, and we will bury him like a soldier. I +remember the family now, in England, very well. Don't they call them +the Loyal Talbots? Yes, I thought so. He was a rebel, and so far +false to his creed, but a gentleman nevertheless, and a brave one too. +Look at the fight he made here, gentlemen! Damme, he shall have an +escort of the king's own troops, and Lord Cornwallis himself and his +staff for his chief mourners! eh, Erskine?" said the gallant earl, +turning to the officer who rode near him. + +"How will that suit you, Mr. Seymour? You can tell that to his poor +old mother too, when you see her once again. Some of you bring up a +company of troops and get a gun carriage,--there's an abandoned one of +Mawhood's over there,--and we 'll take him up properly. Have you a +horse, sir? Ah, that's well, and bring a Prayer Book if you can find +one,--I doubt if there be any in my staff. I presume the man was a +Churchman, and he shall have prayers too. We have no coffin for him, +either; but stay--here 's my own cloak, a proper shroud for a soldier, +surely that will do nicely; and now let us go on, gentlemen." + +In a short time the martial cortége reached the little Presbyterian +cemetery. The young man wrapped in the general's cloak was soon laid +away in the shallow grave, which had hastily been made ready for him. +Seymour, attended by the two other American officers, Armstrong and +Lewis, after cutting off a lock of Talbot's dark hair for his mother, +read the burial service out of the young soldier's own little Prayer +Book, which he had found in the pocket of his coat; as the earth was +put upon him, Cornwallis and his officers stood about reverently +uncovered, while the sailor read with faltering lips the old familiar +words, which for twenty centuries have whispered of comfort to the +heart-broken children of men, and illumined the dark future by an +eternal hope--nay, rather, fixed assurance--of life everlasting. + +There was one tender-hearted woman there too, one of the sweet-faced +daughters of the kindly Quaker, Miss Clark. She had taken time to +twine a hasty wreath from the fragrant ever-verdant pine; when the +little mound of earth was finished, softly she laid it down, breathing +a prayer for the mother in far-off Virginia as she did so. + +Then they all drew back while the well-trained soldiers fired the last +three volleys, and the drummers beat the last call. 'T was the same +simple ending which closes the career of all soldiers, of whatever +degree, when they come to occupy those narrow quarters, where earthly +considerations of rank and station are forgot. + +"Sir, I beg to thank you for this distinguished courtesy," said +Seymour, with deep feeling, extending his hand to the knightly Briton. + +"Do not mention it, sir, I beg of you," replied Cornwallis, shaking his +hand warmly. "You will do the same for one of us, I am sure, should +occasion ever demand a like service at your hands. I will see that +your other men and officers are properly buried. Do you return now?" + +"Immediately, my lord." + +"Pray present my compliments to Mr.--nay, General--Washington," said +the generous commander, "and congratulate him upon his brilliant +campaign. Ay, and tell him we look forward eagerly to trying +conclusions with him again. Good-by, sir. Come, gentlemen," he cried, +raising his hat gracefully as he mounted his horse and rode away, +followed by his staff. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +_The Last of the Talbots_ + +It was with a sinking heart that Seymour rode up the hill toward Fairview +Hall a few days later. There had been a light fall of snow during the +preceding night, and the brilliant sun of the early morning had not yet +gained sufficient strength to melt it away. There was a softening touch +therefore about the familiar scene, and Seymour, who had never viewed it +in the glory of its summer, thought he had never known it to look so +beautiful. Heartily greeted as he passed on by the various servants of +the family, with whom he was a great favorite, he finally drew rein and +dismounted before the great flight of steps which led up to the terrace +upon which the house stood. His arrival had not been unnoticed, and +Madam Talbot was standing in the doorway to greet him. He noticed that +she looked paler and thinner and older, but she held herself as erect and +carried herself as proudly as she had always done. Grief and +disappointment and broken hope might change and destroy the natural +tissues and fibres of her being, but they could not alter her iron will. +Tossing the bridle to one of the attendant servants, Seymour, hat in +hand, walked slowly up the steps and across the grass plat, and stepped +upon the porch. She watched him in silence, with a frightful sinking of +the heart; the gravity of his demeanor and the pallor of his face, in +which she seemed to detect a shade of pity which her pride resented, +apprised her that whatever news he had brought would be ill for her to +hear, but her rigid face and composed manner gave no indication of the +deadly conflict within. Seymour bowed low to her, and she returned his +salute with a sweeping courtesy, old-fashioned and graceful. + +"Lieutenant Seymour is very welcome to Fairview Hall, though I trust it +be not the compelling necessity of a wound which makes him seek our +hospitality again," she said, faintly smiling. + +"Oh, madam," said Seymour, softly, yet in utter desperation as to how to +begin, "unfortunately it is not to be cured of wounds, but to inflict +them that this time I am come. I--I am sorry--that I have to tell you +that--I--" he continued with great hesitation. + +"You are a bearer of ill tidings, I perceive," she continued gravely. +"Speak your message, sir. Whatever it may be, I trust the God I serve to +give me strength to bear it. Is it--is it--Hilary?" she went on, with +just a suggestion of a break in her even, carefully modulated tones. + +"Yes, dear madam. He--he--" + +"Stop! I had almost forgotten my duty. Tell me first of the armies of +my king. The king first of all with our house, you know." + +Poor Seymour! he must overwhelm her with bad news in every field of her +affection. For a moment he almost wished the results had been the other +way. The perspiration stood out upon his forehead in spite of the +coldness, and he felt he would rather charge a battery than face this +terrible old woman who put the armies of a king--and such a king +too--before the fate of her only son! And yet he knew that what he had +to tell her would break down even her iron will, and reaching the +mother's heart beating warm within her in spite of her assumed coldness +and self-repression, would probably give her a death-blow. He felt +literally like a murderer before her, but he had to answer. Talbot's own +letter, General Washington's command, and the promptings of his own +affection had made him an actor in this pathetic drama. He had no choice +but to proceed. The truth must be told. Nerving himself to the +inevitable, he replied to her question,-- + +"The armies of the king have been defeated and forced to retire. General +Washington has outmanoeuvred and outfought them; they are now shut up in +New York again. The Jerseys are free, and we have taken upward of two +thousand prisoners, and many are killed and wounded among them,--on both +sides, in truth," he added. + +"The worst news first," she replied. "One knows not why these things are +so. It seems the God of Justice slumbers when subjects rebel against +their rightful kings! But I have faith, sir. The right will win in the +end--must win." + +"So be it," he said, accepting the implied challenge, but adding nothing +further. He would wait to be questioned now, and this strange woman +should have the story in the way that pleased her best. As for her she +could not trust herself to speak. Never before had her trembling body, +her beating heart escaped from the domination of her resolute will. +Never before had her mobile lips refused to formulate the commands of her +active brain. She fought her battle out in silence, and finally turned +toward him once more. + +"There was something else you said, I think. My--my son?" Her voice +sank to a whisper; in spite of herself one hand went to her heart. Ah, +mother, mother, this was indeed thy king! "Is--is he wounded?--My God, +sir! Not dead?" + +His open hand which he had extended to her held two little objects. What +were they? The bright sunlight was reflected from one of them, the +locket she had given him. There was a dark discoloration on one side of +it which she had never seen before. The other was his Prayer Book. O +God--prayer! Was there then a God, that such things could happen? Where +was He that day? She had given that book to him when he was yet a child. +"Dead,"--she whispered,--"dead," shrinking back and staring at him. + +"Would God I had died in his place, dear madam!" he said with infinite +pity. + +"How--how was it?" she went on, dry-eyed, in agony, moistening her +cracking lips. + +"Fighting like a hero over the body of General Mercer at Princeton. His +men retreated and left them--" + +"The rebel cowards," she interrupted. + +"Nay, not cowards, but perhaps less brave than he. The British charged +with their bayonets; our men had not that weapon, they fell back." + +"Were you there, sir?" + +"Surely not! Should I be here now if I had been there then, madam?" he +replied proudly. + +"True, true! you at least are a gentleman. Forgive the question." + +"General Mercer and some of his officers sprang at the line. I had it +from his own lips. Some one cut the general down; Hilary interposed, and +enabled him to rise to his feet; they were attacked, fought bravely +until--until--they died." + +Stricken to the death at least, but determined to die as the rest had +died, fighting, she drew herself up resolutely, and lifted her hand to +that pitiless heaven above her. "So--be--it--unto--all--the--enemies--" +When had he heard her say that before, he wondered in horror. She +stopped, her face went whiter before him, the light went out of it. + +"Oh, my son, my son--O God, my son, my son--Oh, give him back, my son--my +son!" She reeled and fell against him, moaning and beating the air with +her little feeble hands. The break had come at last; she was no longer a +Talbot, but a woman. With infinite pity and infinite care he half led, +half carried her into the house, and then, after being bidden not to +summon assistance, he sank down on his knees by her side, where she lay +on the sofa in the parlor, crushed, broken, feeble, helpless, old. With +many interruptions he told her the sad story. He laid the long dark lock +of hair he had cut from her son's head in her hand. There was a letter +from George Washington which he read to her, in which, after many tender +words of consolation, he spoke of Talbot as "one who would have done +honor to any country." He told her of that military funeral, the kind +words of Cornwallis, the guard of honor, the soldiers of the king, and +then he put Talbot's own letter to him before her, and she must be told +of the loss of the frigate. Kate dead too, and Colonel Wilton. Alas, +poor friends! But all her plans and hopes were gone; what mattered +it--what mattered anything now! + +"Oh, what a load must those unrighteous men bear before God who have +inaugurated this wicked war!" she cried; but no echo of her reproach was +heard in the houses of Parliament in London, or whispered in the +antechamber of the king, to whom, assuredly, they belonged. + +And by and by he left her. It wrung his heart so to do, but the call of +duty was stronger than her need. His ship was ready, or would be in a +short time, and he had snatched a few days from his pressing work to +fulfil this task. His presence was absolutely necessary on the vessel, +and he must go. Saying nay to her piteous plea that he should stay, and +most reluctantly refusing her proffers of hospitality, after leaving with +her the letters and the pictures, he left the room. But in the doorway +he looked back at her. The tears had come at last. Moved by a sudden +impulse, he ran back and knelt down by her, and took her old face between +his hands and kissed her. + +"Good-by, dear madam," he whispered; "would it had been I!" + +She laid her thin hands upon his head. + +"Good-by," she whispered; "God bless you. Oh, my boy--my boy!" She +turned her face to the wall in bitterness, and so he fled. + +On the brow of the hill one could see, if he were keen-eyed, the Wilton +place. There was the boat-house. There she had said she loved him. He +struck spurs to his horse and galloped madly away. Was there nothing but +grief and sorrow, then, under the sun? + +The lawyer and the doctor and the minister were with Madam Talbot all +that day, but it was little they could do. She added a codicil to her +will with the lawyer, submissively took the medicine the doctor left her, +and listened quietly to the prayers of the priest. In the morning they +found her whiter, stiller, calmer than ever. She had gone to meet her +son in that new country where none rebel against the King! + + + + +BOOK IV + +A DEATH GRAPPLE ON THE DEEP + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +_A Sailor's Opinion of the Land_ + +It was a delightful morning in February. The Continental ship +Randolph, a tight little thirty-two-gun frigate, the first to get to +sea of those ordered by Congress in 1775, was just leaving the +beautiful harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, by way of the main ship +channel, on her maiden cruise, under the command of Captain John +Seymour Seymour, late first lieutenant of the Ranger. This was the +second departure she had taken from that port. Forced by severe +damages, incurred in an encounter with a heavy gale shortly after +leaving Philadelphia, to put into that harbor for needed repairs to the +new and unsettled vessel, she had put to sea again after a short +interval, and in one week had taken six valuable prizes, one of them, +an armed vessel of twenty guns, after a short action. After this brief +and brilliant excursion she had put back to Charleston to dispose of +her prizes, re-collect her prize crews, and land her prisoners. + +There was another motive, however, for the sudden return. From one of +the prizes it had been learned that the English thirty-two-gun frigate +Carrysford, the twenty-gun sloop Perseus, the sixteen-gun sloop +Hinchinbrook, with several privateers, had been cruising off the coast +together, and the commander of the Randolph was most anxious to get the +help of some of the South Carolina State cruisers to go in search of +the British ships. The indefatigable Governor Rutledge, when the news +had been communicated to him, had worked assiduously to provide the +State ships, and the young captain of the Randolph speedily found +himself at the head of a little fleet of war vessels outward bound. + +The departure of the squadron, the Randolph in the lead, the rest +following, and all under full sail, made a pretty picture to the +enthusiastic Carolinians, who watched them from the islands and +fortifications in the harbor, and from a number of small boats which +accompanied the war ships a short distance on their voyage. Besides +Seymour's own vessel, there were the eighteen-gun ship General +Moultrie, the two sixteen-gun ships Notre Dame and Polly, and the +fourteen-gun brig Fair American; the last commanded by a certain +master, Philip Wilton. They made officers of very young men in those +days, and mere boys often occupied positions of trust and +responsibility apparently far beyond their years,--even Seymour +himself, though now a commodore or flag officer by courtesy, was very +young for the position; and Governor Rutledge, moved by a warm +friendship of long standing for old Colonel Wilton, and upon Seymour's +own urgent recommendation, had intrusted the smallest vessel to young +Captain Philip. We shall see how he showed himself worthy of the trust +reposed in him in spite of his tender years. + +All of these ships were converted merchantmen, hastily fitted out, +poorly adapted for any warlike purpose, and, with the exception of the +Fair American, exceedingly slow and unwieldy; but the heart of the +young commander filled with pride as he surveyed the little squadron, +which followed in his wake, looking handsome enough under full sail. +It was a great trust and responsibility reposed in his skill and +experience; doubtless it was the only fleet the country had assembled, +or could assemble, at that time; the ships were certainly not as he +would have desired them, but they were the best that could be got +together; and manned and officered by devoted men, they could at least +fight ships of their own size when the time came, and he trusted to be +able to give a good account of the enemy, should they be so fortunate +as to fall in with them. As for his own vessel, as his practised and +critical eye surveyed the graceful proportions of the new and +well-appointed ship, Seymour felt entirely satisfied with her. He +regarded with pleasant appreciation the decks white as constant +holy-stoning could make them, the long rows of grim black guns +thrusting out their formidable muzzles on either side, and the lofty +spars covered with clouds of new and snowy canvas. Everything was as +neat and trim, and as ready, as ardor, experience, and ability, coupled +with a generous expenditure from his own purse, could make them. He +was satisfied with his officers and crew too. Seymour's reputation, +his recent association with Paul Jones, the romantic story of his last +successful cruise, the esteem in which he was held by Washington, and +his own charming personality had conspired to render him a great +favorite, and he had had the pick of Philadelphia's hardy seamen and +gallant officers ere he sailed away. The three hundred and odd seamen +and marines who comprised the crew were as fit and capable a body of +men as ever trod the deck of a ship. Constant exercise and careful +instruction, and drill and target practice, had made them exceedingly +able in all the necessary manoeuvres, and in the handling of the guns. + +Forward on the forecastle old Bentley was planted, surrounded by such +of the older and more experienced petty officers and men as he +permitted to associate with him on terms of more or less familiarity. +Not only the position he occupied, that of boatswain of the frigate, +gave him a vast importance with the men, but his age and experience, +his long association with the captain, as well as some almost +incredible tales of his familiar companionship with certain men of +awe-inspiring name and great renown, with various mighty feats of arms +in recent campaigns, vaguely current, conduced to make him the monarch +of the forecastle, and the arbiter of the various discussions and +arguments among the men, who rarely ventured to dispute the dictum of +their oracle. + +"Well, here we are pointing out again, thank the Lord!" he said to his +particular friend and crony among the crew, the carpenter, Richard +Spicer, a battered old shell-back, like himself. "There is only one +place from which I like to see the land, Richard!" + +"And where is that, bosun?" + +"Over the stern, as now, mate, when we 're going free with a fair wind, +and leaving it fast behind. I feel safer then. A time since and I +felt as if I never wanted to see it again from any place. To think of +me, a decent God-fearing, seafaring man, at my time of life, turning +soldier!" It is not in the power of written language to express the +peculiar intonation of contempt which the old man laid upon that +inoffensive word, "soldier." No one venturing to interrupt him, after +staring at his particular aversion for a few moments, he went on more +mildly, and in a reflective tone,-- + +"Not but what I have seen some decent soldiers--a few. There was old +Blodgett, and young Mr. Talbot, ay, and General Washington too! Now +there 's a man for you, ship-mates. Lord, what a sailorman he would +have made! They tell me he had a midshipman's warrant offered him when +he was a lad once, and actually refused it--refused it! preferred to be +a soldier, and what a chance he lost! Might have been an admiral by +now!" + +"I 've heard tell as how 't was his mother that prevented him from +goin' to sea--when he was ready an' willin' an' waitin' to get aboard," +returned one of the men. + +"May be, may be. The result's the same. You never can tell what +women, and 'specially mothers, will do. They 're necessary, of course, +leastways it's generally believed we all had 'em, though I remember +none myself, nor Captain Seymour neither, and he 's a pretty good sort +of a man--let alone me--but they've no place aboard ship. Now look +what this one did,--spoiled a man that had the makin's of a first-class +sailor in him, and turned him into a soldier!" + +"But where would we be in this country of ours now, bosun, if it were +not for the soldiers? No, no, don't be too hard on this man, Captain +Washington; he 's done his duty, and is doing it very well, too, so I +'m told, accordin' to your own account, matey," replied the old +carpenter; "and soldiers is good too--in their places, that is, of +course," he went on deprecatingly. "There are two kinds of men, as I +take it, William, to do the fightin' in this world, sailormen and +soldiermen; each has a place, a station to fill, and something to do, +and one can't do t' other's work. Look at that there blasted marine, +aft there in the gangway, for instance; he's a good man, I make no +manner o' doubt, and he has got his place on this barkey, even if he is +only a kind of a soldier and no sailorman at all." + +"Now I asks you, Chips, what particular good are soldiers, anyway, +leaving marines out of the question, for they do live on ships," said +the old sailorman. "What can they do that we can't? They can fight, +and fight hard--I 've seen 'em, but so can we," he continued, extending +his brawny arm; "and they can march, too,--I've seen their bloody +footmarks in the snow; but there were sailormen there that kept right +alongside of 'em and did all that they could do. Oh, I forgot one +thing--they can ride horses, that's one thing I could never learn at +all! You 'd ought to seen me on one of the land-lubberly brutes. A +horse has no place on shipboard, no more than a woman, and I 've no use +for either of 'em. But if this country would spend all its money +buying ships, and man 'em with real first-class sailormen, why, d'ye +see, King George's men could never land on our shores at all. We 'd +keep 'em off, and then there'd be no use for the soldiers; they could +all go a-farming. No, give me ships every time, they always win. I +know what I am talking about; I have been on the shore for a month at a +time until I thought I would turn into mud itself. No, 't is not even +a fit place to be buried in; 'earth to earth' won't do for me when I +die; I just want to be dropped overboard--there." + +"There is one time ships didn't win," said the carpenter, persisting in +the argument, and pointing aft to the low mounds of sand backed by the +rudely interlaced palmetto logs, behind which the gallant Moultrie had +fought Barker's fleet six months before, until the ships had been +driven off in defeat. + +"Those were British ships, man," said the old sailor, with contempt. +"I meant Americans, of course; it makes all the difference in the +world. But as for land--I hate it. It's only good to grow vegetables, +and soft tack, and fresh water, and tar, and timber, and breed children +to make sailormen out of--why, it's a sort of a cook's galley, a +kitchen they call it there, for the sea at best! Give me the sight of +blue water, and let me have the solid feel of the deck beneath my feet; +no unsteady earth for me!" + +"Well, that's my own opinion, too, bo. But, after all, that's all that +ships is good for, anyway; just to sail from land to land and take +people and things from place to place. The sea's between like." + +"You look at it the wrong way, mate. Certain of us men have sense +enough to live on the sea, and keep away from land, except for water +and provision. We go from sea to sea, and land 's between." + +"And what would you do for a country if we had no land? You 're always +talking about lovin' your country, bosun." + +"Ay, that I do," said the old man. "I look upon a country, that is a +land country, as a kind of necessary evil. My country 's this ship, +and yon flag, what it means and stands for. It means liberty, free +waters, no interference with peaceful traders on the high seas, +following their rightful pursuits, by British ships-of-war. Every man +that has ever been aboard of one of those floating hells knows what +liberty is not, well enough. No taxing of us by a Parliament on t' +other side of the world, neither. No king but the captain. Freedom! +So free that the lubberliest landsman on shore has a right to govern +himself--if he can--subject to discipline and the commands of his +superior officer, of course; and, besides, it's like a man's wife; if +he's got to have one, he may beat her and abuse her, perhaps, but +nobody else shall. No! Land's a pretty poor sort of a thing in +general, but that aft there is the best there is going, and it 's our +own. We 'll die for it, yes, for love of it, if it comes to that, even +if we do hate it, on general principles mind, you understand." + +There was evidently a trace of Irish blood in the old sailor, it would +seem, and so saying, with a wave of his hand, which brushed aside +further argument, he turned abruptly on his heel and walked aft. In +spite of all his words, which only reflected the usual opinion of +sailors, in those days at least, he yielded to no man in patriotism and +devotion to the cause of liberty and the land that gave him birth. And +no man in all Washington's army had done better service, marched more +cheerfully, or fought harder than this veteran seaman. The men on the +forecastle generally agreed with him in his propositions, but the +obstinate old carpenter, with the characteristic tenacity of the +ancient tar, maintained the discussion forward, until the sharp voice +of the officer of the deck sent all hands to the braces. The ship was +brought to the wind on the starboard tack, a manoeuvre which was +followed in succession by the other vessels of the squadron, which had +been previously directed to keep, though still within signal, at long +distances from each other during the day, closing up at night, in order +to spread a broad clew and give greater chance of meeting the enemy. + +The young captain paced the quarter-deck alone--no man is ever so much +alone among his fellows as the commander of a ship--a prey to his own +sad thoughts. Those who had known him the gayest of gay young sailors +in Philadelphia were at a loss to account for the change which had come +over him. He had become the gravest of the grave, his cheery laugh was +heard no more, and the baffled young belles of Charleston had voted him +a confirmed woman-hater; though his melancholy, handsome face, graceful +person, distinguished bearing, and high station might have enabled him +to pick and choose where he would. But there was room in his heart for +no more passions. Even his love of country and liberty had degenerated +into a slow, cold hate for the British, and a desperate resolve to do +his duty, and make his animosity tell when he struck. A dangerous man +under whom to sail, gentleman of the Randolph, and a dangerous man to +meet, as well. He could not forget Kate, and, except in the +distraction of a combat, life was a mere mechanical routine for him. +But because he had been well trained he went through it well--biding +his time. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +_Seymour's Desperate Resolution_ + +Six rather uneventful days passed by, during which prizes to the number +of five fell to the lot of the squadron, one loaded with military +stores, and another with provisions of great value. The lively little +Fair American, being far to windward of the fleet, had also a smart +action with a heavily armed British privateer, which struck her flag +before the others could get within range, and was found to be loaded +with valuable portable goods, the siftings of a long and successful +cruise. Young Wilton had manoeuvred and fought his ship well, and had +been publicly complimented in general orders by Seymour for skill and +gallantry. The fleet had been exercised in signals and in various +simple evolutions, the weather was most pleasant, the men in excellent +spirits, and all that was necessary to complete their happiness was the +appearance of the looked-for squadron of the enemy. The eager lookouts +swept the seas unweariedly, but in vain, until early in the afternoon +of the sixth day, the fleet being in Longitude 58 degrees 18 minutes +West, Latitude 14 degrees 30 minutes North, about forty leagues east of +Martinique, heading due west on the starboard tack, it was reported to +Seymour, who was reading in the cabin, that the Fair American, again +far in the lead and somewhat to windward, had signalled a large sail +ahead. A short time should make her visible, if the vessels continued +on the present course, and, after having called his fleet about him by +signal, Seymour stood on for a nearer look at the stranger. An hour +later she was visible from the deck of the Randolph, a very large ship, +evidently a man-of-war under easy sail. The careful watchers could +count three tiers of guns through the glass, which proclaimed her a +ship of the line. From her motions, and the way she rose before them, +she was evidently a very speedy ship, capable of outsailing every +vessel of Seymour's little fleet without difficulty, except possibly +the brig Fair American. It would be madness for the squadron of +converted and lightly armed merchantmen to attack a heavy ship of that +class,--all who got near enough to do so would probably be sunk or +captured; yet the approaching vessel must be delayed or checked, or the +result would be equally serious to the fleet. Seymour at once formed a +desperate resolution. Signalling to the four State cruisers and the +six prizes to tack to the northeast, escape if possible, and afterward +make the best of their way back to Charleston, he himself stood on with +the little Randolph to engage the mighty stranger. At first the older +seamen could scarce believe their eyes. Was it possible that Captain +Seymour, in a small thirty-two-gun frigate, was about to engage +deliberately and wilfully in a combat with a ship of the line, a +seventy-four!--the difference in the number of guns giving no +indication of the difference in the offensive qualities of the two +ships, which might better be shown by a ratio of four or five to one in +favor of the ship of the line. It was like matching a bull terrier +against a mastiff. The men half suspected some wily manoeuvre which +they could not divine; but as the moments fled away and they saw the +rest of the fleet and the prizes slipping rapidly away to the +northeast, the Fair American lagging unaccountably behind the rest of +the fleet, while they still held their even course, they began to +comprehend that they were to fight to save the fleet, and Seymour meant +to sacrifice them deliberately, if necessary, in the hope of so +crippling the enemy that his other little cruisers, and the prizes, +might escape. They were not daunted, however--your true Jack is a +reckless fellow--by the daring and desperate nature of the plan; quite +the contrary! + +In a few moments the familiar tones of Bentley's powerful voice, +seconded by the cheery calls of his mates, rang through the frigate,-- + +"All hands clear ship for action--Ahoy!" + +The piercing whistling of the pipes which followed was soon drowned by +the steady and stirring roll of the drums, accompanied by the shrill +notes of the fifes, beating to quarters. The old call, which has been +the prelude to every action on the sea, ushering in with the same +dreadful note of preparation every naval conflict for twice two hundred +years, went rolling along the decks. At the first tap of the drum the +men sprang, with the eagerness of unleashed hounds before the quarry, +to their several stations. + +In an instant the orderly ship was a babel of apparently hopeless +confusion; the men running hastily to and fro about their various +duties, the sharp commands of the officers, the shrill piping of the +whistles, and the deep voices of the gun captains and the boatswain's +mates, made the usually quiet deck a pandemonium. Some of the seamen +stowed the hammocks on the rail to serve as a guard against shot and +splinters, others triced up stout netting fore and aft, as a protection +against boarders. The light and agile sail-trimmers rove extra slings +on the yards, and put stoppers on the more important rigging, and +tightened and strengthened the boats' gripes. The cabin bulkheads were +unceremoniously knocked down and stowed away, giving a clean sweep fore +and aft the decks. The pumps were rigged and tried, and hose led along +the deck. Arm chests were broken out and opened, and cutlasses and +pistols distributed, and the racks filled with boarding-pikes. +Division tubs filled with water were placed beside the guns, and the +decks sanded lest they should grow slippery with blood. The magazine, +surrounded by a wetted woollen screen to prevent fire, was opened, and +grape and solid shot broken out and piled in the racks about the +hatchways near the guns, the heavy sea lashings of which were cast +loose by the different crews, after which they were loaded and run out +and temporarily secured, the slow matches having been carefully +examined and lighted. The oldest quartermasters took their places near +the helm, and others, assisted by a small body of men, manned the +relieving tackles below, to be used in case, as frequently happened, +the wheel should be shot away. The officers, many of whom put on +boarding caps of light steel with dropped cheek pieces, and covered +with fur, fastened on their arms, looked to the priming of their +pistols, and then hastened to their various stations. + +Most of the watch officers, under the direction of the first lieutenant +or executive officer, were to take charge of the different gun +divisions in the batteries; though one of them remained aft near the +captain, to look after the spars and rigging, command the +sail-trimmers, and see that any order of the captain touching the +moving of the ship was promptly carried out. The surgeon and his mates +went below into the gloomy cockpit, spreading out the foreboding array +of ghastly instruments and appliances, ready for the many demands +certain to be made upon them. Some of the ubiquitous midshipmen +commanded little groups of expert riflemen in the tops, which were well +provided with hand grenades; others assisted the division lieutenants; +and several were detailed as aids to the commanding officer. The +little company of marines, under its own officers, was drawn up on the +quarter-deck to keep down the fire of the enemy's small-arm men, and be +ready to repel boarders, or head an attack, if the ships should come in +contact. In that case grapnels, strong iron hooks securely fastened to +the ends of stout ropes or slender iron chains, were provided at +convenient intervals along the bulwarks, ready for catching and lashing +the two ships together. + +The men, their other duties performed, gradually settled down at the +guns, or about the masts, or in the tops, in their several stations, +many of them naked to the waist, and their deep voices could be heard +answering to their names as they were mustered by the officers. In an +incredibly short time the whole was done, and the impressive quiet was +broken only by the excited voice of the first lieutenant, Nason--a +young officer, and this his first serious battle--reporting to the +gloomy captain that the ship was clear and ready for action. + +Seymour had of course taken personal charge of the deck himself. Oh, +he thought, after scanning closely the approaching ship with great +care, if he had only a ship of the line under his command, instead of +this little frigate, how gladly would he have entered the coming +conflict! Or if his own small vessel had been, instead, one of those +heavy frigates which afterward did so much to uphold the glory of +American arms, and exhibit the skill and audacity of American seamen, +in their subsequent conflict with Great Britain, he might have had a +better chance; but none realized more entirely than he did himself the +utter hopelessness of the undertaking which was before him. At the +same time he was determined to carry it through, seeing, as few others +could, the absolute necessity for the sacrifice, if he were to effect +the escape of his fleet. Calling the men aft, he spoke briefly to +them, pointing out the necessity for the conflict, and the nobility of +this sacrifice. He entreated them, in a few brave, manly, thrilling +words, to stand by him to the last, for the love of their country and +the honor of their flag. As for him, he declared it to be his fixed +purpose never to give up the ship, but to sink alongside rather, +trusting before that happened, however, so to damage his mighty +antagonist as to compel her to relinquish the pursuit. The men, filled +with the desire for battle, and inspired by his heroic words, were +nerved up to the point where they would cheerfully have attacked not +one line-of-battle ship but a whole fleet! They answered him with +frantic cheers, swearing and vowing that they would stand by him to the +bitter end; and then, everything having been done that could be done, +in perfect silence the taut frigate boldly approached her massive enemy. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +_The Prisoners on the Yarmouth_ + +It is usually not difficult for an individual to define the conditions +of happiness. If I only had so and so, or if I only were so and so, +and the thing is done. Each successive state, however, suggests one +more happy, and each gratified wish leads to another desire more +imperative. Miss Katharine Wilton, however, did not confine her +conditions to units. There were in her case three requisites for +happiness,--perfect happiness,--and could they have been satisfied, in +all probability she would have come as near to the wished-for state as +poor humanity on this earth ever does come to that beatific condition. +She certainly thought so, and with characteristic boldness had not +refrained from communicating her thoughts to her father. + +The astonishing feature of the situation was that he was inclined to +agree with her. There was nothing astonishing in itself in his +agreement with her, for he usually did agree with her, but in that her +conditions were really his own. For it is rare, blessedly so, that two +people feel that they require the same thing to complete the joy of +life, and when they parallel on three points 't is most remarkable. +Even two lovers require each other--very different things, I am sure. +Stop! I am not so sure about the third proviso with the colonel. I +say the third, because Miss Wilton put it number three, though perhaps +it was like a woman's postscript, which somehow suggests the paraphrase +of a familiar bit of Scripture,--the last, not will be, but should be, +first! + +Here are the requisites. One: The flag floating gracefully from the +peak of the spanker gaff above them, in the light air of the sunny +afternoon, should be the stars and stripes, instead of the red cross of +St. George! Two: The prow of the ship should be turned to the wooded +shores of Virginia, and the Old Dominion should be her destination +instead of the chalk cliffs of England! Three: that a certain +handsome, fair, blue-eyed, gallant sailor, who answered to the name of +John Seymour, should be by her side instead of another, even though +that other were one who had once saved her life, and to whose care and +kindness and forethought she was much indebted. Her present attendant +was certainly a gentleman; and to an unprejudiced eye--which hers +certainly was not--quite as handsome and distinguished and gallant as +was his favored rival, and boasting one advantage over the other in +that he bore a titled name--not such a desideratum among American girls +at that time, however, as it was afterwards destined to become; and in +a girl of the stamp of Miss Katharine Wilton, possibly no advantage at +all. + +But, could the heart of that fair damsel be known, all talk of +advantage or disadvantage, or this or that compensating factor, was +absolutely idle! She was not a girl who did things by halves; and the +feeling which had prompted her to give herself to the young sailor, +though of sudden origin, had grown and grown during the days of absence +and confinement, till, in depth and intensity, it matched his own. She +was not now so sure that, among the other objects of her adoration, he +would have to take the second place; that, in case of division, her +heart would lead her to think first of her country. Insensibly had his +image supplanted every other, and with all the passionate devotion of +her generous southern nature she loved him. + +Lord Desborough had ample opportunity for ascertaining this fact. He +had seen her risk her life for Seymour's own. He could never forget +the glorious picture she made standing across the prostrate form of +that young man, pistol in hand, keeping the mob at bay, never wavering, +never faltering, clear-eyed, supreme. He would be almost willing to +die to have her do the like for him. He could still hear the echo of +that bitter cry,--"Seymour! Seymour!"--which rang through the house +when they had dragged her away. These things were not pleasant +reminiscences, but, like most other unpleasant memories, they would not +down. In spite of all this, however, he had allowed himself--nay, his +permission he vowed had not been asked--to fall violently in love with +this little colonial maiden, and a country maiden at that! Not being +psychologically inclined, he had never attempted to analyze her charm +or to explain his sensations. Realizing the fact, and being young and +therefore hopeful, he had not allowed himself to despair. Really, he +had some claims upon her. Had he not interfered, she would have been +murdered that night in the dining-room. He had earned the gratitude +then and there of her father, and of herself as well; and he had earned +more of it too when he had shot dead a certain brutal marauding +blackguard by the name of Johnson, at the first convenient opportunity, +having received incidentally, in return for his message of death, a +bullet in his own breast to remind him that there are always two +persons and two chances in a duel. A part of the debt of the Wiltons +had been paid by the assiduous and solicitous care with which +they--Katharine chiefly, of course--had nursed him through the long and +dangerous illness consequent upon his wound. It was his interest which +had prevented further ill treatment of them by the brutal and tyrannous +Dunmore, and, had Katharine so elected, would have secured her freedom. +She had, however, to Desborough's great delight, chosen to accompany +her father to England, where he was to be sent as a prisoner of high +political consequence. + +After waiting many weary days at the camp of the fugitive and deposed +governor at Gwynn's Island, they had been separated from Desborough, +and unceremoniously hustled on board the frigate Radnor, which was +under orders for England. They had stopped long enough at Norfolk to +witness Dunmore's savage and vindictive action in bombarding and +burning that helpless town; and from that point Katharine had been +enabled to send her letter to Seymour, through a friendly American spy, +just before taking departure for their long voyage across the seas. +The orders of the Radnor had been changed at the last moment, however, +and she had been directed to go in pursuit of Jones and the Ranger, +which it was currently reported had got to sea from the Delaware Bay, +bound for Canada and the Newfoundland coast. No vessel being ready for +England at that time, the two prisoners had been transferred, +fortunately for them, to a small ship bound to the naval station at +Barbadoes; and thence, after another weary dreary wait, had been sent +on board his Britannic majesty's ship Yarmouth, Captain John Vincent, +bound home for England. The first lieutenant of this ship happened to +be a certain Patrick Michael Philip O'Neal Drummond, Lord Desborough, +son and heir to the Earl of Desmond! He congratulated himself most +heartily upon his good fortune. + +Providence had, then, thrown a lover again at Katharine's feet. Not +that there was anything unusual in that. She might not regard it in a +providential light, however; but he, at least did so, and he had +intended to improve the shining hours of what would be a long cruise, +in the close association permitted by the confined limits of the ship, +to make a final desperate effort to win the heart which had hitherto so +entirely eluded him that he could not flatter himself that he had made +the least impression upon it. His success during the first three or +four days of the cruise had not been brilliant. She had been +unaffectedly glad to see him apparently, and gentle and kind in her +reception,--too kind, he thought, with the circumspection of a +lover,--but that was all. To add to his trials, he soon found himself +not without rivals nearer at home than Seymour. Judging by present +results, Washington, if he had a few regiments of Katharines, could +carry consternation to the whole British army! For the captors had, +apparently, taken the oath of allegiance to the captured, and the whole +ship's company, from that gruff old sailor Captain Vincent down through +all the other officers to the impudent and important little midshipman, +were her devoted slaves. Even Jack forward, usually entirely +unresponsive to the doings aft on the quarterdeck, put on an extra +flourish or so, and damning his eyes, after the manner of the +unsophisticated sailorman, gazed appreciatively upon her beauty, +envying those fortunate mortals privileged to radiate about her person. +Vincent might be the captain, but Katharine was certainly the queen of +the ship. Colonel Wilton, too, shone, not altogether by reflected +lustre either; and the considerate officers had done everything +possible to make him forget that he was a prisoner. + + +Early one afternoon in the beginning of February, the Yarmouth, being +under all plain sail with the wind two or three points abaft the beam, +was bowling along under a fresh breeze about a day's sail east of +Martinique. The weather was perfect, and because of the low latitude, +in spite of the winter season, there was no touch of sharpness in the +air, which was warm and delightful. All the necessary drills and +exercises having been concluded earlier in the day, the whole ship's +company was enjoying a period of unusual relaxation and idleness. The +men at the wheel, the lookouts kept constantly at the mastheads, the +marines doing sentry duty, with the midshipmen of the watch and the +officer of the deck busily pacing to and fro, were the only people, out +of the six hundred and odd men who made up the ship's complement, who +presented any appearance of activity whatever. The men of the watch on +and the watch off, dinner being over, were sitting or lounging about in +all sorts of easy attitudes,--some of them busy with their needles; +others overhauling their clothes-bags, to which they had been given +access that afternoon; others grouped about some more brilliant +story-teller than the rest, eagerly drinking in the multifarious +details of some exciting personal experience, or romantic adventure, or +never-ending story of shipwreck or battle, or mystery--technically, +yarns! Colonel Wilton was standing aft with Captain Vincent in the +shadow of the spanker. Miss Wilton, with Chloe, her black maid, behind +her chair, was sitting near the break of the poop-deck, looking +forward, surrounded by several lieutenants; Desborough being at her +right hand, of course, feeling and looking unusually gloomy and morose. +One or two of the oldest and boldest midshipmen were also lingering on +the outskirts of the group, as near to their divinity as they dared +come in the presence of their superior officers. The conversation +happening to turn, as it frequently did, upon the subject of the +present war between England and the colonies engaged in rebellion +against the paternal power, was unusually animated. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +_Two Proposals_ + +"Oh, you know, Miss Wilton, if the colonies--" began one of the +officers, vehemently. + +"Pardon me, Mr. Hollins, that is hardly the correct term. The _late_ +colonies would be better," interrupted Katharine, with much spirit. + +"Oh, well, you know, I am merely anticipating, of course; we 'll have +them back fast enough, after while. Now, if they--" + +"Pardon me again, sir, but that is another contention I can hardly +admit. You 'll never have them back,--never, never!" + +"Oh, come, Miss Wilton," said another, "you surely do not think the +colonies--oh, well, the late colonies, if you will insist upon it--can +maintain a fight with the power of Great Britain, for any length of +time! Why, madam, the English spirit--" + +"Well, sir, what else have we but the English spirit? What other blood +runs in our veins, pray? Just as you love and prize your liberty, so +too do we, and we will not be dominated and ruled over, even by our +brothers. No, no, Mr. Beauchamp, or you, either, Mr. Hollins; it is no +use. We are just as determined as you are; and there is but one way to +win back the colonies, as you call them, to their allegiance." + +"And how is that, pray?" + +"Why, by depopulating them, overwhelming them, killing the people, and +wasting the land. Only a war of extermination will serve your purpose." + +"Well," said Hollins, doggedly, "if they must have it, they must--let +it be extermination! The authority of the king and the power of +Parliament must be upheld at all hazards." + +"Ah, that is easy enough to say," replied Katharine, "but three +millions of English-speaking liberty-loving people are not to be +blotted out by a wave of the hand; they are not so easily exterminated, +as you will find. Besides, it is easy to speak in general terms; but +thousands and thousands are young and helpless, or old and +feeble,--grandsires or women or children,--how about them? As long as +there is a woman left or a child, your task is yet unfulfilled. Make a +personal application of it; I am one of them. Do you wish to +exterminate me, sir?" she said, looking up at him brilliantly, with her +glorious brown eyes. + +"Oh, you--you are different, of course," said the lieutenant, +hesitatingly, not liking to face this intensely personal application of +his intemperate remark. + +"Not I! I am just like the rest--" + +"Treason! I won't hear it," said Desborough, softly. "There are no +others like you on earth." + +"Just like the rest," she continued emphatically, unheeding the +interruption, which the others had hardly caught, "and I will tell you +that never again will that flag at the gaff there be the flag of +America. You have lost us for good." + +"Oh, don't say that. Make a personal exception of yourself at least, +Miss Wilton, and give us room to hope a little." + +"No, no," she laughed. "You have lost us all--me included." + +There was a chorus of expostulation and argument immediately, but Miss +Wilton was not to be overborne. + +"Father!" she called quickly to the colonel, who, followed by the +captain, at once joined the little group of officers. "These gentlemen +seem to doubt me when I say their sometime colonies are gone for good. +Won't you help me to state the point so they will understand it?" + +"Gentlemen," said the old colonel, slowly and impressively, "the +colonies were the most loyal and devoted portion of the king's dominion +at one time. I have been up and down the length and breadth of them, I +know the feeling. I was for years a soldier of the king myself,--with +your fathers, young sirs,--and I can bear witness that no part of the +kingdom responded with such alacrity to every legitimate demand upon it +by the home government. Never did men so readily and willingly offer +themselves and their goods for the service of the king. But it is all +changed now. The change came slowly, but it came inevitably and +surely, and you could no more change the present conditions than you +could turn back the sun in its course. England has lost her colonies--" + +"Her late colonies," corrected Katharine, softly. + +"Yes, yes, of course, her late colonies, that is, beyond possibility of +recovery. We will not be taxed without representation." + +"But suppose that we gave you the representation for which you asked, +colonel. How then? Would not there be a general return to allegiance +in that event?" queried the captain. + +"Sir," replied the colonel, proudly, "the child who has once learned to +walk alone does not afterward go back to creeping and crawling, or +stumbling along by the aid of his mother's hand. We have tasted our +independence, enjoyed it, and now we mean to keep it." + +"Splendid, sir! splendid, father!" cried the delighted Katharine. +"There speaks the spirit of Runnymede, and Naseby, too, gentlemen!" + +"Hush, hush, my child!" chided the colonel, half amusedly; "it is only +the spirit of a plain man who has learned to love liberty by studying +the history of his ancestry and his people." + +"Ah, but, colonel, how are you going to get that liberty without +fighting for it?" asked Beauchamp, with rash temerity. "Howe and +Cornwallis, for instance, have been pursuing Washington for six months, +and could never get near enough to fire a shot at him, so they say." + +"Fight, sir, fight!" exclaimed the colonel, in astonished wrath; "why, +God bless me, sir, I am willing to stand out now and show you how they +can fight!" + +But Miss Katharine sprang to her feet: "And Bunker Hill, Mr. Beauchamp, +and Long Island!" she cried impetuously. + +Beauchamp backed away precipitately from before her in great confusion, +which invoked much mocking comment from the laughing officers round +about him. + +"Here is one time the English forces are routed by a rebel!" said +Hollins. + +"Yes," added Desborough, "but then Beauchamp is no worse off than the +rest of us would be, if Miss Wilton were opposed to us." + +"Well," continued another, coming to the rescue, "we won both of those +engagements, you know, Miss Wilton, after all." + +"Won! Who said anything about winning, sir? Anybody can win, if they +have men enough or strength enough and money enough--we were talking +about fighting, sir." + +"But really, you know," went on Beauchamp, recovering, and returning to +the charge, "Washington's army haven't fought since those days you +speak of, and they must be wiped out of existence by now, I should +suppose." + +"Not if George Washington is still alive," interrupted the colonel, his +anger at the inconsiderate officer having somewhat abated. "I know him +well. I have known him from a boy,--met him first when I used to go +shooting with Lord Fairfax out at Greenway Court. I knew his family; +his brother Lawrence too, I was with him at Cartagena,--where I met +your father, Lord Desborough, by the way,--and the world does not yet +know the quality of that man. If he retreats, it is because he +absolutely has to; and you will see, he will turn and strike Howe and +Cornwallis some day such a blow as will make them reel. I should not +wonder if he had done so already. 'T is six long weeks since we have +heard any news from home. Trust me, gentlemen, the Americans will +fight; and if there is a God of justice, they will win too." + +"I would fight myself, had I but the opportunity," said Katharine, +resolutely. "And there are hundreds of other women with the same +feeling." + +"Oh, Miss Wilton, you would find no enemies here to fight. We are all +captives of your bow and spear now, and crave your mercy," said +Desborough, meaningly. + +"True, Mistress Katharine. I hardly know now who commands this ship, +you or I!" said the captain, smiling at her. + +"Alas, you do, Captain Vincent; were I the commander, we would be going +that way," she replied, pointing off over the quarter, and gazing +wistfully over the cool, sparkling water, the white-capped waves +breaking beautifully away in every direction. "Oh, my poor, poor +country, when shall I see you again?" she murmured; "when--" + +"Sail ho!" floated down from the foremast head at this moment, and the +idle ship awoke again. + +"Where away?" + +"Right ahead, sir." + +Holmes and Beauchamp walked forward to get a look at the stranger, and +the captain and the colonel stepped across to the weather side of the +deck. Chloe was sent below to procure a wrap for her mistress, and +Katharine was left alone for a few moments with Desborough. It was his +first opportunity. + +"Have you no curiosity as to the sail reported, Lieutenant Desborough?" + +"No, Mistress Katharine, none whatever. I take no interest in anything +but you. No, please don't go now," he went on in humble entreaty. "I +wish to speak to you a moment. When you came aboard I hoped to see you +often, to be with you alone--to win you--" His voice sank to a +passionate whisper. + +"My lord, my lord! it were best to go no further," she interrupted +gravely. "'T is no use; you remember." + +"Yes, yes, I remember everything,--everything about you, that is. I +shut my eyes and feel the soft touch of your cool hand on my fevered +head again, as when I had that bullet in my breast. Oh, it thrills me, +maddens me! I 'd be wounded so again, could I but feel those hands +once more-- Listen to me, you must listen! It cannot hurt you to hear +me, and I am sure one of the others will be back in a moment; you are +never alone," he said, detaining her almost forcibly. "I love you; you +must know that I do. What is that land, or any land, beside my love? +You are my country! I can give you lands, title, rank, luxury-- Be +pitiful to me, Mistress Katharine. What can I do or say or promise? +You shall grace the court of the king, and be at the same time queen of +my heart," he went on impetuously, his soul in his eager whisper. She +turned and walked over to the lee rail, whither he followed her. + +"I 'd rather be in that land off yonder than be the king himself. I +hate the king, and I could not love the enemy of my country! No, no," +she replied, "it cannot be--it can never be!" + +"Pshaw! Your country,--that's not the reason; you love him still," he +went on jealously, "that sailor." + +"Yes, 't is true; I love a sailor--you are not he." + +"But he is dead! You left him lying there on the floor in the hall, +you remember, and since then have heard nothing. He is surely dead." + +"It is cruel of you to say it," she went on relentlessly, "but I shall +love his memory then. No, 't is useless--I respect you, admire you, am +grateful to you, but my heart is there!" and she pointed away again. + +"Won't you let me try to win you?" he persisted. "Don't say me nay +altogether, give me some hope. If he be dead, let me have a chance. +Oh, Katharine Wilton, I would give up anything for--" + +A midshipman touched him on the arm. "Captain wants to see first +lieutenant, sir!" he said with a wooden, impassive face, saluting the +while. + +With a smothered expression of rage, Desborough sprang across the +deck,--for such a summons is not to be disregarded for an instant; even +love gives way to the captain, on shipboard at least. The little +midshipman was a great favorite with Katharine, and, grateful for the +interruption, she accordingly laid her hand lightly and affectionately +on the shoulder of the Honorable Giles Montagu, aged thirteen, one of +the youngest and smallest middies in the ship; but he stood very +straight and rigid, the personification of dignity, and endeavored to +look very manly indeed. + +"Thank you, Mr. Montagu," she said, somewhat to his surprise. + +"Don't mention it, nothing at all, madam--orders! Got to obey orders, +you know." + +Katharine laughed. "You dear sweet child!" she said, and suddenly +stooped and kissed him. The Honorable Giles turned pale, then flushed +violently and burst into unmanly tears. + +"Why, what is it? Don't you like to have me kiss you?" she said, +amazed. + +"It is n't that, Miss Wilton. I 'd rather kiss you than--than +anything; but you call me a boy, and treat me like a child, and--and I +can't stand it. I--I 've challenged all the men in the steerage about +you already," alluding to the other little fellows of like rank; "they +call me a baby there, too, because I 'm so little and so young. But I +'ll grow. And--I love you," he went on abruptly and determinedly, +choking down his sobs and swallowing his tears, while fingering the +handle of his dirk, and furtively rubbing his eyes with his other hand. +"Oh, madam, if you would only wait until I got a frigate! Won't you? +But no! You don't treat me like a man," he exclaimed bitterly, +stamping his foot and turning away. + +"Well, I never!" cried the astonished and abashed Katharine, completely +overawed for the moment by this novel declaration. "What next?" + +Truly, they made men out of boys early in those days. The next moment +the hoarse cries of the boatswain and his mates, and the beating drums, +called all hands to clear the ship for action and startled everybody +into activity at once. The Honorable Giles, the manly if lachrymose +midshipman, sprang forward to his station as rapidly as his small but +sturdy legs could carry him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +_Captain Vincent Mystified_ + +While the big ship was rapidly and methodically being stripped for the +possible emergency, the captain was engaged in busy conversation with +the colonel. They had steadily drawn near the reported sail until the +lookouts could plainly make out a small fleet of small ships. Never +dreaming that they could be American ships, Captain Vincent had his +ship prepared for action, more through the habitual wariness of an +experienced sailor than from any premonition of an impending battle. +But as the two forces drew near, the actions of the opposing fleet +became suddenly suspicious; all but one of them tacked ship, and stood +off to the northeast, in a compact group in close order, under all +possible sail, though one, the smallest and a brig, it was noticed, +lagged behind the rest of the group in a way which bespoke either very +slow sailing qualities or deliberate purpose of delay. The remaining +ship, the largest of them all, stood boldly on its original course. +This latter, it was plain to see, was a small frigate, possibly a +twenty-eight or a thirty-two. Taking into account the respective rates +of speed, the frigate, whose course made a slight angle with that of +the ship of the line, would probably cross the bows of the latter +within range of her battery. None of the opposing vessels showed any +flags as yet, and their movements completely mystified Captain Vincent. + +"Certainly a most extraordinary performance going on there!" he said, +after a long look through his glass, which he then handed to the +colonel. "They show no flags, but I cannot conceive of their being +anything but a squadron or a convoy of ours. What do you make them +out, Colonel Wilton?" + +Now, the colonel was morally certain that they were Americans, or, at +least, that the first and nearest one was an American ship. He had +been one of the naval committee which had taken charge of the building +of the men-of-war ordered by Congress in '75; he had seen the Randolph +frequently on the ways and after she was launched, and was entirely +familiar with her lines. Perhaps the wish also was father to the +thought, for the old soldier was not sufficiently versed in nautical +affairs to detect at that distance the great disparity in force between +the two ships, to which for the moment he gave no thought, or he would +not have entertained hopes for a release from confinement by +recapture,--a patent impossibility to a seaman. So he answered the +captain evasively, returning the glass and pleading his ignorance of +nautical matters to excuse his indefinite opinion. + +"It must be the Carrysford, with Hythe's squadron; she is a thirty-two. +But why they should act this way, I cannot see. He must know what we +are now, as there are no ships of our size in these waters, except our +own, and why should he send the rest of them off there? They are +leaving us pretty fast, except that brig. Now, if it were a colonial +convoy, I should say that this frigate was going to engage us in the +hope of so crippling us as to effect the escape of the rest; but I +hardly think that your men are up to that yet." + +"Think not?" said the colonel indifferently, violently repressing an +inclination to strike him. "It may be as you say, Captain Vincent; +still, I think we are up to almost anything that you are." + +"Oh, colonel," laughed the captain, good-naturedly, "you are not going +to compare the little colonial forces with his majesty's navy, are you! +Now, I am morally certain that is a king's ship. See the beautiful set +of her sails, the enormous spread of the yards; notice how trim and +taut her rigging and running gear stand out, and then, too, see how +smartly she is handled. Only English ships are thus. Hythe is a +sailor, every inch of him," he went on in genuine admiration for the +approaching vessel. "See! He has the weather gauge of us now, or will +have. Not that it matters anything. We could afford to let him have +it even if he were an enemy; but what he means by this sort of +performance, I don't understand. However, we shall know in half an +hour at least." + +"Well, sir?" he said, turning toward Lieutenant Desborough, who at that +moment stepped on the poop in fighting uniform, sword in hand. + +"Ship's ready for action, sir!" + +"Very good. Keep the people at their quarters, and stand on as we are. +Ah, Mr. Montagu, will you step below and fetch me my sword out of my +cabin. What do you think of her, Desborough?" + +"We think she is an American, sir," said Desborough. + +"Oh, you do, do you? Well, I think she is one of ours. No American +would dare to lead down on us in that way! We can blow him out of the +water with a broadside or two, you know, but we 'll give him a hint all +the same. Fire a gun there, to leeward, and hoist our colors." + +As the smoke rolled away along the water, the stops were broken, and +there flew out from each masthead the splendid English flag. It was +answered soon afterward by a small English flag at the gaff of the +approaching ship, which apparently mystified the captain more than +ever, though it confirmed him in his previous opinion. + +"Oh, father," whispered Katharine, clinging to the colonel, "what do +you think it is? See that English flag!" + +"Kate, I 'm morally sure that it is an American ship; it is just the +plan and size of those ordered by Congress in '75. One of those ships +should be in commission by now. If I am right, this should be the +Randolph. I saw her a dozen times in Philadelphia; and if that's not +she, I shall never pretend to know a ship again." + +"But did you hear what Captain Vincent said?" continued Katharine; "how +many guns would the Randolph carry?" + +"About forty, and most of them small ones at best," answered the +colonel, with a sigh. + +The two ships were much nearer now, and their disparity in force was +apparent even to the most unskilful eye. + +"The little ship can't fight this great one, father, can it?" + +"No, my dear; that is, not with any chance of success. But I fear--or +hope, rather--that they mean to engage us, and sacrifice themselves in +order not to allow us to capture the little fleet, probably prizes, off +yonder. The man who commands her is a hero, certainly." + +"Just what Mr. Seymour would do. Oh, if it were he!" she exclaimed, +clasping her hands, her eyes filling with tears at the possibility. + +"Well, it may be, of course. He was certain to be posted captain soon, +and 'tis like him truly. But, Kate, the ships are drawing nearer every +moment. You must go below in case of action, my dear." + +"Yes, Miss Wilton," said Desborough, who had at that moment approached +them, looking very handsome, having heard the last words of the +colonel; "we have arranged a safe place for you and your maid, in the +cable tiers, way below the water-line, and out of the way of shot, +though I hardly expect much of it from that fellow. Will you allow me +to conduct you there? Perhaps you too, colonel, would be safer if you +would--" + +"Pardon me, sir, unless force is used, I shall remain on deck. The +idea of me, sir--skulking in the hold during an action! Why, sir,--" + +"And the idea of me, either, doing the same thing!" said Katharine +defiantly, in a ringing voice in which there was a clear echo of her +father's determination. + +Both men looked at her smiling. + +"Oh, you are different, Miss Wilton," said Desborough. + +"No use, Katharine: you must go," added her father. + +"Oh, please!" + +"My daughter--" + +"Oh, father, let me stay just a little longer--there is no danger yet. +Take Chloe down, if you will, Mr. Desborough, and have a place ready +for me. I 'll go down when the battle begins--indeed I will, father!" +she continued entreatingly. + +"Well," said the colonel, uncertainly, "let her stay a little longer, +my lord." + +"Very well, sir," replied Desborough, bowing and turning forward. + +"Here, you Jack, take this girl below and stow her away in the cable +tiers by the main hatch," he said, pointing to Chloe, who was led +unresistingly away, her teeth chattering with undefined but none the +less overwhelming terror. The colonel stepped forward beside Captain +Vincent, and Desborough descended to the main-deck to superintend the +fighting of the batteries, while Katharine, grateful for the respite, +and determined not to go below at all, stepped aft in the shelter of +the rail, her heart already beating madly, as the two ships approached +each other in silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +_Bentley Says Good-by_ + +The men on the Randolph were in excellent spirits, and as they drew +nearer and nearer became more and more anxious for the fray. + +"She's a big one, ain't she?" said one young seaman, glancing over a +gun through a port-hole forward; "but we ain't afraid of her, mates. +We 'll just dance up and slap her in the face with this, and then turn +around and slap her with t' other side," laying his hand at the time on +one of the long eighteens which constituted the main battery of the +frigate. + +"Yes, and then what will she do to us? Blow us into splinters with a +broadside, youngster! Not as I particularly care, so we have a chance +to get a few good licks at her with these old barkers," said an older +man, pointing, like the first, to a gun. + +"That's the talk, men," said Seymour, who was making a tour of +inspection through the ship in person, and who had stopped before the +gun and heard the conversation. "Before she sinks us we will give it +to her hard. I can depend upon you, I know." + +"Yes, yes, your honor." + +"Ay, ay, sir--" + +"We 's all right, sir--" + +"We 's with you, your honor--" came in a quick, strong chorus from the +rough-and-ready men, and then some one called for three cheers for +Captain Seymour, and they were given with such a will that the oak +decks echoed and re-echoed again and again. + +"Pass the word to serve out a tot of grog to each man; let them splice +the main-brace once more before they die," said Seymour, grimly, amid a +chorus of approving murmurs from the sailors, as he walked slowly along +the lines, greeting men here and there with plain, bluff words of +cheer, which brought smiles of pleasure to their stern, weather-beaten +faces. + +"Now, ain't he a beauty?" whispered the captain of number two gun to +his second. "Blow me if 't ain't a pleasure to serve under sich a +officer, and to die for him, too! Here is to a speedy fight and lots +of damage to the Britisher," he cried loudly, lifting his pannikin of +rum and water to his lips, amid a further chorus of approval. + +Old Bentley was standing on the forecastle forward, looking earnestly +at the approaching ship, when Seymour came up to him. The rest of the +men, mindful of the peculiar relationship between the two, +instinctively drew back a little, leaving them alone. + +"Well, Bentley, our work is cut out for us there." + +"Ay, Captain Seymour. I 'm thinking that this cruise will end right +here for this ship--unless you strike, sir." + +"Strike! Do you advise me to do so, then?" + +"God forbid! Except it be with shot and these," said the old man, +lifting an enormous cutlass, ground to a razor edge, which he had +specially made for his own personal use in battle. "No, no; we 've got +to fight him till he 's so damaged that he can't get at the rest. Do +you see, sir, how the brig lags behind them?" he went on, pointing out +toward the slowly escaping squadron. "The boy's got her luffed up so +she makes no headway at all!" + +"I know it. I have signalled to him twice to close with the rest--he +can sail two feet to their one; but it is no use,--he pays no +attention. He should n't have been given so responsible a command +until he learned to obey orders," said Seymour, frowning. + +"Let the boy alone, Master John; he 'll do all right," said Bentley; +"he's the makings of a good sailorman and a fine officer in him. I 've +watched him." + +"Ha! there goes a shot from the liner," cried Seymour, as a puff of +smoke broke out from the lee side followed by the dull boom of a cannon +over the water, and then the flags rippled bravely out from the +mastheads. "Well, we did not need that sort of an introduction. Aft +there!" cried the captain, with his powerful voice. + +"Sir." + +"Show a British flag at the gaff. That will puzzle him for a while +longer. Well, old friend, I must go aft. It's likely we won't both of +us come out of this little affair alive, so good-by, and God bless you. +You 've been a good friend to me, Bentley, ever since I was a child, +and I doubt I 've requited you ill enough," he said, reaching forth his +hand. The old sailor shifted his cutlass into his left hand, took off +his hat, and grasped Seymour's hand with his own mighty palm. + +"Ay, ever since you were a boy; and a properer sailor and a better +officer don't walk the deck, if I do say it myself, as I 've had a hand +in the making of you. But what you say is true, sir: we 'll probably +most all of us go to Davy Jones' locker this trip; but we could n't go +in a better way, and we won't go alone. God Almighty bless you, sir! +I--" said the old seaman, breaking off suddenly and looking wistfully +at the young man he loved, who, understanding it all, returned his +gaze, wrung his hand, and then turned and sprang aft without another +word. + +The ships were rapidly closing, when Seymour's keen eye detected a dash +of color and a bit of fluttering drapery on the poop of the +line-of-battle ship. Wondering, he examined it through his glass. + +"Why! 't is a woman," he exclaimed. Something familiar in the +appearance made his heart give a sudden throb, but he put away the idea +which came to him as preposterous; and then stepping forward to the +break of the poop, he called out,-- + +"My lads, there is a woman on yon ship, on the poop, way aft. We don't +fight with women; have a care, therefore, that none of you take +deliberate aim at her, and spare that part of the deck where she stands +in the fight, if you can. Pass the word along." + +"Well, I 'm blessed," said one old gun captain, _sotto voce_, "be they +come out against us with wimmen!" + +The Randolph had the weather-gage of the Yarmouth by this time; and +Seymour shifted his helm slightly, rounded in his braces a little, and +ran down with the wind a little free and on a line parallel to the +course of his enemy, but going in a different direction. He lifted the +glass again to his eye, and looked long and earnestly at the woman's +figure half hidden by the rail on the ship. Was it--could it +be--indeed she? Was fate bringing them into opposition again? It was +not possible. Trembling violently, he lifted the glass for a further +investigation, when an officer, trumpet in hand, sprang upon the rail +of the Yarmouth forward and hailed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +_The Last of the Randolph_ + +"Pass the word quietly," said Seymour, rapidly, to one of his young +aids, "that when I say, 'Stand by to back the maintopsail,' the guns +are to be fired. Bid the gun captains to train on the port-holes of +the second tier of guns. Mind, no order to fire will be given except +the words, 'Stand by to back the maintopsail.' The men are to fire at +the word 'topsail.' Do you understand? Tell the division officers to +hold up their hands, as a sign that they understand, as you pass along, +so that I can see them. Lively now! Quartermaster, standby to haul +down that flag and show our colors at the first shot." + +The frigate was now rapidly drawing near the ship of the line, until, +at the moment the officer hailed, the two ships were nearly alongside +of each other. The awful disparity between their sizes was now +painfully apparent. + +"Ship ahoy! Ahoy the frigate!" came down a second time in long hollow +tones through the trumpet from the officer balancing himself on the +Yarmouth's rail by holding on to a back-stay. "Why don't you answer?" + +"Ahoy the ship!" replied Seymour at last through his own trumpet. +"What ship is that?" + +"His Britannic majesty's ship of the line, Yarmouth, Captain Vincent. +Who are you? Answer, or I will fire!" + +The flying boom of the Randolph was just pointing past the Yarmouth's +quarter, and the two ships were abreast each other; now, if ever, was +the time for action. + +"This is the American Continental ship, Randolph, Captain Seymour," +cried the latter, through the trumpet, in a voice heard in every part +of the ship of the line. + +At least two hearts in the Yarmouth were powerfully affected by that +announcement. Katharine's leaped within her bosom at the sound of her +lover's voice, and beat madly while she revelled in thought in his +proximity; and then as she noticed again the fearful odds with which he +was apparently about to contend, her heart sank into the depths once +more. In one second she thrilled with pride, quivered with love, +trembled with despair. He was there--he was hers--he would be killed! +She gripped the rail hard and clenched her teeth to keep from screaming +aloud his name, while her gaze strained out upon his handsome figure. +Pride, love, death,--an epitome of human life in that fleeting +moment,--all were hers! + +On the main-deck of the frigate the name carried consternation to +Lieutenant Lord Desborough. So Seymour was alive again! Was that the +end of my lord's chance? No. Joy! The rebel was under the guns of +the battle-ship! Never, vowed the lieutenant, should guns be better +served than those under his command. Unless the man surrendered, he +was doomed. So, he spoke eagerly to his men, bidding them take good +aim and waste no shot, never doubting the inevitable issue. These +thoughts took but a moment, however. Beauchamp, who had done the +talking, now stepped aft to Captain Vincent's side, and replied to +Seymour's hail by calling out,-- + +"Do you strike, sir?" + +"Yes, yes, of course; that's what we came down here for. We'll strike +fast enough," was the answer. + +A broad smile lighted up Captain Vincent's face; he turned to the +colonel, laughing, and said with a scarcely veiled sneer,-- + +"I told you they were not up to it. The cad! he might have fired one +shot at least for the honor of his flag, don't you see?" + +The colonel with a sinking heart could not see at all. Cowardice in +Seymour, in any officer, was a thing he could not understand. The +world turned black before Katharine. What! strike without a blow! Was +this her hero? Rather death than a coward! In spite of her faith in +her lover, as she heard what appeared to be a pusillanimous offer of +surrender, Desborough's chances took a sudden bound upward, while that +gentleman cursed the cowardice of his enemy and rival, which would +deprive him of a pleasing opportunity of blowing him out of the water. +Most of the men at the different guns relaxed their eager watchfulness, +while sneers and jeers at the "Yankee" went up on all sides. + +"Heave to, then," continued Beauchamp, peremptorily and with much +disgust, "and send a boat aboard!" + +"Ay, ay, sir!" + +Oh, it was true, then; he was going to surrender tamely without-- + +"Stand by!" there was a note of preparation in the words in spite of +Seymour's effort to give them the ordinary intonation of a commonplace +order,--a note which had so much meaning to Katharine's sensitive ear +that her heart stopped its beating for a moment as she waited for the +next word. It came with a roar of defiance. "Back the maintopsail!" +But the braces were kept fast and the unexpected happened. In an +instant sheets of flame shot out from the muzzles of the black guns of +the Randolph, which were immediately wreathed and shrouded in clouds of +smoke. At the moment of command Seymour had quickly ordered the helm +shifted suddenly, and the Randolph had swung round so that she lay at a +broad angle off the quarter of the Yarmouth. The thunderous roar of +the heavy guns at short range was immediately followed by the crashing +of timber, as the heavy shot took deadly effect, amid the cheers and +yells and curses and groans and shrieks of the wounded and startled men +on the liner, while three hearty cheers rang out from the Randolph. + +The advantage of the first blow in the grim game, the unequal combat, +was with the little one. + +"How now, captain!" shouted the colonel, in high exultation. "Won't +fight, eh! What do you call this?" + +"Fire! fire! Let him have it, men, and be damned to you! The man 's a +hero; 't was cleverly done," roared the captain, excitedly. "I +retract. Give it to him, boys! Give it to the impudent rebel!" he +roared. + +Katharine, forgot by every one in the breathless excitement of the past +few moments, bowed her head on her hands on the rail, and breathed a +prayer of thankfulness, oblivious of everything but that her lover had +proved himself worthy the devotion her heart so ungrudgingly extended +him. There was great confusion on board the Yarmouth from this sudden +and unexpected discharge, which, delivered at short range, had done no +little execution on the crowded ship; but the officers rallied their +men speedily with cool words of encouragement. + +"Steady, men, steady." + +"Give it back to them." + +"Look sharp now." + +"Aim! Fire!" + +And the forty-odd heavy guns roared out in answer to the determined +attack. The effect of such a broadside at close range would have been +frightful, had not the Randolph drawn so far ahead, and her course been +so changed, that a large part of it passed harmlessly astern of her. +One gun, however, found its target, and that was one aimed and fired by +the hand of Lord Desborough himself: a heavy shot, a thirty-two, from +one of the massive lower-deck guns of the Yarmouth, which the pleasant +weather permitted them to use effectively, came through one of the +after gun-ports of the Randolph, and swept away the line of men on the +port side of the gun. Some of the other shot did slight damage also +among the spars and gear, and several of the crew were killed or +wounded in different parts of the ship; but the Randolph was +practically unharmed, and standing boldly down to cross the stern of +the Yarmouth to rake her. But the English captain was a seaman, every +inch of him, and his ship could not have been better handled; divining +his bold little antagonist's purpose, the Yarmouth's helm was put up at +once, and in the smoke she fell off and came before the wind almost as +rapidly as did the Randolph, her promptness frustrating the endeavor, +as Seymour was only able to make an ineffectual effort to rake her, as +she flew round on her heels. The starboard battery of the Yarmouth had +been manned as she fell off, and the port battery of the Randolph was +rapidly reloaded again. The manoeuvre had given the Englishmen the +weather-gage once more, the two ships now having the wind on the port +quarter. The two batteries were discharged simultaneously, and now +began a running fight of near an hour's duration. + +Seymour was everywhere. Up and down the deck he walked, helping and +sustaining his men, building up new gun's crews out of the shattered +remains of decimated groups of men, lending a hand himself on a tackle +on occasion; cool, calm, unwearied, unremitting, determined, he +desperately fought his ship as few vessels were ever fought before or +since, imbuing, by his presence and example and word, his men with his +own unquailing spirit, until they died as uncomplainingly and as nobly +as did those prototypes of heroes,--another three hundred in the pass +at Thermopylae! + +The guns were served on the Randolph with the desperate rapidity of men +who, awfully pressed for time, had abandoned hope and only fought to +cripple and delay before they were silenced; those on the Yarmouth, on +the contrary, were fired with much more deliberation, and did dreadful +execution. The different guns were disabled on the Randolph by heavy +shot; adjacent ports were knocked into one, the sides shattered, boats +smashed, rails knocked to pieces, all of the weather-shrouds cut, the +mizzenmast carried away under the top, and the wreck fell into the +sea,--fortunately, on the lee side, the little body of men in the top +going to a sudden death with the rest. The decks were slippery with +blood and ploughed with plunging shot, which the superior height of the +Yarmouth permitted to be fired with depressed guns from an elevation. +Solid shot from the heavy main-deck batteries swept through and through +the devoted frigate; half the Randolph's guns were useless because of +the lack of men to serve them; the cockpit overflowed with the wounded; +the surgeon and his mates, covered with blood, worked like butchers, in +the steerage and finally in the ward room; dead and dying men lay where +they fell; there were no hands to spare to take them below, no place in +which they could lie with safety, no immunity from the searching hail +which drove through every part of the doomed ship. Still the men, +cheered and encouraged by their officers, stood to their guns and +fought on. Presently the foretopmast went by the board also, as the +long moments dragged along, Seymour was now lying on the quarter-deck, +a bullet having broken his leg, another having made a flesh-wound in +his arm; he had refused to go below to have his wounds dressed, and one +of the midshipmen was kneeling by his side, applying such unskilful +bandages as he might to the two bleeding wounds. Nason had been sent +for, and was in charge, under Seymour's direction. That young man, all +his nervousness gone, was most ably seconding his dauntless captain. + +The two ships were covered with smoke. It was impossible to tell on +one what was happening on the other; but the steady persistence with +which the Randolph clung to her big enemy had its effect on the +Yarmouth also, and the well-delivered fire did not allow that vessel +any immunity. In fact, while nothing like that on the frigate, the +damage was so great, and so many men had fallen, that Captain Vincent +determined to end the conflict at once by boarding the frigate. The +necessary orders were given, and a strong party of boarders was called +away and mustered on the forecastle, headed by Beauchamp and Hollins; +among the number were little Montagu, with other midshipmen. Taking +advantage of the smoke and of the weather-gage, the Yarmouth was +suddenly headed for the Randolph. As the enormous bows of the +line-of-battle ship came slowly shoving out of the smoke, towering +above them, covered with men, cutlass or boarding pike in hand, Seymour +discerned at once the purpose of the manoeuvre. Raising himself upon +his elbow to better direct the movement,-- + +"All hands repel boarders!