THE WAR BEGUN
There could be no question, after this cry from Amos Nelson, but that he
and his Tory friends had in some way come to learn of what we lads would
do toward aiding the Cause.
It was natural that I, suspecting Seth Jepson, should set down to his
door the crime of having betrayed us to our enemies; but when I put that
thought into words Archie would have none of it. He declared that
however much Seth might be inclined toward Toryism, he was not such a
knave as to join us with traitorous intentions in his heart.
We had made no reply to Amos Nelson, and it appeared much as if his only
desire was to let us understand that he was in possession of our secret,
for immediately after having taunted us he went off in the direction of
Corn hill, taking his friend with him, therefore Archie and I had
nothing to do except discuss the possibility of our having been
betrayed, with not a little warmth but no result.
Silas was still engaged in the work of enrolling recruits, and failed to
come to the rendezvous, most like believing he could be doing better
service in seeking out those who would become Minute Boys, than by
wagging his tongue at the city dock with us.
Because of knowing that that which we would keep private was a secret no
longer, I grew disheartened, and instead of agreeing to Archie's
proposition that the remainder of the day be spent in gaining yet more
recruits, I turned my face homeward once more, agreeing crustily to meet
those who had promised to become Minute Boys at the old ship-yard that
evening.
A blind man might have seen that Archie was not well pleased with my
sudden lukewarmness in the matter of raising a company. He believed he
knew there had been no betrayal by Seth, and therefore set down my
behavior to ill nature, rather than disappointment because the plan had
gone awry even before it was well begun.
During the remainder of the day I kept closely housed, doing whatsoever
came to hand in the way of helping my mother, therefore it was, perhaps,
that I failed of hearing much which might have startled, and even
frightened me.
When the night was come I went according to agreement to the ship-yard,
and there found assembled those whom Archie and Silas had enrolled. A
goodly company it was, for all told we numbered sixteen, and surely if
that many lads, eager to do whatsoever they might in aid of the Cause,
could be found in Boston town within twelve hours, the time must be near
at hand when we could boast of sufficient recruits to make a showing
before our elders.
Seth Jepson was among the number, and I must confess at being surprised.
So firmly did I believe him to be the one who had betrayed us, that I
fancied the fellow would not dare show his head, yet there he was with
no token of guilt, so far as I could see, but appearing to be on most
friendly terms with every one.
He was so outspoken in behalf of the Minute Boys; so confident they
might in time to come make for themselves an enviable name, that my
belief in his treachery was almost shaken for the moment.
Then came that which I least expected. It had been decided that we would
have two officers, one a captain, and the other a lieutenant. Archie
Hemming spoke up boldly, declaring that I was his choice as leader; but
before it was possible for me to make any protest, the others had backed
him up with so many noisy words that the matter was settled without my
permission, and decidedly against my inclination. It was Archie who
should have been the commander of the Minute Boys, because his head was
clearer than mine. He was more ready of wit; but when I would have said
as much to my comrades, Silas shut me off with a sharp turn, declaring
laughingly that Archie should be the lieutenant, and thus hold a
position where he could counter-balance all my shortcomings.
This also was decided in a twinkling, and thus was our company of Minute
Boys officered despite the better judgment of him who had been selected
as captain.
There was much to discuss on this first night of meeting if we were to
become, as we claimed, a company of soldiers. Plans should be laid
concerning how we best might set about making ourselves recognized by
the Sons of Liberty, or by the officers of the militia. Then we had to
decide upon some regular rendezvous, where at the first summons we might
all assemble, and this last we agreed should be where we then were, at
the old ship-yard, on the tumble-down dock beneath which my skiff was
hidden.
Every fellow had some plan to suggest which would work to the benefit of
our company, and while nothing was actually decided upon save the place
where we should meet at the first summons, the time passed so rapidly
that it was midnight before the last of us had freed his mind. Then, as
a matter of course, we scurried home, going singly or in couples that we
might the better evade the red-coated watch, which patrolled every
street, and fearful lest we be chided by our parents, even though we
called ourselves by the high sounding name of "Minute Boys," for having
remained out so late.
