Mark and his boys gave Dick and Bob and the rest a hearty cheer, and
then the whole body took a stand to be ready to meet the enemy in case
they should make another advance. The patriots were out in full force
now, however, and the redcoats fell back to the edge of Harlem Plains,
where they had their camp, the plan being a sort of neutral ground
between the two armies.
The boys shortly retired to their own camp, and here Dick and Bob and
Ben, and the rest who had been left in the city, were given a right
royal welcome, and then they all had breakfast together, Dick and his
boys being very glad to get it. Mark and the others were eager to hear
what had befallen them in the city, and were greatly interested in
hearing the story of their many and varied adventures. "We had some
trouble ourselves in getting away," declared Mark, "but nothing like
what you fellows had. You must have given the redcoats a good scare at
times, however."
"It was the only chance we had of getting away," laughed Bob. "If we had
not made them think we were ten times as strong as we were, we would
have been gobbled up."
The enemy made one or two sorties during the day, but were in every case
driven back, and at last retired to their lines and did not again seek
to molest the Americans. The patriots had lost New York, but they were
still in possession of the upper part of the island and meant to hold it
as long as they could, Fort Washington being a strong fort and well
defended. At night the Liberty Boys' camp was well guarded, and the
slightest move of the enemy toward it would have been detected in a
moment. During the forenoon, Tom came to the camp and said:
"It's a fine place where we are, Captain, and I am obliged to you for
sending us up there. Mother will get plenty to do and already has the
promise of enough to keep her busy for a month."
"I am very glad of it, Tom," said Dick, "and I am sure that you will all
be much happier there than in the city. The enemy are there now, and it
will be much worse than before."
"So the redcoats have gone into New York, have they? I am sorry for
that."
"So are we all, Tom, but it will not be forever. Some day we will be
back there again, and the British will be driven out and have to go back
to their own country beyond the sea."
"The sooner the better!" muttered Tom.
"Tell them when you go back that we are all right, Tom," Dick resumed.
"Some of us had a hard time getting out of New York and had to run the
blockade, but we got out fast enough and gave the redcoats some pretty
good slaps."
"The young ladies will be glad to hear of it. Did you see him again,
Captain?"
"Yes, and he made some trouble for us, but we got away all right for all
of him, and I doubt if we shall ever see him again."
"Well, I hope not, but you can't tell. What you don't expect is just
what happens."
"At all events, he has no idea that you and your mother are up here,
Tom, and it is not likely that he will trouble you any more."
"Well, I hope he won't, Captain, but you can't tell, as I said."
"No, but we will do all we can to keep him away. His reputation is not
good, and if he appears in camp we will warn him that if he does not
keep away he will be arrested."
"That may have some effect, though if he thought that arresting just
meant being put in jail he wouldn't care, because he's been there before
lots of times."
"We will make him understand just what it means, Tom," said Dick, "and I
think he will keep away, but then, he has not appeared at all yet."
"No, that's so, and I was making out as if he had or was going to," with
a smile. "Well, perhaps he won't."
The boy's look and tone seemed to indicate that he was afraid the man
would come, however, and Dick said no more about it. Tom went back to
Dick's house, and the Liberty Boys did not see him again for two or
three days. Meantime the commander-in-chief, whose confidence Dick
enjoyed, sent for the boy and said:
"There is an important mission which I wish to entrust to some one,
Captain, and I know of no better, person than yourself to do it. Get
ready at once to go down to the city and obtain certain information.
Procure a disguise and a horse, and then come to me, and I will furnish
you with money for your expenses and a pass, which will enable you to
get through the lines."
"Very good, your excellency," Dick replied, and in half an hour he was
ready to start.
Bob, Mark, or any of the Liberty Boys, in fact, would have been glad to
go with him, but the general thought it was best to go alone, and so he
took no one with him. The pass had been taken from a spy whom the
patriots had captured and enabled Dick to get through the lines in
safety. Reaching the city, he set about getting the information
required, and secured it the first day he was there. That night there
was an alarm of fire in the lower part of the city, and Dick dressed
himself and went out with many others to ascertain its extent and see
what he could do to help put it down.
