The Minute Boys of York Town

by James Otis

  CHAPTER XI

  A DESPERATE VENTURE

  As Pierre and I walked aimlessly to and fro without other purpose thanto convince Abel Hunt we were really without a shelter, and not daringto hold converse one with another lest he should overhear, the bitterthought was in my mind that Uncle 'Rasmus must perforce remain in oldMary's cabin standing guard over the prisoner.

  I tried to remember how much water we had left in the cabin, and finallycame to the conclusion that there was less than a quart in the bucketwhen I last quenched my thirst, therefore neither the old negro nor theTory prisoner would have a bit to eat or a sup to drink until we hadsucceeded in throwing Abel Hunt off our track.

  As a matter of course I understood that Morgan, the Jerseyman, wouldvisit the cabin late in the evening in order to learn whether we haddelivered the message with which he had charged us; but although I couldfind so much of trouble in the future, I failed of guessing that wemight be forced to remain away from the cabin a full four and twentyhours.

  It seemed to me positive that long before such time had elapsed AbelHunt would weary of acting as our shadow; but certain it was that untilwe had tired him out, or something more promising attracted hisattention, we must keep our distance from Uncle 'Rasmus and hisprisoner.

  We had been walking to and fro mayhap ten minutes with the fellow closeat our heels, and then, quickening his pace, he came up to my side as hesaid in a surly tone:

  "I do not believe you are in this village without shelter for the night!Unless I mistake not your father owns one or more houses here, and whyshould you be forced to walk around? It is because you are not willingfor me to know where you are stopping, which means that there is some ofyour rebel mischief afoot causing you to fear I may work you harm."

  "It concerns me very little, Abel Hunt, what you believe," I repliedsharply, "and as for my intent to work mischief, it is a dream born inyour own evil head."

  "Why do you not go to one of your father's houses?" he demanded, and Ireplied, striving to curb my anger which rose hot against the masterfultone he had dared use to me:

  "It would seem that you have a better knowledge of my father's propertythan myself. If indeed he does own any houses in York, then is it mostlikely they have been taken possession of by the king's soldiers, for myLord Cornwallis is not so kindly disposed toward us whom he callsrebels, as toward you Tories who claim to love the king, doing so simplybecause you hope to profit thereby in the way of money or of safety foryour worthless necks."

  Then I pressed forward more quickly to prevent the fellow from walkingso close by my side, and whether it was chance, or because Pierre sodirected our steps, I cannot say; the fact is, however, that we werespeedily come out on the river front directly opposite Gloucester Point,and here, as if he was leg-weary, little Frenchie threw himself on theground within twenty paces of the water's edge.

  "Are you minded to stop here, lad?" I asked in a low tone, and hereplied with what sounded to me much like an odd inflection of thevoice:

  "I have walked around so long, Fitz, that it seems impossible to takeanother step. Since we must pass the time in some way 'twixt now andsunrise, why not let it be at this place where we can stretch out atfull length, and mayhap sleep."

  "Thinking you would tire me out, eh?" Abel Hunt cried, he having as amatter of course been so close to our heels that it was possible for himto hear the lightest word.

  "It makes little difference whether we tire you out, or you remain nearby, so that you keep at a respectful distance. It is not your followingwhich annoys me; but your striving to hug so closely."

  "Perhaps I am not good enough for such as you?" Hunt cried angrily, andnow it was that I ceased striving to hold my temper in check, replyingin quite as hot a tone as the question had been asked:

  "You have hit exactly upon the truth, Abel Hunt, and it is no news toyou, for from the time I can remember I have ever striven to give you awide berth, because of your breeding."

  "Before this war is over it may be that you, Fitzroy Hamilton, willregret that you were not bred in different fashion. The people ofVirginia are not all alike, and many will hold accountable those whohave brought the war into our borders."

  It was useless to bandy words with the fellow, as I understood, eventhough my anger was so great that it would have soothed me somewhat togive him a plain statement of the position he occupied in Virginia; butI held my peace as I threw myself down by the side of little Frenchie,counting that the lad would chide me for having had speech with AbelHunt. Instead of so doing he remained silent, his head pillowed on hisarm as he looked across the river toward the twinkling lights onGloucester Point where a portion of Lord Cornwallis's army was encamped,and straightway there came into my mind the thought that the dear ladwas striving to cook up some plan which might work to our advantage.

  It is true that his last scheme had brought us into sore trouble; butthat was no proof he could not in the future, as he had in the past,contrive something to our benefit. I made no attempt to enter intoconversation with him; but was content to lie there watching.

