CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
SENT TO HAMPTON WITH FLAG OF TRUCE.--VISIT MY FRIENDS.--DISAPPOINTMENT.--A FORAGING EXPEDITION, IN WHICH I OBTAIN A PRONG IN THELEG INSTEAD OF HONOUR.--A DISASTROUS ONE MADE BY MY SHIPMATES.--A SECONDTRIP TO HAMPTON.--ATTEMPTS ON MY LOYALTY.--EXPEDITION PROPOSED UNDERARNOLD.--O'DRISCOLL ACCOMPANIES ME ON A TRIP UP THE RIVER TO WARNMADELINE.--MEET COLONEL CARLYON.--NARROW ESCAPE ON OUR RETURN.
I was to have, I found, very little time for rest or reflection. This,I dare say, was the better for me. Scarcely had I breakfasted when Iwas again sent for to be despatched, as I was told, on special service.My satisfaction, however, was great indeed when I found that I was to bethe bearer of a flag of truce to Hampton, with a letter to the patriot,or, as we called him, the rebel general commanding the district.
I was quickly ready to start. I should now be able to send a message toMadeline, to assure her of my safety, and perhaps to make arrangementsto keep up a regular communication with her. On one point only was Isomewhat puzzled. How could I speak of her without allowing it to besuspected that she had given me the warning by which I had escaped fromthe trap laid to catch me? I had heard of the stern treatment any ofthe rebels had received who had been found guilty of treachery towardstheir party, even from General Washington himself, and I knew not whatconstruction might be put on Madeline's conduct should it be discovered.I determined, therefore, at all events to be very cautious how I spokeof having met her. These thoughts occupied my mind till I landed. Ithen hired a horse and a guide, and proceeded with Tom Rockets only asmy companion, mounted on rather a sorry jade, towards Hampton. Therewere not many white men to be seen on the road. The negroes doffedtheir hats and always addressed me in a civil and friendly way.
Without any adventure I reached Hampton. Having then delivered mydespatches I sought out the house of my new friends, the Langtons, whereI hoped that I should be able to wait till the reply was ready. As soonas I entered the house I was shown into the drawing-room, where theladies received me with the greatest kindness. Mrs Langton assured methat, from the way I had treated the inhabitants of Hampton the othernight, I should always be received there as a friend. They insisted onhaving dinner got ready at once for me, and I found that they werecollecting all sorts of eatables sufficient to load my horse as well asRockets and our guides, which they thought might prove useful.
They had heard, I found, nothing of my expedition up the Nansimondriver, and as no one could know that I was one of those engaged in it, Iconsidered it prudent to say nothing about the matter, and I trustedthat Madeline would remember that, unless she betrayed her secret, noneof her friends were likely to discover it. In the course ofconversation her cousins spoke frequently of her, and I sent her severalmessages. I hoped by their tenor that she would understand that I hadnot mentioned our having met. My great hope was that Mrs Langton,guessing how things stood, would invite her to come to Hampton, and thatI might thus have the opportunity of meeting her, should I again be senton shore with a flag of truce. None but those who have been knockingabout for months and years together at sea among rough uncivilised mencan fully appreciate the satisfaction which a sailor feels in spending afew brief hours under the soothing influence of refined female society.
It was with a feeling of undisguised annoyance that at last I receivedmy despatches and had to mount my horse to return. No one would havesupposed, as my friends bade me farewell, that I was serving on the sideof their enemies, and yet I am certain that no more sincere patriotswere to be found in America, only they had the sense not to confound theindividual with the cause with which circumstances compelled him toside.
