Preparing for Trouble
Tom Dare and the settlers managed to hold their own against the
redcoats, and the latter, after two or three attempts at forcing their
way into the houses sheltering the marksmen, retreated about half a mile
and evidently held a council, for they gesticulated quite a good deal.
Then the settlers saw one of the soldiers take his leave, hastening down
the valley, and Tom Dare exclaimed:
“He’s going back to the fort after reinforcements.”
“Do you think so?” asked Mr. Hicks, the man who was looked upon as being
the leader at the settlement.
“Yes, that is what he is going to do. They know that they can’t capture
the settlement with their present force, and as we have killed one or
two of them and wounded several, they are determined to capture the
settlement.”
“Well, they will be able to do so, if they have a strong enough force, I
guess.”
“Yes. And that fellow will bring enough soldiers so that they will have
no trouble in getting the best of you.”
The settlers looked sober and thoughtful. They realized that while they
had gotten the better of the affair, so far, they would not be able to
hold their own against overwhelming odds.
“What shall we do, anyhow?” remarked one of the settlers.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Tom, who had been doing considerable
thinking. “Let’s take the offensive, and go out and attack those
redcoats and drive them out of the valley.”
“What good will that do?” asked Mr. Hicks. “That soldier yonder will
return with a strong force, and then we will have to retreat into the
mountains.”
“No, I think we can arrange a trap for them,” said Tom.
“How?” with interest.
“I’ll tell you. You know that the path leading into this valley extends
for several miles along the side of the mountain, with a steep descent
on one side, and almost a perpendicular wall at the other.”
“Yes, we know that.”
“So do I,” mused Tom, rubbing some of the sore spots resultant from his
precipitous departure from his British comrades.
“Tell us your plan, Tom.”
“Well, after we have driven these redcoats out of the valley and back
along that path, we will climb up to the top of the precipice-wall, and
will gather a large number of rocks of good size and place them right
along the edge of the precipice. Then when the redcoats come, we will
roll the stones down upon them.”
The settlers looked at one another, and it was easy to see that they
thought the idea a good one. “That will likely be effective,” said Mr.
Hicks. “I believe that we can put a stop to the advance of any force, no
matter how strong, in that manner. We can move along the edge of the
precipice, keeping above the redcoats, and keep rolling rocks down on
them, till they are all annihilated or take the back track.”
The others said they thought Mr. Hicks was right, and so they began
making preparations at once to attack the redcoats. They loaded their
rifles and as many pistols as they could find, and then they withdrew
from the houses, entered the woods and made their way along till they
were opposite the point where the redcoats were stationed. Then they
slipped to the edge of the covered wood land and suddenly rushed out
upon the British soldiers, firing as they went, and yelling at the top
of their voices.
The redcoats, taken by surprise, were seized with a feeling of terror,
and sprang to their feet and ran toward the end of the valley at the top
of their speed, leaving two or three seriously wounded soldiers behind
them, however.
The settlers pursued the fleeing soldiers, and kept after them till they
left the valley and were making their way along the path on the side of
the mountain. Then the settlers paused and held a council.
“Now what shall we do next?” asked one of the settlers.
“A few of us will stay here and guard the entrance to the valley,”
replied Tom. “And the rest will climb to the top of the precipice and
gather stones and place them where they will be handy to roll down on
the heads of the redcoats when they come.”
“That is good advice, I think,” said Mr. Hicks. “We will do that.”
Then he named six of the settlers, and told them to remain on guard at
the entrance to the valley, after which the rest of the party climbed to
the top of the precipice and began collecting rocks and placing them
along the edge of the precipice.
“Those rocks will beat firearms as destructive weapons,” said Mr. Hicks.
“Yes, I think so,” replied Tom.
The soldiers who had been driven from the valley kept onward along the
path till they reached the fairly level country at the end, a distance
of about three miles, and then they stopped and went into camp, as the
reinforcements from the fort would not reach there till about noon of
the next day.
The settlers worked hard the rest of the afternoon, and when evening
came they had a string of rocks piled along the edge of the precipice
for a distance of a couple of miles, and they felt that they were now in
a position to make it exceedingly hot for the British soldiers when they
put in their expected appearance the following day.
