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THE MINUTE BOYS OF YORK TOWN
AMERICAN HISTORY STORIES FOR BOYS
_THE MINUTE BOY SERIES_
By Edward Stratemeyer and James Otis
The Minute Boys of Lexington
The Minute Boys of Bunker Hill
The Minute Boys of the Green Mountains
The Minute Boys of the Mohawk Valley
The Minute Boys of the Wyoming Valley
_THE MEXICAN WAR SERIES_
By Capt. Ralph Bonehill
For the Liberty of Texas
With Taylor on the Rio Grande
Under Scott in Mexico
DANA ESTES & COMPANY
Publishers
Estes Press, Summer St., Boston
[Illustration: "IT WAS A SIGHT WELL CALCULATED TO STIR THE BLOOD OF A
BOY FROM VIRGINIA."]
THE MINUTE BOYS OF YORK TOWN
JAMES OTIS
Author of "The Minute Boys of Long Island," The "Minute Boys
of Wyoming Valley," "Boys of '98," "Teddy and Carrots," "Boys
of Fort Schuyler," "Under the Liberty Tree," etc., etc.
_Illustrated by_
L. J. BRIDGMAN
[Illustration]
BOSTON
DANA ESTES & COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1912_
BY DANA ESTES & COMPANY
_All rights reserved_
THE MINUTE BOYS OF YORK TOWN
PRESS OF
THE VAIL-BALLOU CO.
BINGHAMTON, N. Y.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. TWO YOUNG VIRGINIANS 11
II. SILVER HEELS 30
III. UNCLE 'RASMUS'S ADVICE 49
IV. THE TOWN OF YORK 70
V. OUR PRISONER 89
VI. A DISAGREEABLE SURPRISE 109
VII. MORGAN, THE SPY 128
VIII. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SAUL 147
IX. SUSPENSE 166
X. NEWS OF SAUL 185
XI. A DESPERATE VENTURE 205
XII. SAUL'S OPPORTUNITY 223
XIII. THE SIEGE 240
XIV. AN UGLY SITUATION 258
XV. FORAGING 276
XVI. PREPARATIONS FOR FLIGHT 294
XVII. OUR BLUNDER 310
XVIII. TRAPPED 329
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
"IT WAS A SIGHT WELL CALCULATED TO STIR THE BLOOD OF A
BOY FROM VIRGINIA" (_Page 227_) _Frontispiece_
"THAT WE MIGHT PEER BETWEEN THE LEAVES" 26
"HE ... TOUCHED HIS HAT IN REGULAR MILITARY SALUTE" 76
"I SPRANG FORWARD" 90
"WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST WARNING I FOUND MYSELF IN THE
CLUTCHES OF A MAN" 119
"HALT, OR I'LL FIRE!" 138
THE RELEASE OF SAUL OGDEN 233
"A GENERAL DISCHARGE ... WAS COMMENCED BY THE AMERICANS" 289
THE MINUTE BOYS OF YORK TOWN
CHAPTER I
TWO YOUNG VIRGINIANS
When Uncle 'Rasmus loses his temper because of some prank which we lads
of James Town may have played upon him, he always says that no good can
ever come of that in which "chillun an' women are mixed."
It had never entered my mind that there was in such a remark any cause
for anger on my part, until that day when Saul Ogden repeated it,
shaking his head dolefully as Uncle 'Rasmus always did, and speaking in
the negro dialect so faithfully that one, not seeing him, might well
have supposed his skin was black.
Of course you remember the engagement at Spencer's Ordinary, which place
is the same as if I had said Spencer's Tavern, on the 26th of June in
the year of Grace 1781, when Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe of the Queen's
Rangers, and Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton with his Legion of Horse, began
to "prance" around here, as Uncle 'Rasmus would put it, and we
Virginians were disturbed in more ways than one.
