IRISH LOYALTY.
Captain Avery's boat pulled away toward the _Noank_, and he remarked as
he took hold of the tiller ropes:--
"I'm glad to be rid of all that crowd. Now there'll be more room for
the rest of us. We can't afford to take prisoners."
"They'll report us, sir," said one of the sailors.
"They may say we mean to sack Liverpool, for all I care," growled the
captain. "I wish we had a supply of fresh provisions, though. We had
no time to take in any at Brest."
The whole boat's crew agreed with him, for they had been living on salt
rations during many a long week.
The skipper of the _Killarney_ and his friends of all sorts, with their
personal baggage, were scattered high and low along the beach. The
hospitable commiseration they were receiving was even excessive, and
there appeared to be but one opinion among the population of that edge
of Ireland concerning the general wickedness of privateering. At the
side of the schooner, however, as if waiting for the captain's return,
was a stout yawl-boat. It had four rowers and in the stern-sheets sat
a large, florid, handsome man, very well dressed.
"It's the captain of this American pirate?" he loudly inquired. "Glad
to see you, sir. I'm The McGahan and my place is inshore, yonder.
Have ye ony good tobacco aboord, or a drop o' claret, or an anker of
old Hollands?"
"Well," said Captain Avery, staring into the broadly smiling face of
the handsome Irishman, "we've no liquid, but we've loads o' prime Cuba
leaf, plug, and cigars. How are you off for beef and mutton, or, it
might be, a little fresh pork?"
"No pork handy, the day," responded The McGahan. "Twinty head o' bafe,
though, and all the mutton ye want. It's me sorrow that I couldn't
lawfully sell ye huf or horn. The customs patrol is oll along the
coast, looking after smoogglers and the like, and it's loyal to the
king we are. God bless him!"
"I'm glad you're law abidin'," replied the captain. "I wouldn't ask
you to sell me a pound! Guert Ten Eyck, you and the men have up that
choice lot from the after cabin lockers. Mr. McGahan; come aboard and
make your own selections. I'm not the kind of man to evade the
customs. You'd better rob me of a lot of tobacco and whatever else
there is. I couldn't help myself, you know."
"That's what I'll do," said McGahan, with a comical twist of his face.
"I'd like to ploonder a privateer. Hurrah for King Garge! Doon wid
all rebels!--exceptin' it may be Oirish rebels, and I'm wan o' thim.
Ye may sind over a party wid goons and cutlashes to rob me o' the bafe
and mutton. I'm thinking there's a good catch o' fish, along shore,
but the fisher folk'd niver evade the coostoms to get a little 'baccy."
His boatmen had been listening, and he had not been whispering. One of
them now sang out:--
"Your Worship! Plaze tell the bloody pirates to fetch along their
plug, and sthale the fish! We're oll a wake sort o' people, riddy to
be ploondhered."
It was a bargain! Boats came and went, after that, and when Captain
Syme himself expressed his curiosity concerning them, he was sadly
informed that the American freebooters had demanded supplies.
Captain Avery did not waste any time in carrying out his part of the
contract. He led an overpowering party of well-armed men to the
elegant country-seat of The McGahan, two miles away. A cart which was
driven along with him contained a number of small boxes and bales.
"Some of McGahan's neighbors," he explained to Guert, "are as ready to
be robbed as he is. I'll not have to pay a dollar of cash. The
balance o' this trade'll come the other way. If we dared stay, we
could sell out our whole cargo."
Guert was getting hold of several new ideas. One was, that a great
many Irishmen were about as devoted to the British government as were
the people of America. Another was, that war expenses were large and
that British taxes were heavy. A great part of the revenue collected
came from duties upon imported goods, and these imposts were such as to
practically offer bribes to all smugglers.
"I see," he said to the captain. "It was the duty on imported tea that
set our war for independence a-going."
"No!" replied Captain Avery. "That was only one p'int in the 'count.
We had enough else to fight for. I can tell you one thing, though.
All the Irish people'd be up in arms, to-day, if they had any George
Washington to lead them. They are treated badly; worse, in some
things, than we were."
Neither going nor coming did Guert hear any blessings uttered upon
England. The fat oxen and the sheep were hurriedly driven to the
shore. Some butchering was done at once, and some salting, but the
sailors managed to convey to the schooner more live stock than there
was room for. One large sheep-pen was constructed amidships, below
deck, that there might be fresh mutton as long as possible. Near it
were cattle-stalls, and these would soon be empty, with so large a crew
of hungry eaters ready for roast beef and boiled. As for the fish they
came along in abundance, and casks of sea-water were provided for their
keeping. With them came fishermen and women and dozen of boys and
girls, all wild with curiosity concerning the "bloody privateer."
One day more did the _Noank_ linger at her pleasant anchorage. Thus,
just as the sun was nearing the western horizon, Up-na-tan, at the
beach in the small boat, with its regular crew, raised his hand.
