CHAPTER VII
The game's afoot; Follow your spirit.
--SHAKESPEARE.
The rough and unimproved face of the country, the frequency of covers,together with the great distance from their own country, and thefacilities afforded them for rapid movements to the different points ofthe war, by the undisputed command of the ocean, had united to deter theEnglish from employing a heavy force in cavalry, in their early effortsto subdue the revolted colonies.
Only one regiment of regular horse was sent from the mother country,during the struggle. But legions and independent corps were formed indifferent places, as it best accorded with the views of the royalcommanders, or suited the exigency of the times. These were notunfrequently composed of men raised in the colonies, and at other timesdrafts were had from the regiments of the line, and the soldiers weremade to lay aside the musket and bayonet, and taught to wield the saberand carbine. One particular body of the subsidiary troops was includedin this arrange ment, and the Hessian yagers were transformed into acorps of heavy and inactive horse.
Opposed to them were the hardiest spirits of America. Most of thecavalry regiments of the continental army were led and officered bygentlemen from the South. The high and haughty courage of the commandershad communicated itself to the privates, who were men selected with careand great attention to the service they were intended to perform.
While the British were confined to their empty conquests in thepossession of a few of the larger towns, or marched through countiesthat were swept of everything like military supplies, the light troopsof their enemies had the range of the whole interior.
The sufferings of the line of the American army were great beyondexample; but possessing the power, and feeling themselves engaged in acause which justified severity, the cavalry officers were vigilant inproviding for their wants, and the horse were well mounted, well fed,and consequently eminently effective. Perhaps the world could notfurnish more brave, enterprising, and resistless corps of light cavalry,than a few that were in the continental service at the time of whichwe write.
Dunwoodie's men had often tried their prowess against the enemy, andthey now sat panting to be led once more against foes whom they seldomcharged in vain. Their wishes were soon to be gratified; for theircommander had scarcely time to regain his seat in the saddle, before abody of the enemy came sweeping round the base of the hill, whichintersected the view to the south. A few minutes enabled the major todistinguish their character. In one troop he saw the green coats of theCowboys, and in the other the leathern helmets and wooden saddles of theyagers. Their numbers were about equal to the body under hisimmediate orders.
On reaching the open space near the cottage of Harvey Birch, the enemyhalted and drew up his men in line, evi dently making preparations fora charge. At this moment a column of foot appeared in the vale, andpressed forward to the bank of the brook we have already mentioned.
Major Dunwoodie was not less distinguished by coolness and judgment,than, where occasion offered, by his dauntless intrepidity. He at oncesaw his advantage, and determined to profit by it. The column he ledbegan slowly to retire from the field, when the youthful German, whocommanded the enemy's horse, fearful of missing an easy conquest, gavethe word to charge. Few troops were more hardy than the Cowboys; theysprang eagerly forward in the pursuit, with a confidence created by theretiring foe and the column in their rear; the Hessians followed moreslowly, but in better order. The trumpets of the Virginians now soundedlong and lively; they were answered by a strain from the party in ambushthat went to the hearts of their enemies. The column of Dunwoodiewheeled in perfect order, opened, and, as the word to charge was given,the troops of Lawton emerged from their cover, with their leader inadvance, waving his saber over his head, and shouting, in a voice thatwas heard above the clangor of the martial music.
The charge threatened too much for the refugee troop. They scattered inevery direction, flying from the field as fast as their horses, thechosen beasts of Westchester, could carry them. Only a few were hurt;but such as did meet the arms of their avenging countrymen neversurvived the blow, to tell who struck it. It was upon the poor vassalsof the German tyrant that the shock fell. Disciplined to the most exactobedience, these ill-fated men met the charge bravely, but they wereswept before the mettled horses and nervous arms of their antagonistslike chaff before the wind. Many of them were literally ridden down, andDunwoodie soon saw the field without an opposing foe. The proximity ofthe infantry prevented pursuit, and behind its column the few Hessianswho escaped unhurt sought protection.
