[Illustration: “_WILL YOU HAVE SUPPER?_”]
The Young
Continentals
at Monmouth
_by_
John T. M^cIntyre
_Author of_
“The Young Continentals at Lexington”
“The Young Continentals at Bunker Hill”
“The Young Continentals at Trenton”
[Illustration]
Illustrated by Ralph L. Boyer.
_The Penn Publishing
Company Philadelphia_
_MCMXII_
COPYRIGHT
1912 BY
THE PENN
PUBLISHING
COMPANY
[Illustration]
Introduction
Four sturdy young members of the Continental Army are the chief
characters in this story. Ben Cooper and Nat Brewster were from
Pennsylvania. Ezra Prentiss and his twin brother George were from
Massachusetts. “The Young Continentals at Lexington,” the first book of
the series, was chiefly concerned with the adventures of Nat Brewster,
although all of the four had a part in the stirring events in and
around Boston at the beginning of the struggle for the independence of
the American Colonies. They were all employed as couriers attached to
headquarters, and carried messages for Warren and Putnam, and later for
the great general-in-chief, Washington. The second story, “The Young
Continentals at Bunker Hill,” told of the part played by Ezra Prentiss,
assisted by his friends, and the third story, “The Young Continentals
at Trenton,” described some of the good services rendered by George
Prentiss. This book tells the story of Ben Cooper at Princeton and
in the dark period of Brandywine and Valley Forge, and ends with
the victory at Monmouth, when Washington overcame not only his open
enemies, but “they of his own household.”
All four books are true pictures of the days when even boys showed
that they could be good patriots, and set an example of loyal, modest,
faithful service that thousands of American boys are still glad to
follow.
Contents
I. TELLS HOW MR. TOBIAS HAWKINS MADE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF
MR. SAMUEL LIVINGSTONE 9
II. IN WHICH MR. HAWKINS UTTERS A THREAT 22
III. SHOWS HOW BEN COOPER STARTED UPON A MISSION IN THE
EARLY DAWN 46
IV. HOW GOOD NEWS CAME TO TRENTON 65
V. IN WHICH AN ARMY CREPT AWAY IN THE NIGHT AND
FOUGHT THE BATTLE OF PRINCETON 78
VI. TELLS HOW BEN COOPER ENCOUNTERED THE MAN WITH THE
YELLOW SMILE 95
VII. IN WHICH THE HOSTLER SEES TWO SHADOWS IN THE ROAD 110
VIII. SHOWS HOW BEN COOPER WENT FORTH INTO THE NIGHT
AND WHAT DISCOVERY HE MADE BY THE WAYSIDE 124
IX. DEALS WITH THE ARRIVAL OF GILBERT MOTIER, MARQUIS
DE LAFAYETTE 140
X. SHOWS HOW THE FIGHT AT BRANDYWINE WAS LOST, AND
HOW BEN BORE THE TIDINGS TO PHILADELPHIA 159
XI. TELLS HOW BEN COOPER LISTENED TO SOME ASTONISHING
REVELATIONS 177
XII. HOW STORM-STAYED GUESTS CAME TO THE INN AT RISING SUN 191
XIII. SHOWS THE BARGAIN THAT WAS STRUCK BY TOBIAS HAWKINS
AND HIS FRIEND 209
XIV. HOW BEN AND PADDY BURK MADE AWAY FROM THE HOUSE OF
DANGER 223
XV. TELLS OF MUCH FIGHTING, AND ALSO HOW JOHNSON QUINSEY
MADE HIS APPEARANCE 231
XVI. IN WHICH BEN MEETS A STRANGER AND HEARS OF THE INN
WITH THE GREEN LIGHT 251
XVII. HOW BEN AND HIS FRIEND PAUSED AT “THE CROSSED KEYS” 267
XVIII. SHOWS HOW MOLLY HAYES AND A KETTLE OF SCALDING
WATER PLAY THEIR PARTS 278
XIX. IN WHICH BEN RECEIVES A LETTER AND RIDES TOWARD YORK 293
XX. TELLS HOW LAFAYETTE ASTONISHED GENERAL GATES 308
XXI. IN WHICH THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH IS LOST AND WON 321
Illustrations
PAGE
“WILL YOU HAVE SUPPER?” _Frontispiece_
“THIS IS YOUR FRIEND ROBERT MORRIS” 54
“YOU SAW SOMETHING, THEN?” 119
LAFAYETTE WAS FACE TO FACE WITH WASHINGTON 156
THE MEN SHRANK A LITTLE 213
“I AM WANTED AT HEADQUARTERS” 252
“BRAVO, MOLLY PITCHER” 326
The Young Continentals
at Monmouth
CHAPTER I
TELLS HOW MR. TOBIAS HAWKINS MADE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF MR. SAMUEL
LIVINGSTONE
“Do you know what to-morrow will be, Ben Cooper?”
