IN HIDING.
I question if my companions were any less uneasy in mind regarding our
seeking a refuge in the city about to be occupied by the British, than
was I; but no one ventured to say exactly what he thought lest it
serve to check our courage, and of a verity we needed that in
abundance if we were to make a success of Jerry's scheme.
Darius and I walked either side of the mule on which my father rode,
where we might be ready to give the wounded man assistance in case his
strength failed him suddenly; but neither of us dared discuss the
possibilities of the future.
When we were come nearly to the city my father asked me if we had any
money with which to purchase food, and I replied by showing him the
two silver coins remaining of the amount paid by the Britishers for
oysters.
Darius had the same number of pieces in copper, and Jim Freeman was
the capitalist among us, he having no less than two shillings.
We had funds in plenty for the purchase of such food as would satisfy
our hunger during two or three days, and the only matter which gave us
any uneasiness was regarding a shelter, which had now become
absolutely necessary since father joined us, for it went without
saying that he must not be seen.
When Jerry conceived the scheme we were attempting to carry into
execution, he believed, as did I, that Washington would be almost
wholly abandoned by the citizens, and, in fact, it was reasonable to
suppose that when the news of the defeat was brought to the city
nearly every one would seek safety in flight, therefore we counted on
being able to take shelter in any building which took our fancy.
While yet in the outskirts of the town, however, we understood that we
were mistaken. So far as I could see, the inhabitants remained within
their homes, probably under the belief that the enemy would behave
like civilized people rather than as barbarians, and our chances for
finding a hiding-place seemed small.
Having no acquaintance with the city, we walked on at haphazard until
having come within a short distance of a tavern near the Capitol, hard
by a large building which looked not unlike a rope walk.
It was in my mind that we could do no better than stop at the tavern,
trusting that our small store of money would suffice to pay for one
room in which all of us might gather; but to this Darius made most
decided objection.
"It is the last place for us to choose," he said decidedly. "Even if
the house is not taken as quarters by some of the officers, it will be
visited by the rank and file, and we might as well be in the open air.
Yonder smoke-house would suit our purpose better."
It seemed to me that in a city said to contain nine hundred buildings
we could do better than hide in a smoke-house, and so I said, claiming
that we would be in no more danger by making ourselves as comfortable
as possible under the circumstances, than if we huddled into some
corner.
Jim Freeman and Jerry seemed to be in my way of thinking; but Darius
declared that unless we could content ourselves with such a
hiding-place as was not likely to attract the attention of the enemy,
we might count him out of the scheme.
"But what can be done with the mule, if we take to the smoke-house?" I
cried, believing I thus had an argument which he could not well
answer.
"Turn him loose, of course. He is government property, and would give
stronger proof of our havin' been with the army than your father's
wound. Besides, should the soldiers hear him, an' you can't reckon on
keepin' that kind of a beast quiet, they'd be bound to have him out,
if only for the sake of sport."
Then Darius went toward his chosen place of refuge, leaving us to
follow or not as best pleased us, and the result can well be imagined.
We would not cut loose from the old sailor who, because of his
experience in such circumstances, was best calculated to advise and
aid, therefore we followed him meekly, but with many a mental
complaint.
When we were come to the rough building, which was hardly larger than
the cabin of the Scorpion, Darius lifted my father from the animal's
back as if he had been no more than a child, and carried him into the
place that was less inviting than the hold of the Avenger after we had
taken out a cargo of oysters.
Placing him in one corner where he might sit with his back against the
boards, the old sailor went outside and drove the mule in the
direction of the tavern, himself following until he was lost to view,
much to our surprise and disquietude.
"Now what is he about?" Jerry asked petulantly. "I thought we were to
stay here?"
"It seems that we are," I replied with a mirthless laugh; "but it
appears that Master Thorpe counts on being better lodged."
"Do you suppose he allows to stop at the tavern while we're to stay in
this smoke-house?" Jim Freeman asked in a tone of dismay, and I, sore
at heart because my advice had not been followed, replied bitterly,
thereby setting myself down for at least the twentieth time as a
simple:
"We can be certain he'll look after himself, no matter how we may
fare."
Then we stood waiting in silence until it should be certain that
Darius had really abandoned us, when my father said, striving to
suppress any evidence of the pain which he suffered:
"You lads are making a big mistake if you think Darius Thorpe would
leave you at such a time as this. He has ever had the name of holding
to a comrade, and he'll not steer another course while we're in so
much danger."
Five minutes later I was covered with shame because of my unkind
words, when we saw the old man returning with as much hay as he could
stagger under.
"Here's what will make our cripple a bit more comfortable," he said
cheerily as he thrust his burden through the narrow door. "Pile it
well up under him, an' I'll go back for the rest of the supplies."
