THE ESCAPE.
“I am happy to inform you that I have done all my part of the work,
according to orders. The provisions have been purchased, and are
now safely stowed away in a farmer’s barn, on Block Island. The
Sweepstakes is ready for the cruise; and I will see that every thing
is kept in order, so that when you are ready to start, we can put to
sea with the least possible trouble. No one in the village has the
slightest suspicion that any thing is in the wind. I hope you will be
as fortunate as I have been.”
So ran a note which Tom received from Johnny Harding, on Tuesday
afternoon, and which he showed to his friends on the ball-ground.
It is needless to say that the Night-hawks were delighted with the
success of their plans; and the new members looked upon Tom and
Johnny as the two smartest boys in existence.
Attempts to desert the academy were very uncommon, and, as all the
boys well knew, had failed more frequently than they had proved
successful; and so great an undertaking as Tom had suggested, had
never before entered into the head of the most reckless student.
The conspirators, with but very few exceptions, had never imagined
that the grand commander’s scheme could be successfully carried
out. They had given their consent to it, not because they hoped to
be able to escape the examination, but because they wanted something
exciting with which to occupy their minds; and even Rich and Miller,
who had long been acquainted with Tom, and who knew pretty nearly
what he could do, had often predicted that the grand commander’s plan
would prove to be but a sure way of bringing every member of the
society to certain and speedy punishment. The colonel, they said,
would certainly “snuff something,” and the first thing they knew,
they would all find themselves in the guard-house, living on bread
and water. This was the reason why they had kept in the background
as much as possible, and allowed Tom to do all the work. If they
were discovered, he, being the leader, would be the most severely
punished. But when Tom showed these two worthies the note he had
just received from the fifth captain, they found that they had been
mistaken. The outside work had all been accomplished without giving
any one a hint of what was going on, and they began to believe that
Tom was in earnest, and that, perhaps, he might, after all, manage
affairs so that they could avoid the examination, and have a “jolly
time on their own hook.” But still there was chance for failure;
and, although they took a prominent part in all the “business
meetings”--which were held as often as the Night-hawks could get
together--they always endeavored to have it understood that Tom was
the leader of the conspiracy.
Monday, the day on which the examination was to commence, was still a
long way off. Five days of lessons and drills must be endured before
the time for action arrived, and the excited Night-hawks hardly
believed that they should be able to live through them. Time moved on
laggard wings; but the boys survived, in spite of hard lessons and
extra guard-duty at night, and, finally, the eventful day arrived.
The examination commenced that morning, and, as the Night-hawks had
made no preparation for it, they fell sadly behindhand in all their
lessons. The result had shown them exactly what they might have
expected; and, when dress parade was over, and the members of the
society met in an unfrequented part of the grounds, to hold their
last council at the academy, they were very much excited, and they
were ready to risk almost any thing to escape the remaining six days
of examination.
“I tell you what it is, fellows,” said one of the new members, “I
never did like this business; but I’m in for it now. I couldn’t live
through a week’s work such as we had to-day.”
“We’re in a bad fix,” chimed in another. “If we stay here, we are
certain to be placed under arrest, while the other fellows are in
camp enjoying themselves; and if we are caught in our attempt to take
French leave, of course we shall be put into the guard-house.”
“Are you going to back out?” asked Rich.
“O, no; I’m going to stick to you. But I can’t help thinking that we
are in a very unpleasant situation.”
“We can’t help it,” said Tom. “We are not going to stay here, and be
put under arrest; that’s settled. Of course, we run something of a
risk in trying to escape; but we can’t help that, either. I hope you
didn’t think that, when we got ready to go, the colonel would give us
all a furlough for two or three weeks? At any rate it’s too late to
back out. Now for business! I hope that you have all concluded that
my plan is the best.”
Tom’s plan for escape was by making use of the rope--a
clothes’-line--which, with the assistance of some of his friends, he
had doubled and twisted; but it was still long enough to reach from
the third story of the building to the ground. After the rope had
been procured, it was a long time before any of the conspirators,
except Rich and Miller, would consent to use it. The thought of
lowering themselves down, from a second or third story window, with a
clothes’-line, even though it was doubled and twisted, was enough to
make them shudder. One of the new members had proposed to file a key
to fit one of the outside doors, which were locked by the teachers,
every night at nine o’clock; but this plan was at once voted down
by the others, who argued that, even if they possessed a key that
would open the door, they could not pass the sentries in the hall.