It had started in a low groggery on Whitehall wharf and was of
considerable extent, spreading as far as Beaver street, and then
shifting to the west, and going as far as the river and nearly to
Partition street, Trinity church being destroyed on the way. It had
started by accident, but many of the British declared that it had been
set by the Americans, and there was a bitter feeling against them, many
innocent persons being put to death by the enraged people.
During the fire, while Dick was working with others to stop its
spreading, a man was caught looting a burning house and was at once
dragged away and hanged to a post holding a street lamp. Dick saw his
face for an instant and recognized Tom's father. There was no
interceding for the man, who had been caught red-handed, and he suffered
the penalty of his crimes.
"His wife and the rest are the better off for his taking away," said
Dick to himself, "but I cannot tell how he died. He was never of any use
to them and they are better off without him."
The fire burned out at length, but there were smoking ruins the next day
and for several days, although Dick did not remain as long as that. He
got away the next day and made his way out of the city and to the camp
with very little difficulty, his pass being of great assistance to him.
Changing his clothes and putting on his uniform, Dick reported at once
to the commander-in-chief and was complimented upon securing the
information so promptly. Reporting other matters that he had learned,
Dick returned to the camp and told Bob and a few others how the Tory had
met his death, adding:
"Do not say anything to Tom about it. I will tell him that his father is
dead, but not how it happened. It is a hard thing to say, perhaps, but
they are better off without him than they ever were with him."
"It is the truth, at any rate," muttered Bob, "though it may not be
necessary to tell them."
A few days later the Liberty Boys were ordered into lower Westchester to
check the advance of Howe and Cornwallis, who were trying to get behind
the Americans at King's Bridge and thus have a better opportunity to
attack Fort Washington, which the British leader had set his heart upon
subduing.
"That will give us plenty to do," declared Bob, "and give us a chance to
bother the redcoats."
"And give Patsy a chance to get rid of some of his extra fat," laughed
Mark, who was a bit of a tease.
"Sure Oi've none to spare at all, Liftinant," roared Patsy, "but if ye
had said Cookyspiller now, ye'd have hit it to a tay. Sure he do be
nadin' it had."
As the boys were getting ready to leave, Tom came into camp and said:
"So you are leaving, are you, Captain? You have not seen him, have you?"
"You will not see him again, Tom," Dick replied. "He was killed a few
days ago while in the commission of a crime in the city."
"Did you see it, Captain?"
"Yes, Tom. You and your mother are now free."
Tom asked no questions, but presently said:
"I would like to join the Liberty Boys. Mother is doing very well, the
little children are being cared for, and there is a good man up at
Tarrytown who has lost his wife and needs some one to take care of his
children. Mother can do it, and I think---"
"She will marry him in time, Tom? Yes, it will be good for both of them.
She likes him?"
"Yes, and so do all of us. Is it wrong for me to think that we are
better off now that he has been taken away?"
"You need not think anything about it, Tom, but you are better off, for
all that. The man was simply a clog about the necks of all of you."
"Then I may join the Liberty Boys, if I am big enough? Mother does not
need me now and I want to do something for my country."
"Your mother is willing, Tom?"
"Yes, if you will take me."
"Very good. You are young, but not too young, and you are strong and
willing, and that is a good deal. I will see your mother, Tom, and I do
not think there will be any trouble about your joining."
Tom returned to his mother and in a day or so Dick saw her and found
that she was willing that Tom should join the company. Tom went back
with Dick, therefore, and was sworn in as one of the Liberty Boys, to
his great delight. The boys cheered him for they had all heard of him
and knew of his sterling character and manly qualities. He fought with
the Liberty Boys at White Plains and Fort Washington and went into the
Jerseys with the troop when they joined the commander after the fall of
the fort. He was at Trenton and Princeton, where he did brave work with
the boys and fought through the succeeding campaign, doing good service
at Brandywine and Germantown and going into camp at Valley Forge, where
he bore with fortitude all the hardships of that rigorous winter, one of
the severest ever known. During the next spring he was with the Liberty
Boys in Connecticut and lost his life during a fight with Tryon's
raiders. His mother had married in the meantime and was in comfortable
circumstances, and this was a great comfort to the boy, who said to
Dick:
"I have done my duty, Captain?"
"Yes, Tom, and well."