There were a number of our people who would have been loyal to the king
if Governor Dunmore had not written himself down such a consummate ass,
and many even at this time whose sympathies were all with the struggling
colonists, but who yet hoped matters could be settled without loss of
honor to either side, meaning that the so-called rebels and his majesty
might come together in friendship once more.
But when this "prancing" began; when Colonel Tarleton rode rough-shod
over our people of Virginia without seeming to understand the meaning of
the word "humanity," then it was that even those who had hoped against
hope that the colonies might remain in peace and harmony with the mother
country, began to realize it was no longer possible.
It had required five long, weary years, during which our Americans in
the North had borne nearly all the brunt of this struggle against the
king, and I dare not say how much of friendship, to persuade those few
in Virginia who strove to hold some shred of loyalty to the king, that
the time had come when they must take sides with those who had the best
interests of the country at heart, no longer looking to royalty for
relief.
Saul Ogden is my cousin, being but three days younger than I, who was,
in August of 1781, just turned fifteen, and although it may seem strange
to the lads of New England that we two Virginians knew so little
concerning what was being done in this America of ours, it is true that
until the engagement at Spencer's Ordinary there had never been a
thought in our minds that we might be called upon, or that it would be
possible for us to take any part in the bloody struggle which had been
prolonged until it seemed of a verity that the people of New York and
Boston must have come to an end of all their resources, so far as
struggling against the king's soldiers was concerned.
It is true Saul and I had heard now and then that even boys in
Massachusetts and in New York were enrolled, or had agreed among
themselves, to act as Minute Boys, ready to do whatsoever they might, at
any time, regardless of all things else save the proving of that
Declaration of Independence to the satisfaction of the whole wide world.
It was on the day before the action at Spencer's Ordinary that I,
Fitzroy Hamilton, and Saul, my cousin, met for the first time a little
French lad by name of Pierre Laurens, who had come up from New Orleans
with his widowed mother to visit at my home, after having spent a summer
in Boston.
A companionable sort of a lad was this little French boy who waved his
hands and shrugged his shoulders when he talked, as if they were in some
way connected with his tongue; one who was able to tell many an
entertaining story, and who had seen so much of this land of America
that it was to Saul and me as if he was some great traveler, while we
were only two country louts, never having strayed a dozen miles from
home.
It is not of Pierre whom I have set myself down to tell; but it was
necessary I should refer to him in order that you might understand how
we two lads of James Town, who seldom went away from the plantation save
to ride into the settlement, and whose longest journey had been from the
James to the York river across that neck where one may best arrive at
York Town, came to know that we might serve the Cause as Minute Boys.
It was little Frenchie who took it upon himself to tell us what he
knew, he having met several lads in Boston who called themselves Minute
Boys. He held up before Saul and me pictures of the duty we owed our
homes, as if we Virginians needed to be taught our duty, and painted in
glowing colors the honor and glory which was to be won by those lads who
stood ever ready to perform the work of Minute Boys, until we were quite
aflame with the idea.
I doubt much, however, whether anything would have come of it had it not
been for that same engagement at Spencer's Ordinary, when
Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe, counting to ride over the Pennsylvania men
under Colonel Butler as he had ridden over us Virginians, found much to
his displeasure that it was not always possible for his high mightiness
to do exactly as he wished.
Do not get the idea that I intend to make it appear as if the king's
troops were worsted at Spencer's Tavern; but it was a drawn battle, as I
have heard even those who really loved the king, admit, and it must have
been a startling surprise to the swaggering Simcoe to have received even
a check.
It was only natural that after this engagement Saul and I, egged on by
Pierre, should talk quite seriously of forming a company of Minute Boys;
but no sooner would we begin, and I strive to point out how we might do
this thing or that which would advantage our colony of Virginia, than
Saul would break in with the saying of Uncle 'Rasmus's, that where
"chillun an' women were mixed" matters went awry.
