THE ENEMY.
It did not take me very long to realize that I was making a simple of
myself, by feeling disturbed in mind because we had chanced to meet
Luther Stedman and his big friend at the beginning of our voyage.
The fact that we lads had not been called on as witnesses since we
delivered our prisoners to the military authorities, was good proof
that there was little or no evidence against Luther and his friend,
save that which Abe and I could have given, and this last would not
have gone far toward convicting them of any serious crime.
Thinking the matter over as I sat near Abel Grant gazing at the skiff
astern, I came to the conclusion that the two young Tories had simply
been held prisoners until it was positive they could not give important
information, and were then discharged. Thus at liberty, it was by no
means strange that we should run across them, for the waters of the
harbor were as free to Tory as to Whig, and it did not stand to reason
they would remain under cover mourning because we had so successfully
blocked their game.
“There’s no good reason why you should trouble your head about those
two,” Abel Grant said, motioning with his thumb toward the distant
skiff. “They’ll hug home pretty close while our people hold New York,
an’ we are likely to be in the lower bay for quite a spell, because
this business of ours won’t be brought to an end very soon, no matter
how much of news we come across.”
“I’m not troublin’ myself,” I replied, trying to appear unconcerned.
“It was only because they showed themselves at the exact moment when we
were startin’ on what may be a dangerous enterprise, that I felt a bit
disagreeable.”
“If sich as that is all we have to bother us betwixt now an’ the time
we make New York agin, I shall think we’re playin’ in the biggest kind
of big luck,” he replied in a low tone, and I added nervously:
“Is it in your mind that we are likely to meet with many dangers?”
“That is a question you can answer as well as I. Does it strike you as
bein’ child’s play to spy on the British fleet, when we know without
bein’ told that every man jack of ’em will be on the lookout for sich
as us?”
“What are you two mutterin’ about?” Abe, who was seated well forward,
asked with a laugh. “One would think, Eph, that you had seen a ghost,
by the whitenin’ of your face when Luther Stedman hove in sight.”
I was vexed beyond measure because of evidently having given proof that
a glimpse of the Tory disturbed me, and said curtly:
“Your eyes must have been playin’ tricks, if you fancied there was any
change in my face when the cur came in sight. I was wonderin’ why he
had been set free, that’s all.”
Abe laughed incredulously as I made this explanation, which did not
tend to improve my temper, therefore I turned squarely around on the
thwart so that he might not be able to look into my eyes, and in so
doing saw, much to my surprise, that the skiff which had been headed
for New York, was now coming directly in our wake.
Sam took note of the fact at the same moment, and cried shrilly:
“It begins to look as if already was our mission discovered! Yonder
Tories have it in mind to know where we are goin’.”
Now it was Abel Grant’s turn to look disturbed, and he swung the tiller
up ever so slightly, as he said half to himself:
“I reckon we’re not in such a hurry that we can’t spend a few hours
puttin’ them curs off the scent. There’s no question but that they are
minded to know where we’re headin’ for, an’ we’ll run into Gowanus
creek as if not countin’ on goin’ any further. I’m allowin’ though,
that we’d better not try to put any of the stores ashore.”
I was well content to consider Abel as the admiral, for I knew beyond
a peradventure that he was a better leader than I could ever hope to
be at a time like this, and to tell the truth, this seeming pursuit at
the very outset, caused me to be more timorous than was decent in a
commander of Minute Boys, even though his following numbered only three.
The skiff followed until we swung around into Gowanus creek, and then
the Tories lay back on their oars to see what we were about.
“We’re needin’ a few clams for bait,” Abel Grant said as he gave word
for the anchor to be dropped and the jib hauled down. “The tide don’t
serve exceedin’ well for sich work, but fishermen must take what they
can get an’ look pleasant about it. Into the punt, all three of you;
I’ll keep ship.”
