The First Capture; or, Hauling Down the Flag of England

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER VI.

  GETTING READY FOR THE FRAY.

  "Three cheers for Zeke Lewis and Caleb Young!" shouted one of theprovincials, when they came out of the door and appeared upon thestreet.

  "No, no, lads," said Zeke, raising his hand as if to stop thedemonstration. "We have got him out of being fined or going to jail, butremember that we are not done with it yet. It will not be long before weshall see some British regulars up here to ask us what we mean by it. Wehave got to fight, and we may as well make up our minds to it first aslast."

  "Hear, hear!" shouted three or four of those who stood around him. "Ifthe regulars come at us, we'll serve them worse than they did atLexington. Three cheers for them!"

  The cheers were given in spite of what Zeke had said, and some of thempersisted in shaking Caleb by the hand. They passed on, and in a fewminutes were out of the crowd and started toward home. There were threeof them who kept Caleb company to see that he reached the presence ofhis mother in safety, they were Mr. O'Brien, Joseph Wheaton and EnochCrosby. They did not have much to say about what had happened in thecourt-room, but Caleb knew why they went with him. On their way to hishouse they passed within plain sight of the harbor, and the first thingthat attracted their attention was the schooner Margaretta, ridingproudly at her anchorage, and flying the flag of England from her peak.Zeke thought this a good time to exhibit his hostility to that flag,which he did by shaking his fist at it.

  "If it had not been for Wheaton here, I would not have thought of takingthat schooner," said he.

  "I had an idea that somebody besides you thought of that," said O'Brien,turning around and shaking Wheaton by the hand. "It did not sound likeyou in the first place, but, when somebody else proposed it, you went instrong for it. What was the reason you did not propose it yourself,Wheaton?"

  "You see I have not lived here long enough to become acquainted witheverybody as Zeke has," replied Wheaton. "I lived in New York until afew months ago, and I thought the proposition had better come from anolder inhabitant. They might think that I suggested it just to hearmyself talk; but it would be different coming from Zeke."

  "That is just what he told me," assented Zeke. "And I kept thinking whata fool I was not to think of it long ago. Wheaton, when we get thatschooner, you must haul down that flag."

  "I will attend to that," said the young man, with a laugh. "If the flagof England is going to wave over us as an emblem of tyranny, we want itpulled down. But the fact of the matter is, we have not got any otherflag to be hoisted in the place of it."

  "No matter for that," said Mr. O'Brien. "We will have that flag hauleddown, and that is all we care for. Now, Caleb, go in and see yourmother."

  Caleb was not a boy who had been educated, but he knew enough to thankZeke for what he had done; but Zeke patted him on the back and said thatwas all right, and pushed him through the gate that led into the yard.

  "Remember now, that when you hear the cheer to-morrow you are to comedown and help capture that schooner," said he. "And bring every friendyou see. We may get her without a fight."

  "No, we won't," replied Caleb. "I know the most of those men who belongto her, and I know that they will stand by their captain. We shall nothave as many men when we get back as we have when we first go aboardthat schooner."

  "I know them, too," said Zeke, raising his left hand and slapping theother with it with a report like that of a pistol. "But I would stick apitchfork into my own brother if he were there and should resist me. Weare bound to have that schooner."

  All were encouraged to hear Zeke talk in this way and Caleb said he"hoped so" and went in to see his mother; while Enoch, who had left thetable bareheaded, started homeward on a rapid run. He did not find hismother as excited as she ought to have been. She was sitting in hereasy-chair with her knitting before her, and looked at Enoch's flushedface when he came in as calmly as though he had been to the store forsome groceries.

  "Well," she said, and her voice was as steady as usual, "you have had anexciting scene there in the court-room."

  "What do you know about it?" asked Enoch in surprise.

  "I just judged by your face," replied his mother. "How did Caleb get thefine that the judge imposed upon him?"

  "That old Tory did not get it," exclaimed the boy. "I tell you we havegot up a rebellion now, and we may have some soldiers to settle withbefore we get through with it. It beats anything I ever heard of."

  Enoch then went on and told his mother as nearly as he could what hadhappened there in the court-room. His mother's eyes flashed and she laiddown her knitting. He even told her about the plans that had been laidfor seizing the schooner, but did not neglect to caution her not to saya word about it where the Tories could overhear it.

  "I have agreed to go too, mother," he added.

  "Well," she replied, glancing up at the old flint-lock over thefireplace, "that rifle will have to be cleaned up. And you will needsome bullets, too. Remember that when your father drew on an Indianafter he came out of the service, he was always sure to bring him."

  "And if I pull on a redcoat with that gun I don't believe he will do anymore shooting at our side of the house," said Enoch, getting up in achair and taking the musket down. "It is awful heavy, is it not?"

  "Yes, and that's the kind it needs to bring an enemy down every time youget a sight at him. Clean it up bright for the least little speck ofrust in it will throw your ball where you don't want it to go. I hopethe Britishers will give up before you have a chance to shoot at them."

  "But if they don't--then what?"

  "You must shoot to hit. Bear in mind that you had an uncle in that fightat Lexington, and we don't know whether he was killed or not. He did notmiss, either. Every time he pulled on a redcoat he could tell rightwhere he hit him."

  "Of course I can't shoot with him; but, as Caleb said, I can make anoise. I can handle the halyards of a sail better than I can handle thisthing."