"Whoo-oop!" sounded his war-cry of warning.
"Hark!" said Guert. "That's a bugle! British troops coming! Off we
go!"
A gun from the _Noank_ told that the lookout on board had been as alert
as was the red man himself.
"Aff wid yez!" yelled a fisherwoman, running frantically toward them.
"It's the Donegal Rigimint o' cavalry! They'd cut yez all down! Be
aff!"
The boat was pulled swiftly away, and as it did so the head of a fine
column of uniformed horsemen came trotting out to where it could be
seen.
"Charge 'em! Charge 'em!" roared a rider in civilian rig at the side
of their commander. "It's your duty, sir, to seize that pirate
schooner! They've carried aff more'n twinty head o' fat bafe for me.
You're answerable to the king if you let 'em get away!"
"All right!" replied the cavalry major, coolly. "We'll charge the
schooner. You ride on board, if you will, and tell 'em we're coming."
"It's not me duty," responded the excited McGahan. "It's a poor patrol
ye're kaping, whin a booccaneer can sail in and ploonder the coast."
Straight to the shore the dragoons, for such they were called, rode
fearlessly onward, and the _Noank_ fired a salute for them while she
swung out flag after flag, fore and aft.
"They'll know the stars and stripes when they see it again," laughed
Captain Avery. "They're fools, though, to expose themselves in that
way. We might damage 'em badly, at this range."
"She's an American privateer! Can that be a fact?" exclaimed the
British officer, in blank astonishment. "'Pon my soul, I couldn't
believe it till I saw it! I'm sure enough, now. Why, McGahan, you are
correct. My dear old boy, you couldn't help yourself."
"Of coorse I couldn't," replied the robbed Irish gentleman. "I'm glad
you can belave me, at last. What do you think o' the impidence of 'em?"
"It's fine!" exclaimed the major.
That was the striking feature of it. Even in later days, it was
difficult for the country people of England to realize that such
American pirates as John Paul Jones, for instance, were actually
attacking the British islands.
Leisurely, tauntingly, the crew of the _Noank_ lifted their anchor. No
hostile shot was fired at the gallant-looking horsemen, and the major
confidently ventured out in a fishing boat until he was near enough to
hail. He was a bright-eyed, daring fellow and his first remark was an
oddity.
"Captain Avery, is it?" he said. "Fine schooner of yours, I'd say. I
was thinking of making a dash. I might surround you, you know. But if
you are going, I'll let you go."
"I wish you would," called back the captain of the _Noank_. "Would you
like to come aboard? I'll give you a box of Cuba cigars."
"Thank you kindly," said the major. "I'll not trouble you to that
extent. I'm Major Avery of the Donegal Dragoons. I didn't know there
were any of the name in America. Sorry to find an Avery fighting
against his king."
"Well," said the captain, "you're out a little, there. He is your
king, not ours, and he is fighting us."
"All right!--or rather, it's all wrong," replied the brave major. "The
king'll have his own again, before long. Your cruise'll be a short
one, if you run around in these waters."
"Oh," said the captain, "they're safe enough. We can get away from the
cavalry, and from the tubs, too."
"Tubs, eh? That's what you call 'em? You'll find that some of 'em are
pretty large tubs."
"Good-by!" shouted back the captain. "I'm glad to find one more
good-looking Avery. Come and visit at my house as soon as the war's
over."
The sails of the _Noank_ were taking the breeze. She swung away
seaward, bowing to the cavalry and to the swarm of fisher folk, and
these forgot their loyalty to England so far that they cheered her
lustily.
"Do you know, Guert," remarked the captain, thoughtfully, "this is
about the worst side of our war! It has set old neighbors against each
other, and even kinfolk. Why! Old Ben Franklin himself has a son
that's an out and out Tory. He is the British Tory governor of New
Jersey. He and his father don't speak to each other. There's more
like 'em."
"That's so, sir," said Guert. "Some first-rate fellows that I used to
know in New York went off on the wrong side. Steve de Lancey was one
of 'em. I used to take his boat whenever I wanted to, and they were
all real good neighbors."
The recently appointed first mate of the _Noank_, taking Sam Prentice's
place and responsibilities, broke up the study of civil war evils.
"Where away now, Captain?" he inquired. "Our being here'll be known
wide enough."
"We won't be here, Morgan," replied the captain. "We are goin' right
up St. George's Channel. We may run all the way around the islands and
reach Amsterdam from the north."
"That is," said Morgan, "if we get there at all. It's just as that
dragoon said: there are a good many king's cruisers hereaway. Big
ones, too."
"We are safest in a crowd," replied the captain. "Our best plan is to
be where they won't dream of our darin' to go."
"No doubt about that," said Morgan. "I'm agreed we're likely to pick
up something worth taking if we watch, while we're making such a run as
that."
"We'll go ashore, here and there, too," laughed the captain, "and show
'em the flag."