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the +ship as powerfully as ever. + +This was an unusual command, as it completely deprived the guns of +their crews; but he rightly judged that it would take all the men they +could muster to repel the coming attack, and none but the main-deck +guns of the Yarmouth would or could be fired, for fear of hitting their +own men in the męlée on the deck. The Randolph was a wreck below, at +best; but while anything held together above her plank shears, she +would be fought. The men had reached that desperate condition when +they ceased to think of odds, and like maddened beasts fought and raved +and swore in the frenzy of the combat. The thrice-decimated crew +sprang aft, rallying in the gangway to meet the shock, Nason at their +head, followed close by old Bentley, still unwounded. As the bow of +the Yarmouth struck the Randolph with a crash, one or two wounded men, +unable to take part in repelling the boarders but still able to move, +who had remained beside the guns, exerted the remaining strength they +possessed to discharge such of the pieces as bore, in long raking +shots, through the bow of the liner; it was the last sound from their +hot muzzles. + +The Yarmouth struck the Randolph just forward of the mainmast; the men, +swarming in dense masses on the rail and hanging over the bowsprit +ready to leap, dropped on her deck at once with loud cheers. A sharp +volley from the few marines left on the frigate checked them for a +moment,--nobody noticing at the time that the Honorable Giles had +fallen in a limp heap back from the rail upon his own deck, the blood +staining his curly head; but they gathered themselves together at once, +and, gallantly led, sprang aft, handling their pistols and pikes and +waving their cutlasses. Nason was shot in a moment by Hollins' pistol, +Beauchamp was cut in two by a tremendous sweep of the arm of the mighty +Bentley, and the combat became at once general. Slowly but surely the +Americans were pressed back; the gangways were cleared; the +quarter-deck was gained; one by one the brave defenders had fallen. +The battle was about over when Seymour noticed a man running out in the +foreyard of the Yarmouth with a hand-grenade. He raised his pistol and +fired; the man fell; but another resolutely started to follow him. + +Bentley and a few other men, and one or two officers and a midshipman, +were all who were able to bear arms now. + +"Good-by, Mr. Seymour," cried Bentley, waving his hand and setting his +back against the rail nearest to the Yarmouth, which had slowly swung +parallel to the Randolph and had been lashed there. The old man was +covered with blood from two or three wounds, but still undaunted. Two +or three men made a rush at him; but he held them at bay, no man caring +to come within sweep of that mighty arm which had already done so much, +when a bullet from above struck him, and he fell over backward on the +rail mortally wounded. + +Seymour raised his remaining pistol and fired it at the second man, who +had nearly reached the foreyard arm; less successful this time, he +missed the man, who threw his grenade down the hatchway. Seymour +fainted from loss of blood. + +"Back, men! back to the ship, all you Yarmouths!" cried Captain +Vincent, as he saw the lighted grenade, which exploded and ignited a +little heap of cartridges left by a dead powder-boy before the +magazine. Alas! there was no one there to check or stop the flames. +The English sailors sprang back and up the sides and through the ports +of their ship with frantic haste; the lashings were being rapidly cut +by them, and the braces handled. + +"Come aboard, men, while you can," cried Captain Vincent to the +Americans. "Your ship 's afire; you can do no more; you 'll blow up in +a moment!" + +The little handful of Americans were left alone on their ship. The +only officer still standing lifted his sword and shook it impotently at +the Yarmouth in reply; the rest did not stir. The smoke of battle had +now settled away, and the whole ghastly scene was revealed. A woman's +cry rang out fraught with agony,--"Seymour, Seymour!" and again was her +cry unheeded; her lover could not hear. She cried again; and then, +with a frightful roar and crash, the Randolph blew up. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +For Love of Country + +The force of the explosion occurring so near to the line-of-battle ship +drove her over with irresistible power upon her beam-ends until she +buried her port main-deck guns under water; her time was not yet come, +however, for, after a trembling movement of sickening uncertainty, she +righted herself, slowly at first, but finally with a mighty roll and +rush as if on a tidal wave. For a few seconds the air was filled with +pieces of wreck, arms, spars, bodies, many of which fell on the +Yarmouth. The horrified spectators saw the two broken halves of the +ill-fated frigate gradually disappearing beneath the heaving sea, +sucking down in their inexorable vortex most of the bodies of those, +alive or dead, who floated near. The fire had come in broad sheets +through the portholes of the main-deck guns of the ship from the +explosion, driving the men from their stations, and, by heating the +iron masses or igniting the priming, caused sudden and wild discharges +to add their quota of confusion to the awful scene. Pieces of burning +wreck had also fallen in the tops, or upon the sails, or lodged in the +standing rigging, full of tar as usual, and dry and inflammable to the +last degree. The Yarmouth, therefore, was in serious danger,--more so +than in any other period of the action,--her little antagonist having +inflicted the most damaging blow with the last gasp, as it were; for +little columns of flame and smoke began to rise ominously in a dozen +places. Then was manifested the splendid discipline for which British +ships were famous the world over. Rapidly and with unerring skill and +coolness the proper orders were given, and the tired men were set to +work desperately fighting once more to check and put out the fire. +Long and hard was the struggle, the issue much in doubt; but in the end +the efforts of her crew were crowned with merited success, and their +ship was eventually saved from the dangerous conflagration which had +menaced her with ruin, not less complete and disastrous than had +befallen the frigate. + +While all this was being done, a little scene took place upon the +quarter-deck which was worthy of notice. Something heavy and solid, +thrown upward by the tremendous force of the discharge, struck the rail +with a mighty crash at the moment of the explosion, just at the point +where Katharine, wide-eyed, petrified with horror, after that one vivid +glance in which she apparently saw her lover dead on his own +quarter-deck beneath her, stood clinging rigidly to the bulwarks as if +paralyzed. It was the body of a man; instinctively she threw out her +strong young arm and saved it from falling again into the sea on the +return roll of the ship. One or two of the seamen standing by came to +her assistance, and the body was dragged on board and laid on the deck +at her feet. Something familiar in the figure moved Katharine to a +further examination. She knelt down and wiped the blood and smoke and +dust from the face of the prostrate man, and recognized him at once. +It was old Bentley, desperately wounded, his clothes soaked with blood +from several severe wounds, and apparently dying fast, but still +breathing. A small tightly rolled up ball of bunting was lying near +her on the deck; it was a flag from the Randolph, which had been blown +there by the force of the explosion. She quickly picked it up and +pillowed the head of the unconscious man upon it. Then she ran below +to her cabin, coming back in a moment with water and a cordial, with +which she bathed the head and wiped the lips of the dying man. The +fires were all forward, and, the wind being aft, the danger was in the +fore part of the ship; no one therefore paid the least attention to +her. There was, in fact, save the captain and one or two midshipmen, +no one else on the poop-deck except her father, who like herself had +been overwhelmed by the sudden and awful ending of the battle. Being +without anything to do, the colonel, who had been watching the men +fight with the fire, happened to look aft for a moment and saw his +daughter by the side of the prostrate man. He stepped over to her at +once. + +"Katharine, Katharine," he said to her in a tone of stern reproof and +surprise, not as he usually spoke to her, "you here! 'T is no place +for women. When did you come from below?" + +"I've not been below at all, father," she replied, looking up at him +with a white, stricken face which troubled his loving heart. + +"Do you mean to tell me that you have been on deck during the action?" + +"Yes, father, right here. Do you not understand that it was Mr. +Seymour's ship--I could not go away!" + +"By heavens! Think of it! And I forgot you completely-- The fault +was mine, how could I have allowed it?" he continued in great agitation. + +"Never mind, father; I could not have gone below in any case. Do you +think he--Mr. Seymour--can be yet alive?" she asked, still cherishing a +faint hope. + +The colonel shook his head gloomily, and then stooping down and looking +at the prostrate form of the man on the deck, he asked,-- + +"But who is this you have here?" + +The man opened his eyes at this moment and looked up vacantly. + +"William Bentley, sir," he said in a hoarse whisper, as if in answer to +the question; and then making a vain effort to raise his hand to his +head, he went on half-mechanically, "bosun of the Randolph, sir. Come +aboard!" + +"Merciful Powers, it is old Bentley!" cried the colonel. "Can anything +be done for you, my man? How is it with you?" + +Katharine poured a little more of the cordial down his throat, which +gave him a fictitious strength for a moment, and he answered in a +little stronger voice, with a glance of recognition and wonder,-- + +"The colonel and the young miss! we thought you dead in the wreck of +the Radnor. He will be glad;" and then after a pause recollection came +to him. "Oh, God!" he murmured, "Mr. Seymour!" + +"What of him? Speak!" cried Katharine, in agony. + +"Gone with the rest," he replied with an effort "'T was a good fight, +though. The other ships,--where are they?" + +"Escaped," answered the colonel; "we are too much cut up to pursue." + +"Why did you do it?" moaned Katharine, thinking of Seymour's attack on +the ship of the line. + +The old man did not heed the question; his eyes closed. He was still a +moment, and then he opened his eyes again slowly. Straight above him +waved the standard of his enemy. + +"I never thought--to die--under the English flag," he said slowly and +with great effort. Supplying its place with her own young soft arm, +Katharine drew forth the little American ensign which had served him +for a pillow--stained with his own blood--and held it up before him. A +light came into his dying eyes,--a light of heaven, perhaps, no pain in +his heart now. One trembling hand would still do his bidding; by a +superhuman effort of his resolute will he caught the bit of bunting and +carried it to his lips in a long kiss of farewell. His lips moved. He +was saying something. Katharine bent to listen. What was it? Ah! she +heard; they were the words he said on the deck of the transport when +they saw the ship wrecked in the pass in the beating seas,--the words +he had repeated in the old farmhouse on that winter night to the great +general, when he told the story of that cruise; the words he had made +to stand for the great idea of his own life; the words with which he +had cheered and soothed and sustained and encouraged many weaker men +who had looked to his iron soul for help and guidance. They were the +words to which many a patriot like him, now lying mute and cold upon +the hills about Boston, under the trees at Long Island, by the flowing +waters and frowning cliffs of the Hudson, on the verdant glacis at +Quebec, 'neath the smooth surface of Lake Champlain, in the dim +northern woods, on the historic field of Princeton, or within the still +depths of this mighty sea now tossing them upon its bosom, had given +most eloquent expression and final attestation. What were they? + +"For--for--love--of--country." The once mighty voice died away in a +feeble whisper; a child might still the faintly beating heart. The +mighty chest--rose--fell; the old man lay still. Love of +country,--that was his passion, you understand. + +Love of country! That was the great refrain. The wind roared the song +through the pines, on the snow-clad mountains in the far north, sobbed +it softly through the rustling palmetto branches in the south-land, or +breathed it in whispers over the leaves of the oak and elm and laurel, +between. The waves crashed it in tremendous chorus on rock-bound +shores, or rolled it with tender caress over shining sands. Under its +inspiration, mighty men left all and marched forth to battle; wooed by +its subtle music, hero women bore the long hours of absence and +suspense; and in its tender harmonies the little children were rocked +to sleep. Ay, love of country! All the voices of man and nature in a +continent caught it up and breathed it forth, hurled it in mighty +diapason far up into God's heaven. Love of country! It was indeed a +mighty truth. They preached it, loved it, lived for it, died for it, +till at last it made them free! + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +_Philip Disobeys Orders_ + +"Who is this, pray?" said Captain Vincent, at this moment stepping back +to the silent little group. + +"The boatswain of the Randolph," replied the colonel. "He has just +died." + +"Poor fellow! but there are many other brave men gone this day. What +think you was the complement of the frigate, colonel?" + +"Over three hundred men certainly," replied the colonel (the actual +number was three hundred and fifteen). "Most of them not already done +for were lost in the explosion, I presume?" + +"Yes, assuredly; and now I owe you an apology, my dear sir. I never +saw a more gallant action in my life. The man 's gone, of course, but +he shall have full credit for it in my report; 'twas bravely done, and +successfully, too. We are frightfully cut up, and in no condition to +pursue. In fact, I will not conceal from you that some of our spars +are so severely wounded, and the starboard rigging so damaged and +scorched and cut up, that I know not how we could stand a heavy blow. +Twenty-five are killed, and upward of sixty wounded too, and about +thirty missing, killed, or wounded men of the boarding party, who were +undoubtedly blown up with the frigate. Beauchamp is gone; and that +little fellow there," pointing to a couple of seamen bringing a small +limp body aft, "is Montagu. Poor little youngster!" + +"This has indeed been a frightful action, captain," replied the +colonel. "I knew young Seymour well. He was a man of the most +consummate gallantry. This sacrifice is like him," he continued +softly, looking at Katharine and then turning away. Perhaps the +captain understood. At any rate he stepped to her side and said +gently,-- + +"Mistress Katharine, this is no place for you; you must go below. +Indeed, I must insist. I shall have to order you. Come--" and then +laying his hand on her arm, he started back in surprise. "Why, you are +wounded!" + +"'Tis nothing, sir," said Katharine, faintly. "I welcome it; 'twas an +American bullet. Would it had found my heart!" + +"Only a flesh-wound, colonel; no cause for alarm," said the captain, +looking at it with the eye of experience. "It will be all right in a +day or two. But now she must go below. I can't understand how you +were allowed to stay here, or be here. What were they thinking of? +But you saw one of the hottest and most desperate battles ever fought +between two ships since you were here. They can fight; you were right, +colonel," he went on in ungrudging admiration. + +"Here, Desborough," he added, addressing the lieutenant, who just then +put his foot on the deck, "take Miss Wilton below, and ask the surgeon +to attend her at his convenience; she 's gone and got herself wounded +by her friends." + +Lieutenant Desborough, black and grimy, streaked with smoke and powder, +turned pale at the captain's words, and sprang forward anxiously and +led the object of his love down the steps to her cabin. "Wounded!" he +murmured. "Oh, my love, why did no one take you to a place of safety?" + +"'T is nothing," she replied, going on as if in a dream. + +Desborough had his wish: his rival was gone; he had the field to +himself; but he was too manly to feel any exultation now that it was +over, and too sorry for the vacant despair he saw on her face. He +tenderly whispered to her as he led her on,-- + +"Believe me, dear Katharine, it is not thus I would have triumphed over +Mr. Seymour. He was in truth a knightly gentleman." + +Overwhelming pity for her filled his heart, and he went on +magnanimously,-- + +"I am sorry--" + +She made no answer; she did not hear. In the cabin the body of little +Montagu was lying on a table. He would never get his frigate now. How +small and frail and boyish looked the Honorable Giles to-day! Why did +they send children like that to war? Had he no mother?--poor lad! +Moved by a sudden impulse, she stooped and kissed him, as she had done +an hour before. No throb of the proud little heart answered responsive +to her caress now. Alas! she might kiss him when and as she pleased; +he would not feel it, and he would not heed. Entering her own berth at +last, she closed the door and sank down upon her knees,--alone with God! + + +"A sail coming down fast,--the little brig, sir," reported the officer +of the deck to Captain Vincent. "Shall we come about and give him a +broadside?" + +"No, no; we dare not handle the braces yet,--not until the gear and +spars have been well overhauled." + +"Shall we use the stern-chaser then, sir?" + +The Yarmouth had left the scene of the explosion some distance away by +this time, but she was still within easy gun-shot. Captain Vincent +earnestly examined the brig; as he looked, she came up to the wind, +hove to, and dropped a boat in the water. There was a bit of spar +still floating there. The captain saw that three or four men were +clinging to it. + +"No; she's on an errand of mercy. There are men in the water on that +topmast there. Let her go free," he said generously. "We 've done +enough to-day to satisfy any reasonable man." + +The colonel grasped his hand warmly and thanked him. The little brig +picked up her boat, swung her mainyard, and filled away again on the +port tack, in the wake of the rest of the little squadron now far +ahead; then, understanding the forbearance of the big ship, she fired a +gun to leeward and dipped her ensign in salute. + +The force of the explosion had thrown Seymour, from his advantageous +position aft, far out into the water and away from the sinking ship. +The contact with cold water recalled him to his senses at once; and +with the natural instinct of man for life, he struck out as well as he +might, considering his broken leg and wounded arm and weakened state. +There was a piece of a mast with the top still on it floating near by. +He struggled gallantly to make it,--'twas no use, he could do no more; +closing his eyes, he sank down in the dark water. But help was near: a +hand grasped him by his long hair and drew him up; one of his men, +unwounded fortunately, had saved him. The two men presently reached +the bit of wreck; the sailor scrambled up on it, and by a great effort +drew his captain by his side; two more men swam over desperately, and +finally joined the little group. They clung there helpless, hopeless, +despairing, fascinated, watching the remains of the Randolph disappear, +marking a few feeble swimmers here and there struggling, till all was +still. Then they turned their eyes upon their late antagonist, running +away before the wind in flames; they saw her fight them down +successfully; appalled, none spoke. Presently one of the seamen +glanced the other way, and saw the little brig swiftly bearing down +upon them. + +"God be praised! Here's the brig, the Fair American," he cried. "We +shall be saved--saved!" + +The brig was handled smartly; she came to the wind, backed the +maintopsail, and lay gently tossing to and fro on the long swells. The +young captain stood on the rail, clinging to the back-stays, anxiously +watching. The boat was dropped into the water, and with long strokes +shot over to them. The men sprang aboard; rude hands gently and +tenderly lifted the wounded captain in. They pulled rapidly back to +the brig; the falls were manned, and the boat was run up, the yard +swung, and she filled away. Seymour was lifted down; Philip received +him in his arms. + +"I ought to arrest you for disobedience of orders," said the captain, +sternly. "Why did you pay no attention to my signals? You have +jeoparded the brig. Yon ship can blow you out of the water; you are +quite within range." + +But they soon saw that no motion was made by the ship; and in +accordance with Seymour's orders the gun was fired and the colors +dipped,--a salute which the ship promptly returned. + +"I ought to put you under arrest, Philip," again said Seymour, faintly, +while he was lying in the tiny cabin, having his wounds dressed; "but I +will not. 'T was gallantly done; but obey orders first hereafter,--'t +is the first principle of action on the sea." That was rather cool +comfort for the young officer, considering that his somewhat reckless +action had just saved Seymour's life. He made brief reply, however, +and then resumed his station on the deck of his little vessel, which +was rapidly overhauling the rest of the fleet. As soon as the night +fell, the wind permitting, they were by Seymour's direction headed for +the harbor of Charleston once more. Now that his mind was free again, +Seymour's thoughts turned to that woman's form of which he had one +brief glimpse ere the line-of-battle ship disappeared in the smoke. +Could it indeed have been Katharine Wilton? Could fate play him such a +trick as to awaken once more his sleeping hope? Through the long night +he tossed in fevered unrest in his narrow berth. Again he went over +the awful scenes of that one hour of horror. The roar of the guns, the +crash of splintered timbers, the groans of the wounded men, rang in his +fretted ear. They seemed to rise before him, those gallant officers +and men, the hardy, bold sailors, veterans of the sea, audacious +youngsters with life long before them, Bentley, his old, his faithful +friend,--lost--all lost. Was there reproach in their gaze? Was it +worth while, after all? Ay, but duty; he had always done his +duty--duty always--duty-- Ah, they faded away, and Katharine looked +down upon--it was she--love--duty--love--duty! Was that the roar of +battle again, or only his beating heart? They found him in the +morning, delirious, shouting orders, murmuring words of love, calling +Kate,--babbling like a child. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +_Three Pictures of the Sea_ + +A short time before sunset that same evening the Yarmouth was hove to, +and the hoarse cry of the boatswain and his mates was once more heard +through the ship, calling,-- + +"All hands! Bury the dead." + +Skilled hands had been working earnestly all the afternoon to repair +the damage to the vessel; much had been accomplished, but much more +still remained to be done. However, night was drawing on, and it was +advisable to dispose of the dead bodies of those who had been killed in +the action, or who had died since of their wounds, without further +delay. Some of the sailmaker's mates had been busy during the +afternoon, sewing up the dead in new, clean hammocks, and weighting +each one with heavy shot at the feet to draw it down. The bodies were +laid in orderly rows amidships, forward of the mainmast, and all was +ready when the word was passed. The crew assembled in the gangways +facing aft, the boatswain, gunner, carpenter, sailmaker, and other +warrant officers at their head. The captain, attended by Colonel +Wilton and the first lieutenant in full uniform, and surrounded by the +officers down to the smallest midshipman, stood facing the crew on the +quarter-deck; back of the officers, on the opposite side of the deck, +the marine guard was drawn up. At the break of the poop stood the +slender, graceful figure of a woman, alone, clearly outlined against +the low light of the setting sun, looking mournfully down upon the +picture, her heart, though filled with sadness and sorrow particularly +her own, still great enough to feel sympathy for others. + +The chaplain, clothed in the white vestments of his sacred office, +presently came from out the cabin beneath the poop-deck, and stopped +opposite the gangway between the line of men and officers. Two of the +boatswain's mates, at a signal from the first lieutenant, stepped to +the row of bodies and carefully lifted up the first one and laid it on +a grating, covering it at the same time with a flag. They next lifted +the grating and placed one end of it on the rail overlooking the sea, +and held the other in their hands and waited. The captain uncovered, +all the other officers and the men following his example. + +The chaplain began to read from the book in his hand. The first body +on the grating was a very small one,--only a boy, looking smaller in +contrast to those of the men by which it had lain. The little figure +of the Honorable Giles looked pathetic indeed. Some of the little +fellow's messmates had hard work to stifle their tears; here and there +in the ranks of the silent men the back of a hand would go furtively up +to a wet eye, as the minister read on and on. + +How run the words? + +"Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in His wise Providence, to +take out of this world the soul of our deceased brother--" Was it +indeed Thy pleasure, O God, that this little "brother" should die? Was +Thy Providence summed up in this little silent figure? Alas, who can +answer? + +And then as the even voice of the priest went on with the solemn and +beautiful words which never grow familiar,--"we therefore commit his +body to the deep,"--the first lieutenant nodded to the watching +sailors. They lifted the inboard end of the grating high in the air; a +fellow midshipman standing by pulled aside the covering flag; the +little body started, moved slowly,--more rapidly; there was a flash of +light in the air, a splash in the water alongside. + +The chaplain motioned for another; it was a man this time,--all the +rest were men; four of the seamen lifted him up. Again the few short +sentences, and the sailor was launched upon another voyage of life. +Tears were streaming from eyes unused to weeping, tracing unwonted +courses down the strangely weather-beaten, wrinkled cheeks; men +mourning the loss of shipmate and messmate, friend and fellow. The +last one in the row was a gigantic man; over his bosom was laid a +little blood-stained flag of different blazoning: there was the blue +field as in the heavens, white stars, and red and white stripes that +enfolded him like a caress. The sailors lifted him up and waited a +moment, until the tall, stately, distinguished figure of the colonel, +in his plain civilian dress, stepped out from the group of officers and +stood beside the grating; he put his hand upon the flag of his country, +glad to do this service for a faithful if humble friend. It was soon +over; with a little heavier splash old Bentley fell into the sea he had +so loved, joining that innumerable multitude of those who, having done +their duty, wait for that long-deferred day when the sea shall give up +her dead! The woman hid her face within her hands, the great bell of +the ship tolled solemnly forward, the sun had set, the men were +dismissed, the watch called, and the night fell softly, while the ship +glided on in the darkness. + + +Another week had elapsed. The Yarmouth had been driven steadily +northward, and by contrary winds prevented from making her course. She +was in a precarious condition too; a further examination had disclosed +that some of her spars, especially the mainmast, had been so severely +and seriously wounded, even more so than at first reported, as scarcely +to permit any sail at all to be set on them, and not fit in anyway to +endure stress of weather. The damages had been made good, however, as +far as possible, the rigging knotted and spliced, the spars fished and +strengthened as well. The ship had been leaking slightly all the time, +from injuries received in the fight, in all probability; but a few +hours at the pumps daily had hitherto kept her free, and though the +carpenter had been most assiduous in a search for the leaks, and had +stopped as many as he had been able to come at, some of them could not +be found. The weather had steadily changed for the worse as they had +reached higher latitudes, and it was now cold, rainy, and very +threatening. The captain and his officers were filled with anxiety and +foreboding. Katharine kept sedulously in her cabin, devoured by grief +and despair; and the once cheery colonel, full of deep sympathy for his +unfortunate daughter, went about softly and sadly during the long days. + +The day broke gloomily on one certain unfortunate morning; they had not +seen the sun for five days, nor did they see it then. No gladsome +light flooded the heavens and awoke the sea; the sky was deeply +overcast with cold, dull, leaden clouds that hung low and heavy over +the mighty ship; a horror of darkness enshrouded the ocean. Away off +on the horizon to the northeast the sky was black with great masses of +frightful-looking clouds; through the glass the watchful officers saw +that rain was falling in torrents from them, while the vivid lightning +played incessantly through them. Where the ship was, it had fallen +suddenly calm, and she lay gently rolling and rocking in the moderate +swell; but they could see the hurricane driving down upon them, coming +at lightning speed, standing like a solid wall, and flattening the +waves by sheer weight. All hands had been called on deck at once, at +the first glimpse of the coming hurricane. Desborough had the trumpet; +the alert and eager topmen were sent aloft to strip the ship of the +little canvas which the heavy weather and weakened spars had permitted +them to show. It was a race between them and the coming storm. The +men worked desperately, madly; some of them had not yet reached the +deck when the rain and the wind were upon them. By the captain's +direction, the colonel had brought Katharine from below, and she was +standing on the quarter-deck sheltered by the overhang of the poop +above, listlessly watching. Desborough had made no progress in his +love-affairs; he had too much tact and delicacy to press his suit under +the present untoward circumstances, and indeed had been too incessantly +occupied with the pressing exigencies of the shattered ship, and the +duties of his responsible position thereon, to have any time to spare +for more than the common courtesies. The awful storm was at last upon +them: a sudden change in its direction caused the first fierce blow to +fall fairly upon the starboard side of the ship; it pressed her down on +her beam-ends; over and over she went, down, down. Would she ever +right again? Ah, the spliced shrouds and stays on the weather-side, +which had been that attacked by the Randolph, finally gave way, the +mainmast went by the board about halfway below the top, the foremast at +the cap, and the mizzentopmast, too; relieved of this enormous mass of +heavy top hamper, the ship slowly righted herself. The immense mass of +wreckage beat and thundered against the port side; it was a fearful +situation, but all was not yet lost. Gallantly led by Desborough +himself, who saw in one sweeping glance that Katharine was still safe, +the men, with axes and knives, hacked through the rigging which held +the wreck of the giant spars to the ship, and after a few moments of +sickening suspense she drifted clear; a bit of storm canvas was spread +forward on the wreck of the foremast, and the ship got before the wind +and drove on, laboring and pitching in the heavy sea. The decks were +cleared; and indeed there was little left to clear, the waves having +broken over her several times when she lay in the trough of the sea, +sweeping everything out with them, and the vessel was a total +wreck,--the spars gone, rails and bulwarks battered in and smashed, +boats lost, the battle having destroyed these on the starboard side, +and the wreck and the sea the others. Stop! there was one boat left +amidships, a launch capable of holding about forty persons in a pinch, +and still seaworthy; it was, by the captain's order, promptly made as +serviceable as possible in view of the probable emergency. + +About four o'clock in the afternoon the carpenter came aft with the +sounding-rod of the well in his hand. The strain had been too much for +her; some of the weakened timbers had given way, or some of the seams +had opened, or perhaps a butt had started, for the ship was leaking +badly. Still those dauntless men did not despair. The crew were told +off in gangs to work, and all night the clank, clank, of the pumps was +heard. Katharine dutifully laid down as she was bidden; but there was +no sleep for her nor any one else on the ship that long night. The day +broke again finally, but brought them no cheer: their labor had been +unavailing; the leak had gained on them so rapidly that the ship lay +low in the water, listless and inert, rolling in a sick, sluggish, +helpless way in the trough of the sea. The wind had abated somewhat, +and a boat well handled might live in the water now. By Captain +Vincent's direction the men were sent to their stations on the spar, or +upper deck. The boat's crew was chosen by selecting every fifteenth +man in the long lines, the division officers doing the counting. The +boat was launched without tackles, by main strength, sliding on rollers +over the side through the broken bulwarks. Katharine, listless and +indifferent, still attended by Chloe, was put aboard. Captain Vincent +looked about among his officers; whom should he put in charge? They +all looked deprecatingly and entreatingly at him. None desired to go; +no one wished to be singled out to abandon the ship and his brother +officers. His glance fell on Desborough. + +"The duty is yours; you are the first officer of the ship." + +"Oh, Captain Vincent, do not send me, I beg you. My place surely is on +the ship with you. Cannot some one else--" + +"No, you must go. My last command to you, my lord," he said, smiling +faintly and extending his hand. Desborough, seeing the futility of +further appeal, grasped it warmly in both his own, bowed to the other +officers, and with a wave of his hand stepped on the rail and sprang +into the tossing boat alongside. + +"Are there any others to go?" he said. + +The captain's eye fell upon the figure of the colonel standing among +the officers. + +"You are to go, sir. Nay, I will hear of no objections. You are my +prisoner, and I am bound to see you delivered safely. Go, colonel. I +mean it; I will have you put aboard by a file of marines if you do not +go at once." + +Katharine awoke from her apathy and stretched out her hands with a +piteous cry,-- + +"Father, father, oh, I cannot lose you too." + +"Prisoner or no prisoner, sir," said the colonel, "let me say that I am +proud of my connection with you and your officers and your men. If I +live to reach the shore, the world shall hear of this noble ending. +Good-by, captain; good-by, gentlemen. I would fain stay with you." + +"No, no!" was the cry from this band of heroes; and then Hollins sprang +forward and shouted,-- + +"Lads! Three cheers for the colonel and for our shipmates in the +launch! Let them tell at home that we were glad to stay by the old +ship." + +The hearty cheers came with a roar from five hundred throats. + +"Good-by, good-by; God bless you!" cried the colonel, choking and +utterly overcome, as he got into the boat, and sank down in the stern +sheets beside his daughter. + +"Colonel, we have n't a moment of time," whispered Desborough, who saw +that the ship was sinking. + +"Shove off, men; pull hard!" + +A few moments of hard rowing in the heavy sea put them some little +distance away, and the boat waited under just enough way to give them +command of her. The men of the ship kept their stations; calm and +peaceful, they also waited. The ship settled lower and lower; a man +stepped hurriedly aft; and a moment later the bold and brilliant ensign +of Old England, which never waved over braver men, fluttered out in the +heavy breeze from the wrecked mast-head, the vivid red of the proud +flag making a lurid dash of color against the gray sky-line. The ship +was lower now. Now she plunged forward; the water rose; the captain +raised his hand; three hearty cheers rang out; the drums beat; the +marines presented arms. She was gone! The flag streamed out bravely +on the surface of the water, and then it was drawn down; a confused +mass of heads and waving arms was seen in the water, and they too in a +moment were slowly drawn down into the vortex caused by the sinking +ship. The woman again hid her face in her hands; the colonel laid his +arm across the shoulder of his daughter; Desborough and the men in the +boat stared horribly at the spot left vacant; a deep groan broke from +them; they rose on the crest of a wave, sank down again, rose once more +and looked again,--the little boat was alone on that mighty sea! + + +Oh, the agony of those long and frightful days in that little boat! +Never a sail did they sight, as day after day they rowed or sailed to +the westward, eagerly scanning the horizon for a landfall. The waves +washed over them, saturating their clothing; the chill winds of winter +froze them. First their provisions gave out, though served with the +most rigid economy by Desborough himself; then the water, husbanded as +no precious jewel was ever hoarded, was exhausted to the last drop, and +that drop, by common consent, Desborough forced between Katharine's +reluctant lips, though she would fain have refused it, claiming no +indulgence beyond the others. The rare qualities of that young officer +showed themselves brilliantly in this frightful peril. It was due to +his skill and careful management that they were not swamped a dozen +times; tireless, unselfish, cheerful, unsparing of himself, without him +they would have died. The men bore their sufferings, when all food and +water failed them, with the sturdy resolution of British sailors; +Desborough his, with the courage of the hero that he was, his fiercest +pang being for the white-faced girl who suffered in uncomplaining +silence. The colonel exhibited the stoical indifference of a seasoned +old soldier, as to his own personal condition, all his thoughts being +centred upon his daughter, who passed through the dreadful experience +with the calm resignation of a woman who had nothing left to live for, +and, strange to say, seemed to feel it less acutely than the rest; even +black Chloe, who had impartially shared with her mistress in all the +favors accorded to her, being in a state of utter exhaustion, amounting +to collapse. + +When the pangs of hunger and thirst got hold of them, they refused--and +were indeed entirely unable--to work longer with the oars, so that, +unless the wind was fair and the sail was set, they simply drifted on. + +One by one the sailors died. Waking from a troubled sleep of short +duration, Katharine one day found Chloe's dead hand around her feet, +her cold lips pressed upon them. Some of the men grew mad before they +died, and raved and babbled of green fields and running brooks until +the end came, and still the little boat drifted on. Few and short were +the prayers the living said as, day by day they cast the dead into the +sea. Desborough, the resolute, with undying strength kept steadily at +the helm. Once only did he speak to Katharine in words of love. As +their situation grew more and more hopeless, and even his resolute +optimism began to fail him, he bent down and whispered in her ear,-- + +"I would not trouble you now, Katharine, but before we die I must tell +you once again that I love you. Will you believe it?" + +"I will believe it," she answered dully, giving him her hand. Oh, he +thought in agony, as he bent over it and kissed it, how thin and white +and feeble it was I One morning, after hope was dead, he was listlessly +scanning the line of the horizon as the rising sun threw it into +relief, more from habit than expectancy, when his heart almost stopped +its feeble beating, for land was there before him if his strained eyes +did not deceive him. Doubting the evidence of his weakened senses, and +fearing the delusions of a disordered imagination, he refrained from +communicating his impressions to any of the others until the light of +day determined the accuracy of his vision. Then he whispered the news +to Katharine, the apathetic woman told it to the sinking colonel, and +then Desborough cried it to his dying crew. The wind sprang up at the +moment too, and in a few hours they beached the boat upon a low sandy +shore, with the waves breaking gently over it in long easy rollers. It +was a desolate coast, sparsely wooded with small trees, and having +little evidence of human habitation about it; but no glimpse of heaven +could have more rejoiced a dying soul than this bleak haven to which +they had been brought. They staggered, half fell, out of the boat, and +lay exhausted, with ghastly haggard faces, on the shining sands, giving +thanks to God for His mercy. + +Desborough, as the strongest of the party, started inland, finding by +and by a little stream of fresh water, and farther on, on higher +ground, seeing a house, the smoke curling from its chimneys showing +that it was inhabited. To the bubbling spring he half led, half +dragged his shipwrecked party. They drank sparingly by his direction, +and were refreshed, for with the cool water life and hope came back to +them once more. Then he left them again and went on to the house. +They had landed on the shore of Virginia, and the people of the house +welcomed and cared for the poor castaways, sharing with them their +humble store with the kindly hospitality for which the land was famous. +Their long voyage was at an end, their troubles were over. The colonel +and Katharine would be free again; they might go home once more, and +Desborough would be a prisoner. + + + + +BOOK V + +THE DEAD ALIVE AGAIN + + +CHAPTER XL + +_A Final Appeal_ + +It was springtime again in Virginia. The sky, its blue depths +accentuated by the shifting clouds, was never more clear, wherever it +appeared in the intervals of sunshine, nor the air more fresh and pure, +even in that land famed for its bright skies and its mild climate, than +it was this April day; which, with its sunshine and showers in +unregulated alternation, seemed symbolical of life,--that life of which +every tender blade of grass, every venturesome flower thrusting its +head above the sod, seemed to speak. There was health and strength in +the gentle breeze which wantonly played with the budding leaves of the +great trees, already putting forth little evangels of that splendid +foliage with which they decked themselves in the full glory of summer. +That merry wind which swept through the open boat-house at the end of +the wharf laid a bold hand upon the curls which fell about the neck of +the young girl sitting there by the door near the water on one of the +benches, gazing out over the broad reaches of the quiet, ever beautiful +Potomac, rippled gently by the wind under the late afternoon sun. The +gallant little breeze, fragrant with balm and perfume of the trees and +flowers, kissed a faint color into her pale cheek, and seemed to +whisper to her despondent heart in murmuring sounds that framed +themselves into the immortal words "hope, hope." + +The young girl had but yesterday entered upon her twentieth spring. +Four months ago there had not been a merrier, lighter-hearted, gayer, +more coquettish young maiden in tidewater Virginia; and to-day, she +thought, as she looked down at her thin hand outlined so clearly upon +the vivid cardinal cloak she wore, which had dropped unheeded on the +seat by her side, to-day she was like that man in the play of whom her +father read,--a grave man. No, not a man at all. Once, in her +enthusiasm, she had fondly imagined that she had possessed all those +daring qualities of energy and action, those manly virtues, which might +have been hers by inheritance could the accident of sex have been +reversed. But now she knew she was but a woman, after all,--so weak, +so feeble, so listless. What had she left to live for? Once it was +her father, then it was her country, then it was her lover; now? +Nothing! Her father at the request of Congress would soon resume his +interrupted duties in France, now become more important than ever. He +was a man of the world and a soldier, a diplomat. The hard experiences +of the past few months were for him episodes, exciting truly, but only +part of a lifetime spent in large adventure, soon forgotten in some +other strenuous part demanded by some other strenuous exigency. But +she,--no, she was not a man at all, but a woman,--unused to such scenes +and happenings as fate had lately made her a participant in. Her +father might have his country,--he had not lost his love, his heart was +not buried out in the depths of the cruel sea. What had become of that +Roman patriotism upon which she prided herself in times past? Her +country! What had changed her so? There were many answers. + +There was Blodgett's grave at the foot of the hill. She had played in +childhood with that faithful old soldier. Many a tale had he told her +of her gallant father when, as a young man, he gayly rode away to the +wars, leaving her lady mother in tears behind. She could sympathize +with waiting women now, and understand. Those were such deeds of +daring that the rude recital of the old man once stirred her very heart +with joy and terror; now she was sick at the thought of them. And +Blodgett was gone; he had died defending them, where he had been +stationed. That was an answer. + +There, too, far away in another State, lay the lover of her girlhood's +happy day,--the bright-eyed, eager, gallant, joyous lad. What good +comrades they had been! How they had laughed, and played, and ridden, +and rowed, and hunted, and danced, and flirted, through the morning of +life,--how pleasant had been that life indeed! He was quiet now; she +could no longer join in his ringing laugh, the sound of his voice was +stilled, they might never play together again,--was there any play at +all in life? That was another answer. + +There was the white-haired mother, the stately little royalist, Madam +Talbot, who slept in peace on the hill at Fairview Hall, her ambitions, +her hopes, and her loyalty buried with her, leaving the place +untenanted save by wistful memories; she too had gone. + +Answers?--they crowded thick upon her! There were the officers of the +Yarmouth, Captain Vincent, Beauchamp, Hollins, and the little boy, the +Honorable Giles, and all the other officers and men with whom she had +come in contact on that frightful cruise. There were the heroic men +who had stayed by their ship, who had seen the favored few go away in +the only boat that was left seaworthy, without a murmur at being left +behind, who had faced death unheeding, unrepining, sinking down in the +dark water with a cheer upon their lips. There was the old sailor, +too, with his unquenchable patriotism, her friend because the friend of +her lover; and Philip, her brother; and there was Seymour himself. Ah, +what were all the rest to him! Gone, and how she loved him! + +She leaned her head upon her hand and thought of him. Here in this +boat-house he had first spoken to her of his love. Here she had first +felt his lips touch her cheek. There, rocked gently by the light +breeze, upon the water at her feet was the familiar little +pleasure-boat; she had not allowed any one to row her about in it since +her return, in spite of much entreaty. It was this very cloak she wore +that day, nearly the very hour. The place was redolent with sweet +memories of happy days, though to think on them now broke her heart. +It all came back to her as it had come again and again. She briefly +reviewed that acquaintance, short though it was, which had changed the +whole course of her life. She saw him again, as he struck prompt to +defend her honor in the hall, resenting a ruffian's soiling hand +stretched out to her; she saw him lying wounded and senseless there at +her feet. She saw him stretched prone on that shattered deck, on that +ruined ship, pale, blood-stained, senseless again, again unheeding her +bitter cry. She would have called once more upon him, save that she +knew humanity has no voice which reaches out into the darkness by which +it may call back those who are once gone to live beyond. She did not +weep,--that were a small thing, a trifle; she sat and brooded. What +had she lost in the service of her country? What sacrifices had been +exacted from her by that insatiable country! Alas, alas, she thought, +men may have a country, a woman has only a heart. + +Four short months had changed it all. How young she had been! Would +she ever be young again? How full of the joy of life! Its currents +swept by her unheeded now. Why had not God been merciful to her, that +she could have died there upon the sea, she thought. Ah, poor humanity +never learns His mercy; perhaps it is because we have no measure by +which to fathom its mighty depths. She saw herself old and lonely, +forgotten but not forgetting. But even then lacked she not +opportunity; woman-like, in spite of her constancy, she took a +melancholy pleasure in the thought that there was one still who +hungered for the shattered remnants of her broken heart, who lived for +the sound of her voice and the glance other eyes and the light of her +face. One there was, handsome, brave, distinguished, gentle, of +ancient name, assured station, ample fortune, who longed to lay all he +was or had at her feet. + +But what were these things? Nothing to her, nothing. There was but +one, as she had said on the ship to Desborough: "I love a sailor; you +are not he." And yet her soul was filled with pity for the gallant +gentleman, and she thought of him tenderly with deep affection. + +Presently she heard quick footsteps on the floor of the boat-house, and +turning her head she saw him. He held a letter, an official packet, +with the seal broken, open in his hand. + +"Oh, Miss Wilton, you here?" he said. "I have looked everywhere for +you. Do you not think the evening air grows chill? Is it not too cold +for you out here in the boat-house? Allow me;" and then, with that +gentle solicitude which women prize, he lifted the neglected cloak and +tenderly wrapped it about her shoulders. + +"Thank you," she said gratefully, faintly smiling up at him, "but I +hardly need it. I do not feel at all cold. The air is so pleasant and +the sun is not yet set, you see. Did you wish to see me about anything +special, Lord Desborough?" + +"No--yes--that is-- Oh, Mistress Katharine, the one special want of my +life is to see you always and everywhere. You know that,--nay, never +lift your hand,--I remember. I will try not to trespass upon your +orders again. I came to tell you that--I am going away." + +"Going away," she repeated sadly. "Has your exchange been made?" + +"Yes; a courier came to the Hall a short time since, and here it is. +My orders, you see; I must leave at once." + +"I am sorry, indeed sorry that you must go." + +He started suddenly as if to speak, a little flash of hope flickering +in his despondent face; but she continued quickly,-- + +"It has been very pleasant for us to have you here, except that you +have been a prisoner; but now you will be free, and for that, of +course, I rejoice. But I have so few friends left," she went on +mournfully, "I am loath to see one depart, even though he be an enemy." + +"Oh, do not call me an enemy, I entreat you, Katharine. Oh, let me +speak just once again," he interrupted with his usual impetuosity; "and +talk not to me of freedom! While the earth holds you I am not free: +ay, even should Heaven claim you, I still am bound. All the days of my +captivity here I have been a most willing and happy prisoner,--your +prisoner. I have looked forward with dread and anguish to the day when +I might be exchanged and have to go away. Here would I have been +content to pass my life, by your side. Oh, once again let me plead! +My duty, my honor, call me now to the service of my king. I no longer +have excuse for delay, but you have almost made me forget there was a +king. Now that I must go, why should I go alone?" he went on eagerly. +"I know, I know you love the--the other,--but he is gone. You do not +hate me, you even like me; you regret my going; perhaps as days go by, +you will regret it more. We are at least friends; let me take care of +you in future. Oh, it kills me to see you so white, and indifferent to +life and all that it has or should have for you. You are only a girl +yet,--I cannot bear to see all the color gone out of your sweet face, +the light out of your eyes; the sight of that thin hand breaks my +heart. Won't you live for me to love,--live, and let me love you? +Your father goes to-morrow, so he says, and you will be left alone +here; why should it be? Go with me. Give me a right to do what my +heart aches to do for you,--to coax the roses back into your cheek, to +woo the laugh to your lips, to win happiness back to your heart; to +devote my life to you, darling. Have pity on me, have pity on my +love,--have pity!" + +His voice dropped into a passionate whisper; as he pleaded with her, he +sank down upon one knee by her side, beseeching by word and gesture and +look that she should show him that pity he could see in her eyes, that +he knew was in her heart, and to which he made his last appeal; and +then, lifting the hem of her dress to his lips with an unconscious +movement of passionate reverence, he waited. + +She looked at him in silence a moment. So young, so handsome, so +appealing, her heart filled with sorrow and sympathy for him. There +was hope in his eyes which she had not seen for many days; how could +she drive it away and crush his heart! It might be cruel, but she had +no answer, no other answer, no new word, to tell him. Her eyes filled +with tears; she could not trust herself to speak, she only shook her +head. + +"Ah," he said, rising to his feet and throwing up his hands with a +gesture of despair, "I knew it. Well, the dream is over at last. This +is the end. I sought life, and found death; that, at least, if it +shall come I shall welcome. Would God I had gone down with the ship! +You have no pity; you let a dead image--an idea--stand between you and +a living love. Will you never forget?" + +"Never," she said softly. "Love knows no death. He is alive--here. +But do not grieve so for me; I am not worth it. You will go away and +forget, and--" + +"No; you have said it, 'Love knows no death.' I, too, cannot forget. +As long as I live I shall love--and remember. How if I waited and +waited? Katharine, I would wait forever for you," he said, suddenly +catching at the trifle. + +"No, it would be no use. My friend, we both must suffer; it cannot be +otherwise. I esteem you, respect you, admire you. You have protected +me, honored me; my gratitude--" She went on brokenly, "You might ask +anything of me but my heart, and that is given away." + +"Let me take you without it, then. I want but you." + +"No, Lord Desborough, it cannot be. Do not ask me again. No, I cannot +say I wish it otherwise." + +His flickering hope died away in silence. "Katharine, will you promise +me, if there ever comes a time--" + +"I promise," she said; "but the time will never come." + +He looked at her as dying men look to the light, there was a long +silence, and then he said,-- + +"I must go now, Katharine. I suppose I must bid you good-by now?" + +"Yes, I think it would be best." + +"I shall pass this way again on my journey to Alexandria in half an +hour; may I not speak once more to you then?" + +"No," she said finally, after a long pause. "I think it best that we +should end it now. It can do no good at all. Good-by, and may God +bless you." + +He bent and kissed her hand, and then stopped a moment and looked at +her, saying never a word. + +"Good-by, again," she said. + +On the instant he turned and left her. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +_Into the Haven, at last_ + +Two weary horsemen on tired horses were slowly riding up the river road +just where it entered the Wilton plantation. One was young, a mere boy +in years; but a certain habit of command, with the responsibility +accompanying, had given him a more manly appearance than his age +warranted. The other, to a casual glance, seemed much older than his +companion, though closer inspection would show that he was still a +young man, and that those marks upon his face which the careless +passer-by would consider the attributes of age had been traced by the +fingers of grief and trouble. The bronzed and weather-beaten faces of +both riders bespoke an open-air life, and suggested those who go down +upon the great deep in ships, a suggestion further borne out by the +faded, worn naval uniforms they wore. In spite of the joy of +springtime which was all about them, both were silent and both were +sad; but the sadness of the boy, as was natural, was less deep, less +intense, than that of the man. He was too young to realize the +greatness of the loss he had sustained in the death of his father and +sister; and were it not for the constant reminder afforded him by the +presence of his gloomy companion, he would probably, with the careless +elasticity of youth, have been more successful in throwing off his own +sorrow. The man had not lost a father or a sister, but some one dearer +still. He looked thin and ill, and under the permanent bronze of his +countenance the ravages wrought by fever, wounds, and long illness were +plainly perceptible; there were gray hairs in his thick neatly tied +locks, too, that had no rightful place there in one of his age. The +younger and stronger assisted and watched over his older companion with +the tenderest care and attention. + +They rode slowly up the pleasant road under the great trees, from time +to time engaging in a desultory conversation. Philip endeavored to +cheer his companion by talking lightly of boyhood days, as each turn of +the road brought familiar places in the old estate in view. Here he +and Katharine and Hilary had been wont to play; there was a favorite +spot, a pleasant haunt here, this had been the scene of some amusing +adventure. These well-meant reminiscences nearly drove Seymour mad, +but he would not stop them. Finally, they came to the place where the +road divided, one branch pursuing its course along the river-bank past +the boat-house toward the Talbot place, the other turning inland from +the river and winding about till it surmounted the high bluff and +reached the door of the Hall. There Philip drew rein. + +"This is the way to the Hall, you know, Captain Seymour," he said, +pointing to the right. Seymour hesitated a moment, and said finally,-- + +"Yes, I know; the boat-house lies over there, does it not, beyond the +turn? I think I will let you go up to the house alone, Philip, and I +will go down to the boat-house myself. I will ride back presently." + +"Well, then, I will go with you," said Philip. "I really think you are +too weak, you know, especially after our long ride to-day, to go alone." + +"No, Philip," said Seymour, gently, "I wish to be alone for a few +moments." + +The boy hesitated. + +"Oh, very well," he said, beginning to understand, "I will sit down +here on this tree by the road and wait for you. I 'll tie my horse, +and you can leave yours here also, if you wish. There is nothing at +the Hall, God knows, to make me hurry up there now, since father and +Katharine are gone," he continued with a sigh. "Go on, sir, I'll wait. +You won't mind my waiting?" + +"No, certainly not, if you wish it I shall be back in a few minutes +anyway. I just want to see the--the--ah--boathouse, you know." + +"Yes, certainly, I understand, of course," replied Philip, bluntly, but +carefully looking away, and then dismounting from his tired horse and +assisting Seymour to do the same from his. + +"Poor old fellow!" he murmured, as he saw the man walk haltingly and +painfully up the road and disappear around the little bend. + +Left to himself Seymour stumbled alone along the familiar road over +which a few short months before he had often travelled light-heartedly +by the side of Katharine. As he pressed on, he noticed a man leave the +boat-house and climb slowly up the hill. Desirous of escaping the +notice of the stranger, who, he supposed, might be the factor or agent +of the plantation, he waited in the shadow of the trees until the man +disappeared over the brow of the hill, and then he staggered on. A +short time after, he stood on the landward end of the little pier, and +then his heart stood still for a second, and then leaped madly in his +breast, as he seemed to hear a subtle voice, like an echo of the past, +which whispered his name, "Seymour! Seymour!" Stepping toward the +middle of the pier so that he could see the interior of the boat-house +through the inner door, his eyes fell upon the figure of a woman +standing in the other doorway looking out over the water, stretching +out her hands. The sun had set by this time, and the gray dusk of the +evening was stealing over the river. He could not see distinctly, but +there was light enough to show him a familiar scarlet cloak at her +feet, and although her back was turned to him, he recognized the +graceful outlines of her slender figure. It was Katharine, or a dream! +But could the dead return again? Had the sea given up her dead indeed? + +He could not believe the evidence of his bewildered senses. It might +be an hallucination, the baseless fabric of a vision, some image +conjured from the deep recesses of his loving heart by his enfeebled +disordered imagination, and yet he surely had heard a living voice, +"Seymour--John--Oh, my love!" Stifling the beating of his heart, +holding his breath even, stepping softly, lest he should affright the +airy vision, he staggered to the door and stood gazing; then he +whispered one word,-- + +"Katharine!" + +It was only a whisper she heard, but it reached the very centre of her +being. + +"Katharine," he said softly again, with so much passionate entreaty in +his wistful voice, that under its compelling influence she slowly +turned and looked toward the other door from whence the sound had come. +Then as she saw him, lifting one hand to her head while the other +unconsciously sought her heart, she shrank back against the wall, and +stared at him in voiceless terror. He dropped unsteadily to his knee, +as if to worship at a shrine. + +"Oh, do not go away," he whispered. "I know it is only a dream of +mine--so many times have I seen you, ever since the night the frigate +struck and I sent you to your death on that rocky pass, in that beating +sea. Ay, in the long hours of the fever--but you did not shrink away +from me then, you listened to me say I love you, and you answered." He +stretched out his hand toward her in tender appeal. She bent forward +toward him. He rose to his feet, half in terror. + +"Kate," he said uncertainly, "is it indeed you? Are you alive again?" + +She was nearer now. One glad cry broke from her lips; he was in her +arms again, and she was clasped to his heart!--a real woman and no +dream, no vision. What the wind could only faintly shadow forth upon +her cheek, sprang into life under the touch of his fevered lips, and +color flooded them like a wave. Laughing, crying, sobbing, she clung +to him, kissed him with little incoherent murmurs, gazed at him, wept +over him, kissed him again. All the troubles of the intervening days +of sadness and privation faded away from her like a disused chrysalis, +and she sparkled with life and love like a butterfly new born. + +He that was dead was alive again, he had come back, and he was here! +As for him, in fearful surprise, he held her to his breast once more, +still unbelieving. She noticed then an empty sleeve, and raised it +tenderly to her lips. + +"I lost it after an action with the British ship Yarmouth,--it was only +a flesh wound at first,--we were long in reaching Charleston; the arm +had to be amputated. It was a fearful action." + +"I know it," she interrupted; "I was there." + +"You, Katharine! Ah, that woman on the ship! I was not deceived then, +and yet I could not believe it." + +"Yes, 'twas I. I gloried in your bravery, until I saw you lying, as I +thought, dead on the deck. Oh, John, the horror of that moment! Then +I called you, and you did not answer. Then I wanted to die, too, but +now I am alive again, and so happy--but for this;" she lifted the empty +sleeve to her lips. "How you must have suffered, my poor darling," she +went on, her eyes filling with tears, her heart yearning over him. +"And how ill you look, and I keep you standing here,--how thoughtless! +Come to the bench here and sit down. Lean on me." + +"Nay, but, Kate, you too have suffered. See!" He lifted her arm, the +loose sleeve fell back. "Oh, how thin it is, and how smooth and round +and plump it was when I kissed it last," he said, as he raised it +tenderly again to his lips. + +"It is nothing, John. I shall be all right now that you are here. You +poor shattered lover, how you must have suffered!" she went on, with a +sob in her voice. + +"Oh, Katharine, this," looking down at his empty sleeve, "was nothing +to what I suffered before, when I thought I had killed you!" + +"When you thought you had killed me!" she said in surprise. They were +sitting close together now, and she had his hand in both her own. +"How--when, was that?" + +And then he told her rapidly about the loss of the Radnor, and the idea +which her note had given that she was on board of it. + +"And you led that ship down to destruction, believing I was on her! +How could you do it, John?" she said reproachfully. + +"It was my duty, darling Kate," he said desperately. + +"And did you love your duty more than me?" + +"Love it? I hated it! But I had to do it, dearest," he went on +pleadingly. "Honor--you told me so yourself, here, in this very spot; +I remember your words; do you not recall them?--'If I stood in the +pathway of liberty for a single instant I should despise the man who +would not sweep me aside without a moment's hesitation.' Don't you +know you said that, Katharine?" + +"Did I say it? Ah, but that was before I loved you so, and you swept +me aside,--well, I love you still, and, John, I honor you for it too; +but I could not do it. You see, I am only a woman." + +"Kate, don't say 'only a woman' that way; what else would I have you, +pray? But tell me of yourself." + +Briefly she recited the events that had occurred to her, dwelling much +upon Desborough's courage and devotion to her in the first days of her +captivity, the death of Johnson, the burning of Norfolk, the death of +Bentley. He interrupted her there, and would fain hear every detail of +the sad scene over again, thanking her and blessing her for what she +had done. + +"It was nothing," she said simply; "I loved to do it; he was your +friend. It seemed to bring me closer to you." Then she told him of +the foundering of the ship, of the frightful voyage in the boat, and +rang the changes upon Desborough's name, his cheerfulness, his +unfailing zeal and energy, until Seymour's heart filled with jealous +pain. + +"Kate," he said at last, "as I came up the road I saw a man leave the +boat-house and climb the hill; who was it?" + +"It was Lord Desborough, John." + +Seymour was human, and filled with human feeling. He drew away from +her. + +"What was he doing here?" he said coldly. She smiled at him merrily. + +"Bidding me good-by. He was made prisoner, of course, by the first +soldier we came across after we landed, and has been spending the days +of his captivity with us. He was exchanged to-day, and leaves +to-night." + +"Katharine, he was in love with you!" he said, with what seemed to him +marvellous perspicacity. + +"Yes, John," she answered, still smiling. + +"Was he making love to you here?" + +"Yes." + +"And you? You praise this man, you like him, you--" + +"I think him the bravest man, the truest gentleman in the world--except +this one," she said, laying her hand upon his shoulder and her head +upon his breast. "No, no; he pleaded in vain. I only pitied him; I +loved you. Do not be jealous, foolish boy. No one should have me. I +am yours alone." + +"But if I had not come back, Kate,--how then?" + +"It would have made no difference. I told him so." + +Neither of them in their mutual absorption had noticed that a horse had +stopped in the road opposite the boat-house, and a horseman had walked +to the door and had halted at the sight which met his eyes. Desborough +recognized Seymour at once, and he had unwittingly heard the end of the +conversation. He was the second. The man was back again. It was +true. The gallant gentleman stood still a moment, making no sound, +then turned back and mounted his horse, and rode madly away with +despair in his heart. + +"Oh, Katharine," Seymour said at last, "do you know that I am a poor +man now? Lame! See, I can no longer walk straight." He stood up. +"Poor surgery after the battle did that." + +"The more reason that in the future you should not go alone," she said +softly, standing by his side. + +"And with but one arm," he continued. + +"No, three," she said again, "for here are two." + +"Besides, my trading ships have been captured by the enemy, my private +fortune has been spent for the cause. I am a poor man in every sense." + +"Nay, John, you are a rich man," she said gayly. + +"Oh, yes, rich in your love, Katharine." + +"Yes, that of course, if that be riches, and richer in honor too; but +that's not all." + +"What else pray, dearest?" + +"Did you know that Madam Talbot had died?" she answered, with apparent +irrelevance. + +"No, but I am not surprised at it. After her son's death I expected +it, poor lady. He loved you too, Kate. We fought about you once," he +said; and then he told her briefly of Talbot's end, his burial, the +interview he had with Talbot's mother, and the letter. + +"I have seen that letter since I returned," she said. "It is at +Fairview Hall now awaiting you, awaiting its master like the other +things there,--and here. Shall we live there, think you, John?" + +"Awaiting me! Its master! Live there! What mean you, Kate?" he cried +in surprise. + +"Yes, yes, it is all yours," she replied, laughing at his astonishment. +"A codicil to her will, written and signed the day before she died, the +day after you saw her, left it all to you. It was to have been her +son's and then mine; and when she believed us dead, as she had no +relatives in this land she left it to you, 'As,' I quote her own words, +'a true and noble gentleman who honors any cause, however mistaken, to +which he may give his allegiance.' I quote them, but they are my own +words as well. You are a rich man, John, and the two estates will come +together as father and Madam Talbot had hoped, after all." + +"I am glad, Kate, for your sake." + +"It is nothing. I should have taken you, if you had nothing at all." + +A young man ran down the little pier and into the house at this moment. +"Kate," he cried, "where are you? It is so dark here I can hardly +see-- Ah, there you are!" he ran forward and kissed her boisterously. +"You 'll have to forgive me, I could not wait any longer, Captain +Seymour. Father rode down the hill after Lord Desborough galloped by +me, and met me there, waiting. Oh, I was so glad to know you were +alive again! We felt like a pair of murderers, did n't we, Captain +Seymour? Father told me you were here, Kate, and then we waited until +now, to give you a little time, and then I could n't stand it any +longer, I had to see you. Father's coming too, but I ran ahead." + +"Why, Philip," cried Kate, as soon as he gave her an opportunity, +kissing him again and laughing light-heartedly as she has not done for +days, "how you have grown! You are quite a man now." + +"It is entirely due to Philip, Katharine, that I am here," said +Seymour. "He commanded the little brig which ran down to the Yarmouth +at the risk of destruction, and picked me up. Disobeyed orders too, +the young rogue. He brought me into Charleston, nursed me like a +woman, and then brought me here. I should have died without him." + +"Oh, Philip," said the delighted girl, kissing the proud and happy +youngster with more warmth than he had ever known before, "promise me +always to disobey your orders. How can I thank you!" + +"Very bad advice that. Promise nothing of the kind, Philip; but what +are you thanking him for, Kate?" said the cheery voice of the colonel +as he came in the door. + +"Thanking him for Seymour, father." + +"Ah, my boy," said the colonel, grasping his hand, "you don't know how +glad I am to see you. It is like one returning from the dead. But it +is late and cold and quite dark. Supper is ready, let us go up to the +Hall. I shall see the Naval Commissioners in a few days, Seymour, and +get you another and a better ship. The country is full of your action; +they 've struck a medal for you and voted you prize money and thanks, +and all that. I make no doubt I can get you the best ship there is on +the ways, or planned. 'T was a most heroic action--" + +"Not now, father," said Katharine, jealously, throwing her arm about +her lover. "He shall not, cannot, go now; he must have rest for a long +time, and he must have me! We are to be married as soon as he is well, +and the country must wait. Is it not so, John?" + +"What's that?" said the colonel, pretending great surprise. + +"Sir," answered Seymour, nervously, "I have something to say to +you,--something I must say. Will you give me the privilege of a few +moments' conversation with you?" + +"Seymour," said the colonel, smiling, "you asked me that once before, +did you not?" + +"Yes, sir, I believe so." + +"And I answered you--how?" + +"Why, you said, if my memory serves me, that you--" + +"Exactly, that I would see you after supper, and so I will. Come, +children, let us go in; this time I warrant you there will be no +interruptions." + +The father and son turned considerately and walked away, leaving the +two lovers to follow. + +"You won't leave me, John, will you, now that you have just come back?" + +"No, Kate, not now; I am good for nothing until I get strong." + +"Good for me, though; but when you do get strong?" + +"Then, if my country needs me, dearest, I shall have to go. But I fear +there will be no more ships of ours to get to sea, the blockade is +getting more strict every day. I can be a soldier, though. No, Kate, +do not beg me. My duty to my country constrains me." + +"Don't talk about it now, then, John. At least I shall have you for a +long time; it will be long before you are well again." + +"Yes, I fear so," he said with a sigh. + +"Why do you sigh, dearest?" + +"Because I want to stay with you, and I ought to welcome any +opportunity to enter active service. Think what old Bentley would say." + +"Old Bentley did not love you," she replied quickly, with a jealous +pang. + +"Ah, did he not!" said Seymour, softly. + +There was a long pause. + +"Well," said Katharine at last, "I suppose nothing will move you if +your duty calls you, but I warn you if you get killed again, I shall +die. I could not stand it another time," she cried piteously. + +"Well, dearest, I shall try to live for you. Now we must go to the +Hall." + +But, to anticipate, fate would be kinder toward Katharine in the future +than she had been in the past and it was many a day before her lover, +her husband rather, was able to get to sea; and, as if they had +suffered enough, he went through the rest of the war on land and sea +scatheless, and was one of those who stood beside the great commander +before the trenches of Yorktown, when the British soldiers laid down +their arms. But this was all of the future, and now they turned +quietly and somewhat sadly to follow the others. + +This time it was Katharine who helped Seymour up the hill. Slowly, +hand in hand, they walked across the lawn, up the steps of the porch, +and toward the door of the Hall. The night had fallen, and the house +was filled with a soft light from the wax candles. They paused a +moment on the threshhold; Katharine resolutely mastered her fears and +resolved to be happy in the present, then, heedless of all who might +see, she kissed him. + +"Home at last, John," she said, beaming upon him. And there, with the +dark behind, and the light before, we may say good-by to them. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's For Love of Country, by Cyrus Townsend Brady + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY *** + +***** This file should be named 20791-8.txt or 20791-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/7/9/20791/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/20791-8.zip b/20791-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e2dd67a --- /dev/null +++ b/20791-8.zip diff --git a/20791.txt b/20791.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a16498 --- /dev/null +++ b/20791.