  The cleaning of the gun occupied Enoch for the next hour, and finally hegot it so that the water came through clean and bright without aparticle of rust in it. He had been outside the kitchen door engaged inhis occupation, and when he came in to tell his mother what he had done,he found her in front of the fireplace running bullets.

  "Mother, you have no business to do that," he exclaimed.

  "I want to get all the balls solid, for if you run them in haste youwill see little holes in them," she replied. "The bullets thus formedalways go wild, and you cannot do good shooting with them. Now, Enoch,have you got some powder? That you have in the horn has been there for along time, and I fear that it has lost its strength. You had better godown to the store and lay in a new supply."

  Enoch thought that his mother would have felt a little happier if shehad been a man, so that she could have taken part in seizing theschooner. He wished that that cheer would sound out now, so that hecould go into danger with his comrades and see Wheaton haul that flagdown; but he checked himself with the thought that that cheer was not tosound until to-morrow. He wanted to show something else that he haddone, so he continued:

  "I have picked the flint so that it will strike fire every time. Justsee how it works."

  He cocked the flint-lock several times and pulled the trigger, and eachtime little sparks of fire shot down into the chamber. The gun was allright. It only remained for him to hold it true so that the bulletswould reach their mark.

  "That is right, my lad," said his mother, approvingly. "Before we getthrough we will show the redcoats that they are making war upon theirbrothers. Send one shot, Enoch, to pay them for taxing that tea."

  Enoch accepted some money to pay for the powder he was to buy at thestore, and when he reached the street he saw Caleb coming along as ifsomebody had sent for him. His face, whenever he met Enoch, was alwayswrinkled up with smiles, and it proved on this occasion to be the newsof what Enoch had already passed through--the getting ready for theassault upon the Margaretta.

  "I went out to clean the gun and when I came back
my mother was runningbullets," said Caleb; and he rubbed his hands together as if he couldhardly wait for the cheer to sound. "She thinks that some of us aregoing to get hurt."

  "I guess I have been through the same thing," said Enoch. "I'll wagerthat if mother were in my place she would not sleep at all to-night. Shetold me to give them one shot and think of the tea they have taxedagainst her. Hallo! Here comes Zeke. He walks as though he was in ahurry."

  "Bussin' on it!" exclaimed Zeke, when he came up. "I would like to knowwhat the magistrate and Jeems Howard has been aboard that boat for. Yousee, we were watching that boat to find out whether or not she was goingto stay at anchorage until to-morrow, and that's the way we happened tosee them."

  "Let them go," said Enoch. "They have probably been telling the captainabout our rebellion there in the court-room."

  "Well, he can't do anything," said Zeke. "If he turns his guns loose onthe town----"

  "He can't do that," said Caleb. "War has not been declared yet."

  "There is no telling what these Britishers will do when once they gettheir dander up. But I was just saying, suppose he did turn them loose;we have got two four-pounders that we could bring to bear on theschooner, and make her drop down away from there. But I hope that hewon't get away before morning. If he does, I shall be sorry that we didnot attack her to-night."

  "Where are you going in such a hurry, anyway?" asked Enoch.

  "I am going down to see Wheaton about it. If you hear that cheer soundedto-night you will be on hand, won't you?"

  The boys said emphatically that they would, and then Caleb went on totell him what they had done to get ready for the assault, not forgettingto give all the praise to their mothers.

  "That's right," said Zeke. "If all the boys were as plucky as theirmothers we would have easy times of it. I haven't got any gun to take;but I have a pitchfork handy, and you will see some red dust on itbefore this thing is over."

  "Oh, I hope they won't fight," said Enoch. "We will get a bigger crowdthan they can show----"

  "I don't care how big our crowd is, we are going to have a fight,"interrupted Caleb. "I will wager that you will see some mourning inMachias before the sun gets where he is now."

  Zeke walked off laughing as if that was a story rather hard to believe,and the boys kept on their way to the grocery store. They found EmersonMiller there, but he was not so talkative as he was a little while ago.The boys did not like the way the storekeeper acted. He was leaning overthe counter talking to Emerson, but when the two entered he straightenedup and moved back to the rear end of the store.

  "I guess you have got some powder, haven't you?" said Enoch. "Well, ifyou have, I want a pound of it."

  "I would like to know what all you fellows are getting powder for," saidthe man. "Do you expect the Britishers up here to-night?"

  "I don't know about that," said Enoch. "But we intend to be all readyfor them when they do come. We will serve them as badly as they wereserved at Lexington."

  "You will, eh?" said the grocery keeper, turning fiercely upon the boys."What would you do if the Margaretta should cut loose on us and burn thetown?"

  "We would whip her, that's all," replied Caleb. "She can't do it. Shemust wait until war is declared before she can do that."

  "I don't know whether I will give you any powder or not," said the man."You boys act almost too independent."

  "Just as you please, sir," retorted Enoch, while Caleb was angry in aninstant. "If you don't want to sell us any powder, you can say so."

  "I will give you some this time, but if you come in here any more youdon't want to be quite so bold in regard to what you would do and whatyou would not," replied the man; but Enoch rightly concluded that thiswas not his reason. If he refused to give him what he called for, howlong would it be before all the provincials in the village would hearof it and come there to see him about it? And if Zeke came he was surethat he would not escape without a whipping. He went and got the powder,while the two boys stood looking at each other in amazement. When thearticle was done up Enoch paid for it and the two left the store.