A CHANGE OF BASE.
When we were come near Benedict I was not minded to pass it for the
third time without stopping to see my mother, and I said to Darius:
"There seems to be no good reason why Jerry and I should not visit our
homes, leaving you to continue on with the news. We can take the
canoe, and paddle up the river to-night."
"It is your place to remain aboard the Avenger," the old man said
almost sharply.
"What can we do more than would be done by you?" Jerry asked in
surprise.
"Nothin', so far as sailin' up the river is concerned; but with the
news we're takin' to the commodore, it is more'n likely there'll be a
quick change, when you might be needed."
"There can't be anything very serious happen 'twixt now and to-morrow
morning," I persisted, yet holding to my scheme. "We wouldn't be more
than twelve hours behind you under any circumstances."
"Not if everything was in your favor; but how if you met a boat-load
of Britishers such as we captured the other night? It ain't safe to be
foolin' 'round the river alone just now, an' that's a fact."
"Meaning that there is more of fear in your mind lest we come upon
spies of the enemy, than expectation Commodore Barney might need our
services?" I asked, and the old man finally admitted that perhaps such
was the case.
Then, in my pigheadedness, I declared we would stop in the village,
and he gave proof of what he could do when things did not go exactly
to his liking.
"I shall stop you from leavin' the pungy!" he said doggedly, without
looking towards us.
"Do you mean to say, Darius Thorpe, that you'd prevent us from goin'
ashore?" Jerry cried hotly.
"That's exactly the size of it, lad. I never'd let a shipmate of mine
run his nose into danger when there was nothin' to be made by so
doin'."
"But how would you stop us?" Jerry asked, his anger rapidly giving way
to mirth as he pictured to himself Darius, the man whom we had hired
to help us in the fishing, setting himself up to say what we should or
should not do.
"I'd knock you down, with a belayin' pin if it was handy, but if not,
with my fist, knowin' Joshua Barney would uphold me in bringin' back
at any price the same crew I took away."
I felt certain that the old man believed it his duty to do exactly as
he had said, in case we persisted in going contrary to what he thought
was prudent, and I also came to realize that to his mind the danger
was great, otherwise he never would have spoken in such a strain.
However, I did not let him know what was in my mind; but stood well
forward when we sailed past Benedict, as if I was too angry to have
further speech, and, probably, acted like a sulky school-boy thinking
that I was upholding my dignity.
When we had run past the village, however, and there was no longer any
possibility Jerry and I would attempt to go ashore, Darius humbly
asked us to come aft, and once there he explained in a friendly way
why we, who had virtually bound ourselves to serve under Commodore
Barney, should report to him before attending to pleasure or personal
matters. He also made it plain that at this time, when we knew beyond
a peradventure the enemy was about to make an attack, it was
absolutely necessary every American who had agreed to aid in the
defense, should be ready for duty at a moment's notice.
In fact, he showed us so clearly that he was in the right and we
wrong, that I was ashamed of having given way to the sulks, and told
him so, whereat he said:
"Then we'll drop the whole thing right out of our minds, an' now that
it's over, I'll bet you two or three cents' worth of silver spoons
that we'll be in Benedict on service, sent there by the commodore,
before four an' twenty hours have passed."
I would have asked him how that might be, but just then Jim Freeman
sung out for me to have a look at the cable, which was considerably
chafed, and I did not get an opportunity of continuing the
conversation.
Again we came up to the fleet in the night; but Darius did not hold
any long parley with the occupants of the guard-boat who hailed us,
simply saying as he steered the Avenger straight for the Scorpion:
"Private service for the commodore."
We ran alongside the schooner, made the hawser fast ourselves, since
the single militiaman standing guard at the top of the cabin
companion-way did not see fit to aid us, and while this was being done
Darius leaped on board the vessel, saying in a loud tone:
"We're come on board to report to the commander."
"You can't see him now," the soldier said stiffly, presenting his
musket as if intending to use it in case the old man persisted in
advancing.
"Now look here, you lop-sided lobster," Darius cried at the full
strength of his lungs, "you report to the commodore that the Avenger
is alongside, or there'll be trouble 'twixt you an' me."
It is not probable the old man expected that he could bully the
sentinel, who had had his orders as a matter of course; but by bawling
so loudly that he could have been heard on every craft of the fleet,
he awakened Joshua Barney, which was exactly what he aimed at doing.
"Who's kickin' up this row?" the commodore asked sternly as he poked
his head above the hatchway.
"The crew of the Avenger, sir, come to report."
"Get below here at once," and the commander spoke as if impatient to
hear that report.
I had counted that Darius should go alone to the interview; but he
insisted on being accompanied by Jerry and me, therefore we followed
him into the cabin.
