CAPTAIN WHARTON'S CAPTURE.
At the distance of more than a mile about fifty dragoons were to be
seen, winding down one of the lateral[40] entrances of the valley. In
advance, with an officer, was a man attired in the dress of a
countryman, who pointed in the direction of the cottage. A small party
now left the main body and moved rapidly toward the object of their
destination.
[Footnote 40: from the side.]
On reaching the road which led through the bottom of the valley, they
turned their horses' heads to the north.
Reaching the dwelling of Birch, they made a rapid circle around his
grounds, and in an instant his house was surrounded by a dozen
sentinels.
Two or three of the dragoons now dismounted and disappeared; in a few
minutes they returned to the yard, followed by Katy, from whose
violent gesticulations[41] it was evident that matters of no trifling
concern were on the carpet. A short communication with the housekeeper
followed the arrival of the main body of the troop, and the advancing
party remounting, the whole moved towards the Locusts with great
speed.
[Footnote 41: signs or motions.]
As yet none of the family had sufficient presence of mind to devise
any means of security for Captain Wharton; but the danger now became
too pressing to admit of longer delay, and various means of secreting
him were hastily proposed.
At length his sisters, with trembling hands, replaced his original
disguise. This arrangement was hastily and imperfectly completed as
the dragoons entered the lawn and orchard of the Locusts, riding with
the rapidity of the wind; and in their turn the Whartons were
surrounded.
The leader of the horse dismounted, and, followed by a couple of his
men, he approached the outer door of the building, which was slowly
opened for his admission by Caesar.
A man, whose colossal[42] stature manifested the possession of vast
strength, entered the room, and, removing his cap, he saluted the
family with a mildness his appearance did not indicate as belonging to
his nature. His dark hair hung around his brow in profusion, though
stained with the powder that was worn at that day, and his face was
nearly hid in the whiskers by which it was disfigured. Still the
expression of his eye, though piercing, was not bad, and his voice,
though deep and powerful, was far from unpleasant. Frances ventured to
throw a timid glance at his figure as he entered, and saw at once the
man from whose scrutiny Harvey Birch had warned them there was so much
to be apprehended.
[Footnote 42: very great.]
"You have no cause for alarm, ladies," said the officer; "my business
will be confined to a few questions, which, if freely answered, will
instantly remove us from your dwelling.
"Has there been a strange gentleman staying with you during the
storm?" continued the dragoon, speaking with interest.
"This gentleman--here--favored us with his company during the rain,
and has not yet departed."
"This gentleman!" repeated the other, turning to Captain Wharton. He
approached the youth with an air of comic gravity, and, with a low
bow, continued, "I am sorry for the severe cold you have in your head,
sir."
"I!" exclaimed the captain, in surprise; "I have no cold in my head."
"I fancied it, then, from seeing you had covered such handsome black
locks with that ugly old wig. It was my mistake; you will please to
pardon it."
Mr. Wharton groaned aloud; but the ladies, ignorant of the extent of
the visitor's knowledge, remained in trembling yet rigid silence. The
captain himself moved his hand involuntarily to his head, and
discovered that the trepidation of his sisters had left some of his
natural hair exposed. The dragoon watched the movement with a
continued smile, when, seeming to recollect himself, turning to the
father, he proceeded:
"Then, sir, I am to understand there has not been a Mr. Harper here
within a week?"
"Mr. Harper," echoed the other; "yes--I had forgotten; but he is gone,
and if there be anything wrong in his character, we are in entire
ignorance; to me he was a total stranger."
"You have little to apprehend from his character," answered the
dragoon, dryly; "but he is gone--how, when, and whither?"
"He departed as he arrived," said Mr. Wharton, gathering renewed
confidence from the manner of the trooper, "on horseback last evening,
and he took the northern road."
