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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Commodore Barney's Young Spies, by James Otis
+
+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: Commodore Barney's Young Spies
+       A Boy's Story of the Burning of the City of Washington
+
+Author: James Otis
+
+Illustrator: J. Watson Davis
+
+Release Date: June 4, 2010 [EBook #32678]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMMODORE BARNEY'S YOUNG SPIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Odessa Paige Turner and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes: Obvious errors have been corrected. Italic text
+in the original has been enclosed by '_' and bold text by '='.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Darius cried out in my ear; but I heard him not, I was
+insane with the scene of carnage. Page 272.]
+
+        COMMODORE BARNEY'S
+        YOUNG SPIES
+
+        A Boy's Story of the Burning of
+        the City of Washington
+
+        By JAMES OTIS
+
+        Author of "Across the Delaware," "At the Siege of Havana,"
+        "Life of John Paul Jones," "With Warren at Bunker Hill,"
+        etc., etc.
+
+        [Illustration]
+
+        With six page illustrations
+        By J. WATSON DAVIS
+
+        A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
+        NEW YORK
+
+
+        Copyright 1907
+        By A. L. BURT COMPANY
+
+        COMMODORE BARNEY'S YOUNG SPIES
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+      CHAPTER                            PAGE
+
+      I. Captain Joshua Barney              1
+
+      II. At Benedict                      20
+
+      III. Elias Macomber                  39
+
+      IV. A Lively Tussle                  58
+
+      V. With the Fleet                    77
+
+      VI. Feeding the Enemy                96
+
+      VII. An Old Acquaintance            115
+
+      VIII. The Deserter                  133
+
+      IX. An Unexpected Meeting           151
+
+      X. A Change of Base                 169
+
+      XI. The British Forces              188
+
+      XII. Suspense                       207
+
+      XIII. Burning the Vessels           226
+
+      XIV. At Washington                  245
+
+      XV. Bladensburg                     263
+
+      XVI. In Hiding                      282
+
+      XVII. Missing                       300
+
+      XVIII. The Escape                   318
+
+      XIX. The Unexpected                 336
+
+      XX. Dodging the Enemy               354
+
+      XXI. In Port                        372
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+      Darius cried out in my ear; but I heard him not, I was
+          insane with the scene of carnage                  Frontispiece
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+      "Pass up your painter, or I'll shoot!" Cried Darius             56
+
+      With the lantern in my left hand I thrust forward the
+          barrel of my musket full in the face of the miller          72
+
+      "I remember your face, my man;" said the Commodore.
+          "Come aboard at once."                                     153
+
+      As we pulled away I glanced back at our fleet and saw
+          that the vessels were well on fire                         233
+
+      As soon as the line was made fast, a man slipped down,
+          quickly followed by another                                335
+
+
+
+
+
+FROM LOSSING'S "WAR OF 1812."
+
+
+"Evidently ashamed of the barbarism committed by British hands,
+Vice-Admiral Cochrane attempted to palliate it by a pitiful trick.
+After the destruction of the capital, and the invaders were safely
+back on their vessels in the Patuxent, Cochrane wrote a letter to
+Secretary Monroe, in which he said to him, 'Having been called upon
+by the Governor-General of the Canadas to aid him in carrying into
+effect measures of retaliation against the inhabitants of the United
+States for the wanton destruction committed by their army in Upper
+Canada, it has become imperiously my duty, conformably with the
+Governor-General's application, to issue to the naval force under my
+command an order to destroy and lay waste such towns and districts
+upon the coast as may be found assailable.' Cochrane then expressed a
+hope that the 'conduct of the executive of the United States would
+authorize him in staying such proceedings, by making reparation to the
+suffering inhabitants of Upper Canada,' etc. This letter was antedated
+August 18, or six days before the battle of Bladensburg, so as to
+appear like a humane suggestion, in the noncompliance with which might
+be found an excuse for the destruction of the national capital. It did
+not reach Mr. Monroe until the morning of the 31st of August, a week
+after Washington was devastated, when that officer, in a dignified
+reply, reminded the vice-admiral that the wanton destruction by the
+British of Frenchtown, Frederick, Georgetown, and Havre de Grace, and
+the outrages at Hampton by the same people, had occurred long before
+the destruction of Newark."
+
+
+
+
+COMMODORE BARNEY'S YOUNG SPIES.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+CAPTAIN JOSHUA BARNEY.
+
+
+It is two years since what we called the "War of 1812" came to an end,
+and I, Amos Grout, once owner of the oyster pungy, Avenger, propose to
+set down here that which happened to my friend, Jeremiah Sackett, and
+myself, during the year of grace, 1814, when, so others have said, we
+did good work for our country, although at the time neither of us was
+more than fifteen years old.
+
+This I do for two reasons, first because I am proud of what we two
+lads succeeded in doing, and hope that at some day, when, mayhap, both
+Jerry and I are dead, other boys may read of the part we played, and
+be encouraged thereby to work out their own plans for the good.
+
+Secondly, because I would have it known that through a scheme of his,
+two boys, living on the shore of Chesapeake bay, succeeded in doing
+what experienced men might have failed at, and I am eager to have
+others realize my friend's worth.
+
+So much for the reason as to why I, a seventeen-year boy, with none
+too many advantages in the way of book education, am thus attempting
+to write a tale for others, and now, that whoever should chance to
+read this may feel acquainted with us, it is for me to introduce my
+friend and myself in regular story-telling shape.
+
+We lads lived in Benedict, Charles County, Maryland, near the mouth of
+Indian Creek, when the war broke out, and while many of the people of
+our town were not pleased with the idea of fighting the Britishers
+again simply to establish the rights of our American seamen, Jerry and
+I were hot in favor of it, for, in 1810, my friend's brother Tom was
+taken by the king's officers out of his vessel while she was off the
+capes, on the false ground that he was born in England. The poor
+fellow was forced to serve in the English navy three years, leading a
+dog's life, as can well be imagined, since he would never say that he
+was willing to serve his majesty to the best of his ability.
+
+Therefore it was that when we invested our savings in a small
+sloop-rigged pungy, with the idea of making a living by fishing, we
+named her the Avenger, with never a thought that she might one day do
+something toward avenging poor Tom's wrongs.
+
+Jerry's parents and mine were poor people, who could not afford to
+give their sons what so many fortunate lads have--a good education,
+fine clothes and money to spend. We were obliged to do all we could to
+aid our families, and had been wage-earners since our tenth birthday.
+
+It would be too long a story if I should attempt to set down all that
+my friend and I did by way of gathering up money enough to pay
+Nicholas Trundy one hundred dollars for his pungy, which was then
+going on six years old. It was a big lot of money for two lads to
+save, after contributing to the support of their families, and we were
+near to four years doing it.
+
+It was a proud day for us when the little vessel became our property,
+and we painted out the name "Handsome Susan," to put in its place in
+big red letters, "The Avenger."
+
+She was about twenty-four feet long, with a cuddy in which were four
+small bunks, and had been in the oyster business since being launched,
+as we intended she should remain there.
+
+We bought her early in the spring of 1812, when the people were
+talking strongly for or against war; but it never entered our minds
+that we might get mixed up in the fighting, for who could ever have
+dreamed that the Britishers would come to Benedict? It was enough to
+satisfy us that the oyster business was fairly good, and that we could
+often earn, with the pungy, as high as three dollars a day, not
+counting the time occupied in running up to Annapolis or Baltimore.
+
+During the second year of the war we did not do as well; but there is
+no good reason why I should go into all the details of what would not
+be entertaining save to an oysterman. It is enough if I jump over to
+the spring of 1814, when we made a trade with an old sailor by name of
+Darius Thorpe, whereby he was to sail with us for one-third of the
+profits after all expenses had been paid, and this bargain was a good
+one for us lads, since he was a master-hand at dredging, being able to
+work all around either Jerry or me.
+
+Besides being an expert fisherman, old Darius was an artist at
+story-telling, and there was hardly an evening during the first two
+months he was with us, when we did not sit in the cuddy long after we
+should have been asleep, listening to the old man's yarns.
+
+Then, as everybody knows, about April, Captain Joshua Barney was
+ordered to fit up a fleet of small boats to protect the towns of the
+bay, for by this time we were having mighty good proof that the United
+States was at war with England, and it stands to reason that we lads
+were eager to know all that was possible concerning this officer, who
+had been the most successful of the privateers sailing out of
+Baltimore.
+
+We were on our way to Annapolis with half a load of oysters when the
+news was given us by the captain of the Oriole, while he quoted the
+prices he got for his cargo, and since the Avenger was creeping along
+lazily, with about one-quarter as much wind as she needed, we had
+plenty of time in which to discuss a matter that seemed to be of very
+great importance to us.
+
+"There won't be any foolin' when Joshua Barney gets here, no matter
+how big or how little his fleet is," Darius said as he laid at full
+length on the deck sunning himself, and in a twinkling it flashed
+across me that the old man may have sailed with or under the gentleman
+who was to command such a naval force as could be gathered in the
+Chesapeake bay, therefore I asked:
+
+"Do you happen to know the captain, Darius?"
+
+We always called the old man by his first name, because he insisted so
+strongly that we should; said it made him feel at home, and sounded a
+good deal like putting on airs to tack on the "Mister."
+
+"Know him?" the old man cried, rising lazily on one elbow and swinging
+half around to look at me as I sat on the rudder-head. "I know him
+lock, stock an' ramrod, lad. The last deep sea cruise I went on was
+with him. He's a snorter, that's what he is, an' I've heard his whole
+story a hundred times over. I tell you, lads, there's nothin' in a
+book that can come up with Josh Barney's doin's."
+
+"Give us the full yarn, Darius!" Jerry cried. "We're like to be
+loafin' around here a good many hours, if this wind holds soft as I
+reckon it will, an' we may as well make the most of the time."
+
+Darius was always ready to spin a yarn, which was much in his favor
+according to my way of thinking; but he couldn't seem to rattle the
+words off easy like except when his mouth was full of tobacco,
+therefore Jerry and I could always tell whether the story was to be
+long or short, by the amount of roughly-cured plug he stowed between
+his jaws.
+
+It was a mighty big chew he took while making ready to tell of Captain
+Barney, and I must say for Darius, that he never spun a yarn which
+interested me more than the one I count on setting down here.
+
+"Josh Barney was born somewhere along 1759 in Baltimore," the old man
+began slowly, as if determined to give a regular biography of the
+captain. "His folks let him go to school till he was ten years old,
+an' then he began to shift for himself by goin' into a store; but,
+bless you, he never was made for that kind of work, an' before two
+years passed he found it out. Went over to Baltimore one day on a
+visit, an' wound up by shippin' on a pilot-boat; but even that wasn't
+what he hankered for, an' finally his father shipped him as apprentice
+to Captain Tom Drisdale, on a brig for a voyage to Ireland."
+
+"I was in hopes your yarn had somethin' about his runnin' away to go
+to sea," Jerry said in a tone of disappointment.
+
+"You'll find these 'ere runaway sailors don't 'mount to very much,
+except in story books, an', besides, Josh Barney wasn't that kind of a
+chap. Drisdale made the passage, an' then went up to Liverpool, where
+he got a chance to sell the brig. Barney worked his way home before
+the mast on a full-rigged ship--I don't jest remember her name. When
+he struck Baltimore again it was to find that the old man Barney had
+been killed accidentally by the youngest boy of the family, who was
+foolin' with a loaded pistol, an' Joshua had to shift for himself,
+seein's his father didn't have none too much money, an' a big family.
+The lad shipped for Cadiz as ordinary seaman; made the voyage all
+right; had a little cash to leave with his mother, an' then signed as
+an A1 on a brig bound for Italy."
+
+"It don't make very much difference to us how many voyages he made,"
+Jerry interrupted. "What we want to know is the kind of a man he is."
+
+"If you can put a stopper on your jaw a bit, you'll soon find out! The
+mate of the brig was sent into the forecastle, not bein' up to his
+work, an' Josh Barney took his place. Then the captain took sick, an'
+lo an' behold, before the lad had turned sixteen years old, he was in
+command of the brig. Owin' to the freights that offered, he sailed for
+Alicant, an' made port just as the Spaniards were fittin' out an
+expedition against Algiers. The brig was chartered as transport, an'
+he earned big money for the owners, gettin' back to the mouth of the
+Chesapeake in '76, when the British sloop of war King Fisher hove him
+to an' took all his papers an' weapons; but let him keep on to
+Baltimore, where the brig was laid up. Then Barney had more money, an'
+considerable of it, for his mother."
+
+The old man paused to take in another cargo of tobacco, and then
+continued:
+
+"Young as he was, the lad found a chance to ship as master's mate on
+the sloop Hornet, William Stone commandin', an' in one day, so it's
+said, he, carryin' a flag an' with a drummer an' two fifers, enlisted
+a full crew for the Hornet, all from Baltimore, which goes to show
+that the people there thought he amounted to somethin'. Barney sailed
+in Hopkins' fleet to the Bahamas, where the town of New Providence was
+taken, an' the commodore scooped in all the ammunition to be found on
+the island. A little while after that, he shipped on the schooner
+Wasp, which convoyed off the coast the vessel in which Benjamin
+Franklin was goin' to Europe to help pull this country through, an'
+when they came back into the Cape May channel they found the king's
+ships Roebuck an' Liverpool--one of forty-four guns an' the other of
+twenty-eight--waitin' for 'em. There was lively times for a spell,
+until the Wasp contrived to slip into Wilmington creek, where she laid
+till half a dozen row galleys came down from Philadelphia to attack
+the British ships. Then the schooner came out, an' while the fightin'
+was goin' on, captured the brig Tender, one of his majesty's armed
+vessels what poked her nose in to help the big fellows. They say
+Barney fought like a tiger, an' with his captain wounded, brought the
+little schooner an' her prize through the fog into port.
+
+"Then they gave him a lieutenant's commission, an' sent him off in the
+sloop Sachem, all of which happened before he was seventeen years old.
+He soon found a chance to fight, an' after an action of two hours,
+captured an English brig. After that they took the sloop Race Horse,
+cuttin' her up so badly she sank, an' the next to come their way was a
+snow from Jamaica, which the lad counted on bringin' into port, he
+bein' put on board as prize master. Then he had a bit of bad luck; the
+snow was re-captured, an' Barney made prisoner, as stands to reason;
+but he was exchanged at Charleston, an' rode horseback to Baltimore."
+
+"How do you happen to remember all these things?" Jerry asked,
+thinking, perhaps, that Darius was giving us more guff than truth.
+
+"Remember it?" the old man repeated sharply. "Why I've sailed with
+Captain Barney, an' every mother's son of the crew knew the story, for
+it ain't often that a lad of seventeen gets such a record, so we
+couldn't help keepin' it in mind, besides which, I've got lots of
+stuff in my pocket that's been printed about him. Well, in '77 he
+shipped on the Andrew Doria for the defense of the Delaware River, an'
+when that scrimmage was over, he found himself drafted to the frigate
+Virginia, when, as everybody knows, he was taken by the Britishers
+again, an' held for nearly a year before bein' exchanged for the
+lieutenant of the Mermaid. Then he went out in a letter of
+marque--meanin' a privateer--with Captain Robinson; they had but
+twelve guns, a mighty small stock of powder, an' only thirty-five men,
+but bless you those fellows thought nothin' of tacklin' the British
+privateer Rosebud, full of men an' guns. Forty-seven of the enemy were
+killed or wounded, an' aboard the Yankee only one was wounded. They
+sailed to Bordeaux, took on a cargo of brandy, shipped seventy men,
+mounted eighteen guns, an' on the voyage home had a runnin' fight
+lastin' well on to two days, when they captured their game.
+
+"Then it was that Barney got married, an' about a month afterward,
+when drivin' in a gig from Philadelphia to Baltimore, he was robbed of
+every cent he had in the world. He never told anybody of his loss; but
+turned back to Philadelphia, took service aboard the Saratoga, sixteen
+guns, an' made a big voyage, capturin' one ship of twelve guns,
+another of thirty-two, an' two brigs. Then he was taken by the
+Intrepid, an' mighty barbarous treatment he got for well on to a year,
+when the young officer escaped, an' after he got home the government
+gave him command of the Hyder Ally, with which he soon took the
+British ship General Monk, as this 'ere bit of paper will show."
+
+Darius took from his pocket a well-worn slip cut from some newspaper,
+which purported to be an extract from the Hyder Ally log-book, and as
+it was mighty interesting to me, I'm going to set it down here just as
+it was printed.
+
+     "April 8th, 1782, at 10 A.M. laying at anchor under Cape May
+     (Delaware) discovered three sail standing in from sea with a
+     light wind from the eastward; at 11 perceived that they were a
+     frigate, a ship, and an armed brig. At meridian the frigate
+     stood for Cape Henlopen channel, the ship and brig standing in
+     for Cape May; made a signal for our convoy to get under weigh,
+     and followed the convoy. At 1 P.M. the ship and brig came into
+     the bay, by Cape May channel, the frigate coming around under
+     Cape Henlopen; prepared for action, all hands to quarters.
+
+     "At three-quarters past one, the brig passed us, after giving
+     us two fires; we reserved our fire for the ship, then fast
+     coming up; we received very little damage from the brig, who
+     stood after our convoy; she mounted sixteen guns, and was
+     formerly the American privateer 'Fair American', commanded by
+     Captain Decatur, and equal to us in force.
+
+     "At 2 P.M. the ship ranged up on our starboard quarter, and
+     fired two guns at us; we were then at good pistol-shot; we then
+     attempted to run her on board, by laying her across the
+     starboard bow, but our yard-arms locked, which kept us too far
+     off to board; at the same time poured in our broadside from
+     great guns and small arms.
+
+     "Our fire was briskly kept up for twenty-six minutes, when she
+     struck her colors. Immediately sent our first lieutenant on
+     board, and stood up the bay, the frigate at this time under a
+     press of sail in chase after us, and the brig ahead in chase of
+     our convoy; again prepared for action, and stood after the
+     brig, but on her perceiving that the ship had struck, she stood
+     for the frigate, and got aground; we were obliged to pass her,
+     as the frigate gained on us.
+
+     "At 4 P.M. the frigate came to anchor in the bay, (supposed for
+     want of a pilot.) We then spoke the prize for the first time,
+     and learned she was his Majesty's ship the General Monk,
+     Captain Rodgers, of nineteen nine-pounders, but fighting twenty
+     guns, and had on board, when the action began, one hundred and
+     thirty-six men, of whom thirty were killed, and fifty-three
+     wounded. Of sixteen officers on board, fifteen were killed or
+     wounded. The captain received three wounds.
+
+     "We had on board the Hyder Ally four killed and eleven wounded.
+     The Hyder Ally mounted twelve six-pounders, and four
+     nine-pounders, with a complement of one hundred and fifteen
+     men. During the action we fired thirteen broadsides from our
+     cannon, and from sixty to seventy rounds from our muskets.
+
+     "Proportion of metal: The General Monk ten nine-pounders, fired
+     ninety weight of shot at one broadside. The Hyder Ally, six
+     sixes and two nines, fired fifty-four weight of shot at one
+     broadside. Proportion--fifty to ninety."
+
+"That all came from the log-book, an' you'll find Captain Barney
+didn't try to blow his own horn," Darius said as I ceased reading.
+"But I happened to go on board the General Monk when she got into
+Philadelphia, an' saw the killed an' wounded bein' brought ashore in
+hammocks. The prize looked tough; her decks were covered with blood,
+an' three of the bow ports were knocked into one. She was sold,
+bought in by the government, an' Barney took command of her, sailin'
+for France, with despatches to Benjamin Franklin. Then the war came to
+an end, an' he settled in Kentucky somewhere. Here's a newspaper story
+of what happened after that," and Darius gave me another slip of
+paper, the matter on which I read aloud to Jerry, as follows:
+
+"In 1789 Captain Barney, finding his health impaired by his services,
+embarked for Carthagena in a small brig belonging to himself and
+partner. Thence he went to Havana, and then home. In 1792 he sailed
+again, and arrived at Cape Fran�ois. While there the town was burnt,
+and he was obliged to fight his way. He brought off fifty or sixty
+miserable women and children. His vessel was captured by an English
+privateer brig, two others in company. Three officers and eleven men
+were put on board, and all the Americans taken out except Barney, the
+carpenter, boatswain and cook. They were ordered to New Providence.
+The keys of the treasure chest were demanded, but Barney would not
+deliver them, which occasioned much abuse and ill treatment. He had
+concealed a small blunderbuss, and his men some other arms, with which
+they re-took the ship. The Englishmen were made to work the vessel
+until they arrived at Baltimore. Barney was compelled, for his own
+safety, to sleep on the quarter-deck in an arm-chair. He again sailed
+for Cape Fran�ois in 1793; on his return, he was again captured by an
+English brig, and taken to Jamaica. When he arrived in Kingston he was
+committed to prison, and bills were found against him for piracy. His
+ship and cargo were condemned. Once more he escaped, and on his return
+was offered command of a frigate; but declined. In 1795 he entered the
+French service, remaining in that employ until 1800."
+
+"Now you can see what kind of a man it is who'll be in command here on
+the Chesapeake," Darius said triumphantly when I ceased reading. "The
+Britishers won't find it all plain sailin' while he's around, and I'm
+allowin' he'll make things hum."
+
+It pleased me to know that we would have a live man to protect us, for
+if all the rumors were to be credited, the time had come when we
+needed protection mighty bad; but with all Darius' storytelling, it
+never came into my mind that we would know this wonderful Captain
+Barney, except by hearsay.
+
+We continued at our oyster business without being troubled in any way
+by the war, although small fights were going on all around us during
+the early part of the summer.
+
+More than once had we seen the flotilla under command of this same
+Captain Barney, who was come to be a commodore now. In it were
+twenty-six barges and pungies, with nine hundred men, all of whom saw
+more of service from May to July than they had ever dreamed of.
+
+The commodore did indeed make things "hum," as Darius had predicted.
+He attacked anything and everything that was British, never seeming to
+care one whit whether he was outclassed or not, and succeeded in doing
+the enemy a big lot of injury. It is well known that once, during a
+full four hours, he kept his small fleet under the fire of a frigate's
+guns, hoping to capture her.
+
+Then the Britishers began to understand that if they wanted to have
+things their own way in the Chesapeake, it would be necessary to first
+do away with Commodore Barney, and they began operations in great
+shape, although at the time we who were most interested in that
+locality had little idea of what was coming.
+
+Now after this fleet of barges and pungies began their work, Jerry
+seemed to have something of import on his mind; but never a word would
+he say in explanation to Darius and me, until our business grew so
+dull that it was only with great difficulty we could earn enough to
+pay the running expenses, and then it was that the lad came to the
+front with a scheme which he thought great, while neither of us so
+much as dreamed of what the carrying out would result in.
+
+"It's no use freightin' oysters to Baltimore, when we can't sell 'em
+for enough to pay for the use of the pungy, to say nothin' of our time
+in dredgin'," Jerry began one afternoon about the first of August,
+when we were coming down the bay with our pockets nearly as empty as
+the Avenger's hold.
+
+"But we do get a dollar now an' then," I said with a laugh, "which is
+more than could be done if we turned idlers. Half a loaf is way ahead
+of no bread at all."
+
+Darius nodded gravely as if to show that he agreed with me fully, and
+Jerry cried with more of anger than good humor in his tones:
+
+"But I'm countin' on havin' a bit of meat now an' then. I could eat a
+razor-back this minute without stoppin' to take off the bristles; but
+there isn't money enough on board to buy the smallest ham."
+
+"How are you goin' to mend matters, lad, while the price of oysters
+keeps down as it is now?" Darius asked, beginning to understand that
+Jerry had something in his head which might serve us.
+
+"I'm told that Commodore Barney keeps his men jumpin' so lively at
+fightin' that they don't have time for anythin' else," the lad said
+slowly, as if speaking to himself, and I wondered if he counted that
+the commodore could raise the price of oysters.
+
+"I reckon that's the straight truth," Darius replied. "It ain't his
+way to keep cats that don't catch mice."
+
+"Then why is it we can't make a trade to help supply the commodore
+with fish an' oysters? Even though he didn't give very much for the
+freights we brought in, it wouldn't be a case of losin' three or four
+days out of every ten runnin' up to Baltimore."
+
+Even then I failed to understand his scheme, and said as much, whereat
+the lad cried impatiently:
+
+"You must be thick-headed, Amos Grout, if you can't see what I'm
+drivin' at. The matter has been in my mind these two months past, so
+now I propose that we go to Commodore Barney--he surely will hear what
+we've got to say--, an' try to make a trade. He buys more'n half of
+all his provisions, for the men of the fleet don't get time to do much
+fishin', an' we could let ourselves an' the pungy outright, or agree
+upon a price for what we bring in."
+
+It wasn't at all a bad scheme, now that our regular business was so
+dull; but I questioned if the commodore would listen to such as we
+were, long enough to understand what kind of a bargain we had to
+offer.
+
+"I'll go bail that you won't have any trouble in gettin' speech with
+Joshua Barney, an' for so long as the business warrants, pervidin' you
+can catch him when he's got a few spare minutes on his hands," Darius
+said quickly, and from his tone I understood that he heartily approved
+of Jerry's scheme.
+
+"But where shall we find the fleet?" I asked, and to the question
+Jerry made answer:
+
+"We've been countin' on runnin' in to see our folks at Benedict, an' I
+warrant that there we'll get news of the commodore. If not, it won't
+cost so very much time to have a look around the lower end of the
+bay."
+
+"Yes, an' be snapped up by some bloomin' Britisher," I said, having no
+desire to mix in where people were fighting with such playful weapons
+as cannon and rifles.
+
+"We should be able to keep out of the way of danger," Jerry replied,
+as if he had thought out the whole scheme, and I then understood that
+he had been mooning over it the past two months, determined to spring
+it on us when the price of oysters dropped below what would be decent
+wages.
+
+Well, we didn't come to any conclusion that day, owing to my standing
+back and throwing cold water; but we were bound to touch at the home
+port, and Jerry bided his time until we were where information
+regarding the fleet could be had.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+AT BENEDICT.
+
+
+I had not supposed that the people of Benedict would know very much
+concerning what was going on at the lower end of the bay; but the
+Avenger was hardly more than at anchor when I understood that we could
+have gone to no better place in order to learn what was being done.
+
+We had but just come to anchor, not having time to set foot on the
+shore, when Jim Freeman rowed over to us, his eyes bulging and every
+freckle on his face standing out like pips on a gooseberry.
+
+"What did you put in here for?" he cried before yet coming alongside.
+"Are you hankerin' to have your pungy burned or sunk?"
+
+"What's the matter, Jim?" Jerry cried. "You're actin' like as if
+somethin' had gone wrong!"
+
+"Gone wrong?" Jim exclaimed, and it did really look as if his eyes
+would roll right down on his cheeks. "The whole bloomin' bottom has
+dropped out of everything. The Britishers are comin' into the bay
+thicker'n spatter, an' I don't see how you got in here without bein'
+caught!"
+
+"In here?" I cried in amazement. "Have you lost your wits that you
+think the Britishers would come into the Patuxent river?"
+
+"I reckon it's you that are needin' wits!" Jim cried as he scrambled
+over the rail. "So you think they wouldn't come into the Patuxent,
+eh?"
+
+"Certainly not, and for the very good reason that there's nothing here
+they want."
+
+Jim looked at me in pity, and I afterward understood that there was
+good reason for his so doing.
+
+"How long have you been up Baltimore way?"
+
+"Near to ten days," Jerry replied, hoping to hasten Jim in the telling
+of the news with which he was near to bursting. "We had hard work to
+sell our oysters at any price, an' then it fell a dead calm with
+weather hot enough to tan a nigger."
+
+"Then there's little wonder that you boys are way behind the times as
+to what has been goin' on 'round here," and Jim threw out his chest as
+he swelled with the importance of being the first to impart startling
+news. "In the first place," he said, speaking slowly as if to prolong
+his enjoyment at giving information which would not be pleasing to
+hear, "Admiral Cochrane, the Britisher, has passed the capes with
+twenty-one vessels, an' Commodore Malcolm is below with a fleet
+loaded with soldiers. Tom Harrison swears there were more'n ten
+thousand men."
+
+"Somebody has been stuffin' you, Jim," I said, not crediting his news.
+
+"Then they've stuffed Commodore Barney too, an' when he runs I allow
+the rest of us had better be huntin' a hole."
+
+"Commodore Barney don't run!" Darius cried angrily, for he never
+allowed anything disparaging to be said in his presence of the man
+whom he believed to be the greatest naval commander who ever lived.
+
+"Perhaps he don't very often; but he has this time," Jim said in a
+tone so decided that we could not but believe he was convinced of the
+truth of his own words.
+
+"Did you see him?" Darius demanded, and I expected that when he
+answered this question Jim's story would fall to pieces; but the lad
+replied bold as a lion:
+
+"Of course I did! All the boats laid here after the fight in St.
+Leonard's bay, an' it was only yesterday they scooted up the river!"
+
+Here was news with a vengeance, and I no longer felt the same desire
+to punch Jim's head which had come over me when he first came aboard
+with what I believed was a cock and bull story.
+
+Then, with first one and another asking questions, we learned from
+Jim that while we were in Baltimore the British frigate Loire had
+chased Commodore Barney's flotilla into St. Leonard's bay, and
+blockaded it there until Colonel Carberry's artillery came down from
+Frederick and drove the enemy away.
+
+Then, having learned of the enormous force at the mouth of the bay,
+Commodore Barney sailed to Benedict, where he remained four and twenty
+hours, or till word was brought that ten or twelve of the enemy's
+vessels were bound up the bay, bound most likely for Baltimore or
+Washington, when he sailed for Nottingham, further up the river.
+
+Darius was more concerned than either of us, for he firmly believed
+that Joshua Barney would not have beaten a retreat without first
+having been positive that an overwhelming force was near at hand, and
+if there were Britishers near enough to drive the commodore away, we
+had got ourselves in a pickle by coming up the river.
+
+The first thought which came to my mind was that the Avenger was in
+great danger of being captured in short order, for I made no question
+but that the enemy would pursue Barney, and we were where we could not
+escape, save by way of the bay.
+
+Jerry, however, had the idea that all these manoeuvres would further
+his scheme, and he said as if being thoroughly well satisfied with
+the situation:
+
+"We can run up to Nottingham, as well as the commodore, and once there
+I reckon it will be possible to make our trade."
+
+"But if the fleet is forced to remain there, all hands will be idle,
+and the commodore won't care to hire us while several hundred men are
+loafing around the decks," I suggested, and Jerry's jaw fell.
+
+But Jim had not exhausted his budget of news, although it was
+impossible for him to give us anything more very startling.
+
+"The commodore had only got eight pungies an' five barges of the
+fleet--"
+
+"Where are the other boats?" Darius demanded sharply.
+
+"Somewhere on the Delaware side; they went off on a cruise before the
+Britishers hove in sight. He has taken on the schooner Scorpion, which
+was here at anchor, an' I heard one of the officers say that there was
+about five hundred men in this part of the fleet."
+
+"I'm goin' ashore," Darius said abruptly. "It ain't no ways certain to
+me that Jim has heard this thing right, an' I count on gettin' down to
+facts."
+
+Jerry and I were eager to land, and, without even stopping to thank
+Jim for the news he brought, we went over the rail into our canoe,
+pulling in hot haste for the shore.
+
+Never waiting to speak with such few loungers as were to be seen near
+the water front, I went directly to my own home, and there found more
+tidings of war.
+
+My father had joined Commodore Barney, as had nearly all the
+able-bodied men of Benedict, agreeing to remain in service while our
+section of the country was menaced by the enemy, and mother seemed to
+have the idea that I would follow his example.
+
+Jerry's father had gone with the fleet, and, as she said, only those
+who had been opposed to the war with England, remained at home. After
+greeting me, and telling what little she knew of the situation, mother
+set about getting together the few things I owned which might be
+needed on a long cruise, and I was ashamed to say that as yet I had
+had no idea of going to fight the Britishers.
+
+Don't let it be understood I believed the United States could have
+done other than declare war in 1812, or that I had any secret liking
+for the Britishers. I simply believed that I did not have the backbone
+of a fighter, and preferred to stand at a distance while the more
+eager went ahead; but yet I was not really a coward, as I think was
+afterward proved.
+
+However, just then it made me feel rather uncomfortable to have
+mother gathering up my few belongings, and telling me what to do in
+event of receiving such or such a wound, and, with my brain all in a
+whirl, I went out of doors under the pretense that it was necessary I
+should have a talk with Darius and Jerry.
+
+Once alone by myself, behind the corn-crib where no one would be
+likely to see me, I tried to sum up the situation so far as I was
+immediately concerned, and it did not look cheering. We had sailed the
+Avenger down the bay and up the river never sighting a single craft,
+although it appeared that the British were swarming near about our
+very course. It was not probable we could run to the southward without
+coming across some of their vessels, especially if they were reckoning
+on pursuing Commodore Barney, and even though we did get to the mouth
+of the river in safety, where could we go? The big fleets were at the
+entrance of the bay, and had not come there for nothing; the enemy was
+counting on attacking Washington or Baltimore, it seemed certain, and
+by going to the northward we would likely find ourselves out of the
+frying-pan into the fire.
+
+It seemed very much to me as if we had lost the Avenger, whichever way
+we turned, and my heart grew heavy, for once she was gone Jerry and I
+were badly off.
+
+Hardly knowing what I did, I went toward my friend's home, and met
+him coming my way, a look of excitement and eagerness on his face.
+
+"Well, it seems as if we were in for it!" he cried when we were come
+within hailing distance, and I asked irritably:
+
+"In for what?"
+
+"A bit of fightin', of course. You wouldn't be willin' to stay here
+with the cowards Commodore Barney left behind, would you?"
+
+"There are a good many things I had rather do than poke my nose into a
+hornet's nest," I replied, feeling as if Jerry was in some way my
+enemy because he appeared to be so delighted with the situation.
+
+"What did your mother say?" he asked, giving no heed to my grumpiness.
+
+"Nothing much; she is getting things ready for me to go away, and
+without so much as asking if I counted on leaving."
+
+"She knows, as I do, that you wouldn't remain behind," the lad cried,
+showing as much joy as if we were thinking of visiting a peepshow.
+"Come on; Darius is waitin' for us. We must try to get a supply of
+provisions, for it's likely they haven't any too large a store in the
+fleet."
+
+Then was the moment when I should have declared bluntly that I had no
+idea of putting myself in a position to be shot at if it could be
+avoided; but I hadn't the courage to tell him that I would not leave
+Benedict immediately, although I was fully determined not to go up the
+river.
+
+Jim Freeman and a couple of other boys strolled along, having been in
+search of us. They also took it for granted that the Avenger would
+join Commodore Barney's fleet, and were come to ask that the three be
+allowed to go with us.
+
+"It won't do, Jim," Jerry said, taking it upon himself to act as
+spokesman, although I figured as captain of the pungy. "We can't feed
+ourselves, the way things look now, an' it don't stand to reason we
+should add to the crew."
+
+"But I'll bring enough to eat," Jim persisted, and turned to me as he
+said, "I've done you many a good turn, Amos, an' you won't lose
+anything by givin' me lift now."
+
+"Do you call it a lift to be put where the Britishers can kill you?" I
+asked angrily, for if these lads were so eager to have a hand in the
+fighting as to beg for a chance, it would be all the harder for me to
+declare that I wouldn't join the fleet.
+
+"We might carry you as far as Nottingham, if you'd agree to ship on
+some other craft after we got there," Jerry said without stopping to
+ask my permission.
+
+"That we'll do, an' be glad of the chance," Jim replied, acting as if
+really overjoyed by the permission to run his nose into danger.
+"We'll be on board in half an hour; you can't get under way before
+then?"
+
+"No; we shall likely be here an hour or more," Jerry said as if he was
+the sole owner of the Avenger, and when the foolish boys ran away at
+full speed, he began to figure as to where we could get a small store
+of food.
+
+I held my peace, angry and timorous, until we were come to the water
+front, where we found Darius awaiting us, and he, as could be seen at
+a glance, was of the same mind as Jerry.
+
+"I've found two hams an' a side of bacon!" he cried triumphantly,
+pointing to the articles which were in the canoe. "If you fellows can
+scare up some meal, we'll be fixed for a spell. Did you see Jim
+Freeman an' his crowd?"
+
+"Yes; they're goin' to Nottingham with us," Jerry replied, and the old
+man asked me:
+
+"How soon can we get under way?"
+
+I hesitated; it was on the tip of my tongue to say that I would not
+stir a hand in the matter, nor should the Avenger leave her moorings;
+but, fortunately, I remembered that we couldn't hold the pungy there
+to be destroyed when the enemy came up the river, and, to tell the
+absolute truth, I was ashamed to declare bluntly that I had no idea of
+casting in my lot with such a firebrand as Commodore Barney.
+
+"We ought to leave here in an hour," Jerry said, making answer because
+he thought I was trying to figure how long it would take us to make
+ready. "Amos won't need more than ten minutes to get what stuff his
+mother is puttin' up for him, an' I'm goin' round by the mill to see
+if they will trust us for half a bushel of meal."
+
+He was off like an arrow as he spoke, and Darius had no idea that I
+was hesitating as to the course to pursue, for an old fighter like him
+supposed it would be a pleasure for me to voluntarily go into the
+worst kind of a row.
+
+It was fortunate indeed for me that the old man never suspected what
+was in my heart, otherwise I would have been shamed in my home to such
+an extent that I could never go there again; but all that came to mind
+later. Just then I felt as if I was being cruelly wronged by those who
+should have stood my friends.
+
+Darius would have told me yet further of what Commodore Barney had
+done in the past; but I cut him short by saying like a spoiled child:
+
+"I don't care to hear anything more about him; just now it strikes me
+that we'd better be thinking of ourselves."
+
+The old man looked really distressed, and but for the fact that my
+heart was sore, I could have laughed because of the mistake he made.
+Darius really believed that I was grieving over being thus obliged to
+leave my mother and the children, and he said soothingly:
+
+"I come somewhere near knowin' how it is, lad. At such a time as this
+the least home talk that's made, the better, for it kind'er unstrings
+a fellow. You wait here, an' I'll go after what dunnage your mother is
+gettin' together; she'll understand that a short partin' is the best."
+
+I could not have stopped him, for he was off before I had time to so
+much as open my mouth, and there I stood leaning against the canoe,
+giving the people of Benedict to believe I was eager to be fighting
+for my country.
+
+Jim Freeman and his companions came along a few moments after Darius
+left, and in order to have some occupation, rather than from a desire
+to serve them, I offered to put the three aboard the Avenger.
+
+They talked of nothing but what they would do once the enemy gave them
+an opportunity, until I asked petulantly:
+
+"Is everybody in Benedict as eager to shed blood as are you?"
+
+"Not much," Jim cried with a laugh. "There's Elias Macomber, for
+example--he's an Englishman, you know, an' hasn't been in this country
+more'n four years. He's makin' a lot of wild talk 'bout what he'll do
+to us folks when the Britishers come up the river."
+
+"What reason has he to make any fuss?" I asked, rather for the sake of
+saying something, than because I desired information.
+
+"Well, I suppose all hands have roughed into him pretty bad, on
+account of things he's said, an' now he counts on showin' what his
+countrymen can do."
+
+Now it was that I began to feel glad because of having said nothing in
+opposition to joining Commodore Barney's fleet. By hanging back while
+all the others were taking up arms, I would be ranging myself on the
+side of Elias Macomber, which would have caused me to be ashamed of
+myself, for he was by no means a reputable citizen.
+
+However glad I might be because I had refrained, or been prevented,
+from saying that which would have made it appear as if I took sides
+with the British, I was in nowise reconciled to the idea of going
+where the bullets were like to be flying, and, after putting Jim and
+his friend aboard the Avenger, I pulled back to the shore in anything
+rather than a cheerful frame of mind.
+
+Darius was waiting for me, and he must have run every step of the way
+from the river to my father's home. He had with him a small bundle
+wrapped in one of mother's blankets, and said as he pulled the bow of
+the canoe up on the mud:
+
+"I reckon it is jest as well that I went after your dunnage, lad, for
+your mother was ready to have a cryin' fit, which she couldn't
+perlitely let come on while I was there; but I'll warrant the water
+would have run had you been alone with her."
+
+"She can't be feeling terribly bad, otherwise she wouldn't have been
+so anxious to have me go," I said sulkily.
+
+"I don't know about that, my boy. It stands to reason she had rather
+anything else happened, than that you should stay at home when this
+part of the country needs every hand that can be raised in defense.
+She feels sore because you are goin'; but I'll go bail she'd have felt
+ten times worse had you said you'd stay back with such as Elias
+Macomber."
+
+I wasn't in a proper frame of mind to appreciate all that the old man
+said, and continued to consider myself as being abused, although not
+to such an extent as before I heard about Elias Macomber.
+
+It was noised around in the village, told most likely by Jim Freeman,
+that we were going to Nottingham to join the commodore, and while
+Darius and I stood by the canoe waiting for Jerry, we were literally
+besieged by women, whose husbands or sons were with the fleet, nearly
+all of whom wanted to send some message, or this or that article which
+had been forgotten at the time of departure.
+
+I believe of a verity that Darius and I charged ourselves with no less
+than twenty errands by word of mouth, and as for packages, why we had
+the bow piled full, until it seemed as if we were to carry something
+by way of reminder for every man under Commodore Barney's command.
+
+Near-by where we stood were also gathered four men whose sympathies
+were entirely with the British, and among them, as a matter of course,
+was Elias Macomber.
+
+These worthless ones who would injure the country which had provided
+them with a home, food and clothing, to say nothing of the comforts of
+life, evidently counted on ruffling our feathers, believing it would
+be safe to do so now that nearly all the men were gone from the
+village, and they began by talking loudly of the sorry spectacle which
+the commodore and his followers would present when Admiral Cochrane
+and his vessels came up the river.
+
+I feel certain that Darius would have held his peace, for he was not
+naturally a quarrelsome man, had they made sport of everybody in the
+American army and navy, save Joshua Barney; but a word against him was
+to the old man much as a red flag is to a bull, and in a twinkling the
+trouble began.
+
+"The man who says aught against the commodore must answer to me for
+his words," Darius said angrily as he strode toward the four who were
+trying to bait him. "I'll not stand here and listen to such talk!"
+
+It was Elias Macomber who showed his lack of sound sense by making
+reply:
+
+"We didn't ask you to stand here; but if you choose to do so, it's
+more than likely you'll hear a good many things which may not please
+you."
+
+"Hold your tongue as to Barney, or it'll be the worse for all hands!"
+Darius cried angrily, and at that moment Jerry appeared, staggering
+under a bag which must have contained a full bushel and a half of
+meal.
+
+I shall always believe Elias Macomber held the idea that Darius was a
+feeble old man, otherwise he would have kept his tongue between his
+teeth, for he was far from being brave; but however that may be, he
+replied hotly:
+
+"I do not count on choosin' my words when I speak of such a bag of
+wind as Josh Barney has shown himself to be!"
+
+It seemed to me as if the words had not been fully spoken before
+Darius launched out, and, in, less time than it takes to tell it, was
+in the midst of a hot, one-sided fight, for the Tories all pitched
+into him, regardless of the fact that his quarrel was with Elias.
+
+It stands to reason that I could never remain idle while a shipmate
+was getting the worst of it, particularly when his adversaries were
+men for whom I entertained no friendly feelings, and the scrimmage was
+hardly more than begun when I took a hand, standing close by the old
+man's side.
+
+As I aimed a blow at Elias I saw, out of the tail of my eye, Jerry
+drop his meal as he came forward at full speed, and at almost the same
+moment a loud splashing in the water caused me to glance quickly in
+the direction of the pungy.
+
+Jim Freeman had jumped overboard to do his share toward teaching
+Macomber a lesson, and when he arrived the odds would be even.
+
+Of course it was a disgraceful spectacle; but it could not have been
+avoided, so far as I was concerned, and I did my best, fighting as
+vigorously as if I had been the one to urge upon my companions the
+necessity of joining the fleet.
+
+It is not well that I give too much space to this brawl when there are
+so many other adventures, in which a fellow might well take pride, to
+be recorded, therefore I will only say that we had no very easy task
+to down these admirers of King George and the Prince Regent; but
+finally succeeded, thanks to the assistance of Jim Freeman.
+
+It is doubtful which side got the worst drubbing, although we claimed
+a victory because the others ran; but positive it is that the four of
+us had all the punishment needed, and were forced to wash our faces
+more than once before we could look at each other without a certain
+feeling of shame.
+
+"What made you tackle the whole of 'em?" Jerry asked the old man. "If
+the rest of us hadn't been near at hand, they'd wiped you out."
+
+"I'd tackle twenty if they dared say anything against Joshua Barney!"
+Darius cried as he shook his fist in the direction where our
+adversaries had last been seen. "I'd rather get the toughest
+pummellin' such as them could give, than keep my mouth shut while they
+was slurrin' their betters!"
+
+We were actually obliged to use force with him, otherwise the old man
+would have gone in pursuit of the British-lovers, and it was only by
+tumbling him into the canoe head-foremost, holding him down by sitting
+on him once he was there, that we could make Darius listen to anything
+like reason.
+
+"Let up on me, an' I'll keep quiet," he said after we had threatened
+to continue the drubbing begun by the Tories; "but this much I
+promise, that after the commodore has made shoestrings of that
+conceited admiral, I'll come back here an' have it out with Elias
+Macomber."
+
+"We'll let it go at that," Jerry said as he released his hold of
+Darius and went back for the meal, while Jim wrung the water out of
+his clothing as best he could, for the fellow had not stopped to throw
+off coat or shoes when he jumped overboard to take a hand in the
+scrimmage.
+
+It was near to half an hour before we were ready to go on board the
+Avenger, and by that time it was too late to make any protests against
+following the commodore.
+
+My comrades took it for granted that I was equally eager with them to
+be where I could do my share of fighting the Britishers, and so
+stirred up was I by the game of fisticuffs ashore that I actually
+forgot to be frightened by the prospect of taking part in a battle.
+
+We got our anchor and made sail on the Avenger without delay, and
+thus, in less than an hour from the time of making port, we were off
+again on what proved to be a series of wild adventures.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ELIAS MACOMBER.
+
+
+Of a verity Elias Macomber did me a good turn when he started the
+quarrel with Darius Thorpe, for up to this time I had been sadly
+lacking in patriotism, as may have been learned from that which is
+already set down in these pages.
+
+Until this day it had been as if the war did not concern me or mine,
+save as it affected the price of oysters, and when I saw this lad or
+the other who had enlisted, I said to myself that another foolish one
+had been found who willingly engaged to go where he might be killed.
+
+Within a very few moments after the fight between Elias Macomber and
+his crew of British-lovers had come to an end, I began to view the
+situation of affairs as an honest lad should.
+
+The country which protected me in my home--that territory which had
+been bought, or redeemed, by the blood of brave men, and even of women
+and children, from the savage Indians and a merciless king, was in
+danger, and if I did not rush to its defense how might I expect my
+heritage of a free land could be preserved to me and those who came
+after me?
+
+Like a picture I saw before me those brave men and women who had
+battled against the forces of nature as they made homes in the
+wilderness; then struggled against the bloodthirsty Indians to protect
+their little all, and were finally called upon to fight a powerful
+nation in order to hold themselves free in the land already redeemed
+by sweat and blood.
+
+Once that was presented to my mental vision I ceased to regret having
+been forced to thus set off for the purpose of joining Commodore
+Barney's fleet, and rejoiced that my comrades had prevented me from
+showing the white feather when even my loving mother urged me forward.
+I forgot all the fears which had assailed me, and thought only of what
+it might be possible for me to do in order to show myself worthy the
+land of my birth.
+
+In a word, I had in a few seconds been transformed from a cowardly lad
+who would shirk his duty lest, perchance, he receive some bodily hurt,
+to a boy burning with the desire to do whatsoever lay in his power
+toward checking the advance of an enemy who was bent upon carrying on
+the war by destroying the property of peaceful settlers.
+
+Unless my comrades read what I have here set down, they will never
+know how near I was on that day at Benedict, to proving myself a
+false-hearted American lad.
+
+The afternoon was considerably more than half spent when we left home
+for the eighteen-mile sail up the river, and I saw little chance of
+our coming upon the fleet before morning, unless we kept the pungy
+under sail far into the night, for the breeze, what little we had of
+it, came from the westward, and we could not make more than two miles
+an hour against the current.
+
+Therefore it was that I said to Darius when we were half an hour or
+more from port, after Jim Freeman and his friends had wearied
+themselves by cutting monkey-shines on the deck in order to prove
+their joy at thus having an opportunity to do whatsoever they might in
+defense of their country:
+
+"With so light a wind we are like to be forced aground when it is so
+dark that we cannot give the shoals a wide berth, because of not
+seeing them," and the old man replied, saying that which was in my own
+mind:
+
+"It'll be a case of comin' to anchor, lad, after the sun has set, for
+we had best make haste slowly rather than jam the pungy up where a day
+may be spent in tryin' to float her."
+
+"But suppose the British are close at hand?" I asked, for now I was
+hot with the desire to make certain of keeping so far ahead of the
+enemy that I could take part in whatsoever might be done by way of
+fighting.
+
+"They will be more helpless than we, after night has come, for we know
+the river fairly well, while they are strangers to it."
+
+If it had not been that we lads were about to take part in the war I
+might have refused to accept Darius' advice so readily, for, it must
+be confessed, I am overly headstrong and apt to go contrary when one
+makes the least show of driving me; but in the business we were about
+to embark upon, I knew it was safe to follow the old man, since he had
+had long experience in such matters, the telling of which would be
+more entertaining than will be the account of our adventures.
+
+It was destined, however, that the Avenger should come to anchor even
+before the river was shrouded in darkness, for we were not more than
+four miles above our own town of Benedict, when the wind, died away
+completely, thus forcing us to make fast somewhere, unless we were
+minded to drift back to our starting point.
+
+In my ignorance, I would have anchored the pungy in the stream,
+hoisting a riding light, and turned in feeling that everything was
+safe and snug; but to this Darius made decided objection.
+
+"Keep out of the channel," he said emphatically. "We know beyond a
+peradventure that the enemy is astern of us, and there is no tellin'
+when he may come--"
+
+"He will wait for wind before goin' very far up the river," I
+interrupted, and thus showed my ignorance of anything concerning
+warfare, for the old man replied:
+
+"It wouldn't be strange if he should send a boat in the night to make
+certain of the water, and get such other information as might be
+useful. This 'ere pungy would be captured by half a dozen men as
+easily as if the whole British fleet was close by."
+
+"Are you of the opinion that we should haul in to the bank?" I asked
+very humbly, understanding that if we would run safely it might be
+better to give Darius the command.
+
+"Let her drop back beyond the point, an' then sneak in as far among
+the trees as her spars will permit," he said, and this we did, pulling
+her around by aid of the canoe until we were nicely hidden from all
+save by closest scrutiny.
+
+Right glad was I by this time that Jim Freeman and his two friends had
+come aboard, for they were willing lads, who strove to do all they
+might in the way of work, and we who belonged on the Avenger had an
+easy time of it.
+
+Jim took it upon himself to get supper, and he had brought with him
+such a tempting store of provisions, all of which he turned over to
+the party, that our meal that night was a veritable feast. I had never
+but once before had such an appetizing repast, and that one exception
+was when oysters were scarce, and a Baltimore dealer gave us a dinner
+at the hotel in addition to the regular price of the cargo.
+
+When our hunger had been satisfied, and the cuddy put to rights, we
+lads would have spent the time spinning yarns, or in some other such
+amusement; but Darius put his foot down strongly against it.
+
+"Remember that you are liable to be made prisoners of war at any
+moment," he said gravely. "Wise men do not hide themselves and their
+vessel, an' then talk and laugh that strangers may know where they are
+hidden."
+
+"Do you really expect to see Britishers on the river this night?" Jim
+Freeman asked with a laugh, and, much to my surprise, the old man said
+emphatically:
+
+"I surely do, if all we heard at Benedict be true, an' I have little
+doubt of it. The enemy count on destroyin' Commodore Barney's fleet,
+an' know that it can be found up this stream. It will be strange,
+'cordin' to what I know of such business, if the admiral does not send
+out spies before shovin' any armed vessels up here."
+
+It can well be supposed that such talk as this insured silence among
+us; we had hardly begun to understand that we might be very near a
+British prison unless every precaution was taken; but the old man's
+words, and manner of speaking them, brought us to a better
+realization of the situation.
+
+We almost held our breath, fancying the enemy might be close aboard,
+until Darius, talking in a whisper, said:
+
+"I'm countin' on seein' or hearin' the Britishers 'twixt now an'
+mornin', an' it strikes me that we might do a good stroke of work for
+Joshua Barney, by lookin' after a prisoner or two. It wouldn't be no
+ways strange if we could nab 'em, pervidin' they put themselves in a
+fair position to be taken."