Yet despite my cousin's seeming scorn, Pierre continued to urge that we
enroll ourselves as Minute Boys, and when Saul asked irritably whether
he believed any good would come to the Cause if only three lads were
banded together, agreeing to do whatsoever they might, thereby, as you
can see, throwing cold water on the scheme, Pierre, his hands waving and
his shoulders shrugged nearly to his ears, would insist again and again
that if no more than three should set themselves about striving to do
something in aid of those who were battling against the king, much of
good might be accomplished.
Then Saul, without really meaning to be unkind, would cry out that
Colonel Simcoe had better have a care when our company of three Virginia
Minute Boys set out on the war-path, and while his friendly scorn
fretted me now and then, it did not distress Pierre in the least.
I say it did not distress him, and yet I may be mistaken, for after Saul
had repeated Uncle 'Rasmus's maxim, and spoken sneeringly of the fear
which a company of Minute Boys numbering three might produce throughout
the colony, little Frenchie said, waving his hands as if to brush my
cousin aside:
"Oh, well, if you are afraid, then it would not be of avail even though
you had a company of twenty."
"Afraid!" Saul cried, the red blood flushing his face as he advanced
almost threateningly toward the little fellow from New Orleans. "Do you
dare come here and tell a Virginian that he is afraid of any person who
walks this earth even though he wear a crown?"
"I did not say you _were_ afraid," Pierre replied sweetly, still
shrugging his shoulders and waving his hands. "I said _if_ you were
afraid, then it would not do for you to talk of being a Minute Boy. It
is only those lads in the colonies who dare do this or dare do that, who
could be of value to the Cause."
Now it is just possible little Frenchie was irritated when he made this
reply; but however it came about, certain it is from that moment Saul
ceased to throw cold water upon the plan of raising a company of Minute
Boys, and no longer quoted Uncle 'Rasmus, or spoke scornfully of what
might be accomplished, yet at the same time he was not enthusiastic
about it until after that sixth of July, when at Green Spring plantation
the British under my Lord Cornwallis met the Americans commanded by
General Lafayette, the king's troops getting much the best of the
battle.
I had thought Saul might strive to get even with Pierre by pointing out
that the young French general was defeated where an American might have
been victorious; but no, he held his peace concerning the nationality of
the commander of the army, and seemed all afire with a desire to do
something with his own hands that should be of benefit to the Cause.
He insisted we form ourselves into a company of Minute Boys at once,
even though there were but three of us, claiming even as little Frenchie
had claimed days and days before, that it might be possible even for so
small a number to accomplish considerable of good, and promising that as
the time went by we would be able to add to our numbers.
And thus it was that Saul and I, two Virginia lads, joined with Pierre,
a Frenchie, to form a company of Minute Boys in aid of the Cause of
Liberty, and even went so far, after agreeing among ourselves that we
were to stand by each other so long as life should last, to write a
letter to Master Patrick Henry telling him of what we had done and
offering our services, much the same as if they might be of great value.
The strangest part of all, as it seemed to me, was that Master Henry did
actually answer the letter which Saul wrote; did really speak of us as
if it might be possible that we do somewhat of good to the Cause, and
commending us for coming together in such a fashion. It was much as if
he believed he was writing to three men of importance in Virginia, who
could do this, or do that, according to their will, instead of three
lads who had hardly ever, with the exception of Pierre, ventured off the
Hamilton plantation.
I questioned seriously whether Master Henry really understood Saul's
letter; if he was aware of the fact that we were lads only just turned
fifteen, and argued that he must have read the missive so hurriedly that
he thought three influential planters, if you please, who may formerly
have been luke-warm to the Cause, were now turned about ready to do
whatsoever they might.
Had Saul and I been alone I could have convinced my cousin that I was in
the right; but little Frenchie must needs start up, insisting that
Master Henry knew to whom he was writing; that a great man like Master
Patrick Henry would not read a letter which, if it had come from men,
was of importance, so hurriedly as not to understand who had written it.
He argued from all this, that our calling ourselves Minute Boys, even
though we might not succeed in doing much that would advantage the
colony, was of moment even in the eyes of so able a man as he who had
been governor of Virginia.