The more cunning refugees dispersed in small bands, taking various anddevious routes back to their old station in front of Harlem. Many wasthe sufferer, in cattle, furniture, and person, that was created by thisrout; for the dispersion of a troop of Cowboys was only the extensionof an evil.
Such a scene could not be expected to be acted so near them, and theinmates of the cottage take no interest in the result. In truth, thefeelings it excited pervaded every bosom, from the kitchen to theparlor. Terror and horror had prevented the ladies from beingspectators, but they did not feel the less. Frances continued lying inthe posture we have mentioned, offering up fervent and incoherentpetitions for the safety of her countrymen, although in her inmost heartshe had personified her nation by the graceful image of PeytonDunwoodie. Her aunt and sister were less exclusive in their devotions;but Sarah began to feel, as the horrors of war were thus brought home toher senses, less pleasure in her anticipated triumphs.
The inmates of Mr. Wharton's kitchen were four, namely, Caesar and hisspouse, their granddaughter, a jet-black damsel of twenty, and the boybefore alluded to. The blacks were the remnants of a race of negroeswhich had been entailed on his estate from Mr. Wharton's maternalancestors, who were descended from the early Dutch colonists. Time,depravity, and death had reduced them to this small number; and the boy,who was white, had been added by Miss Peyton to the establishment, as anassistant, to perform the ordinary services of a footman. Caesar, afterfirst using the precaution to place himself under the cover of an anglein the wall, for a screen against any roving bullet which might betraversing the air, became an amused spectator of the skirmish. Thesentinel on the piazza was at the distance of but a few feet from him,and he entered into the spirit of the chase with all the ardor of atried bloodhound. He noticed the approach of the black, and hisjudicious position, with a smile of contempt, as he squared himselftowards the enemy, offering his unprotected breast to any dangers whichmight come.
After considering the arrangement of Caesar, for a moment, withineffable disdain, the dragoon said, with great coolness,--
"You seem very careful of that beautiful person of yours, Mr. Blueskin."
"A bullet hurt a colored man as much as a white," muttered the black,surlily, casting a glance of much satisfaction at his rampart.
"Suppose I make the experiment," returned the sentinel. As he spoke, hedeliberately drew a pistol from his belt, and leveled it at the black.Caesar's teeth chattered at the appearance of the dragoon, although hebelieved nothing serious was intended. At this moment the column ofDunwoodie began to retire, and the royal cavalry commenced their charge.
"There, Mister Light-Horseman," said Caesar eagerly, who believed theAmericans were retiring in earnest; "why you rebels don'tfight--see--see how King George's men make Major Dunwoodie run! Goodgentleman, too, but he don't like to fight a rig'lar."
"Damn your regulars," cried the other, fiercely. "Wait a minute,blackey, and you'll see Captain Jack Lawton come out from behind yonderhill, and scatter these Cowboys like wild geese who've losttheir leader."
Caesar supposed the party under Lawton to have sought the shelter of thehill from motives similar to that which had induced him to place thewall between himself and the battle ground; but the fact soon verifiedthe trooper's prophecy, and the black witnessed with consternation thetotal rout of the royal horse.
The sentinel manifested his exultation at the success of
his comradeswith loud shouts, which soon brought his companion, who had been left inthe more immediate charge of Henry Wharton, to the open window ofthe parlor.
"See, Tom, see," cried the delighted trooper, "how Captain Lawton makesthat Hessian's leather cap fly; and now the major has killed theofficer's horse--zounds, why didn't he kill the Dutchman and savethe horse?"
A few pistols were discharged at the flying Cowboys, and a spent bulletbroke a pane of glass within a few feet of Caesar. Imitating the postureof the great tempter of our race, the black sought the protection of theinside of the building, and immediately ascended to the parlor.
The lawn in front of the Locusts was hidden from the view of the road bya close line of shrubbery, and the horses of the two dragoons had beenleft, linked together, under its shelter, to await the movements oftheir masters.