  Abel Hunt stood shifting uneasily from one foot to the other, half adozen paces distant, as if deliberating whether he would have furtherspeech with me on the subject of breeding, and I fancied, perhapsbecause I hoped it might be so, that he was eager to turn his attentionto something more diverting than acting as a shadow to Pierre and me.

  As the time wore on, however, I began to doubt the correctness of myguess, for Hunt in turn threw himself down on the ground at full length,as if to rest, and was seemingly encamped there for the night.

  When I would have whispered to Pierre, counting on asking him if we hadnot best try to escape from the fellow by the quickness of our heels,the little lad motioned for me to remain quiet, and because of pastexperience I obeyed him on the instant.

  Now and then a soldier bent on some errand, or a sentinel on duty,passed by; but gave no heed. None save Abel Hunt in all that town ofYork appeared to fancy that it might be worth while to watch us.

  Then, after it seemed as if a full night had passed, I heard thesentries call the hour of midnight. We must have been there on the riverbank not less than three hours, and now it was, being thus warned of thepassage of time, that Abel Hunt began to grow uneasy.

  Watching him out of the tail of my eyes as I lay silent and motionlessby Pierre's side, I saw the fellow raise himself on his elbow and looksteadily at both us lads, as if striving to make out whether we mighthave fallen asleep, and I began to breathe heavily, as does one whoslumbers soundly, whereupon Pierre, who must also have been taking noteof Hunt's movements, followed my example.

  Then the fellow rose to his feet, came softly beside us and bent over,striving to get a view of our faces even though the night was dark, andall the while we gave him fair token of being wrapped in theunconsciousness of slumber.

  He stood over us a full two minutes striving to make out to his entiresatisfaction whether we were asleep or awake, and then, evidently havingcome to the conclusion that we were indeed in Dreamland, he stole softlyaway.

  Raising my head ever so slightly I noted that he took the directionwhich would lead him near to my Lord Cornwallis's headquarters, and forthe first time since we had come upon the knave did I grow reallytimorous. It needed not any very quick-witted lad to understand whatwould be the result if even such a dissolute fellow as Abel Hunt shouldgive information that the son of a well-known rebel was loitering aroundthe village after night-fall, claiming to have no place where he couldfind shelter.

  "I believe he is going directly to headquarters to make reportconcerning us," I whispered in Pierre's ear, taking good care meanwhilenot to move my body lest peradventure Hunt might look back and discoverthat we were not asleep.

  "Well, there is nothing we can do to prevent him if he be so disposed,"little Frenchie replied indifferently, and I exclaimed in surprise:

  "One would suppose that it concerned you very little, whereas I'm not socertain but that the end of it may be
a halter for both of us."

  "It really does concern me very little," Pierre said decidedly. "I cando nothing to prevent it, and cannot afford to spend my time looking fordanger in the future, because we have that task to do which must beperformed even though a dozen like Abel Hunt were standing ready toaccuse us of being spies."

  "What do you mean by that?" I cried. "What business have we on hand sourgent?"

  "To carry the message with which the Jerseyman entrusted us."

  "But that is impossible now Hunt had found us out."

  "Why do you say that? How is it that the meeting with such as Abel Huntcan prevent us from doing the work of Minute Boys when it lays at ourhand?"

  "But how will you leave this town of York? When we go to ask permissionto take a boat for the purpose of fishing, you can depend upon it hewill be near at hand, and if he has not already done so, will thenreveal all he knows concerning me."

  "Suppose we don't give him that opportunity?" Pierre said thoughtfully."Suppose we neglect to ask permission from any one to go out to get fishenough to prevent ourselves from starving?"

  "How then will you go? Surely you are not so venturesome as to take tothe water on a course to the right of Gloucester Point, when by so doingwe must pass the king's vessels? The _Charon_ is anchored directly onthe course we would need to pursue in order to carry out theinstructions which have been given."

  "And she would still be there if we waited until daylight, and thenasked permission from some of these swaggering officers of the king whohave no love for any one save themselves."

  I was mystified by Pierre's words, although surely by this time I shouldhave come to understand that his odd speech betokened the perfecting ofa plan, and I remained silent as if believing he would make sport of me,until two or three minutes had elapsed when Abel Hunt could no longer beseen in the gloom.

  Then it was that little Frenchie suddenly stood upright, and, pointingto a skiff hauled up on the shore not more than thirty feet from wherehe lay, asked sharply:

  "Have you the courage, Fitz Hamilton, to embark with me in yonder craft,and go down to the Gloucester shore where we may remain hidden amid thefoliage until it is sufficiently light for us to make out whether anyone comes looking for a messenger from the Jerseyman?"