Thus it was that we lads, who prided ourselves on being keenly on the
alert for any movement of the lobster backs, and much the same as
imprisoned in our own city where it all happened, failed of knowing that
shortly before the meeting of the Minute Boys was broken up, eight
hundred of the king's men were embarked in boats at the Common, bound,
as we afterward knew, and as many of our elders were then aware, for
Lexington and Concord.
Before nightfall of the next day the Minute Boys of Boston assembled at
the rendezvous without having been summoned, for word had been brought
into town of the bloody work at Lexington and Concord, and we lads, who
counted on taking such active part in the struggle against the king, had
lost the first opportunity of showing what it might be possible for us
to do.
Sixty-five of the king's soldiers had been killed, one hundred and
eighty wounded, and twenty-eight taken prisoners; while of our people
fifty-nine were killed, thirty-nine wounded, and five failed to answer
to the roll call, having, most like, crawled away, as do the lower
animals, to die alone.
All this had been done within and around that town we had so lately
visited, and yet Archie, Silas and I, who counted ourselves as being
keen-witted, had failed to have the slightest inkling of what was so
near at hand.
While we had been making simple plans for the future, loitering in
Boston when we might have been of service elsewhere, our people were
being shot down by the lobster backs, and as these thoughts came into my
mind I felt as if I had committed some grievous sin in laying up against
Samuel Hadley the charge of being inhospitable, for he was among the
first to yield his life in behalf of the Cause.
Doctor Warren was there, and also my father, while most like the old
woman's son, Hiram Griffin, helped to do that which proclaimed to the
king our readiness to give our lives rather than submit to injustice. As
I counted over those whom I knew and guessed had taken part in that
battle, it seemed to me as if of all who would serve the Cause, our
Minute Boys were the only ones absent.
It is needless for me to set down all the unavailing words of regret
which were spoken among us that night after having heard the news, for
it can readily be fancied how we reproached ourselves, and how bitter
was our disappointment. In our shortsightedness and inability to realize
that the work at Lexington and Concord was but the beginning of the
struggle against the king, we failed to understand that we would again
and again have ample opportunity of showing what it might be possible
for us lads of Boston to do.
What at this day seems to me strangest, was that in our grief and
vexation we failed to make any plans for future work. It was as if we
had come to believe that the butchery at Lexington ended it all, and we
Minute Boys would no longer be needed.
Perhaps our dullness may be accounted for by the fact that there was so
much of excitement on this night and the next day, that we hardly had
time to think of ourselves. Those yet remaining in Boston, who were
devoted to the Cause, gathered here and there to talk over what at the
same time brought us sorrow and rejoicing--sorrow that so many of our
people had been slaughtered, and rejoicing that the struggle against
British misrule had finally begun.
The Tories made a big show of themselves, taking good care to appear in
public and boast that this first lesson was but the beginning of a
series which the king would teach us. They talked so loudly and gave
themselves so wholly over to rejoicing that one would have believed a
great victory had been won, whereas, as a matter of fact, our people,
all unused to the art of war and but poorly armed, had, as it were, sent
the king's trained men home like whipped curs.
If the battle of Lexington was a victory for the lobster backs, then of
a verity when the king's men had won a dozen of a similar kind, we of
the colony were come off conquerors.
Archie's father was at home during the battle, but on the evening of
that day he was summoned to Cambridge, where, so it was stated, our
people were gathering in great numbers. His last command to my comrade,
and also advice to others of the company who called themselves Minute
Boys, was that he and we remain under cover as much as possible during
the next three or four days, for it was reasonable to suppose the
Britishers would be more severe in their rule than they had been; that
only the slightest provocation would be needed to lodge in jail those
who favored the Cause.
It was not in my mind that we lads would be allowed to go to Cambridge
where an army was gathering under the command of the Committee of
Safety, until we had in some way proven ourselves, and therefore, much
to my disappointment, I had made up my mind that by not having been in
Lexington at the time of the battle we had lost all opportunity for
taking part in active work.