+
+I was dumfounded by such a proposition, and it is not impossible that
+my knees began to shake as I thought of attempting such a thing. Then
+I suddenly remembered that we had no weapons aboard, except an old
+musket which we used to shoot into a flock of ducks now and then, and
+I said with a laugh:
+
+"Do you expect that the Britishers will surrender if we simply invite
+them? Our one musket wouldn't make much of a showin' against a
+boat-load of men."
+
+"All that has been in my mind, lad, an' I reckon it won't be hard to
+put ourselves in right good shape. If any British spies count on
+comin' up the river, it wouldn't be till after dark, an' we've got no
+right to expect they'd be around this way much before midnight. Now
+I'll paddle back to the village, an' see if I can't scare up two or
+three muskets. It won't take me more'n an hour for the whole job."
+
+Darius said this as if asking advice; but I could make no reply, and
+my companions held their peace, therefore, after waiting a few moments
+without hearing any comment, the old man set about carrying his plan
+into execution.
+
+Noiselessly he hauled the canoe alongside, went over the rail into
+her, and took up the paddle, as I stood near the bow waiting for his
+command to cast off the painter.
+
+"Keep quiet, whatever happens, an' don't fuss if I'm kept quite a
+spell, for if there's anythin' to be learned, I shall make mighty
+little account of time. Cast off, lad, an' be certain that nothin'
+goes up or down the river without your seeing it."
+
+I obeyed the command, and in an instant the canoe glided into the
+obscurity of the shadows cast by the overhanging trees.
+
+With the disappearance of Darius there came upon me the full sense of
+my responsibility, for I was the one to whom the others would look in
+event of trouble, and I knew full well how poorly fitted I was by
+experience to be in command of the pungy.
+
+The knowledge of my own short-comings at least served one good turn,
+since it made me more than usually cautious, and without delay I set
+about preparations for obeying the command given by Darius.
+
+All my companions were on deck, and calling them aft to the cuddy
+companion-way, I said in a whisper:
+
+"You heard the words of Darius. Now I propose the work shall be done
+in this fashion: All hands will remain on duty, not in a group, but
+stationed equal distances apart at the rail, each one to watch and
+listen to the best of his ability. No fellow shall speak with his
+neighbor, nor can he move about lest the sound of footsteps on the
+deck give an alarm."
+
+Then I took up my station near the stern, and in the gloom I could see
+the forms of my companions while they ranged themselves as I had
+suggested, neither of them making more noise than so many mice.
+
+From that moment not a sound could be heard from the deck of the
+Avenger. That which Darius said had aroused us all to the danger, and
+even though we had only a crew of lads, I felt confident no blunder
+would be charged against us.
+
+It was dreary work waiting there in the darkness, listening intently
+for the lightest unusual noise, and believing that an enemy was, or
+soon would be, close at hand. The gurgling of the water in an eddy;
+the leap of a fish, or a bit of drift-wood striking against the side
+of the pungy, sounded in our ears loud as thunder, and we heard the
+ordinary night rustlings of the forest as if it was something strange
+to our ears.
+
+Then came that which caused us to bend far out over the rail, trying
+to pierce the gloom with our eyes, for the measured stroke of oars
+could be heard, and it was a positive relief to me, even though it
+betokened the coming of strangers.
+
+I felt certain an enemy's boat was approaching, because had any one
+living on the river been coming up at that time of night, paddles
+would have been used instead of oars. I knew of no one nearabout
+Benedict who would have rowed a boat against the current when she
+could have been handled so much more readily the other way.
+
+Nearer and nearer came the splashing of water, as if more than one
+oarsman was at work, and when it seemed as if the boat must be close
+upon us, I heard a low voice, but could not distinguish the words.
+
+Immediately the noise of the oars ceased, and then came the words, not
+loud, but clear enough for us who were listening so intently to hear
+with reasonable distinctness:
+
+"On which side of the river were we to pick the man up?"
+
+"The left, sir; the same side as the village."
+
+The Avenger was lying near the right bank of the river, such position
+having been taken because of the trees, and not through good judgment.
+
+"One of you men get ashore, and see what can be found. If this is the
+place agreed upon, and he said he would be about three miles above
+the village, there should be a road running on a line with the river."
+
+There was no question in my mind but that the speakers were Britishers
+from one of the fleets, and that some of our people had agreed to play
+the traitor by giving information, or piloting the boat. But, if such
+was the case, where was Darius? He had not had time to reach Benedict
+before this boat came past there, and might already be a prisoner on
+his way to the nearest English vessel.
+
+Even though he had gained the village while the strangers were yet
+below it, then was his danger the greater, for he might unwittingly
+come directly upon them when he returned. Whichever way I looked at
+the matter I saw cause for grave fear, and the perspiration came out
+in big drops on my forehead, for without him we would be in a bad
+predicament.
+
+While these thoughts were running through my mind I gave due attention
+to what might be going on at the opposite side of the river, for I was
+convinced that the boat was nearly in a straight line across from
+where we lay.
+
+I could hear such noises as told that one of the crew was scrambling
+ashore amid the underbrush, and I heard a man cough; but after that
+all was still until at least fifteen minutes were passed, when there
+was a faint sound of voices from a distance, and then the rustling of
+the foliage as if one or more was forcing a passage through the tangle
+of vines.
+
+"Hello!" came in a hoarse whisper from the boat, and some one ashore
+replied:
+
+"It's all right, sir."
+
+From what could be heard I knew that a man, or men, were making their
+way to the boat from the highway, and then, when it seemed as if he or
+they were aboard, the voice which had given the command, said in
+greeting:
+
+"So you're come at last, Macomber. I had begun to believe we were
+mistaken as to the rendezvous."
+
+"I was delayed in the village, for your orders were that I must get
+away without its being known, and there are many inquisitive ones in
+Benedict."
+
+My heart gave a great bound. So it was Elias Macomber who was playing
+traitor, for even though he was born in England, the United States was
+his home by adoption, and to our people he was bound in honor.
+
+If Darius could only get weapons so that we might capture the boat's
+crew, what joy would be mine to carry the base hound to Commodore
+Barney as a prisoner!
+
+Elias was speaking in a low tone and rapidly to some one--whom I had
+no doubt was a British officer--, and I could only catch a word here
+and there; but it was enough to let me know that he was reporting all
+he had heard concerning the movements of the flotilla.
+
+"At Nottingham yesterday," I heard. "Thirteen barges an' pungies, with
+the schooner Scorpion. Five hundred men all told. Well armed, an'
+knowin' how to use their weapons."
+
+It was by such fragments of conversation as set down above that I knew
+Elias Macomber was giving all the information in his power to the
+enemy, and I resolved that some day he should pay the penalty of the
+crime, even though I was forced to pursue him single-handed.
+
+When all the story had been told the officer asked:
+
+"Can you give us a place on the river where we may lay by during the
+day? I am minded to have a look at the boats before going back to make
+report."
+
+I bent forward eagerly to hear the reply:
+
+"At a mill, five miles above here, you will find a friend by name of
+Essek Harland. He can give you all that may be needed."
+
+"You shall go with us to make certain he takes us in."
+
+"Very well, sir; but in that case I cannot get back home before
+morning."
+
+"You should be able to pull eight miles with a current in a few hours,
+and I will pay for the hire of a boat."
+
+"Very well, sir," Macomber replied in a tone of content, and I laughed
+inwardly with joy, for he would be our prisoner to a certainty if he
+came down the river alone.
+
+Then the word was given for the oarsmen to resume their work, and we
+heard the light splashing of water as the boat was pulled up-stream.
+
+After that all was silent once more, and Jerry came tip-toeing aft to
+whisper in my ear:
+
+"Do you think Darius managed to give them the slip, or did they
+capture him?"
+
+"It seems to me that the officer would have told Elias if he had taken
+a prisoner," I replied, and such fact gave me great satisfaction. "At
+all events he must be here soon if nothing has happened to his
+disadvantage."
+
+Even as I spoke the canoe came out of the shadow, gliding lightly and
+noiselessly as thistledown, and we knew that Darius was safe, for the
+time being at least.
+
+"Did you run across the boat when you went down?" I asked in a whisper
+as he came over the rail, and he stood silent as if with surprise.
+
+"Didn't you see a boat?" Jerry asked impatiently, and the old man
+replied:
+
+"I met with nothing either goin' or comin' an' I've brought back two
+muskets with a mighty small lot of powder an' ball; but it's better'n
+nothin'. What do you mean by a boat?"
+
+Then we told him what we had heard, and when I mentioned the name of
+the traitor, he brought his hand down on his leg with a resounding
+thwack that might have been heard some distance away, as he said
+incautiously loud:
+
+"We'll have that snake, lads, if we don't do anythin' more, an' he
+shall have a chance to see how the commodore looks when the Britishers
+come up the river!"
+
+"Then it is for you to take command of the Avenger, Darius. The boat
+has not been gone from here above ten minutes, therefore it is likely
+to be some time before the traitor comes down stream."
+
+"We won't wait here for him, lads. There's breeze enough stirrin' now
+to send the pungy against the current, an' we'll push ahead."
+
+Sheltered by the trees as the vessel had been, we were ignorant of the
+fact that a night breeze was springing up, until the Avenger swung out
+into the stream, and then we found it as Darius had said.
+
+The little craft could make about two miles an hour against the
+current, which, as I reckoned, was about what the boat could do with a
+couple of men at the oars, and I suggested to the old man that there
+was danger we might over-run our game.
+
+He gave heed by sending all hands, save me, into the bow as lookouts,
+and steered a zig-zag course, which reduced our speed a full third.
+
+"I don't believe I've ever heard of this Essek Harland you tell
+about," the old man said to me in a whisper, and, understanding that
+he desired all the information I could give concerning the miller, I
+replied:
+
+"He's of much the same kidney as Elias Macomber, except that he was
+born in this country. A mean native of North Carolina, who starves his
+slaves, and makes them work twice as many hours as they should. He
+runs the mill, and it is said that all those who carry grist to him
+keep a sharp watch lest he take out too much toll. If he hides the
+Britishers, or gives them any information, it will be because they pay
+him, for he will do any mean thing for money."
+
+"Have you ever heard it said whether he was for or against the war?"
+
+"No, and I haven't heard his name spoken for a year or more. It would
+make little difference with him which side he was on, if the opposite
+party offered money they could buy him."
+
+Then we fell silent again during half an hour or more, when Darius
+said:
+
+"You shall tell me when we are within a mile of the mill; it won't be
+safe to run any nearer unless we have overhauled that snake of a
+Macomber."
+
+I was so well acquainted with the river as to know every crook and
+turn for at least ten miles above Benedict, and when it seemed certain
+the pungy had run three miles or more, I kept a sharp look-out on the
+banks in order to comply with the old man's request.
+
+It was just when I believed we were close upon the spot where the
+Avenger should be stopped, that Jerry came tip-toeing aft, waving his
+arms to attract our attention.
+
+"Macomber has hove in sight!" Darius whispered. "Take the tiller, an'
+head her for his canoe!"
+
+As he spoke he darted into the cuddy, returning a few seconds later
+with two muskets, and these he carried with him well forward.
+
+I strained my eyes in vain for a view of the canoe, which should be
+coming right fast, with a favoring current, and had not yet made her
+out when Darius hailed:
+
+"In the boat there! Whereabouts are our people?"
+
+The old man had disguised his voice, and the traitor must have
+believed that we were a party of British coming to join those whom he
+had piloted, for he paddled alongside fearlessly, as he replied:
+
+"Up the river half a mile or so."
+
+"Can you show us the way?"
+
+"Ay, that I can; but it will delay me in--"
+
+He ceased speaking very suddenly, for at that moment Jerry
+incautiously came toward the port rail, and even though the night was
+dark, it was possible to see that he was neither a British soldier nor
+sailor.
+
+Quickly he seized the paddle to shove off; but Darius thrust the
+muzzle of a musket in his very face, as he cried sharply:
+
+"Pass up your painter, or I'll shoot! Quick, or your life is gone in
+another second!"
+
+Elias Macomber was a coward, as we knew full well, but I never
+believed he would give in quite as readily as he did. He passed up the
+painter as meekly as any cooing dove, and when Darius ordered him to
+come over the rail, he made all haste to obey the command.
+
+When we gathered around the cur, however, for all of us were so eager
+that we could not keep out of sight any longer, and he saw who had
+captured him, he let go a cry of anger that was like unto the whoof of
+a bear, as he struck out with both fists savagely.
+
+He would have showed better sense had he taken matters with a bit more
+grace, for before he could land a blow on either of us, Darius floored
+him with the butt-end of the musket, and during a minute or two he
+laid like one dead.
+
+"You struck too hard!" I cried in alarm, for even though the man was a
+traitor, it seemed terrible to take a human life.
+
+"Not a bit of it," the old sailor said quietly as he set about lashing
+the fellow's arms and legs. "He ain't the kind that can be killed so
+easily. Get off the hatch, for we must have him out of sight before
+coming up to the mill."
+
+[Illustration: "Pass up your painter, or I'll shoot!" Cried Darius.
+Page 56.]
+
+Five minutes later our prisoner was snugly stowed aft, near the cabin
+bulkhead, and we had brought the pungy to anchor lest she over-run the
+port we counted on making.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+A LIVELY TUSSLE.
+
+
+Darius would have it that the traitor had not been seriously hurt by
+the blow on the head; but when he failed to show any signs of
+consciousness after we stowed him away in the hold, I grew alarmed,
+and, calling on Jim Freeman for assistance, set about trying to bring
+him to life, for of a verity I believed him dead.
+
+It was not until we had worked over him ten minutes or more that I
+could see any change, and then suddenly he opened his eyes, blinking
+in the rays of the lantern Jim was holding close by his face.
+
+"What happened to me?" he asked wildly, and as my fears that he had
+been killed were banished by the words, so did my anger against him
+return.
+
+"You were known to have been giving information to the enemy, and
+piloting English spies to a hiding-place," I replied sharply. "We took
+it upon ourselves to cut your career as a traitor short, and while the
+job was being done you got a clip on the head that knocked you
+senseless."
+
+While I was speaking the cur looked me full in the face, as if trying
+to make out who I was; but I believe he feigned ignorance only that he
+might have time in which to decide upon a course of action.
+
+I could see by the look in his eyes, when his mind was made up as to
+how he should steer, and a moment later he said with a start of
+pretended surprise.
+
+"Is it you, Amos Grout? I was afraid I had fallen into the hands of
+enemies!"
+
+"You are not among friends, and that is certain," I replied, boiling
+with rage because the miserable cur would try to pull wool over my
+eyes, for I well knew what tack he was about to take.
+
+"And are you willin' to hold enmity simply because we had a bit of a
+scrimmage over differences of opinion? I thought all that was settled
+on the spot."
+
+"So it was," I said curtly.
+
+"Then why have you tied me up in this fashion?"
+
+"Listen to me, Elias Macomber," I cried. "Do you think for a moment
+that you can deceive any one aboard this craft. We heard all you said
+to the British officer who is in the Patuxent with a boat's crew
+spying, and know where you took him to pass the night. We sailed up
+the river for the purpose of capturing you, and here you remain until
+we can deliver the meanest traitor in Maryland over to Commodore
+Barney."
+
+Now the cur was frightened, and with good cause. He would have said
+something more, thinking, I dare say, that it might yet be possible to
+blind me; but I refused to listen.
+
+"I only came here to learn if you were alive, and now that matter has
+been settled, I count on leaving you. Don't be so foolish as to think
+you can wiggle out of the scrape by lying, for when you made your talk
+with the Britisher this pungy was on the other side of the river, her
+spars hidden by the trees. We heard nearly every word that was
+spoken."
+
+"An' you're gettin' out of this part of the trouble mighty easy, if
+Amos insists you shall be left alone," Jim added angrily. "If I had my
+way, all hands of us would take a turn at thumpin' you, an' then the
+account between us wouldn't be square."
+
+"Come on, Jim," I said impatiently. "It is doing no good to parley
+with such as him. Leave the traitor to himself until the commodore
+directs what shall be done."
+
+Elias called after us imploringly as we went out of the hold; but I
+had no desire to remain longer with the cur, and we put on the hatch
+in order that, if he did succeed in freeing himself of the bonds, he
+would yet be imprisoned.
+
+On gaining the deck I looked around for Darius, but he was not to be
+seen, and Jerry, understanding for whom I searched, said:
+
+"The old man has gone ashore. He counts on lookin' around the mill, so
+that we may know exactly how to get at work when the time comes."
+
+"At work?" I repeated in bewilderment. "What does he reckon on doing
+now that we have caught the traitor?"
+
+"It is in his mind that we can make prisoners of all the boat's crew,
+an' if that could be done, we'd be takin' with us such as would insure
+a hearty welcome from the commodore."
+
+"We had better let well enough alone," I replied irritably. "If
+Commodore Barney won't be pleased to see him when we offer our own
+services, the use of the pungy, and the biggest traitor in Maryland,
+then there's little reason to try to purchase his favor."
+
+"You've agreed that Darius should run this thing to suit himself, an'
+he's doin' it. I believe he's right, too! If there's a chance to take
+a few prisoners, it would be downright folly to let it slip."
+
+"And do you expect that we can capture at least half a dozen
+well-armed Britishers?"
+
+"There are as many of us, when you come to figgerin' up the fightin'
+force, an' the advantage of takin' them by surprise will overbalance
+the difference in weapons."
+
+It was useless to argue with Jerry, as I understood by his tone,
+therefore I turned away, saying to myself that by trying to bite off
+too big a piece in the way of taking prisoners, we might find the
+tables turned very suddenly to our disadvantage.
+
+Jim Freeman and his friends seemed to be of the same mind as Jerry,
+and I said nothing to them lest I be accused of faint-heartedness,
+when everything was apparently going our way.
+
+We waited in silence for the coming of Darius, allowing the Avenger to
+remain in the stream where some of the boys had anchored her while I
+was caring for the prisoner, and not until nearly midnight did the old
+man put in an appearance.
+
+Jim Freeman was on the lookout well forward, and that he did his duty
+well was shown by the fact that he came aft with the word that a canoe
+was drifting down the river while the craft was yet some distance
+away.
+
+Jerry and I, each with a musket, went forward to make certain the
+newcomer was a friend rather than an enemy, and when we hailed softly,
+Darius replied with a low hissing sound which was familiar to us all.
+
+He made fast, came inboard, and entered the cuddy without speaking,
+therefore we followed, knowing full well that he had something of
+importance to impart.
+
+When we were all together, unable to see each other because of the
+darkness, Darius said softly, in a tone of triumph:
+
+"I've found the Britishers, an' can put my hand on the whole gang
+without much trouble. There are but three men an' the officer, who, I
+reckon, will be the only fellow to make much fuss when we get at work.
+Now I'm countin' that one of Jim's friends shall be left on board to
+look out for the pungy, an' make certain the traitor don't kick up any
+row. Three of us will have a musket each, an' the other two can do
+mighty good work with belayin' pins."
+
+"Where are the men?" Jerry asked.
+
+"In the loft of the mill. The officer is havin' a right sociable time
+with Essek Harland, an' if the miller's bottle holds out, I reckon
+them two won't be in shape to make much trouble. Jim is to say which
+of his party shall stay aboard, an' the sooner the rest of us get to
+work the better, for I want to begin the scrimmage in a couple of
+hours."
+
+It was evident that my opinion as to whether the attempt to capture
+the Britishers should be made, was not to be asked, and yet I must
+follow where Darius led, or give my comrades good reason for calling
+me a coward--or worse.
+
+The old man settled it that he and Jerry should arm themselves with
+belaying pins, and the two muskets he brought back from Benedict,
+together with our old fowling-piece, was distributed among the rest
+of us.
+
+Jim Freeman named Dody Wardwell as the one to keep ship and look after
+the prisoner, and Darius instructed the watchman to be free with his
+blows in case Elias tried to pick up a row.
+
+"If he undertakes to yip even once, give him a dose over the head that
+will put him to sleep, an' it won't be much harm if you kill such a
+cur as he is. Keep your wits about you, lad, an' remember that the
+prisoner is the one who can make the most trouble."
+
+Then the old man saw to it that each of our weapons was loaded, after
+which he led the way to the rail where the canoe was made fast.
+
+The little craft would not carry more than three, therefore two trips
+were necessary in order to land us all, and when we stood on the bank
+Darius proposed that Jerry paddle the boat up to the mill.
+
+"Why do we want her there?" I asked, thinking he was providing for a
+means of escape. "We couldn't all take passage in her, and in case we
+need to get away in a hurry, it might be done easier by striking into
+the woods."
+
+"I'm not thinkin' how we can get her off, for if the plan fails to
+work there's little chance any of us will need the canoe," Darius said
+grimly, and I began to understand that he might be more of a fighter
+than would suit me. "It may be we shall want to send some prisoners
+down to keep Macomber company, an' then a small craft will come in
+handy, for their boat is hauled up high an' dry among the bushes; she
+is so heavy that it would be a long job to float her."
+
+Jerry was so impatient to be in the thick of danger that he hardly
+waited for the old man to conclude his long-winded speech, and before
+the last word had hardly been spoken he was paddling up stream at a
+rate which told that he would arrive at the rendezvous some time in
+advance of us who were to walk.
+
+Neither was Darius willing to waste much time, and when Jerry was lost
+to view in the darkness he struck through the underbrush toward the
+highway, leading the party, while I brought up the rear.
+
+It can well be fancied that we moved with the utmost caution, for
+people do not set out on such an enterprise as we were bent upon with
+any great blowing of horns, and although none of us were what might be
+called woodsmen, I flatter myself that we did not bungle the job very
+badly.
+
+Hardly more than a quarter-hour had passed when Darius left the
+underbrush to cut across toward the river, and within five minutes
+more we were halted near the southeast corner of the mill, not having
+heard or seen anything of those whom we hoped to make prisoners.
+
+Jerry joined us almost immediately, having been on the lookout during
+five minutes or more, and he reported that there had been no signs of
+life in the vicinity since his arrival.
+
+"We who carry the clubs will go ahead, an', if it so be possible, do
+the biggest part of the work, for our weapons ain't the kind that make
+much of any noise," Darius whispered. "Jim Freeman will stand guard at
+the door of the mill, but he is not to shoot unless it becomes
+necessary to prevent the Britisher or the miller from takin' a hand in
+the scrimmage, pervidin' there is one. Now follow me, lads, an'
+remember that we must get the three sailors under our thumbs, once
+we've started, no matter what turns up."
+
+We stole up to the big door on the northwest corner, the only entrance
+to the building, and, as I had expected, found it fastened on the
+inside. One would hardly have supposed that the Britishers in hiding
+would neglect to make themselves as secure as possible.
+
+It appeared that Darius was not disappointed, for after pushing gently
+at the door, and motioning for Jim to stand in front of it, he led the
+way along the northerly side of the mill to a portion of the
+under-pinning which had given way, disclosing an aperture through
+which a mule might have been driven.
+
+"Keep close at my heels," he whispered, and then he plunged into the
+darkness, we obeying his command to the letter, for a mis-step might
+throw us into the mill-race, which we could hear rippling close at
+hand.
+
+One would have said that the old man had always lived in this place,
+so directly and swiftly did he go to the desired point, which was a
+portion of the flooring where was a trap-door, evidently used to dump
+the refuse, for suddenly we found ourselves climbing up a heap of what
+appeared to be husks and cobs of corn.
+
+It was a simple task to gain entrance to the building in this manner,
+for Darius had only to force the trap-door up with his shoulder, and
+in a twinkling we were standing on the lower floor, near-by what I
+took to be the hopper.
+
+Touching each of us in turn that we might be warned to follow closely,
+Darius led the way to the easterly end of the building, where he
+halted at the foot of a flight of stairs.
+
+Now he marshaled his force according to the weapons. Jerry was behind
+him; I came next, determined to use my musket as a club so long as it
+could be done, rather than take the risk of killing a man, and in the
+rear of me was Josiah Coburn, one of Jim Freeman's party.
+
+Now it must be understood that we could see nothing; the darkness was
+so intense that one could almost feel it, and yet we proposed to
+blunder in upon enemies who would probably shoot without warning in
+the direction of the slightest suspicious noise.
+
+It was not a cheerful adventure, and I hold myself well excused for
+being frightened, so that I followed the leader's orders implicitly to
+the best of my ability.
+
+Just at this point, when we were trembling with suppressed excitement,
+and, as in my case, fear, Darius remembered that he had not unlocked
+the outer door in order that Jim might hide within the building, and
+we were forced to stand at the foot of the stairs while he groped his
+way back to remedy the neglect.
+
+It seemed to me that we remained there hardly daring to breathe, a
+full half-hour, although I suppose now that it was no more than five
+minutes, and then our leader was returned.
+
+Pushing his way to the head of the line once more, we began the ascent
+of the stairs, each fellow stepping cautiously; but despite all our
+efforts each board sent forth loud protesting creaks as we bore our
+weight upon it, and the only wonder was that the Britishers did not
+awaken sooner.
+
+The noise we made in ascending the stairs seemed to me loud enough to
+alarm the inmates of the house near at hand, and, therefore, I was
+neither startled nor surprised when some person at one end of the
+second floor, cried out:
+
+"Who is there? What's the row?"
+
+"Can't you give your shipmates the same show for a watch below that
+you've got?" Darius asked with a regular deep-sea note in his voice,
+and this it was that gave us a slight advantage, since the men did not
+open fire.
+
+"How did you get here?" the same voice asked, and again the old man
+answered as if speaking to shipmates:
+
+"The bloomin' swab that piloted you here, gave us the course. Where
+are you?"
+
+"Over here," and the voice came from the westerly end of the building,
+thus showing that we must walk the entire length of the mill before
+coming upon our adversaries. "What ship are you from?"
+
+My heart stood still as this question was asked, for I knew only too
+well that Darius was wholly ignorant as to what British vessels had
+entered the bay; but the old sailor never hesitated, as he replied:
+
+"What other than the flag-ship, you lubber?"
+
+"No, I'll be burned if you are!" the man cried loudly, and I heard him
+spring to his feet. "She's in the Potomac river long before this!
+Rouse up, my bullies, an' let's have a look at these beach-combers."
+
+During this brief conversation we had been advancing swiftly in the
+direction from which the sailor's voice could be heard, and when his
+comrades were ready to receive us, we could not have been a dozen
+paces distant from the three.
+
+I felt, rather than saw, that Darius sprang forward; there was a dull
+thud, a groan, and a cry from one of the other Britishers which told
+that the battle was on, but the number of active enemies had been
+reduced by one, for there could be no question but that Darius had put
+his man out of the fight for some time to come.
+
+I ran forward with my companions; but it was impossible to use the
+musket, even had I been eager to shoot, because of the darkness, and
+as I swung the weapon from side to side, striving to feel my way, some
+one clutched me by the throat.
+
+"Here's one of 'em!" I managed to scream before the fellow's fingers
+shut off my wind, and then I had my hands full trying to save my own
+life.
+
+I managed to hit my adversary two or three solid blows which weakened
+his hold somewhat, otherwise I would have been strangled in short
+order, and then I fought as I never did before, but sadly at a
+disadvantage, as can be imagined.
+
+How long we swayed to and fro, I striving to reach the enemy's face
+with my fists, and he trying to strengthen his hold on my throat, I
+know not; but certain it is that I held him in fairly good play five
+minutes or more before the report of Jim Freeman's musket told that
+the Britishers were about to receive reinforcements.
+
+Even as I fought with my adversary I understood that the English
+officer, and, probably, the miller, aroused by the noise of the
+scrimmage, were coming to the rescue, and the thought flashed through
+my mind that in a few moments more the battle would be decided in
+favor of his majesty's forces.
+
+Just at that moment a heavy body pushed past me; I heard that
+sickening sound which tells that a living object has been struck a
+powerful blow, and instantly the hands relaxed their grasp on my
+throat.
+
+"That makes the third one; we've got the upper hands of all up here,
+an' you lads are to make the Britishers fast the best you can in the
+darkness, while I 'tend to the visitors."
+
+It was Darius who spoke, and when this had been said I understood that
+he was running toward the stairway.
+
+Now it was possible to see faint gleams of light coming through the
+cracks of the floor, and I realized that the newcomers had with them a
+lantern.
+
+The report of Jim's musket had been followed by the discharge of a
+pistol, and I heard the lad running across the floor at full speed.
+
+I did not have sense enough to obey the old man's command in regard to
+the prisoners; but stood there like a simple, staring at the moving
+rays of light, and wondering how long it would take the British
+officer to shoot us all down.
+
+Then, to my great surprise, I heard a voice from the head of the
+stairs, on the floor where we were, cry loudly:
+
+"This way, sir! We've got the best of two bloomin' Yankees, an' the
+other is sneakin' in some corner!"
+
+There came the sound of hurried footsteps, and then the light of the
+lantern so far illumined the head of the stairway that I could see
+Darius, lying at full length on the floor, within a few inches of the
+opening.
+
+Just for one second I stood as if stupefied, and then I understood
+what the old man would do.
+
+The British officer ascended swiftly; but before his head was fairly
+above the top of the stairs Darius stretched out his long arm, seizing
+the gentleman by the throat even as my adversary had seized me.
+
+Now I had my wits about me; running forward swiftly I caught the
+lantern before the officer could let go his grasp on it, and thus made
+it possible to have a view of what was going on.
+
+Darius hauled his captive up, much as if he had been a bale of
+merchandise, and as he was dragged to the floor I saw one whom I
+believed to be the miller, directly behind him, within three steps of
+the top of the stairs.
+
+With the lantern in my left hand, I thrust forward the barrel of my
+musket full in his face, as I said sharply:
+
+"Throw down that gun, or I'll fire!"
+
+[Illustration: With the lantern in my left hand, I thrust forward the
+barrel of my musket full in the face of the miller. Page 72.]
+
+The man was armed in much the same fashion as was I; but he had little
+stomach for fighting, as could be seen when he dropped the weapon
+immediately I spoke, and when it fell clattering to the floor below,
+Jim Freeman came into view from behind a pile of bags.
+
+"Can you look after the miller, Jim?" I cried, and the lad replied as
+he came bounding up the stairs:
+
+"Ay, let him go, an' I'll blow the whole top of his head off if he
+dares to look crosswise!"
+
+I knew Jim's musket must be empty, since he had not had time to
+recharge it after firing that which served as an alarm; but I took the
+chances of the fact being discovered, and turned with the lantern held
+high above my head to view the scene.
+
+Near at hand Darius was kneeling on the British officer's chest,
+industriously engaged in strapping the latter's arms to his body with
+the prisoner's waist-belt.
+
+In the distance Jerry and Josiah knelt beside a form which was
+stretched out frightfully limp, as if life had departed; but I
+observed that they were securing the man's hands and feet with
+portions of his trousers.
+
+Beyond them a short distance was a second Britisher, tied tightly with
+what appeared to be strips torn from his own clothing, and midway
+between them and Darius, was a third body, evidently that of the man
+who had attacked me; but he remained motionless, and, having heard the
+blow which struck him down, I could well understand why he did not
+give any very violent signs of life.
+
+It did not appear that I was needed elsewhere, therefore I turned my
+attention to the miller, who was standing like a statue, not daring to
+lift a finger lest Jim should "blow off the top of his head."
+
+"Come here," I said to him. "Come here while my friend trusses you up
+in proper fashion. What can you find there to tie him with, Jim?"
+
+"Plenty," Jim cried gleefully as he picked up from the floor a couple
+of bags and began cutting them into strips. "Here's enough an' to
+spare, of what is better than rope."
+
+The venture had come to a most successful end, providing there were no
+others in the vicinity whose love for the British would prompt them to
+interfere, and I was amazed, even amid the excitement of victory, that
+we had come off ahead when it seemed certain the enemy could overcome
+us easily.
+
+Darius, having bound his captive, stood up facing me, and from the
+expression on his face one never would have supposed that he had just
+come unscratched out of as lively a tussle as I ever took part in. It
+was as if he had been stowing oysters in the hold of the Avenger, and
+was stretching his back before going at it again.
+
+"You've done a big thing," I said, holding out my hand to congratulate
+him. "To you belongs all the credit of having taken these prisoners,
+and when we meet Commodore Barney I shall insist that he hears the
+whole story, for I doubt if every old sailor has head enough to put
+such a venture through in good shape."
+
+It could readily be seen that the old man was pleased by the praise;
+but he made as if it was of no consequence.
+
+"You lads have done your full share, an' if any credit is to be given
+it goes to the whole crowd."
+
+"Not a bit of it!" Jerry cried, looking up from his task of binding
+the sailor with whom I had fought. "It's as Amos says; but for you
+this never would have been done, an' it won't be my fault if all the
+men of the fleet don't hear of it."
+
+"We're not out of the woods yet," Darius said, as though he would
+change the subject. "If I'd had half the head you give me credit for,
+we'd run the pungy up here, instead of leavin' her a mile away."
+
+"Josiah can go after her," I suggested, "and by the time we're ready
+to put our prisoners aboard she should be here."
+
+This proposition suited the old man, and Jim's friend left the
+building at full speed, while I asked Darius to make certain the
+miller was trussed up in proper fashion.
+
+"What'er you goin' to do with me?" Essek Harland cried with a whine.
+"I ain't to be blamed for what's been done this night! How can I help
+it if a crowd of Britishers take possession of my mill?"
+
+"Talk that over with Elias Macomber; he's aboard the pungy," Darius
+replied in a matter-of-fact tone as he proceeded to bind the man with
+strips of bags provided by Jim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+WITH THE FLEET.
+
+
+The British sailors did not make any talk on returning to
+consciousness and finding themselves bound hand and foot. The officer,
+however, after recovering from the bewilderment which appeared to have
+come over him because of having been taken prisoner in such an
+unceremonious fashion, protested against being tied like a criminal.
+
+"Will you give your word to make no attempt at escape?" Darius asked;
+but this did not suit the Britisher, for most likely he was reckoning
+on a rescue by those of the people who favored the king, and there
+were not a few of such vermin on the Patuxent river.
+
+"I refuse to give my parole, save to an officer of the American army
+or navy," he said stiffly, and Darius replied cheerily:
+
+"Then you see that we've got no other course save to deal out the same
+dose for all, 'cause we're not countin' on losin' any of you."
+
+"What are you goin' to do with me?" the miller asked, and I took it
+on myself to make reply:
+
+"You'll get the same treatment as Elias Macomber, and however harsh it
+may be, you won't have it as tough as is deserved. These others are
+prisoners of war; but you two are traitors and spies, therefore must
+expect to fare according to your deserts."
+
+"That's about the size of it, Amos," Darius said as he went from one
+to another of the prisoners to make certain they were secured
+properly, and in condition to travel. "I reckon, lad, that we might as
+well be gettin' the crowd down to the shore, for unless the wind has
+died away entirely Josiah Coburn should be here mighty soon."
+
+"How would it do to take along a supply of meal?" Jerry asked. "If it
+so be that we don't come up with the fleet by noon to-morrow, we'd be
+short of provisions, with so many to feed."
+
+"Right you are, lad. We'll take from Essek Harland's meal-chest as
+much as may be needed, an' surely he can't make any complaint when he
+gets his share."
+
+While Jerry was rummaging around to discover the miller's store, we
+got the prisoners down-stairs, finding it no slight task because two
+of the sailors, in a spirit of pure mischief, refused to walk, and we
+were forced to tote them like so many barrels of flour. By the time
+they were at the foot of the stairs, however, both were willing to
+provide their own means of transportation, for we did not handle them
+with any too much care.
+
+Essek Harland whimpered and whined like the cur that he was, until we
+came to suspect he might be making a noise in order to give an alarm
+to somebody in the vicinity, when Darius reduced him to silence by
+threatening to put a gag in his mouth.
+
+We had no more than got in fairly good marching shape when Josiah came
+up with the Avenger, the wind being strong enough to push her along
+about as fast as a man could walk.
+
+Then well on to an hour was spent before the prisoners and the meal
+were stowed in the hold of the pungy, and I counted that it was near
+daybreak when we started up the river toward where Commodore Barney's
+fleet was supposed to be.
+
+It struck me that we should meet with a warm reception from the
+commander, when we delivered up to him the Britishers and the
+traitors, for by capturing the spies we had delayed the coming of the
+enemy for a few hours at least.
+
+And in thinking of this I came to ask myself how we were to present
+ourselves? Whether as lads who wanted to make a bargain to supply the
+fleet with fish, or as recruits? Ponder over it as I might, it was
+impossible to come to any satisfactory conclusion, and I decided that
+before committing myself in any way I would ask the advice of my
+father, whom I was likely to find on some of the vessels belonging to
+the flotilla.
+
+It was Darius who broke in upon my perplexing thoughts by asking:
+
+"Well, what do you think of it now, lad? We couldn't have done the job
+any browner if we'd had on board a full cargo of rifles an'
+ammunition."
+
+"Ay, Darius, it has been well done because you were on hand; but I
+question if another might have worked the scheme as well."
+
+"There are thousands who'd make less bungle of it," the old man
+replied, and I could see that he was well pleased because of being
+praised, even by a boy. "All that's needed is a little backbone; but
+if the other fellow happens to have more'n you've got, then things are
+apt to go wrong."
+
+"Thanks to your arrangement of the affair, the enemy didn't have a
+chance to show his pluck; but we'd have been in a bad box if you
+hadn't made the Britishers believe, for a minute or two, that we were
+their friends."
+
+Darius laughed heartily as he thought of the brief conversation with
+the sailors, and then said with a chuckle:
+
+"If I'd only known the name of a vessel belongin' to their fleet, we'd
+been right on top of 'em before bein' found out; but as it was we got
+well alongside when the trouble began."
+
+Then Jerry came aft to take part in the conversation, and we spent a
+good half-hour praising each other and chuckling over the good fortune
+that had been ours.
+
+We might have continued at such pleasing occupation a very long while,
+but that day began to break, and there was too much work on hand to
+admit of further foolishness.
+
+Darius gave up the tiller to me, and went below to look after the
+prisoners, returning five minutes later with the British officer, who,
+much to my surprise, was no longer fettered.
+
+"This gentleman has decided that he can give his parole to us as well
+as to brother officers," Darius said by way of introduction. "He has
+pledged his word to make no attempt at escape, therefore we will give
+him the liberty of the ship."
+
+"Which won't mean much for one who has been accustomed to the luxury
+found on board some of his majesty's vessels," I added, trying to show
+that I had some semblance of good breeding. "An oyster pungy isn't the
+most beautiful craft in the world."
+
+"Very true," the officer replied with a friendly smile; "but there is
+a vast difference between the hold and the deck of an oysterman."
+
+"Yes, I can fancy that to one unaccustomed to such things, the Avenger
+seems like a foul ship below."
+
+"So your vessel is named the Avenger?" and the gentleman looked at me
+quizzically. "Isn't that rather high-sounding for a peaceful
+fisherman?"
+
+The officer was so different from what I had fancied a Britisher might
+be, and had such a friendly air, that I made no hesitation in telling
+him how the pungy got her name, and after the explanation he ceased to
+laugh at it.
+
+"I can well believe that some of your people have been abused," he
+said in a kindly tone; "but there are always two sides to a story, and
+the commander of one of the king's ships may believe that he is doing
+absolutely that which is right and just, when in your eyes he commits
+a most grievous wrong."
+
+I had sense enough to understand that if I attempted to argue with the
+officer on the causes of the war I should speedily find myself in deep
+water, therefore I made reply:
+
+"It is not for me to measure words with such as you, sir. I know that
+Jerry's brother, who had never stepped foot on other than American
+soil, was forced to serve in one of your ships, being carried forcibly
+and secretly away, to the great distress of all who cared for him."
+
+"And in that case his majesty's officers did a most grievous wrong,"
+he said frankly, and then as if to turn the subject of conversation,
+he asked, "When do you expect to come up with Barney's fleet, for I
+understand you are in search of it?"
+
+"If the wind holds, we should be there by noon, providing Commodore
+Barney is yet at Nottingham."
+
+With this the gentlemen turned away to take note of what was being
+done, for Darius had brought the three sailors on deck, they also
+having solemnly pledged themselves to refrain from attempt at escape.
+
+Jerry was making preparations for cooking breakfast, which would be no
+small job with so many to be fed, and Jim Freeman was helping him. It
+was to be a good wholesome meal, better than we of the Avenger had
+enjoyed for many a day; because there was to be a plentiful supply of
+fried ham with corn-dodgers, which last Jerry could make better than
+any person I ever knew, except my mother.
+
+The British sailors were taking things comfortably, being seated on
+the deck well forward, and apparently enjoying the sail up the river,
+even though they were going as prisoners rather than passengers who
+could come or depart at will.
+
+Darius remained in the hold some time, and when he showed himself
+again as if his work was done, I asked what he had been about.
+
+"I've been makin' them two sneaks fast to a stanchion, where they
+won't have any too good a time. I reckon we've got to treat 'em
+somewhere near decent, though it goes mightily agin the grain. How is
+breakfast comin' on? I could eat the toughest mule that ever walked!"
+
+Fortunately for him Jerry announced at this moment that the meal was
+ready, and Darius would have it that I should eat in the cuddy with
+the officer; but I insisted he was the one who could best do the
+honors aboard the Avenger, when we had seamen as guests, and literally
+forced him to act the host.
+
+Dody Wardwell and Josiah Coburn were detailed to feed the prisoners,
+including the curs in the hold, and Jerry, Jim and I ate on the deck
+aft, where I could at the same time keep the pungy in the channel.
+
+Jim brought out some of the stores he had taken from home, and we lads
+had a veritable feast, with the cause of success to give flavor to
+food which could not be improved upon even though it had been served
+on a king's table.
+
+It is needless for me to set down all that was said during the
+forenoon when we sailed very slowly up the river, chatting in friendly
+fashion with our prisoners--meaning such of them as were allowed to
+remain on deck--, or discussing our plans for the future among
+ourselves, and as we did this last we almost unconsciously reckoned
+Jim and his friends as belonging to the pungy. In fact, after what
+they had done toward helping out on the night's work, it was no more
+than right they should be allowed to consider themselves as a portion
+of the Avenger's crew, if so be their desire ran that way.
+
+It was half an hour past twelve o'clock when we came in sight of the
+flotilla anchored off Nottingham, and seemingly blocking the river
+until it would have been difficult for anything larger than a canoe to
+pass through.
+
+"Where shall we find the commodore among all that crowd of vessels?" I
+asked in perplexity, and Darius replied promptly:
+
+"He's like to be aboard the Scorpion, unless havin' gone ashore. At
+all events, it's there we should look for him."
+
+Fortunately for us, the schooner was anchored nearer down stream than
+the remainder of the craft, and there was no difficulty in running the
+Avenger alongside.
+
+"You shall do the talking, Darius," I said as Jim Freeman passed a
+hawser, and his friends dropped the sails.
+
+"I'll look after that part of it so far as tellin' Joshua Barney who
+you are; but after that you'll take the tiller, for the owners of a
+vessel are the ones to show themselves."
+
+Just then a kindly-faced gentleman came from the schooner's cabin and
+looked about as if asking how we dared to make fast alongside. He was
+one whom I would have picked out for a good friend, rather than a
+desperate fighter, therefore my surprise was great when Darius
+whisked off his hat, made a great flourish as he bowed in sailorman
+fashion, and said:
+
+"We're here to report for duty, an' it please you, Commodore Barney,
+though you wasn't more'n a captain when I sailed under ye. We've
+brought a few British prisoners, an' a couple of traitors."
+
+"Why, bless my heart, its Darius Thorpe!" the commander cried as if
+well pleased at seeing the old sailor, whereupon Darius bowed again,
+grinning with delight until it seemed as if he would split his mouth
+from ear to ear.
+
+"It's the same old shell-back, sir, only he's turned oysterman, bein'
+too stiff in the joints for much deep-sea work."
+
+"When your joints grow stiff, Darius, I shall begin to look after
+mine; but up to the present time they're fit for a hornpipe almost any
+day. Is that your craft?"
+
+"No, sir; she is owned by these two lads," and he pointed to Jerry and
+me.
+
+"And you have taken prisoners on your own account?" the commodore
+asked, looking directly at me as he advanced nearer the rail,
+therefore I felt called upon to reply.
+
+"It was really Darius who took the prisoners, sir," I made answer. "He
+planned the work, and did most of the execution; the rest of us simply
+obeyed his orders, with the result that we have this officer," and I
+pointed to the gentleman who was standing well forward as if to be
+out of ear-shot, "with three sailors, all on parole. In addition,
+there are, in the hold, two men living on the river, whom we found
+giving information to the enemy, and aiding them in their spying."
+
+"Come aboard, and let me hear the particulars," the commodore said
+kindly, and yet the words were a command.
+
+I beckoned to Jerry, and, observing it, the commander said:
+
+"Come with the lads, Darius Thorpe, it may be that I have particular
+need of you."
+
+We three clambered on to the schooner's deck, following the commodore
+into the cabin which was not fitted up very much better than our
+cuddy, save that it had a fair-sized table with chairs, and here we
+seated ourselves as comfortably as if about to have speech with our
+equals.
+
+"Now tell me how it happens that you are on the Patuxent river taking
+prisoners here and there without due warrant from the government at
+Washington," the commodore said with a smile, and I began by
+explaining why we started in search of the fleet, not forgetting to
+make mention of the fact that we had hoped to find a sale for fish or
+oysters.
+
+Then I gave a detailed account of all that had happened to us, winding
+up by saying:
+
+"We count that you'll take the prisoners from us, sir, because we
+haven't overly much food for so large a number, and if it so be you
+can buy such as we can catch, it shall be at whatever price you set."
+
+"Do you think, lad, that I would encourage you to spend your time
+fishing when you have already shown yourselves capable of bigger
+things? I can use Darius to good advantage, and I doubt not but that
+he may need you and your vessel. Are you minded to serve your country,
+lad?"
+
+"Ay, sir, if it so be she needs me; but lads like Jerry and me may be
+of more service as fishermen than as soldiers."
+
+"Regarding that I am not so certain, because of the proof you have
+brought; it strikes me that your pungy and her crew will well serve my
+turn. You may deliver the prisoners to an officer whom I will send
+aboard, and later in the day we will have another chat."
+
+Then the commodore arose to his feet in token that the interview was
+at an end, and we lads went out, Joshua Barney saying to Darius as he
+went up the companion-way stairs:
+
+"Since your joints are so stiff it may be a good plan for you to stay
+aboard the sloop during the remainder of the day, and then you'll be
+on hand when I'm ready to see you."
+
+I was both surprised and pleased to know that the old man stood so
+well with the commander, I had looked upon Darius Thorpe as a
+broken-down sailor; but Commodore Barney appeared to have a far
+different idea on the subject.
+
+Darius was actually puffed up with pride when he gained the deck of
+the Avenger. His face was as red as a beet, and his mouth open so wide
+that I could have tossed a quart of oysters into it without spilling
+one.
+
+"Well, lads," he cried, turning on Jerry and me insistently, "you've
+seen the biggest man in this country, an' what do you think of him?"
+
+Neither Jerry nor I could do less than praise the commodore, for he
+had treated us in a friendly fashion; but although we spoke our minds
+emphatically, declaring that he was a very pleasant gentleman, Darius
+was not satisfied.
+
+"I tell you he's the greatest man in the country," he repeated, and I
+am not certain but that he would have insisted on our saying the same
+over and over again if an officer from the schooner had not come to
+receive the prisoners.
+
+The officer and the sailors went over the rail on being told that they
+were to change quarters; but it was necessary that the traitors be
+brought from the hold, and I proposed that Darius and Jim Freeman
+attend to such duty, for I had no desire to set eyes on Elias Macomber
+again.
+
+"Let's you and I deliver some of these packages and messages with
+which we are charged," I suggested to Jerry. "By so doing we shall
+meet many old friends, and I would, if possible, have speech with my
+father before seeing the commodore again."
+
+"Why?" Jerry asked as if in surprise, when we went into the cuddy to
+get the articles which were to be delivered.
+
+I was at a loss to make reply. It would not be pleasant to tell the
+lad that I wanted my father's advice before agreeing to serve under
+the commodore, since he might believe that to be a coward's trick,
+therefore I said after some hesitation:
+
+"It is for him to say what I shall do; surely a fellow's father should
+decide anything of this kind."
+
+"But your mother the same as told you to come."
+
+"Ay, and I am here; now I will see my father, which is but natural. Do
+not spend so much time in idle words for I would be out of the pungy
+before those curs are brought from the hold."
+
+We had our arms full of packages by this time, and it did not take us
+long to load them into the canoe, after which we paddled among the
+fleet having a bundle or message for some person aboard nearly every
+craft in the river.
+
+It was not until our work was nearly done that I came upon my father
+and he received me as if expecting I would come.
+
+"When did you arrive at Benedict?" he asked.
+
+"Yesterday noon, sir."
+
+"You couldn't well have got here earlier because of the wind. I
+allowed you would join us as soon as possible."
+
+"Then you think, father, that I should serve under the commodore,
+taking the chances of losing the pungy after having paid so much money
+for her?"
+
+"Don't you?" he asked sharply, and I could do no less than reply as he
+expected I would.
+
+Thus it was settled beyond a peradventure that the Avenger and her
+crew should become a portion of Commodore Barney's flotilla, and I
+really felt better in mind after the question had been definitely
+decided.
+
+We stopped long enough to give father a detailed account of our
+adventures, and by the way he slapped me on the back after the story
+was brought to an end, I knew that he felt right well pleased because
+I had begun serving my country in such a satisfactory manner.
+
+When we returned to the Avenger after our round of visits, we found
+Jim Freeman and his friends keeping ship in great style. They were
+looking as proud as peacocks, and I failed to understand the meaning
+of it all, for ordinarily they were meek lads, until Jim whispered:
+
+"The commodore is a mighty nice man."
+
+"Ay, that he is," I replied, thinking that Darius had been drilling
+the crew in our absence to sing the praises of Joshua Barney both in
+and out of season.
+
+"We're goin' to have a chance to do some big things."
+
+"Why do you think so?"
+
+"Because when Darius gave the word that the pungy had better be hauled
+down stream a bit an' anchored, the commodore put a stop to it, by
+allowin' that he wanted this craft where he could put his hand on
+her."
+
+"And because of that you think that we are to play an important part
+in this portion of the war, eh?"
+
+"It looks like it for a fact," Jim replied, strutting to and fro, and
+I could not but laugh outright, for the idea that we might be called
+upon to do more than any others seemed ridiculous.
+
+Matters began to wear a different look a moment later, however, when
+an officer came over from the Scorpion, and said that the commodore
+would have speech with Jerry and me.
+
+"Where is Darius?" I asked, looking around without seeing the old man.
+
+"He's been aboard the schooner this last half hour an' I've taken
+particular notice that everybody else is kept out of the cabin," Jim
+replied. "That's one reason why I'm so certain we'll have a soft time
+of it while we stay with the fleet."
+
+"Don't stand there chewin' things over in your mind," Jerry said
+impatiently as I loitered near the helm. "It strikes me that when the
+commander of a fleet sends for a couple of lads they should step out
+right lively."
+
+Jerry was right, and I meekly followed him to the commodore's cabin,
+where we saw Darius hob-nobbing with Joshua Barney as if they were two
+old cronies.
+
+We lads saluted in as sailorly a fashion as was possible, for we were
+not well up on such manners, and the commodore said abruptly as he
+handed me a folded paper:
+
+"Here is a guarantee from the government, through me as the commander
+of the naval forces in this section, that if your vessel is captured
+or destroyed by the enemy while you are under my orders, you are to be
+paid the sum of four hundred dollars."
+
+I was dumfounded. Of course it was pleasing to know that we would be
+paid a good price in case we lost the Avenger; but why such an
+arrangement should be made at this time was way beyond me, until
+Darius said:
+
+"Wouldn't it be a good idee, sir, if you was to tell the lads what is
+expected of 'em? I'm not allowin' they'd go contrary to what I said;
+but it would be pleasanter all around if they got the business from
+your lips."
+
+"It shall be as Darius says," and the commander half-turned in his
+chair to face Jerry and me. "I propose that you shall continue to act
+as oystermen; but without spending much time at the labor. In other
+words, I want information from the enemy, such as you can gather, and
+have spent considerable time explaining where and how you may
+communicate with me. That part of the business need not be repeated.
+This much you should know: Darius has said that you would do, so far
+as possible, whatever I might set for you. Now I want your pungy to
+drop down the river at once; you are to act as if engaged in the
+peaceful occupation of fishing for oysters, and try to sell your cargo
+to the enemy. In other words, lads, you are to spy out the disposition
+of the British ships when they advance, for I am convinced that as yet
+they remain in the lower bay."
