A MOONLIGHT SAIL.
The alarm of the boys was in nowise decreased when they were unable to
discover a trace of the missing Ben. The clear water enabled them to
look far down into the depths, but only the rocks upon the bottom of
the river could be seen. Their alarm had become consternation now, and
they glanced into each other's faces with an expression of fear, which
was increased by the shouts of the girls on the dock and the calls of
those who were still on the yacht.
As the boys changed the course of the skiff, Bert suddenly exclaimed,
"Look at that, will you? See that canoe!"
The canoe in which Ben had capsized had been left to itself and was
steadily drifting toward the shore of the island. Suddenly it was
lifted from the water, and the long form of Ben appeared as he carried
the little craft upon his shoulders, his head still remaining
concealed beneath the boat.
Not heeding the shout which greeted his welcome appearance, Ben waded
ashore, and after depositing his burden upon the bank, turned and
quietly faced his companions.
His solemn manner, his dripping clothing, and above all the relief
which all felt at his escape caused the shouts to be renewed; but Ben
slowly approached the group of girls and said, "Miss Bessie, I'm ready
to try it again. Shall we take the same course?"
"No, sir!" exclaimed that young lady. "You've frightened us almost to
death, and I'll not be responsible for your safety any more."
"But I was safe, perfectly safe," replied Ben, soberly. "I'm at home
in the water, every time."
"It's a pity you're not more at home on it, then," replied Bessie,
with a nervous little laugh. "How did you escape? Where were you?"
"Who, me? Why, I swam up under the canoe, it sheltered my delicate
face from the sun, you see, and I just pushed it ashore."
The others had landed by this time, and although the boys joined in
the laughter, Ben could see that Mr. Clarke was annoyed by the trick
he had played.
"Go up to the house," said Mr. Clarke, quietly, "and I'll get you a
change of clothing. But you ought never to play such a prank as that
again. It's altogether too serious a matter. This water is so cold
that it is very easy for a man to be taken with a cramp in it, and
sink before any aid could come to him. Don't do it again."
Ben, somewhat chagrined, made no reply, and followed Mr. Clarke to the
house. When he reappeared he found his friends seated on the broad
piazza, and they hailed his coming with shrieks of laughter, for Ben
once more had been compelled to don the garments of their host, and as
they were much too small for him, the sight he presented was ludicrous
in the extreme.
"I think, Mr. Dallett," said one of the girls, "that you ought to buy
that suit of Mr. Clarke. You don't know how becoming it is to you."
"No, I don't believe I do know," replied Ben, ruefully, glancing down
at his wrists, which protruded several inches below his sleeves. "I'm
not just sure whether I wouldn't have felt better to have stayed out
there in the river."
"A trifle too short and a shaving too lean,
But a _nice_ young man as ever was seen,"
murmured Bob.
Even Ben, and Mr. Clarke, who had now joined the group, were compelled
to join in the laugh which followed, and soon the good nature of all
was apparently restored, Ben himself adding to the fun by the
nonchalance with which he paraded in his "uniform" before the admiring
gaze of the assembly.
After dinner had been served, the group returned to the piazza and
seated themselves in the chairs, evidently at peace among themselves
and with all the world. The cottage, as has been said, was situated on
a high bluff, and from it a view could be obtained of the majestic
river for miles in either direction. The bracing air, the sparkling
water, the sight of passing yachts and of swiftly moving canoes, all
lent an additional charm to the occasion, and for two hours they
remained there, enjoying themselves as only light-hearted young people
can.
At last Mr. Clarke proposed that they should take a trip with him in
the yacht, and as they eagerly hailed the invitation, all, including
Mr. and Mrs. Clarke, were soon seated on board. There they sang songs
and told stories and commented upon the constantly changing scene of
beauty into which they moved. Darting in and out among the islands the
fleet little yacht, skilfully handled by the pilot and engineer,
daintily seemed to pick its way, as if it too shared in the delight of
the company. Beautiful cottages, palaces they seemed to the boys, were
passed, and quaint little spots, dotted by tents or rude huts, whither
some humble family had come for an outing, were frequently seen.
Fishing parties were discovered among the bays, and parties of
campers, living much as did our boys in their camp on Pine Tree
Island, were passed; and when at last the yacht turned homeward, all
were ready to declare that never before had they had so enjoyable an
afternoon.
To the proposition of the boys that they should return to their camp,
a strong objection was offered by Mrs. Clarke, who declared that they
must remain for supper; and we may be sure no great amount of urging
was required to make them yield.
"I'll take you back to camp this evening," said Mr. Clarke, when they
all resumed their seats on the piazza.
"I thought I'd go back in my canoe," suggested Ben, who was clad in
his proper garments now. "I want the practice, you see."
"No, sir!" said Mr. Clarke, sharply. "You are to go back with us. I'll
not be responsible for your safety in that shell of yours."
Ben made no reply, and soon was sharing in the enjoyment of the party.
The sun was now low in the western sky, and as its departing beams
fell across the waters it made them glow like a veritable lake of
fire. The wind had all died away, and the surface of the river was
almost like glass. A scene of greater beauty or of more indescribable
peace and calm they never before had seen.
But the laughter which came from the piazza of Mr. Clarke's cottage,
and the enjoyment of the assembly there, were not to be checked even
by the solemn stillness of the river.
"One would never think," said Mr. Clarke, when a break of a moment
came, "that this peaceful river was ever the scene of bloodshed."
"Bob, here, knows all about that," said Bert. "He puts us to sleep
every night with his stories of the early discoverers. We almost feel
as if we were on their trail."