Luckily, however, I had sufficient sense to give warning that all those
who had been enrolled as Minute Boys should stay near to their own homes
until it might be possible to know what our people intended to do, and
at the same time hold themselves in readiness for any summons which
might come.
It was on the second night after the Lexington butchery that Archie came
to my home, having the permission of his mother to sleep with me. We had
been earnestly trying to hit upon some way of showing what could be done
by lads such as us, and this visit of his to my home was planned that we
might have more time in which to discuss matters.
From noon until perhaps three hours after we had gone to bed, we lads
talked, suggesting one scheme after another only to discard each as
being impossible of execution, when there came a summons at the outer
door which brought both of us to our feet trembling with apprehension,
although we could not have said why.
Visitors did not often come at such a time, and there were so few among
our neighbors friendly to the Cause, who yet remained in Boston town,
that it did not seem probable any of them would be abroad so late while
the Tories were given over to rejoicing because of what had been done at
Lexington.
I could hear my mother as she went to the barred door and asked as to
who might be there, after which came the answer, so distinct that I
could catch every word:
"I would see Luke Wright, having a message from his father."
"And who may you be?" mother asked.
"Hiram Griffin," came the reply.
"It is the son of the old woman who fed us when we were hungry," I cried
joyfully to Archie as I ran down the stairs, taking three or four steps
at a bound, for I knew this Hiram Griffin had been loitering in
Cambridge until he might be of service to the Cause, and his coming
could not betoken ill for me or mine.
As soon as might be I unbarred the door, while my mother was striving
with trembling fingers to get a flame to the candle, and then there
entered a young fellow who could hardly have been one and twenty, stout
of frame, with a face betokening rarest good nature, but yet at the same
time giving one to believe that he might be dull and heavy in his
movements.
"Where did you come from?" I asked, forgetting that it was my duty, in
the absence of my father, to welcome this visitor.
"I am from Cambridge where our people are gathering as flies gather
around molasses, so that in time we may have men enough to meet all the
forces General Gage can send against us."
"How did you get here?"
"Partly by walking, partly by pulling in a skiff, and partly by
swimming, for one of his majesty's guard-boats ran me down half a mile
or more from the shore, and had I not played the muskrat, being able to
stay under water as long as that animal, I had been in the city jail by
this time."
Now it was I saw his clothes were sodden; the water which dripped from
every fold of his garments made a puddle upon the floor, whereat I
quickened the embers on the hearth into a blaze that he might dry
himself, and, understanding what I would do, this Hiram Griffin said
with a laugh:
"A little more or less of water won't do me any harm, and I can well
afford to take the wetting because of shutting the eyes of the lobster
backs so finely. They counted that I must have drowned, since one of the
lubbers aimed a blow at my head and shattered the gunwale of the boat.
Most like he thought my skull was stove in, and consequently they did
not spend much time looking for a dead man that was believed to be at
the bottom of the harbor."
"But you came with a message," Archie interrupted as he descended the
stairs, looking curiously at the stranger.
"Ay, and won't be long in the giving of it, seeing as it's no written
word. Your father, if so be your name is Luke Wright," he added turning
to me, "would have you and a lad named Archie Hemming come to Cambridge
as soon as may be."
"But what for?" Archie asked sharply, and Griffin, looking at him in
surprise because he thus interrupted the conversation, said curtly:
"It was not for me to ask why Luke was wanted. My part was to bring the
message, if so be I could get into this town, and I allow General Gage
would need more lobster backs than he has now to keep me out if once I
was set on entering."
"When are we to start?" Archie asked again, and Griffin cried:
"And who may you be, young sir?"
"I am Archie Hemming."
"Oho! so it seems I have killed my two birds with one stone, eh? Well,
that may turn out luckily, for I am little acquainted with the streets
of Boston, and was counting on having somewhat of trouble to find your
home."
"How did you know where we lived?" I asked.
"Your father put it in words so plainly that I could not have missed my
aim after once coming upon the ship-yard. Now if you have done with
questioning, suppose we set off?"