+
+If I had been faint-hearted before, what shall be said of my condition
+now? In plain words, the commodore proposed that we turn spies, and if
+we were caught while thus engaged, we would make a speedy trip to the
+nearest British yard-arm with a rope around our necks!
+
+Jerry did not appear to realize the dangers of the undertaking
+proposed, and when the commodore suggested that we had better get
+under way at once, he started toward the companion-way as if about to
+embark on some pleasure excursion.
+
+"Are we to take on any weapons?" I asked, remembering the crippled
+muskets, and how dangerous it might be to discharge them.
+
+"Oystermen do not carry modern arms," Joshua Barney said curtly. "Go
+exactly as if you were performing your regular work, as indeed you
+are, except that the price received for your wares does not cut any
+figure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+FEEDING THE ENEMY.
+
+
+It was evident that Commodore Barney did not propose to spend any more
+minutes with us explaining the proposition he had made, and, indeed,
+it really was high time he attended to others, for no less than four
+gentlemen of importance in Nottingham had sent a request for an
+interview.
+
+When the commander arose to his feet, after settling the question as
+to whether we should be prepared to defend ourselves in case the
+occasion required, I started up the companion-way stairs, beckoning
+for Jerry to follow.
+
+Darius Thorpe, although he had been only a sailor, understood somewhat
+of manners among people of gentility, and he saluted properly--which
+we had forgotten to do--while awaiting an opportunity to ascend the
+stairs.
+
+It was as if we no longer had an existence, so far as Commodore Barney
+was concerned. We were not yet out of the cabin when he called an
+orderly to say that he would see such or such a man immediately, and
+began turning over papers on his table without even glancing in our
+direction.
+
+Once on board the Avenger I stopped to face my comrades, thinking that
+now has come the time we should discuss the matter which was of such
+vital importance to ourselves; but Darius said impatiently:
+
+"Why do you stop here, lad? Give the word for gettin' under way, so
+the commodore may see we know how to obey in sailorman fashion, an' if
+there's any talkin' to be done we'll have plenty of time for tongue
+waggin' while runnin' down the river."
+
+"But surely you're not proposing that we shall start without knowing
+where we are going, or what is to be done?" I cried, showing quite as
+much impatience as he had.
+
+"That's jest what I do propose! We can whittle out a plan while the
+pungy is slippin' down stream, as well as if she was made fast here."
+
+"But what about Jim Freeman and his party?"
+
+"There's no reason why they shouldn't go with us; six isn't any too
+many for the crew of an oysterman."
+
+"But do you count on taking them without first explaining the
+situation? It strikes me that when a fellow sets about that which may
+put his neck in a halter, he is entitled to something by way of an
+understanding."
+
+"If that's all which blocks our makin' sail, I'll soon put an end to
+it," and Darius beckoned to Jim and his friends, who were standing
+well forward that they might not seem to be listening to that which
+possibly was not intended for their ears.
+
+The lads came aft quickly, knowing full well by the expression on our
+faces that something serious was afoot, and the old man said bluntly:
+
+"The commodore wants us to spy on the British fleets. If we're caught
+on their anchorage, or nosin' around the ships, pretendin' to be what
+we're not, its a case of hangin', an' salt won't save us. If you lads
+want to stay aboard, takin' the same chances we do, well an' good; if
+not, you'd better go ashore in quick order, for we shall be under way
+mighty soon."
+
+"Shall we be helpin' the government the same as if we stayed aboard
+one of the vessels to do our share of fightin'?" Jim asked, and Darius
+replied:
+
+"Yes, an' a good deal more. If you were taken prisoner after bein' in
+a fight, it's only a case of goin' to jail on one of his majesty's
+ships; but if you're taken while on such work as has been given out to
+us, it's a hangin' for sure, with you at the loose end of the rope."
+
+No one could say that Darius had not put the matter plainly, and I
+expected to see Jim draw back; but to my surprise he said stoutly:
+
+"I reckon we fellows can stand it if you do; we'll stay, an' the
+commodore shan't have a chance to say that we didn't hold up our end
+of the business."
+
+Surely I could make no protest of any kind after Jim had announced
+himself so firmly, and, in order to make it appear that I was really
+eager to set forth on this dangerous expedition, I said quickly:
+
+"Cast off there! Darius, take the tiller! Tail on the halliards,
+lads!"
+
+We got under way in fine style, and as the pungy swung around with the
+current, I saw my father waving his hat from the craft to which he
+belonged, and thus knew he understood we were bound on some service
+for the commander.
+
+Nor was he the only one who bade us a mute adieu. Half the members of
+the fleet made some quiet demonstration in token of good wishes, and
+just then it seemed almost a fine thing to be thus voluntarily going
+into extraordinary danger for the benefit of one's friends and
+acquaintances.
+
+I am well aware that by writing down all my thoughts I have pictured
+myself as a weak-kneed lad, and one who delighted in making a show of
+authority, as has been seen when I was disgruntled because Jerry or
+Darius took it upon themselves to say that this thing or that should
+be done, without first consulting me, and yet I hold it is only fair I
+give the same plain dealing concerning myself as I try to in the case
+of my companions.
+
+Now, however, as we were setting out on a cruise from which not one of
+us might return, I was more than glad to surrender up to Darius the
+charge of the Avenger, and I was determined that he should keep it,
+taking whatsoever of honor might come to the commander, contenting
+myself with being simply a member of the crew who would ever strive to
+obey all orders promptly, whatever might be the situation. And in so
+doing I counted myself to be wise.
+
+The old man remained at the helm speaking not a word, and chewing
+vigorously as we worked the pungy down the reaches in face of a head
+wind, not very strong at that, but the current favored, therefore we
+had the satisfaction of knowing that with all our pulling and hauling
+we were doing better than two and a half miles an hour.
+
+I had expected Darius would propose that we hold a consultation as to
+our future course; but he gave no sign of so doing and Jerry finally
+asked:
+
+"Where are we headin' for?"
+
+"Fishin'."
+
+I turned away, thinking the old man had given an idle answer to evade
+questions; but Jerry was not to be turned down so readily, and he said
+with a laugh:
+
+"We've given over the fishin' business for quite a spell, I reckon.
+'Cordin' to my way of thinkin', an' seein's how this cruise may turn
+out to be anything rather than a picnic, I allow that all hands should
+know what is to be done."
+
+"That's my idee to a dot, lad, an' I'm tryin' to think up some kind of
+a plan so that when you fellows begin to figger, I can put in my oar
+with some show of sense."
+
+"But where do you reckon that we're bound for?"
+
+"Fishin', lad. Where else can we be bound?"
+
+I turned again, understanding now that the old man was serious, and
+asked him if he supposed we could do any spying on the British fleet
+while we were wasting time getting oysters or fish.
+
+"Didn't the commodore allow that we should keep right on bein'
+oystermen?" Darius asked with just a shade of impatience. "How do you
+expect we can sneak around the British fleet unless we've got some
+excuse for goin' there? It was in Joshua Barney's mind, the way I
+looked at it, that we might sell oysters to the fleet, which would
+account for our bein' among the vessels, an' to do that we've got to
+put in a cargo."
+
+It was plain enough, now that the old man had spoken of it, and I
+understood that we had a bit of dredging before us in order to make
+ready for the more important portion of the work.
+
+"But after we get a load, Darius? Shall we sail boldly down the bay,
+asking the Britishers to buy?"
+
+"That's what I've been tryin' to make out. All of you can figger it
+'cordin' to your own idees, an' then we'll talk it over."
+
+Surely this was putting it fairly, and we tried to follow the old
+man's advice, or, at least I did; but without arriving at any
+satisfactory conclusion. The only plan I could put together was that
+we first get our wares and then blunder ahead trying to sell them,
+trusting to luck for the rest.
+
+We were a silent crew for some time, as each fellow tried to think up
+some brilliant scheme, and then, when midnight was nearly come, we had
+arrived off Benedict.
+
+"Why not go ashore for an hour?" Jerry suggested, and all of us gladly
+agreed, I in particular, because I wished to see my mother once more
+now there was no petulance in my heart on account of her willingness
+to have me go into danger.
+
+Darius had no relatives, or even very near friends, in the village,
+therefore he volunteered to keep ship, and Jim Freeman set us ashore
+in the canoe, taking two at a trip, after which each fellow went his
+way.
+
+My mother was overjoyed at seeing me so soon again, even though I
+aroused her from sleep to open the door, and asked so many questions
+that I could do no less than tell her all which had happened since I
+last saw her.
+
+She was frightened at learning what we were about to do, and showed it
+plainly; but never a word did she speak against the project.
+
+"If it is your duty, Amos, I have nothing to say, although I wish most
+heartily that others had been pushed forward into danger, and in thus
+speaking I am selfish, for then some other mother's heart would ache.
+Be as prudent as you can without being cowardly, my boy, and may God
+be ever with you. It is believed in the village that Elias Macomber
+has gone to join the British, because he has not been seen since last
+night; but if he should escape, Amos!"
+
+"There is little fear of that, mother," I replied confidently.
+"Commodore Barney is not the man Darius has pictured him, if he allows
+such a villain to escape."
+
+After this we talked of family matters until I went up stairs to look
+at my sisters and brother who were asleep. Then the visit was come to
+an end, and I went out into the night with a heavy heart; but
+determined that my family should have no cause to blush for me.
+
+I was the first to arrive at the shore, and, lying at full length in
+the canoe, I waited until my comrades returned from their visit.
+
+Jerry and Jim came in company, and appeared to be excited over
+something, therefore to draw them on without asking any questions, I
+repeated what my mother had said concerning Elias Macomber.
+
+"Ay, that was the talk in town this forenoon," Jerry replied; "but now
+people are saying that he came back just before sunset--"
+
+"Back here to Benedict?" I cried in amazement.
+
+"Ay, Jim's mother saw him as he went by her house on the way to his
+own. She saluted him, but he made no reply--"
+
+"But to be here he must have escaped!" I interrupted, unable to hold
+my peace. "The commodore would not have set him at liberty without
+telling us!"
+
+"That goes without sayin', an' now what shall we do?" Jerry asked as
+if he had some plan in mind.
+
+"What can we do, except to get away before he brings some of his
+cronies down here to make a row?"
+
+"Jerry wants to catch him over again," Jim replied, since my partner
+did not speak. "If he's alone in his house it wouldn't be such a
+dreadful hard job, surely not as compared with what we did at the
+mill."
+
+It seemed as if our own safety demanded that we give some especial
+attention to the traitor, and I proposed that we consult with Darius
+at once.
+
+This was agreeable to my companions, and we boarded the Avenger
+without delay, rousing the old man to bitter wrath when we told that
+Elias had escaped.
+
+"Somebody will smart for bein' so careless!" he cried. "Joshua Barney
+ain't the man to overlook anythin' of that kind. Do you allow there
+may be traitors in the fleet? It looks mightily like it when a coward
+like Macomber can give 'em the slip inside of twelve hours, for if he
+was seen in this town at sunset, he must have been at liberty by noon,
+ay, even before we got under way!"
+
+"Jerry thinks we might catch him again, by going at once to his home,"
+I said, impatient to make the attempt or set sail, for I was not easy
+in mind at lying there while the villain was free.
+
+"And Jerry is right!" Darius, exclaimed, darting into the cuddy and
+returning in a twinkling with the old muskets. "See that these are
+well loaded, lads, an' if we can lay hands on that cur again, I'll
+attend to it that he don't walk off like a gentleman at large within
+any very short time."
+
+Well, we found the weapons in fit condition for immediate use, and
+paddled ashore in a hurry, finding Josiah and Dody waiting for us.
+They also had heard that Elias was in the village, and we knew beyond
+a peradventure, even if we had not been certain before, that the cur
+had slipped away from those who should have guarded him with their
+lives.
+
+It was not a long walk to Macomber's house, and on arriving there we
+found the building closely shuttered as if deserted; but we were not
+for taking outside indications as facts.
+
+Although knowing full well that we were not proceeding in accordance
+with the law, since we had no authority for forcing an entrance into a
+dwelling, we burst open the rear door, and made thorough examination
+of the place.
+
+The household goods were tossed and tumbled about as if some one had
+lately been there having little time to spare; but no living thing
+could be found.
+
+The traitor had no children, therefore flight with his wife would be
+comparatively easy, and I was convinced that he had gone down the
+river intending to claim protection from the enemy.
+
+"That's what he has done!" Darius said emphatically when I gave words
+to my belief. "It stands to reason that he went away in a boat, an'
+there's just a chance we may come up with him yet! Let's get on board,
+lads, an' if the Avenger knows how to sail we'll bring it out of her
+this night."
+
+Then we returned with all speed to the shore; but I had little hope we
+could overtake the traitor, because he had at least three or four
+hours the start, and a canoe might be paddled twice as fast as the
+pungy would sail with such a light wind.
+
+Darius, however, seemed certain we would overtake him, and urged us
+lads to greater speed or more severe exertions until the little vessel
+was under way, gliding down the river but little faster than the
+current would carry a canoe even though no paddles were used.
+
+So eager in the chase was Darius that he would not allow either of us
+to go below, but insisted that all hands remain on the lookout, lest
+we over-run the game, and losing no little time as he swung the
+Avenger in close to this bank or that where the overhanging foliage
+afforded a hiding place for a small boat.
+
+Not until daylight did we arrive off St. Leonard's bay, and it goes
+without saying that we had seen nothing of our traitor, neither had we
+come across a craft of any kind.
+
+"He's bound now to go on until he overtakes the British fleet," Darius
+said angrily when the coming of daylight revealed the shores to us.
+"We'll have the best of him once we're out of the river!"
+
+"You can't keep up the chase much longer if we count on gettin' a
+cargo of oysters," Jerry suggested, and the old man declared that he
+would never throw over a dredge until it became certain that Macomber
+had really escaped us.
+
+But after some reflection he was willing to take back his words,
+knowing we could not go very far into the lower bay without some
+excuse for being there, and also realizing that we must never pursue
+Elias within sight of any vessel of the fleet, otherwise he might give
+such information as would cut short our career in this world.
+
+With the coming of the new day the wind came out of the west with a
+force that gave promise of providing the pungy with a goodly sized
+bone in her teeth, and in case Macomber was no more than two hours in
+advance there was yet some possibility of overtaking him.
+
+We usually dredged for oysters off Hog Point, or Parker's creek,
+therefore in a short time we would be on the fishing grounds, unless
+we took the risk of standing across the mouth of the Potomac on the
+chance of seeing the traitor, and I did not believe he would venture
+to make that long stretch while the breeze was so strong.
+
+By the time we arrived at the mouth of the river there was no
+necessity of discussing the situation, for the chase had surely come
+to an end.
+
+However great his need of coming up with the British, Elias Macomber
+knew too much to trust himself in a canoe on the open bay while the
+wind held as it did, and we knew beyond a peradventure that if he had
+not already gained the fleet, he was hiding on shore somewhere.
+
+It would be folly to spend time in such a needle-in-the-haystack
+business as looking for him on shore when we had no clue to guide us,
+as even Darius was forced to admit, and, therefore, we set about the
+work in hand, which was the dredging of oysters enough to give us
+excuse for seeking out the enemy.
+
+It seemed to all of us that we were in more danger through information
+which Elias might give, than we would have been while playing the spy
+with him safely cared for on one of the vessels of Commodore Barney's
+flotilla, and we went about the work as if it was possible to feel the
+chafing of British halters around our necks.
+
+We began dredging exactly as we would have done had we been trying to
+get a cargo for the Baltimore market, and never a sail did we see
+during all that day, a fact which told us that the enemy was not yet
+ready to open his campaign.
+
+Not until well into the night would Darius allow that we had a
+sufficient quantity of oysters to warrant us in finding purchasers,
+and even then there was no more than fifteen bushels aboard.
+
+"It will do for a starter," Jerry said when Jim Freeman proposed that
+we spend one more day dredging.
+
+"But the first Britisher we came across would buy as many as we've
+got," Jim objected, and Jerry replied with the air of one who has
+thoroughly turned the matter over in his mind:
+
+"So much the better. We shall then have established ourselves in the
+business, and can come back for another cargo. There will be less
+suspicion of us the second time."
+
+"I reckon you're right, lad," Darius said decidedly. "We can't expect
+to gather much of any news the first pop, an' if we get acquainted, it
+will be a long step in the right direction."
+
+As a matter of course, the old man's opinion settled the question, and
+we hauled around for a run down the bay, double reefing the mainsail
+and jib, as was proper when you take into consideration the fact that
+we had the same as no cargo aboard to give the pungy stiffness.
+
+Up to this time neither one had made any proposition as to how we were
+to begin operations, and I naturally concluded that we would sail
+boldly up to the first craft we saw, asking if we could sell them
+oysters, therefore I suggested, when we were standing off on a course
+that would bring us on to the Tangier Islands:
+
+"If we keep up this rate of speed, we may come upon the enemy while it
+is yet night."
+
+"Ay, lad, an' I'm thinkin' it would be a good plan."
+
+"But people don't go out sellin' things before daylight," I said with
+a laugh.
+
+"I'm countin' on bein' properly interduced," Darius replied with a
+grin. "If we're hailed, an' ordered to lay by till mornin', we shall
+have one ship's crew that'll listen to us."
+
+I did not understand this explanation more than if it had been given
+in Latin; but the others appeared to be satisfied, and I held my peace
+rather than display ignorance.
+
+We kept our course a couple of hours, and, then, directly in a line
+with the Tangiers, I saw the loom of what appeared to be a large ship.
+
+"There's one of the fleet," I said in a whisper to Darius, who was at
+the tiller, and he replied in a matter-of-fact tone:
+
+"Ay, lad, I'm allowin' she's the Severn or the Narcissus, both of
+which made it hot for the commodore in the Patuxent."
+
+"How large are they?"
+
+"The Severn should be carryin' thirty-eight guns, an' the other four
+less, if I remember rightly."
+
+"I had rather we made our first attempt with a smaller vessel," I
+said, feeling decidedly uncomfortable in mind now we were so near
+beginning the dangerous work.
+
+"Bless you, lad, we might as well be overhauled by a frigate as a
+sloop, so far as the chances of bein' found out are concerned; but
+we're goin' through this business as slick as we did at the mill."
+
+Darius held the Avenger straight for the enemy, and when we were come
+within half a musket-shot I heard the hail we had been expecting:
+
+"Sloop ahoy!"
+
+"Ay, ay, sir!" Darius cried.
+
+"What craft is that?"
+
+"An oyster pungy with part of a cargo which we're hopin' to sell, sir.
+Can we do any business with you?"
+
+"Heave to, an' lay alongside until daylight."
+
+"Very well, sir," the old man cried, and then he let fly a lot of
+orders to us of the crew which would have shamed a landsman to utter,
+for of a verity no sailor could have understood them.
+
+However, by giving no heed to what he said, we brought the Avenger
+into position; but I soon saw that the tide was setting us away from
+the Britisher, and suggested that we let go the anchor.
+
+To this the old man would not agree.
+
+"Obey orders if you break owners," he said with a grin, and I knew he
+had some reason for thus being so foolish.
+
+However, to make a long story short, we remained hove to until day
+dawned, and then we were within a cable's length of a large ship,
+while a mile or more further up the bay was the vessel that had first
+hailed.
+
+"Ahoy on the sloop!" came from the second ship, and Darius replied in
+the tone of a countryman:
+
+"Ay, ay, sir."
+
+"Why are you loafing around here?"
+
+"We came down to sell some oysters; but the chap on t'other craft told
+us to heave to, an' we've been driftin' 'round here ever since. I
+dunno whether we ought'er go back to him, or try to sell you what few
+bushels we've got."
+
+"When did you take them?"
+
+"Last night. Oh, they're fresh enough, if that's what you're thinkin'
+of. Don't you want to try 'em?"
+
+"What is the price?"
+
+"Ten cents a bushel; that's what we ought'er get up to Baltimore, an'
+I reckon we might knock off a little if we don't have to run there to
+unload."
+
+Then, without waiting for permission, Darius began giving us fool
+orders intended to get the pungy under way, and we came lumbering
+around under the ship's starboard, where we could have been blown into
+the next world with no more labor than the lighting of a match.
+
+Darius lifted one of the hatches and leaped into the hold ordering us
+to "bear a hand lively that the gentlemen might taste the oysters,"
+and passing up a basket full, shouting to me so loudly that he could
+readily have been heard on the ship:
+
+"Pass 'em over the side, Bubby dear, an' be careful how you fool
+'round the rail!"
+
+I should have laughed at his manner of speaking but that I knew he was
+playing a part, and I did my best to obey the command.
+
+The sailors of the ship, eager for anything by way of a change of
+food, held out both hands invitingly for the fish, and I contrived to
+swing the basket aboard.
+
+Then it was that I saw an officer take charge of the fish, calling for
+the after steward to come forward, and a moment later some one cried:
+
+"Where's your captain?"
+
+I sung out for Darius; but he pretended to misunderstand, and replied:
+
+"They can have the lot for eight cents a bushel. Ask 'em if I shall
+begin takin' 'em out?"
+
+Then it was that I fancied he had some good reason for wanting to
+remain out of sight, and I looked around in alarm to see what had
+caused the trouble.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.
+
+
+Jerry was at the tiller; Jim Freeman and his friends stood near me at
+the main-hatch ready to obey the commands of Darius, and since all
+hands of us, with the exception of Josiah Coburn, really were
+oystermen, knowing no other business or trade, there was little reason
+for the Britishers to have any suspicions regarding us.
+
+It was evident, however, that Darius had seen something to cause him
+alarm, otherwise he would not remain in the hold, having a care to
+keep out of sight while he might be seeing much which would please the
+commander to hear about.
+
+So far as I could make out, the Britishers regarded us as ignorant
+fishermen who were trying to earn a very slim livelihood by selling
+oysters at a price which would hardly pay enough to provide food for a
+crew the size of ours.
+
+Three or four of the petty officers were making very awkward attempts
+to open the shells with a marlin-spike, while the idle crew, having
+nothing better to do, watched the proceedings on their ship as well as
+aboard our craft.
+
+I was not looking for an explanation of the old man's behavior among
+the seamen, therefore gave little heed to the old shell-backs who
+lined the starboard rail from the forecastle-deck to the mainmast.
+
+Gaze intently as I might, it was impossible to see anything which
+could have caused Darius uneasiness, and I dismissed the matter from
+my mind with the belief that he remained hidden from view simply to
+avoid being recognized as an old sailor whom it would pay to impress
+into his majesty's service.
+
+It was just when I was growing a trifle more cheerful in mind because
+of having banished the fears which assailed me when the old man leaped
+so suddenly into the hold, that one of the officers called out:
+
+"Here, you Bubby, come aboard and show us how to open these
+shell-fish!"
+
+"Will one of your men stand by for our line, sir?" I asked, because
+the pungy was bobbing around on the small waves ten feet or more from
+the ship's side, and I was not minded to take the chances of jumping
+for the rail when there was good possibility of landing in the water.
+
+The Britisher said something to the knot of men forward, and several
+of them stepped forward, overhanging the rail, while Jerry made ready
+to pass one of the small hawsers.
+
+I stopped only long enough to get one of our oyster-knives from the
+cuddy, and by that time the Avenger was alongside the ship, rubbing
+against the huge fenders which had been swung out.
+
+At the moment there was no thought of fear in my mind because I was
+thus venturing into the very jaws of the lion; I had it in mind only
+to play my part well, and believed that by showing the gentlemen how
+easily the shells might be opened, I would be forwarding our business.
+
+Much to my surprise, when I would have clambered aboard the ship,
+whose rail towered many feet above ours, one of the sailors leaned far
+over to give me aid when it was not really needed. He grasped both my
+hands in a grip as of iron, holding me back when it appeared that he
+would pull me aboard, and while I was thus hampered, I heard him
+whisper:
+
+"Tell Darius Thorpe to be to the eastward of the Tangiers this night!"
+
+Having thus spoken, he hauled me inboard quickly, disappearing
+immediately among the throng of men which literally covered the ship's
+deck.
+
+"Well, Bubby, have you gone daft?"
+
+This aroused me to the consciousness that I was playing my part very
+badly, and I quickly went to the after-hatchway where was our basket
+of oysters around which several officers were standing.
+
+Without speaking I whipped out the oyster-knife, and, using the
+combing of the hatch as a bench, set about opening the shells as
+rapidly as the most expert could have done.
+
+The gentlemen were so astonished at seeing me do readily what they had
+failed at, that I had a good two dozen fat oysters ready for the
+eating before any one made an attempt at swallowing them.
+
+From that out, until the basket was emptied, I was kept busy, and
+although I searched with my eyes while thus engaged, it was impossible
+to single out the sailor who had sent the message to Darius.
+
+When there was nothing before me but shells, and one of the officers
+asked if my father was going to send more aboard, I thought it would
+be more in keeping with my part to act like a lad who was eager to
+receive money for his cargo, therefore I replied that we would send
+the whole load aboard at the rate of eight cents a bushel.
+
+To this proposition the gentleman agreed, and I called out for the
+others to begin slinging the baskets up, counting on lending a hand to
+take them over the rail; but I was not allowed to abandon my job of
+oyster-opener.
+
+I worked as lively as I ever did in my life, and it surely seemed as
+if I would not be allowed to go on board the Avenger until the entire
+cargo had been eaten, therefore I called for Jerry to help me, after
+our small lot had been dumped on the ship's hold.
+
+Darius did not come out of the hold. He had good excuse for remaining
+there while we were unloading; but once the pungy was empty I greatly
+feared suspicions might be aroused by his remaining hidden from view.
+
+Not until Jerry and I had opened a full two bushels, and given one of
+the cooks a few lessons in the manner of holding a knife to the best
+advantage while shucking, were we allowed to cease the tiresome labor,
+for it must be known that we did not claim to be experts at such work.
+
+One of the officers paid us for the cargo, and agreed to take as many
+every other day while they remained at that station.
+
+As if eager to know how long we might find a ready market thereabouts,
+I asked if he could tell me when there was a possibility of the ship's
+being moved; but he shut his mouth as close as any of our oysters,
+saying that it was enough for us to know that they would patronize us
+while they remained there, consequently I did not succeed in getting
+any information for Commodore Barney.
+
+I explained my reasons for asking such a question, by saying that it
+would be a waste of time for us to sail down the bay when the fleets
+were not there, because our only other market was at Annapolis or
+Baltimore, and he said with a laugh:
+
+"When we're not here you can look for us further north, and we will
+take your oysters wherever we go."
+
+I observed that we were on board the Narcissus, and thus understood
+that Darius had made no mistake when he gave that name to the ship,
+therefore my admiration for the old man's knowledge of nautical
+matters increased, for only an experienced seaman could have thus
+recognized a craft he had seen but once before.
+
+By setting down so much when our business was concluded, it would
+appear as if we loafed on the deck of the ship some time, whereas we
+were given to understand that our room was better than our company
+immediately the transaction was completed, and in a very few seconds
+after the officers allowed Jerry and I to cease the labor of shucking,
+we were aboard the Avenger, getting under way.
+
+"Look at the name they've given that old bargee!" one of the gentlemen
+on the quarter-deck cried with a laugh as the pungy swung around until
+the letters on her stern could be read. "These Americans may be hot
+for vengeance; but I take notice that they're ready to feed the enemy
+if there's a dollar to be made."
+
+All this seemed very funny to the Britishers, and they cracked many a
+quip and joke at our expense, as I guessed by the roars of laughter
+which could be heard so long as we were within earshot.
+
+Darius came on deck once we had filled away; but he kept his hat
+pulled well down over his face as he walked aft from the main-hatch,
+and when he had taken the tiller I asked:
+
+"What were you afraid of that you kept under cover so close?"
+
+"It was a mighty snug shave, lad," he replied with a long indrawing of
+the breath. "I knew one of the men on the forecastle deck, 'cause I
+was shipmate with him on the privateer Honest Ben, when Joshua Barney
+was in command. I'm not sayin' that he'd given me away; but I feared
+he might sing out on seein' me."
+
+"What is his name?"
+
+"Bill Jepson. He's a Baltimore man; but whether he's there owin' to
+fallin' in with a press-gang, or on account of his own free will, it's
+hard to say, though I never believed Bill would willingly have served
+the king."
+
+"He wants you to be to the eastward of the Tangiers this night," I
+said, and the old man started as if he had been struck by a bullet.
+
+"How do you know, lad?"
+
+Then I told him when the sailor had had speech with me, and again
+repeated the message.
+
+"That shows as how poor Bill was pressed into the service," Darius
+said sympathetically, "an' now he's countin' that an old shipmate will
+lend a hand."
+
+"Which of course you will do!" I cried hotly.
+
+"We must make some kind of a turn to favor him; but we're here on the
+commodore's business, an' the question is whether we'll be warranted
+in doin' what may turn all the plans upside down. Bill reckons to slip
+over the side, an' swim ashore. If we're roundabout here, the
+Britishers will count it for certain that we had a hand in the
+desertion, an' the Avenger may be taken from us before we've got well
+into our work. The king's officers ain't noways easy in handlin' them
+as tries to get the best of 'em."
+
+"But if the man swims for the islands expectin' to find us, and we're
+not there, he'll be retaken."
+
+"Ay, lad, an' most likely dance at the yard-arm for desertion."
+
+"Then of course we must help him," and I beckoned to Jerry, knowing
+full well he would fall into my way of thinking.
+
+Before anything could be said between my partner and me, however, the
+Avenger had come off the Severn, and we received peremptory orders to
+heave to.
+
+"Why didn't you remain alongside, as you were told?" an officer asked
+angrily when the pungy was at a standstill, and Darius replied:
+
+"The current carried us down the bay durin' the night, an' when
+mornin' came the captain of that other ship ordered us alongside, sir.
+He bought our cargo an' agreed to take more, so if you'd like to
+trade with us, we can have fifteen or twenty bushels here by to-morrow
+night, in case the wind holds."
+
+I could see that two or three of the gentlemen on the quarter-deck put
+their heads together, as if talking about us, and then the one who had
+first spoken ordered us to lay alongside.
+
+"They're goin' to search us, an' it may be I'll have an invite to stop
+aboard quite a spell." Darius said half to himself as he swung the
+pungy around preparatory to obeying orders.
+
+"Then why do we go alongside? It wouldn't take many minutes to run out
+of range," I said excitedly.
+
+"They'd sink us in a twinkling, an' even though I knew we might give
+'em the slip, it shouldn't be done, 'cause we couldn't come here
+again, which never'd suit the commodore."
+
+The possibility that any of our crew might be pressed into service on
+board the ship frightened me, as may be imagined; but I understood
+even while making the suggestion, that we could not hope to escape,
+and the fate of poor Tom Sackett was pictured before me.
+
+There was no way out of it, however, but my knees were very weak when
+we ranged up under the starboard guns, waiting like criminals until
+his majesty's officers should work their will regardless of right or
+wrong.
+
+Darius was the one who stood in the most danger, for it could readily
+be seen that he was an old sailor; but he never turned a hair. One
+would have said to see him that nothing was more pleasant than to thus
+be overhauled, and he made a most awkward flourish by way of a bow
+when we were come into position.
+
+Jim Freeman passed a hawser, and when it was made fast a midshipman,
+who acted as if he owned the whole of Chesapeake Bay, came aboard with
+two marines.
+
+The little whipper-snapper poked his nose into the cuddy, and
+pretended to be nearly overcome by the odor of the place, therefore he
+sent the marines below to overturn everything in the bunks, as if
+believing we had somebody hidden there.
+
+The soldiers came up with our three old muskets, and the little
+whifflet demanded in a tone of authority to be told why we went so
+well armed.
+
+"We carry 'em, sir, so's we can get a mess of ducks now an' then,"
+Darius replied as respectfully as if he had been speaking to the king.
+"They ain't any great shakes of guns, seein's how all of 'em are
+rusted pretty bad; but we oystermen can't afford anythin' better."
+
+One would have thought the little ape had found three or four
+thirty-two pounders, by the way he passed them up over the rail for
+the inspection of the officers on the quarter-deck, and then he
+turned his attention to the hold.
+
+I heard the gentlemen laughing as they looked at our weapons, and in a
+twinkling the pieces were thrown down on the deck with so little care
+that the hammer of one was broken off short to the lock, but those who
+served the king had little care how they destroyed the property of
+those whose crime consisted in being born Americans.
+
+The midshipman got one whiff from the hold, which I'm free to admit
+wasn't pleasing, and the soldiers were sent below while he stood with
+a handkerchief decked out with lace held to his nose, as if in danger
+of fainting.
+
+As a matter of course nothing was found below, save a lot of mud and
+some oyster shells. A blind man might have seen that so far as the
+vessel was concerned she could be nothing more than an honest
+oysterman; but the whifflet forced the marines to search over every
+portion of the hold, and while this was being done one of the officers
+asked how many bushels we sold to those of the Narcissus.
+
+Darius replied to the question, speaking as nearly unlike a sailor as
+possible, and not until he had stated the price, showing British
+silver as proof of the amount received, was the curiosity of the
+gentleman satisfied.
+
+Then the midshipman clambered over the side of the ship to make his
+report, and the moment had come when if any of our number were to be
+taken from us, we would be made aware of it.
+
+I stood by the side of Darius trembling with apprehension, and even
+amid my fear I took note of the fact that Jerry was feeling far from
+comfortable in mind, while the old man chewed incessantly on a huge
+piece of tobacco that caused his cheeks to swell out as if on the
+point of bursting.
+
+Although we had good cause for being frightened, nothing came of it,
+and never did words sound more sweetly in my ears than when one of the
+officers said:
+
+"You can get on about your business; but don't make the mistake again
+of trying to get below us without first reporting."
+
+"We wasn't countin' on goin' very far away, sir," Darius replied
+awkwardly. "There's good fishin' to be found around the islands here,
+an' I was reckonin' on gettin' the drags out."
+
+"Very well, but see to it that you heave to when coming nearabout, and
+remain until getting permission to proceed."
+
+"Yes sir, I'll do it for certain," Darius cried, and as one of the
+Britisher's crew cast off our hawser, we filled away, standing to the
+northeast.
+
+There was not one aboard the Avenger who did not realize what a narrow
+escape we had had from being forced to serve the king, and I dare
+venture to say that all hands drew a breath of relief as the pungy
+sailed beyond range of the big guns.
+
+"Where are you bound?" Jerry asked when he was sufficiently master of
+himself to note the course.
+
+"I reckon we'll run over to Pocomoke; we'll find oysters in that
+locality, such as they are, an' there's no need of running too far
+away from the market."
+
+"You're goin' to lend Bill Jepson a hand!" I cried joyfully, for it
+would have gone far toward breaking my heart to turn a deaf ear to the
+poor fellow's appeal.
+
+"That's just what I ain't so clear about," Darius replied
+thoughtfully. "Suppose we talk the matter over a bit."
+
+I called Jim Freeman and his friends aft, knowing full well what their
+opinion would be, and when we were together, repeated the story as I
+had told it to the old man.
+
+Then Darius explained that by helping a sailor to desert from one of
+the enemy's ships, we might get into serious difficulties, to say
+nothing of losing the sloop, and he also put it very plainly that in
+going outside the task set us, we stood a good chance of disappointing
+the commodore.
+
+It was Jerry who put the matter to my liking, when he said:
+
+"There are chances in favor of our bein' able to do this without
+interferin' with the work set for us by the commodore; but there isn't
+much hope for the sailor if he swims over to the Tangiers an' fails of
+findin' us waitin' for him. You say he'll be hanged if they catch him
+tryin' to desert. I don't believe I could sleep well nights if we
+should leave this place, an' he met with his death."
+
+All hands of us felt much as did Jerry, and after thinking the matter
+over a moment Darius said slowly, as if choosing well his words:
+
+"You lads must understand that I'm as hot for helpin' Bill as you can
+be; but we're doin' our little part in a war, an' at such times the
+life of one man don't count for very much when the good of others is
+concerned. To tell the truth, I couldn't really say what we ought'er
+do if I studied the thing over for four an' twenty hours. You lads own
+this 'ere pungy, an' I allow you have the right to say somethin' as to
+what shall be done with her, though you the same as put the craft out
+of your keepin' when you took a guarantee from the commodore that so
+many dollars should be paid in case she was lost. We'll consider it as
+settled, an' now get to work. Swing out the drags, an' we'll let the
+Britishers see that we're fishin', even though it ain't noways likely
+we'll get much here."
+
+I am free to confess that Darius' words made me a bit uneasy in mind
+regarding our deciding the matter, for I knew full well that he had
+spoken no more than the truth. It would be hard on Bill Jepson if we
+gave him the cold shoulder; but by trying to lend a hand we might be
+doing others a wrong.
+
+However, the question had been decided, and there was little sense in
+crying over spilled milk, for I was not minded to make any effort at
+bringing about a change of opinion, therefore I turned to with the
+others that we might appear to be industriously fishing.
+
+Darius stood to the eastward until we were in Pocomoke bay, and there
+we stood a good show of getting fifteen or twenty bushels before it
+would be time to be at the rendezvous appointed by Bill Jepson.
+
+During all this while we had the enemy's fleets in fairly good view,
+for the vessels appeared to be to the northward of New Point; but, as
+a matter of course, it could be of little benefit to the commodore to
+know how many vessels there were, if we could not give him any idea of
+their weight of metal.
+
+It was nearly noon before we got breakfast, and when the meal was come
+to an end we had struck some small oyster beds, therefore we were kept
+jumping from that time until dark, and then had on board a good twenty
+bushels of fair stock. Not enough from a money-making point of view;
+but plenty to serve our purpose, for it might not be well to let the
+Britishers think we could take on a cargo quickly.
+
+Now the greater portion of this time we were in view of those aboard
+the two vessels we had visited, and by using their spy-glasses it
+would have been possible for them to make out what we were doing.
+
+Once the night began to shut in, however, we were out of sight, and
+Darius said as we hauled in the drags for the last time:
+
+"Now we'll run over for the Tangiers, lads, an' stay there till two or
+three o'clock in the mornin'. If Bill don't show up by that time we
+must count that he couldn't get away, or was caught in the act."
+
+"Are you simply reckoning on laying off the islands?" I asked,
+understanding that a man might swim ashore at one point while we were
+at another, and easily fail of finding us.
+
+"I reckon that some of us will take to the canoe, an' cruise off the
+western shore lookin' for him. His best time for makin' the try will
+be when the last dog-watch goes off duty at eight o'clock, or again at
+midnight. It won't be easy to paddle 'round so long; but it's a man's
+life that you're after."
+
+"Jerry and I will go in the canoe," I said, thinking it no more than
+right for us to perform the greatest share of the labor since we were
+held, by Darius, responsible for making the attempt to aid the sailor.
+
+We made a hearty supper that night, eating the last of the ham, and
+frying a generous quantity of oysters with it, and then the pungy was
+hove to on the westward side of the large island, as near inshore as
+we dared to run.
+
+I proposed that she be anchored lest the wind set her on the beach;
+but Darius claimed that it was necessary for us to be ready to leave
+at a moment's notice, and promised to have an eye on the craft all the
+while we were absent.
+
+Then Jerry and I took to the canoe, with good prospect of half a
+night's work before us, and paddled around to the eastward, after
+which we set about going back and forth for a distance of a quarter of
+a mile, since that seemed to be the place a man naturally would make
+for.
+
+We could see the riding lights of the ship plainly, and although it
+would require considerable labor to swim so far, it should be readily
+done by one who was at all familiar with the work.
+
+"We'd find ourselves in a pretty hobble if a boat put off from the
+ship just now," Jerry said in a low tone, and I was angry with him for
+having offered such a suggestion. There was enough in the venture to
+make a fellow nervous, without conjuring up all the possibilities at a
+time when one needed to have his wits about him.
+
+"We won't think of anything except trying to pick the poor man up," I
+said sharply. "This isn't the kind of work that suits me, and I'm not
+so cold-blooded that I can picture out all the trouble which may come
+upon us."
+
+"A fellow can't help thinkin'," Jerry replied grumpily, and I said yet
+more curtly:
+
+"He needn't talk about it to mix others up." Then, angered with myself
+for having spoken so petulantly, I added, "To tell the truth, Jerry, I
+am as frightened as a lad well can be, and don't dare to talk overly
+much lest I should show the white feather in a way to make you ashamed
+of me."
+
+"You can't be any worse off than I am," my partner replied, and then
+we both laughed softly. An acknowledgment of our timorousness seemed
+to hearten us, and we worked the paddles in a more whole-souled
+fashion.
+
+As I have said, we decided to pull back and forth on a line about a
+quarter of a mile long, and all the while kept a sharp watch in the
+direction of the vessel, for a swimmer's head on the water is not a
+very large object to see in the night.
+
+We did not dare indulge in much conversation, and during an hour we
+had not spoken once; but then I said, thinking to spare ourselves
+useless labor:
+
+"If he slipped off at eight o'clock, he should have been here by this
+time. We may as well lay still till midnight."
+
+I had hardly ceased speaking when we heard a sound as of some one
+whistling softly, and nothing more was needed to tell us that Bill
+Jepson had succeeded in slipping away from the ship.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE DESERTER.
+
+
+Even after knowing that the deserter was near at hand, we had
+considerable difficulty in locating him, and not until after making a
+complete circle around the swimmer could I see his head.
+
+As we came alongside he grasped the gunwale to rest himself, and
+asked:
+
+"Are you from the oysterman?"
+
+"Ay, shan't we take you aboard now? The pungy is on the other side of
+the island."
+
+"The canoe would be overturned if I attempted to come over the rail.
+Paddle into shoaler water, an' I'll try it."
+
+"Tired out?" I asked as we worked the craft toward the shore, he still
+holding by the gunwale.
+
+"Nothin' to speak of when its a case of escapin' from the Britishers.
+I'd tried this a week ago if I hadn't known that the first search
+would be made on the island, an' I didn't dare take the chances of
+findin' them as would help me off."
+
+We were not many moments in coming to the beach, and then Bill Jepson
+clambered over the stern, not being hampered overly much by wet
+clothing, since he had come off with nothing save his trousers and
+shirt.
+
+"I was willin' to leave all my dunnage, providin' I could say good by
+to the bloomin' ship. When we put in here I counted on seein' friends
+'most anywhere, for I hail from Baltimore way; but Darius Thorpe's was
+the first friendly face I came across. A good honest sailorman is
+Darius, an' I knew he wouldn't leave me in a hole if it was possible
+for him to lend a hand."
+
+Jepson had nothing startling to tell relative to his escape from the
+ship. When the watch was changed he quietly slipped over the side,
+dropping into the water without making any disturbance, and swimming
+beneath the surface, coming up to breathe only when it was absolutely
+necessary, until he was a full half-mile from the Severn.
+
+As we paddled around the island, putting in our best strokes, for we
+had no desire to be found in that vicinity when it was discovered on
+the British ship that one of the crew had deserted, I asked Jepson how
+he chanced to be aboard the enemy's vessel, and while his story
+related to a cruel wrong, it was in no wise exciting, or unusual.
+
+Five months before the declaration of war he was taken from an
+American merchantman on the flimsy pretex of being an English citizen,
+and since then had led what he called "a dog's life" aboard several
+of the king's ships. Never before had he seen an opportunity to
+escape, and now he knew full well that, if caught, he would be hanged.
+
+Now that we had the man I began to question as to what should be done
+with him, for it was certain we must not take the chances of keeping
+him aboard the Avenger, and I could well understand that he might not
+want to remain if we were to fish in that vicinity.
+
+It seemed almost as if he read that which was in my mind for he said
+after a long time of silence:
+
+"I'm only half free now, for your pungy will be searched if you go
+anywhere near the Narcissus again, an' the question is, how I am to
+get to the mainland?"
+
+"We could put you ashore in Maryland," I suggested.
+
+"Yes, an' I'd starve to death before gettin' anywhere, unless you ran
+further up the bay than I allow you've any right to go," he said with
+a laugh which had in it nothing of mirth.
+
+"What's the sense of stewin' over that part of it now?" Jerry asked.
+"Wait till you get aboard the pungy, an' I dare say Darius will have a
+plan all worked out."
+
+"He's a good one, is Darius, an' when he settles on a thing it comes
+mighty near bein' sound. We'll wait, an' I'll spell one of you lads
+with a paddle, if you'll give me a show."
+
+"After swimming so far I reckon you'd better lay still," I replied,
+and from that time until we ran alongside the Avenger not a word was
+spoken between us.
+
+If I had expected to see anything affecting in the meeting between the
+two old shipmates, I was mistaken.
+
+Darius, who was on the lookout for us as may be supposed, said when he
+saw that the canoe had three occupants:
+
+"So you got him, eh? Well, Bill Jepson wasn't born to be drowned,
+that's certain."
+
+Then the old man passed us a line, and the deserter said as he went
+over the rail:
+
+"I knew I could depend on you, Darius."
+
+"You made a mistake this time, Bill, for if the boys hadn't hogged up
+agin it, I'd left you to do the best you could, seein's we're down
+here on a bit of work for Commodore Joshua Barney, whose fleet is in
+the Patuxent river, as perhaps you have heard."
+
+"Well there! I knew you wouldn't be foolin' round here oysterin' while
+able seamen are likely in good demand. I'd be well fixed if I could
+run across the commodore just now."
+
+"That's what I've been thinking'. Of course it don't stand to reason
+you can stay here a great many hours."
+
+"I must be off before daylight, an' am countin' on your tellin' me
+where."
+
+"What do you know about the Britishers?"
+
+"Considerable which has been picked up from the marines who've been on
+duty aft. There won't be any move made for two or three days, an' then
+they're goin' to strike Washington an' Baltimore at the same time. Sir
+Peter Parker goes to our home, an' Captain Gordon will run up the
+Potomac. Leastways, that's what we of the gun-deck have heard, an' you
+know that what leaks through the sentries is most generally to be
+counted on."
+
+"Ever been up the Patuxent river?" Darius asked abruptly.
+
+"Only two or three times."
+
+"Well that's where you ought'er be, tellin' the commodore all you
+know, an' if the three of you agree, here's a plan we'll try."
+
+Darius looked at Jerry and me as he spoke, therefore I understood that
+we were counted as two of the three to whom he referred.
+
+"I'm agreeable to anythin' you figger out, Darius," Bill Jepson said
+as he wrung the water from his scanty clothing.
+
+"Well then, Amos an' Jerry shall take you in the canoe, an' start for
+Nottingham within the next ten minutes. Since they left to look for
+you I've been fixin' up a sail for the craft, an' with a breeze like
+this you ought'er be well across the Potomac by sunrise."
+
+"Don't you need the lads with you?" Jepson asked as Jerry and I looked
+at each other in surprise, and, perhaps, displeasure.
+
+"Yes; but not so much as I need to hear from the commodore after he
+knows what you've got to say."
+
+"The Britishers are certain to search this craft 'twixt now an'
+to-morrow night, an' seein' the canoe is gone, may smell a rat," the
+deserter suggested.
+
+"I reckoned all that in with my figgerin'. If you start for the
+Patuxent river I shall run over to the Delaware shore an' pick up a
+boat somewhere."
+
+"They knew how much of a crew you had when the oyster bargain was
+made."
+
+"Well, what if the boys went ashore to go home for a couple of days?
+That yarn will go down, I reckon, an' if it don't I'll have to take
+the chances for the sake of gettin' you to Joshua Barney as soon as it
+can be done."
+
+Darius had evidently considered the plan well, and I understood that
+nothing would turn him from it unless one of us flatly refused to
+carry it into execution, which, considering all the importance of
+getting information to the commodore, I was not prepared to do. At the
+same time, the idea of going back to Nottingham in no better craft
+than our canoe, was by no means to my liking.
+
+"If you've got it worked out, Darius Thorpe, an' allow it should be
+done, I'm ready," Bill Jepson said, "an' it ain't noways strange that
+I should be willin' to jump at anythin', considerin' I'm like to go to
+the yard-arm if captured now."
+
+The old man looked inquiringly at Jerry, and my partner said slowly
+much as if not being exactly certain what he thought of the scheme:
+
+"I'm willin' to go if it so be you want to keep the pungy here; but
+'cordin' to my way of thinkin' the chances are against our gettin'
+there in the canoe."
+
+"You can do it if the wind don't breeze up, an' it ain't likely to at
+this time of the year." Then, as if considering the question settled
+absolutely, Darius cried out to Jim, "Have you stowed everythin' in
+the canoe?"
+
+"Ay, sir, an' I've taken all the provisions for them, so we'll be left
+to suck our thumbs when we get right hungry."
+
+Darius not only planned the journey while we were absent; but had gone
+ahead with the preparations as if advised in advance that we would
+agree to it.
+
+"Well, there was no use in hanging back, since the thing must be done,
+and I had sense enough to know that if we were going to make the
+venture the sooner it was begun the better chance we had for
+succeeding, therefore I went over the rail into the canoe, where I
+found a small sprit-sail, a package of food, and one musket with
+powder and balls sufficient for two or three charges.
+
+"We've done the best we could by you, lad," Darius called out as he
+saw me examining the cargo. "You'll soon be where you can lay in a
+good supply."
+
+"Yes, if we don't go to the bottom first," I replied just a trifle
+sharply, whereat Darius replied with a laugh:
+
+"I'll trust you for that part of the business. Bill Jepson should be a
+master hand with a paddle, an' take it all in all, you're bound to
+push ahead right fast."
+
+"How are we to find you again?" Jerry asked.
+
+"The commodore will attend to that part of it. We'll stay here foolin'
+around as agreed upon, for a week--unless we get important news before
+then--, an' if you haven't shown up I'll allow that Joshua Barney set
+you about other business."
+
+Jerry and Bill Jepson took their places in the canoe, the latter
+stepping the small spar to which the bit of canvas was rigged, and as
+I ran a paddle out over the stern to take the place of a rudder, I was
+astonished at feeling that the little craft was making remarkably good
+headway.
+
+Almost at the same moment we started, the pungy was hauled around for
+the Delaware shore, and in less than five minutes she was lost to view
+in the darkness.
+
+"How is she doin'?" the old sailor asked as he leaned over to watch
+the rush of water along the side.
+
+"Better than we could shove her with the paddles," I replied, not
+feeling overly inclined to talk very much.
+
+"Then I can't see but that everything is as smooth as grease, an'
+what's better'n all else, we're leavin' the bloomin' Britishers astern
+in a way to make my heart glad. The wind is likely to increase before
+it lessens, so we'll be a good bit on our way by sunrise."
+
+"Ay," Jerry said grimly; "but if you've lived in Baltimore you know
+what the mouth of the Potomac is when the breeze comes strong, an' I
+don't allow that this canoe would make any too good weather of it in a
+heavy sea."
+
+"She should be able to do it all right," Jepson said carelessly, and
+then he set about filling a pipe he had borrowed from Darius, as if
+there was nothing in the world to cause him trouble.
+
+After he had lighted the tobacco he must needs ply us with questions
+regarding Joshua Barney, to which we could make no very satisfactory
+replies because of our ignorance; but he seemed to think it his duty
+to keep a conversation going, regardless of the fact that both Jerry
+and I showed plainly our disinclination to do very much
+tongue-wagging.
+
+When an hour had passed, and the canoe was walking along in right
+smart style, surprising me by her performance under sail, for I had
+never supposed she could be used in such fashion, Bill Jepson said
+suddenly:
+
+"Look here, what's the use of all hands standin' watch? Give me the
+paddle, an' I'll steer while you lads get a bit of sleep. I'll call
+you when its time to take your trick at the helm."
+
+At first I was inclined to hold my place; but thought differently when
+I saw Jerry curling himself up in the bow for a nap, and gave the
+paddle to the sailor, saying as I did so:
+
+"I don't count on sleeping very long; but if you should come up to the
+Potomac before I turn out, it would be a good idea to call me."
+
+"I reckon you think that because I'm a deep-water sailor I ain't fit
+to be trusted with one of these Chesapeake cockle shells; but bless
+your heart, lad, I've always knocked about in 'em, an' you shall see
+that I'll handle you tenderly enough."
+
+I laid down in the bottom of the boat, under the thwarts, and
+contrived to make myself so comfortable that in less than five minutes
+I was sleeping soundly.
+
+When next I became conscious of anything there was at least two inches
+of water under my back, and the spray was coming over the starboard
+side at a rate that threatened speedily to founder the little craft.
+
+Jerry, being in the bow which stood higher out of the water, had not
+been disturbed.
+
+"What's the matter?" I asked in alarm, crawling out from under the
+thwarts with no little difficulty.
+
+"Matter? Nothin' as I knows of," Bill Jepson said as if surprised that
+I should have asked such a question. "What made you think anything was
+wrong?"
+
+"Why we're half full of water, man, and if it keeps coming in at this
+rate it'll soon be a case of swimming!"
+
+"It's a bit dusty, that's all; but the canoe is doin' her work like a
+lady. We're well nigh across the Potomac, an' just a hummin'."