  "Meaning to brave the Britishers?" I cried in something very like alarm.

  "Meaning to carry the message which it is necessary should be delivered,and without heed whatsoever to these gentry who wear red coats."

  "I have the courage, Pierre," I said, after a time of hesitation; "buthave we the right to desert Uncle 'Rasmus while he must for his own sakehold Horry Sims a prisoner, and when he has nothing whatsoever to eat ordrink in the cabin? Surely it would be deserting him for us to take boatnow and leave the village, if peradventure we can do so, for there arean hundred chances against our being able to return, and only one in ourfavor. It is the same as abandoning Uncle 'Rasmus."

  "And if it were abandoning him, and Saul, and every one whom we know,yet would I say it was our duty to go because the Jerseyman, expectinghis message to be delivered, will give no further heed to sending itinto the American lines."

  Although Pierre's words had fired me, and it was possible at any timefor the lad to arouse all my enthusiasm and all my bravery when he spokeas he had a moment previous, I understood that it was a most dangerousventure which he proposed, such as might be tried twenty times overwithout success.

  Mark you, in order to gain the Gloucester shore at the point near wherethe Jerseyman claimed we would find someone awaiting us, we must sail inour skiff, without a pass from my Lord Cornwallis, within hailingdistance of the _Charon_, or of the _Guadaloupe_, both of which vesselslay where their guns could be brought to bear either on York orGloucester, and it did not seem to me within the range of possibilitiesthat we could pass either craft without being discovered by the sentrieswho would undoubtedly order us to come alongside.

  Even though we were minded to be so reckless as to take the chances ofdisobeying an order, it could avail us nothing, for pursuit would begiven immediately, and how might we hope to escape from a vessel ofwar's boat, manned most like by a dozen men, we being only two lads notoverly well skilled in rowing.

  I was turning all this over in my mind, and becoming more and moreconvinced each instant that it was the wildest scheme Pierre had everproposed, when he turned upon me sharply and asked with a note of angerin his tone:

  "Are you afraid to make the venture?"

  "There is no lad, no, nor no man either, who shall say I am afraid to dothis or that!" I cried hotly. "I dare do what any other lad may."

  "Then come with me, and before daybreak we will be hidden on theGloucester shore."

  "Before the day breaks you will be a prisoner on board either the_Guadaloupe_ or the _Charon_, unless one of the smaller vessels chancesto make the capture," I said, "and yet, knowing that such must be thecase, I am minded to follow, so you may have fair opportunity of provingthat this will turn out even more to our disadvantage than did your planof getting sight of Saul Ogden to hearten him, and, instead, come acrossAbel Hunt."

  "It is not well Fitz, that you should harp upon a single failure,"Pierre said softly, and on the instant I regretted having spoken. "Therewas not in my mind any hope we might be able to aid the lad; but Ithought by chance he would see us if we passed his prison, and know wehad not forgotten him. If I had asked you to go out for a stroll becauseI was weary with remaining in the cabin so long, you would have followedquite as readily, and then should we have come upon Abel Hunt even as wedid."

  "Forgive me, Pierre, forgive me," I cried remorsefully. "Lead the way,and I will go with you readily, even though I claim it is a mostdesperate venture, but promise faithfully not to throw it in your teethhowever sore the failure may be."

  The little French lad was not inclined to waste words after I hadpromised to accompany him; but set off at a rapid pace toward where theskiff was lying, and I followed, having vividly in mind the fact that wewere leaving Uncle 'Rasmus to what might be a most cruel fate, at thesame time believing we had deserted Saul entirely, for there was not inmy mind any hope whatsoever we could succeed in re-entering the town ofYork now that the Britishers were keeping such sharp watch.

  Even though fortune should favor us in the most remarkable degree, wesurely would not be tempted to come back to this fortified villageduring the hours of daylight, therefore were we shutting ourselves outuntil full four and twenty hours passed, during which time how much ofdisaster might have come upon those whom we had the same as abandoned?

  It was much the same as folly for me to hark back in my mind to all thedangers which might come upon us, for I had agreed to follow the ladwheresoever he might lead, and for me to dwell upon the probable dangercould serve no other end than that of making me timorous, therefore itwas I strove earnestly to put from my mind everything save the oldthought that I would do all within my power to help him carry out hispurpose.

