CHAPTER XI.
THE BRITISH FORCES.
After we were in a position to see all that might be going onimmediately opposite, and for a mile or more down the river, we couldmake out the spars of several ships which appeared to be at astand-still, and at once the question was raised as to whether theywere aground or at anchor.
"You lads shall stay here, never venturin' to leave the hidin'-placeunless the Britishers themselves drive you out, an' I'll take a littletrip down stream to see what is goin' on. If the enemy has come intothe river without a pilot, I'll go bail that more than one of hisvessels has taken the ground."
Then the old man stole softly through the underbrush, and we gave butlittle heed to his departure, so intent were we on the wondrouspanorama spread out before us.
The first craft to heave in sight was an armed brig, the decks ofwhich were brilliant with red uniforms and glittering weapons, andimmediately astern of this vessel were a dozen or more barges, andtwo pungies.
Then came boats filled with soldiers, one astern of the other until itsurely seemed as if every craft in the Chesapeake had been broughthere to make up the procession, which was more imposing than anythingI had ever seen.
It was the glittering, fanciful side of war, which would betransformed into something hideous immediately the actual work wasbegun, for then one lost sight of the pomp and parade, seeing only theominous stains of blood, and unable to hear aught save the shrieks ofthe dying and the groans of the wounded.
Then, to our great surprise, we found that the Britishers were makingpreparations to take possession of the village. The armed brig wasmoored stem and stern in the channel where her full broadside could bebrought to bear upon the settlement, and the three barges, each havingon board a twelve-pounder, were rowed up to the beach on which no lessthan four hundred soldiers, with weapons ready for use, stood as if torepel an attack.
"They are makin' a mighty lot of fuss." Jerry said with a laugh. "Acorporal's guard could capture Benedict without turnin' a hair, an'yet look at that crowd!"
It was truly astonishing that so many men should have been brought totake possession of our little village. Boat-load after boat-load cameup the river, landing their living cargoes in the cove where we ladshad always kept our canoes, and before the disembarkation had beenconcluded, the shore of the river was literally covered with soldiers,marines, and, strangely enough, companies of negroes who were deckedout in uniforms of the British army.
Since that day I have seen statements made by the enemy's officers tothe effect that five thousand men were landed at Benedict, and forwhat purpose we lads were unable to imagine.
I had never seen such a throng of people before; the town wasover-run, and the woods above and below seemed to be packed full ofarmed men.
Fortunately for us, none attempted to come on our side of the river;but all stood in something approaching a military formation as ifexpecting an immediate attack.
As a matter of course all us lads were greatly alarmed lest ourfamilies should come to harm amid such a gathering; but we could nothave afforded them any relief had we been at home, and it wasnecessary to choke back our anxieties as best we might, though it wasdifficult at times to prevent the tears from coming into a fellow'seyes.
The troops and guns had been landed before Darius returned, and, whatseemed to me strange, no other vessels of any size had put in anappearance. There were pungies, barges and row-boats enough toentirely choke up the river; but nothing larger than the armed brigwhich had first arrived.
When the old man came back we learned why the fleet had apparentlyshrunken to such small proportions as compared with the size of thearmy.
"Nearly every vessel is aground," he said when he approached ourhiding-place with every evidence of having traveled long and rapidly."The river is black with 'em from here to the point, an' some arelikely to stay quite a spell on the mud unless mighty quick work atlighterin' is done. I allowed the Britishers had better sense than torun ships up here where there's about half water enough to float 'em."
"But what is the meaning of their landing so many men?" I asked."There are twice as many as would be needed to capture the whole ofCharles and Calvert counties."
"It's Washington they're aimin' at," the old man said confidently,"though why they've stopped here I can't figger out, unless it is thatso many of the ships are aground. Whoever is responsible for this endof the Britishers' movement has made a big blunder."
"Will they do any harm to the townspeople, think you?" I askedanxiously.
"It don't stand to reason they would. There may be some plunderin' bythe rank an' file; but that's to be expected. You're thinkin' of yourmother an' the children, eh? Well, don't worry; they won't come toharm, an' on that I'll go bail."
"There's no tellin' how soon some of that crowd will come over here,"Jerry suggested. "There ain't room enough on that side of the riverfor all hands of 'em, an' they'll begin to spread out pretty quick."
"That won't bother us any, for we're goin' to pull up stakes," Dariusreplied quietly.
"Are we to join the fleet?" I asked.
"It's the proper thing just now, I reckon, seein's there ain't likelyto be anythin' new around here till the enemy pushes on up the river,which will be when he has floated some of his vessels."
Even after making this statement Darius appeared to be in no hurry tomove on. He sat amid the foliage watching the throngs on the oppositeside of the river until half a dozen officers came down close to thewater's edge, having in their midst one in civilian's garb.
