CHAPTER XXII--A HIGH-HANDED PROCEEDING
"Had your watch been good, This sudden mischief never could have fallen."
--First Part Henry VI.
Had Peggy been in the lead she would have headed at once for the "GreatRaritan Road," a highway which ran down the valley of the river directlyto the town of New Brunswick, which lay but a few miles west of Amboy.Harriet, on the contrary, turned toward Bound Brook, and entered thedense wood which stood between that village and the hills.
"This is not the way to Amboy, Harriet," remonstrated Peggy.
"No," answered her cousin briefly. Then, after a moment: "'Tis the onlyway to get through the lines without the countersign. We must not talk."
"Hasn't thee the countersign?" asked Peggy, dismayed.
"No; don't talk, Peggy."
And Peggy, wondering much how with two horses they could pass thepickets unchallenged, relapsed into silence. But the lack of thepassword did not seem to daunt Harriet. She pushed ahead as rapidly aswas consistent with rough ground, thickly growing trees and underbrush,and the gloom of the forest. At length as they entered a shallow ravineHarriet drew rein, and, as Peggy came up beside her, she spoke:
"Are you afraid, Peggy?"
"No," replied Peggy, "but the stillness is monstrously wearing. And 'tisso dark, Harriet."
"Which is to our benefit," returned Harriet. "As for the quiet, once weare clear of the lines we can chat, and so will not mind it. But come!"
Again she took the lead, and Peggy, following after, could not butmarvel at the unerring precision with which her cousin chose her way.Not once did she falter or hesitate, though to Peggy the darkness andgloom of the forest seemed impenetrable.
The melancholy of the forest encompassed them, infolding them like amantle. It so wrought upon their senses that they reached out andtouched each other frequently, seeking to find solace from its broodingsadness. It seemed as though hours elapsed before Harriet spoke in themerest whisper:
"I think we are without the lines, Peggy. 'Tis about time, and now wecan seek the turnpike."
She had scarcely finished speaking when out of the darkness came theperemptory command:
"Halt! Who goes there?"
"Friends," answered Harriet, as the two obediently brought their horsesto a standstill.
In the darkness the shadowy form of the sentinel was but dimly visible,but a feeble ray of the pale moonlight caught the gleam of his musket,and Peggy saw with a thrill of fear that it was pointed directly towardHarriet.
"Advance, and give the countersign," came the order.
How it came about Peggy could not tell, but as he gave the command,Fleetwood reared suddenly upon his hind feet, and, pawing the air withhis forelegs and snorting viciously, advanced toward the guardthreateningly. An ominous click of the firelock sounded. Wild withterror at the sight, and fearful of what might happen, Peggy criedshrilly:
"Look sharp!"
"Why didn't you say so before?" growled the sentry lowering his gun."What's the matter with that horse?"
"I think he must have stepped among some thorn bushes," replied Harrietsweetly. "I will soon quiet him, friend. The underbrush is thickhereabouts."
"Too thick to be straying around in at night," he answered with someroughness. "That horse is enough to scare the British. What are youdoing in the woods? You are bound to lose your way."
"We have done that already," she told him with apparent frankness. Shehad succeeded by this time in quieting Fleetwood, who now resumed hisnormal position. By the merest chance they had stumbled upon thepassword, and she purposed making the most of it. "You see we were at aparty in the camp, and coming back my cousin and I thought to make ashort cut through the woods so as to get home quickly. We ought to havebeen there long ago, but 'twas a pretty little frisk, and we justcouldn't make up our minds to leave. You know how it is."
"Yes," he rejoined laughing good naturedly. "I know how 'tis. I've galsof my own. Well, you just get over to that road as fast as you can. 'Tisa half mile straight to your right. And say! if another sentinel asksfor the countersign speak right up. You're liable to get a ball if youdon't."
"Thank you," she said. "We will remember. Come, my cousin."
"You blessed Peggy!" she exclaimed as they passed beyond the hearing ofthe guard. "How did you chance upon that watchword?"
"I don't know," answered Peggy, who had not yet recovered herequanimity. "I meant to say, 'Look out!' I don't know how I came to saysharp. But what was the matter with Fleetwood? Was he among thorns?"
"Dear me, no! 'Tis a trick that I taught him. You do not know all hisaccomplishments. 'Twas well for that sentinel that he let us through.Wasn't it, old fellow?" And her laugh as she patted the animal was not apleasant one to hear.
Peggy shuddered. She would not like Star to be taught such tricks, shethought, giving the little mare a loving caress. She was beginning todoubt the wisdom of coming with Harriet. The girl appeared to know herway so well, to be so able to care for herself that there seemed no needfor Peggy to be along. But let her see her safely to a place where shecould reach her own people, and then Peggy resolved, with a quicktightening of the lips, nothing should ever induce her to put herselfinto such a plight again.
By this time the moon had gone down, and while the sky was not cloudedthere was a dim haze that rendered the light of the stars ineffectual indispelling the darkness. On they rode. The time seemed interminable toPeggy; the blackness of the night unbearable. The sudden snapping of adried twig under Star's feet caused her to start violently.