We obeyed the order hurriedly, and Abel added in a low tone when he saw
me looking over my shoulder at those in the skiff:
“It’s clams you’re after, not Tories, lad. This is no time to let ’em
see we’re suspicious, else we might as well have kept on through the
Narrows.”
During the next half-hour we labored with a will, as if our very
existence depended upon getting the greatest amount of clams in the
shortest possible space of time, and then Abel, who had for some time
been standing in the stern-sheets gazing in the direction of the town,
cried cheerily:
“I reckon you may come aboard now, lads, for those curs who would serve
the king but don’t dare to put on red coats, are headin’ for Bowling
Green. We’ve shut their eyes for a few hours; but can count it as
certain that they’ll make it their business to know if we come back
within a reasonable length of time.”
“Which is the same as sayin’ that it will soon be known to the king’s
friends in New York that we have gone out spyin’,” Abe added grimly,
and without any show of fear.
“Wa’al, that’s not so certain. You’ve been through the Narrows before
to-day in this sloop, an’ why shouldn’t you go agin? The Tories may
have suspicions, but can’t set anythin’ down against us as a fact,
though I’m willin’ to admit that they have a fair chance to make no end
of trouble.”
We had dug near to a barrel of clams while waiting to throw Luther
Stedman off the track, and surely it was not time wasted if we would
play the part of fishermen, for to go through the Narrows without a
goodly supply of bait would have been folly.
It was well that we had been forced to lay by in such manner, and the
young Tories had really done us a favor, as we soon came to know, after
getting into Gravesend bay shortly before sunset, for there before us,
stretching away as far as the eye could reach, was the British fleet. I
thought I had seen a brave showing of vessels before, but now it was as
if all the ships in the world lay at anchor ’twixt us and Sandy Hook.
“It looks as if the friends of the king counted on takin’ New York in a
hurry!” Abe cried after gazing at the wondrous scene a few moments in
silence. “There must be men enough aboard that fleet to over-run all
the colonies, crushin’ us out of existence by very press of numbers.”
“Ay, lad, an’ it begins to look as if Luther Stedman an’ his friends
would have a chance to crow over us mighty soon,” Abel Grant said in a
mournful tone. “There were few except Tories on Long Island yesterday,
and now, after seein’ this gatherin’, I’m allowin’ you can’t find above
twenty men there who’ll admit they ever believed the Americans had a
right to the land.”
To me, it was as if New York was already taken, for I had no question
but that it could be only a matter of a few hours before our people
would be captured or driven out, and I asked nervously:
“Why don’t you put about, Abel Grant? We should be able to run up with
this wind, before daylight to-morrow.”
“Why would you have us turn tail before beginnin’ the work cut out for
our doin’?” the “admiral” asked as if in surprise.
“We must tell General Putnam of what we have seen. We were to put
back, or send some one of the company whenever we had learned aught of
importance, an’ of a verity a sight like that is of big moment to him.”
“Did you think for a little minute that he didn’t know the fleet was
there?” Abel asked with a grin. “How does it happen that he sent us
down to spy out the strength, if he hadn’t a fairly good idee of what
was hereabout?”
“But surely he couldn’t have known how many ships were here, else it
would have been of retreat rather than spyin’, that had a place in his
mind.”
“You can set it down as a fact that he knew even more than we do now,
an’ I shall be way out of my reckonin’ if our forces run away without
makin’ some show of a stand. Don’t get it inter your head that all
these are ships of war! I can make out transports an’ store-ships more
than enough to balance the vessels of the navy. ’Cordin’ to the orders
received, I’m of the mind that we should stand straight down to the
Hook, if so be they let us get that far, takin’ careful note of the
guns that may be brought to bear on the city.”
It only needed this sharp speech from Abel Grant to bring me to my
senses, and in a twinkling I understood that what he said was true. But
now I began to have a good idea of what General Putnam had meant, when
he spoke of the danger which we would encounter. There it was before
us, good and plenty, and I was forced to swallow hard in order to
force down the big lump which timorousness had sent into my throat as
we stood on, heading directly for the biggest frigate.
