SANDY WELLS.
As early as sunrise on the morning of September twenty-first,
twenty-eight hours or more before the time set for the trial of our
friends, the people from the country roundabout began to gather, every
man, woman and child eager to learn at the earliest possible moment
what might be the outcome of this first attempt to check the course of
the king's minions.
Before nightfall it was said that there were not less than three
thousand people in and around Hillsborough. On every hand as far as
the eye could reach, the visitors were camped; some brought two or
three bed-quilts, which they put up on crotched sticks and a long
sapling as a ridge-pole, a tent that was made to accommodate as many
as could crawl beneath it. Others utilized their carts as sleeping
quarters, the body of the vehicle serving as the upper story of the
dwelling, and the ground immediately beneath it as the ground floor;
to the wheels were tethered the horses or oxen, and he who slept in
the "chamber" of such a lodging was in danger of being awakened many
times while the cattle munched at the hay which served as a bed.
Now a few of the visitors reckoned on sleeping upon the ground
wherever darkness overtook them, and many there were who had believed
it would be possible to get a shelter in the town, never dreaming that
nearly every man, woman and child in upper Carolina would come to the
trial, during which was to be settled the question of their individual
rights.
Some of the visitors had brought with them a goodly supply of
provisions, while others, more improvident, came with nothing save a
hearty appetite, and these last went from party to party asking food
as of right, until all appeared to be supplied.
Every house in the town was filled to overflowing, so I was told, at
nine o'clock on the morning of the day before the trial was to take
place. Every tree which could be seen from our camp had one or more
beneath the shelter of its branches, and in order to prevent our
encampment from being literally over-run, it was necessary to station
fifty men as guards to keep back our friends.
Take it all in all it was such a sight as I had never seen before, and
do not expect to witness again. I had not believed there were so many
people in the upper Carolina as were now gathered here, and every one
appeared to be feverishly eager to make certain Masters Husband and
Hunter would receive a fair trial.
Sidney and I had come off from sentinel duty at sunrise, when the
crowd began to pour in, and we stood literally fascinated by the
scene, never so much as thinking of breakfast, until the forenoon was
nearly half spent, by which time the valley between us and the town
was densely packed with human beings.
"I wonder what Tryon thinks of this scene?" my comrade said musingly
as he looked across the sea of heads from which came a perfect Babel
of noise. "He must realize by this time that his imitation army could
not make much progress against such a gathering."
"Aye, and yet it is to his advantage, if he counts on playing us
false," I replied, seized by a sudden thought. "The Regulators could
not enter the town whatever might be the necessity for their so doing,
save at the expense of trampling hundreds beneath the feet of their
horses."
"That is a danger which I had not considered," my comrade said with a
long indrawing of the breath as when one brings himself to face a
sudden and immediate danger. "Governor Tryon is guarded by his
enemies, and yet if they turned upon him he would be swept from off
the face of the earth like so much chaff before the wind."
"The disaster would be appalling if these people should take it into
their heads to rise against him!" I cried, shuddering as if the work
of slaughter was about to begin. "The soldiers could mow great swaths
through the crowd at every discharge of their muskets, and hundreds
would be killed before the remainder found space in which to move."
"He will not dare work an injustice upon the prisoners!" Sidney cried
after a long pause, and I, sickening as I realized what might happen
if a sudden panic arose, or in case an act of violence was committed,
drew my comrade away from contemplation of the scene, as I said:
"Why speculate as to possibilities? No disaster can come upon them
during this day at least, and there is time enough in which to cross a
bridge when we have arrived at it. Let us go in search of something to
eat."
It was not necessary to spend very much time in this last quest; each
visitor who had relatives among the Regulators brought something in
the way of provisions as a treat, with the result that our larder was
filled to running over, and it was almost impossible to take a dozen
steps in either direction without receiving a hearty invitation "to
have something from home."
Up to this time none of Sidney's relatives or mine had put in an
appearance, and I was feeling decidedly disappointed, although I had
no good reason for believing that my mother would come all the way
from Alamance simply to learn what might be the result of Governor
Tryon's investigations.
