LIBRARY 
 
 of 
 
 CAUtOMMA 
 SANDKGO
 
 Hppletons' 
 
 Uown anfc Country 
 
 Xtbrarg 
 
 No. 178 
 
 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING
 
 IN DEFIANCE OF 
 . THE KING 
 
 A ROMANCE OF 
 THE AMERICAN RESOLUTION 
 
 BY 
 
 CHAUNCEY C. HOTCHKISS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
 1895
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1895, 
 BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.
 
 TO 
 
 CAPTAIN SAMUEL PEARL CRAFTS, 
 
 OF NEW HAVEN, CONN., 
 
 THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
 BY HIS NEPHEW.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 I. 
 
 " THE REGULARS ARE OUT," . 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 II. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, 
 
 10 
 
 Ill 
 
 HOME ...... 
 
 17 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE " WILL o' THE WISP," 
 
 29 
 
 V. 
 
 AN EXPOSURE, 
 
 . 32 
 
 VI. 
 
 A COUPLE OF TORIES, . 
 
 38 
 
 VII. 
 
 SNARING THE Fox, .... 
 
 . 48 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE SPRING OF '77, 
 
 58 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE DISPATCH BEARER, . 
 
 .62 
 
 X. 
 
 A NOVEL DISPATCH BAG, 
 
 70 
 
 XI. 
 
 THE EXIT OF AUNT JANE, 
 
 . 79 
 
 XII. 
 
 THE LIFTING OF THE FOG, . 
 
 89 
 
 XIII. 
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE, 
 
 . 101 
 
 XIV. 
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN THE CABIN, 
 
 114 
 
 XV. 
 
 THE ALARM, 
 
 . 125 
 
 XVI. 
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND, . 
 
 136 
 
 XVII. 
 
 DOROTHY BEAUCHAMP, 
 
 . 152 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 THE " GREAT FREEZE," 
 
 160 
 
 XIX. 
 
 BROMFIELD DECLARES WAR, 
 
 . 167 
 
 XX. 
 
 THE EXPLANATION, 
 
 179 
 
 XXI. 
 
 THE PROPOSAL, . . 
 
 . 186 
 
 XXII. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY, .... 
 
 194 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 THE " DEBATABLE GROUND," . 
 
 . 202 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 A DASH AND A DISASTER, 
 
 212 
 
 
 vii 

 
 Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXV. THE LAST TRYST, 220 
 
 XXVI. MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION, . . . 232 
 
 XXVII. THE START, 244 
 
 XXVIII. THE WRECK, 254 
 
 XXIX. THE DEATH OF MOON, 266 
 
 XXX. THE BURIAL AT SEA, 276 
 
 XXXI. THE BEGINNING OP THE END, .... 284 
 
 XXXII. FACE TO FACE WITH BENEDICT ARNOLD, . 293 
 
 XXXIII. THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS, . . .301 
 
 XXXIV. RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE, 314 
 
 XXXV. CONCLUSION, . . . .326
 
 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 "THE REGULARS AKE OUT." 
 
 "THERE, now! There's the king's shilling to bind you, 
 for you are booked; 'tis according to usage and runs with 
 my commission." 
 
 The speaker tossed a silver piece onto the table, only to 
 see it picked up and thrown violently across the room by 
 the party addressed. 
 
 "D n the king's shilling and your commission, and 
 
 you too, for the matter o' that!" was the angry retort. 
 
 The sergeant clapped his leathern book together, placed 
 it in his pocket, and deliberately buttoned his scarlet coat 
 over his broad chest as he arose and answered: 
 
 "'Tis too late, my young buck. You may d n your 
 
 fill. No doubt you'll cut up and make matters worse for 
 yourself, but you now belong to His Majesty, and I'll 
 see that he gets you. You signed your name and have 
 fingered the coin; so there you are. You may chafe at 
 the outset most of you do; and now, will you follow 
 along quietly, or must you be forced?" 
 
 " I'll not go nor be taken !" came the firm reply. " You 
 enlisted me by a fraud. I but asked for the forms out of 
 curiosity, and now you tell me I have joined. I have no 
 mind to become a soldier, least of all, to serve the king. 
 Your cursed horde have worked mischief enough in
 
 2 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 Boston, without trying to beguile unsuspecting men. 
 Nay, I'll not go I'll fight first." 
 