"There's a friend of yours," the old man said quietly as he motionedtoward the group, "an' you can eat my head if I don't guess what'sup."
My face flushed with answer as I looked in the direction indicated,and there saw in earnest converse with the Britishers, EliasMacomber, the traitor.
"He has joined his friends without losin' any time. I wish I could getmy fingers around his throat for a couple of minutes!" Jerry cried,shaking his fist in impotent rage.
"An' I reckon you'll soon have that chance, lad," Darius said, calmand serene as a summer's morning. "Watch out now, an' you'll get anidee of the whole business, which will go to show that you didn't loseanythin' much when you left him at Hog Point. It wouldn't surprise mea little bit if he's had a good share in sendin' the ships aground,for he couldn't have told within ten feet, of the water to be found inthe channel."
I failed to understand very much of what the old man referred to; butkept my eyes fixed on the opposite shore, and saw that Elias wasmaking ready to embark in a canoe, which was hauled up near at hand.
"He's goin' back to see how many vessels are aground," Jerrysuggested, and Darius added placidly:
"You'll find that he's bound up river spyin', an' we count on goin' inthe same direction."
Now I understood! Elias was to reconnoiter the river for his very goodfriends, and we could catch him on his return, as we had done oncebefore.
I was near to crying aloud with joy when I realized that once he setout as Darius predicted, nothing could save him from our clutches,therefore I literally held my breath as he took his seat in the canoeand pushed off.
Just for one instant my heart sank within me, for it seemed as if hewas bound down river; but it appeared that he was simply making aflourish to exhibit his skill with the paddle, and then he pulled upstream, thereby doing Jerry and me the greatest possible favor.
"Yes, he's our meat," Darius said with an odd smile as I looked at himquestioningly. "He'll go somewhere near the fleet, to make certain ityet remains at the place where he made his escape, an' we won't pressthe villain. Give him plenty of time to get well away from hisfriends."
Then the old man settled back amid the foliage as if counting onremaining quite a while, and I no longer thought of anything save thepleasing fact that we would once more present to Commodore Barney themiserable renegade.
Darius soon learned that it would not be well to prolong his halt; wecould see the soldiers pointing toward th
e thicket in which we werehidden, as if suggesting it as a pleasant camping place when the daywas so hot as to bring perspiration to a negro's face, and a fewmoments later some of the lighter boats were pushed out from theshore.
"I reckon it's time for us to make a move," Darius said as he arose tohis feet lazily. "We may as well be movin' toward the canoe, though Ihad counted on stoppin' here till it was a bit cooler."
According to my way of thinking we had no more than time enough inwhich to get away, for now at least an hundred soldiers were comingacross, and in case we were discovered lurking amid the underbrushthere would be such a hue and cry that we could not hope to escape.
Darius, however, would not move one whit more quickly because of myurging; in fact, it seemed much as if he walked the slower to test mynerves, and instead of parleying with him further, Jerry and I wentahead at full speed, having due care, of course, to caution.
It pleased me when the old man was obliged to quicken his pace to arun, for before we were well out of the thicket the foremost of theboats had gained the shore.
We pressed on rapidly until coming to where our canoe was hidden, andthere we halted, not wanting to embark until Elias had had plenty oftime in which to get well up the river, for, to me at least, hisrecapture was more important than the task of carrying information tothe commanding officer.
Lying within the shade of the trees, and so far up river that we couldneither see nor hear the swarm of soldiers which had lighted uponBenedict, we took things easy for a couple of hours, keeping sharpwatch, however, to make certain that no craft passed us, and thenDarius gave the word to get under way.
By this time it was night, but the young moon and the stars in acloudless sky, lighted up the water-way clearly, and we had no fearthat Macomber could give us the slip, unless he returned by land.
We paddled leisurely, for our news was not of such a nature that anhour or two sooner or later would make a difference so far asCommodore Barney's plans were concerned, and had gotten such adistance on our journey that I began to fear the traitor had struckacross the country, when we hove him in view half a mile or moreahead.
He was still running up the river, but I questioned if he intended totake any chances on being discovered, for such as he would rathermanufacture information out of his head than encounter danger.
Darius, who had been using one of the paddles, now took the helm, andthe canoe was swung inshore where she would be partially hidden by theshadows of the foliage, for we did not care to start in open chasebecause he would probably take to the woods on discovering us, andthen our chances of making the capture would be small indeed.
When our quarry rounded a bend in the river, shutting himself out fromview, we bent all our energies to the paddles, sneaking inshoreimmediately we opened him up again, and thus we rapidly lessened thedistance until at the third turn of the shore we were less than thirtyyards astern.
"Now give it to her, lads!" Darius said sharply. "Put all yourstrength to the blades, an' we'll heave him to in short order!"