The speaker was a dwarfish looking lad whose big head and upstanding
crest of hair gave him a most curious appearance.
“To-morrow,” replied the second boy, promptly, “will be New Year’s day.”
The dwarf shifted his leather belt so that his huge service pistol
might hang more comfortably; and his voice, when he spoke again,
contained a note of complaint.
“It will be that, to be sure; but it will also be just one week since
Washington crossed the Delaware and beat the Hessians.”
The eyes of the other boy sparkled.
“Ah, that was the night,” he cried. “There, indeed, was sport,
excitement and glory.”
The dwarf shook his large head.
“For you and for Nat and the others,” protested he. “But not for
me. While you were all having your fill of fighting, I was away in
Philadelphia, riding here and there, at the beck and call of a parcel
of excited committeemen.”
Ben Cooper’s good-natured face was all a-wrinkle with smiles.
“Don’t worry, Porcupine,” he said. “The war is not over as yet, by a
good deal. They say Cornwallis is on his way across the Jerseys, and as
he’s the best fighter the British have, we may expect plenty of warm
work still.”
It was late in the afternoon; the pale wintry sun was dipping slowly
toward the cluster of peaked roofs which marked the location of
Philadelphia; the snow-packed road with its topping of ice went
stretching ahead like a gleaming serpent.
“We will reach there before sundown,” said Ben, his eye upon the
housetops as though marking the sun’s position. “And I trust that we
find Mr. Morris at home, for I fancy that the general’s dispatches are
somewhat urgent.”
“The general’s dispatches to Mr. Robert Morris are always urgent,” said
the Porcupine. “I have carried more than one of them, and I know. And
I have carried them for other officers and gentlemen in and out of the
army.”
“Merchant Morris seems a most important person,” smiled Ben.
The Porcupine brushed his crest of hair more stiffly erect than ever.
“Is it any wonder that he is?” said he. “I don’t know much about the
ways of people of quality, but I do know that without Master Morris
there would be little money with which to feed and pay the troops.”
“He is very rich, I hear.”
“I have heard so too. And then, again, I have heard that he has not
much more than enough.”
Ben nodded.
“But,” said he, “he has the power to raise funds. He seems to know by
instinct the way to hidden hordes. And somehow, he knows the magic
word which causes the hoarders to unlock the treasure chests. Congress,
I think, has much to thank Merchant Morris for.”
Ben touched his horse with the spur, and it responded instantly. It
was a clean built animal whose small head and slim, powerful legs
indicated Arab blood. The Porcupine’s mount was a tall, raw-boned
beast, sway-backed and with a wicked eye; but it evidently had bottom,
for with a long, awkward stride it easily kept him at the side of his
friend.
As they entered the suburbs, the drifted road gave way to the clearer
streets; and when they entered the city proper, they found Second
Street bare of snow, but with stones ice-coated and glistening.
“Front Street will not be so bad,” spoke Ben; “there is never so much
traffic there, and the snow will still be untrodden.”