At this moment two Cowboys, who had been cut off from a retreat to theirown party, rode furiously through the gate, with an intention ofescaping to the open wood in the rear of the cottage.
The victorious Americans pressed the retreating Germans until they haddriven them under the protection of the fire of the infantry; andfeeling themselves, in the privacy of the lawn, relieved from anyimmediate danger, the predatory warriors yielded to a temptation thatfew of the corps were ever known to resist--opportunity and horseflesh.With a hardihood and presence of mind that could only exist from longpractice in similar scenes, they made towards their intended prizes, byan almost spontaneous movement. They were busily engaged in separatingthe fastenings of the horses, when the trooper on the piazza dischargedhis pistols, and rushed, sword in hand, to the rescue.
The entrance of Caesar into the parlor had induced the wary dragoonwithin to turn his attention more closely on his prisoner; but this newinterruption drew him again to the window. He threw his body out of thebuilding, and with dreadful imprecations endeavored, by his threats andappearance, to frighten the marauders from their prey. The moment wasenticing. Three hundred of his comrades were within a mile of thecottage; unridden horses were running at large in every direction, andHenry Wharton seized the unconscious sentinel by his legs, and threw himheadlong into the lawn. Caesar vanished from the room, and drew a boltof the outer door.
The fall of the soldier was not great, and recovering his feet, heturned his fury for a moment on his prisoner. To scale the window in theface of such an enemy, was, however, impossible, and on trial he foundthe main entrance barred.
His comrade now called loudly upon him for aid, and forgetful ofeverything else, the discomfited trooper rushed to his assistance. Onehorse was instantly liberated, but the other was already fastened to thesaddle of a Cowboy, and the four retired behind the building, cuttingfuriously at each other with their sabers, and making the air resoundwith their imprecations. Caesar threw the outer door open, and pointingto the remaining horse, that was quietly biting the faded herbage of thelawn, he exclaimed,--
"Run--now--run--Massa Harry, run."
"Yes," cried the youth as he vaulted into the saddle, "now, indeed, myhonest fellow, is the time to run." He beckoned hastily to his father,who stood at the window in speechless anxiety, with his hands extendedtowards his child in the attitude of benediction, and adding, "God blessyou, Caesar, salute the girls," he dashed through the gate with therapidity of lightning.
The African watched him with anxiety as he gained the highway, saw himincline to the right, and riding furiously under the brow of some rocks,which on that side rose perpendicularly, disappear behind a projection,which soon hid him from view.
The delighted Caesar closed the door, pushing bolt after bolt, andturning the key until it would turn no more, soliloquizing the wholetime on the happy escape of his young master.
"How well he ride--teach him good deal myself--salute a younglady--Miss Fanny wouldn't let old colored man kiss a red cheek."
When the fortune of the day was decided, and the time arrived for theburial of the dead, two Cowboys and a Virginian were found in the rearof the Locusts, to be included in the number.
Happily for Henry Wharton, the searching eyes of his captors wereexamining, through a pocket glass, the column of infantry that stillheld its position on the bank of the stream, while the remnants of theHessian yagers were seeking its friendly protection. His horse was ofthe best blood of Virginia, and carried him with the swiftness of thewind along the Valley; and the heart of the youth was already beatingtumultuously with pleasure at his deliverance, when a well-known voicereached his startled ear, crying aloud,--
"Bravely done, captain! Don't spare the whip, and turn to your leftbefore you cross the brook."
Wharton turned his head in surprise, and saw, sitting on the point of ajutting rock that commanded a bird's-eye view of the valley, his formerguide, Harvey Birch. His pack, much diminished in size, lay at the feetof the peddler, who waved his hat to the youth, exultingly, as thelatter flew by him. The English captain took the advice of thismysterious being, and finding a good road, which led to the highway,that intersected the valley, turned down its direction, and was soonopposite to his friends. The next minute he crossed the bridge, andstopped his charger before his old acquaintance, Colonel Wellmere.