+
+The day was breaking, and in the gray light of early dawn I could see
+the little craft laboring under her rag of a sail in a manner that
+sent my heart into my mouth, although I'm not given to being timorous
+on the water.
+
+"We must get in some of that sail," I cried, forced to yell at the
+full strength of my lungs in order to be heard above the rollicking
+sea song in which Bill Jepson was pouring forth his musical soul.
+
+"Let her go as she is; I'll answer for it that no harm will be done."
+Bill said with a laugh as he cut short his song. "We wouldn't be in as
+good shape with the paddles, an' that's a fact."
+
+By this time Jerry had awakened, and he, like me, had the idea that
+we were storming through it at a hotter pace than the canoe could
+safely stand; but the sailor insisted that nothing was wrong, although
+he did suggest it might be a good idea if we baled the craft a bit,
+and we were forced to act upon his advice in order to save ourselves
+from being swamped.
+
+The canoe rode more easily when the liquid load had been taken from
+her, and I came to the conclusion that perhaps it might be as well to
+let Bill Jepson have his way since we were cutting down the miles in
+great shape, and speed was the one thing necessary for us just at that
+time.
+
+We were forced to use the baling dishes about every ten minutes before
+crossing the mouth of the river, and then the little craft made better
+weather of it, to the great relief of both us lads.
+
+No one would ever have suspected that Bill Jepson was a deserter who
+would surely be hanged if the Britishers caught him. He sang, told
+stories of a wild and terrible kind, mimicked the officers of the
+Narcissus, and explained what the Americans would do when the enemy
+came up the bay, going into the details of the naval maneuvers as if
+perfectly familiar with all the defenses, instead of being wholly
+ignorant of everything connected with the war save from an English
+standpoint.
+
+It was not a very appetizing breakfast which we had that morning, for
+the food, stowed in the stern of the boat, was soaked with water; but
+to lads who had never been accustomed to luxuries a little thing like
+fasting did not seem to be of much importance.
+
+The breeze, which had been freshening all night, increased with the
+rising of the sun, and Jerry and I, unwilling to suggest that the sail
+be reefed, saw the little craft humming along under the guidance of
+Bill Jepson, when, had we dared assert our authority, she would be
+creeping with no other motive power than the paddles in the hands of
+two tired boys.
+
+At noon we landed on the southerly side of Hog Point, where I knew a
+fisherman lived, and went toward the house hoping we might be able to
+get something in the way of provisions, for I had in my pocket the
+money which had been paid by the officers of the Narcissus.
+
+Bill Jepson remained in the canoe, to "keep ship" as he said, and
+Jerry and I walked through the small growth of timber nearly
+encircling the building, with never a thought of keeping ourselves
+concealed from view; but yet remaining silent for the very good reason
+that we had nothing of interest to say to each other.
+
+Thus it was by mere chance that our approach was almost noiseless, and
+when we were come within view of the dwelling, from whence we could
+hear the hum of voices, none of the inmates were aware of our
+presence.
+
+This man--Jenkins was his name--had a wife and one child, as I well
+knew, therefore hearing the sound as of several voices, I naturally
+looked out from the underbrush before showing myself, for there was in
+my mind the thought that he might have a party of Britishers as
+visitors.
+
+One man, and he the owner of the dwelling, was lying on the grass just
+outside the window, talking with another who was seated within the
+building, whose head and shoulders only could be seen; but one glance
+at the face was sufficient to cause me to draw suddenly back as I
+motioned to Jerry to advance where he could have a view of Jenkins'
+visitor.
+
+It was Elias Macomber who sat at the window, talking with his host on
+the outside, and we could readily overhear the conversation.
+
+Under ordinary circumstances I hold that an eavesdropper is the
+meanest kind of a person; but considering all the facts of the case,
+it seemed just then that it was our duty to learn all we might.
+
+As we came up Jenkins was evidently opposing something which the
+traitor had said, for when we were in position to listen, Macomber
+cried sharply:
+
+"I shall watch out for the British fleet, an' board the first vessel
+that heaves in sight. I reckon I can tell the admiral somethin' which
+he'll like to hear."
+
+"But, Elias," Jenkins remonstrated, "even though you don't believe in
+the war, surely you wouldn't do that which might work harm to your
+neighbors?"
+
+"I'm an Englishman!"
+
+"By comin' here an' settlin' down, you turned into an American, or
+should have done so. I claim that a man has no right to hold himself
+an Englishman when he moves into another country to live, never
+expectin' to go back to the old home. All your interests are here, an'
+by holdin' true to the United States you are benefitin' yourself."
+
+"That's all rot. I work for what I get here, an' have no man to thank
+for it."
+
+"But the laws of the country protect you; all the advantages to be had
+from the town where you live are yours, the same as others, an' when
+you take them you have no right to do harm to the land which feeds
+you."
+
+"It's no use tryin' to argue me out of it, Jenkins, for you don't know
+how I've been treated in Benedict. I'll give the British commander all
+the information in my possession, an' it's enough to be of
+importance."
+
+Just then a woman's voice from the inside of the house summoned Mr.
+Jenkins to some household duty, and I drew back among the foliage yet
+further, dragging Jerry with me.
+
+"We'll stay right here till we get our hands on that cur!" my partner
+exclaimed when we were so far from the house that there was no danger
+the words would be overheard, "an' if Commodore Barney's men can't
+keep him a prisoner, we'll turn to an' see what kind of a fist we make
+of the job!"
+
+I was of Jerry's mind; but there was nothing that could be safely done
+in broad day, and we went softly back to the shore that we might hold
+counsel with Bill Jepson.
+
+We found the sailor sleeping peacefully on the warm sand; but had no
+compunctions about disturbing his slumbers, and after he was fully
+awake it became necessary to tell him the story of what we had done in
+the Patuxent, that he might the better understand the situation.
+
+"So the spy is here, an' counts on stayin' till the Britishers come up
+the bay, eh?" the old sailor said half to himself. "What have you lads
+got in your heads?"
+
+"We're goin' to get our hands on him once more, an' then take precious
+good care he don't have a chance to tell the Britishers what he knows
+concerning the commodore's fleet," Jerry said hotly.
+
+"An' you count on doin' that first of all, eh?"
+
+"Sure; that cur shan't have a chance to give us the slip!"
+
+"But he said he'd stay till the fleet came up."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"That won't happen for three or four days yet, if all I've heard be
+true."
+
+"It makes no difference to us when the vessels come. What we want is
+Elias Macomber!"
+
+"What would you do with him, supposin' he was here this minute?"
+
+"Carry him to Commodore Barney, of course."
+
+"Can the four of us get along in the canoe?"
+
+Jerry and I looked at each other in perplexity. It was a fact that the
+little craft would not carry four, particularly when one was a
+prisoner who might struggle against being taken up the river, and yet
+it seemed to me as if we were in duty bound to effect the capture.
+
+"Now this is the way it looks to me," Bill Jepson said slowly, as if
+talking with himself, "though, of course, I ain't countin' on
+interferin' with you lads in any way: What I've got to tell the
+commodore is of more importance than the yarn Macomber can spin for
+the admiral, an' Darius Thorpe seemed to think I couldn't see the old
+man any too soon. Now if this 'ere sneak is goin' to wait where he is
+till the fleet comes, what's to prevent our keepin' on as we started,
+an' then comin' back to pull him in? This wind will set us up the
+river in great shape, an' within four an' twenty hours we should be at
+Nottingham, unless the town has been moved from where I saw it last."
+
+I understood at once that the sailor's advice was good, and should be
+followed, yet it went sadly against the grain to go away from that
+place leaving the cur free to do us harm if the opportunity presented
+itself.
+
+Jerry had much the same struggle in his mind as I, but, watching his
+face, I soon saw that he was ready to act upon Bill Jepson's
+suggestion, and without waiting for him to give his thoughts words, I
+said:
+
+"Very well, if we're to go up the river first, there is no time to be
+lost. We must paddle the canoe close inshore until we get around the
+point, so that we may not be seen from Jenkins' house, and then we'll
+push her for all she's worth."
+
+We no longer remembered that we were hungry; but jumped to the task as
+if every moment was precious, as indeed was the case if we would make
+Elias Macomber a prisoner for the second time.
+
+As I had said in regard to paddling around the point, so we did, but
+once the canoe was so far beyond that she could not be seen from the
+dwelling, we hoisted the sail, and I dare venture to say that Bill
+Jepson might have run her rail under without hearing any word of
+protest from Jerry or me, so eager were we to be on the return
+voyage.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.
+
+
+It was as if the elements favored us in the race to Nottingham and
+indeed I counted it a race in which were pitted against us the British
+fleet and Elias Macomber.
+
+The wind held strong, the day was cloudless, and the canoe, clumsy
+craft as I had always looked upon her, sailed like a bird. Bill Jepson
+insisted on holding the steering paddle, and we were well content to
+have him at the helm, for he held her so nearly to the course that our
+wake stretched out behind us straight as an arrow.
+
+Under almost any other circumstances we would have made at least a
+short stop at Benedict; but now it was out of the question, and we
+sailed by at full speed, being hailed by several of our acquaintances
+who urged that we come to for a moment, but we resisted all such
+entreaties.
+
+I knew that my mother, on being told we had refused even to so much as
+have speech with our friends as we passed, would understand we were
+on urgent business, and have no thought that I had slighted her.
+
+When, in due course of time, we passed the mill from which had been
+taken the prisoners, it bore the appearance of being deserted,
+therefore we had good reason for believing that Macomber was the only
+one of our capturing who succeeded in making his escape.
+
+It was late in the night before we came upon the fleet, and were
+brought to by a hail from the guard-boat.
+
+The commodore was yet with the flotilla on board the Scorpion, so the
+sentinels told us; but they were minded to prevent our having speech
+with him at that unseemly hour.
+
+Had Jerry and I been alone I believe of a verity we would have been
+forced to wait until morning before seeing Joshua Barney; but Bill
+Jepson could not be put aside as easily as two lads, and he roared out
+as if he had been an admiral of the blue at the very least:
+
+"Tell him that Darius Thorpe has sent word from the lower bay, an' it
+must be delivered straight away."
+
+[Illustration: "I remember your face, my man;" said the Commodore.
+"Come aboard at once." Page 153.]
+
+In the darkness, when it was impossible to see him, no one could say
+that Bill was not a person of the greatest importance, and the
+sentinels, judging from his voice, must have concluded that he, or the
+man whose name he gave, was some one high in authority, therefore they
+not only allowed us to approach the schooner, but went before to
+announce our arrival.
+
+The commodore was not the kind of an officer to keep any one in
+waiting simply that due respect might be shown to his station; but
+came on deck half-dressed, bidding one of the sailors to hold a
+lantern that he might see who we were.
+
+"So you lads have come back in haste, eh?" he said, on recognizing
+Jerry and me. "Have you by chance lost the pungy?"
+
+"No, sir; she is in the lower bay oysterin', with Darius in charge," I
+made haste to say.
+
+"And who is this you have with you?"
+
+"Bill Jepson, sir, who has served under you twice; but is now a
+deserter from his majesty's ship, Severn, having been pressed into the
+British service nigh to three years ago," the sailor replied, rising
+to his feet at imminent risk of overturning the canoe.
+
+"I remember your face, my man. Come aboard at once, all hands of you."
+
+We clamored over the rail, having made the canoe fast, and entered the
+commodore's cabin.
+
+"When did you desert from the Severn?" Joshua Barney asked, showing
+more of excitement than I had ever seen him display.
+
+"Last night, sir, an' it may be by so doin' I've upset some of your
+plans; but when I asked for help it never struck me that Darius might
+be there on special business."
+
+"Tell me all the story," the commodore said, motioning toward me, and
+without delay I gave him a full account of what we had done, save that
+then I said nothing regarding Elias Macomber.
+
+Then he questioned Bill Jepson regarding what he knew, and, if I am
+any judge of such matters, he got considerable valuable information.
+
+The sailor was able to give him the names of nearly all the vessels in
+the two fleets, together with their probable weight of metal, and
+repeated the gossip which had leaked from the Severn's cabin through
+the marines on guard.
+
+The commodore listened intently, making many notes as Bill spun his
+yarn, and when it was come to an end he said:
+
+"You did well to steer for here at once; but I am inclined to believe
+that the enemy will move very soon. Is there anything else to be
+said?"
+
+"I would like to speak about Elias Macomber, sir?" I made bold to say.
+
+"That was the prisoner who escaped? One of them got away, and there is
+good reason to suspect that he received aid from some of our men. We
+have no time to look into the matter now; but it shall be thoroughly
+sifted later, and if there be a British sympathizer among us, it will
+go hard with him."
+
+Then I gave him all the information we had concerning the traitor, and
+wound up by asking if there was any reason why we should not go back
+and re-take the cur.
+
+"You may as well make the attempt, although I question if he can tell
+the enemy anything which is not already known. The utmost he could say
+would be that our force is small, and so much the British learned at
+St. Leonard's bay. However, I would like to have the fellow; but am
+not willing you should run into any danger for the purpose of
+effecting the capture."
+
+"I believe that Jerry and I will be able to get hold of him, and we
+will go back at once, unless you have other work for us."
+
+"There is nothing especial that you can do here. Warn Darius Thorpe to
+be ready for an immediate move on the part of the enemy, and tell him
+to make sail for the Patuxent at the first signs of activity. You lads
+had better get some sleep before setting off again. Go forward, and
+see that you have a hearty meal at once. Jepson, you will remain
+aboard the schooner."
+
+Bill thanked the commodore, and the three of us went into a sort of
+forecastle which had been rigged up in the forward part of the vessel,
+where, after considerable arguing, we succeeded in getting so much
+food as satisfied our hunger, which was no small amount.
+
+Then we turned in by lying down on deck, which was preferable to
+getting into a bunk on such a hot night.
+
+As a matter of course we were aroused right early, even before any
+signs of a new day could be seen; but the three hours of sleep
+refreshed us wonderfully, and we were ready to set off down the river.
+
+We managed, at the expense of considerable argument, to get a supply
+of provisions from the cook without awakening Commodore Barney, and,
+after a warm parting with Bill Jepson, cast off the canoe.
+
+Because the wind was blowing straight up the river it was impossible
+to use a sail, save at the cost of considerable time, and we took to
+the paddles, which seemed like mighty hard work after our experience
+with the rag of a sail.
+
+Don't let it be thought that we begrudged our labor; I would have
+paddled till the skin was worn from both hands for the sake of
+re-taking Elias Macomber, and looked pleasant all the while; but when
+a fellow has been flying over the water with no effort of his own save
+to keep the little craft on her course, he cannot but contrast that
+pleasure with the dreary work of shoving her ahead with an ashen
+blade.
+
+Again we felt obliged to pass our homes without stopping. It would
+have taken a full hour, hurry as we might, to go ashore and speak ever
+so briefly with those who would greet us, and in that length of time
+Elias Macomber could, possibly, join his friends the Britishers.
+
+"We'll keep well over on the eastern shore, where there is less chance
+of bein' seen, an' do our best at the paddles," Jerry said as we
+discussed the matter just before coming within sight of the village.
+"I'd give a good deal to see mother an' the children; but it seems as
+if we had no right to loiter."
+
+I was of his mind, and we hugged the opposite bank of the river,
+keeping under the screen of foliage as much as possible, until there
+was no danger of being recognized.
+
+During all that day and far into the night we paddled. Now and then
+one would stop to rest his arms; but the other continued the labor,
+therefore the canoe did not come to a stop from the time we left the
+fleet until we were arrived at Hog Point.
+
+There we run her bow on the shore while we ate a hearty meal, and
+discussed the question as to whether it would be better to approach
+the house from the northerly or the southerly side.
+
+I was in favor of going ashore where we then were; but Jerry won the
+day by suggesting that if we ran around on the other side, it would be
+possible to see if the British came up the bay, and this last was
+quite important to us in case we were forced to spend much time
+waiting for a fitting opportunity to catch our game.
+
+After refreshing ourselves with food, we paddled around the point
+without danger of being seen, because it was so late in the night,
+and landed at the same place as before, knowing that from there we
+would have no difficulty in finding the dwelling.
+
+After pulling the canoe up amid the bushes, and hiding her as well as
+was possible in the darkness, we laid down on the ground, falling
+asleep almost immediately we had stretched ourselves out at full
+length, and not until the first beams of the rising sun shone across
+our faces did we awaken.
+
+It was but natural that we should look down the bay before doing
+anything else; but we saw nothing to disturb us. A small craft was
+coming slowly up, for the breeze was light; but to her we gave little
+or no heed.
+
+We began the day by eating breakfast. Then we saw to it the boat was
+so nearly concealed by the foliage that she would not be seen save
+after careful search, and we set out to reconnoiter the premises.
+
+We advanced cautiously, stopping every half dozen paces to listen lest
+we inadvertently stumble upon the owner of the plantation, or his
+guest, and after spending half an hour in such slow progress, we came
+in view of the place.
+
+Elias Macomber was pacing to and fro in front of the dwelling, as if
+weary of his voluntary confinement, and gazing seaward every few
+seconds, for from that side of the house it must have been possible
+to get a full view of the bay.
+
+"We might get our musket, an' rush up on him now," Jerry whispered,
+and I replied as I believed Darius would have done:
+
+"We don't know how well armed Jenkins may be, nor what he will be
+willing to do in aid of his friend. My idea is that we should wait
+here until the owner goes to his work, leaving the traitor with the
+women folks, and even then the task won't be an easy one, for we must
+come out in sight of all hands a full three minutes before arriving at
+the house, however fast we run."
+
+"We should have brought the musket with us on this trip," Jerry
+grumbled, and I soothed him by saying:
+
+"There is really no time lost. The first thing to be done was to make
+certain the scoundrel yet remained here; that has now been
+ascertained, and I will go for the weapon while you stand watch. We
+mustn't be in too much of a hurry, or we may spill the soup."
+
+Jerry was satisfied to act as sentinel, and I walked leisurely back to
+the shore, believing that much time must elapse before we would get
+the desired opportunity.
+
+Arriving at the shore I spent some minutes searching for the canoe, so
+well had we hidden her, and once getting the musket and ammunition in
+my possession I strolled down to the beach where I could have a view
+of the bay.
+
+Only the single small vessel was in sight, and I was on the point of
+turning away, thinking it useless to gaze long at her, when something
+in the rig of the craft struck me as being familiar.
+
+I looked again; laid down the weapon and gazed yet more intently,
+until finally there was no longer any question in my mind.
+
+The vessel was none other than the Avenger! If Darius was yet on board
+why had he left his post of duty? If anything had happened to him, why
+had Jim Freeman taken it upon himself to leave the lower bay?
+
+The more I tried to solve the problem the stronger became the
+probability, in my own mind, that some serious disaster had overtaken
+our comrades, and I ran at full speed, giving little heed as to
+whether the advance might be heard by Macomber, until I was come to
+where Jerry remained crouching in the grass, his eyes fixed upon the
+dwelling.
+
+"You're makin' a terrible row!" he said angrily, never looking around.
+"Fortunately the cur has just gone inside, or he might have heard
+you."
+
+"Jerry!" I said, speaking with difficulty because of heavy breathing
+after having run so fast. "The Avenger is close at hand; she is the
+craft we saw! Something must have gone wrong!"
+
+Jerry turned his head very quickly now, forgetting for the instant
+his desire to make a prisoner of Elias Macomber.
+
+"What do you think can have happened?" he asked, and I replied
+impatiently:
+
+"That we shall only find out by boarding her. Come to the beach at
+once!"
+
+"But what about our work here?" and now it was the pungy that went
+from his mind, leaving there only the great desire to accomplish the
+purpose for which he had come.
+
+"Never mind that now! It may be we won't want to fool around here on
+his account! Come quickly, Jerry, for she was close at hand before I
+started!"
+
+It was actually necessary to shake the lad before I could arouse him
+to a full sense of the situation; but once that had been done, he
+followed me readily enough, even urging that I move faster.
+
+The pungy was no more than half a mile away when we reached the shore,
+and we launched the canoe without delay, paddling straight out in her
+course.
+
+As she came up I could see Darius at the tiller, with Jim beside him,
+and the other two fellows lounging forward.
+
+Nothing had happened to the crew, that much seemed certain, and I was
+at my wits' end to account for the Avenger being apparently heading
+for home.
+
+When we were come within hailing distance I shouted, never thinking
+that I might be heard by those on the Jenkins plantation:
+
+"Why are you coming back? What has happened?"
+
+"Where is Bill Jepson?" Darius cried.
+
+"With the fleet."
+
+"When did you leave him?"
+
+"Yesterday. What is the matter?"
+
+"Come aboard an' I'll tell you," the old man replied as he threw the
+pungy up into the wind, and we did not waste many seconds in going
+over the rail.
+
+"Now what is it?" I asked impatiently when I stood facing Darius.
+
+"The Britishers are gettin' under way, an' it kind'er looked as if the
+oyster business wouldn't be any good after they'd left moorin's. If
+there'd been any wind, you'd be seein' 'em by this time. What brought
+you ashore at Hog Point?"
+
+"Elias Macomber is there, living with Jenkins the planter. We stopped
+on our way up thinking to get some provisions, and not only saw the
+cur, but heard him say he was waiting for the Britishers, to whom he
+could give a lot of information."
+
+While I had been speaking Darius brought the pungy into the wind
+again, and she was standing directly away from the man we had been so
+eager to capture.
+
+"Here!" Jerry cried sharply. "You must heave to till we get that
+villain."
+
+"How many people do you reckon are in the house?" Darius asked as he
+twisted off a large piece of tobacco.
+
+"We've only seen Macomber and Jenkins."
+
+"Don't know anythin' more about the situation?"
+
+"We haven't had time to learn anything more; but it don't stand to
+reason there are other men."
+
+"They've both of 'em got wives, who'd fight if it come to a pinch. No,
+lads, the best you could count on in the way of time would be a full
+day, an' we can't afford to waste an hour."
+
+"But it wouldn't be wastin' time if we finally caught him," Jerry
+cried hotly.
+
+"That's where I don't agree with you, lad. The son of a sea-cook can't
+give the Britishers any very valuable information, whereas we can tell
+the commodore that which may be the means of savin' our whole fleet.
+I'd like to lay Macomber by the heels as well as you would; but I
+don't believe in usin' a salmon to catch a sprat. We'll run across him
+some day; but jest now its our duty to get up the river in short
+order. We'll try the canoe with a little bigger canvas, an' if she
+sails faster than the pungy you shall go ahead, for an hour now is
+worth a full day next week."
+
+I was not convinced that the business of catching the traitor before
+he could give his information to the Britishers, was less important
+than that of carrying to the commodore word of preparation for
+departure on the part of the fleet, more particularly since not a
+vessel had as yet hove in sight; but when it came to arguing a point
+with Darius I generally got the worst of it, therefore I held my
+peace, although it went sadly against the grain to do so.
+
+Jerry did not give in so readily; but insisted on heaving to the
+vessel, declaring that he and I would do the work alone, while the
+Avenger went on up the river.
+
+"You'll do nothin' of the kind, lad," Darius said emphatically.
+"There's no tellin' what Joshua Barney will decide on when he hears
+the word I have for him, an' I don't count to leave you down here at
+Hog Point to be gobbled up by the Britishers, for you're already under
+suspicion of havin' had a hand in Bill Jepson's desertion."
+
+"What do you mean?" I asked in surprise.
+
+"Jest what I said. The officer from the Severn declared that you two
+lads could tell what had become of Bill."
+
+"I had actually forgotten that we aided a deserter," I cried. "Tell us
+what happened after we left the Avenger?"
+
+"Well," Darius said slowly, stopping to twist off a huge piece of
+tobacco, and otherwise trying to make his yarn a long one so that we
+might round Hog Point in the meanwhile. "We run over to the Delaware
+shore, as I counted on doin', tryin' to find a boat; but it was no go.
+We didn't see anythin' that would float, an' of course we couldn't
+fool 'round there very long after sunrise, else the Britishers would
+see us, so I made up my mind that the best plan was to face the music
+right soon.
+
+"We ran down for the Narcissus; but was hove to by the Severn, an' a
+lieutenant with four marines came aboard. Bless your heart, lad, but
+they did search the pungy from stem to stern, even shovelin' the
+oysters over as if thinkin' we might have Bill under 'em. Then the
+officer went on board, an' that little nincompoop of a midshipman
+boarded us. 'Where's your crew?' he squeaked, an' I said innocent
+like, 'They're all aboard, sir.' 'You're a liar!' says he, 'when I was
+here last there were five lads on deck, an' now I see only three.' 'Oh
+the other fellows have gone home,' says I. 'They only came out with us
+for a lark.' 'Where's your boat?' says he. 'She belonged to them,'
+says I. 'You're a liar,' says he. 'Yes, sir,' says I, which same was
+true, an' off he goes madder'n a wet hornet.
+
+"Then the lieutenant comes aboard after I saw a lot of 'em on the
+quarter-deck talkin' fit to kill, an' he asks me when you went home. I
+told him you lived on the Delaware shore, an' you skipped when the
+pungy got near shore. 'You're a liar,' says he, an' I agreed with him
+same's I had with the midshipmite. 'The boys have helped a deserter
+from the Narcissus,' says he, 'an' have carried him to the mainland.
+I've a mind to seize your vessel.' I tell you what it is, lads, 'bout
+that time I thought the Avenger was a goner, for Britishers in
+American waters are mighty apt to do whatever comes into their minds."
+
+"Well, did that settle it?" I asked as Darius ceased speaking, much as
+though his story had come to an end.
+
+"No, we had three or four officers come aboard later, an' I ain't
+certain but that we'd lost the pungy if signals hadn't been sent up on
+the flag-ship, which I took to be a command to prepare for gettin'
+under way. Leastways, them as was botherin' us scuttled over to their
+own craft in short order, an' then there was a heap of knockin' about
+in gigs an' barges, with nobody givin' any attention to us. We'd been
+hove to half a musket shot from the ship, an' when I saw they had
+other fish to fry an' plenty of 'em, I run close aboard as I yelled
+like a countryman, 'Any orders for us, sir?' It was quite a long spell
+before anybody answered, an' I'd sung out two or three times, when
+that little midshipman squealed, 'You are to go about your business
+with that pungy, an' we'll overhaul you again when we have more time!"
+
+"Then you started for the Patuxent the best you knew how," I said,
+thinking I understood just what should have been done under the
+circumstances.
+
+"I wasn't such a bloomin' fool," Darius replied. "We run down to the
+Narcissus bold as lions, an' I told 'em we'd brought some more
+oysters; but they threatened to fire into us if we didn't sheer off,
+an' then I coaxed for 'em to take what cargo I had, offerin' to sell
+at six cents a bushel, till they must have thought I was a stark
+natural fool."
+
+"But why didn't you get away when you had the chance?" Jerry asked in
+surprise.
+
+"I didn't want 'em to think I was anxious to go, an' meanwhile I had
+my eye on what they was doin', which told plain as the nose on your
+face that the signals were as I had thought. I almost cried when I
+said I'd have to run all the way to Baltimore to sell the oysters, an'
+the best I got from them was more threats. Then we could steer
+straight up the bay without givin' rise to suspicion that we was jest
+naturally hankerin' to come."
+
+"You played a fine trick on 'em!" I cried, filled with admiration at
+the old man's method of getting away from unpleasant neighbors. "It
+couldn't have been done better."
+
+"I'm not so certain of that," Darius replied, but I could see that he
+was pleased by the praise. "I didn't have time to think up anythin'
+different, for the whole business come about so sudden like.
+Howsomever, we've got news that Joshua Barney needs to hear, an' our
+cruise to the lower bay will pay if we can get to Nottingham half a
+dozen hours ahead of the Britishers, which seems to be a settled thing
+with this wind."
+
+Then I told him that the commodore felt convinced the enemy would
+advance sooner than was generally believed, and he said in a tone of
+admiration:
+
+"There's a man for you! He can smell more'n the most of folks can see,
+an' when he says it's in his mind that a thing is so or so, you can
+set it down as comin' mighty near to bein' a fact."
+
+Then the old man asked concerning our interview with the commodore,
+and by the time we had come to an end of our story Hog Point was so
+far astern that there was no longer any thought in my mind of
+returning.
+
+I was trying to make the best of the situation, when Jerry said
+fretfully:
+
+"It was a big shame that we couldn't have taken Elias Macomber when he
+was there ready to drop, like a ripe peach. We might have walked right
+up to that house when we first saw him, an' the thing could have been
+done."
+
+"But we mightn't have walked back again, if there had happened to be
+two or three more in the building than we counted on. Never mind,
+Jerry, we'll have the traitor before we're many weeks older, and
+what's more, we'll take him ourselves, never asking any man for
+assistance."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A CHANGE OF BASE.
+
+
+When we were come near Benedict I was not minded to pass it for the
+third time without stopping to see my mother, and I said to Darius:
+
+"There seems to be no good reason why Jerry and I should not visit our
+homes, leaving you to continue on with the news. We can take the
+canoe, and paddle up the river to-night."
+
+"It is your place to remain aboard the Avenger," the old man said
+almost sharply.
+
+"What can we do more than would be done by you?" Jerry asked in
+surprise.
+
+"Nothin', so far as sailin' up the river is concerned; but with the
+news we're takin' to the commodore, it is more'n likely there'll be a
+quick change, when you might be needed."
+
+"There can't be anything very serious happen 'twixt now and to-morrow
+morning," I persisted, yet holding to my scheme. "We wouldn't be more
+than twelve hours behind you under any circumstances."
+
+"Not if everything was in your favor; but how if you met a boat-load
+of Britishers such as we captured the other night? It ain't safe to be
+foolin' 'round the river alone just now, an' that's a fact."
+
+"Meaning that there is more of fear in your mind lest we come upon
+spies of the enemy, than expectation Commodore Barney might need our
+services?" I asked, and the old man finally admitted that perhaps such
+was the case.
+
+Then, in my pigheadedness, I declared we would stop in the village,
+and he gave proof of what he could do when things did not go exactly
+to his liking.
+
+"I shall stop you from leavin' the pungy!" he said doggedly, without
+looking towards us.
+
+"Do you mean to say, Darius Thorpe, that you'd prevent us from goin'
+ashore?" Jerry cried hotly.
+
+"That's exactly the size of it, lad. I never'd let a shipmate of mine
+run his nose into danger when there was nothin' to be made by so
+doin'."
+
+"But how would you stop us?" Jerry asked, his anger rapidly giving way
+to mirth as he pictured to himself Darius, the man whom we had hired
+to help us in the fishing, setting himself up to say what we should or
+should not do.
+
+"I'd knock you down, with a belayin' pin if it was handy, but if not,
+with my fist, knowin' Joshua Barney would uphold me in bringin' back
+at any price the same crew I took away."
+
+I felt certain that the old man believed it his duty to do exactly as
+he had said, in case we persisted in going contrary to what he thought
+was prudent, and I also came to realize that to his mind the danger
+was great, otherwise he never would have spoken in such a strain.
+
+However, I did not let him know what was in my mind; but stood well
+forward when we sailed past Benedict, as if I was too angry to have
+further speech, and, probably, acted like a sulky school-boy thinking
+that I was upholding my dignity.
+
+When we had run past the village, however, and there was no longer any
+possibility Jerry and I would attempt to go ashore, Darius humbly
+asked us to come aft, and once there he explained in a friendly way
+why we, who had virtually bound ourselves to serve under Commodore
+Barney, should report to him before attending to pleasure or personal
+matters. He also made it plain that at this time, when we knew beyond
+a peradventure the enemy was about to make an attack, it was
+absolutely necessary every American who had agreed to aid in the
+defense, should be ready for duty at a moment's notice.
+
+In fact, he showed us so clearly that he was in the right and we
+wrong, that I was ashamed of having given way to the sulks, and told
+him so, whereat he said:
+
+"Then we'll drop the whole thing right out of our minds, an' now that
+it's over, I'll bet you two or three cents' worth of silver spoons
+that we'll be in Benedict on service, sent there by the commodore,
+before four an' twenty hours have passed."
+
+I would have asked him how that might be, but just then Jim Freeman
+sung out for me to have a look at the cable, which was considerably
+chafed, and I did not get an opportunity of continuing the
+conversation.
+
+Again we came up to the fleet in the night; but Darius did not hold
+any long parley with the occupants of the guard-boat who hailed us,
+simply saying as he steered the Avenger straight for the Scorpion:
+
+"Private service for the commodore."
+
+We ran alongside the schooner, made the hawser fast ourselves, since
+the single militiaman standing guard at the top of the cabin
+companion-way did not see fit to aid us, and while this was being done
+Darius leaped on board the vessel, saying in a loud tone:
+
+"We're come on board to report to the commander."
+
+"You can't see him now," the soldier said stiffly, presenting his
+musket as if intending to use it in case the old man persisted in
+advancing.
+
+"Now look here, you lop-sided lobster," Darius cried at the full
+strength of his lungs, "you report to the commodore that the Avenger
+is alongside, or there'll be trouble 'twixt you an' me."
+
+It is not probable the old man expected that he could bully the
+sentinel, who had had his orders as a matter of course; but by bawling
+so loudly that he could have been heard on every craft of the fleet,
+he awakened Joshua Barney, which was exactly what he aimed at doing.
+
+"Who's kickin' up this row?" the commodore asked sternly as he poked
+his head above the hatchway.
+
+"The crew of the Avenger, sir, come to report."
+
+"Get below here at once," and the commander spoke as if impatient to
+hear that report.
+
+I had counted that Darius should go alone to the interview; but he
+insisted on being accompanied by Jerry and me, therefore we followed
+him into the cabin.
+
+The old sailor did not spend much time in saluting; but in the fewest
+words possible told what he had learned, and the commodore did not
+appear surprised by the information.
+
+"It tallies with what I have already heard," he said grimly. "How long
+will it take the enemy to run up to the mouth of the river?"
+
+"They should be there to-morrow night, for there are some fast sailers
+in the fleet, sir."
+
+"Find the swiftest canoe in the fleet; put on board rations for
+twenty-four hours, getting them from this schooner, and run down the
+river without delay. If your own crew is not huge enough to insure
+quick work, call on for what men you need. Can you leave in thirty
+minutes?"
+
+"In five, sir, if we knew where to find the canoe. We're ready, an'
+I'll keep the same crew."
+
+The commodore ran on deck, hailed the guard-boat, spoke a few words in
+a low tone, and returned to us, saying as he did so:
+
+"Rout out my cook, and tell him what you want. Say that I give him
+five minutes in which to have your provisions on deck. If necessary,
+in order to learn all which should be known here, send a portion of
+your crew back with the boat, and do the remainder of your work
+ashore. In case I am not here when you get back, report to Lieutenant
+Frazier, and take his orders as you would mine."
+
+All this the commander had said hurriedly, as if the moments were
+precious, and, having come to an end, he began writing at the table,
+giving no more heed to us than if we never had an existence.
+
+We left the cabin without delay, and while Darius went forward to have
+speech with the commodore's cook, Jerry and I clambered on board the
+pungy to let Jim and his friends know of the new duty to which we had
+been assigned.
+
+"Its a case of keeping on as spies," I said, after repeating the
+commander's words. "You're to be ready at once; but who's to look
+after the Avenger is something that hasn't been told us."
+
+There was no time to say anything more, for at that point the
+guard-boat came alongside, having in tow a long canoe which looked as
+if a single stroke of the paddle might send her on a long voyage.
+
+"Here is the swiftest craft on the river, and her owner's heart will
+be broken if you allow the Britishers to get hold of her," the officer
+in charge of the boat said as he passed me the painter of the canoe.
+
+"Do you know what we are to do with the pungy?" I asked.
+
+"My orders are to anchor her further up stream after you have gone.
+Don't leave anything valuable aboard, for there's a good chance you'll
+never see her again."
+
+"We don't own anything valuable, except the pungy herself, and I fancy
+she wouldn't be very precious save to two lads like Jerry and me who
+may never own one again if anything happens to her," I said with a
+laugh, for, strange to say now, when we were about to set off on the
+most dangerous portion of our work, I failed to feel the slightest
+fear.
+
+At this moment Darius and the commodore's cook came on deck, each
+bearing in his arms a certain amount of cooked food, and this the old
+sailor threw without care into the bottom of the new canoe, himself
+following with the utmost haste.
+
+"Come on, lads, if you count on gettin' any sleep this night," he
+cried impatiently as he took up one of the paddles.
+
+"Are we to go without weapons?" I asked.
+
+"We shan't need them. If we meet the Britishers it will be in such
+force that half a dozen of the best rifles ever made would do us no
+good, and there will be none others on the river with whom we shall
+want to interfere."
+
+"But we might run across Elias Macomber," I urged, not minded to go
+empty-handed on such a perilous voyage.
+
+"It is too late to fool around with spies now," Darius said sharply.
+"They've done us all the mischief possible, an' it's a case of
+standin' before an open enemy."
+
+I had no desire to argue further within hearing of the commodore, and
+scrambled down into the boat, where my comrades were seated ready to
+begin the voyage.
+
+Now indeed was Darius the leader of the party, and after the
+conversation in regard to the muskets, I was prepared to obey him
+without a murmur.
+
+It is a large canoe which will carry six people comfortably, without
+sign of being overloaded, yet the boat we were in did it, and I would
+not have hesitated to put in a couple more had it been necessary,
+while she paddled as easily as a craft half her size.
+
+"It's a great little boat," Darius said approvingly as we began the
+voyage with a burst of speed which absolutely surprised me. "I reckon
+we could show our heels to the best that can be found on the river."
+
+"Where are we goin'?" Jim Freeman asked, impatient to know more
+regarding our purpose.
+
+"That's what I can't say, lad. We'll run down till we see somethin' of
+the Britishers, even though we come off the Tangiers again; but I'm
+thinkin' we'll do well if we make Hog Point this trip."
+
+Jim would have asked more questions; but that Darius cut him short by
+saying gruffly:
+
+"There's a decently good reason for believin' that the enemy may show
+himself any minute now, an' if we don't want to get into trouble it'll
+be safe to hold our peace. There'll be plenty of time for
+tongue-waggin' later."
+
+It can be fancied that we remained silent after such a remark and the
+old man kept four of us at the paddles constantly, himself doing twice
+as much work as any other, while the helmsman occupied that post only
+in order to rest himself, the steering blade being shifted from one to
+the other accordingly as we grew tired.
+
+For the fourth time we passed Benedict without making a stop, but on
+this occasion I made no protest, and when we had run a mile further
+down the river we came upon a pungy belonging to our village, the
+master of which was evidently doing his best to get all the speed
+possible out of the craft.
+
+"Better put back!" he shouted nervously, and Darius gave the word to
+cease paddling as he asked:
+
+"What's the news?"
+
+"The Britishers are comin' this way thicker'n spatter, an' I made up
+my mind it was time to get under cover."
+
+"Where were the foremost ships when you saw them?"
+
+"Less'n a mile below Hog Point; it looked like there was more'n a
+hundred vessels."
+
+"You'd better not count on stoppin' long at Benedict," Darius cried as
+he motioned for us to take up the paddles again, and before the
+captain of the pungy had time to ask a question, we were beyond
+earshot.
+
+"It may be the fleet that's bound for Baltimore," I suggested, not
+being prepared at that time to believe the enemy would attempt to take
+large vessels far enough up the river to disturb our fleet.
+
+"I allow some of 'em are headin' Baltimore way," Darius replied
+grimly; "but you'll find that a good many of the fleet will make a
+try at stirrin' up Joshua Barney."
+
+I knew the old man believed all he said, because from this out when we
+were come to a bend in the river we would steer the canoe close up to
+the bank, and slow down until he made certain that the next reach did
+not have in it any of the enemy's craft.
+
+In this cautious manner we ran down stream perhaps five miles below
+Benedict, when, on rounding a bend, we saw no less than four armed
+vessels, with a dozen or fourteen barges, not more than a mile away.
+
+"Back water, lads!" Darius cried sharply, swinging the canoe's stern
+around with the steering paddle. "Here's where we find our work. I'd
+like it better if you wasn't so nearly fagged out; but I reckon we can
+make five miles more before you give in."
+
+He had turned the canoe while speaking, and we were running up stream
+in less than two minutes after having sighted the Britishers.
+
+"Five miles should bring us to Benedict," I suggested.
+
+"Ay, lad, an' that's where we'll make the first stop."
+
+"But do you count that the enemy will get as far up as the village?" I
+asked in surprise mingled with no little consternation, for this was
+bringing the war home to us with a vengeance.
+
+"Some of the ships may find the bottom; but they'll get a few of 'em
+there. Take the helm, Amos, an' I'll pull at the paddles."
+
+Thus far, since we took service under Commodore Barney, all of Darius'
+predictions had turned out to be correct, therefore I was fully
+prepared to believe all he said regarding the danger which threatened
+my native village.
+
+The old man would not allow us to indulge in conversation after the
+retreat was begun.
+
+"Don't waste your breath by talkin'," he said peremptorily. "We'll
+need all our wind to take us to Benedict, an' once there I'll give
+some of you a chance for tongue-waggin'."
+
+Within two miles of the village we passed the pungy we had met while
+going down stream, going by her as if she was standing still, and
+Darius shouted:
+
+"Keep right on up the river! The Britishers won't stop this side of
+Benedict, an' you can only save your vessel by joinin' Barney's
+fleet."
+
+"If all I've heard be true I'm as like to lose her where he is as in
+most any other place," the captain cried, looking here and there
+anxiously as if believing it possible he might find a few puffs of
+wind lying around loose.
+
+I was in good shape when we arrived finally at the village, because of
+having remained at the steering paddle; but the other fellows were
+well-nigh exhausted, and when we ran the bow of the canoe up on the
+shore, not one of them made a move toward changing his position.
+
+"Get your wind, lads, as soon as may be, for we'll pull half a mile or
+more up-stream before settlin' down here for any length of time," the
+old man said, leaping ashore smartly as if he had just awakened from
+the most refreshing slumber, and while hurrying up the bank he added
+sharply, "Stay where you are, all hands, until we finish this
+business."
+
+What it was he counted on finishing I could not so much as guess, and
+my companions were too weary to speculate upon the matter just at that
+moment.
+
+We saw him speak with this or that person who came out of the shops or
+buildings as he appeared, and immediately it was as if he had
+disturbed a colony of ants. Men and women began running hither and
+thither in terror, and not a few carried with them household goods of
+such small value that it was a sheer waste of time to lug them around.
+In a twinkling the entire village was in a commotion, and no one
+appeared to have time to spend on us who had brought the disagreeable
+news.
+
+Darius remained beyond our range of vision perhaps ten minutes, and
+then he appeared with the four Byard brothers trailing behind him,
+whereupon Jerry, who had no particular love for these lads, asked
+fretfully:
+
+"What do you reckon he counts on doin' with that trash? If he needed
+more of a crew, it strikes me he might have found better material."
+
+We soon learned what purpose the old man had in mind, for on nearing
+the place where our canoe was drawn up, the Byard family went a short
+distance down stream in which direction their own craft was moored,
+and began making her ready for a voyage.
+
+"One of you lads must go to the commodore with news of what we have
+seen," Darius said, speaking quick and sharp as if to prevent us from
+holding any parley on the subject. "The Byards are to be paid for
+paddlin' the best they know how from here to Nottingham, makin' no
+stop on the way, an' he who goes will only need to act as helmsman."
+
+"Are the remainder of the party to stay here?" I asked, not minded to
+take myself out of the way when so much of excitement might soon be
+witnessed.
+
+"Sure. We who stay will be ready to make the quickest trip on record,
+once we've found out all that's to be known. Who will go to the
+commodore?"
+
+No one replied, and by this time the Byards had their canoe afloat.
+
+"We'll draw lots," Darius said after finding that neither of us was
+willing to volunteer for the service. "The one who pulls the shortest
+twig starts without delay or grumblin', an' I'm free to tell you that
+those who stay behind with me are like to have the toughest night's
+work they ever put in."
+
+While speaking he had been breaking into bits a small twig, and five
+of these he held in his clenched hand.
+
+"Make your choice quickly, for we can't waste many seconds over this
+business," the old man cried impatiently, and we obeyed his command, I
+hoping most sincerely that the lot would fall to some other than
+myself, for I was willing to risk the hard work in order to remain
+with the leader.
+
+It was Jim Freeman who drew the short twig, and his face was pulled
+down very long when he found that he had been selected.
+
+"Into the canoe with you!" Darius cried, "an' listen well to what I
+say. Tell the commodore that we came upon the advance ships of one
+fleet five miles below Benedict, and are waitin' here to make certain
+what they will do. He is to give these Byard boys three dollars for
+takin' you to Nottingham. Make the best time possible, for the fate of
+all our vessels in the river may hang on you're gettin' there
+quickly."
+
+The Byards dug their paddles deep in the water as if determined to
+obey orders as promptly as possible, and in twenty seconds from the
+time Darius ceased speaking the canoe was around the bend of the
+river, Jim waving us a mournful adieu as he disappeared from view.
+
+"Joshua Coburn is to go with me to hide the boat further up-stream,"
+the old man said with the air of a general giving his commands. "The
+others may stroll around the village; but in half an hour every one
+must be here on the shore to meet me."
+
+I gave no heed to my companions; but ran at full speed toward home,
+answering curtly the greetings from the neighbors as I passed, and
+soon I was where every fellow longs to be--in mother's arms.
+
+She, good soul, had heard from those who saw us, that we passed the
+village more than once; but never a word of complaint because I had
+not stopped to see her.
+
+The first question was whether I had come to Benedict under orders of
+the commodore, or if I was taking time to visit her which should be
+devoted to some other purpose.
+
+I speedily soothed all such fears, and frightened her by saying that
+Darius believed the Britishers would make a halt at the village.
+
+At first it was my belief that she should take the children and go far
+into the thicket; but she, good soul, soon convinced me that such a
+course would be unwise, since it was not known how long the enemy
+would remain, and she could not stay in the forest very many hours
+with the young ones.
+
+"We will wait here, Amos dear. The British cannot be so barbarous as
+to make war upon the helpless. If you or father was near at hand, and
+I could go to you, the situation would be far different."
+
+Then she insisted that I should tell her all I had been doing, and by
+the time that long story was come to an end I had need to join Darius
+on the shore, having stayed the full length of the furlough he gave
+us.
+
+It was not certain but that I could see my mother again before we went
+up river, therefore our parting was not as sorrowful as it would have
+been had I known all the perils which were to be encountered ere I
+looked upon her dear face again.
+
+The village was in even a greater state of confusion and bustle than
+when I first passed through it. A full half of the people were on the
+point of running away, taking with them as many household belongings
+as could be carried or transported in carts or boats. A large number
+stood on the streets undecided what course to pursue, and asking each
+person they saw for advice, while not a few were apparently bent on
+following the example set by my mother.
+
+I was appealed to for the latest news by a full score before I could
+reach the rendezvous; but to all I had the same reply, that I was in
+government service and could not delay.
+
+I was the last of our party to arrive at the shore; the other lads
+were standing near Darius, looking uncommonly glum, and I could well
+understand the reason for the sadness.
+
+"Did you hide the boat?" I asked, and the old man replied:
+
+"Ay, a little better than half a mile up stream, where we can come at
+her conveniently in a hurry. We have just been talkin', however, about
+takin' stations on the opposite bank, where it will be possible to see
+what is done without gettin' in the way of the enemy."
+
+That seemed to me a very good idea, for there might be many chances
+against our slipping away after the British had landed, and I urged
+that the change of base be made without delay.
+
+It was if Darius had only waited for my opinion. Immediately after I
+gave it he led the way along the road which followed the course of the
+river.
+
+Within an hour we had the canoe hidden on the opposite shore, and were
+seeking for some spot directly across from the village where we could
+see all that was done.
+
+It was some time before we found exactly what we wanted, and then it
+was in the midst of a small clump of trees on a gentle rise of the
+land, a full two hundred feet from the shore.
+
+Here, by trimming away some of the branches, we could have a full view
+of the river and settlement, in addition to being at a safe distance
+from the enemy, who would hardly land on that side of the stream.
+
+"We've got into position none too soon," Darius said as he pointed
+over the trees on the opposite shore, where we could see the upper
+spars of what appeared to be a reasonably large vessel moving through
+the water slowly. "Within ten minutes we shall know whether it's a
+case of watchin' 'em come to anchor an' landin', or takin' to our
+heels to gain the canoe before they can get that far up the river."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE BRITISH FORCES.
+
+
+After we were in a position to see all that might be going on
+immediately opposite, and for a mile or more down the river, we could
+make out the spars of several ships which appeared to be at a
+stand-still, and at once the question was raised as to whether they
+were aground or at anchor.
+
+"You lads shall stay here, never venturin' to leave the hidin'-place
+unless the Britishers themselves drive you out, an' I'll take a little
+trip down stream to see what is goin' on. If the enemy has come into
+the river without a pilot, I'll go bail that more than one of his
+vessels has taken the ground."
+
+Then the old man stole softly through the underbrush, and we gave but
+little heed to his departure, so intent were we on the wondrous
+panorama spread out before us.
+
+The first craft to heave in sight was an armed brig, the decks of
+which were brilliant with red uniforms and glittering weapons, and
+immediately astern of this vessel were a dozen or more barges, and
+two pungies.
+
+Then came boats filled with soldiers, one astern of the other until it
+surely seemed as if every craft in the Chesapeake had been brought
+here to make up the procession, which was more imposing than anything
+I had ever seen.
+
+It was the glittering, fanciful side of war, which would be
+transformed into something hideous immediately the actual work was
+begun, for then one lost sight of the pomp and parade, seeing only the
+ominous stains of blood, and unable to hear aught save the shrieks of
+the dying and the groans of the wounded.
+
+Then, to our great surprise, we found that the Britishers were making
+preparations to take possession of the village. The armed brig was
+moored stem and stern in the channel where her full broadside could be
+brought to bear upon the settlement, and the three barges, each having
+on board a twelve-pounder, were rowed up to the beach on which no less
+than four hundred soldiers, with weapons ready for use, stood as if to
+repel an attack.
+
+"They are makin' a mighty lot of fuss." Jerry said with a laugh. "A
+corporal's guard could capture Benedict without turnin' a hair, an'
+yet look at that crowd!"
+
+It was truly astonishing that so many men should have been brought to
+take possession of our little village. Boat-load after boat-load came
+up the river, landing their living cargoes in the cove where we lads
+had always kept our canoes, and before the disembarkation had been
+concluded, the shore of the river was literally covered with soldiers,
+marines, and, strangely enough, companies of negroes who were decked
+out in uniforms of the British army.
+
+Since that day I have seen statements made by the enemy's officers to
+the effect that five thousand men were landed at Benedict, and for
+what purpose we lads were unable to imagine.
+
+I had never seen such a throng of people before; the town was
+over-run, and the woods above and below seemed to be packed full of
+armed men.
+
+Fortunately for us, none attempted to come on our side of the river;
+but all stood in something approaching a military formation as if
+expecting an immediate attack.
+
+As a matter of course all us lads were greatly alarmed lest our
+families should come to harm amid such a gathering; but we could not
+have afforded them any relief had we been at home, and it was
+necessary to choke back our anxieties as best we might, though it was
+difficult at times to prevent the tears from coming into a fellow's
+eyes.
+
+The troops and guns had been landed before Darius returned, and, what
+seemed to me strange, no other vessels of any size had put in an
+appearance. There were pungies, barges and row-boats enough to
+entirely choke up the river; but nothing larger than the armed brig
+which had first arrived.
+
+When the old man came back we learned why the fleet had apparently
+shrunken to such small proportions as compared with the size of the
+army.
+
+"Nearly every vessel is aground," he said when he approached our
+hiding-place with every evidence of having traveled long and rapidly.
+"The river is black with 'em from here to the point, an' some are
+likely to stay quite a spell on the mud unless mighty quick work at
+lighterin' is done. I allowed the Britishers had better sense than to
+run ships up here where there's about half water enough to float 'em."
+
+"But what is the meaning of their landing so many men?" I asked.
+"There are twice as many as would be needed to capture the whole of
+Charles and Calvert counties."
+
+"It's Washington they're aimin' at," the old man said confidently,
+"though why they've stopped here I can't figger out, unless it is that
+so many of the ships are aground. Whoever is responsible for this end
+of the Britishers' movement has made a big blunder."
+
+"Will they do any harm to the townspeople, think you?" I asked
+anxiously.
+
+"It don't stand to reason they would. There may be some plunderin' by
+the rank an' file; but that's to be expected. You're thinkin' of your
+mother an' the children, eh? Well, don't worry; they won't come to
+harm, an' on that I'll go bail."
+
+"There's no tellin' how soon some of that crowd will come over here,"
+Jerry suggested. "There ain't room enough on that side of the river
+for all hands of 'em, an' they'll begin to spread out pretty quick."