The old sailor did not spend much time in saluting; but in the fewest
words possible told what he had learned, and the commodore did not
appear surprised by the information.
"It tallies with what I have already heard," he said grimly. "How long
will it take the enemy to run up to the mouth of the river?"
"They should be there to-morrow night, for there are some fast sailers
in the fleet, sir."
"Find the swiftest canoe in the fleet; put on board rations for
twenty-four hours, getting them from this schooner, and run down the
river without delay. If your own crew is not huge enough to insure
quick work, call on for what men you need. Can you leave in thirty
minutes?"
"In five, sir, if we knew where to find the canoe. We're ready, an'
I'll keep the same crew."
The commodore ran on deck, hailed the guard-boat, spoke a few words in
a low tone, and returned to us, saying as he did so:
"Rout out my cook, and tell him what you want. Say that I give him
five minutes in which to have your provisions on deck. If necessary,
in order to learn all which should be known here, send a portion of
your crew back with the boat, and do the remainder of your work
ashore. In case I am not here when you get back, report to Lieutenant
Frazier, and take his orders as you would mine."
All this the commander had said hurriedly, as if the moments were
precious, and, having come to an end, he began writing at the table,
giving no more heed to us than if we never had an existence.
We left the cabin without delay, and while Darius went forward to have
speech with the commodore's cook, Jerry and I clambered on board the
pungy to let Jim and his friends know of the new duty to which we had
been assigned.
"Its a case of keeping on as spies," I said, after repeating the
commander's words. "You're to be ready at once; but who's to look
after the Avenger is something that hasn't been told us."
There was no time to say anything more, for at that point the
guard-boat came alongside, having in tow a long canoe which looked as
if a single stroke of the paddle might send her on a long voyage.
"Here is the swiftest craft on the river, and her owner's heart will
be broken if you allow the Britishers to get hold of her," the officer
in charge of the boat said as he passed me the painter of the canoe.
"Do you know what we are to do with the pungy?" I asked.
"My orders are to anchor her further up stream after you have gone.
Don't leave anything valuable aboard, for there's a good chance you'll
never see her again."
"We don't own anything valuable, except the pungy herself, and I fancy
she wouldn't be very precious save to two lads like Jerry and me who
may never own one again if anything happens to her," I said with a
laugh, for, strange to say now, when we were about to set off on the
most dangerous portion of our work, I failed to feel the slightest
fear.
At this moment Darius and the commodore's cook came on deck, each
bearing in his arms a certain amount of cooked food, and this the old
sailor threw without care into the bottom of the new canoe, himself
following with the utmost haste.
"Come on, lads, if you count on gettin' any sleep this night," he
cried impatiently as he took up one of the paddles.
"Are we to go without weapons?" I asked.
"We shan't need them. If we meet the Britishers it will be in such
force that half a dozen of the best rifles ever made would do us no
good, and there will be none others on the river with whom we shall
want to interfere."
"But we might run across Elias Macomber," I urged, not minded to go
empty-handed on such a perilous voyage.
"It is too late to fool around with spies now," Darius said sharply.
"They've done us all the mischief possible, an' it's a case of
standin' before an open enemy."
I had no desire to argue further within hearing of the commodore, and
scrambled down into the boat, where my comrades were seated ready to
begin the voyage.
Now indeed was Darius the leader of the party, and after the
conversation in regard to the muskets, I was prepared to obey him
without a murmur.
It is a large canoe which will carry six people comfortably, without
sign of being overloaded, yet the boat we were in did it, and I would
not have hesitated to put in a couple more had it been necessary,
while she paddled as easily as a craft half her size.
"It's a great little boat," Darius said approvingly as we began the
voyage with a burst of speed which absolutely surprised me. "I reckon
we could show our heels to the best that can be found on the river."
"Where are we goin'?" Jim Freeman asked, impatient to know more
regarding our purpose.
"That's what I can't say, lad. We'll run down till we see somethin' of
the Britishers, even though we come off the Tangiers again; but I'm
thinkin' we'll do well if we make Hog Point this trip."
Jim would have asked more questions; but that Darius cut him short by
saying gruffly:
"There's a decently good reason for believin' that the enemy may show
himself any minute now, an' if we don't want to get into trouble it'll
be safe to hold our peace. There'll be plenty of time for
tongue-waggin' later."
It can be fancied that we remained silent after such a remark and the
old man kept four of us at the paddles constantly, himself doing twice
as much work as any other, while the helmsman occupied that post only
in order to rest himself, the steering blade being shifted from one to
the other accordingly as we grew tired.
For the fourth time we passed Benedict without making a stop, but on
this occasion I made no protest, and when we had run a mile further
down the river we came upon a pungy belonging to our village, the
master of which was evidently doing his best to get all the speed
possible out of the craft.