“Don’t be afraid to look at ’em,” the “admiral” said in a whisper,
although we were not yet come within earshot of the sentries. “If we
were here to fish, an’ nothin’ more, it is only natural that our eyes
would be bulgin’ in surprise, for I question if so big a fleet ever
before has been seen in these waters.”
Without Abel Grant I am afraid our cruise would have come to a sudden
end, for verily I was not fit to act the part of leader when before me
was such a force of the enemy, and one glance at Sam was sufficient
to show that he believed the Minute Boys were getting beyond their
depth. Abraham Decker was the only member of our company, with the
exception of Abel Grant, who did not appear frightened, and I made up
my mind then and there that if we ever succeeded in returning from this
venture, he, not me, should be the captain of our party.
However, I had sufficient wit remaining to stare about me like a
simple, as the “admiral” had suggested, and we bore down on the frigate
at a snail’s pace, for the wind had flattened out considerably, while
the tide was against us.
We were nearly abreast the enormous vessel with her row upon row of
ports, from each of which protruded a gun, before the enemy apparently
gave any heed to us, and then we were hailed from the quarter-deck by
some petty officer.
“Ahoy on the sloop!”
“Ay, ay, sir!” Abel Grant replied with a more pronounced drawl than
ever.
“Sheer in this way and give an account of yourselves!”
“I don’t allow as we’ve got very much of a story to tell,” Abel replied
as he brought the sloop around ever so slightly; “but you shall hear
what there is of it, if so be you’re achin’ for news.”
“Where are you bound?” the officer asked while we were slowly drifting
down on the frigate’s quarter.
“After bluefish, sir.”
“What have you in the cockpit?” the Britisher asked curiously.
“Clams for bait.”
“Make ready to send them up.”
“Why we couldn’t do that, sir, seein’s how we ain’t got more’n we’ll
need for bait,” Abel cried as if in alarm, and playing the simple so
well that the most suspicious must have been deceived.
“Make ready to send them up, do you hear?” the officer cried sharply,
and Abel, as if flustered by this stern command, danced around like one
who has lost his senses as he gave this order and that to us lads, none
of which could have been obeyed even if we had understood them.
“You’ll have to send down a bag, if you count on takin’ what we’ve got,
sir.” Abel whined. “We haven’t a blessed thing here to put ’em into.”
The Britisher said something in a low tone to the half dozen grinning
sailors who were craning their heads over the rail amidships, and by
the time we had come alongside to where was hanging a ladder, two bags
had been thrown aboard.
“Gather ’em up,” Abel said to us as if his heart was breaking. “I’m
allowin’ the gentlemen will pay a fair price for the clams; but we
won’t have a chance to get any more till the tide turns, which will
keep us down here another four an’ twenty hours.”
“You’re fortunate if we don’t seize the whole outfit, instead of only a
beggarly lot of clams,” the Britisher said angrily. “If I hear anything
more about a price for them, you shall come aboard to wait till we can
find out more about your craft.”
It surely seemed as if this threat deprived Abel Grant of what little
wit he had remaining, for he jumped around like a crazy man, helping
us to gather the clams into the bags, as if believing his very life
depended upon getting them aboard the frigate quickly.
“Now be off with you,” the officer said when we had sent the full bags
aboard, “and if you get fresh fish, come alongside when you go home.
What’s doing in New York?”
“I can’t say, sir, seein’s I don’t live there, an’ a big place like
that ain’t for poor fishermen, except when they’ve got a cargo to sell.”
“Where do you live?”
“Nearabout Gowanus creek on Long Island.”
[Illustration: “‘NEARABOUT GOWANUS CREEK ON LONG ISLAND.’”]
We had already cast off from the frigate and were slipping slowly
past her by the time this reply was given, and only then did I draw a
natural breath, for it seemed certain we would be ordered aboard as
prisoners.