The army, with their guns, ammunition, and stores, had now safelydisembarked, and were on their march up the banks of James river. Thefirst lieutenant of the Charon, with a detachment of our men, hadaccompanied them. I was therefore selected in his place to take commandof a party consisting of a hundred seamen and marines from the differentships of war, and to go on shore and forage for the squadron. Themarines were commanded by a Lieutenant Brown, and I had two navylieutenants besides under me. No duty I could have been ordered toperform would have been more distasteful, yet I had no choice but toobey and carry it out to the best of my ability. Having landed atNewportneuse, we began our march at eight o'clock in the morning intoElizabeth County. Not having been brought up like some of my Highlandfriends in the art of levying black mail on my lowland neighbours, Icould not help feeling as if I had suddenly turned into a robber when Ifound myself entering a farm-yard, and, without a word of explanation,quietly collecting the cattle and pigs, or sheep or poultry, and drivingthem off. We marched about ten miles inland as rapidly as we could, andthen, facing about, swept the country before us. On espying a farm wesurrounded it, and then, rushing in, we took prisoners all the negroeswe could find, and made them drive out the cattle and sheep. The pigsand poultry we killed and placed them in some carts, which, with thehorses, we carried off. Having possessed ourselves of everything ofvalue in the farm, notwithstanding the indignant protestations of thefarmer's wife, for the farmer himself was away with the army, I suspect,we proceeded onto the next farm. This was owned by an old man withseveral sons, we were informed by one of the negroes. The sons were allfine young men, and were either in the militia or belonging to someirregular troops. We expected to find only the old man at home, but aswe drew near the outbuildings a fire was opened on us from someloop-holes in the walls. As I had no fancy to have my men shot down Iled them rapidly round to the front and charged into the farm-yard, oversome slight barricades which had been hastily thrown up. At the samemoment a dozen to twenty men rushed out of some sheds on one side andattempted to drive off a herd of cattle from a pen near at hand. I,with Rockets and some of my people, followed them so closely that theywere compelled to leave the cattle to defend themselves. Most of themseemed inclined to continue their flight, but an old man, whom I took tobe the owner of the farm, exerted himself to rally them, and shouting,"On, friends, on! Drive back the robbers!" charged up towards us. Iwas rather ahead of my men. Some of his people fired. I suspect themuskets of the rest were not loaded. Before I had time to defend myselfthe old man had his bayonet through my leg, and had I not used mycutlass pretty smartly the rest would have finished me or carried me offprisoner before my men could come to my rescue. When they did come up,they quickly put the rebels to flight, and I was not sorry to find thathis friends had dragged off the brave old man without his receiving anyinjury. We were taught a lesson by this, to be more cautious in futurewhen plundering the farms, lest they might be found fortified andprepared to receive us. My wound was bad enough to prevent me fromwalking. Hunting about, we found a horse and a saddle fitted to him, bywhich means I was able to continue my progress. On arriving at severalfarms we found that, although no attempt was made to defend them, allthe cattle had been driven off and the pigs and poultry concealed. Nowand then the grunting of a pig or the cackling of a hen betrayed thedust-hole or cellar in which they were imprisoned. The men were, inmost instances, absent, but the women seldom failed to abuse us in nomeasured terms for our behaviour, nor could I help feeling that wedeserved everything, that was said against us. My men, I must say,behaved very well. In no instance did they offer any violence to thevillagers, and when they were abused they only laughed and retaliatedwith jokes, which, if not refined, were harmless.
We continued our foraging labours, (some people might have called themour depredations), till about three o'clock in the afternoon, when Ijudged that it was necessary to commence our retreat. From theexperience I had gained I felt pretty certain that we should be harassedon our march by the enemy. I therefore formed my people in the bestorder I could for defence. Our six butchers, with their axes, saws, andknives, marched ahead as an advanced guard. We had collected in allfifty-seven head of cattle and forty-two sheep. These were driven bythirty negroes and closely surrounded by the seamen, who formed thecentre. In the rear came the marines to cover our retr
eat, while oneach flank I placed four marines, who were occasionally relieved fromthe rear. Brown laughed at my precautions, and said that they wereabsurd and useless, and so I found did my lieutenants, but I knew that Iwas right, and kept to my plan.
Had the country been open our progress would have been easy, but insteadof that it was thickly wooded, so that our order of march was constantlybroken. I kept riding about, doing all I could to keep the people andthe cattle together; but every now and then where the wood was thickestI could see an ox, or a cow, and a couple of sheep, slyly impelled by acunning negro, stealing away between the trees; and perhaps, while Isent some of the seamen in pursuit of them, others would break away inan opposite direction. Of course, when the negroes were overtaken, theyalways pretended to be endeavouring by lusty strokes to drive theanimals back to us, and there was little use in attempting to punishthem. Besides this inconvenience, every now and then, whenever we hadto pass any hilly or broken ground behind which an enemy could findshelter, we were certain to be saluted with a shower of rifle-balls. Atfirst I attempted to retaliate by sending some of the marines inpursuit, but by the time they got up to the spot from whence the shotswere fired no enemy was to be seen, and I was only too glad to get themback without having them cut off. This showed me that our enemies,though persevering, were not numerous.
