CHAPTER XIX
THE RELEASE OF BENZEOR
BENZEOR'S plight was a sad one, but as he gazed about him in hishelplessness the only face upon which he could discover any traces ofsympathy or compassion was that of Little Peter. The lad had had nosuspicion of his neighbor, and was ignorant, as we know, of the partwhich Benzeor had taken in the attack on his father's house. Even now itwas difficult for him to believe that Ted had spoken truly. He must havebeen mistaken, Peter thought, as he recalled the kindness of Sarah andBenzeor's wife in permitting the children to find a shelter in theirhome.
Perhaps the perplexed lad's face betrayed his feelings, for just at thatmoment Benzeor looked up and said,--
"There! That boy knows me!" and he pointed at Little Peter as he spoke."He knows all about me, for he's a neighbor of mine. I tell you there'sbeen a mistake. I'm not the man you're"--
Benzeor's words were suddenly interrupted by Ted, who thrust his headagain under the water, and when he lifted him out once more the prisonerwas sputtering and gasping for breath.
"Made a mistake, did I?" exclaimed the angry giant. "Well, mebbe I did,but I reckon the biggest one was in not keepin' you under the river allthe time. Runnin' round here prowlin' on defenseless women folks andtryin' to steal what little money they've got left! Drownin' 's too goodfor such as you!" And, unable to restrain himself, the angry man againshook his helpless victim till it seemed as if the little breath Benzeorretained must be driven from his body.
"I--I--I'm telling you the truth," gasped Benzeor when he had recoveredsufficiently to be able to speak again. "Won't you help me? Won't yousave me from this--this--man?" he pleaded, turning to the men in thewhaleboat. "That--that boy there knows me, and he'll tell you I--I--I'mall right. Won't you, Little Peter? Please! Please, tell them!"
"Do you know him?" said the leader to Little Peter.
"Yes," replied the lad quietly.
"Ye don't know any good of him, do ye?" said Ted, interrupting, andtightening his grasp upon the collar of his victim as he spoke.
"He is a neighbor of mine, as he said. I never knew any bad of him. Andhis wife and girl are taking care of the children. I know that." LittlePeter was perplexed, and his suspicions had been aroused by thediscovery of his neighbor in his present predicament, but therecollection of Sarah's kindness moved him to refer to their recentactions, in the hope that he might aid her father.
"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed Ted. "Then his wife takes care of her children,does she? She must be a wonderful woman to do that. Well, let her takecare of her brats, and I'll take care of her man, and good care, too!"
As Ted acted as if he were about to renew his attentions, the leaderhastily said, "The lad doesn't mean this fellow's children, but his ownlittle brothers and sisters," and in a few words he related the story ofthe attack on Little Peter's home, and the sad loss which had occurredthere.
"Ye don't say so!" said Ted, bestowing a glance of sympathy upon theboy. "That's bad! It is indeed! And ye say this fellow has taken yerlittle brothers and sisters into his place?"
"Yes," said Peter eagerly.
"Well, all I can say is that I'd about as soon put a hawk to look afterchickens, if it was my doin's."
"Yes," said Benzeor quickly, striving to take advantage of theimpression which Little Peter's words had momentarily created. "Yes, thechildren are all at my house, and being well looked after, too. Thatdoesn't look very much, does it, as if I was a bad man? I tell youthere's been a mistake! There's been a mistake! I didn't have anythingto do with the attack on this man's place. Help me! Help me!" he hastilycried out, as Ted acted as if he were about to repeat his formeractions.
"Hold on a minute, Ted. Perhaps the man's got something more to say,"said the leader.
"I am a-holdin' on. Can't ye see that?" replied Ted grimly, once moretightening his grasp upon the unfortunate Benzeor's collar.
"I have got something to say. Something you want to hear, too," saidBenzeor eagerly, and appealing to the leader in the whaleboat as hespoke.
"Say it," said Ted gruffly.
"The British are going to make an attack on the ship down in the bay."
"What's that you say?" said the leader quickly. "Do you mean on theWashington?"