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10153 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of For Love of Country, by Cyrus Townsend Brady + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: For Love of Country + A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution + +Author: Cyrus Townsend Brady + +Release Date: March 10, 2007 [EBook #20791] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +For Love of Country + + +_A Story of Land and Sea in the Days of the Revolution_ + + +BY + +CYRUS TOWNSEND BRADY + + + + +AUTHOR OF "THE GRIP OF HONOR," "FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE SEA," ETC. + + + + +NEW YORK + +CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + +1908 + + + + +Copyright, 1898, + +BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS + + +_All rights reserved._ + + + + +TO THE + +Society of the Sons of the Revolution, + + + _And those kindred organizations whose chief function is to + cultivate a spirit of patriotism and love of country + in the present by recalling the struggles and + sacrifices of the past._ + + + + +PREFACE + +Since the action of this story falls during the periods, and the book +deals with personages and incidents, which are usually treated of in +the more serious pages of history, it is proper that some brief word of +explanation should be written by which I might confirm some of the +romantic happenings hereafter related, which to the casual reader may +appear to draw too heavily upon his credulity for acceptance. + +The action between the Randolph and the Yarmouth really happened, the +smaller ship did engage the greater for the indicated purpose, much as +I have told it; and if I have ventured to substitute another name for +that of the gallant sailor and daring hero, Captain Nicholas Biddle, +who commanded the little Randolph, and lost his life, on that occasion, +I trust this paragraph may be considered as making ample amends. The +remarkable fight between those two ships is worthy of more extended +notice than has hitherto been given it, in any but the larger tones +(and not even in some of those) of the time. As far as my information +permits me to say, there never was a more heroic battle on the seas. + +Again, it is evident to students of history that the character of +Washington has not been properly understood hitherto, by the very +people who revere his name, though the excellent books of Messrs. Ford, +Wilson, Lodge, Fiske, and others are doing much to destroy the popular +canonization which made of the man a saint; in defence of my +characterization of him I am able to say that the incidents and +anecdotes and most of the conversations in which he appears are +absolutely historical. + +If I have dwelt too long and too circumstantially upon the Trenton and +Princeton campaigns for a book so light in character as is this one, it +may be set down to an ardent admiration for Washington as man and +soldier, and a design again to exhibit him as he was at one of the most +critical and brilliant points of his career. Furthermore, I find that +the school and other histories commonly accessible to ordinary people +are not sufficiently awake to the importance and brilliancy of the +campaign, and I cherish the hope that this book may serve, in some +measure, to establish its value. + +I have freely used all the histories and narratives to which I had +access, without hesitation; and if I have anticipated a distinguished +arrival, or hastened the departure of a ship, or altered the date of a +naval battle, or changed its scene, I plead the example of the +distinguished masters of fiction, to warrant me. + +In closing I cannot refrain from thanking those who have so kindly +assisted me with advice and correction during the writing of this story +and the reading of the proof, especially the Rev. A. J. P. McClure. + +C. T. B. + +PHILADELPHIA, PENNA., + _November_, 1897. + + + + +Contents + + +Book I + +THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT + +CHAPTER + + I KATHARINE YIELDS HER INDEPENDENCE + II THE COUNTRY FIRST OF ALL + III COLONEL WILTON + IV LORD DUNMORE'S MEN PAY AN EVENING CALL + V A TIMELY INTERFERENCE + VI A FAITHFUL SUBJECT OF HIS MAJESTY + VII THE LOYAL TALBOTS + VIII AN UNTOLD STORY + IX BENTLEY'S PRAYER + X A SOLDIER'S EPITAPH + + +Book II + +KNIGHTS ERRANT OF THE SEA + + XI CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL JONES + XII AN IMPORTANT COMMISSION + XIII A CLEVER STRATAGEM + XIV A SURPRISE FOR THE JUNO + XV CHASED BY A FRIGATE + XVI 'TWIXT LOVE AND DUTY + XVII AN INCIDENTAL PASSAGE AT ARMS + XVIII DUTY WINS THE GAME + + +Book III + +THE LION AT BAY + + XIX THE PORT OF PHILADELPHIA + XX A WINTER CAMP + XXI THE BOATSWAIN TELLS THE STORY + XXII WASHINGTON--A MAN WITH HUMAN PASSIONS + XXIII LIEUTENANT MARTIN'S LESSON + XXIV CROSSING THE DELAWARE + XXV TRENTON--THE LION STRIKES + XXVI MY LORD CORNWALLIS + XXVII THE LION TURNS FOX + XXVIII THE BRITISH PLAY "TAPS" + XXIX THE LAST OF THE TALBOTS + + +Book IV + +A DEATH GRAPPLE ON THE DEEP + + XXX A SAILOR'S OPINION OF THE LAND + XXXI SEYMOUR'S DESPERATE RESOLUTION + XXXII THE PRISONERS ON THE YARMOUTH + XXXIII TWO PROPOSALS + XXXIV CAPTAIN VINCENT MYSTIFIED + XXXV BENTLEY SAYS GOOD-BY + XXXVI THE LAST OF THE RANDOLPH + XXXVII FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY + XXXVIII PHILIP DISOBEYS ORDERS + XXXIX THREE PICTURES OF THE SEA. + + + +Book V + +THE DEAD ALIVE AGAIN + + XL A FINAL APPEAL + XLI INTO THE HAVEN AT LAST + + + + +BOOK I + +THE EVENTS OF A NIGHT + + +For Love of Country + +CHAPTER I + +_Katharine Yields her Independence_ + +If Seymour could have voiced his thought, he would have said that the +earth itself did not afford a fairer picture than that which lay within +the level radius of his vision, and which had imprinted itself so +powerfully upon his impressionable and youthful heart. It was not the +scenery of Virginia either, the landscape on the Potomac, of which he +would have spoken so enthusiastically, though even that were a thing +not to be disdained by such a lover of the beautiful as Seymour had +shown himself to be,--the dry brown hills rising in swelling slopes +from the edge of the wide quiet river; the bare and leafless trees upon +their crests, now scarce veiling the comfortable old white house, which +in the summer they quite concealed beneath their masses of foliage; and +all the world lying dreamy and calm and still, in the motionless haze +of one of those rare seasons in November which so suggests departed +days that men name it summer again. For all that he then saw in nature +was but a setting for a woman; even the sun itself, low in the west, +robbed of its glory, and faded into a dull red ball seeking to hide its +head, but served to throw into high relief the noble and beautiful face +of the girl upon whom he gazed,--the girl who was sun and life and +light and world for him. + +The most confirmed misogynist would have found it difficult to +challenge her claim to beauty; and yet it would require a more severe +critic or a sterner analyst than a lover would be likely to prove, to +say in just what point could be found that which would justify the +claim. Was it in the mass of light wavy brown hair, springing from a +low point on her forehead and gently rippling back, which she wore +plaited and tied with a ribbon and destitute of powder? How sweetly +simple it looked to him after the bepowdered and betowered misses of +the town with whom he was most acquainted! Was it in the broad low +brow, or the brown, almost black eyes which laughed beneath it; or the +very fair complexion, which seemed to him a strangely delightful and +unusual combination? Or was it in the perfection of a faultless, if +somewhat slender and still undeveloped figure, half concealed by the +vivid "Cardinal" cloak she wore, which one little hand held loosely +together about her, while the other dabbled in the water by her side? + +Be this as it may, the whole impression she produced was one which +charmed and fascinated to the last degree, and Mistress Katharine +Wilton's sway among the young men of the colony was-well-nigh +undisputed. A toast and a belle in half Virginia, Seymour was not the +first, nor was he destined to be the last, of her adorers. + +The strong, steady, practised stroke, denoting the accomplished +oarsman, with which he had urged the little boat through the water, had +given way to an idle and purposeless drift. He longed to cast himself +down before the little feet, in their smart high-heeled buckled shoes +and clocked stockings, which peeped out at him from under her +embroidered camlet petticoat in such a maliciously coquettish manner; +he longed to kneel down there in the skiff, at the imminent risk of +spoiling his own gay attire, and declare the passion which consumed +him; but something--he did not know what it was, and she did not tell +him--constrained him, and he sat still, and felt himself as far away as +if she had been in the stars. + +In his way he was quite as good to look at as the young maiden; tall, +blond, stalwart, blue-eyed, pleasant-featured, with the frank engaging +air which seems to belong to those who go down to the sea in ships, +Lieutenant John Seymour Seymour was an excellent specimen of that +hardy, daring, gallant class of men who in this war and in the next +were to shed such imperishable lustre upon American arms by their +exploits in the naval service. Born of an old and distinguished +Philadelphia family, so proud of its name that in his instance they had +doubled it, the usual bluntness and roughness of the sea were tempered +by this gentle birth and breeding, and by frequent attrition with men +and women of the politest society of the largest and most important +city of the colonies. Offering his services as soon as the news of +Lexington precipitated the conflict with the mother country, he had +already made his name known among that gallant band of seamen among +whom Jones, Biddle, Dale, and Conyngham were pre-eminent. + +The delicious silence which he had been unwilling to break, since it +permitted him to gaze undisturbed upon his fair shipmate, was +terminated at last by that lady herself. + +She looked up from the water with which she had been playing, and then +appearing to notice for the first time his steady ardent gaze, she +laughed lightly and said,-- + +"Well, sir, it grows late. When you have finished contemplating the +scenery, perhaps you will turn the boat, and take me home; then you can +feast your eyes upon something more attractive." + +"And what is that, pray?" he asked. + +"Your supper, sir. You must be very anxious for it by this time, and +really you know you look quite hungry. We have been out so long; but I +will have pity on you, and detain you no longer here. Turn the boat +around, Lieutenant Seymour, and put me on shore at once. I will stand +between no man and his dinner." + +"Hungry? Yes, I am, but not for dinner,--for you, Mistress Katharine," +he replied. + +"Oh, what a horrid appetite! I don't feel safe in the boat with you. +Are you very hungry?" + +"Really, Miss Wilton, I am not jesting at all," he said with immense +dignity. + +"Oh! oh! He is in earnest. Shall I scream? No use; we are a mile +from the house, at least." + +"Oh, Miss Wilton--Katharine," he replied desperately, "I am devoured by +my--" + +"Lieutenant Seymour!" She drew herself up with great hauteur, letting +the cloak drop about her waist. + +"Madam!" + +"Only my friends call me Katharine." + +"And am I not, may I not be, one of your friends?" + +"Well, yes--I suppose so; but you are so young." + +"I am just twenty-seven, madam, and you, I suppose, are--" + +"Never be ungallant enough to suppose a young lady's age. You may do +those things in Philadelphia, if you like, but 't is not the custom +here. Besides, I mean too young a friend; you have not known me long +enough, that is." + +"Long enough! I have known you ever since Tuesday of last week." + +"And this is Friday,--just ten days, ten long days!" she replied +triumphantly. + +"Long days!" he cried. "Very short ones, for me." + +"Long or short, sir, do you think you can know me in that period? Is +it possible I am so easily fathomed?" she went on, smiling. + +Now it is ill making love in a rowboat at best, and when one is in +earnest and the other jests it is well-nigh impossible; so to these +remarks Lieutenant Seymour made no further answer, save viciously to +ply the oars and drive the boat rapidly toward the landing. + +Miss Katharine gazed vacantly about the familiar river upon whose banks +she had been born and bred, and, finally noticing the sun had gone +down, closing the short day, she once more drew her cloak closely about +her and resumed the neglected conversation. + +"Won't you please stop looking at me in that manner, and won't you +please row harder, or is your strength all centred in your gaze?" + +"I am rowing as fast as I can, Miss Wilton, especially with this--" + +"Oh, I forgot your wounded shoulder! Does it hurt? Does it pain you? +I am so sorry. Let me row." + +"Thank you, no. I think I can manage it myself. The only pain I have +is when you are unkind to me." + +At that moment, to his great annoyance, his oar stuck fast in the +oar-lock, and he straightway did that very unsailorly thing known as +catching a crab. + +Katharine Wilton laughed. There was music in her voice, but this time +it did not awaken a responsive chord in the young man. Extricating his +oar violently, he silently resumed his work. + +"Do you like crabs, Mr. Seymour?" she said with apparent irrelevance. + +"I don't like catching them, Miss Wilton," he admitted ruefully. + +"Oh, I mean eating them! We were talking about your appetite, were we +not? Well, Dinah devils them deliciously. I 'll have some done for +you," she continued with suspicious innocence. + +Seymour groaned in spirit at her perversity, and for the first time in +his life felt an intense sympathy with devilled crabs; but he continued +his labor in silence and with great dignity. + +"What am I to infer from your silence on this important subject, sir? +The subject of edibles, which everybody says is of the first +importance--to men--does not appear to interest you at all!" + +He made no further reply. + +The young girl gazed at his pale face at first in much amusement; but +the laughter gradually died away, and finally her glance fell to the +water by her side. A few strong strokes, strong enough, in spite of a +wounded shoulder, to indicate wrathful purpose and sudden determination +to the astute maiden, and the little boat swung in beside the wharf. +Throwing the oars inboard with easy skill, Seymour sat motionless while +the boat glided swiftly down toward the landing-steps, and the silence +was broken only by the soft, delicious lip, lip, lip of the water, +which seemed to cling to and caress the bow of the skiff until it +finally came to rest. The man waited until the girl looked up at him. +She saw in his resolute mien the outward and visible sign of his inward +determination, and she realized that the game so bravely and piquantly +played since she met him was lost. They had nearly arrived at the +foregone conclusion. + +"Well, Mr. Seymour," she said finally, "we are here at last; for what +are you waiting?" + +"Waiting for you." + +"For me?" + +"Ay, only for you." + +"I--I--do not understand you." + +"You understand nothing apparently, but I will explain." He stepped +out on the landing-stage, and after taking a turn or two with the +painter to secure the boat, he turned toward his captive with a +ceremonious bow. + +"Permit me to help you ashore." + +"Oh, thank you, Lieutenant Seymour; if I only could, in this little +boat, I would courtesy in return for that effort," she answered with +tremulous and transparent bravery. But when the little palm met his +own brown one, it seemed to steal away some of the bitterness of the +moment. After he had assisted her upon the shore and up the steps into +the boathouse, he held her hand tight within his own, and with that +promptitude which characterized him he made the plunge. + +"Oh, Miss Wilton--Katharine--it is true I have known you only a little +while, but all that time--ever since I saw you, in fact, and even +before, when your father showed me your picture--I have loved you. +Nay, hear me out." There was an unusual sternness in his voice. My +lord appeared to be in the imperative mood,--something to which she had +not been accustomed. He meant to be heard, and with beating heart +perforce she listened. "Quiet that spirit of mockery but a moment, and +attend my words, I pray you. No, I will not release you until I have +spoken. These are troublous times. I may leave at any moment--must +leave when my orders come, and I expect them every day, and before I go +I must tell you this." + +Her downcast eyes could still see him blush and then pale a little +under the sunburn and windburn of his face, as he went on speaking. + +"I have no one; never had I a sister, I can remember no mother; believe +me, I entreat you, when I tell you that to no woman have I ever said +what I have just said to you. We sailors think and speak and act +quickly, it is a part of our profession; but if I should wait for years +I should think no differently and act in no other way. I love you! +Oh, Katharine, I love you as my soul." + +There was a note of passion in his voice which thrilled her heart with +ecstasy; the others had not made love this way. + +"You seem to me like that star I have often watched in the long hours +of the night, which has shown me the way on many a trackless sea. I +know I am as far beneath you as I am beneath that star. But though the +distance is great, my love can bridge it, if you will let me try. +Katharine--won't you answer me, Katharine? Is there nothing you can +say to me? 'Dost thou love me, Kate?'" he quoted softly, taking her +other hand. How very fair, but how very far away she looked! The +color came and went in her cheek. He could see her breast rise and +fall under the mad beating of a heart which had escaped her control, +though hitherto she had found no difficulty in keeping it well in hand. +There was a novelty, a difference, in the situation this time, a new +and unexpected element in the event. She hesitated. Why was it no +merry quip came to the lips usually so ready with repartee? Alas, she +must answer. + +"I--I--oh, Mr. Seymour," she said softly and slowly, with a downcast +face she fain would hide, he fain would see. "I--yes," she murmured +with great reluctance; "that is--I think so. You see, when you +defended father, in the fight with the brig, you know, and got that +bullet in your shoulder you earned a title to my gratitude, my--" + +"I don't want a title to your gratitude," he interrupted. "I want your +love, I want you to love me for myself alone." + +"And do you think you are worthy that I should?" she replied with a +shadow of her former archness. + +He gravely bent his head and kissed her hand. "No, Katharine, I do +not. I can lay no claim to your hand, if it is to be a reward of +merit, but I love you so--that is the substance of my hope." + +"Oh, Mr. Seymour, Mr. Seymour, you overvalue me. If you do that with +all your possessions, you will be-- Oh, what have I said?" she cried +in sudden alarm, as he took her in his arms. + +"My possessions! Katharine, may I then count you so? Oh, Kate, my +lovely Kate--" It was over, and over as she would have it; why +struggle any longer? The landing was a lonely little spot under the +summer-house, at the end of the wharf; no one could see what happened. +This time it was not her hand he kissed. The day died away in +twilight, but for those two a new day began. + +The army might starve and die, battles be lost or won, dynasties rise +and fall, kingdoms wax and wane, causes tremble in the balances,--what +of that? They looked at each other and forgot the world. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +_The Country First of All_ + +"Oh, what is the hour, Mr.--John? Shall I call you Seymour? That is +your second name, is it not? But what would people say? I-- No, no, +not again; we really must go in. See! I am not dressed for the +evening yet. Supper will be ready. Now, Lieutenant Seymour, you must +let me go. What will my father think of us? Come, then. Your hand, +sir." + +The hill from the boat-landing was steep, but Mistress Kate had often +run like a young deer to the top of it without appreciating its +difficulties as she did that evening. On every stepping-stone, each +steep ascent, she lingered, in spite of her expressed desire for haste, +and each time his strong and steady arm was at her service. She tasted +to the full and for the first time the sweets of loving dependence. + +As for him, an admiral of the fleet after a victory could not have been +prouder and happier. As any other man would have done, he embraced or +improved the opportunity afforded him by their journey up the hill, to +urge the old commonplace that he would so assist her up the hill of +life! And so on. The iterations of love never grow stale to a lover, +and the saying was not so trite to her that it failed to give her the +little thrill of loving joy which seemed, for the moment at least, to +tame her restless spirit, that spirit of subtle yet merry mockery which +charmed yet drove him mad. She was so unwontedly quiet and subdued +that he stopped at the brow of the hill, and said, half in alarm, +"Katharine, why so silent?" + +She looked at him gravely; a new light, not of laughter, in her brown +eyes, saying in answer to his unspoken thought: "I was thinking of what +you said about your orders. Oh, if they should come to-day, and you +should go away on your ship and be shot at again and perhaps wounded, +what should I do?" + +"Nonsense, Katharine dear, I am not going to be wounded any more. I +'ve something to live for now, you see," he replied, smiling, taking +both of her hands in his own. + +"You always had something to live for, even before--you had me." + +"And what was that, pray?" + +"Your country." + +"Yes," he replied proudly, taking off his laced hat, "and liberty; but +you go together in my heart now, Kate,--you and country." + +"Don't say that, John--well, Seymour, then--say 'country and you.' I +would give you up for that, but only for that." + +"You would do well, Katharine; our country first. Since we have +engaged in this war, we must succeed. I fancy that more depends, and I +only agree with your father there, upon the issue of this war than men +dream of, and that the battle of liberty for the future man is being +fought right here and now. Unless our people are willing to sacrifice +everything, we cannot maintain that glorious independence which has +been so brilliantly declared." He said this with all the boldness of +the Declaration itself; but she, being yet a woman, asked him +wistfully,-- + +"Would you give me up, sacrifice me for country, then?" + +"Not for the whole wide--" She laid a finger upon his lips. + +"Hush, hush! Do not even speak treason to the creed. I am a daughter +of Virginia. My father, my brother, my friends, my people, and, yes, I +will say it, my lover are perilling their lives and have engaged their +honor in this contest for the independence of these colonies, for the +cause of this people, and the safeguarding of their liberties; and if I +stood in the pathway of liberty for a single instant, I should despise +the man who would not sweep me aside without a moment's hesitation." +She spoke with a pride and spirit which equalled his own, her head high +in the air, and her eyes flashing. + +She had released her hands and had suited the gesture to the word, +throwing out her hand and arm with a movement of splendid freedom and +defiance. She was a woman of many moods and "infinite variety." Each +moment showed him something new to love. He caught the outstretched +hand,--the loose sleeve had fallen back from the wrist,--he pressed his +lips to the white arm, and said with all his soul in his voice,-- + +"May God prevent me from ever facing the necessity of a choice like +that, Katharine! But indeed it is spirit like yours which makes men +believe the cause is not wholly desperate. When our women can so speak +and feel, we may confidently expect the blessing of God upon our +efforts." + +"Father says that it is because General Washington knows the spirit of +the people, because he feels that even the youths and maidens, the +little children, cherish this feeling, he takes heart, and is confident +of ultimate success. I heard him say that no king could stand against +a united people." + +"Would that you could have been in Paris with your father when he +pleaded with King Louis and his ministers for aid and recognition! We +might have returned with a better answer than paltry money and a few +thousand stand of arms, which are only promised, after all." + +"Would that I were a man instead of being a weak, feeble woman!" she +exclaimed vehemently. + +"Ah, but I very much prefer you as you are, Katharine, and 't is not +little that you can do. You can inspire men with your own patriotism, +if you will. There, for instance, is your friend Talbot. If you could +persuade him, with his wealth and position and influence in this +country, to join the army in New Jersey--" As she shook her head, he +continued: + +"I am sure if he thought as I do of you, you could persuade him to +anything but treachery or dishonor." His calm smile of superiority +vanished in an expression of dismay at her reply,-- + +"Talbot! Hilary Talbot! Why, John, do you know that he is--well, they +say that he is in love with me. Everybody expects that we shall marry +some day. Do you see? These old estates join, and--" + +"Kate, it is n't true, is it? You don't care for him, do you?" he +interrupted in sudden alarm. + +"Care for him? Why, of course I care for him. I have known him ever +since I was a child; but I don't love him. Besides, he stays at home +while others are in the field. Silly boy, would I have let you kiss me +in the summer-house if it were so? No, sir! We are not such fine +ladies as your friends in the city of Philadelphia, perhaps, we +Virginia country girls upon whom your misses look with scorn, but no +man kisses us, and no man kisses me, upon the lips except the one +I--that I must--let me see--is the word 'obey'? Shall you make me obey +you all the time, John?" + +"Pshaw, Katharine, you never obey anybody,--so your father says, at +least,--and if you will only love me, that will be sufficient." + +"Love you!"--the night had fallen and no one was near--"love you, +John!" She kissed him bravely upon the lips. "Once, that's for me, my +own; twice, that's for my country; there is all my heart. Come, sir, +we must go in. There are lights in the house." + +"Ah, Katharine, and there is light in my heart too." + +As they came up the steps of the high pillared porch which completely +covered the face of the building, they were met, at the great door +which gave entrance to the spacious hallway extending through the +house, by a stately and gracious, if somewhat elderly gentleman. + +There was a striking similarity, if not in facial appearance, at least +in the erect carriage and free air, between him and the young girl who, +disregarding his outstretched hand and totally disorganizing his +ceremonious bow, threw her arms about his neck and kissed him with +unwonted warmth, much to his dismay and yet not altogether to his +displeasure. Perhaps he suspected something from the bright and happy +faces of the two young people; but if so, he made no comment, merely +telling them that supper had been waiting this long time, and bidding +them hasten their preparation for the meal. + +Katharine, followed by Chloe, her black maid, who had been waiting for +her, hastily ran up the stairs to her own apartments, upon this signal, +but turned upon the topmost stair and waved a kiss to the two gentlemen +who were watching her,--one with the dim eyes of an old father, the +other with the bright eyes of a young lover. + +"Colonel Wilton," exclaimed Seymour, impulsively, "I have something to +say to you,--something I must say." + +"Not now, my young friend," replied the colonel, genially. "Supper +will be served, nay, is served already, and only awaits you and +Katharine; afterward we shall have the whole evening, and you may say +what you will." + +"Oh, but, colonel--" + +"Nay, sir, do not lay upon me the unpleasant duty of commanding a +guest, when it is my privilege as host to entreat. Go, Mr. Seymour, +and make you ready. Katharine will return in a moment, and it does not +beseem gentlemen, much less officers, to keep a lady waiting, you know. +Philip and Bentley have gone fishing, and I am informed they will not +return until late. We will not wait for them." + +"As you wish, sir, but I must have some private conversation with you +as soon as possible." + +"After supper, my boy, after supper." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +_Colonel Wilton._ + +Left to himself for a moment, the colonel heaved a deep sigh; he had a +premonition of what was coming, and then paced slowly up and down the +long hall. + +He was attired, with all the splendor of an age in which the subject of +dress engrossed the attention of the wisest and best, in the height of +the prevailing mode, which his recent arrival from Paris, then as now +the mould of fashion, permitted him to determine. The soft light from +the wax candles in their sconces in the hall fell upon his thickly +powdered wig, ran in little ripples up and down the length of his +polished dress-sword, and sparkled in the brilliants in the buckles of +his shoes. His face was the grave face of a man accustomed from of old +not only to command, but to assume the responsibility of his orders; +when they were carried out, his manner was a happy mixture of the +haughty sternness of a soldier and the complacent suavity of the +courtier, tempered both by the spirit of frankness and geniality born +of the free life of a Virginia planter in colonial times. + +In his early youth he had been a soldier under Admiral Vernon, with his +old and long-deceased friend Lawrence Washington at Cartagena; later +on, he had served under Wolfe at Quebec. A visitor, and a welcome one +too, at half the courts of Europe, he looked the man of affairs he was; +in spite of his advanced age, he held himself as erect, and carried +himself as proudly as he had done on the Heights of Abraham or in the +court of St. Germain. + +Too old to incur the hardships of the field, Colonel Wilton had yet +offered his services, with the ardor of the youngest patriot, to his +country, and pledged his fortune, by no means inconsiderable, in its +support. The Congress, glad to avail themselves of the services of so +distinguished a man, had sent him, in company with Silas Deane and +Benjamin Franklin, as an embassy to the court of King Louis, bearing +proposals for an alliance and with a request for assistance during the +deadly struggle of the colonies with the hereditary foe of France. +They had been reasonably successful in a portion of their attempt, at +least; as the French government had agreed, though secretly, to furnish +arms and other munitions of war through a pseudo-mercantile firm which +was represented by M. de Beaumarchais, the gifted author of the comedy +"Le Mariage de Figaro." The French had also agreed to furnish a +limited amount of money; but, more important than all these, there were +hints and indications that if the American army could win any decisive +battle or maintain the unequal conflict for any length of time, an open +and closer alliance would be made. The envoys had despatched Colonel +Wilton, from their number, back to America to make a report of the +progress of their negotiations to Congress. This had been done, and +General Washington had been informed of the situation. + +The little ship, one of the gallant vessels of the nascent American +navy, in which Colonel Wilton had returned from France, had attacked +and captured a British brig of war during the return passage, and young +Seymour, who was the first lieutenant of the ship, was severely +wounded. The wound had been received through his efforts to protect +Colonel Wilton, who had incautiously joined the boarding-party which +had captured the brig. After the interview with Congress, Colonel +Wilton was requested to await further instructions before returning to +France, and, pending the result of the deliberations of Congress, after +a brief visit to the headquarters of his old friend and neighbor +General Washington, he had retired to his estate. As a special favor, +he was permitted to bring with him the wounded lieutenant, in order +that he might recuperate and recover from his wound in the pleasant +valleys of Virginia. That Seymour was willing to leave his own friends +in Philadelphia, with all their care and attention, was due entirely to +his desire to meet Miss Katharine Wilton, of whose beauty he had heard, +and whose portrait indeed, in her father's possession, which he had +seen before on the voyage, had borne out her reputation. Seymour had +been informed since his stay at the Wiltons' that he had been detached +from the brig Argus, and notified that he was to receive orders shortly +to report to the ship Ranger, commanded by a certain Captain John Paul +Jones; and he knew that he might expect his sailing orders at any +moment. He had improved, as has been seen, the days of his brief stay +to recover from one wound and receive another, and, as might have been +expected, he had fallen violently in love with Katharine Wilton. + +There were also staying at the house, besides the servants and slaves, +young Philip Wilton, Katharine's brother, a lad of sixteen, who had +just received a midshipman's warrant, and was to accompany Seymour when +he joined the Ranger, then outfitting at Philadelphia; and Bentley, an +old and veteran sailor, a boatswain's mate, who had accompanied Seymour +from ship to ship ever since the lieutenant was a midshipman,--a man +who had but one home, the sea; one hate, the English; one love, his +country; and one attachment, Seymour. + +Colonel Wilton was a widower. As Katharine came down the stairway, +clad in all the finery her father had brought back for her from Paris, +her hair rolled high and powdered, the old family diamonds with their +quaint setting of silver sparkling upon her snowy neck, her fan +languidly waving in her hand, she looked strikingly like a pictured +woman smiling down at them from over the mantel; but to the sweetness +and archness of her mother's laughing face were added some of the +colonel's pride, determination, and courage. He stepped to meet her, +and then bent and kissed the hand she extended toward him, with all the +grace of the old regime; and Seymour coming upon them was entranced +with the picture. + +He too had changed his attire, and now was clad in the becoming dress +of a naval lieutenant of the period. He wore a sword, of course, and a +dark blue uniform coat relieved with red facings, with a single epaulet +on his shoulder which denoted his official rank; his blond hair was +lightly touched with powder, and tied, after the fashion of active +service, in a queue with a black ribbon. + +"Now, Seymour, since you two truants have come at last, will you do me +the honor to hand Miss Wilton to the dining-room?" remarked the +colonel, straightening up. + +With a low bow, Seymour approached the object of his adoration, who, +after a sweeping courtesy, gave him her hand. With much state and +ceremony, preceded by one of the servants, who had been waiting in +attention in the hall, and followed by the colonel, and lastly by the +colonel's man, a stiff old campaigner who had been with him many years, +they entered the dining-room, which opened from the rear of the hall. + +The table was a mass of splendid plate, which sparkled under the soft +light of the wax candles in candelabra about the room or on the table, +and the simple meal was served with all the elegance and precision +which were habitual with the gentleman of as fine a school as Colonel +Wilton. + +At the table, instead of the light and airy talk which might have been +expected in the situation, the conversation assumed that grave and +serious tone which denoted the imminence of the emergency. + +The American troops had been severely defeated at Long Island in the +summer, and since that time had suffered a series of reverses, being +forced steadily back out of New York, after losing Fort Washington, and +down through the Jerseys, relentlessly pursued by Howe and Cornwallis. +Washington was now making his way slowly to the west bank of the +Delaware. He was losing men at every step, some by desertion, more by +the expiration of the terms of their enlistment. The news which +Colonel Wilton had brought threw a frail hope over the situation, but +ruin stared them in the face, and unless something decisive was soon +accomplished, the game would be lost. + +"Did you have a pleasant ride up the river, Katharine?" asked her +father. + +"Very, sir," she answered, blushing violently and looking involuntarily +at Seymour, who matched her blush with his own. + +There was a painful pause, which Seymour broke, coming to the rescue +with a counter question. + +"Did you notice that small sloop creeping up under the west bank of the +river, colonel, this evening? I should think she must be opposite the +house now, if the wind has held." + +"Why, when did you see her, Mr. Seymour? I thought you were looking +at--at--" She broke off in confusion, under her father's searching +gaze. He smiled, and said,-- + +"Ah, Katharine, trained eyes see all things unusual about them, +although they are apparently bent persistently upon one spot. Yes, +Seymour, I did notice it; if we were farther down the river, we might +suspect it of being an enemy, but up here I fancy even Dunmore's +malevolence would scarcely dare to follow." + +Katharine looked up in alarm. "Oh, father, do you think it is quite +safe? Chloe told me that Phoebus told her that the raiders had visited +Major Lithcomb's plantation, and you know that is not more than fifty +miles down the river from us. Would it not be well to take some +precaution?" + +"Tut, tut, child! gossip of the negro servants!" The colonel waved it +aside carelessly. "I hardly think we have anything to fear at present; +though what his lordship may do in the end, unless he is checked, I +hardly like to imagine." + +"But, father," persisted Katharine, "they said that Johnson was in +command of the party, and you know he hates you. You remember he said +he would get even with you if it cost him his life, when you had him +turned out of the club at Williamsburg." + +"Pshaw, Katharine, the wretch would not dare. It is a cowardly +blackguard, Seymour, whom I saw cheating at cards at the Assembly Club +at the capital. I had him expelled from the society of gentlemen, +where, indeed, he had no right of admittance, and I scarcely know how +he got there originally. He made some threats against me, to which I +naturally paid no attention. But what did you think of the vessel?" + +"I confess I saw nothing suspicious about her, sir," replied Seymour. +"She seemed very much like the packets which ply on the river; I only +spoke idly of the subject." + +"But, father, the packet went up last week, the day before you came +back, and is due coming down the river now, while this boat is coming +up," said Katharine. + +"Oh, well, I think we are safe enough now; but, to relieve your unusual +anxiety, I will send Blodgett down to the wharf to examine and +report.--Blodgett, do you go down to the boat-landing and keep watch +for an hour or two. Take your musket, man; there is no knowing what +you might need it for." + +The old soldier, who had stationed himself behind the colonel's chair, +saluted with military precision, and left the room, saying, "Very good, +sir; I shall let nothing escape my notice, sir." + +"Now, Katharine, I hope you are satisfied." + +"Yes, father; but if it is the raiders, Blodgett won't be able to stop +them." + +"The raiders," laughed the colonel; and pinching his daughter's ear, he +said, "I suspect the only raiders we shall see here will be those who +have designs upon your heart, my bonny Kate,--eh, Seymour?" + +"They would never dare to wear a British uniform in that case, father," +she retorted proudly. + +"Well, Seymour, I hear, through an express from Congress to-day, that +Captain Jones has been ordered to command the Ranger, and that the new +flag--we will drink to it, if you please; yes, you too, Katharine; God +bless every star and stripe in it--will soon be seen on the ocean." + +"It will be a rare sight there, sir," said Seymour; "but it will not be +long before the exploits of the Ranger will make it known on the high +seas, if rumor does not belie her captain." + +"I trust so; but do you know this Captain Jones?" + +"Not at all, sir, save by reputation; but I am told he has one +requisite for a successful officer." + +"And what is that?" + +"He will fight anything, at any time, or at any place, no matter what +the odds." + +Colonel Wilton smiled. "Ah, well, if it were not for men of that kind, +our little navy would never have a chance." + +"No, father, nor the army, either; if we waited for equality before +fighting, I am afraid we should wait forever." + +"True, Katharine. By the way, have you seen Talbot to-day?" + +"No, father." + +"I wish that we might enlist his services in the cause. I don't think +there is much doubt about Talbot himself, is there?" + +"No. It is his mother, you know; she is a loyalist to the core. As +were her ancestors, so is she." + +The colonel nodded gently; he had a soft spot in his heart for the +subject of their discussion. "With her teaching and training, I can +well understand it, Katharine. Proud, of high birth, descended from +the 'loyal Talbots,' and the widow of one of them, she cannot bear the +thought of rebellion against the king. I don't think she cares much +for the people, or their liberties either." + +"Yes, father; with her the creed is, the king can do no wrong." + +"Ah, well," said the colonel, reflectively, "I thought so too once, and +many is the blow I have struck for this same king. But liberty is +above royalty, independence not a dweller in the court; so, in my old +age, I find myself on a different side." He sipped his wine +thoughtfully a moment, and continued,-- + +"Madam Talbot has certainly striven to restrain the boy, and +successfully so far. He is a splendid fellow; I wish we had him. He +would be of great service to the cause, with his name and influence, +and the money he would bring; and then the quality of the young man +himself would be of value to us. You have met him, Seymour, I believe?" + +"Yes, sir, several times; and I agree with you entirely. It is his +mother who keeps him back. I have had one or two conversations with +her. She is a Tory through and through." + +"Not a doubt of it, not a doubt of it," said the colonel. "Katharine, +can't you do something with him?" + +"Oh, father, you know that I have talked with him, pleaded with him, +and begged him to follow his inclination; but he remains by his mother." + +"Nonsense, Katharine! Don't speak of him in that way; give him time. +It is a hard thing: he is her only son; she is a widow. Let us hope +that something will induce him to come over to us." He said this in +gentle reproof of his spirited daughter; and then,-- + +"Permit me to offer you a glass of wine, Seymour,--you are not drinking +anything; and to whom shall we drink?" + +Seymour, who had been quaffing deep draughts of Katharine's beauty, +replied promptly,-- + +"If I might suggest, sir, I should say Mistress Wilton." + +"No, no," said Katharine. "Drink, first of all, to the success of our +cause. I will give you a toast, gentlemen: Before our sweethearts, our +sisters, our wives, our mothers, let us place--our country," she +exclaimed, lifting her own glass. + +The colonel laughed as he drank his toast, saying, "Nothing comes +before country with Katharine." + +And Seymour, while he appreciated the spirit of the maiden, felt a +little pang of grief that even to a country he should be second,--an +astonishing change from that spirit of humility which a moment since +contented itself with metaphorically kissing the ground she walked upon. + +"By the way, father, where is Philip?" asked Katharine. + +"He went up the branch fishing, with Bentley, I believe." + +"But is n't it time they returned? Do you know, I feel nervous about +them; suppose those raiders--" + +"Pshaw, child! Still harping on the raiders? and nervous too! What +ails you, daughter? I thought you never were nervous. We Wiltons are +not accustomed to nervousness, you know, and what must our guest think?" + +"Nothing but what is altogether agreeable," replied Seymour, a little +too promptly; and then, to cover his confusion, he continued: "But I +think Miss Wilton need feel under no apprehension. Master Philip is +with Bentley, and I would trust the prudence and courage and skill of +that man in any situation. You know my father, who was a shipmaster, +when he died aboard his ship in the China seas, gave me, a little boy +taking a cruise with him, into Bentley's charge, and told him to make a +sailor and a man of me, and from that day he has never left me. At my +house, in Philadelphia, he is a privileged character. There never was +a truer, better, braver man; and as for patriotism, love of country is +a passion with him, colonel. He might set an example to many in higher +station in that particular." + +"Yes, I have noticed that peculiarity about the man. I think Philip is +safe enough with him, Katharine, even if those-- Ha! what is that?" +The colonel sprang to his feet, as the sound of a musket-shot rang out +in the night air, followed by one or two pistol-shots and then a +muffled cry. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +_Lord Dunmore's Men Pay an Evening Call_ + +"Oh, father, it must be the raiders! That was Blodgett's voice," cried +Katharine, looking very pale and clasping her hands. + +"Let me go and investigate, colonel," said Seymour, leaping to his feet +and seizing his sword. + +"Do so, Seymour," cried the colonel, as the sailor hastily left the +room. "Phoebus," to the butler, "go tell Caesar to call the slaves to +the house. You, Scipio," to one of the footmen, "go open the +arm-chest. Katharine, reach me my sword. See that the doors are +closed, Billy," said the colonel to the other servant, rapidly and with +perfect coolness. "I think, Katharine, that perhaps you would better +retire to your room;" but even as he spoke the sound of hurried +footsteps and excited voices outside was heard. After a few moments +one of the field-hands, followed by Seymour, burst panting into the +room, his mouth working with excitement and his eyes almost starting +from his head. + +"Well, sir, what is it?" said the colonel. + +"Foh de Lawd's sake, suh, dey'se a-comin', suh, dey'se a-comin'. +Dey'se right behin' me; dey'll be heah in a minute, suh." + +"Who is coming, you idiot!" exclaimed the colonel. + +"De redcoats, de British sojuhs, suh; dey 'se fohty boat-loads ob 'em; +dey'se come off fum de lil' sloop out in de ribah, and dey 'se gwine +kill we all, and bu'n de house down. Dey done shot Mars' Blodgett, and +dey'se coming heah special to get you, suh, Mars' Kunnel, kase I heahd +dem say, when I was lyin' down on de wha'f, dat de man dey wanted was +dat Kunnel Wilton." + +"It is quite true, sir; they seem to be a party of raiders of some +sort," said Seymour, coolly. "I fear that Blodgett has been killed, as +I heard nothing of him. I saw them from the brow of the hill. Perhaps +you may escape by the back way, though there is little time for that. +Do you take Miss Wilton and try it, sir; leave me to hold these men in +play." + +"Yes, yes, father," urged Katharine; "I know it must be Lord Dunmore's +men and Johnson. They know that you have come back from France, and +now the man wants to take you prisoner. You remember what the governor +told you at Williamsburg, that he would make you rue the day you cast +your lot in with the colonists and refused to assist him in the +prosecution of his measures. And you know we have been warned at least +a dozen times about it. Oh, what shall we do? Do fly, and let me stay +here and receive these men." + +"What! my daughter, do you think a Wilton has ever left his house to be +defended by his guest and by a woman! Seymour, I believe, however, as +an officer in the service of our country, your best course is to leave +while there is yet time." + +"I will never leave you, sir; I will stay here with you and Mistress +Katharine, and share whatever fate may have in store for you." + +But even as he spoke, the crowding footsteps of many men were heard at +both entrances to the wide hall-way which ran through the house. At +the same moment the door was violently thrown open, and the dining-room +was filled with an irregular mass of motley, ragged, red-coated men, +whose reckless demeanor and hardened faces indicated that they had been +recruited from the lowest and most depraved classes of the inhabitants +of the colony. They were led by a middle-aged man of dissipated +appearance, whose rough and brutal aspect was not concealed by the +captain's uniform he wore, nor was the malicious triumph in his bearing +and in his voice veiled by the mock courtesy with which he advanced, +pistol in hand. + +"What means this intrusion, sir?" shouted Colonel Wilton, in a voice of +thunder. + +"This is Colonel Wilton, I believe, is it not?" said the leader of the +band, taking off his hat. + +"Yes, sir, it is; you, Mr. Johnson, should be the last to forget it, +and I desire to know at once the meaning of this outrageous descent +upon a peaceful dwelling." + +The man bowed low with mock courtesy. "I shall have to ask your +pardon, my dear sir, for appearing before the great Colonel Wilton so +unceremoniously. But my orders, I regret to say, allow me no +discretion whatever; they are imperative. You are my prisoner. I have +been sent here by my Lord Dunmore, the governor of this colony of +Virginia, to secure the persons of some of the principal rebellious +subjects of his majesty King George, and your name, unfortunately, is +the first and chiefest on the list. I shall have to request you to +accompany me at once." + +The master of the situation smiled mockingly, and the colonel, white +with anger, looked about the room. Resistance was perfectly hopeless; +all the windows even were now blocked up by the irregular soldiery. + +"He has chosen a fit man to do his work," said the colonel, in haughty +scorn; "failing gentlemen, he must needs take blackguards and bullies +into his service as housebreakers and raiders." + +Johnson flushed visibly, as he said with another bow, "Colonel Wilton +would better remember that I am master now." + +"Sir, I am not likely to forget it. There is the family plate. I +presume, from what I know of your habits, that will not be overlooked +by you." + +"Quite so," he returned; "it will doubtless be a welcome contribution +to the treasury of his majesty's colony. Mistress Wilton's diamonds +also," he said meaningly; and then, turning to two of his men, +"Williams, you and Jones bundle up the plate in the tablecloth, get +what's on the sideboard too;" and laying his pistols down upon the +table, he continued: + +"But before Colonel Wilton insults me again, it might be well for him +to remember that I am master not only of his person, but of the persons +of all others who are in this room." + +The colonel started, and Johnson laughed, looking with insolence from +Katharine to her father. + +"What, sir! I reach through your insolent pride now, do I? Curse +you!" with sudden heat, throwing off even the mask of politeness he had +hardly worn. "I swore I would have revenge for that insult at +Williamsburg, and now it's my hour. You are to go with me, and go +peaceably and quietly, or, by God, I 'll have you kicked and dragged +out of the building, or killed like that old fool who tried to stop us +coming up on the landing." + +"What! Blodgett, my old friend Blodgett! You villain, you haven't +dared to kill him, have you? Oh, my faithful--" + +"Silence, sir! We dare anything. What consideration has a rebel a +right to expect at the hands of his majesty's faithful Rangers? You, +Bruce and Denton, seize the old man. If he makes any trouble, knock +him down, or kill him, for aught I care. One of you, take the girl +there. As for you, sir," to Seymour, who had been quietly watching the +scene, "I don't know who you are, but you are in bad company, and you +will have to consider yourself a prisoner; I trust you have sense +enough to come without force being used. And so," clapping his hat on +his head defiantly, "God save the king!" + +Two of the soldiers seized the colonel in spite of the vigorous +resistance he made; another approached Katharine, who had stood with +clasped hands during the whole of the colloquy between Johnson and her +father. The soldier rudely chucked her under the chin, saying, "Come +on, my pretty one! you 'll give us a kiss, won't you, before we start?" +As she drew back, paling at the insult, Seymour, who had seen and heard +it all, quick as a flash drew his sword, and threw himself upon the +soldier; one rapid thrust at the surprised man he made, with all the +force and skill begotten of long practice and a strong arm, and the +hilt of his blade crushed against the man's throat, and he fell dead +upon the floor. At the same instant one of the other soldiers, who had +observed the action, struck Seymour over the head with his clubbed +musket, and he also fell heavily to the floor, and lay there senseless +and still, blood running from a fearful-looking wound in his forehead. +The room was filled with tumult in an instant, and with shouts of "Kill +him!" "Shove your bayonet through the damn rebel hound!" "Shoot him!" +"Kill him!" the men moved towards Seymour. Johnson looked on +unconcernedly. + +"Good God!" shrieked the colonel, writhing in the grasp of the men who +held him, "are you going to allow a senseless, wounded man to be +murdered before your eyes? Oh, how could anybody ever mistake you for +a gentleman for an instant?" he added, with withering contempt; and +then turning his head toward the fierce soldiery, "Stop, stop, you +bloody assassins!" he cried. + +"Silence, sir! He might as well die this way as on the gallows. +Besides, he struck the first blow, and he has killed one of his +majesty's loyal soldiers. The soldier only wanted to kiss the girl +anyway, and she will find, before she gets to camp, that kisses are +cheap." + +"Oh, my God," groaned the father, "and they call this war!" + +At this moment one of the soldiers lifted his bayonet to plunge it into +the prostrate form of the unconscious sailor. There was a blinding +flash of light in the room, and a quick, sharp report. The man's arm +dropped to his side, and he shrieked and groaned with pain. Katharine, +unnoticed in the confusion, had slipped to the side of the table, and +had quickly picked up one of the pistols which Johnson had laid upon it +after the silver had been taken away. Her ready decision and unerring +aim had saved her lover's life. She threw the smoking pistol she had +used with such effect down at her feet, and, seizing the other, she +stepped over to the side of her unconscious lover. + +"I swear," she said, in a shrill, high-pitched voice which just escaped +a scream, and which trembled with the agitation of the moment, "by my +hope of heaven, if a single man of you lay hands on him, he shall have +this bullet also, you cowards!" + +After a moment's hesitation, amid shouts of "Kill the girl!" the men +surged toward her. Chloe, her black maid, flung herself upon her +mistress' breast. + +"Oh, honey, I let dem kill me fust." + +"Well done, Kate! It's the true Wilton blood. Oh, if I had a free +arm, you villains!" cried the still struggling colonel. + +"Seize the girl," Johnson commanded promptly, "and let us get out of +this." + +The men made a rush toward the table where Katharine stood undaunted, +her face flushed with excitement, her mouth tense with resolution. She +cried,-- + +"Have a care, men! have a care!" + +One life she could still command with her loaded pistol. Her hands did +not tremble. She waited to strike once more for love and country, but +it would be all over in a moment. + +The colonel groaned in agony, "Kate, Kate!" but they were almost upon +her, when a new voice rose above the uproar,-- + +"Hold! Are you men? Do you war with old men and women? Back with +you! Get back, you dogs! Back, I say!" + + + + +CHAPTER V + +_A Timely Interference_ + +A young man in the uniform of a British naval lieutenant leaped in +front of the girl with drawn sword, with which he laid about him +lustily, striking some of the men with the flat of it, threatening +others with the point; and backing his actions by the prompt commands +of one not accustomed to be gainsaid, he soon cleared the space in +front of her. + +"How dare you interfere in this matter, my lord?" shouted Johnson, +passionately. "I command this party, and I intend--" + +"I know you do," replied the officer, "and that I am only a volunteer +who has chosen to accompany you, worse luck! but I am a gentleman and a +lieutenant in his Britannic majesty's navy, and by heaven! when I see +old men mishandled, and wounded helpless men about to be assassinated, +and young women insulted, I don't care who commands the party, I +interfere. And I don't propose to bandy words with any runagate +American partisan who uses his commission to further private vengeance. +And I swear to you, on my honor, if you do not instantly modify your +treatment of this gentleman, and call off this ragamuffin crew, you +shall be court-martialled, if I have any influence with Dunmore or +Parker or Lord Howe, or whoever is in authority, and I will have the +rest of you hung as high as Haman. This is outrage and robbery and +murder; it is not fighting or making prisoners," continued the young +officer. "You are not fit to be an officer; and you, you curs, you +disgrace the uniform you wear." + +Johnson glanced at his men, who stood irresolute before him fiercely +muttering. A rascally mob of the lowest class of people in the colony, +to whom war simply meant opportunity for plunder and rapine, they would +undoubtedly back up their leader, in their present mood, in any attempt +at resistance he might make the young officer. But he hesitated a +moment. Desborough was a lord, high in the confidence of Governor +Dunmore, and a man of great influence; his own position was too +precarious, the game was not worth the candle, and the risk of +opposition was too great. + +"Well," he said in sulky acquiescence, "the men meant no special harm, +but have it your own way. Fall back, men! As to what you say to me +personally, you shall answer to me for that at a more fitting time," he +continued doggedly. + +"When and where you please," answered Desborough, hotly, "though I 'd +soil a sword by passing it through you. What was Dunmore thinking of +when he put you in charge of this party and sent you to do this work, I +wonder? Give your orders to your men to unhand this gentleman +instantly. You will give your parole, sir? I regret that we are +compelled to secure your person, but those were the orders; and you, +madam," turning to Katharine, "I believe no order requires you to be +taken prisoner, and therefore you shall go free." + +But Katharine had knelt down by her prostrate lover as soon as the +space in front of her had been cleared, and was entirely oblivious to +all that was taking place about her. + +"Allow me to introduce myself, colonel," he resumed. "I am Lord +Desborough. I have often heard my father, the Earl of Desmond, in +Ireland, speak of you. I regret that we meet under such unpleasant +circumstances, but the governor's orders must be carried out, though I +wish he had sent a more worthy representative to do so. I will see, +however, that everything is done for your comfort in the future." + +"Sir," said the colonel, bowing, "you have rendered me a service I can +never repay. I know your father well. He is one of the finest +gentlemen of his time, and his son has this day shown that he is worthy +of the honored name he bears. I will go with you cheerfully, and you +have my parole of honor. Katharine, you are free; you will be safe in +the house, I think, until I can arrange for your departure." + +She looked up from the floor, and then rose. "Oh, father, he is dead, +he is dead," she moaned. "Yes, I will go with you; take me away." + +"Nay, my child, I cannot." + +"Enough of this!" broke in the sneering voice of Johnson. "She has +been taken in open resistance to the king's forces, and, warrant or no +warrant, orders or no orders, or court-martial either," this with a +malevolent glance at Desborough, "she goes with us as a prisoner." + +"I will pledge my word, Colonel Wilton, that no violence is offered +her," exclaimed Desborough, promptly, and then, turning to Katharine,-- + +"Trust me, madam." + +"I do, sir," she said faintly, giving him her hand. "You are very +kind." + +"It is nothing, mistress," he replied, bowing low over it, as he raised +it respectfully to his lips. "I will hold you safe with my life." + +"Very pretty," sneered Johnson; "but are you coming?" + +"What shall we do with these two, captain?" asked the sergeant, kicking +the prostrate form of Seymour, and pointing to the body of the man who +had been slain. + +"Oh, let them lie there! We can't be bothered with dead and dying men. +One of them is gone; the other soon will be. The slaves will bury +them, and those other three at the foot of the hill--d' ye hear, ye +black niggers? There 's hardly room enough on the sloop for the +living," he continued with cynical indifference. + +"All right, captain! As you say, poor Joe's no good now; and as for +the other, that crack of Welsh's was a rare good one; he will probably +die before morning anyhow," replied the sergeant, there being little +love lost among the members of this philosophic crew; besides, the more +dead, the more plunder for the living. And many of the band were even +now following the example of their leader, and roaming over the house, +securing at will whatever excited their fancy, the wine-cellar +especially not being forgotten. + +"Oh, my God! John," whispered Katharine, falling on her knees again by +his side, "must I leave you now, oh, my love!" she moaned, taking his +head in her arms, and with her handkerchief wiping the blood from off +his forehead, "and you have died for me--for me." + +The colonel saw the action, and knew now what was the subject of the +interview after supper which Seymour had so much desired. He knelt +down beside his daughter, a great pity for her in his soul, and laid +his hand on the prostrate man's heart. + +"He is not dead, Katharine," he whispered. "I do not even think he +will die; he will be all right in an hour. If we don't go soon, +Katharine, Philip and Bentley will return and be taken also," he +continued rapidly. "Come, Katharine," he said more loudly, rising. +"Dearest child, we must go,--you must bear this, my daughter; it is for +our country we suffer." But the talismanic word apparently had lost +its charm for her. + +"What's all this?" said Johnson, roughly; "she must go." She only +moaned and pressed her lover's hands against her heart. + +"And go now! Do you hear? Come, mistress," laying his hand roughly +upon her shoulder. + +"Have a care, sir," said Desborough, warningly. "Keep to yourself, my +dear sir; no harm is done. But we must go; and if she won't go +willingly, she will have to be carried, that's all. Do you hear me? +Come on!" + +"Come, Katharine," said the colonel, entreatingly. + +"Oh, father, father, I cannot leave him! I love him!" + +"I know you do, dear; and worthy he is of your love too. Please God +you shall see him once again! But now we must go. Will you not come +with me?" + +"I cannot, I cannot!" she repeated. + +"But you must, Kate," said the colonel, lifting her up, in deadly +anxiety to get away before his son returned. "You are a prisoner." + +"I can't, father; indeed I can't!" she cried again. + +She struggled a moment, then half fainted in his arms. + +"Who else is here?" said Johnson. + +"Only the slaves," replied the colonel. + +"Well, we don't want them. Move on, then! Your daughter can take her +maid with her if she wishes," he said with surly courtesy. "Is this +the wench? Well, get your mistress a cloak, and be quick about it!" + +Assisted by Chloe, the maid, and Lord Desborough, the colonel half +carried, half led, his daughter out of the room. + +"Seymour, Seymour!" she cried despairingly at the door; but he lay +still where he had fallen, seeing and hearing nothing. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +_Faithful Subject of his Majesty_ + +A few miles up the river from Colonel Wilton's plantation, upon a high +bluff, from which, as at that point the river made a wide bend, one could +see up and down for a long distance in either direction, was the +beautiful home of the Talbots, known as Fairview Hall. + +On the evening of the raid at the Wilton place, Madam Talbot and her son +were having a very important conversation. Madam Talbot was a widow who +had remained unwedded again from choice. Rumor had it that many +gentlemen cavaliers of the neighborhood had been anxious to take to their +own hearthstones the person of the fair young widow, so early bereft, and +incidentally were willing to assume the responsibility of the management +of the magnificent estate which had been left to her by her most +considerate husband. Among the many suitors gossip held that Colonel +Wilton was the chief, and it was thought at one time that his chances of +success were of the best; but so far, at least, nothing had come of all +the agitation, and Madam Talbot lived her life alone, managing her +plantation, the object of the friendly admiration of all the old +bachelors and widowers of the neighborhood. She had devoted herself to +the successful development of her property with all the energy and +capacity of a nature eminently calculated for success, and was now one of +the richest women in the colony. One son only had blessed her union with +Henry Talbot, and Hilary Talbot was a young man just turned twenty-five +years of age, and the idol of her soul. Too self-contained and too proud +to display the depth of her feelings, except in rare instances, and too +sensible to allow them to interfere in the training of the child, she had +spared neither her heart nor her purse in his education, with such happy +results that he was regarded by all who knew him as one of the finest +specimens of young Virginia that it were possible to meet. Of medium +height, active, handsome, dark-eyed, dark-haired, fiery and impetuous in +temperament, generous and frank in disposition, he was a model among men; +trained from his boyhood in every manly sport and art, and educated in +the best institutions of learning in the colonies, his natural grace +perfected by a tour of two years in England and abroad, from which he had +only a year or so since returned, he perfectly represented all that was +best in the young manhood of Virginia. For many years there had been +hopes in the minds of Colonel Wilton and Madam Talbot, that the affection +between the two young people, who had played together from childhood with +all the frankness and simplicity permitted by country life, would develop +into something nearer and dearer, and that by their marriage at the +proper time the two great estates might be united. + +The two children, early informed of this desire, had grown up under the +influence of the idea; as they reached years of discretion, they had +taken it for granted, considering the arrangement as a fact accomplished +by tacit understanding and habit rather than by formal promise. +Personally attached to each other, nay, even fondly affectionate, the +indefinite tie seemed sufficiently substantial to bring about the desired +result. Katharine had, especially during Talbot's absence in Europe, +resisted all the importunities and rejected all the proposals made to +her, and on his account refused all the hearts laid at her feet. Since +Talbot's return, however, and especially since he refused, or hesitated +rather, to cast his lot in with her own people, his neighbors and +friends, in the Revolution, the affair had, on her part at least, assumed +a new phase. Still, there had been nothing said or done to prevent this +consummation so devoutly to be wished until the advent of Seymour. Then, +too, Talbot, calm and confident in the situation, had not noticed +Seymour's infatuation, and was entirely ignorant that the coveted prize +had slipped from his grasp. The insight of the confident lover was not +so keen as that of the watchful father. + +It was believed by the principal men of Virginia that Talbot's sympathies +were with the revolted colonies; but the influence of his mother, to whom +he had been accustomed to defer, had hitherto proved sufficient to +prevent him from openly declaring himself. His visit to England, and the +delightful reception he had met with there, had weakened somewhat the +ties which bound him to his native country, and he found himself in a +state of indecision as humiliating as it was painful. Lord Dunmore and +Colonel Wilton had each made great efforts to enlist his support, on +account of his wealth and position and high personal qualities. It was +hinted by one that the ancient barony of the Talbots would be revived by +the king; and the gratitude of a free and grateful country, with the +consciousness of having materially aided in acquiring that independence +which should be the birthright of every Englishman, was eloquently +portrayed by the other. When to the last plea was added the personal +preference of Katharine Wilton, the balance was overcome, and the hopes +of the mother were doomed to disappointment. + +For his own hopes, however, the decision had come too late, and it may be +safely presumed that his hesitation was one of the main causes through +which the woman he loved escaped him; for Katharine's heart was given to +young Seymour, after a ten days' courtship, almost before his eyes. In +any event, a wiser man would have seen in Seymour a possible, nay, a +certain rival by no means to be disregarded. An officer who had devoted +himself to the cause of his country in response to the first demand of +the Congress, who had been conspicuously mentioned for gallantry in +general orders and reports, who had been severely wounded while +protecting Katharine's father at the risk of his life; as well bred and +as well born as Talbot, of ample fortune, and with a wide knowledge of +men and things acquired in his merchant voyagings as captain of one of +his own ships in many seas,--Seymour's single-hearted devotion eminently +fitted him to woo and win Miss Katharine Wilton, as he had done. + +Nevertheless, a friendship had sprung up between Seymour and the +unsuspecting Talbot which bade fair to ripen into intimacy; and it may be +supposed that the stories of battles in which the older man had +participated, his attractive personality, the consideration in which the +young sailor was held by men of weight and position in the colonies, as a +man from whom much was to be expected, had large influence in determining +Talbot in the course he proposed taking, and which he had not yet +communicated to his mother. + +The evening repast had just been finished, and the mother and son were +walking slowly up and down the long porch overlooking the river in front +of the house. There was a curious and interesting likeness between the +two,--a facial resemblance only, for Madam Talbot was a slender, rather +frail little woman, and looked smaller by contrast as she walked by the +side of her son, who had his arm affectionately thrown over her shoulder. +She was as straight, however, as he was himself, in spite of her years +and cares, and bore herself as proudly erect as in the days of her youth. +Her black eyes looked out with undiminished lustre from beneath her +snowy-white hair, which needed no powder and was covered by the mob cap +she wore. She looked every inch the lady of the manor, nor did her +actions and words belie her appearance. The subject of the conversation +was evidently a serious one. There was a troubled expression upon her +face, in spite of her self-control, which was in marked contrast to the +hesitating and somewhat irresolute look upon the handsome countenance of +her son. + +"My son, my son," she said at last, "why will you persist in approaching +me upon this subject? You know my opinions. I have not hesitated to +speak frankly, and it is not my habit to change them; in this instance +they are as fixed and as immutable as the polar star. The traditions and +customs of four hundred years are behind me. Our family--you know your +father and I were cousins, and are descended from the same stock--have +been called the 'loyal Talbots.' I cannot contemplate with equanimity +the possibility even of one of us in rebellion against the king." + +"Mother--I am sorry--grieved--but I must tell you that that is a +possibility I fear you must learn to face. I have--" + +"Oh, Hilary, do not tell me you have finally decided to join this +unrighteous rebellion. Pause before you answer, my boy--I entreat you, +and it is not my habit to entreat, as you very well know. See, you have +been the joy of my heart all my life, the idol of my soul,--I will +confess it now,--and for you and your future I have lived and toiled and +served and loved. I have dreamed you great, high in rank and place, +serving your king, winning back the ancient position of our family. I +have shrunk from no sacrifice, nor would I shrink from any. 'Tis not +that I do not wish you to risk your life in war,--I am a daughter of my +race, and for centuries they have been soldiers, and what God sends +soldiers upon the field, that I can abide,--but that you should go now, +with all your prospects, your ability, the opportunity presented you, and +engage yourself in this fatal cause, in this unholy attack upon the +king's majesty, connect yourself with this beggarly rabble who have been +whipped and beaten every time they have come in contact with the royal +troops,--I cannot bear it. You are a man now. You have grown away from +your mother, Hilary, and I can no longer command, I must entreat." But +she spoke very proudly, for, as she said, entreaty was not so usual to +her as command. + +"Oh, mother, mother, you make it very hard for me. You know the +colonists have been badly treated, and hardly used by king and +Parliament. Our liberties have been threatened, nay, have been +abrogated, our privileges destroyed, none of our rights respected, and +unless we are to sink to the level of mere slaves and dependants upon the +mother country, we have no other course but an appeal to arms." + +"I know, I know all that," she interrupted impatiently, with a wave of +her hand. "I have heard it all a thousand times from ill-balanced +agitators and popular orators. There may be some truth in it, of course, +I grant you; but in my creed nothing, Hilary, nothing, will justify a +subject in turning against his king. The king can do no wrong. All that +we have is his; let him take what he will, so he leaves us our honor, and +that, indeed, no one can take from us. It is the principle that our +ancestors have attested on a hundred fields and in every other way, and +will you now be false to it, my boy?" + +"I must be true to myself, mother, first of all, in spite of all the +kings of earth; and I feel that duty and honor call me to the side of my +friends and the people of this commonwealth. I have hesitated long, +mother, in deference to you, but now I have decided." + +"And you turn against two mothers, Hilary, when you take this +course,--old England, the mother country, and this one, this old mother, +who stands before you, who has given you her heart, who has lived for +you, who lives in you now, whose devotion to you has never faltered; she +now humbly asks with outstretched arms, the arms that carried you when +you were a baby boy, that you remain true to your king." + +"Nay, but, mamma," he said, calling her by the sweet name of his boyhood, +taking her hand and looking down at her tenderly with tear-dimmed eyes +full of affection, "one must be true to his idea of right and duty first +of all, even at the price of his allegiance to a king; and, after all, +what is any king beside you in my heart? But I feel in honor bound to go +with my people." + +The irresolution was gone from his expression now, and the two determined +faces--one full of pity, the other of apprehension--confronted each other. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +_The Loyal Talbots_ + +"Your people, son?" she said after a long pause. "Come with me a +moment." She drew him into the brilliantly lighted hall. As they +entered, he said to the servant in waiting,-- + +"See that my bay horse is saddled and brought around at once, and do +you tell Dick to get another horse ready and accompany me; he would +better take the black pony." + +"Are you going out, Hilary?" + +"Yes, mother, when our conversation is over, if there is time. I +thought to ride over to Colonel Wilton's. The night is pleasant, and +the moon will rise shortly. What were you about to say to me?" + +She led him up to the great open fireplace, on the andirons of which a +huge log was blazing and crackling cheerfully. Over the mantel was the +picture of a handsome man in the uniform of a soldier of some twenty +years back. + +"Whose face is pictured there, Hilary?" + +"My honored father," he answered reverently, but in some surprise. + +"And how died he?" + +"On the Plains of Abraham, mother, as you well know." + +"Fighting for his king?" + +"Yes, mother." + +"And who is this one?" she said, passing to another picture. + +"Sir James Talbot; he struck for his king at Worcester," he volunteered. + +"Yes, Hilary; and here is his wife, Lady Caroline Talbot, my +grandmother. She kept the door against the Roundheads while the prince +escaped from her castle, to which he had fled after the battle. And +over there is Lord Cecil Talbot, her father; he fell at Naseby. There +in that corner is another James, his brother, one of Prince Rupert's +men, wounded at Marston Moor. Here is Sir Hilary, slain at the Boyne; +and this old man is Lord Philip, your great-uncle. He was out in the +'45, and was beheaded. These are your people, Hilary," she said, +standing very straight, her head thrown back, her eyes aflame with +pride and determination, "and these struck, fought, lived, and died for +their king. I could bear to see you dead," she laid her hand upon her +heart in sudden fear at the idea, in spite of her brave words, "but I +could not bear to see you a rebel. Think again. You will not so +decide?" She said it bravely; it was her final appeal, and as she made +it she knew that it was useless. The sceptre had departed out of her +hand. + +He smiled sadly at her, but shook his head ominously. "Mother, do you +know these last fought for Stuart pretenders against the house of +Hanover? George III., in your creed, has no right to the place he +holds. Do I not then follow my ancestors in taking the field against +him?" + +"Ah, my child, 't is an unworthy subterfuge. They did fight for the +house of Stuart, God bless it! It was king against king then, and at +least they fought for royalty, for a king; but now the house of Stuart +is gone; the new king occupies the throne undisputed, and our +allegiance is due to him. These unfortunate people who are fighting +here strive to create a republic where all men shall be equal! Said +the sainted martyr Charles on the scaffold, ''T is no concern of the +common people's how they are governed.' A common man equal to a +Talbot! Fight, my son, if you must; but oh, fight for the king, even +an usurper, before a republic, a mob in which so-called equality stands +in very unstable equilibrium,--fight for the rightful ruler of the +land, not against him." + +"Mother, if I am to believe the opinions of those whom I have been +taught to respect, the rightful rulers of this colony, of our country, +of any country, are the people who inhabit it." + +"And who says that, pray, my boy?" + +"Mr. Henry." + +"And do you mean to tell me, a Talbot, that you have been taught to +look up to men of the social stamp of Patrick Henry, or to respect +their opinions?" she said with ineffable disdain. + +"Mother, the logic of events has forced all men to do so. Had you +heard his speeches before the Burgesses at Williamsburg, you would have +thought that he was second to no man in the colony, or in the world +beside; but if he be not satisfactory, there is his excellency General +Washington." + +"Mr. Washington," she replied with an emphasis on the "Mr." "Now +there, I grant you, is a man," she said reluctantly. "I cannot +understand the perversion of his destiny or the folly of his course." + +"And, mother, you know his family was as loyal as our own. One of his +forefathers held Worcester for King Charles with the utmost gallantry +and resolution. And he had as a companion in arms in that brave +attempt Sir George Talbot, one of our ancestors. There is an example +for you. I have often heard you speak with the greatest respect of +George Washington." + +"It is true, my son," she replied honestly, "but I am at a loss to +fathom his motive. What can it be?" + +"Mother, I am persuaded of the purity of his motives; his actions +spring from the very highest sense of his personal obligation to the +cause of liberty." + +"'Liberty, liberty,' 't is a weak word when matched with loyalty. But +be this as it may, my son, it is beside the question. Our family, +these men and women who look down upon us, all fought for principles of +royalty. It makes no difference whether or no they fought for or +against one or another king, so long as it was a king they fought for. +Such a thing as a democracy never entered their heads. And if you take +this course, you will be false to every tradition of our past. In my +opinion, the people are not fit to govern, and you will find it so. In +the impious attempt that is being made to reverse what I conceive to be +the divinely appointed polity and law of God, disaster must be the only +end." + +"Mother, I must follow my convictions in the present rather than any +examples in the past. But this is a painful discussion. Should we not +best end it? I honor your opinions, I love you, but I must go." + +There was a long silence. She broke it. "Well, my child," she said in +despair, "you have reached man's estate, and the men of the Talbot race +have ever been accustomed to do as their judgment dictates. If you +have decided to join Washington's rabble and take part among the rebels +in this fratricidal contest, I shall say no more. I cannot further +oppose you. I cannot give you my blessing--as I might in happier +circumstances--nor can I wish success to your cause. I too am a +Talbot, and have my principles, which I must also maintain; but at +least I can gird your sword about you, and express the hope and make +the prayer, as I do, that you may wear and use it honorably; and that +hope, if you are true to the traditions of our house, will never be +broken,--I feel sure of that, at least." + +The young man bent and kissed his mother, a new light shining in his +eyes. "Mother, I thank you. At least, as far as I am concerned, I +will endeavor to do my duty honorably in every field. And now I think, +with your permission, I will go over and tell Katharine that I have at +last made up my mind and cast my lot in with her--I mean with our +country," he said, blushing, but with the thoughtless disregard of +youth as to the meaning and effect of his words. + +"Go, my son, and God be with you!" she said solemnly. + +He stepped quickly out on the porch, and, swinging into the saddle of +the horse which awaited him, with the ease and grace of an accomplished +horseman, galloped off in the moonlight night followed by the groom. + +The little old woman stood rigidly in the doorway a moment, looking +after her departed son, and then she walked quickly down to a rustic +seat on the brow of the hill and sat down heavily, following with +straining eyes and yearning heart his rapidly disappearing figure. The +same pang that every mother must feel, those who have a son at least, +once in her life if no more, came to her heart; all her prayers had +been unavailing, her requests unheeded, her pleas and wishes +disregarded. She had an idea, not altogether warranted perhaps, but +still she had it, that the influence was not so much the example of +General Washington, nor the eloquence of Patrick Henry, nor the force +of neighborly example, nor rigid principle, but the influence of a +sunny head, and a pair of youthful eyes, and a merry laugh, and a young +heart, and a pleading voice. These have always stood in the light of a +mother since the world began, and these have taken her son from her +side. All her hopes gone, her dreams shattered, her sacrifice vain, +her love wasted, she bowed her white head upon her thin hands, and wept +quietly in the silent night. The deep waters had gone over her soul, +and the rare tears of the old woman bespoke a breaking heart. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +_An Untold Story_ + +There were two roads which led from Fairview Hall to the home of the +Wiltons,--one by the river, and the other over the hills farther +inland. Talbot had chosen the river-road, and was riding along with a +light heart, forgetful of his mother and those tears which indeed she +would not have shown him, and full of pleasant anticipations as to the +effect of his decision upon Katharine. + +As he rode along in the moonlight, his mind, full of that calm repose +which comes to men when they have finally arrived at a decision upon +some point which has troubled them, felt free to range where it would, +and naturally his thoughts turned toward the girl he loved. He was +getting along in life, twenty-four his last birthday, while Katharine +was several years his junior. It was time to settle himself; and if he +must ride away to the wars, it were well, pleasant at least, to think +that he was leaving at home a wife over whom he had thrown the +protecting aegis of his name. + +Katharine would be much happier,--his thoughts dwelt tenderly upon +her,--and the definite arrangement would be better than this tacit +understanding, which of course was sufficiently binding; though, now he +thought of it, Katharine had seemed a little difficult of late, +probably because of the indefinite character of the tie. He laughed +boyishly in pleasure at his own thought. It was another proof that she +loved him, that she resented any assumption on his part based on hopes +indulged in and plans formed by her father and his mother. He must +declare himself at once. Poor mother! it was hard for her; but she +would soon get over all that, and when he came back distinguished and +honored by the people, she would feel very differently. As for the +capricious Katharine, he would speak out that very night, never +doubting the issue, and get it done with. Of course, that was all that +was necessary. + +When she knew that he was engaged heart and soul in the cause of the +Revolution, she would be ready to yield him anything. Not that he had +any doubt of the result of his proposal in any case; as soon doubt that +the nature and orderly sequence of events should be suddenly and +violently interrupted, as imagine that these cherished plans, in which +they had both acquiesced so long ago, should fall through. And so my +lord was prepared to drop the handkerchief at the feet of my lady for +her to pick up! It was a time, however, he might have remembered, in +which the old established order of events in other fields, which men +had long since conceived of as fixed as natural laws, was being rudely +broken and destroyed. Many things which had heretofore been habitually +taken for granted, now were required to be proved, and Talbot was +destined to meet the fate of every over-confident lover. Devotion, +self-abnegation, persistency,--these during ten days had held the +field; and the result of the campaign had been that inevitable one +which may always be looked for when the opposing forces, even after +years of possession, muster under the banner of habit, assurance, +confidence, and neglect. + +So musing, the light-hearted gentleman galloped along. The intervening +distance was soon passed over, and Talbot found himself entering the +familiar stretch of woodland which marked the beginning of the +colonel's estate. Under the trees and beneath the high bank of the +river the shadows deepened; scarcely any light from the moon fell on +the road. It was well, therefore, that our cavalier drew rein, and +somewhat checked the pace of his horse, advancing with some caution +over the familiar yet unseen road; for just as he came opposite the +land end of the pier which led out to the boat-house, the animal +stopped with such suddenness that a less practised rider would have +suffered a severe fall. The horse snorted and trembled in terror, and +began rearing and backing away from the spot. Looking down in the +darkness, Talbot could barely discern a dark, bulky object lying in the +road. + +"Here, Dick!" he called to the groom, who had stopped and reined in his +own horse, apparently as terrified as the other, a few paces back of +his master; and tossing his bridle rein toward him, "take my horse, +while I see what stopped him." + +Lightly leaping to the ground, and stepping up to the object before +him, he bent down and laid his hand upon it, and then started back in +surprise and horror. "It's a man," he exclaimed; "dead, yet warm +still. Who can it be?" The moonlight fell upon the pebbly beach of +the river a little farther out; overcoming his reluctance, he half +lifted, half carried the body out where the light would fall upon its +face. This face, which was unknown to him, was that of a +desperate-looking ruffian, who was dressed in a soiled and tattered +uniform, the coat of which was red; the man's hand tightly clasped a +discharged pistol; he had been shot in the breast, for where his coat +had fallen open might be seen a dark red stain about a ragged hole in +his soiled gray shirt; the bullet had been fired at short range, too, +for there were powder marks all about his breast. Talbot noticed these +things rapidly, his mind working quickly. + +"Oh, Mars' Hil'ry--wha-wha's de mattah? I kyarnt hol' dese hosses; +dey'se sumfin wrong, sho'ly," broke in the groom, his teeth chattering +with terror. + +"Quiet, man! don't make so much noise. This is the dead body of a man, +a soldier; he has been shot too. Take the horses back beyond the old +tree on the little bend there; tie them securely, and come back here +quickly. Make no noise. Bring the pistols from your holsters." + +As the man turned to obey him, Talbot glanced about in perplexity, and +his eyes fell upon a small sloop rapidly disappearing down the river, +under full sail in the fresh breeze which had sprung up. She was too +far away now to make out any details in the moonlight, but the sight +was somewhat unusual and alarming, he scarcely knew why. + +"I got dem tied safe, Mars' Hil'ry," called out the voice of the boy +from the road. + +"All right, Dick! We will leave this one here, and try to find out +what's wrong; you follow me, and keep the pistols ready." + +"Yes, Mars', I got dem." The man was brave enough in the presence of +open danger; it was only the spiritual he feared. + +They had scarcely gone ten paces farther toward the path, when, at the +foot of it, they stumbled over another body. + +"Here is another one. What does it mean? See who it is, Dick." + +The groom, mastering his instinctive aversion, bent down obediently, +and lifting the face peered into it. It was lighter here, and he +recognized it at once. + +"Hit's Mars' Blodgett, de kunnel's old sojuh man. Him got a +bullet-hole in de fohaid, suh; him a dead man sholy, an' heah is his +gun by his han'," he said in an awestruck whisper. + +"Blodgett! Good God, it can't be." + +"Yes, suh, it's him, and dere's anoder one ober dah. See, suh!" He +laid his hand upon another body, in the same uniform as the first one. +This man groaned slightly. + +"Dis one's not daid yit," said Dick, excitedly; "he been hit ober de +haid, his face all bloody. Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, dem raidahs you done tell +me 'bout been heah. Mars' Blodgett done shot dat one by de riber on de +waf, an' den hit dis one wid his musket, an' den dey done shoot Mars' +Blodgett. Oh, Mars' Hil'ry, le' 's get out ob heah." + +Talbot saw it all now,--the slow and stealthy approach of the boat from +the little sloop out in the river (it had disappeared round the bend, +he noticed), Blodgett's quiet watch at the foot of the path, the +approach of the men, Blodgett's challenge, the first one shot dead as +he came up, the pistol-shot which missed him, the rush of the men at +the indomitable old soldier, the nearest one struck down from the blow +of the clubbed musket of the sturdy old man, the second pistol-shot, +which hit him in the forehead, his fall across the path. Faithful unto +death at the post of duty. The little drama was perfectly plain to +him. But who were these raiders? Who could they be? And Katharine? + +"Oh, my God," he exclaimed, stung into quick action at the thought of a +possible peril to his love. "Come, Dick, to the house; she may be in +danger." + +"But dis libe one, Mars' Hil'ry?" + +"Quick, quick! leave him; we will see about him later." + +With no further attempt at caution, they sprang recklessly up the steep +path, and, gaining the brow of the hill, ran at full speed toward the +house. He noticed that there were no lights in the negro quarters, no +sounds of the merry-making usually going on there in the early evening. +Through the open windows on the side of the house, he had a hasty +glimpse of the disordered dining-room. The great doors of the hall +were open. They were on the porch now,--now at the door of the hall. +It was empty. He paused a second. "Katharine, Katharine!" he called +aloud, a note of fear in his voice, "where are you? Colonel Wilton!" +In the silence which his voice had broken he heard a weak and feeble +moan, which struck terror into his heart. + +He ran hastily down the hall, and stopped at the dining-room door +aghast. The smoking candles in the sconces were throwing a somewhat +uncertain light over a scene of devastation and ruin; the furniture of +the table and the accessories of the meal lay in a broken heap at the +foot of it, the chairs were overturned, the curtains torn, the great +sideboard had been swept bare of its usual load of glittering silver. + +At his feet lay the body of a man, in the now familiar red uniform, +blood from a ghastly sword-thrust clotted about his throat, the floor +about his head being covered with ominous stains. A little farther +away on the floor, near the table, there was the body of another man, +in another uniform, a naked sword lying by his side; he had a +frightful-looking wound on his forehead, and the blood was slowly +oozing out of his coat-sleeve, staining the lace at his left wrist. +Even as he looked, the man turned a little on the floor, and the same +low moan broke from his lips. Talbot stepped over the first body to +the side of the other. + +"My God, it's Seymour," he said. He knelt beside him, as Katharine had +done. "Seymour," he called, "Seymour!" The man opened his eyes +slowly, and looked vacantly at him. + +"Katharine," he murmured. + +"What of her? is she safe?" asked Talbot, in an agony of fear. + +"Raiders--prisoner," continued Seymour, brokenly, in a whisper, and +then feebly murmured, "Water, water!" + +"Here, Dick, get some water quickly! First hand me that decanter of +wine," pointing to one which had fortunately escaped the eyes of the +marauders. He lifted Seymour's head gently, and with a napkin which he +had picked up from the floor, wiped the bloody face, washing it with +the water the groom quickly brought from the well outside. + +Then he poured a little of the wine down the wounded man's throat, next +slit the sleeve of his coat, and saw that the scarcely healed wound in +the arm had broken out again. He bandaged it up with no small skill +with some of the other neglected table linen, and the effect upon +Seymour of the stimulant and of these ministrations was at once +apparent. With a stronger voice he said slowly,-- + +"Dunmore's men--Captain Johnson--colonel a prisoner--Katharine +also--God grant--no harm intended." + +"Hush, hush! I understand. But where are the slaves?" + +"Terrified, I suppose--in hiding." + +"Dick, see if you can find any of them. Hurry up! We must take Mr. +Seymour back to Fairview tonight, and report this outrage to the +military commander at Alexandria. Oh that I had a boat and a few men!" +he murmured. Katharine was gone. He would not tell his story +to-night; she was in the hands of a gang of ruffians. He knew the +reputation of Johnson, and the motives which might actuate him. There +had been a struggle, it was evident; perhaps she had been wounded, +killed. Agony! He knew now how he loved her, and it was too late. + +Presently the groom returned, followed by a mob of frightened, +terror-stricken negroes who had fled at the first advent of the party. +Talbot issued his orders rapidly. "Some of you get the carriage ready; +we must take Lieutenant Seymour to Fairview Hall. Some of you go down +to the landing and bring up the bodies of the three men there. You go +with that party, Dick. Phoebus, you get this room cleared up. Hurry, +stir yourselves! You are all right now; the raiders have gone and are +not likely to return." + +"Why, where is Master Philip, I wonder? Was he also taken?" he said +suddenly. "Have any of you seen him?" he asked of the servants. + +"He done gone away fishin' wid Mars' Bentley," replied the old butler, +pausing; "and dey ain't got back yit, tank de Lawd; but I spec 'em ev'y +minute, suh." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +_Bentley's Prayer_ + +As he spoke, a fresh youthful voice was heard in the hall. "Father, +Kate, where are you? Come see our string of-- Why, what's all this?" +said a young man, standing astonished in the door of the room. It was +Philip Wilton, holding a long string of fish, the result of their day's +sport; behind him stood the tall stalwart figure of the old sailor. +"Talbot--you? Where are father and Kate? What are these men doing in +the dining-room? Oh, what is that?" he said, shrinking back in horror +from the corpse of the soldier. + +"Dunmore's raiders have been here." + +"And Katharine?" + +"A prisoner, with your father, Philip, but I trust both are uninjured." + +"Mr. Seymour, sir, where is he?" said the deep voice of the boatswain, +as he advanced farther into the room. The light fell full upon him. +He was a splendid specimen of athletic manhood; tall, powerful, +long-armed, slightly bent in the shoulders; decision and courage were +seen in his bearing, and were written on his face, burned a dull +mahogany color by years of exposure to the weather. He was clothed in +the open shirt and loose trousers of a seafaring man, and he stood with +his feet slightly apart, as if balancing himself to the uneasy roll of +a ship. Honesty and fidelity and intelligence spoke out from his eyes, +and affection and anxiety were heard in his voice. + +"Lieutenant Seymour," he repeated, "where is he, sir?" + +"There," said Talbot, stepping aside and pointing to the floor. + +"Not dead, sir, is he?" + +"Not yet, Bentley," Seymour, with regaining strength, replied; "I am +not done for this time." + +"Oh, Mr. John, Mr. John," said the old man, tenderly, bending over him, +"I thank God to see you alive again. But, as I live, they shall pay +dear for this--whoever has done it,--the bloody, marauding, ruffians!" + +"Yes, Bentley, I join you in that vow," said Talbot. + +"And I too," added Philip, bravely. + +"And I," whispered the wounded man. + +"It's one more score that has got to be paid off by King George's men, +one more outrage on this country, one more debt we owe the English," +Bentley continued fiercely. + +"No; these were Americans, Virginians,--more's the shame,--led by that +blackguard Johnson. He has long hated the colonel," replied Talbot. + +"Curses on the renegades!" said the old man. "Who is it that loves +freedom and sees not that the blow must be struck to-day? How can any +man born in this land hesitate to--" He stopped suddenly, as his eyes +fell upon Talbot, whose previous irresolution and refusal had been no +secret to him. + +"Don't stop for me, Bentley," said that young man, gently; "I am with +you now. I came over this evening to tell our friends here that I +start north tomorrow as a volunteer to offer my services to General +Washington." + +"Oh, Hilary," exclaimed Philip, joyfully, "I am so glad. Would that +Katharine and father could hear you now!" + +Seymour lifted his unwounded arm, and beckoned to Talbot. "God bless +you, Talbot," he said; "to hear you say that is worth a dozen cracks +like this, and I feel stronger every minute. If it were not for the +old wound, I would n't mind this thing a bit. But there is something +you must do. There is an armed cutter stationed up the river at +Alexandria; send some one to notify the commander of the Virginia naval +militia there. They will pursue and perhaps recapture the party. But +the word must be carried quickly; I fear it will be too late as it is." + +"I will go, Hilary, if you think best." + +"Very well, Philip; take your best horse and do not delay a moment. +Katharine's liberty, your father's life perhaps, depend upon your +promptness. Better see Mr. West as you go through the town,--your +father's agent, you know,--and ask him to call upon me to-morrow. Stop +at the Hall as you come back." + +"All right, Hilary, I will be in Alexandria in four hours," said +Philip, running out. + +"Bentley, I am going to take Lieutenant Seymour over to my plantation. +Will you stay here and look after the house until I can notify Colonel +Wilton's agent at Alexandria to come and take charge, or until we hear +from the colonel what is to be done? You can come over in the morning, +you know, and hear about our protege. I am afraid the slaves would +never stay here alone; they are so disorganized and terrorized now over +these unfortunate occurrences as to be almost useless." + +"Ay, ay, sir; if Lieutenant Seymour can spare me, I will stay." + +"Yes, Bentley, do; I shall be in good hands at Fairview Hall." + +"This is arranged, then," said Talbot. "It is nine o'clock. I think +we would better start at once. I will go out and see that the +arrangements about the carriage are made properly, myself," he said, +stepping through the door. + +Seymour's hand had closed tightly over something which had happened to +fall near where it lay. "Bentley," he called, "what is this in my +hand?" + +"It is a handkerchief, Mr. John,--a woman's handkerchief too, sir, and +covered with blood." + +"Has it any marks on it?" said Seymour, eagerly. + +"Yes, sir; here are the letters K. W. embroidered in this corner." + +"I thought so," he smiled triumphantly. "Will you put it inside my +waistcoat, there, over my heart? Yes," he added, as if in answer to +the old man's anxious look, "it is true; I love her, and she has +confessed that she loves me. Oh, who will protect her now?" + +"God, sir," said Bentley, solemnly, but with a strange pang of almost +womanly jealousy in his faithful old heart. + +"Ay, old friend, He will watch over her. He knows best. Now help me +up." + +"No, sir. Beg pardon for disobeying orders, but you are to lie still. +We will carry you to the carriage. Nay, sir, you must. You are too +weak from loss of blood with two wounds on you to stand it. A few days +will bring you about all right, though, I hope, sir." + +"All ready, Bentley?" said Talbot, coming into the room. "The negro +boys have rigged up a stretcher out of a shutter, and with a mattress +and blankets in the carriage, I think we can manage, driving carefully, +to take him over without any great discomfort. I have sent Dick on +ahead to ride over to Dr. Craik's and bid him come to the Hall at once; +so Mr. Seymour will be well looked after. By the way, Blodgett is +dead. I had almost forgotten him. He evidently met and fought those +fellows at the landing. We found him at the foot of the steps by the +boat-landing with two bodies. That reminds me, one of them was alive +when we came by. I told the men to bring all three of the bodies up. +Here they are now. Are any of them alive yet, Caesar?" + +"No, suh, dey 'se all ob 'em daid." + +"Take the two redcoats into the dining-room with the other one. Lay +Blodgett here in the hall. He must have been killed instantly. Well; +good-by, I shall be over in the morning," he exclaimed, extending his +hand. + +"Good-by, sir," said the seaman, taking it in his own huge palm. "Take +care of Lieutenant Seymour." + +"Oh, never fear; we will." + +"And may God give the men who did this into our hands!" added Bentley, +raising his arms solemnly. + +"Amen," said Talbot, with equal gravity. + +Seymour was tenderly lifted into the carriage, and attended by Talbot, +who sat by his side. Followed by two servants who had orders to get +the horses, which they found tied where they had been left, the +carriage drove off to the Hall. With what different thoughts was the +mind of the young man busy! Scarcely an hour had elapsed since he +galloped over the road, a light-hearted boy, flushed with hope, filled +with confidence, delighted in his decision, anticipating a reception, +meditating words of love. In that one hour the boy had changed from +youth to man. The love which he had hardly dreamed was in his heart +had risen like a wave and overwhelmed him; the capture and abduction of +his sweetheart, the whole brutal and outrageous proceeding, had filled +him with burning wrath. He could not wait to strike a blow for liberty +against such tyranny now, and his soul was full of resentment to the +mother he had loved and honored, because she had held him back; all of +the devoted past was forgotten in one impetuous desire of the present. +To-morrow should see him on the way to the army, he swore. He wrung +his hands in impotent passion. + +"Katharine, Katharine, where are you?" he murmured. Seymour stirred. +"Are you in pain, my friend?" + +"No," said the sailor quietly, his heart beating against the +blood-stained handkerchief, as he echoed in his soul the words he had +heard: "Katharine, Katharine, where are you? where are you?" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +_A Soldier's Epitaph_ + +Left to himself in the deserted hall, the old sailor walked over to the +body of the old soldier. Many a quaint dispute these two old men had +held in their brief acquaintance, and upon no one thing had they been +able to agree, except in hatred of the English and love of their common +country. Still their disputes had been friendly, and, if they had not +loved, they had at least respected each other. + +"I wish I had not been so hard on the man. I really liked him," +soliloquized the sailor. "Poor Blodgett, almost forgotten, as Mr. +Talbot says. He died the right way, though, doing his duty, fighting +for his country and for those he loved. Well, he was a brave man--for +a soldier," he murmured thoughtfully. + +Out on the river the little sloop was speeding rapidly along. Ride as +thou wilt, Philip, she cannot be overtaken. Most of the exhausted men +lay about the decks in drunken slumber. Johnson stood moodily by the +man at the helm; his triumph had been tempered by Desborough's +interference. Two or three of the more decent of his followers were +discussing the events of the night. + +"Poor Joe!" said one. + +"Yes, and Evans and Whitely too," was the reply. + +"Ay, three dead, and nobody hurt for it," answered the other. + +"You forget the old fellow at the landing, though." + +"Yes, he fought like the devil, and came near balking the whole game. +That was a lucky shot you got in, Davis, after Evans missed and was +hit. That fellow was a brave man--for a rebel," said the raider. + + +In the cabin of the sloop Colonel Wilton was sitting on one of the +lockers, his arm around Katharine, who was leaning against him, +weeping, her hands before her face. Desborough was standing +respectfully in front of them. + +"And you say he made a good fight?" asked the colonel, sadly. + +"Splendid, sir. We stole up to the boat-house with muffled oars, +wishing to give no warning, and before he knew it half of us were on +the wharf. He challenged, we made a rush; he shot the first man in the +breast and brained the next with his clubbed musket, shouting words of +warning the while. The men fell back and handled their pistols. I +heard two or three shots, and then he fell, never making another sound. +But for Johnson's forethought in sending a second boat load to the +upper landing to get to the back of the house, you might have escaped +with the warning and the delay he caused. He was a brave man, and died +like a soldier," continued the young man, softly. + +"He saved my life at Cartagena, and when I caught the fever there, he +nursed me at the risk of his own. He was faithfulness itself. He died +as he would have liked to die, with his face to the enemy. I loved him +in a way you can hardly understand. Yes, he was a brave man,--my poor +old friend." + + +On the rustic bench beside the driveway overlooking the river sat a +little woman, older by ten years in the two hours which had elapsed +since she looked after the disappearing figure of her son. + +She heard the sound of wheels upon the gravel road, and recognized +Colonel Wilton's carriage and horses coming up the hill; there were her +own two horses following after, but neither of the riders was her son. +What could have happened? She rose in alarm. The carriage stopped +near her. + +"What, mother, are you still here?" said Hilary, opening the door and +stepping out, his voice cold and stern. + +"Yes, my son; what has happened?" + +"Dunmore's men have raided the Wilton place. Katharine and her father +have been carried away by that brute Johnson, who commanded the party. +Seymour has been wounded in defending Katharine. I have brought him +here. This is the way," he went on fiercely, "his majesty the king +wages war on his beloved subjects of Virginia." + +"'They that take the sword, shall perish with the sword,'" she quoted +with equal resolution. + +"And Blodgett is killed too," he added. + +"What else have those who rebel against their rightful monarch a right +to expect?" she replied. "Is Mr. Seymour seriously wounded?" + +"No, madam," answered that young man, from the carriage; "but I fear me +my cause makes me an unwelcome visitor." + +"Nay, not so, sir. No wounded helpless man craving assistance can ever +be unwelcome at my--at the home of the Talbots, whatever his creed. +How died Blodgett, did you say, Hilary?" + +"Fighting for his master, at the foot of the path, shot by those +ruffians." + +"So may it be to all enemies of the king," she replied; "but after all +he was a brave man. 'T is a pity he fell in so poor a cause." + + +And that was thy epitaph, old soldier; that thy requiem, honest +Blodgett,--from friend and foe alike,--"He was a brave man." + + + + +BOOK II + +KNIGHTS ERRANT OF THE SEA + + +CHAPTER XI + +_Captain John Paul Jones_ + +"You would better spread a little more canvas, Mr. Seymour. I think we +shall do better under the topgallantsails. We have no time to lose." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the young executive officer; and then lifting +the trumpet to his lips, he called out with a powerful voice, "Lay +aloft and loose the topgallantsails! Man the topgallant sheets and +halliards!" + +The crew, both watches being on deck, were busy with the various duties +rendered necessary by the departure of a ship upon a long cruise, and +were occupied here and there with the different details of work to be +done when a ship gets under way. Some of them, their tasks +accomplished for the moment, were standing on the forecastle, or +peering through the gun ports, gazing at the city, with the tall spire +of Christ Church and the more substantial elevation of the building +even then beginning to be known as Independence Hall, rising in the +background beyond the shipping and over the other buildings which they +were so rapidly leaving. In an instant the quiet deck became a scene +of quick activity, as the men left their tasks and sprang to their +appointed stations. The long coils of rope were thrown upon the deck +and seized by the groups of seamen detailed for the purpose; while the +rigging shook under the quick steps of the alert topmen springing up +the ratlines, swarming over the tops, and laying out on the yards, +without a thought of the giddy elevation, in their intense rivalry each +to be first. + +"The main royal also, Mr. Seymour," continued the captain. "I think +she will bear it; 'tis a new and good stick." + +"Ay, ay, sir. Main topgallant yard there." + +"Sir?" + +"Aloft, one of you, and loose the royal as well." + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +After a few moments of quick work, the officers of the various masts +indicated their readiness for the next order by saying, in rapid +succession,-- + +"All ready the fore, sir." + +"All ready the main, sir." + +"All ready the mizzen, sir." + +"Handsomely now, and all together. I want those Frenchmen there to see +how smartly we can do this," said the captain, in reply, addressing +Seymour in a tone perfectly audible over the ship. + +"Let fall! Lay in! Sheet home! Hoist away! Tend the braces there!" +shouted the first lieutenant. + +Amid the creaking of blocks, the straining of cordage, and the lusty +heaving of the men, with the shrill pipes of the boatswain and his +mates for an accompaniment, the sheets were hauled home on the yards, +the yards rose on their respective masts, and the light sails, the +braces being hauled taut, bellied out in the strong breeze, adding +materially to the speed of the ship. + +"Lay down from aloft," cried the lieutenant, when all was over. + +"Ay, that will do," remarked the captain. "We go better already. I am +most anxious to get clear of the Capes before nightfall. Call the men +aft, and request the officers to come up on the quarterdeck. I wish to +speak to them." + +"Ay, ay, sir.--Mr. Wilton," said the young officer, turning to a young +midshipman, standing on the lee-side of the deck, "step below and ask +the officers there, and those forward, to come on deck. Bentley," he +called to the boatswain, "call all hands aft." + +"Ay, ay, sir." + +Again the shrill whistling of the pipes was heard, followed by the deep +tones of Bentley, which rolled and tumbled along the decks of the ship +in the usual long-drawn monotonous cry, which could be heard, above the +roar of the wind or the rush of the water or the straining of the +timbers, from the truck to the keelson: "All hands lay aft, to the +quarter-deck." + +The captain, standing upon the poop-deck, was not, at first glance, a +particularly imposing figure. He was small in stature, scarcely five +and a half feet high at best, with his natural height diminished, as is +often the case with sailors, by a slight bending of the back and +stooping of the shoulders; yet he possessed a well-knit, vigorous, and +not ungraceful figure, whose careless poise, and the ease with which he +maintained his position, with his hands clasped behind his back, in +spite of the rather heavy roll and pitch of the ship, in the very +strong breeze, indicated long familiarity with the sea. + +His naturally dark complexion was rendered extremely swarthy by the +long exposure to weather, and tropic weather at that, which he had +undergone. The expression of his face was of that abstract and +thoughtful, nay, even melancholy, cast which we commonly associate with +the student rather than the man of affairs. He was dressed in the +prescribed uniform of a captain of the American navy, in the +Revolutionary period: a dark blue cloth coat with red lapels, slashed +cuffs, and stand-up collar, flat gold buttons (this last a piece of +unusual extravagance); blue breeches, and a red waistcoat heavily +laced; silk stockings and buckled shoes, with a curved cross-hilted +sword and cocked hat, completed his attire. As the men came crowding +aft to the main mast, the idlers tumbling up through the hatches in +response to the command, his indifferent look gave way to one of quick +attention, and each individual seaman seemed to be especially embraced +in the severe scrutiny with which he regarded the mass. In truth, they +were a crew of which any officer might well be proud; somewhat motley +and nondescript as to uniform and appearance, perhaps, and unused to +the strict discipline of men-of-war, but hardy, bold, resolute seamen, +with whom, properly led, all things were possible,--men who would +hesitate at nothing in the way of attack, and who were permeated with +such an intensity of hate for England and for British men-of-war as +made them the most dangerous foes that country ever encountered on the +seas. Several of them, Bentley among the number, had been pressed, at +one time or another, on English war vessels; and one or two had even +felt the lash upon their backs, and bore shocking testimony, in +deep-scarred wounds, to the barbaric method of punishment in vogue for +the maintenance of discipline in the British navy, and, indeed, in all +the great navies of the world,--a practice, however, but little +resorted to by the American navy. + +The officers, gathered in a little knot on the lee side of the +quarter-deck, several midshipmen among them, were worthy of the crew +and the commander. + +"Men," said the captain, in a clear, firm voice, removing his cocked +hat from his thick black hair, tied in a queue and entirely devoid of +powder, as he looked down at them from the break of the poop with his +piercing black eyes, "we are bound for English waters--" + +"Hurrah, hurrah!" cried many voices from the crew, impetuously. + +"We will show the new flag for the first time on the high seas," he +continued, visibly pleased, and pointing proudly to the stars and +stripes, which his own hand had first hoisted, fluttering gayly out at +the peak; "and I trust we may strike a blow or two which will cause it, +and us, to be long remembered. While you are under my orders I shall +expect from you prompt, unquestioned compliance with my commands, or +those of my officers, and a ready submission to the hard discipline of +a ship-of-war, to which most of you, I suspect, are unfamiliar, unless +you have learned it in that bitter school, a British ship. You will +learn, however, while principles of equality are very well in civil +life, they have no place in the naval service. Subordination is the +word here; this is not a trading-vessel, but a ship-of-war, and I +intend to be implicitly obeyed," he continued sternly, looking even +more fiercely at them. "Nevertheless," he added, somewhat relaxing his +set features, "although we be not a peaceful merchantman, yet I expect +and intend to do a little trading with the ships of the enemy, and in +any prizes which we may capture, you know you will all have a just, +nay, a liberal, share. It must not be lost sight of, however, that the +first business of this ship, as of every other ship-of-war of our +country, is to fight the ships of the enemy of equal, or of not too +great, force. Should we find such a one, as is most likely, in the +English Channel, we must remember that the honor and glory of our flag +are above prize money." + +"Three cheers for Captain John Paul Jones!" cried one of the seamen, +leaping on a gun and waving his hat; they were given with a mighty rush +from nearly two hundred lusty throats, the ship being heavily +overmanned for future emergencies. + +"That will do, men," said the captain, smiling darkly. "Remember that +a willing crew makes a happy cruise--and don't wake the sleeping +cat![1] Mr. Seymour, have the boatswain pipe all hands to grog, then +set the watches. Mr. Talbot," he added, turning to the young officer +in the familiar buff and blue of the Continental army, who stood by his +side, an interested and attentive spectator to all that had occurred, +"will you do me the honor of taking a glass of wine with me in the +cabin?--I should be glad if you would join us also, Mr. Seymour, after +the watch has been called, and you can leave the deck. Let Mr. +Wallingford have the watch; he is familiar with the bay. Tell him to +take in the royal and the fore and mizzen topgallantsails if it blows +heavily," he continued, after a pause, and then, bowing, he left the +deck. + + + +[1] The cat-o'-nine-tails, used for punishment by flogging. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +_An Important Commission_ + +Meanwhile, interesting conversations were going on forward, of which +this is a sample. + +"I 'm blest if I like this orderin' business," said one grizzled +seaman; "they said he was h--l on orders, but what I shipped for was +prize money and a chance to get a lick at them bloody Britishers; not +for to clean brass work, an' scrape spars, an' flemish down, an' +holy-stone decks, which he won't let us spit terbacker on. I don't +call this no fighting fur liberty, not by a durn sight." + +"Shut up, Bill," replied another; "you've got to obey orders. This +yere ain't no old tea wagon, no fishing-boat, you old scowbanker, it's +a wessel-o'-war; and may I never see Nantucket again if the old man," +using a merchantman's expression, "ain't goin' to be captain of the old +hooker while he's in it. And if you call this hard work and growl at +this kind o' dissyplin'--well, all I got ter say, you'd oughter been on +the old Radnor. Curse the British devils!" he cried, grinding his heel +in the deck. "I 'd give twenty years of my life to be alongside her in +a ship half her size; yes, even in this one, and I tell ye yon 's the +man to put her there, if he gets a chance. Ain't that so, mates?" + +"Ay, ay, Jack, 'tis true," came a deep-toned chorus of approval. + +"Besides," went on the forecastle orator, "we all know'd wot kind of a +officer he is. Fightin' and prize money is wot we all want; and here +'s where we 'll git it, you 'll see, eh, mates?" + +"Ay, ay; Jack's right, Bill." + +"Then blow the dissyplin', say I; I'll take orders from a man wot ain't +afraid o' nothin', wot hates the red rag we knows of, wot won't send me +where he won't go himself. Fightin' and prize money, he 's our man. +Besides, wot's the use o' kickin', we got to do it; we're bound by them +articles of war we signed," continued this deep-sea philosopher. "Now, +pass me my can o' grog, Tom, I 'm dry as a cod. Here 's to America, +and damn the British, too," continued this sea lawyer, drinking his +toast amid shouts of approval from the men. + +Left to himself, Seymour, after the men had received their grog, and +other necessary duties had been attended to, turned the deck over to +Lieutenant Wallingford, whose watch it was with Philip Wilton, and, +descending the poop-deck ladder, disappeared through the same door +which had received the two officers into the cabin. + +Three weeks had elapsed since the raid upon the Wilton place, and the +scene had shifted from Virginia to the sea, or rather to the great bay +which gives entrance to it, from the Delaware River. It was a clear +cold day in the early part of December, and the American Continental +ship Ranger had just left her moorings off Philadelphia, with orders to +proceed to English waters; stopping at Brest to receive the orders of +the commissioners in Paris, and then, in case no better ship could be +found, to ravage the English Channel and coast, as a warning that like +processes, on the part of England on our own shores, should not go +unpunished. + +John Paul Jones, who had already given evidence, not only of that +desperate courage and unyielding tenacity which had marked him as among +the most notable of sea officers the world has seen,--lacking nothing +but opportunity to have equalled, if not surpassed a Nelson--but of +consummate seamanship and great executive ability as well, had been +appointed to command the ship. Before proceeding on the mission, +however, an important undertaking had been allotted to him. The +commissioners had sent word from France, by a fast-sailing armed +packet, of the near departure of a transport from England, called the +Mellish, laden with two thousand muskets, twenty field-pieces, powder, +and other munitions of war, and ten thousand suits of winter clothes, +destined for the army that was assembling at Halifax and Quebec for the +invasion of the colonies, by way of the St. Lawrence River and Lake +Champlain. + +Congress had transmitted the letter from France to Captain Jones, with +directions that he endeavor to intercept and capture this transport. +The destitution of the American army at this period of the war was +frightful: devoid of clothes, arms, provisions, powder,--everything, in +fact, which is apparently vital to the existence of an army; +continually beaten, menaced by a confident, well-equipped, and +disciplined enemy in overwhelming force, and before whom they had been +habitually retreating, they were only held together by the indomitable +will and heroic resolution of one man, George Washington. The fortunes +of the colonies were never at a lower ebb than at that moment, and +there was apparently nothing further to look forward to but a +continuation of the disintegration until the end came. The meagre +resources of the lax confederacy were already strained to the utmost, +and the capture of a ship laden as this one was reported to be, would +be of incalculable service. Clothes and shoes to cover the nakedness +of the soldiery and protect them from the inclemency of the winter, now +fast approaching, and arms to put in their hands, by means of which +they could assume the offensive and attack the enemy, or at least +defend themselves--what more could they desire! The desperate nature +of the situation, the dire need of just such additions to the equipment +of the army, had been plainly communicated to Captain Jones, and he was +resolved to effect the capture if it were humanly possible. The matter +had also been reported to General Washington; and such was his opinion +of the necessity of a prompt distribution and a speedy forwarding of +the supplies, if they could be secured, by the blessing of Providence, +and so little was his faith in the inefficient commissariat, which, +moreover, had to endeavor to keep the balance between different +colonies and different bodies of troops, more or less loosely coherent, +that he had detailed one of his own staff officers to accompany the +ship, with explicit instructions as to the exact distribution and the +prompt forwarding which the needs of the troops rendered necessary, +when the captured ship should reach port, which would probably be +Boston, though circumstances might render it advisable to take the +longer journey to Philadelphia. The officer to whom this duty had been +allotted was Talbot, of whose capacity and energy General Washington +already thought highly; the three weeks of their military association +only confirming his previous opinion. It was understood that Seymour, +who was Jones' first lieutenant, and would shortly be promoted to a +captaincy, would bring back the transport if they were lucky enough to +capture it. In case they were unsuccessful, Talbot was to report +himself to the commissioners at Paris as military secretary, until +further orders; and Seymour was to command the Ranger, when Jones +should get a better ship in France. + +The Ranger was a small sloop of war, a corvette of perhaps five hundred +tons, with a raised poop and a topgallant forecastle, built at +Portsmouth, New Hampshire; a new ship, and one of the first of those +built especially for naval purposes. She was originally intended for +twenty-six guns, but the number, through the wisdom of her captain, who +had fathomed the qualifications of the ship, had been reduced to +eighteen, four long twelves, and the rest six pounders, and smaller, +with one long eighteen forward. She had been some days in commission, +and the effect of Jones' iron discipline was already apparent in the +absence of confusion and in the cleanness and order of the ship. The +vessel had been very popular with the good people of Philadelphia, her +commander and officers likewise, many of the latter, like Seymour, +being natives of the town; and a constant stream of visitors had +inspected her, at all permitted hours. The presence of these visitors, +of course including many ladies, coupled with an inherent vanity and +love of finery and neatness on the part of the captain,--and, to do him +justice, his appreciation of the necessity for order and neatness,--had +caused him to maintain his ship in the handsomest possible trim, and he +had not scrupled to employ his private fortune to beautify the vessel +in many small ways, the details of which would have escaped any eye but +that of a seaman, though the general results were apparent. + +That general appearance which should always distinguish a trim and +well-ordered vessel of war from the clumsy and disorderly trader, was +due entirely to his efforts. The crew, as we have seen, had chafed +under the unusual restraints of this stern discipline; but they were +unable, as, indeed, in the last resort they would have been unwilling, +to oppose it. Some of the older men, too, and some of those who had +sailed with Jones in his already famous cruises, held out the hope of +large prize money, and, what was better with many of them, the chance +of a blow at the enemy, if any of her cruisers of anything like equal +force appeared,--a chance sure to come about in the frequented waters +of the English Channel. The crew of an American man-of-war at that +period, at least the native portion of it, always in overwhelming +majority, was of much higher class than the general run of seafaring +men. Among those in the Ranger were several who had been mates of +merchantmen,--Bentley again among the number,--men of some education, +and able to serve their country as officers with credit, had the navy +been increased as it should have been, and whose subordinate positions +only indicated their intense patriotism. The low and degraded element +which sometimes is such a source of mischief and disaster in ships' +crews, was conspicuous by its absence. The reputation of Captain Jones +as a disciplinarian was very well known among sailors generally, and +only his reputation as a fighter and a successful prize-taker would +have enabled him to assemble the remarkable crew to which he had +spoken, and which was to back him up so gallantly in many desperate +undertakings and wonderful sea fights, of this and his succeeding +phenomenal cruise. + +Seymour had rapidly recovered from his wounds under Madam Talbot's +careful nursing and ministrations, and when his orders reached him he +had been ready, accompanied by Philip Wilton and Bentley, to join his +ship at once. + +He still carried the blood-stained handkerchief, and many and many a +time had laid it, with its initials, "K. W.," embroidered by her own +hand, upon his lips. This was not his only treasure, however. In a +wallet in the breast pocket of his coat he carried and treasured a +letter, only the veriest scrap of paper, with these few lines hastily +written upon it. + + +_These by a friendly hand. We are to accompany Lord Dunmore to England +next week as prisoners in the ship Radnor. Both well, but very +unhappy. I love you.----Katharine._ + + +This note had been brought to him, the day before his departure from +Fairview Hall, by one of the slaves from the Wilton place, who had in +turn received it from a stranger who had handed it to him with the +orders that it be given to Lieutenant Seymour if he were within the +neighborhood; if not, it was to be destroyed. There was no address on +the outside of the letter, which, indeed, was only a soiled and torn +bit of paper, and unsealed. Seymour had hitherto communicated this +news to no one, and was hesitating whether or no to tell Talbot, who +had that day joined the ship. + +Seymour found Talbot and the captain together, when, after giving his +name to the negro boy, Joe, who waited in attendance, for Captain Jones +was one of the most punctilious of men, he was ushered into the +captain's cabin. + +"Come in, Seymour," said the captain, genially, laying aside the formal +address of the quarter-deck. "Joe, a glass of wine for Mr. Seymour. +Has the watch been set?" + +"Yes, sir, and Lieutenant Wallingford has the deck." + +"Ah, that's well; he knows the channel like a pilot. Sit down, man." + +"Thank you, captain. How do you like your first experience on a +ship-of-war, Talbot?" + +"Very much, indeed," answered the young officer; "and if we shall only +succeed in capturing the transport I shall like it much better." + +"Well, gentlemen," said Captain Jones, "I will give you a toast. Here +'s to a successful cruise, many prizes, good chances at the enemy, and, +of course, first of all, the capture of the transport, though that will +deprive me of the pleasure of your society. I intend to bear away to +the northeast immediately we pass the Capes, and I count upon striking +the transport somewhere off Halifax. If we should succeed in capturing +her, I am of the opinion, if her cargo proves as valuable as reported, +that my best course would be to convoy her to one of our ports, or at +least so far upon her way as to insure her safe arrival. The cargo +would be too important to be lost or recaptured under any +circumstances," he continued meditatively. "Well, I think I would +better go on deck for the present. You will excuse me, Mr. Talbot, I +am sure. You will both dine with me to-night. Seymour, a word with +you," he continued, opening the door and going out, followed by his +executive officer. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +_A Clever Stratagem_ + +Six days out from the Capes of Delaware Bay, and the Ranger was +cruising between Halifax and Boston, about one hundred leagues east of +Cape Sable. If there be truth in the maxim that a ship is never fit +for action until she has been a week at sea, the Ranger might be +considered as ready for any emergency now. The crew had thoroughly +learned their stations; they and the officers had become acquainted +with each other; the possibilities of the ship in different weather, +and on various points of sailing, had been ascertained. The drill at +quarters twice daily, and the regular target practice with great guns, +and the exercises with small arms, had materially developed the +offensive and defensive possibilities of the ship. + +The already warm friendship between Seymour and Talbot, now thrown into +close association by the necessary confinement of a small ship, had +grown into an intimacy, and they held many discussions concerning their +absent friends in the long hours of the night watches. Talbot had +learned through common rumor before they sailed, that Colonel Wilton +would probably be sent to England with Lord Dunmore, whose retirement, +under the vigorous policy pursued by the Virginians under the +leadership of Patrick Henry, who had been elected governor, was +inevitable; and he did not doubt but that Katharine would accompany her +father. He had never told Seymour of the plans which had involved the +destinies of Katharine and himself, and something had restrained him +from mentioning either his hopes or his affection for her, though time +and absence had but intensified his passion, until it was the consuming +idea of his soul. + +This reserve was matched by a similar reticence on the part of Seymour, +who had said nothing of the note he had received, and had not +communicated the news of his own successful suit to his unsuspecting +rival. Seymour had a much clearer apprehension of the situation than +Talbot, and, intrenched in Katharine's confession, could endure it +without disquiet, magnanimously saying nothing which could disturb his +less favored rival. The situation, however, was clearly an impossible +one, and that there would be a sudden break in the friendship, when +Talbot found out the true state of affairs, he did not doubt. This was +a grief to him, for he really liked the young man, and would gladly +have spared his friend any pain, if it were possible; however, since +there was only one Kate in the world, and she was his, he saw no way +out of the difficulty, and could only allow Talbot to drift along +blindly in his fool's paradise, until his eyes were opened. Both the +young men were favorites with Captain Jones, and he treated them in a +very different manner from that he usually assumed to his subordinates, +for Jones was a man to be respected and feared rather than loved. + +Late in the afternoon, the ship being under all plain sail, on the port +tack, heading due west, the voice of the lookout on the mainroyal-yard +floated down to the deck in that hail which is always thrilling at sea, +and was doubly so in this instance,-- + +"Sail ho!" + +Motioning to the officer of the deck, Jones himself replied in his +powerful voice,-- + +"Where away?" + +"Broad off the lee-beam, sir." + +"Can you make her out?" + +"No, sir, not yet." + +"Well, keep your eye lifting, my man, and sing out when you do. Mr. +Simpson," he said, turning to the officer of the deck, "let her go off +a couple of points." + +"Ay, ay, sir. Up with the helm, quartermaster, round in the +weather-braces, rise tacks and sheets." + +The speed of the ship going free was materially increased at once, and +in a few moments the lookout once more hailed the deck,-- + +"I can make her out now, sir." + +"What is it?" + +"A ship, sir, ay, and there is another one with her, and a third. I +can't tell what she is, sir. The first one looks like a large ship." + +"Mr. Wallingford, take the glass and go up the crosstrees and see what +you make of them, sir," said the captain. + +"Very good, sir," replied the lieutenant, springing into the main +rigging and rapidly ascending to the crosstrees, glass in hand. + +"Gentlemen, we will have a nearer look at these gentry," continued the +captain, glancing back at the officers, who had all come up from below, +while the men, equally interested, were crowding on the forecastle, and +gazing eagerly in the direction of the reported sails, which were not +yet visible from the deck. + +"On deck, there." + +"Ay, ay, what is it?" + +"I can make out five ships, and two brigs, and a schooner, and some +other sails just rising, all close hauled on the port tack. I think +there are more of them, sir, but I can't say yet. We are rapidly +drawing down on them, and shall be able to make them out in a minute. +I think it is a convoy or a fleet." + +"That will do, Mr. Wallingford; lay down on deck, sir; give the glass +to the man on the royal-yard, though, before you come. Who is he?" + +"It is me, sir, Jack Thompson." + +"Keep a bright lookout then, Thompson, and if yon 's an enemy's fleet +or convoy, it means a glass of grog and a guinea for you when your +watch is over." + +"Thankee, sir," cried the delighted seaman. + +"Mr. Wallingford, could you make anything out of the size of the ships?" + +"One of them I should say was a large ship, a frigate or ship of the +line possibly, the others were too far off." + +"It can't be a fleet," replied Captain Jones; "there are not so many of +the enemy's ships together in these waters, if we are correctly +informed. I suspect it must be a lot of merchantmen and transports, +convoyed by two or three men of war. Now is our opportunity, +gentlemen," he continued, his eyes sparkling with delight. "They are +apparently beating in for Halifax, and probably the Mellish, our +transport, will be among them. We will pay them a visit to-night in +any event. I would n't let them pass by without a bow or two, if they +were a fleet of two deckers!" + +Apparently this reckless bravado entirely suited the ship's company, +for one of the men who had heard the doughty captain's speech called +for three cheers, which were given with a will. + +"Ay, that's a fine hearty crew, and full of fight. Call on all hands, +Mr. Simpson." + +This was more or less a perfunctory order, since every man from the +jack-of-the-dust to the captain was already on deck. + +"Mr. Seymour," said Jones to the first lieutenant, who had taken the +trumpet at the call of all hands, "we must dress for the ball, and our +best disguise for the present will be that of a merchantman. I don't +suppose that the English imagine that we have a ship afloat in these +waters, and possibly they can't see us, against this cloud bank in this +twilight, as we can see them against the setting sun; but we will be on +the safe side for the few moments of daylight left us. They may be +looking at us over there, so we will hoist the English flag at once; +and as we are nearing them a little too rapidly, better brail up the +fore and main sails, and take in the royals and the fore and mizzen +topgallantsails for the present, and slack off the running gear. Then +beat to quarters, and have the guns run in and double shotted, close +the ports, and have the arms distributed; clear the forecastle too, +except of two or three men, and bid everybody observe the strictest +quiet, especially when we get in among the convoy," he continued +rapidly. + +"You can see them now from the deck, sir," said Lieutenant Simpson, +handing the glass to the captain. + +"Ay, so you can, but not well. Mainroyal there! Can you make them out +any better?" + +"Yes, sir. There's eighteen sail of them; one is a frigate and one +looks like a sloop of war, sir; the rest is merchantmen, some of 'em +armed." + +"Very good. Have they seen us yet?" + +"Don't appear to take no notice on us so far, sir." + +"Come down from aloft then, and get your grog and guinea, Jack; we +won't need you up there any more; it is getting too dark to see +anything there, anyway. Beat to quarters, Mr. Seymour. Ah, there go +the lights in the convoy." + +For the next few moments the decks presented a scene of wild confusion, +which gradually settled down into an orderly quiet, the various +directions of the captain were promptly carried out, and the ship was +speedily prepared for the conflict, though outwardly she had lost her +warlike appearance, and now resembled a peaceful trader. + +While the Ranger had been slowly drawing nearer to the sluggish fleet +of merchantmen and their convoy, the early twilight of the late season +faded away and soon gave place to darkness; the night was cloudy, the +sky being much overcast, and there was no moon, all of which was well +for their present purpose. + +The men thoroughly appreciated the hazardous nature of this advance +upon the unsuspecting fleet, protected by two heavy vessels of war, +either of which was probably much stronger than their own ship; but the +very audacity and boldness with which the affair was being carried out +thoroughly suited the daring crew. + +Most of them had stripped to the waist in anticipation of the coming +conflict, for they felt confident that the fleet would not escape +without a battle; and during the next hour they clustered about the +guns, quietly whispering among themselves, and eagerly waiting the +events of the night. The nervous strain appeared to affect everybody +except the imperturbable captain, but the deep silence was unbroken +save by low-voiced commands from the first lieutenant. All sail had +been made as soon as it had become thoroughly dark, the yards properly +braced, and the guns run out again. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +_A Surprise for the Juno_ + +The Ranger, a new and swift-sailing ship, and going free also, rapidly +edged down upon the slow moving convoy on the wind. The frigate, it +was noticed, was several miles ahead in the van; the other ships were +carelessly strung out in a long line, probably not suspecting the +existence of any possible enemy in those waters. The sloop of war +appeared to be among the rear ships, while the nearest vessel to the +Ranger was a large schooner, whose superior sailing qualities had +permitted her to reach several miles to windward of the square-rigged +ships; she appeared to be light in ballast also. All of the convoy +showed lights. The Ranger, on the contrary, was as dark as the night, +not even the battle lanterns being lighted. She rapidly overhauled the +schooner, and almost before her careless people were aware of it, she +was alongside. + +"Schooner ahoy!" called out the captain of the ship, standing on the +rail, trumpet in hand. + +"Ahoy, there!" came back from the schooner; "what ship is that?" + +"His Britannic majesty's sloop of war Southampton, Captain Sir James +Yeo. I have a message from the admiral for this convoy, which we have +been expecting. Send a boat aboard." + +"Ay, ay, sir. Will you heave to for us?" + +"Yes, swing the main-yard there, Mr. Seymour, and heave to." + +In a few moments the splash of oars was heard, and a small boat drew +out of the darkness to the starboard gangway of the Ranger. A man +stood up in the stern sheets, and seizing the man ropes thrown to him +climbed up on the deck. + +"Ah, Sir James," he commenced, taking off his hat, "how do you do? How +dark you are! Why, what's all this?" he exclaimed in surprise and +terror, as he made out the strange uniforms in the dim light. He +hesitated a moment, and then stepped back hastily to the gangway, +lifting his hand. + +"Seize him," cried a stern voice, "shoot him if he makes a sound." + +The captain of the unlucky schooner was soon dragged, struggling and +astonished, to the break of the poop. + +"Oh, Sir James, what is the meaning of this outrage, sir, on a British +ship-master? I shall report--" + +"Silence, sir, this is the American Continental ship Ranger, and you +are a prisoner," replied the same voice. "Answer my questions now at +once; your life depends on it. What are these ships to leeward?" + +"Sixteen merchantmen from London, to Halifax, under convoy of two +men-of-war, sir." + +"And what are they?" + +"The Acasta, thirty-six, and the Juno, twenty-two, sir." + +"Very good; is the transport Mellish among them?" + +The man made no reply. + +"Answer me." + +"Ye--yes, sir." + +"Which is she?" + +"Oh, sir, I can't tell you that, sir; she is the most valuable ship of +them all," he said incautiously. + +"You have got to tell me, my man, if you ever want to see daylight +again; which is she?" + +"No, sir, I can't tell you," he replied obstinately. + +"Put the muzzle of your pistol to his forehead, Williams, and if he +does not answer by the time I count ten, pull the trigger. One, two, +three, four--" + +"Mercy, mercy," cried the frightened skipper, as he felt the cold +barrel of the pistol pressed against his temple. + +"Eight, nine--" went on the voice in the darkness, imperturbably. + +"I'll tell, I'll tell." + +"Ah, I thought so; which one is she?" + +"The last one, sir." + +"And the Juno?" + +"The fourth from the rear; the frigate 's the first one, sir," he +volunteered. "Oh, don't kill me, gentlemen." + +"Have you told me the truth, sirrah? Williams, keep your pistol there." + +"Oh, sir, yes, so help me; oh, gentlemen, for God's sake don't murder +me. I've a wife and--" + +"Peace, you fool! We won't hurt you if you 've told the truth; you +shall even be released presently and have your schooner again--we don't +want her; but if you have lied to me, you shall hang from that yard-arm +in the morning, as sure as my name is John Paul Jones." + +"O Lord!" said the now thoroughly frightened man, looking up and +meeting the gaze of two eyes which gleamed in the dim light from the +deck above him, "I 've told you the truth, sir." + +"Very well. Go call your boat's crew on deck. Stand by to capture +them as soon as they reach the gangway, some of you, then stow them all +below; let their boat tow astern. And when that's done, you, sir, hail +your schooner and tell her to heave to until your return. Say just +what I tell you to and nothing more--the pistol at your head is loaded +still. Watch him carefully, men, and then send him below with the +rest. Fill away again, Mr. Seymour." + +The ponderous yards were swung, and the Ranger soon gathered way again +and rapidly overhauled the last of the fleet. The first trick had +worked so well that it was worth trying again. As soon as she drew +near the doomed ship, she showed lights like those of the frigate and +sloop of war. Ranging alongside the weather quarter of the transport, +the captain again hailed,-- + +"Ship ahoy!" + +"Ahoy, what ship is that?" + +Again the same deluding reply,-- + +"His Britannic majesty's sloop of war Southampton, Captain Sir James +Yeo. What ship is that?" + +"The transport Mellish." + +"Very well, you are the one we want. I have a message for you. The +Yankees are about, and the admiral has sent us to look up the convoy. +Where is the Acasta?" + +"In the van, Sir James, about two leagues ahead; the corvette is about +a mile forward there, sir." + +"Very good. Heave to and send a boat aboard and get your orders. Look +sharp now, I must speak the corvette and the frigate as well." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the Englishman, as his mainyard was promptly +swung. + +Immediately the Ranger was hove to as well, and on her weather side, +which was that away from the transport, two well-manned boats, their +crews heavily armed, one commanded by Seymour, who had Talbot with him, +and the other by Philip Wilton, accompanied by Bentley, had been +silently lowered into the water, and were pulling around the Ranger +with muffled oars; making a large detour not only to avoid the boat of +the captain of the Mellish, but also to enable one of them to approach +the unsuspecting ship on the lee side. The night was pitch dark, and +the plan was carried out exactly as anticipated. The utterly +unsuspecting captain of the Mellish was seized as he came on deck and +nearly choked to death before he could make an outcry, then sent below +with the rest; his boat's crew were tempted on deck also by an +invitation to partake of unlimited grog, and treated in the same way, +and the two boats of the Ranger reached the Mellish undiscovered. The +watch on the deck of the transport, diminished by the absence of the +boat's crew, were overwhelmed by the rush of armed men, from both sides +of the ship, and after a few shots from two or three men on the +quarter-deck, some yelling and screaming, and a brief scuffle, in which +one man of the Mellish was killed, the ship was mastered. The hatches +were at once secured, before the watch below scarcely knew of the +occurrence. A company of soldiers, about seventy-five in number, of +the Seaforth Highlanders, found themselves prisoners ere they awakened, +the only resistance having come from the mate and two or three of their +officers, who had not yet turned in. + +"Have you got her, Mr. Seymour?" hailed the Ranger. + +"Yes, sir." + +"What is she?" + +"She 's the Mellish right enough, sir." + +"Good. Anybody hurt?" + +"One of the enemy killed, sir; all of ours are all right." + +"What's her crew?" + +"Fifteen men, they say, and seventy-five soldiers. We have the hatches +battened down, and I think with the men we have, we can manage her all +right." + +"Very well, sir. I congratulate you. I am sending the second cutter +off to you with the men's dunnage and your boxes. You have your +orders. Present my compliments to General Washington, with that ship +as a Christmas present, if you bring her in. God grant you get in +safely. Good-by. Better put out that light; we will take your place +in the fleet, and see what happens." + +"Good-by, sir," cried the young lieutenant; "a prosperous cruise to +you." + +In a moment the boat from the Ranger was alongside, the bags and boxes +were speedily shifted, and the cutter, with the other two boats in tow, +dropped back to the Ranger, which by a shift of the helm had drawn much +nearer. Then the Mellish filled away, and presently wearing round on +her heel went off before the wind, and, all her lights having been +extinguished, faded speedily away in the darkness. The boats were +hoisted on the Ranger, she braced up on the port tack, and took the +place vacated by the Mellish. But these things had not happened +without attracting some attention. + +The captain of the vessel next ahead of the Mellish had heard the +pistol shots and shouting. Luffing up into the wind to check his own +headway, he made out a second ship in the darkness alongside his next +astern. In doubt as to what was happening, but certain that something +was wrong, he acted promptly, and caused a blue light to be burned on +his forecastle; this was the agreed signal of danger, and it +immediately awakened the unsuspecting fleet into action. Several of +the ships at different intervals in the long line repeated the signal, +which was finally answered by the frigate, hull down ahead. The +corvette, a half mile away perhaps, responded immediately, and wearing +short round came to on the other tack, and headed for the last of the +line, beating to quarters the while. + +A less audacious man might have thought that he had done enough in +cutting out with so little loss so valuable a transport from under the +guns of two ships of war, either of greater force than his own, and +therefore would have taken advantage of the night to effect his own +escape. But this would not have suited the daring nature of Captain +Jones, and he resolved to await the advent of the sloop of war, +trusting that the advantage of a surprise might compensate for the +great difference in the batteries of the two ships. Besides the +natural desire to fight the enemy, there was a method in the apparent +madness. If he could successfully disable the sloop before the arrival +of the frigate, he would ensure the escape of the captured Mellish, for +the sloop would be in no condition to pursue, and the frigate could not +safely leave her convoy. So with rather a mixture of ideas, he trusted +to the God of battles and the justice of his cause, and also to the +darkness and his own mother-wit and great skill in seamanship, to make +his own escape after the battle, resolutely putting out of his head the +fact that the loss of a spar or two would in all probability result in +the capture of his own ship. To sum it all up, Jones was not a man to +decline battle when there was the slightest prospect of success, and +the very audacity of the present situation enchanted him. All the +lanterns of the Ranger were again extinguished, therefore, and the men +sent quietly to their quarters, with the strictest injunctions not to +make a sound or fire a gun until ordered, under pain of death. Every +other preparation had long since been made for action, so the officers +slipped on their boarding caps, loosened their swords in their sheaths, +and looked to the priming of their pistols; then receiving their final +commands, departed quietly to their several stations,--Simpson, now +occupying the position of first lieutenant, vacated by Seymour, having +charge of the batteries, and Wallingford, on deck with the captain, in +command of the sail trimmers, who were clustered about the masts, the +sloop being still heavily manned. + +"Man the starboard battery," said the captain, in a low but distinct +voice; "men, we 've got our work cut out for us to-night. No cheering +until the first shot is fired, and no firing till I give the order, and +then, all together, give it to them. Do you understand?" + +A chorus of subdued "Ay, ays" indicated that the orders were heard. + +"Mr. Wallingford, do you stand ready to back the maintopsail when she +is alongside, though if she attempts to pass in front of us we 'll up +helm and take her on the port side. Two of you after-guards go below +and bring up the captain of the Mellish. Lively, we shall soon have +the sloop down on us." + +In a few moments the unfortunate British skipper was standing on the +poop-deck beside Captain Jones. + +"Now, my man, you are the master of the Mellish, are you not?" + +"I was a few moments ago," replied the man, sullenly. + +"Well, you are to stand right here, and answer hails just as I tell +you; do you understand?" + +"Yes." + +"Williams, you and another hold him, and if he hesitates to answer, or +answers other than I tell him, blow his brains out. Now we have +nothing to do but wait. Keep her a good full at the helm there." + +"Ay, ay, sir," replied the veteran quartermaster, stationed at the con. +Meanwhile the Juno had come abeam of the vessel next ahead of the +Ranger, and the conversation which followed was as plainly audible in +the latter ship as had been the beating to quarters just after she wore. + +"Providence ahoy there!" came from the Juno. "What is the matter? +What are you burning blue lights for?" + +"Nothing is the matter with us, sir, but we heard pistol shots and +cries on the Mellish astern, and thought we saw two ships instead of +one. It's so beastly black to-night we could n't make out anything +very well." + +"All right; better keep off a little, out of the way. I will run down +and see what's wrong." + +The present course of the Juno would have brought her across the bows +of the Ranger, but the ships were nearing so rapidly that a collision +would have resulted, so the Juno was kept away a little, and soon ran +down on the lee bow of the Ranger. The two ships were thus placed side +by side, the Ranger on the port tack having the advantage of the +weather gauge of the Juno, which had the wind free,--an advantage the +captain of the English ship would never have yielded without an effort, +had he imagined the character of the ship opposite him. The battle +lanterns of the Juno were lighted, the ports triced up, and she +presented a brilliant picture of a gallant ship ready for action. The +Ranger, black as the night and silent as death, could barely be +discerned in dim outline from the Juno. + +"Mellish ahoy." + +"Ahoy, the Juno." + +"What's wrong on board of you?" + +"Nothing, sir." + +"Pistol shots and screams were heard by the ship ahead; but who +hails--where is Captain Brent?" + +"Answer him," hissed Jones, in the ear of the British captain; "tell +him there were some drunken soldiers of the Highlanders in a row. +Speak out, man," he continued threateningly. + +"Why don't you answer?" came from the Juno. "I shall send a boat +aboard. Call away the first cutter," the voice continued. But the +British seaman on the Ranger's deck was made of sterner stuff than the +other. By a violent and unexpected movement he wrenched his arm free +from the grasp of one of the men, struck the other heavily in the +chest, and before any one could seize him he leaped upon the rail, +shouting loudly, "Treachery! You are betrayed. This is a Yankee +pirate." Then he sprang into the water between the two ships. +Williams raised his pistol. + +"Let him go," cried Jones, "he is a brave fellow;" then lifting his +powerful voice he shouted, "This is the American Continental ship +Ranger. Stand by!"--the port shutters dropped or were pulled up with a +crash, a moment's hasty aim was taken at the brilliantly lighted ship +full abeam.--"Fire! Let them have it, men," he cried in a voice of +thunder. Instantly the black side of the Ranger gave forth a sheet of +flame, and the startling roar of the full broadside in the quiet night +was followed by shrieks and cries and the crashing of woodwork, which +told that the shots had taken effect. Three hearty British cheers rang +out, however, in reply, and the broadside was promptly returned, but +with nothing like the effect of that from the Ranger, for the first +blow counts for as much at sea as in any other contest. + +The next moment the maintopsail of the Juno was gallantly laid to the +mast, that of the Ranger following suit, and the two ships, side by +side, at half pistol-shot distance, continued the dreadful combat, both +crews being encouraged and stimulated by their captains and other +officers. A battle lantern or two, which had been hastily lighted here +and there, shed a dim uncertain light over the decks of the Ranger. +The men, half naked, covered with sweat and dust and powder stains, or +splashed with blood from some more unfortunate comrade, some with heads +tied up, fighting though wounded, served the guns. Several brave +fellows were arranged on the weather side of the deck, dead, their +battles ended; one or two seriously wounded men were lying groaning by +the hatchway, waiting their turn to be carried below to the cockpit to +be committed to the rough surgery of the period, while the fleet-footed +powder boys were running to and fro from the different guns with their +charges, leaping over the wounded and dying with indifference. The +continuous roar of the artillery, for the guns were served with that +steady, rapid precision for which the American seamen soon became +famous, the crackling of musketry, from the men in the tops, with the +yells and cheers and curses and groans of the maddened men, completed a +scene which suggested a bit of hell. + +"This is warm work, Wallingford," said the captain, coolly, though his +eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Do we gain any advantage?" + +"I think so; their fire does not seem to be so heavy. Does it not +slacken a little, sir?" + +"Ay, I think so too. I trust our sticks hold." + +"I have not had any serious damage reported so far, sir." + +"Well, we must end it soon, or that frigate will be down on us; in half +an hour at most, I should say. Ha! what was that?" he said, as a loud +crash from the Juno interrupted him. + +"Their maintopmast 's gone by the board, hurrah!" shouted Wallingford, +looking toward the ship, after springing on the rail, from whence a +moment later he fell back dead, with a bullet in his breast. + +"Poor fellow!" murmured Jones, and then called out, "Give it to them, +lads, they have lost their maintopmast." A cheer was the answer. But +the matter must be ended at once. + +"Johnson," said Jones, to the young midshipman by his side, "run +forward and have the main-yard hauled; give her a good full, +quartermaster," he said to the veteran seaman at the helm, and then +watched the water over the side to see when she gathered headway +through it. "Now! Hard up with the helm! Flatten in the head sheets! +Round in the weather braces! Cease firing, and load all!" + +The ship gathered way, forged ahead slowly, fell off when the helm was +put up, and in a trice was standing across the stern of the Juno, which +endeavored to meet the manoeuvre as soon as it was seen; but, owing to +the loss of the jib and maintopsail and the fouling of the gear, she +did not answer the helm rapidly enough to escape the threatening danger. + +"Stand by to rake her! Ready! Fire! Stand by to board!" + +The effect of this raking broadside delivered at short range was awful; +the whole stern of the Juno was beaten in, and the deadly projectiles +had free range the full length of the devoted ship, which reeled and +trembled under the terrible shock. A moment of silence followed, +broken by shrieks and groans and a few feeble cheers from some +undaunted spirits. Then the Ranger, still falling off, a rank sheer of +the helm brought her beam against the stern of the Juno, when eager +hands hove the grapnels which bound the two ships together. + +"Away, boarders!" + +Certain of the men left their quarters at the guns, and cutlass and +pistol in hand, led by Jones himself, swarmed over the rail and on the +poop of the Juno. Two or three men were standing there among the dead +and wounded men, half dazed by the sudden catastrophe, but they bravely +sprang forward. + +"Do you surrender?" cried Jones. + +"No, you damned rebel!" answered the foremost, in the uniform of an +officer, crossing swords with him gallantly; but in a moment the sword +of the impetuous American beat down his guard and was buried in his +breast. With a hollow groan, he fell dying on the deck of the ship he +had so gallantly defended, while his men, borne back by the determined +rush of the Rangers, after a feeble resistance, threw down their arms, +crying, "Quarter, quarter!" + +All this time the guns of that ship had been firing, one or two of them +depressed by Simpson's orders so as to pierce the hull below the +water-line, the rest sending their heavy shot ripping and tearing +through the length of the Juno, which was unable to bring a single gun +to bear in reply. + +"Do you strike?" called Jones, from the break of the poop, his men +massed behind him for a rush through the gangways, to one or two of the +officers who were stationed there. + +"Yes, yes, God help us," cried a wounded officer; "what else can we do?" + +"Where's your captain?" + +"Dead, sir," answered one of the seamen who had been seized by the +boarders. "Him you killed when you boarded." + +"Poor fellow, he was a brave man, and fought his ship well." + +"Captain, the frigate is bearing down upon us!" cried one of the +Ranger's men. + +"Ay, ay. Well, gentlemen, we cannot take possession, so we will have +to leave you to your consort," he said to the British officers. "Give +the captain of the Acasta the compliments of Captain John Paul Jones, +of the American Continental ship Ranger, and say that he will find me +in the British Channel. Thank him for our entertainment to-night," he +said, bowing courteously, and then--"Back to the ship, all you +Rangers.