Considering all the difficulties I had to encounter, it is notsurprising that when we arrived at the place of embarkation our stockhad been reduced to forty-three head of cattle, with a proportionatediminution in our sheep, though our two carts with the pigs and poultryarrived all safe. We embarked at seven o'clock in the evening on boardsome vessels sent to carry us and the result of our foraging expedition,to our respective ships. I had not lost a man, and with the exceptionof my own hurt, no one was wounded. I felt sure that my success wasattributable to the dispositions I had made, and the careful way I hadeffected my retreat, and that seeing me so well prepared to receive themhad prevented the enemy from attacking me. I expressed myself to thiseffect when I returned on board, but was only laughed at for my pains,and asked what I had to fear from a few despicable rebel boors, whom avolley would in an instant put to flight.
"Very well," said I. "If any of you have to perform the same work, anddo not take similar precautions, depend on it you will have to rue yourneglect."
"Oh, nonsense," was the answer. "We know what the fellows are made of.They are not worth powder and shot."
Greatly to my annoyance, the very next day I was again directed to landwith the same number of men for the same object. It was satisfactory toknow that the way I conducted the expedition was approved of, but yet Iwould gladly have got off the duty. Just then, finding that a flag oftruce was to be sent to Hampton, I solicited the commodore to allow meto go on that service.
"Yes," he replied. "The inhabitants are acquainted with you; and whenyou make your appearance they will understand our dispositions arefriendly."
I was much flattered by this compliment, and still more pleased to gainthe object I had in view. The commodore told me to direct LieutenantFallock, second lieutenant of the Iris, to take charge of the foragingparty in my place. I earnestly advised him to use the same precautionsI had on the previous day, assuring him, from the experience I had hadin the numerous expeditions I had commanded in America, that the peoplewould never attack a force if well prepared for resistance, and that thewise principle the people adopted was only to fight when they couldobtain some material advantage. Fallock smiled scornfully. I foundthat Lieutenant Brown of the marines had been talking to him and tellinghim of my over-cautious and tedious way of retreating, as he called it.I found afterwards that Brown had advised him to take only forty marinesas amply sufficient to defeat any number of the enemy likely to assembleto attack them. The officers who had accompanied me had also told himthat, as we had not seen more than twenty rebels in arms at a time, hewas not at all likely to encounter more than that number, though it wasimprobable that any would venture to attack him. Having urged the pointas strongly as I could, I proceeded on my mission while Fallock and hisparty prepared for their expedition.
"Don't be afraid, Hurry," said Brown, whom I met as I went down theside, "we shall return in whole skins, and bring you back a good supplyof beef and mutton."
I hired a horse and proceeded as before, without any particularadventure, to Hampton. Having delivered my message to the properauthorities I went to the Langtons.
I own that as I approached the house my heart beat many times quickerthan usual, for I could not help persuading myself that Madeline mighthave gone there. When the door was opened by the black servant I triedto discover by his countenance whether my hopes were likely to berealised.
"Is there anybody here?" I asked with a trembling voice.
"Oh, yes; dere be all do young ladies and Madame Langton all at home.Glad see you, sare," was the answer I got.
I did not venture to ask more. The drawing-room door was opened. Iheld my breath. Her likeness was there, but she was not. I dared notask for her, and I too soon found that my hopes were vain.
I found myself, however, received by the family as an old friend. Theyhad heard from Madeline. She had, with the wisdom which I felt surebelonged to her, not mentioned having seen me. They had, however, fromother sources heard of the expedition up the Nansimond river, and of thecourteous way, as they expressed it, in which the English had behavedwhile in possession of Mrs Elbank's house. It was reported, however,naturally enough, that though the boats had got off, nearly all thepeople in them had been killed or wounded. I assured my friends that onthis point they were under a mistake; but as I did not like to dwell onthe subject for fear of betraying myself, I left them still unconvincedthat they were in error.
As I was wishing my friends good-bye, a gentleman came in to whom I wasintroduced. When he heard who I was, he begged that I would delay mydeparture for a few minutes, saying that he would have the pleasure ofaccompanying me part of the way. Having delivered a message to theLangtons he left the house, requesting that I would remain till hisreturn. His name, my friends told me, was Sutton, and they added thathe was a friend of Colonel Carlyon's. When I heard this, all sorts ofideas rushed into my head, and I could not help hoping that the meetingwould be productive of some important consequence, yet how that was tobe I could not tell. Mr Sutton soon returned booted and spurred for ajourney.