As we rounded the bend, the water foaming from the boat's bow much asit would have done from the stem of a ship under full sail, Macomberwas but a short distance ahead, and Darius cried:
"Push her along, lads! Now's our time!" Then, bringing the paddle tohis shoulder as if it had been a musket, he shouted, "Drop that oarmighty quick, Macomber, or I'll fire!"
The traitor, thus receiving the first intimation that an enemy wasnear at hand, glanced backward quickly, and, seeing the supposedweapon leveled full at him, threw down his paddle with an exclamationof mingled fear and anger.
We shot up alongside him like an arrow from the bow, all hands of usreaching out to grasp the gunwale of his canoe, and as we thus madefast Darius grasped the fellow by the throat.
"You may as well give in quietly," the old man said, tightening hisgrasp until it would have been impossible for the man to make thelightest outcry. "If you flounder about much all hands will go intothe water, an' once there I give my word that you won't come to thesurface, for we don't count on losin' you the second time."
The scoundrel was as meek as any lamb, and when Darius told me tofasten his arms together with my belt, he held them out obediently.
I took a double turn around his elbows, and Darius ordered him to stepinto our canoe, which he did without hesitation, but once there,seated on the flooring of the boat with his back against the old man'sknees, he glowered at us like an angry cat.
"We reckoned you wanted to see Barney's fleet, when you put off fromBenedict, an' it ain't jest right to make you paddle a heavy canoe sofar," Darius said grimly. "You're goin' back with us, Master Macomber,an' this time you'll stay."
"Not very long," the reptile said with a snarl. "Admiral Cochranedeclares that he'll destroy Barney's fleet Friday, an' dine inWashington Sunday. So you see I'm not likely to stay with you anygreat while after the British come up the river."
"That is as may be; now I'm countin' that when your admiral gets asfar up the river as Nottingham, if he ever does, you'll be somewhereelse, for we've taken you in charge."
"My time will come, an' then I'll pay off a good many old scores,"Macomber cried with a look on his face which was not pleasant to see.
"If it does you any good, keep right on thinkin' so," Darius repliedmildly, "an' in the meantime we'll keep our eyes on you. Give way,lads, the sooner we're with the fleet now, the better it will be."
We had no more than settled well to work when Darius ordered us tocease paddling, as he half rose to peer steadily ahead, and, quitenaturally, all of us glanced in the same direction.
A canoe carrying four men was coming down stream, and while I wasasking myself if we might not have come upon more British spies, theold man settled back with a sigh of relief.
"It's the Byard boys goin' home," he announced, and then, as the othercanoe came within hail, he gave them information of what was happeningat Benedict.
"It don't look as if we'd better go back there," Sam Byard saidthoughtfully when Darius had come to an end of his news. "I reckon theBritishers might make trouble for us, eh?"
"They'd be apt to if it was known you'd just come from our fleet," theold man replied with a laugh. "The best thing you can do is to turnaround an' follow us. Did you get your money?"
"Oh yes, the commodore handed that over all right."
"Where is Jim Freeman?" I asked.
"The commander allowed it wouldn't be many hours before all hands ofyou came back, so he went aboard the pungy to keep ship."
"There!" Darius said triumphantly. "You can see how near Joshua Barneycomes to the truth when he makes a guess! I believe he could stay atNottingham without ever gettin' a report from anybody, an' tell justwhat the enemy was doin'."
"He'll have a chance to see what they're doin', as soon as some of theships can be floated!" Macomber said with a laugh which was notpleasant to hear.
"Which is more'n you can say for yourself if there's any danger of theBritishers comin'," Darius retorted. "You're our meat, Master Traitor,an' will stay in the same keepin' till we've settled our part of whatyou call old scores."
Then the word to buckle down to the paddles once more was given, andthe Byard boys pulled their craft around to follow in our wake.
An hour later we were alongside the Scorpion again, and this time itwas not necessary to parley with those on the guard-boat, for, onrecognizing us, they sheered off, leaving our canoe to go where wepleased.
Neither did the guard on the schooner hesitate to arouse thecommodore, and within one minute after arriving, Darius was explainingto the commander all that had taken place at Benedict.
"It must be they counted on coming further up the river," thecommodore said half to himself when the story was come to an end, andDarius took it upon himself to add:
"I allow there wouldn't have been any stop if the fleet hadn't goneashore; then the men were landed to prevent you from makin' anattack."
"That seems reasonable; but they'll be here soon
enough, for it is tothis place they must come in order to strike the direct road toWashington."
Then it was that Darius bethought himself of what Macomber had said,and he repeated the words, adding in conclusion as he laid his hand onthe prisoner's shoulder, for as yet we had not left the canoe:
"We've brought this cur back, sir, an' hope he won't find it as easyto slip away a second time. He left Benedict to spy on you, as we sawfrom the other side of the river, so we gathered him in."
