Frank on a Gun-Boat
Page 10
CHAPTER X.
A Spunky Rebel.
In the afternoon of the day of their arrival, the Ticonderoga tied up infront of a large plantation-house. As soon as the vessel was made fast tothe bank, the captain turned to the executive officer, and exclaimed:
"Mr. Smith, please call away one company of small-armed men. Mr. Nelson,"he continued, turning to Frank, "I wish you to take command of thecompany, and go ashore and search that house for fire-arms, and bring onboard all you find."
"Very good, sir," answered Frank; and he hurried down to his room tobuckle on his sword and revolver.
In a few minutes the company was formed on deck, and Frank marched themout on the bank and then up to the house. His first care was to surroundthe building, so that, in case there were any men in it, their escapewould be entirely cut off. He then, in company with the boatswain's mateand two men, walked up and knocked at the door. After some delay, thesummons was answered by a negro woman, who scowled upon him, and waitedfor him to make known his wants.
"Is your master or mistress in?" inquired Frank.
"Yes, missus is h'ar," answered the woman, gruffly.
"Well, I should like to see her."
"Den you stay h'ar, an' I'll ax her if she wants to see you."
"No, aunty, that won't do. I must see her, whether she wants to see me ornot;" and Frank unceremoniously entered the house, followed by his men.
"Now, where is your mistress, aunty?" he inquired.
"She's up stairs," answered the woman.
"Well, then," said Frank, turning to the boatswain's mate, "you come withme, and let the others remain here until we return."
Frank then ascended the stairs, and very easily found his way to the roomwhere the lady was; and, as he entered, he politely removed his cap.
"Well, sir," said the lady, in no very pleasant tone, "what do you wish?"
"I have been ordered to come here and search your house for fire-arms,"replied Frank.
"I suppose I shall be obliged to submit to it, for I have not the power toprevent you; if I had, I should certainly use it. But, I hope you will begentleman enough not to steal every thing we have in the house."
Frank's face reddened to the very roots of his hair at this insult, and hereplied, in a voice choked with indignation:
"No, madam, we shall disturb nothing. I hope you do not take us forthieves;" and he turned and tried a door, (several of which opened off theroom in which the lady was sitting), but it was fastened on the otherside.
"That's a bed-room," exclaimed the lady, angrily. "I hope you are notgoing in there!"
"Certainly I am, madam. I am going into every nook and corner of yourhouse. My orders were to search your building, and I intend to obey them.Is there any one in here?"
"Yes, sir; my daughters are in there."
"Then, why don't they open this door?" and Frank, who was getting out ofpatience, pounded loudly upon the door with the butt of his revolver.
"Is that you, mother?" inquired a voice from the room.
"No," answered Frank, "it isn't mother; but open this door."
"Yes, in a minute."
"Open this door immediately," repeated Frank, who began to suspect that hehad been purposely delayed.
But the persons in the room made no reply; when the boatswain's mate, ata sign from Frank, raised his foot, and, with one kick of his heavy boot,sent the door from its hinges. Loud screams issued from the room, which,as Frank entered, he found to be occupied by two young ladies, who,judging from the overturned work-basket, and the half-finished articles ofapparel which were scattered about over the floor, had been engaged insewing.
"Don't be alarmed, ladies," said Frank, "you shall not be harmed. Jack,"he continued, turning to the boatswain's mate, "just examine that bed."
"Oh, don't," exclaimed one of the young ladies, "don't, for mercy's sake.Do go away from here."
"Ellen," exclaimed her mother, who had followed Frank into the room,"don't make a child of yourself. I am surprised at you."
"We shall leave every thing just as we find it," said Frank, who was agood deal surprised at the conduct of the girl. "All we want is thefire-arms, if you have any in the house."
"Yes, we have got some here," said Ellen, "and I will get them for you;"and she drew out from the bed-clothes two beautifully-finished rifles, aquantity of ammunition, a cavalry sword, and a double-barreled shot-gun."There," she exclaimed, as she handed them to Frank; "there are no more inthis room. Now, do go away."
"Ellen," said her mother, who was evidently very anxious about the girl'sconduct, "will you keep quiet?"
"Don't say any thing to him, Ellen," said her sister, whose name was Mary;"don't ask any favors of a Yankee. Let him stay here till doomsday if"--
She was interrupted by a loud scream from Ellen; and the mate, who hadbeen "reconnoitering" under the bed, exclaimed:
"Here you are! Come out o' that, you son of a sea-cook;" and he seizedsomething which struggled and fought furiously, but all to no purpose, forthe mate soon pulled into sight tall man, dressed in the uniform of arebel officer.
Ellen screamed and cried louder than ever, and even her mother could notrefrain from shedding tears; but Mary, although pale as death, retainedher haughty look, and was evidently too proud to manifest any feeling inthe presence of a Federal officer.
"I knowed there was something of this kind goin' on, sir," said Jack,turning to his officer, and giving his pants a hitch; "I knowed, by theway the young lady handed over them we'pons, that there was somethingabout that bed she didn't want us to see."
"Yes, Ellen," said the rebel, "I have to thank you for my capture. If ithadn't been for your crying and whimpering, I might have"--
"Escaped," exclaimed Jack. "No, sir; not so easy. Don't go to jawin' her,now, 'cause yer ketched. Come, now," he continued, "let's have yerwe'pons."