"Perhaps I may go farther than I at first proposed," he observed, as wemounted and rode out of the town. "I am glad to meet you, Mr Hurry,for I have heard of you for some time past, and you have won the regardof many patriots by the way in which you have on several occasionsbehaved towards those who have fallen into your power. I, with thesentiments I entertain, can only wish that you served a better cause, atthe same time that I would not seek to induce you, as an officer bearinghis Majesty's commission, to swerve from the allegiance you owe him."
When Mr Sutton said this I could not help feeling that he wished to tryme, so I considered some time before I replied. I then said--
"This barbarous war must some day be brought to an end, and then withoutany sacrifice of principle I may be able not only to express thefeelings I entertain for the people of America, but to act according tothem."
"Well said, sir," he answered; "we must all eagerly look forward to thattime, and, from the way you speak, I feel sure that no temptations wouldinduce you to quit the cause you serve, however much you may sympathisewith those opposed to it."
"I trust not, sir," said I firmly. "The path of honour is a very clearone; I have always endeavoured to walk in it."
"I know you have, and perhaps you may wonder why I just now volunteeredto accompany you. Thus far I will tell you: I wished to make youracquaintance, and I also considered that I might be of some service toyou. Although you bear a flag of truce, so great is the exasperationagainst all those serving in arms under the traitor Arnold, that Ithought it possible you might be insulted, if not injured, by some ofthe more ign
orant country people."
I thanked Mr Sutton for his kindness, though I suspected that he hadother reasons for wishing to accompany me which he did not explain. Ofcourse I could not ask them. He did not mention the names of eitherColonel Carlyon or his daughter, and, much as I longed to do so, I couldnot bring myself to speak of them to one who to me, at all events, was aperfect stranger. He soon also began to talk of affairs in general, andproved himself a very well-informed man and an entertaining companion.I could not help fancying at times that he was endeavouring to draw meout, and to assure himself of what my sentiments really were. We passedseveral parties of armed men, but when they saw him they doffed theirhats, or saluted him in military style, with every mark of respect.When within about a mile of our usual landing-place he reined in hishorse.
"I can go no farther with you," he said; "I have no wish to fall intothe power of any of Arnold's followers. Farewell, Mr Hurry. We maymeet again, perhaps, before long, and when we meet I trust that it willbe as we now part--as friends."
I made a suitable reply; and then, turning his horse's head, he put theanimal into a full gallop, and was soon out of sight. It was late whenI got on board. A gloom, such as is always felt after a disaster hasoccurred hung over the ship. The foraging party, or rather a remnant ofthem, had just returned. They had a melancholy tale to tell. MrFallock had taken the same road I had gone on my expedition, and hadsucceeded in collecting a considerable number of cattle, sheep, pigs andpoultry--indeed, forage of all sorts. All went successfully with himand his party till they commenced their return. Instead, however, ofmarching in the proper order I had proceeded, the cattle were not keptwell together, and the men were allowed to scatter about, and, when anyof the animals strayed, to follow them to a considerable distance fromthe main body. The seamen and marines thought it very good fun, andwent shouting and laughing along, the officers totally forgetting thatthey were in an enemy's country. They had proceeded some few mileswithout being molested, and were congratulating themselves on their ownwisdom, and on my folly in having taken so many unnecessary precautions,when suddenly the crack of a rifle was heard--then another and another--and a band of horsemen were seen galloping up and cutting down thestragglers, who in vain attempted to make a successful resistance.Lieutenant Brown, calling to the men near him, charged the enemy, butthe horsemen, wheeling about, left the ground clear for a body offootmen, who, as he advanced, opened a heavy fire on him. He was seento fall, as were many of those with him; the rest attempted to fly, butthe horsemen were upon them, and, with the exception of one man who gotback to the main body, they were all cut down, or compelled to yieldthemselves prisoners. Another small party had, in the meantime,attacked the rest of the stragglers, and had prevented them from fallingback on the main body, while the greater part of the cattle weredispersed and driven off. Lieutenant Fallock had, while this was goingforward, called in all the remaining seamen and marines round him, andpresented as bold a front as he could to the enemy. In spite of hisdiminished numbers, and the feeling that he had been, in consequence ofhis own want of forethought and foolhardiness, surprised by an enemy hedespised, he fought with the greatest coolness and bravery. Even innumbers he saw that the Americans were inferior to what his party hadbeen at the commencement of the attack, but now he had lost several ofthe seamen and the greater part of the marines, and the people with himwere falling thickly from the bullets of the concealed riflemen. Hisonly chance of escape was to retreat in close order, and as rapidly ashe could till he got out of the wood. This he did, facing about, anddelivering his fire whenever an enemy appeared. Outside the wood hemade a bold stand, and drove back his foes, keeping up a hot fire onthem till he found that his ammunition was almost expended. Then oncemore he retreated. He had escaped without a hurt, though several shotshad passed through his clothes, and many of his people were wounded.With the remnant he at last succeeded in reaching the landing-place,where the boats were in waiting for him.