"And mother and the children are well and happy?"
"Yes, they are, Tom."
"We are sure to win this fight for freedom, Captain?"
"Yes, Tom, we cannot do otherwise."
"Then I have not died in vain in giving my life for my country?"
"No, Tom, you have not."
"Then I have nothing to regret. Good-by, Captain. You have been very
good to me."
Dick took the boy's hand and held it till the grip relaxed, when he
placed it at his side and spread the flag over the young hero.
Next week's issue will contain "THE LIBERTY BOYS AND CAPTAIN HUCK; or,
ROUTING A WICKED LEADER."
. . . . . . . . . . .
A reporter was interviewing Thomas A. Edison. "And you, sir," he said to
the inventor, "made the first talking machine?" "No," Mr. Edison
replied, "the first one was made long before my time--out of a rib."
. . . . . . . . . . .
THE LIBERTY BOYS OF '76
- - LATEST ISSUES - -
1064 The Liberty Boys in Kentucky; or, After the Redskins and Renegades.
1065 " and Old Moll; or, The Witch of Red Hook Point.
1066 " Secret Cave; or, Hiding From Tryon.
1067 " and the Jailer; or, Digging Out of Captivity.
1068 " Trumpet Blast; or, The Battle Cry of Freedom.
1069 " Call to Arms; or, Washington's Clever Ruse.
1070 " Whirlwind Attack; or, A Terrible Surprise to Tarleton.
1071 " Out With Brave Barry; or, The Battle With the "Unicorn."
1072 " Lost Trail: or, The Escape of the Traitor.
1073 " Beating the Skinners; or, Clearing Out a Bad Lot.
1074 " Flank Move; or, Coming Up Behind the British.
1075 " as Scouts; or, Skirmishing Around Valley Forge.
1076 " Forced March: or, Caught in a Terrible Trap.
1077 " Defending Bennington; or, Helping General Stark.
1078 " Young Messenger; or, Storming the Jersey Batteries.
1079 " and the Indian Fighter; or, Saving the Southern Settlers.
1080 " Running Fight; or, After the Redcoat Rangers.
1081 " Fighting Doxstader; or, The Destruction of Currytown.
1082 " and the Miller; or, Routing the Tory Bandits.
1083 " Chasing "Wild Bill"; or, Fighting a Mysterious Troop.
1084 " Hidden Swamp: or, Hot Times Along the Shore.
1085 " and the Black Horseman; or, Defeating a Dangerous Foe.
1086 " After the Cherokees; or, Battling With Cruel Enemies.
1087 " River Journey; or, Down the Ohio.
1088 " at East Rock; or, The Burning of New Haven.
1089 " in the Drowned Lands; or, Perilous Times Out West.
1090 " on the Commons; or, Defending Old New York.
1091 " Sword Charge; or, The Fight at Stony Point.
1092 " After Sir John; or, Dick Slater's Clever Ruse.
1093 " Doing Guard Duty; or, The Loss of Fort Washington.
1094 " Chasing a Renegade; or, The Worst Man on the Ohio.
1095 " and the Fortune Teller; or, The Gypsy Spy of Harlem.
1096 " Guarding Washington, or, Defeating a British Plot.
1097 " and Major Davie; or, Warm Work in the Mecklenburg District.
1098 " Fierce Hunt; or, Capturing a Clever Enemy.
1099 " Betrayed; or, Dick Sister's False Friend.
1100 " on the March: or, After a Slippery Foe.
1101 " Winter Camp; or, Lively Times in the North.
1102 " Avenged; or, The Traitor's Doom.
1103 " Pitched Battle; or, The Escape of the Indian Spy.
1104 " Light Artillery; or, Good Work At the Guns.
1105 " and "Whistling Will"; or, The Mad Spy of Paulus Hook.
1106 " Underground Camp; or, In Strange Quarters.
1107 " Dandy Spy; or, Deceiving the Governor.
1108 " Gunpowder Plot; or, Failing by an Inch.
1109 " Drummer Boy; or, Sounding the Call to Arms.
For sale by all newsdealers, or will be sent to any address on receipt
of price, 7c per copy, in money or postage stamps, by
HARRY E. WOLFF, Pub., Inc., 166 W. 23d St., N. Y.