A RETREAT AFTER THE MANNER OF XENOPHON.
The next morning, a little after sunrise, as Robinson was holding the
watch on the outer ledge of the rock, in a position that enabled him to
survey the approaches to the spot through the valley, as well as to keep
his eye upon the ensign and Christopher Shaw, who were both asleep under
cover of the crag, he was startled by a distant noise of something
breaking through the bushes on the margin of the brook. At first it
struck him that this was caused by deer stalking up the stream; but he
soon afterwards descried the head and shoulders of a man, whose motions
showed him to be struggling through the thicket towards the base of the
hill. This person at length reached a space of open ground, where he
halted and looked anxiously around him, thus revealing his figure, as he
sat on horseback, to the observation of the sergeant, who, in the
meantime, had taken advantage of a low pine tree and a jutting angle of
a rock to screen himself from the eager eye of the traveller--at least
until he should be satisfied as to the other's character and purpose.
A loud and cheerful halloo, several times repeated by the stranger,
seemed to indicate his quest of a lost companion; and this gradually
drew the sergeant, with a weary motion, from his hiding-place, until
assuring himself that the comer was alone, he stept out to the edge of
the shelf of rock, and presenting his musket, peremptorily gave the
common challenge of "Who goes there?"
"A friend to Horse Robinson," was the reply of the visitor, in whom my
reader recognises John Ramsay.
Before further question might be asked and answered, John had dismounted
from his horse and clambered to the platform, where he greeted the
sergeant and the hastily-awakened Christopher Shaw, with a hearty shake
of the hand; and then proceeded to communicate the pressing objects of
his visit, and to relate all that he had learned of the recent events
during his short stay at his father's house.
In the consultation that followed these disclosures, Ramsay earnestly
urged his comrades to make instant preparation to quit their present
retirement, and to attempt the enterprise of conducting the prisoner to
Williams, who was supposed to be advancing into the neighborhood of a
well known block-house, or frontier fortification, on the Saluda, about
forty miles from their present position.
The message with which Ramsay was charged from Sumpter to Williams, made
it necessary that he should endeavor to reach that officer as soon as
possible; and the sergeant, rejoicing in the thought of being so near a
strong body of allies who might render the most essential aid to the
great object of his expedition, readily concurred in the propriety of
the young trooper's proposal. This enterprise was also recommended by
the necessity of taking some immediate steps to preserve the custody of
the ensign, whose capture had already been so serviceable to the cause
of Arthur Butler. In accordance, moreover, with John Ramsay's anxious
entreaty, Christopher Shaw, it was determined, should hasten back to the
mill at the earliest moment.
A speedy departure was, therefore, resolved on, and accordingly all
things were made ready, in the course of an hour, to commence the march.
At the appointed time the ensign was directed to descend into the
valley, where he was once more bound to his horse. The conferences
between the sergeant and his two comrades had been held out of the
hearing of the prisoner; but it was now thought advisable to make him
acquainted with the late proceedings that had transpired with regard to
Butler, and especially with the respite that had been given to that
officer by Innis. This communication was accompanied by an intimation
that he would best consult his own comfort and safety by a patient
submission to the restrictions that were put upon him: inasmuch as his
captors had no disposition to vex him with any other precautions than
were necessary for his safe detention during the present season of peril
to Butler.
With this admonition the party began their journey. The first two or
three hours were occupied in returning, by the route of the valley, to
the Ennoree. When they reached the river they found themselves relieved
from the toils of the narrow and rugged path by which they had threaded
the wild mountain dell, and introduced into an undulating country
covered with forest, and intersected by an occasional but unfrequented
road leading from one settlement to another. Here Christopher Shaw was
to take leave of his companions, his path lying along the bank of the
Ennoree, whilst the route to be pursued by the others crossed the river
and extended thence southwards to the Saluda. The young miller turned
his horse's head homewards, with some reluctance at parting with his
friends in a moment of such interest, and bore with him many messages of
comfort and courage to those whom he was about to rejoin--and more
particularly from the sergeant to Butler, in case Christopher should
have the good fortune to be able to deliver them. At the same time,
Horse Shoe and John Ramsay, with the prisoner, forded the Ennoree, and
plunged into the deep forest that lay upon its further bank.
For several hours they travelled with the greatest circumspection,
avoiding the frequented roads and the chance of meeting such wayfarers
as might be abroad on their route. It was a time of great anxiety and
suspense, but the habitual indifference of military life gave an air of
unconcern to the conduct of the soldiers, and scarcely affected, in any
visible degree, the cheerfulness of their demeanor.
They reached, at length, the confines of a cultivated country--a region
which was known to be inhabited by several Tory families. To avoid the
risk of exposure to persons who might be unfriendly to their purpose,
they thought it prudent to delay entering upon this open district until
after sunset, that they might continue their journey through the night.
The difficulty of ascertaining their road in the dark, and the danger of
seeking information from the few families whose habitations occurred to
their view, necessarily rendered their progress slow. The time was,
therefore, passed in weary silence and persevering labor, in the anxious
contemplation of the probability of encountering some of the enemy's
scouts.
At the break of day they stopped to refresh themselves; and the contents
of Horse Shoe's wallet, unhappily reduced to a slender supply of
provisions, were distributed amongst the party. During this halt, John
Ramsay commanded the ensign to exchange his dress with him; and our
faithful ally was converted, by this traffic, for the nonce, into a
spruce, well-looking, and gay young officer of the enemy's line.