When we had satisfied our hunger, however, and were about to visit
General Hamilton's headquarters in order to learn whether we would be
called upon for further guard duty that day, I was rejoiced beyond
words to see my mother, in company with Sidney's parents, looking here
and there anxiously, disappointed at not readily finding father or
myself.
It is not necessary to say that within a very few seconds I was
clasped in her dear arms, and for the time being I almost forgot that
such a tyrant as Tryon ever had an existence.
When I had spent an hour in her company, my father joined us, and at
the same moment Sidney shouted for me to come with him--where, I did
not at the instant understand.
"It is my intention to stay very near my mother this day," I said
petulantly, as he went toward the river even while I was advancing.
"She will be setting out for home immediately after the trials have
been brought to a close, and I have no idea of wasting even a moment
which might be spent in her company."
"Give her a chance to talk with your father," Sidney said laughingly.
"It appears to me as if the visitors were in some mischief down this
way, and I cannot find any of the Regulators who are willing to look
into the matter."
"If it was of consequence there would be no lack of men to attend to
it," I said petulantly, and then I became interested immediately as I
saw a throng of an hundred or more, who appeared to be deeply intent
upon something in their midst.
"Most likely they are having some kind of a game," Sidney said when I
came alongside; "but just before you showed yourself I fancied I heard
cries for help, and it seems as if we should know the reason for the
gathering. Unless we of the association have our eyes about us this
day there will be rough play which may develop into a fight, as I
heard General Hamilton say."
By this time we were among those of the throng who were in the outer
ring, and I heard such cries as: "Drown the scoundrel!" "Be sure he
don't get away till we from Chatham have put our mark on him!" "He's
needed a lesson this many a day, and now is the time to give it to
him!"
The crowd was so dense as each member of it pressed toward the center,
that Sidney and I were forced to literally fight our way forward, and
no less than ten minutes were spent in such task, during which time we
plainly heard cries for help in a voice which sounded strangely
familiar to me.
Then, finally, we were in the very midst of the gathering, and had
before us what promised to be a tragedy which might bring shame and
reproach upon us all, unless it was speedily checked.
As many men as could seize upon him, held in their grasp Sandy Wells,
whose legs and arms were tied securely, and whose clothing had been
torn to tatters by the rough usage he had received.
His captors were industriously engaged in kicking him when we gained a
place by his side, and at every blow they called aloud the name of
some citizen of the Carolinas who had been ill-treated at his hands.
"We're going to square accounts for all our neighbors, and then dump
you in the river," one of the men cried vindictively, and I could see
a huge rock, around which was a rope, lying near at hand to fasten on
his body when the tormentors were ready to put an end to their victim.
Now it cannot be supposed that either Sidney or I had any affection
for the sheriff's officer; but yet we could not stand idly by while he
was being murdered.
In addition to such pity as common humanity dictated, it suddenly
occurred to me that if the mob killed an officer of the law the
Regulation would be accused by Governor Tryon of having committed the
deed, and then would be good reason why the entire upper portion of
the colony should be put under strict martial rule. If this murder was
done the Sons of Liberty would be branded as assassins, and with some
reason, therefore I whispered to Sidney, although without the
slightest idea as to how we two might prevent the enraged men from
working their will:
"We must put an end to this, and that right quickly, else will the man
be killed before our eyes."
There was in his mind the same thought as had come into mine, and he
turned to look me full in the face as he said, almost shouting in
order that I might hear the words above the uproar:
"It may cost us our lives to interfere! I do not recognize any of
these men, and they will refuse to listen."
At this moment Sandy Wells caught sight of us, and, stretching out his
bound hands, cried imploringly:
"Save me, lads! For God's sake don't allow me to be murdered!"
"That we won't!" I cried, suddenly forgetting that I was running my
nose into very serious danger until we could make that maddened
desperate mob understand who we were, which last would require some
time while the tumult was so great.
Forcing myself with a rush between two of those who had a hold upon
Sandy, I seized the prisoner by the arm as I cried with the full force
of my lungs:
"You are ruining the cause of freedom when you lay violent hands upon
this man! Have a care, or there'll be mischief done to more than him!"
I had hardly finished speaking before half a dozen rushed forward, one
seizing me by the throat, despite all Sidney's efforts to hold him
back, and crying:
"Here's another of Tryon's friends! we'll drop him into the stream to
bear the tax-collector company!"