Another desperate fellow, who had been reading a story of a mutiny
at sea, proposed that they should knock the sentinels down, and
tie them hand and foot. A third suggested that the Night-hawks be
instructed to conceal themselves in different parts of the building,
until the other students and the teachers had all gone to bed, when
they would make their escape through the school-room windows. These
and many other plans had been proposed and discussed; but, at last,
the conspirators were compelled to acknowledge that Tom’s idea
was the best. True, it was rather dangerous and even Tom himself
hardly expected that it would be successful; but still, it promised
better than any that had been proposed, and the grand commander was
determined to attempt it.
The dormitory to which Miller and Rich belonged was in the third
story of the academy, and directly over that occupied by Tom, Martin,
and three or four other members of the society. Miller was to take
possession of the rope, and, at midnight, open the third window from
the front of the building, fasten one end of the rope securely to
his bedstead, and throw the other to the ground. The boys in the
upper dormitory were to make their descent first, and then those who
belonged to dormitory H. Just as these plans had been determined
upon, the ringing of the supper-bell broke up the council.
“Now, boys,” said Tom, “be very careful. Don’t go to sleep to-night;
and, whatever you do, don’t make noise enough to disturb any
outsiders.”
The Night-hawks separated, and, although many of them felt like
criminals, no one who met them, as they entered the academy, had
reason for supposing that any thing unusual was going on. Of course
they were intensely excited, and more than one held his breath
when he thought of hanging by a clothes’-line from a third story
window. Tom, Rich, and Miller were the only ones who appeared to
be unconcerned. They did not stop to think of the risk they were
about to run; they thought only of the fine time they expected to
have during the cruise, and how astonished the principal and all the
teachers would be when they discovered that fourteen students had
“taken French.”
At nine o’clock the conspirators marched, with the others, from the
school-room to their dormitories, and, half an hour later, were
all in bed, and, apparently, fast asleep. At eleven o’clock Mr.
Hudson passed through dormitory H, and saw the grand commander
lying with his head covered up in the quilts; but he did not notice
that he snored louder than usual. Tom’s snoring, however, was not
genuine. He was wide-awake, and, when Mr. Hudson entered his room
and closed his door, the chief conspirator cautiously raised the
quilts from his head and looked about. The lights in the dormitory
burned dimly, and nothing disturbed the stillness save the gentle
breathing of the sleepers, and the measured tread of the sentinels
in the hall. After satisfying himself that all “outsiders” were
sound asleep, Tom arose from the bed and pulled on his trowsers.
He then wrapped his boots up in his coat, and, after casting a
suspicious glance about the room, he cautiously raised the window
at the head of his bed, and threw the bundle to the ground. After
carefully closing the window, he again got into bed, no one but
the wide-awake Night-hawks having witnessed his movements. Tom was
greatly encouraged. If he could raise the window once without awaking
any of his forty-eight sleeping room-mates, he could certainly do
it again. From that moment he looked upon his escape as a settled
thing, and he began to be impatient for Rich and Miller to begin
operations. The latter, however, remembering their instructions,
made no move until midnight, and the grand commander began to fear
that they had disgracefully “backed out.” But presently he heard a
noise that caused him to chuckle to himself, and to look toward the
beds of the apparently sleeping Night-hawks, who, in fact, were as
wide-awake as himself, and listening with all their ears. It was a
grating, hissing sound, as if some heavy body was being lowered
slowly, cautiously, down the side of the building. The Night-hawks
in the upper dormitory were beginning to make their escape. There
could be no mistake about it, and Tom began to be really excited now,
his heart thumping against his ribs with a noise that frightened
him. Slowly and steadily the body descended, and, in a few moments,
Tom heard the rope tapping against the wall, showing that the boy,
whoever he was, had reached the ground in safety. For five minutes
all was silent, and then the same grating noise told the grand
commander that a second boy was descending the rope. During the half
hour that followed, the operation was repeated eight times, and Tom,
who knew just how many boys there were in the dormitory above him
who belonged to the Night-hawks, prepared to take his turn. After
glancing cautiously about the room, in order to make sure that
no “outsiders” in his dormitory had been alarmed, he arose from
his bed, and, with trembling hands, arranged the quilts so that a
careless observer would not have noticed that it was empty; then he
stepped to the window, which he raised without making noise enough
to disturb a cricket. Thrusting his arm out into the darkness, he
clutched the rope, which was still suspended from the room above, and
crawled carefully out of the window. The next moment he found himself
dangling in the air thirty feet from the ground. His position was now
a trying one. The clothes’-line cut into his hands, every thing below
him was concealed by Egyptian darkness, and it is natural to suppose
that the boy who was afraid to ascend the mast of a schooner felt his
courage giving away when he found himself hanging from a second-story
window. But Tom, remembering that ten boys had already made the
descent in safety, and knowing that there were three more Night-hawks
in the building waiting to make their escape, and that the least
awkwardness on his part might alarm the sentries, clung to the rope
with a death-gripe, and manfully choked back the cry for help that
involuntarily arose to his lips. Slowly, cautiously, he worked his
way downward, and presently an encouraging whisper came up through
the darkness--“That’s the way to do it, Newcombe. You’re a brick.
