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

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER IX.

  THE "AGGRESSIVE" TORY.

  To say that the magistrate was intensely surprised by the rebellion thathad taken place in his office, would be putting it very mildly. He wascompletely taken aback, so much so, that, when he saw the coat tails ofthe last provincial disappearing through the door, he settled back inhis chair, let his hands fall helplessly by his side, and looked at Mr.Howard with eyes that seemed ready to start from their sockets. Mr.Howard was equally astonished. He looked around for a chair and sankinto it.

  "This beats me," were the first words that he uttered.

  "It is a--a--revolution," said the magistrate, pulling his handkerchieffrom his pocket and wiping his face with it. "The spirit that animatedthose fellows at Lexington has got up here, has it not? Nolton, you arenot worth your salt. Why did you not arrest Zeke when he started to moveaway with that boy?"

  "You told me to do my duty," said the constable, "and I thought it myduty to remain quiet in my place. I wish you had been in my shoes. If Ihad touched that man I would not have known what hurt me."

  "If I was a constable and sent here to preserve order, I would havearrested that man in spite of everything the provincials could do tostop me," exclaimed the magistrate, doubling up his huge fist andpounding the desk with it. "It is all owing to you that this rebellion,or whatever you call it, has got to such a pass. Now what are we goingto do? Must we stand by and let those rebels run things to suitthemselves?"

  "By no means," said Mr. Howard hastily. "There must be some place in thecolonies where our men are strong enough to collect that fine of Caleb.What is the use of the Margaretta here?"

  "Do you want to send Caleb off to New York?" whispered the magistrate,bending toward Mr. Howard, while his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Inever once thought of that."

  "I mean just that and nothing else," said Mr. Howard, in the samecautious tone. "I would like to see those men get up a rebellion in theface of Captain Moore. He would blow the town out of sight."

  "I don't know whether I want him to try that or not," said themagistrate, doubtfully. "I have a house up here and I don't want him toput any shells through that."

  "It would be very easy for him to send his shells wherever he wantedthem to go. I believe in going down and calling upon him right away. Youmay rest assured that you will not do any more court business while thisthing is hanging over you. Besides, the Governor may hear of it and putanother man in your place."

  "Let us go down and see him the first thing we do," said the magistrate,getting upon his feet. "You men stay here until we come back," he added,turning to the constables. "We may have more work for you."

  "Well, you just wager that you can do it yourself," said Kellymentally, as he helped himself to a chair. "I am not going around whereZeke is any more."

  Kelly looked toward Nolton as these thoughts passed through his mind,and from something he saw there he made up his mind that he was notalone in deciding this way. It was very easy for the magistrate to sendmen into danger, but he took good care to keep out of it himself.

  The magistrate put on his hat and led the way toward the door, and Mr.Howard and the two boys followed close at his heels. They stopped whenthey got to the door and held a consultation as to whether or not theyshould let the boys go with them, but after a little talk they decidedthat James should go on board the schooner to show the captain the lumpon his eye, which grew bigger and blacker all the while, and Emerson,who saw the assault, should be a witness to it.

  "I want to let the captain see that I fined him one pound and costs fora reason," said the magistrate. "Then he will think that I was doing myduty."

  They found a boat at the wharf just preparing to go off to the schooner,and the parties all got down into it. The sailors looked at James withsurprise and something very like a grin overspread their faces; but theywere too well-trained to ask any news. They found Captain Moore in hisquarters, and he had his coat off and was lying at his ease on a loungereading a book. He got up and looked his astonishment when he shookJames by the hand.

  "A rebel did that," said the boy.

  "What makes you call him a rebel?" asked the captain. "Has that affairof Lexington got up here?"

  "Yes, sir," said the magistrate. "And thereby hangs a tale as long asyour arm. I fined Caleb Young for striking James, but the rebels gotaround him and took him home."

  "And did he not pay his fine at all?" said the captain in surprise.

  "No, sir. One rebel told me that the boy had no money to pay his fine,and I should not be allowed to shut him up either, so the only thing Icould do was to let him go. The spirit of rebellion is bigger than onewould think for."

  "Well, I should think it was," said the captain, angrily. "When theybegin to interfere with a magistrate for the work he does on his bench,it is time they were being hanged, the last one of them. What did you dothen?"

  The magistrate began his story at once and told it through withoutinterruption. At last he came to the point which brought him there. Hewanted Caleb arrested, taken on board the schooner, and carried to NewYork and given to some power that could enforce the law. And CaptainMoore was the only man they knew who could help them in the matter.

  "Do you want my men to arrest him?" asked the captain.

  "Yes; and you will have to be pretty quiet while you are about it. Don'tlet him shout for help or anything else, for, if you do, you will havethe village on you before you can think twice."

  "Well, things have come to a pretty pass," said Captain Moore, rising tohis feet and walking up and down the narrow limits of his quarters. "Doyou know that you have given me something hard to do? If I can catch himoutside the house all would be well; but suppose I should have to go inafter him? Then what will happen?"

  "You will have to take your chances on that," said Mr. Howard, who wasmore in favor of his scheme than he was before. The captain seemedwilling to undertake it, and he determined that he should undertake itif he could bring any arguments to make him think that way.