I must say this for Pierre, that when he starts out to convince you of a
matter there is in his manner and his voice such winning qualities, that
even though at the outset you were positive he was in the wrong, before
many minutes had passed you were saying to yourself that all his words
were true, all his beliefs noble, and all that he would do exactly
right.
It was one thing to call ourselves Minute Boys; to write to Governor
Henry and to be praised by him, and quite another matter to be able to
do anything whatsoever in aid of the Cause.
It is true that we did not go far afield in search of opportunities, and
for the very good reason that we knew not where to go. Between our town
of James and the village of York we knew our way as well as we did
through the pantry to that jar of cake which Aunt Dinah always kept so
well filled; but beyond that it was all a strange world to us, so
strange that we doubted whether we might make our way even so far as
Baltimore without writing ourselves down as the veriest country louts.
Then came that day when my Lord Cornwallis led his red-coated men into
James Town itself, and we found ourselves not only surrounded by these
soldiers of the king, but literally over-run by them. So high and mighty
was his majesty's officer that he quartered his soldiers here, there, or
in the other place, at whatsoever house pleased his fancy, insisting
that we Virginians who claimed we had the right to break off from the
mother country, should take care of those who had come to shoot us
down.
Then of a verity did it seem to me the time had come when we Minute Boys
might do something, and I said as much to Saul and Pierre.
My cousin held his peace, looking around eagerly as if striving to see
here or there some opportunity, while little Frenchie shrugged his
shoulders as if the matter was of little consequence to him, and I,
irritated by his movements, taunted him with being a coward, saying it
was all very well for him, while the British soldiers were at a
distance, to talk loudly about forming a company of Minute Boys, but
instantly the enemy were come within reach he was well content to lie
down at their feet.
I was ashamed of myself even as I spoke, and looked to see Pierre fly
into a rage; but, instead, he shrugged his little shoulders yet higher,
advising that I go back into the stable yard where Uncle 'Rasmus, with
the hounds around him, was sunning himself, and there take advice from
the old negro who claimed that where "chillun an' women were mixed" no
good could come.
"And to what end should I take advice from Uncle 'Rasmus?" I cried in a
rage, whereupon Pierre, waving his hands with the palms uppermost, said
in a most friendly way:
"To the end, my dear Fitz, that you may come to understand there is a
time for work and a time for remaining idle; that he who would
accomplish something does not set out upon a task which, even before
beginning it, he knows to be impossible."
"All of which means what?" Saul demanded, and I understood that the
lad's heart was heavy, for within the hour he had been crowded against
the wall, and a red-coated captain of the Foot had shaken him soundly
because he did not give way to the swaggerers who had come into Virginia
to teach us manners.
"All of which means that the time will come when we shall be able to do
something to please even your Governor Henry," Pierre said sulkily, and
then turned away, himself to take counsel of Uncle 'Rasmus, leaving Saul
and me gazing into each other's faces like a couple of simples, until my
cousin said with a mirthless laugh:
"I am beginning to believe, Fitz, that little Frenchie has more in his
head than ever you or I can hope to find in ours."
It was the first time I had ever heard him suggest that Pierre was wise
beyond his years. In fact, he had always looked upon the little fellow
as a pleasant companion, and I had believed that I was more than his
equal when it came to such tasks as Minute Boys should do. I had set it
down in my mind that when the time for real work arrived, if it ever
did, it would be Saul and I who would do credit to our town of James.
My Lord Cornwallis did not linger at James Town; but continued on down
the river until he was come to Portsmouth, having stopped meanwhile on
the way to "give Lafayette a lesson," as some of our Tory neighbors
suggested.
Then, as you very well know, it began to appear as if this valiant
officer, who represented the king in Virginia, was beginning to get
uneasy because the young French general was pressing him rather warmly,
and continued what was well nigh a retreat until that first day of
September in the year of Grace 1781, when he entered York Town, and
immediately began to fortify the settlements of York and Gloucester as
if counting to make there a permanent abiding place.