 "Well! But you be a plucky rascal. As for fighting, 
 I might take you, but it would be with a broken head 
 and 'tis far to barracks. But go you shall! I've but to 
 wait here for those I know will soon come; and I'll see 
 that you wait with me. Settle down, now, and nurse your 
 wrath as best you may; but no tricks, mind you, for I've 
 a heavy hand." 
 
 It was the momentous night of the 18th of April, 1775, 
 and the coffee room in the Sign of the White Horse at 
 Cambridge was tenanted by but three people when I 
 entered. The two who were engaged in the foregoing 
 dispute, and a man, asleep or apparently so, stretched on 
 the settle near the fire; for though the day had been 
 unusually warm for the season, there was the chill of 
 spring in the night. 
 
 I had expected to find more of a gathering at the 
 White Horse. The times were such that the sober, early- 
 retiring provincials were agog with a mixture of fear 
 and expectation, for there had been flying rumors during 
 the day that General Gage was to send out the "regulars" 
 to search for and destroy the colonial stores gathered at 
 Concord and Lexington by the Committees of Safety and 
 Supplies. But rumor in various shapes had long been rife 
 and failed to stir the blood, though on this day at noon a 
 party of British officers had dined at the White Horse, 
 and later ridden in the direction of Menotomy* where the 
 Committees were in session, and the event was looked 
 upon as an harbinger of coming activity among the 
 British. 
 
 I had known of the movement of the officers, and knew, 
 as everyone did, of the stores hidden in the neighborhood 
 of Concord. I felt the tension of the times. My prowl- 
 ings for further news had kept me from college until long 
 * Now West Cambridge.
 
 "THE REGULARS ARE OUT." 3 
 
 after "hours," and I had applied for admission in vain. 
 The doors were shut and the verger deaf, so that my only 
 resource for a bed was at the tavern, where I had been 
 greeted with the opening episode as I advanced into the 
 room. 
 
 It took but little penetration to catch the situation. A 
 recruiting sergeant and his victim, who had been caught 
 through his ignorance, only waking to his blunder when 
 bound. The tactics used differed but little from the old 
 press gang method, which consisted in bodily seizing a 
 man and hurrying him aboard ship. Now, with the pro 
 vincials in a temper to resent the slightest violation of 
 their rights, such a course would have led to a popular up 
 rising; therefore, the newer plan had been to beguile the 
 prey into a blind form which was none the less binding 
 though repudiated when understood. This latest example 
 of recruiting by fraud was a young man about my own 
 age, slight, yet well knit, but his general appearance led 
 me to think him a stranger in these parts; his being so 
 easily trapped proclaiming it as loudly as his dress. 
 
 As I closed the door behind me and dropped into a chair, 
 he at once appealed to me in an impassioned manner, the 
 soldier looking on with a frown, but making no move to 
 interrupt him. 
 
 I glanced at the sleeper on the settle as I cast the 
 chances of help at a rescue; for it took me but few 
 minutes to pass my sympathies to the young fellow, my 
 hatred for things British being a sentiment ever ready to 
 leap to the surface, and the manifest injustice of the whole 
 proceeding making it stronger. But if the recumbent 
 figure was awake, he gave no sign of it. His back was 
 toward me, and I saw from his iron gray hair that he was 
 past middle age. Probably a tired farmer, who would 
 have to be "worked up" to become hot enough to act, so 
 T gave over hoping for help from that direction. 
 
 The hour was late; the Dutch clock showing past
 
 4 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 eleven, and the possibility of the arrival of a belated col 
 lege mate to aid an escape small. On the other hand, the 
 sergeant had hinted of re-enforcement which might appear 
 at any moment, so if action was to be taken it should be 
 at once. The reckless blood of my twenty years mounted 
 into my brain as I rose to my feet, walked to the door and 
 threw it wide. 
 
 "There's your chance, lad; jump for it!" I shouted, 
 whisking a table in front of the sergeant as he sprang to 
 his feet. The young fellow was up in a flash and out into 
 the night before his guard could get around the obstruc 
 tion; while I slammed the door and braced my back 
 against it. 
 