+
+"That won't bother us any, for we're goin' to pull up stakes," Darius
+replied quietly.
+
+"Are we to join the fleet?" I asked.
+
+"It's the proper thing just now, I reckon, seein's there ain't likely
+to be anythin' new around here till the enemy pushes on up the river,
+which will be when he has floated some of his vessels."
+
+Even after making this statement Darius appeared to be in no hurry to
+move on. He sat amid the foliage watching the throngs on the opposite
+side of the river until half a dozen officers came down close to the
+water's edge, having in their midst one in civilian's garb.
+
+"There's a friend of yours," the old man said quietly as he motioned
+toward the group, "an' you can eat my head if I don't guess what's
+up."
+
+My face flushed with answer as I looked in the direction indicated,
+and there saw in earnest converse with the Britishers, Elias
+Macomber, the traitor.
+
+"He has joined his friends without losin' any time. I wish I could get
+my fingers around his throat for a couple of minutes!" Jerry cried,
+shaking his fist in impotent rage.
+
+"An' I reckon you'll soon have that chance, lad," Darius said, calm
+and serene as a summer's morning. "Watch out now, an' you'll get an
+idee of the whole business, which will go to show that you didn't lose
+anythin' much when you left him at Hog Point. It wouldn't surprise me
+a little bit if he's had a good share in sendin' the ships aground,
+for he couldn't have told within ten feet, of the water to be found in
+the channel."
+
+I failed to understand very much of what the old man referred to; but
+kept my eyes fixed on the opposite shore, and saw that Elias was
+making ready to embark in a canoe, which was hauled up near at hand.
+
+"He's goin' back to see how many vessels are aground," Jerry
+suggested, and Darius added placidly:
+
+"You'll find that he's bound up river spyin', an' we count on goin' in
+the same direction."
+
+Now I understood! Elias was to reconnoiter the river for his very good
+friends, and we could catch him on his return, as we had done once
+before.
+
+I was near to crying aloud with joy when I realized that once he set
+out as Darius predicted, nothing could save him from our clutches,
+therefore I literally held my breath as he took his seat in the canoe
+and pushed off.
+
+Just for one instant my heart sank within me, for it seemed as if he
+was bound down river; but it appeared that he was simply making a
+flourish to exhibit his skill with the paddle, and then he pulled up
+stream, thereby doing Jerry and me the greatest possible favor.
+
+"Yes, he's our meat," Darius said with an odd smile as I looked at him
+questioningly. "He'll go somewhere near the fleet, to make certain it
+yet remains at the place where he made his escape, an' we won't press
+the villain. Give him plenty of time to get well away from his
+friends."
+
+Then the old man settled back amid the foliage as if counting on
+remaining quite a while, and I no longer thought of anything save the
+pleasing fact that we would once more present to Commodore Barney the
+miserable renegade.
+
+Darius soon learned that it would not be well to prolong his halt; we
+could see the soldiers pointing toward the thicket in which we were
+hidden, as if suggesting it as a pleasant camping place when the day
+was so hot as to bring perspiration to a negro's face, and a few
+moments later some of the lighter boats were pushed out from the
+shore.
+
+"I reckon it's time for us to make a move," Darius said as he arose to
+his feet lazily. "We may as well be movin' toward the canoe, though I
+had counted on stoppin' here till it was a bit cooler."
+
+According to my way of thinking we had no more than time enough in
+which to get away, for now at least an hundred soldiers were coming
+across, and in case we were discovered lurking amid the underbrush
+there would be such a hue and cry that we could not hope to escape.
+
+Darius, however, would not move one whit more quickly because of my
+urging; in fact, it seemed much as if he walked the slower to test my
+nerves, and instead of parleying with him further, Jerry and I went
+ahead at full speed, having due care, of course, to caution.
+
+It pleased me when the old man was obliged to quicken his pace to a
+run, for before we were well out of the thicket the foremost of the
+boats had gained the shore.
+
+We pressed on rapidly until coming to where our canoe was hidden, and
+there we halted, not wanting to embark until Elias had had plenty of
+time in which to get well up the river, for, to me at least, his
+recapture was more important than the task of carrying information to
+the commanding officer.
+
+Lying within the shade of the trees, and so far up river that we could
+neither see nor hear the swarm of soldiers which had lighted upon
+Benedict, we took things easy for a couple of hours, keeping sharp
+watch, however, to make certain that no craft passed us, and then
+Darius gave the word to get under way.
+
+By this time it was night, but the young moon and the stars in a
+cloudless sky, lighted up the water-way clearly, and we had no fear
+that Macomber could give us the slip, unless he returned by land.
+
+We paddled leisurely, for our news was not of such a nature that an
+hour or two sooner or later would make a difference so far as
+Commodore Barney's plans were concerned, and had gotten such a
+distance on our journey that I began to fear the traitor had struck
+across the country, when we hove him in view half a mile or more
+ahead.
+
+He was still running up the river, but I questioned if he intended to
+take any chances on being discovered, for such as he would rather
+manufacture information out of his head than encounter danger.
+
+Darius, who had been using one of the paddles, now took the helm, and
+the canoe was swung inshore where she would be partially hidden by the
+shadows of the foliage, for we did not care to start in open chase
+because he would probably take to the woods on discovering us, and
+then our chances of making the capture would be small indeed.
+
+When our quarry rounded a bend in the river, shutting himself out from
+view, we bent all our energies to the paddles, sneaking inshore
+immediately we opened him up again, and thus we rapidly lessened the
+distance until at the third turn of the shore we were less than thirty
+yards astern.
+
+"Now give it to her, lads!" Darius said sharply. "Put all your
+strength to the blades, an' we'll heave him to in short order!"
+
+As we rounded the bend, the water foaming from the boat's bow much as
+it would have done from the stem of a ship under full sail, Macomber
+was but a short distance ahead, and Darius cried:
+
+"Push her along, lads! Now's our time!" Then, bringing the paddle to
+his shoulder as if it had been a musket, he shouted, "Drop that oar
+mighty quick, Macomber, or I'll fire!"
+
+The traitor, thus receiving the first intimation that an enemy was
+near at hand, glanced backward quickly, and, seeing the supposed
+weapon leveled full at him, threw down his paddle with an exclamation
+of mingled fear and anger.
+
+We shot up alongside him like an arrow from the bow, all hands of us
+reaching out to grasp the gunwale of his canoe, and as we thus made
+fast Darius grasped the fellow by the throat.
+
+"You may as well give in quietly," the old man said, tightening his
+grasp until it would have been impossible for the man to make the
+lightest outcry. "If you flounder about much all hands will go into
+the water, an' once there I give my word that you won't come to the
+surface, for we don't count on losin' you the second time."
+
+The scoundrel was as meek as any lamb, and when Darius told me to
+fasten his arms together with my belt, he held them out obediently.
+
+I took a double turn around his elbows, and Darius ordered him to step
+into our canoe, which he did without hesitation, but once there,
+seated on the flooring of the boat with his back against the old man's
+knees, he glowered at us like an angry cat.
+
+"We reckoned you wanted to see Barney's fleet, when you put off from
+Benedict, an' it ain't jest right to make you paddle a heavy canoe so
+far," Darius said grimly. "You're goin' back with us, Master Macomber,
+an' this time you'll stay."
+
+"Not very long," the reptile said with a snarl. "Admiral Cochrane
+declares that he'll destroy Barney's fleet Friday, an' dine in
+Washington Sunday. So you see I'm not likely to stay with you any
+great while after the British come up the river."
+
+"That is as may be; now I'm countin' that when your admiral gets as
+far up the river as Nottingham, if he ever does, you'll be somewhere
+else, for we've taken you in charge."
+
+"My time will come, an' then I'll pay off a good many old scores,"
+Macomber cried with a look on his face which was not pleasant to see.
+
+"If it does you any good, keep right on thinkin' so," Darius replied
+mildly, "an' in the meantime we'll keep our eyes on you. Give way,
+lads, the sooner we're with the fleet now, the better it will be."
+
+We had no more than settled well to work when Darius ordered us to
+cease paddling, as he half rose to peer steadily ahead, and, quite
+naturally, all of us glanced in the same direction.
+
+A canoe carrying four men was coming down stream, and while I was
+asking myself if we might not have come upon more British spies, the
+old man settled back with a sigh of relief.
+
+"It's the Byard boys goin' home," he announced, and then, as the other
+canoe came within hail, he gave them information of what was happening
+at Benedict.
+
+"It don't look as if we'd better go back there," Sam Byard said
+thoughtfully when Darius had come to an end of his news. "I reckon the
+Britishers might make trouble for us, eh?"
+
+"They'd be apt to if it was known you'd just come from our fleet," the
+old man replied with a laugh. "The best thing you can do is to turn
+around an' follow us. Did you get your money?"
+
+"Oh yes, the commodore handed that over all right."
+
+"Where is Jim Freeman?" I asked.
+
+"The commander allowed it wouldn't be many hours before all hands of
+you came back, so he went aboard the pungy to keep ship."
+
+"There!" Darius said triumphantly. "You can see how near Joshua Barney
+comes to the truth when he makes a guess! I believe he could stay at
+Nottingham without ever gettin' a report from anybody, an' tell just
+what the enemy was doin'."
+
+"He'll have a chance to see what they're doin', as soon as some of the
+ships can be floated!" Macomber said with a laugh which was not
+pleasant to hear.
+
+"Which is more'n you can say for yourself if there's any danger of the
+Britishers comin'," Darius retorted. "You're our meat, Master Traitor,
+an' will stay in the same keepin' till we've settled our part of what
+you call old scores."
+
+Then the word to buckle down to the paddles once more was given, and
+the Byard boys pulled their craft around to follow in our wake.
+
+An hour later we were alongside the Scorpion again, and this time it
+was not necessary to parley with those on the guard-boat, for, on
+recognizing us, they sheered off, leaving our canoe to go where we
+pleased.
+
+Neither did the guard on the schooner hesitate to arouse the
+commodore, and within one minute after arriving, Darius was explaining
+to the commander all that had taken place at Benedict.
+
+"It must be they counted on coming further up the river," the
+commodore said half to himself when the story was come to an end, and
+Darius took it upon himself to add:
+
+"I allow there wouldn't have been any stop if the fleet hadn't gone
+ashore; then the men were landed to prevent you from makin' an
+attack."
+
+"That seems reasonable; but they'll be here soon enough, for it is to
+this place they must come in order to strike the direct road to
+Washington."
+
+Then it was that Darius bethought himself of what Macomber had said,
+and he repeated the words, adding in conclusion as he laid his hand on
+the prisoner's shoulder, for as yet we had not left the canoe:
+
+"We've brought this cur back, sir, an' hope he won't find it as easy
+to slip away a second time. He left Benedict to spy on you, as we saw
+from the other side of the river, so we gathered him in."
+
+The commodore looked at the man as one would at a snake, and then said
+curtly:
+
+"You'll have to keep him on board your vessel, Darius. Our facilities
+for taking care of prisoners are not what they should be. Do
+whatsoever you will with him, so that we can make certain of putting
+our hands on him when the matter is to be settled. You had better take
+up your quarters on the pungy, and if you're needing provisions, my
+cook will supply you until rations are dealt out."
+
+Then the commodore turned on his heel, returning to the cabin, and we
+pulled around the fleet hunting for the Avenger.
+
+Not until after getting speech with the officer in charge of the
+guard-boat did we find the craft, and when we came alongside Jim
+Freeman acted as if beside himself with joy. One would have said that
+we had been separated a full year by the way he welcomed us, and when
+his eyes fell on Elias Macomber it was as if he had lost his senses.
+
+Well, we took the prisoner aboard the pungy, securing him in the hold
+by lashing his hands behind him, and making them fast to a ringbolt,
+thus giving him a chance to sit down; but he could neither stand nor
+stretch out at full length.
+
+"It won't be none too comfortable; but it's the best we can do now,"
+Darius said to the prisoner as if apologizing for not making him more
+secure. "At all events, I reckon you'll be here in the mornin', an'
+then we may make a change."
+
+The main hatch was put on and fastened down with the bar, after which
+we went into the cuddy, ready for anything in the way of provisions
+that Jim could set before us.
+
+He was not overly well supplied, having been on board only a few
+hours, but we contrived to make a hearty meal, and while eating Jim
+heard all we could tell him regarding the occupation of Benedict by
+the British forces.
+
+It was past midnight when we turned in, so tired that all hands fell
+asleep within two minutes after making ready, and it seemed to me that
+I had not fairly closed my eyes when we were awakened by a vigorous
+pounding on the side of the vessel.
+
+Darius had his head out of the companion-way before it was possible
+for me to get on my feet, and I heard a strange voice cry sharply:
+
+"It is the order of the commodore that every vessel in the fleet move
+up to Pig Point without delay. Rations will be served there at noon
+to-morrow."
+
+Then I heard the sound of oars as the messenger-boat was pulled to the
+next craft, and Darius said hurriedly:
+
+"Lads, I'll admit that there are a good many vessels in this 'ere
+fleet what can sail clean around the Avenger; but let's show the
+commodore that there's no crew under him who will obey orders more
+smartly. Turn out lively, my bully boys! Jim, you an' Dody get home
+the anchor, an' the rest of us will tail on to the halliards!"
+
+Darius had a willing crew if there was any opportunity to win the
+praise of the commander, and he was not yet at an end of giving his
+orders when we began work.
+
+I venture to say that within sixty seconds from the time we were
+hailed, the Avenger was making way, rubbing past this craft and that
+as she literally forced a passage through the fleet, and all this
+before any signs of life could be seen on the other vessels. Even the
+Scorpion was yet lying idly at her moorings.
+
+"That's what I call a good start, lads," the old man said when we were
+well clear of the flotilla, and the pungy forged ahead in good style
+under the force of a fairly strong night breeze. "We're first under
+sail, an' it'll go hard if we don't come to anchor off Pig Point ahead
+of any one else."
+
+"Why do you suppose this move is being made?" I asked, for it smacked
+much of running away from the enemy, to retreat so far up stream, and
+Darius had made us believe that Joshua Barney never retreated.
+
+"The commander has got some good plan in his head, an' it'll come out
+before we're many days older," the old man replied confidently.
+
+"But surely we're tryin' to get away from the enemy," Jerry
+suggested.
+
+"Ay, it has that look just now, I'll admit; but you'll see some big
+scheme in it very soon, or I'm a Dutchman, which I ain't."
+
+"There's a boat dead ahead, with four men rowin' an' one steerin',"
+Jim Freeman, who had stationed himself in the tow as a lookout, came
+aft to report.
+
+"Some smarty who's tryin' to make the anchorage first," Darius
+growled; "but with this wind we can sail two miles to his one, so it
+won't be that craft which will beat us in."
+
+By this time we were well up with the boat, and to our surprise it was
+Commodore Barney himself who hailed:
+
+"Sloop ahoy! Pass a line, and I'll come aboard."
+
+He got the line smartly enough, and when he came over the rail Darius
+saluted, as he said:
+
+"We counted you were aboard the Scorpion, sir."
+
+"That schooner won't get off for ten minutes or more, and I allowed
+that the other vessels would be handled in the same leisurely fashion,
+so, I pulled ahead, thinking to be at the rendezvous before the
+flotilla was well under way. You lads obeyed orders smartly."
+
+"It's a way they have, sir," Darius said with a grin, as he looked
+over the rail to see that the commodore's boat was being towed where
+she would be the least drag on the pungy.
+
+Then it was that I tried to play the host, by asking the commander if
+he would go into the cabin.
+
+"It isn't a very nice place, sir; but it's clean, and you may be able
+to get some sleep."
+
+"I'll venture to say it's as good a sea-parlor as I, or any other man,
+deserves, lad; but I'm not needing sleep just now, therefore will stay
+on deck."
+
+Then he fell to pacing the starboard quarter, as if he had been on his
+own ship at sea, and we lads gathered well forward in order that he
+might see we understood somewhat of the respect due a commander.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+SUSPENSE.
+
+
+It is now in my mind to set down what may be dry reading for some who
+chance to see this labor of love on which I am engaged, and yet if any
+one desires to know exactly why it was the Britishers could destroy
+the capital of our country, and come off very nearly scot-free, it is
+absolutely necessary to become familiar with all our means of defense
+at this time.
+
+Therefore it is that I shall copy that which was published many years
+later, by Mr. Lossing in his "War of 1812," and in so doing the reader
+will ask how it is that I am writing this poor apology for a tale in
+the year of grace 1814, and yet putting into it facts which were made
+public many years later?
+
+The answer to the riddle is not as puzzling as it would seem. I am now
+man grown, with children of my own. Many years ago I put together this
+story, and to-day, desiring that my own boys may read it, I am running
+over the leaves to add here or there that which may make plain what
+I, a lad of seventeen years, overlooked at the time, or believed to be
+of little importance. How strange it is that the same thing appears
+entirely different when viewed from the standpoints of a man and a
+lad!
+
+This is what Mr. Lossing says concerning the time of which I wrote
+when everything was fresh in my mind, and the sense of a wrong done
+this country by England still rankling deep in my heart:
+
+     "On the 6th of August (1814) the small British squadron in the
+     Chesapeake was reinforced by a fleet of twenty-one vessels
+     under Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, the senior commander on
+     the American station. These were soon joined by another under
+     Commodore Sir Charles Malcolm. These vessels bore several
+     thousand land troops commanded by General Ross, an Irish
+     officer, and one of Wellington's most active leaders.
+     Washington and Baltimore appear to have been chosen objects of
+     attack simultaneously. A part of the British naval force, under
+     Sir Peter Parker, went up the Chesapeake toward Baltimore, and
+     another portion, under Captain Gordon, went up the Potomac.
+
+     "At that time Commodore Barney, with a flotilla of thirteen
+     armed barges and the schooner Scorpion, with an aggregate of
+     about five hundred men, was in the Patuxent river. His vessels
+     had been chased out of the Chesapeake, and blockaded in St.
+     Leonard's Bay. Of this confinement they were relieved by some
+     artillery under Colonel Henry Carbery, with which he drove away
+     the Loire, the blockading frigate, when the released flotilla
+     went up the Patuxent, first to Benedict, and then to
+     Nottingham, that it might be within co-operating distance of
+     both Washington and Baltimore.
+
+     "Seeing this, the British determined to capture or destroy it,
+     and on the 18th of August a force of a little more than five
+     thousand men, composed of regulars, marines, and negroes went
+     up the Patuxent, and landed at Benedict with three cannon,
+     under cover of an armed brig. Most of the other large British
+     vessels were below, some of them aground, and all too heavy to
+     ascend the comparatively shallow stream.
+
+     "Barney, then at Nottingham, promptly informed the Navy
+     Department of the movement, and of a boast of the British
+     admiral that he would destroy the American flotilla, and dine
+     in Washington on the following Sunday. General Winder, by
+     direction of the War Department, immediately ordered General
+     Samuel Smith's division (the Third) of the Maryland militia
+     into actual service. He also called upon General John P. Van
+     Ness, commander of the militia of the District of Columbia, for
+     two brigades, to be encamped near Alexandria; and he sent a
+     circular letter to all the brigadiers of the Maryland militia,
+     asking for volunteers to the amount of one-half their
+     respective commands.
+
+     "By his orders, his adjutant-general, Hite, issued a stirring
+     appeal to the citizens to come forward, 'without regard to
+     sacrifices and privation,' in defense of the national capital.
+     Winder also asked General Stricker, of Baltimore, to send to
+     Washington his volunteer regiments of infantry and his rifle
+     battalion.
+
+     "The veteran patriot, General Smith, promptly responded to the
+     call of the government. He at once issued a division order, in
+     which he gave notice of the invasion, and directed the whole of
+     General Stansbury's brigade to be held in readiness for active
+     service, adding, 'the third brigade is now under the pay of the
+     United States, in its service, and subject to the Articles of
+     War.' That corps General Smith declared to be 'the finest set
+     of men he ever saw.' They paraded at four o'clock the same day,
+     and on the following morning General Stansbury left Baltimore
+     for Washington with thirteen hundred of his corps. Another
+     force, under Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Sterett, consisting of
+     the Fifth Regiment of Baltimore Volunteers, Major Pinkney's
+     rifle battalion, and the artillery companies of Captains Myers
+     and Magruder, left Baltimore on the evening of the 20th, and
+     joined Stansbury on the evening of the 23d.
+
+     "With wise precaution, General Smith ordered the Eleventh
+     brigade and Colonel Moore's cavalry to hold themselves in
+     readiness to march to Baltimore at a moment's warning, for it
+     seemed probable that the enemy would strike at both cities
+     simultaneously.
+
+     "The British in the meantime had moved up the Patuxent from
+     Benedict, the land troops being accompanied by a flotilla of
+     launches and barges that kept abreast of them. The naval forces
+     were under the command of the notorious marauder, Cockburn.
+     They reached Lower Marlborough on the 21st, when Barney's
+     flotilla, then in charge of Lieutenant Frazier and a sufficient
+     number of men to destroy it if necessary, moved up to Pig
+     Point, where some of the vessels grounded in the shallow water.
+
+     "For the defense of Washington the whole force was about seven
+     thousand strong, of whom nine hundred were enlisted men. The
+     cavalry did not exceed four hundred in number. The little army
+     had twenty-six pieces of cannon, of which twenty were only
+     six-pounders. This force, if concentrated, would have been
+     competent to roll back the invasion had the commanding officer
+     been untrammeled by the interference of the President and his
+     Cabinet."
+
+All that was written when the facts of the case were well known, and
+now the story shall be taken up as I wrote it when a boy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was not all plain sailing from Nottingham to Pig Point, for the
+water was shallow, and there were many places where it was necessary
+to handle even a pungy very tenderly in order to avoid taking the
+ground.
+
+While Darius was not well acquainted with the stream, he had a
+sailorly eye for bad places, and never made the mistake of trying to
+jump the little vessel where she was likely to be held hard and fast.
+
+Many times were we forced to take to the canoe in order to pull the
+Avenger's nose around more sharply than could be done by the helm, and
+when it came to such labor of pulling and hauling the commodore lent a
+hand as if we had been his equal in station.
+
+And we did work lively, for a fact, hoping to have our anchor down
+before any other craft could arrive, therefore no one complained when
+Darius called on us for labor which might have been saved at the
+expense of three or four minutes in time.
+
+The commander was even more eager than were we, to arrive at the
+appointed rendezvous speedily, and we could readily guess that some
+big change was to be made in the general plans, although what it might
+be we came far from guessing, since all of us, save Darius Thorpe,
+believed he was simply running away from the enemy.
+
+Well, we succeeded in doing as we wished in regard to beating out the
+remainder of the fleet, for when we came to anchor off the point and
+snugged everything down Bristol fashion, there were no signs that a
+single craft was following.
+
+Commodore Barney was chafing because of the delay, as could be seen by
+the way in which he paced the deck, rubbing his hands from time to
+time as he gazed down stream in vain for some token of the laggards.
+
+"It's only a deep water sailor who obeys smartly, Darius," the
+commander said, halting in his nervous walk to face the old man, and
+Jerry and I, who were seated on the main-hatch, pricked up our ears,
+for it seemed positive we were to learn somewhat of future doings.
+
+"These younger men know too bloomin' much, that's what's the matter
+with them," Darius said in reply. "I'll go bail that half the crowd we
+left at Nottingham believed they knew better'n you when the start
+should be made, an' stopped to curl their hair before makin' sail."
+
+Commodore Barney laughed heartily at the old man's growling, and then
+said suddenly:
+
+"I count on leaving you second in command under Frazier, and it may be
+as well for you to understand matters in case I don't get a chance to
+speak with you at any length after the Lieutenant arrives."
+
+"You count on _leavin'_ me, sir? Does that mean you're goin' away
+right soon?"
+
+"Ay, when my force comes up. There is no question but that the enemy
+is making the attack on our flotilla to cover his designs on
+Washington. He can have the fleet if he comes thus far. I hope by
+daylight to be on the march for the Wood Yard, where Winder is
+encamped, and count to take with me all the men that can be spared,
+for force enough will be left behind to destroy the fleet in case the
+enemy appears. Lieutenant Frazier is to be in charge of those who
+remain here, and you will act as his second in command. This is my
+plan: You shall have seventy men or more, and as soon as we leave you
+will make every craft ready for the torch; see to it that there are
+combustibles on board in sufficient quantity to insure a clean job
+when fire is applied. After that has been done, you will wait for the
+British. Once it becomes certain that you cannot save the fleet, start
+your fires, and put out for the American army, which will likely be
+near Washington by that time."
+
+"We've got some good boats with us, sir," Darius said thoughtfully.
+
+"Ay, my old shell-back, and that is why I am determined that they
+shall not be of service to the enemy. You who remain behind will have
+more danger to face than those who move in advance, and because of
+that it is necessary you keep the force well in hand. See to it that
+every order, however trifling, is obeyed on the instant, and in event
+of any disposition to shirk a command, or to loiter after the word has
+been given, deal with the culprit as you would on shipboard. Quick
+work is the only thing which will save you from being killed or made
+prisoners."
+
+When the commander spoke this last word the thought came to me that I
+had, for the moment, entirely forgotten Elias Macomber, and I was
+puzzled to know what could be done with him while we were destroying
+the fleet, if it so chanced we were forced to such an extremity.
+
+I spoke with Jerry about it; but he had no suggestion to offer, save
+that I had better refer the matter to Joshua Barney.
+
+"He's forgotten all about Macomber, as we did, an' now is the time to
+find out what we shall do with him. It would hurt me mighty bad to let
+the cur join his British friends simply because we couldn't take care
+of him."
+
+This last idea nerved me to do that which I would have shrunk from at
+any other time, and, approaching the commander, I asked:
+
+"What is to be done with our prisoner, sir? Jerry and I couldn't help
+hearing what you said to Darius, and we don't want to let such as him
+have a free foot after capturing him twice."
+
+"Don't fear for that, lad," the commodore said with a kindly smile.
+"Give your man breakfast now, so that he may be in condition to march,
+and when you see that we are ready to set off, bring him to me. I
+will see to it that he has a care-taker who won't wink at an escape."
+
+Then the commander fell to pacing the deck again, and I called Jim
+Freeman and Dody Wardwell into the cuddy that they might cook
+breakfast for all hands, including Elias Macomber.
+
+Jerry insisted that the cur ought to be sent on his way with an empty
+stomach; but to that I would not have agreed even though the commodore
+had failed to give especial orders to the effect that he be fed.
+
+By the time our cooking operations were well under way, the foremost
+of the fleet began to heave in sight, and from that moment Joshua
+Barney had something more to do than pace the Avenger's deck.
+
+We learned very soon that the Scorpion had run aground, which fact
+delayed several of the smaller boats, since Lieutenant Frazier called
+upon many of the men for assistance; but all reports ran to the effect
+that the fleet would unquestionably be at the rendezvous by early
+dawn.
+
+We drew lots to see who should feed the prisoner, and Josiah Coburn
+selected the unlucky slip, which was a great relief to me, for I
+question if I could have put food into the villain's mouth with any
+very good grace.
+
+We were yet at work on the breakfast when my father came aboard, the
+barge to which he was drafted having been the third to arrive, and it
+made me feel mighty good when he complimented us on our smartness in
+handling the Avenger.
+
+We two went well forward where we might converse privately, and I did
+not think I was betraying any confidences when I told him of the
+commodore's plans. He was in nowise surprised, and said as one would
+if talking to a particular friend:
+
+"I guessed that something of the kind might be in the wind when the
+word was given to get under way. It would have pleased me better,
+Amos, if you had been detailed to go with the advance."
+
+"Why so, sir?" I asked, secretly rejoicing because he was treating me
+as if I had been of his own age.
+
+"Because those who remain to destroy the fleet will be in great
+danger. You cannot begin the work until the enemy is close upon you,
+otherwise it might be said that valuable property had been sacrificed
+needlessly, and your risk will be greater than mine."
+
+"That is as it should be, sir," I replied, forgetting that I had ever
+been weak-kneed or lukewarm in the cause. "For mother's sake you
+should be the one to go home, if both cannot."
+
+"You have ever been a good boy, and a dutiful son, Amos. I shall pray
+that God will spare your life, whatever He may will shall become of
+me."
+
+Then my father kissed me, and I never remember of his having done such
+a thing before, after which he went over the rail hurriedly, as if not
+caring to look me in the face.
+
+It was not a particularly cheerful conversation which we had had, and
+yet I was wondrously heartened because of it. The possible danger was
+very far from my mind as I dwelt upon father's words and his good-bye.
+It was as if I had suddenly come to know him in a different fashion
+than ever before.
+
+Commodore Barney used the Avenger as his flag-ship while we were
+waiting for the Scorpion, and our deck was literally crowded with men
+who had been summoned to receive orders. He even ate breakfast with
+us, doing the greater portion of the eating holding converse with one
+or another, and it can well be fancied that we were proud because of
+having made possible such an honor for our pungy.
+
+The day was just breaking when the Scorpion, attended by all the other
+laggards, came up the stream. The schooner was anchored alongside our
+pungy, and the commodore and Lieutenant Frazier had a private
+interview in the cabin of the larger vessel, after which word was
+given for the men to disembark.
+
+The captain of each vessel had received orders to go ashore with so
+many men, therefore we saw no confusion when the final moment arrived.
+
+Jerry and I made ready the canoe in order to take Elias Macomber out
+of the vessel, and, seeing us thus engaged, Lieutenant Frazier said as
+if in surprise:
+
+"I thought all you lads had been ordered to remain behind?"
+
+"So we have, sir," I replied, and then I explained what we would do,
+whereupon he called for a couple of men from the Blushing Susan to
+attend the prisoner, we going with the party to make certain he was
+delivered up in good order.
+
+Commodore Barney had not forgotten the matter, as could be seen when
+he came forward with the cur, and he handed Elias to a man from
+Nottingham, with this injunction:
+
+"You are answerable for him until we arrive at General Winder's camp.
+If he attempts to escape, shoot him without compunction; but give him
+fair treatment so long as he obeys orders."
+
+Then the commander nodded to us, as if we were old acquaintances, and
+the march was begun, every man stepping out briskly, as if it pleased
+him to aid in the defense of the national capital.
+
+It really gave me a sensation as of homesickness, to be thus left
+behind. Although sixty or seventy men yet remained, they were so
+scattered among the fleet that it seemed as if we of the Avenger were
+the only ones left to watch the enemy.
+
+"You may as well take up your quarters on the schooner," Lieutenant
+Frazier said to Darius when the detachment was lost to view in the
+distance. "All of her crew are gone, therefore we shall have plenty of
+room."
+
+"I shipped with the boys, an' I reckon I'd best stay with 'em, sir,
+though I thank you kindly for the offer," Darius replied, and the
+Lieutenant added quickly:
+
+"I meant the invitation for the entire crew of the pungy. Some of them
+can do the cooking while we stay here, which won't be very long I'm
+thinking."
+
+And thus it was we made a change of quarters, which neither pleased
+nor displeased me even though the cabin was decidedly finer than our
+cuddy, because I had come to have a certain affection for the shabby
+pungy which cost us so much labor in the buying.
+
+According to Lieutenant Frazier's laying out of the work, there was
+nothing for us of the Avenger to do save care for the schooner, and
+prepare the meals.
+
+Six men were sent down the river in canoes, to watch and report the
+movements of the enemy, that we might have timely warning of their
+near approach, and the remainder of the party which had been left
+behind were set about getting ready for the destruction of the fleet,
+if that should become necessary.
+
+One may think that Jerry and I had no reason to feel badly if our
+pungy should be burned, since we had the guarantee from Commodore
+Barney which would insure our receiving much more money than she cost
+us, and yet we did feel badly, because it then seemed to us as if we
+could never get another craft quite so much to our liking. A fellow
+cannot live on board a vessel many months, sailing her in all kinds of
+weather, and depending upon her for a livelihood, without having a
+certain sentimental attachment for the fabric different from that felt
+for all others of its kind.
+
+However, I had quite persuaded myself that the British would not come
+so far up stream simply in order to destroy the flotilla, for it did
+not seem as if the outlay would be repaid by the result, whichever way
+it might be viewed. I had it in mind that when they learned how
+shallow the river was above Nottingham, the plan would be abandoned,
+therefore I felt comparatively secure from harm as we idled away the
+hours.
+
+The fact that Darius was so uneasy should have convinced me of the
+full danger, for the old man was not one who borrowed trouble. He
+fretted because he was forced to remain with the boats, instead of
+acting as spy, and nothing save the fact that Joshua Barney had placed
+him second in command could have kept him at Pig Point when it seemed
+to him that he might be able to accomplish much elsewhere.
+
+When the first of those who had been sent down stream returned, I also
+began to feel uneasy in mind. The report came that the entire force of
+Britishers was embarking on barges and small boats, with half a dozen
+6-pounders and as many mortars, which showed that it was expected we
+would make some resistance, and it angered me to hear the men talking
+as if we were to do no more than set the flotilla on fire when the
+enemy hove in sight.
+
+"It seems to me that we might worry them some," I said to Darius, when
+he had spoken in much the same tone as the others. "Forty or fifty men
+posted along the shores would make them a little trouble, I reckon."
+
+"Ay, lad, an' effect about as much as so many wasps. We might shoot
+down a few men; but could not even delay the advance, an' what would
+be gained? Their five thousand soldiers would make it mighty warm for
+our people on the shore, an' when it came to killin', I'm thinkin'
+they'd be able to do the most execution."
+
+Before he ceased speaking I understood how foolish had been my words;
+but I was burning with such a desire to inflict some injury upon
+those to whose account could be laid the destruction of our property,
+that I was not really responsible for the speech.
+
+It was on the evening of the day when Joshua Barney left us, that I
+began to be sensible of the suspense in which one would necessarily be
+at such a time. If the enemy came upon us suddenly, it might be
+possible for them to capture all hands of us, as well as carry away
+the boats, and this last would be considered more of a disaster than
+the first.
+
+Twenty of our men were posted at different points on both sides of the
+stream to act as sentinels, and the remainder distributed among the
+fleet in such a manner that the flames could be started in very short
+order.
+
+Neither Lieutenant Frazier nor Darius proposed to turn in on this
+night. They were to keep on the move from one sentinel to another, in
+order to make certain each man was doing his duty, and we lads were
+ordered to have a meal prepared for them at midnight.
+
+Shortly after sunset another of our people came up the river with the
+report that a portion of the enemy's force had started and it began to
+seem as if a night attack had been determined upon.
+
+It can well be fancied that we of the Avenger had very little desire
+for slumber, although, had we been so disposed, all of us might have
+had a good night's rest, and also had the midnight meal ready when it
+would be required.
+
+We paced to and fro after the lieutenant and Darius had left, speaking
+only in whispers, as if it might be possible the enemy could hear us,
+and each moment expecting that the alarm would ring out.
+
+The suspense was to me most painful, and I said to Jerry:
+
+"Almost anything is better than this. I wish we were not so well aware
+of their coming."
+
+"If the fleet is to be burned, an' we know the enemy has started to
+come up here, I can't see what is to be gained by waitin'," and my
+partner spoke in a tone of petulance. "We shall do no good stayin'
+here, and it may be that some of us could be of service elsewhere."
+
+"It's no use for you fellows to grumble," Jim Freeman said with a
+laugh, he having come up just in time to hear the useless words. "The
+orders are to wait till the Britishers show themselves, an' I reckon
+neither Lieutenant Frazier nor Darius would like to take the
+responsibility of doin' anythin' else. You two will make a good thing
+out of this business, in case the Avenger is burned, eh?"
+
+"We've got a guarantee for more than she cost; but at the same time
+I'd rather have her than a better one," Jerry said promptly, and I put
+my hand in his, for he had spoken that which was in my heart.
+
+Then we fell to talking for at least the tenth time of how the work of
+destruction would be accomplished, and while we were thus engaged
+Darius came alongside.
+
+"You lads can turn in," he said as he clambered over the rail.
+"Mitchell has just come up the river with the news that the Britishers
+are makin' camp less'n two miles below. We shan't see 'em to-night;
+but they're likely to be here mighty early in the mornin'."
+
+"Some of us must stay up to do the cooking," I replied, thinking of
+the meal the lieutenant had ordered.
+
+"I'll call you in case Frazier don't change his mind about it, but I
+reckon he'll be willin' to wait for breakfast."
+
+"Are you going to stay on board?"
+
+"I shall be here off an' on; just now we're goin' to inspect each
+craft, so's to make certain the flames can be started quickly, for
+there's no longer any chance but that the fleet must be destroyed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+BURNING THE VESSELS.
+
+
+It seemed to me much like disastrous defeat to burn the flotilla on
+the approach of the enemy, without making any effort whatsoever to
+defend it, and for the time I believed that Darius and all those who
+bragged so much about Commodore Barney's fighting qualities, were
+making idle talk, otherwise he would have attempted to hold his own,
+no matter how great the odds against him.
+
+At the time I failed to realize that our fleet of small boats amounted
+to nothing, as compared with either city which the British was
+threatening, and that the commodore never showed himself to be a
+better fighter than when he allowed the enemy to spend their time with
+a lot of boats of little value, while he was marching his men across
+country to aid in the defense of Washington.
+
+One can readily fancy that we lads were not much inclined for sleep
+when Darius brought word that we might turn in.
+
+It was definitely known that the British were only two miles away, and
+would make no prolonged halt until after striking a blow at our fleet.
+In fact, it was possible they might approach within an hour, the halt
+having been called only to make us believe they would not attempt to
+do any mischief during the night.
+
+We gathered aft, but with no desire to go below, and stood there
+leaning far out over the rail with eyes and ears open for some token
+of the coming foe.
+
+It was possible to distinguish even in the gloom a boat which was
+pulled from one craft to another, stopping only a few seconds at each
+vessel, and we knew the lieutenant and Darius were making their
+rounds.
+
+Again we questioned the wisdom of waiting until the enemy was close at
+hand before beginning the work of destruction, never realizing how
+important it was to keep the Britishers at the task of destroying the
+fleet so long as possible that the defenders of Washington might have
+opportunity to make ready; but we actually grew impatient because the
+torch was not applied at once.
+
+Before Lieutenant Frazier brought the inspection to a close, one of
+the men who had been sent to spy out the enemy's movements, came
+aboard the Scorpion to make a report. From him we learned that the
+British were really encamped for the night, and there seemed little
+possibility any move would be made before daylight.
+
+Even with this assurance we lads had no desire for slumber, and were
+on deck listening and watching when Darius returned.
+
+"Why didn't you turn in?" he asked almost sharply, and I replied,
+striving to speak in such a tone as would give him to understand that
+we were not to be dictated to regarding our individual actions while
+off duty.
+
+"We prefer to remain awake. Even though the enemy was not so near, I
+question if either of us would care to go into the hot cabin, unless
+orders were given to the effect that we must do so."
+
+"Well, I have it in mind to get forty winks when I'm able. We may be
+kept on the move pretty much all the time after leavin' here, an' it
+stands a man in hand to bottle up what sleep he can."
+
+"I thought you counted on moving around all night?"
+
+"So I did before we knew that the Britishers had settled down for a
+spell; but now there's no need of more watchers than are already on
+duty," the old man said as he disappeared through the companion-way
+hatch, leaving me fully sensible of the fact that I had proven myself
+a prig and a fool by trying to assert my right to do as I pleased.
+
+We could see boats moving slowly to and fro a short distance down the
+river, and thus knew, the guard having been largely increased, that if
+an enemy came our way during the hours of darkness, he must be seen by
+the sentinels some time before we on the schooner could distinguish
+him in the gloom.
+
+Then Jim Freeman and his friends followed Darius' example, by going
+into the cabin, and but for what had passed between the old man and me
+I would have gone with them. As it was, I felt bound to remain, and
+Jerry, understanding the situation, although he refrained from
+speaking of it, stayed with me like the true friend that he always has
+been.
+
+Before midnight my eyes grew heavy with slumber, and I said to my
+partner, as I led him well forward where we could not be overheard in
+case any of those in the cabin were awake:
+
+"It would seem as if you and I were left to look after the schooner,
+and surely some one ought to be on duty, even though the spies have
+reported that the enemy has encamped for the night."
+
+"Well, that's about what we're doin', ain't it?" Jerry asked, and I
+fancied he was trying not to laugh.
+
+"Yes, and yet I'm getting mighty tired. I propose that we stretch out
+on the deck a few minutes, just to rest our legs."
+
+"Won't that be deserting our post?" Jerry asked gravely.
+
+"I don't think so, because we can hear all that is going on, and while
+it is so dark there isn't much chance of seeing anything."
+
+"But suppose we fall asleep?"
+
+"I'll see to it there's no chance of that," I replied, finding it hard
+work to repress a yawn, and then Jerry's mirth could be controlled no
+longer.
+
+"What are you laughing at?" I asked sharply.
+
+"At you, Amos! You haven't made a bloomin' success of it whenever
+you've tried to put on airs over Darius; somehow he always contrives
+to get the best of you. If you hadn't pulled him up with a sharp turn,
+we'd be below havin' a good snooze with the other fellows; but now
+we're ashamed to go, consequently we'll camp on deck."
+
+I was angry, and yet I knew he had spoken only the truth. However, it
+seemed too late to mend matters, and without making any reply I laid
+down under the rail, fully determined to be more of a gentleman in the
+future.
+
+There had been in my mind a promise not to close my eyes in slumber
+that night; but no sooner was I at full length on the deck than I
+crossed over into dreamland, and knew nothing until the report of a
+cannon, seemingly near at hand, brought me to my feet very suddenly.
+
+"What's happening?" I cried loudly, and from the after rail Jim
+Freeman replied:
+
+"The enemy are comin' into position. They began to show up nearly half
+an hour ago; but I thought there was no need to waken you till the
+work was begun."
+
+Those who had turned in, as sensible fellows should have done, were
+awake and on the alert in due season, while I who believed the safety
+of the schooner devolved upon myself, slept until the Britishers were
+ready to begin operations.
+
+The day had dawned, although it was a full half-hour before the sun
+would show himself. Down the stream, within long range of our fleet,
+were eight or ten barges, each carrying a cannon, drawn across the
+river in such manner as to make the flotilla a good target, and the
+gun which had aroused me was evidently fired for the purpose of
+testing the position.
+
+I ran aft to where Jim and his friends stood, asking eagerly:
+
+"What are our people going to do?"
+
+"The word has just been given to start the blaze, and the lieutenant
+believes that we can hold the Britishers in check until the vessels
+are well afire. We're to form on the shore, and oppose the force which
+you see yonder."
+
+Gazing in the direction of Jim's outstretched finger, I could make out
+a line of red-coated men on the southerly shore some distance below
+the barges, and it was not difficult to guess that they intended to
+move up, once an action was begun, to where they could fire at us from
+the bank.
+
+The British commander evidently believed we would fight to prevent the
+fleet from being destroyed, and, therefore, was forcing his men to
+perform a great deal of unnecessary work.
+
+Looking around at the boats and vessels of our fleet I could see that
+the work of destruction had already begun. From the hatch of the
+Avenger, which craft was lying thirty or forty yards further up stream
+than the Scorpion, a thin thread of blue smoke was ascending lazily on
+the clear air, and on five or six other pungies the same ominous token
+of approaching ruin could be seen.
+
+Then it was that I saw little knots of our men pulling for the
+northerly shore, and, on gaining the bank, stave in the hulls of their
+canoes to such purpose that the little craft could not again be made
+serviceable.
+
+I understood then that each squad was under orders to land immediately
+the task assigned them had been performed, and wondered if the
+schooner was to be reserved until the last.
+
+"Does the lieutenant count on saving the Scorpion to hold the
+Britishers in check?" I asked of Jim, and for reply he pointed toward
+the main hatch, from out of which Darius was just emerging.
+
+"Have your canoe ready!" the old man cried, addressing Dody Wardwell,
+who was holding the painter of a small craft which lay under the
+stern. "I allow that we'll need to leave here in mighty quick time,
+for when the fire starts it'll run from stem to stern like a flash."
+
+[Illustration: As we pulled away I glanced back at our fleet and saw
+that the vessels were well on fire.]
+
+Even as Darius spoke I saw a curl of flame from the forward hatch, and
+then a long, glowing tongue leaped up toward the cordage.
+
+While I stood watching it, fascinated by the eager lapping of the
+destroying element, the enemy opened fire from the barges, sending
+solid shot amid the fleet which had already been deserted. At almost
+the same moment that line of red, which had been motionless, could be
+seen flashing here and there amid the foliage, telling that the
+advance of the land force had begun.
+
+Glancing back at our fleet after making certain that the Britishers
+were coming toward us, I saw that the vessels were well on fire,
+although unquestionably many of them might have been saved had efforts
+been made immediately to that end.
+
+"In five minutes more salt won't save 'em," Darius said in a tone of
+satisfaction. "Them bloomin' red-coats started a little too late. Come
+on, lads! It looks as if we were the last to leave the fleet, an'
+there isn't overly much time on our hands. Into the canoe with you!"
+
+We obeyed the order without delay, more particularly since the flames
+were already coming out of the Scorpion's after companion-way, and
+while paddling for the shore I saw that our people were drawn up in
+line ready to meet the enemy in case it became necessary to prevent
+them from interfering with the work of destruction.
+
+"Are we the only ones to go unarmed?" I asked, noting that all of
+those ashore appeared to have weapons in their hands.
+
+"I reckon we'll find what may be needed when we join our people,"
+Darius replied. "The guns an' ammunition were taken out of the vessels
+last night, for powder ain't a nice thing to have around when you're
+foolin' with fire."
+
+It must be borne in mind that while we were thus speaking the cannon
+on the barges were being served with spirit, and more than one solid
+shot had gone crashing through a burning vessel; but none had come
+near enough to us to cause any particular alarm.
+
+When we were ashore I saw that there would be no scarcity of weapons
+among us, and, in fact, several of the men were forced to carry two
+muskets because of the supply which had been left behind by those who
+marched away under the immediate command of Commodore Barney.
+
+We lads succeeded in getting a good outfit, with quite as much
+ammunition as could be carried comfortably, and by the time we had
+taken our places in the line, the enemy's shots were beginning to come
+dangerously near some of us.
+
+A cannon ball cut down a sapling within four feet of where Lieutenant
+Frazier was standing, and another crashed among the splintered canoes
+on the bank, while from the distance came those sounds which told of
+bullets striking amid the foliage.
+
+The soldiers were almost within effective range, and the shot from the
+barges was by no means comforting, while we could accomplish nothing
+by remaining idle.
+
+I wondered why the retreat was not begun, if we were to make one, and
+felt as if I had a personal grievance against the lieutenant because
+he failed to give that order which would permit of our getting away
+from such a disagreeable situation.
+
+"Growin' uneasy, lad?" Darius asked with a grin, as I involuntarily
+ducked my head when a solid shot passed over us.
+
+"It strikes me that we can't do any great amount of good by standing
+here," I replied irritably.
+
+"The lieutenant is a reg'lar little man who believes in obeyin'
+orders, no matter what happens. Joshua Barney left word that we were
+not to move from here till all the vessels were well afire, an' here I
+reckon we'll stay quite a spell longer."
+
+"But they are all burning," I said, turning to look at the fleet, each
+craft of which appeared to be enveloped in flames.
+
+"Yes, they've started well; but if I was the one who had been left to
+decide when there was no longer a chance of savin' 'em, I'd hold here
+a spell longer, as the lieutenant is doin'."
+
+"Do you believe it possible that we could save the schooner now?" and
+I pointed toward the Scorpion, along whose spars the flames were
+creeping rapidly.
+
+"Two or three hundred men might do it if they set to work this minute,
+though it would be a tough job," the old man said as he gazed at the
+flames which were already sending forth heat enough to render our
+position too warm for comfort, and at that instant a musket ball came
+humming past the end of his nose, causing him to spring backward very
+suddenly.
+
+"Growing uneasy, Darius?" I asked, and the old man laughed
+good-naturedly as I thus passed him some of his own coin.
+
+"It's gettin' warm all around; but I reckon we've come mighty nigh to
+the limit set by the commander."
+
+Then it was that the man next beside me cried aloud as he held up his
+right hand from which the blood was beginning to flow from a bullet
+wound.
+
+I was too angry to be frightened just then, for it seemed as if
+Lieutenant Frazier was remaining too long under fire, and a moment
+later came the welcome command.
+
+I dare venture to say that, with the exception of Lieutenant Frazier
+and Darius, every man moved more readily and quickly than he ever did
+before, until we were a good mile from the scene of destruction,
+striking directly across the country for Upper Marlboro.
+
+Now and then it was possible to catch glimpses of the flames, which
+towered above the tops of the nearby trees; but we heard nothing of
+the enemy, which seemed to me strange until I mentioned the fact to
+Darius when he came up, after loitering in the rear with the
+lieutenant as if to show his contempt for the Britishers.
+
+"I allow there's plenty of sense in their stayin' where the fleet is
+burnin'," the old man said quietly. "They saw only a few men leave
+when it had been said that Joshua Barney had five hundred with him.
+Now what more natural for them to suppose that we are tryin' to lead
+'em into an ambush--for the Britishers still believe we fight in Injun
+fashion? Then again, it ain't likely the foot soldiers are carryin'
+rations, havin' the boats with 'em, an' it would be poor judgment to
+send a lot of men into the woods empty-handed, so to speak."
+
+"Then you do not believe we shall be pursued?"
+
+"If we are it'll be a fool trick," the old man replied, and then he
+fell back to the rear in response to a signal from the lieutenant.
+
+After he had thus given his opinion, which I believe to be shared by
+Lieutenant Frazier, it was in my mind that we would tramp leisurely
+across the country until coming up with Commodore Barney's force; but
+immediately we appeared to be out of danger word was given to quicken
+the pace.
+
+Now it was that the officer and Darius marched in advance, the former
+having given the word that we were to keep close at his heels, and
+during two hours I traveled faster than I ever did before. It seemed
+as if the musket, which had seemingly been a feather's weight when we
+started, weighed more than twenty pounds at the end of the second
+hour, and I was so nearly winded that it was as if I could go no
+further without first taking some rest.
+
+Jerry was no less fatigued than I, and did not hesitate to say he
+believed the lieutenant was making us march thus fast simply to
+gratify some foolish whim.
+
+Then we were come to Upper Marlboro, after fording the stream, and the
+pleasure I felt at being allowed to sit down that I might rest my
+aching feet was so great that it cannot properly be described.
+
+While Jerry and I were grumbling because of what seemed to us unseemly
+haste, Jim Freeman, who had been lying down a short distance away,
+came over to where we were sitting, his eyes bulging as if he had
+seen two or three ghosts at the very least.
+
+"What do you suppose?" he said excitedly.
+
+"I heard the lieutenant telling Darius that a big force of Britishers
+was marchin' up from Nottingham on the west side of the river, bound
+for Washington!"
+
+"How did he know that?" Jerry asked sharply.
+
+"A man who was sent back by Commodore Barney on a scout, got here
+about the same time we did, an' he reported to the lieutenant. But
+that ain't all; some of the folks livin' 'round here say that a small
+force--near three hundred--landed on the west side of the river after
+the enemy went into camp last night, an' is mighty near this place
+now!"
+
+"'Cordin' to that it would seem as if we come pretty close to bein'
+surrounded!" Jerry exclaimed.
+
+"That's just what Darius said," Jim replied, "an' the lieutenant told
+him he'd been afraid all along that we'd run into some such kind of a
+muss. Commodore Barney warned him to be on the watch for what appears
+to be happenin', an' it begins to look as if we might have trouble
+mighty quick."
+
+"There can't be a great deal of it for the Britishers, if their
+smallest force is three hundred, for they'd make short work of us," I
+said with an inward quaking. "I've been blaming the lieutenant for
+making us march so swiftly, and now I wish he had pushed us on twice
+as fast."
+
+I had hardly more than ceased speaking when the command was given to
+fall into line once more, and the men obeyed eagerly, for the word had
+been passed around that our small force was in most serious danger.
+
+Every man among us was tired, I venture to say, yet we literally
+over-ran the lieutenant, who was setting the pace, and pressed forward
+like a flock of sheep pursued by dogs.
+
+It was nearly noon when we arrived at what is known as the Wood Yard,
+where General Winder had encamped and thrown up some slight
+entrenchments, and where Commodore Barney was to have joined him; but
+now the place was deserted, save for one man whom I remembered having
+seen on our fleet.
+
+As we soon came to know, he had been sent back from Long Old Fields by
+the commodore to quicken our movements, and both Jerry and I heard
+that which he said to the lieutenant when we came up.
+
+It seems that the American troops from all quarters were hastening to
+Washington, and Commodore Barney had given orders that we hurry
+forward with the least possible delay.
+
+"The commodore told me to say that unless you kept your men moving
+night and day you would be captured, for no less than three British
+forces are known to be on the way here from the Patuxent," so the
+messenger said, and Lieutenant Frazier asked if he knew what body of
+the enemy was coming up the Potomac.