Go easy!” and the next moment the grand commander slid down the
rope into the arms of his friends, receiving their congratulations
apparently as unconcerned as if he had never in his life experienced
the sentiment of fear.
[Illustration: THE ESCAPE FROM THE ACADEMY.--Page 286]
Tom’s first care, upon finding himself safe on the ground, was to
hunt up his coat and boots. By the time this was done, another boy
had made his escape, and, in a quarter of an hour more, the last
member of the society had been seized and embraced by his exultant
friends.
“Who would have thought it, boys?” whispered Rich. “I tell you we
have done something now worth bragging about. Won’t the old colonel
open his eyes?”
“No time to talk, fellows!” whispered Tom. “Don’t laugh till you are
out of the woods. Come on, let’s be off.”
So saying, the grand commander, now as proud of his position as if he
had been a brigadier-general, led the way toward the south side of
the grounds, where a picket had been knocked off the fence the day
before, to assist them in making their escape.
The Night-hawks were all astonished at their success, as well
they might be. Not only had they thrown all their former exploits
completely into the shade, but they had accomplished a feat that
would be an interesting passage in the history of the Newport
Military Academy, as long as that institution should stand. They
pressed one another’s hands in silence as they walked along through
the grounds, and more than one gave Tom a complimentary slap on the
back, accompanied by the whispered exclamation:
“Newcombe, you are a jolly old brick! It takes you to manage such
business as this!”
Tom easily found the place where the picket had been removed, and one
after another of the boys squeezed themselves through the opening
until they all stood in the road.
“Now, then,” said Tom; “I know we’re all right, but the faster we go,
the more time we shall gain. Forward, double-quick.”
So elated were the deserters, that they could scarcely refrain
from shouting; but, knowing that they were not yet safe, they gave
vent to their exultant feelings by cutting astonishing capers as
they ran along the road. Just before they arrived at the village,
they separated into a half a dozen little parties, and, following
different roads, bent their steps toward the creek where the
Sweepstakes lay at her anchorage. In half an hour they were all
assembled at the lumber-pile, where they were met by Johnny Harding
and his four friends, in a state of considerable excitement.
“O, fellows,” whispered the fifth captain, wildly throwing his arms
about, “we’re aground, and a thousand miles from water!”
“You don’t say so!” exclaimed all the boys at once.
“Yes, I do say it!” answered Johnny. “The whole thing is knocked into
a cocked hat; the expedition is as dead as a herring. Go back to the
academy, take your punishment like men, and say no more about it.”
“But what’s the matter?” asked Tom, impatiently.
“Just look out there!” said Johnny, pointing toward the creek. “Do
you see the Sweepstakes anywhere? No, you don’t! Squire Thompson
suddenly took it into his head that he would like to go on a fishing
excursion, and he’s gone; he won’t be back for a week.”
The Night-hawks were astounded at this intelligence. After
congratulating themselves on the gallant and skillful manner in which
they had made their escape from the academy, and looking forward so
eagerly and confidently to the consummation of all their plans, this
disheartening piece of news came upon them like a thunder clap from a
clear sky. They had placed themselves in danger all for nothing; for,
if their boat was gone, they might as well be at the academy.
“O, now, I’m the most unlucky boy in the whole world!” drawled Tom.
“Something is always happening to bother me. I never can do any
thing! But I knew all the time just how it would turn out!”