None of us lads made any comment when Darius returned toward the
tavern; but that all hands were conscious of the same sense of shame
as had come over me, I understood by the expression on their faces.
When the old man joined us the second time he had in his arms the
larger part of a ham, some strips of cotton cloth, and a jug of water.
"How did you get all that stuff?" Jerry asked in surprise.
"Traded the mule. When I was drivin' the beast off it struck me that
he might be made to serve us a bit, so I drove a bargain."
"Did you give the people to understand that he was yours?"
"Not a bit of it, lad; I ain't tryin' that kind of business even when
I'm hungry. I told the truth; but claimed that the beast was under my
protection, an' I'd be willin' to leave him for the few things we
might need. It ain't certain but I'd got what I asked for without the
mule, though it was better to have a reg'lar trade made. Pitch into
the ham, and later, it may be we can get some bread."
We did not wait for the second invitation; but began chipping off bits
of the meat, eating greedily regardless of the fact that it was
uncooked, when I saw that Darius was making no effort toward getting
his share.
"Why don't you eat?" I asked as I gave my father a small handful of
the uninviting food.
"I'm the surgeon now, an' till this job is finished I reckon I can
contrive to get along without more in my mouth than a piece of
terbacco. It's mighty lucky I laid in a good supply before we left Pig
Point."
The true-hearted old sailor had provided us lads with a meal, and now
proposed to dress my father's wound before attending to his own wants,
which must have been greater than ours because he had performed more
work.
I resolved then and there, that however much against him might be
appearances, I would never believe him guilty of any mean act toward
his comrades, and in the future he should have the full half of
anything which might come into my possession.
Darius washed and bandaged father's wound; raised the bed of hay that
he might recline more comfortably; fastened the door in such a manner
that there would be no token on the outside of our occupancy, and not
until all this had been done did he give heed to his own necessities.
"We're not so bad off here as we might be," the old man said in a tone
of content as he whittled away at the small remnant of ham, while we
lads were stretched at full length on the hay. "I'm allowin' that
whatever happens, the Britishers won't look in a smoke-house for
American soldiers or sailors, an' we can stay here snug as bugs in a
rug, barrin' bein a little hungry, till Amos' father is in better
condition to travel."
"But it will be a long while before that wound is healed!" Jim Freeman
exclaimed in dismay.
"Yes, I reckon it'll be quite a spell, pervidin' the Britishers stay
in the city; but if they go it won't be a hard job to find a boat
that'll take us to the Patuxent. But there's little call to make much
talk about movin', for we can't leave one of the crowd, no matter what
happens to the rest of us."
By the time all this had been done it was sunset. The retreat from
Bladensburg had been begun about four o'clock in the afternoon, and we
were not so badly off to be in Washington and housed so soon after the
defeat.
The one distressing question was whether the enemy would make search
in the city for such as we?
After he had eaten all the scraps of ham remaining on the bone, Darius
set about making a more thorough examination of our refuge, beginning
with the small shutter at the top of the building which was used when,
the meat having been cured, it was desired to clear the place of
smoke.
"What are you doing up there?" my father asked when the old sailor
clambered on the logs to get at the shutter.
"Makin' sure we can keep a lookout in case things get too hot," Darius
replied with a laugh. "I'm allowin' this shutter can be swung open a
crack without its bein' noticed from the outside."
He had no more than opened the window when an exclamation burst from
his lips, and without delay I clambered up beside him.
From this point of vantage we had a fairly good view of what was going
on near about the Capitol building, and my heart beat fast and
furiously with fear as I saw the enemy advancing.
"There seems to be the biggest part of the British army," Darius said,
pointing in the direction of the burying-ground, where I could see the
soldiers bivouacking for the night; but nearer at hand were two
officers, evidently high in command--General Ross and Admiral
Cockburn, as I afterward learned--, with an escort of three or four
hundred men, riding directly toward us.
Within full view of our hiding-place was a dwelling standing near the
government building, and as we gazed I saw the flash of a musket come
from this house, when the horse on which the general was riding fell
dead, carrying the officer to the ground with him in what looked to be
an ugly fall.
"That's a fool trick!" Darius cried angrily when no other sign of
attack could be seen or heard. "A crazy man must have fired that shot,
which can do no other good than to make the enemy hot to inflict some
punishment!"
We saw a score or more of the escort rush to the assistance of the
officer, while the remainder of the soldiers were wheeled about to
face the dwelling.
I was confident that they would fire a volley into the house, and,
indeed, I could well have excused such a course, considering the
provocation; but instead of this a squad of men were told off to enter
the building, as we saw when the force ran forward on the double-quick
with fixed bayonets.