The next day, when I went on shore to inquire for Brown, I found that hehad just died of his wounds. Nine marines were killed, eleven weretaken prisoners unhurt, and several more were found on the groundwounded, while of those who got off very few escaped unhurt. Such wasthe termination of this foraging expedition--the disaster arisingentirely from the folly of the officers, who would persist, as many hadbefore done, in despising their enemy, and refusing to take the properprecautions to guard against surprise. This is only one of manyinstances of a similar folly which I observed throughout the Americanwar. I speak of military officers especially. There is something inthe character of Englishmen which makes them over-confident andfoolhardy, and they will require to be taught by some very severelessons before they learn the importance of caution. This want ofcaution in an officer, when entrusted with the lives of brave men, is avery great fault, and shows great folly and an unfitness for command.The vice, I am happy to say, is not so prevalent generally in the navy.Most spirited and dashing enterprises are undertaken, and aresuccessful, for the very reason that forethought is employed and properprecautions are taken to ensure success. Young officers are too apt tomistake want of caution for spirit and bravery, and to despise those whoare careful and anxious for the lives as well as for the health of thoseentrusted to their care. I am now an old man, but I find thesesentiments penned in my journal, written at the time of the occurrence Ihave described, and they have been still more and more impressed by theexperience of fifty years. Since then a long, long catalogue ofmelancholy disasters might be chronicled, all contributing to sully theglory of the British arms, which have arisen from those two causes--theneglect of proper precaution, and a foolish conceited contempt of theenemy.
Where a subject is matter of history I need but briefly touch on it andI have therefore often skimmed over subjects of far more importance thanthose I have described. I will now give a sketch of the proceedings ofthe troops under General Arnold, and the mode in which the ships of warwere employed in assisting them. Having marched up James river,supported by some small ships of war, as I have before mentioned, thegeneral reached Burds Landing on the 6th of January, and from thence,with only fifteen hundred men, pushed on to Richmond, the capital ofVirginia--a distance of no less than one hundred and forty miles fromthe Capes of Virginia. He defeated all the forces sent against him, andarriving in that city, destroyed or brought off large quantities ofstores, provisions, ammunition and some guns and stand of arms,returning to Burds Landing with the loss only of three killed andfifteen wounded. This was one of the most important expeditionsundertaken into the interior of the country, for all the stores I havementioned were destined for the supply of the southern army of therebels opposing Lord Cornwallis in the Carolinas. It was followed up onthe 12th by an expedition headed by Colonel Simcoe, who with his owncorps surprised two hundred rebel militia and killed or took prisonersabout fifty of them. On the 14th the troops moved to the town ofSmithfield, where they captured forty hogs-heads of tobacco. On the15th the troops evacuated Smithfield, and the squadron moved down toNewportneuse. On the following day that very active officer, ColonelSimcoe, was engaged in a skirmish with the rebels, the result of whichwas that he made prisoners of an officer and fifteen privates of amilitia regiment. The occupation of Portsmouth had now, I found, beendetermined on. It stands on a southern branch of that estuary calledHampton Roads, into which James river empties itself. Between it andSmithfield is the Nansimond river with Mackey's Mills situated on itsbank, about half-way up, while higher still on the West Branch was thehouse belonging to Mr Elbank, where I found Miss Carlyon on the night Iand my party so narrowly escaped being cut off. The moment the aboveinformation reached me, and I ascertained the direction the army was tomarch, I became alarmed lest they should pass near Mr Elbank's houseand take possession of it. I knew too well what had occurred on formeroccasions, and if it was known to have been occupied by Colonel Carlyon,it would too probably be destroyed, and the inmates alarmed andinconvenienced, if not insulted and injur