+
+"A portion of the British fleet under Captain Gordon is already to be
+seen from High Point," the man replied, and then he withdrew some
+distance with the lieutenant as if to give him private instructions.
+
+There is no need for me to set down the fact that our small force was
+in a state of the greatest excitement. From no less than three sources
+we had learned that the enemy was so near as to make capture seem
+certain, and our only hope of safety was to press forward at the best
+possible speed until arriving at Washington, where we were told the
+commodore had already arrived.
+
+It was a good deal like being out of the frying-pan into the fire, for
+in case we contrived to elude those who were close in the rear, we
+must come face to face with a yet larger body of the enemy when we did
+our feeble best toward defending the city.
+
+I was getting quite a big taste of warfare, and it was by no means to
+my liking, although I had by this time come to understand that I must
+not put such ideas into words lest my companions accuse me of showing
+the white feather.
+
+We had marched eleven miles with only one halt of fifteen minutes, and
+now, instead of going into camp as had been supposed, we were to press
+forward, marching night and day, for a distance of at least fourteen
+miles; but even though it had been twice as far I would have gone on
+with at least a show of cheerfulness, so great was my fear of being
+taken prisoner.
+
+We halted at the Wood Yard half an hour, and then were going ahead
+once more; but at a less rapid pace, for we could not be expected to
+travel many hours at the same speed which had been kept up since
+leaving the burning fleet.
+
+We ate as we marched, munching the corn-bread and bacon as best we
+might, and falling out of line to get a drink of water whenever we
+came to a brook or spring.
+
+At the end of the first hour we were halted for ten minutes, and then
+the advance was continued until it seemed to me that I could not put
+one foot before the other.
+
+"I suppose I shall hold out as long as the rest of you do; but it
+seems as if I'd got to drop down right here," Jerry said to me as we
+trudged along side by side on as fatiguing and dispiriting a march as
+I have ever known since. "It's better for a fellow to kill himself by
+walkin', than be sent back to a prison on board one of the British
+ships."
+
+I tried to cheer the dear lad, although I myself was needing
+encouragement most woefully, and perhaps I succeeded somewhat by
+saying:
+
+"Our fathers would set us down as cowards and drones, if the men went
+in with the report that we couldn't travel twenty-five or thirty miles
+without knocking under."
+
+"You're right, Amos!" and Jerry stepped out briskly. "We should be
+able to do more of this kind of work than Darius, who has spent all
+his life aboard ship, an' yet there he is, humpin' along chipper as a
+sparrow."
+
+I turned to look at the old man, who was in the rear, marching in good
+order, and acting as if on some pleasure excursion which he hoped
+would not come to an end too soon. It shamed me to see him so jolly
+when I was feeling so sore.
+
+From that moment, whenever I felt as if it was impossible to take
+another step, I looked at Darius, and forced myself to forget
+weariness or hunger.
+
+It was nearly sunset when we were come to Long Old Fields, where a
+portion of General Winder's army had encamped the day previous, and
+here we were met by another messenger from the commodore.
+
+This last man had as large a store of fresh provisions as could be
+hauled by one mule, and within five minutes after coming up with him
+we were getting supper, giving no heed to anything save the fact that
+we had food in plenty for at least one meal.
+
+Later, Darius told me that the second messenger repeated orders for us
+to press forward without unnecessary delay; but when our hunger was
+appeased the lieutenant gave the word that we would be allowed to
+remain in camp a full two hours, and this was no sooner made known
+than the majority of us stretched our tired bodies on the ground for a
+time of sleep.
+
+Jerry and I lay side by side, and when we were first in the proper
+position for sleeping I spoke to my comrade, but he made no reply. The
+dear lad had actually fallen into slumber at the very instant his head
+touched the ground.
+
+Perhaps I remained awake while one might have counted twenty; but I am
+confident it was no longer than that, and then I closed my eyes, not
+to open them again until conscious of a heavy blow on the soles of my
+feet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+AT WASHINGTON.
+
+
+The first thought in my mind, on being aroused from deep slumber by a
+heavy blow on my feet, was that the enemy had come upon us, and a
+battle had been begun while I remained unconscious.
+
+Springing up quickly, my eyes hardly half-open, I made ready to defend
+myself with no other weapons than those provided by nature, but
+nothing more formidable confronted me than Darius Thorpe, whose mouth
+was stretched wide in a grin, as if he saw something exceeding comical
+in thus disturbing a fellow's slumbers.
+
+"This is no time for horse-play!" I cried indignantly. "Having but two
+hours for rest, it would seem that such jokes might be dispensed
+with."
+
+"I don't allow that I'm jokin'," the old man replied gravely, the
+smile disappearing from his face as he understood that I was
+thoroughly angry. "You have used up your allowance of time in
+sleepin', an' now it's a case of gettin' into line."
+
+"I haven't had a five-minutes nap!" I cried, firmly believing that I
+spoke the truth.
+
+"It's a good two hours since we came to a halt, but even though the
+time wasn't up, we'd have to get into motion, for another messenger
+has arrived from the commodore, an' there won't be any more loafin'
+'twixt here an' Washington."
+
+"What is the news?" I asked, beginning to be ashamed of myself because
+of having lost my temper.
+
+"General Ross, commandin' the British forces on land, has arrived at
+the Wood Yard, an' the chances are that, with troops accustomed to
+long marches, he will push on without much of a halt. Even if we were
+not needed in Washington, it would stand us in hand to move mighty
+quick."
+
+Then Darius continued his task of awakening the sleepers, and I made
+ready for another march when it seemed as if the word to halt had but
+just been given.
+
+When we set out again all of us from the Avenger were side by side,
+and, although it may seem childish to say so, the fact that I had
+friends at either hand gave me renewed strength of body as well as of
+mind.
+
+It is not well that I make any further attempt at following step by
+step what was supposed to be a hurried movement to reinforce our
+comrades of the flotilla, but which in reality was neither more nor
+less than a hasty retreat. It is enough if I say that late in the
+night following the day when Commodore Barney's fleet was destroyed,
+we arrived at the marine barracks in Washington, where was the force
+which had accompanied our commander.
+
+Just then we were too tired and foot-sore to give any heed to our
+friends who had been impatiently awaiting the arrival of us who had
+been left behind on a dangerous duty. We only asked permission to lie
+down anywhere in order to rest our aching limbs, and this we were able
+to do, as a matter of course.
+
+When morning came, however, and we were awakened by the bustle and
+confusion which would naturally arise when five or six hundred men are
+quartered in four buildings forming a square, we gave little heed to
+the stiffness of joints and blistered feet which remained as mementoes
+of that long march, as we greeted those for whom we had greater or
+less affection.
+
+The first person whom I saw was Bill Jepson. He had been searching
+through the barracks for Jerry and me, and I really believe the old
+fellow was heartily pleased at seeing us once more.
+
+"Well, my bullies, how about that famous ship Avenger, Amos Grout
+commander, and Darius Thorpe general supercargo?" Bill cried in a
+voice of thunder as he shook hands with each of us in turn, beginning
+with me, and ending with Dody Wardwell.
+
+"What there is left of her might be found at the bottom of the
+Patuxent, if you hunted long enough," I replied, feeling a bit
+saddened by the loss of the pungy, and not having had time before to
+think very much about her fate.
+
+"The whole fleet went up, eh? Tell me about it," and Bill seated
+himself on the edge of a bunk as if expecting to hear a long yarn.
+
+There wasn't much to be told, as is known by any one who has had the
+patience to read what has been set down here; but I gave him a full
+account of all we had done, and wound up by complaining of the long
+march we had been forced to take.
+
+"Don't let a little thing like that distress you, matey, for unless
+the Britishers whip us out of our boots here in Washington, I'm
+thinkin' we'll have to scratch gravel a good many times before this
+'ere war is ended. Where's Darius?"
+
+We could give him no information concerning the old man, save to say
+that he was with us when we went to sleep the night previous,
+whereupon Bill said with a laugh:
+
+"I reckon he's tellin' the commodore how this little business should
+be carried on, though he claims that the man never lived who could
+give Joshua Barney points."
+
+I had no particular desire to hear about the commodore or Darius,
+therefore I asked if he knew anything concerning Elias Macomber, and
+as I mentioned the name Bill burst into a hearty laugh.
+
+"Know anythin' about him, lad? I reckon I do, seein's I helped lodge
+him in jail, an' how the hound whined for a chance to escape! He
+promised me more dollars than I could carry in my hat, if I'd give him
+five minutes the start; but so long's he didn't let on where he'd get
+the coin, or how it might be passed over to me, I couldn't make any
+dicker."
+
+"Then there's no need to worry any more about his getting away," I
+said to myself, whereat Bill Jepson looked grave, and I made haste to
+say:
+
+"One might think from the look on your face that you believed his
+chances for escape were good?"
+
+"He'll stay where he is while we hold possession of the city, an' of
+that you may be certain, lad; but in case the British----"
+
+"You are not thinking that the enemy can take Washington?" Jerry cried
+in amazement.
+
+"Ay, lad, an' if the truth was known, I'm not the only one who is
+believin' much the same thing."
+
+"But all the people in this country would come here to defend the
+city!" I exclaimed, thinking for the moment that Bill Jepson was
+trying to play upon our fears.
+
+"They haven't done it so far," and the sailor looked grave again. "As
+near as I can hear we've got about seven thousand men near about, an'
+more'n three-quarters of 'em are so green that it would be dangerous
+to let the cows have a whack at 'em."
+
+"Have the Britishers a larger force?" Jim Freeman asked.
+
+"No, lad, not quite so many when you come to number 'em up; but they
+are all trained soldiers, every one the match for three of ours in a
+reg'lar battle, no matter how well the Americans can fight. Then
+again, what with the President an' all the big bugs takin' a hand,
+we've got too many commanders. Leave the whole business to one
+man--say Joshua Barney, for example--, an' I believe we could hold our
+own."
+
+To us youngsters who had come expecting to aid in a successful defense
+of the city, this kind of talk was not particularly cheerful, and I
+would have welcomed any change in the conversation; but Bill Jepson
+had used his eyes to good advantage during the short stay in
+Washington, and was determined that we should receive the benefit of
+what he had seen and heard.
+
+"Last night Mr. Monroe, the secretary of state, sent a despatch to the
+President, an' I saw a copy of it while on duty at the commodore's
+quarters. It read like this: 'The enemy are advanced six miles on the
+road to the Wood Yard, and our troops are retiring. Our troops were on
+the march to meet them, but in too small a body to engage. General
+Winder proposes to retire till he can collect them in a body. The
+enemy are in full march to Washington. Have the materials prepared to
+destroy the bridges.' That was signed with Mr. Monroe's name, lads,
+an' after so much, he wrote, 'You had better remove the records.' Now
+do you think I'm so far out of the way in sayin' that there's a good
+chance of our gettin' the worst of it?"
+
+Just at that moment, to my great relief of mind, my father appeared in
+the doorway of the barracks, and I sprang to meet him.
+
+How good it was to see his dear face once more! What a sense of relief
+came over me because he was near! I was yet so young as to believe
+that no harm could come to a fellow while his father was near, and on
+the moment all the fears which had been aroused by Bill Jepson passed
+out of mind.
+
+It is not necessary for me to set down that conversation between my
+father and me while it related to the dear ones at home, or our own
+two selves; but when we had spoken our fill on such matters it was but
+natural we should come back to the situation in which our troops were
+placed, and, greatly to my surprise, I found that my father despaired
+of success in much the same measure as did Bill Jepson.
+
+"We can only do our best, lad, and for your mother's sake we'll pray
+that both of us may go back to Benedict; but if only one, then it
+should be you, who have promise of so many more years of life than I."
+
+We were yet speaking of matters much too private to be set down in a
+story like this, when the command came for all the men of Commodore
+Barney's force to fall into line, and on the instant we understood
+that we were to join the small army led by General Winder.
+
+I know not how it was we were so confident as to our destination,
+except that the general and our commander had been long in
+consultation before this day; but certain it is we felt positive all
+of us were about to retrace our steps.
+
+And now, while our men are scurrying to and fro making ready for
+another march before having recovered from the one just ended, let me
+set down here what I afterward read in print, for it will serve to
+explain why we did not do that which the country expected, and even
+demanded:
+
+"Winder's situation was an unenviable one.[A] With a comparatively
+strong foe on his front, ready to fall upon him or the capital he was
+expected to defend, he had only about twenty-five hundred armed and
+effective men in camp, and many of these had been from their homes
+only three or four days. They were undisciplined and untried, and
+surrounded and influenced by a crowd of excited civilians, to whose
+officious but well-intended information and advice the general was
+compelled to listen. In addition to this intrusion and interference of
+common men, he was embarrassed by the presence and suggestions of the
+President and his Cabinet ministers, the most of them utterly ignorant
+of military affairs. Better would it have been for Winder and the
+country if these civilians, from the President down, had kept away
+from the camp and the field, and prudently preserved silence."
+
+[A] Lossing's "War of 1812."
+
+As a matter of course, we of the rank and file knew very little
+concerning the trials of the officer who was charged with the defense
+of the city; but we did understand that our force was not sufficient
+in either discipline or numbers to cope with that which we must meet,
+yet I did not hear a word of grumbling or fear as we made ready for
+the march.
+
+It was as if a full knowledge of the danger served to inspire us with
+courage.
+
+We set out within ten minutes after the order had been received; but I
+did not see Commodore Barney until we had retraced our steps to Long
+Old Fields, and there we found the small army throwing up a slight
+breastwork, as if believing that an attack was imminent.
+
+"This looks as if you an' I might see more of war than may be
+pleasant," Jerry whispered to me as we stood in line waiting to be
+dismissed. "It is all very well to fight when you're on board a good
+vessel; but runnin' around on shore, marchin' here till you can do no
+more than move, an' then marchin' back again, is a little better than
+I hanker after."
+
+"It's too late to talk like that," I replied, smiling as I remembered
+how eager my partner had been to go as a soldier when I was hanging
+back. "We're like to see an hundred times worse than this before we're
+many hours older."
+
+"Ay, an' there's never one here, save you, Amos, who shall have an
+inklin' of the fact that I'm growin' mighty sick of my bargain."
+
+Then we were dismissed, to find such tents and rations as General
+Winder's force could spare us, for our baggage-train was yet on the
+road, and while we were thus engaged Jim Freeman shouted to us.
+
+"Darius has got a tent for our crowd; it's close by the commodore's,
+an', what's better, the old sailor has been rummagin' 'round till he's
+got all the grub we'll need for some time to come."
+
+"Where are Dody and Josiah?" I asked.
+
+"Holdin' down the tent till we can take possession; there's so much
+pullin' an' haulin' after rations an' quarters, that it ain't safe to
+leave anything alone."
+
+I supposed that we would be ordered to aid in throwing up the
+breastworks, therefore it stood us in hand to learn where we belonged,
+before the labor was begun, and without delay we followed Jim.
+
+Indeed we had been fortunate in having Darius to care for us, since,
+thanks to him, none at Long Old Fields, save the officers, were
+quartered as well as we.
+
+In a few moments the canvas tent, strewn with our belongings, had
+quite a home air, and we lost no time in making an attack on the store
+of provisions which the old sailor had gathered for us.
+
+We were eating hurriedly, lest we should be ordered to take up the
+picks and shovels before our hunger could be satisfied, when Darius
+came in looking thoroughly fagged and worn out.
+
+"But for you we'd been without a shelter to-night," I said as he threw
+himself on the ground near me.
+
+"An' that would have made little difference, lad, for the open air in
+a summer's night is ahead of any canvas house. Howsomever, the tent
+serves as a place where we can keep our belongings without fear some
+of these clodhoppin' imitations of soldiers will get away with 'em."
+
+"I suppose we shall be called upon to take a hand in throwing up
+breastworks?" I suggested, and a more cheerful look came over the old
+man's face than I had seen since word was given to fire the fleet.
+
+"We who have just come in will be allowed to take it easy, if the
+Britishers don't interfere, till mornin', when, if there's time left
+us, we'll turn to at throwin' dirt."
+
+All of us lads settled back with a certain sense of comfort and
+satisfaction difficult to describe. There were many in that small army
+who were hungry, because of the delay and confusion in sending out
+supplies, and yet more who would lie down with nothing to shelter them
+from the heavy dew, while we were well protected, and with a goodly
+food supply, all of which spoke well for the forethought and ability
+of Darius Thorpe.
+
+"I'm goin' to turn in, if so be we've got nothin' to do till mornin',"
+Jim Freeman said as he suited the action to the words, and Josiah and
+Dody followed his example.
+
+I was not minded to close my eyes in slumber until after having heard
+from the old sailor all he could tell, although it goes without saying
+that I was tired enough to be able to sleep standing up.
+
+"Have you heard anything new since we arrived?" I asked, and Darius
+replied in a low tone, as if afraid his words might be overheard by
+some one on the outside:
+
+"The commodore says we shall have a battle within eight an' forty
+hours, an' you know how well he can smell out such things. It seems
+certain we can't meet the enemy here, unless more men are sent, an',
+as I take it, we shall march hither an' yon till we come to the fight
+fit for nothin' but to turn in."
+
+"Where are the British now?"
+
+"The main body is at Upper Marlboro; but there are a couple of columns
+movin' about in a way that betokens mischief for some of us 'twixt now
+an' mornin'."
+
+"What have you been doing? I didn't see anything of you after we
+started back for this place."
+
+"I came on ahead, ridin' part of the way, with the commodore, an'
+we've been on the move pretty much ever since. General Stansbury is at
+Bladensburg, an' General Winder counts on goin' there to-morrow for a
+conference, leavin' our commodore in command here."
+
+"But what have you been doing to tire you so thoroughly?" I persisted.
+
+"Nothin' exceptin' tag around at Joshua Barney's heels, an' he's a
+reg'lar tiger at walkin', whereas it puts me in bad shape."
+
+"Why not lie down while you may, and get some sleep?" I asked.
+
+"Because I'm under orders to go back to the commodore. You lads turn
+in, an' I'll creep under cover whenever it's possible."
+
+Having thus evaded my question as to what he had been doing, the old
+man went out of the tent, leaving Jerry and I gazing at each other,
+but not daring to speak the thoughts which were in our mind.
+
+If Commodore Barney and Darius Thorpe were so anxious as to what might
+be the result of our meeting with the enemy, surely we two lads,
+ignorant of everything pertaining to warfare, save marching, had cause
+for alarm.
+
+We sat facing each other a full ten minutes without speaking. It was
+possible to hear the laborers as they threw up the slight breastwork
+which could be of but little service save to mark our position, or the
+hum of conversation as the idlers paced to and fro near the tent, and
+all these sounds was token that we were a tiny part of the living
+machine with which nations waged war.
+
+"There's no sense in sittin' here like a couple of dummies," Jerry
+finally said. "We'd best be gettin' all the sleep we can, an' then
+we'll be the better prepared for what is before us."
+
+It would have pleased me well to find my father and have a talk with
+him; but I did not feel warranted in leaving my comrades at such a
+time, therefore I acted at once upon Jerry's suggestion.
+
+It was not a difficult matter to fall asleep, after the long march,
+and until late in the night I enjoyed a most refreshing slumber, when
+the entrance of Darius awakened me.
+
+"What is the time?" I asked.
+
+"Near to midnight."
+
+"Have you been working all this while?"
+
+"Movin' around with the commodore, that's all," Darius replied, as he
+laid down beside me, and a moment later his heavy breathing told that
+the weary old man was resting after nearly twenty hours of labor.
+
+Try as I might, it was impossible to close my eyes in sleep
+immediately. My thoughts would stray back to Benedict, and the more my
+mind dwelt upon mother and the children the less inclined did I feel
+for slumber.
+
+I twisted and turned while my tent-mates slept more or less noisily,
+until by the cries of the sentinels I knew it was two o'clock in the
+morning, and then the idea that in a few hours I must be at work with
+no chance for rest, caused me to feel drowsy.
+
+Save for the measured tread of the sentinels, and their calls from
+time to time, the silence of the encampment was profound, and I was
+idly saying to myself that it seemed difficult to fancy one was in the
+midst of more than two thousand men, when suddenly came a sharp cry
+from a distance, followed by another and another until the long roll
+of the drums rang out on the night air like distant thunder.
+
+"What is it?" I cried, as Darius sprang to his feet.
+
+"The call for all hands," the old man said as he groped around for his
+musket and ammunition. "The Britishers have shown themselves, hopin'
+to take us by surprise, most like. Move lively, lads, for Joshua
+Barney's followin' must be the first in line."
+
+How we contrived to arm ourselves and get out of the tent into the
+midst of a throng of apparently bewildered men, I know not; but
+certain it is we found ourselves there following Darius, who was the
+only one I saw that evidently had his wits about him. Left to
+ourselves we would have wandered aimlessly around the encampment, as
+did many hundred of the men; but the old sailor, who surely should
+have been born a soldier, led us to the proper place as if he had
+always served his country on land instead of water.
+
+We found our people from the flotilla in fairly good formation, ready
+to repel an attack, while the raw militia were scurrying to and fro
+like frightened sheep, and such fact made me feel proud that I was a
+member of "Barney's seamen."
+
+"You've done well, lads," the commodore said approvingly, while he
+moved to and fro in front of us to make certain that we were all
+there. "We'll show these landsmen before this little scrimmage is
+over, that we old shell-backs are not web-footed when it comes to
+obeying orders."
+
+Then it was that I began to understand why those who served under
+Joshua Barney were so proud of, and had such confidence in, him.
+There was in the ring of his voice, in his way of looking at a
+fellow, and his every movement, something which bespoke him a friend,
+and from that moment, I became as ardent an admirer of the fighting
+captain as ever was Darius Thorpe.
+
+Of a verity I believe a full fifteen minutes elapsed before all our
+people were in line of battle, which spoke badly for what might happen
+in case the enemy planned a surprise, and then we learned that the
+alarm was a false one.
+
+"Some weak-kneed sentinel was frightened at his own shadow," the
+commodore said, speaking quietly to his men. "But it hasn't done us
+any harm to be routed out in short order, for now we can see how
+necessary it may be to know our stations. Turn in, my hearties, and
+get what rest you can before we stand up in front of the red-coats to
+give them a lesson which they're needing."
+
+Then we went back to our tent; but not to sleep. There is a mighty lot
+of excitement in turning out at night to be shot at, and Darius was
+the only member of our party who felt inclined to lie down.
+
+We sat under the canvas talking in whispers, lest we disturb those
+near at hand, and the old sailor was soon giving good proof that he
+had sailed over into dreamland.
+
+Of what did we talk? I can't really tell; but you might put yourself
+in our places, and say if you would not naturally speak of those most
+dear when you knew beyond a peradventure that within a few hours at
+the most you would be standing face to face with death.
+
+When the day broke we stole softly out of the tent that Darius might
+get all the sleep possible, and, building a small fire, toasted the
+strips of bacon which made up the greater portion of our rations.
+
+Then all hands sat around the tent to prevent any one from awakening
+the old man without good and sufficient cause, until sunrise, when
+word was passed from one to another that orders had been given to load
+all tents on the baggage-wagons, for the army was to move within an
+hour.
+
+Then it was that we felt obliged to call Darius, and he came up on his
+feet at the first word, having all his wits about him at the moment of
+awakening, as is the habit of sailormen.
+
+"Goin' to move, eh?" he said, when we told him of the order. "Then I'm
+thinkin' the next halt will be at whatsoever place General Winder has
+picked out for a battle-field. Look after the tent, lads, while I get
+a word with the commodore."
+
+He marched off in the direction of headquarters, and we set about the
+task, I observing while passing among the militia, that the men as a
+rule were looking mighty glum, which augured ill for their
+performances if indeed a battle was near at hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+BLADENSBURG.
+
+
+If I would tell all that was done in and around Washington by our
+people, and then have space in which to set down that which we lads
+were able to accomplish after the British had worked their will, very
+much of what then seemed highly interesting to us of the Avenger, must
+be passed over with but few words.
+
+Perhaps it is well that it should be so, for we moved here and there
+without apparent aim or purpose until every man and officer was on the
+verge of exhaustion, and then, when it required no slight effort
+simply to remain on our feet, we were forced to meet the British army,
+which had advanced by short stages to the end that the men should be
+in the best physical condition for that struggle which decided the
+fate of the nation's capital.
+
+We had no sooner struck our tents than word was brought that the
+President was on his way from the Potomac to review our troops, and at
+such information Darius grumbled loud and long, therefore we lads
+knew full well that Commodore Barney was opposed to such
+monkey-shines, otherwise the old sailor would not have dared to voice
+his complaints so stoutly.
+
+When we might have been resting preparatory to the extraordinary
+fatigues that were before us, all our little army were forced to
+remain in line a good two hours, when President Madison was ready to
+begin the review, after which we marched and countermarched in front
+of him when three men out of every four were unable to understand the
+words of command.
+
+It was a most ridiculous performance, as can well be fancied, and if
+the chief magistrate of the land was well pleased with the result, it
+is more than can be said for the officers in command.
+
+By the time this mockery of a review had come to an end, scouts
+arrived with information that the main body of the enemy was still
+resting comfortably at Upper Marlboro, whereupon we were allowed to
+remain in line while the general sent couriers to the different
+commanders under him, directing them to move in the direction of the
+British camp.
+
+We remained on parade from shortly after sunrise until ten o'clock in
+the forenoon, when we were as tired as if from a long march. Then we
+were dismissed; but since all the tents had been carried away in the
+baggage-wagons, there was nothing for us to do save lounge around in
+the open field exposed to the burning rays of the sun.
+
+Nothing more was done in the way of throwing up breastworks, therefore
+we who had been the last to leave the fleet, were not called upon to
+handle pick or shovel.
+
+An hour before noon General Winder, escorted by a troop of Laval's
+cavalry, left the encampment, and it was reported that he had gone to
+hold a conference with General Stansbury at Bladensburg.
+
+All our rations, save what each man had held back in his pockets, were
+with the baggage-train, therefore we did not make a very hearty meal
+at noon, and perhaps it was as well, for while we were eating the
+small amount of food at our disposal two companies of Maryland
+militia, under command of Major Peter, came into camp on the double
+quick, with every evidence of terror on their faces.
+
+Immediately the long roll was sounded, and as we fell into line once
+more, expecting to see the enemy advancing, word was whispered around
+that Major Peter, scouting in the direction of Marlboro on the Wood
+Yard road, had skirmished with the Britishers, and been driven back.
+
+Commodore Barney and General Smith, who had command of the militia in
+the absence of General Winder, set about making preparations for
+battle, and Major McKenney was sent in hot haste to inform our
+commander of the position of affairs.
+
+We remained under arms, and in momentary expectation of being engaged
+in a life or death struggle, until near sunset, when General Winder
+arrived, and without loss of time we were headed for Washington at a
+sharp pace, thus being forced to march over the same ground three
+times without having seen the enemy once.
+
+We arrived for the second time at the capital about midnight, and were
+posted near the Eastern Branch bridge, there to get such repose as
+might be possible while we did guard duty on that side of the city.
+
+In order to show that my grumbling had good foundation, I am going to
+set down here a portion of General Smith's report, as I heard it read
+a week later:
+
+"The arrival at the Eastern Branch bridge terminated the four days of
+service of the troops of this District. They have been under arms,
+with but little intermission, the whole of the time, both night and
+day; have traveled, during their different marches in advance and
+retreat, a considerable tract of country, exposed to the burning heat
+of a sultry sun by day, and many of them to the cold dews of the
+night, uncovered. They have in this period drawn but two rations, the
+requisition therefor in the first instance being but partially
+complied with, and it being afterward almost impossible to procure the
+means of transportation, the wagons employed by our quartermaster for
+that purpose being constantly impressed by the government agents for
+the purpose of removing the public records when the enemy's approach
+was known, and some of them thus seized while proceeding to take in
+provisions for the army."
+
+On that night after our arrival we heard that the British were
+advanced within two miles of Long Old Fields. We who comprised the
+command under General Winder were worn and dispirited; Laval's
+horsemen were exhausted, and Stansbury's men at Bladensburg were tired
+out by long marches, lack of sleep and scarcity of food.
+
+As if to make bad matters worse, our general fell from his horse near
+about daybreak, and really was not fit to remain in the saddle,
+although he pluckily kept on duty, not the least of which were many
+conferences with the President and members of his Cabinet.
+
+At sunrise, after our force had indulged in less than two hours'
+sleep, Laval's scouts brought in positive information that the British
+General Ross was marching directly toward Bladensburg; half an hour
+later messengers came from General Stansbury with the word that the
+enemy was in his front, and urging that reinforcements be sent at
+once.
+
+It was a case of making another march without breakfast, and, for the
+matter of that, we had had no supper the night previous.
+
+There was more than one grumbler when we obeyed the summons to "fall
+in;" but the men under Commodore Barney held their peace after our
+leader urged that we act "like patriots, and not like children who had
+come out expecting to enjoy a holiday."
+
+Well, off we posted for Bladensburg, a good eight miles from where we
+had halted, and I for one hoped that the battle, since there must be
+one, would be on at once, for it seemed better to be shot at than worn
+down by apparently aimless running to and fro.
+
+We of the flotilla arrived near Bladensburg shortly after noon, and
+were stationed about a mile from the village on the Washington road.
+There we found two eighteens and three 12-pounders, all ship's guns,
+mounted on carriages, which had been drawn to the spot by the marines
+from the navy yard, and with these we were supposed to hold our
+position, having no other support than a crowd of raw militia in front
+of us.
+
+Our force, meaning those under Commodore Barney's command, numbered,
+as I have already said, about five hundred, and although we had no
+knowledge of military tactics, we knew enough to obey our officers to
+the best of our ability, which was considerably more than could be
+said for very many of the troops near at hand.
+
+I cannot set down that which followed, in proper fashion so that it
+could be understood by those familiar with the game of war; I only
+know what happened near my comrades and myself, for the crew of the
+Avenger had taken good care to stand side by side at this time when
+one or all of us might meet death through the medium of British lead.
+
+For myself, I can say this: that when I looked around at the mass of
+men--five thousand strong I have since heard--, and saw them wrangling
+over this trifling matter or that, openly disputing some command, or
+boldly leaving an assigned position to take up one which pleased them
+better, I had more fear of what might come to us through the cowardice
+or ignorance of our own people, than regarding the ability of the
+enemy to cut us up.
+
+Darius made his preparations for the conflict by stuffing a huge piece
+of tobacco into his mouth, after which he proceeded to read us a
+lecture on behavior while under fire.
+
+"Remember this," he said with the air of one who knows it all, "it
+isn't every bullet that finds its billet, an' the toughest time is
+just now, when we're waitin' for what all hands know is bound to come.
+Think of the folks at Benedict, an' kind'er figger out what they'd
+say if you went home after showin' yourselves cowards under fire.
+There are worse things than bein' killed or wounded in battle, an' the
+hardest is to live knowin' every youngster on the street has the right
+to call you a white-livered sneak what ran away when danger came.
+Stand here behind Joshua Barney, for I warrant he won't give you a
+chance to get in front of him, an' you'll be doin' about right."
+
+When the old man had come to an end of his instructions, we would have
+conversed among ourselves, speaking much, no doubt, of the folks at
+home; but he sternly bade us hold our tongues, thinking that we would
+not be heartened by such talk, and straightway began to tell us a yarn
+of how he and Bill Jepson had fought under Commodore Barney, when the
+enemy was a ship of thirty-two guns, and they in a schooner carrying
+only twelve 10-pounders.
+
+The yarn had not yet come to an end when a commotion among the men in
+front of us caused me to crane my neck to look in the direction many
+were pointing, and there I saw the lines of red marching directly
+toward us in perfect order, as if on parade.
+
+At almost the same moment the enemy began to throw rockets among our
+people, and these, exploding, hurled bullets' in every direction.
+
+Within two minutes from the time I first saw the Britishers, no less
+than five men near me were stricken down, and the sight of the gaping
+wounds, together with the moans of the sufferers, gave me a sensation
+of faintness which was well-nigh overpowering.
+
+"Stand steady you lads from the Avenger!" Darius cried sharply,
+warned, no doubt, by the sight of our pale faces that we were growing
+sick in more ways than one. "Somebody must get hurt, else the battle
+would never be over, an' we're here to spoil the Britishers' fun,
+which we shall do mighty soon. Joshua Barney is only waitin' for the
+proper time, an' when he gives the word to begin work, there'll be a
+change of tune."
+
+At that moment, and before a gun had been fired, the militiamen in
+front of us broke into a run toward the rear, many of them throwing
+down their muskets as they took part in a most disgraceful retreat.
+
+For the credit of our flotillamen, and the marines, I must set it down
+that not one of them wavered when the retreat was begun, and after the
+last of the cowards was in the rear I heard the commodore shout:
+
+"Now's your time, lads! Give it to 'em hot an' strong, but make every
+charge count!"
+
+Then our ship's guns were discharged, and the faintness left me as I
+saw the missiles cut down long lanes in the red-coated ranks; the
+smell of burning powder must have got into my brain, for from that
+moment I knew nothing save that my musket was to be loaded and
+discharged as rapidly as possible.
+
+Men fell around me by the score, yet I gave no heed to the evidences
+of suffering. Once, a man shot through the head, pitched forward
+directly into my arms, covering me with blood as he sank dead at my
+feet, and yet, unused though I was to such scenes, it caused me no
+other feeling than that of anger because he had spoiled my aim.
+
+I knew nothing of what was going on immediately in front of me, save
+that the red line, now broken by many a gap, was before my eyes; that
+it advanced, fell back and advanced again, sending among us such a
+shower of bullets that the buzzing in the air was like unto a swarm of
+angry bees.
+
+Once Jerry tried to say something to me, but I pushed him back
+petulantly, so strong a hold had the fever of battle upon me. My
+musket barrel grew hot to the touch, and it was no longer possible to
+charge it properly. Without compunctions I exchanged weapons with one
+of the dead men at my feet, and continued the work, shouting aloud in
+vengeful joy when I saw an enemy fall by my hand.
+
+Darius cried out in my ear; but I heard him not, nor did I heed the
+fact that he wanted to speak with me. I was insane with the scene of
+carnage, the salty odor of blood, and the choking, stifling fumes of
+burning powder.
+
+Then, suddenly, Darius pulled me back by the coat-collar, forcing me
+to run with him, and as we went swiftly past our guns toward the rear,
+I asked what he was doing.
+
+"The word had been given to retreat!" he cried. "Do the best you can
+with your legs, lad, for there'll be no quarter given if we are taken.
+We of the flotilla, with the marines, have borne the brunt of this
+whole battle for the last half hour, an' we've left our mark on the
+red-coats, even if we are turnin' tail now!"
+
+"But the commodore?" I cried, now getting back a portion of my
+scattered senses.
+
+"Wounded ten minutes ago, an' taken off the field, I hope. It was in
+my mind to help him; but he ordered me to go back to duty, an' I went,
+for when Joshua Barney gives the word, even though he's half dead,
+it's safest to obey without makin' much talk. Captain Miller of the
+marines was shot down at about the same time."
+
+Then I had sense enough to see that all my comrades of the Avenger
+were close about me, none of them appearing to be hurt, and while we
+ran to save ourselves from being made prisoners, let me set down that
+which was written less than a week after the battle of Bladensburg,
+for, as it turned out, we had fought a regular battle.
+
+"No troops remained in line, except the party under Commodore Barney,
+and two detachments on his right, that were well posted. Having been
+so roughly handled, the enemy made no attempt to advance directly in
+front of the seamen and marines, but, after forcing the troops on
+their right from the field, by a demonstration in that direction, they
+prepared to turn the rear of Barney in order to surround him.
+
+"While these movements were going on in front, a party of light troops
+had been thrown out on the enemy's right, and the militia having
+abandoned the ground, they were also beginning to close upon the
+Americans that stood. By this time Commodore Barney, Captain Miller,
+and several other officers were wounded, and, victory being impossible
+against odds so great, an order was given to commence a retreat.
+
+"The defense had been too obstinate to admit of carrying off the guns,
+which were necessarily abandoned. All the men retired, with the
+exception of the badly wounded; among the latter, however, were
+Commodore Barney and Captain Miller, who both fell into the enemy's
+hands.
+
+"Of the marines, nearly one-third were among the casualties, and the
+flotilla-men suffered considerably, though in smaller proportions. The
+people of the flotilla, under the orders of Barney, and the marines,
+were justly applauded for their excellent conduct. No troops could
+have stood better, and the fire of both artillery and musketry has
+been described as to the last degree severe."
+
+Jerry, who reads each day what I write, says that by putting down the
+account of what we of the flotilla did, I am blowing my own horn; but
+I do not so consider it, since the fact is a matter of history, and if
+we won praise on that disastrous day, then we should boast of it to
+the end that the picture may not be so black.
+
+And now to return to us of the Avenger who were fugitives, without any
+idea of where safety might be found.
+
+Strange to say, not one of us had been wounded, while many a better
+man close beside us had met his death.
+
+Darius took it upon himself to lead our party, and right willing were
+we to have him act as commander, though I question if he really knew
+where he was going when we left the bloody field.
+
+There is no shame in my heart when I set it down that we ran from the
+enemy, and did our level best at that game; the order to retreat had
+been given after we had done all that might have been expected from
+well seasoned troops, and to have remained longer would have been a
+useless sacrifice.
+
+By instinct, rather than deliberation, Darius led us southward, close
+on the heels of several hundred men, all of whom were quite as eager
+as we to keep out of the enemy's clutches.
+
+To the best of my knowledge the British did not pursue; they had won a
+victory, but in so doing received quite as much of a drubbing as was
+needed, and officers as well as privates were willing to remain on the
+hard-earned field.
+
+I believe it was a full hour before Darius would allow us to slacken
+the pace, and then we were well among the foremost of the fugitives.
+
+By this time we were so nearly winded that it was impossible to
+continue the flight without a breathing spell, and the old man allowed
+us to halt when we were close upon the city.
+
+We could see that our people were bearing to the west, in order to
+give Washington a wide berth, and, when it was possible to speak
+because of my heavy breathing, I asked Darius where he proposed to go.
+
+"That's what I haven't rightly made up my mind on," the old man said
+thoughtfully. "It stands to reason that the enemy will, sooner or
+later, try to make as many prisoners as possible, an' I'm allowin'
+that those fellows ahead are bound to have a hot time of it before
+they're many hours older. If we could only get down the river!"
+
+"But we can't, an' that much is certain," Jerry said petulantly.
+
+"Perhaps you've got another scheme in your head, since the oyster
+business turned out so well," and it is possible that I spoke
+sharply, realizing with bitterness just then that but for my
+partner's proposition to sell fish to the fleet I might never have
+discovered I owed my country a duty, and, consequently, would not at
+that moment be hunted down, or in danger of it.
+
+"Perhaps I have," Jerry replied quietly, giving no heed to my
+disagreeable manner of speaking.
+
+"What is it, lad?" Darius asked curiously. "I take it that at such a
+time as this a bit of advice, no matter from whom it comes, is well
+worth listenin' to."
+
+"Why not go straight into Washington, an' stay there till we find a
+chance to slip down the river?"
+
+"Into Washington?" Jim Freeman cried in alarm. "Why the Britishers
+have promised to burn the town!"
+
+"I know that, an' it ain't likely any of our people will go there
+because of that same thing."
+
+"An' yet you allow that we should stick our noses into the mess?"
+Darius asked.
+
+"Ay, because the Britishers never will suspect that any who took part
+in the fight would go there. It should be possible to find a
+hiding-place somewhere in the town, an' it strikes me we wouldn't be
+in as much danger as if we kept with the crowd."
+
+I began to think that there was more in Jerry's scheme than appeared
+when he first suggested it, and Darius seemed to be considering the
+matter very seriously.
+
+"In the first place," my partner continued, warming to the subject
+when he saw that we were interested, "it would be necessary to get
+there before the Britishers took possession, an' it might be we could
+pass ourselves off as fellows who had stayed in the town like cowards,
+rather than take the chances of bein' shot."
+
+"It's a pretty good scheme, lad, an' I for one am willin' to try it,"
+Darius said abruptly as he rose to his feet. "If the others think as I
+do, we'd better be movin'."
+
+After the old man had thus spoken there was not one of us who would
+have ventured to object, for he had shown that in any business of this
+kind he knew more than all of us put together, therefore we made ready
+to set out; but before the first step had been taken we saw coming
+toward us from the direction of Bladensburg, a man riding a mule, and
+waving his arms as if to attract our attention.
+
+"Go on," I said petulantly. "We can't afford to hang around here very
+long if we count on finding a hiding-place in the city, and that is
+only one of the country people who wants to sell his mule."
+
+"I reckon we'll wait a bit," Darius replied firmly. "Unless I'm way
+out of my reckonin', yonder man was in the fight, an' has scooped up
+one of the baggage-wagon mules to help him along."
+
+"But our party is too big for safety now, and what will it be if we
+allow every straggler to trail on behind? We might as well follow the
+other fugitives."
+
+All this I said like a peevish child, and no sooner had I ceased
+speaking than Darius seized me by the shoulder, forcing me to turn
+until I had a full view of the newcomer.
+
+"Look at the man," the sailor cried sternly, "an' then say whether you
+will allow every straggler to trail on behind us when the road is as
+free to one as another?"
+
+In an instant I was covered with confusion and remorse. The man to
+whose company I had objected was none other than my own father, and as
+he approached I could see that he was wounded in the right leg.
+
+There was nothing I could say just then to show my comrades how deeply
+I regretted having spoken in such a tone, therefore I ran forward to
+greet him who, a moment previous, I had been eager to leave behind.
+
+My comrades joined me as I saluted my father much more warmly than I
+might have done but for the unkind words I had spoken, and in a few
+seconds we heard all the story he could tell.
+
+He had been wounded quite severely during the early part of the
+battle, and went to the rear in search of the surgeons. Failing to
+find those whose duty it was to be near the scene of action, and
+unable to walk any further owing to loss of blood, he laid down under
+one of the baggage-wagons which had been used to transport ammunition.
+
+Here he bandaged his wound as well as possible, and was about to set
+out once more in search of aid, when the final retreat was ordered.
+Unable to walk, he would soon have been made a prisoner, or, perhaps,
+in the heat of the moment, received worse treatment, when the idea of
+escaping on one of the mules occurred to him.
+
+Cutting the traces he rode off, taking a course to the north in his
+ignorance of the country; but, discovering his mistake, he turned
+about, and the first persons he saw were those of our party.
+
+Without wasting any time we told him of Jerry's scheme, and he, having
+nothing better to propose, agreed to make the venture, more
+particularly because he stood sadly in need of some attention, since
+the wound had been only rudely bandaged.
+
+Darius claimed that he could treat it after a sailorly fashion,
+provided we found clean water and cotton cloth, and declared that it
+would heal as well after such treatment as if any save a skilled
+surgeon had dressed it.
+
+As a matter of course we kept the mule, for it was necessary my
+father should ride, and after the delay needed in which to explain
+matters, our little party started toward Washington, knowing full well
+that we were going where it was certain the enemy would soon come.
+
+Although I had agreed to Jerry's scheme, and was willing to do
+whatsoever the majority of my companions decided was for the best, I
+could not but believe that ours was as rash a move as fugitives ever
+made, for of a verity it was thrusting ourselves into the jaws of the
+lion.
+
+Now that my father was with us, having his wound as proof that he had
+taken part in the battle, we could no longer hope to pass ourselves
+off as cowards who remained at home while others were fighting for us,
+and in event of being captured in the city I believed we would receive
+rougher usage than those taken prisoners on the battle-field.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+IN HIDING.
+
+
+I question if my companions were any less uneasy in mind regarding our
+seeking a refuge in the city about to be occupied by the British, than
+was I; but no one ventured to say exactly what he thought lest it
+serve to check our courage, and of a verity we needed that in
+abundance if we were to make a success of Jerry's scheme.
+
+Darius and I walked either side of the mule on which my father rode,
+where we might be ready to give the wounded man assistance in case his
+strength failed him suddenly; but neither of us dared discuss the
+possibilities of the future.
+
+When we were come nearly to the city my father asked me if we had any
+money with which to purchase food, and I replied by showing him the
+two silver coins remaining of the amount paid by the Britishers for
+oysters.
+
+Darius had the same number of pieces in copper, and Jim Freeman was
+the capitalist among us, he having no less than two shillings.
+
+We had funds in plenty for the purchase of such food as would satisfy
+our hunger during two or three days, and the only matter which gave us
+any uneasiness was regarding a shelter, which had now become
+absolutely necessary since father joined us, for it went without
+saying that he must not be seen.
+
+When Jerry conceived the scheme we were attempting to carry into
+execution, he believed, as did I, that Washington would be almost
+wholly abandoned by the citizens, and, in fact, it was reasonable to
+suppose that when the news of the defeat was brought to the city
+nearly every one would seek safety in flight, therefore we counted on
+being able to take shelter in any building which took our fancy.
+
+While yet in the outskirts of the town, however, we understood that we
+were mistaken. So far as I could see, the inhabitants remained within
+their homes, probably under the belief that the enemy would behave
+like civilized people rather than as barbarians, and our chances for
+finding a hiding-place seemed small.
+
+Having no acquaintance with the city, we walked on at haphazard until
+having come within a short distance of a tavern near the Capitol, hard
+by a large building which looked not unlike a rope walk.
+
+It was in my mind that we could do no better than stop at the tavern,
+trusting that our small store of money would suffice to pay for one
+room in which all of us might gather; but to this Darius made most
+decided objection.
+
+"It is the last place for us to choose," he said decidedly. "Even if
+the house is not taken as quarters by some of the officers, it will be
+visited by the rank and file, and we might as well be in the open air.
+Yonder smoke-house would suit our purpose better."
+
+It seemed to me that in a city said to contain nine hundred buildings
+we could do better than hide in a smoke-house, and so I said, claiming
+that we would be in no more danger by making ourselves as comfortable
+as possible under the circumstances, than if we huddled into some
+corner.
+
+Jim Freeman and Jerry seemed to be in my way of thinking; but Darius
+declared that unless we could content ourselves with such a
+hiding-place as was not likely to attract the attention of the enemy,
+we might count him out of the scheme.
+
+"But what can be done with the mule, if we take to the smoke-house?" I
+cried, believing I thus had an argument which he could not well
+answer.
+
+"Turn him loose, of course. He is government property, and would give
+stronger proof of our havin' been with the army than your father's
+wound. Besides, should the soldiers hear him, an' you can't reckon on
+keepin' that kind of a beast quiet, they'd be bound to have him out,
+if only for the sake of sport."
+
+Then Darius went toward his chosen place of refuge, leaving us to
+follow or not as best pleased us, and the result can well be imagined.
+
+We would not cut loose from the old sailor who, because of his
+experience in such circumstances, was best calculated to advise and
+aid, therefore we followed him meekly, but with many a mental
+complaint.
+
+When we were come to the rough building, which was hardly larger than
+the cabin of the Scorpion, Darius lifted my father from the animal's
+back as if he had been no more than a child, and carried him into the
+place that was less inviting than the hold of the Avenger after we had
+taken out a cargo of oysters.
+
+Placing him in one corner where he might sit with his back against the
+boards, the old sailor went outside and drove the mule in the
+direction of the tavern, himself following until he was lost to view,
+much to our surprise and disquietude.
+
+"Now what is he about?" Jerry asked petulantly. "I thought we were to
+stay here?"
+
+"It seems that we are," I replied with a mirthless laugh; "but it
+appears that Master Thorpe counts on being better lodged."
+
+"Do you suppose he allows to stop at the tavern while we're to stay in
+this smoke-house?" Jim Freeman asked in a tone of dismay, and I, sore
+at heart because my advice had not been followed, replied bitterly,
+thereby setting myself down for at least the twentieth time as a
+simple:
+
+"We can be certain he'll look after himself, no matter how we may
+fare."
+
+Then we stood waiting in silence until it should be certain that
+Darius had really abandoned us, when my father said, striving to
+suppress any evidence of the pain which he suffered:
+
+"You lads are making a big mistake if you think Darius Thorpe would
+leave you at such a time as this. He has ever had the name of holding
+to a comrade, and he'll not steer another course while we're in so
+much danger."
+
+Five minutes later I was covered with shame because of my unkind
+words, when we saw the old man returning with as much hay as he could
+stagger under.
+
+"Here's what will make our cripple a bit more comfortable," he said
+cheerily as he thrust his burden through the narrow door. "Pile it
+well up under him, an' I'll go back for the rest of the supplies."
+
+None of us lads made any comment when Darius returned toward the
+tavern; but that all hands were conscious of the same sense of shame
+as had come over me, I understood by the expression on their faces.
+
+When the old man joined us the second time he had in his arms the
+larger part of a ham, some strips of cotton cloth, and a jug of water.
+
+"How did you get all that stuff?" Jerry asked in surprise.
+
+"Traded the mule. When I was drivin' the beast off it struck me that
+he might be made to serve us a bit, so I drove a bargain."
+
+"Did you give the people to understand that he was yours?"
+
+"Not a bit of it, lad; I ain't tryin' that kind of business even when
+I'm hungry. I told the truth; but claimed that the beast was under my
+protection, an' I'd be willin' to leave him for the few things we
+might need. It ain't certain but I'd got what I asked for without the
+mule, though it was better to have a reg'lar trade made. Pitch into
+the ham, and later, it may be we can get some bread."
+
+We did not wait for the second invitation; but began chipping off bits
+of the meat, eating greedily regardless of the fact that it was
+uncooked, when I saw that Darius was making no effort toward getting
+his share.
+
+"Why don't you eat?" I asked as I gave my father a small handful of
+the uninviting food.
+
+"I'm the surgeon now, an' till this job is finished I reckon I can
+contrive to get along without more in my mouth than a piece of
+terbacco. It's mighty lucky I laid in a good supply before we left Pig
+Point."
+
+The true-hearted old sailor had provided us lads with a meal, and now
+proposed to dress my father's wound before attending to his own wants,
+which must have been greater than ours because he had performed more
+work.
+
+I resolved then and there, that however much against him might be
+appearances, I would never believe him guilty of any mean act toward
+his comrades, and in the future he should have the full half of
+anything which might come into my possession.
+
+Darius washed and bandaged father's wound; raised the bed of hay that
+he might recline more comfortably; fastened the door in such a manner
+that there would be no token on the outside of our occupancy, and not
+until all this had been done did he give heed to his own necessities.
+
+"We're not so bad off here as we might be," the old man said in a tone
+of content as he whittled away at the small remnant of ham, while we
+lads were stretched at full length on the hay. "I'm allowin' that
+whatever happens, the Britishers won't look in a smoke-house for
+American soldiers or sailors, an' we can stay here snug as bugs in a
+rug, barrin' bein a little hungry, till Amos' father is in better
+condition to travel."
+
+"But it will be a long while before that wound is healed!" Jim Freeman
+exclaimed in dismay.
+
+"Yes, I reckon it'll be quite a spell, pervidin' the Britishers stay
+in the city; but if they go it won't be a hard job to find a boat
+that'll take us to the Patuxent. But there's little call to make much
+talk about movin', for we can't leave one of the crowd, no matter what
+happens to the rest of us."
+
+By the time all this had been done it was sunset. The retreat from
+Bladensburg had been begun about four o'clock in the afternoon, and we
+were not so badly off to be in Washington and housed so soon after the
+defeat.
+
+The one distressing question was whether the enemy would make search
+in the city for such as we?
+
+After he had eaten all the scraps of ham remaining on the bone, Darius
+set about making a more thorough examination of our refuge, beginning
+with the small shutter at the top of the building which was used when,
+the meat having been cured, it was desired to clear the place of
+smoke.
+
+"What are you doing up there?" my father asked when the old sailor
+clambered on the logs to get at the shutter.
+
+"Makin' sure we can keep a lookout in case things get too hot," Darius
+replied with a laugh. "I'm allowin' this shutter can be swung open a
+crack without its bein' noticed from the outside."
+
+He had no more than opened the window when an exclamation burst from
+his lips, and without delay I clambered up beside him.
+
+From this point of vantage we had a fairly good view of what was going
+on near about the Capitol building, and my heart beat fast and
+furiously with fear as I saw the enemy advancing.
+
+"There seems to be the biggest part of the British army," Darius said,
+pointing in the direction of the burying-ground, where I could see the
+soldiers bivouacking for the night; but nearer at hand were two
+officers, evidently high in command--General Ross and Admiral
+Cockburn, as I afterward learned--, with an escort of three or four
+hundred men, riding directly toward us.
+
+Within full view of our hiding-place was a dwelling standing near the
+government building, and as we gazed I saw the flash of a musket come
+from this house, when the horse on which the general was riding fell
+dead, carrying the officer to the ground with him in what looked to be
+an ugly fall.