I tried in vain to speak; but the fellow had my throat as if in a
vise, and it was impossible to so much as whisper.
As the mob pressed yet further I was forced downward until I lay
across Sandy's body, and Sidney strove valiantly to make himself heard
as he cried:
"He whom you have there is Clare Butler, one of the Regulators! I am
Sidney Hubbard, also a member of the association! Do you hear? We are
of the Regulation, and are trying to prevent you from bringing yet
greater wrongs upon the colony!"
Before it was possible for Sidney to utter many words the men had
bound me hand and foot, after the same fashion as was Sandy, and at
that moment I believed, and feel certain to this day, that death was
very near me. It was only a question as to whether my comrade could
make himself heard before I was pitched overboard.
Already I could hear shouts from those in the rear demanding that I be
"finished" before Sandy's score was paid off, and more than one
threatened to take a hand in the business if it was not brought to a
speedy close.
"Drown the villain! Let Tryon understand that he can't play fast and
loose with us!" one of the crowd shouted, and another added:
"Waste no time over him; but let us pay our dues to the tax-collector
while he is drowning."
Those in the rear were so eager to expedite matters that they flung
themselves forward until the men who held me were forced to turn and
defend themselves lest they be trodden under foot, and this temporary
delay, I firmly believe, was all that saved my life.
Had the members of the mob not fought with each other to gain a better
place in which to witness the spectacle, of a verity I would have been
flung into the river.
"We are two lads who acted as escort to the deputies when they went to
Brunswick!" Sidney shouted during a momentary lull in the tumult, and
one of those nearest him caught the import of the words.
"Who are you?" the man cried, and Sidney replied, yelling in the
fellow's ear to make certain the words were understood:
"Regulators! Members of the association! But for the lad you are
threatening to drown, the deputies might not have escaped from those
whom Tryon sent in pursuit of us!"
Now it was Sidney had assistance in his efforts to procure for us a
hearing, for the man set about making his neighbor acquainted with the
facts, and in a twinkling a third understood that they had been
trying to kill their friends.
When perhaps five minutes had passed, and time moved slowly to me who
was expecting each instant that some impatient one would pitch me over
the river bank, those in the middle of the throng came to know what we
had been trying to tell them, and in a very few seconds afterward I
was released from my bonds.
"It was a close shave for you," he who had been holding me by the
throat said, as I stood before him gasping for breath. "We made
certain you were trying to save the tax-collector."
"That is exactly what we were doing," I replied, speaking with
difficulty because my windpipe was sore from the pressure so lately
put upon it.
"Then you must be friendly to Tryon, else you would not speak a good
word for that villain whom we count on killing as we would a rat!"
"It must not be done!" I cried frantically, raising my voice so that
those in the immediate vicinity might hear. "If you kill him it will
be said that it was done by orders of the Regulation, and Tryon will
have right on his side when he overruns the country with soldiers. To
raise your hands against an officer of the county is to weave a noose
for those brave men in prison who will look to-morrow for your
assistance! Nothing would please Tryon better than to have a
reasonable excuse for throwing us all into jail!"
Then, as my voice failed, Sidney took up the theme:
"How much do you harm Tryon by killing Sandy Wells? The governor cares
nothing about such as he, and would gladly reward the man who, by
committing murder almost in the encampment of the Regulators, should
give the king's minions power over us! Turn the tax-collector over to
us. We will take him to General Hamilton, who is bound to see that he
be held a prisoner, and to-morrow, if Tryon and Fanning play us false,
we shall have one on whom to retaliate."
"Keep him till to-morrow!" a voice cried, and straightway I began to
have hope that we might finally succeed in our purpose.
Some of the mob came to understand that which we would beat into
their thick skulls, and with the knowledge of what the murder of a
king's officer might mean for all in that section, whether innocent or
guilty, came the impulse to wash their own hands of any participation
in the outrage.
For the time being they forgot their victim while discussing each with
another the situation as we had shown it, and now was come the time
when I could cut Sandy's bonds.
"Get to your feet and keep close behind Sidney and me," I whispered.