"Captain Wharton!" exclaimed the astonished commander of the Englishtroops, "dressed in mohair, and mounted on a rebel dragoon horse! Areyou from the clouds in this attire, and in such a style?"
"Thank God!" cried the youth, recovering his breath, "I am safe, andhave escaped from the hands of my enemies; but five minutes since and Iwas a prisoner, and threatened with the gallows."
"The gallows, Captain Wharton! surely those traitors to the king wouldnever dare to commit another murder in cold blood; is it not enough thatthey took the life of Andre? Wherefore did they threaten you with asimilar fate?"
"Under the pretense of a similar offense," said the captain, brieflyexplaining to the group of listeners the manner of his capture, thegrounds of his personal apprehensions, and the method of his escape. Bythe time he had concluded his narration, the fugitive Germans werecollected in the rear of the column of infantry, and Colonel Wellmerecried aloud,--
"From my soul I congratulate you, my brave friend; mercy is a qualitywith which these traitors are unacquainted, and you are doubly fortunatein escaping from their hands uninjured. Prepare yourself to grant meyour assistance and I will soon afford you a noble revenge."
"I do not think there was danger of personal outrage to any man, ColonelWellmere, from a party that Major Dunwoodie commands," returned youngWharton, with a slight glow on his face. "His character is above theimputation of such an offense; neither do I think it altogether prudentto cross this brook into the open plain, in the face of those Virginianhorse, flushed as they must be with the success they have justobtained."
"Do you call the rout of those irregulars and these sluggish Hessians adeed to boast of?" said the other with a contemptuous smile. "You speakof the affair, Captain Wharton, as if your boasted Mr. Dunwoodie, formajor he is none, had discomfited the bodyguards of your king."
"And I must be allowed to say, Colonel Wellmere, that if the bodyguardsof my king were in yon field, they would meet a foe that it would bedangerous to despise. Sir, my boasted Mr. Dunwoodie is the pride ofWashington's army as a cavalry officer," cried Henry with warmth.
"Dunwoodie, Dunwoodie!" repeated the colonel slowly, "surely I have metthe gentleman before."
"I have been told you once saw him for a moment, at the town residenceof my sisters," replied Wharton, with a lurking smile.
"Ah! I do remember me of such a youth; and does the most potent congressof these rebellious colonies intrust their soldiers to the leading ofsuch a warrior!"
"Ask the commander of yon Hessian horse, whether he thinks MajorDunwoodie worthy of the confidence."
Colonel Wellmere was far from wanting that kind of pride which makes aman bear himself bravely in the presence of his enemies. He had servedin America a long time, without ever meeting with any but new raisedlevies, or the militia of the country
. These would sometimes fight, andthat fearlessly, but they as often chose to run away without pulling atrigger. He was too apt to judge from externals, and thought itimpossible for men whose gaiters were so clean, whose tread so regular,and who wheeled with so much accuracy, to be beaten. In addition to allthese, they were Englishmen, and their success was certain. ColonelWellmere had never been kept much in the field, or these notions, whichhe had brought with him from home, and which had been greatly increasedby the vaporing of a garrisoned town, would have long since vanished. Helistened to the warm reply of Captain Wharton with a supercilious smile,and then inquired,--
"You would not have us retire, sir, before these boasted horsemen,without doing something that may deprive them of part of the glory whichyou appear to think they have gained!"
"I would have you advised, Colonel Wellmere, of the danger you are aboutto encounter."
"Danger is but an unseemly word for a soldier," continued the Britishcommander with a sneer.
"And one as little dreaded by the 60th, as any corps who wear the royallivery," cried Henry Wharton, fiercely. "Give but the word to charge,and let our actions speak."
"Now again I know my young friend," cried Wellmere, soothingly; "but ifyou have anything to say before we fight, that can in any manner help usin our attack, we'll listen. You know the force of the rebels; are theremore of them in ambush?"