"Do you mean that the lads are to go to Cambridge at once?" my mother
asked in mingled surprise and anxiety, whereupon Hiram Griffin said with
a clumsy bow:
"Those were the orders. Master Wright claimed that it would not be safe
for us to make any try at leaving Boston save at night, and unless we
set off at once four and twenty hours will be wasted just when time is
most precious."
It can well be imagined that I was in the highest state of excitement at
thus being summoned to where the friends of the Cause were gathering to
continue the rebellion against the king which had been begun at
Lexington. It seemed that although our Minute Boys had failed to take
advantage of their first opportunity, it might yet be possible to do
something which would bring them among those who were devoting
themselves to the colony.
"You are to understand that the lobster backs wrecked my boat, therefore
another will be needed, unless you count on leaving town by way of the
Neck," Hiram said while Archie and I were hurriedly dressing, and then,
if never before, did I bless the inclination to buy, a short twelve
months since, out of my slender purse, the skiff which was hidden under
the dock at the ship-yard.
"We have all we may need in that line," Archie said cheerily, and I
could well understand how glad was his heart because this summons had
come to us. "But for that which was done at Lexington, Luke Wright and I
would have sought you in Cambridge long ere this."
"Sought me?" Griffin repeated in perplexity.
"Ay, so we promised your mother," Archie replied, and then he went on to
tell of our halt on the road from Master Hadley's, and when he was done
Hiram said fervently:
"God bless her, her heart was ever as large as that of an ox, and she
could no more see man or boy pass by hungry without trying to make
amends for it, than she could fly. Some day, please God, the three of us
will go to the home which isn't much to look at; but no lad ever had a
better one so far as a mother's love and care counts."
It seemed as if the visitor was recalled by this outburst of devotion,
to his immediate duty, for on the instant he changed his tune by crying
gruffly:
"Are we to stand here until the sun is so near to rising that we will
find it a ticklish job to slip by the guard-boats?"
"Archie and I have never had any trouble in leaving Boston, or of coming
into it when we were so minded, and we will set you on the road to
Cambridge without turning a hair."
"I am told that the lobster backs are keeping sharper watch since
Lexington, than ever before, and for a certainty around this end of the
town the guard-boats are as thick as fleas on a dog, therefore I'm
thinking it is best we set off before the night gets old."
By this time both Archie and I were ready; that is, we were fully
clothed, and since the journey, in case it was not interrupted, would be
short, there were no further preparations to be made, except that we
first go to warn my comrade's mother of his intended departure.
I proposed that Hiram Griffin should remain at my home until we were
done with this part of the business; but he, having found us so readily,
was not willing we should give him the slip even for a moment, and
therefore it was we doubled the danger of being brought to an accounting
by the patrol, in taking him across to Hull street.
All might have gone well if we had contented ourselves with this much,
leaving to my mother and Archie's the task of notifying the other Minute
Boys of our whereabouts; but I must needs attend to more than was
necessary, thinking my position as captain demanded it, and after
leaving Hull street, instead of embarking without delay as we should
have done, I insisted that we pay a visit to Silas Browrigg's for the
purpose of explaining to him what ought to be done with the company
during our absence.
Now up to this time we had been so fortunate as not to have come in
contact with the patrol or any straggling lobster back, and it would
have been possible, had we gone directly there, for us to have gained
the ship-yard unobserved.
Hiram Griffin grumbled not a little because I deemed it necessary to pay
so many visits, but, unfortunately, I gave no heed to his words, being
speedily brought to repent of my heedlessness, for no sooner did we turn
the corner into Salem street than we came upon two of the watch, and
with them a squad of six lobster backs.
Now, as of course you know, we had no lawful right to be abroad in the
streets at that hour without a pass; but it would have been useless for
us who called ourselves rebels to have applied for any such permission
to wander about for, as a rule, none save Tories were so favored. Since
General Gage had begun to hold us the same as prisoners, I and all my
friends had taken the chances of venturing out even after nine of the
clock, and because thus far we had not gotten ourselves into trouble, I
was grown bolder than a prudent lad should have been.
When we came upon the watch, reinforced by the lobster backs, however, I
realized on the instant how dangerous was the situation. Without passes,
and known to be sons of those who favored the Cause, there was no
question but what we would be committed to prison, and at some time,
meaning when Governor Gage or his understrappers saw fit, brought up for
examination.