  "It all rests with you," said the magistrate. "I have tried to enforcethe law and could not do it, and now I leave it to yourself to determinewhether or not you have any authority in the matter."

  "I don't suppose I have, if you really come down to it," said thecaptain, gazing thoughtfully at the floor. "But I shall depend a gooddeal upon those magistrates in New York. They are not very lenient withany one who tries to get up a rebellion here in the colonies, and thenews of that battle at Lexington will urge them to be severe on all whotry it. I will do it, but you must keep still about it until after I getaway."

  "You may depend upon us for keeping still about it," said Mr. Howard. "Iwant that boy fined, and I shall not spoil the thing by saying a wordto anybody. At what time do you think the sloops will get loaded up?"

  "I shall be ready to start on Tuesday. If I can once get him on board myvessel I will risk anybody's getting him away."

  "I knew I would some day get even with that fellow," said James, as hearose to his feet and put on his hat. "I think he will learn that agentleman has a right to say what he pleases without being knocked downby some rebel."

  "I guess he will too, James," said the captain, laying his handconfidentially on the boy's shoulder. "Let me get my hands on him onceand I will teach him a lesson."

  Captain Moore put on his coat and accompanied them to the deck, and inobedience to his order the cutter was called away for them. The captainwatched them until they had gotten ashore, and then intimated to hisfirst lieutenant (he is called the executive officer in our day) that hehad something of importance to say to him in his cabin. The lieutenantwent, and was thrown into as great a rage as the captain had been whenhe heard of the rebellion in the magistrate's office.

  "Now, Hobson, I want you to capture that fellow to-night," said CaptainMoore, in conclusion. "Do you think you can do it?"

  "Yes, sir," was the reply. "If those constables are afraid to attend totheir business on account of the rebels I am not."

>   "My advice to you would be that you go ashore and walk twice by thathouse and see how things are located there. You may have to go in inorder to get him. I need not tell you that you have got to be verycareful about it. You know the boy when you see him?"

  "Oh, yes, sir. And I will take particular pains that he does not callfor help, either."

  The lieutenant was placed ashore, and walking with his hands behind him,as if he were out for the air and nothing else, he bent his steps towardCaleb Young's home. When he came within sight of it he found Calebstanding in front of the woodshed door, cleaning up the old flint-lock.He was evidently getting ready for another Lexington affair if theBritish troops came near Machias. At least, that was what the officerthought.

  "But you will be safe in jail, paying that fine of yours," soliloquizedthe first lieutenant, as he walked on his way. "I know now how I amgoing to work it. As soon as it comes dark I will go to his house anddemand admittance in the name of the king, and when I once get my handson him I will choke him so that he can't holler."

  The officer returned on board the schooner in less than an hour,reported what he had seen and the way he was going to get around it. Henoticed that his shoes were covered with dust during his walk, and hepulled out his handkerchief and dusted them with it. His brand-newuniform was somewhat dusty, too, and that came in for a share of hisattention. He was a good deal of a "dude," this first lieutenant was,and he took pride in looking as neat as if he had just come out of alady's band-box. He did not think how his uniform would look when hebrought it into the presence of the captain all spattered with yeast.

  There were some hours of daylight still left, but all the lieutenant hadto do was to pick out the men he wanted to accompany him and give themtheir instructions in regard to arresting Caleb Young. One, to haveheard his orders in regard to being quick and still about it, would havethought that Caleb was a big and powerful man, and that it was as muchas all of them could do to manage him. But the trouble was the officerwas not so much afraid of Caleb as he was of the people who would cometo the rescue if he succeeded in giving the alarm.

  Supper over the foremast hands enjoyed their hour given to smoking andsong, and then the lieutenant came up from below with his side-arms on.This was a signal to his men, who promptly armed themselves, and in afew minutes they were pulling across the narrow bay toward a place whereboats did not often land. It was to be a secret expedition all the waythrough, and when they got back aboard their vessel with their prisoner,they did not want anybody to be the wiser for it.

  "Keep as silent as possible," said the officer. "You know Caleb Youngbetter than I do, and if you see him close with him at once. We willgive these rebels a lesson that they will remember."

  It so happened that the lieutenant drew up behind a tree in front ofCaleb's gate just as the boy came out with a pail in his hand to goafter the yeast. It was so dark that Caleb could not see anything, andhe struck up a whistle and went on all unconscious of the danger thatthreatened him. As soon as he was out of hearing one of the menwhispered--

  "That's him, sir."

  "I know it," replied the lieutenant. "He has gone off on an errand forhis mother, but he will soon be back. That's the time we will catchhim."

  We have already told how desperately Caleb fought for his freedom andhow he called lustily for help; but it was rather chilly in the evening,being in the month of May, the people were gathered about the fires intheir kitchens with the doors closed, and Caleb's yell did not reach anyof them. He knew that he was in the hands of the Tories, but to save hislife he could not imagine what he had been captured for. He was chokedso violently that he could not utter a sound until he got into theboat, and then he did make out to reply to a question by the officer whowas wiping the contents of his bucket off his uniform. In a very fewminutes Caleb had been lifted out of the boat to the schooner's deck,the irons had been put on and he was safely in the brig.