"Yes," replied the youth, chafing still under the other's sneers, "inthe skirt of this wood on our right are a small party of foot; theirhorse are all before you."
"Where they will not continue long," cried Wellmere, turning to the fewofficers around him. "Gentlemen, we will cross the stream in column, anddeploy on the plain beyond, or else we shall not be able to entice thesevaliant Yankees within the reach of our muskets. Captain Wharton, Iclaim your assistance as an aid-de-camp."
The youth shook his head in disapprobation of a movement which his goodsense taught him was rash, but prepared with alacrity to perform hisduty in the impending trial.
During this conversation, which was held at a small distance in advanceof the British column, and in full view of the Americans, Dunwoodie hadbeen collecting his scattered troops, securing his few prisoners, andretiring to the ground where he had been posted at the first appearanceof his enemy. Satisfied with the success he had already obtained, andbelieving the English too wary to give him an opportunity of harassingthem further, he was about to withdraw the guides; and, leaving a strongparty on the ground to watch the movements of the regulars, to fall backa few miles, to a favorable place for taking up his quarters for thenight. Captain Lawton was reluctantly listening to the reasoning of hiscommander, and had brought out his favorite glass, to see if no openingcould be found for an advantageous attack, when he suddenly exclaimed,--
"How's this! a bluecoat among those scarlet gentry? As I hope to live tosee old Virginia, it is my masquerading friend of the 6oth, thehandsome Captain Wharton, escaped from two of my best men!"
He had not done speaking when the survivor of these heroes joined histroop, bringing with him his own horse and those of the Cowboys; hereported the death of his comrade, and the escape of his prisoner. Asthe deceased was the immediate sentinel over the person of youngWharton, and the other was not to be blamed for defending the horses,which were more particularly under his care, his captain heard him withuneasiness but without anger.
This intelligence made an entire change in the views of Major Dunwoodie.He saw at once that his own reputation was involved in the escape of hisprisoner. The order to recall the guides was countermanded, and he nowjoined his second in command, watching as eagerly as the impetuousLawton himself, for some opening to assail his foe to advantage.
But two hours before, and Dunwoodie had felt the chance which made HenryWharton his captive, as the severest blow he had ever sustained. Now hepanted for an opportunity in which, by risking his own life, he mightrecapture his friend. All other considerations were lost in the goadingsof a wounded spirit, and he might have soon emulated Lawton inhardihood, had not Wellmere and his troops at this moment crossed thebrook into the open plain.
"There," cried the delighted captain, as he pointed out the movementwith his finger, "there comes John Bull into the mousetrap, and witheyes wide open."
"Surely," said Dunwoodie eagerly, "he will not deploy his column on thatflat. Wharton must tell him of the ambush. But if he does--"
"We will not leave him a dozen sound skins in his battalion,"interrupted the other, springing into his saddle.
The truth was soon apparent; for the English column, after advancing fora short distance on the level land, deployed with an accuracy thatwould have done them honor on a field day in their own Hyde Park.
"Prepare to mount-mount!" cried Dunwoodie; the last word being repeatedby Lawton in a tone that rang in the ears of Caesar, who stood at theopen window of the cottage. The black recoiled in dismay, having lostall his confidence in Captain Lawton's timidity; for he thought he yetsaw him emerging from his cover and waving his sword on high.
As the British line advanced slowly and in exact order, the guidesopened a galling fire. It began to annoy that part of the royal troopswhich was nearest to them. Wellmere listened to the advice of theveteran, who was next to him in rank, and ordered two companies todislodge the American foot from their hiding place. The movement createda slight confusion; and Dunwoodie seized the opportunity to charge. Noground could be more favorable for the maneuvers of horse, and theattack of the Virginians was irresistible. It was aimed chiefly at thebank opposite to the wood, in order to clear the Americans from the fireof their friends who were concealed; and it was completely successful.Wellmere, who was on the left of his line, was overthrown by theimpetuous fury of his assailants. Dunwoodie was in time to save him fromthe impending blow of one of his men, and raised him from the ground,had him placed on a horse, and delivered to the custody of his orderly.The officer who had suggested the attack upon the guides had beenintrusted with its execution, but the menace was sufficient for theseirregulars. In fact, their duty was performed, and they retired alongthe skirt of the wood, with intent to regain their horses, which hadbeen left under a guard at the upper end of the valley.