"Better put back!" he shouted nervously, and Darius gave the word to
cease paddling as he asked:
"What's the news?"
"The Britishers are comin' this way thicker'n spatter, an' I made up
my mind it was time to get under cover."
"Where were the foremost ships when you saw them?"
"Less'n a mile below Hog Point; it looked like there was more'n a
hundred vessels."
"You'd better not count on stoppin' long at Benedict," Darius cried as
he motioned for us to take up the paddles again, and before the
captain of the pungy had time to ask a question, we were beyond
earshot.
"It may be the fleet that's bound for Baltimore," I suggested, not
being prepared at that time to believe the enemy would attempt to take
large vessels far enough up the river to disturb our fleet.
"I allow some of 'em are headin' Baltimore way," Darius replied
grimly; "but you'll find that a good many of the fleet will make a
try at stirrin' up Joshua Barney."
I knew the old man believed all he said, because from this out when we
were come to a bend in the river we would steer the canoe close up to
the bank, and slow down until he made certain that the next reach did
not have in it any of the enemy's craft.
In this cautious manner we ran down stream perhaps five miles below
Benedict, when, on rounding a bend, we saw no less than four armed
vessels, with a dozen or fourteen barges, not more than a mile away.
"Back water, lads!" Darius cried sharply, swinging the canoe's stern
around with the steering paddle. "Here's where we find our work. I'd
like it better if you wasn't so nearly fagged out; but I reckon we can
make five miles more before you give in."
He had turned the canoe while speaking, and we were running up stream
in less than two minutes after having sighted the Britishers.
"Five miles should bring us to Benedict," I suggested.
"Ay, lad, an' that's where we'll make the first stop."
"But do you count that the enemy will get as far up as the village?" I
asked in surprise mingled with no little consternation, for this was
bringing the war home to us with a vengeance.
"Some of the ships may find the bottom; but they'll get a few of 'em
there. Take the helm, Amos, an' I'll pull at the paddles."
Thus far, since we took service under Commodore Barney, all of Darius'
predictions had turned out to be correct, therefore I was fully
prepared to believe all he said regarding the danger which threatened
my native village.
The old man would not allow us to indulge in conversation after the
retreat was begun.
"Don't waste your breath by talkin'," he said peremptorily. "We'll
need all our wind to take us to Benedict, an' once there I'll give
some of you a chance for tongue-waggin'."
Within two miles of the village we passed the pungy we had met while
going down stream, going by her as if she was standing still, and
Darius shouted:
"Keep right on up the river! The Britishers won't stop this side of
Benedict, an' you can only save your vessel by joinin' Barney's
fleet."
"If all I've heard be true I'm as like to lose her where he is as in
most any other place," the captain cried, looking here and there
anxiously as if believing it possible he might find a few puffs of
wind lying around loose.
I was in good shape when we arrived finally at the village, because of
having remained at the steering paddle; but the other fellows were
well-nigh exhausted, and when we ran the bow of the canoe up on the
shore, not one of them made a move toward changing his position.
"Get your wind, lads, as soon as may be, for we'll pull half a mile or
more up-stream before settlin' down here for any length of time," the
old man said, leaping ashore smartly as if he had just awakened from
the most refreshing slumber, and while hurrying up the bank he added
sharply, "Stay where you are, all hands, until we finish this
business."
What it was he counted on finishing I could not so much as guess, and
my companions were too weary to speculate upon the matter just at that
moment.
We saw him speak with this or that person who came out of the shops or
buildings as he appeared, and immediately it was as if he had
disturbed a colony of ants. Men and women began running hither and
thither in terror, and not a few carried with them household goods of
such small value that it was a sheer waste of time to lug them around.
In a twinkling the entire village was in a commotion, and no one
appeared to have time to spend on us who had brought the disagreeable
news.
Darius remained beyond our range of vision perhaps ten minutes, and
then he appeared with the four Byard brothers trailing behind him,
whereupon Jerry, who had no particular love for these lads, asked
fretfully:
"What do you reckon he counts on doin' with that trash? If he needed
more of a crew, it strikes me he might have found better material."
We soon learned what purpose the old man had in mind, for on nearing
the place where our canoe was drawn up, the Byard family went a short
distance down stream in which direction their own craft was moored,
and began making her ready for a voyage.
"One of you lads must go to the commodore with news of what we have
seen," Darius said, speaking quick and sharp as if to prevent us from
holding any parley on the subject. "The Byards are to be paid for
paddlin' the best they know how from here to Nottingham, makin' no
stop on the way, an' he who goes will only need to act as helmsman."
"Are the remainder of the party to stay here?" I asked, not minded to
take myself out of the way when so much of excitement might soon be
witnessed.