ed. I had every reason tobelieve that Miss Carlyon was still there with her friends, unless ourvisit to the place had been a warning to them to quit it. What could Ido to save her? I thought rapidly over the subject. I was not long incoming to a resolution. I must find some means of communicating withher. Could I trust any one with the message? No--at every risk I mustgo myself. Any personal danger was of course not to be taken intoconsideration, and I reflected that the cause I served could, not beinjured by any information I could give her. Besides this, in a publicpoint of view, I and those under my command, in our late expedition upthe Nansimond, owed her a debt of gratitude for the warning she hadgiven us, which we, to the best of our power, were bound to repay.Sometimes I thought that I would go openly to the commodore and ask hisleave to go up the river to Mr Elbank's, and then again I was afraidthat by some means or other Miss Carlyon's name might become known, andthat her party might hear that she had given the information by which mycompanions and I had been preserved from the ambush laid for us. Thatwould expose her to an annoyance to which I would on no account subjecther. I easily persuaded myself that I alone could properly go. Perhapsthe prospect of seeing her biassed me. I knew that I could depend onassistance. Although O'Driscoll had been less cordial with me since thenight of our expedition, in consequence of the way I had spoken to him,I knew that he would be delighted to accompany me if I asked him; so ofcourse would Tom Rockets. We had picked up, some time before, a light,fast-pulling canoe, which a couple of hands could send along at a greatrate. The use of this I could command. How to get leave to quit theship for a night was the difficulty. Without leave I could not go.Neither would I tell a falsehood to obtain leave. I resolved,therefore, to go frankly to Captain Symonds, to plead my constant goodconduct, and to beg that he would trust me and O'Driscoll and one manaway from the ship to carry out a matter of importance. I went to himaccordingly. He hesitated a good deal, as I knew he would. He asked tohave the matter more fully explained to him. I told him that I wouldrather not explain it--that should it fail, no blame might be attachedto him.
"There must be blame if I allow you to leave the ship ignorant of whereyou are going, and any ill results from your expedition," he answered.
I saw that he was right.
"Well, sir, then, as you desire it, I will tell you my object, and leaveit to your generosity to allow me to accomplish it," I answered, liftingup my head and looking boldly at him, for I felt relieved of adifficulty. I told him briefly the state of the case.
"I do not hesitate a moment in giving you leave, and for such an objectwill gladly share the blame, if blame there be," he replied with awell-satisfied look.
It was amusing to witness O'Driscoll's delight at the thoughts of theexpedition.
"Arrah! now, that's just as it should be!" he exclaimed; "and, my dearboy, now, if you could but clap the sweet girl into the boat and pulloff with her, you'd be placing her out of danger, plaising yourself anddoing the right thing."
I did not argue the subject with him, as I had already done so in vain,but I let him run on. From the alacrity with which he set about ourpreparations it might have been supposed that he was the person mostinterested in the result. A light boat was easily procured. Rocketswas of course ready to accompany us. We resolved to go without arms,but to wear our uniforms that we might not be accused of being spies. Iwrote a letter, which I kept in my pocket, addressed to Colonel Carlyon,informing him that my object in visiting the house where he was residingwas to request him to remove his family and friends from it, lest itshould become the scene of strife between the contending parties.Should we be taken prisoners I intended to show this and to claim hisassistance to obtain our release. We left the ship early in theevening, and with a fair wind our light skiff flew quickly over thewater towards the mouth of the Nansimond river. I never saw O'Driscollin such high feather. Had I been inclined to be in low spirits he wouldhave kept them up. Commend me to such a companion in all cases of thissort, he joked, he told good stories, he sang and rattled on withoutcessation. It was sufficiently dark when we neared the mouth of theriver to enable us, with our sail lowered, to enter without much chanceof being seen from the shore. Though the wind was fair, of course afterthat we could not venture to carry sail, so we took it by turns to steerwhile the other two pulled. Lights were glimmering in Nansimond as wepassed, but we gave the town a wide berth, and then had little toapprehend except from a stray boat, till we got up to Mackey's Mills.We kept a sharp look-out, to avoid any boat crossing or coming down thestream. As we glided by the mills we could hear voices of peoplespeaking in them, but we kept near the opposite bank, and no one, wefancied, saw us. Of course our oars were muffled, and as we sat as lowas we could in our little boat, very sharp eyes would have been requiredto make us out. As long as there was a flood-tide we got on very well,but it was high water before we got to Mackey's Mills, and in a shorttime a strong current set against us. It was hard work in some spotspulling against it; not that I minded that, but I was anxious to hurryon to perform my mission and to assure myself that Miss Carlyon hadretired to a place of