They turned Sassafras Street and into Front; and when nearing Arch
they caught the gleam of arms and uniforms, and saw the townspeople
scurrying along as though attracted by something unusual. When they
reached the market-place at the foot of High Street, the two boys
saw the reason for this. Along Front Street was drawn a force of
Continental troops, and under their watchful eyes was a rabble of
unshaven, tattered, dispirited looking men to the number of several
thousands.
“Hello,” spoke the Porcupine, surprisedly, as he looked over the heads
of the crowd from the back of his tall steed; “and who are these?”
“Our friends, the Hessians, captured at Trenton,” replied Ben Cooper.
“I heard that the greater part of them were being sent westward to
Lancaster or York for safe keeping. And they seem to have just reached
Philadelphia.”
The ragged wretches stood in long lines, gazing stupidly at their
captors and at the curious throngs. And that these could be the
mercenaries who had spread terror through the Jerseys seemed impossible.
A perky looking little man, standing upon tiptoe to get a glimpse of
the captives, exclaimed in a high-pitched, astonished voice:
“And are these really the hirelings of whom we have heard so much!
Why, they look like common vagabonds.”
A plethoric gentleman in a huge waistcoat and steel buckles seemed to
grow even more expansive with indignation.
“The idea,” he panted. “The bare idea of such vermin spreading fear
through an entire state. And the idea of our statesmen and our generals
and our soldiers permitting it.”
The perky man nodded and settled back upon his heels.
“What you say, sir, is proper and correct,” agreed he. “I am quite
amazed that such a condition of affairs has been permitted to continue
for so long.”
“A lot of scurvy ruffians,” stated the plethoric gentleman, wrathfully.
“A gathering of mean, low fellows without a shred of ambition, or the
slightest appearance of manly bearing. You do well, sir,” to the perky
gentleman, “to be amazed. No such thing would have been permitted in
any other nation under the sun.”
Ben glanced at the Porcupine, and his good-humoured eyes were filled
with laughter.
“It is easy to see,” said he, “that neither of our friends here has
been where the Hessians ranged with their muskets in their hands.
These,” and he nodded toward the wretched array of foreigners, “do
present an uncommonly ill-favored appearance; but properly uniformed,
officered and armed, they were as formidable troops as were in all of
Howe’s army.”
Close at the elbow of the plethoric gentleman stood a tall man with
prominent features and great square shoulders. He was richly dressed
and carried himself with the air of a person of consequence.
“Sir,” said he to the stout man, “what you have just said I agree with
as heartily as our friend here,” bowing to the perky man. “It is a
shame and a scandal that our army should have allowed these wretched
Dutchmen to hold them so long in check. To be sure,” and he gestured
with one hand in a scornful fashion, “they have been beaten and taken.
But it should have happened long ago. It should have been done promptly
and out of hand. It would seem to me,” confidentially, “that our
military leaders are not all that they should be.”
“Sir,” said the other, “you have expressed my sentiments precisely. I
could not have spoken them in more fitting terms. Our officers are not
what they should be. They are far from it, as they have proven a dozen
times, since the fighting began at New York.”
“Congress is at fault,” spoke the perky man. “They should see to it
that we are provided with competent gentlemen to conduct our military
enterprises.”
The plethoric gentleman seemed to agree with this statement
unqualifiedly. But the tall man shook his head.
“Congress,” said he, “is a much harassed body. It has a great deal to
do, and no great amount of experience to guide it. But for the greater
part it does very well indeed. There are gentlemen belonging to it,”
with a lowered tone, and a series of knowing nods, “who would readily
replace a certain person if they could.”
The plethoric one contented himself with puffing his cheeks and
assuming a look of much sagacity. It was the perky man who spoke.
“I have heard,” said he, his head at one side, like that of an
inquisitive bird, “that Washington is not greatly in favor with some of
the members of Congress. Of course,” and the inquisitive cock of the
head grew more pronounced, “it is he you mean.”