"Yes, yes, that's just what I mean. There are a couple of gunboats offthe shore here now, and they're going to land some men and get her backagain."
"There are two boats off the shore, Ted. I happen to know that, for thisvery craft we've got along with us we took from them this afternoon,"said the leader. And he briefly related the story of the capture.
"There, ye see I'm right!" said Benzeor, eager to follow up theimpression his words and those of the leader had created. "Now if you'llhelp me out of the clutches of"--
"Keep still, you!" interrupted Ted angrily. "It'll be time enough foryou to talk when I let go on ye. I reckon nobody is a-goin' to take youout o' my clutches till I get good and ready to let ye go. Now then,stand up straight and speak yer piece like a little man! How did yehappen to know the British was a-goin' to make an attack on theWashington?"
"I heard one of the men up by your house say so."
"I thought ye didn't have anything to do with that attack on poorSallie! She's my wife, I'd have ye know. I thought you was a-sayin' youwasn't there, and all the time I see ye, and chased ye right out o' myyard, clear down to the river! And now ye say ye heard one of the menthere tell about the plan the British have on deck to get the Washingtonback again!"
"I didn't say I wasn't there," pleaded Benzeor. "All I said was that Ididn't have anything to do with it, and I didn't."
"Ye"--began Ted, all his anger instantly returning.
"Hold on, Ted! Hold on! Let's hear what the man has to say," exclaimedthe leader.
"I'll hold on, never ye fret yerself about that!" replied Ted, stillretaining a firm grasp on his victim, but nevertheless abandoning theaction he had evidently had in mind.
"I was there, I'm not denying that," pleaded Benzeor; "but I didn't havea gun in my hands, and I didn't touch the rope either. I fell in withthe men and they made me go with them. I just couldn't help myself. Andit was while I was there I heard 'em talking about the plan to take theLove--I mean the Washington," he hastily added. "They're going to takeher in the morning."
"You mean they're going to try to take her," said the leader.
"Yes, that's what I mean; they're going to try to take her."
"The reptile may be tellin' the truth," said Ted soberly. "I had some o'the best o' the Washington's cargo myself. Ye know they brought aboutall that was aboard o' her up to Manasquan, and sold it here, orleastwise Marshal John Stokes sold it for 'em. I happen to know aboutthat, and the vermin here may be tellin' the truth. Sometimes he does itby mistake, I suppose."
A few weeks prior to this time the British ship Love and Unity ranashore near Tom's River. There were those among the people of the regionwho wagged their heads and winked slyly whenever they referred to themisfortune of the vessel, for it was a prevailing impression there thatthe pilot had not been especially favorable to the British, and more bydesign than by accident had grounded the vessel near the shore.
Be that as it may, the militia had quickly rallied, and as most of themen were as much at home upon the water as they were upon the land, theyseized the unfortunate Love and Unity, and brought her safely into portas a prize.
The cargo was considered a very valuable one, consisting, as it did,chiefly of sugar and various liquors highly prized by the men of thosedays, and, after being duly advertised, was sold by John Stokes atManasquan.
The Love and Unity was renamed the Washington, and at this time waslying at anchor near the mouth of Tom's River, within the shelter ofBarnegat Bay. As most of the men in the whaleboat, as well as the mightyTed himself, were familiar with these facts, the words of Benzeornaturally created a far deeper impression than they might otherwise havedone.
"I'll tell ye what," said Ted suddenly, turning Benzeor about so that hecould look directly into his
face as he spoke, "ye seem so well postedI've half a mind to let ye go."
"I'm telling you just exactly what I heard," said Benzeor, his hope ofescape instantly increasing. "That's what I heard the men say."
"And it was in the mornin' when they was goin' to come?"
"Yes."
"Well, I'm a-goin' to let you off. Hold on a minit," he added as Benzeorstrove to free himself. "I haven't finished yet. I'm thinkin' of lettin'ye go on one condition."
"What's that?" said Benzeor eagerly.