safety. We had just got into the broader part ofthe stream, when, as I peered through the darkness ahead, I fancied Isaw a large object coming right down upon us. I instantly steered theboat over to the north shore, and in a whisper told O'Driscoll andRockets to cease pulling. I was but just in time, for immediately aftera large boat full of people hove in sight. We could hear them talking,and we made out that they expected an attack that very night from theEnglish. Had they seen us they would probably have supposed we had beensent in advance, and would have shot us all down. The circumstancesmade us consider how we should manage to return, for they wouldcertainly be on the look-out for us. Other boats also would be comingdown, which we might have some difficulty in avoiding. Still, what Ihad undertaken I was determined to accomplish. We pulled on withoutstopping. No other boat was seen. At length we reached what webelieved to be the place where we had landed on the night when I had metMiss Carlyon. I knew it by the peculiar outline of the trees--otherwiseit might have been easily passed. O'Driscoll agreed with me that I wasright; so, running in under the bank, we effectually concealed our boatin the bushes, and, clambering up, stood on the open ground with thehouse we were in search of at no great distance from us. After a shortconsultation O'Driscoll consented to remain near the boat with Rockets,while I proceeded alone to the house. If I was well received I was tosummon him. My heart beat pretty fast as I approached the door. It didnot occur to me till my hand was actually on the knocker that it wasnearly midnight, and that in all probability the family would be in bed.However, I knocked with tolerable distinctness, and then waited theresult. I saw lights gleaming at the windows, and before long a voicein negro accents asked who was there and what was wanted.
"A messenger with important information for Colonel Carlyon or hisdaughter," I answered. "I come alone, as a friend, tell your master."
"Admit him," said a voice.
The door was opened and I entered. Before me stood an officer inuniform, with a brace of pistols in his belt and a sword by his side,evidently prepared for service. I threw open my own cloak to show whatI was, and followed the officer into a well-lighted room on one side ofthe passage. Supper was on the table, and another gentleman was in theroom. I instantly recognised him as my companion on my ride fromHampton.
"Ah, Mr Hurry, I am glad to see you!" he exclaimed in a cordial tone,stretching out his hand. "I little expected to meet you again so soon.What brings you here?"
Now I was prepared to warn Miss Carlyon and her lady friends of danger,but I had no intention of giving information to a stranger of themovements of the British army. I felt myself placed at once in adilemma. I need have had no scruples on the subject, as the enemy oftenknew as much about the matter as anybody else. I hesitated beforereplying.
"I came to give some information to Colonel Carlyon, on which I expectedthat he and his daughter only would act," I answered. "I ha
ve never metColonel Carlyon. Do I see him now?"
"You do," said the officer to whom I had first spoken. "I am ColonelCarlyon, and I am glad to welcome you, sir, to thank you for theinestimable service you have more than once rendered those dearest tome. Whatever you have to communicate you may say freely before thisgentleman, my most intimate friend."
Feeling that I might trust to them, I, without further delay, told themthe object of my adventure.
"You have not come alone, though," he remarked, after thanking mecordially for the information I had given him.
I told him that O'Driscoll and Rockets were waiting for me at the boat.He insisted on sending for them, and in a very short time they madetheir appearance, and while the negro took care of my follower, we weresoon pleasantly seated at supper. I, as may be supposed, was hopingthat I might have an opportunity of seeing Madeline. At last I musteredcourage to ask for her. Her father hesitated, I thought, before hereplied. At length he said--
"Yes, she will indeed wish to thank you personally for the risk you haverun, and the exertion you have made for her sake; but I know not whetheryour meeting can be productive of advantage to either of you. A widegulf separates one from the other. I know not how it can be crossed. Iwould rather, sir, that you would not insist on this interview."
He spoke, it seemed to me, in a stiff and constrained manner. I couldonly repeat what I had before said to Madeline. "This war must beforelong come to an end, and then I will come and claim her for my wife," Ianswered boldly.
"Well spoken, sir," said Mr Sutton, turning to me. "With my opinions,I can only regret that you have to wait till the war is terminated. Ican answer for it that Madeline would not forgive us if we sent you awaywithout letting you see her. When you have finished supper, if you gointo the drawing-room, you will probably find her there."