The most hazardous portion of their journey now lay before them. They
were within a few miles of the Saluda, from whence, at its nearest
point, it was some six or seven more down the stream to the
Block-house--the appointed rendezvous, where it was yet a matter of
uncertainty whether Williams had arrived. The space between the
travellers and the river was a fertile and comparatively thickly-peopled
region, of which the inhabitants were almost entirely in the Tory
interest. The broad daylight having overtaken them on the confines of
this tract, exposed them to the greatest risk of being questioned. They
had nothing left but to make a bold effort to attain the river by the
shortest path; and thence to pursue the bank towards the rendezvous.
"Courage, John," said Horse Shoe, smiling at the new garb of his
comrade; "you may show your pretty feathers to-day to them that are fond
of looking at them. And you, my young clodpole, ride like an honest
Whig, or I mought find occasion to do a discomfortable thing, by putting
a bullet through and through you. Excuse the liberty, sir, for these are
ticklish times; but I shall ondoubtedly be as good as my word."
Our adventurers soon resumed their journey. They had come within a mile
of the Saluda without interruption, and began to exchange
congratulations that the worst was passed, when they found themselves
descending a sharp hill which jutted down upon an extensive piece of
pasture ground. One boundary of this was watered by a brook, along whose
margin a fringe of willows, intermixed with wild shrubbery of various
kinds, formed a screen some ten or fifteen feet in height. As soon as
this range of meadow was observed, our cautious soldiers halted upon the
brow of the hill to reconnoitre; and perceiving nothing to excite their
apprehension, they ventured down, upon the track of an ill-defined road,
which took a direction immediately over the broadest portion of the
field.
They had scarcely crossed the brook at the bottom of the hill, before
they heard the remote voices of men in conversation, and the tones of a
careless laugh. On looking towards the upper section of the stream, they
were aware of a squad of loyalist cavalry, who came riding, in the shade
of the willows, directly towards the spot where the travellers had
entered upon the meadow. The party consisted of seven or eight men, who
were, at this instant, not more than one hundred paces distant.
"They are upon us, sergeant!" exclaimed John Ramsay. "Make sure of the
prisoner: retreat as rapidly as you can. Leave me to myself. Make for
the Block-house--I will meet you there."
With these hasty intimations, he pricked his courser up to full speed,
and shaped his flight directly across the open field, in full view of
the enemy.
Horse Shoe, at the same moment, drew a pistol, cocked it, and throwing
the rein of St. Jermyn's horse into the hands of the rider, he cried
out:--
"Back across the branch and into the woods! Push for it, or you are a
dead man! On, on!" he added, as he rode at high speed immediately beside
the ensign; "a stumble, or a whisper above your breath, and you get the
bullet. Fly--your life is in your horse's heels!"
The resolute tone of the sergeant had its effect upon his prisoner, who
yielded a ready obedience to the pressing orders, and bounded into the
thicket with as much alacrity as if flying from an enemy.
Meanwhile, the troopers, struck with the earnest haste of one whose
dress bespoke a British officer, speeding across the field, did not
doubt that they had afforded this timely opportunity for the escape of a
prisoner from the hands of the Whigs.
"Wheel up, lads," shouted the leader of the squad, "it is the ensign!
Wheel up and form a platoon to cut off the pursuit. We have him safe out
of their clutches!"
Impressed with the conviction that a considerable force of Whig cavalry
were at hand, the troopers directed all their efforts to cover what they
believed Ensign St. Jermyn's retreat, and were now seen formed into a
platoon, and moving towards the middle of the plain, in such a manner as
to place themselves between the fugitive and his supposed pursuers. Here
they delayed a few minutes, as if expecting an attack; until finding
that the object of their solicitude had safely crossed the field and
plunged into the distant woods, they rode away at a rapid pace in the
same direction. When they reached the further extremity of the open
ground, they halted for an instant, turned their eyes back towards the
spot of their first discovery, and, finding that no attempt was made to
follow, gave a hearty huzza, and rode onward in search of their prize.
The stratagem had completely succeeded: Ramsay had escaped, and Horse
Shoe had withdrawn his prisoner into the neighboring wood upon the hill,
where he was able to observe the whole scene. After a brief interval,
the sergeant resumed his journey, and, with all necessary
circumspection, bent his steps towards the river, where he arrived
without molestation, and thence he continued his march in the direction
of the rendezvous.
John Ramsay did not stop until he had crossed the Saluda and advanced a
considerable distance on the opposite bank, where, to his great joy, he
was encountered by a look-out party of Williams's regiment. Our fugitive
had some difficulty in making himself known to his friends, and escaping
the salutation which an enemy was likely to obtain at their hands; but
when he surrendered to them, and made them acquainted with the cause of
his disguise, the party instantly turned about with him, and proceeded
in quest of the sergeant and his prisoner.
It was not long before they fell in with the small detachment of
Connelly's troopers,--as the late masters of the meadow turned out to
be--who were leisurely returning from their recent exploit. These,
finding themselves in the presence of superior numbers, turned to
flight. Not far behind them Ramsay and his new companions encountered
Horse Shoe; and the whole party proceeded without delay to Williams's
camp.
Colonel Williams had reached the Block-house on the preceding evening
with a force of two hundred cavalry. Clarke and Shelby happened, at this
juncture, to be with him; and these three gallant partisans were now
anxiously employed in arranging measures for that organized resistance
to the Tory Dominion which fills so striking a chapter in the history of
the Southern war, and which it had been the special object of Butler's
mission to promote. Horse Shoe was enabled to communicate to Williams
and his confederates the general purpose of this mission, and the
disasters which had befallen Butler in his attempt to reach those with
whom he was to co-operate. This intelligence created a lively interest
in behalf of the captive, and it was instantly determined to make some
strenuous effort for his deliverance. Whilst these matters were brought
into consultation by the leaders, Horse Shoe and John Ramsay mingled
amongst the soldiers, in the enjoyment of that fellowship which forms
the most agreeable feature in the associations of the camp.