Tom and the Redcoats
The day after Tom Dare became a member of the company of British
soldiers, he went with a party of about twenty on a trip toward the
southward, where it was said the patriots were thick, nearly all being
patriots in fact.
Captain Kane instructed Lieutenant Wicks, who was to have charge of the
party, to plunder the patriot homes and take prisoners, where the
patriots showed signs of resistance or anger.
“Bring them here,” he said, “and we will make them join our force and
fight for the king.”
“All right, Captain Kane,” was the reply.
“I have heard,” went on the captain, “that General Greene is on his way
to Ninety-Six, with a force of about one thousand men, and if he has as
strong a force as that, then we will need all the men we can get, for we
have only about six hundred.”
Then the party set out, and made its way toward the south. For several
miles their route was through a region where the majority of the
settlers were loyalists, and these were not bothered.
“There is a settlement about twenty miles from here, in among the
mountains,” said the lieutenant to the soldiers nearest to him as they
made their way along, “and it is made up wholly of rebels. I have been
wanting to get a chance at them for a good while, and I am going
straight there. We will help ourselves to any of their belongings that
we care for, and will take the men prisoners and make them come back to
Ninety-Six and fight for the king when General Greene puts in an
appearance.”
“I know where that settlement is,” said one of the soldiers. “They are
strong rebels, up there.”
“Yes, but we’ll make them wish they were loyal to the king before we get
through with them,” said the lieutenant.
Tom listened to the conversation of the lieutenant and the soldiers with
interest, and he began wondering if he could not manage to in some
manner get word to the settlers of their danger.
“I’ll try to do so,” he decided. “If any opportunity is offered to me, I
will slip away and try to get to the settlement ahead of the redcoats
and warn the settlers.”
The party of British soldiers did not hurry. They did not care to reach
the settlement until evening, anyway, and so they made their way along
at a moderate pace, and stopped an hour and a half at noon, and after
they had eaten, they proceeded at the same moderate pace, and it was
getting along toward evening when the lieutenant said they were within
two miles of the settlement, which was in a high valley, up in among the
mountains.
At the point where they were when the lieutenant made this statement,
they were making their way along a path that wound around the side of a
mountain, and at one side the mountain stretched up hundreds of feet in
the air, while to the other side there was almost a precipice. The
descent for a hundred feet was quite steep, but not so steep but what a
man might descend it, by using care. Tom Dare, who had been trying to
think of some manner of giving the party the slip and getting to the
settlement ahead of the redcoats, decided on a plan. It was dangerous,
but he would try it anyhow, and his plan was to pretend to stumble and
then fall and go sliding down the declivity. He would then get to his
feet, make his way to the settlement and warn the settlers.
He managed to work his way over till he was close to the edge of the
descent, and then suddenly he stumbled, gave a cry of seeming alarm,
fell and went rolling over and over down the steep mountain-side.
The soldiers were greatly excited and yelled advice and encouragement to
the youth, but he was rolling so rapidly that their voices came to him
only in an inarticulate murmur. He did not understand their words, and
could not have acted on any of the suggestions had he done so.
“Stop,” yelled one soldier.
“Grab hold of something,” cried another.
“Whirl your body around and stick your heels in the earth,” was the
suggestion from another.
On rolled Tom, and although he did his best to lessen his speed, he
could do little, and he went down the side of the mountain with terrible
speed. Fortunately, however, he was able to grasp a long trailing vine
and this enabled him to twist himself into a more perpendicular
position. Presently, when about one hundred feet down, he shot over a
little precipice and went fifteen or twenty feet downward, directly into
the top of a stunted fir tree. On through the branches he went, being
buffeted first one way and then the other, and finally fell to the
ground alighting upon the mossy bank of a little rivulet. Had he had in
advance the slightest conception of the danger of his undertaking, he
certainly would not have made the venture.