"I'm comin' to that pretty quick. I'm pretty comfortable here, so tospeak, and don't appear to be in such a hurry as you." As the two menwere still standing in the water, and Benzeor's teeth were chatteringfrom cold or fear, the words of the huge man were perhaps not fullyappreciated by his prisoner. "Ye appear to be so happy over yerinformation--though fer my part I don't see what ye held it back tillthis time fer--that I'm a-goin' to give ye a treat. I'm a-goin' to letye go, yes, I am; ye needn't be scart about that. Ye're goin', and I'lltell ye where ye're goin', too. Ye're goin, to join the crew o' thiswhaleboat and go down and help them defend the Washington against herenemies. That's the condition I'm placin' on ye, and that's what I'mgoin' to do with ye."
And the powerful man picked Benzeor up in his arms and placed him inthe whaleboat next to Peter, who, we may be sure, had not been anuninterested observer of all that had occurred.
"There ye be," said Ted, breaking forth into a loud laugh as he saw thedripping Benzeor hastily take his seat and glance apprehensively towardhim. "Now, then," he added, turning to the leader, and still remainingin the water, which came well up to his shoulders as he placed his handon the side of the supply boat, "if ye want me to, I'll take charge o'yer prize. You'll be puttin' straight fer Tom's River, I doubt not, andye won't want to be bothered by an extra craft. I'll hide her in a goodplace up the shore, and likely enough I may come down to the bay myselfin the night. Ye'll be settin' up a-waitin' fer me, won't ye?" he added,speaking to Benzeor.
As that individual made no reply, Ted again began to converse with theleader of the band, and in a few minutes all the details were arranged.The captured boat was to be left in his charge, and soon the whaleboatstarted down the river toward the ocean.
The sun had now disappeared from sight, but the approach of night wasall the more favorable for the plans of the men. When once they wereout on the ocean, they hoisted a sail and sped rapidly down the coast.
A sail of a little more than twenty miles brought them to BarnegatInlet, and as they entered the bay it was decided to make use of theoars again. It was almost midnight when at last they saw the Washingtonat anchor in Tom's River, and their hail was quickly answered.
Little Peter was so thoroughly wearied by the labors of the long daythat he was rejoiced to be told that he could turn in for the night.Benzeor was to have a hammock near him, and, tired as the lad was, heeagerly began to ply the man with questions when they had withdrawn fromtheir fellows.
"Benzeor, I came down here to find out about father. I suppose you knowhe was taken by Fenton's gang and that my mother was shot?"
"I heard about it."
"It was terrible, Benzeor. I don't know what I should have done if Sarahhadn't taken the children. 'Twas good of her, and of you, too, for youknow all about it, I see. I shan't forget it very soon."
As Benzeor made no reply, Peter continued: "I don't know just what todo to find out about father. The pine robbers have their quarters downhere, I'm told, and I thought I'd tell Captain Dennis about it andperhaps he would send out a party to search for him. I didn't know justwhat to make of your being here at first, but I see you have had troublewith them, too. That was mean of Ted to treat you as he did when yousaid the pine robbers made you go with them. Was it Fenton's band thatgot hold of you?"
"Yes; that is, I don't think so. I'm not just sure who they were."
"Couldn't have been Fenton then, for you know him when you see him, I'msure. Benzeor, don't you think I'd better report the capture of myfather to Captain Dennis and ask him if he won't send out a searchingparty?"
"No," said Benzeor slowly. "I don't think that will do any good."
"Why not? What else can I do?"
"Why, the fact is," said Benzeor, "I heard those men talking about yourfather, too."
"Did you?" said Peter eagerly, sitting up in his hammock as he spoke. Hecould not see his companion's face in the darkness, and perhaps it wasas well for the troubled lad that he could not, for he would have seenlittle to comfort him expressed upon it.
"Yes, I heard 'em. There's no use in your reporting it to Captain Dennisor to any one else."
"Why not? Why not? They haven't shot him, have they?"
"No. He's been sent to New York."
Peter said no more. The thick darkness seemed like that within his ownsoul. All his efforts had been worse than useless, and the troubled boyknew not what next to do.
Boys of Old Monmouth: A Story of Washington's Campaign in New Jersey in 1778 Page 19