[Illustration: "I LEAPED THE FENCE."]
Therefore it was that my thoughts turned to flight, and stepping back a
pace to check Hiram Griffin's advance, I whispered hurriedly:
"Get over to the ship-yard and hide under the old wharf!"
However dull and heavy Hiram may have appeared, he surely was
quick-witted, needing not a kick to emphasize a hint, for the words were
no sooner out of my mouth than he was off like a deer, taking the
precaution to run in a zig-zag course lest the lobster backs should send
a shower of bullets after him.
I followed his example, so far as taking refuge in flight was concerned;
but instead of continuing on by the street, I leaped the fence of Parson
Reed's yard, making my way across his garden with but little heed to the
damage that might be done the young plants.
On the instant came shouts from the watch and from the soldiers for us
to halt, and a few seconds later the crackle of musketry telling that
they had opened fire, most like on Hiram Griffin, for by this time I was
well hidden from view.
I listened with painful intentness for a cry from Hiram which would
betoken that one of the British bullets had found its billet, because he
would be like to cry out in case of being wounded.
Happily no such dismal warning came to my ears, and believing I was safe
from pursuit because of knowing my way through the gardens hereabout,
and having close at hand many a safe hiding place, I asked myself for
the first time what might have been Archie's fate.
I had not seen the lad escaping; he was two or three paces in advance of
me when we turned the corner, and the chances were that the poor fellow
had been made prisoner before having had time to realize the danger
which we had come upon so suddenly. While one might have counted ten I
stood irresolute, wondering whether it was not my duty to learn his fate
even at the expense of being captured, in order that I might do
something toward aiding him; but then I come to understand that such a
course would be sheer folly. I could do nothing toward effecting his
release, and it seemed necessary, at whatever hazard, that I make my way
to Cambridge according to orders.
Yet even when I would have continued the flight came the thought that it
was cowardly to thus desert a comrade; that as captain of the Minute
Boys duty demanded that I stand by every member of the company, however
great their peril, yet of what avail would it be?
Even while these thoughts were in my mind I was running as does the hare
when the dogs are close on his scent, and at the same time that I
reproached myself I strained every effort to gain the goal, which was
the ship-yard, where I believed Hiram Griffin would sooner or later make
his way.
Behind me I could still hear the cries of the watch and the crackle of
musketry as the lobster backs fired at random, for it was not possible
that Hiram yet remained in view, and with this noise were mingled the
shouts of citizens who had been wakened from their slumbers, until there
was a perfect bedlam at that corner of Hull and Salem streets.
To my relief I came to understand that the noise grew fainter and
fainter as I advanced, and, therefore, was it certain that the
Britishers were not on my trail; but with such pleasing knowledge came
the thought that Hiram might have been shot down, or, failing to
continue a true course, was doubling here and there with the pursuers
close upon his heels.
I ran as never before, straining every nerve and muscle in the race as
one will when he knows that a prison awaits him if he be overtaken, and
it was well the road was no longer, for when finally I dashed in under
the broken timbers of the old wharf my breath was coming so short and
thick that I question if I had been able to advance twenty paces
further. I was hidden from view, but had any come in search of me they
must have heard my heavy breathing, or the beating of my heart, which
was thumping like a trip-hammer.
Lying upon the wet mud and seaweed, for the tide was luckily at about
half-ebb, I strove desperately to regain my breath and my strength so
that I might have both at command if by some chance the lobster backs
got an inkling of my whereabouts.
How long I remained there it is impossible to say, for at such times a
minute seems a whole hour. I only know that I had recovered in a great
measure from the fatigue of the race when there came to my ears the
sound of footsteps approaching the hiding place, and in a twinkling I
was on my knees ready to spring out in either direction if the
red-coated pursuer showed himself, for at that time I had no doubt but
what he who thus advanced was in search of me. You see I had for the
instant almost the same as forgotten that Hiram Griffin, if not a
prisoner, or Archie, if by some lucky chance he had escaped, would
strive to meet me at that place.