"Harriet," she cried, "naught is to be gained by keeping to the woods.The lines are passed. Let us get to the highway. We must make betterprogress if I am to get back before the reveille."
"That you will never do, Peggy," replied Harriet pointing to the sky."'Tis almost time for it now."
Peggy looked up in dismay. The gray twilight that precedes the dawn wasstealing over the darkness. The soldier's day began when the sentrycould see a thousand yards about him. Another hour would bring aboutjust that condition. It was clearly impossible for her to return beforethe sounding of the reveille.
"Does thee know where we are?" she asked. "And where is the road?"
"There is just a narrow strip of the woods betwixt us and the turnpike,Peggy," Harriet assured her. "It hath been so since we left the guard.We will get to it at once if it please you. As for where we are, weshould be getting to Perth Amboy soon."
"But why hath it taken so long?" queried Peggy.
"Because the brigades of Baron Steuben and General Wayne lay south ofthe Raritan, and we had to go around them. I did not tell you, Peggy,that 'twould take so long because I feared that you would not come. Itdoth not matter, doth it, what way I took to safety?"
"No," answered Peggy, touched by this allusion to her cousin's peril."It would have been fearful for thee to have come through the darknessalone, but oh, Harriet! I do wish thee had told me. Then I would haveleft a letter for mother, anyway. She will be so uneasy."
"Never mind!" consoled Harriet. "And then you may never see me again.Shall you care, Peggy?"
"Yes," answered Peggy soberly. "I will, but----" She paused and drew reinabruptly. "There are forms flitting about in the wood," she whispered."Does thee think they mean us harm?"
Harriet made no reply, but gazed intently into the forest. In theindistinct light the figures of mounted men could be seen moving likeshadows among the trees. That they were gradually approaching themaidens was evident. The girl watched them for a few seconds, and thenleaning forward gave a low, birdlike call. It was answered in kind onthe instant, and a half dozen horsemen dashed from the wood into thenarrow highway.
"Now am I safe," cried Harriet joyfully, reaching out her hand to theforemost of the men who gathered about them. "Captain Greyling, yourarrival is timely."
"We have waited many nights for you, Mistress Owen," said that officer."We began to th
ink that you might in very truth have become one of therebels. You are most welcome."
"Thank you," she cried gaily. "You are not more pleased to see me than Iam to be here. In truth, had I not succeeded in coming, I should nothave had another opportunity. 'Twas becoming very uncomfortable in camp.I have barely escaped I know not what fate. But more of that anon.Peggy, let me present Captain Greyling of De Lancy's Loyal Legion. Mycousin, Mistress Peggy Owen, Captain Greyling."
De Lancy's Loyal Legion! Peggy's cheek blanched at the name. This was abody of Tory cavalry, half freebooters and half in the regular service.Between New York and Philadelphia and the country surrounding bothplaces the name stood for all that was terrible and malignant in humannature. So stricken with terror was she that she could not return theofficer's salutation.
"Where lies the boat?" asked Harriet.
"Close to the bank of the river. The trees hide it. 'Tis but a shallopwhich will take us to the sloop which is in the bay outside Amboy. Themen will bring the horses by ferry."
"Very well," answered Harriet, preparing to dismount. "We are at the endof our long ride, Peggy. Are you not glad?"
"I am for thee," said Peggy, speaking quietly but filled with a vaguealarm. "As for me, I will bid thee farewell, and return to the camp."
She wheeled as she spoke, but instantly the mare's bridle was seized,and she was brought to a standstill.
"What is the meaning of this?" cried Peggy, her eyes flashing. "Thee issafe, Harriet. Call off thy friends. Thee knows that I must return."
"Dost think that I will part with you so soon, my cousin?" laughedHarriet mockingly. "Nay, nay; I have promised to bring you to New York.Best go peaceably, Peggy; for go you must."
"Never!" exclaimed Peggy, striking Star a sharp blow. The little marereared, plunged, pranced and wheeled in the effort to rid herself of thehold on her bridle, but vainly. Peggy uttered a piercing shriek as shewas torn from the saddle, and half dragged, half carried through thetrees down the bank to the boat which was drawn up close to the shore.Two of the men followed after the captain and Harriet. The latter seatedherself by Peggy's side, and placed her arm about her.
"'Twould have been better to come quietly," she said. "I meant youshould go back with me all the while. I could not bear to lose you,Peggy. I thought----"
But Peggy, her spirit up in arms, turned such a look of scorn upon hercousin that Harriet paused in her speech abruptly.
"Speak not to me of affection, Harriet Owen," she cried. "Thou artincapable of feeling it. Is there no truth to be found in any of thyfamily? Are ye all treacherous and dishonorable? Would that thou wert nokin of mine! Would that I had never seen thee, nor any of thy----"
Unable to continue, she burst into a passion of tears.
Peggy Owen, Patriot: A Story for Girls Page 24