“You did?” exclaimed Rich, angrily. “Then what did you get us in this
miserable scrape for? We are all a parcel of blockheads. We ought to
have had sense enough to know that such a scheme as this never could
succeed. I throw up my appointment as commander of the vessel.”
“No doubt you do,” said Miller, who seemed to take the matter more
coolly than any one else. “It’s very easy to throw up your command
after our vessel is gone. But, Johnny, why didn’t you send us word of
this? You’ve got us into a pretty mess.”
“I didn’t know that the Sweepstakes was gone until seven o’clock
to-night,” replied the fifth captain, “and it was too late to send
you word then.”
“Well, somebody suggest something!” said Miller. “Come, Newcombe,
have your wits all left you? We are in a bad scrape, and we must get
out, if possible. Let’s hear from you!”
“O, now, I’ve got nothing to say!” drawled Tom, who was walking
thoughtfully up and down the lumber-pile. “We’re booked for the
guard-house, easy enough. I always was an unlucky boy.”
He was thinking, not what plan he ought to adopt to extricate himself
and companions from their unpleasant situation, but how he might
avoid punishment when he returned to the academy.
“We are not in the guard-house yet,” replied Miller; “and I, for one,
don’t intend to go there until we have had our cruise. Johnny, did
you mail that letter to ’Squire Thompson, as you intended?”
“Of course not; what was the use of paying for his boat until we were
certain that we could get her? I’ve got the letter in my pocket now,
with fourteen dollars in it. By the way, you academy fellows owe us a
quarter of a dollar apiece. You didn’t give us money enough to settle
all the bills.”
“We’ll pay you, Johnny,” said Tom, who, from some cause or another,
seemed in a fair way to recover his usual spirits. “But do you know
where the Swallow is?”
“That’s so!” exclaimed Johnny, excitedly. “Where is she? She’s at
your father’s wharf, that’s where she is. I saw her there this
evening. I have been so upset by losing the Sweepstakes that I didn’t
think we could capture some other vessel just as well.”
“The captain of the Swallow doesn’t generally leave a watch on board
his vessel when he’s in port, does he?” inquired Tom.
“No, he don’t; we’re all right yet. All hands stand by to get ship
under way. Come ahead, boys.”
“Hold on!” exclaimed Tom, who, now that he saw a way out of the
difficulty, was quite willing to resume the management of affairs;
“we must separate. No more than two of us ought to go together, for
we may be seen, you know, even at this hour. Pair off, and meet again
on my father’s wharf as soon as possible.”
In obedience to these orders, the boys separated, and in a few
moments Tom, accompanied by Johnny Harding, arrived at the wharf,
where the Night-hawks were all assembled. The Swallow was moored at
the wharf, and the boys were encouraged when they saw that her deck
was deserted.
“Now, then,” said Miller, in a low whisper, “how do we know but there
are men on board that vessel?”
“Some one ought to go and see,” said Rich. “You do it, Newcombe.
You are the strongest and bravest fellow in the party, and we would
rather trust you than any other fellow.”
Tom would have been much better pleased if some one else had been
selected to perform this rather dangerous piece of business. What if
there was a watch on board the Swallow, and he should be discovered?
What excuse could he make for being away from the academy at such
an unusual hour, and for prowling about where he had no business?
Tom asked himself these questions, but still he could not refuse to
play the part of spy, for not only was he utterly unable to resist
flattery, but he did not dare to make an exhibition of cowardice
before the new members of the society, for he was anxious to
establish a reputation among them. In as steady a voice as he could
command, he replied:
“If you fellows will go behind the office, out of sight, I’ll do it.”
As soon as the Night-hawks had concealed themselves, Tom walked
across the wharf on tip-toe, climbed over the rail of the sloop, and
looked about him. He took two things in at a glance. The cabin doors
were closed, which was good evidence that she was deserted, and there
were no other vessels lying at his father’s wharf. This was a very
favorable circumstance for the runaways. All the large vessels in the
harbor, of course, kept a night-watch; and, if the boys should be
discovered making off with the sloop, there might be some trouble.
Having noted these two points, Tom crossed the deck, opened the
cabin-doors, and disappeared from the view of the Night-hawks, who,
closely watching all his movements, held themselves in readiness to
take to their heels and leave their grand commander to his fate, if
he should be discovered. But the cabin was found to be empty; for the
captain, not dreaming that any one would disturb his vessel, had not
thought it necessary to leave a watch on board.