  The lad had not set out toward the boat until the sentry, who had beenpacing to and fro near us, turned to go to the other end of his beat,and when we were come to the craft there were none within sight so faras I could make out.

  She was a light skiff, perhaps one of the smallest that could have beenfound on the shore, and had friends been making arrangements for us todo this very work they could not have laid the tools more convenientlyat hand, for there were two pairs of oars in the craft, and it onlyneeded we should shove her ten or twelve paces before she was waterborne.

  I followed Pierre over the gunwale, kicking at the bank as I did so withsufficient force to send her rocking like an egg-shell out into thecurrent.

  The night was not so dark but that we could see the black tracery of theEnglish ships as they lay at anchor guarding both encampments, andunless the sentries on board these vessels of the king were asleep orblind they could not fail of seeing us, however wide a detour we mightmake.

  I fully expected to hear one of the sentinels on the shore orde
ring usto come back and show a permit for being aboard at such an hour; but noone hailed, and we set the skiff's bow on a direct course to that partof the Gloucester shore which we hoped to gain, giving no heed to hismajesty's vessels in the way.

  "We cannot hope to pass them without being discovered," I said in a lowtone as I settled back at the oars, putting into them every ounce ofstrength I could summon.

  "It may be they will let us go on after we have explained our purpose,or so much of it as we may be pleased to give," Pierre said hopefully;"but even if they turn us back, we shall be no worse off than before,and will have the satisfaction of knowing that we strove to our utmostto do as the Jerseyman desired."

  "We shall be no worse off unless we are sent to share Saul'simprisonment in the guard-house."

  Then I bent my back yet more vigorously at the oars, if that could bepossible, the labor serving in some slight degree to prevent me fromdwelling upon the disagreeable possibilities.

  Our course brought us within mayhap an hundred yards of the _Charon's_stern, and before we were on a line with her came that hail which I hadfeared to hear:

  "Cease rowing!"

  "Do as they bid, Fitz; it is our only hope," Pierre whispered, and Iobeyed him.

  "Come alongside and show your pass," the voice demanded, and I couldhear the foot-falls of the sentry as he came from amidships aft andleaned over the rail that he might see us more clearly.

  "We have no pass, sir," Pierre said meekly. "We have been sent over toGloucester with a message from one officer to another, on what I countmay be private business."

  "Come alongside and show the message," the same voice demanded.

  Then did I believe that little Frenchie was at the end of his rope; butinstead of showing any confusion or fear he replied cheerily:

  "It is no more than word of mouth that the major of Colonel Tarleton'slegion come into York for a supper."

  The sentry, or whoever it might be that had hailed us, hung in the winda moment as if undecided whether to give further orders, and then saidgrudgingly, not being minded, as I fancied, to disgruntle any officersof my Lord Cornwallis's command:

  "Go your way, then; but make certain to come directly back as soon asthe message has been delivered."

  "You can count on our getting into York again as soon as we may," Pierrereplied laughingly, and added by whispering to me, "Now, lad, pull thebest you know how, and the danger has passed!"

  It was as he said. It could only have been blind luck which stationed acredulous and good-natured sentry of the _Charon_ at that particularmoment, for nineteen men out of twenty would have done their whole duty,which was to bring us alongside and report the matter to the officer ofthe deck.

  We were not disposed to grumble because the fellow had not done hisduty, however, and when we were beyond ear-shot I said warningly to thelittle French lad:

  "You have squeaked out of a mighty small hole, Pierre; but do not let itencourage you overly much, for it is not within the bounds of reasonthat we can take such chances again and have everything turn favorablefor us."

  "We won't count on those chances that are in the future, Fitz Hamilton,"Pierre replied cheerily; "but will hark back on this one, rememberingthat we got thus far on our journey, even though we may be turned aboutwithin the next five minutes."

  There was little likelihood we would find any obstacle in the way fromthis on, if so be we landed at a respectful distance from theencampment. The vessels in the stream between Gloucester and York wereevidently supposed by the commander-in-chief to be sufficient guard forthe water-ways, and so far as I had been able to learn, no small boatspatrolled the river.

  Nor did we meet with any. The way was open before us, and ere yet therewere tokens in the eastern sky of the coming of a new day, we had pulledthe skiff up amid the bushes more than two miles beyond Gloucesterpoint.

  "It begins now to look as though we should succeed in delivering themessage which the Jerseyman wanted sent into the American lines, and ifthat can be done we need concern ourselves no further regarding theoutcome, for it matters little what happens to two lads like you andme," Pierre said.