The rebel coolly handed out two silver-mounted revolvers, which the matethrust into his belt.
"Now, I hope you're satisfied," said Mary, impatiently; "and are ready togo and leave us in peace."
"Not quite," answered Frank. "I have not yet obeyed my orders. As I saidbefore, I must see the inside of every room in your house. Jack, send twomen on board the ship with that prisoner."
"Ay, ay, sir," answered the mate, touching his cap. "Come, you corn-fed,march."
The mother and sisters of the rebel crowded around him, to say good-by;and, in spite of the unladylike, and even insulting manner with which theyhad treated him, Frank could not help pitying them.
When the mate had seen the prisoner safe on the boat, he went back, andFrank continued his search. But no more weapons or prisoners being found,he and his men returned on board, well satisfied with their success.
After supper, as Frank was walking up and down the deck, arm in arm withone of his brother officers, the orderly approached, and, touching hiscap, informed him that the captain wished to see him.
"Mr. Nelson," said the captain, as Frank entered the cabin, "come here."
Frank followed the captain to one of the after windows, and the latterinquired:
"Do you see _that_?"
Frank looked in the direction indicated by the captain, and was surprisedto see a rebel flag floating from one of the windows of the house.
"Yes, sir; I see it," said Frank.
"Well, sir, go over there, and tell those women to have that flag taken inand sent on board this ship. Don't touch it yourself: they put it outthere, and they must take it in. That's a pretty piece of impudence,indeed--a rebel flag floating in the breeze in the face of a Federalvessel of war!" and the eccentric captain paced up and down his cabin, ina state of considerable excitement.
Frank started off, and in a few moments again stood before the mistress ofthe house.
"You're here again, sir, are you?" she asked, petulantly.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Frank, not the least annoyed by the tone in which hewas addressed, or the sharp glances which the ladies threw at him, "I'mhere; and I
came to tell you that the captain wishes you to have thatrebel flag removed from your window, and sent on board the ship."
"Is there any thing else your captain wants?" inquired Mary, with asneer.
"No, ma'am, not at present; but he wishes that flag taken downimmediately."
The ladies made no reply. After a moment's pause, Frank inquired:
"Do you intend to comply with his orders?"
"I did not put the flag up there," said the mother.
"It makes no difference who put it up there, madam," said Frank, warmly,"it must come down; and I would advise you not to hesitate long, for thecaptain is not one who can be trifled with."
As Frank ceased speaking, Mary touched a signal-bell, which stood on thetable near her. A servant appeared almost instantly, and the young ladysaid:
"Show this man out."
Frank, who saw that it would do no good to remain, put on his cap andfollowed the servant down stairs.
"Well, what did they say?" inquired the captain, when Frank again enteredthe cabin.
"They didn't say any thing, sir," replied Frank. "They neither said theywould, nor they would not, take it down."
Frank was careful not to say a word about the manner in which they hadtreated him, for he knew it would only irritate the captain, and makematters worse.
"They didn't say whether they would take it down or not, eh!" exclaimedthe captain. "Please help yourself to a chair, Mr. Nelson, and, in a fewmoments, I will give you your orders."
Frank accordingly took a seat, and the captain stationed himself at thewindow, with his watch in his hand. Frank knew by this that the captainhad granted the rebels a few moments' grace; and he also knew that, unlessthe flag came down soon, and was sent on board the vessel, somethingunpleasant would happen. At length the allotted time expired, and thecaptain said:
"Mr. Nelson, take a dozen men, and go ashore. Give those women just tenminutes to remove their furniture, and then fire the house. No buildingshall float a secesh flag, and stand, while I have the power to burn it."
This time the ladies made no remark when Frank entered the room where theywere sitting, for they knew by his looks that they were about to receivethe punishment their folly merited.
"Madam," said Frank, speaking in a tone which showed how much he dreadedto break the intelligence, "I am ordered to burn your house."
"Yes," answered the mother, bitterly; "I expected that to be your nexterrand. I suppose your brutal captain will feel perfectly satisfied whenhe sees us deprived of a home."
"I thought the Yankees were too gallant to make war on women andchildren," chimed in Mary. "That has always been their boast," continuedshe, very spitefully.
"So they are," replied Frank. "But the captain is one who will nottolerate an exhibition of treason in any one, be it man, woman, or child.You have no one to blame but yourselves. But we have no time to waste inargument. I will give you ten minutes in which to remove your furnitureand will assist you, if you wish it."
"We can take care of ourselves," said the mother. "No one asked you forassistance."
Frank made no reply; and the ladies, assisted by their servants,immediately commenced the removal of the most valuable articles; and whenthe time had expired, a straw-bed was pulled into the middle of the floor,a match was applied to it, and the house was soon enveloped in flames.
Frank could not help pitying the women, who were thus obliged to stand byand witness the destruction of their home. But he knew that they hadbrought it on themselves, and that they deserved it; and, besides, he hadonly done his duty, for he was acting under orders.
The women, however, did not seem to be in the least concerned; for whenthe roof fell in with a crash, Mary commenced the rebel air, "Bonnie BlueFlag," and sang it through to the end. Frank admired her "spunk," eventhough her sympathies were enlisted in a bad cause.
He remained until the house was entirely consumed, and then returned onboard his vessel.