The left of the British line was outflanked by the Americans, whodoubled in their rear, and thus made the rout in that quarter total. Butthe second in command, perceiving how the battle went, promptly wheeledhis party, and threw in a heavy fire on the dragoons, as they passedhim to the charge; with this party was Henry Wharton, who hadvolunteered to assist in dispersing the guides. A ball struck his bridlearm, and compelled him to change hands. As the dragoons dashed by them,rending the air with their shouts, and with trumpets sounding a livelystrain, the charger ridden by the youth became ungovernable--he plunged,reared, and his rider being unable with his wounded arm, to manage theimpatient animal, Henry Wharton found himself, in less than a minute,unwillingly riding by the side of Captain Lawton. The dragooncomprehended at a glance the ludicrous situation of his new comrade, buthad only time to cry aloud, before they plunged into the English line,--
"The horse knows the righteous cause better than his rider. CaptainWharton, you are welcome to the ranks of freedom."
No time was lost, however, by Lawton, after the charge was completed, insecuring his prisoner again; and perceiving him to be hurt, he directedhim to be conveyed to the rear.
The Virginian troopers dealt out their favors, with no gentle hands, onthat part of the royal foot who were thus left in a great measure attheir mercy. Dunwoodie, observing that the remnant of the Hessians hadagain ventured on the plain, led on in pursuit, and easily overtakingtheir light and half-fed horses, soon destroyed the remainder of thedetachment.
In the meanwhile, great numbers of the English, taking advantage of thesmoke and confusion in the field, were enabled to get in the rear of thebody of their countrymen, which still preserved its order in a lineparallel to the wood, but which had been obliged to hold its fire, fromthe fear of injuring friends as well as
foes. The fugitives weredirected to form a second line within the wood itself, and under coverof the trees. This arrangement was not yet completed, when CaptainLawton called to a youth, who commanded the other troop left with thatpart of the force which remained on the ground, and proposed chargingthe unbroken line of the British. The proposal was as promptly acceptedas it had been made, and the troops were arrayed for the purpose. Theeagerness of their leader prevented the preparations necessary to insuresuccess, and the horse, receiving a destructive fire as they advanced,were thrown into additional confusion. Both Lawton and his more juvenilecomrade fell at this discharge. Fortunately for the credit of theVirginians, Major Dunwoodie reentered the field at this criticalinstant; he saw his troops in disorder; at his feet lay weltering inblood George Singleton, a youth endeared to him by numberless virtues,and Lawton was unhorsed and stretched on the plain. The eye of theyouthful warrior flashed fire. Riding between this squadron and theenemy, in a voice that reached the hearts of his dragoons, he recalledthem to their duty. His presence and word acted like magic. The clamorof voices ceased; the line was formed promptly and with exactitude; thecharge sounded; and, led on by their commander, the Virginians sweptacross the plain with an impetuosity that nothing could withstand, andthe field was instantly cleared of the enemy; those who were notdestroyed sought a shelter in the woods. Dunwoodie slowly withdrew fromthe fire of the English who were covered by the trees, and commenced thepainful duty of collecting his dead and wounded.