--Let that man's sword alone, sirrah! He used it well, let it +remain with him on his own ship; but first haul down and bring the +Juno's flag with us." + +The men hastily scrambled over the rails to their own ship, the +grapnels were cut loose, and none too soon the ship slowly gathered way +and slipped by the stern of the Juno, whose mizzenmast fell a moment +after, and she lay rolling, a ghastly shattered hulk on the waters, +fire breaking out forward. + +The frigate, coming down rapidly on the starboard tack, luffed up into +the wind, and fired a broadside at the rapidly disappearing Ranger, +which, however, did no harm, and was only answered by a musket-shot in +contempt, and then she ranged down beside her battered and shattered +consort. As soon as she reached the side of the Juno she was hove to, +and a boat was sent off at once. An officer stepped on board. He was +horrified at the scene of carnage which presented itself. The ship +aloft was a wreck, the decks were a perfect shambles, wounded and dying +men lay around in every position. The masts were gone, the ship was +full of shot-holes, the water was rushing and gurgling in through the +shot-holes below the waterline, flames were breaking out forward. + +"Where is Captain Burden?" cried the officer. + +"Dead," replied the wounded first lieutenant, in a hollow voice. + +"Did you strike?" + +"Yes." + +"What was the ship with which you fought?" + +"The American ship Ranger, Captain John Paul Jones. He says he will +see you in the English Channel. Oh, God, Lawless, isn't this awful? +Three-fourths of ours are dead or wounded! The cursed rebel captured +the Mellish, we ranged alongside at quarters; they got in the first +broadside; the maintopmast went, then the jib; they fell off, raked us +through the stern, boarded; Jones cut down Burden with his sword; we +could not get a gun to bear, they were pounding through us. We could +not keep the men at quarters, we struck; they took our flag too; then +you came down, and he sheered off; then the mizzenmast went. I expect +the fore will go next." + +"What's his force? Was it a frigate?" + +"I can answer that," said the brave master of the Mellish, who had +gained the Juno and fought well in the fight; "she's a sloop of +eighteen guns." + +"Less than ours! We have twenty-two. Oh, Lawless, what a disgrace! I +can't understand it. Our men did well. And she goes free, and look at +us!" + +"Ship is making water fast; we can't get at the fire forward either, +sir," reported one of the Juno's officers. + +"Good God, can't we save the ship?" queried Lieutenant Lawless, of the +Acasta. + +"No, it will be as much as we can do to get off the wounded, I fear." + +"Back," cried Lawless, turning to the cutter in which they had come, +"to the Acasta, and tell her to send all her boats alongside; this ship +is a perfect wreck. She must sink in a few minutes. We have hardly +time to get the wounded off. Lively, bear a hand for your lives, men." + +However, in spite of all that could be done by willing and able hands, +some of the helpless men were still on board when the Juno pitched +forward suddenly and then sank bow foremost into the dark waters, +carrying many of her gallant defenders into the deep with her. Among +them on the quarter-deck lay the body of the dead captain, the sword +which the magnanimity of his conqueror had left to him lying by his +side. + +And this is war upon the sea! + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +_Chased by a Frigate_ + +Three days after the sinking of the Juno, the Mellish, which had +escaped in the dark without pursuit from the fleet, after witnessing +the successful termination of the action between the two sloops of war, +was heading about northwest-by-west for Massachusetts Bay and Boston, +with single reefs in her topsails and close hauled on the starboard +tack. Seymour's orders had left him sufficient discretion as to his +destination, but Boston being the nearest harbor held by the Americans, +he had deemed it best to try to make that port rather than incur +further risk of recapture by making the longer voyage to Philadelphia. + +The weather had turned cloudy and cold; there was a decided touch of +winter in the air. The men were muffled up in their pea-jackets, and +the little squad of prisoners, tramping up and down, taking exercise +and air under a strong guard, looked decidedly uncomfortable, not to +say disgusted, with the situation. + +It had been a matter of some difficulty to disarm the prisoners, +especially the soldiers, and to feed and properly exercise them; but +the end had been successfully arrived at through the prudence and +ability of Seymour, who was well aided by Talbot and Wilton, and who +profited much by many valuable suggestions born of the long experience +of the old boatswain. + +On this particular afternoon, about ten days before Christmas, the +young captain, now confident of carrying his prize into the harbor, +felt very much relieved and elated by his apparent command of the +situation. He knew what a godsend the ship's cargo, which he and +Talbot had ascertained to be even more valuable than had been +represented, would be to the American army. It might be said without +exaggeration, that the success of the great cause depended upon the +fortune of that one little ship under his command. Talbot had properly +classified and inventoried the cargo according to orders, and was +prepared to make immediate distribution of it upon their arrival in +port. Both of the young men were as happy as larks, and even the +thought of their captured friends did not disquiet them as it might +under less fortunate circumstances, for among the captives on the +Mellish was a Colonel Seaton of the Highlanders, whom they trusted to +be able to exchange for Colonel Wilton, and they did not doubt in that +case that Katharine would return with her father. + +While indulging themselves in these rosy dreams, natural to young men +in the elation of spirit consequent upon the events of their short and +exciting cruise,--the capture and successful escape of the transport, +the apparent assurance of bringing her in, and the daring and brilliant +night-action which they had witnessed,--they had neither of them +ventured to touch upon the subject uppermost in each heart,--the love +each bore for Katharine,--and the subject still remained a sealed book +between them. The cruise was not yet over, however, and fate had in +store for them several more exciting occurrences to be faced. Seymour, +often accompanied by Talbot, and Wilton, always accompanied by Bentley, +kept watch and watch on the brief cruise of the transport. On the +afternoon of the third day, about three bells in the afternoon watch, +or half after one o'clock, Seymour, whose watch below it was, was +called from the cabin by old Bentley, who informed him that a +suspicious sail had been seen hull down to the northeast, and Wilton +had desired that his commanding officer be informed of it. Seizing a +glass and springing to his feet, he hastened on deck. + +"Well, Mr. Wilton," he said to that young officer, proud of his +responsibilities, "you keep a good lookout. Where away is the sail +reported?" + +"Broad off the weather bow, sir, due north of us. You can't see her +from the deck yet," replied Wilton, flushing with pride at the +compliment. + +Seymour sprang into the main rigging, and rapidly ascended to the +crosstrees, glass in hand. There he speedily made out the +topgallantsails of a large ship, having the wind on the quarter +apparently, and slowly coming into view. He subjected her to a long +and careful scrutiny, during which the heads of her topsails rose, +confirming his first idea that she was a ship-of-war, and if so, +without doubt, one of the enemy. She was coming down steadily; and if +the two vessels continued on their present courses they would pass each +other within gun-shot distance in a few hours, a thing not to be +permitted under any circumstances, if it could be avoided. He +continued his inspection a moment longer, and then closing the glass, +descended to the deck with all speed by sliding down the back-stay. + +"Forward, there!" he shouted. "Call the other watch, and be quick +about it! Philip, step below and ask Mr. Talbot to come on deck at +once. Bentley, that seems to be a frigate or a heavy sloop going free; +she will be down on us in a few hours if we don't change our course. +Take a look at her, man," he said, handing him the glass, "and let me +know what you think of her." + +While the men were coming on deck, Bentley leaped into the mizzen +rigging and ran up the shrouds with an agility surprising in one of his +gigantic figure and advanced age. After a rapid survey he came down +swiftly. "It's an English frigate, and not a doubt of it, sir, and +rising very fast." + +"I thought so. Man the weather braces! Up with the helm! Bear a hand +now, my hearties! Now, then, all together! Brace in!" He himself set +a good example to the short crew, who hastened to obey his rapid +commands, by assisting the two seamen stationed aft to brail in the +spanker, in which labor he was speedily joined by Talbot, who had come +on deck. Young Wilton and Bentley lent the same assistance forward, +and in an astonishingly brief time, considering her small crew, the +Mellish, like the stranger, was going free with the wind on her +quarter, her best point of sailing, her course now making a wide obtuse +angle with that of the approaching ship. + +"Now, then, men, lay aloft, and shake the reefs out of the topsails. +Stand by to loose the fore and main topgallantsails as well." + +"Why, what's wrong, Seymour?" said Talbot, in surprise. "I rather +expected we should be in Massachusetts Bay this evening, and here we +are, heading south again. Isn't that Cape Cod,--that blue haze yonder? +Why are we leaving it? What's the matter?" + +"Take the glass, man; there, aft on the starboard quarter, a sail! You +should be able to see her from the deck now. Can you make her out?" + +"Yes, by heaven, it's a ship, and a large ship too! What is it, think +you, Seymour?" + +"An English ship, of course, a frigate; we have no ships like that in +these waters, or in our navy, either--more's the pity." + +"Whew! This looks bad for us." + +"Well, we 're not caught yet by a long sight, Talbot. A good many +leagues will have to be sailed before we are overhauled, and there 's +many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, you know; that old stale maxim +is truer on the sea than any place else, and truer in a chase, too; a +thousand things may help us or hinder her. See, we are going better +now that the reefs are out and the topgallantsails set. But it's a +fearful strain on our spars. They look new--pray God they be good +ones," he continued, gazing over the side at the masses of green water +tossed aside from the bows and sweeping aft under the counter in great +swirls. + +The spars and rigging of the Mellish were indeed fearfully tested, the +masts buckling and bending like a strained bow. The wind was +freshening every moment, and there was the promise of a gale in the +lowering sky of the gray afternoon. The ship felt the increased +pressure from the additional sail which had been made, and her speed +had materially increased, though she rolled and pitched frightfully, +wallowing through the water and smashing into the waves with her broad, +fat bows, and making rather heavy weather of it. In spite of all this, +however, the chase gained slowly upon them, until she was now visible +to the naked eye from the decks of the Mellish. Seymour, full of +anxiety, tried every expedient that his thorough seamanship and long +experience could dictate to accelerate the speed of his ship,--rather a +sluggish vessel at best, and now, heavily laden, slower than ever. The +stream anchors were cut away, and then one of the bowers also; all the +boats, save one, the smallest, were scuttled and cast adrift; purchases +were got on all the sheets and halliards, and the sails hauled flat as +boards, and kept well wetted down; some of the water tanks were pumped +out, to alter the trim and lighten her; the bulwarks and rails partly +cut away, and, as a final resort, the maintopmast studdingsail was set, +but the boom broke at the iron and the whole thing went adrift in a few +moments. Talbot, anxious to do something, suggested the novel +expedient of breaking out a field-piece from the fore hold and mounting +it on the quarter-deck to use as a stern-chaser. This had been done, +but the frigate was yet too far away for it to be of any service. + +In spite of all these efforts, they were being overhauled slowly, but +Seymour still held on and did not despair. There was one chance of +escape. Right before them, not a half league away, lay a long shoal +known as George's Shoal, extending several leagues across the path of +the two ships; through the middle of this dangerous shoal there existed +a channel, narrow and tortuous, but still practicable for ships of a +certain size. He was familiar with its windings, as was Bentley, as +they both had examined it carefully in the previous summer with a view +to just such a contingency as now occurred. The Mellish was a large +and clumsy ship, heavily laden, and drawing much water, but he felt +confident that he could take her through the pass. At any rate the +attempt was worth making, and if he did fail, it would be better to +wreck her, he thought, than allow her to be recaptured. The English +captain either knew or did not know of the shoal and the channel. If +he knew it, he would have to make a long detour, for in no case would +the depth of water in the pass permit a heavy ship as was the pursuing +vessel to follow them; and, aided by the darkness rapidly closing down, +the Mellish would be enabled to escape. + +If the English captain were a new man on the station, and unacquainted +with the existence of the shoal, as was most likely--well, then he was +apt to lose his ship and all on board of her, if he chased too far and +too hard. The problem resolved itself into this: if the Mellish could +maintain her distance from the pursuer until it was necessary to come +by the wind for a short tack, and still have sufficient space and time +left to enable her to run up to the mouth of the channel without being +sunk, or forced to strike by the batteries of the frigate, they might +escape; if not--God help them all! thought Seymour, desperately, for in +that event he resolved to run the vessel on the rocky edge of the shoal +at the pass mouth and sink her. + +They were rapidly drawing down upon the shoal at the point from which +they must come by the wind, on the starboard tack. Some far-away +lights on Cape Cod had just been lighted, which enabled Seymour to get +his bearing exactly. He had talked the situation over quietly with +Bentley, and they had not yet lost hope of escaping. The men had +worked hard and faithfully, carrying out the various orders and +lightening ship, and now, having done all, some few were lying about +the deck resting, while the remainder hung over the rails gazing at +their pursuer. One of the men, the sea philosopher Thompson, of the +Ranger's crew, finally went aft to the quarter-deck to old Bentley, who +was privileged to stand there under the circumstances, and asked if he +might have a look through the glass for a moment at the frigate. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +_'Twixt Love and Duty_ + +"Ay, it's as I thought," he remarked, returning the glass after a long +gaze; "that's the Radnor, curse her!" + +"The Radnor, mate? Are you quite sure?" + +"Bosun, does a man live in a hell like that for a year and a half, and +forget how it looks? I 'd know her among a thousand ships!" + +"What's that you say, my man?" eagerly asked Seymour, stopping +suddenly, having caught some part of the conversation as he was passing +by. + +"Why, that that 'ere ship is the Radnor, sir." + +Talbot and his men were busy with the gun aft; no one heard but Seymour +and Bentley. + +"The Radnor! How do you know it, man?" + +"I served aboard her for eighteen months, sir. I knows every line of +her,--that there spliced fore shroud, the patch in the mainsail,--I put +it on myself,--besides, I know her; I don't know how, but know her I +do, every stick in her. Curse her--saving your honor's presence--I 'm +not likely to forget her. I was whipped at the grating till I was +nearly dead, just for standing up for this country, on board of her, +and me a freeborn American too! I 've got her sign manual on my back, +and her picture here, and I 'd give all the rest of my life to see her +smashed and sunk, and feel that I 'd had some hand in the doing of it. +Ay, I know her. Could a man ever forget her!" continued the seaman, +turning away white with passion, and shaking his fist in convulsive +rage at the frigate, which made a handsome picture in spite of all. +Seymour's face was as white as Thompson's was. + +"The Radnor! The Radnor! Why, that's the ship Miss Wilton is on. Oh, +Bentley, what can be done now?" he said, the whole situation rising +before him. "If we lead that ship through the pass it means wreck for +her. Dacres, who commands the Radnor, is a new man on this station. +And if we don't try the pass, this ship is captured. And our country, +our cause, receives a fatal blow! Was ever a man in such a situation +before?" + +Bentley looked at him with eyes full of pity. "We are approaching the +shoal now, sir, and unless we would be on it, we will have to bring the +ship by the wind at once." + +This, at least, was a respite. Seymour glanced ahead, and at once gave +the necessary orders. When the course was altered it became necessary +to take in the fore and main topgallantsails, on account of the wind, +now blowing a half gale and steadily rising. The speed of the ship, +therefore, was unfortunately sensibly diminished, and she was soon +pitching and heaving on the starboard tack, much to the astonishment of +Talbot and the crew, who were ignorant of the existence of the shoal, +and the latter of whom could see no necessity for the dangerous +alteration in the course; they, however, of course said nothing, and +Talbot, whose ignorance of seamanship did not qualify him to decide +difficult questions, after a glance at Seymour's stern, pale face, +decided to ask nothing about it. This present course being at right +angles to that of their pursuer, whom neither Seymour nor Bentley +doubted to be the Radnor, would speedily bring the two ships together. +They had gained a small but precious advantage, however, as the +frigate, apparently as much surprised by the unexpected manoeuvre as +their own men, had allowed some moments to elapse before her helm was +shifted and the wind brought on the other quarter; the courses of the +two ships now intersected at an angle of perhaps seventy degrees, which +would bring them together in a short time. + +The people on the Mellish could plainly hear the drums of the frigate, +now almost in range, beating to quarters. They were near enough to +count the gunports; it was indeed a heavy frigate,--a thirty-six, just +the rating of the Radnor. Talbot had made ready his field-piece, and +in a moment the heavy boom of the gun echoed over the waters. The shot +fell a little short, but was in good line. Much encouraged, the men +hastened to load the piece again, while the Mellish crept along, all +too slowly for the eager anxiety of her crew, toward the mouth of the +channel, of which most of them, however, knew nothing. The frigate, +partly because in order to bring a gun to bear on the chase it would +have to luff up into the wind and thus lose valuable distance, and also +because the rapidity with which the Mellish was being overhauled +rendered it unnecessary, had hitherto refrained from using its +batteries. The chances of escape under the present conditions were +about even, had it not been for the complication introduced by the +presence of Katharine and her father upon the frigate. + +Seymour was in a painful and frightful state of indecision. What +should he do? The dilemma forced upon him was one of those which +Katharine had foreseen, and of which they had talked together. He, +apparently, must decide between his love and his country. If he held +on when he reached the mouth of the channel and passed it by, the +capture of the ship was absolutely inevitable. If he went through the +channel and enticed the English ship after him, the death of his +sweetheart was likewise apparently inevitable. + +Chasing with the determination shown by the English captain, who had +his topgallantsails still set, and with the little warning he would +have of the existence of the shoal, owing to the rapid closing of the +day, the frigate would have to attempt the channel, and in that way for +that ship lay destruction. + +Save Katharine-- Lose the ship. Save the ship-- Lose Katharine. +Love or Duty--which should it be? The man was attacked in the two most +powerful sources of human action. He saw on one side Katharine tossed +about by the merciless waves, white-faced with terror, and stretching +out her hands to him in piteous appeal from that angry sea in the +horror of darkness and death. And every voice which spoke to the human +heart was eloquent of her. And then on the other side there stood +those grim and frozen ranks, those gaunt, hungry, naked men. They too +stretched out hands to him. "Give us arms, give us raiment," they +seemed to say. "You had the opportunity and you threw it away for +love. What's love--to liberty?" + +And every incentive which awakens the soul of honor in men appealed to +him then. Behind him stood the destinies of a great people, the fate +of a great cause; on him they trusted, upon his honor they had +depended, and before him stood one woman. He saw her again as he had +seen her before on the top of the hill on that memorable night in +Virginia. What had she said?-- + +"_If I stood in the pathway of liberty for one single instant, I should +despise the man who would not sweep me aside without a moment's +hesitation._" + +Oh, Katharine, Katharine, he groaned in spirit, pressing his hands upon +his face in agony, while every breaking wave flung the words, "duty and +honor," into his face, and every throb of his beating heart whispered +"love--love." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +_An Incidental Passage at Arms_ + +There were two entrances to the channel, lying perhaps a half mile +apart, the first the better and more practicable, and certainly, with +the frigate rapidly drawing near, the safer. They were almost abreast +of the first one now. Bentley, who had been observing him keenly, came +up to him. + +"We are almost abreast the first pass, Mr. Seymour," he said +respectfully. + +Seymour turned as if he had been struck. Was the decision already upon +him? He could not make it. + +"We--we will try the second, Bentley." + +"Sir," said the old man, hesitating, and yet persisting, "the frigate +is coming down fast; we may not be able to make the second pass." + +"We will try the second, nevertheless," said the young man, +imperatively. + +"But, Mr. John--" + +"Silence, sir! When have you bandied words with me before?" shouted +Seymour, in a passion of temper. "Go forward where you belong." + +The old man looked at him steadily: "When, sir? Why, ever since I took +you from your dead father's arms near a score of years ago. Oh, sir, I +know what you feel, but you know what you must do. It's not for me to +tell you your duty," said the old man, laying heavy emphasis upon that +talismanic word "duty," which seems to appeal more powerfully to seamen +than to any other class of men. "Love is a mighty thing, sir. I know +it, yes, even I," he went on with rude eloquence, "ever since I took +you when you were a little lad, and swore to watch over you, and care +for you, and make a man of you--Ay, and I 've done it too--and the love +of woman, they say, is stronger than the love of man, though of that I +know nothing, but honor and duty are above love, sir; and upon your +honor, and your doing your duty, our country depends. Yes, love of +woman, Mr. Seymour, but before that love of country; and now," said the +old man, mournfully, "after twenty years of--of friendship, if I may +say it, you order me forward like a dog. But that's neither here nor +there, if you only save the ship. Oh, Mr. John, in five minutes more +you must decide. See," pointing to the frigate, "how she rises! Think +of it. Think of it once more before you jeopard the safety of this +ship for any woman. Honor, sir, and duty--it's laid upon you, you must +do it--they come before everything." + +Seymour looked at the old man tenderly, and then grasped him by the +hand. "You are right, old friend. Forgive my rough words. I will do +it. It kills me, but I will do it--the country first of all. O God, +pity me and help me!" he cried. + +"Amen," said Bentley, his face working with grief, yet iron in its +determination and resolution. + +Seymour turned on his heel and sprang aft, bringing his hand the while +up to his heart. As he did so, his fingers instinctively went to the +pocket of his waistcoat and sought the letter he carried there. + +He took it out half mechanically and glanced at the familiar writing +once more, when a sudden gust of wind snatched it out of his hand and +blew it to the feet of Talbot. + +"My letter!" cried Seymour, impulsively. + +The soldier courteously stooped and picked it up and glanced down at +the open scrap mechanically, as he extended his hand toward Seymour; +then the next moment he cried,-- + +"Why, it's from Katharine!" + +One unconscious inspection sufficed to put him in possession of the +contents. "Where did you get this note, sir?" he exclaimed, his face +flushing with jealousy and sudden suspicion; "it is mine, I am the one +she loves. How came it in your possession?" he continued, in rising +heat. + +Seymour, already unstrung by the fearful strain he had gone through and +the frightful decision he would have to make later on, nay, had made +after Bentley's words, was in no mood to be catechized. + +"I am not in the habit of answering such personal questions, sir. And +I recognize no right in you to so question me." + +"Right, sir! I find a letter in your possession with words of love in +it, from my betrothed, a note plainly meant for me, and which has been +withheld. How comes it so?" + +"And I repeat, sir, I have nothing to say except to demand the return +of my letter instantly; it is mine, and I will have it." + +"Do you not know, Mr. Seymour, that we have been pledged to each other +since childhood, that we have been lovers, she is to be my wife? I +love her and she loves me; explain this letter then." + +"It is false, Mr. Talbot; she has pledged herself to me,--yes, sir, to +me. I care nothing for your childish love-affairs. She is mine, if I +may believe her words, as is the letter which you have basely read. +You will return it to me at once, or I shall have it taken from you by +force." + +"I give you the lie, sir, here and now," shrieked Talbot, laying his +hand upon his sword. "It is not true, she is mine; as for the note--I +keep it!" + +Seymour controlled himself by a violent effort, and looked around for +some of his men. Wilton and Bentley had come aft in great anxiety, and +the whole crew were looking eagerly at them, attracted by the aroused +voices and the passionate attitude of the two men. For a moment the +chase was forgotten. + +"Oh, Hilary," said Philip, addressing his friend. + +"Hush, Philip, this man insults your sister. I am defending her honor." + +The lad hesitated a moment; discipline was strong in his young soul. +"That is my duty--Mr. Seymour," he said. + +Seymour turned swiftly upon him. "What are you doing here, Mr. Wilton? +All hands are called, are they not? Your station is on the forecastle, +then, I believe," he said with deadly calm. "Oblige me by going +forward at once, sir." + +"Go, Philip," cried Talbot; "I can take care of this man." + +"Aft here, two or three of you," continued Seymour, his usually even +voice trembling a little. "Seize Lieutenant Talbot. Arrest him. Take +his sword from him, and hand me the letter he has in his hand, and then +confine him in his cabin." + +Two or three of the seamen came running aft. Talbot whipped out his +sword. + +"The first man that touches me shall have this through his heart," he +said fiercely. But the seamen would have made short work of him, if it +had not been for the restraining hand of Bentley. + +"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" he said. + +"Out of the way, Bentley. You have changed my plans once. I will not +be balked again. I am the captain of this ship, and I intend to be +obeyed." + +"'T is well that Mr. Seymour is on his ship and surrounded by his +bullies. He dare not meet me man to man, sword to sword. Would we +were on shore! You coward!" screamed Talbot, advancing toward him, +"shall I strike you?" + +"You will have it then, sir," said Seymour, at last giving way. "No +man so speaks to me and lives. Back, men!" and white with passion and +rage he drew his own sword and sprang forward. No less resolutely did +Talbot meet him. Their blades crossed and rang against each other. +Bentley wrung his hands in dreadful indecision, not knowing what to do; +he dared not lay hands upon his superior officer, yet this combat must +cease. But the fierce sword-play, both men being masters of the +weapon, as was the habit of gentlemen of that day, was suddenly +interrupted. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +_Duty Wins the Game_ + +A booming roar came down upon them from the frigate, which had fired a +broadside, which was followed presently by the whistling of shot over +their heads. Great rents were seen in the canvas, pieces of running +gear fell to the deck, there was a crashing, rending sound, and a part +of the rail, left standing abaft the mizzen shrouds, smashed into +splinters and drove inboard under the impact of a heavy shot. + +One splinter struck the man at the helm in the side; he fell with a +shriek, and lay white and still by the side of the wheel, which, no +longer restrained by his hand, spun round madly. Another splinter hit +the sword of Talbot, breaking the blade and sweeping it from his hands, +and the unlucky scrap of paper was blown into the sea. The spanker +sheet was cut in two, and the boom swept out to windward, knocking one +of the men overboard. There was neither time nor opportunity to pick +him up, and he went to his death unheeded. + +Seymour dropped his sword, every instinct of a sailor aroused, and +sprang to the horse-block. The ship, left to itself, fell off rapidly +before the wind. Bentley jumped to seize the helm. + +"Flow the head sheets there!" cried the lieutenant; "lively! Aft here +and haul in the spanker! Brail up the foresail! Down, hard down with +the helm!" + +There was another broadside from the heavy guns of the frigate. Talbot +replied with his stern-chaser, and a cloud of splinters showed that the +shot took effect, whereat the men at the gun cheered and loaded, and +then crash went the mizzen topgallant mast above their heads! + +"Lively, men!" shouted Seymour, "we must get on the wind again or we +are lost." + +"Breakers on the starboard bow!" shrieked the lookout on the forecastle +suddenly. "Breakers on the port bow!" His voice ran aft in a shrill +scream, fraught with terror, "Breakers ahead!" + +"Down, hard down with the helm, Bentley," said Seymour, himself +springing over to assist the old man at the wheel. + +But Bentley raised his hand and kept the wheel steady. "Too late, sir, +for that," he cried, "we are in the pass. God help us now, sir. Mr. +Seymour, look to the ship, sir, look to the ship!" + +The young officer sprang back on the horse-block, his soul filled with +horror. So fate had decided for him at last, and duty, not love, had +won the mighty game. A third broadside passed harmlessly over the +ship, doing little damage, the rough weather making aiming uncertain. +Again the field-piece replied. Seymour never turned his head in the +direction of the frigate. He could not look upon the catastrophe; +besides, the exigency of the situation demanded that he give his whole +mind to conning the ship through the narrow pass. Bentley himself, +assisted by a young sailor, kept the helm; the oldest seamen had charge +of the braces. The wreck of the mizzen topgallant mast was allowed to +hang for the present. + +The white water dashed about the ship in sheets of foam; they were well +in the breakers now, and the most ignorant eye could see the danger. +One false movement meant disaster for the ship for whose safety Seymour +had sacrificed so much. He did not make it. To his disordered fancy +Katharine's white face looked up at him from every breaking wave. He +steeled his heart and gave his orders with as much ease and precision +as if it had been a practice cruise. To the day of his death he could +not account for his ability to do so. He made a splendid figure, +standing on the horse-block, his hair flowing out in the wind, his face +deadly pale; calm, cool, steady; his voice clear and even, but heard in +every part of the ship. The heart of the old sailor at the helm +yearned toward him, and the seamen looked at him as if he had been a +demigod. He never once looked back, but from the cries of the men he +could follow every motion of the frigate behind him. The frigate, the +unsuspicious frigate, had followed the course of the transport exactly, +and was coming down to the deadly rocks like a hurricane. + +Talbot, his quarrel forgotten for the moment, ceased firing, and stood, +with all of the men who could be spared from their stations, looking +aft at the tremendous drama being played. + +"The frigate! Look at the frigate! She 's going to strike, sir!" +cried one of the seamen, excitedly,--old Thompson, who had sailed upon +her. "See, they see the breakers. Now there go the head yards. It +won't do. It's too late. My God, she strikes, she strikes! I 'll +have one more shot at her before she goes," he shrieked, taking hasty +aim over the loaded field-piece and touching the priming. "Ay, and a +hit too. Hurrah! hurrah! To h--l with ye, where you belong, ye--" + +"Silence aft!" shouted Seymour, in a voice of thunder. "Keep fast that +gun; and another cheer like that, and I put you in irons, Thompson." + +The water in the front of the Mellish suddenly became darker, the +breakers disappeared, the ship was in deep water again; she had the +open sea before her, and was through the channel. + +"We are through the pass, sir," said Bentley. + +"I know it," answered Seymour, at last. "I suppose there is no use +beating back around the shoal, Bentley?" he said tentatively. + +"No, sir, no use; and besides in this wind we could not do it; and, +sir, you know nothing will live in such a sea. Look at the Englishman +now, sir." + +The captain turned at last. The frigate was a hopeless wreck. All +three of her masts had gone by the board; she had run full on the rocky +ledge of the shoal at the mouth of the channel. The wind had risen +until it blew a heavy gale; no boat, no human being, could live in such +a sea. The waters rushed over her at every sweep, and she was fast +breaking up before them. Night had fallen, and darkness at last +enshrouded her as she faded out of view. A drop of snow fell lightly +upon the cold cheek of the young sailor, and the men gazed into the +night in silence, appalled by the awful catastrophe. Bentley, +understanding it all, laid his hand lightly on Seymour's arm, saying +softly,-- + +"Better clear the wreck and get the mizzen topsail and the fore and +main sail in, sir, and reef the fore and main topsails; the spars are +buckling fearfully. She can't stand much more." + +"Oh, Bentley," he said with a sob, and then, mastering himself, he gave +the necessary orders to clear away the wreck and take in the other +sails, and close reef the topsails, in order to put the ship in proper +trim for the rising storm; after which, the wind now permitting, the +ship was headed for Philadelphia. + +As Seymour turned to go below, he came face to face with Talbot. The +two men stood gazing at each other in silence. + +"We still have an account to settle, Mr. Talbot," he said sternly. + +"My God," said Talbot, hesitatingly, "was n't it awful? How small, +Seymour, are our quarrels in the face of that!" pointing out into the +darkness,--"such a tremendous catastrophe as that is." + +Seymour looked at him curiously; the man had not yet fathomed the depth +of the catastrophe to him, evidently. + +"As for our quarrel," he continued in a manly, generous way, +"I--perhaps I was wrong, Mr. Seymour. I know I was, but I have loved +her all my life. I am sorry I spoke so, and I beg your pardon; +but--won't you tell me about the note now?" + +A great pity for the young man filled Seymour's heart in spite of his +own sorrow. "I loved her too," he said quietly. "The note was sent to +me from Gwynn's Island, where they were confined. I had offered myself +to her the night of the raid,--just before it, in fact,--and she +accepted me. The note was mine. Where is it?" + +"Oh!" said Talbot, softly, lifting his hand to his throat, "and I loved +her too, and she is yours. Forgive me, Seymour, you won her honorably. +I was too confident,--a fool. The note is gone into the sea. We +cannot quarrel about it now." + +"There can be no quarrel between us now, Talbot. She is mine no more +than she is yours. She--she--" He paused, choking. "She--" + +"Oh, what is it? Speak, man," cried Talbot, in sudden fear which he +could not explain. Philip Wilton had drawn near and was listening +eagerly. + +"That ship there--the Radnor, you know--is lost, and all on board of +her must have perished long since." + +"Yes, yes, it's awful; but what of that? what of Katharine?" + +"Don't you remember the note? Colonel Wilton and she were on the +Radnor." + +The strain of the last hour had undermined the nervous strength of the +young soldier. He looked at Seymour, half dazed. + +"It can't be," he murmured. "Why did you do it? How could you?" The +world turned black before him. He reeled as if from a blow, and would +have fallen if Seymour had not caught him. Philip strained his gaze +out over the dark water. + +"Oh, my father, my father!" he cried. "Mr. Seymour, is there no hope, +no chance?" + +"None whatever, my boy; they are gone." + +"Oh, Katharine, Katharine! Why did you do it, Seymour?" said Talbot, +again. + +Seymour turned away in silence. He could not reply; now that it was +done, he had no reason. + +The dim light from the binnacle lantern fell on the face of Bentley; +tears were standing in the old man's eyes as he looked at them, and he +said slowly, as if in response to Talbot's question,-- + +"For love of country, gentlemen." + +And this, again, is war upon the sea! + + + + +BOOK III + +THE LION AT BAY + + +CHAPTER XIX + +_The Port of Philadelphia_ + +The day before Christmas, the warden of the port of Philadelphia, +standing glass in hand on one of the wharves, noticed a strange vessel +slowly coming up the bay. This in itself was not an unusual sight. +Many vessels during the course of a year arrived at, or departed from, +the chief city of the American continent. Not so many small traders or +coasting-vessels or ponderous East Indiamen, perhaps, as in the busy +times of peace before the war began; but their place was taken by +privateers and their prizes, or a ship from France, bringing large +consignments of war material from the famous house of Rodrigo Hortalez +& Co., of which the versatile and ingenuous [Transcriber's note: +ingenious?] M. de Beaumarchais was the _deus ex machina_; and once in a +while one of the few ships of war of the Continental navy, or some of +the galleys or gunboats of Commodore Hazelwood's Pennsylvania State +defence fleet. But the approaching ship was evidently neither a +privateer nor a vessel of war, neither did she present the appearance +of a peaceful merchantman. There was something curious and noteworthy +in her aspect which excited the attention of the port warden, and then +of the loungers along Front Street and the wharves, and speedily +communicated itself to the citizens of the town, so that they began to +hasten down to the river, in the cold of the late afternoon. Finally, +no less a person than the military commander of the city himself +appeared, followed by one or two aids, and attended by various bewigged +and beruffled gentlemen of condition and substance; among whose finery +the black coat of a clergyman and the sober attire of many of the +thrifty Quakers were conspicuous. Here and there the crowd was +lightened by the uniform of a militiaman or home guard, or the faded +buff and blue of some invalid or wounded Continental. In the doorways +of some of the spacious residences facing the river, many of the fair +dames for which Philadelphia was justly famous noted eagerly the +approaching ship. As she came slowly up against the ebb tide, it was +seen that her bulwarks had been cut away, all her boats but one +appeared to be lost, her mizzen topgallant mast was gone, several great +patches in her sails also attracted attention; there too was a +field-piece mounted and lashed on the quarter-deck as a stern-chaser. +The fore royal was furled, and two flags were hanging limply from the +masthead; the light breeze from time to time fluttering them a little, +but not sufficiently to disclose what they were, until just opposite +High Street, where she dropped her only remaining anchor, when a sudden +gust of wind lifted the two flags before the anxious spectators, who +saw that one was a British and the other their own ensign. As soon as +the eager watchers grasped the fact that the red cross of St. George +was beneath the stars and stripes, they broke into spontaneous cheers +of rejoicing. Immediately after, the field-gun on the quarterdeck was +fired, and the report reverberated over the water and across the island +on the one side, and through the streets of the town on the other, with +sufficient volume to call every belated and idle citizen to the +river-front at once. + +Immediately after, a small boat was dropped into the water and manned +by four stout seamen, into which two officers rapidly descended,--one +in the uniform of a soldier, and the other in naval attire. When they +reached the wharf at the foot of High Street, they found themselves +confronted by an excited, shouting mass of anxious men, eager to hear +the news they were without doubt bringing. + +"It's Lieutenant Seymour!" cried one. + +"Yes, he went off in the Ranger about two weeks ago," answered another. + +"So he did. I wonder where the Ranger is now?" + +"Who is the one next to him?" said a third. + +"That's the young Continental from General Washington's staff, who went +with them," answered a fourth voice. + +"Back, gentlemen, back!" + +"Way for the general commanding the town!" + +"Here, men, don't crowd this way on the honorable committee of +Congress!" cried one and another, as a stout, burly, red-faced, honest, +genial-looking man, whose uniform of a general officer could not +disguise his plain farmer-like appearance, attended by two or three +staff-officers and followed by several white-wigged gentlemen of great +dignity, the rich attire and the evident respect in which they were +held proclaiming them the committee of Congress, slowly forced their +way through the crowd. + +"Now, sir," cried the general officer to the two men who had stepped +out on the wharf, "what ship is that? We are prepared for good news, +seeing those two flags, and the Lord knows we need it." + +"That is the transport Mellish, sir; a prize of the American +Continental ship Ranger, Captain John Paul Jones." + +"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried the crowd, which had eagerly pressed near to +hear the news. + +"Good, good!" replied the general. "I congratulate you. How is the +Ranger?" + +"We left her about one hundred leagues off Cape Sable about a week ago; +she had just sunk the British sloop of war Juno, twenty-two guns, after +a night action of about forty minutes. We left the Ranger bound for +France, and apparently not much injured." + +"What! what! God bless me, young men, you don't mean it! Sunk her, +did you say, and in forty minutes! Gentlemen, gentlemen, do you hear +that? Three cheers for Captain John Paul Jones!" + +Just then one of the committee of Congress, and evidently its +chairman,--a man whose probity and honor shone out from his open +pleasant face,--interrupted,-- + +"But tell me, young sir,--Lieutenant Seymour of the navy, is it not? +Ah, I thought so. What is her lading? Is it the transport we have +hoped for?" + +"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Talbot here has her bills of lading and her +manifest also." + +"Where is it, Mr. Talbot?" interrupted the officer; "let me see it, +sir. I am General Putnam, in command of the city." + +The general took the paper in his eagerness, but as he had neglected to +bring his glasses with him, he was unable to read it. + +"Here, here," he cried impatiently, handing it back, "read it yourself, +or, better, tell us quickly what it is." + +"Two thousand stand of arms, twenty field-pieces, powder, shot, and +other munitions of war, ten thousand suits of winter clothes, blankets, +shoes, Colonel Seaton and three officers and fifty men of the Seaforth +Highlanders and their baggage, all _en route_ for Quebec," said Talbot, +promptly. + +The crowd was one seething mass of excitement. Robert Morris turned +about, and lifting his hat from his head waved it high in the air amid +frantic cheers. Putnam and his officers and the other gentlemen of the +committee of Congress seized the hands of the two young officers in +hearty congratulation. + +"But there is something still more to tell," cried Mr. Morris; "your +ship, her battered and dismantled condition, the rents in the +sails--you were chased?" + +"Yes, sir," replied Seymour, "and nearly recaptured. We escaped, +however, through a narrow channel extending across George's Shoal off +Cape Cod, with which I was familiar; and the English ship, pursuing +recklessly, ran upon the shoal in a gale of wind and was wrecked, lost +with all on board." + +"Is it possible, sir, is it possible? Did you find out the name of the +ship?" + +"Yes, sir; one of our seamen who had served aboard her recognized her. +She was the Radnor, thirty-six guns." + +"That's the ship that Lord Dunmore is reported to have returned to +Europe in," said Mr. Clymer, another member of the committee. A +shudder passed over the two young men at this confirmation of their +misfortunes. Seymour continued with great gravity,-- + +"We have reason to believe that some one else in whom you have deeper +interest than in Lord Dunmore was on board of her,--Colonel Wilton, one +of our commissioners to France, and his daughter also. They must have +perished with the rest." + +There was a moment of silence, as the full extent of this calamity was +made known to the multitude, and then a clergyman was seen pushing his +way nearer to them. + +"What! Mr. Seymour! How do you do, sir? Did I understand you to say +that all the company of that English ship perished?" + +"Yes, Dr. White." + +"And Colonel Wilton and his daughter also?" + +"Alas, yes, sir." + +"I fear that it is as our young friend says," added Robert Morris, +gloomily. "I remember they were to go with Dunmore." + +"Oh, Mr. Morris, our poor friends! Shocking, shocking, dreadful!" +ejaculated the saintly-looking man; "these are the horrors of war;" and +then turning to the multitude, he said: "Gentlemen, people, and +friends, it is Christmas eve. We have our usual services at Christ +Church in a short time. Shall we not then return thanks to the Giver +of all victory for this signal manifestation of His Providence at this +dark hour, and at the same time pray for our bereaved friends, and also +for the widows and orphans of those of our enemies who have been so +suddenly brought before their Maker? I do earnestly invite you all to +God's house in His name." + +The chime of old Christ Church ringing from the steeple near by seemed +to second, in musical tones, the good man's invitation, as he turned +and walked away, followed by a number of the citizens of the town. +General Putnam, however, engaged Talbot in conversation about the +disposition of the stores, while Robert Morris continued his inquiries +as to the details of the cruise with Seymour. The perilous situation +of the shattered American army was outlined to both of them, and Talbot +received orders, or permission rather, to report the capture of the +transport to General Washington the next day. Seymour asked permission +to accompany him, which was readily granted. + +"If you do not get a captain's commission for this, Mr. Talbot," +continued Putnam, as they bade him good-night, "I shall be much +disappointed." + +"And if you do not find a captain's commission also waiting for you on +your return here, Lieutenant Seymour, I shall also be much surprised," +added Robert Morris. + +"Give my regards to his excellency, and wish him a merry Christmas from +me, and tell him that he has our best hopes for success in his new +enterprise. I will detach six hundred men from Philadelphia, +to-morrow, to make a diversion in his behalf," said the general. + +"Yes," continued Robert Morris, "and I shall be obliged, Lieutenant +Seymour, if you will call at my house before you start, and get a small +bag of money which I shall give you to hand to General Washington, with +my compliments. Tell him it is all I can raise at present, and that I +am ashamed to send him so pitiable a sum; but if he will call upon me +again, I shall, I trust, do better next time." + +Bidding each other adieu, the four gentlemen separated, General Putnam +to arrange for the distribution and forwarding of the supplies to the +troops at once; Robert Morris to send a report to the Congress, which +had retreated to Baltimore upon the approach of Howe and Cornwallis +through the Jerseys; and Seymour and Talbot back to the ship to make +necessary arrangements for their departure. + +Seymour shortly afterward turned the command of the Mellish over to the +officer Mr. Morris designated as his successor; and Talbot delivered +his schedule to the officer appointed by General Putnam to receive it. +Refusing the many pressing invitations to stay and dine, or partake of +the other bounteous hospitality of the townspeople, the young men +passed the night quietly with Seymour's aunt, his only relative, and at +four o'clock on Christmas morning, accompanied by Bentley and Talbot, +they set forth upon their long cold ride to Washington's camp,--a ride +which was to extend very much farther, however, and be fraught with +greater consequences than any of them dreamed of, as they set forth +with sad hearts upon their journey. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +_A Winter Camp_ + +About half after one o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, December +25th, being Christmas day, and very cold, four tired horsemen, on jaded +steeds, rode up to a plain stone farmhouse standing at the junction of +two common country roads, both of which led to the Delaware River, a +mile or so away. In the clearing back of the house a few wretched +tents indicated a bivouac. Some shivering horses were picketed under a +rude shelter, formed by interlacing branches between the trunks of a +little grove of thickly growing trees which had been left standing as a +wind-break. Bright fires blazed in front of the tents, and the men who +occupied them were enjoying an unusually hearty meal. The faded +uniforms of the men were tattered and torn; some of the soldiers were +almost barefoot, wearing wretched apologies for shoes, which had been +supplemented when practicable by bits of cloth tied about the soles of +the feet. The men themselves were gaunt and haggard. Privation, +exposure, and hard fighting had left a bitter mark upon them. Hunger +and cold and wounds had wrestled with them, and they bore the indelible +imprint of the awful conflict upon their faces. It was greatly to +their credit that, like their leader, they had not yet despaired. A +movement of some sort was evidently in preparation; arms were being +looked to carefully, haversacks and pockets were being filled with the +rude fare of which they had been thankful to partake as a Christmas +dinner; ammunition was being prepared for transportation; those who had +them were wrapping the remains of tattered blankets about them, under +the straps of their guns or other equipments; and the fortunate +possessors of the ragged adjuncts to shoes were putting final touches +to them, with a futile hope that they would last beyond the first mile +or two of the march; others were saddling and rubbing down the horses. + +A welcome contribution had been made to their fare in a huge steaming +bowl of hot punch, which had been sent from the farmhouse, and of which +they had eagerly partaken. + +"What's up now, I wonder?" said one ragged veteran to another. + +"Don't know--don't care--couldn't anything be worse than this," was the +reply. + +"We 've marched and fought and got beaten, and marched and fought and +got beaten again, and retreated and retreated until there is nothing +left of us. Look at us," he continued, "half naked, half starved, and +we 're the best of the lot, the select force, the picked men, the +head-quarters guard!" he went on in bitter sarcasm. + +"Yes, that 's so," replied the other, laughing; then, sadly, "Those +poor fellows by the river are worse off than we are, though. What +would n't they give for some of that punch? My soul, wasn't it good!" +he continued, smacking his lips in recollection. + +"Where are we going, sergeant?" asked another. + +"Don't know; the command is, 'Three days' rations and light marching +order.'" + +"Well, we're all of the last, anyway. Look at me! No stockings, +leggings torn, no shirt; and you'd scarcely call this thing on my back +a coat, would you? What could be lighter? So comfortable, too, in +this pleasant summer weather!" + +"Oh, shut up, old man; you 're better off than I am, anyway; you've got +rags to help your shoes out, and just look at mine," said another, +sticking out a gaunt leg with a tattered shoe on the foot, every toe of +which was plainly visible through the torn and worn openings. "And +just look at this," he went on, bringing his foot down hard on the +snow-covered, frost-bound soil, making an imprint which was edged with +blood from his wounded, bruised, unprotected feet. "That's my +sign-manual; and it 's not hard to duplicate in the army yonder, +either." + +"That's true; and to think that the cause of liberty's got down so low +that we are its only dependence. And they call us the grand army!" + +"Well, as you say," went on another, recklessly, "we can't get into +anything worse, so hurrah for the next move, say I." + +"Three days' rations and light marching order, meaning, I suppose, that +we are to leave our heavy overcoats and blankets and foot stoves and +such other luxuries behind; that rather indicates that we are going to +do something besides retreat; and I should like to get a whack at those +mercenary Dutchmen before I freeze or starve," was the reply. + +"Bully for you!" + +"I'm with you, old man." + +"I, too." + +"And I," came from the group of undaunted men surrounding the speaker. + +"And to think," said another, "of its being Christmas day, and all +those little children at home--oh, well," turning away and wiping his +eyes, "marching and fighting may make us forget, boys. I wouldn't mind +suffering for liberty, if we could only do something, have something to +show for it but a bloody trail and a story of defeat. I 'm tired of +it," he continued desperately. "I 'd fight the whole British army if +they would only let me get a chance at them." + +"We're all with you there, man, and I guess this time we get a chance," +replied one of the speakers, amid a chorus of approval which showed the +spirit of the men. + +While the men were talking among themselves thus, the four riders on +the tired horses had ridden up to the farmhouse. A soldier dressed no +better than the rest stood before the door. + +"Halt! Who are you?" he cried, presenting his musket. + +"Friends. Officers from Philadelphia, with messages for his +excellency," replied the foremost. "Don't you recognize me, my man?" + +"Why, it's Lieutenant Talbot! Pass in, sir, and these other gentlemen +with you," answered the soldier, saluting. "It's glad the general will +be to see you." + +Without further preliminaries the young man opened the door and +entered, followed by his three companions. A cheerful fire of logs was +blazing and crackling in the wide fireplace in the long low room. On +the table before it stood a great bowl of steaming punch, and several +officers were sitting or standing about the room in various positions. +The uniforms of all save that of one of them were scarcely less worn +and faded, if not quite so tattered, than were those of the escort; the +same grim enemies had left the same grim marks upon them as upon the +soldiers. The only well-dressed person in the room was a bright-eyed +young man, a mere boy, just nineteen, wearing the brilliant uniform of +an officer of the French army. He was tall and thin, red-haired, with +a long nose and retreating forehead; his bright eyes and animated +manner expressed the interest he felt in a conversation carried on in +the French language with his nearest neighbor, another young man +scarcely a year his senior. The contrast between the new and gay +French uniform of the one and the faded Continental dress of the other +was not less startling than that suggested by the difference in their +size. The American officer was a small, a very small man; but, in +spite of his insignificant stature, the whole impression of the man was +striking, and even imposing. In contrast to the other, his face was +very handsome, the head finely shaped, the features clear-cut and +regular; he had a decisive mouth, bespeaking resolution and firmness, +and two piercing eyes out of which looked a will as hard and imperious +as ever dwelt in mortal man. + +In front of the fire were two older men, each in the uniform of a +general officer, one of thirty-five or six years of age, the other +perhaps ten years older. The younger of the two, a full-faced, +intelligent, active, commanding sort of man, whose appearance indicated +confidence in himself, and the light of whose alert blue eyes told of +dashing brilliancy in action and prompt decision in perilous moments, +which made him one of those who succeed, would have been more noticed +had not his personality been so overshadowed by that of the officer who +was speaking to him. The latter was possessed of a figure so tall that +it dwarfed every other in the room: he was massively moulded, but well +proportioned, with enormous hands and feet, and long, powerful limbs, +which indicated great physical force, and having withal an erect and +noble carriage, easy and graceful in appearance, which would have +immediately attracted attention anywhere, even if his face had not been +more striking than his figure. He had a most noble head, well +proportioned, and set upon a beautiful neck, with the brow broad and +high, the nose large and strong and slightly aquiline; his large mouth, +even in repose, was set in a firm, tense, straight line, with the lips +so tightly closed from the pressure of the massive jaws as to present +an appearance almost painful, the expression of it bespeaking +indomitable resolution and unbending determination; his eyes were a +grayish blue, steel-colored in fact, set wide apart, and deep in their +sockets under heavy eyebrows. He wore his plentiful chestnut hair +brushed back from his forehead, and tied with a black ribbon in a queue +without powder, as was the custom in the army at this juncture,--a +fashion of necessity, by the way; and his ruddy face was burned by sun +and wind and exposure, and slightly, though not unpleasantly, marked +with the smallpox. + +There was in his whole aspect evidence of such strength and force and +power, such human passion kept in control by relentless will, such +attributes of command, that none looked upon him without awe; and the +idlest jester, the lowest and most insubordinate soldier, subsided into +silence before that noble personality, realizing the ineffable dignity +of the man. The grandeur of that cause which perhaps even he scarcely +realized while he sustained it, looked out from his solemn eyes and was +seen in the gravity of his bearing. His was the battle of the people +of the future, and God had marked him deeply for His own. And yet it +was a human man, too, and none of the immortal gods standing there. On +occasion his laugh rang as loudly, or his heart beat as quickly as that +of the most careless boy among his soldiers. He was fond of the good +things of life too,--loving good wine, fair women, a well-told story, a +good jest, pleasant society, and delighting in struggle and contest as +well. He preserved habitually the just balance of his strong nature by +the exercise of an unusual self-control, and he rarely allowed himself +to step beyond that mean of true propriety, so well called the happy, +except at long intervals through a violent outbreak of his passionate +temper, rendered more terrible and blasting from its very infrequency. +And this was the man upon whom was laid the burden of the war of the +Revolution, and to whom, under God, were due the mighty results of that +epoch-making contest. Seldom, if ever, do we see men of such rare +qualities that when they leave their appointed places no other can be +found to fill them; but if such a one ever did live, this was he. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +_The Boatswain Tells the Story_ + +One or two other men were writing at a table, and another stalwart +officer of rank was sitting by the fire reading. None of the four men +coming into the room had seen the general before, except Talbot. As +the door opened, his excellency glanced up inquiringly, and, +recognizing the first figure, stepped forward quickly, extending his +hand, all the other officers rising and drawing near at the same time. + +"What, Talbot! I trust you bring good news, sir?" + +"I do, sir," said the young officer, saluting. + +"The transport?" said the general, in great anxiety. + +"Captured, sir." + +"Her lading?" + +"Two thousand muskets, twenty field-pieces, powder, shot, intrenching +tools, other munitions of war; ten thousand suits of winter clothes, +blankets, and shoes; and four officers and fifty soldiers; all bound +for Quebec, where the British army is assembling." + +"Now Almighty God be praised!" exclaimed the general, with deep +feeling. "From whence do you come now?" + +"From Philadelphia, sir." + +"Ah! You thought best to take your prize there instead of Boston. It +was a risk, was it not? But now that you are there, it is better for +us here. Who are your companions, sir? Pray present them to me." + +"Lieutenant Seymour, sir, of the navy, who brought in the prize." + +"Sir, I congratulate you. I am glad to see you." + +"And this is Philip Wilton, a midshipman. I think you know him, +general." + +"Certainly I do; the son of my old friend the commissioner, Colonel +Wilton of Virginia, now unhappily a prisoner. You are very welcome, my +boy. And who is this other man, Talbot?" + +"William Bentley, sir, bosun of the Ranger, at your honor's service," +answered the seaman himself. + +"Well, my man," said the general, smiling, "if the Ranger has many like +you in her crew, she must show a formidable lot of men. I am glad to +see you all. These are my staff, gentlemen, the members of my family, +to whom I present you. General Greene, General Knox; and these two +boys here are Captain Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de La Fayette, +a volunteer from France, who comes to serve our country without money +or without price, for love of liberty. This is Major Harrison, this +Captain Laurens, this Captain Morris of the Philadelphia troop, our +only cavalry; they serve like the marquis, for love of liberty. I know +not how I could dispense with them." The gentlemen mentioned bowed +ceremoniously, and some of them shook hands with the new-comers. + +"Billy," continued Washington, turning to his black servant, "I wish +you to get something to eat for these gentlemen. It's only bread and +meat that we can offer you, I am sorry to say; we are not living in a +very luxurious style at present,--on rather short rations, on the +contrary. But meanwhile you will take a glass of this excellent punch +with us, and we will drink to a merry Christmas. Fill your glasses, +gentlemen all. Your news is the first good news we have had for so +long that we have almost forgot what good news is. It is certainly +very pleasant for us, eh, gentlemen? Now give us some of the details +of the capture of the transport. How was it? You, Mr. Seymour, are +the sailor of the party; do you tell us about it." + +Then, in that rude farmhouse among the hills on that bitter winter day, +Seymour told the story of the sighting of the convoy, and the ruse by +which the capture of the two ships had been effected, at which General +Washington laughed heartily. Then he described in a graphic seamanlike +way the wonderful night action; the capture of the Juno by the heroic +captain of the Ranger, the successful escape of that ship from the +frigate, and the sinking of the Juno. He was interrupted from time to +time by exclamations and deep gasps of excitement from the officers +crowding about him; even Billy bringing the dinner put it down +unheeded, and listened with his eyes glistening. And then Seymour +delivered Jones's message to General Washington. + +"Wonderful man! wonderful man!" he said. "We shall hear of him, I +think, in the English Channel; and the English also, which is more to +the point. But your own ship--had you an eventless passage, Mr. +Seymour? And, gentlemen, you look as solemn as if you were the bearers +of bad news instead of good tidings, or had been retreating with us for +the past six months. Thank goodness, that's about over tonight. Fill +your glasses, gentlemen. 'T is Christmas day. Now for your own story. +Did you meet an enemy's ship?" + +"We did, sir.--Talbot, you tell the story." + +"No, no, I cannot; 't is your part, Seymour." + +Here, in the presence of friends, and friends who knew and loved +Colonel Wilton and his daughter, neither of the young men felt equal to +the tale. Each day brought home to them their bitter sorrow more +powerfully than before, and each hour but deepened the anguish in their +hearts. + +"Why, what is this? What has happened? The transport is safe, you +said," continued the general, in some anxiety. "What is it?" + +"I can tell, if your honor pleases, sir," said the deep voice of +Bentley. + +"Speak, man, speak." + +"It happened this way, sir: we were off Cape Cod, heading northwest by +west for Boston, about a week ago, close hauled on the starboard tack +in a half gale of wind. Your honor knows what the starboard tack is?" + +"Yes, yes, certainly; go on." + +"When about three bells in the afternoon watch,--your honor knows what +three bells--Ay, ay, sir," continued the seaman, noting the general's +impatient nod. "Well, sir, we spied a large sail coming down on us +fast; we ran off free, she following. Pretty soon we made her out a +frigate, a heavy frigate of thirty-six guns, and a fast one too, for +she rapidly overhauled us. We cracked on sail, even setting the +topmast stunsail, till it blew away. Then we cut away bulwarks and +rails, flattened the sails by jiggers on the sheets and halliards until +they set like boards, pumped her out, cast adrift the boats, cut away +anchors, but it was n't any use; she kept a-gaining on us. By and by +we came to George's Shoal extending about three leagues across our +course to the southeast of Cape Cod. There is a pass through the +shoal; Lieutenant Seymour knows it, we surveyed it this last summer. +We brought the ship to on the wind on the same tack again, near the +shoal, and ran for the mouth of the pass. The frigate edged off to run +us down. Lieutenant Talbot broke out a field-piece from the hold and +mounted it as a stern-chaser, and used it too--" + +"Good! well done!" said the general, nodding approvingly. "Go on." + +"We came to the mouth of the pass. The frigate fired a broadside. One +shot carried away the mizzen topgallant mast; another sent a shower of +splinters inboard, killing the man at the wheel. The ship falls off +and enters the pass. I seize the helm. Mr. Seymour conned us through. +The frigate chased madly after us. She sees the breakers; she can't +follow us, draws too much water; she makes an effort to back off. It +is too late; she strikes. The wind rises to a heavy gale. We see her +go to pieces, and never a soul left to tell the story, never a plank of +her that hangs together. She's gone, and we go free. That's all, your +honor, and may God have mercy on their souls, say I," added the solemn +voice of the boatswain in the silence. + +"A frightful catastrophe, indeed, and a terrible one! I do not wonder +at your sadness. But, young gentlemen, do not take it so to heart. It +is the fate of war, and war is always frightful." + +"Did you find out the name of the ship, boatswain?" asked General +Greene. + +"Yes, your honor; the Radnor, thirty-six." + +"Could no one have been saved?" queried General Knox. + +"No one, sir. No boat could have lived in that sea a moment. We could +n't put back, could do no good if we had, and so we came on to +Philadelphia, and that's all." + +"No, general," cried Seymour; "it's not all. We will tell the general +the whole story, Talbot. You remember, sir, the raid on the Wilton +place and the capture of the colonel and his daughter?" The general +nodded. "Well, sir, before the Ranger sailed, I received a note from +Miss Wilton saying they were to be sent to England in the Radnor." + +"You received the note? I thought she was Mr. Talbot's betrothed, Mr. +Seymour!" + +"I thought so too, general; but it seems that we are both wrong. +Lieutenant Seymour captured her during his visit there with Colonel +Wilton," said Talbot, with a faint smile. + +"I am very sorry for you, Talbot, and you are a fortunate man, Mr. +Seymour. But go on; we are all friends here. Did you say they were to +go on the Radnor?" + +"Yes, sir. The pursuing frigate was recognized by one of my men who +had been pressed and flogged while on her, as the Radnor, the ship on +which they were. I heard the man say so just as we neared the reef. +To go through the pass was to lead the English ship to destruction and +cause the death of those we--of the colonel, sir," continued Seymour, +in some confusion. "To refrain from attempting the pass was to lose +the ship and all it meant for our cause. I could not decide. I say +frankly I could not condemn those I--our friends to death, and I could +not lose the ship either. This old man knew it all. He has known me +from a child. He spoke out boldly, and laid my duty before me, and +pleaded with me--" + +"He did not need it, your honor. No, sir; he would have done it +anyway," interrupted Bentley. + +The general took the hand of the embarrassed old boatswain and shook it +warmly; then, fixing his glowing eyes upon the two young men, said,-- + +"Continue, Mr. Seymour." + +"I know not what I might have done, but the old seaman's appeal to my +honor decided me. I went aft with horror in my heart, but resolved to +do my duty. On my way there I took out of my pocket the little note +received from Miss Wilton; a gust of wind blew it to the hand of Mr. +Talbot. It was only a line. As he picked it up, he read it +involuntarily. We had some words. I drew on him, sir. It was my +fault." + +"No, no, general, the fault was mine!" interrupted Talbot. "I said it +was my letter, refused to give it up, insulted him. He would have +arrested me. Bentley and Philip interfered. I taunted him, advanced +to strike him. He had to draw or be dishonored." + +"Nay, general, but the fault was mine. I was the captain of the ship; +the safety of the ship depended on me." + +"Go on, go on, Mr. Seymour," said the general; "this dispute does honor +to you both." + +"The rest happened as has been told you. One of the splinters struck +Mr. Talbot's sword and swept it into the sea; the note went with it, +and then the frigate was wrecked, and Colonel Wilton and his daughter, +with all the rest, lost." + +It was very still in the room. + +"My poor friend, my poor friend," murmured the general, "and that +charming girl. Without a moment's warning! Young gentlemen," taking +each of the young men by the hand, "I honor you. You have deserved +well of our country,--for the frankness with which one of you admits +his fault, for it was a fault, and takes the blame upon himself, and +for the heroic resolution by which the other sacrifices his love for +his duty. Laurens, make out a captain's commission for Mr. Talbot. +Hamilton, I wish you would write out a general order declaring the +capture of the transport and her lading, and the sinking of the Juno +and the wreck of the English frigate; it will hearten the men for our +enterprise to-night. As for you, Mr. Seymour, I shall use what little +influence I may be able to exert to get you a ship at once; meantime, +as we contemplate attacking the enemy at last, I shall be glad to offer +you a position as volunteer on my staff for a few days, if your duties +will permit. And to you, Philip, let me be a father indeed--my poor +boy! As for you, boatswain, what can I do for you?" + +"Nothing, your honor, nothing, sir. You have shaken me by the hand, +and that's enough." The old man hesitated, and then, seeing only +kindness in the general's face, for the old sailor attracted and +pleased him, he went on softly: "Ay, love's a mighty thing, your honor; +we knows it, we old men. And love of woman's strong, they say, but +these boys have shown us that something else is stronger." + +"And what is that, pray, my friend?" + +"Love of country, sir," said Bentley, in the silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +_Washington--a Man with Human Passions_ + +Half an hour later, after the four travellers had taken some +refreshment, hasty steps were heard outside the door, followed by the +sentry's hail. + +"Ah!" said the general, looking up eagerly from the book he had been +reading, "perhaps that is Mr. Martin with news from the enemy." Then +laying aside his book, he rose to his feet to meet the new-comer, who +proved to be the man he had expected. The young man stood at attention +and saluted, while the general addressed him sharply,-- + +"Well, sir, what have you learned?" + +The young officer appeared extremely embarrassed. "I--well, the fact +is, sir, nothing at all," he stammered. + +"Nothing!" said the general, loudly, with rising heat, "nothing, sir! +Did you not cross the river as I directed you?" + +"No, sir. That is, I tried to, but there was so much floating ice, and +it was so difficult to manage a boat that I thought it would be hardly +worth while to attempt it, sir. In fact, the crossing is impracticable +for troops," he went on more confidently; but his face changed as he +looked up at his infuriated superior. The general was a picture of +wrath; the lines in his forehead standing out plainly, his mouth shut +more tightly and grimly than ever. It was evident that he was +furiously angry, and his face had in it something terrible from his +rage. The young officer stood before him now, white and frightened to +death. + +"I saw him this way at Kip's Landing," whispered Hamilton to Seymour. +"Look! he has lost control of himself completely, there will be an +explosion sure." + +The general struggled for a moment, and then broke away. + +"Impracticable, sir! impracticable!" he roared out in a voice of +thunder. "How dare you say what this army can or can not do! And what +do you mean by not crossing the river and ascertaining the facts I +desire to know!" The next moment he stepped forward and, seizing a +heavy leaden inkstand from the table near him, threw it with all his +force full at the man, crying fiercely,-- + +"Damnation, sir! Be off and send me a _man_." + +The officer dodged the missile, which struck the wall with a crash, +saluted, and ran out of the door as if his life depended on it; feeling +in his heart that he would face any danger rather than brave another +storm of wrath like that he had just sustained. The general continued +to pace up and down the room restlessly for a few moments, until he +recovered his composure. + +"I depended upon that information, and I must have it," he +soliloquized. "If that man does not bring it back to us before we +cross the river, I 'll have him cashiered. Shall I send another man? +No, I 'll give him another chance." + +Seymour picked up the book the general had been reading. It was the +Bible, and open at the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Joshua. +His eye fell full upon the twenty-second verse, which was marked. "The +Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall +know; if; _it be_ in rebellion, or if in transgression against the +Lord, (save us not this day.)" + +Just then the little daughter of Keith, the owner of the farmhouse at +which they were staying, entered the room. As the little miss came up +fearlessly to the general, he stopped and smiled down at her. + +"Father and mother wish to know if you will want supper to-night, sir?" + +"No, my little maid," he replied; "not here, at any rate. And which do +you like the better now, the Redcoats or the Continentals?" + +"The Redcoats, sir, they have such pretty clothes," said the nascent +woman. + +"Ah, my dear," he replied blithely, catching her up in his arms and +kissing her the while, "they look better, but they don't fight. The +ragged fellows are the boys for fighting." + +"Singular man!" mused Seymour, contrasting the outbreak of wrath at the +recalcitrant officer, the open Bible he had been reading, and the last +merry, tender greeting to the child. But his musings were interrupted +by the general himself, speaking. + +"General Greene, you would better ride over to the landing and place +the different brigades; take Hamilton with you, and perhaps General +Knox will go also to look out for the artillery. The brigades were to +start at three o'clock for McConkey's Ford, and the nearest of them +should be there now. We shall move in two divisions after we leave +Birmingham on the other side. I wish you to command the first one, +which will comprise the brigades of Sterling, Mercer, and De Fermoy, +with Hand's riflemen and Hausegger's Germans and Forest's battery. I +shall accompany your column. General Sullivan will take the second +division, with Sargeant's and St. Clair's brigades, and Glover's +Marblehead men, and Stark's New Hampshire riflemen. The two columns +will divide at Birmingham. You will take the east, or inland road, and +Sullivan that by the river. Have you that order I spoke of for the +troops, Mr. Hamilton? If so, you will give a copy of it to General +Greene, who will publish it to the troops as soon as they arrive. +Captain Morris, I think you would better go also. You will muster your +troop; the men will have returned from carrying my orders to the +different brigades, and can be assembled once more. I desire you to +attend my person to-night as our only cavalry. Talbot, you would +better go with General Greene; you also, marquis, so that you can be +with your friend Captain Hamilton. The rest of us will follow you +shortly." + +The officers designated bowed, and in a few moments were on the road. +The officers left at the headquarters were speedily busy with their +necessary duties, and Seymour and his two companions, one of whom, the +boatswain, was most unfamiliar with and uncomfortable upon a horse, +were able to get a couple of hours of needed rest before starting out +upon what they felt would be an arduous journey. About half after six +o'clock the signal to mount was given, and the whole party, led by the +general himself, and followed by the ragged guard, was soon upon the +road. + +It was intensely cold, and the night bade fair to be the severest of +the winter. The sky was cloudless, however, and there was a bright +moon. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +_Lieutenant Martin's Lesson_ + +As they rode along slowly, the general explained his plans. General +Howe had pursued him relentlessly through the Jerseys, until he had +crossed into Pennsylvania, only escaping further pursuit and certain +defeat because he had had the forethought to seize every boat upon the +Delaware and its tributaries for miles in every direction, and bring +them with his army to the west bank of the river, so that Howe was +unable to cross. The English general had threatened, however, to wait +until the river was frozen and then cross on the ice, and after +brushing aside the miserable remains of Washington's army, march on to +Philadelphia and establish himself in the rebel capital. Making that +most serious of mistakes for a military man of despising his opponents, +Howe had scattered his army, for convenience in quartering, in various +small detachments along the river. The small American army, +supplemented by the Pennsylvania militia, had been placed opposite the +different fords from Yardley to New Hope, to hold the enemy in check in +case an attempt should be made to force a crossing. + +The fortunes of the country were at the lowest ebb. But there was to +be a speedy reversal of conditions, and the world was to learn how +dangerous a man was leading the Continental troops. Washington, to +whom a retreat was as hateful as it had been necessary, had long +meditated an attack whenever any chance whatever of success might +present itself. The necessity for a change was apparent, not merely +for the material result which would flow from a victory, but for the +moral effect as well. The fancied security of the enemy, their exposed +positions, disconnected from each other, and the contempt they felt for +his own troops, were large factors in determining him to strike then; +but another factor had still more weight, and that was the fact that +the time of the enlistment of nearly the whole of his own army expired +with the end of the year, and whatever was to be done must be done +quickly. He therefore conceived the daring and brilliant design of +suddenly collecting his scattered forces, crossing the river, and +falling upon his unsuspecting enemy at Trenton, where a small brigade +of Hessians, under Colonel Rahl, was stationed. + +It would be a piece of unparalleled audacity. To turn, as it were, +just before the dissolution of his army, and cross a wide and deep +river full of ice, in the dead of winter, and strike, like the hammer +of Thor, upon his unwary foe, rudely disturbing his complacent dreams, +was a conception of exceeding brilliancy, and it at once stamped +Washington as a military genius of the first order. And with such an +army to make such an attempt! Said one of the officers of the period +in his memoirs: "An army without cavalry, partially provided with +artillery, deficient in transportation for the little they had to +carry; without tents, tools, or camp equipage,--without magazines of +any kind; half clothed, badly armed, debilitated by disease, +disheartened by misfortune." But their leader was a Lion, and the Lion +was at last at bay! There was another factor which contributed greatly +to the efficiency of the army, and that was the high quality and +overwhelming number of the American officers. + +Orders had been given to the brigades and troops mentioned to +concentrate at McConkey's Ferry, about nine miles above Trenton. +Another division under Ewing was to cross a mile below Trenton and +seize the bridge and fords across the Assunpink, to check the retreat +of the enemy and co-operate with the main attack. + +Cadwalader's Pennsylvania militia under Gates were to cross at Bristol +or below Burlington, and attack Von Donop at that point, while Putnam, +in conjunction with him, was to make a diversion from Philadelphia. +The movements were to be simultaneous, and the result it was hoped +would accord with the effort. The main column, and the one upon which +the most dependence was to be placed, was that which Washington himself +was to accompany, which was composed of veteran Continentals, to the +number of twenty-four hundred, with eighteen pieces of artillery. + +All this was briefly explained by the general to Seymour and the staff, +while they rode slowly along the frozen road. About eight o'clock they +arrived at the ford, near which the troops who had arrived before them +now stood shivering on the high ground by the river. A few fires were +burning in the ravines back of the banks, around which the men took +turns in warming themselves, as they munched their frugal fare from the +haversacks. A large number of boats had been collected for their +transportation, but the river itself was in a most unpromising +condition, full of great cakes of ice which the swift current kept +churning and grinding against each other. + +The general surveyed the scene in silence, as his staff and the general +officers gathered about him. + +"There is something moving in the river, general," suddenly said +Seymour, pointing, his practised eye detecting a dark object among the +cakes of ice. "It is a boat, sir!" + +"Ah," replied the general, "you have sharp eyes. Where is it?" + +"There, sir, coming nearer every minute; there is a man in it." + +"I see now. So there is. Who can it be?" + +"Probably it is Lieutenant Martin," remarked General Greene, quietly. +"You know you sent him back." + +"Oh, so I did," replied the general, nodding sternly at the +recollection. Meanwhile the man in the boat was skilfully making his +way between the great cakes of ice, which threatened every moment to +crush his frail skiff. He rapidly drew near until he finally jumped +ashore, and, having tied his boat, hastened up to where the general sat +on his horse. He stopped. + +"I have been across, general," he said, saluting. + +"So I perceive, sir. How did you get across?" + +"When I left you, sir, this afternoon," went on the young man, gravely, +"I was in such a hurry that I did not wait for anything. I swam it, +sir, with my horse." + +"Swam it!" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Very well done, indeed! Was it cold?" + +"Not very, sir. At least I was too excited to feel it, and a good hard +gallop on the other side soon warmed me up." + +"Where did your ride take you?" + +"Almost to Trenton, sir." + +"And what is the situation there?" + +"Very confident, the guard very negligent, the men carousing in the +houses. I examined both roads, and neither of them is well picketed. +I should think a surprise would not be very difficult, sir." + +"Humph! Where's your horse?" + +"He fell dead on the other side just as I got back. I found that leaky +skiff, and came over to report, sir." + +"You have done well, Mr. Martin, very well indeed! I think you must +have found that man I sent you for!" continued the general, smiling +grimly, while the young soldier blushed with pleasure. "Meanwhile we +must get you another horse. Who has a spare one?" + +"May it please your honor," spoke out Bentley, who had attached himself +to Seymour, "he can have mine. I am as much at sea on him as you would +be on the royal yard, begging your honor's pardon, and I 'll feel +better carrying a gun or pulling an oar with the men there than here." + +The general laughed. + +"There 's your horse, Mr. Martin. Where do you belong, sir?" + +"To Colonel Stark's regiment, sir." + +"Good! Keep at it as you have begun and you will meet with a better +reception when you call upon me again. Now God grant that fortune may +favor us. Gentlemen, if the brigades are all up, we will undertake the +crossing. It looks dangerous, but it can be done--it must be done. +Who will lead us?" + +"I will, sir, with your permission, with my Marblehead fishermen," said +Colonel Glover, stepping out. + +"Ah, gentlemen, this is our marine regiment. Go on, sir! You shall +have the right of way across the river. I think none will dispute it +with you. Mr. Seymour, as a seaman, perhaps you can render efficient +service, and your boatswain will find here more opportunities for his +peculiar talents than in carrying a musket. General Greene, will you +and your staff go over with the first boat to make proper disposition +of the brigades as they arrive? I shall come over after the first +division has passed. Then General Sullivan, and lastly our friend +General Knox with his artillery. I expect we shall have to wait for +him. Well, we cannot dispense with either him or the guns." + +"You won't have to wait any longer than is absolutely necessary to get +the guns and horses over, general." + +"I know that, Knox, I know that. Now, gentlemen, forward! and may God +bless you!" + +In a few moments the terrible passage began. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +_Crossing the Delaware_ + +The men, divided into small squads, marched down to the boats,--large +unwieldy scows, which had been hauled up against the shore,--and each +boat was speedily filled to its utmost capacity. The most experienced +seized the oars; three or four Marblehead fishermen armed with long +poles took their stations forward and aft along the upper side of the +boat, with one to steer and one to command; and then, seizing a +favorable opportunity, the boat was pushed off from the shore, and +threading its way in and out between the enormous ice-cakes grinding +down upon her, the difficult and dangerous passage began. Should the +heavily laden boat be overturned, very few of its occupants would be +able to reach the shore. Once on the other side, the fishermen took +the boat back, and the weary process was gone over again. Fortunately +it was yet bright moonlight, though ominous clouds were banking up in +the northeast, and everything could be clearly seen; each boat was +perfectly visible all the way across to the eager watchers on the +shore, and a sigh of relief went up after each fortunate passage. In +this labor Seymour and Bentley, and in a less degree Philip Wilton, +aided Colonel Glover's men; Seymour having the helm of one boat +continuously, Bentley that of another. + +About half-past nine it was reported to General Washington that all of +the first division had crossed, and the boat was now ready for him +according to his orders. The largest and best boat had been selected +for the commander-in-chief, one sufficiently capacious to receive his +horses and those of his staff who accompanied him. Seymour was to +steer the boat; Bentley stood in the bow; Colonel Glover stationed +himself amidships, with three or four of his trustiest men, to +superintend the crossing, and all the oars were manned by the hardy +fishermen instead of the soldiers. The general dismounted and walked +toward the boat, leading his horse. Just as he was about to enter, an +officer on a panting steed rode up rapidly, and saluted. + +"General Washington?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"A letter, sir!" + +"What a time is this to hand me letters!" + +"Your excellency, I have been charged to do so by General Gates." + +"By General Gates! Where is he?" + +"I left him this morning in Philadelphia, sir." + +"What was he doing there?" + +"I understood him that he was on his way to Congress." + +"On his way to Congress!" said the general earnestly, with much +surprise and disgust in his tone. And then, after a pause, he broke +the seal and read the letter, frowning; after which he crumpled the +paper up in his hand, and then turned again to the officer. "How did +you find us, sir?" + +"I followed the bloody footprints of the men on the snow, sir." + +"Poor fellows! Did you learn anything of General Ewing or General +Cadwalader?" + +"No, sir." + +"And General Putnam?" + +"He bade me say that there were symptoms of an insurrection in the +city, and he felt obliged to stay there. He has detached six hundred +of the Pennsylvania militia, however, under Colonel Griffin, to advance +toward Bordentown." + +"'T is well, sir. Do you remain to participate in our attack?" + +"Yes, sir, I belong to General St. Clair's brigade." + +"You will find it over there; it has not yet crossed. Now, gentlemen, +let us get aboard." + +The general stepped forward in the boat, where Bentley, an enormous +pole in his hands, was stationed, and the remainder of the party soon +embarked. The order was given to shove off. The usual difficulties +and the usual fortune attended the passage of the boat with its +precious freight, until it neared the east bank, when one of the +largest cakes that had passed swiftly floated down upon it. + +"Pull, men, pull hard!" cried Colonel Glover, as he saw its huge bulk +alongside. "Head the boat up the stream, Mr. Seymour. Forward, +there--be ready to push off with your poles." As the result of these +prompt manoeuvres, the oncoming mass of ice, which was too large to be +avoided, instead of crashing into them amidships and sinking the boat, +struck them a quartering blow on the bow, and commenced to grind along +the sides of the boat, which heeled so far over that the water began to +trickle in through the oar-locks on the other side. + +"Steady, men," said Glover, calmly. "Sit still, for your lives." + +Bentley had thrown his pole over on the ice-cake promptly, and was now +bearing down upon it with all the strength of his powerful arms. But +the task was beyond him; the ice and the boat clung together, and the +ice was reinforced by several other cakes which its checked motion +permitted to close with it. The vast mass crashed against the side of +the boat; the oar of the first rower was broken short off at the +oar-lock; if the others went the situation of the helpless boat would +be, indeed, hopeless. The general himself came to the rescue. +Promptly divining the situation, he stepped forward to Bentley's side, +and threw his own immense strength upon the pole. Great beads of sweat +stood out on Bentley's bronzed forehead as he renewed his efforts; the +stout hickory sapling bent and crackled beneath the pressure of the two +men, but held on, and the boat slowly but steadily began to swing clear +of the ice. These two Homeric men held it off by sheer strength, until +the boat was in freewater, and the men, who had sat like statues in +their places, could once more use their oars. The general stepped back +into his place, cool and calm as usual, and entirely unruffled by his +great exertions. Bentley wiped the sweat from his face, and turned and +looked back at him in admiration. + +"Friend Bentley," he said quietly, "you are a man of mighty thews and +sinews. Had it not been for your powerful arms, I fear we would have +had a ducking--or worse." + +"Lord love you, your honor," said the astonished tailor, "I 've met my +match! It was your arm that saved us. I was almost done for. I never +saw such strength as that, though when I was younger I would have done +better. What a man you would be for reefing topsails in a gale o' +wind, your honor, sir!" he continued, thrusting his pole vigorously +into a small and impertinent cake of ice in the way. The general was +proud of his great strength, and not ill pleased at the genuine and +hearty admiration of this genuine and hearty man. + +A few moments later they stepped ashore, and a mighty cheer went up +from the men who had crowded upon the banks, at the safety of their +beloved general. Greene met him at the landing, and the two men +clasped hands. The general immediately mounted his powerful white +horse, and stationed himself on a little hillock to watch the landing +of the rest of the men, engaging General Greene in a low conversation +the while. + +"Do you know, Greene, that Gates has refused my entreaty to stop one +day at Bristol, and take command of Reed's and Cadwalader's troops and +help us in the attack! I did not positively order him to do so; only +requested him to delay his journey by a day or two. I can't understand +his action. A letter was handed me just before we crossed by +Wilkinson, telling me that he had gone on to Congress." + +"To Congress! What wants he there? Oh, general, it seems as if you +had to fight two campaigns,--one against the enemy, and the other +against secret, nay open, attempts to minimize your authority and check +your plans." + +"It seems so, Greene; but with a just cause to sustain, and the +blessing of God to help our efforts, we cannot ultimately fail, though, +indeed, it may be better that I give place to another man, more able to +save the country," went on the general, solemnly. + +"Forbid it, Heaven!" cried Greene, passionately. "We, at least, in the +army, know to whom has been committed this work; ay, and who has done +it, and will do it, too! We will stand by you to the last. Could you +not feel in the cheers of those frozen men, when you landed, the love +they bear you?" + +"Yes, I know that you are with me, and they too. 'T is that alone that +gives me heart. Did you publish the orders about the capture of the +transport?" + +"Yes, sir, and it put new heart in the men, I could see. I wish we had +the supplies, the clothing especially, now. It grows colder every +moment." + +"Ay, and darker, too; I think we shall have snow again before we get +through with the night. I wonder how the others down the river have +got along. But who comes here?" continued the general, as two men +walked hastily up to him and saluted. + +"Well, sir?" he said to the first. + +"Message from General Ewing, sir." + +"Did he get across?" + +"No, sir, the ice was so heavy he bade me say he deemed it useless to +try it." + +"One piece removed from the game, General Greene," said Washington, +smiling bitterly. "Now your news, sir?" to the other. + +"General Cadwalader got a part of his men across, but the ice banks so +against the east side that not a single horse or piece of artillery +could be landed, so he bade me say he has recrossed with his men, sir." + +"And there's the other piece gone, too! Now, what is to be done?" + +General Sullivan, having crossed with the last of his division, at this +moment rode up. + +"The troops are all across, general," he said. + +"Well done! What time is it, some one?" + +"Half after eleven, sir," answered a voice. + +"Very well, indeed! We have now only to wait for the guns. But, +gentlemen, I have just heard that Ewing made no attempt to cross, and +that Cadwalader, having tried it, failed. He could get his men over, +but no horses and guns, on account of the ice on the bank, and +therefore he returned, and we are here alone. What, think you, is to +be done now?" + +There was a moment's silence. + +"Perhaps we would better recross and try it again on a more favorable +night," finally said De Fermoy, in his broken accents. + +"Yes, yes, that might be well," said one or two others, simultaneously. +The most of them, however, said nothing. The general waited a moment, +looking about him. + +"Gentlemen, it is too late to retreat. I promised myself I would not +return without a fight, and I intend to keep that promise. We will +carry out the plan ourselves, as much of it at least as we can. I +trust Putnam got Griffin off, and that his skirmishers may draw out Von +Donop. But be that as it may, we will have a dash at Trenton, and try +to bag the game, and get away before the enemy can fall upon us in +force. General Greene, you, of course have sent out pickets?" + +"Yes, sir, the first men who crossed over, a mile up the road, on the +hill yonder." + +"Good! Ha, what was that? Snow, as I live, and the moon 's gone, too! +How dark it has grown! I think you might allow the men to light fires +in those hollows, and let them move about a little; they will freeze to +death standing still--I wonder they don't, anyway. How unfortunate is +this snow!" + +"Beg pardon, your excellency?" said the first of the two messengers. + +"What is it, man? Speak out!" + +"Can we stay here and take part in your attack, sir?" + +"Certainly you may. Fall in with the men there. Where are your +horses?" + +"We left them on the other side, sir." + +"Well, they will have to stay there for this time, and you 'll have to +go on foot with the rest." + +"Thank you, sir," said the men, eagerly, darting off in the darkness. + +"That's a proper spirit, isn't it? Well, to your stations, gentlemen! +We have nothing to do now but wait. Don't allow the men to lie down or +to sleep, on any account." + +And wait they did, for four long hours, the general sitting motionless +and silent on his horse, wrapped in his heavy cloak, unheeding, alike, +the whirling snow or the cutting sleet of the storm, which grew fiercer +every moment. He strained his eyes out into the blackness of the river +from time to time, or looked anxiously at the troops, clustered about +the fires, or tramping restlessly up and down in their places to ward +off the deadly attack of the awful winter night, while some of them +sought shelter, behind trees and hillocks, from the fury of the storm. +Filled with his own pregnant thoughts, and speaking to no one, he +waited, and no man ventured to break his silence. At half after three +General Knox, whose resolute will and iron strength had been exerted to +the full, and whose mighty voice had been heard from time to time above +the shriek of the fierce wind, was able to report that he had got all +the artillery over without the loss of a man, a horse, or a gun, and +was ready to proceed. The men were hastily assembled, and, leaving a +strong detail to guard the boats, at four o'clock in the morning the +long and awful march to Trenton was begun, the general and his staff, +escorted by the Philadelphia City Troop, in the lead. The storm was at +its height. All hopes of a night attack and surprise had necessarily +to be abandoned. Still the general pressed on, determined to abide the +issue, and make the attack as soon as he reached the enemy. It was the +last effort of liberty, conceived in desperation and born in the throes +of hunger and cold! What would the bringing forth be? + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +_Trenton--The Lion Strikes_ + +The route, for the first mile and a half, lay up a steep hill, where +the men were much exposed and suffered terribly; after that, for three +miles or so, it wound in and out between the hills, and through forests +of ash and black oak, which afforded some little shelter. The storm +raged with unabated fury, and the progress of the little army was very +slow. The men were in good spirits, however, and they cheerfully +toiled on over the roads covered with deep drifts, bearing as best they +might the driving tempest. It was six in the morning when they reached +the little village of Birmingham, where the two columns divided: +General Greene's column, accompanied by Washington, taking the longer +or inland road, called the Pennington road, which entered the town from +the northeast; while Sullivan's column followed the lower road, which +entered the town from the west, by way of a bridge over the Assunpink +Creek. As Greene had a long detour to make, Sullivan had orders to +wait where the cross-road from Rowland's Ferry intersected his line of +march, until the first column had time to effect the longer circuit, so +that the two attacks might be delivered together. General Washington +himself rode in front of the first column. It was still frightfully +cold. + +About daybreak the general spied an officer on horseback toiling +through the snowdrifts toward him. As the horseman drew nearer, he +recognized young Martin. + +"What is it now, sir?" + +"General Sullivan says that the storm has rendered many of his muskets +useless, by wetting the priming and powder. He wishes to know what is +to be done, sir?" + +"Return instantly, and tell him he must use the bayonet! When he hears +the firing, he is to advance and charge immediately. The town must be +taken, and I intend to take it." + +"Very good, sir," said the young man, saluting. + +"Can you get through the snow in time?" + +"Yes, sir," he replied promptly. "I can get through anything, if your +excellency will give the order." + +The general smiled approvingly. It was evident that young man's first +lesson had been a good one; his emphasis, he was glad to see, had not +been misapplied. + +When Martin rejoined Sullivan's column, which had been halted at the +cross-roads, the men who had witnessed his departure were eagerly +waiting his return. As he repeated the general's reply, they began +slipping the bayonets over the muzzles of their guns without orders. +So eager were they to advance, that Sullivan had difficulty in +restraining them until the signal was given. Such was their temper and +spirit that, in the excitement of the moment, they recked little of the +freezing cold and the hardships of their terrible march. The +retreating army was at last on the offensive, they were about to attack +now, and no attack is so dangerous as that delivered by men from whom +the compelling necessity of retreat has been suddenly removed. + +It was about eight o'clock in the morning when they came in sight of +the town. The village of Trenton then contained about one hundred +houses, mostly frame, scattered along both sides of two long streets, +and chiefly located on the west bank of the Assunpink, which here bent +sharply to the north before it flowed into the Delaware. The Assunpink +was fordable in places at low water, but it was spanned by a +substantial stone bridge, which gave on the road followed by Sullivan, +at the west end of the village. Washington came down from the north, +and entered the village from the other side. About half a mile from +the edge of the town, the column led by him came abreast of an old man, +chopping wood in a farm-yard by the roadside. + +"Which is the way to the Hessian picket?" said the general. + +"I don't know," replied the man, sullenly. + +"You may tell," said Captain Forest, riding near the general, at the +head of his battery, "for this is General Washington." + +The man's expression altered at once. + +"God bless and prosper you!" he cried eagerly, raising his hands to +heaven. "There! The picket is in that house yonder, and the sentry +stands near that tree." + +The intense cold and heavy snow had driven the twenty-five men, who +composed the advance picket, to shelter, and they were huddled together +in one of the rude huts which served as a guard-house. The snow +deadened the sound of the American advance, and the careless sentry did +not perceive them. No warning was given until the lieutenant in +command of the guard stepped out of the house by chance, and gave the +alarm in great surprise. The picket rushed out, and the men lined up +in the road in front of the column, the thick snow preventing them from +forming a correct idea of the approaching force. The advance guard of +the Continentals, led by Captain William A. Washington and Lieutenant +James Monroe, instantly swept down upon them. After a scattered volley +which hurt no one, they fled precipitately back toward the village, +giving the alarm and rallying on the main guard, posted nearer the +centre of the town, which had been speedily drawn up, to the number of +seventy-five men. Meanwhile Sullivan's men, with Stark at the head, +had routed the pickets on the other road in the same gallant style. +This picket was composed of about fifty Hessian chasseurs, and twenty +English light dragoons, under command of Lieutenant Grothausen of the +chasseurs. They all fled so precipitately that they did not stop to +alarm the brigade which they had been stationed to protect, but rapidly +galloped down the road, and, crossing the bridge over the Assunpink, +made good their escape toward Bordentown. Grave suspicions of +cowardice attached thereafter to their commanding officer. Had Ewing +performed his part in the plan, the bridge would have been held, and +they would have been captured with the rest. Stark's men, followed by +the rest of Sullivan's division, were now pushed on rapidly for the +town, and the cheers of the New England men were distinctly heard by +Washington and his men on the main road. The main guard on the upper +road, almost as completely surprised as the other by the dashing +onslaught of the Americans, made another futile attempt at resistance +to Greene's column, but they soon fell back in great disorder upon the +main body. + +It was broad daylight now, and the violence of the storm had somewhat +abated. In the town, where the firing had been heard, the drums of the +three regiments were rapidly beating the assembly. Colonel Rahl was in +bed, sleeping off the effects of his previous night's indulgences, when +he heard the commotion. Jumping from the bed and running rapidly to +the window, still undressed, he thrust out his head and asked the +acting brigade adjutant, Biel,--who was hurriedly galloping past,--what +it was all about. There was a total misapprehension on all sides, even +at this hour, as to the serious nature of the attack; so the confused +colonel, satisfied with Biel's surmise that it was a raid, ordered him +to take a company and go to the assistance of the main guard, in the +supposition that it was only a skirmishing party, and never dreaming of +a general attack. Nevertheless he then dressed rapidly, and, running +down to the street, mounted his horse, which had been brought around. +The three regiments which comprised his brigade and command were +already forming; they were the regiment Rahl, the regiment Von +Lossburg, and the regiment Von Knyphausen. At this moment the advance +party and the main guard came running through the streets in great +confusion, crying that the whole rebel army was down upon them. The +regiment Rahl and the regiment Von Lossburg at once began retreating to +an apple orchard back of the town; firing ineffectively in their +excitement, as they ran, from behind the houses, at the head of the +column, which had now appeared in the street; while the regiment Von +Knyphausen, under the command of Major Von Dechow, the second in +command of the brigade, separated from the two others and made for the +bridge over the Assunpink. + +King and Queen streets run together at the east end of the town. There +Washington stationed himself, on the left of Forest's battery, which +was immediately unlimbered and opened up a hot fire. The general's +position was much exposed, and after his horse had been wounded, his +officers repeatedly requested him to fall back to a safer point, which +he peremptorily refused to do. The joy of battle sparkled in his eyes; +he had instinctively chosen that position on the field from whence he +could best see and direct the conflict, and nothing but a successful +charge of the enemy upon them could have moved him to retire. + +A few of the cooler-headed men among the Hessians had rallied some of +the Lossburg regiment, and two guns had been run out into the street +and pointed up toward the place where Washington stood, to form a +battery, which might, could it have been served, have held the American +army in check until such time as the startled Germans could recover +their wits and make a stand. General Washington pointed them out to +the officer of the advance guard, which had already done such good +service, with a wave of his sword. The little handful of men, led by +Captain Washington and Lieutenant Monroe, charged down upon the guns, +which the party had not had time to load. A scattering volley received +them. Captain Washington and Monroe and one of the men were wounded, +another fell dead; the men hesitated. Talbot sprang to the head of the +column, in obedience to the general's nod, and they rallied, advanced +on the run, and the guns were immediately captured. + +Meanwhile the fire of Stark's riflemen could be heard at the other end +of the town. St. Clair's brigade held the bridge; the regiment Von +Knyphausen lost a few precious moments endeavoring to extricate its +guns, which had become mired in the morass near the bridge, and then +charged upon St. Clair. But it was too late; Von Dechow was seriously +wounded, and when the regiment saw itself taken in the flank by +Sargeant's brigade, it retired in disorder, though some few men escaped +by the fords. + +At this juncture Rahl re-formed his scattered troops in the apple +orchard. He seems to have had an idea of retreating toward Princeton +at first, with the two regiments still under his command; at any rate, +he also lost precious moments by hesitation. It was even then too late +to effect a successful retreat, for Washington, foreseeing the +possibility, had promptly sent Hand's Pennsylvania riflemen along the +Pennington road back of the town to check any move in that direction. +As fast as the other brigades of Greene's column came up, they were +sent down through the streets of the town, until Stirling, in the lead, +joined Sullivan's men. Rahl's brigade was practically surrounded, +though he did not know it. The commander completely lost his head, +though he was a courageous man, brave to rashness, and a veteran +soldier who had hitherto distinguished himself in this and many other +wars. The town was full of plunder gathered by the troops, the +Hessians having been looting the country for weeks; and he could not +abandon it without a struggle. The idea of flying from a band of +ragged rebels whom he had scouted, was intolerable. He had been, he +now felt, more than culpable in neglecting many warnings of attack, and +had lamentably failed in his duty as a soldier, in refraining from +taking the commonest precautions against surprise. He had refused to +heed the urgent representations of Von Dechow, and other of his high +officers. Now his honor was at stake; so he rashly made up his mind to +charge. + +"We will retake the town. All who are my grenadiers--forward!" he +cried intrepidly. + +The men, with fixed bayonets, advanced bravely, and he led them +gallantly forward, sword in hand. The Americans fired a volley; +Forest's battery, which enfiladed them, poured in a deadly fire. Rahl +in the advance, upon his horse, received a fatal wound and fell to the +ground. The Continentals, cheering madly, charged forward with fixed +bayonets. The Hessians stopped--hesitated--wavered--their chief was +gone--the battle was lost--they broke and fled! Disregarding the +commands and appeals of their officers, they turned quickly to the +right, and ran off into the face of Hand's riflemen, who received them +with another volley. Many of them fell. A body of Virginia troops led +by Talbot now gained their left flank, the Philadelphia City Troop +encircled their rear. The helpless men stopped, completely bewildered, +huddled together in a confused mass. Washington, seeing imperfectly, +and thinking they were forming again, ordered the guns from Forest's +battery, which had been loaded with canister, to be discharged upon +them at once. + +"Sir, they have struck!" cried Seymour the keen-eyed, preventing the +men from firing. + +"Struck!" cried the general, in surprise. + +"Yes, sir; their colors are down." + +"So they are," said Washington, clasping his hands and raising his eyes +to heaven; then, putting spurs to his horse, he galloped over toward +the men. The firing had ceased in every direction, and the day was his +own; the three regiments were surrendering at discretion, two to him +and the other to Lord Stirling. As Major Wilkinson galloped up from +the lower division for instructions, Colonel Rahl, pale and bleeding, +and supported by two sergeants, presented his sword, which Washington +courteously declined to receive. The general then gave orders that +every care and assistance should be afforded the unfortunate soldier, +who died the next day in a room in Potts' Tavern. + +"This is indeed a glorious day for our country," said the general to +Seymour. + +It was in fact the turning-point in the history of the nation. The +captives numbered nearly one thousand men, with twelve hundred stand of +arms, six field-pieces, twelve drums, and four colors, including the +gorgeous banner of the Anspachers, the Von Lossburg regiment. + +Of the Continentals, only two were killed and four wounded, while +upward of one hundred of the Hessians were killed and wounded, among +the killed being Rahl and Von Dechow, the first and second in command. +The whole of this brilliant affair scarcely occupied an hour. + +As none of the other divisions had got across, it was scarcely safe for +Washington to remain on the east side of the river in the presence of +the vastly superior forces of the enemy, which would be concentrated +upon him without delay. So that, after giving the men a much needed +rest, securing their booty, and burying the dead, the evening found the +little army, with its prisoners, retracing its steps toward the ford +and its former camping-ground. + +But with what different feelings the hungry, worn-out, tattered mass of +men marched along in the bitter night! The contrast between the +well-clothed and well-fed Hessians and their captors was surprising, +but not less striking than that between their going out and coming in. +Little recked the frozen men of the hardships of the way. They had +shown the world that they possessed other capabilities than facility in +retreating, and no American army, however small or feeble, would ever +again be despised by any foe. + +The return passage was made without incident, save that just on the +crest of the hills leading down to the Ford, the general, who was in +advance again, noticed a suspicious-looking, snow-covered mound by the +roadside. Riding up to it, one of his aids dismounted and uncovered +the body of a man, a Continental soldier, frozen to death. The cold +weapon was grasped tightly in the colder hand. A little farther on +there was another body asleep in the snow,--another soldier! The last +was that man of the headquarters guard who had spoken of his little +children at home on Christmas day. They would wait a long time before +they saw him again. He had been willing to fight the whole English +army! Ah, well, a sterner foe than any who marched beneath the red +flag of Great Britain had grappled with him, and he had been +defeated,--but he had won his freedom! + +For forty hours now that little band of men had marched and fought, and +when it reached its camp at midnight the whole army was exhausted. The +only man among them all who preserved his even calmness, and was +apparently unaffected by the hardships of the day, was the commander +himself,--the iron man. Late into the night he dictated and wrote +letters and orders, to be despatched in every direction in the morning. +The successful issue of his daring adventure entailed yet further +responsibilities, and the campaign was only just begun. As for +himself, the world now knew him for a soldier. And a withered old man +in the palace of the Sans Souci in Berlin, who had himself known +victories and defeats, who had himself stood at bay, facing a world in +arms so successfully that men called him "The Great," called this and +the subsequent campaign the finest military exploit of the age! + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +_My Lord Cornwallis_ + +And so the departure of my Lord Cornwallis was necessarily deferred. +The packet upon which he had engaged passage, and which had actually +received his baggage, sailed without him. It would be some days before +he would grace the court of St. James with his handsome person, and a +long time would elapse before he would once more rejoice in the sight +of his beloved hills; when he next returned it would not be with the +laurels of a conqueror either! He was to try conclusions once and +again with the gentleman he had so assiduously pursued through the +Jerseys; and this time, ay, and in the end too, the honors were to be +with his antagonist. The Star and Order of the Bath, which his +gracious and generous Britannic majesty had sent over to the new +Caesar, General Howe, with so much laudation and so many words of +congratulation, was to have a little of its lustre diminished, and was +destined to appear not quite so glorious as it had after Long Island; +in fact, it was soon to be seen that it was only a pyrotechnic star +after all, and not in the order of heaven! Both of these gentlemen +were to learn that an army--almost any kind of an army--is always +dangerous until it is wiped out; and it is not to be considered as +wiped out as long as it has any coherent existence at all, even if the +coherent existence only depends upon the iron will of one man,--which +is another way of saying the game is never won until it is ended. + +There was mounting in hot haste in New York, and couriers and orders +streamed over the frozen roads, and Lord Cornwallis himself galloped at +full speed for Princeton. The calculations of a certain number of his +majesty's faithful troops were to be rudely disturbed, and the +comfortable quarters in which they had ensconced themselves were to be +vacated forthwith. Concentration, aggregation, synthesis, were the +words; and this time the reassembled army was not to disintegrate into +winter quarters until this pestilent Mr. Washington was attended to, +and attended to so effectually that they could enjoy the enforced +hospitality of the surly but substantial Jerseymen through the long +winter nights undisturbed. For his part, Mr. Washington, having tasted +success, the first real brilliant offensive success of the campaign, +was quite willing to be attended to. In fact, in a manner which in +another sex might be called coquettish, he seemed to court attention. +Having successfully attacked with his frost-bitten ragged regiments a +detachment, he was now to demonstrate to the world that not even the +presence of an army could stop him. + +Things were not quiet on the Pennsylvania side of the river either; +there were such comings and goings in Newtown as that staid and +conservative village had never before seen. Our two friends, the +sad-hearted, were both busily employed. Talbot had galloped over the +familiar road, and had electrified the good people of Philadelphia with +his news, and then had hastened on to Baltimore to reassure the spirits +of the frightened Congress. Honest Robert Morris was trotting around +from door to door upon New Year's morning, hat in hand, begging for +dollars to assist his friend George Washington, and the cause of +liberty, and the suffering army; and Seymour, become as it were a +soldier, and with Philip for esquire, was waiting to take what he could +get, be the amount ever so little, back to General Washington. The +sailor had been granted a further leave of absence by the naval +committee, at the general's urgent request, and was glad to learn that +he should soon have command of the promised ship of war, which was even +then making ready in the Delaware. Honest Bentley--beloved of the +soldiery in spite of his genuinely expressed contempt for land +warriors--was lending what aid he could in keeping up the spirits of +the men, and in other material ways in the camp. Some of the clothing, +some of the guns from the Mellish, some of the material captured from +the Hessians had gone into the hands and over the backs and upon the +feet of the men. But the clothed and the naked were equally happy, for +had they not done something at last? Ay! they had given assurance that +they were men to be reckoned with. + +Fired by the example set them by the Continentals, the Pennsylvania +militia, under Cadwalader and Ewing and Mifflin, had at last crossed +the Delaware and joined Griffin's men. Washington had followed them, +and the twenty-ninth of December found him established in new +headquarters at Trenton. A number of mounds in the fields, covered +with snow, some bitter recollections and sad stories of plunder, +robbery, rapine, and worse, told with gnashing teeth or breaking heart +by the firesides, were all that remained of their strange antagonists +in the town. But the little town and the little valley were to be once +more the scene of war. The great game was to be played again, and the +little creek of the Assunpink was to run red under its ice and between +its banks. + +On the twenty-ninth, Washington's troops began to cross the river +again. Two parties of light dragoons were sent on in advance under +Colonel Reed, assisted by parties of Pennsylvania riflemen despatched +by Cadwalader. They clung tenaciously to the flanks of Von Donop. +That unfortunate commander had been led away from his camp at +Burlington in pursuit of Griffin's gallant six hundred. When he +returned, unsuccessful, the news from Trenton had so alarmed him that +he fled precipitately, abandoning his heavy baggage and some of his +artillery. It was a work of joy for the pursued to pursue, a reversal +of conditions which put the heavy German veterans at a strange +disadvantage compared with their alert and active pursuers. They had +marched through that country with a high hand, plundering and abusing +its inhabitants in a frightful way, and they were now being made to +experience the hatred they themselves had enkindled. The country +people rose against them, and cut them off without mercy. + +It took two days to get the troops across, on account of the ice in the +river. And now came another difficulty. The time of the major part of +the Americans had expired on the last day of the year, but Washington +had them paraded and had ridden up and addressed them in a brilliant, +soldier-like fashion, and they had to a man volunteered to remain with +him for six weeks longer, or as much more time as was necessary to +enable him to complete his campaign before he went into winter +quarters. He was at last able to pay them their long deferred salary +out of the fifty thousand dollars sent him by Robert Morris, which +Seymour and Talbot that day had brought him; and for their future +reward he cheerfully pledged his own vast estate, an example of +self-sacrifice which Greene, Stark, Talbot, Seymour, and others of the +officers who possessed property, at once emulated. The men were put in +good spirits by a promise of ten dollars' bounty also, and they were +ready and eager for a fight. + +Reed, attended by six young gentlemen of the Philadelphia Troop, had +been sent out to reconnoitre. Up toward Princeton they had surprised a +British outpost composed of a sergeant and twelve dragoons; the +sergeant escaped, but the twelve dragoons, panic-stricken, were +captured after a short resistance; and Reed and his gallant young +cavaliers returned in triumph to headquarters. Valuable information +was gained from this party. Cornwallis had joined Grant at Princeton, +and with seven or eight thousand men was assembling wagons and +transportation, preparing for a dash on Trenton. Confirmation of this +not unexpected news came by a student from the college, who had escaped +to Cadwalader and been sent up to General Washington. The situation of +Washington was now critical, but he took prompt measures to relieve it. +Cadwalader from the Crosswicks, and Mifflin from Bordentown, with +thirty-six hundred men, were ordered forward at once. They promptly +obeyed orders, and by another desperate night march reached Trenton on +the morning of the first day of the year. + +There was heavy skirmishing all day on the second. Cornwallis, +advancing in hot haste from Princeton with eight thousand men, was +checked, and lost precious time, by a hot rifle fire from the wood on +the banks of the Shabbakong Creek, near the road he followed in his +advance. The skirmishers under Greene, seconded by Hand, after doing +gallant service and covering themselves with glory by delaying the +advance for several hours, giving Washington ample time to withdraw his +army across the Assunpink and post it in a strong defensive position, +had retired in good order beyond the American line. In the skirmish +Lieutenant Von Grothausen, he who had galloped away with the dragoons +at Trenton and had been under suspicion of cowardice ever since, had +somewhat redeemed his reputation in that he had boldly ridden down upon +the riflemen, and had been killed. It was late in the evening when the +advance parties crossed the bridge over the creek and sought safety +behind the lines. Indefatigable General Knox had concentrated thirty +pieces of cannon at the bridge--"A very pretty battery," he called it. + +It was dusk when the eager Americans saw the head of the British army +coming through the streets. They remained silent while the enemy +formed, and advanced to attack the bridge and the fords in heavy +columns at the same time. The men came on in a solid mass for the +bridge head, cheering gallantly. They were met by Knox's artillery and +a steady fire from the riflemen. Three times they crashed on that +bridge like a mighty wave, and three times like a wave broken they fell +back before an awful storm of fire. General Washington himself, +sitting on his white horse, gave the orders at the bridge, and the +brave enemy were repulsed. The position was too strong to be taken by +direct assault without great loss; besides, it was not vital after +all--so reasoned Cornwallis. The British soldiery were weary, they had +marched all day at a hot pace and were exhausted. They had not lived +in a chronic state of exhaustion for so long that they never gave it a +thought; they were not used to it, as were the Continentals, and when +the British were tired they had to rest. They would be in better +spirit on the morrow. The creek was fordable in a dozen places, but +Cornwallis resisted the importunities of some of his officers, who +wished to ford it and attack at once; he sent urgent messengers off to +Princeton to bring up the two thousand men left there with Von Donop, +and to hurry up Leslie with the rear guard, six miles away; when they +arrived they could turn the right flank of the Americans, and it would +be all up with them then. He thought he had Washington at such a +disadvantage that he could not escape, though the small advantage of +position might enable him to make a desperate resistance, even with his +inferior forces. + +"We will wait," he said to Erskine, "until Von Donop comes up, and +Leslie, and then we 'll bag the 'old fox' in the morning!" + +So, after brisk firing on both sides until night closed down, the +camp-fires were lighted on both sides of the creek; and the British +officer went to sleep, calmly confident that he had held the winning +cards, and all that was necessary was that the hand should be played +out in the morning, to enable him to take the game again. He did +indeed hold the higher cards, but the "old fox" showed himself the +better player. + +On the other side of the creek, in the house of good Mistress +Dagworthy, anxious hearts were debating. General Washington had +summoned a council of war, which expressed the usual diversity of +opinion on all subjects, except an unwillingness to fight, upon which, +like every other council of war, it was agreed. Indeed the odds were +fearful! Ten thousand seasoned, well-equipped, well-trained, veteran +troops, ably led, and smarting with the late defeat and the check of +the day against five thousand or six thousand wretchedly provided +soldiers, three-fifths of whom were raw militiamen, who had never heard +a shot fired in anger! + +Not even a leader like Washington, and officers to second him like +Greene, Sullivan, Knox, St. Clair, Stephen, Stirling, Cadwalader, +Sargeant, Mercer, Mifflin, Reed, Stark, Hand, Glover, and the others, +could overcome such a disparity and inequality. + +Cornwallis had only to outflank them, crumple them up, roll them back +on the impassable Delaware, and then--God help them all! + +There was no disguising the critical nature of their situation, and the +army had never before been in so desperate a position. It needed no +great skill to see the danger now to be faced, but the mistake of +Cornwallis gave them a brief respite, of which they promptly availed +themselves. Washington was not a man before whom it was ever safe to +indulge in mistakes, and the more difficult his position, the more +dangerous he became. Trial, danger, hazard, seemed to bring out all of +the most remarkable qualities of the man in the highest degree. +Nothing alarmed him, nothing dismayed him, nothing daunted him; the +hotter the conflict, the more pressing the danger, the cooler he +became. No man on earth was ever more ready and quick to avail himself +of time and opportunity, once he had determined upon a course of +action. This campaign was the most signal illustration, among many +others, which his wonderful career affords. Action, prompt, bold, +decisive, was as the breath of life to him; but before coming to a +decision, contrary to the custom of great commanders generally, he +usually called a council of war, which, on account of his excessive +modesty, he sometimes allowed to overrule his own better judgment, to +the great detriment of the cause. Alone he was superb! Given equal +resources, the world has not seen a general with whom he could not +successfully be matched. In this particular juncture, fortunately for +the country, he insisted upon having his own way. + +There were apparently but three alternatives before the council. The +first was a retreat with all speed down the river, leaving the heavy +baggage and artillery, and then crossing at Philadelphia if they could +get there in time. But this would be to abandon the whole colony of +New Jersey, to lose the results of the whole campaign, and leave the +enemy in fine position to begin again in the spring; and if this were +the end, they might better have stayed on the west side of the river. +Besides, successes were vital and must be had. Another retreat meant +disintegration and ruin, in spite of the lucky stroke at Trenton. The +second alternative was a battle where they stood, and that meant total +defeat,--a thing not to be considered a moment. The army must win or +die; and as dying could do no good, it had to win. A brilliant idea, +however, had occurred to the commander-in-chief, the man of brilliant +ideas. He communicated it to the council, where it instantly found +adherents, and objectors, too. It was the third alternative. A +circuitous road called the Quaker road, recently surveyed and just +made, led in a roundabout way from the rear of the camp toward the +Princeton road, which it entered two miles from that town. +Washington's plan was to steal silently away in the night by this road, +leaving bright fires burning to deceive the confident enemy, and press +with all speed toward Princeton, strike Cornwallis' rear-guard there at +daybreak with overwhelming force, crush it before that general could +retrace his steps, and then make a dash for the British supplies at New +Brunswick. If it were not practicable to reach that point, Washington +could take a position on the hills above Morristown, on the flank of +the British, and, by threatening their communications, force the +superior army to retreat and abandon the field, or else attack the +Americans in their intrenchments in the hills, with a probable result +even more disastrous to the attacking party than at Bunker Hill. It +was a conception as simple and beautiful as it was bold, brilliant, and +practicable. + +But now the objectors began; it had been snowing, sleeting, and raining +for several days; the roads were impassable, they had no bottom. +Objections were made on all sides: the artillery could not possibly be +moved, no horses could pull the wagons through the mud, the troops +could not march in it. But Washington, with true instincts, held to +his carefully devised plan with an unusual resolution. Arguing, +explaining, suggesting, convincing, persuading, the hours slipped away, +until at ten o'clock at night there came a sudden change in the +weather, perceptible even to those in the house. Washington ran +eagerly to the door and opened it. Followed by the general officers, +he stepped out into the night. It was dark and cloudy, no moon or +stars even, and growing colder every moment under the rising northeast +wind. + +"Gentlemen," he cried gayly, "Providence has decided for us. The wind +has shifted. The army will move in two hours." + +At the time specified by the commander, the muddy roads were frozen +hard. The heavy baggage was sent down to Burlington, and a strong +party of active men was left to keep bright fires burning, and charged +to show themselves as much as possible and make a great commotion by +throwing up fortifications and loud talking, with instructions to slip +away and join the main body early next day as best they could. At one +o'clock in the morning the astonished army started out upon their +adventurous journey,--another long cold night march. The untravelled +roads were as smooth and hard as iron. With muffled wheels they +succeeded in stealing away undetected. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +_The Lion Turns Fox_ + +The Quaker road led southeast from Trenton until it reached the village +of Sandtown, where it turned to the northwest again, and it was not +until that point was reached that the surprised soldiers realized the +daring nature of the manoeuvre, and the character of that night march, +which they had at first considered another hopeless retreat. It was +astonishing, then, with what spirit and zeal the soldiers tramped +silently over the frozen roads; the raw, green militia vied with the +veterans, in the fortitude with which they sustained the dreadful +fatigue of the severe march. The long distance to be traversed, on +account of the detour to be made, rendered it necessary that the men be +moved at the highest possible speed. The road itself being a new one, +lately cleared, the stumps and roots of trees not yet grubbed up, made +it difficult to transport the artillery and the wagons: but the tired +men cheerfully assisted the tired horses, and the little army made +great progress. The morning of Friday, January the 5th, dawned clear +and cold, with the ground covered with hoar frost. About sunrise the +army, with Washington again in the lead, reached the bridge over Stony +Brook about three miles from the village of Princeton. Leading the +main body across the bridge, they struck off from the main highway +through a by-road which was concealed by a grove of trees in the lower +ground, and afforded a short cut to the town. + +General Mercer was an old friend and comrade of the commander-in-chief; +he had been a companion of Prince Charles Edward in his romantic +invasion of England in '45, a member of Braddock's unfortunate +expedition, and wounded when that general's army was annihilated; and +sometime commander of Fort Du Quesne, after its capture by General +Forbes. He was detailed, with a small advance party comprising the +remnants of Smallwood's Marylanders, Haslet's Delawareans, and +Fleming's Virginians, and a small body of young men from the first +families of Philadelphia, to the total number of three hundred, to +continue up the road along the brook until he reached the main road, +where he was to try and hold the bridge in order to intercept fugitives +from Princeton, or check any retrograde movement of the troops which +might have advanced toward Trenton. The little band had proceeded but +a short distance on their way, when they unexpectedly came in sight of +a column of the enemy. + +It was the advance of the British, a part of Von Donop's leading +brigade, _en route_ for Trenton to assist Cornwallis in bagging the +"old fox" according to orders,--the Seventeenth Regiment, under Colonel +Mawhood. Mercer's troops being screened by the wood, their character +was not visible to Mawhood, who conjectured that they must be a body of +fugitives from the front. Under this impression, and never dreaming of +the true situation, Mawhood promptly deployed his regiment and moved +off to the left to intercept Mercer, at the same time despatching +messengers to bring up the other two regiments, the Fortieth and +Fifty-fifth, which had not yet left Princeton. Both parties rushed for +a little rising ground on the edge of a cleared field, near the house +of a peaceful Quaker named Clark. The Americans were nearer the goal +than their opponents, and reached it first. Hastily deploying his +column, Mercer sought shelter behind a hedge fence which crowned the +eminence, and immediately opened up a destructive fire from his +riflemen, which temporarily checked the advancing enemy. The British, +excellently led, returned the fire with great spirit, and with such +good effect that, after a few volleys, Mercer's horse was wounded in +the leg and his rider thrown violently to the ground, Talbot's was +killed under him, and several of the officers and men fell,--among them +the brave Colonel Haslet, who was mortally wounded. In the confusion +thus unfortunately caused, the Americans could hear sharp commands of +the English officers, then the rattling of steel on the gun-barrels, +and the next moment the red-coated men broke out of the smoke and, +unchecked by a scattering fire from the Americans, gallantly rushed up +at them with fixed bayonets. There were unfortunately no bayonets in +this small brigade of the Continental army. A few of the men clubbed +their muskets resolutely as the two lines met, and made a stout +resistance; but the on-coming British would not be denied, and, as the +charge was pressed home, the Americans wavered, broke, and fell back in +some disorder before the vigorous onslaught of the veteran troops. +Mercer, filled with shame, strove in vain to rally his men. Disdaining +himself to retreat, and gallantly calling upon them to advance, he +threw himself upon the advancing British line, sword in hand, followed +by his officers, and for a brief space there was an exciting melee on +the hill. A blow from the butt end of a musket felled the general to +the ground. Talbot sprang to his side, and swept the bayonet away from +his heart by a blow of his sword delivered with a quick movement of his +powerful arm. Mercer profited by the moment's respite to leap to his +feet. + +"Thank you, my lad," he said. + +"Do you get to the rear and rally the men, general," cried Talbot, +firing a pistol at short range into the midst of the crowding enemy. +"I 'll hold these men in play." But the fighting blood of the old +Scotchman was up, and for answer he struck boldly at the man opposite +him. + +"Surrender, you damned rebels!" cried an officer near them. + +"Never!" replied Mercer, cutting down the man with whom he was engaged, +while Talbot did the like to the one next him. With a roar of rage the +British sprang on the two men. In a trice one of the bayonets got past +Mercer's guard and grazed his arm, another buried itself in his bosom, +a third struck him in the breast. The old man struck out weakly, +dropped his sword and fell, pierced by a dozen wounds, but still +breathing. Talbot, who was as yet unharmed, though covered with blood +and dust, his hat gone, stepped across his body. + +He might have retreated, being young and active; but that was not the +custom of his family, neither would he abandon the body of his brave +commander; besides, every moment of delay was precious. Surely they +would be reinforced and rallied; he knew the promptness of Washington +too well to doubt it for a moment; and, last of all, what was life +without Kate? One glance he cast to the bright sky, flushed with the +first rays of the rising sun, and then he stood on guard. The young +man's eyes were burning with the intoxication of the fight, and his +soul filled with great resolve; but his sword-play was as cool and as +rapid as it had been in the Salle des Armes at Paris, where few could +be found to master him. The little group of British paused a moment in +admiration of his courage. + +"One at a time, gentlemen," he cried, smiling, and warding off a +vicious bayonet thrust. "Are there none here who will cross swords +with me, for the honor of their flag?" + +The young lieutenant in command of that part of the line promptly +sprang forward and engaged; the two blades rang fiercely together, and +grated along each other a moment later. The men stepped back. But the +brave lieutenant had met his match, and, with set lips and iron arm, +Talbot drove home his blade in the other's heart. Ere he could recover +himself or withdraw his sword, he was beaten to his knees by a blow +from a gun-barrel; the blood ran down over his face. + +"Surrender! surrender!" they cried to him, "and we will spare your +life." + +For answer his hand sought his remaining pistol. The first one of his +opponents fell dead with a bullet through his heart, and the next +moment the deadly steel of a bayonet was buried in Talbot's throat. + +"Kate--Kate!" he cried in agony, the blood bubbling from his lips, and +then another bayonet found his gallant heart; and he sank down on his +face, at the foot of the dying officer, his lips kissing the soil of +that country in defence of whose liberties he had fallen. + +As was customary with his family, he had died on the field, grimly +facing fearful odds to the last. The last of his line, he had made a +good ending, not unworthy his distinguished ancestry; for none of the +proud and gallant race had ever died in the service of a better cause, +be it that of king or Parliament, than this young soldier who had just +laid down his life for love of his country! + +The slight check afforded by the interposition of the Americans was +over. The British were sweeping everything before them, when Colonel +Mawhood, the cool-headed officer, who had been sitting on a little +brown pony, with a small switch in his hand, directing the combat, +became aware of a large body of men coming up on his right flank +through the wood. With the readiness of a practised soldier, he +instantly stopped the advance of his men, wheeled them about, brought +up his guns, and prepared to open fire. The American officers had time +to mark with admiration the skill with which the manoeuvre was +effected, and the beautiful precision with which the men carried out +their orders. Then the force, a large body of Pennsylvania militia +which Washington had despatched at the first sound of firing in the +direction of Mercer, broke out of the wood, and advanced rapidly. The +muskets of the redcoats were quickly brought to the shoulder, and at +the word of command the British line was suddenly tipped with fire and +then covered with smoke. Many of the militia fell at this volley +delivered at close range; some of the fallen lay still and motionless, +while others groaned with pain; the raw troops fired hastily into the +smoke, then hesitated and stopped uncertainly as the volley was +repeated. It was another critical moment, and the hour brought the man. + +Washington himself had most opportunely arrived on the field in advance +of the troops, attended by Seymour. One glance showed him Mercer's +broken retreating column and the hesitating Pennsylvania militia! +Everything was at stake. It was not a time for strategic manoeuvres +now, but for men--nay, there were men there as good as ever fought--but +for a man then. Providentially one was at hand. Putting spurs to his +gallant white horse, he rode down the line in front of the Pennsylvania +militia, waving his hat and cheering them on. + +"An old-fashioned Virginia fox-hunt, gentlemen!" he cried gayly, giving +the view halloo! Galloping forward under the fire of the British +battery, he called to Mercer's shattered men. They halted and faced +about; the Seventh Virginia broke through the wood on the flank of the +British; Hitchcock's New Englanders came up on the run with fixed +bayonets; Moulder's Philadelphia battery opened fire from the hill on +the opposing guns. + +The fire of a warrior had now supplanted the coolness of a general. +Dashing boldly forward, reckless of the storm of bullets, to within +thirty yards of the British line, and smiling with stern pleasure in +the crisis which seemed to develop and bring out every fibre of his +deep nature, he called upon his men to come on. Recovering themselves, +they responded with the utmost gallantry. Mawhood was surrounded and +outnumbered, his victory suddenly changed to defeat; but, excellent +soldier that he was, he fought on with desperate resolution, and the +conflict was exceedingly hot. Washington was in the thick of it. +Seymour, who had followed him closely until the general broke away in +the smoke to lead the charge, lost sight of him for a moment, enveloped +as he was in the dust and smoke of the battle. When he saw him emerge +from the cloud, waving his sword, and beheld the enemy giving way on +every side, he spurred up to him. + +"Thank God!" he said; "your excellency is safe." + +"Away! away! my dear Seymour," he cried, "and bring up the troops. The +day is our own!" + +To the day of his death Seymour never lost the splendid impression of +that heroic figure, the ruddy face streaked with smoke and dust, the +eyes blazing with the joy of battle, the excitement of the charge, the +mighty sweep of the mighty arm! Mawhood's men were, indeed, routed in +every direction; most of them laid down their arms. A small party +only, under that intrepid leader, succeeded in forcing its way through +the American ranks with the bayonet, and ran at full speed toward +Trenton under the stimulus of a hot pursuit. + +Meanwhile the Fifty-fifth Regiment had been vigorously attacked by St. +Clair's brigade, and, after a short action, those who could get away +were in full retreat towards New Brunswick. The last regiment, the +Fortieth, had not been able to get into action at all; a part of it +fled in a panic, with the remains of the Fifty-fifth, towards New +Brunswick, hotly pursued by Washington with the Philadelphia City Troop +and what cavalry he could muster, and the rest took refuge in the +college building in Princeton, from which they were dislodged by +artillery and compelled to surrender. The British loss was about five +hundred in killed and wounded and prisoners, the American less than one +hundred; but among the latter were many valuable officers,--Colonels +Haslet and Potter, Major Morris, Captains Shippen, Fleming, Talbot, +Neal, and General Mercer. + +After following the retiring and demoralized British for a few miles, +Washington determined to abandon the pursuit. The men were exhausted +by their long and fatiguing marches, and were in no condition to make +the long march to New Brunswick; most of them were still ill equipped +and entirely unfitted for the fatigue and exposure of a further winter +campaign,--even those iron men must have rest at last. The flying +British must have informed Leslie's troops, six miles away, of the +situation; they would soon be upon them, and they might expect +Cornwallis with his whole force at any time. He drew off his troops, +therefore, and, leaving a strong party to break down the bridge over +Stony Brook and impede the advance of the English as much as possible, +he pushed on towards Pluckamin and Morristown, officers and men +thoroughly satisfied with their brilliant achievements. + +Early in the morning the pickets of Cornwallis' army discovered that +something was wrong in the American camp; the guard had been withdrawn, +the fires had been allowed to die away, and the place was as still as +death. A few adventurous spirits, cautiously crossing the bridge, +found that the guns mounted in front of it were only "quakers," and +that the whole camp was empty,--the army had decamped silently, and +stolen away before their eyes! My Lord Cornwallis, rudely disturbed +from those rosy dreams of conquest with which a mocking spirit had +beguiled his slumber, would not credit the first report of his +astonished officers; but investigation showed him that the "old fox" +was gone, and he would not be bagged that morning--nor on any other +morning, either! But where had he gone? For a time the perplexed and +chagrined commander could not ascertain. + +The Americans had vanished--disappeared--leaving absolutely no trace +behind them, and it was not until he heard the heavy booming of cannon +from the northeast, borne upon the frosty air of the cold morning about +sunrise, that he divined the brilliant plan of his wily antagonist and +discovered his whereabouts. He had been outfought, outmanoeuvred, +outflanked, and outgeneralled! The disgusted British were sent back +over the familiar road to Princeton, now in hotter haste than before. +His rear-guard menaced, perhaps overwhelmed, his stores and supplies in +danger, Cornwallis pushed on for life this time. The English officer +conceived a healthy respect for Washington at this juncture which did +not leave him thereafter. + +The short distance between Trenton and Princeton on the direct road was +passed in a remarkably short time by the now thoroughly aroused and +anxious British. A little party under command of Seymour and Kelly, +which had been assiduously engaged in breaking down the bridge over +Stony Brook, was observed and driven away by two field-pieces, which +had been halted and unlimbered on a commanding hill, and which opened +fire while the troops advanced on a run; but the damage had been done, +and the bridge was already impassable. After a futile attempt to +repair it, in which much time was lost, the indefatigable earl sent his +troops through the icy water of the turbulent stream, which rose +breast-high upon the eager men, and the hasty pursuit was once more +resumed. A mile or so beyond the bridge the whole army was brought to +a stand by a sudden discharge from a heavy gun, which did some +execution; it was mounted in a breastwork some distance ahead. The +army was halted, men were sent ahead to reconnoitre, and a strong +column deployed to storm what was supposed to be a heavy battery. When +the storming party reached the works, there was no one there! A lone +thirty-two-pounder, too unwieldy to accompany the rapid march of the +Americans, had been left behind, and Philip Wilton had volunteered to +remain, after Seymour's party had passed, and further delay the British +by firing it at their army as soon as they came in range. These delays +had given Washington so much of a start that Cornwallis, despairing of +ever overtaking him, finally gave up the pursuit, and pushed on in +great anxiety to New Brunswick, to save, if possible, his magazines, +which he had the satisfaction in the end of finding intact. + +To complete this brief _resume_ of one of the remarkable campaigns of +history, Washington strongly fortified himself on Cornwallis' flank at +Morristown, menacing each of the three depots held by the British +outside New York; Putnam advanced from Philadelphia to Trenton, with +the militia; and Heath moved down to the highlands of the Hudson. The +country people of New Jersey rose and cut off scattered detachments of +the British in every direction, until the whole of the field was +eventually abandoned by them, except Amboy, Newark, and New Brunswick. +The world witnessed the singular spectacle of a large, well-appointed +army of veteran soldiery, under able leaders, shut up in practically +one spot, New York and a few near-by villages, and held there +inexorably by a phantom army which never was more than half the size of +that it held in check! The results of the six months' campaign were to +be seen in the possession of the city of New York by the British army. +That army, which had won, practically, all the battles in which it had +engaged, which had followed the Americans through six months of +disastrous defeat and retreat, and had overrun two colonies, now had +nothing to show for all its efforts but the ground upon which it stood! +And this was the result of the genius, the courage, the audacity of one +man,--George Washington! The world was astounded, and he took an +assured place thenceforward among the first soldiers of that or any age. + +Even the English themselves could not withhold their admiration. The +gallant and brave Cornwallis, a soldier of no mean ability himself, and +well able to estimate what could be done with a small and feeble force, +never forgot his surprise at the Assunpink; and when he congratulated +Washington, at the surrender of Yorktown years after, upon the +brilliant combination which had resulted in the capture of the army, he +added these words: "But, after all, your excellency's achievements in +the Jerseys were such that nothing could surpass them!" And the witty +and wise old cynic, Mr. Horace Walpole, with his usual discrimination, +wrote to a friend, Sir Horace Mann, when he heard of the affair at +Trenton, the night march to Princeton, and the successful attack there: +"Washington, the dictator, has shown himself both a Fabius and a +Camillus. His march through our lines is allowed to have been a +prodigy of generalship!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +_The British Play "Taps"_ + +The day after the battle Washington sent his nephew, Major Lewis, under +protection of a flag of truce, to attend upon the wounded General +Mercer; the exigency of his pursuit of the flying British and their +subsequent pursuit of him having precluded him from giving to his old +friend that personal attention which would have so accorded with his +kindly heart and the long affection in which he had held the old +Scotchman. Seymour received permission to accompany Lewis, in order to +ascertain if possible what had become of Talbot. + +The men of Mercer's command reported that they had seen the two +officers dismounted and fighting bravely, after having refused to +retreat. The two young officers were very melancholy as they rode +along the familiar road. Lewis belonged to a Virginia regiment, and +had known both Mercer and Talbot well, and in fact all the officers who +had been killed. The officers of that little army were like a band of +brothers, and after every battle there was a general mourning for the +loss of many friends. The casualties among the officers in the sharp +engagement had been unusually severe, and entirely disproportioned to +the total loss; the bulk of the loss had fallen upon Mercer's brigade. + +They found the general in Clark's farmhouse, near the field of battle, +lingering in great pain, and slowly dying from a number of ferocious +bayonet wounds. He was attended by his aid, Major Armstrong, and the +celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush came especially from Philadelphia to give +the dying hero the benefit of his skill and services. He had been +treated with the greatest respect by the enemy, for Cornwallis was +always quick to recognize and respect a gallant soldier. The kindly +Quakers had spared neither time nor trouble to lighten his dying hours, +and the women of the household nursed him with gentle and assiduous +care. He passed away ten days after the battle, leaving to his +descendants the untarnished name of a gallant soldier and gentleman, +who never faltered in the pursuit of his high ideals of duty. Brief as +had been his career as a general in the Revolution, his memory is still +cherished by a grateful posterity, as one of the first heroes of that +mighty struggle for liberty. + +Details of the British were already marching toward the field of action +to engage in the melancholy work of burying the dead, when Seymour, +under Major Armstrong's guidance, went over the ground in a search for +Talbot. He had no difficulty in finding the place where his friend had +fallen. The field had not been disturbed by any one. A bloody frozen +mass of ice and snow had shown where Mercer had fallen, and across the +place where his feet had been lay the body of Talbot. In front of him +lay the lieutenant with whom he had fought, the sword still buried in +his breast; farther away were the two men that the general and he had +cut down in the first onslaught, and at his feet was the corpse of the +man he had last shot, his stiffened hands still tightly clasping his +gun. Around on the field were the bodies of many others who had +fallen. Some of the Americans had been literally pinned to the earth +by the fierce bayonet thrusts they had received in the charge; some of +the British had been frightfully mangled and mashed by blows from the +clubbed rifles of the Americans before they had retreated. Off to the +right a long line of motionless bodies marked where the Pennsylvania +militia had advanced and halted; there in the centre, lying in heaps, +were the reminders of the fiercest spot of the little conflict, where +Moulder's battery had been served with such good effect; here was the +place where Washington had led the charge. + +In one brief quarter of an hour nearly three hundred men had given up +their lives, on this little farm, and there they lay attesting in mute +silence their fidelity to their principles, warm red coat and tattered +blue coat side by side, peace between them at last; indifferent each to +the severities of nature or the passions of men; unheeding alike the +ambitions of kings, the obstinacy of parliaments, or the desire of +liberty on the part of peoples. Some were lying calmly, as if their +last moments had been as peaceful as when little children they laid +themselves down to sleep; others twisted and contorted with looks of +horror and anguish fixed upon their mournful faces, which bespoke +agonies attending the departure of life like to the travail pains with +which it had been ushered into existence. Seymour with a sad heart +stooped and turned over the body of his friend, lifting his face once +more to that heaven he had gazed upon so bravely a few hours since--for +it was morning again, but oh, how different! The face was covered with +blood from the wound in the forehead, by which he had been beaten down. +Sadly, tenderly, gratefully, remembering an hour when Talbot had knelt +by his side and performed a similar service, he endeavored to wipe the +lurid stains from off his marble brow. Then a thought came to him. +Taking from his breast Katharine's handkerchief, which had never left +him, he moistened it in the snow, and finding an unstained place where +her dainty hand had embroidered her initials "K. W.," he carefully +wiped clean the white face of his dead friend. There was a little +smile upon Talbot's lips, and a look of peace and calm upon his face, +which Seymour had not seen him wear since the sinking of the frigate. +His right hand, whiter than the lace which drooped over it, was pressed +against his heart, evidently as the result of his last conscious +movement. Seymour bent down and lifted it up gently; there was +something beneath it inside his waistcoat. The young sailor reverently +inserted his hand and drew it forth. It was a plain gold locket. +Touching the spring, it opened, and there were pictured the faces of +the two women Talbot had loved,--on the one side the mother, stately, +proud, handsome, resolute, the image of the man himself; on the other, +the brown eyes and the fair hair and the red lips of beautiful +Katharine Wilton. There was a letter too in the pocket. The bayonet +thrust which had reached his heart had gone through it, and it, and the +locket also, was stained with blood. The letter was addressed to +Seymour; wondering, he broke the seal and read it. It was a brief +note, written in camp the night of the march. It would seem that +Talbot had a presentiment that he might die in the coming conflict; +indeed the letter plainly showed that he meant to seek death, to court +it in the field. His mother was to be told that he had done his duty, +and had not failed in sustaining the traditions of his honorable house; +and the honest soldierly little note ended with these words,-- + + +_As for you, my dear Seymour, would that fate had been kinder to you! +Were Katharine alive, I would crave your permission to say these words +to her: 'I love you, Kate,--I've always loved you--but the better man +has won you.' My best love to the old mother. Won't you take it to +her? And good-by, and God bless you!