It never occurred to me that my Lord Cornwallis had really beaten a
retreat before the Americans, and was now come to where he must have aid
from New York or from overseas in order to get out from what was much
like a trap, until Uncle 'Rasmus, when we lads were gathered about him
in the stable-yard, said, shaking his grey head as he chewed
meditatively on a straw:
"It kind 'er 'pears to me, chillun, like as ef dat yere Britisher what's
flutterin' 'roun' ober York way wid his hosses, an' his guns, an' his
shinin' sword, was heapin' up a sight ob misery for hisself."
"But surely, Uncle 'Rasmus, after the engagement at Green Spring, you
can't believe it would be possible for the French general to do him any
harm?" Saul cried, surprised by the old negro's words, which seemed much
like a prophecy.
"I ain' sayin', chile, dat de French gin'ral is gwine for to hurt de
Britishers so berry much; but it kind'er 'pears to me dis erway: You see
dey's come down yere to de jumpin'-off place, an' dere ain' much chance
for 'em to get away 'cept dey goes by water. Now I'se done hear dat
dere's a power ob French vessels hangin' 'roun' off de Capes, des like
as if dey was waitin' to swaller up de red-coated gen'men."
"If he can't get away by water he'll go back by land," Saul suggested,
and Uncle 'Rasmus shook his head mournfully, as if it pained him to
believe that my Lord Cornwallis had come into a veritable trap.
"What 'bout dat yere Virginia gen'man dey's got up Norf--what 'bout
Gin'ral Washington? Do you count, chillun, de's gwine for ter lay stock
still when he's got de chance ob nabbin' all dis yere stuff what dey
'lows b'longs to de king? Ef it was some ob yere po' wuffless Northern
trash what was runnin' dis yere war for de people ob America, den it
might be dat Lord Cornwallis was gwine to turn 'roun' slap when he done
got ready. But mark you, chillun, it's one ob our Virginia gen'men dats
lookin' after tings. He knows de lan' 'roun' erbout; kase why? Kase he's
bin here, chillun; he's bin right on dis yere plantation, an' he knows
dat when you strikes de town ob York you'se got to be sumfin like a
flea, able to hop a mighty big hop."
"Even suppose my Lord Cornwallis does beat back the Americans who are
led by one of my countrymen; he might find it very difficult to break
through their ranks, if he wanted to go back toward Richmond by the same
way he came," Pierre said with a wave of the hand which I never hope to
fully describe, for there was ever much of feeling in his gestures.
We remained there in the stable yard until the sun was low in the
western sky, discussing the situation with Uncle 'Rasmus as our oracle.
It is true we lads could not speak intelligently upon military matters,
and as I look back now upon that day, I realize how much of folly there
was in our words; but our hearts were nigh to bursting with the desire
to do something toward ridding our colony of Virginia of those
swaggering, insolent, red-coated men, all of whom we believed to be
quite as brutal as Colonel Tarleton and his followers.
The result of that afternoon's conversation with Uncle 'Rasmus, if such
it can be called, was that we three lads decided to go over to York
Town, and see for ourselves how the Britishers were disposed there, and
what they had done in the way of throwing up fortifications, for word
had come through the negroes that not only the town of York, but
Gloucester also, was being fortified thoroughly well.
It is not above eight miles from our plantation to the town of York, and
we counted to ride there and back before the next noon, until Uncle
'Rasmus, as if terrified by such a proposition, insisted that we ought
never even think of trusting the horses so near the British encampment.
He told us what we very speedily came to know was true, that these
servants of the king would not hesitate to despoil us Virginians who
might be accused of what they were pleased to term disloyalty, even to
the extent of taking from us our lives.
I could not then believe the old negro was talking other than veriest
nonsense; but before another week had passed I came to understand all
too well that we of Virginia who were called rebels, had no rights which
these red-coated gentry were bound to respect.