The sergeant charged with conducting Henry Wharton to a place where hemight procure surgical aid, set about performing his duty with alacrity,in order to return as soon as possible to the scene of strife. They hadnot reached the middle of the plain, before the captain noticed a manwhose appearance and occupation forcibly arrested his attention. Hishead was bald and bare, but a well-powdered wig was to be seen,half-concealed, in the pocket of his breeches. His coat was off, and hisarms were naked to the elbow; blood had disfigured much of his dress,and his hands, and even face, bore this mark of his profession; in hismouth was a cigar; in his right hand some instruments of strangeformation, and in his left the remnants of an apple, with which heoccasionally relieved the duty of the before-mentioned cigar. He wasstanding, lost in the contemplation of a Hessian, who lay breathlessbefore him. At a little distance were three or four of the guides,leaning on their muskets, and straining their eyes in the direction ofthe combatants, and at his elbow stood a man who, from the implements inhis hand, seemed an assistant.
"There, sir, is the doctor," said the attendant of Henry very coolly."He will patch up your arm in the twinkling of an eye"; and beckoning tothe guides to approach, he whispered and pointed to his prisoner, andthen galloped furiously towards his comrades.
Wharton advanced to the side of this strange figure, and observinghimself to be unnoticed, was about to request his assistance, when theother broke silence in a soliloquy:--
"Now, I know this man to have been killed by Captain Lawton, as well asif I had seen him strike the blow. How often have I strove to teach himthe manner in which he can disable his adversary, without destroyinglife! It is cruel thus unnecessarily to cut off the human race, andfurthermore, such blows as these render professional assistanceunnecessary; it is in a measure treating the lights of science withdisrespect."
"If, sir, your leisure will admit," said Henry Wharton, "I must beg yourattention to a slight hurt."
"Ah!" cried the other, starting, and examining him from head to foot,"you are from the field below. Is there much business there, sir?"
"Indeed," answered Henry, accepting the offer of the surgeon to assistin removing his coat, "'tis a stirring time."
"Stirring!" repeated the surgeon, busily employed with his dressings;"you give me great pleasure, sir; for so long as they can stir theremust be life; and while there is life, you know, there is hope; but heremy art is of no use. I did put in the brains of one patient, but Irather think the man must have been dead before I saw him. It is acurious case, sir; I will take you to see it--only across the fencethere, where you may perceive so many bodies together. Ah! the ball hasglanced around the bone without shattering it; you are fortunate infalling into the hands of an old practitioner, or you might have lostthis limb."
"Indeed!" said Henry, with a slight uneasiness. "I did not apprehend theinjury to be so serious."
"Oh, the hurt is not bad, but you have such a pretty arm for anoperation; the pleasure of the thing might have tempted a novice."
"The devil!" cried the captain. "Can there be any pleasure in mutilatinga fellow creature?"
"Sir," said the surgeon, with gravity, "a scientific amputation is avery pretty operation, and doubtless might tempt a younger man, in thehurry of business, to overlook all the particulars of the case."
Further conversation was interrupted by the appearance of the dragoons,slowly marching towards their former halting place, and new applicationsfrom the slightly wounded soldiers, who now came riding in, making hastydemands on the skill of the doctor.
The guides took charge of Wharton, and, with a heavy heart, the youngman retraced his steps to his father's cottage.
The English had lost in the several charges about one third of theirfoot, but the remainder were rallied in the wood; and Dunwoodie,perceiving them to be too strongly posted to assail, had left a strongparty with Captain Lawton, with orders to watch their motions, and toseize every opportunity to harass them before they reembarked.
Intelligence had reached the major of another party being out, by theway of the Hudson, and his duty required that he should hold himself inreadiness to defeat the intentions of these also. Captain Lawtonreceived his orders with strong injunctions to make no assault on thefoe, unless a favorable chance should offer.
The injury received by this officer was in the head, being stunned by aglancing bullet; and parting with a laughing declaration from the major,that if he again forgot himself, they should all think him morematerially hurt, each took his own course.
The British were a light party without baggage, that had been sent outto destroy certain stores, understood to be collecting for the use ofthe American army. They now retired through the woods to the heights,and, keeping the route along their summits, in places unassailable bycavalry, commenced a retreat to their boats.