"It's all very well for your lordship to laugh," said Will, an hour
later, after we had been served with an excellent meal, washed down by
delicious wine, at the Governor's cabin table, "but had you been busy
with other matters to-night, we would have been comfortably buoyed in
the mud at the bottom of the river."
"He is an uncommon rascal, that Cahill," laughed Dunmore, "but, my dear
Byrd, you should not take arms against His Majesty's Governor, even in
fun. Ha! ha! It would have been droll, 'pon my word, ha! ha! May the
Lord roast me if it would not have been a joke to have seen you three
gentlemen buoyed in this most muddy stream. It is a revelation, Byrd, a
revelation, sir, from Providence. A sign of the times and an omen for
you to take advantage of without delay. It is an insight into the future
and should hurry you to take up arms in His Majesty's just cause. Think
of it, if it had not been for his Majesty, the King--as represented by
myself--you would have been at the bottom of the river to-night to
remain there, perhaps, through all eternity; for I take it that the
angel Gabriel would have to blow a mighty blast to lift you out of this
most sticky Virginia soil."
"But if it hadn't been for His Majesty, the King, as represented by
that truculent skipper on the schooner over there, we might now be
dining in the charming company of Miss Judkins and Miss Carter, to say
nothing of the mistress of Judkins Hall," said Barron, smiling at
Dunmore with a beaming face.
"And have lost the honor of dining with his excellency, the Governor," I
put in hurriedly, for I thought I perceived an uncomfortable look gather
on his lordship's countenance. The two officers present, Captains Foy
and Graham, also began to look a trifle annoyed.
"But where are we, anyhow, Lord Dunmore?" asked Will. "Your excellency
has rescued us, true enough, and made the matter all the better by
adding this splendid dinner, but whereabouts on the river are we?"
"As near as I can judge, we are about twenty miles above Westover. Hey!
Captain Foy? Isn't that about the reckoning?" replied Dunmore. "And if
we have good luck and little fighting, we shall be through our business
in this part of the river and on our way down stream before this time
to-morrow evening. There is very little to do after all. Graham, here,
and Fordyce of the _Hound_ had some little difficulty yesterday with a
small party of rebels, but they were all shot or dispersed except the
leaders, who were keel-hauled by Captain Fordyce. He and Cahill are very
able men in their line of work and their vessels are well adapted for
these inland waters. But it is a very malodorous business and the sooner
we get clear of these unhealthy swamp vapors, and get a sniff of salt
air, the better. I hope, Foy, you will see that plenty of sulphur is
burned aboard to-night."
"Can we be landed to-night?" I asked.
"Yes," said Will, "can we get ashore? They will expect us at the Hall
and will be much troubled if we don't get back before bedtime."
"I don't see how it can be done, do you Foy?" said Dunmore. "We had an
exchange of shots with the shore, as you may have noticed from the
schooner, just before coming to anchor, and I would hardly think it
wise to send a boat in there at this time of night. You wouldn't care to
land there this evening, would you, Graham?"
"No, your excellency, it would hardly be safe," replied that officer.
"Besides," continued Dunmore, "Fordyce stopped at Harrison's to take him
and his party aboard the _Hound_, and from Fordyce's description of your
affair on the beach with Cahill's men, they will probably be satisfied
that you are in safe keeping for the night. Harrison was in a hurry to
get to Norfolk, as he expected to sail for England soon,--so his note
said--and I gave Fordyce orders to end his patrol there and start back
immediately. He will go down on the morning tide and meet us below in a
day or two. Cahill, and some of those small craft astern of us can
finish up the work here and above us."
"Then we shall have to spend the night aboard?" I inquired.
"I am sorry to force my hospitality upon you, gentlemen," said Dunmore,
"but I see no other way out of it. Anyhow, I take it for granted you
would have joined us to-morrow, in the interest of the King, so the
hardships will not be so very great. However, if you would rather go
back aboard the _Black Eagle_ and spend the evening with Captain Cahill,
you may do so. Shall I call away the boat?" And as he said this his eyes
twinkled with some little amusement.
"Give yourself no more trouble on my account, your excellency," said
Barron, "I am, as you know, an old soldier and have no relatives to
speak of. I find myself just as much at home in a strange bed, be it
ever so comfortable, as in any other."
"Not a bad idea, Captain," answered Dunmore, "not a bad idea, sir; but
before we think of turning in, Captain Foy and Graham here would not be
adverse to opening a bottle or two more with you. Steward! You may clear
the table and bring some of that stuff captured yesterday. It may strike
you as strange, gentlemen," he continued, "but that beggar who lives
near Jamestown keeps most remarkable liquor. May the Lord pickle me, if
it isn't equal to any I have ever tasted at home."
"And a most remarkable man he was, too," put in Captain Foy.