+
+"That's a fool trick!" Darius cried angrily when no other sign of
+attack could be seen or heard. "A crazy man must have fired that shot,
+which can do no other good than to make the enemy hot to inflict some
+punishment!"
+
+We saw a score or more of the escort rush to the assistance of the
+officer, while the remainder of the soldiers were wheeled about to
+face the dwelling.
+
+I was confident that they would fire a volley into the house, and,
+indeed, I could well have excused such a course, considering the
+provocation; but instead of this a squad of men were told off to enter
+the building, as we saw when the force ran forward on the double-quick
+with fixed bayonets.
+
+By this time, as may well be imagined, all our party, with the
+exception of my father, were clinging to the timbers of the building
+that a view might be had of what was going on outside, and Darius,
+ever mindful of others, took it upon himself to keep our invalid
+informed of what was being done.
+
+"They've sent a squad of men to clean out the house, I reckon," the
+old sailor said for father's benefit. "The officer ain't hurt so but
+that he can mount a spare horse which a colonel has just brought him.
+Now the two in command are pointin' out the different buildin's; looks
+as if they were pickin' out their quarters. There's one thing certain,
+fine birds like them won't want to sleep in a smoke-house, so we ain't
+likely to be turned out right away."
+
+I interrupted the report by exclaiming aloud in my excitement, for I
+saw smoke issuing from the dwelling, which I afterward learned was the
+home of Mr. Robert Sewall, and then it was I understood for what
+purpose the squad had been sent.
+
+"They've fired the house," Darius continued to my father, "an' without
+givin' them who may be livin' there a chance to carry anythin' out.
+Soldiers are stationed to prevent the people from tryin' to fight the
+flames, an' it wouldn't surprise me if we saw a pretty hot time in
+this town."
+
+At this moment a squad of men was sent to the rope-walk, another to
+the tavern hard by our place of refuge, and a third to the next
+building, which from the sign on its front I knew to be the National
+Intelligencer newspaper.
+
+After what we had seen it was not difficult to guess the purpose of
+these soldiers, and Darius said to my father:
+
+"They're firin' the rope-walk now, an' it looks as if the whole city
+might go."
+
+"Surely the British wouldn't do so barbarous a deed!" my father
+exclaimed. "War isn't carried on in that way these days."
+
+"It seems to be goin' so now. There comes the smoke from the tavern,
+an' men are stationed to prevent the people from savin' anything. How
+about it, lads? If we had spent our last cent hirin' a room there, the
+smoke would be forcin' us out by this time, an' we'd soon find
+ourselves prisoners in the hands of such as stand ready to burn a city
+where are mostly women an' children!"
+
+"It's not certain but that we'll be forced out as it is!" I exclaimed.
+"When the tavern barns get afire this smoke-house stands a good
+chance of burning."
+
+"It may be, lad; but the wind draws in on the other side, an' I'm
+allowin' that this shanty, small as it is, won't come to harm, though
+if it does go, we'll try to keep our upper lips stiff so the
+villainous red-coats shan't have a chance to crow over us very much."
+
+We saw the men comprising the escort now break ranks, each going,
+apparently, where he pleased, and Darius cried in anger:
+
+"It is to be a reg'lar sack of the city, such as we're told they had
+in the old times, when men were reckoned as bein' little better than
+brutes! Work like this will count big for the Britishers before the
+other nations of the world! There goes a crowd of soldiers into the
+little shop beyond the tavern; they're plunderin' it in piratical
+style! See 'em throw the goods out into the street! The red-coats from
+the encampment, scentin' booty, are comin' up by the hundreds!"
+
+From where we were perched it was possible to see three shops, and by
+the time the tavern was well afire no less than five hundred men had
+robbed these, tramping into the dirt such goods as they did not want
+to carry away, and then the buildings were set on fire.
+
+Verily it was a barbarous sack of the city!
+
+Then it was, when the flames from the buildings of which I have spoken
+were mounting high in the sky, that I observed the commander order up
+a full company of soldiers. It was possible to see, for although night
+had come the fire lighted up surrounding objects as at noonday, that
+he gave them orders at great length, after which they started off
+toward the Capitol at full speed.
+
+"They're goin' to burn the government buildin's!" Darius cried for my
+father's benefit. "A hundred or more have been detailed to do the
+work, an' the commanders are watchin' proceedin's like that chap, I
+forget his name, who played on the fiddle while Rome was burnin'. An'
+all this is bein' done by the high an' lofty Britishers, who count on
+settin' the pace for the whole world!"
+
+Jim Freeman and Dody Wardwell, who could not find perches near the
+window that they might look out, now opened the door regardless of
+consequences, and stood gazing at as cruel a scene as can well be
+imagined.
+
+Women and children, driven back by the red-coats, stood tearfully
+watching the destruction of their homes, forced to see every cherished
+article destroyed, and, more than that! I saw a soldier tear from the
+hands of an old lady a small box which he opened, took some things
+therefrom which I judged were pieces of jewelry, and threw the
+remainder into the flames.
+
+The smoke-house was as hot a place as I care to remain in very long
+at a time, and as well filled with smoke as when put to the use for
+which it was originally intended. Even Darius had doubts about the
+small buildings escaping the flames, and said to my father:
+
+"Keep watch for the first show of fire, Master Grout, an' we'll see
+that you're posted as to what is bein' done outside. If we have to
+leave here, it'll be a good idee to draw off toward the rope-walk;
+there's no one near by that place, an' we may contrive to steer clear
+of the enemy."
+
+Now it was that long tongues of fire curled above the government
+building, swaying this way and that in the wind like fiery serpents,
+until the inflammable portion of the nation's Capitol was ablaze.
+
+It seemed as if our smoke-house was completely surrounded by burning
+buildings. Had the Britishers given any attention to such an
+insignificant structure as we were concealed in, Jim and Dody must
+have been discovered, for they gave no heed to hiding themselves as
+they stood literally transfixed with horror at the terrible scenes.
+
+Not until all the buildings were so enveloped in flames that there
+could be no possibility of saving them, did the two officers ride
+away, and then it was to go in the direction of their encampment.
+
+I gave no further heed to the barbarians; but watched with a sort of
+fascination the destroying element until Darius cried:
+
+"There's more mischief afoot! See, a full regiment are under marchin'
+orders!"
+
+"What can they do now?" I asked helplessly. "Everything around here is
+in flames; the entire city is ruined!"
+
+"There's the President's house, an' a good many fine dwellin's at the
+other end of the town," the old sailor replied. "Unless I'm way out of
+my reckonin', you'll see more fire before there's less."
+
+The barns of the tavern were now burning; but the wind drew in with
+greater force, a draft having been formed by the flames, I suppose,
+and while our refuge was as hot as it well could be, the more intense
+heat was carried in the opposite direction.
+
+"I reckon this 'ere smoke-house will stand while many a better
+buildin' goes down," Darius announced. "We're gettin' the biggest part
+of the heat from the stables now, an' I don't see any signs of fire on
+these logs. You lads stay here with our invalid, an' I'll sneak 'round
+outside a bit. There may be a chance to get somethin' in the way of
+rations if the men break into more shops, as is likely."
+
+Then the old man slipped down from his uncomfortable perch, stopped at
+the door to warn Jim and Dody that they must not stray far away, and
+disappeared behind the ruins of the tavern.
+
+It gave me a certain sensation of loneliness to have Darius go at that
+time. Although it was late in the day to make such a discovery, I had
+come to understand of how much assistance he was to us lads, and how
+helpless we would be without him; but, as a matter of course, I could
+not presume to dictate as to his movements.
+
+The one singular thing to me in this wanton work of destruction, was
+the fact that not all the buildings in this portion of the city had
+been given over to the flames. It seemed as if the British commander
+had singled out certain dwellings to be burned, while the others were
+unmolested, save in two cases where I saw soldiers bringing out
+plunder which was valueless to them, and had been taken only in a
+spirit of cruelty.
+
+Perhaps an hour was spent by the enemy in our immediate vicinity, and
+then that quarter of the city was deserted by all save the homeless
+ones, or those who mourned over the loss of property.
+
+The conflagration was still sufficient to light up the streets and
+fields near by, therefore we could not venture out save at the risk of
+being seen; but I question if any especial attention would have been
+given us, except in the case of my father, had we gone boldly forth.
+
+Had he not been with us I should have proposed that the moment was
+come when we might be able to slip down the river unobserved, for who
+would give heed to a party of lads when the capital city of the United
+States was in flames? With my father, however, we were forced to
+remain in hiding, for his wound was sufficient evidence that he had
+taken part in the battle of Bladensburg, and this would insure his
+being seized as a prisoner of war.
+
+Jim and Dody, however, went across to where two shops were in flames,
+and returned a few moments later with a piece of bacon which had been
+trampled upon in the street, a bag of dirty flour, and, what was
+better than all, three loaves of bread, the whole of which had been
+thrown aside by the Britishers when they plundered the buildings.
+
+It was quite a store for our empty larder, unsavory though the bread
+and flour looked; but hungry lads, and particularly those who are
+fugitives, cannot afford to be squeamish in regard to their food.
+
+In less than half an hour after the regiment marched from the
+encampment toward the upper end of the city, we saw the flames rising
+in great volume, telling that there was no idea in the minds of the
+victors to spare anything which could readily be destroyed.
+
+As a matter of course, we did not then know what was being done; but
+later we learned that the President's mansion, the Treasury buildings,
+the Arsenal, and the barracks, where three thousand troops could be
+quartered, were all laid in ashes under the orders of General Ross and
+Admiral Cockburn.
+
+Before midnight the conflagration in the portion of the city where we
+had sought refuge, had so far subsided, because there was nothing left
+for the flames to feed upon, that only glowing embers, and the
+blackened walls of the Capitol could be seen; but the night was turned
+into day because of the fires at the other end of the town.
+
+We lads were weary with watching the wicked work; Jim and Dody had
+toasted a large piece of bacon over the embers of the tavern; we had
+partaken of a second meal rather because the food was at hand than
+owing to hunger, and now all hands felt the need of sleep, even though
+we were literally surrounded by enemies.
+
+But Darius had not returned, and we could not give ourselves up to
+slumber while he remained absent.
+
+At first I fancied that he was watching the work of the Britishers;
+but when my father began to show signs of alarm because the old sailor
+did not return, my anxiety was great.
+
+If any of the red-coats came upon him, they would suspect that he had
+been among that company of seamen and marines who had inflicted so
+much injury upon them during the day just passed, and it was not
+difficult to understand that he would speedily be made a prisoner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+MISSING.
+
+
+I am minded to set down here what I afterward saw printed, concerning
+the doings in other portions of Washington, the particulars of which
+we were ignorant at the time.
+
+"While the public buildings in Washington were in flames, the national
+shipping, stores, and other property were blazing at the navy yard;
+also the great bridge over the Potomac, from Washington city to the
+Virginia shore.
+
+"Commodore Thomas Tingey was in command of the navy yard, and, before
+the battle, had received orders to set fire to the public property
+there in event of the British gaining a victory, so as to prevent its
+falling into the hands of the invaders. Tingey delayed the execution
+of the order for four hours after the contingency had occurred.
+
+"When, at half-past eight in the evening, he was informed that the
+enemy was encamped within the city limits, near the Capitol, he
+applied the torch, and property valued at about a million of dollars
+was destroyed.
+
+"The schooner Lynx was saved, and most of the metallic work at the
+navy yard remained but little injured. The fine naval monument was
+somewhat mutilated, but whether accidentally at the time of the
+conflagration, or wantonly by the British, who went there the next day
+to complete the destructive work, is an unsettled question.
+
+"At the same time, the Long bridge over the Potomac was fired at both
+ends. The Americans on the Virginia side thought a large body of
+British troops were about to pass over, and fired that end to foil
+them, while the British on the city side, perceiving, as they thought,
+a large body of Americans about to cross over from the Virginia side,
+fired the Maryland end of the bridge. The value of the entire amount
+of property destroyed at Washington by the British and Americans was
+estimated at about two million dollars."
+
+While we awaited the coming of Darius Thorpe, and believing that the
+city of Washington would be totally destroyed before the Britishers
+had gratified their desire for vengeance, Jerry started a subject
+which caused me to be more uncomfortable in mind than I had been
+concerning the absence of the old sailor.
+
+"The enemy are bent on burnin' all the government buildin's in the
+city, even if they do no more, an' what about the jails?"
+
+I was at a loss to fully understand the question; but my father
+replied:
+
+"They won't go so far as to burn the prisoners, lad. All that crowd of
+evil-doers will be set at liberty, and I reckon they'll be the only
+Americans who can rejoice because of the English victory at
+Bladensburg.
+
+"Then in that case," Jerry said grimly, "we can set it down as a fact
+that Elias Macomber is paradin' the streets with his good friends the
+British, boastin' of his suffering at the hand of the Americans."
+
+I started up in very unpleasant surprise. Until this moment I had
+given no heed to the cur whom we had captured twice, since we left the
+burning fleet at Pig Point; but now I realized that my partner was
+right. There could be no question but that Elias Macomber was a free
+man once more, and all our efforts to bring him to justice had only
+resulted in giving him an opportunity to pose as a martyr!
+
+"Well, he's got a chance to pay off old scores now, if he only knew
+it," Jim Freeman suggested. "How happy the villain would be if he knew
+where he could find us in hidin'!"
+
+"Don't talk about him," I said petulantly. "It makes me heartsick to
+think that after all our work he is in fine feather, strutting around
+the city as one of the best friends the British had in this section.
+Speak of something else. What of Bill Jepson? Does any one know if he
+came out of the battle alive?"
+
+"I saw him not more than five minutes before the order was given to
+retreat," my father said. "He had been sent back to the wagons for
+ammunition, and appeared to be having a royal time."
+
+"We'll hope he got away at the last, for if he's taken they'll hang
+him as a deserter," I said, and then, finding it impossible to prevent
+my thoughts from straying to our missing comrade, I added, "Darius
+wouldn't have stayed away so long unless something serious had
+happened. We ought to go in search of him."
+
+"Where would you look first?" Jerry asked. "If the Britishers got
+their hands on him we stand little chance of seein' the poor fellow,
+for they'll keep him a close prisoner."
+
+"It doesn't seem possible that we can accomplish very much," I said
+with a long drawn sigh; "but we must do as he would if one of us was
+missing."
+
+"And what would that be?" my father asked.
+
+"I wish I knew, sir. He surely would search for us, as we must for
+him; but I am all at sea as to how the work should be begun."
+
+Every member of the party was eager to be doing something, but so far
+as having any plan in mind, they were all like me, and we sat there
+staring at each other like a lot of frightened rabbits until I could
+remain idle no longer.
+
+"I'm going out somewhere!" I cried. "Almost anything is better than
+sitting here in suspense, when it may be that he has simply fallen
+into difficulties from which we might extricate him."
+
+"But what of the British?" my father asked, and I replied recklessly:
+
+"We must take our chances as to them, sir. It does not seem probable
+that two or three lads would be looked upon by them with suspicion,
+for there must be many wandering around the city this night."
+
+"Who will go with you?"
+
+"That's for me to do," Jerry said promptly. "The other fellows will
+stay here with you, sir, and the door must not be opened without good
+reason. Keep under cover while we are gone," he added to Jim, "an'
+don't let one of the boys so much as stick his nose outside. Come on,
+Amos, the longer we stand here talkin' about it the greater will the
+danger appear."
+
+Then he stepped outside quickly, and I followed his example, closing
+the door behind me lest father should attempt to say something in the
+nature of a farewell, which I knew would unnerve me, because I
+believed it was exceedingly dangerous for any of our party to move
+around the city.
+
+When we were alone in the night, where the shadows were distorted by
+the dancing glow of the live embers on every hand, Jerry said grimly:
+
+"It was foolish to make any talk about what we would do toward findin'
+Darius, while we were in the smoke-house, because we might have argued
+till mornin' without comin' to any conclusion; but now that we've
+started out I'd like to know how we're goin' to work?"
+
+I could make no satisfactory reply to this question, and plainly told
+him so. We had nothing to guide us on the search. The old man had
+given us no idea of where he might go, and all we knew was that he
+disappeared beyond the burning tavern.
+
+"He wouldn't have followed the Britishers," I said after a long pause,
+"therefore it seems foolish to look for him at the other end of the
+city. If we only knew what he went after!"
+
+"I reckon the first thing in his mind was to get food, and he might
+have thought that could be done where the shops were bein' robbed."
+
+"And then would come to his mind the question as to how we might get
+down the river while father is unable to walk," I added, believing
+that by thus trying to make out what Darius was most likely to do we
+could hit upon a plan for the search.
+
+"The only way we'd be able to leave this city by water, if we wanted
+to get home, would be on the Potomac river, an' he'd need a stout
+canoe for such a voyage."
+
+We were not coming to any understanding by this line of thought,
+therefore I harked back to the belief that he might have followed the
+Britishers to the upper end of the city, and proposed, knowing of no
+better course, to walk in that direction.
+
+The day was beginning to dawn. No soldiers were to be seen on the
+streets, and I began to believe that the invaders, wearied with their
+work of destruction, had returned to the encampment near the
+burying-ground.
+
+We came upon the ruins of the President's mansion; the fire had eaten
+out the interior of the building, but the walls were yet standing, and
+near about, apparently having neither purpose nor business there, were
+an hundred people or more, all gazing at the evidences of the most
+approved method of making war by the British standard.
+
+We mingled with these idlers to make certain Darius was not among
+them, and then went toward the other ruins on a like errand, but with
+no success.
+
+It was sunrise, perhaps a little later, when we stood near the ruins
+of the barracks, where a number of negroes were digging amid the
+glowing embers with the hope of finding weapons which might be
+restored to a condition of usefulness after being subjected to such
+great heat.
+
+One of these searchers for useless treasure straightened up as we
+approached, and I saw that he was an old man, who looked as if he
+might have been a gentleman's servant.
+
+"Do you live here in Washington, uncle?" I asked, and the old darkey
+replied:
+
+"I'se ain't noways conditioned fur to answer dat question, sah, kase I
+dunno whar massa am ter be foun' dese yere queer days wha' we'se
+habin'."
+
+"Who is your master?"
+
+"Massa Clayton, sah. He's foolin' 'roun' wid some ob dem militious
+men; but I ain't foun' out wedder he whipped de Britishers, or ef dey
+done gone got de bes' ob him."
+
+"I reckon you can say that he has got the worst of it up to the
+present time, for your 'militious' men didn't make any great showing,"
+I said with a laugh, and then there came into my mind the memory of
+Elias Macomber. "Tell me, uncle, where did the American soldiers keep
+their prisoners?"
+
+"Right hyar, sah; I'se done seed de barracks jail many a time."
+
+"Were you around here when the building was fired?"
+
+"Yes sah, I stood right hyar when de ossifers rode up."
+
+"Did they set the prisoners free?"
+
+"Sure enuf, honey, more'n twenty ob dem, an' I'se tellin' you dat dem
+white men was mighty glad fo' to get clear so easy like."
+
+"Come on, Amos," Jerry said impatiently. "You can do no good talkin'
+with the old darkey, for he doesn't know anything concerning our
+business."
+
+I recognized that fact fully, and yet I lingered to ask one more
+question, never fancying of how much importance the answer might be to
+us.
+
+"Where do the British keep their prisoners? Surely they must have
+brought in some since the battle, and these barracks would have been a
+prime place for anything of the kind."
+
+"Dey is pilin' de 'Mericans inter dat stone house back ob whar de
+arsenal uster was 'fore it got set on fire las' night."
+
+"Where is that, uncle?" Jerry cried excitedly, and the old darkey
+replied as he pointed out the direction:
+
+"Ober yander, sah, des whar you'se kin see de red roof."
+
+Now it was that I understood what was in Jerry's mind, and only with
+difficulty could I restrain myself from running forward at full speed.
+
+If Darius had been captured, then it was in the "stone house" he must
+be confined, and I believed our search would be at an end if we could
+look into every portion of that building.
+
+There were many loungers near about, and no one might say how many
+were British spies or sympathizers, therefore we remained looking at
+the men who were digging amid the ruins until feeling certain our
+departure would not attract undue attention.
+
+There were many lads of about our age idling on the streets, watching
+simply from curiosity the movements of the enemy, and I said to myself
+that if we were careful to do nothing which might cause suspicion, we
+could walk wheresoever we pleased without fear of being taken for lads
+who, under Commodore Barney, had given the invaders such good battle
+for the possession of the hill at Bladensburg.
+
+"Now we know where Darius is!" Jerry exclaimed when we were where
+there was little danger our words would be overheard.
+
+"How can you be so certain of that? He might have come to grief in
+many another way than that of being gobbled up by the enemy."
+
+"In any other case I'll warrant he'd have contrived to send some word
+to us. I'm convinced he's in the 'stone house.'"
+
+"In which event I'm afraid we can't be of much assistance to the poor
+fellow. The Britishers will take good care that their prisoners don't
+escape."
+
+"I'm not so certain about that," Jerry replied stoutly. "In case we
+have time enough, it should be possible to do somethin'. If we could
+let him know that we're near at hand I'll go bail he'd cook up some
+kind of a plan."
+
+While thus talking we had been walking at a reasonably rapid pace
+toward the ruins of the arsenal, and were now arrived so near that it
+was possible to see the red-coated sentries pacing to and fro in front
+of the building. At one side a number of soldiers were bivouacked,
+probably that they might be on hand in case the prisoners attempted to
+rise against the keepers, and here, there, everywhere were curious
+ones--perhaps some interested as were we--gazing at the small building
+where were so many brave fellows, most likely penned up like cattle.
+
+"The greater number of those idlers must be townspeople, and since
+they are allowed to loiter around the buildin' there's no good reason
+why we shouldn't do the same," Jerry said as I came to a halt, and he
+had hardly more than spoken before he stepped back very suddenly,
+pulling me with him.
+
+"What's the matter?" I asked in alarm, for at such a time one's fears
+rise rapidly.
+
+"Look at that fellow who is standin' on his tiptoes to look in at the
+window!" my partner whispered, and obeying, I saw that miserable cur
+whom we had twice captured, and who had contrived to escape us the
+same number of times.
+
+"Elias Macomber!" I cried involuntarily.
+
+"Ay," Jerry replied, "an' now I can read you the whole riddle. Darius
+came around this way when the prisoners were set free; Macomber saw
+him, and gave information to the enemy, thus causin' the old man's
+arrest. Now the villain is tryin' to get a glimpse of the sailor in
+order to crow over him!"
+
+I had no doubt but that the lad had come very near the truth in his
+guessing; but I did not speculate upon it very long, for the question
+in my mind was whether we could be of any service to the old man who
+had served us so truly and faithfully.
+
+"What's to be done?" Jerry asked as we stepped behind a clump of
+bushes in a nearby garden where we might not be seen by the fellow who
+would have rejoiced if he could have put us in the same place with
+Darius.
+
+At the moment Jerry spoke I had never an idea as to what might be
+done; but I replied as if the plan was plainly mapped out in my mind:
+
+"You shall go back to the smoke-house and tell father and the lads
+what we have learned. Say that we may not be back until dark; but they
+are to stay under cover no matter what happens, short of being
+discovered by the British. I'll watch here till Macomber goes away,
+for he isn't likely to play at that game all day, and you should be
+back within an hour."
+
+Jerry started off without stopping to argue the question, and I was
+left alone to keep in view the man who could do us so much mischief if
+he had an inkling that we were in the vicinity.
+
+Twice he spoke with the sentinel, as if asking some favor, and each
+time the man shook his head decidedly, therefore I concluded that the
+cur had tried to enter the building that he might jeer such of the
+prisoners as had been friends of his in the past.
+
+Then he peered in at the window again, never making an effort to look
+through any other, and I concluded that from such position he could
+see the prisoner he had most reason to hate, which, of course, must be
+Darius.
+
+I did not dare remain in one position all the while, lest some one see
+that I was spying upon the prison and grow suspicious as to my
+motives, while Macomber was so intent upon gazing at his enemies that
+I might have brushed past him without attracting attention.
+
+Therefore it was that I paced to and fro, never taking my eyes from
+the cur, however, and making certain there was a place of concealment
+near at hand into which I could dart at a moment's warning.
+
+Not until fully half an hour had passed did he abandon his fruitless
+efforts, and then he walked in the direction of the British encampment
+as if with some fixed purpose in his mind, which, I had no doubt, was
+to ask for a permit to visit the prisoners.
+
+Had he gone toward any other quarter of the city it would have pleased
+me to see him go; but now I was sorely distressed in mind, for his
+way led the same course Jerry must pursue when returning from the
+smoke-house, and it would be the irony of fate if the two should come
+face to face.
+
+However, that was an evil which I could not mend, and, therefore, I
+put the matter from my mind so far as possible, while I set about
+doing the only thing which seemed to promise a chance to have speech
+with our comrade.
+
+I proposed to take Macomber's place at the window, and if it was
+possible to see Darius inside, there was no question in my mind but
+that I could contrive to attract his attention.
+
+There was no little danger in making the attempt, because I might thus
+arouse suspicion in the mind of the sentry, or be seen by an officer
+who would insist on knowing why I was there; but it was the only way
+by which I could have speech with Darius, if indeed he was a prisoner,
+and I determined to take the chances.
+
+I lounged across the street as if having no particular purpose in
+view; walked past the end of the building twice, peering about me like
+a simple, and then stepped up to the window.
+
+One glance inside and I saw the man for whom I had been searching. He
+was lying at full length on the floor, chewing tobacco most
+industriously, and seated tailor-fashion beside him was Bill Jepson.
+
+There were very many militiamen in the room; but these two old
+shell-backs seemed to hold themselves aloof from the others, and I
+could well understand that this exclusiveness was because of the
+cowardice shown by many of the toy soldiers the day previous.
+
+Neither Darius nor Bill seemed to be paying any attention to what was
+going on around them, and I began to realize that it might not be as
+simple a matter to attract their attention as I had supposed.
+
+I did not dare do anything which would cause the sentry to be curious,
+or be noticed particularly by those who were passing in either
+direction, therefore the most I ventured was to drum idly on the glass
+with the tips of my fingers, which was not a difficult task since the
+iron bars were so far apart that I could thrust my entire arm between
+them and the window-sash.
+
+Darius was not as heedless to the surroundings as he appeared. No
+sooner had I begun to tap ever so gently than he looked up, and after
+one quick, meaning glance, rose leisurely to his feet, speaking softly
+meanwhile to Bill.
+
+The latter never so much as looked toward me; but the two moved here
+or there as if weary with remaining long in one position, and all the
+while they were approaching the window.
+
+Then Darius leaned against the sash, with Bill facing the middle of
+the room, as he talked with many gesticulations to his companion.
+
+I noticed that the old man bent over as if weary, until his face was
+very near the glass, and while Bill waved his arms as if in the midst
+of a heated argument, I saw Darius' lips move.
+
+"On the roof--to-night--bring rope--ten o'clock."
+
+No less than three times were these words repeated, I reading them
+from the motion of his lips, for as a matter of course he did not dare
+to speak so loud that I could hear him.
+
+Then I went through the same motions with _my_ lips, in order to make
+certain there could be no mistake, and Darius nodded his head in token
+that I had the words correctly.
+
+Now it was my business to get away from the prison as soon as
+possible, for Elias Macomber might return at any moment, and I backed
+into the street while gazing at the top of the building, looking, most
+likely, the greenest lad that ever visited a city.
+
+While thus acting the simple I was making ready for whatsoever plan
+Darius wanted to carry into effect, for I studied the outside of the
+jail until I could tell within a foot of how much rope would be
+needed.
+
+The "stone house" was three stories in height, with an ordinary
+pitched roof from which projected four chimneys--two at each end. From
+the eaves to the ground I judged it was not less than thirty feet, and
+from the eaves to the nearest chimney, measuring at whichsoever
+corner you chose, was ten feet. To that length add three feet for a
+turn around the chimney and two half-hitches, and one had the length
+of rope Darius wanted--say forty-three or four feet.
+
+I noticed that on the side of the roof nearest the street was a
+trap-door or scuttle very nearly in the middle, well up toward the
+ridge-pole, and it must be that our comrades would come through that,
+since I saw no other way by which they could get outside.
+
+Without doubt those two old shell-backs had made a careful survey of
+the place within ten minutes after being imprisoned, and had a plan
+for escape mapped out ready to be carried into execution, providing
+any aid could be had from the outside.
+
+By the time I had backed entirely across the street I had a picture of
+the jail in my mind which could be recalled at any moment, and as I
+turned to saunter away I came face to face with Jerry.
+
+"Have you been over there?" he asked, motioning toward the "stone
+house."
+
+"Yes, and have the same as talked with Darius and Bill Jepson. Let us
+get out of sight where we shan't be watched. I was afraid you would
+run into Macomber; he started off some time ago, and I got it into my
+head that he was going to the British encampment."
+
+"I reckon that's where he was bound for. I kept my eyes open mighty
+wide both goin' an' comin', therefore saw the cur while he was a long
+distance away, otherwise we might have run into each other as you an'
+I did."
+
+"All right at the smoke-house?"
+
+"Snug as bugs, an' your father is as chipper as a sparrow."
+
+Then I led the way up what appeared to be a lane in the rear of some
+dwelling, until we were where we could talk without danger of being
+seen or heard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+THE ESCAPE.
+
+
+Jerry was thoroughly astonished, after I had told my story, because we
+had had such plain sailing when there was nothing to start us on a
+course for the missing comrade. We had gone out blindly, and by sheer
+accident ran upon our man without trouble or delay.
+
+"It heartens a fellow to have things happen this way," my partner said
+in a tone of satisfaction. "There's no question but that we're in a
+bad box, take it all around, for after the British get settled down in
+the city they will most likely look about for such as us, therefore
+our work must be done quickly, an' by your hittin' the nail square on
+the head it looks as if we might pull through all right."
+
+The future did not look so promising to me. Darius and Bill
+undoubtedly knew that they could gain the roof of the "stone house"
+during the night; but even then they were far from being free, and I
+questioned if it would be possible for us to loiter around the
+building after sunset without attracting the attention of the
+sentries.
+
+However, it was not for me to throw cold water, because a fellow needs
+all his courage when he would do that which lay before us, and it was
+well Jerry should feel confident as to the result.
+
+Therefore it was that instead of discussing how we could set about
+rendering the necessary aid, I began by questioning as to how the rope
+might be procured, and, as a matter of fact, it was by no means a
+simple matter to get one of the desired length.
+
+"We've got to buy it, of course," Jerry said quickly, and as if it was
+possible for us to make such purchases at any time.
+
+"In the first place we haven't money enough," I suggested, "and
+secondly, how many shops will you find open in this city?"
+
+These questions were sufficient to let Jerry understand that it was
+not all plain sailing before us, and after some reflection he said:
+
+"Suppose we go back to the smoke-house? There we can talk it over with
+the others, an' at the same time get something by way of breakfast."
+
+There was plenty of time at our disposal, since Darius had set ten
+o'clock that night as the hour when we could aid him, and I welcomed
+my partner's proposition; but instead of going directly to the place
+of refuge, I insisted on making a long detour to lessen the chances of
+running across Elias Macomber.
+
+That the cur had gone to the encampment hoping to get a permit to see
+the prisoners, in order to gloat over their misfortune, I had no
+doubt, and if he was successful I felt equally certain he would go to
+the jail by the shortest route. In event of failure, however, and I
+was positive he would fail, the villain might wander anywhere while
+working off his disappointment, therefore it stood us in hand to be
+exceeding cautious.
+
+As it proved, however, we had seen the last of that miserable
+British-lover, and after Jerry saw him on the street, he passed out of
+our lives for many months.
+
+I believed of a verity that we walked at least three miles, cutting
+across lots here, or traveling many rods out of our course there,
+until it seemed as if we had traversed every lane and obscure passage
+to be found in the city. But we arrived safely at last, which repaid
+us for all the extra work; we had seen no one who gave any heed to us,
+and when we sneaked into the smoke-house from behind the ruins of the
+tavern, I felt positive no one saw us.
+
+It can well be supposed that our comrades gave us a hearty welcome,
+and when I explained how much had been accomplished, they became quite
+as certain of ultimate success as Jerry; but the question of
+procuring a rope put the matter in a different light.
+
+We counted every penny belonging to the party, and had less than three
+shillings, while the length of rope we needed would cost three or four
+times as much.
+
+"It's certain we can't buy one, even though all the shop-keepers in
+the city stood ready to wait upon us," I said after we had ascertained
+the amount of capital on hand. "Now what is to be done?"
+
+No one answered for many minutes, and then Jim Freeman proposed that
+if we couldn't get what we needed in any other way, it would be
+admissible to steal the rope, in view of the use to which it would be
+put.
+
+Dody Wardwell thought we might go to a shopkeeper who dealt in such
+goods, and, telling the story, beg what was needed.
+
+It was my father who solved the riddle.
+
+"I don't believe we are warranted in stealing," he said, "no matter
+what might be accomplished, neither do I think it safe to confide in
+any stranger whom you should meet; but the begging proposition, if
+carried out properly, comes nearer filling the bill than anything
+else."
+
+"What do you call doin' it properly?" Jerry asked.
+
+"There must be oystermen in port, either here, at Georgetown, or
+Alexander, and the chances are you would know some of them. Go round
+the water front, and see what can be found. Then try the other towns,
+and I'll guarantee you can strike an acquaintance somewhere. After
+that everything is simple, for you may borrow a rope without fear that
+information will be lodged against you."
+
+"Come on, Amos!" Jerry cried, springing to his feet in excitement.
+"Your father has hit upon the very plan, an' we were thick-headed not
+to have thought of it at first!"
+
+There was no time to be lost, more particularly in case we should be
+forced to visit the two towns mentioned; but I believe that we would
+really be forwarding the business if we delayed long enough to get
+something to eat, and my comrades were of the same opinion.
+
+Jim had tried his hand at making bread by mixing flour and water
+together, and baking the stuff in an old tin pan over the embers of
+the tavern ruins. It was possible to eat the mixture, and that was the
+best that could be said, therefore we satisfied our hunger with raw
+bacon and imitation bread, which did not require very many minutes.
+
+Jim and both the other fellows were eager to go with Jerry and me; but
+they would not be able to forward matters, and it seemed like taking
+too many risks to make our party so large, therefore we decided that
+they must stay in the smoke-house as before, a decision which was not
+to their liking, although neither of the lads made any protest.
+
+Then Jerry and I set out, after listening to such advice as my father
+had to give, and began the search on the Eastern Branch.
+
+There were but few vessels in port; the greater number of those that
+remained when the enemy entered the Potomac had run up the river as
+high as possible lest they be destroyed, and we did not find an oyster
+pungy until we were well over toward Georgetown.
+
+It was then near noon, and Jerry and I decided that if the captain of
+the boat before us looked like an honest seaman, we would take the
+chances of telling him so much of our story as might be necessary,
+rather than run the risk of not finding another craft of the kind.
+
+There were no sign of life on deck; but as we went over the rail the
+companion-way hatch was opened a few inches, and some one cried:
+
+"What's wanted? This vessel is hauled up for repairs, an' there's
+nobody here but me--the keeper."
+
+"Will you let us come below for a short time?" I asked, and the hatch
+was closed very suddenly as the voice cried emphatically:
+
+"No; my orders are to allow no company here."
+
+"Let me have a try at the old idiot," Jerry said in a low tone as he
+went toward the companion-way, and the voice from below replied, thus
+showing that he could hear very well even though the hatch was closed:
+
+"The 'old idiot' don't want any truck with boys, so keep off or I'll
+make it hot for you!"
+
+"Listen to me, shipmate, and then perhaps you'll sing a different
+tune," I said, going close to the companion-way where it might not be
+necessary to raise my voice. "We are a couple of oystermen from
+Benedict, in trouble, and are looking for some one to lend a hand."
+
+"Tell me your names?"
+
+I gave the desired information, and added:
+
+"We owned the pungy Avenger, which was burned at Pig Point when the
+enemy came up the river."
+
+The hatch was opened in a twinkling, and when we descended to the
+cuddy I was both surprised and overjoyed by seeing Robert Hanaford, an
+oysterman from St. Leonard's bay.
+
+"Shut that hatch," he said nervously, and Jerry did as he was bidden.
+"I got caught in the river, like a fool, an' am now expectin' the
+bloomin' Britishers will burn the craft when they fall short of like
+amusement in the city. Tell me how you happened to be here?"
+
+I told him so much of our story as seemed necessary, and when I was
+come to the retreat from Bladensburg, he said grumpily:
+
+"I reckon you two lads an' Darius Thorpe are bigger fools than I am.
+It was accident that brought me into this scrape, whereas you got into
+a muss with your eyes wide open. Where's Darius?"
+
+"The Britishers are holding him prisoner, and count on sending him
+down to the fleet, I suppose."
+
+"He'll rot there, unless he offers to serve the king, in which case,
+seein's how the enemy needs good sailors, they'll give him a show that
+a dog wouldn't welcome."
+
+"Did you ever run across Bill Jepson from Baltimore?" I asked at
+random, not knowing exactly how to lead up to the request for a rope.
+
+"Ay, that I have, lad. Bill an' me run on this same pungy more'n two
+years. I've heard it said that one of the king's press gangs gathered
+him in."
+
+Then I told the captain how we had helped Bill to desert, and wound up
+the story by sayin:
+
+"Bill is a prisoner with Darius, and will be hung when the Britishers
+learn who he is. There's a show to help both the sailors out of the
+scrape; but we're needing six or eight fathom of good manilla rope,
+an' haven't got the money with which to buy it."
+
+"How do you count on usin' it?" and Captain Hanaford leaned forward
+in a manner which told that he was thoroughly excited.
+
+Then I told him all we had accomplished that morning, and explained
+what Darius proposed we should do, whereupon he cried heartily:
+
+"Take anything I've got, lads, an' if it so be I can lend a hand,
+count on me to the finish. I'll risk even the pungy to help a
+sailorman out of a hole, an' a good deal more'n that when it comes to
+bein' Bill Jepson who's in trouble!"
+
+Now that we were assured of getting what was needed, there was no need
+of great haste, and I told the captain the remainder of our story,
+even to describing where father and the lads were hiding.
+
+"Whether you get Bill an' Darius out of jail or not, you'll be wantin'
+to go down the river, lad, so why don't you bring all hands aboard?
+I've known your father this many a day, an' would like to do him a
+good turn. We'd be a little crowded, I reckon; but some of you
+youngsters can bunk in the hold, an' if the Britishers don't burn the
+pungy, she'll be a sight better than a smoke-house."
+
+"What about provisions, captain?" Jerry asked.
+
+"I've got enough an' to spare, unless we're held here a couple of
+weeks. I didn't count on doin' any fightin' in this 'ere war; but when
+it comes to lendin' shipmates an' neighbors a hand, you'll find that
+Bob Hanaford is willin' to go down to his last cent."
+
+I realized what a blessing it would be if we could get father on board
+the pungy, where he would have a comfortable bunk to lie in, and such
+nursing as Captain Hanaford might give when we lads were absent; but
+how to get him down to the boat was a puzzle.
+
+"Supposin' you free Darius an' Bill to-night, what'll you do with
+'em?" the owner of the pungy asked, and I replied mournfully:
+
+"We hadn't got as far as that in our plans. Of course they must be
+taken out of the city."
+
+"An' the British fleet is loafin' down in the river somewhere 'twixt
+here an' the bay," the captain added.
+
+"Ay, but if we can get hold of a boat, it shouldn't be such a hard job
+to slip by the vessels on a dark night."
+
+"Would you leave your father behind?"
+
+"Certainly not; he must go with us."
+
+"Then you ought'er have him down here on the river before beginnin'
+work. I'll tell you how it might be fixed, lad. Allowin' that there
+ain't any more burnin' of houses to-night, I could help him through
+the streets, if it so be he can make any fist at walkin'. The other
+lads would set out on their own hook, an' it should be we'd come
+together on this 'ere craft, unless the Britishers are overhaulin'
+everybody that's aboard. I don't know how things may be runnin', for I
+haven't been outside this cuddy since the fires began."
+
+I told him that Jerry and I had not been interfered with on the
+streets, and I believed he could go where he pleased, provided it was
+not too near the encampments.
+
+"Then I'll try it, lads, an' start for your hidin' place within an
+hour. Can you give me the bearin's?"
+
+The captain was reasonably familiar with that portion of the city, and
+there was no doubt in my mind but that he could find the smoke-house
+without any difficulty.
+
+Then we overhauled his spare rope in the hold, selecting a length of
+half-inch manilla which had been used no more than enough to make it
+pliable, and carried it to the cuddy.
+
+It would not be safe to lug the rope through the streets in the
+daytime, lest some over officious person should insist on knowing what
+we proposed to do with it. We would be forced to take a long walk in
+order to fetch it; but that was of little consequence compared with
+the additional security such a plan seemed to afford.
+
+Then we separated, Captain Hanaford agreeing to be at the smoke-house
+within an hour, and when Jerry and I went over the side of the pungy
+it was with lighter hearts than when we came on board.
+
+It is true that the most dangerous portion of the undertaking was yet
+to be performed; but everything had turned so favorably for us since
+we set out in search of Darius, that we could not but feel a wonderful
+degree of courage regarding the remainder of the task.
+
+Jerry was so well pleased that he would have talked about what we were
+to do even on the street; but I insisted that we should hold our peace
+until it was impossible any one could overhear us, and in silence we
+made our way toward the place of refuge.
+
+It is needless for me to attempt to describe the joy of our comrades
+when we told them of the friend we had met, and the plans which had
+been laid.
+
+My father showed plainly by his face the relief of mind because of the
+possibility that he might have different quarters.
+
+"I haven't grumbled, because I knew you lads had about all you could
+stagger under," he said when we told him that Captain Hanaford was
+bent on trying to get him aboard the pungy. "I can't stay in this
+place very much longer, without taking big chances of going under, for
+the wound needs careful attention; but if I can be with Bob Hanaford
+everything will come around shipshape, because he knows by experience
+what a gunshot hurt is like."
+
+"Do you think it will be possible to keep on your feet for such a long
+distance?" I asked anxiously, because until this moment I supposed my
+father was getting on as comfortably as a man in his condition could
+reasonably expect.
+
+"I'll manage that part of it, lad; the knowledge of what is to be
+gained will keep me up."
+
+Well, there is no good reason why I should try to set down all we said
+while waiting for the owner of the pungy, and when he finally arrived,
+having had little or no difficulty in finding the smoke-house, it was
+as if a great and beneficial change was immediately apparent.
+
+The captain's first act was to rebandage my father's wound, Jerry
+getting him a supply of fresh water from the well at the ruins of the
+tavern, and when that was done he set about making arrangements for
+our moving, taking upon himself the entire direction of affairs, much
+to my relief.
+
+His first act was to explain to Jim, Dody and Josiah the location of
+the pungy, sending them off at once, with explicit directions as to
+the streets through which they should pass. The lads were to go into
+the cuddy without loitering on deck, and keep the hatch closed and
+bolted until his arrival.
+
+Jerry and I were to stay in the smoke-house until it was time to begin
+work in behalf of Darius and Bill, while the captain and my father
+were to set out as soon as it was sufficiently dark to screen them
+from view of the curious ones.
+
+Jim and his friends started without delay, welcoming any change after
+being shut in from the open air so long, and when they were gone the
+captain announced that he would bring the rope to the jail shortly
+before ten o'clock.
+
+"I ain't sayin' but that you two lads could work the thing as well
+without me; but I'm achin' to have a hand in settin' them two old
+shell-backs free. You'll find that I won't be in the way, even if I
+don't do any good."
+
+It was a big relief to know that we were to have his assistance, and I
+so gave him to understand.
+
+After father had been made as comfortable as was possible under the
+circumstances, we lounged around waiting for the night to come; but
+never saying another word concerning what we hoped to do.
+
+I for one was too nervous regarding the possible outcome to care about
+holding converse even with friends, for there was in my mind a very
+vivid realization of what would be the result in case we failed while
+trying to get the sailors from the roof of the "stone house," or if
+they were discovered when getting through the scuttle.
+
+It seemed very much like death for all hands concerned if the
+slightest slip was made, and when a fellow believes he stands near a
+violent end he is not given to speech.
+
+The moments dragged so heavily that it seemed to me the night would
+never come. Once during this painful time of waiting Jerry spoke of
+the possibility that Jim and his friends might lose their way, or be
+taken in charge as suspicious persons; but I could not arouse myself
+to feel any anxiety concerning them. My thoughts were with those two
+old sailors in jail, and the part which the British sentries might
+play while we were trying to effect their release.
+
+Finally, after it was as if we had spent a full day in the
+smoke-house, the sun went down, and it was yet quite light when
+Captain Hanaford announced that he and my father might safely make the
+start.
+
+"We've got to steer a roundabout course," he said, "an' I reckon it'll
+be plain sailin' from now till dark. Stay where you are, lads, an'
+don't so much as poke your nose out till half-after-nine."
+
+"How shall we be able to tell the time?" I asked, rather for the sake
+of saying something, than because I wanted information.
+
+"You will hear the sentinels at the encampment often enough to give
+you a fair idee. Get there as near as possible to the hour set, an'
+you'll find me close at hand."
+
+Then he went out, my father leaning heavily on his arm, and Jerry and
+I faced each other in the gloom, heeding not the fact that we had had
+nothing to eat during nearly eight and forty hours, save the chips of
+ham and the unsavory mess prepared by Jim; thinking only of what we
+were to do, and the many chances against success.
+
+It was Jerry who broke a long silence by saying with an attempt at
+cheerfulness:
+
+"I don't know of any reason why we should moon 'round here like a
+couple of chumps. It won't help matters any, an' surely it don't
+improve my courage."
+
+Then I forced myself to take part in conversation, speaking of this or
+that trouble or adventure in the past; but never once of what might be
+before us in the future, and thus the time passed until we believed we
+were warranted in setting forth.
+
+With all due regard to prudence, we went by the most direct course to
+the "stone house," never seeing a Britisher on our way, and it must
+have been at least a quarter-hour before the time set, when we were
+come to where it was possible to have a good view of the roof of the
+jail.
+
+The night was dark, with heavy, ominous looking clouds hanging low in
+the sky; but yet we could have distinguished the form of a man on the
+top of the building.
+
+We were half hidden by the clump of bushes in the garden of the
+dwelling where I had been screened from view of Elias Macomber, when
+we saw a man approaching leisurely, and looking from side to side in
+search of some one.
+
+I recognized Captain Hanaford, and stepped out to meet him, asking how
+he and father had managed to get along.
+
+"He pulled through all right, lad, an' was lyin' in my bunk happy as a
+cricket when I left."
+
+"But you've forgotten the rope!" I exclaimed, and the captain opened
+his coat to show me the line wound around his waist in such a fashion
+that one might have come close upon him without suspecting that he
+carried anything.
+
+He stepped behind the bush to unwind it, and while he was thus engaged
+I distinctly saw the form of a man emerge from the scuttle-hatch on
+the roof of the jail.
+
+"They're coming out!" I whispered excitedly, and then glanced
+hurriedly around to learn where the sentries were stationed.
+
+To my surprise I could not see a single person, save the soldier who
+appeared at the corner once in every two or three minutes as he paced
+his beat at the end of the building. It seemed extraordinary that
+there should be no others in sight; but such was the fact, and surely
+we had no reason to complain because the enemy was careless.
+
+A few hours later I understood the reason for this seeming neglect of
+the prisoners.
+
+My comrades were ready for the work on hand immediately I gave the
+alarm, and swiftly the three of us crossed over, I wondering if it
+would be possible for us to throw the rope to the roof where the
+sailors could catch it.
+
+[Illustration: As soon as the line was made fast a man slipped down
+quickly followed by another.]
+
+As we neared the building I saw that Darius had already made
+arrangements for getting one end of the rope into his possession.
+
+A bit of cloth was swinging to and fro at the corner of the jail when
+I arrived, and taking hold of it curiously, I saw that it was made
+fast to a string formed of two or three strands of yarn.
+
+The old sailor had unraveled their socks in order to procure that
+which would enable them to haul up the rope.
+
+There was no need of word or signal. Captain Hanaford made fast one
+end of the half-inch manilla, gave the yarn-twine a jerk in token that
+all was ready, and then we payed out on the rope to make certain it
+went up without kinks.
+
+In less than three minutes a man slipped down the line at a rate of
+speed that must have heated his hands in great shape, and he was
+hardly more than on the ground before the second prisoner followed.
+
+We had effected the escape, and it now remained to get under cover in
+the shortest possible space of time.
+
+"It won't do to run; but you can keep close at my heels," the captain
+said as he set off at a walk which fully equaled running, and we
+followed very closely, I literally holding my breath as I tried to
+realize that the task which had seemed so formidable a few moments
+previous, had been accomplished with the greatest ease.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+THE UNEXPECTED.
+
+
+There is little need for me to set it down that we neither slackened
+pace nor halted until we were in the cuddy of the pungy.
+
+Not a member of our party spoke until we descended the companion-way
+stairs, and faced the lads and my father, who had lighted a candle as
+a sort of welcome, and then Darius exclaimed:
+
+"Well I'm blowed if you don't look kind'er cozy here! Who'd think this
+crowd had been hob-nobbin' with the Britishers for the last two or
+three days? Bob Hanaford, where did the lads run afoul of you, an' why
+didn't you get your pungy down river before the enemy's fleet came
+up?"
+
+There was a deal of handshaking and congratulations before we settled
+down to anything like rational talk, and then Jerry and I told how we
+found the captain, and what had happened since Darius left the
+smoke-house.
+
+Then it was the old man's turn to give an account of his
+misadventures, and this he did after refreshing himself with an
+enormous piece of tobacco.
+
+"I went out, leavin' you people in hidin', with the idee that if many
+shops were to be robbed by the soldiers I might get somethin' to eat
+out'er the general wreck. First off nothin' came my way, an' then I
+ran square across a basket of ship's bread. Thinks I, this is good
+enough for one trip, an' I gathered the stuff under my arm, puttin'
+for the smoke-house under full sail without bein' noticed by the
+red-coats, who were havin' too lively a time to give me much
+attention. As luck would have it, the thought never came into my mind
+that I had need to look for anybody but Britishers, an' before I was
+halfway to port I struck up agin that sneak, Elias Macomber.
+
+"Then it was I understood that the red-coats wasn't the only snags in
+the road, an' I gave him one clip on the jaw that I counted would
+knock him down an' out; but my calkerlations was wrong. Instead of
+topplin' over as a decent man would have done after gettin' the full
+weight of my fist, he began to screech an' yell fit to raise the dead.
+My legs moved mighty lively jest then, for a blind man could have seen
+what might happen; but the Britishers had me foul before I'd more'n
+got well started. No less than six grappled me, an' I hauled down my
+flag, 'cause there wasn't any sense in makin' a bad matter worse.
+
+"Them soldiers must have had orders in advance to lug any prisoners
+they might take, to the shanty back of the arsenal, for they steered a
+straight course for the place without stoppin' to ask any man's
+advice, an' what chafed me more'n everythin' else was that rat of a
+Macomber, close at my heels, as he told what he would do now that his
+friends had taken possession of the country. I contrived to give him
+one kick on the shins which I'll guarantee he remembers this minute,
+an' then he kept well back in the rear. That's the end of the yarn,
+lads."
+
+"But where did you meet Bill?" I asked.
+
+"In the jail. He was brought up with a sharp turn durin' the retreat,
+bein' so stuffy that he kept well in the rear, instead of pushin'
+ahead as he might have done."
+
+"Did Macomber succeed in getting into the prison?"
+
+"He wasn't inside, an' that's a fact; but he stood at the window, an'
+kept shoutin' all kinds of threats till one of the sentries drove him
+away, havin' had too much of his yip."
+
+"You saw me quickly enough."
+
+"Well, you see, lad, I had my eye on the window, countin' to throw my
+shoe through the glass when he showed his ugly face again, hopin' that
+he'd get cut a bit, an', besides, I somehow had it in my head that you
+an' Jerry would flash up sooner or later."
+
+"But how did you contrive to come at the scuttle?" Captain Hanaford
+asked.
+
+"That was plain sailin'. Bill was one of the first put into the place,
+an' knowin' he'd take a trip to the yard-arm when the Britishers found
+out who he was, he naturally took advantage of the chance to snoop
+'round a bit. We had the run of the whole buildin', seein's there
+wasn't many of us, an' when he went in the prisoners didn't number
+more'n twenty. He found a key in the door that led up to the attic,
+which seemed to be a sort of store-room, an', thinkin' it might come
+in handy if the others didn't know the lay of the land, he locked the
+bloomin' place, havin' done so without bein' seen. When I came he
+didn't know anythin' about the scuttle; but we figgered that if there
+wasn't one, we could get up stairs an' pull bricks enough out of the
+chimney to give us a hole. There wasn't any need of doin' that,
+however, 'cause we found the hatch bolted on the inside, an' the rest
+was easy. The only thing about the whole business which bothers me is,
+why the Britishers didn't have a good look around before turnin' the
+buildin' into a jail."