“We are all right now, boys,” whispered Tom, when he had reported the
result of his investigations to his companions; “and I propose that
Rich be allowed to assume authority as captain of the vessel.”
“Agreed,” said all the boys.
“Now, Rich,” continued Tom, “we are ready to hear your orders. Be
lively.”
“Well, then,” said the captain, hurriedly, “all you landlubbers go
on board that vessel, and remain in the cabin, out of sight, until
we get out of the harbor; and all you fellows, who have been to sea,
stay with me.”
When the “landlubbers” had obeyed the order, Rich found that he had a
crew of eight boys.
“Johnny,” said Tom, “address that letter you have in your pocket to
the captain of the Swallow, and put it in the post-office.”
“I’ve got no pen,” replied Johnny; “and how can I see to address the
letter without a light?”
“Go aboard the ship,” commanded Captain Rich, “and no doubt you will
find writing materials there. The next thing,” he continued, as
Johnny ran off to obey the order, “is to appoint my officers. As you
have managed this thing so far, Newcombe, I’ll reward you by making
you my first mate. Miller, you will be second; and Johnny Harding,
when he comes back, shall be third.”
Some of the boys were a good deal disappointed by this arrangement,
for all those who had been to sea, had made calculations on receiving
some office. But it had been decided beforehand, that the captain
should be allowed to select his own officers; and, as all the boys
were impatient to get to sea, they did not raise any objections.
“So far, so good,” said Rich, as he walked up and took a survey of
the vessel he was to command. “The next step is to get her out to
the end of the pier. Miller, jump aboard and get out a stern-line.
Newcombe, find something that will do for a tow-line; make one end
fast on board, and lead the other round the starboard side of the
vessel back to the wharf.”
“What’s that for?” exclaimed Tom. “That isn’t the best way to turn
her around.”
“Newcombe!” said Rich, angrily, “I am the captain of this vessel, and
you must do as you are ordered, without stopping to ask questions.”
“O, now, see here!” drawled Tom, “I want you to understand that the
government of this society is democratic, and I have a right to have
my say.”
“And I also want you to understand that I have been ordered to take
this vessel to sea, and that I’m going to do it,” said Captain Rich.
“If you don’t get a tow-line out very soon, I’ll appoint another
first mate.”
This threat alarmed Tom, who, without further parley, sprang on board
the sloop and hastened to carry out his orders.
“All ready for’ard,” said he, when he had got out the tow-line.
“All ready aft,” repeated Miller.
“Man the tow-line,” said Captain Rich.
In obedience to this order, the crew, now numbering five boys, who
were still on the wharf, took hold of the rope.
“Cast off for’ard,” continued the captain, “and shore off. Run away
with the tow-line.”
As these commands were obeyed, the bow of the sloop swung around,
and, when the stern-line was cast off, she came about, and her bow
pointed out to sea. The boys who held the tow-line, pulled her to the
end of the pier, where she was again made fast.
“Hasn’t Johnny got back yet?” asked Rich.
“Yes, here I am,” answered the fifth captain, who had run all the way
from the wharf to the post-office and back. “I’ve mailed the letter,
and the old captain will get his fourteen dollars in the morning.
It’s all right; he won’t grumble.”
“What did you say in the letter?” asked Tom.
“I said: Sir--Inclosed herewith please find fourteen dollars, to pay
for the use of your boat for two weeks. Yours, truly--blank. I didn’t
sign any name to it.”
“All aboard!” said Rich. “Newcombe, stand by to get under way.”
At this stage of the proceedings, it became evident that the first
mate of the Swallow was either sadly ignorant of ship discipline, or
else that he was determined to set it aside altogether, and establish
a routine of his own; for, when the captain gave the order, “Stand by
to get under way,” Tom, instead of stationing his crew and awaiting
further commands, gave the order--
“Unloose the sails--all of ’em--hoist away lively.”
But his object was to get to sea as soon as possible, and these
orders, no doubt, answered his purpose as well as any others, for
the crew understood them. In a few moments the mainsail and jib were
spread, and the Swallow began to careen as she caught the wind, as if
impatient to be off.
“Harry Green!” said Rich, calling to one of his crew. “Go to the
wheel. Cast off.”
Slowly the sloop swung away from the pier, the wind filled the sails,
and she began to move toward the blue water.