"Do as I bid you, and it may be that we three can make our way inside
the lines of the encampment."
"I'll do whatever you say," Sandy replied in the tone of one whose
life has just been saved, as indeed his had, and I whispered in
Sidney's ear, for the tumult had so far subsided that it was possible
to speak with some degree of privacy:
"Work gradually toward the encampment while you talk. If we can
attract the attention of the Regulators our point is gained."
Then I turned to argue with the man nearest me, showing him how much
it would advantage us if we could have the tax-collector as our
prisoner until the trial in the court had come to an end, and all the
while pressing gently forward, step by step, toward our line of
guards.
Sandy, knowing that his only chance for life was in keeping close to
us lads, for if he had attempted to gain the village an hundred hands
would have been laid upon him in anger, obeyed my commands to the
letter, pressing me so hard at times that I found it difficult to keep
my footing.
In this manner we succeeded, after more than an hour had passed, in
approaching within twenty feet of the encampment line, and the
remainder of the task was simple.
We had but to attract the attention of the guard, and in a twinkling
half a dozen Regulators were on the spot.
Hurriedly I told our friends of what had been on foot, and Sandy Wells
was marched directly within the lines, while those who would follow
were forced by the guards to keep their distance.
The men who had come to our rescue believed it proper the prisoner
should be taken to that lean-to known as "headquarters," and soon the
miserable wretch was telling his story to our commander.
"Why did you show yourself such a simpleton as to venture into the
midst of those whom you had harassed?" the old general asked with a
laugh, for I believe he was secretly pleased at seeing the
tax-collector in such a plight.
"I came across the river to speak with some friends of mine who were
come----" Sandy began, and one of our party interrupted him by saying:
"I didn't suppose you had a friend outside of Hillsborough, and but
precious few in the town!"
"This was a family from Chatham whom I have known many years----"
"I venture to say you never tried to collect illegal taxes from them!"
"Let the man tell the story," General Hamilton interrupted, and Sandy
continued:
"They were so near the town that I didn't think any one would dare
lay hands on me; but before I was comfortably seated under their wagon
half a dozen men seized me. I was dragged up the stream to that point
where the bank is high and steep, and there the life was nearly kicked
out of me."
Sandy concluded the story by explaining how we had chanced to go to
his rescue, and what happened after we arrived at the scene.
"You two lads have done well!" the old general said emphatically. "It
would have been a sorry day's work for the people in this section if
yonder rascal had been killed. The one question now in my mind is,
what we shall do with him. I don't want such scurvy knaves in camp."
Hearing this Sandy dropped on his knees, begging the general not to
send him outside the lines of the encampment lest he be killed, and,
after waiting a moment without hearing anything by way of suggestion
as to what should be done with the fellow, Sidney said:
"If it please you, Master Hamilton, Clare and I will take charge of
him until to-morrow. I think he will do as we command, and it's only
a question of keeping him away from the visitors."
"You may take him and welcome," the general said in a tone of relief.
"It may not be safe to make too great a display of the rascal even in
camp, for we have among us many whom he has wofully distressed."
"Always acting under orders, sir, always under orders!" Sandy cried,
yet on his knees.
"You would be more of a man if you took your orders from a different
source," the general said sharply, and then motioned for us to lead
him away.
"You lads have saved my life," Sandy began when we three were walking
toward the lean-to Sidney and I had built, "and if I can ever do
anything in return, you shall understand that I know how to be
grateful."
"We've done nothing for which we expect to be rewarded," Sidney
replied with a gesture of impatience. "You can't fancy that we bear
you any very good-will, therefore what we did was for the good of the
colony."
"Never mind why you did it; I shall never forget what I owe."
Then we were come to the lean-to, and once there the question arose as
to what we should do with our charge. If he was left to wander around
the encampment alone, some of the men would undoubtedly ill-treat him,
and we were not disposed to waste time which should be spent in the
company of our dear ones, looking after him.
It was Sandy himself who solved the question for us, by saying:
"Leave me here; I can hide beneath the brush which forms your bed, and
you may be certain I shan't be such a fool as to venture out."
It was a good idea, and after he had burrowed beneath the pine
branches until no trace of him could be seen, I went to seek my
mother.