We were hailed by the ship astern, and before a question could be
asked, Abel Grant shouted at the full strength of his lungs, as if
trying to give the information to all the craft in the bay:
“We’re bound outside fishin’, an’ haven’t got any clams, ’cause the
man on that ’ere craft took all we had without ever payin’ a cent for
’em!”
A roar of laughter went up from every ship within sound of his voice,
and we were not ordered alongside another vessel until after getting
well down into the lower bay. Owing to the fact of our moving so
slowly, it was possible to take careful note of every craft, and I had
recovered somewhat from my timorousness on seeing that the transports
and store-ships outnumbered the armed vessels as six to one. But the
number of red-coats we saw! I dare venture to say we passed thousands
before going half the distance to the Hook, and yet there were more
transports ahead of us.
“It’s only a question of their takin’ New York when they get ready,” I
said in a whisper to Abel Grant, for I had so far mastered my fears by
this time that it was possible to face the situation with some degree
of calmness, and he replied in the same cautious tone:
“There’ll be a deal of blood shed before that’s done, lad, else General
Putnam never’d sent us down here spyin’. I wish we had a couple more
hours of daylight.”
“Why?”
“So we could run past the whole fleet before sendin’ word back.”
“Do you allow that we have information enough yet?”
“It ain’t so much our news, as the fact that somebody must get away
mighty soon, else the general stands a chance of never hearin’ from his
spies!”
“What do you mean?” I asked in surprise, for Abel had spoken in so
grave a tone that I knew he had some very serious matter in his mind.
“The bad luck came for us when that whipper-snapper of a Britisher took
it inter his head to seize our clams--”
“But we can easily get more when the tide turns,” I interrupted.
“Ay, lad, I ain’t distressin’ myself over that part of it; but the
mischief was done when we ran alongside the frigate. Now I’m allowin’
that Luther Stedman an’ his fat friend will make it their business to
find out whether we went home after clammin’ in Gowanus creek, an’ by
this time they’re makin’ up their minds to bring word down here that
we’re a crew of the hottest kind of Whigs. In case I’m right, what
craft would they be likely to board first?”
“Why the frigate, of course, for she’s at the head of the line, an’
nearest the town.”
“Right you are, lad, an’ havin’ had speech with that clam-lovin’
Britisher, it won’t work his brain very hard to guess all about us.
Then you can make up your mind that a boat or two will be sent out to
round us up as prisoners, consequently I’m allowin’ that one of this
’ere party best try to work back while there’s time.”
“An’ are you countin’ that we shall all be taken prisoners?” I asked,
my voice trembling despite every effort to render it steady.
“Not much I don’t!” was the emphatic reply. “There’s a big difference
’twixt bein’ pulled up with a sharp turn by some of these ’ere
Britishers, an’ gettin’ back to the town. Unless they set to work
mighty soon, I’ll agree to keep out’er their clutches for quite a
spell; but won’t agree that we can send word to New York whenever we
feel like it. I’m allowin’, in case we’re left to do as we please, to
haul in behind Coney Island when we get there, which is only what any
honest fisherman would be likely to do.”
Abe and Sam could not but overhear what had been said, and because they
took the matter so quietly I fancied both had realized the situation
some time before, while I, who was supposed to be the leader, had been
the only one who failed to understand what was before us.
“I’m reckonin’ we can carry a good bit of news back,” Abel Grant said
thoughtfully. “We’ve had a fairly full view of the whole show, an’
should be able to say about how many guns there are in the fleet. Now
if we could make a reasonable guess as to where they might be countin’
on makin’ a landin’, the first part of our job would be done in decent
shape.”
“Don’t you suppose they will sail directly up to the town?” I asked in
surprise, for I was so thick-headed as to fancy such a fleet and army
could do very nearly what they pleased.
“The Britishers ain’t quite sich fools as to think our people can be
walked over without kickin’ up any fuss, an’ you’ll see that they go
kind’er cautious. Of course they’re likely to land somewhere on Long
Island, an’ I’d give one of my ears to say where to a certainty,” and
Abel Grant rubbed his chin as if by so doing he could the more readily
solve the problem.