The settlers now made their way back again and rejoined the six men on
guard at the entrance to the valley, and after informing them that they
would send six men to relieve them, so that they could come to the
settlement and get supper, the main party made its way to the
settlement. The women had supper ready, and the settlers ate, after
which six of their number went and relieved the six at the entrance of
the valley, and the three wounded redcoats were brought and placed in
one of the houses. Their wounds had already been dressed by one of the
settlers, an old man and a sort of doctor, who had not accompanied the
party in its attack on the British, so the wounded men had been taken
care of.
The settlers felt very well satisfied with the situation. Two or three
had been wounded, but not seriously, and they felt that they had so far
had much the better of the fight.
They got a good night’s sleep, and were up bright and early, ate
breakfast, and then got ready for the work that was to be performed that
day. Leaving the settlement, they made their way to the entrance of the
valley, climbed to the top of the precipice, and then proceeded to the
farther end of the string of stones, where they paused and settled down
to await the coming of the British.
Tom Dare, however, who was never satisfied to remain quiet, said that he
would go and reconnoiter and see if he could locate the party of
redcoats that had been driven out of the valley.
“Very well,” said Mr. Hicks, “but be careful, my boy. Don’t let them
capture you.”
“I won’t, sir. I will keep my eyes open.”
Then Tom made his way down the steep slope of the mountain, and into the
heavy timber, and he made his way along, slowly and cautiously, for he
believed that the party of redcoats was somewhere in the vicinity.
Tom advanced a few yards at a time, pausing then to look all around him,
and when he had gone about half a mile he caught sight of the
encampment.
“I thought I would find them somewhere around here,” thought Tom, “Well,
now by keeping watch on this party of redcoats, I will know when the
others join them, and when they start toward the valley, and can hasten
and warn the settlers and they can be ready to begin the bombardment
with the stones.”
Tom selected a good place from which to keep his eyes on the redcoats,
and then settled down to take it easy. It was a warm morning, and Tom
presently became somewhat drowsy. He would watch the encampment a little
while, then he would nod slightly, but would presently rouse up again.
It was during one of his nodding periods that Tom suddenly felt strong
hands seize hold of him. Startled, he made an attempt to get free from
the grasp, but could not do so, there being two of his assailants, and
to Tom’s surprise they were Indians.
“That accounts for their being able to slip up on me without my hearing
them,” thought Tom, with some bitterness.
His hands were quickly bound together behind his back with a thong, and
then the Indians dragged Tom down to the British encampment, where he
was given a rather grim reception.
“So, here you are again, eh, Tom Dare!” exclaimed Lieutenant Wicks.
“Good. I am glad to see you. You played us a nice trick when you
pretended to fall, rolled down the slope and then hastened on ahead and
gave the settlers warning, didn’t you. Very good, I will settle with you
for that, now that we have got you in our hands!” And he glared at the
youth in a manner that showed he was very much wrought up, as indeed he
had cause to be.
The truth was, that he was one of those who had been wounded by the
bullets from the weapons of the settlers. His wound was not serious, but
it was painful, and did not have a good effect on his temper.
“What are you going to do with me?” asked Tom, somewhat defiantly.
“I’ll show you at the proper time,” was the reply. “You will be very
sorry that you acted as you did.”
“Perhaps so, perhaps not,” replied the patriot youth.
“You will find that it does not pay to try tricks on soldiers of the
king,” said the lieutenant, sternly. “You will wish that you had
remained a member of the British army.”
“No, I won’t,” said Tom. “I am a patriot, and I wouldn’t fight for the
king.”
“You will be glad to fight for the king, before I get through with you,
you blasted rebel!” cried the lieutenant, fiercely. Then he went on:
“Just wait till the reinforcements get here. We will return to the
valley and thrash the settlers and plunder their houses, and you are
going to go along and help. Do you hear?”
“Yes, I hear,” replied Tom, “but I won’t do much helping, I can tell you
that.”
He thought of the rocks that were to be rolled down on the redcoats, and
did not like the prospect of being taken along with the force when it
made its way along the path, in going to the valley.
Would the settlers roll the stones down, he wondered? They would, unless
they knew that he was among the party. But would they discover this
fact? If they did not, Tom would likely be killed by a rock, the same as
if he were a redcoat.