"Sure. We who stay will be ready to make the quickest trip on record,
once we've found out all that's to be known. Who will go to the
commodore?"
No one replied, and by this time the Byards had their canoe afloat.
"We'll draw lots," Darius said after finding that neither of us was
willing to volunteer for the service. "The one who pulls the shortest
twig starts without delay or grumblin', an' I'm free to tell you that
those who stay behind with me are like to have the toughest night's
work they ever put in."
While speaking he had been breaking into bits a small twig, and five
of these he held in his clenched hand.
"Make your choice quickly, for we can't waste many seconds over this
business," the old man cried impatiently, and we obeyed his command, I
hoping most sincerely that the lot would fall to some other than
myself, for I was willing to risk the hard work in order to remain
with the leader.
It was Jim Freeman who drew the short twig, and his face was pulled
down very long when he found that he had been selected.
"Into the canoe with you!" Darius cried, "an' listen well to what I
say. Tell the commodore that we came upon the advance ships of one
fleet five miles below Benedict, and are waitin' here to make certain
what they will do. He is to give these Byard boys three dollars for
takin' you to Nottingham. Make the best time possible, for the fate of
all our vessels in the river may hang on you're gettin' there
quickly."
The Byards dug their paddles deep in the water as if determined to
obey orders as promptly as possible, and in twenty seconds from the
time Darius ceased speaking the canoe was around the bend of the
river, Jim waving us a mournful adieu as he disappeared from view.
"Joshua Coburn is to go with me to hide the boat further up-stream,"
the old man said with the air of a general giving his commands. "The
others may stroll around the village; but in half an hour every one
must be here on the shore to meet me."
I gave no heed to my companions; but ran at full speed toward home,
answering curtly the greetings from the neighbors as I passed, and
soon I was where every fellow longs to be--in mother's arms.
She, good soul, had heard from those who saw us, that we passed the
village more than once; but never a word of complaint because I had
not stopped to see her.
The first question was whether I had come to Benedict under orders of
the commodore, or if I was taking time to visit her which should be
devoted to some other purpose.
I speedily soothed all such fears, and frightened her by saying that
Darius believed the Britishers would make a halt at the village.
At first it was my belief that she should take the children and go far
into the thicket; but she, good soul, soon convinced me that such a
course would be unwise, since it was not known how long the enemy
would remain, and she could not stay in the forest very many hours
with the young ones.
"We will wait here, Amos dear. The British cannot be so barbarous as
to make war upon the helpless. If you or father was near at hand, and
I could go to you, the situation would be far different."
Then she insisted that I should tell her all I had been doing, and by
the time that long story was come to an end I had need to join Darius
on the shore, having stayed the full length of the furlough he gave
us.
It was not certain but that I could see my mother again before we went
up river, therefore our parting was not as sorrowful as it would have
been had I known all the perils which were to be encountered ere I
looked upon her dear face again.
The village was in even a greater state of confusion and bustle than
when I first passed through it. A full half of the people were on the
point of running away, taking with them as many household belongings
as could be carried or transported in carts or boats. A large number
stood on the streets undecided what course to pursue, and asking each
person they saw for advice, while not a few were apparently bent on
following the example set by my mother.
I was appealed to for the latest news by a full score before I could
reach the rendezvous; but to all I had the same reply, that I was in
government service and could not delay.
I was the last of our party to arrive at the shore; the other lads
were standing near Darius, looking uncommonly glum, and I could well
understand the reason for the sadness.
"Did you hide the boat?" I asked, and the old man replied:
"Ay, a little better than half a mile up stream, where we can come at
her conveniently in a hurry. We have just been talkin', however, about
takin' stations on the opposite bank, where it will be possible to see
what is done without gettin' in the way of the enemy."
That seemed to me a very good idea, for there might be many chances
against our slipping away after the British had landed, and I urged
that the change of base be made without delay.
It was if Darius had only waited for my opinion. Immediately after I
gave it he led the way along the road which followed the course of the
river.
Within an hour we had the canoe hidden on the opposite shore, and were
seeking for some spot directly across from the village where we could
see all that was done.
It was some time before we found exactly what we wanted, and then it
was in the midst of a small clump of trees on a gentle rise of the
land, a full two hundred feet from the shore.
Here, by trimming away some of the branches, we could have a full view
of the river and settlement, in addition to being at a safe distance
from the enemy, who would hardly land on that side of the stream.
"We've got into position none too soon," Darius said as he pointed
over the trees on the opposite shore, where we could see the upper
spars of what appeared to be a reasonably large vessel moving through
the water slowly. "Within ten minutes we shall know whether it's a
case of watchin' 'em come to anchor an' landin', or takin' to our
heels to gain the canoe before they can get that far up the river."