  I could agree with the first part of the proposition; but was notsufficiently stout-hearted to say with truth that I was indifferent asto what might befall me, because however great a love I had for theCause, my affection for Fitzroy Hamilton and his safe being, was muchstronger.

  Until the sun had risen we remained within the screen of foliage restingfrom our labor at the oars; but straightway day had fully dawned Pierrelaid his plans for coming upon this man whom the Jerseyman believedwould be looking for a messenger, by stationing me a quarter of a mileup the bank, while he took post about the same distance below.

  "Now it is that we must take some chances," little Frenchie said when wewere about to go to our posts of duty. "It may be that the first whoappears will be a Tory, and we have no means of determining hispolitics. If I see a person who appears by his movements to be watchingfor some one from the York shore, then shall I run the risk of lettinghim know we are lately come from the village."

  I understood he would have me do the same, and walked slowly along theshore keeping within the line of foliage, and thinking meanwhile that assoon as this task had been finished, if indeed it ever was, we mightwith good cause seek for food from some plantation nearby, for mystomach was crying out loudly that it was time to break fast.

  Well, to make what may seem an overly long story as short as possible, Iwill content myself by saying that we two lads remained sometimes out infull view, and again amid the foliage where we were partially screened,until a good two hours had passed. Then there came into my view a manwith a bit of green in his hat, clad somewhat after the fashion of aVirginia planter, who moved cautiously, not seeing me until he was whereit would be possible to have a view of York village, when he seatedhimself upon the ground as if on watch.

  I made no delay in going toward him, and fancied he looked more than alittle concerned that I should have appeared so suddenly, all of whichwent to strengthen my belief that this was the man whom we were seeking,therefore without juggling words, I asked him:

  "Do you await some messenger from the other shore, sir?"

  He looked me over from head to toe before answering, and then replied byasking a question:

  "Is there any good reason why it concerns you, young master, if I sowait here?"

  "Ay, sir, that it does, since I, with my comrade who is on watch lowerdown the shore, am come to find some one who awaits a message, or, wemay say, who is eager for news."

  "Who are you?"

  "The son of Alexander Hamilton, whose plantation lies within the boundsof the town of James; but who himself is in the American army."

  "Did any one send you here?"

  "Yes, we were asked to show ourselves in a boat off the shore; butinasmuch as we were forced to sneak out of York, it did not seem safe weshould make overly much of an exhibition of ourselves."

  "Who sent you?"

  "Tell me first from whom you are expecting a message, and then I willanswer the question."

  "Do you know aught of a man by the name of Morgan?"

  Then it was that without replying I raised my voice, calling Pierre byname, for now was I positive we had hit upon the man whom the spy wouldhave us see, and when little Frenchie had replied, I explained to thestranger that it was my comrade to whom the message had been delivered,and I believed he should have the credit of repeating it. Ten minuteslater the man was scurrying across country at his best speed, withouthaving uttered no word of thanks or praise for what we had done. Nosooner did Pierre give that message which the Jerseyman had entrustedhim with, and declared that we had no other information, than the fellowwheeled quickly about like a fox who has got the scent of dogs, andstraightway we were alone, looking blankly into each other's faces,asking mentally whether it might not be possible we had given theJerseyman's information to another, for it did not seem within the rangeof possibilities that one of our way
of thinking would have receivedsuch news and never given sign or word of acknowledgment.

  "I fancy he has only in mind to save his own skin, and believes thatthis shore in the rear of a British encampment is not the safest placein the world for one of his politics," Pierre said musingly after abrief time of silence. "We were not told how this man would provehimself to be the one we were sent in search of, therefore it cannot beset down to our discredit if we have fumbled the job."

  "And what now?" I asked moodily, almost persuaded, because of themovements of the stranger, that we had advertised the fact of ourserving a spy, and the stranger had gone in search of those who wouldarrest us.

  "We can do no less than stay here until another night has come, andbefore sunset it should be possible to devise some means of passing theEnglish sentries. Just now, however, I am inclined to believe we woulddo well to set out in search of something to eat. Do you know any ofthe planters nearabout?"

  "Not within a dozen miles or more. It is quite certain, however, thatmany of them nearabout Gloucester are Tories, while others would remainneither for king nor for colony; yet I suppose we must take our chances,unless we are willing to make breakfast, dinner and supper of this pure,fresh air."

  "We will make our way to the negro quarters on some plantation," Pierresaid quickly. "When it comes to trusting a stranger, I can put morefaith in a black face than a white one."

  Having thus spoken the lad started inland, walking swiftly, and as if hehad both course and destination marked out plainly before him.