 I was well aware that I had got myself into a pretty mess, 
 for physically I was no match for the soldier. He was 
 twice my years and broader and heavier, and though I had 
 some idea of my own powers, I feared I was bound to 
 come out hardly in an encounter with him, for an 
 encounter seemed inevitable. My heart beat fast at the 
 prospect as he made a plunge at me, using an oath as he 
 came, while I sprang aside and behind the settle. It was 
 to be no child's play at fight, as the gleam in the eye of 
 my adversary showed how thoroughly he was in earnest; 
 but help came from an unhoped-for quarter. As the red 
 coat passed in front of the settle to head me off, the foot 
 of the sleeper shot out, and catching the runner's legs, 
 tripped him and brought him to the floor with a crash; 
 while the sleeper himself, now as wide awake as was ever 
 any man, leaped or fell onto the prostrate form. 
 
 " 'Tis time I took a hand," said he, as he settled his 
 weight on the sergeant. "The game is played, an' ye had 
 better get to cover. Slide out, lad, like the fellow before 
 ye, an' never fear for me; I'll hold this lobster-back until 
 ye be well clear. I love the spirit ye showed, but ye are 
 fat for the provost marshal if ye linger. Belay yer thanks 
 an' go."
 
 "THE REGULARS ARE OUT." 5 
 
 I hesitated an instant, for it seemed unfair to desert my 
 rescuer. I had caught but a glimpse of his face. His 
 powerful frame made him a match for my late antagonist, 
 who was now beginning to struggle under him, and I cast 
 a glance about the room; at the two on the floor, the 
 overturned table and chairs, the low, black rafters of the 
 ceiling, and the shining pewter ranged over the bar. The 
 next moment I was out in the clear moonlight and speed 
 ing up the road. It was my last view of the Sign of the 
 White Horse. 
 
 The episode had been sharp and short, and it had placed 
 me in an awkward predicament. For the future I was a 
 marked man, and no longer durst venture into Boston for 
 fear of recognition, and must be careful whenever out of 
 the college grounds, even in Cambridge. The lesser 
 affair of being deprived of lodgings for the night at 
 the White Horse was a small matter. I might try for 
 Wetherby's at .Menotomy, or the Sign of the Sun at 
 Charlestown; either some four miles in opposite directions, 
 and as a bed for the night was a necessity, I halted on the 
 moonlit road, took a shilling from my pocket and tossed 
 for choice. It fell for Charlestown, and I started off, 
 thinking little of the way ahead, my brain working over 
 my late experience and the probable penalty I would incur 
 on the morrow for being out of grounds all night. 
 
 To-morrow! Little I knew that on the morrow (and 
 it was then lacking but few minutes of midnight), a 
 nation would be born. Little I dreamed that an hour 
 before Paul Revere had rowed across the harbor; that 
 Dawes was then well on his way to Lexington, bearing 
 fateful news, and that on the very instant the Mystic 
 River was black with the enemy's boats, which were land 
 ing a force at Phipp's Farms and within two miles of 
 where I was walking. 
 
 The night seemed too pure and beautiful for aught but 
 a lover's romance, but being no lover, I trudged at a
 
 6 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 swinging gait, for the chill was growing with the late 
 hour, whistling the while for companionship, or stopping to 
 fill myself with the novel feeling of being on a lonely road 
 at midnight. The highway lay clear and white before 
 me; the fields stretching broadly on either hand, the fences 
 cleanly marked, and an occasional tree throwing its black 
 shadow athwart the road. There had been no sound save 
 my whistle and my footsteps, the air being too quiet to 
 hum in the ears. 
 
 1 had walked perhaps two-thirds of the distance to 
 Charlestown Neck and was nearing a turn in the way, when 
 through the surrounding silence I caught a note thal^ 
 brought me to a halt in an instant. It was the clinking 
 of metal and the tramp of a body of men. Quietly and 
 guardedly they must have advanced, for the head of a 
 column of scarlet-coated infantry came around the turn 
 before I had fairly gathered the import of the sound. 
 
 I knew it all, and all at once. Rumor had been right 
 at last. The long looked for order had- been given. The 
 "regulars" were out. 
 
 Fortunately for me, perhaps, I had stopped under a tree, 
 else I had been marked; for a squirrel could have been 
 seen against the white roadway an hundred paces off. 
 Dropping into the shadow of the wall that bounded the 
 highway, I sped backward and crawled through the bars 
 of a pasture gate, throwing myself along the ground with 
 my head in position to command the opening. I was 
 more excited then than in the heat of the action at the 
 tavern. Over me rushed the sense of the importance of 
 this movement of the enemy, for I well knew the temper 
 and determination of my countrymen and the result of a 
 collision with the infantry. The question was: Would the 
 patriots be taken unawares? 
 
