Tom in Trouble
Dick Dare eyed the British fleet with interest. It lay in the
roadstead, just off York Bay, and the sight of the warships was indeed
alluring. He asked questions about the fleet, being careful to inquire
as if actuated merely by curiosity, and he also managed to secure
information as to the number of soldiers in the army on shore. He was
told that the army, as a whole, had about twenty-four thousand men in
its ranks.
"Phew, that outnumbers our army considerably!" thought Dick. "Well, no
matter, when it comes to battle, I'll wager that we will give the
redcoats all they can do."
When Company H. had finished bathing, the soldiers marched back to the
encampment, and other companies were met on their way to the beach to
take their turn in the water.
Dick was on the alert for information all the rest of that day. He did
not learn much more, for he found that there was no intention of
attacking the patriot force on Brooklyn Heights very soon, exactly the
point on which General Washington wished to be informed. He became
convinced that it would be useless to remain longer in the hope of
securing further information, as no date for an attack had been
decided upon.
He turned his attention therefore to the problem of how if possible to
rescue the patriot spies and soldiers that were in the old hulk used
for a prison.
"I must rescue them!" was his thought. "I will rescue them!" he
decided, and he began figuring on the matter in earnest and laying his
plans.
About half-past one o'clock in the afternoon, however, he was given a
shock: He saw half a dozen British soldiers approaching the encampment
from the north, and in their midst was-his brother Tom!
"They've captured Tom!" he exclaimed mentally, in dismay. "Goodness,
that is bad! I wonder how it happened?"
This was a simple matter. The half dozen redcoats had been up in the
hills nearby the Heights, where Dick and Tom had had the adventure the
night before, when in passing the clump of trees, some one of them
happened to catch a glimpse of Tom, who was seated under a tree,
eating some food that he had procured t a farmhouse early that
morning. The soldiers had advanced, and their sudden appearance had
startled Tom to such an extent that when they asked who he was and
what he was doing there, he stammered and was unable to make a
satisfactory reply offhand, with the result that the redcoats seized
him and made him a prisoner, their idea being that even though he were
a boy he might be a "rebel" spy.
As may well be supposed, when Dick saw the redcoats approaching with
his brother a prisoner in their midst, his heart sank. He had been
figuring on getting his brother to help him in rescuing the patriot
spies and soldiers, and here was Tom in the enemy's hands, a prisoner.
"I'll have to begin by rescuing Tom, I guess," was Dick's thought.
The soldiers entered the encampment, with the youth in their midst,
and conducted him to where in front of his tent the general was
sitting on a camp-stool. The officer looked up as the party
approached, and he eyed the prisoner in some surprise.
Dick had drawn near as the soldiers entered the camp, and had managed
to catch Tom's eye and give him a warning look. He hoped that his
brother would be very careful, and not let it be seen that they were
known to each other.
"Whom have you there?" queried General Percy, as the party came to a
halt in front of him.
"We found this youngster over yonder in that bit of woods, General
Percy," said one of the soldiers. "He was sitting there, eating a
lunch, and when we appeared and asked him who he was and where he came
from, he seemed frightened and could make no satisfactory answer."
"I wasn't frightened, any such thing!" said Tom, his eyes flashing. "I
am not frightened even now, sir. I was surprised, for they came upon
me so suddenly, and the leaped at me as if I were a desperado, and
naturally I may have seemed a bit confused in my answers to their
questions. But I wasn't frightened, sir."
Something like a grim smile appeared for an instant on the general's
face, as he looked at the bright face of the boy.
"So you were not afraid, eh?" he remarked. "Well, if you are not a
rebel spy or an enemy to the king, there is no reason that you should
be afraid. What is your name?"
"Tom Dare, sir." Tom had given his real name to the soldiers, but had
wished afterward that he had given a fictitious one. Now he could do
nothing other than give his own name.
"Tom Dare, eh? Well, Master Tom Dare, where do you live?"
The boy hesitated an instant, and then said: "I live over in New
Jersey."