----Hilary Talbot._ + + +The brilliance went out of the sunshine, the brightness faded out of +the morning, and Seymour stood there with the tears running down his +cheeks,--not ashamed to weep for his friend. And yet the man was with +Kate, he thought, and happy,--he could almost envy him his quiet sleep. +The course of his thoughts was rudely broken by the approach of a party +of horsemen, who rode up to where he stood. Their leader, a bold +handsome young man, of distinguished appearance, in the brilliant dress +of a British general officer, reined in his steed close by him, and +addressed him. + +"How now, sir! Weeping? Tears do not become a soldier!" + +"Ah, sir," said Seymour, saluting, and pointing down to Talbot's body +at the same time, "not even when one mourns the death of a friend?" + +"Your friend, sir?" replied the general officer, courteously, +uncovering and looking down at the bodies with interest; his practised +eye immediately taking in the details of the little conflict. + +"He did not go to his death alone," he said meaningly. "'Fore Gad, +sir, here has been a pretty fight! Your name and rank, sir?" + +"Lieutenant John Seymour, of the American Continental navy, volunteer +aid on his excellency General Washington's staff." + +"And what do you here? Are you a prisoner?" + +"No, sir, I came with Major Lewis to visit General Mercer, and to look +for my friend, under cover of a flag of truce." + +"Ha! How is General Mercer?" + +"Frightfully wounded; he cannot live very long now." + +"He was a gallant fellow, so I am told, sir, and fought the father of +his majesty in the '45." + +"Yes," said Seymour, simply; "this is where he fell." + +The general looked curiously about him. + +"And who was your dead friend?" he continued. + +"Captain Hilary Talbot, of Virginia, of General Washington's staff." + +"What! Not Talbot of Fairview Hall on the Potomac?" said one of the +officers. + +"The same, sir." + +"Gad, my lord, Madam Talbot's a red-hot Tory! She swears by the king. +I 've been entertained at the house,--not when the young man was there, +but while he was away,--and a fine place it is. Well, here 's a house +divided truly!" + +"Is it indeed so, Mr. Seymour?" + +The young man nodded affirmatively. + +"What were you proposing to do with the body?" + +"Bury it near here, sir, in the cemetery on the hill by the college. +We have no means of transporting it hence." + +"Well, you shall do so, and we will bury him like a soldier. I +remember the family now, in England, very well. Don't they call them +the Loyal Talbots? Yes, I thought so. He was a rebel, and so far +false to his creed, but a gentleman nevertheless, and a brave one too. +Look at the fight he made here, gentlemen! Damme, he shall have an +escort of the king's own troops, and Lord Cornwallis himself and his +staff for his chief mourners! eh, Erskine?" said the gallant earl, +turning to the officer who rode near him. + +"How will that suit you, Mr. Seymour? You can tell that to his poor +old mother too, when you see her once again. Some of you bring up a +company of troops and get a gun carriage,--there's an abandoned one of +Mawhood's over there,--and we 'll take him up properly. Have you a +horse, sir? Ah, that's well, and bring a Prayer Book if you can find +one,--I doubt if there be any in my staff. I presume the man was a +Churchman, and he shall have prayers too. We have no coffin for him, +either; but stay--here 's my own cloak, a proper shroud for a soldier, +surely that will do nicely; and now let us go on, gentlemen." + +In a short time the martial cortege reached the little Presbyterian +cemetery. The young man wrapped in the general's cloak was soon laid +away in the shallow grave, which had hastily been made ready for him. +Seymour, attended by the two other American officers, Armstrong and +Lewis, after cutting off a lock of Talbot's dark hair for his mother, +read the burial service out of the young soldier's own little Prayer +Book, which he had found in the pocket of his coat; as the earth was +put upon him, Cornwallis and his officers stood about reverently +uncovered, while the sailor read with faltering lips the old familiar +words, which for twenty centuries have whispered of comfort to the +heart-broken children of men, and illumined the dark future by an +eternal hope--nay, rather, fixed assurance--of life everlasting. + +There was one tender-hearted woman there too, one of the sweet-faced +daughters of the kindly Quaker, Miss Clark. She had taken time to +twine a hasty wreath from the fragrant ever-verdant pine; when the +little mound of earth was finished, softly she laid it down, breathing +a prayer for the mother in far-off Virginia as she did so. + +Then they all drew back while the well-trained soldiers fired the last +three volleys, and the drummers beat the last call. 'T was the same +simple ending which closes the career of all soldiers, of whatever +degree, when they come to occupy those narrow quarters, where earthly +considerations of rank and station are forgot. + +"Sir, I beg to thank you for this distinguished courtesy," said +Seymour, with deep feeling, extending his hand to the knightly Briton. + +"Do not mention it, sir, I beg of you," replied Cornwallis, shaking his +hand warmly. "You will do the same for one of us, I am sure, should +occasion ever demand a like service at your hands. I will see that +your other men and officers are properly buried. Do you return now?" + +"Immediately, my lord." + +"Pray present my compliments to Mr.--nay, General--Washington," said +the generous commander, "and congratulate him upon his brilliant +campaign. Ay, and tell him we look forward eagerly to trying +conclusions with him again. Good-by, sir. Come, gentlemen," he cried, +raising his hat gracefully as he mounted his horse and rode away, +followed by his staff. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +_The Last of the Talbots_ + +It was with a sinking heart that Seymour rode up the hill toward Fairview +Hall a few days later. There had been a light fall of snow during the +preceding night, and the brilliant sun of the early morning had not yet +gained sufficient strength to melt it away. There was a softening touch +therefore about the familiar scene, and Seymour, who had never viewed it +in the glory of its summer, thought he had never known it to look so +beautiful. Heartily greeted as he passed on by the various servants of +the family, with whom he was a great favorite, he finally drew rein and +dismounted before the great flight of steps which led up to the terrace +upon which the house stood. His arrival had not been unnoticed, and +Madam Talbot was standing in the doorway to greet him. He noticed that +she looked paler and thinner and older, but she held herself as erect and +carried herself as proudly as she had always done. Grief and +disappointment and broken hope might change and destroy the natural +tissues and fibres of her being, but they could not alter her iron will. +Tossing the bridle to one of the attendant servants, Seymour, hat in +hand, walked slowly up the steps and across the grass plat, and stepped +upon the porch. She watched him in silence, with a frightful sinking of +the heart; the gravity of his demeanor and the pallor of his face, in +which she seemed to detect a shade of pity which her pride resented, +apprised her that whatever news he had brought would be ill for her to +hear, but her rigid face and composed manner gave no indication of the +deadly conflict within. Seymour bowed low to her, and she returned his +salute with a sweeping courtesy, old-fashioned and graceful. + +"Lieutenant Seymour is very welcome to Fairview Hall, though I trust it +be not the compelling necessity of a wound which makes him seek our +hospitality again," she said, faintly smiling. + +"Oh, madam," said Seymour, softly, yet in utter desperation as to how to +begin, "unfortunately it is not to be cured of wounds, but to inflict +them that this time I am come. I--I am sorry--that I have to tell you +that--I--" he continued with great hesitation. + +"You are a bearer of ill tidings, I perceive," she continued gravely. +"Speak your message, sir. Whatever it may be, I trust the God I serve to +give me strength to bear it. Is it--is it--Hilary?" she went on, with +just a suggestion of a break in her even, carefully modulated tones. + +"Yes, dear madam. He--he--" + +"Stop! I had almost forgotten my duty. Tell me first of the armies of +my king. The king first of all with our house, you know." + +Poor Seymour! he must overwhelm her with bad news in every field of her +affection. For a moment he almost wished the results had been the other +way. The perspiration stood out upon his forehead in spite of the +coldness, and he felt he would rather charge a battery than face this +terrible old woman who put the armies of a king--and such a king +too--before the fate of her only son! And yet he knew that what he had +to tell her would break down even her iron will, and reaching the +mother's heart beating warm within her in spite of her assumed coldness +and self-repression, would probably give her a death-blow. He felt +literally like a murderer before her, but he had to answer. Talbot's own +letter, General Washington's command, and the promptings of his own +affection had made him an actor in this pathetic drama. He had no choice +but to proceed. The truth must be told. Nerving himself to the +inevitable, he replied to her question,-- + +"The armies of the king have been defeated and forced to retire. General +Washington has outmanoeuvred and outfought them; they are now shut up in +New York again. The Jerseys are free, and we have taken upward of two +thousand prisoners, and many are killed and wounded among them,--on both +sides, in truth," he added. + +"The worst news first," she replied. "One knows not why these things are +so. It seems the God of Justice slumbers when subjects rebel against +their rightful kings! But I have faith, sir. The right will win in the +end--must win." + +"So be it," he said, accepting the implied challenge, but adding nothing +further. He would wait to be questioned now, and this strange woman +should have the story in the way that pleased her best. As for her she +could not trust herself to speak. Never before had her trembling body, +her beating heart escaped from the domination of her resolute will. +Never before had her mobile lips refused to formulate the commands of her +active brain. She fought her battle out in silence, and finally turned +toward him once more. + +"There was something else you said, I think. My--my son?" Her voice +sank to a whisper; in spite of herself one hand went to her heart. Ah, +mother, mother, this was indeed thy king! "Is--is he wounded?--My God, +sir! Not dead?" + +His open hand which he had extended to her held two little objects. What +were they? The bright sunlight was reflected from one of them, the +locket she had given him. There was a dark discoloration on one side of +it which she had never seen before. The other was his Prayer Book. O +God--prayer! Was there then a God, that such things could happen? Where +was He that day? She had given that book to him when he was yet a child. +"Dead,"--she whispered,--"dead," shrinking back and staring at him. + +"Would God I had died in his place, dear madam!" he said with infinite +pity. + +"How--how was it?" she went on, dry-eyed, in agony, moistening her +cracking lips. + +"Fighting like a hero over the body of General Mercer at Princeton. His +men retreated and left them--" + +"The rebel cowards," she interrupted. + +"Nay, not cowards, but perhaps less brave than he. The British charged +with their bayonets; our men had not that weapon, they fell back." + +"Were you there, sir?" + +"Surely not! Should I be here now if I had been there then, madam?" he +replied proudly. + +"True, true! you at least are a gentleman. Forgive the question." + +"General Mercer and some of his officers sprang at the line. I had it +from his own lips. Some one cut the general down; Hilary interposed, and +enabled him to rise to his feet; they were attacked, fought bravely +until--until--they died." + +Stricken to the death at least, but determined to die as the rest had +died, fighting, she drew herself up resolutely, and lifted her hand to +that pitiless heaven above her. "So--be--it--unto--all--the--enemies--" +When had he heard her say that before, he wondered in horror. She +stopped, her face went whiter before him, the light went out of it. + +"Oh, my son, my son--O God, my son, my son--Oh, give him back, my son--my +son!" She reeled and fell against him, moaning and beating the air with +her little feeble hands. The break had come at last; she was no longer a +Talbot, but a woman. With infinite pity and infinite care he half led, +half carried her into the house, and then, after being bidden not to +summon assistance, he sank down on his knees by her side, where she lay +on the sofa in the parlor, crushed, broken, feeble, helpless, old. With +many interruptions he told her the sad story. He laid the long dark lock +of hair he had cut from her son's head in her hand. There was a letter +from George Washington which he read to her, in which, after many tender +words of consolation, he spoke of Talbot as "one who would have done +honor to any country." He told her of that military funeral, the kind +words of Cornwallis, the guard of honor, the soldiers of the king, and +then he put Talbot's own letter to him before her, and she must be told +of the loss of the frigate. Kate dead too, and Colonel Wilton. Alas, +poor friends! But all her plans and hopes were gone; what mattered +it--what mattered anything now! + +"Oh, what a load must those unrighteous men bear before God who have +inaugurated this wicked war!" she cried; but no echo of her reproach was +heard in the houses of Parliament in London, or whispered in the +antechamber of the king, to whom, assuredly, they belonged. + +And by and by he left her. It wrung his heart so to do, but the call of +duty was stronger than her need. His ship was ready, or would be in a +short time, and he had snatched a few days from his pressing work to +fulfil this task. His presence was absolutely necessary on the vessel, +and he must go. Saying nay to her piteous plea that he should stay, and +most reluctantly refusing her proffers of hospitality, after leaving with +her the letters and the pictures, he left the room. But in the doorway +he looked back at her. The tears had come at last. Moved by a sudden +impulse, he ran back and knelt down by her, and took her old face between +his hands and kissed her. + +"Good-by, dear madam," he whispered; "would it had been I!" + +She laid her thin hands upon his head. + +"Good-by," she whispered; "God bless you. Oh, my boy--my boy!" She +turned her face to the wall in bitterness, and so he fled. + +On the brow of the hill one could see, if he were keen-eyed, the Wilton +place. There was the boat-house. There she had said she loved him. He +struck spurs to his horse and galloped madly away. Was there nothing but +grief and sorrow, then, under the sun? + +The lawyer and the doctor and the minister were with Madam Talbot all +that day, but it was little they could do. She added a codicil to her +will with the lawyer, submissively took the medicine the doctor left her, +and listened quietly to the prayers of the priest. In the morning they +found her whiter, stiller, calmer than ever. She had gone to meet her +son in that new country where none rebel against the King! + + + + +BOOK IV + +A DEATH GRAPPLE ON THE DEEP + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +_A Sailor's Opinion of the Land_ + +It was a delightful morning in February. The Continental ship +Randolph, a tight little thirty-two-gun frigate, the first to get to +sea of those ordered by Congress in 1775, was just leaving the +beautiful harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, by way of the main ship +channel, on her maiden cruise, under the command of Captain John +Seymour Seymour, late first lieutenant of the Ranger. This was the +second departure she had taken from that port. Forced by severe +damages, incurred in an encounter with a heavy gale shortly after +leaving Philadelphia, to put into that harbor for needed repairs to the +new and unsettled vessel, she had put to sea again after a short +interval, and in one week had taken six valuable prizes, one of them, +an armed vessel of twenty guns, after a short action. After this brief +and brilliant excursion she had put back to Charleston to dispose of +her prizes, re-collect her prize crews, and land her prisoners. + +There was another motive, however, for the sudden return. From one of +the prizes it had been learned that the English thirty-two-gun frigate +Carrysford, the twenty-gun sloop Perseus, the sixteen-gun sloop +Hinchinbrook, with several privateers, had been cruising off the coast +together, and the commander of the Randolph was most anxious to get the +help of some of the South Carolina State cruisers to go in search of +the British ships. The indefatigable Governor Rutledge, when the news +had been communicated to him, had worked assiduously to provide the +State ships, and the young captain of the Randolph speedily found +himself at the head of a little fleet of war vessels outward bound. + +The departure of the squadron, the Randolph in the lead, the rest +following, and all under full sail, made a pretty picture to the +enthusiastic Carolinians, who watched them from the islands and +fortifications in the harbor, and from a number of small boats which +accompanied the war ships a short distance on their voyage. Besides +Seymour's own vessel, there were the eighteen-gun ship General +Moultrie, the two sixteen-gun ships Notre Dame and Polly, and the +fourteen-gun brig Fair American; the last commanded by a certain +master, Philip Wilton. They made officers of very young men in those +days, and mere boys often occupied positions of trust and +responsibility apparently far beyond their years,--even Seymour +himself, though now a commodore or flag officer by courtesy, was very +young for the position; and Governor Rutledge, moved by a warm +friendship of long standing for old Colonel Wilton, and upon Seymour's +own urgent recommendation, had intrusted the smallest vessel to young +Captain Philip. We shall see how he showed himself worthy of the trust +reposed in him in spite of his tender years. + +All of these ships were converted merchantmen, hastily fitted out, +poorly adapted for any warlike purpose, and, with the exception of the +Fair American, exceedingly slow and unwieldy; but the heart of the +young commander filled with pride as he surveyed the little squadron, +which followed in his wake, looking handsome enough under full sail. +It was a great trust and responsibility reposed in his skill and +experience; doubtless it was the only fleet the country had assembled, +or could assemble, at that time; the ships were certainly not as he +would have desired them, but they were the best that could be got +together; and manned and officered by devoted men, they could at least +fight ships of their own size when the time came, and he trusted to be +able to give a good account of the enemy, should they be so fortunate +as to fall in with them. As for his own vessel, as his practised and +critical eye surveyed the graceful proportions of the new and +well-appointed ship, Seymour felt entirely satisfied with her. He +regarded with pleasant appreciation the decks white as constant +holy-stoning could make them, the long rows of grim black guns +thrusting out their formidable muzzles on either side, and the lofty +spars covered with clouds of new and snowy canvas. Everything was as +neat and trim, and as ready, as ardor, experience, and ability, coupled +with a generous expenditure from his own purse, could make them. He +was satisfied with his officers and crew too. Seymour's reputation, +his recent association with Paul Jones, the romantic story of his last +successful cruise, the esteem in which he was held by Washington, and +his own charming personality had conspired to render him a great +favorite, and he had had the pick of Philadelphia's hardy seamen and +gallant officers ere he sailed away. The three hundred and odd seamen +and marines who comprised the crew were as fit and capable a body of +men as ever trod the deck of a ship. Constant exercise and careful +instruction, and drill and target practice, had made them exceedingly +able in all the necessary manoeuvres, and in the handling of the guns. + +Forward on the forecastle old Bentley was planted, surrounded by such +of the older and more experienced petty officers and men as he +permitted to associate with him on terms of more or less familiarity. +Not only the position he occupied, that of boatswain of the frigate, +gave him a vast importance with the men, but his age and experience, +his long association with the captain, as well as some almost +incredible tales of his familiar companionship with certain men of +awe-inspiring name and great renown, with various mighty feats of arms +in recent campaigns, vaguely current, conduced to make him the monarch +of the forecastle, and the arbiter of the various discussions and +arguments among the men, who rarely ventured to dispute the dictum of +their oracle. + +"Well, here we are pointing out again, thank the Lord!" he said to his +particular friend and crony among the crew, the carpenter, Richard +Spicer, a battered old shell-back, like himself. "There is only one +place from which I like to see the land, Richard!" + +"And where is that, bosun?" + +"Over the stern, as now, mate, when we 're going free with a fair wind, +and leaving it fast behind. I feel safer then. A time since and I +felt as if I never wanted to see it again from any place. To think of +me, a decent God-fearing, seafaring man, at my time of life, turning +soldier!" It is not in the power of written language to express the +peculiar intonation of contempt which the old man laid upon that +inoffensive word, "soldier." No one venturing to interrupt him, after +staring at his particular aversion for a few moments, he went on more +mildly, and in a reflective tone,-- + +"Not but what I have seen some decent soldiers--a few. There was old +Blodgett, and young Mr. Talbot, ay, and General Washington too! Now +there 's a man for you, ship-mates. Lord, what a sailorman he would +have made! They tell me he had a midshipman's warrant offered him when +he was a lad once, and actually refused it--refused it! preferred to be +a soldier, and what a chance he lost! Might have been an admiral by +now!" + +"I 've heard tell as how 't was his mother that prevented him from +goin' to sea--when he was ready an' willin' an' waitin' to get aboard," +returned one of the men. + +"May be, may be. The result's the same. You never can tell what +women, and 'specially mothers, will do. They 're necessary, of course, +leastways it's generally believed we all had 'em, though I remember +none myself, nor Captain Seymour neither, and he 's a pretty good sort +of a man--let alone me--but they've no place aboard ship. Now look +what this one did,--spoiled a man that had the makin's of a first-class +sailor in him, and turned him into a soldier!" + +"But where would we be in this country of ours now, bosun, if it were +not for the soldiers? No, no, don't be too hard on this man, Captain +Washington; he 's done his duty, and is doing it very well, too, so I +'m told, accordin' to your own account, matey," replied the old +carpenter; "and soldiers is good too--in their places, that is, of +course," he went on deprecatingly. "There are two kinds of men, as I +take it, William, to do the fightin' in this world, sailormen and +soldiermen; each has a place, a station to fill, and something to do, +and one can't do t' other's work. Look at that there blasted marine, +aft there in the gangway, for instance; he's a good man, I make no +manner o' doubt, and he has got his place on this barkey, even if he is +only a kind of a soldier and no sailorman at all." + +"Now I asks you, Chips, what particular good are soldiers, anyway, +leaving marines out of the question, for they do live on ships," said +the old sailorman. "What can they do that we can't? They can fight, +and fight hard--I 've seen 'em, but so can we," he continued, extending +his brawny arm; "and they can march, too,--I've seen their bloody +footmarks in the snow; but there were sailormen there that kept right +alongside of 'em and did all that they could do. Oh, I forgot one +thing--they can ride horses, that's one thing I could never learn at +all! You 'd ought to seen me on one of the land-lubberly brutes. A +horse has no place on shipboard, no more than a woman, and I 've no use +for either of 'em. But if this country would spend all its money +buying ships, and man 'em with real first-class sailormen, why, d'ye +see, King George's men could never land on our shores at all. We 'd +keep 'em off, and then there'd be no use for the soldiers; they could +all go a-farming. No, give me ships every time, they always win. I +know what I am talking about; I have been on the shore for a month at a +time until I thought I would turn into mud itself. No, 't is not even +a fit place to be buried in; 'earth to earth' won't do for me when I +die; I just want to be dropped overboard--there." + +"There is one time ships didn't win," said the carpenter, persisting in +the argument, and pointing aft to the low mounds of sand backed by the +rudely interlaced palmetto logs, behind which the gallant Moultrie had +fought Barker's fleet six months before, until the ships had been +driven off in defeat. + +"Those were British ships, man," said the old sailor, with contempt. +"I meant Americans, of course; it makes all the difference in the +world. But as for land--I hate it. It's only good to grow vegetables, +and soft tack, and fresh water, and tar, and timber, and breed children +to make sailormen out of--why, it's a sort of a cook's galley, a +kitchen they call it there, for the sea at best! Give me the sight of +blue water, and let me have the solid feel of the deck beneath my feet; +no unsteady earth for me!" + +"Well, that's my own opinion, too, bo. But, after all, that's all that +ships is good for, anyway; just to sail from land to land and take +people and things from place to place. The sea's between like." + +"You look at it the wrong way, mate. Certain of us men have sense +enough to live on the sea, and keep away from land, except for water +and provision. We go from sea to sea, and land 's between." + +"And what would you do for a country if we had no land? You 're always +talking about lovin' your country, bosun." + +"Ay, that I do," said the old man. "I look upon a country, that is a +land country, as a kind of necessary evil. My country 's this ship, +and yon flag, what it means and stands for. It means liberty, free +waters, no interference with peaceful traders on the high seas, +following their rightful pursuits, by British ships-of-war. Every man +that has ever been aboard of one of those floating hells knows what +liberty is not, well enough. No taxing of us by a Parliament on t' +other side of the world, neither. No king but the captain. Freedom! +So free that the lubberliest landsman on shore has a right to govern +himself--if he can--subject to discipline and the commands of his +superior officer, of course; and, besides, it's like a man's wife; if +he's got to have one, he may beat her and abuse her, perhaps, but +nobody else shall. No! Land's a pretty poor sort of a thing in +general, but that aft there is the best there is going, and it 's our +own. We 'll die for it, yes, for love of it, if it comes to that, even +if we do hate it, on general principles mind, you understand." + +There was evidently a trace of Irish blood in the old sailor, it would +seem, and so saying, with a wave of his hand, which brushed aside +further argument, he turned abruptly on his heel and walked aft. In +spite of all his words, which only reflected the usual opinion of +sailors, in those days at least, he yielded to no man in patriotism and +devotion to the cause of liberty and the land that gave him birth. And +no man in all Washington's army had done better service, marched more +cheerfully, or fought harder than this veteran seaman. The men on the +forecastle generally agreed with him in his propositions, but the +obstinate old carpenter, with the characteristic tenacity of the +ancient tar, maintained the discussion forward, until the sharp voice +of the officer of the deck sent all hands to the braces. The ship was +brought to the wind on the starboard tack, a manoeuvre which was +followed in succession by the other vessels of the squadron, which had +been previously directed to keep, though still within signal, at long +distances from each other during the day, closing up at night, in order +to spread a broad clew and give greater chance of meeting the enemy. + +The young captain paced the quarter-deck alone--no man is ever so much +alone among his fellows as the commander of a ship--a prey to his own +sad thoughts. Those who had known him the gayest of gay young sailors +in Philadelphia were at a loss to account for the change which had come +over him. He had become the gravest of the grave, his cheery laugh was +heard no more, and the baffled young belles of Charleston had voted him +a confirmed woman-hater; though his melancholy, handsome face, graceful +person, distinguished bearing, and high station might have enabled him +to pick and choose where he would. But there was room in his heart for +no more passions. Even his love of country and liberty had degenerated +into a slow, cold hate for the British, and a desperate resolve to do +his duty, and make his animosity tell when he struck. A dangerous man +under whom to sail, gentleman of the Randolph, and a dangerous man to +meet, as well. He could not forget Kate, and, except in the +distraction of a combat, life was a mere mechanical routine for him. +But because he had been well trained he went through it well--biding +his time. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +_Seymour's Desperate Resolution_ + +Six rather uneventful days passed by, during which prizes to the number +of five fell to the lot of the squadron, one loaded with military +stores, and another with provisions of great value. The lively little +Fair American, being far to windward of the fleet, had also a smart +action with a heavily armed British privateer, which struck her flag +before the others could get within range, and was found to be loaded +with valuable portable goods, the siftings of a long and successful +cruise. Young Wilton had manoeuvred and fought his ship well, and had +been publicly complimented in general orders by Seymour for skill and +gallantry. The fleet had been exercised in signals and in various +simple evolutions, the weather was most pleasant, the men in excellent +spirits, and all that was necessary to complete their happiness was the +appearance of the looked-for squadron of the enemy. The eager lookouts +swept the seas unweariedly, but in vain, until early in the afternoon +of the sixth day, the fleet being in Longitude 58 degrees 18 minutes +West, Latitude 14 degrees 30 minutes North, about forty leagues east of +Martinique, heading due west on the starboard tack, it was reported to +Seymour, who was reading in the cabin, that the Fair American, again +far in the lead and somewhat to windward, had signalled a large sail +ahead. A short time should make her visible, if the vessels continued +on the present course, and, after having called his fleet about him by +signal, Seymour stood on for a nearer look at the stranger. An hour +later she was visible from the deck of the Randolph, a very large ship, +evidently a man-of-war under easy sail. The careful watchers could +count three tiers of guns through the glass, which proclaimed her a +ship of the line. From her motions, and the way she rose before them, +she was evidently a very speedy ship, capable of outsailing every +vessel of Seymour's little fleet without difficulty, except possibly +the brig Fair American. It would be madness for the squadron of +converted and lightly armed merchantmen to attack a heavy ship of that +class,--all who got near enough to do so would probably be sunk or +captured; yet the approaching vessel must be delayed or checked, or the +result would be equally serious to the fleet. Seymour at once formed a +desperate resolution. Signalling to the four State cruisers and the +six prizes to tack to the northeast, escape if possible, and afterward +make the best of their way back to Charleston, he himself stood on with +the little Randolph to engage the mighty stranger. At first the older +seamen could scarce believe their eyes. Was it possible that Captain +Seymour, in a small thirty-two-gun frigate, was about to engage +deliberately and wilfully in a combat with a ship of the line, a +seventy-four!--the difference in the number of guns giving no +indication of the difference in the offensive qualities of the two +ships, which might better be shown by a ratio of four or five to one in +favor of the ship of the line. It was like matching a bull terrier +against a mastiff. The men half suspected some wily manoeuvre which +they could not divine; but as the moments fled away and they saw the +rest of the fleet and the prizes slipping rapidly away to the +northeast, the Fair American lagging unaccountably behind the rest of +the fleet, while they still held their even course, they began to +comprehend that they were to fight to save the fleet, and Seymour meant +to sacrifice them deliberately, if necessary, in the hope of so +crippling the enemy that his other little cruisers, and the prizes, +might escape. They were not daunted, however--your true Jack is a +reckless fellow--by the daring and desperate nature of the plan; quite +the contrary! + +In a few moments the familiar tones of Bentley's powerful voice, +seconded by the cheery calls of his mates, rang through the frigate,-- + +"All hands clear ship for action--Ahoy!" + +The piercing whistling of the pipes which followed was soon drowned by +the steady and stirring roll of the drums, accompanied by the shrill +notes of the fifes, beating to quarters. The old call, which has been +the prelude to every action on the sea, ushering in with the same +dreadful note of preparation every naval conflict for twice two hundred +years, went rolling along the decks. At the first tap of the drum the +men sprang, with the eagerness of unleashed hounds before the quarry, +to their several stations. + +In an instant the orderly ship was a babel of apparently hopeless +confusion; the men running hastily to and fro about their various +duties, the sharp commands of the officers, the shrill piping of the +whistles, and the deep voices of the gun captains and the boatswain's +mates, made the usually quiet deck a pandemonium. Some of the seamen +stowed the hammocks on the rail to serve as a guard against shot and +splinters, others triced up stout netting fore and aft, as a protection +against boarders. The light and agile sail-trimmers rove extra slings +on the yards, and put stoppers on the more important rigging, and +tightened and strengthened the boats' gripes. The cabin bulkheads were +unceremoniously knocked down and stowed away, giving a clean sweep fore +and aft the decks. The pumps were rigged and tried, and hose led along +the deck. Arm chests were broken out and opened, and cutlasses and +pistols distributed, and the racks filled with boarding-pikes. +Division tubs filled with water were placed beside the guns, and the +decks sanded lest they should grow slippery with blood. The magazine, +surrounded by a wetted woollen screen to prevent fire, was opened, and +grape and solid shot broken out and piled in the racks about the +hatchways near the guns, the heavy sea lashings of which were cast +loose by the different crews, after which they were loaded and run out +and temporarily secured, the slow matches having been carefully +examined and lighted. The oldest quartermasters took their places near +the helm, and others, assisted by a small body of men, manned the +relieving tackles below, to be used in case, as frequently happened, +the wheel should be shot away. The officers, many of whom put on +boarding caps of light steel with dropped cheek pieces, and covered +with fur, fastened on their arms, looked to the priming of their +pistols, and then hastened to their various stations. + +Most of the watch officers, under the direction of the first lieutenant +or executive officer, were to take charge of the different gun +divisions in the batteries; though one of them remained aft near the +captain, to look after the spars and rigging, command the +sail-trimmers, and see that any order of the captain touching the +moving of the ship was promptly carried out. The surgeon and his mates +went below into the gloomy cockpit, spreading out the foreboding array +of ghastly instruments and appliances, ready for the many demands +certain to be made upon them. Some of the ubiquitous midshipmen +commanded little groups of expert riflemen in the tops, which were well +provided with hand grenades; others assisted the division lieutenants; +and several were detailed as aids to the commanding officer. The +little company of marines, under its own officers, was drawn up on the +quarter-deck to keep down the fire of the enemy's small-arm men, and be +ready to repel boarders, or head an attack, if the ships should come in +contact. In that case grapnels, strong iron hooks securely fastened to +the ends of stout ropes or slender iron chains, were provided at +convenient intervals along the bulwarks, ready for catching and lashing +the two ships together. + +The men, their other duties performed, gradually settled down at the +guns, or about the masts, or in the tops, in their several stations, +many of them naked to the waist, and their deep voices could be heard +answering to their names as they were mustered by the officers. In an +incredibly short time the whole was done, and the impressive quiet was +broken only by the excited voice of the first lieutenant, Nason--a +young officer, and this his first serious battle--reporting to the +gloomy captain that the ship was clear and ready for action. + +Seymour had of course taken personal charge of the deck himself. Oh, +he thought, after scanning closely the approaching ship with great +care, if he had only a ship of the line under his command, instead of +this little frigate, how gladly would he have entered the coming +conflict! Or if his own small vessel had been, instead, one of those +heavy frigates which afterward did so much to uphold the glory of +American arms, and exhibit the skill and audacity of American seamen, +in their subsequent conflict with Great Britain, he might have had a +better chance; but none realized more entirely than he did himself the +utter hopelessness of the undertaking which was before him. At the +same time he was determined to carry it through, seeing, as few others +could, the absolute necessity for the sacrifice, if he were to effect +the escape of his fleet. Calling the men aft, he spoke briefly to +them, pointing out the necessity for the conflict, and the nobility of +this sacrifice. He entreated them, in a few brave, manly, thrilling +words, to stand by him to the last, for the love of their country and +the honor of their flag. As for him, he declared it to be his fixed +purpose never to give up the ship, but to sink alongside rather, +trusting before that happened, however, so to damage his mighty +antagonist as to compel her to relinquish the pursuit. The men, filled +with the desire for battle, and inspired by his heroic words, were +nerved up to the point where they would cheerfully have attacked not +one line-of-battle ship but a whole fleet! They answered him with +frantic cheers, swearing and vowing that they would stand by him to the +bitter end; and then, everything having been done that could be done, +in perfect silence the taut frigate boldly approached her massive enemy. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +_The Prisoners on the Yarmouth_ + +It is usually not difficult for an individual to define the conditions +of happiness. If I only had so and so, or if I only were so and so, +and the thing is done. Each successive state, however, suggests one +more happy, and each gratified wish leads to another desire more +imperative. Miss Katharine Wilton, however, did not confine her +conditions to units. There were in her case three requisites for +happiness,--perfect happiness,--and could they have been satisfied, in +all probability she would have come as near to the wished-for state as +poor humanity on this earth ever does come to that beatific condition. +She certainly thought so, and with characteristic boldness had not +refrained from communicating her thoughts to her father. + +The astonishing feature of the situation was that he was inclined to +agree with her. There was nothing astonishing in itself in his +agreement with her, for he usually did agree with her, but in that her +conditions were really his own. For it is rare, blessedly so, that two +people feel that they require the same thing to complete the joy of +life, and when they parallel on three points 't is most remarkable. +Even two lovers require each other--very different things, I am sure. +Stop! I am not so sure about the third proviso with the colonel. I +say the third, because Miss Wilton put it number three, though perhaps +it was like a woman's postscript, which somehow suggests the paraphrase +of a familiar bit of Scripture,--the last, not will be, but should be, +first! + +Here are the requisites. One: The flag floating gracefully from the +peak of the spanker gaff above them, in the light air of the sunny +afternoon, should be the stars and stripes, instead of the red cross of +St. George! Two: The prow of the ship should be turned to the wooded +shores of Virginia, and the Old Dominion should be her destination +instead of the chalk cliffs of England! Three: that a certain +handsome, fair, blue-eyed, gallant sailor, who answered to the name of +John Seymour, should be by her side instead of another, even though +that other were one who had once saved her life, and to whose care and +kindness and forethought she was much indebted. Her present attendant +was certainly a gentleman; and to an unprejudiced eye--which hers +certainly was not--quite as handsome and distinguished and gallant as +was his favored rival, and boasting one advantage over the other in +that he bore a titled name--not such a desideratum among American girls +at that time, however, as it was afterwards destined to become; and in +a girl of the stamp of Miss Katharine Wilton, possibly no advantage at +all. + +But, could the heart of that fair damsel be known, all talk of +advantage or disadvantage, or this or that compensating factor, was +absolutely idle! She was not a girl who did things by halves; and the +feeling which had prompted her to give herself to the young sailor, +though of sudden origin, had grown and grown during the days of absence +and confinement, till, in depth and intensity, it matched his own. She +was not now so sure that, among the other objects of her adoration, he +would have to take the second place; that, in case of division, her +heart would lead her to think first of her country. Insensibly had his +image supplanted every other, and with all the passionate devotion of +her generous southern nature she loved him. + +Lord Desborough had ample opportunity for ascertaining this fact. He +had seen her risk her life for Seymour's own. He could never forget +the glorious picture she made standing across the prostrate form of +that young man, pistol in hand, keeping the mob at bay, never wavering, +never faltering, clear-eyed, supreme. He would be almost willing to +die to have her do the like for him. He could still hear the echo of +that bitter cry,--"Seymour! Seymour!"--which rang through the house +when they had dragged her away. These things were not pleasant +reminiscences, but, like most other unpleasant memories, they would not +down. In spite of all this, however, he had allowed himself--nay, his +permission he vowed had not been asked--to fall violently in love with +this little colonial maiden, and a country maiden at that! Not being +psychologically inclined, he had never attempted to analyze her charm +or to explain his sensations. Realizing the fact, and being young and +therefore hopeful, he had not allowed himself to despair. Really, he +had some claims upon her. Had he not interfered, she would have been +murdered that night in the dining-room. He had earned the gratitude +then and there of her father, and of herself as well; and he had earned +more of it too when he had shot dead a certain brutal marauding +blackguard by the name of Johnson, at the first convenient opportunity, +having received incidentally, in return for his message of death, a +bullet in his own breast to remind him that there are always two +persons and two chances in a duel. A part of the debt of the Wiltons +had been paid by the assiduous and solicitous care with which +they--Katharine chiefly, of course--had nursed him through the long and +dangerous illness consequent upon his wound. It was his interest which +had prevented further ill treatment of them by the brutal and tyrannous +Dunmore, and, had Katharine so elected, would have secured her freedom. +She had, however, to Desborough's great delight, chosen to accompany +her father to England, where he was to be sent as a prisoner of high +political consequence. + +After waiting many weary days at the camp of the fugitive and deposed +governor at Gwynn's Island, they had been separated from Desborough, +and unceremoniously hustled on board the frigate Radnor, which was +under orders for England. They had stopped long enough at Norfolk to +witness Dunmore's savage and vindictive action in bombarding and +burning that helpless town; and from that point Katharine had been +enabled to send her letter to Seymour, through a friendly American spy, +just before taking departure for their long voyage across the seas. +The orders of the Radnor had been changed at the last moment, however, +and she had been directed to go in pursuit of Jones and the Ranger, +which it was currently reported had got to sea from the Delaware Bay, +bound for Canada and the Newfoundland coast. No vessel being ready for +England at that time, the two prisoners had been transferred, +fortunately for them, to a small ship bound to the naval station at +Barbadoes; and thence, after another weary dreary wait, had been sent +on board his Britannic majesty's ship Yarmouth, Captain John Vincent, +bound home for England. The first lieutenant of this ship happened to +be a certain Patrick Michael Philip O'Neal Drummond, Lord Desborough, +son and heir to the Earl of Desmond! He congratulated himself most +heartily upon his good fortune. + +Providence had, then, thrown a lover again at Katharine's feet. Not +that there was anything unusual in that. She might not regard it in a +providential light, however; but he, at least did so, and he had +intended to improve the shining hours of what would be a long cruise, +in the close association permitted by the confined limits of the ship, +to make a final desperate effort to win the heart which had hitherto so +entirely eluded him that he could not flatter himself that he had made +the least impression upon it. His success during the first three or +four days of the cruise had not been brilliant. She had been +unaffectedly glad to see him apparently, and gentle and kind in her +reception,--too kind, he thought, with the circumspection of a +lover,--but that was all. To add to his trials, he soon found himself +not without rivals nearer at home than Seymour. Judging by present +results, Washington, if he had a few regiments of Katharines, could +carry consternation to the whole British army! For the captors had, +apparently, taken the oath of allegiance to the captured, and the whole +ship's company, from that gruff old sailor Captain Vincent down through +all the other officers to the impudent and important little midshipman, +were her devoted slaves. Even Jack forward, usually entirely +unresponsive to the doings aft on the quarterdeck, put on an extra +flourish or so, and damning his eyes, after the manner of the +unsophisticated sailorman, gazed appreciatively upon her beauty, +envying those fortunate mortals privileged to radiate about her person. +Vincent might be the captain, but Katharine was certainly the queen of +the ship. Colonel Wilton, too, shone, not altogether by reflected +lustre either; and the considerate officers had done everything +possible to make him forget that he was a prisoner. + + +Early one afternoon in the beginning of February, the Yarmouth, being +under all plain sail with the wind two or three points abaft the beam, +was bowling along under a fresh breeze about a day's sail east of +Martinique. The weather was perfect, and because of the low latitude, +in spite of the winter season, there was no touch of sharpness in the +air, which was warm and delightful. All the necessary drills and +exercises having been concluded earlier in the day, the whole ship's +company was enjoying a period of unusual relaxation and idleness. The +men at the wheel, the lookouts kept constantly at the mastheads, the +marines doing sentry duty, with the midshipmen of the watch and the +officer of the deck busily pacing to and fro, were the only people, out +of the six hundred and odd men who made up the ship's complement, who +presented any appearance of activity whatever. The men of the watch on +and the watch off, dinner being over, were sitting or lounging about in +all sorts of easy attitudes,--some of them busy with their needles; +others overhauling their clothes-bags, to which they had been given +access that afternoon; others grouped about some more brilliant +story-teller than the rest, eagerly drinking in the multifarious +details of some exciting personal experience, or romantic adventure, or +never-ending story of shipwreck or battle, or mystery--technically, +yarns! Colonel Wilton was standing aft with Captain Vincent in the +shadow of the spanker. Miss Wilton, with Chloe, her black maid, behind +her chair, was sitting near the break of the poop-deck, looking +forward, surrounded by several lieutenants; Desborough being at her +right hand, of course, feeling and looking unusually gloomy and morose. +One or two of the oldest and boldest midshipmen were also lingering on +the outskirts of the group, as near to their divinity as they dared +come in the presence of their superior officers. The conversation +happening to turn, as it frequently did, upon the subject of the +present war between England and the colonies engaged in rebellion +against the paternal power, was unusually animated. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +_Two Proposals_ + +"Oh, you know, Miss Wilton, if the colonies--" began one of the +officers, vehemently. + +"Pardon me, Mr. Hollins, that is hardly the correct term. The _late_ +colonies would be better," interrupted Katharine, with much spirit. + +"Oh, well, you know, I am merely anticipating, of course; we 'll have +them back fast enough, after while. Now, if they--" + +"Pardon me again, sir, but that is another contention I can hardly +admit. You 'll never have them back,--never, never!" + +"Oh, come, Miss Wilton," said another, "you surely do not think the +colonies--oh, well, the late colonies, if you will insist upon it--can +maintain a fight with the power of Great Britain, for any length of +time! Why, madam, the English spirit--" + +"Well, sir, what else have we but the English spirit? What other blood +runs in our veins, pray? Just as you love and prize your liberty, so +too do we, and we will not be dominated and ruled over, even by our +brothers. No, no, Mr. Beauchamp, or you, either, Mr. Hollins; it is no +use. We are just as determined as you are; and there is but one way to +win back the colonies, as you call them, to their allegiance." + +"And how is that, pray?" + +"Why, by depopulating them, overwhelming them, killing the people, and +wasting the land. Only a war of extermination will serve your purpose." + +"Well," said Hollins, doggedly, "if they must have it, they must--let +it be extermination! The authority of the king and the power of +Parliament must be upheld at all hazards." + +"Ah, that is easy enough to say," replied Katharine, "but three +millions of English-speaking liberty-loving people are not to be +blotted out by a wave of the hand; they are not so easily exterminated, +as you will find. Besides, it is easy to speak in general terms; but +thousands and thousands are young and helpless, or old and +feeble,--grandsires or women or children,--how about them? As long as +there is a woman left or a child, your task is yet unfulfilled. Make a +personal application of it; I am one of them. Do you wish to +exterminate me, sir?" she said, looking up at him brilliantly, with her +glorious brown eyes. + +"Oh, you--you are different, of course," said the lieutenant, +hesitatingly, not liking to face this intensely personal application of +his intemperate remark. + +"Not I! I am just like the rest--" + +"Treason! I won't hear it," said Desborough, softly. "There are no +others like you on earth." + +"Just like the rest," she continued emphatically, unheeding the +interruption, which the others had hardly caught, "and I will tell you +that never again will that flag at the gaff there be the flag of +America. You have lost us for good." + +"Oh, don't say that. Make a personal exception of yourself at least, +Miss Wilton, and give us room to hope a little." + +"No, no," she laughed. "You have lost us all--me included." + +There was a chorus of expostulation and argument immediately, but Miss +Wilton was not to be overborne. + +"Father!" she called quickly to the colonel, who, followed by the +captain, at once joined the little group of officers. "These gentlemen +seem to doubt me when I say their sometime colonies are gone for good. +Won't you help me to state the point so they will understand it?" + +"Gentlemen," said the old colonel, slowly and impressively, "the +colonies were the most loyal and devoted portion of the king's dominion +at one time. I have been up and down the length and breadth of them, I +know the feeling. I was for years a soldier of the king myself,--with +your fathers, young sirs,--and I can bear witness that no part of the +kingdom responded with such alacrity to every legitimate demand upon it +by the home government. Never did men so readily and willingly offer +themselves and their goods for the service of the king. But it is all +changed now. The change came slowly, but it came inevitably and +surely, and you could no more change the present conditions than you +could turn back the sun in its course. England has lost her colonies--" + +"Her late colonies," corrected Katharine, softly. + +"Yes, yes, of course, her late colonies, that is, beyond possibility of +recovery. We will not be taxed without representation." + +"But suppose that we gave you the representation for which you asked, +colonel. How then? Would not there be a general return to allegiance +in that event?" queried the captain. + +"Sir," replied the colonel, proudly, "the child who has once learned to +walk alone does not afterward go back to creeping and crawling, or +stumbling along by the aid of his mother's hand. We have tasted our +independence, enjoyed it, and now we mean to keep it." + +"Splendid, sir! splendid, father!" cried the delighted Katharine. +"There speaks the spirit of Runnymede, and Naseby, too, gentlemen!" + +"Hush, hush, my child!" chided the colonel, half amusedly; "it is only +the spirit of a plain man who has learned to love liberty by studying +the history of his ancestry and his people." + +"Ah, but, colonel, how are you going to get that liberty without +fighting for it?" asked Beauchamp, with rash temerity. "Howe and +Cornwallis, for instance, have been pursuing Washington for six months, +and could never get near enough to fire a shot at him, so they say." + +"Fight, sir, fight!" exclaimed the colonel, in astonished wrath; "why, +God bless me, sir, I am willing to stand out now and show you how they +can fight!" + +But Miss Katharine sprang to her feet: "And Bunker Hill, Mr. Beauchamp, +and Long Island!" she cried impetuously. + +Beauchamp backed away precipitately from before her in great confusion, +which invoked much mocking comment from the laughing officers round +about him. + +"Here is one time the English forces are routed by a rebel!" said +Hollins. + +"Yes," added Desborough, "but then Beauchamp is no worse off than the +rest of us would be, if Miss Wilton were opposed to us." + +"Well," continued another, coming to the rescue, "we won both of those +engagements, you know, Miss Wilton, after all." + +"Won! Who said anything about winning, sir? Anybody can win, if they +have men enough or strength enough and money enough--we were talking +about fighting, sir." + +"But really, you know," went on Beauchamp, recovering, and returning to +the charge, "Washington's army haven't fought since those days you +speak of, and they must be wiped out of existence by now, I should +suppose." + +"Not if George Washington is still alive," interrupted the colonel, his +anger at the inconsiderate officer having somewhat abated. "I know him +well. I have known him from a boy,--met him first when I used to go +shooting with Lord Fairfax out at Greenway Court. I knew his family; +his brother Lawrence too, I was with him at Cartagena,--where I met +your father, Lord Desborough, by the way,--and the world does not yet +know the quality of that man. If he retreats, it is because he +absolutely has to; and you will see, he will turn and strike Howe and +Cornwallis some day such a blow as will make them reel. I should not +wonder if he had done so already. 'T is six long weeks since we have +heard any news from home. Trust me, gentlemen, the Americans will +fight; and if there is a God of justice, they will win too." + +"I would fight myself, had I but the opportunity," said Katharine, +resolutely. "And there are hundreds of other women with the same +feeling." + +"Oh, Miss Wilton, you would find no enemies here to fight. We are all +captives of your bow and spear now, and crave your mercy," said +Desborough, meaningly. + +"True, Mistress Katharine. I hardly know now who commands this ship, +you or I!" said the captain, smiling at her. + +"Alas, you do, Captain Vincent; were I the commander, we would be going +that way," she replied, pointing off over the quarter, and gazing +wistfully over the cool, sparkling water, the white-capped waves +breaking beautifully away in every direction. "Oh, my poor, poor +country, when shall I see you again?" she murmured; "when--" + +"Sail ho!" floated down from the foremast head at this moment, and the +idle ship awoke again. + +"Where away?" + +"Right ahead, sir." + +Holmes and Beauchamp walked forward to get a look at the stranger, and +the captain and the colonel stepped across to the weather side of the +deck. Chloe was sent below to procure a wrap for her mistress, and +Katharine was left alone for a few moments with Desborough. It was his +first opportunity. + +"Have you no curiosity as to the sail reported, Lieutenant Desborough?" + +"No, Mistress Katharine, none whatever. I take no interest in anything +but you. No, please don't go now," he went on in humble entreaty. "I +wish to speak to you a moment. When you came aboard I hoped to see you +often, to be with you alone--to win you--" His voice sank to a +passionate whisper. + +"My lord, my lord! it were best to go no further," she interrupted +gravely. "'T is no use; you remember." + +"Yes, yes, I remember everything,--everything about you, that is. I +shut my eyes and feel the soft touch of your cool hand on my fevered +head again, as when I had that bullet in my breast. Oh, it thrills me, +maddens me! I 'd be wounded so again, could I but feel those hands +once more-- Listen to me, you must listen! It cannot hurt you to hear +me, and I am sure one of the others will be back in a moment; you are +never alone," he said, detaining her almost forcibly. "I love you; you +must know that I do. What is that land, or any land, beside my love? +You are my country! I can give you lands, title, rank, luxury-- Be +pitiful to me, Mistress Katharine. What can I do or say or promise? +You shall grace the court of the king, and be at the same time queen of +my heart," he went on impetuously, his soul in his eager whisper. She +turned and walked over to the lee rail, whither he followed her. + +"I 'd rather be in that land off yonder than be the king himself. I +hate the king, and I could not love the enemy of my country! No, no," +she replied, "it cannot be--it can never be!" + +"Pshaw! Your country,--that's not the reason; you love him still," he +went on jealously, "that sailor." + +"Yes, 't is true; I love a sailor--you are not he." + +"But he is dead! You left him lying there on the floor in the hall, +you remember, and since then have heard nothing. He is surely dead." + +"It is cruel of you to say it," she went on relentlessly, "but I shall +love his memory then. No, 't is useless--I respect you, admire you, am +grateful to you, but my heart is there!" and she pointed away again. + +"Won't you let me try to win you?" he persisted. "Don't say me nay +altogether, give me some hope. If he be dead, let me have a chance. +Oh, Katharine Wilton, I would give up anything for--" + +A midshipman touched him on the arm. "Captain wants to see first +lieutenant, sir!" he said with a wooden, impassive face, saluting the +while. + +With a smothered expression of rage, Desborough sprang across the +deck,--for such a summons is not to be disregarded for an instant; even +love gives way to the captain, on shipboard at least. The little +midshipman was a great favorite with Katharine, and, grateful for the +interruption, she accordingly laid her hand lightly and affectionately +on the shoulder of the Honorable Giles Montagu, aged thirteen, one of +the youngest and smallest middies in the ship; but he stood very +straight and rigid, the personification of dignity, and endeavored to +look very manly indeed. + +"Thank you, Mr. Montagu," she said, somewhat to his surprise. + +"Don't mention it, nothing at all, madam--orders! Got to obey orders, +you know." + +Katharine laughed. "You dear sweet child!" she said, and suddenly +stooped and kissed him. The Honorable Giles turned pale, then flushed +violently and burst into unmanly tears. + +"Why, what is it? Don't you like to have me kiss you?" she said, +amazed. + +"It is n't that, Miss Wilton. I 'd rather kiss you than--than +anything; but you call me a boy, and treat me like a child, and--and I +can't stand it. I--I 've challenged all the men in the steerage about +you already," alluding to the other little fellows of like rank; "they +call me a baby there, too, because I 'm so little and so young. But I +'ll grow. And--I love you," he went on abruptly and determinedly, +choking down his sobs and swallowing his tears, while fingering the +handle of his dirk, and furtively rubbing his eyes with his other hand. +"Oh, madam, if you would only wait until I got a frigate! Won't you? +But no! You don't treat me like a man," he exclaimed bitterly, +stamping his foot and turning away. + +"Well, I never!" cried the astonished and abashed Katharine, completely +overawed for the moment by this novel declaration. "What next?" + +Truly, they made men out of boys early in those days. The next moment +the hoarse cries of the boatswain and his mates, and the beating drums, +called all hands to clear the ship for action and startled everybody +into activity at once. The Honorable Giles, the manly if lachrymose +midshipman, sprang forward to his station as rapidly as his small but +sturdy legs could carry him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +_Captain Vincent Mystified_ + +While the big ship was rapidly and methodically being stripped for the +possible emergency, the captain was engaged in busy conversation with +the colonel. They had steadily drawn near the reported sail until the +lookouts could plainly make out a small fleet of small ships. Never +dreaming that they could be American ships, Captain Vincent had his +ship prepared for action, more through the habitual wariness of an +experienced sailor than from any premonition of an impending battle. +But as the two forces drew near, the actions of the opposing fleet +became suddenly suspicious; all but one of them tacked ship, and stood +off to the northeast, in a compact group in close order, under all +possible sail, though one, the smallest and a brig, it was noticed, +lagged behind the rest of the group in a way which bespoke either very +slow sailing qualities or deliberate purpose of delay. The remaining +ship, the largest of them all, stood boldly on its original course. +This latter, it was plain to see, was a small frigate, possibly a +twenty-eight or a thirty-two. Taking into account the respective rates +of speed, the frigate, whose course made a slight angle with that of +the ship of the line, would probably cross the bows of the latter +within range of her battery. None of the opposing vessels showed any +flags as yet, and their movements completely mystified Captain Vincent. + +"Certainly a most extraordinary performance going on there!" he said, +after a long look through his glass, which he then handed to the +colonel. "They show no flags, but I cannot conceive of their being +anything but a squadron or a convoy of ours. What do you make them +out, Colonel Wilton?" + +Now, the colonel was morally certain that they were Americans, or, at +least, that the first and nearest one was an American ship. He had +been one of the naval committee which had taken charge of the building +of the men-of-war ordered by Congress in '75; he had seen the Randolph +frequently on the ways and after she was launched, and was entirely +familiar with her lines. Perhaps the wish also was father to the +thought, for the old soldier was not sufficiently versed in nautical +affairs to detect at that distance the great disparity in force between +the two ships, to which for the moment he gave no thought, or he would +not have entertained hopes for a release from confinement by +recapture,--a patent impossibility to a seaman. So he answered the +captain evasively, returning the glass and pleading his ignorance of +nautical matters to excuse his indefinite opinion. + +"It must be the Carrysford, with Hythe's squadron; she is a thirty-two. +But why they should act this way, I cannot see. He must know what we +are now, as there are no ships of our size in these waters, except our +own, and why should he send the rest of them off there? They are +leaving us pretty fast, except that brig. Now, if it were a colonial +convoy, I should say that this frigate was going to engage us in the +hope of so crippling us as to effect the escape of the rest; but I +hardly think that your men are up to that yet." + +"Think not?" said the colonel indifferently, violently repressing an +inclination to strike him. "It may be as you say, Captain Vincent; +still, I think we are up to almost anything that you are." + +"Oh, colonel," laughed the captain, good-naturedly, "you are not going +to compare the little colonial forces with his majesty's navy, are you! +Now, I am morally certain that is a king's ship. See the beautiful set +of her sails, the enormous spread of the yards; notice how trim and +taut her rigging and running gear stand out, and then, too, see how +smartly she is handled. Only English ships are thus. Hythe is a +sailor, every inch of him," he went on in genuine admiration for the +approaching vessel. "See! He has the weather gauge of us now, or will +have. Not that it matters anything. We could afford to let him have +it even if he were an enemy; but what he means by this sort of +performance, I don't understand. However, we shall know in half an +hour at least." + +"Well, sir?" he said, turning toward Lieutenant Desborough, who at that +moment stepped on the poop in fighting uniform, sword in hand. + +"Ship's ready for action, sir!" + +"Very good. Keep the people at their quarters, and stand on as we are. +Ah, Mr. Montagu, will you step below and fetch me my sword out of my +cabin. What do you think of her, Desborough?" + +"We think she is an American, sir," said Desborough. + +"Oh, you do, do you? Well, I think she is one of ours. No American +would dare to lead down on us in that way! We can blow him out of the +water with a broadside or two, you know, but we 'll give him a hint all +the same. Fire a gun there, to leeward, and hoist our colors." + +As the smoke rolled away along the water, the stops were broken, and +there flew out from each masthead the splendid English flag. It was +answered soon afterward by a small English flag at the gaff of the +approaching ship, which apparently mystified the captain more than +ever, though it confirmed him in his previous opinion. + +"Oh, father," whispered Katharine, clinging to the colonel, "what do +you think it is? See that English flag!" + +"Kate, I 'm morally sure that it is an American ship; it is just the +plan and size of those ordered by Congress in '75. One of those ships +should be in commission by now. If I am right, this should be the +Randolph. I saw her a dozen times in Philadelphia; and if that's not +she, I shall never pretend to know a ship again." + +"But did you hear what Captain Vincent said?" continued Katharine; "how +many guns would the Randolph carry?" + +"About forty, and most of them small ones at best," answered the +colonel, with a sigh. + +The two ships were much nearer now, and their disparity in force was +apparent even to the most unskilful eye. + +"The little ship can't fight this great one, father, can it?" + +"No, my dear; that is, not with any chance of success. But I fear--or +hope, rather--that they mean to engage us, and sacrifice themselves in +order not to allow us to capture the little fleet, probably prizes, off +yonder. The man who commands her is a hero, certainly." + +"Just what Mr. Seymour would do. Oh, if it were he!" she exclaimed, +clasping her hands, her eyes filling with tears at the possibility. + +"Well, it may be, of course. He was certain to be posted captain soon, +and 'tis like him truly. But, Kate, the ships are drawing nearer every +moment. You must go below in case of action, my dear." + +"Yes, Miss Wilton," said Desborough, who had at that moment approached +them, looking very handsome, having heard the last words of the +colonel; "we have arranged a safe place for you and your maid, in the +cable tiers, way below the water-line, and out of the way of shot, +though I hardly expect much of it from that fellow. Will you allow me +to conduct you there? Perhaps you too, colonel, would be safer if you +would--" + +"Pardon me, sir, unless force is used, I shall remain on deck. The +idea of me, sir--skulking in the hold during an action! Why, sir,--" + +"And the idea of me, either, doing the same thing!" said Katharine +defiantly, in a ringing voice in which there was a clear echo of her +father's determination. + +Both men looked at her smiling. + +"Oh, you are different, Miss Wilton," said Desborough. + +"No use, Katharine: you must go," added her father. + +"Oh, please!" + +"My daughter--" + +"Oh, father, let me stay just a little longer--there is no danger yet. +Take Chloe down, if you will, Mr. Desborough, and have a place ready +for me. I 'll go down when the battle begins--indeed I will, father!" +she continued entreatingly. + +"Well," said the colonel, uncertainly, "let her stay a little longer, +my lord." + +"Very well, sir," replied Desborough, bowing and turning forward. + +"Here, you Jack, take this girl below and stow her away in the cable +tiers by the main hatch," he said, pointing to Chloe, who was led +unresistingly away, her teeth chattering with undefined but none the +less overwhelming terror. The colonel stepped forward beside Captain +Vincent, and Desborough descended to the main-deck to superintend the +fighting of the batteries, while Katharine, grateful for the respite, +and determined not to go below at all, stepped aft in the shelter of +the rail, her heart already beating madly, as the two ships approached +each other in silence. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +_Bentley Says Good-by_ + +The men on the Randolph were in excellent spirits, and as they drew +nearer and nearer became more and more anxious for the fray. + +"She's a big one, ain't she?" said one young seaman, glancing over a +gun through a port-hole forward; "but we ain't afraid of her, mates. +We 'll just dance up and slap her in the face with this, and then turn +around and slap her with t' other side," laying his hand at the time on +one of the long eighteens which constituted the main battery of the +frigate. + +"Yes, and then what will she do to us? Blow us into splinters with a +broadside, youngster! Not as I particularly care, so we have a chance +to get a few good licks at her with these old barkers," said an older +man, pointing, like the first, to a gun. + +"That's the talk, men," said Seymour, who was making a tour of +inspection through the ship in person, and who had stopped before the +gun and heard the conversation. "Before she sinks us we will give it +to her hard. I can depend upon you, I know." + +"Yes, yes, your honor." + +"Ay, ay, sir--" + +"We 's all right, sir--" + +"We 's with you, your honor--" came in a quick, strong chorus from the +rough-and-ready men, and then some one called for three cheers for +Captain Seymour, and they were given with such a will that the oak +decks echoed and re-echoed again and again. + +"Pass the word to serve out a tot of grog to each man; let them splice +the main-brace once more before they die," said Seymour, grimly, amid a +chorus of approving murmurs from the sailors, as he walked slowly along +the lines, greeting men here and there with plain, bluff words of +cheer, which brought smiles of pleasure to their stern, weather-beaten +faces. + +"Now, ain't he a beauty?" whispered the captain of number two gun to +his second. "Blow me if 't ain't a pleasure to serve under sich a +officer, and to die for him, too! Here is to a speedy fight and lots +of damage to the Britisher," he cried loudly, lifting his pannikin of +rum and water to his lips, amid a further chorus of approval. + +Old Bentley was standing on the forecastle forward, looking earnestly +at the approaching ship, when Seymour came up to him. The rest of the +men, mindful of the peculiar relationship between the two, +instinctively drew back a little, leaving them alone. + +"Well, Bentley, our work is cut out for us there." + +"Ay, Captain Seymour. I 'm thinking that this cruise will end right +here for this ship--unless you strike, sir." + +"Strike! Do you advise me to do so, then?" + +"God forbid! Except it be with shot and these," said the old man, +lifting an enormous cutlass, ground to a razor edge, which he had +specially made for his own personal use in battle. "No, no; we 've got +to fight him till he 's so damaged that he can't get at the rest. Do +you see, sir, how the brig lags behind them?" he went on, pointing out +toward the slowly escaping squadron. "The boy's got her luffed up so +she makes no headway at all!" + +"I know it. I have signalled to him twice to close with the rest--he +can sail two feet to their one; but it is no use,--he pays no +attention. He should n't have been given so responsible a command +until he learned to obey orders," said Seymour, frowning. + +"Let the boy alone, Master John; he 'll do all right," said Bentley; +"he's the makings of a good sailorman and a fine officer in him. I 've +watched him." + +"Ha! there goes a shot from the liner," cried Seymour, as a puff of +smoke broke out from the lee side followed by the dull boom of a cannon +over the water, and then the flags rippled bravely out from the +mastheads. "Well, we did not need that sort of an introduction. Aft +there!" cried the captain, with his powerful voice. + +"Sir." + +"Show a British flag at the gaff. That will puzzle him for a while +longer. Well, old friend, I must go aft. It's likely we won't both of +us come out of this little affair alive, so good-by, and God bless you. +You 've been a good friend to me, Bentley, ever since I was a child, +and I doubt I 've requited you ill enough," he said, reaching forth his +hand. The old sailor shifted his cutlass into his left hand, took off +his hat, and grasped Seymour's hand with his own mighty palm. + +"Ay, ever since you were a boy; and a properer sailor and a better +officer don't walk the deck, if I do say it myself, as I 've had a hand +in the making of you. But what you say is true, sir: we 'll probably +most all of us go to Davy Jones' locker this trip; but we could n't go +in a better way, and we won't go alone. God Almighty bless you, sir! +I--" said the old seaman, breaking off suddenly and looking wistfully +at the young man he loved, who, understanding it all, returned his +gaze, wrung his hand, and then turned and sprang aft without another +word. + +The ships were rapidly closing, when Seymour's keen eye detected a dash +of color and a bit of fluttering drapery on the poop of the +line-of-battle ship. Wondering, he examined it through his glass. + +"Why! 't is a woman," he exclaimed. Something familiar in the +appearance made his heart give a sudden throb, but he put away the idea +which came to him as preposterous; and then stepping forward to the +break of the poop, he called out,-- + +"My lads, there is a woman on yon ship, on the poop, way aft. We don't +fight with women; have a care, therefore, that none of you take +deliberate aim at her, and spare that part of the deck where she stands +in the fight, if you can. Pass the word along." + +"Well, I 'm blessed," said one old gun captain, _sotto voce_, "be they +come out against us with wimmen!" + +The Randolph had the weather-gage of the Yarmouth by this time; and +Seymour shifted his helm slightly, rounded in his braces a little, and +ran down with the wind a little free and on a line parallel to the +course of his enemy, but going in a different direction. He lifted the +glass again to his eye, and looked long and earnestly at the woman's +figure half hidden by the rail on the ship. Was it--could it +be--indeed she? Was fate bringing them into opposition again? It was +not possible. Trembling violently, he lifted the glass for a further +investigation, when an officer, trumpet in hand, sprang upon the rail +of the Yarmouth forward and hailed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +_The Last of the Randolph_ + +"Pass the word quietly," said Seymour, rapidly, to one of his young +aids, "that when I say, 'Stand by to back the maintopsail,' the guns +are to be fired. Bid the gun captains to train on the port-holes of +the second tier of guns. Mind, no order to fire will be given except +the words, 'Stand by to back the maintopsail.' The men are to fire at +the word 'topsail.' Do you understand? Tell the division officers to +hold up their hands, as a sign that they understand, as you pass along, +so that I can see them. Lively now! Quartermaster, standby to haul +down that flag and show our colors at the first shot." + +The frigate was now rapidly drawing near the ship of the line, until, +at the moment the officer hailed, the two ships were nearly alongside +of each other. The awful disparity between their sizes was now +painfully apparent. + +"Ship ahoy! Ahoy the frigate!" came down a second time in long hollow +tones through the trumpet from the officer balancing himself on the +Yarmouth's rail by holding on to a back-stay. "Why don't you answer?" + +"Ahoy the ship!" replied Seymour at last through his own trumpet. +"What ship is that?" + +"His Britannic majesty's ship of the line, Yarmouth, Captain Vincent. +Who are you? Answer, or I will fire!" + +The flying boom of the Randolph was just pointing past the Yarmouth's +quarter, and the two ships were abreast each other; now, if ever, was +the time for action. + +"This is the American Continental ship, Randolph, Captain Seymour," +cried the latter, through the trumpet, in a voice heard in every part +of the ship of the line. + +At least two hearts in the Yarmouth were powerfully affected by that +announcement. Katharine's leaped within her bosom at the sound of her +lover's voice, and beat madly while she revelled in thought in his +proximity; and then as she noticed again the fearful odds with which he +was apparently about to contend, her heart sank into the depths once +more. In one second she thrilled with pride, quivered with love, +trembled with despair. He was there--he was hers--he would be killed! +She gripped the rail hard and clenched her teeth to keep from screaming +aloud his name, while her gaze strained out upon his handsome figure. +Pride, love, death,--an epitome of human life in that fleeting +moment,--all were hers! + +On the main-deck of the frigate the name carried consternation to +Lieutenant Lord Desborough. So Seymour was alive again! Was that the +end of my lord's chance? No. Joy! The rebel was under the guns of +the battle-ship! Never, vowed the lieutenant, should guns be better +served than those under his command. Unless the man surrendered, he +was doomed. So, he spoke eagerly to his men, bidding them take good +aim and waste no shot, never doubting the inevitable issue. These +thoughts took but a moment, however. Beauchamp, who had done the +talking, now stepped aft to Captain Vincent's side, and replied to +Seymour's hail by calling out,-- + +"Do you strike, sir?" + +"Yes, yes, of course; that's what we came down here for. We'll strike +fast enough," was the answer. + +A broad smile lighted up Captain Vincent's face; he turned to the +colonel, laughing, and said with a scarcely veiled sneer,-- + +"I told you they were not up to it. The cad! he might have fired one +shot at least for the honor of his flag, don't you see?" + +The colonel with a sinking heart could not see at all. Cowardice in +Seymour, in any officer, was a thing he could not understand. The +world turned black before Katharine. What! strike without a blow! Was +this her hero? Rather death than a coward! In spite of her faith in +her lover, as she heard what appeared to be a pusillanimous offer of +surrender, Desborough's chances took a sudden bound upward, while that +gentleman cursed the cowardice of his enemy and rival, which would +deprive him of a pleasing opportunity of blowing him out of the water. +Most of the men at the different guns relaxed their eager watchfulness, +while sneers and jeers at the "Yankee" went up on all sides. + +"Heave to, then," continued Beauchamp, peremptorily and with much +disgust, "and send a boat aboard!" + +"Ay, ay, sir!" + +Oh, it was true, then; he was going to surrender tamely without-- + +"Stand by!" there was a note of preparation in the words in spite of +Seymour's effort to give them the ordinary intonation of a commonplace +order,--a note which had so much meaning to Katharine's sensitive ear +that her heart stopped its beating for a moment as she waited for the +next word. It came with a roar of defiance. "Back the maintopsail!" +But the braces were kept fast and the unexpected happened. In an +instant sheets of flame shot out from the muzzles of the black guns of +the Randolph, which were immediately wreathed and shrouded in clouds of +smoke. At the moment of command Seymour had quickly ordered the helm +shifted suddenly, and the Randolph had swung round so that she lay at a +broad angle off the quarter of the Yarmouth. The thunderous roar of +the heavy guns at short range was immediately followed by the crashing +of timber, as the heavy shot took deadly effect, amid the cheers and +yells and curses and groans and shrieks of the wounded and startled men +on the liner, while three hearty cheers rang out from the Randolph. + +The advantage of the first blow in the grim game, the unequal combat, +was with the little one. + +"How now, captain!" shouted the colonel, in high exultation. "Won't +fight, eh! What do you call this?" + +"Fire! fire! Let him have it, men, and be damned to you! The man 's a +hero; 't was cleverly done," roared the captain, excitedly. "I +retract. Give it to him, boys! Give it to the impudent rebel!" he +roared. + +Katharine, forgot by every one in the breathless excitement of the past +few moments, bowed her head on her hands on the rail, and breathed a +prayer of thankfulness, oblivious of everything but that her lover had +proved himself worthy the devotion her heart so ungrudgingly extended +him. There was great confusion on board the Yarmouth from this sudden +and unexpected discharge, which, delivered at short range, had done no +little execution on the crowded ship; but the officers rallied their +men speedily with cool words of encouragement. + +"Steady, men, steady." + +"Give it back to them." + +"Look sharp now." + +"Aim! Fire!" + +And the forty-odd heavy guns roared out in answer to the determined +attack. The effect of such a broadside at close range would have been +frightful, had not the Randolph drawn so far ahead, and her course been +so changed, that a large part of it passed harmlessly astern of her. +One gun, however, found its target, and that was one aimed and fired by +the hand of Lord Desborough himself: a heavy shot, a thirty-two, from +one of the massive lower-deck guns of the Yarmouth, which the pleasant +weather permitted them to use effectively, came through one of the +after gun-ports of the Randolph, and swept away the line of men on the +port side of the gun. Some of the other shot did slight damage also +among the spars and gear, and several of the crew were killed or +wounded in different parts of the ship; but the Randolph was +practically unharmed, and standing boldly down to cross the stern of +the Yarmouth to rake her. But the English captain was a seaman, every +inch of him, and his ship could not have been better handled; divining +his bold little antagonist's purpose, the Yarmouth's helm was put up at +once, and in the smoke she fell off and came before the wind almost as +rapidly as did the Randolph, her promptness frustrating the endeavor, +as Seymour was only able to make an ineffectual effort to rake her, as +she flew round on her heels. The starboard battery of the Yarmouth had +been manned as she fell off, and the port battery of the Randolph was +rapidly reloaded again. The manoeuvre had given the Englishmen the +weather-gage once more, the two ships now having the wind on the port +quarter. The two batteries were discharged simultaneously, and now +began a running fight of near an hour's duration. + +Seymour was everywhere. Up and down the deck he walked, helping and +sustaining his men, building up new gun's crews out of the shattered +remains of decimated groups of men, lending a hand himself on a tackle +on occasion; cool, calm, unwearied, unremitting, determined, he +desperately fought his ship as few vessels were ever fought before or +since, imbuing, by his presence and example and word, his men with his +own unquailing spirit, until they died as uncomplainingly and as nobly +as did those prototypes of heroes,--another three hundred in the pass +at Thermopylae! + +The guns were served on the Randolph with the desperate rapidity of men +who, awfully pressed for time, had abandoned hope and only fought to +cripple and delay before they were silenced; those on the Yarmouth, on +the contrary, were fired with much more deliberation, and did dreadful +execution. The different guns were disabled on the Randolph by heavy +shot; adjacent ports were knocked into one, the sides shattered, boats +smashed, rails knocked to pieces, all of the weather-shrouds cut, the +mizzenmast carried away under the top, and the wreck fell into the +sea,--fortunately, on the lee side, the little body of men in the top +going to a sudden death with the rest. The decks were slippery with +blood and ploughed with plunging shot, which the superior height of the +Yarmouth permitted to be fired with depressed guns from an elevation. +Solid shot from the heavy main-deck batteries swept through and through +the devoted frigate; half the Randolph's guns were useless because of +the lack of men to serve them; the cockpit overflowed with the wounded; +the surgeon and his mates, covered with blood, worked like butchers, in +the steerage and finally in the ward room; dead and dying men lay where +they fell; there were no hands to spare to take them below, no place in +which they could lie with safety, no immunity from the searching hail +which drove through every part of the doomed ship. Still the men, +cheered and encouraged by their officers, stood to their guns and +fought on. Presently the foretopmast went by the board also, as the +long moments dragged along, Seymour was now lying on the quarter-deck, +a bullet having broken his leg, another having made a flesh-wound in +his arm; he had refused to go below to have his wounds dressed, and one +of the midshipmen was kneeling by his side, applying such unskilful +bandages as he might to the two bleeding wounds. Nason had been sent +for, and was in charge, under Seymour's direction. That young man, all +his nervousness gone, was most ably seconding his dauntless captain. + +The two ships were covered with smoke. It was impossible to tell on +one what was happening on the other; but the steady persistence with +which the Randolph clung to her big enemy had its effect on the +Yarmouth also, and the well-delivered fire did not allow that vessel +any immunity. In fact, while nothing like that on the frigate, the +damage was so great, and so many men had fallen, that Captain Vincent +determined to end the conflict at once by boarding the frigate. The +necessary orders were given, and a strong party of boarders was called +away and mustered on the forecastle, headed by Beauchamp and Hollins; +among the number were little Montagu, with other midshipmen. Taking +advantage of the smoke and of the weather-gage, the Yarmouth was +suddenly headed for the Randolph. As the enormous bows of the +line-of-battle ship came slowly shoving out of the smoke, towering +above them, covered with men, cutlass or boarding pike in hand, Seymour +discerned at once the purpose of the manoeuvre. Raising himself upon +his elbow to better direct the movement,-- + +"All hands repel boarders!