It seemed fortunate that Uncle 'Rasmus succeeded in convincing us it
would be in the highest degree dangerous to ride good saddle horses, and
there were none other on the Hamilton plantation, within the British
lines at York Town, and finally we agreed among ourselves, so eager had
we grown to know what was being done by my Lord Cornwallis, to walk
there and back. It would not be a severe journey, for we might count on
going and returning between sunrise and sunset, and yet not exert
ourselves overly much.
It is not necessary I should set down anything concerning our movements
from the time we parted with Uncle 'Rasmus, until next morning, an hour
after sunrise, when we were come within view of York Town, having walked
at a rapid pace, for even though it was yet early in September, there
was a bit of frost in the air which induced one to move rapidly lest he
become chilled.
It was when we were come so near the end of our journey, that we saw
ahead of us, less than a quarter of a mile away, Horry Sims, who lived
on the old Livingston plantation, three miles above my home, and he
appeared to be talking earnestly with a mounted officer who was in
command of mayhap a dozen men.
Now Horry Sims was a lad who might fairly have been called a friend of
mine, because we had had no angry words together such as could not
readily be wiped out; but since two or three years neither Saul nor I
chummed very much with the lad. It was believed, and with good cause,
that his father yet remained loyal to the king, and was not only ready
to make a display of love for his majesty; but appeared so willing to
show disloyalty to his neighbors that it almost amounted to eagerness.
Uncle 'Rasmus declared again and again that Master Sims had had a hand
in whatsoever of mischief had been done in Virginia, and perhaps Saul
and I might have believed the old negro had he not set down so much of
evil to the account of Horry's father that it was impossible one man
could have compassed it all.
Certain it is, however, we had come to look upon Master Sims as a rank
Tory, and, fancying his son might hold the views of his father, we two
lads, meaning Saul and me, had kept away from him, not in the way of
enmity, but rather to avoid the lad, although we treated him fairly when
he came where we were.
After all we believed we knew, it should not have seemed strange to us
that Horry Sims was talking in an apparently friendly fashion with this
officer in his majesty's service, yet we were surprised, for now was
come the time, if he felt so disposed, when it was possible for him to
do much of harm to his neighbors, and on the instant I stepped aside
from the highway that I might be screened by the bushes, beckoning my
companions to do the same.
We had thus hidden ourselves from view of those who were ahead of us, as
I believed, before they came to know that we were in the vicinity, and
Saul, thinking that now was the time when we might do Minute-Boy duty,
whispered to me:
"Shall we creep among the shrubbery until we are come where it is
possible to hear the conversation of those beyond?"
Before I could make reply, little Frenchie, shrugging his shoulders,
whispered:
"How far think you, it would be possible to go without being overheard
by some of those who wear red coats? If it was night, or if yonder men
were deaf, then might you do it."
"It is certain they would hear you before you were where it could be
possible to distinguish a word of the conversation," I said in reply to
Saul's suggestion, and he was seemingly satisfied that such would be the
case, for instead of making any attempt at an argument, he crept more
closely to my side, pulling Pierre with him until we three, in order to
hold in view that group of red, in the midst of which was Horry Sims,
were forced to part the foliage with our hands that we might peer
between the leaves.
Perhaps our suspicions of the lad prompted us to see more than really
was presented; but certain it is I fancied that the officer, who was
mounted, plied Horry with questions, to which the lad replied as if it
gave him pleasure to impart information. I also suspected they were
saying somewhat concerning our plantation, for now and again Horry
pointed in the direction of my home, and the foot soldiers looked back
as if fancying they might see the buildings in the distance, all of
which was the more real to me because betwixt where we stood and the
Hamilton plantation there was no other dwelling.
We remained there in hiding a full half hour, and then it appeared to me
as if the officer and Horry Sims parted in friendly fashion, the lad to
continue on toward York Town, and the officer and his men to march in
our direction, as if counting to follow back on our trail.
As a matter of course there was nothing we lads could do save remain in
hiding, trusting that our whereabouts would not be discovered, for,
although we had been doing no harm, if a servant of his majesty should
come to understand that we three lads were striving to keep out of
sight, he might take it into his thick head to fancy we were bent on
mischief.