"He did show more or less nerve of a peculiar order," said Graham.
"How was that?" asked Will.
"Well, you see," said Captain Graham, "we went ashore on the island to
reconnoitre, as we had heard of the large gathering at Williamsburg. The
first thing that greeted us on landing was a couple of rifle shots.
These appeared to come from the bushes near Jacquelin's house, and one
of them struck poor Billings in the pit of the stomach and passed
through him, poor fellow. We finally made a landing a little farther up
stream, where there was more cover, and the first thing we encountered
on getting ashore was a motely crowd of farmers, armed and ready to
fight us. There was one fellow, I believe they called him 'Bullet,' who
is a fierce rebel, and another mounted on a powerful bay mare, who rode
with his left arm in a sling and had a strangely attired negro servant
to carry a couple of rifles for him. These were the only dangerous men
in the crowd, for the rest had no organization and appeared to obey no
commander, so they quickly broke and fled at the first fire. Four of
them remained, however, and these two I have just described were the
ones who cut their way through our men with their swords and escaped.
The other two were captured, for they refused either to run or cease
fighting. One was Jacquelin, who owns the house, and the other a man
named Horn. Fordyce was coming up just then and I turned them over to
him. He tried to get some information about Mr. Henry's mob out of both
of them. Jacquelin had his fingers punched with a belt punch without so
much as saying a word, and the fellow, Horn, was seated on a hot stove
until the breeches and skin were burnt off his buttocks, but all he did
during that time was to curse His Majesty most heartily. Fordyce started
to keel-haul him, and had the line made fast to his hands passed under
the schooner's bottom, but somehow the line fouled just as he was drawn
under the bilge, and by the time they cleared it and pulled him aboard
again he was as dead as a mackerel. After Jacquelin had his turn, he
offered to lead us to Williamsburg, or anywhere else we wished to go,
and the beggar told a yarn about some good wine in his cellar the men
had failed to find. We stopped at his house again, and four of us went
with him to find the stuff. He did have a door we had overlooked and he
showed it to us. The cellar was full of this stuff you see before you,
and while we stood at the entrance admiring the flasks the rascal shoved
all four suddenly inside the door and banged it to and locked it. Then
he started across the island like a scared rabbit. That's the last
anyone saw of him, for, as usual in such cases, by the time the men
heard us and saw what had happened, he was too far off to hit and there
wasn't a man there who shot within a fathom of him."
"That must have been a very interesting affair," said Will, somewhat
coldly, "but if you are through I would like to go to bed. I am a little
fatigued from the day's excitement. No thanks! I do not care for any
more wine. I hope your excellency will excuse me." And he rose from his
chair.
Lord Dunmore looked sharply at Byrd, and appeared a trifle annoyed, but
he said nothing.
It was easy to see that Will's sentiments were not exactly in accord
with our hosts, and that a strained relationship would exist between
them if something were not done quickly. It was evident that Lord
Dunmore expected us to accompany him as loyal subjects on the morrow,
and I knew it would need some keen acting on our part to enable us to
avoid giving up our residence at the Hall and becoming refugees for an
indefinite period. My heart was anything but light when I thought of
Harrison,--with the ruffian Fordyce to back him,--having things his own
way down the river. But as I only thought of Berk as a misguided
gentleman, a little over-zealous in his duty to the King, the only
trouble I anticipated was some obstacle I felt he would place in our way
when he found we wished to remain at home. At all events, I knew I must
not antagonize Dunmore, or he would fail to put us ashore the next day
as we hoped he would. Therefore I reached for poor Jacquelin's wine and
drank his excellency's health, and Barron needed no urging to follow my
example.
Will remained standing until I explained that he was suffering from the
shock of the discharge from Cahill's pivot-gun, whereupon the Governor
was much amused and laughed immoderately as I described how the ball
covered us with sand and gravel. Then we finished the bottle, and after
bidding his excellency good night, the steward ushered us into the
officers' cabin where a state-room had been made ready for us.
As soon as we were left alone, Will burst forth into a perfect torrent
of abuse against Dunmore and his underlings. Barron and I tried to stop
him lest some one should hear the noise, but it was only after he had
called them every villainous name he could think of that he at last
consented to keep quiet. As for myself, I have said before that the
Judkins family were not of a nervous or excitable disposition, and are
not carried away by wild and insane thoughts of mistaken patriotism, but
I had decided that evening that the King would soon have another enemy
of my acquaintance. By the present state of the feelings of both Barron
and Byrd, I thought it highly probable that there would be several more.
Will finally turned in and I did likewise, for we were very tired.
Barron sat a long time apparently lost in thought, holding his
half-removed boot in his hands. Then he spoke.
"Poor Horn," he muttered, "I owed him for two gallons of gin." And then
he undressed and turned in without another word.