“Who is to go back with word of what we have seen?” Abraham asked after
a brief time of silence.
“It seems to me that Abel ought to be the messenger.”
“That’s where you’re way out of your reckonin’,” the “admiral” replied
quickly and hotly. “I’m in charge of this ’ere fleet, an’ it never’d do
to desert my post. Eph can’t leave, seein’s he’s commander of the land
forces, so, ’cordin’ to my figgerin’, it lays ’twixt Abe an’ Sam.”
I felt confident they would be glad of an opportunity to get away from
the trouble that must come to us in case Abel Grant was in the right
as to what Luther Stedman and his big friend might do; but much to my
surprise both the lads wanted to stay, and if anything had been needed
to prevent me from showing the white feather, it would have been the
discussion that ensued as to which was entitled to remain in the place
of danger.
“I’m allowin’ that whoever is to go, leaves as soon after we come to
anchor as he can get ashore,” Abel Grant said, interrupting the wordy
quarrel between the boys. “You’ll never be able to settle the matter
yourselves, without comin’ to blows, so s’posen you let Ephraim name
the messenger?”
“I wouldn’t be willing to do that,” and I did not really feel as if I
had the right to do so.
“Then it’ll be a case of drawin’ lots, so’s to have everythin’ ready
for a quick move,” Abel announced, and to this I agreed as the only
fair plan, whereupon Abraham said with considerable show of irritation,
as if believing it was really his right to stay by the sloop:
“Let Eph take a couple of splinters, one longer than the other, an’ he
who draws the shortest shall stay behind. I’m not minded to worry over
this thing a great while, so s’pose you get to work.”
I went into the cabin, where I might make ready for the drawing without
chance of being seen, and when the two fragments of wood were secure
in my hand, with no sign about them to show which was the shortest, I
came into the cockpit, when Abraham said:
“I would rather cut off one of my fingers than set out for New York
while there’s a chance that they who are left behind may be in big
danger, yet you shall make the first choice, Sam, an’ I’ll abide by the
result without a whimper.”
“I’m no more keen to go than are you; but we can’t squabble over it all
day, so here goes,” and, without seeming to look at the bits of wood,
Sam drew out one from my hand.
Then I showed the other, and Abe gave a great cry of joy, for Sam held
that one which was a full inch longer than the other.
“There’s no use cryin’ over spilled milk,” Abel Grant said, as if he
would comfort the disconsolate looking Sam. “If it’s danger you’re
hankerin’ for, I’m allowin’ that he who goes will run up against it
plenty and hard, for who’s to say that Luther Stedman, burnin’ to get
square because of your deliverin’ him up as a prisoner, won’t guess
that, since it’s likely we’ve come here as spies, this same move will
be made. It wouldn’t need that a man should be overly bright to come
to that conclusion, an’ you can make up your mind he’d try to cut the
messenger off. Besides, with this ’ere fleet so close at hand, the
Tories on the island will make matters hot for any Whig who comes their
way.”
Sam’s face brightened as the matter was thus presented, and even before
Abel Grant ceased speaking I came to believe that the messenger might
be in even more danger than we whom he left behind, for we could put to
sea if necessary to avoid capture, while he must trust wholly to his
own legs.
Now that the decision had been made Abel Grant called Sam aft, and
pointed out to him this frigate or that sloop-of-war, urging that he so
fix in his mind the general appearance of the fleet that he could set
before the general a fair idea of what he had seen, and all the while
we were drawing nearer and nearer to the lee of Coney Island.
By this time we were so far from the Britishers that there was little
chance of being overhauled while we appeared to be honest fishermen
seeking a harbor for the night, and it seemed certain that for twelve
hours at least we might count on doing very much as pleased us.
During all the time we were running in under the lee of the land Abel
Grant continued to talk with Sam, impressing on his mind that portion
of the scene which would seem of the most importance to General Putnam,
and immediately the anchor had been let go, with the sloop less than
fifty yards from the shore, the “admiral” hauled the punt alongside.