In those days it was only needed that an officer in the service of the
king should have a suspicion, in order to straightway plunge into
difficulties that person toward whom the suspicions were directed.
We held ourselves in cover, therefore, and I confess to a sense of most
profound relief when the squad continued on without giving heed to the
possibility that there had been witnesses to the meeting with Horry
Sims.
[Illustration: "THAT WE MIGHT PEER BETWEEN THE LEAVES."]
"Now it is only for us to know where those gentlemen with the red coats
may be going," little Frenchie said, shrugging his shoulders as we came
out from the bushes and turned our faces in the direction from which we
had just come, whereupon Saul asked hotly:
"Are you not for York Town? Have your legs grown weary with walking
three or four miles?"
"The town of York will remain where it is yet many a day, and I dare
venture to say my Lord Cornwallis will not take his departure suddenly,
therefore shall we have plenty of time in which to look at the British
encampment," Pierre replied, retracing his steps as if he had no care
whether we followed.
"But why go back?" I cried impatiently. "Of what avail for us to follow
that squad, who are most likely out foraging?"
"I have seen soldiers nearabout New Orleans, therefore do I know that
when foragers go out they take with them huge wagons to bring back such
as may be found. Those who have just passed are empty-handed, save for
muskets, and never one of them carried his full complement of
accoutrements."
"Well, suppose he doesn't?" Saul asked sulkily, but yet following little
Frenchie nevertheless, for there was something about the lad which
caused you to do that which pleased him whether it was to your liking or
not.
"Then it must be they are out on some special duty," Pierre continued,
"and I am of the mind that we shall find more amusement in watching
them, than if we follow on the heels of your Tory friend who seems also
to count on visiting York Town."
Whether Pierre had any suspicions of what might be afoot, I cannot say;
but certain it is he pressed forward, striving to accommodate his pace
with that of the soldiers, so that he might not come directly on their
heels, and Saul and I, inwardly angry with ourselves for thus copying
the movements of the little lad from New Orleans, kept well alongside
him till we had covered a distance of mayhap a mile, when my cousin
suddenly halted, saying almost angrily:
"We are showing ourselves simples in thus turning back simply because a
squad of British soldiers have gone ahead!"
"Yet those same gentlemen who wear red coats are marching in the
direction of the Hamilton plantation," little Frenchie said with another
shrug of his shoulders and a wave of his hands, as if to intimate that
there was very much more which he might say, and I, understanding
somewhat of the gesture, cried out impatiently:
"Why do you say that? What have they to do on the Hamilton plantation?"
"It is that which I would learn," Pierre replied. "It is what I believe
it would be better for us to see than if we wandered through the British
encampment at York Town."
Until that instant I had never fancied my father's property might be in
any danger from the king's men. True it is that he was known as one
devoted to the cause of liberty; but thus far the war had been at such a
distance from us that we had seen little of its horrors, and for the
first time I began to realize there might be somewhat of mischief
afoot, therefore pressed forward hotly, Pierre holding me back from time
to time lest we overtake the soldiers.
The Britishers must have walked more rapidly than we fancied, for when
finally we were come within view of my home, we saw riding out from the
stable-yard, each man mounted and more than one with a led-horse by his
side, all the company that had passed us on the road, and the animals
which they rode and led were horses belonging to my father! Yea, among
them Saul's mare and my own favorite colt, which I cherished as the
dearest thing on earth next to my mother!
"What does it mean?" I cried, speaking with difficulty because of that
seeming lump in my throat, and little Frenchie, shrugging his shoulders
in a manner that set every nerve in my body aquiver, replied as if it
was a matter of small moment:
"They have been to the Hamilton plantation in order to get mounts for
the officers of my Lord Cornwallis's army, and from this on your colt
will carry a burly Englishman bedecked with gilt lace and red cloth,
instead of the lad who loves her so dearly."