My heart gave a jump, and as to putting another mouthful down my throatI found it impossible. I got up and hurried into the room I had beforemet her in. She was there. The old negro had taken good care to tellher of my arrival. I will not describe our meeting, and all we said,and the hopes we indulged in. I was amply repaid for what I had donefor her sake. Her father and Mr Sutton were, I found, about to starton some expedition, but the news I brought them made them alter theirplans. The time too soon arrived that I must take my departure. It waswith a pang I left her, not knowing when the uncertain chances of warwould again allow us to meet.
"Remember, should you ever desire to quit the standard you now serveunder, you will be welcomed in a land of freedom, and we shall notexpect you to turn your arms against your former comrades," said MrSutton, as he wished me farewell.
I felt very much inclined to quarrel with him for the remark. Itsounded strangely like asking me to turn traitor to my country, and Iwas glad that Colonel Carlyon did not repeat the remarks of his friend.We left the family about to prepare for their departure in the morning,while we returned to the river. O'Driscoll said nothing till we hadonce more taken our seats in the boat, and then he expressed hisdisappointment at what he called the tameness of the result of ourexpedition.
"Arrah, now, I thought we should have had some little fun at allevents," he exclaimed. "I was waiting to see you appear with the ladyin your arms, and to have the old colonel with his pistols popping awayafter us while we were pulling like fury for life and liberty down theriver; and after all to have it end in a quiet pleasant supper, and somematter-of-fact conversation, is very provoking. However, your friendsgave us some capital Burgundy, and that is some consolation."
In this strain the eccentric Hibernian ran on till I had to hint that itwould be wiser not to speak, lest we might be overheard by any of theenemy. He then told me that Colonel Carlyon and Mr Sutton had givenhim a pass that, should we fall in with any of their party, we might notbe stopped. We, however, proceeded as cautiously as before, for we hadno wish that our expedition should become known. We got as far asMackey's Mills without meeting with any adventure. As before, we gaveit a wide berth, for we could hear the sound of voices, and it appearedevidently occupied by a body of men. However, as long as they all kepttalking together they were less likely to discover us. We paddled,therefore, quickly and cautiously on, but without any apprehension ofbeing found out. We had almost lost sight of the mill, and werecongratulating ourselves on getting clear altogether, when the stillnessof the night was broken by a loud sharp voice exclaiming--
"There they go! Give it them, lads, give it them! After them, afterthem!"
The next moment a sharp fire of musketry was opened on us, the flashes,however, showing that we had passed the spot where our enemies wereposted. The balls, however, fell round us unpleasantly thick. Thenagain there was another volley, and, by the flash of the pieces, wecould see a number of men hurrying into a boat, with, we had no doubt,the intention of pursuing us. Our skiff pulled well. O'Driscoll andRockets, who were rowing, bent manfully to their oars. Away we flewover the water, and though the troops on the shore still continued tofire, the bullets happily flew wide of us. We had a good start of thepursuing boat. From the glimpse we got of her she was of some size, butif, as we hoped, she was heavy in proportion to her size, that would bein our favour. At all events, all we could do was to pull away with allour might, and to keep a straight course down the river. We could hearthe shouts of our pursuers, and of the people hailing them from theshore. They only induced us to make greater exertions to keep ahead ofthem. On we dashed. In a short time we felt sure that we were alreadydistancing them. Their voices grew fainter and fainter. We got intothe broad part of the river. We had now another chance of escape.Should they be overtaking us, we might slip on one side, and in thedarkness and eagerness of the chase they would probably pass by withoutobserving us. Still that was not our wish. We wanted to get out of theriver without being questioned. On we went, till we could neither seenor hear anything of our pursuers. At last a few lights here and thereof some midnight watchers were seen glimmering from the town ofNansimond. We glided by it. We reached the mouth of the river, and nottill then did we slacken our speed. I then relieved O'Driscoll at theoar. I was duly grateful for the exertions he had made for me, but Ievidently did not hold a high place in his estimation.
"Ah, you English boys don't understand how to do things!" he observed,with a sigh. "In ould Ireland we'd have managed an affair of the sortvery differently."
Just at daylight we got on board our ship--I, at all events, being verywell contented with the result of our expedition. I afterwards heardthat the Americans stated that they had pursued and chased a largeBritish flotilla out of the river with only a couple of boats, and thatwe had lost twenty men in killed and wounded. From so slight a sourcedoes many a tale of wonder spring.
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