By this time, as may well be imagined, all our party, with the
exception of my father, were clinging to the timbers of the building
that a view might be had of what was going on outside, and Darius,
ever mindful of others, took it upon himself to keep our invalid
informed of what was being done.
"They've sent a squad of men to clean out the house, I reckon," the
old sailor said for father's benefit. "The officer ain't hurt so but
that he can mount a spare horse which a colonel has just brought him.
Now the two in command are pointin' out the different buildin's; looks
as if they were pickin' out their quarters. There's one thing certain,
fine birds like them won't want to sleep in a smoke-house, so we ain't
likely to be turned out right away."
I interrupted the report by exclaiming aloud in my excitement, for I
saw smoke issuing from the dwelling, which I afterward learned was the
home of Mr. Robert Sewall, and then it was I understood for what
purpose the squad had been sent.
"They've fired the house," Darius continued to my father, "an' without
givin' them who may be livin' there a chance to carry anythin' out.
Soldiers are stationed to prevent the people from tryin' to fight the
flames, an' it wouldn't surprise me if we saw a pretty hot time in
this town."
At this moment a squad of men was sent to the rope-walk, another to
the tavern hard by our place of refuge, and a third to the next
building, which from the sign on its front I knew to be the National
Intelligencer newspaper.
After what we had seen it was not difficult to guess the purpose of
these soldiers, and Darius said to my father:
"They're firin' the rope-walk now, an' it looks as if the whole city
might go."
"Surely the British wouldn't do so barbarous a deed!" my father
exclaimed. "War isn't carried on in that way these days."
"It seems to be goin' so now. There comes the smoke from the tavern,
an' men are stationed to prevent the people from savin' anything. How
about it, lads? If we had spent our last cent hirin' a room there, the
smoke would be forcin' us out by this time, an' we'd soon find
ourselves prisoners in the hands of such as stand ready to burn a city
where are mostly women an' children!"
"It's not certain but that we'll be forced out as it is!" I exclaimed.
"When the tavern barns get afire this smoke-house stands a good
chance of burning."
"It may be, lad; but the wind draws in on the other side, an' I'm
allowin' that this shanty, small as it is, won't come to harm, though
if it does go, we'll try to keep our upper lips stiff so the
villainous red-coats shan't have a chance to crow over us very much."
We saw the men comprising the escort now break ranks, each going,
apparently, where he pleased, and Darius cried in anger:
"It is to be a reg'lar sack of the city, such as we're told they had
in the old times, when men were reckoned as bein' little better than
brutes! Work like this will count big for the Britishers before the
other nations of the world! There goes a crowd of soldiers into the
little shop beyond the tavern; they're plunderin' it in piratical
style! See 'em throw the goods out into the street! The red-coats from
the encampment, scentin' booty, are comin' up by the hundreds!"
From where we were perched it was possible to see three shops, and by
the time the tavern was well afire no less than five hundred men had
robbed these, tramping into the dirt such goods as they did not want
to carry away, and then the buildings were set on fire.
Verily it was a barbarous sack of the city!
Then it was, when the flames from the buildings of which I have spoken
were mounting high in the sky, that I observed the commander order up
a full company of soldiers. It was possible to see, for although night
had come the fire lighted up surrounding objects as at noonday, that
he gave them orders at great length, after which they started off
toward the Capitol at full speed.
"They're goin' to burn the government buildin's!" Darius cried for my
father's benefit. "A hundred or more have been detailed to do the
work, an' the commanders are watchin' proceedin's like that chap, I
forget his name, who played on the fiddle while Rome was burnin'. An'
all this is bein' done by the high an' lofty Britishers, who count on
settin' the pace for the whole world!"
Jim Freeman and Dody Wardwell, who could not find perches near the
window that they might look out, now opened the door regardless of
consequences, and stood gazing at as cruel a scene as can well be
imagined.
Women and children, driven back by the red-coats, stood tearfully
watching the destruction of their homes, forced to see every cherished
article destroyed, and, more than that! I saw a soldier tear from the
hands of an old lady a small box which he opened, took some things
therefrom which I judged were pieces of jewelry, and threw the
remainder into the flames.
The smoke-house was as hot a place as I care to remain in very long
at a time, and as well filled with smoke as when put to the use for
which it was originally intended. Even Darius had doubts about the
small buildings escaping the flames, and said to my father:
"Keep watch for the first show of fire, Master Grout, an' we'll see
that you're posted as to what is bein' done outside. If we have to
leave here, it'll be a good idee to draw off toward the rope-walk;
there's no one near by that place, an' we may contrive to steer clear
of the enemy."
Now it was that long tongues of fire curled above the government
building, swaying this way and that in the wind like fiery serpents,
until the inflammable portion of the nation's Capitol was ablaze.