 The column came on quickly and quietly for so large a 
 body, led by an officer on horseback. I heard no word 
 spoken as they passed. Possibly there were eight hundred
 
 "THE REGULARS ARE OUT." 7 
 
 men, all told, and in full fighting order, for the rear was 
 brought up with a field-piece. As their footsteps died 
 low in the distance and the clouds of dust raised had begun 
 to dissipate, I was up and following. I had little need of 
 extra care, the dust making an effectual screen ; but care 
 I took lest a detachment might, return, and so kept near 
 the edge of the road that I might leap a fence or dodge 
 into a shadow if it became necessary. 
 
 So stunned and impressed was I by what I had seen, 
 that I followed on without thought of action. House 
 after house was passed, but no light was shown or indica 
 tions made that the inmates had been disturbed by the 
 passage of an army. Presently the tramp ahead ceased, 
 and I knew there was a halt. Through the night air came 
 the sound of a bell far in the distance; then the barking 
 of a dog, and suddenly the clatter of a horse at full speed 
 coming from the enemy ahead. I had barely time to leap 
 the fence before it passed, and I have now reason to 
 believe it was the dispatch for re-enforcements, sent back 
 when it was discovered that even at that early hour the 
 raid had been anticipated. I could plainly hear the bell 
 now rung vigorously, and it was soon followed by 
 another further north and fainter. Ahead there was no 
 movement forward, and the delay chafed me and deter 
 mined me to act. Cutting straight across the fields, I 
 flanked the body of soldiery by a wide detour, and in 
 twenty minutes came out on the road a quarter of a mile 
 ahead of them. The road forked here, the north going 
 toward Lexington, and on that- I guessed they would 
 march. Taking the south fork, therefore, I sped on for 
 nearly a mile before I came to the first house. Pick 
 ing up a stone from the road, I ran to the door and 
 began hammering on the panel. In a moment a man 
 appeared from around an angle of the building, bearing 
 a gun. 
 
 "What's up?" he demanded.
 
 8 IN DEFIANCE OP THE KING. 
 
 "For God's sake saddle and get to Lexington," I 
 panted. "The 'regulars' are out." 
 
 "Out?" 
 
 "Aye, and within half a mile of the fork. I have fol 
 lowed them from Charlestown. Hark! Do you hear the 
 bell?" 
 
 "You're right," he answered. "Dawes rode through 
 here four hours or more agone, and warned the district; 
 but there has been no sign till now, or I have been nod 
 ding. What's your name, friend?" 
 
 "Anthony Gresham of Groton, Connecticut; a Cam 
 bridge student." 
 
 "Aye? Mine's Bacon. Well, ye have done a good 
 deed in coming. Ye be well blown. Wait an' I'll hitch 
 up an' give ye a lift along. Why! ye be wet through." 
 
 Wet I certainly was. The dew on the fields was like 
 rain, and I had met with two falls in my passage over 
 them, beside lying in the soaked grass while the troops 
 passed. The water had penetrated clothing, stockings 
 and shoes; but I cared little for that. 
 
 "Have you any arras?" I asked, as I followed him to 
 the barn in the rear and hurriedly helped him hitch his 
 horse to a farm wagon. 
 
 "None but my own musket, I am sorry to say. If ye 
 be going to Lexington ye may find provision there, though 
 I fancy they are scarce to be had. The British will miss 
 their aim this time." 
 
 "What aim?" 
 
 "The arms and stores at Concord. Jump in an' we'll 
 be off. How many did you say there were?" 
 
 "Some eight hundred." 
 
 " Well, by Jehovah ! they may all go forward, but 'twill 
 be strange if they all get back," said he, as he cut the 
 horse. 
 
 The rattle and jolt of the wagon made further talk 
 impossible. At the first house we came to, he stopped,
 
 "THE REGULARS ARE OUT." 9 
 
 ran to tbe door, gave a thundering kick with his heavy 
 boot, and with the shout of "the reg'lars are out, "jumped 
 into the wagon again, and was off. 
 