+
+"The drubbin' they got at Bladensburg, even though they did win the
+battle, confused them," my father said with a chuckle of satisfaction.
+
+"It strikes me that we'd better get the pungy under way mighty soon,"
+Captain Hanaford interrupted. "It can't be a great while before some
+of the crowd sees the rope we left danglin' from the chimney, an' then
+you may set it down as a fact that this city will be searched in a way
+that won't be comfortable for us."
+
+"But where'll you go, Bob?" Bill Jepson asked. "The British fleet is
+in the river, an' to sail up stream strikes me as bein' dangerous, for
+they can send light boats after us, an' this draft won't make much
+fist of runnin' away from them in such a breeze as you've got now."
+
+"I had an idee the wind was gettin' up," the oysterman said as he
+opened the hatch a few inches, and at that instant a gust swept into
+the cuddy bringing with it a full pail of water.
+
+"A good, nice little thunder squall," the captain said in a tone of
+content, "an' if it comes from the right quarter, we're in luck."
+
+Darius was on deck in a twinkling, and I followed him, hoping that we
+might be able to leave our mooring, for at such a time it would not be
+a very difficult matter to get so far up stream as to baffle pursuit.
+
+At the moment, however, it seemed as if our good fortune had deserted
+us. The wind was drawing down the river with a force that shut off all
+hope of sending the pungy against it, and the rain came in such
+torrents that the deck was awash in short order.
+
+"It's a case of stayin' where we are, or takin' the chances of runnin'
+down river when you couldn't see a nigger under your nose," Darius
+said as he and I re-entered the cabin wet to the skin, although we had
+not been exposed to the fury of the tempest above two minutes. "I'm
+willin' to run a good many risks; but puttin' this pungy under sail,
+with half a dozen frigates somewhere on the course, is a little too
+steep for me."
+
+Captain Hanaford was exceeding anxious to be under way; but he
+understood that nothing could be done while the storm raged with such
+fury, and we sat in the darkness, discussing what might be done when
+the morning came.
+
+It was finally decided that we would take all the risk of going down
+stream as soon as the tempest abated, for there were many creeks along
+the shore where we might run under cover to avoid the fleet, or, if
+the worst came, we could go on shore, abandoning the pungy.
+
+In order that Captain Hanaford might be willing to take the chances of
+losing his vessel, I showed him the guarantee we had received from
+Commodore Barney, and promised that when we got the money from the
+government he should share equally with us.
+
+"I'm ready to do whatsoever is agreed upon without askin' you lads to
+pay for my pungy in case I lose her," he said stoutly. "There ain't
+any certainty I'd been able to keep her if you hadn't come aboard, for
+if the Britishers will burn nigh on to a whole city, they won't stop
+at a few oyster-boats, if there's any fun to be had in settin' 'em
+afire. I don't jest hanker, though, to fool around with a lot of
+frigates, an' that's a fact."
+
+"We won't fool with 'em," Darius said decidedly. "It stands to reason
+they must be below Fort Washington, else we'd heard the firin' when
+they tried to come past. Now 'twixt here an' there we should find a
+creek where a pungy like this could be hidden."
+
+"I know of a place about eight miles from here," the captain said
+thoughtfully, and Bill Jepson cried cheerfully:
+
+"Then that settles the whole business. We'll get under way when this
+'ere squall is over, and before daylight be where we can keep out of
+sight till the fleet comes up. Once they're this side of us we shall
+be in clear water."
+
+But Bill was not calculating on the force of the "squall." I have seen
+a good many summer storms; but never one to equal that on the night of
+August twenty-fifth, in the year of grace 1814.
+
+We could hear now and then ashore, even amid the howling of the wind
+and the crashing thunder the rending of wood as houses were unroofed,
+and from the terrible uproar which came later we believed the trees
+growing near where we lay were being torn up by the roots, as was
+really found to be the case when morning dawned.
+
+The pungy rocked to and fro as if in the open bay, straining at her
+hawsers until it became necessary to pass extra ones, otherwise she
+would have been swept from her moorings.
+
+Those of us who went on deck to do this work were wetted in an instant
+as if we had jumped overboard, and at times it became necessary to
+hold fast by the rail, otherwise we would have been literally blown
+into the river.
+
+There was no possibility of getting under way that night, and all
+hands kept watch in the cuddy until day broke, when, and not until
+then, did the storm abate.
+
+The wind had aided the Britishers in working havoc. From the deck of
+the pungy I saw no less than four houses, the roofs of which had been
+torn off, and one negro shanty was in ruins. As far as we could see
+the trees were uprooted, and the river ran so full of wreckage that I
+wondered we had not been swamped off hand.
+
+"We'll stay here a few hours longer, I reckon," Darius said to me as
+he pointed toward the fragments of buildings and trees with which the
+river seemed literally to be choked. "If this pungy struck fair on
+somethin' like that yonder, she'd founder for a fact."
+
+The veriest landsman who ever lived would have understood that it was
+folly to think of getting under way just then, and my heart grew heavy
+as lead in my breast, for I firmly believed that before another hour
+had passed the enemy would be out searching for the prisoners who had
+escaped, in which case all hands of us stood a good chance of seeing
+the interior of that "stone house."
+
+As we stood on deck, regardless of the possibility that some of the
+enemy might come that way, a man ran down the street toward the
+water's edge, waving his arms about and otherwise acting as if nearly
+beside himself with joy or grief.
+
+"What is the matter, friend?" Captain Hanaford cried at the full
+strength of his lungs, and the man made quite a lengthy reply; but all
+we could hear of it was this one exclamation:
+
+"The British!"
+
+"Are they comin' this way?" the captain demanded, screaming until his
+face was crimson, and Bill Jepson suddenly dropped out of sight
+through the companion-way.
+
+"They've gone!" the man replied, and we could now hear his words more
+distinctly because he was coming nearer each instant.
+
+"Gone where?" Captain Hanaford cried impatiently. "Can't you tell us
+what has happened?"
+
+"The British have cleared out bag an' baggage--went durin' the storm!"
+
+"What?" Darius screamed, and we looked at each other incredulously,
+for surely it could not be possible that the enemy had evacuated the
+city so soon.
+
+"Come on board an' tell us what you know!" Captain Hanaford cried. "It
+is of the greatest importance for us to learn exactly the situation of
+affairs."
+
+The stranger did not accept the invitation to come on board; but he
+halted within easy speaking distance and thus told the story, which
+seemed incredible:
+
+"Last night the people livin' near the encampment were warned, on pain
+of death, to remain within doors from sunset till sunrise. Those who
+were curious enough to look out of the windows saw that the camp fires
+had been increased, an' supposed reinforcements were comin' in; but
+this mornin' neither hide nor hair is to be seen of the red-coats, an'
+a planter comin' in from nearabout Long Old Fields, reports that the
+soldiers are marchin' in the direction of Nottingham. An' that ain't
+all, for the troops that stayed at Bladensburg after the battle, are
+on the way to Upper Marlboro, 'cordin to the report of an old darkey
+who came into town not half an hour ago."
+
+Having thus unfolded his budget of news, the man hurried on to spread
+the glad tidings, leaving us who were aboard the pungy in a state of
+mingled bewilderment and joy.
+
+"I can't understand it," Darius said after a brief pause, during
+which we had looked at each other questioningly. "I'm goin' to take
+the chances of findin' out for myself."
+
+The old man went over the rail as he spoke, and I would have followed,
+but that he said sharply:
+
+"Stay where you are, lad. We ain't dead certain 'bout that yarn, an'
+if it's a case of gettin' into trouble, it better be one than two who
+pays for nosin' 'round a British camp."
+
+Captain Hanaford felt certain the news must be correct, for our
+informant had the appearance of being an honest man, and nothing could
+have been gained by spreading such a story.
+
+"We'll cook the best breakfast to be had, by way of rejoicin'," he
+said, "an' after that's been done all hands shall come into a council
+of war, to decide if we're to make the venture down the river."
+
+"If the enemy has really evacuated the city, it is reasonable to
+suppose that the fleet will go back down the bay," I said, thinking
+myself very wise in such matters. "It strikes me that the way home
+lies open before us."
+
+My companions were of the same opinion, and a very merry party we were
+on the oyster pungy that morning as we tried in vain to guess why the
+enemy had left so suddenly, when there seemed to be nothing to prevent
+him from taking possession of all the country round about.
+
+Before the feast was ready to be eaten Darius returned, and a single
+glance at his face was sufficient to show that the good news was true.
+
+"They've gone, an' there's no mistake about it," he announced, as he
+sprang over the rail lightly as any boy. "I went to the place where
+the troops were encamped, before bein' willin' to believe they'd
+turned tail so suddenly. Now I'd like to know if that very friendly
+gentleman Elias Macomber, has been left behind, or if he followed the
+force? If he's in this city I could make it mighty interestin' for
+him."
+
+"Never mind the sneak, Darius!" my father cried. "There is no need for
+you to punish him, because if the British go away he'll find it very
+uncomfortable around here, and that's enough to serve the cur out for
+all he has done."
+
+Darius did not appear to think that Macomber's misdeeds could be
+atoned so easily; but he kept his opinion to himself, and joined us in
+what was at the same time a feast of rejoicing and thanksgiving.
+
+Not until the meal was come to an end did we begin the discussion as
+to how we should get home, and then Captain Hanaford opened the
+question by asking:
+
+"Now, lads, are we to run up stream into the mud, or take our chances
+of findin' the British fleet 'twixt here an' the bay?"
+
+Darius immediately proposed that we strike out for the Chesapeake,
+using the same argument I had, that since the retreat of the soldiers
+there was little chance the vessels would make any effort at running
+past Fort Washington.
+
+Bill Jepson, who could not be blamed for feeling a bit nervous at
+going any nearer a British vessel of war than was absolutely
+necessary, believed that it would be safer for us to go back to
+Benedict by land, keeping at a respectful distance in the rear of the
+enemy; but his plan was not considered, because it would be impossible
+for my father to travel on foot, and I, at least, was not disposed to
+part company with him.
+
+We spent a full hour discussing the situation, and then it had been
+decided that we would run boldly down the river, nearly all of us
+feeling confident that there were no longer any British vessels to
+block our way.
+
+There was nothing to delay us in making the start as soon as the river
+should be clear of the tokens sent by the storm, except Darius' desire
+to make systematic search for Elias Macomber; but to this all of us
+objected so strongly that, much against his will, he was forced to
+give over the idea.
+
+For my part I had seen enough of the British-lover; we had captured
+him twice, which was our full share of such business, and if we did
+spend time hunting him down, providing he yet remained in the city,
+what could we do with the villain? He had forfeited all rights of
+citizenship in our section of the country, and I had no doubt that
+wherever he went his sins would find him out. It was better we leave
+him alone, from whatever standpoint I viewed it.
+
+Captain Hanaford decided that the river would be clear of drift by
+morning, therefore we were agreed to set sail then, and, as a means of
+passing the time pleasantly, we lads went over to the "stone house" to
+see how the old shell-backs managed to escape so readily.
+
+We found the building open and abandoned. The enemy had taken the
+prisoners away, and we were not hindered in going over it thoroughly.
+
+When that inspection was ended, we viewed the ruins in the different
+parts of the city, paid a visit to the smoke-house, and returned to
+the pungy late in the afternoon, well satisfied to bring our visit to
+the capital to the earliest possible close.
+
+On that evening Captain Hanaford brought aboard a surgeon, who cared
+for my father's wound, and, what was better, declared that he saw no
+reason why it should not heal speedily, leaving him none the worse for
+having received it.
+
+We were eager to be under way, as may be supposed, and as soon as the
+day dawned on the 27th of August, we cast off from the dock, feeling
+that the good God had been very kind in permitting us to return to our
+homes when so many had been left at Bladensburg to fill soldiers'
+graves.
+
+It was as if everything favored us at the start of the homeward
+journey. The river was free from the drift of all kinds which had
+covered its surface; the wind was blowing gently from the north, and
+the day gave promise of being clear.
+
+The pungy slipped along as if conscious that she, like ourselves, had
+escaped from great dangers, and was longing for another cargo of
+oysters in her hold.
+
+Bill Jepson acted as if he had suddenly lost his senses. He sang the
+wildest kind of songs, danced two or three hornpipes, and then
+insisted on Darius joining him, while Jim Freeman furnished the music
+by whistling fast and furiously. As a matter of fact, all of us, even
+including my father, were disposed to be exceeding jolly now that we
+were homeward bound with the belief that the enemy was no longer in a
+position to annoy us.
+
+We lads talked of the pungy we would buy when the government paid us
+for the Avenger, and laid many a plan for the future when Jim, his two
+friends, Jerry, Darius and I would begin oystering again, in a craft
+capable of carrying three or four times the cargo we had been able to
+squeeze into the old boat which had been sacrificed at Pig Point.
+
+Then, when it was near noon, we had come within sight of Fort
+Washington, and as we rounded the bend Captain Hanaford gave vent to
+an exclamation of surprise and fear, which was echoed by Bill Jepson.
+
+At some considerable distance down the river it was possible to see
+the upper spars of seven vessels of war which were slowly approaching
+the fortification from the southward.
+
+"It's the British fleet!" Captain Hanaford cried as he shoved the
+tiller hard down, thereby swinging the pungy's nose into the mud of
+the eastern bank. "We were bloomin' fools to think that the enemy had
+all run away!"
+
+"It's the fleet under Captain Gordon, an' I can tell you just how
+strong it is," Bill Jepson said as he rubbed his head nervously.
+"There are two frigates of thirty-six an' thirty-eight guns; two
+rocket ships of eighteen guns each, two bomb vessels of eight guns
+each, an' one schooner carryin' two guns."
+
+"The schooner would be enough to bring us up with a sharp turn,
+therefore I hold that it don't make any difference how many frigates
+are behind her," Darius cried. "The question is whether the fort can
+prevent their comin' up the river?"
+
+No one aboard could say what might be done by those in the
+fortification, or how strongly it was garrisoned; but later I read the
+following in one of the newspapers, and will set it down here so that
+what happened while we were on the river may be the better understood.
+
+"The only obstruction to the passage of the fleet on which the
+Americans might place the least reliance, was Fort Washington, on the
+Maryland side of the Potomac, about twelve miles below the national
+capital. It was a feeble fortress, but capable of being made strong.
+So early as May 1813, a deputation from Alexandria, Georgetown and
+Washington waited upon the Secretary of War, and represented the
+importance of strengthening the post.
+
+"An engineer was sent to examine it. He reported in favor of
+additional works in the rear, while he believed that the armament of
+the fort, and its elevated situation, would enable a well-managed
+garrison to repulse any number of ships of war which might attempt to
+pass up the river. Nothing more was done.
+
+"In July, 1814, when a British fleet and army were in the Chesapeake,
+the authorities of Alexandria again called the attention of the
+Secretary of War to the feeble condition of Fort Washington. The
+secretary did not believe the enemy would push for the capital, and
+nothing was done. The Alexandrians appealed to General Winder, who
+recommended the strengthening of the post. Three of the banks in
+Alexandria offered to loan the government fifty thousand dollars for
+the construction of more defences for the District. The money was
+accepted, but nothing was done to Fort Washington. When the battle of
+Bladensburg occurred, and the seat of government was left to the mercy
+of the invaders, Fort Washington was as feebly armed as ever, and its
+garrison consisted of only about eighty men, under Captain Samuel T.
+Dyson."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+DODGING THE ENEMY.
+
+
+As I have said, Captain Hanaford shoved his tiller hard over, throwing
+the pungy around until her nose struck the mud, and it was a question
+of getting her off the bank in the shortest possible space of time,
+unless we were minded to lay there when the action began, for none of
+us doubted but that an engagement was close at hand.
+
+"It's a case of runnin' back up the river," Bill Jepson said
+nervously, "An' the sooner we get about it the better."
+
+Darius was not of the same opinion, as was shown when he said, after
+waiting a moment to learn if any other had an opinion to express:
+
+"I'm willin' to agree that we're bound to put back a bit, so's to be
+out of the way when the iron begins to fly; but I don't hold that we
+should run very far off until findin' out how things are goin' to
+turn."
+
+"You might settle that question after the pungy is afloat," my father
+said grimly. "Just at present we're in a bad place if there's to be
+any firing done, and when we're off the mud you'll have plenty of time
+in which to discuss the situation."
+
+"That's about the size of it," Captain Hanaford added emphatically,
+and then he ordered us lads into the small boat that we might pull the
+pungy's bow around.
+
+Any one who has ever run an oysterman such as we have in the
+Chesapeake, knows that when a craft of that build takes ground ever so
+lightly, it is not a simple matter to float her, especially when
+there's no cargo that can be shifted to bring the stern down and the
+bow up.
+
+We lads worked our prettiest with the paddles after making fast to the
+vessel's nose, and, finding that we were making no headway, the three
+able-bodied men began pushing with poles which are kept aboard for
+such purpose, until she slid slowly into deeper water.
+
+Then it was a case of clawing away from the fort, which was not easy,
+since the wind that had brought us down so finely, now blew directly
+in our teeth, and the pungy was a master-hand for sliding off when you
+tried to tack.
+
+As a matter of course it was necessary to stand over toward the
+opposite shore, which was not a pleasant piece of business since it
+carried us within view of the enemy; but we had no choice in the
+matter.
+
+"If we get back as far as Alexandria by sunset we'll be doin' mighty
+well, unless you bring her around an' try to slide up," Bill Jepson
+said grumblingly; but she did not make any better headway because of
+his being disgruntled.
+
+"We'll have to take things as they are, matey," Darius said grimly.
+"If the old hooker won't carry us out of harm's way, we can take to
+the shore at any time, which is a bit of consolation you'd better keep
+pasted in your hat."
+
+"This breeze will fine down within an hour," Captain Hanaford said as
+if speaking to himself, "an' then it'll be a case of anchorin', no
+matter where we----"
+
+He did not finish the remark, for at that moment it was as if the
+earth and sky had come together with one deafening crash; then
+followed three or four reports like unto peals of thunder near at
+hand, and those of us who chanced to be looking astern, saw the fort
+actually leap into the air, while from the mass of earth and stone
+came a shower of fragments such as literally obscured the light of the
+sun for an instant, after which it fell upon us with a crash that
+caused the pungy to rock to and fro like an egg-shell.
+
+While one might have counted fifty I stood dazed, unable to understand
+what had happened, and bleeding from a dozen scratches caused by the
+fall of fragments which absolutely covered the deck of the pungy to a
+depth of two or three inches. Then I understood that the fort had been
+blown up, Captain Dyson believing he could not hope, with the small
+force under his command, to withstand an assault from the fleet.
+
+As we afterward came to know, his instructions from the War Department
+were to the effect that he should destroy the fortification rather
+than take the chances of its being captured by the enemy; but what
+seemed strange to me then, and does now, was the fact that he had not
+fired a single gun in defiance. Surely he might have discharged his
+pieces once, in the hope of doing a little damage, before setting a
+match to the magazine.
+
+Of all our party in the pungy, not one escaped more or less severe
+bruises or scratches, and the wonder is that the vessel was not sent
+to the bottom off hand.
+
+However, we were yet afloat, and the river was open for the passage of
+the Britishers, therefore it may be understood that we could not
+afford to spend many minutes in speculations upon what might or might
+not have been done.
+
+Within three minutes from the time of the explosion, Darius and Bill
+Jepson were in the small boat making fast to the bow of the pungy, and
+when Captain Hanaford shouted to ask what they counted on doing, the
+old sailor replied:
+
+"There's a creek half a mile further up stream, an' if you can get
+any headway on this apple-bowed lugger, we may be able to hide before
+the Britishers come in sight."
+
+It was absolutely certain that we could not hope to escape by sailing,
+because any four-oared boat in the British fleet would have overtaken
+us in a twinkling, therefore, unless it might be possible to hide, we
+were in a bad scrape, from which I saw no relief save at the expense
+of abandoning the pungy.
+
+How we worked to push the vessel through the water! Darius and Bill
+plied the paddles with every ounce of strength in their bodies, while
+we on deck trimmed the sails to a nicety, shifted everything movable
+to bring her into better trim for sailing, and even swung the two long
+sweeps outboard.
+
+We five lads manned the enormous oars with which the pungy was
+provided to help her around, or when she drifted too near inshore, and
+I dare venture to say that we did quite as much toward forcing the
+craft ahead as the two old shell-backs did by towing.
+
+Fortunately for us, the Britishers did not appear to think it
+necessary to move up the river swiftly, knowing full well that all the
+towns above were at their mercy whenever they arrived; but the fleet
+hove to off the ruins of the fortification while some of the officers
+landed to ascertain the amount of damage done. It was this last which
+gave us the opportunity of which we stood so sorely in need, otherwise
+we were taken prisoners beyond a peradventure.
+
+By dint of pulling and paddling we contrived to get the pungy into the
+creek of which Darius had spoken, before the enemy came in sight
+again, and then it was a case of hauling her so far inland that she
+would be hidden from view by the foliage.
+
+It can well be supposed that we did not waste any time at this last
+work; the perspiration was running down our faces in tiny streams when
+the craft was finally as far up the narrow water-way as she could be
+taken, and then all hands were so exhausted that we threw ourselves on
+the deck to regain breath and strength.
+
+All the while that we had been in strenuous flight my father stood at
+the helm, thus giving Captain Hanaford the chance to aid us, otherwise
+the task would not have been accomplished so quickly.
+
+But even when we were thus snug, unless, perchance, the Britishers
+took it into their heads to search the river banks, our work was by no
+means done.
+
+It was now necessary that we should know if the enemy went up stream,
+and after we had rested no more than five minutes, when a full hour
+would have been hardly enough to put me in proper trim again, Darius
+said:
+
+"Come, Amos, you an' I will stand the first watch. Bill an' Jerry can
+spell us in a couple of hours."
+
+"What do you count on watching?" I asked curtly.
+
+"The Britishers, of course. We'll paddle down to the river, an' lay
+there till the fleet goes one way or the other."
+
+It would have been a long watch had we remained on duty until the
+entire fleet sailed in one direction; but as to that we were happily
+ignorant, and I took my place in the canoe believing the enemy would
+sail past our hiding place in a very short time.
+
+We allowed the canoe to drift down the creek until we were come within
+a few yards of the river, and then, well hidden by the undergrowth, we
+made ourselves as comfortable as possible where we could command a
+full view of the channel.
+
+"It doesn't appear to be as easy to get back home as we counted on," I
+said, by way of starting a conversation, and Darius replied
+confidently:
+
+"This 'ere stop won't put us back very much, though it'll make a power
+of extra work, for I count to be slippin' down river within a couple
+of hours at the longest."
+
+Then the old man fell silent, and I was not disposed to wag my tongue,
+because of looking ahead to the meeting with mother and the children,
+which now seemed so near at hand.
+
+We had been on watch an hour or more when the enemy appeared. The
+schooner was leading the way slowly, being towed by boats, with the
+men taking soundings every fifteen or twenty yards in order to show
+the channel to the two frigates close astern, and another hour went by
+before the three vessels had passed our hiding-place.
+
+Then we watched eagerly, expecting to see the rocket-ships and
+bomb-vessels appear; but they did not heave in sight, although it
+seemed to me as if they should have been close behind the larger ships
+in order to take advantage of the labor being performed by those on
+board the schooner.
+
+When half an hour had passed, and the river, so far as we could see in
+either direction, was free from craft of any kind, Darius bestowed a
+resounding slap upon his leg as he cried angrily:
+
+"What an old fool I am, to be sure! In two years more, if I keep on
+runnin' down hill, I won't be able to tell my own nose from somebody's
+else, even when it's pulled."
+
+"What's the matter now?" I asked in surprise.
+
+"What's the matter, lad? Can't you see that only part of the fleet is
+goin' up stream? If the other ships counted on leavin' anchorage
+they'd been in the wake of the frigates. We're shut in here between
+two ends of the British force, an' likely to stay quite a spell."
+
+There could be no question but that he was right, and I sat staring at
+him like a stupid, the dreams in which I had been indulging
+disappearing like mist before the morning sun. Of a verity mother and
+the children were further from me than when we had crouched in the
+smoke-house at Washington with General Ross' army close at hand.
+
+"What _can_ we do?" I asked at length.
+
+"That's a question easier asked than answered," the old man replied as
+if he had come to an end of his ideas. "While your father is wounded
+beyond the power of walkin', we're anchored to the pungy, so to
+speak."
+
+"What would you do if he was in good shape?"
+
+"It couldn't be such a terrible tough voyage to strike across the
+country from here to Benedict, leavin' the pungy in the creek till the
+Britishers get tired of foolin' around in the Potomac; but it's no use
+to spend breath on what can't be done. Our crew will hang together,
+whatever comes. Let's go an' report; it won't do us any good to stay
+here."
+
+We paddled slowly back to our comrades, and when we had told them the
+situation of affairs they were in as much of a muddle as had been
+Darius and I.
+
+"There's no tellin' how long the frigates will stay 'round
+Washington," Captain Hanaford said, and then, as a sudden thought came
+to him, he added, "I'm gettin' the best of this scrape, I reckon. If
+the pungy was where you lads found her, she'd fare badly when the
+bloomin' Englishmen get where they can make mischief."
+
+"I'll stay here and keep ship, while the rest of you walk across lots
+to Benedict," my father suggested; but Darius refused to hear any such
+proposition, declaring as he had when we were in the canoe, that our
+party should hang together to the last.
+
+"So far as bodily harm is concerned, we're safe here till the cows
+come home," the old man said thoughtfully, "an' that oughter make us
+feel reasonably good, seein's how, one spell, it looked a deal like
+bein' killed, or stayin' in a British prison-ship. We're a mighty poor
+crowd if we can't manage to lay still a week or two."
+
+It did really seem as if we had reason to be ashamed of grumbling when
+matters had been so much worse, and I mentally resolved that I would
+make the best of the situation, even though we were forced to remain
+in hiding a full month.
+
+My father did his best at cheering us by saying, and with a deal of
+reason in his speech, that the enemy would not dare remain shut up in
+the river very long, lest the American fleet come to the mouth of the
+river and blockade him, or with a superior force, force him to
+surrender.
+
+"It's Captain Gordon of the Sea Horse, who is in command," Bill Jepson
+said, "an' you can count that he won't be caught nappin'."
+
+"Then we can reckon on bein' free to leave this creek within three or
+four days at the outside, and after that it'll be a question of
+dodging the Britishers into Chesapeake bay, which shouldn't be a hard
+task."
+
+Taking this view of the matter, and knowing we had provisions in
+plenty, all hands began to look at affairs in a more cheerful light,
+with the result that ours was soon a jolly party, with but one aim,
+which was to make the time pass as pleasantly as possible.
+
+During the remainder of that day we talked of all that had occurred
+since Commodore Barney left Pig Point, and speculated upon the result
+of an attack upon Baltimore.
+
+That night we turned in without standing watch, and next morning came
+a light, drizzling rain which forced us to keep under cover unless we
+were willing to toddle around on the wet decks, which was not
+particularly cheerful amusement.
+
+By three o'clock in the afternoon we had talked until our tongues were
+tired, and every topic of conversation was exhausted. Then we fell
+silent, with none too pleasing thoughts for company, until Darius
+sprang to his feet with an exclamation that aroused us all.
+
+"What bloomin' idjuts we are to think we must needs wait here till the
+Britishers come down the river!" he cried excitedly.
+
+"I thought it was settled that we couldn't well do anything else,"
+Captain Hanaford said in mild surprise.
+
+"So it was; but the sun was shinin', with every prospect of a fair
+night."
+
+I looked at the old sailor in bewilderment. It seemed as if he had
+suddenly taken leave of his senses, for there was nothing to be made
+of his words.
+
+"What's crawlin' over you, Darius?" Captain Hanaford asked. "Has
+anythin' happened suddenly?"
+
+"Yes, an' that's a fact! Here we are lyin' up here in a nasty storm as
+if we was bound to stay, when it's only a case of haulin' the pungy
+into the channel, an' lettin' her drift past the vessels below the
+fort. I'll wager an apple against a doughnut that we'll go by slick as
+fallin' down hill, 'cause it'll be darker 'n Sam Hill to-night; there
+ain't any moon to break the blackness, an' unless we come plump on to
+the enemy, they'll never be any the wiser."
+
+I could see that the older members of the party believed as did
+Darius; but to me it seemed like taking needless chances, when by
+remaining in hiding a few days we might set sail without hindrance,
+for if our pungy was seen, there could be little doubt but that she
+would be sunk off hand.
+
+However, it was not for me to start any argument with my elders who
+understood such matters far better than did either of us lads, and I
+held my peace, expecting that an argument would ensue.
+
+To my great surprise no further word was spoken regarding the plan;
+but Captain Hanaford pulled on his oiled-coat as he said curtly:
+
+"It'll be a good two-hours' job to pull the pungy into the stream, an'
+won't be handy work after dark."
+
+Darius and Bill made ready to accompany him on deck, and, to my great
+surprise, I found that these three, at least, believed the plan of
+trying to drift past the British ships in the darkness one which
+should be carried into effect.
+
+I looked at my father; but he appeared to think all was as it should
+be, and for the moment I was dumfounded at the idea of taking so many
+and such great chances simply to save idling a few days.
+
+When the men went on deck we lads followed, as a matter of course; but
+never one of us was called upon to perform any part in the labor.
+
+The creek was too narrow to admit of turning the pungy, therefore it
+became necessary to tow her out stern first, and this the three men
+did quite handily, with Darius and Bill Jepson in the boat, and
+Captain Hanaford on deck, to keep the branches of the trees from
+fouling with the rigging.
+
+Half an hour before sunset the little vessel was at the mouth of the
+water-way where she could be put into the stream with but a small
+amount of labor, and Captain Hanaford ordered Jim Freeman and Dody
+Wardwell to turn to at getting supper.
+
+While the meal was being prepared the captain and the two old sailors
+talked about the probable location of the enemy's ships, and when the
+conversation was come to an end I learned that they counted on letting
+the pungy take her own course, after rounding the point on which the
+fort had been located.
+
+It was to be a piece of blind luck all the way through, and I made up
+my mind that if the vessel was afloat after we passed the ships, it
+would be a sure case of interposition of that divinity which watches
+over fools.
+
+I seemed to be the only one, however, who was borrowing any trouble on
+account of the proposed venture, and it can well be fancied that I
+held my peace, although I did a power of thinking.
+
+When supper had been eaten, and the last spark of fire in the
+cook-stove extinguished lest it should be seen by the enemy, all
+hands went on deck.
+
+Of a verity the night was black enough, if that was the only thing
+wanted to insure success. Standing at the tiller I could not even make
+out the loom of the mainmast, and as for saying whether the pungy was
+in the stream or the river, it was impossible.
+
+Darius and Bill Jepson went about their portion of the task, however,
+as if it was broad day.
+
+The pungy was pulled out into the current, the old sailors came over
+the rail, and we were fully committed to the venture.
+
+I had supposed that some portion of the sails would be spread to give
+us steerage-way if nothing more; but in this I was mistaken. A square
+of white canvas could be more readily seen in the darkness than the
+entire hull of the pungy, which was painted black, therefore we would
+go through with only the empty spars to give an alarm, if so be the
+enemy caught a glimpse of us.
+
+We had hardly more than started when the rain began to fall heavily,
+and Bill Jepson said with a chuckle of satisfaction:
+
+"Everythin' is workin' our way. There ain't a barnacle aboard the
+ships that'll stand up an' take all this water when he can keep
+himself dry by seekin' the shelter of the rail."
+
+"But suppose we run plump on to them?" I asked in a whisper.
+
+"Then it'll be a case of doin' some tall an' lively hustlin', lad, an'
+no man can say what ought'er be done till we're in the scrape."
+
+"Can you make out the shore on either side?" I asked.
+
+"Yes, by stoopin' low so's to sight the sky over the tree-tops, you
+can contrive to get an idee of whether we're in the middle of the
+stream; but you can't do much more."
+
+"I might stand on my head without being able to tell which was land
+and which water."
+
+"I reckon that's true," Bill said with a laugh; "but when you've
+knocked around at sea as long as I have, you'll learn to see through
+ink, bottle an' all."
+
+"Stop that noise!" Darius whispered harshly. "You're not even to
+breathe loud from this out, an' walkin' across the deck will make
+trouble with me for the man or lad who does it."
+
+Thus it was that each fellow felt obliged to remain wherever he stood
+when the order had been given. We could well understand the reason for
+such caution, and were not disposed to go contrary to the command.
+
+I peered into the gloom intently, hoping I might distinguish the
+shadows of the trees ashore; but it was impossible, and from that
+moment I remained with my eyes shut, as one involuntarily does when
+the blackness is intense.
+
+How slowly the time passed! I tried to get some idea of the minutes by
+counting up to sixty, allowing that number of seconds had gone by; but
+failed in so doing because my anxiety was so great that I did not keep
+the reckoning.
+
+It seemed as if an hour had fled, although the current should have
+carried us among the fleet in less than half that time, when I was
+startled by hearing a voice close by my side, apparently.
+
+"It's a bloomin' nasty night, matey."
+
+"Right you are," was the reply. "It's jest my luck to be muckin'
+'round here when the lads from the other ships are havin' high jinks
+in one of the Yankee cities."
+
+Then it was that I realized we were within a few yards of a ship, and
+by some stroke of good fortune had missed fowling her.
+
+It surely seemed as if they must see us, although I could not make out
+even a shadow of her, strain my eyes as I might, and in case we were
+discovered, the end would come very rapidly, as I then believed.
+
+From that moment it was as if I did not breathe, so fearful was I of
+giving some alarm which would betray our whereabouts.
+
+The pattering of the rain on the water raised no slight noise, and
+this was favorable to us. Our tiller had been lashed, so that there
+might be no possibility the rudder-head would creak in its socket,
+and every rope was brailed to guard against its flapping.
+
+Had ours been the ghost of a ship and those on board a phantom crew,
+we could not have glided down stream more silently; but the danger
+which had been ever present in my thoughts was that of coming in
+collision with one of the ships.
+
+We had already passed the first in safety; but there were three
+others, and in fear and trembling I admitted to myself that we could
+not hope to slip by them all.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+IN PORT.
+
+
+The moments passed in silence, save for the hissing of the rain-drops
+as they mingled with the water of the river, and I was saying to
+myself that of a verity we must have drifted safely through the fleet
+without touching a ship, when that came which I had been fearing.
+
+Suddenly I felt a shock; then a noise as of wood grinding against
+wood, and I knew we had fouled the enemy!
+
+While one might have counted five the pungy rubbed against the side of
+the ship, and then came the hail:
+
+"Ahoy there! Ahoy!"
+
+"What are you hailing?" a strange voice cried, and he who had first
+broken the silence replied:
+
+"There's a craft of some kind alongside, sir!"
+
+Then it was as if a swarm of bees had been let loose. The enemy's ship
+was alive with moving, buzzing beings, some of whom cried out this or
+that order, and others called down maledictions on the head of the man
+who had needlessly aroused them.
+
+"There's nothin' here, sir. Sam was dreamin'," I heard the voice of a
+sailor cry, and almost at the same instant came the rattling of
+fire-arms as they were being handled, sounding so near aboard that it
+seemed as if a portion of the enemy had leaped upon our decks.
+
+"Make ready! Fire!" sounded the command, sharp and quick.
+
+Then came a sheet of flame which lighted up surrounding objects until
+we could distinctly see the deck of the bomb-vessel, and the eager men
+thronging her deck.
+
+This illumination was but as the lightning's flash, and then we could
+hear the angry hum of the bullets as they swarmed above our heads.
+
+We had been seen, and I believed that a broadside would follow in
+short order, yet at the same time I realized that our good fortune had
+followed us when it sent the pungy afoul of a bomb-vessel, instead of
+a craft which had her guns ready trained for service.
+
+Now had come the time, however, when we were to remain idle no longer.
+
+I heard Darius call Bill Jepson, and knew by the noises which followed
+that the two sailors were taking to the canoe in order to tow the
+pungy, and at the same time Captain Hanaford cast off the lashing of
+the tiller as he ordered us to run up the canvas.
+
+Work? I have never moved so lively before nor since, as I did then
+when I felt positive that within a very few seconds our deck would be
+swept by grape and cannister.
+
+At such moments of supreme danger one's senses are unnaturally acute,
+and while I gave strict attention to all that was taking place aboard
+the pungy, it became possible to understand what the enemy was about.
+
+The other vessels of the fleet were making ready to take a hand in our
+destruction. From every quarter we could hear cries of command,
+mingled with the noise of men running to and fro, and just when the
+pungy began to feel the effect of the canvas which was clapped on her
+in such a hurry, a rocket went up, illumining the scene for ten
+seconds or more.
+
+Then it was I saw that we had passed three of the ships, having come
+to grief on the last in the line, and had no time to take further note
+of the surroundings when the guns of all four craft belched forth with
+a mighty roar that caused the pungy to tremble, but the impact of the
+shot did not follow.
+
+Thus suddenly aroused, and in the intense darkness which had been
+dispelled only long enough to dazzle a fellow's eyes, the gunners had
+not been able to take accurate aim, otherwise we must have gone to the
+bottom like a stone.
+
+"They won't have time to try that game more than once again before
+we'll be well out of their way," I heard Darius say, and I knew we
+had sufficient speed to render useless the work of towing, otherwise
+the two sailors would not have come aboard.
+
+Now three rockets were sent up in rapid succession, and while the
+light lasted I knew that the British gunners were taking aim at us;
+but we had slipped so far down the river by this time that there were
+some few chances in our favor, however closely they might shoot.
+
+"Down on your faces!" Darius cried, and I dropped like a stone,
+understanding that such an order had been given to lessen the chances
+of our being hit; but at the same time the thought came to me that it
+was better to be killed by a round-shot which would cut a man's life
+short instantly, than mangled by a splinter.
+
+Then came the flash of burning powder; the mighty roar of big guns;
+the hurtling shot striking the water on every side, and the pungy
+reeled and quivered as if she had struck a rock.
+
+"One ball went home that time!" Darius cried, and I knew by the sound
+that he had leaped to his feet, running with all speed into the cuddy.
+
+From below I made out the tiny gleam of the match as Darius lighted a
+lantern, and did not need to be told that he was gone to learn what
+injury our vessel had received.
+
+Immediately the cannon had been discharged Captain Hanaford was on
+his feet, grasping the tiller as if it was possible to steer the pungy
+while the blackness continued so dense that one might fancy he could
+feel it, and then came the glare of more rockets.
+
+This aided the helmsman of ours more than it did the British gunners,
+since it gave him an opportunity to see exactly where his vessel was;
+but as to that I gave no heed. All my mind was centered on the
+distance between us and the enemy.
+
+I could have cried aloud with joy, and am not certain but that I did,
+on seeing that we were drawing away with more speed than I had
+believed was in the clumsy craft, and, what was of greater importance,
+the pungy was rounding a bend which, once passed, would put us beyond
+reach of the guns.
+
+The rockets had been fired just in the nick of time, otherwise we
+would have gone ashore on the western bank.
+
+For the third time we heard the thunder of the guns; but the shot must
+have passed astern of us, for I did not hear either the splashing of
+water or the splintering of our wood-work to tell where they struck.
+
+Then Darius came on deck with an announcement that relieved me of
+nearly all my fears.
+
+"The pungy has a solid shot above the water-line well forward; but
+there's no need of pluggin' it, for the ball didn't get through the
+timber. I reckon we've done the trick, eh, captain?"
+
+"We're off for a fact, an' unless we strike the mud 'twixt here an'
+the bay, we've seen the last of that lot of Britishers."
+
+Now it was that all hands of us were ordered forward to act as
+look-outs, and the pungy danced along in the darkness, as if rejoicing
+at her escape from a peril that had well-nigh proved her ending.
+
+It is impossible for me to set down what we said or did when it was
+seen that we had really escaped from as dangerous a venture as human
+beings ever embarked in. I dare say we acted like a party of simples,
+and certain it is that the older members of the crew were no less
+boisterous in their rejoicings than we lads.
+
+And now there remains but little more to be said, for the homeward
+voyage was short.
+
+At midnight the rain ceased falling; the clouds were partially
+dispersed, and we had sufficient light to enable us to navigate the
+little vessel without difficulty.
+
+In four and twenty hours, without having come across an enemy, or
+anything to cause alarm, we were in Benedict once more, Captain
+Hanaford having sailed past his own home in order to land us, and well
+was it for all hands that we did not arrive the day previous, because
+not until then did the fleet under Admiral Cochrane, with the land
+forces under General Ross, take their final departure, leaving the
+little village looking as if a herd of cattle had been pastured there.
+
+It only remains for me to say, since this story has nothing to do with
+my movements after we were returned from service under Commodore
+Barney, that in due time the government honored the commodore's
+guarantee, thus enabling Jerry and me to purchase a pungy much larger
+and better than the Avenger, and at the same time have quite a
+substantial sum of money to give our parents.
+
+And all this I have written in the cuddy of the new boat, which we
+have named the "Joshua Barney," while Jim Freeman, Dody Wardwell,
+Josiah Coburn, Darius and Jerry have discussed each portion as it was
+set down, for we are shipmates in the oyster business, sharing the
+profits as well as the work, until a stranger would find it difficult
+to say which is the captain or which the cook.
+
+Now that my portion of the work has come to an end, I shall copy here
+that which will serve to wind up the yarn in proper shape.
+
+Referring to the close of the battle of Bladensburg, a newspaper
+writer says:
+
+"The English sharp-shooters had straggled about, and were doing much
+mischief; Barney's horse fell between two of the guns, pierced by two
+balls; several of his officers were killed or wounded, the ammunition
+wagon had gone off in the general confusion and retreat of the army;
+the enemy began to flank out to the right, under cover of a thick
+wood, and had nearly surrounded the commodore. His men were nearly
+exhausted, having undergone a three-days' march without a regular
+supply of provisions. He had received a wound in the thigh some time
+before, and was faint from loss of blood, when he ordered a retreat,
+which was effected in good order by the men and such officers as could
+follow. He retired a few yards with the help of three of his officers
+whom he had ordered away, and fell from weakness, in which situation
+he was found by the enemy.
+
+"General Ross and Admiral Cockburn came to him and tendered every
+assistance. He was carried in a litter to the village of Bladensburg,
+and the next day, in the company of his wife and son, was taken home
+in a carriage. A week later he was formally exchanged for two British
+colonels. The ball had been probed for by the English surgeons, but
+without effect, and it was not found until after his death, which is
+said to have been caused by the wound."
+
+And now regarding the fleet which we dodged, Mr. Lossing says in his
+"War of 1812."
+
+"The British squadron appeared before Fort Washington on the 27th of
+August, three days after the capture of the capital. Captain Dyson
+either misunderstood General Winder's order, or was influenced by
+mortal fear, for he blew up and abandoned the fort without firing a
+gun. No doubt the British fleet could have been kept below by the
+heavy cannon of the fort. Dyson chose not to try the experiment, and
+for his injurious conduct he was dismissed from the service.
+
+"The British squadron now had nothing to fear, and without
+interference the frigates sailed on, anchoring off Alexandria on the
+evening of the 28th. On the morning of the 29th it assumed a hostile
+attitude a hundred yards from the wharves, and was well prepared to
+lay every building in the town in ashes. The citizens sent a
+deputation to Captain Gordon to ask upon what terms he would consent
+to spare the town. He replied that all naval stores and ordnance; all
+the shipping and its furniture; merchandise of every description in
+the city, or which had been carried out of it to a place of safety;
+and refreshments of every kind, must be immediately given up to him.
+Also that the vessels which had been scuttled to save them from
+destruction must be raised, and delivered up to him. 'Do all this,' he
+said, 'and the town of Alexandria, with the exception of public works,
+shall be spared, and the inhabitants shall remain unmolested."
+
+"These were harsh and humiliating terms, and the inhabitants were
+allowed only one hour for consideration. They were powerless, and were
+compelled to submit. The merchandise that had been carried from the
+town and the sunken vessels could not be given up to the invader, so
+he contented himself by burning one vessel and loading several others,
+chiefly with flour, cotton and tobacco. With these in charge, the
+squadron weighed anchor and sailed down the Potomac."
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+Good Fiction Worth Reading.
+
+A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in the
+field of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of love
+and diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+=A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE.= A story of American Colonial Times, By
+Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.
+Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of
+     Revolutionary scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling
+     one. It causes the true American to flush with excitement, to
+     devour chapter after chapter, until the eyes smart, and it
+     fairly smokes with patriotism. The love story is a singularly
+     charming idyl.
+
+=THE TOWER OF LONDON.= A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady Jane
+Grey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four
+illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.
+
+     This romance of the "Tower of London" depicts the Tower as
+     palace, prison and fortress, with many historical associations.
+     The era is the middle of the sixteenth century.
+
+     The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane
+     Grey, and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other
+     notable characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the
+     interest of the reader in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy,
+     extending considerably over a half a century.
+
+=IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING.= A Romance of the American Revolution. By
+Chauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.
+Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee
+     bravery, and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with
+     the spirit of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we
+     feel ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described.
+     His whole story is so absorbing that you will sit up far into
+     the night to finish it. As a love romance it is charming.
+
+=GARTHOWEN.= A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth,
+12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     "This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid
+     bare before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows
+     us some strong points of Welsh character--the pride, the hasty
+     temper, the quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a
+     well-written story, interesting alike through its romance and
+     its glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and
+     clever picture of Welsh village life. The result is
+     excellent."--Detroit Free Press.
+
+=MIFANWY.= The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allen Raine. Cloth, 12mo.
+with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     "This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would
+     care to read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the
+     characters, it is apparent at once, are as true to life as
+     though the author had known them all personally. Simple in all
+     its situations, the story is worked up in that touching and
+     quaint strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how often
+     the lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true,
+     and does not tax the imagination."--Boston Herald.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+=DARNLEY=, A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey.
+By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson
+Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     In point of publication, "Darnley" is that work by Mr. James
+     which follows "Richelieu," and, if rumor can be credited, it
+     was owing to the advice and insistence of our own Washington
+     Irving that we are indebted primarily for the story, the young
+     author questioning whether he could properly paint the
+     difference in the characters of the two great cardinals. And it
+     is not surprising that James should have hesitated; he had been
+     eminently successful in giving to the world the portrait of
+     Richelieu as a man, and by attempting a similar task with
+     Wolsey as the theme, was much like tempting fortune. Irving
+     insisted that "Darnley" came naturally in sequence, and this
+     opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, the author set
+     about the work.
+
+     As a historical romance "Darnley" is a book that can be taken
+     up pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that
+     subtle charm which those who are strangers to the works of G.
+     P. R. James have claimed was only to be imparted by Dumas.
+
+     If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial
+     attention, the account of the meeting of the kings on the
+     historic "field of the cloth of gold" would entitle the story
+     to the most favorable consideration of every reader.
+
+     There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the
+     author has taken care to imagine love passages only between
+     those whom history has credited with having entertained the
+     tender passion one for another, and he succeeds in making such
+     lovers as all the world must love.
+
+=CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE.= By Lieut. Henry A. Wise,
+U. S. N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.
+Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of
+     sea yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the
+     ocean as can come through the medium of a printed page, for
+     never has a story of the sea and those "who go down in ships"
+     been written by one more familiar with the scenes depicted.
+
+     The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered,
+     and which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is
+     "Captain Brand," who, as the author states on his title page,
+     was a "pirate of eminence in the West Indies." As a sea story
+     pure and simple, "Captain Brand" has never been excelled, and
+     as a story of piratical life, told without the usual
+     embellishments of blood and thunder, it has no equal.
+
+=NICK OF THE WOODS.= A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. By
+Robert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.
+Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier
+     life in Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The
+     novel, long out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for
+     its realistic presentation of Indian and frontier life in the
+     early days of settlement in the South, narrated in the tale
+     with all the art of a practiced writer. A very charming love
+     romance runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition
+     of "Nick of the Woods" will be certain to make many new
+     admirers for this enchanting story from Dr. Bird's clever and
+     versatile pen.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+=GUY FAWKES.= A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. Harrison
+Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank.
+Price, $1.00.
+
+     The "Gunpowder Plot" was a modest attempt to blow up
+     Parliament, the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland,
+     then King of England, was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit
+     upon the efficient scheme of extorting money from the people by
+     imposing taxes on the Catholics. In their natural resentment to
+     this extortion, a handful of bold spirits concluded to
+     overthrow the government. Finally the plotters were arrested,
+     and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners
+     with royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through the
+     entire romance.
+
+=THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER.= A Romance of the Early Settlers in the
+Ohio Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.
+Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     A book rather out of the ordinary is this "Spirit of the
+     Border." The main thread of the story has to do with the work
+     of the Moravian missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally
+     the reader is given details of the frontier life of those hardy
+     pioneers who broke the wilderness for the planting of this
+     great nation. Chief among these, as a matter of course, is
+     Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and at the same time
+     the most admirable of all the brave men who spent their lives
+     battling with the savage foe, that others might dwell in
+     comparative security.
+
+     Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian
+     "Village of Peace" are given at some length, and with minute
+     description. The efforts to Christianize the Indians are
+     described as they never have been before, and the author has
+     depicted the characters of the leaders of the several Indian
+     tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to
+     the student.
+
+     By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid
+     word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense
+     paintings of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost
+     unbroken forests.
+
+     It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one
+     can by it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women,
+     too, willingly braved every privation and danger that the
+     westward progress of the star of empire might be the more
+     certain and rapid. A love story, simple and tender, runs
+     through the book.
+
+=RICHELIEU.= A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. By G.
+P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis.
+Price, $1.00.
+
+     In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, "Richelieu," and
+     was recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft.
+
+     In this book he laid the story during those later days of the
+     great cardinal's life, when his power was beginning to wane,
+     but while it was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then
+     of volcanic outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried
+     friends to the topmost wave of prosperity. One of the most
+     striking portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar's
+     conspiracy; the method of conducting criminal cases, and the
+     political trickery resorted to by royal favorites, affording a
+     better insight into the statecraft of that day than can be had
+     even by an exhaustive study of history. It is a powerful
+     romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling and
+     absorbing interest has never been excelled.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+WINDSOR CASTLE. A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII.,
+Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth,
+12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.
+
+     "Windsor Castle" is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and
+     Anne Boleyn. "Bluff King Hal," although a well-loved monarch,
+     was none too good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness
+     and unwarrantable acts, none was more discreditable than his
+     divorce from Catharine, and his marriage to the beautiful Anne
+     Boleyn. The King's love was as brief as it was vehement. Jane
+     Seymour, waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, and Anne
+     Boleyn was forced to the block to make room for her successor.
+     This romance is one of extreme interest to all readers.
+
+HORSESHOE ROBINSON. A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Carolina in
+1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.
+Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.
+
+     Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as
+     historical fiction, there are none which appeal to a larger
+     number of Americans than Horseshoe Robinson, and this because
+     it is the only story which depicts with fidelity to the facts
+     the heroic efforts of the colonists in South Carolina to defend
+     their homes against the brutal oppression of the British under
+     such leaders as Cornwallis and Tarleton.
+
+     The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the
+     thread of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of
+     detail concerning those times. The picture of the manifold
+     sufferings of the people, is never overdrawn, but painted
+     faithfully and honestly by one who spared neither time nor
+     labor in his efforts to present in this charming love story all
+     that price in blood and tears which the Carolinians paid as
+     their share in the winning of the republic.
+
+     Take it all in all, "Horseshoe Robinson" is a work which should
+     be found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most
+     entertaining story, but because of the wealth of valuable
+     information concerning the colonists which it contains. That it
+     has been brought out once more, well illustrated, is something
+     which will give pleasure to thousands who have long desired an
+     opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who have
+     tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they
+     might read it for the first time.
+
+THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND. A story of the Coast of Maine. By Harriet
+Beecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00.
+
+     Written prior to 1862, the "Pearl of Orr's Island" is ever new;
+     a book filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array
+     themselves anew each time one reads them. One sees the "sea
+     like an unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores
+     of Orr's Island," and straightway comes "the heavy, hollow moan
+     of the surf on the beach, like the wild angry howl of some
+     savage animal."
+
+     Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara,
+     which came into this world under the very shadow of the Death
+     angel's wings, without having an intense desire to know how the
+     premature bud blossomed? Again and again one lingers over the
+     descriptions of the character of that baby boy Moses, who came
+     through the tempest, amid the angry billows, pillowed on his
+     dead mother's breast.
+
+     There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than
+     that which Mrs. Stowe gives in "The Pearl of Orr's Island."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by
+the publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Commodore Barney's Young Spies, by James Otis
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMMODORE BARNEY'S YOUNG SPIES ***
+
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