“Get hard-tack enough to stay your stomach till mornin’, Sam, an’ then
you’ll be where it’ll be possible to get food in plenty, or else you
won’t be needin’ overly much.”
It seemed to me a brutal way of reminding the lad that there was danger
in plenty before him, yet Sam appeared pleased rather than otherwise
that his task was to be beset with difficulty, and said hurriedly,
while stowing the biscuit under his shirt where they would not hamper
his movements:
“Allowin’ that I get to New York all right, I shall come straight back
here as soon as the general can be told of what we’ve seen, so keep a
sharp lookout for me, in case you’re cruisin’ nearby. I’ll show some
kind of a signal, if possible; but you can count to a dead certainty
that I’ll be here inside of three days if I’m alive an’ at liberty.”
Then the plucky fellow stepped over the rail into the punt, and Abel
Grant paddled him ashore without giving us time to say a word of
farewell.
Night had fully shut in when the “admiral” came over the rail again,
and Abe and I were in the cabin overhauling the generous supply of
stores in order to break our long fast.
“Goin’ it kind’er strong, eh?” Abel said with a laugh as he saw how
much we had laid out for supper. “It strikes me that you’ve got enough
there for a full company of Minute Boys.”
“We may as well live high while we can, for there’s no tellin’ how soon
all this stuff will be taken aboard one of the Britishers,” Abe replied
grimly. “Why did you hurry Sam off so fast? A few minutes more or less
couldn’t have made any great difference.”
“It wasn’t the time I wanted to save, but the words,” Abel Grant said
gravely. “You lads are mixin’ yourselves up in real war, when the lives
of an hundred, or even a thousand men don’t count very heavy, an’ it
ain’t a good plan to talk overly much in the way of sayin’ good-bye
when a fellow is headin’ for a hornet’s nest.”
“We’re the ones who are nearest the hornet’s nest,” Abe said with a
laugh.
“We shall be after Luther Stedman does his work; but for the next four
an’ twenty hours Sam has got the ticklish job. There ain’t a Tory on
Long Island who don’t know his father for the hottest kind of a Whig,
an’, seein’ Sam come from this direction, it won’t be a very far call
to set down his exact business. I only hope he’ll pull through all
right, an’ he’s the most foolish kind of a fool if he tries to come
back.”
Such talk as this was not calculated to make me feel any stouter
in mind, and I hastened to change the subject by proposing that
the “admiral” fry some salt pork, while I boiled potatoes. Then we
squabbled over what should be cooked, finding it difficult amid our
plenty to make a selection, until it was almost as if we had forgotten
Sam, who was toiling through the underbrush on his way across the
island.
It was a veritable feast we had that evening, and we ate like lads who
have nothing to fear, trifling with the food after the edge had been
taken from our appetites, to the end that we might remain longer over
the meal; but it could not be prolonged beyond a certain time, and then
came the question of turning in for the night.
Abel Grant insisted on going ashore to have a look seaward before going
to sleep, and while he was doing so Abe and I sat in the cabain silent
and motionless, each intent on his own thoughts, which were none of the
cheeriest.
“There’s nothin’ to be seen more’n when we dropped anchor,” Master
Grant reported when he came aboard after an absence of ten minutes or
less, “an’ I didn’t expect that there would be; but we can’t afford to
shut our eyes altogether. You lads had better turn in, and I’ll call
you in time to stand your share of the watch.”
“What is the need of all that?” I asked irritably, for it seemed much
like an excess of precaution while we were so near the shore.
“If I could tell you to a certainty, lad, there wouldn’t be a call
for any one to stay awake. It’s to guard against what we know nothin’
about, that the trick’s to be done, so turn in while you may.”
It seemed to me that I should never be able to close my eyes in slumber
while danger was so near at hand, and yet I dare venture to say that
within ten minutes I was sleeping as peacefully and as noisily as
Abraham.