"So you are, for it's all historic ground," replied Mr. Clarke; "but I
wasn't thinking of the discoveries just then, but rather of the
struggle along the border here in the War of 1812, and of the
pirates."
"Pirates?" exclaimed Miss Bessie, quickly. "Why, you never told us
there were any pirates here. I shall be afraid to go out in my canoe
again--unless I have Mr. Dallett along to protect me," she added.
Ignoring the laugh which followed, her father said, "Well, there were
pirates here, for you can't call them by any other name. There are
none here now, of course, but in what was poetically called 'The
Patriot War,' it wasn't the same peaceful St. Lawrence that we see."
As all appeared to be interested in his words, Mr. Clarke continued.
"This patriot war, so called, occurred along about 1837-40. It really
was an attempt to revolutionize Canada by a lot of desperadoes, or
pirates, as I call them, who were filled with hatred as bitter as it
was unreasonable against our sister country, and the worst leader of
them all was a William Johnston, or Bill Johnston, as he was more
familiarly known by his neighbors along the St. Lawrence River. He
lived near here, you see.
"In December, 1837, a band of disguised men from Canada set fire to
the steamer Caroline out near Niagara Falls, and aroused great
excitement all along the border. The next month Congress appropriated
$625,000 for the protection of the northern frontier, and called for
volunteers. On the very same day a circular was issued over here at
Watertown, signed by six prominent men, asking for money and help for
the so-called refugees from Canada. The signers professed to be
law-abiding citizens and all that, and _perhaps_ they were, though
there were serious doubts about the matter then and since.
"In most of the villages secret organizations had been formed,
known as Hunter Lodges, and they were making plans for raising money
and men to invade Canada. Indeed, they had their preparations all made
for crossing on the ice as soon as the river here was frozen over, and
falling upon Kingston.
"One night in February the arsenal at Watertown was broken into and
four hundred stands of arms were stolen by men who were thought to be
engaged in the proposed movement. Some of the things were afterward
recovered, and a reward was offered for the capture of the men.
"Matters were made worse by the fact that the arsenals at
Elizabethtown and Batavia were also broken into at about the same
time. The very next day after the affair at Watertown, men began to
arrive at Clayton, which used to be called French Creek, and it is
said that there were four thousand stands of arms there, five hundred
long pikes, and twenty barrels of cartridges; but what they lacked was
men, for, though nominally there were a good many there, there were
few if any real _men_ among them, as you can readily imagine.
"There was no discipline, and less order, and when, at last, less
than two hundred of the rascals crossed over to Wolf Island, they were
more like a mob than an army. The Kingston people were badly
frightened, though they had slight cause to be alarmed, and they sent
over a force of sixteen hundred soldiers to meet the 'invading army';
but when they arrived at the island, the 'army' had pretty much melted
away. Still the country was pretty thoroughly stirred up, and forces
were stationed at Cape Vincent, Clayton, and other places to maintain
order. Congress also took further action, and most of the people
thought the troubles were ended.
"But in the last of May, 1838, the steamer _Sir Robert Peel_ was
plundered and burned over here at Wells Island. She was a large boat,
I understand, and some hundred and sixty feet long. She started from
Brockville, and there were threats made before she set sail that she
would have trouble, but no attention was paid to them. The passengers
were all asleep when she arrived at Wells Island, and the crew were
taking on wood, when a band of men, disguised as Indians, and
rejoicing in such fictitious names as Tecumseh, Judge Lynch, Bolivar,
Captain Crocket, and I don't know what all, rushed out of the woods,
and, yelling, 'Remember the _Caroline_,' drove away the crew and
passengers, and taking the steamer out into the channel, set it on
fire.
"First they had seized the money on board and such valuables as they
could find, you may be sure.
"Of course there was a great stir then in the country. This Bill
Johnston I mentioned a little while ago was one of the leaders, and
both the Canadian governments and our own offered big rewards for him
and the other men. I believe Governor Marcy placed the reward for the
arrest of Johnston at $500 and $250 was offered for some of the
others, while some were thought to be worth only $100 each. The Earl
of Durham did better still, for he promised to give £1000 for the
conviction of any of the parties engaged in the outrage. Some of them
were arrested and tried over at Watertown, but it was almost
impossible to convict them, and the jury brought in a verdict of 'not
guilty.'"
"Was Johnston captured then?" inquired Jock.
"He was captured, but not then. He was taken later, but not until some
other stirring events had occurred, and even then it didn't do much
good. But I'll have to reserve the other parts of the story of the St.
Lawrence pirates until your next visit, for if I'm going to take you
back to camp, we must be starting."
When the boys went down to the dock they found that the girls also
were to accompany them. Ben's canoe was taken on board, and then the
party started on one of the most enjoyable experiences on the great
river--a moonlight sail among the islands.
The time passed rapidly, and when they came out into the channel near
their camp they discovered one of the great river steamers before
them. To the eager request of Miss Bessie "to take the breakers," Mr.
Clarke reluctantly consented, and the little yacht was headed for the
waves which could be seen in the wake of the steamer.
The conversation ceased as the yacht approached. Ben had taken his
seat in the bow, and the girls were huddled together amidships, half
dreading and yet eager for the exciting experience.
Nearer and nearer came the little craft, and soon it was lifted high
on the crest of the waves. Down it went into the trough of the sea and
rose again as the swell lifted it. On the third attempt, however, it
failed to respond as promptly as it had done before, and instead of
rising on the crest of the billow it struck it fairly in the midst,
and in a moment a great flood of water fell upon the yacht and swept
over its entire length.