During the merest fraction of time I gave myself up to fear, and then,
my mind clearing and common sense returning, I crept softly out, still
keeping within the shadow of the timbers, until I could see against the
sky the form of him who was coming toward the hiding place.
One glance was sufficient to show that it was Hiram Griffin, and even
then when my mind was in such a whirl, I said to myself that he must be
a keen lad who could find his way thus deftly across a strange town.
Standing up that he might see me and know in what direction to advance,
I held out both hands, welcoming him when he was come near, as we
welcome those who have literally escaped from the jaws of death.
"I'm thinking that we best not do much in the way of tongue wagging
while standing here in the open," he said, speaking with difficulty
because of his heavy breathing, and straightway I led him under the
timbers where I had been hiding, asking meanwhile how he had succeeded
in getting away from the red coats.
"It was only a case of using my legs," he cried grimly. "When a fellow
knows that he is being chased by bullets he is able to move right fast.
If you had skipped that last visit, thinking more of duty to those who
sent me than to your comrades in the company of Minute Boys, we had
gotten off without turning a hair."
"Ay, it is my fault and mine only that Archie has been made prisoner," I
cried bitterly, and Hiram asked in surprise, for until this moment he
believed the lad to be with me:
"Has he been taken?"
"It must be so, since he has not come up. He most like ran into the
very arms of the watch before realizing the danger," I replied.
"Well, here's a pretty kettle of fish," and Hiram spoke much as if the
capture of Archie would be fatal to all the plans of those who had sent
him.
"Think you we should go back and try to find the lad?" I asked
helplessly, and he cried as if in anger:
"To what end? Have you an idea that two might take him by force from
such a gang as made him prisoner?"
"We could at least go to prison with him, and not have it said we
deserted a comrade."
"Lad," Hiram began, laying his hand impressively on my arm, "before this
'ere squabble with the king has come to an end there will be many a good
lad clapped into prison, and many another sent into the next world by
means of British bullets. If we of the colonies count on gaining our
freedom we must not let the life or liberty of one person stand in our
way, however dear to our hearts that one may be."
"Then you believe we should leave the poor lad to his fate?" I asked.
"Ay, what else can be done? I came for two lads, and if so be it is
possible I will carry back at least one with me. In case that can't be
accomplished, I'll do my best to save my own skin in order to make
report. Where's your skiff?"
"Just yonder," and I pointed to a dark mass twenty feet or more away.
"'Tis time we were setting off, for no one can say how much more of
danger we may strike before crossing the water."
Hiram was making of what seemed to me a most exciting adventure, nothing
more than business, and his matter-of-fact way of looking at the
situation did more toward bringing me to my senses than any line of
argument he could have used.
I ran to the skiff, and when we had dragged her down the shore until she
was waterborne, both of us stopped as with one accord to listen lest an
enemy might have been creeping up on us.
Nothing came to our ears save the splash of oars in the distance nearby
where the king's ships were at anchor, and a distant hum as of people
moving about in the town a long way off.
"I reckon this is as good a time as we'll find for making the start,"
Hiram said as he clambered into the skiff. "I don't count myself as much
of a sailor, and therefore you will have to take a hand in this until we
have landed somewhere near to Willis creek, which is our best course on
the road to Cambridge."
"Why not go by Cambridge river?" I asked, eager to save myself a long
tramp on land.
"If you are willing to take the risk, I'm agreed; but it strikes me that
if the guard-boats are very thick hereabouts we'll have a better show of
getting off scot free by going up the creek, than if we sailed entirely
around the town, as we must in order to gain the river."
There was some good sense in what he said, which I understood even
before he ceased speaking, and I made reply while pushing the skiff out
from amid the rotten timbers:
"It would seem as if you were sailor enough to understand what dangers
lie in our course, and perhaps I had best give over the command to you,
for verily I showed myself a simple by thinking it possible to go by
the river."
"I have been around Cambridge a few days, an' seein's how there was a
chance my mother's son might get himself into a scrape while these 'ere
Britishers are so careless with their guns, I made it my business to
pick up a pretty good idee of the situation," Hiram said with a chuckle
of mirth at his own precautions. "I figured quite a spell ago that if a
man wanted to get across to the other shore, he'd best make the water
part of the journey as short as might be."