The commodore looked at the man as one would at a snake, and then saidcurtly:
"You'll have to keep him on board your vessel, Darius. Our facilitiesfor taking care of prisoners are not what they should be. Dowhatsoever you will with him, so that we can make certain of puttingour hands on him when the matter is to be settled. You had better takeup your quarters on the pungy, and if you're needing provisions, mycook will supply you until rations are dealt out."
Then the commodore turned on his heel, returning to the cabin, and wepulled around the fleet hunting for the Avenger.
Not until after getting speech with the officer in charge of theguard-boat did we find the craft, and when we came alongside JimFreeman acted as if beside himself with joy. One would have said thatwe had been separated a full year by the way he welcomed us, and whenhis eyes fell on Elias Macomber it was as if he had lost his senses.
Well, we took the prisoner aboard the pungy, securing him in the holdby lashing his hands behind him, and making them fast to a ringbolt,thus giving him a chance to sit down; but he could neither stand norstretch out at full length.
"It won't be none too comfortable; but it's the best we can do now,"Darius said to the prisoner as if apologizing for not making him moresecure. "At all events, I reckon you'll be here in the mornin', an'then we may make a change."
The main hatch was put on and fastened down with the bar, after whichwe went into the cuddy, ready for anything in the way of provisionsthat Jim could set before us.
He was not overly well supplied, having been on board only a fewhours, but we contrived to make a hearty meal, and while eating Jimheard all we could tell him regarding the occupation of Benedict bythe British forces.
It was past midnight when we turned in, so tired that all hands fellasleep within two minutes after making ready, and it seemed to me thatI had not fairly closed my eyes when we were awakened by a vigorouspounding on the side of the vessel.
Darius had his head out of the companion-way before it was possiblefor me to get on my feet, and I heard a strange voice cry sharply:
"It is the order of the commodore that every vessel in the fleet moveup to Pig Point without delay. Rations will be served there at noonto-morrow."
Then I heard the sound of oars as the messenger-boat was pulled to thenext craft, and Darius said hurriedly:
"Lads, I'll admit that there are a good many vessels in this 'erefleet what can sail clean around the Avenger; but let's show thecommodore that there's no crew under him who will obey orders moresmartly. Turn out lively, my bully boys! Jim, you an' Dody get homethe anchor, an' the rest of us will tail on to the halliards!"
Darius had a willing crew if there was any opportunity to win thepraise of the commander, and he was not yet at an end of giving hisorders when we began work.
I venture to say that within sixty seconds from the time we werehailed, the Avenger was making way, rubbing past this craft and thatas she literally forced a passage through the fleet, and all thisbefore any signs of life could be seen on the other vessels. Even theScorpion was yet lying idly at her moorings.
"That's what I call a good start, lads," the old man said when we werewell clear of the flotilla, and the pungy forged ahead in good styleunder the force of a fairly strong night breeze. "We're first undersail, an' it'll go hard if we don't come to anchor off Pig Point aheadof any one else."
"Why do you suppose this move is being made?" I asked, for it smackedmuch of running away from the enemy, to retreat so far up stream, andDarius had made us believe that Joshua Barney never retreated.
"The commander has got some good plan in his head, an' it'll come outbefore we're many days older," the old man replied confidently.
"But surely we're tryin' to get away from the enemy," Jerrysuggested.
"Ay, it has that look just now, I'll admit; but you'll see some bigscheme in it very soon, or I'm a Dutchman, which I ain't."
"There's a boat dead ahead, with four men rowin' an' one steerin',"Jim Freeman, who had stationed himself in the tow as a lookout, cameaft to report.
"Some smarty who's tryin' to make the anchorage first," Dariusgrowled; "but with this wind we can sail two miles to his one, so itwon't be that craft which will beat us in."
By this time we were well up with the boat, and to our surprise it wasCommodore Barney himself who hailed:
"Sloop ahoy! Pass a line, and I'll come aboard."
He got the line smartly enough, and when he came over the rail Dariussaluted, as he said:
"We counted you were aboard the Scorpion, sir."
"That schooner won't get off for ten minutes or more, and I allowedthat the other vessels would be handled in the same leisurely fashion,so, I pulled ahead, thinking to be at the rendezvous before theflotilla was well under way. You lads obeyed orders smartly."
"It's a way they have, sir," Darius said with a grin, as he lookedover the rail to see that the commodore's boat was being towed whereshe would be the least drag on the pungy.
Then it was that I tried to play the host, by asking the commander ifhe would go into the cabin.
"It isn't a very nice place, sir; but it's clean, and you may be ableto get some sleep."
"I'll venture to say it's as good a sea-parlor as I, or any other man,deserves, lad; but I'm not needing sleep just now, therefore will stayon deck."
Then he fell to pacing the starboard quarter, as if he had been on hisown ship at sea, and we lads gathered well forward in order that hemight see we understood somewhat of the respect due a commander.