The officer listened with intense interest, his countenance gradually
lighting with a smile of pleasure, and the instant Mr. Wharton
concluded his laconic[43] reply he turned on his heel and left the
apartment. In a few moments orders were given to some of the troop,
and horsemen left the valley, at full speed, by its various roads.
[Footnote 43: using but few words.]
The suspense of the party within, who were all highly interested
witnesses of this scene, was shortly terminated; for the heavy tread
of the dragoon soon announced his second approach. He bowed again
politely as he reentered the room, and, walking up to Captain Wharton,
said with mock gravity:
"Now, sir, my principal business being done, may I beg to examine the
quality of that wig?"
The British officer imitated the manner of the other, as he
deliberately uncovered his head, and handing the wig observed, "I
hope, sir, it is to your liking."
"I cannot, without violating the truth, say it is," returned the
dragoon; "I prefer your ebony hair, from which you seem to have combed
the powder with great industry. But that must have been a sad hurt you
have received under this enormous black patch."
"You appear such a close observer of things, that I should like your
opinion of it, sir," said Henry, removing the silk, and exhibiting the
cheek free from blemish.
"Upon my word, you improve most rapidly in externals," added the
trooper; "if I could but persuade you to exchange this old surtout[44]
for that handsome blue coat by your side, I think I never could
witness a more agreeable metamorphosis,[45] since I was changed myself
from a lieutenant to a captain."
[Footnote 44: overcoat.]
[Footnote 45: change.]
Young Wharton very composedly did as he was required, and stood an
extremely handsome, well-dressed young man. The dragoon looked at him
for a minute with the drollery that characterized his manner, and then
continued:
"This is a newcomer in the scene; it is usual, you know, for strangers
to be introduced; I am Captain Lawton, of the Virginia horse?"
"And I, sir, am Captain Wharton, of his Majesty's Sixtieth regiment of
foot," returned Henry, bowing stiffly, and recovering his natural
manner.
The countenance of Lawton changed instantly, and his assumed
quaintness vanished. He viewed the figure of Captain Wharton, as he
stood proudly swelling with a pride that disdained further
concealment, and exclaimed with great earnestness:
"Captain Wharton, from my soul I pity you!"
"Oh, then," cried the father, in agony, "if you pity him, dear sir,
why molest him? He is not a spy; nothing but a desire to see his
friends prompted him to venture so far from the regular army, in
disguise. Leave him with us; there is no reward, no sum, which I will
not cheerfully pay."
"Sir, your anxiety for your friend excuses your language," said
Lawton, haughtily; "but you forget I am a Virginian, and a gentleman."
Turning to the young man, he continued, "Were you ignorant, Captain
Wharton, that our pickets have been below you for several days?"
"I did not know it until I reached them, and it was too late to
retreat," said Wharton, sullenly. "I came out, as father has
mentioned, to see my friends, understanding your parties to be at
Peekskill,[46] and near the Highlands, or surely I would not have
ventured."
[Footnote 46: on the Hudson, forty miles north of New York.]
"All this may be very true; but the affair of Andre has made us on the
alert. When treason reaches the grade of general officers, Captain
Wharton, it behooves[47] the friends of liberty to be vigilant."
[Footnote 47: is the duty of.]
Henry bowed to this remark in distant silence, but Sarah ventured to
urge something in behalf of her brother. The dragoon heard her
politely, and answered mildly:
"I am not the commander of the party, madam; Major Dunwoodie will
decide what must be done with your brother. At all events, he will
receive nothing but kind and gentle treatment. May I presume so far as
to ask leave to dismount and refresh my men, who compose a part of his
squadron?"
There was a manner about the trooper that would have made the omission
of such a request easily forgiven by Mr. Wharton; but he was fairly
entrapped by his own eagerness to conciliate, and it was useless to
withhold a consent which he thought would probably be extorted; he
therefore made the most of necessity, and gave such orders as would
facilitate[48] the wishes of Captain Lawton.
[Footnote 48: to make easy.]