Luckily the branches of the tree had broken his fall considerably, and
although he was somewhat stunned by the fall, and dazed by the swift
whirling, he was not seriously injured, and in a few moments he was
enabled to sit up, and a little later he rose to his feet, shook
himself, and began figuring on getting to the settlement ahead of the
redcoats.
Then to his hearing came the words, from the lieutenant: “Tom Dare! Are
you alive? Where are you?”
“They’ll be looking for me in a few moments,” thought Tom. “I must hurry
away from here.”
He set out in the direction of the settlement, picking his way along
carefully, and gradually he worked his way upward, and when he had gone
about a mile, he reached the path the soldiers had been following when
he rolled down the mountain-side.
Tom looked back, but saw no signs of the British soldiers. He could see
only about two hundred yards, however, as the path bent around the side
of the mountain.
Tom did not linger there, however, and after one swift glance back, he
set out along the path on the run, and in about ten minutes emerged from
the path into a high valley of perhaps three or four miles long and a
mile and a half in width. At a point near the center he saw a group of
log houses, and toward these he hastened.
It was now about supper time, and Tom decided that the settlers were all
at their homes. This would be better than if the men were scattered
about, in the fields, at work, for they could make preparations for
defense quickly.
Tom kept glancing back over his shoulder as he ran toward the houses,
and each time he looked, he expected to see the British soldiers coming.
He had gone about halfway to the houses, however, before he caught sight
of the redcoats. They were just entering the valley, and they must have
caught sight of Tom and guessed what he was intending to do, for a yell
went up from their lips that came to his hearing.
“They have seen and recognized me,” thought Tom. “Well, I have the start
of them, and will reach the settlement in time to make it possible for
the men to get ready to show fight.”
On ran the youth, and the redcoats could be seen to be running also, but
they were not so swift-footed as Tom, and he reached the settlement
while the redcoats were still more than half a mile distant.
Tom stopped at the first house he came to, and opened the door without
ceremony and called out:
“A party of redcoats is coming to attack the settlement, sir. Get the
men together quickly, if you want to make a fight.”
A man came hastily to the door, and cried: “What’s thet you say, young
man? Redcoats comin’ here?”
“Yes, sir. You can see them, yonder, and--”
“Why, ye’re one yourself!” exclaimed the man, noting Tom’s British
uniform.
“No, I’m a patriot that was forced to join their force. I was with that
party, but got ahead of them, and came to warn you. Get the men
together, quickly. How many are there in the settlement?”
“About twenty-five.”
“There are only twenty of the redcoats. We can whip them. Get the other
men at once.”
“All right. I’ll go to part of the houses and give the alarm, you go to
the rest.”
Then they hastened from house to house, warning the settlers, and in a
less number of minutes than it takes to tell, the men were gathered at
the edge of the settlement, rifles in hand, ready for the redcoats.
The women and children were told to leave the houses and retire up the
mountain-side, in the shelter of the rocks, and they promptly did so.
“We’ll protect ourselves by hiding behind the houses and fire at the
redcoats, and hold them back or drive them away,” asserted one of the
settlers, who seemed to be looked upon as the leader. “If we can save
our houses and household goods, we will do so; but if they are too
strong for us, we can retreat up the mountainside.”
“We can drive them away, I think, sir,” said Tom.
“I hope so, young man.” And then the settler added: “We thank you for
bringing us warning of the approach of the British.”
“You are welcome, sir. I am a patriot, and a member of the patriot army
under General Greene, whose army is about sixty or seventy miles east
and north from here. I was captured by the British and made to join
their force, but did so with the intention of making my escape at the
earliest possible moment.”
“Well, it is lucky for us that you brought us the news of the coming of
the redcoats just when you did.”
“They are almost within rifle-shot distance now,” said one of the
settlers.
“All right,” replied the leader. “Keep your eyes on them, and as soon as
they are within range, begin firing. Take aim, and make every shot
tell.”
A few moments later, the British soldiers were close enough for the
bullets from the rifles to reach them, and the settlers began firing.
Yells of anger went up from the lips of the redcoats.