But the tall man closed his lips tightly, and shook his head after the
manner of one who disliked committing himself. It was the stout man who
spoke.
“The naming of names,” said he, with heavy wisdom, “is sometimes to
be avoided; and this is one of the times. Gentlemen can carry on an
intelligent conversation without placing themselves on record in
matters of delicacy; and in this way important matters can be kept from
becoming things of common gossip.”
Properly rebuked, the perky man gave his attention once more to the
captive mercenaries, while the speaker continued, addressing the tall
man, in a guarded tone:
“It is a matter of wonderment with me how people can have so little
consideration as to discuss private matters of state in the hearing
of every Tom, Dick and Harry. It is an almost criminal propensity,
believe me, sir; and I always discountenance it when I have the
opportunity.”
The other nodded, with gravity.
“It is a common failing,” said he, “and I have little doubt but what it
has occasioned more trouble in the public’s affairs than any of us have
any knowledge of. And I am glad indeed to meet with a gentleman who is
so careful of the general weal; it is a rare occasion, sir; more’s the
pity.”
The large man took out a silver snuff-box, his great face growing more
mottled than originally; offering the box to the other, he said in a
tone of much gratification:
“Sir, I should be exceedingly pleased with your acquaintance.”
The tall man took a pinch of the proffered snuff; and as he dusted the
remaining grains from his finger-tips, he made reply:
“Sir, you are very good. My name is Hawkins--Tobias Hawkins--and I am
lately arrived from Savannah, in Georgia, where I have some shipping
enterprises.”
“I thank you,” said the plethoric man, with ponderous politeness.
He took a companionable pinch, restored the box to one of the huge
pockets of his waistcoat, and went on: “I am Samuel Livingstone,
merchant and trader in West India goods. And it gives me much pleasure,
Master Hawkins, to know you.”
The two had fallen into a most earnest conversation upon the condition
of trade and public affairs when a drum began to tap, and the long
lines of American troops and bedraggled Germans fell into column; then
at the word of command they went marching away southward.
As the crowd dispersed, Ben Cooper did not immediately turn his horse’s
head up High Street, as the Porcupine evidently expected him to do;
instead, he sat motionless in his saddle watching the retreating
forms of Messrs. Samuel Livingstone and Tobias Hawkins. When he did
finally give his rein a shake as a signal to his mount, the curious,
speculative expression upon his face did not lessen. And as he turned
into Second Street once more, he said:
“Do you know, that was a rather queer thing.”
The Porcupine had noticed his manner, but had made no comment; now,
however, he asked:
“What do you mean?”
“Why, the conduct of Mr. Tobias Hawkins, as he called himself. Did you
notice him?”
The dwarf nodded.
“And rather a wide-awake sort, I thought him,” said he. “But I did not
see anything queer in him. Very even, and much like a gentleman.”
But Ben shook his head.
“I don’t mean in that respect. He appeared to be all you say, but at
the same time there was a something----” he paused as though uncertain
for a moment, then went on with thoughtful face. “To all appearance his
meeting with Merchant Livingstone was pure accident.”
The Porcupine opened his eyes wide.
“What?” demanded he. “And was it not so?”
“I think not,” replied Ben. “Rather, I am inclined to believe that it
was a cunningly devised plan. I scarcely know what makes me think so,
but Hawkins purposed making acquaintance of Mr. Livingstone before he
spoke to him; and so expertly did he contrive matters that he’s made it
appear that it was Mr. Livingstone who sought him.”
“Why, it may be so,” said the dwarf. “These traders have very curious
ways, I’ve heard. But, in any event, it makes no difference. We are not
at all interested in their doings.”
“I don’t know,” said young Cooper, gravely. “If the matter which Mr.
Hawkins has in mind is commercial, of course we are not; but,” and he
turned his head as though to get a fresh sight of the gentlemen in
question, “if it is something else, perhaps it may turn out that we
are.”