It seemed as if our smoke-house was completely surrounded by burning
buildings. Had the Britishers given any attention to such an
insignificant structure as we were concealed in, Jim and Dody must
have been discovered, for they gave no heed to hiding themselves as
they stood literally transfixed with horror at the terrible scenes.
Not until all the buildings were so enveloped in flames that there
could be no possibility of saving them, did the two officers ride
away, and then it was to go in the direction of their encampment.
I gave no further heed to the barbarians; but watched with a sort of
fascination the destroying element until Darius cried:
"There's more mischief afoot! See, a full regiment are under marchin'
orders!"
"What can they do now?" I asked helplessly. "Everything around here is
in flames; the entire city is ruined!"
"There's the President's house, an' a good many fine dwellin's at the
other end of the town," the old sailor replied. "Unless I'm way out of
my reckonin', you'll see more fire before there's less."
The barns of the tavern were now burning; but the wind drew in with
greater force, a draft having been formed by the flames, I suppose,
and while our refuge was as hot as it well could be, the more intense
heat was carried in the opposite direction.
"I reckon this 'ere smoke-house will stand while many a better
buildin' goes down," Darius announced. "We're gettin' the biggest part
of the heat from the stables now, an' I don't see any signs of fire on
these logs. You lads stay here with our invalid, an' I'll sneak 'round
outside a bit. There may be a chance to get somethin' in the way of
rations if the men break into more shops, as is likely."
Then the old man slipped down from his uncomfortable perch, stopped at
the door to warn Jim and Dody that they must not stray far away, and
disappeared behind the ruins of the tavern.
It gave me a certain sensation of loneliness to have Darius go at that
time. Although it was late in the day to make such a discovery, I had
come to understand of how much assistance he was to us lads, and how
helpless we would be without him; but, as a matter of course, I could
not presume to dictate as to his movements.
The one singular thing to me in this wanton work of destruction, was
the fact that not all the buildings in this portion of the city had
been given over to the flames. It seemed as if the British commander
had singled out certain dwellings to be burned, while the others were
unmolested, save in two cases where I saw soldiers bringing out
plunder which was valueless to them, and had been taken only in a
spirit of cruelty.
Perhaps an hour was spent by the enemy in our immediate vicinity, and
then that quarter of the city was deserted by all save the homeless
ones, or those who mourned over the loss of property.
The conflagration was still sufficient to light up the streets and
fields near by, therefore we could not venture out save at the risk of
being seen; but I question if any especial attention would have been
given us, except in the case of my father, had we gone boldly forth.
Had he not been with us I should have proposed that the moment was
come when we might be able to slip down the river unobserved, for who
would give heed to a party of lads when the capital city of the United
States was in flames? With my father, however, we were forced to
remain in hiding, for his wound was sufficient evidence that he had
taken part in the battle of Bladensburg, and this would insure his
being seized as a prisoner of war.
Jim and Dody, however, went across to where two shops were in flames,
and returned a few moments later with a piece of bacon which had been
trampled upon in the street, a bag of dirty flour, and, what was
better than all, three loaves of bread, the whole of which had been
thrown aside by the Britishers when they plundered the buildings.
It was quite a store for our empty larder, unsavory though the bread
and flour looked; but hungry lads, and particularly those who are
fugitives, cannot afford to be squeamish in regard to their food.
In less than half an hour after the regiment marched from the
encampment toward the upper end of the city, we saw the flames rising
in great volume, telling that there was no idea in the minds of the
victors to spare anything which could readily be destroyed.
As a matter of course, we did not then know what was being done; but
later we learned that the President's mansion, the Treasury buildings,
the Arsenal, and the barracks, where three thousand troops could be
quartered, were all laid in ashes under the orders of General Ross and
Admiral Cockburn.
Before midnight the conflagration in the portion of the city where we
had sought refuge, had so far subsided, because there was nothing left
for the flames to feed upon, that only glowing embers, and the
blackened walls of the Capitol could be seen; but the night was turned
into day because of the fires at the other end of the town.
We lads were weary with watching the wicked work; Jim and Dody had
toasted a large piece of bacon over the embers of the tavern; we had
partaken of a second meal rather because the food was at hand than
owing to hunger, and now all hands felt the need of sleep, even though
we were literally surrounded by enemies.
But Darius had not returned, and we could not give ourselves up to
slumber while he remained absent.
At first I fancied that he was watching the work of the Britishers;
but when my father began to show signs of alarm because the old sailor
did not return, my anxiety was great.
If any of the red-coats came upon him, they would suspect that he had
been among that company of seamen and marines who had inflicted so
much injury upon them during the day just passed, and it was not
difficult to understand that he would speedily be made a prisoner.