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the +ship as powerfully as ever. + +This was an unusual command, as it completely deprived the guns of +their crews; but he rightly judged that it would take all the men they +could muster to repel the coming attack, and none but the main-deck +guns of the Yarmouth would or could be fired, for fear of hitting their +own men in the melee on the deck. The Randolph was a wreck below, at +best; but while anything held together above her plank shears, she +would be fought. The men had reached that desperate condition when +they ceased to think of odds, and like maddened beasts fought and raved +and swore in the frenzy of the combat. The thrice-decimated crew +sprang aft, rallying in the gangway to meet the shock, Nason at their +head, followed close by old Bentley, still unwounded. As the bow of +the Yarmouth struck the Randolph with a crash, one or two wounded men, +unable to take part in repelling the boarders but still able to move, +who had remained beside the guns, exerted the remaining strength they +possessed to discharge such of the pieces as bore, in long raking +shots, through the bow of the liner; it was the last sound from their +hot muzzles. + +The Yarmouth struck the Randolph just forward of the mainmast; the men, +swarming in dense masses on the rail and hanging over the bowsprit +ready to leap, dropped on her deck at once with loud cheers. A sharp +volley from the few marines left on the frigate checked them for a +moment,--nobody noticing at the time that the Honorable Giles had +fallen in a limp heap back from the rail upon his own deck, the blood +staining his curly head; but they gathered themselves together at once, +and, gallantly led, sprang aft, handling their pistols and pikes and +waving their cutlasses. Nason was shot in a moment by Hollins' pistol, +Beauchamp was cut in two by a tremendous sweep of the arm of the mighty +Bentley, and the combat became at once general. Slowly but surely the +Americans were pressed back; the gangways were cleared; the +quarter-deck was gained; one by one the brave defenders had fallen. +The battle was about over when Seymour noticed a man running out in the +foreyard of the Yarmouth with a hand-grenade. He raised his pistol and +fired; the man fell; but another resolutely started to follow him. + +Bentley and a few other men, and one or two officers and a midshipman, +were all who were able to bear arms now. + +"Good-by, Mr. Seymour," cried Bentley, waving his hand and setting his +back against the rail nearest to the Yarmouth, which had slowly swung +parallel to the Randolph and had been lashed there. The old man was +covered with blood from two or three wounds, but still undaunted. Two +or three men made a rush at him; but he held them at bay, no man caring +to come within sweep of that mighty arm which had already done so much, +when a bullet from above struck him, and he fell over backward on the +rail mortally wounded. + +Seymour raised his remaining pistol and fired it at the second man, who +had nearly reached the foreyard arm; less successful this time, he +missed the man, who threw his grenade down the hatchway. Seymour +fainted from loss of blood. + +"Back, men! back to the ship, all you Yarmouths!" cried Captain +Vincent, as he saw the lighted grenade, which exploded and ignited a +little heap of cartridges left by a dead powder-boy before the +magazine. Alas! there was no one there to check or stop the flames. +The English sailors sprang back and up the sides and through the ports +of their ship with frantic haste; the lashings were being rapidly cut +by them, and the braces handled. + +"Come aboard, men, while you can," cried Captain Vincent to the +Americans. "Your ship 's afire; you can do no more; you 'll blow up in +a moment!" + +The little handful of Americans were left alone on their ship. The +only officer still standing lifted his sword and shook it impotently at +the Yarmouth in reply; the rest did not stir. The smoke of battle had +now settled away, and the whole ghastly scene was revealed. A woman's +cry rang out fraught with agony,--"Seymour, Seymour!" and again was her +cry unheeded; her lover could not hear. She cried again; and then, +with a frightful roar and crash, the Randolph blew up. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +For Love of Country + +The force of the explosion occurring so near to the line-of-battle ship +drove her over with irresistible power upon her beam-ends until she +buried her port main-deck guns under water; her time was not yet come, +however, for, after a trembling movement of sickening uncertainty, she +righted herself, slowly at first, but finally with a mighty roll and +rush as if on a tidal wave. For a few seconds the air was filled with +pieces of wreck, arms, spars, bodies, many of which fell on the +Yarmouth. The horrified spectators saw the two broken halves of the +ill-fated frigate gradually disappearing beneath the heaving sea, +sucking down in their inexorable vortex most of the bodies of those, +alive or dead, who floated near. The fire had come in broad sheets +through the portholes of the main-deck guns of the ship from the +explosion, driving the men from their stations, and, by heating the +iron masses or igniting the priming, caused sudden and wild discharges +to add their quota of confusion to the awful scene. Pieces of burning +wreck had also fallen in the tops, or upon the sails, or lodged in the +standing rigging, full of tar as usual, and dry and inflammable to the +last degree. The Yarmouth, therefore, was in serious danger,--more so +than in any other period of the action,--her little antagonist having +inflicted the most damaging blow with the last gasp, as it were; for +little columns of flame and smoke began to rise ominously in a dozen +places. Then was manifested the splendid discipline for which British +ships were famous the world over. Rapidly and with unerring skill and +coolness the proper orders were given, and the tired men were set to +work desperately fighting once more to check and put out the fire. +Long and hard was the struggle, the issue much in doubt; but in the end +the efforts of her crew were crowned with merited success, and their +ship was eventually saved from the dangerous conflagration which had +menaced her with ruin, not less complete and disastrous than had +befallen the frigate. + +While all this was being done, a little scene took place upon the +quarter-deck which was worthy of notice. Something heavy and solid, +thrown upward by the tremendous force of the discharge, struck the rail +with a mighty crash at the moment of the explosion, just at the point +where Katharine, wide-eyed, petrified with horror, after that one vivid +glance in which she apparently saw her lover dead on his own +quarter-deck beneath her, stood clinging rigidly to the bulwarks as if +paralyzed. It was the body of a man; instinctively she threw out her +strong young arm and saved it from falling again into the sea on the +return roll of the ship. One or two of the seamen standing by came to +her assistance, and the body was dragged on board and laid on the deck +at her feet. Something familiar in the figure moved Katharine to a +further examination. She knelt down and wiped the blood and smoke and +dust from the face of the prostrate man, and recognized him at once. +It was old Bentley, desperately wounded, his clothes soaked with blood +from several severe wounds, and apparently dying fast, but still +breathing. A small tightly rolled up ball of bunting was lying near +her on the deck; it was a flag from the Randolph, which had been blown +there by the force of the explosion. She quickly picked it up and +pillowed the head of the unconscious man upon it. Then she ran below +to her cabin, coming back in a moment with water and a cordial, with +which she bathed the head and wiped the lips of the dying man. The +fires were all forward, and, the wind being aft, the danger was in the +fore part of the ship; no one therefore paid the least attention to +her. There was, in fact, save the captain and one or two midshipmen, +no one else on the poop-deck except her father, who like herself had +been overwhelmed by the sudden and awful ending of the battle. Being +without anything to do, the colonel, who had been watching the men +fight with the fire, happened to look aft for a moment and saw his +daughter by the side of the prostrate man. He stepped over to her at +once. + +"Katharine, Katharine," he said to her in a tone of stern reproof and +surprise, not as he usually spoke to her, "you here! 'T is no place +for women. When did you come from below?" + +"I've not been below at all, father," she replied, looking up at him +with a white, stricken face which troubled his loving heart. + +"Do you mean to tell me that you have been on deck during the action?" + +"Yes, father, right here. Do you not understand that it was Mr. +Seymour's ship--I could not go away!" + +"By heavens! Think of it! And I forgot you completely-- The fault +was mine, how could I have allowed it?" he continued in great agitation. + +"Never mind, father; I could not have gone below in any case. Do you +think he--Mr. Seymour--can be yet alive?" she asked, still cherishing a +faint hope. + +The colonel shook his head gloomily, and then stooping down and looking +at the prostrate form of the man on the deck, he asked,-- + +"But who is this you have here?" + +The man opened his eyes at this moment and looked up vacantly. + +"William Bentley, sir," he said in a hoarse whisper, as if in answer to +the question; and then making a vain effort to raise his hand to his +head, he went on half-mechanically, "bosun of the Randolph, sir. Come +aboard!" + +"Merciful Powers, it is old Bentley!" cried the colonel. "Can anything +be done for you, my man? How is it with you?" + +Katharine poured a little more of the cordial down his throat, which +gave him a fictitious strength for a moment, and he answered in a +little stronger voice, with a glance of recognition and wonder,-- + +"The colonel and the young miss! we thought you dead in the wreck of +the Radnor. He will be glad;" and then after a pause recollection came +to him. "Oh, God!" he murmured, "Mr. Seymour!" + +"What of him? Speak!" cried Katharine, in agony. + +"Gone with the rest," he replied with an effort "'T was a good fight, +though. The other ships,--where are they?" + +"Escaped," answered the colonel; "we are too much cut up to pursue." + +"Why did you do it?" moaned Katharine, thinking of Seymour's attack on +the ship of the line. + +The old man did not heed the question; his eyes closed. He was still a +moment, and then he opened his eyes again slowly. Straight above him +waved the standard of his enemy. + +"I never thought--to die--under the English flag," he said slowly and +with great effort. Supplying its place with her own young soft arm, +Katharine drew forth the little American ensign which had served him +for a pillow--stained with his own blood--and held it up before him. A +light came into his dying eyes,--a light of heaven, perhaps, no pain in +his heart now. One trembling hand would still do his bidding; by a +superhuman effort of his resolute will he caught the bit of bunting and +carried it to his lips in a long kiss of farewell. His lips moved. He +was saying something. Katharine bent to listen. What was it? Ah! she +heard; they were the words he said on the deck of the transport when +they saw the ship wrecked in the pass in the beating seas,--the words +he had repeated in the old farmhouse on that winter night to the great +general, when he told the story of that cruise; the words he had made +to stand for the great idea of his own life; the words with which he +had cheered and soothed and sustained and encouraged many weaker men +who had looked to his iron soul for help and guidance. They were the +words to which many a patriot like him, now lying mute and cold upon +the hills about Boston, under the trees at Long Island, by the flowing +waters and frowning cliffs of the Hudson, on the verdant glacis at +Quebec, 'neath the smooth surface of Lake Champlain, in the dim +northern woods, on the historic field of Princeton, or within the still +depths of this mighty sea now tossing them upon its bosom, had given +most eloquent expression and final attestation. What were they? + +"For--for--love--of--country." The once mighty voice died away in a +feeble whisper; a child might still the faintly beating heart. The +mighty chest--rose--fell; the old man lay still. Love of +country,--that was his passion, you understand. + +Love of country! That was the great refrain. The wind roared the song +through the pines, on the snow-clad mountains in the far north, sobbed +it softly through the rustling palmetto branches in the south-land, or +breathed it in whispers over the leaves of the oak and elm and laurel, +between. The waves crashed it in tremendous chorus on rock-bound +shores, or rolled it with tender caress over shining sands. Under its +inspiration, mighty men left all and marched forth to battle; wooed by +its subtle music, hero women bore the long hours of absence and +suspense; and in its tender harmonies the little children were rocked +to sleep. Ay, love of country! All the voices of man and nature in a +continent caught it up and breathed it forth, hurled it in mighty +diapason far up into God's heaven. Love of country! It was indeed a +mighty truth. They preached it, loved it, lived for it, died for it, +till at last it made them free! + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +_Philip Disobeys Orders_ + +"Who is this, pray?" said Captain Vincent, at this moment stepping back +to the silent little group. + +"The boatswain of the Randolph," replied the colonel. "He has just +died." + +"Poor fellow! but there are many other brave men gone this day. What +think you was the complement of the frigate, colonel?" + +"Over three hundred men certainly," replied the colonel (the actual +number was three hundred and fifteen). "Most of them not already done +for were lost in the explosion, I presume?" + +"Yes, assuredly; and now I owe you an apology, my dear sir. I never +saw a more gallant action in my life. The man 's gone, of course, but +he shall have full credit for it in my report; 'twas bravely done, and +successfully, too. We are frightfully cut up, and in no condition to +pursue. In fact, I will not conceal from you that some of our spars +are so severely wounded, and the starboard rigging so damaged and +scorched and cut up, that I know not how we could stand a heavy blow. +Twenty-five are killed, and upward of sixty wounded too, and about +thirty missing, killed, or wounded men of the boarding party, who were +undoubtedly blown up with the frigate. Beauchamp is gone; and that +little fellow there," pointing to a couple of seamen bringing a small +limp body aft, "is Montagu. Poor little youngster!" + +"This has indeed been a frightful action, captain," replied the +colonel. "I knew young Seymour well. He was a man of the most +consummate gallantry. This sacrifice is like him," he continued +softly, looking at Katharine and then turning away. Perhaps the +captain understood. At any rate he stepped to her side and said +gently,-- + +"Mistress Katharine, this is no place for you; you must go below. +Indeed, I must insist. I shall have to order you. Come--" and then +laying his hand on her arm, he started back in surprise. "Why, you are +wounded!" + +"'Tis nothing, sir," said Katharine, faintly. "I welcome it; 'twas an +American bullet. Would it had found my heart!" + +"Only a flesh-wound, colonel; no cause for alarm," said the captain, +looking at it with the eye of experience. "It will be all right in a +day or two. But now she must go below. I can't understand how you +were allowed to stay here, or be here. What were they thinking of? +But you saw one of the hottest and most desperate battles ever fought +between two ships since you were here. They can fight; you were right, +colonel," he went on in ungrudging admiration. + +"Here, Desborough," he added, addressing the lieutenant, who just then +put his foot on the deck, "take Miss Wilton below, and ask the surgeon +to attend her at his convenience; she 's gone and got herself wounded +by her friends." + +Lieutenant Desborough, black and grimy, streaked with smoke and powder, +turned pale at the captain's words, and sprang forward anxiously and +led the object of his love down the steps to her cabin. "Wounded!" he +murmured. "Oh, my love, why did no one take you to a place of safety?" + +"'T is nothing," she replied, going on as if in a dream. + +Desborough had his wish: his rival was gone; he had the field to +himself; but he was too manly to feel any exultation now that it was +over, and too sorry for the vacant despair he saw on her face. He +tenderly whispered to her as he led her on,-- + +"Believe me, dear Katharine, it is not thus I would have triumphed over +Mr. Seymour. He was in truth a knightly gentleman." + +Overwhelming pity for her filled his heart, and he went on +magnanimously,-- + +"I am sorry--" + +She made no answer; she did not hear. In the cabin the body of little +Montagu was lying on a table. He would never get his frigate now. How +small and frail and boyish looked the Honorable Giles to-day! Why did +they send children like that to war? Had he no mother?--poor lad! +Moved by a sudden impulse, she stooped and kissed him, as she had done +an hour before. No throb of the proud little heart answered responsive +to her caress now. Alas! she might kiss him when and as she pleased; +he would not feel it, and he would not heed. Entering her own berth at +last, she closed the door and sank down upon her knees,--alone with God! + + +"A sail coming down fast,--the little brig, sir," reported the officer +of the deck to Captain Vincent. "Shall we come about and give him a +broadside?" + +"No, no; we dare not handle the braces yet,--not until the gear and +spars have been well overhauled." + +"Shall we use the stern-chaser then, sir?" + +The Yarmouth had left the scene of the explosion some distance away by +this time, but she was still within easy gun-shot. Captain Vincent +earnestly examined the brig; as he looked, she came up to the wind, +hove to, and dropped a boat in the water. There was a bit of spar +still floating there. The captain saw that three or four men were +clinging to it. + +"No; she's on an errand of mercy. There are men in the water on that +topmast there. Let her go free," he said generously. "We 've done +enough to-day to satisfy any reasonable man." + +The colonel grasped his hand warmly and thanked him. The little brig +picked up her boat, swung her mainyard, and filled away again on the +port tack, in the wake of the rest of the little squadron now far +ahead; then, understanding the forbearance of the big ship, she fired a +gun to leeward and dipped her ensign in salute. + +The force of the explosion had thrown Seymour, from his advantageous +position aft, far out into the water and away from the sinking ship. +The contact with cold water recalled him to his senses at once; and +with the natural instinct of man for life, he struck out as well as he +might, considering his broken leg and wounded arm and weakened state. +There was a piece of a mast with the top still on it floating near by. +He struggled gallantly to make it,--'twas no use, he could do no more; +closing his eyes, he sank down in the dark water. But help was near: a +hand grasped him by his long hair and drew him up; one of his men, +unwounded fortunately, had saved him. The two men presently reached +the bit of wreck; the sailor scrambled up on it, and by a great effort +drew his captain by his side; two more men swam over desperately, and +finally joined the little group. They clung there helpless, hopeless, +despairing, fascinated, watching the remains of the Randolph disappear, +marking a few feeble swimmers here and there struggling, till all was +still. Then they turned their eyes upon their late antagonist, running +away before the wind in flames; they saw her fight them down +successfully; appalled, none spoke. Presently one of the seamen +glanced the other way, and saw the little brig swiftly bearing down +upon them. + +"God be praised! Here's the brig, the Fair American," he cried. "We +shall be saved--saved!" + +The brig was handled smartly; she came to the wind, backed the +maintopsail, and lay gently tossing to and fro on the long swells. The +young captain stood on the rail, clinging to the back-stays, anxiously +watching. The boat was dropped into the water, and with long strokes +shot over to them. The men sprang aboard; rude hands gently and +tenderly lifted the wounded captain in. They pulled rapidly back to +the brig; the falls were manned, and the boat was run up, the yard +swung, and she filled away. Seymour was lifted down; Philip received +him in his arms. + +"I ought to arrest you for disobedience of orders," said the captain, +sternly. "Why did you pay no attention to my signals? You have +jeoparded the brig. Yon ship can blow you out of the water; you are +quite within range." + +But they soon saw that no motion was made by the ship; and in +accordance with Seymour's orders the gun was fired and the colors +dipped,--a salute which the ship promptly returned. + +"I ought to put you under arrest, Philip," again said Seymour, faintly, +while he was lying in the tiny cabin, having his wounds dressed; "but I +will not. 'T was gallantly done; but obey orders first hereafter,--'t +is the first principle of action on the sea." That was rather cool +comfort for the young officer, considering that his somewhat reckless +action had just saved Seymour's life. He made brief reply, however, +and then resumed his station on the deck of his little vessel, which +was rapidly overhauling the rest of the fleet. As soon as the night +fell, the wind permitting, they were by Seymour's direction headed for +the harbor of Charleston once more. Now that his mind was free again, +Seymour's thoughts turned to that woman's form of which he had one +brief glimpse ere the line-of-battle ship disappeared in the smoke. +Could it indeed have been Katharine Wilton? Could fate play him such a +trick as to awaken once more his sleeping hope? Through the long night +he tossed in fevered unrest in his narrow berth. Again he went over +the awful scenes of that one hour of horror. The roar of the guns, the +crash of splintered timbers, the groans of the wounded men, rang in his +fretted ear. They seemed to rise before him, those gallant officers +and men, the hardy, bold sailors, veterans of the sea, audacious +youngsters with life long before them, Bentley, his old, his faithful +friend,--lost--all lost. Was there reproach in their gaze? Was it +worth while, after all? Ay, but duty; he had always done his +duty--duty always--duty-- Ah, they faded away, and Katharine looked +down upon--it was she--love--duty--love--duty! Was that the roar of +battle again, or only his beating heart? They found him in the +morning, delirious, shouting orders, murmuring words of love, calling +Kate,--babbling like a child. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +_Three Pictures of the Sea_ + +A short time before sunset that same evening the Yarmouth was hove to, +and the hoarse cry of the boatswain and his mates was once more heard +through the ship, calling,-- + +"All hands! Bury the dead." + +Skilled hands had been working earnestly all the afternoon to repair +the damage to the vessel; much had been accomplished, but much more +still remained to be done. However, night was drawing on, and it was +advisable to dispose of the dead bodies of those who had been killed in +the action, or who had died since of their wounds, without further +delay. Some of the sailmaker's mates had been busy during the +afternoon, sewing up the dead in new, clean hammocks, and weighting +each one with heavy shot at the feet to draw it down. The bodies were +laid in orderly rows amidships, forward of the mainmast, and all was +ready when the word was passed. The crew assembled in the gangways +facing aft, the boatswain, gunner, carpenter, sailmaker, and other +warrant officers at their head. The captain, attended by Colonel +Wilton and the first lieutenant in full uniform, and surrounded by the +officers down to the smallest midshipman, stood facing the crew on the +quarter-deck; back of the officers, on the opposite side of the deck, +the marine guard was drawn up. At the break of the poop stood the +slender, graceful figure of a woman, alone, clearly outlined against +the low light of the setting sun, looking mournfully down upon the +picture, her heart, though filled with sadness and sorrow particularly +her own, still great enough to feel sympathy for others. + +The chaplain, clothed in the white vestments of his sacred office, +presently came from out the cabin beneath the poop-deck, and stopped +opposite the gangway between the line of men and officers. Two of the +boatswain's mates, at a signal from the first lieutenant, stepped to +the row of bodies and carefully lifted up the first one and laid it on +a grating, covering it at the same time with a flag. They next lifted +the grating and placed one end of it on the rail overlooking the sea, +and held the other in their hands and waited. The captain uncovered, +all the other officers and the men following his example. + +The chaplain began to read from the book in his hand. The first body +on the grating was a very small one,--only a boy, looking smaller in +contrast to those of the men by which it had lain. The little figure +of the Honorable Giles looked pathetic indeed. Some of the little +fellow's messmates had hard work to stifle their tears; here and there +in the ranks of the silent men the back of a hand would go furtively up +to a wet eye, as the minister read on and on. + +How run the words? + +"Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in His wise Providence, to +take out of this world the soul of our deceased brother--" Was it +indeed Thy pleasure, O God, that this little "brother" should die? Was +Thy Providence summed up in this little silent figure? Alas, who can +answer? + +And then as the even voice of the priest went on with the solemn and +beautiful words which never grow familiar,--"we therefore commit his +body to the deep,"--the first lieutenant nodded to the watching +sailors. They lifted the inboard end of the grating high in the air; a +fellow midshipman standing by pulled aside the covering flag; the +little body started, moved slowly,--more rapidly; there was a flash of +light in the air, a splash in the water alongside. + +The chaplain motioned for another; it was a man this time,--all the +rest were men; four of the seamen lifted him up. Again the few short +sentences, and the sailor was launched upon another voyage of life. +Tears were streaming from eyes unused to weeping, tracing unwonted +courses down the strangely weather-beaten, wrinkled cheeks; men +mourning the loss of shipmate and messmate, friend and fellow. The +last one in the row was a gigantic man; over his bosom was laid a +little blood-stained flag of different blazoning: there was the blue +field as in the heavens, white stars, and red and white stripes that +enfolded him like a caress. The sailors lifted him up and waited a +moment, until the tall, stately, distinguished figure of the colonel, +in his plain civilian dress, stepped out from the group of officers and +stood beside the grating; he put his hand upon the flag of his country, +glad to do this service for a faithful if humble friend. It was soon +over; with a little heavier splash old Bentley fell into the sea he had +so loved, joining that innumerable multitude of those who, having done +their duty, wait for that long-deferred day when the sea shall give up +her dead! The woman hid her face within her hands, the great bell of +the ship tolled solemnly forward, the sun had set, the men were +dismissed, the watch called, and the night fell softly, while the ship +glided on in the darkness. + + +Another week had elapsed. The Yarmouth had been driven steadily +northward, and by contrary winds prevented from making her course. She +was in a precarious condition too; a further examination had disclosed +that some of her spars, especially the mainmast, had been so severely +and seriously wounded, even more so than at first reported, as scarcely +to permit any sail at all to be set on them, and not fit in anyway to +endure stress of weather. The damages had been made good, however, as +far as possible, the rigging knotted and spliced, the spars fished and +strengthened as well. The ship had been leaking slightly all the time, +from injuries received in the fight, in all probability; but a few +hours at the pumps daily had hitherto kept her free, and though the +carpenter had been most assiduous in a search for the leaks, and had +stopped as many as he had been able to come at, some of them could not +be found. The weather had steadily changed for the worse as they had +reached higher latitudes, and it was now cold, rainy, and very +threatening. The captain and his officers were filled with anxiety and +foreboding. Katharine kept sedulously in her cabin, devoured by grief +and despair; and the once cheery colonel, full of deep sympathy for his +unfortunate daughter, went about softly and sadly during the long days. + +The day broke gloomily on one certain unfortunate morning; they had not +seen the sun for five days, nor did they see it then. No gladsome +light flooded the heavens and awoke the sea; the sky was deeply +overcast with cold, dull, leaden clouds that hung low and heavy over +the mighty ship; a horror of darkness enshrouded the ocean. Away off +on the horizon to the northeast the sky was black with great masses of +frightful-looking clouds; through the glass the watchful officers saw +that rain was falling in torrents from them, while the vivid lightning +played incessantly through them. Where the ship was, it had fallen +suddenly calm, and she lay gently rolling and rocking in the moderate +swell; but they could see the hurricane driving down upon them, coming +at lightning speed, standing like a solid wall, and flattening the +waves by sheer weight. All hands had been called on deck at once, at +the first glimpse of the coming hurricane. Desborough had the trumpet; +the alert and eager topmen were sent aloft to strip the ship of the +little canvas which the heavy weather and weakened spars had permitted +them to show. It was a race between them and the coming storm. The +men worked desperately, madly; some of them had not yet reached the +deck when the rain and the wind were upon them. By the captain's +direction, the colonel had brought Katharine from below, and she was +standing on the quarter-deck sheltered by the overhang of the poop +above, listlessly watching. Desborough had made no progress in his +love-affairs; he had too much tact and delicacy to press his suit under +the present untoward circumstances, and indeed had been too incessantly +occupied with the pressing exigencies of the shattered ship, and the +duties of his responsible position thereon, to have any time to spare +for more than the common courtesies. The awful storm was at last upon +them: a sudden change in its direction caused the first fierce blow to +fall fairly upon the starboard side of the ship; it pressed her down on +her beam-ends; over and over she went, down, down. Would she ever +right again? Ah, the spliced shrouds and stays on the weather-side, +which had been that attacked by the Randolph, finally gave way, the +mainmast went by the board about halfway below the top, the foremast at +the cap, and the mizzentopmast, too; relieved of this enormous mass of +heavy top hamper, the ship slowly righted herself. The immense mass of +wreckage beat and thundered against the port side; it was a fearful +situation, but all was not yet lost. Gallantly led by Desborough +himself, who saw in one sweeping glance that Katharine was still safe, +the men, with axes and knives, hacked through the rigging which held +the wreck of the giant spars to the ship, and after a few moments of +sickening suspense she drifted clear; a bit of storm canvas was spread +forward on the wreck of the foremast, and the ship got before the wind +and drove on, laboring and pitching in the heavy sea. The decks were +cleared; and indeed there was little left to clear, the waves having +broken over her several times when she lay in the trough of the sea, +sweeping everything out with them, and the vessel was a total +wreck,--the spars gone, rails and bulwarks battered in and smashed, +boats lost, the battle having destroyed these on the starboard side, +and the wreck and the sea the others. Stop! there was one boat left +amidships, a launch capable of holding about forty persons in a pinch, +and still seaworthy; it was, by the captain's order, promptly made as +serviceable as possible in view of the probable emergency. + +About four o'clock in the afternoon the carpenter came aft with the +sounding-rod of the well in his hand. The strain had been too much for +her; some of the weakened timbers had given way, or some of the seams +had opened, or perhaps a butt had started, for the ship was leaking +badly. Still those dauntless men did not despair. The crew were told +off in gangs to work, and all night the clank, clank, of the pumps was +heard. Katharine dutifully laid down as she was bidden; but there was +no sleep for her nor any one else on the ship that long night. The day +broke again finally, but brought them no cheer: their labor had been +unavailing; the leak had gained on them so rapidly that the ship lay +low in the water, listless and inert, rolling in a sick, sluggish, +helpless way in the trough of the sea. The wind had abated somewhat, +and a boat well handled might live in the water now. By Captain +Vincent's direction the men were sent to their stations on the spar, or +upper deck. The boat's crew was chosen by selecting every fifteenth +man in the long lines, the division officers doing the counting. The +boat was launched without tackles, by main strength, sliding on rollers +over the side through the broken bulwarks. Katharine, listless and +indifferent, still attended by Chloe, was put aboard. Captain Vincent +looked about among his officers; whom should he put in charge? They +all looked deprecatingly and entreatingly at him. None desired to go; +no one wished to be singled out to abandon the ship and his brother +officers. His glance fell on Desborough. + +"The duty is yours; you are the first officer of the ship." + +"Oh, Captain Vincent, do not send me, I beg you. My place surely is on +the ship with you. Cannot some one else--" + +"No, you must go. My last command to you, my lord," he said, smiling +faintly and extending his hand. Desborough, seeing the futility of +further appeal, grasped it warmly in both his own, bowed to the other +officers, and with a wave of his hand stepped on the rail and sprang +into the tossing boat alongside. + +"Are there any others to go?" he said. + +The captain's eye fell upon the figure of the colonel standing among +the officers. + +"You are to go, sir. Nay, I will hear of no objections. You are my +prisoner, and I am bound to see you delivered safely. Go, colonel. I +mean it; I will have you put aboard by a file of marines if you do not +go at once." + +Katharine awoke from her apathy and stretched out her hands with a +piteous cry,-- + +"Father, father, oh, I cannot lose you too." + +"Prisoner or no prisoner, sir," said the colonel, "let me say that I am +proud of my connection with you and your officers and your men. If I +live to reach the shore, the world shall hear of this noble ending. +Good-by, captain; good-by, gentlemen. I would fain stay with you." + +"No, no!" was the cry from this band of heroes; and then Hollins sprang +forward and shouted,-- + +"Lads! Three cheers for the colonel and for our shipmates in the +launch! Let them tell at home that we were glad to stay by the old +ship." + +The hearty cheers came with a roar from five hundred throats. + +"Good-by, good-by; God bless you!" cried the colonel, choking and +utterly overcome, as he got into the boat, and sank down in the stern +sheets beside his daughter. + +"Colonel, we have n't a moment of time," whispered Desborough, who saw +that the ship was sinking. + +"Shove off, men; pull hard!" + +A few moments of hard rowing in the heavy sea put them some little +distance away, and the boat waited under just enough way to give them +command of her. The men of the ship kept their stations; calm and +peaceful, they also waited. The ship settled lower and lower; a man +stepped hurriedly aft; and a moment later the bold and brilliant ensign +of Old England, which never waved over braver men, fluttered out in the +heavy breeze from the wrecked mast-head, the vivid red of the proud +flag making a lurid dash of color against the gray sky-line. The ship +was lower now. Now she plunged forward; the water rose; the captain +raised his hand; three hearty cheers rang out; the drums beat; the +marines presented arms. She was gone! The flag streamed out bravely +on the surface of the water, and then it was drawn down; a confused +mass of heads and waving arms was seen in the water, and they too in a +moment were slowly drawn down into the vortex caused by the sinking +ship. The woman again hid her face in her hands; the colonel laid his +arm across the shoulder of his daughter; Desborough and the men in the +boat stared horribly at the spot left vacant; a deep groan broke from +them; they rose on the crest of a wave, sank down again, rose once more +and looked again,--the little boat was alone on that mighty sea! + + +Oh, the agony of those long and frightful days in that little boat! +Never a sail did they sight, as day after day they rowed or sailed to +the westward, eagerly scanning the horizon for a landfall. The waves +washed over them, saturating their clothing; the chill winds of winter +froze them. First their provisions gave out, though served with the +most rigid economy by Desborough himself; then the water, husbanded as +no precious jewel was ever hoarded, was exhausted to the last drop, and +that drop, by common consent, Desborough forced between Katharine's +reluctant lips, though she would fain have refused it, claiming no +indulgence beyond the others. The rare qualities of that young officer +showed themselves brilliantly in this frightful peril. It was due to +his skill and careful management that they were not swamped a dozen +times; tireless, unselfish, cheerful, unsparing of himself, without him +they would have died. The men bore their sufferings, when all food and +water failed them, with the sturdy resolution of British sailors; +Desborough his, with the courage of the hero that he was, his fiercest +pang being for the white-faced girl who suffered in uncomplaining +silence. The colonel exhibited the stoical indifference of a seasoned +old soldier, as to his own personal condition, all his thoughts being +centred upon his daughter, who passed through the dreadful experience +with the calm resignation of a woman who had nothing left to live for, +and, strange to say, seemed to feel it less acutely than the rest; even +black Chloe, who had impartially shared with her mistress in all the +favors accorded to her, being in a state of utter exhaustion, amounting +to collapse. + +When the pangs of hunger and thirst got hold of them, they refused--and +were indeed entirely unable--to work longer with the oars, so that, +unless the wind was fair and the sail was set, they simply drifted on. + +One by one the sailors died. Waking from a troubled sleep of short +duration, Katharine one day found Chloe's dead hand around her feet, +her cold lips pressed upon them. Some of the men grew mad before they +died, and raved and babbled of green fields and running brooks until +the end came, and still the little boat drifted on. Few and short were +the prayers the living said as, day by day they cast the dead into the +sea. Desborough, the resolute, with undying strength kept steadily at +the helm. Once only did he speak to Katharine in words of love. As +their situation grew more and more hopeless, and even his resolute +optimism began to fail him, he bent down and whispered in her ear,-- + +"I would not trouble you now, Katharine, but before we die I must tell +you once again that I love you. Will you believe it?" + +"I will believe it," she answered dully, giving him her hand. Oh, he +thought in agony, as he bent over it and kissed it, how thin and white +and feeble it was I One morning, after hope was dead, he was listlessly +scanning the line of the horizon as the rising sun threw it into +relief, more from habit than expectancy, when his heart almost stopped +its feeble beating, for land was there before him if his strained eyes +did not deceive him. Doubting the evidence of his weakened senses, and +fearing the delusions of a disordered imagination, he refrained from +communicating his impressions to any of the others until the light of +day determined the accuracy of his vision. Then he whispered the news +to Katharine, the apathetic woman told it to the sinking colonel, and +then Desborough cried it to his dying crew. The wind sprang up at the +moment too, and in a few hours they beached the boat upon a low sandy +shore, with the waves breaking gently over it in long easy rollers. It +was a desolate coast, sparsely wooded with small trees, and having +little evidence of human habitation about it; but no glimpse of heaven +could have more rejoiced a dying soul than this bleak haven to which +they had been brought. They staggered, half fell, out of the boat, and +lay exhausted, with ghastly haggard faces, on the shining sands, giving +thanks to God for His mercy. + +Desborough, as the strongest of the party, started inland, finding by +and by a little stream of fresh water, and farther on, on higher +ground, seeing a house, the smoke curling from its chimneys showing +that it was inhabited. To the bubbling spring he half led, half +dragged his shipwrecked party. They drank sparingly by his direction, +and were refreshed, for with the cool water life and hope came back to +them once more. Then he left them again and went on to the house. +They had landed on the shore of Virginia, and the people of the house +welcomed and cared for the poor castaways, sharing with them their +humble store with the kindly hospitality for which the land was famous. +Their long voyage was at an end, their troubles were over. The colonel +and Katharine would be free again; they might go home once more, and +Desborough would be a prisoner. + + + + +BOOK V + +THE DEAD ALIVE AGAIN + + +CHAPTER XL + +_A Final Appeal_ + +It was springtime again in Virginia. The sky, its blue depths +accentuated by the shifting clouds, was never more clear, wherever it +appeared in the intervals of sunshine, nor the air more fresh and pure, +even in that land famed for its bright skies and its mild climate, than +it was this April day; which, with its sunshine and showers in +unregulated alternation, seemed symbolical of life,--that life of which +every tender blade of grass, every venturesome flower thrusting its +head above the sod, seemed to speak. There was health and strength in +the gentle breeze which wantonly played with the budding leaves of the +great trees, already putting forth little evangels of that splendid +foliage with which they decked themselves in the full glory of summer. +That merry wind which swept through the open boat-house at the end of +the wharf laid a bold hand upon the curls which fell about the neck of +the young girl sitting there by the door near the water on one of the +benches, gazing out over the broad reaches of the quiet, ever beautiful +Potomac, rippled gently by the wind under the late afternoon sun. The +gallant little breeze, fragrant with balm and perfume of the trees and +flowers, kissed a faint color into her pale cheek, and seemed to +whisper to her despondent heart in murmuring sounds that framed +themselves into the immortal words "hope, hope." + +The young girl had but yesterday entered upon her twentieth spring. +Four months ago there had not been a merrier, lighter-hearted, gayer, +more coquettish young maiden in tidewater Virginia; and to-day, she +thought, as she looked down at her thin hand outlined so clearly upon +the vivid cardinal cloak she wore, which had dropped unheeded on the +seat by her side, to-day she was like that man in the play of whom her +father read,--a grave man. No, not a man at all. Once, in her +enthusiasm, she had fondly imagined that she had possessed all those +daring qualities of energy and action, those manly virtues, which might +have been hers by inheritance could the accident of sex have been +reversed. But now she knew she was but a woman, after all,--so weak, +so feeble, so listless. What had she left to live for? Once it was +her father, then it was her country, then it was her lover; now? +Nothing! Her father at the request of Congress would soon resume his +interrupted duties in France, now become more important than ever. He +was a man of the world and a soldier, a diplomat. The hard experiences +of the past few months were for him episodes, exciting truly, but only +part of a lifetime spent in large adventure, soon forgotten in some +other strenuous part demanded by some other strenuous exigency. But +she,--no, she was not a man at all, but a woman,--unused to such scenes +and happenings as fate had lately made her a participant in. Her +father might have his country,--he had not lost his love, his heart was +not buried out in the depths of the cruel sea. What had become of that +Roman patriotism upon which she prided herself in times past? Her +country! What had changed her so? There were many answers. + +There was Blodgett's grave at the foot of the hill. She had played in +childhood with that faithful old soldier. Many a tale had he told her +of her gallant father when, as a young man, he gayly rode away to the +wars, leaving her lady mother in tears behind. She could sympathize +with waiting women now, and understand. Those were such deeds of +daring that the rude recital of the old man once stirred her very heart +with joy and terror; now she was sick at the thought of them. And +Blodgett was gone; he had died defending them, where he had been +stationed. That was an answer. + +There, too, far away in another State, lay the lover of her girlhood's +happy day,--the bright-eyed, eager, gallant, joyous lad. What good +comrades they had been! How they had laughed, and played, and ridden, +and rowed, and hunted, and danced, and flirted, through the morning of +life,--how pleasant had been that life indeed! He was quiet now; she +could no longer join in his ringing laugh, the sound of his voice was +stilled, they might never play together again,--was there any play at +all in life? That was another answer. + +There was the white-haired mother, the stately little royalist, Madam +Talbot, who slept in peace on the hill at Fairview Hall, her ambitions, +her hopes, and her loyalty buried with her, leaving the place +untenanted save by wistful memories; she too had gone. + +Answers?--they crowded thick upon her! There were the officers of the +Yarmouth, Captain Vincent, Beauchamp, Hollins, and the little boy, the +Honorable Giles, and all the other officers and men with whom she had +come in contact on that frightful cruise. There were the heroic men +who had stayed by their ship, who had seen the favored few go away in +the only boat that was left seaworthy, without a murmur at being left +behind, who had faced death unheeding, unrepining, sinking down in the +dark water with a cheer upon their lips. There was the old sailor, +too, with his unquenchable patriotism, her friend because the friend of +her lover; and Philip, her brother; and there was Seymour himself. Ah, +what were all the rest to him! Gone, and how she loved him! + +She leaned her head upon her hand and thought of him. Here in this +boat-house he had first spoken to her of his love. Here she had first +felt his lips touch her cheek. There, rocked gently by the light +breeze, upon the water at her feet was the familiar little +pleasure-boat; she had not allowed any one to row her about in it since +her return, in spite of much entreaty. It was this very cloak she wore +that day, nearly the very hour. The place was redolent with sweet +memories of happy days, though to think on them now broke her heart. +It all came back to her as it had come again and again. She briefly +reviewed that acquaintance, short though it was, which had changed the +whole course of her life. She saw him again, as he struck prompt to +defend her honor in the hall, resenting a ruffian's soiling hand +stretched out to her; she saw him lying wounded and senseless there at +her feet. She saw him stretched prone on that shattered deck, on that +ruined ship, pale, blood-stained, senseless again, again unheeding her +bitter cry. She would have called once more upon him, save that she +knew humanity has no voice which reaches out into the darkness by which +it may call back those who are once gone to live beyond. She did not +weep,--that were a small thing, a trifle; she sat and brooded. What +had she lost in the service of her country? What sacrifices had been +exacted from her by that insatiable country! Alas, alas, she thought, +men may have a country, a woman has only a heart. + +Four short months had changed it all. How young she had been! Would +she ever be young again? How full of the joy of life! Its currents +swept by her unheeded now. Why had not God been merciful to her, that +she could have died there upon the sea, she thought. Ah, poor humanity +never learns His mercy; perhaps it is because we have no measure by +which to fathom its mighty depths. She saw herself old and lonely, +forgotten but not forgetting. But even then lacked she not +opportunity; woman-like, in spite of her constancy, she took a +melancholy pleasure in the thought that there was one still who +hungered for the shattered remnants of her broken heart, who lived for +the sound of her voice and the glance other eyes and the light of her +face. One there was, handsome, brave, distinguished, gentle, of +ancient name, assured station, ample fortune, who longed to lay all he +was or had at her feet. + +But what were these things? Nothing to her, nothing. There was but +one, as she had said on the ship to Desborough: "I love a sailor; you +are not he." And yet her soul was filled with pity for the gallant +gentleman, and she thought of him tenderly with deep affection. + +Presently she heard quick footsteps on the floor of the boat-house, and +turning her head she saw him. He held a letter, an official packet, +with the seal broken, open in his hand. + +"Oh, Miss Wilton, you here?" he said. "I have looked everywhere for +you. Do you not think the evening air grows chill? Is it not too cold +for you out here in the boat-house? Allow me;" and then, with that +gentle solicitude which women prize, he lifted the neglected cloak and +tenderly wrapped it about her shoulders. + +"Thank you," she said gratefully, faintly smiling up at him, "but I +hardly need it. I do not feel at all cold. The air is so pleasant and +the sun is not yet set, you see. Did you wish to see me about anything +special, Lord Desborough?" + +"No--yes--that is-- Oh, Mistress Katharine, the one special want of my +life is to see you always and everywhere. You know that,--nay, never +lift your hand,--I remember. I will try not to trespass upon your +orders again. I came to tell you that--I am going away." + +"Going away," she repeated sadly. "Has your exchange been made?" + +"Yes; a courier came to the Hall a short time since, and here it is. +My orders, you see; I must leave at once." + +"I am sorry, indeed sorry that you must go." + +He started suddenly as if to speak, a little flash of hope flickering +in his despondent face; but she continued quickly,-- + +"It has been very pleasant for us to have you here, except that you +have been a prisoner; but now you will be free, and for that, of +course, I rejoice. But I have so few friends left," she went on +mournfully, "I am loath to see one depart, even though he be an enemy." + +"Oh, do not call me an enemy, I entreat you, Katharine. Oh, let me +speak just once again," he interrupted with his usual impetuosity; "and +talk not to me of freedom! While the earth holds you I am not free: +ay, even should Heaven claim you, I still am bound. All the days of my +captivity here I have been a most willing and happy prisoner,--your +prisoner. I have looked forward with dread and anguish to the day when +I might be exchanged and have to go away. Here would I have been +content to pass my life, by your side. Oh, once again let me plead! +My duty, my honor, call me now to the service of my king. I no longer +have excuse for delay, but you have almost made me forget there was a +king. Now that I must go, why should I go alone?" he went on eagerly. +"I know, I know you love the--the other,--but he is gone. You do not +hate me, you even like me; you regret my going; perhaps as days go by, +you will regret it more. We are at least friends; let me take care of +you in future. Oh, it kills me to see you so white, and indifferent to +life and all that it has or should have for you. You are only a girl +yet,--I cannot bear to see all the color gone out of your sweet face, +the light out of your eyes; the sight of that thin hand breaks my +heart. Won't you live for me to love,--live, and let me love you? +Your father goes to-morrow, so he says, and you will be left alone +here; why should it be? Go with me. Give me a right to do what my +heart aches to do for you,--to coax the roses back into your cheek, to +woo the laugh to your lips, to win happiness back to your heart; to +devote my life to you, darling. Have pity on me, have pity on my +love,--have pity!" + +His voice dropped into a passionate whisper; as he pleaded with her, he +sank down upon one knee by her side, beseeching by word and gesture and +look that she should show him that pity he could see in her eyes, that +he knew was in her heart, and to which he made his last appeal; and +then, lifting the hem of her dress to his lips with an unconscious +movement of passionate reverence, he waited. + +She looked at him in silence a moment. So young, so handsome, so +appealing, her heart filled with sorrow and sympathy for him. There +was hope in his eyes which she had not seen for many days; how could +she drive it away and crush his heart! It might be cruel, but she had +no answer, no other answer, no new word, to tell him. Her eyes filled +with tears; she could not trust herself to speak, she only shook her +head. + +"Ah," he said, rising to his feet and throwing up his hands with a +gesture of despair, "I knew it. Well, the dream is over at last. This +is the end. I sought life, and found death; that, at least, if it +shall come I shall welcome. Would God I had gone down with the ship! +You have no pity; you let a dead image--an idea--stand between you and +a living love. Will you never forget?" + +"Never," she said softly. "Love knows no death. He is alive--here. +But do not grieve so for me; I am not worth it. You will go away and +forget, and--" + +"No; you have said it, 'Love knows no death.' I, too, cannot forget. +As long as I live I shall love--and remember. How if I waited and +waited? Katharine, I would wait forever for you," he said, suddenly +catching at the trifle. + +"No, it would be no use. My friend, we both must suffer; it cannot be +otherwise. I esteem you, respect you, admire you. You have protected +me, honored me; my gratitude--" She went on brokenly, "You might ask +anything of me but my heart, and that is given away." + +"Let me take you without it, then. I want but you." + +"No, Lord Desborough, it cannot be. Do not ask me again. No, I cannot +say I wish it otherwise." + +His flickering hope died away in silence. "Katharine, will you promise +me, if there ever comes a time--" + +"I promise," she said; "but the time will never come." + +He looked at her as dying men look to the light, there was a long +silence, and then he said,-- + +"I must go now, Katharine. I suppose I must bid you good-by now?" + +"Yes, I think it would be best." + +"I shall pass this way again on my journey to Alexandria in half an +hour; may I not speak once more to you then?" + +"No," she said finally, after a long pause. "I think it best that we +should end it now. It can do no good at all. Good-by, and may God +bless you." + +He bent and kissed her hand, and then stopped a moment and looked at +her, saying never a word. + +"Good-by, again," she said. + +On the instant he turned and left her. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +_Into the Haven, at last_ + +Two weary horsemen on tired horses were slowly riding up the river road +just where it entered the Wilton plantation. One was young, a mere boy +in years; but a certain habit of command, with the responsibility +accompanying, had given him a more manly appearance than his age +warranted. The other, to a casual glance, seemed much older than his +companion, though closer inspection would show that he was still a +young man, and that those marks upon his face which the careless +passer-by would consider the attributes of age had been traced by the +fingers of grief and trouble. The bronzed and weather-beaten faces of +both riders bespoke an open-air life, and suggested those who go down +upon the great deep in ships, a suggestion further borne out by the +faded, worn naval uniforms they wore. In spite of the joy of +springtime which was all about them, both were silent and both were +sad; but the sadness of the boy, as was natural, was less deep, less +intense, than that of the man. He was too young to realize the +greatness of the loss he had sustained in the death of his father and +sister; and were it not for the constant reminder afforded him by the +presence of his gloomy companion, he would probably, with the careless +elasticity of youth, have been more successful in throwing off his own +sorrow. The man had not lost a father or a sister, but some one dearer +still. He looked thin and ill, and under the permanent bronze of his +countenance the ravages wrought by fever, wounds, and long illness were +plainly perceptible; there were gray hairs in his thick neatly tied +locks, too, that had no rightful place there in one of his age. The +younger and stronger assisted and watched over his older companion with +the tenderest care and attention. + +They rode slowly up the pleasant road under the great trees, from time +to time engaging in a desultory conversation. Philip endeavored to +cheer his companion by talking lightly of boyhood days, as each turn of +the road brought familiar places in the old estate in view. Here he +and Katharine and Hilary had been wont to play; there was a favorite +spot, a pleasant haunt here, this had been the scene of some amusing +adventure. These well-meant reminiscences nearly drove Seymour mad, +but he would not stop them. Finally, they came to the place where the +road divided, one branch pursuing its course along the river-bank past +the boat-house toward the Talbot place, the other turning inland from +the river and winding about till it surmounted the high bluff and +reached the door of the Hall. There Philip drew rein. + +"This is the way to the Hall, you know, Captain Seymour," he said, +pointing to the right. Seymour hesitated a moment, and said finally,-- + +"Yes, I know; the boat-house lies over there, does it not, beyond the +turn? I think I will let you go up to the house alone, Philip, and I +will go down to the boat-house myself. I will ride back presently." + +"Well, then, I will go with you," said Philip. "I really think you are +too weak, you know, especially after our long ride to-day, to go alone." + +"No, Philip," said Seymour, gently, "I wish to be alone for a few +moments." + +The boy hesitated. + +"Oh, very well," he said, beginning to understand, "I will sit down +here on this tree by the road and wait for you. I 'll tie my horse, +and you can leave yours here also, if you wish. There is nothing at +the Hall, God knows, to make me hurry up there now, since father and +Katharine are gone," he continued with a sigh. "Go on, sir, I'll wait. +You won't mind my waiting?" + +"No, certainly not, if you wish it I shall be back in a few minutes +anyway. I just want to see the--the--ah--boathouse, you know." + +"Yes, certainly, I understand, of course," replied Philip, bluntly, but +carefully looking away, and then dismounting from his tired horse and +assisting Seymour to do the same from his. + +"Poor old fellow!" he murmured, as he saw the man walk haltingly and +painfully up the road and disappear around the little bend. + +Left to himself Seymour stumbled alone along the familiar road over +which a few short months before he had often travelled light-heartedly +by the side of Katharine. As he pressed on, he noticed a man leave the +boat-house and climb slowly up the hill. Desirous of escaping the +notice of the stranger, who, he supposed, might be the factor or agent +of the plantation, he waited in the shadow of the trees until the man +disappeared over the brow of the hill, and then he staggered on. A +short time after, he stood on the landward end of the little pier, and +then his heart stood still for a second, and then leaped madly in his +breast, as he seemed to hear a subtle voice, like an echo of the past, +which whispered his name, "Seymour! Seymour!" Stepping toward the +middle of the pier so that he could see the interior of the boat-house +through the inner door, his eyes fell upon the figure of a woman +standing in the other doorway looking out over the water, stretching +out her hands. The sun had set by this time, and the gray dusk of the +evening was stealing over the river. He could not see distinctly, but +there was light enough to show him a familiar scarlet cloak at her +feet, and although her back was turned to him, he recognized the +graceful outlines of her slender figure. It was Katharine, or a dream! +But could the dead return again? Had the sea given up her dead indeed? + +He could not believe the evidence of his bewildered senses. It might +be an hallucination, the baseless fabric of a vision, some image +conjured from the deep recesses of his loving heart by his enfeebled +disordered imagination, and yet he surely had heard a living voice, +"Seymour--John--Oh, my love!" Stifling the beating of his heart, +holding his breath even, stepping softly, lest he should affright the +airy vision, he staggered to the door and stood gazing; then he +whispered one word,-- + +"Katharine!" + +It was only a whisper she heard, but it reached the very centre of her +being. + +"Katharine," he said softly again, with so much passionate entreaty in +his wistful voice, that under its compelling influence she slowly +turned and looked toward the other door from whence the sound had come. +Then as she saw him, lifting one hand to her head while the other +unconsciously sought her heart, she shrank back against the wall, and +stared at him in voiceless terror. He dropped unsteadily to his knee, +as if to worship at a shrine. + +"Oh, do not go away," he whispered. "I know it is only a dream of +mine--so many times have I seen you, ever since the night the frigate +struck and I sent you to your death on that rocky pass, in that beating +sea. Ay, in the long hours of the fever--but you did not shrink away +from me then, you listened to me say I love you, and you answered." He +stretched out his hand toward her in tender appeal. She bent forward +toward him. He rose to his feet, half in terror. + +"Kate," he said uncertainly, "is it indeed you? Are you alive again?" + +She was nearer now. One glad cry broke from her lips; he was in her +arms again, and she was clasped to his heart!--a real woman and no +dream, no vision. What the wind could only faintly shadow forth upon +her cheek, sprang into life under the touch of his fevered lips, and +color flooded them like a wave. Laughing, crying, sobbing, she clung +to him, kissed him with little incoherent murmurs, gazed at him, wept +over him, kissed him again. All the troubles of the intervening days +of sadness and privation faded away from her like a disused chrysalis, +and she sparkled with life and love like a butterfly new born. + +He that was dead was alive again, he had come back, and he was here! +As for him, in fearful surprise, he held her to his breast once more, +still unbelieving. She noticed then an empty sleeve, and raised it +tenderly to her lips. + +"I lost it after an action with the British ship Yarmouth,--it was only +a flesh wound at first,--we were long in reaching Charleston; the arm +had to be amputated. It was a fearful action." + +"I know it," she interrupted; "I was there." + +"You, Katharine! Ah, that woman on the ship! I was not deceived then, +and yet I could not believe it." + +"Yes, 'twas I. I gloried in your bravery, until I saw you lying, as I +thought, dead on the deck. Oh, John, the horror of that moment! Then +I called you, and you did not answer. Then I wanted to die, too, but +now I am alive again, and so happy--but for this;" she lifted the empty +sleeve to her lips. "How you must have suffered, my poor darling," she +went on, her eyes filling with tears, her heart yearning over him. +"And how ill you look, and I keep you standing here,--how thoughtless! +Come to the bench here and sit down. Lean on me." + +"Nay, but, Kate, you too have suffered. See!" He lifted her arm, the +loose sleeve fell back. "Oh, how thin it is, and how smooth and round +and plump it was when I kissed it last," he said, as he raised it +tenderly again to his lips. + +"It is nothing, John. I shall be all right now that you are here. You +poor shattered lover, how you must have suffered!" she went on, with a +sob in her voice. + +"Oh, Katharine, this," looking down at his empty sleeve, "was nothing +to what I suffered before, when I thought I had killed you!" + +"When you thought you had killed me!" she said in surprise. They were +sitting close together now, and she had his hand in both her own. +"How--when, was that?" + +And then he told her rapidly about the loss of the Radnor, and the idea +which her note had given that she was on board of it. + +"And you led that ship down to destruction, believing I was on her! +How could you do it, John?" she said reproachfully. + +"It was my duty, darling Kate," he said desperately. + +"And did you love your duty more than me?" + +"Love it? I hated it! But I had to do it, dearest," he went on +pleadingly. "Honor--you told me so yourself, here, in this very spot; +I remember your words; do you not recall them?--'If I stood in the +pathway of liberty for a single instant I should despise the man who +would not sweep me aside without a moment's hesitation.' Don't you +know you said that, Katharine?" + +"Did I say it? Ah, but that was before I loved you so, and you swept +me aside,--well, I love you still, and, John, I honor you for it too; +but I could not do it. You see, I am only a woman." + +"Kate, don't say 'only a woman' that way; what else would I have you, +pray? But tell me of yourself." + +Briefly she recited the events that had occurred to her, dwelling much +upon Desborough's courage and devotion to her in the first days of her +captivity, the death of Johnson, the burning of Norfolk, the death of +Bentley. He interrupted her there, and would fain hear every detail of +the sad scene over again, thanking her and blessing her for what she +had done. + +"It was nothing," she said simply; "I loved to do it; he was your +friend. It seemed to bring me closer to you." Then she told him of +the foundering of the ship, of the frightful voyage in the boat, and +rang the changes upon Desborough's name, his cheerfulness, his +unfailing zeal and energy, until Seymour's heart filled with jealous +pain. + +"Kate," he said at last, "as I came up the road I saw a man leave the +boat-house and climb the hill; who was it?" + +"It was Lord Desborough, John." + +Seymour was human, and filled with human feeling. He drew away from +her. + +"What was he doing here?" he said coldly. She smiled at him merrily. + +"Bidding me good-by. He was made prisoner, of course, by the first +soldier we came across after we landed, and has been spending the days +of his captivity with us. He was exchanged to-day, and leaves +to-night." + +"Katharine, he was in love with you!" he said, with what seemed to him +marvellous perspicacity. + +"Yes, John," she answered, still smiling. + +"Was he making love to you here?" + +"Yes." + +"And you? You praise this man, you like him, you--" + +"I think him the bravest man, the truest gentleman in the world--except +this one," she said, laying her hand upon his shoulder and her head +upon his breast. "No, no; he pleaded in vain. I only pitied him; I +loved you. Do not be jealous, foolish boy. No one should have me. I +am yours alone." + +"But if I had not come back, Kate,--how then?" + +"It would have made no difference. I told him so." + +Neither of them in their mutual absorption had noticed that a horse had +stopped in the road opposite the boat-house, and a horseman had walked +to the door and had halted at the sight which met his eyes. Desborough +recognized Seymour at once, and he had unwittingly heard the end of the +conversation. He was the second. The man was back again. It was +true. The gallant gentleman stood still a moment, making no sound, +then turned back and mounted his horse, and rode madly away with +despair in his heart. + +"Oh, Katharine," Seymour said at last, "do you know that I am a poor +man now? Lame! See, I can no longer walk straight." He stood up. +"Poor surgery after the battle did that." + +"The more reason that in the future you should not go alone," she said +softly, standing by his side. + +"And with but one arm," he continued. + +"No, three," she said again, "for here are two." + +"Besides, my trading ships have been captured by the enemy, my private +fortune has been spent for the cause. I am a poor man in every sense." + +"Nay, John, you are a rich man," she said gayly. + +"Oh, yes, rich in your love, Katharine." + +"Yes, that of course, if that be riches, and richer in honor too; but +that's not all." + +"What else pray, dearest?" + +"Did you know that Madam Talbot had died?" she answered, with apparent +irrelevance. + +"No, but I am not surprised at it. After her son's death I expected +it, poor lady. He loved you too, Kate. We fought about you once," he +said; and then he told her briefly of Talbot's end, his burial, the +interview he had with Talbot's mother, and the letter. + +"I have seen that letter since I returned," she said. "It is at +Fairview Hall now awaiting you, awaiting its master like the other +things there,--and here. Shall we live there, think you, John?" + +"Awaiting me! Its master! Live there! What mean you, Kate?" he cried +in surprise. + +"Yes, yes, it is all yours," she replied, laughing at his astonishment. +"A codicil to her will, written and signed the day before she died, the +day after you saw her, left it all to you. It was to have been her +son's and then mine; and when she believed us dead, as she had no +relatives in this land she left it to you, 'As,' I quote her own words, +'a true and noble gentleman who honors any cause, however mistaken, to +which he may give his allegiance.' I quote them, but they are my own +words as well. You are a rich man, John, and the two estates will come +together as father and Madam Talbot had hoped, after all." + +"I am glad, Kate, for your sake." + +"It is nothing. I should have taken you, if you had nothing at all." + +A young man ran down the little pier and into the house at this moment. +"Kate," he cried, "where are you? It is so dark here I can hardly +see-- Ah, there you are!" he ran forward and kissed her boisterously. +"You 'll have to forgive me, I could not wait any longer, Captain +Seymour. Father rode down the hill after Lord Desborough galloped by +me, and met me there, waiting. Oh, I was so glad to know you were +alive again! We felt like a pair of murderers, did n't we, Captain +Seymour? Father told me you were here, Kate, and then we waited until +now, to give you a little time, and then I could n't stand it any +longer, I had to see you. Father's coming too, but I ran ahead." + +"Why, Philip," cried Kate, as soon as he gave her an opportunity, +kissing him again and laughing light-heartedly as she has not done for +days, "how you have grown! You are quite a man now." + +"It is entirely due to Philip, Katharine, that I am here," said +Seymour. "He commanded the little brig which ran down to the Yarmouth +at the risk of destruction, and picked me up. Disobeyed orders too, +the young rogue. He brought me into Charleston, nursed me like a +woman, and then brought me here. I should have died without him." + +"Oh, Philip," said the delighted girl, kissing the proud and happy +youngster with more warmth than he had ever known before, "promise me +always to disobey your orders. How can I thank you!" + +"Very bad advice that. Promise nothing of the kind, Philip; but what +are you thanking him for, Kate?" said the cheery voice of the colonel +as he came in the door. + +"Thanking him for Seymour, father." + +"Ah, my boy," said the colonel, grasping his hand, "you don't know how +glad I am to see you. It is like one returning from the dead. But it +is late and cold and quite dark. Supper is ready, let us go up to the +Hall. I shall see the Naval Commissioners in a few days, Seymour, and +get you another and a better ship. The country is full of your action; +they 've struck a medal for you and voted you prize money and thanks, +and all that. I make no doubt I can get you the best ship there is on +the ways, or planned. 'T was a most heroic action--" + +"Not now, father," said Katharine, jealously, throwing her arm about +her lover. "He shall not, cannot, go now; he must have rest for a long +time, and he must have me! We are to be married as soon as he is well, +and the country must wait. Is it not so, John?" + +"What's that?" said the colonel, pretending great surprise. + +"Sir," answered Seymour, nervously, "I have something to say to +you,--something I must say. Will you give me the privilege of a few +moments' conversation with you?" + +"Seymour," said the colonel, smiling, "you asked me that once before, +did you not?" + +"Yes, sir, I believe so." + +"And I answered you--how?" + +"Why, you said, if my memory serves me, that you--" + +"Exactly, that I would see you after supper, and so I will. Come, +children, let us go in; this time I warrant you there will be no +interruptions." + +The father and son turned considerately and walked away, leaving the +two lovers to follow. + +"You won't leave me, John, will you, now that you have just come back?" + +"No, Kate, not now; I am good for nothing until I get strong." + +"Good for me, though; but when you do get strong?" + +"Then, if my country needs me, dearest, I shall have to go. But I fear +there will be no more ships of ours to get to sea, the blockade is +getting more strict every day. I can be a soldier, though. No, Kate, +do not beg me. My duty to my country constrains me." + +"Don't talk about it now, then, John. At least I shall have you for a +long time; it will be long before you are well again." + +"Yes, I fear so," he said with a sigh. + +"Why do you sigh, dearest?" + +"Because I want to stay with you, and I ought to welcome any +opportunity to enter active service. Think what old Bentley would say." + +"Old Bentley did not love you," she replied quickly, with a jealous +pang. + +"Ah, did he not!" said Seymour, softly. + +There was a long pause. + +"Well," said Katharine at last, "I suppose nothing will move you if +your duty calls you, but I warn you if you get killed again, I shall +die. I could not stand it another time," she cried piteously. + +"Well, dearest, I shall try to live for you. Now we must go to the +Hall." + +But, to anticipate, fate would be kinder toward Katharine in the future +than she had been in the past and it was many a day before her lover, +her husband rather, was able to get to sea; and, as if they had +suffered enough, he went through the rest of the war on land and sea +scatheless, and was one of those who stood beside the great commander +before the trenches of Yorktown, when the British soldiers laid down +their arms. But this was all of the future, and now they turned +quietly and somewhat sadly to follow the others. + +This time it was Katharine who helped Seymour up the hill. Slowly, +hand in hand, they walked across the lawn, up the steps of the porch, +and toward the door of the Hall. The night had fallen, and the house +was filled with a soft light from the wax candles. They paused a +moment on the threshhold; Katharine resolutely mastered her fears and +resolved to be happy in the present, then, heedless of all who might +see, she kissed him. + +"Home at last, John," she said, beaming upon him. And there, with the +dark behind, and the light before, we may say good-by to them. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's For Love of Country, by Cyrus Townsend Brady + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY *** + +***** This file should be named 20791.txt or 20791.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/7/9/20791/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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