By this time we were well out from beneath the wharf. I had taken up the
oars, since there was not wind enough to fill the sail, and was counting
on stretching across from Hudson's point to Charlestown, when Hiram
whispered softly:
"Turn about lad; head exactly opposite to where you count on going, for
yonder, coming this way if I'm not mistaken, is a craft of some kind."
Fortunately I acted on his suggestion without delaying to ask the reason
for such a move, and it was well that I did, since we were no sooner
headed toward Noddle island than I could make out, even in the gloom, a
boat filled with men which seemingly had come from the direction of the
water mill.
It is needless to say that I put every ounce of strength on the oars;
but in the other craft there were no less than four men pulling
vigorously, and our chances of escaping unobserved would have been
slight indeed had not Hiram lent his aid.
Seizing the second pair of oars he swung himself around on the after
thwart, and although he made no claim to being a sailor, I never saw
one who worked to better advantage. It seemed as if he had the strength
of a dozen men in his arms, and the skiff shot forward into the gloom as
if hardly touching the water, until we were come so near the shore of
Noddle island as to be in the denser shadows, where we could afford to
wait until learning what course our pursuers might be taking.
I was not able to distinguish objects clearly because of the gloom, yet
I fancied it was possible to make out that a certain number of the eight
or ten men occupying the oncoming boat were armed--they surely had the
bearing of soldiers, and I said to myself, that suspecting Hiram and I
might take to the water, they were come in search of us.
The same thought was evidently in my companion's mind, for he turned his
head to whisper ever so softly:
"I'm thinking we had best make a landing near here, where we can haul
the skiff out of the water, for yonder crew will make a close search if
I am not mistaken."
There was a chance that by circling the shore of Noddle island until we
were come off Morton's point, it might be possible to give these fellows
the slip; but then we would be a long distance from our destination, in
addition to running the risk of being captured, and it seemed to me I
was warranted in acting upon Hiram's suggestion.
We worked the oars softly, as can well be imagined, and having come to
the land went waist-deep into the water lest the grounding of the
skiff's bow upon the sand might be heard.
It was no great task to lift the small craft so that she could be
carried without scraping against the rocks, and we lugged her into a
clump of bushes which grew near the water's edge, where so well was she
hidden that she could not have been seen even in the daylight, after
which we set ourselves to listen in order to gain some idea of what
those in the other boat might be doing.
Before half an hour had passed there was no longer any doubt in my mind
but that they were in search of us, having a pretty good idea, from the
direction of our flight, that we were bent on gaining the water-front,
and also, most like, that we could not pass Hudson's point without being
seen by them.
The boat was pulled to and fro between the island and the ship-yard as
if they were standing guard, and when she had set across, mayhap, three
or four times, Hiram asked of me in a whisper:
"Think you your comrade might have told them what we would try to do?"
"Of course not!" I replied with somewhat of anger in my tone that he
should suspect Archie of any such vileness. "The lad is true to his
friends, and would never betray them no matter how much silence might
cost him."
"Then it looks as if some one had got an amazingly good idee of what we
would do, and from what part of the town we'd set off," Hiram said
thoughtfully. "Those fellows couldn't have set about their work better
if we'd told them in advance that we'd leave the ship-yard and try to go
to Cambridge."
Like a flash came into my mind the thought that Seth Jepson might have
succeeded in doing us this mischief, if mischief had really been done;
but I dismissed it on the instant, saying to myself that surely the lad
could not have known what we were likely to do, even were it probable
he had had opportunity of speaking to those we had stumbled against.
"It is neither more nor less than blind chance," I said in reply to my
companion's words. "Because we headed for the ship-yard they supposed we
had a boat nearby, and because our people were gathering at Cambridge
they would naturally say it was our purpose to go there."
"Whichever way you put it, it's going to be mighty tough on us, for
unless those fellows get tired of pulling that heavy boat 'twixt now and
sunrise, we are like to be held here until to-morrow night."