"Ah, in New Jersey? Well, what are you doing over here on Long
Island?"
"I wanted to see the British army, sir, and so I came over here."
"Ah, indeed? Why did you wish to see the British army?"
"Just out of curiosity, sir. I have never before seen an army, and I
wanted to see one."
General Percy eyed the boy searchingly for a few moments, and then
said:
"It seems to me you have come good ways to satisfy a feeling of
curiosity. Your action is a little bit unusual. You appear to have an
inquiring mind." There was something in his tone that Tom did not just
like. It had a threatening sound. However, he kept a bold face, and
said as calmly as possible:
"Yes, sir."
"I suppose," said the general after a few moments, "that you have so
much curiosity, you would like to see all that you possibly can."
Tom still did not fancy the general's tone and air, but he answered:
"True, sir. So I would."
"Very well. Such being the case, I have no doubt that you would like
to see the interior of one of the old hulks down at the bay, that we
use as prisons for rebel spies and other prisoners. I am going to send
you down there, my boy, and I hope you will like the looks of things
there, for you will probably be there some time."
Tom started and turned slightly pale.
"Surely you are not going to make me a prisoner there, sir!" he
exclaimed in dismay.
"That is just what I am going to do, Master Tom Dare!" was the reply
in a stern tone. "The fact is, I believe you are a rebel spy. Your
explanation of your presence here, when your home is over in New
Jersey is not satisfactory at all. I am certain that you have an
ulterior motive in coming, and the only motive that I can think of is
that you came to engage in spy-work. Take him to the prison at once,
men," this last to the soldiers.
Poor Tom! He knew it would be hopeless to expostulate. He felt that he
was doomed to become an inmate of one of the prison-ships, and as he
thought it would be useless he said not a word, but accompanied the
soldiers without making any show of resistance.
"Take him past the other encampments and let him see the whole army,"
called General Percy after them. "When one has as much curiosity as he
seems to be possessed of, it should be satisfied." This was sarcasm
and intended to hurt Tom's feelings and humiliate him, but instead it
only aroused a feeling of resentment in his breast, and almost before
he realized what he was saying, he exclaimed aloud:
"I'd like to kick him!"
"Who, the general?" queried one of the soldiers.
"Yes," said Tom, boldly.
"You'd better not let him hear you say anything like that, sonny!"
"Say, comrades," remarked another, maliciously, "let's go back and
tell the general what he said."
"No, let's not," said another. "The general would whip out his sword
and cut the boy's head off. Come on; it will be punishment sufficient
to be incarcerated in the old prison-ship, even if he is a spy."
"I guess you're right about that, comrade."
"If it was me," spoke up another, "I believe I'd rather have my head
cut off and be done with it, than to be imprisoned in that old hulk."
"I guess you're about right," agreed the first speaker. "I certainly
would hate to have to change places with you, my boy."
Tom decided that the prison-ship must be a terrible place, and he was
destined to soon find that such was really the case.
They passed the main encampment of the British, as they went to the
beach, and the patriot youth thought that the British would be hard to
defeat, with such a strong army.
"There must be fifteen or twenty thousand soldiers there" was his
estimate.
Soon the little party was at the beach, and getting into the old
row-boat, the soldiers rowed out to the hulk furthest north, and
assisted Tom to the deck. Here they found a British soldier on guard.
"What have you got there, comrades?" this soldier asked, looking at
Tom in surprise.
"Another prisoner, Hawkins. He is only a boy, but the general is of
the opinion that he is a rebel spy, so down he goes into the hold with
the rest of the rebels."
"All right; down with him. But I wouldn't think the rebels would send
out such a young one to do spy-work."
"Well, the general thinks he's a spy, and that settles it."
"It certainly does so far as I am concerned. Down with him."
The hatch was opened, and Tom was assisted down the ladder to the
bottom of the hold, and then leaving him there, with his hands still
tied together behind his back, the soldiers mounted the ladder and put
the hatch in place, leaving Tom in complete darkness.
As he realized his situation, a shudder went over the youth's form.
"I don't like this!" he murmured.