 At house after house we halted and roused the inmates, 
 I doing my best at shouting while he hammered on the 
 doors. But ere long, as we approached Lexington, it 
 became useless, for the ringing of bells and discharge of 
 firearms showed the country was fully aroused. The 
 minutemen had wakened, and the bridge at Lexington 
 was about to be contested.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 
 
 HAVING taken a back road to Lexington and being 
 delayed by frequent stops, it was after tbree in tbe morn 
 ing when we drove into the village. 
 
 Save for a huge fire that had been kindled on the 
 common, around which were grouped a number of men, 
 there was no sign of preparation. Lights burned in every 
 house, and that the townsmen were fully alive to the ap 
 proach of the British was evident; but no force was then 
 marshaled to oppose them, and at this I wondered. 
 
 On our entering Beckwith's Tavern we found it 
 crowded with minutemen, and there learned that a horse 
 man had been sent forward to meet the oncoming force 
 and ride back to give timely warning of its advance. 
 
 The cold of the early morning, coupled with my damp 
 clothing, struck a chill to my very marrow, and I hugged 
 the fire as I listened to the talk going on around me. 
 There was little brag. Elderly men mingled with those 
 but shortly past boyhood, and what surprised me most 
 was the lack of arms among them. Diligent effort made 
 by my companion failed to procure me a gun, and to this 
 is due the fact that I took no part in the fight. 
 
 There was a constant passing in and out, and I became 
 the center of a silent group of men, who listened with anx 
 ious faces to the tale I told of the numbers on the way 
 to destroy the stores. 
 
 Time sped under the suppressed excitement, and many a 
 dram I swallowed during that gray hour betwixt darkness 
 and dawn ; partly to save me from chill, and partly from 
 
 10
 
 THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 11 
 
 the good-fellowship of those who needed something to 
 give them courage to meet the fearful British, and that at 
 an hour when human vitality is at its lowest. 
 
 Suddenly there was a distant shout, followed by several 
 nearer, and upon the green hard by a drum sounded the 
 assembly. Presently a horseman pulled up at the door, 
 and without dismounting, shouted : 
 
 "Fall in, fall in! they are coming; they are less than 
 three miles back." 
 
 The room was emptied in an instant, and what had been 
 confusion a moment before became excited riot for the 
 while. I could not make out who was commanding, and 
 the difference betwixt rank and file, if it ever existed, 
 was unrecognizable. After many orders and counter- 
 orders, a space was cleared on the green, and some seventy 
 men and boys, all armed, fell into line with a semblance of 
 military form, and soon after marched down the dim road. 
 
 A crowd followed, I among them, until we arrived at 
 the bridge that crossed the little river, and at once the 
 planks of the structure were torn up and placed in a pile 
 on the side nearest the enemy. This one act showed me 
 how totally ignorant of military strategy were the brave 
 men who were to oppose the march of England's veterans. 
 
 Knowing that I was to play the part of a spectator only, 
 I left the crowd, crossed the bridge on its timbers, and took 
 my station on a knoll commanding the field of action, 
 where I was soon after joined by a number of others. 
 
 The wait was not long, though it seemed endless. The 
 east was a broad field of light when I caught the first 
 glimpse of the redcoats, and to my surprise there were not 
 more than two hundred in the force. It was evidently a 
 detachment sent ahead to clear the way. The crowd near 
 the bridge scattered as they came in sight, and the few 
 patriots who had determined to oppose its passage 
 recrossed the structure and took their stand on the side 
 toward Lexington.
 
 12 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 The troops advanced to within fifty paces of the stream, 
 halted and swung into line across the road, and the 
 tragedy opened. I could hear no words from where I was 
 standing, but suddenly there came the flash oi' a firearm, 
 and then a volley from the "regulars." I marked the 
 single mounted officer go down with his horse and then 
 stagger to his feet as the fire was returned, and for a brief 
 space of time the fusillade was general. Flash followed 
 flash and report followed report at irregular intervals. 
 Soon I saw the little band break and retreat, firing as it 
 went, until it melted away, and the "Battle of Lexington" 
 was over. It had taken less than ten minutes. 
 
 An impotent fury shook me as I witnessed this high 
 handed act of military despotism. Groans issued from the 
 iips of those about me, and I cursed the invaders from the 
 bottom of my soul. So unreasoning was my rage that I 
 stooped to grasp a stone to hurl at them, though they were 
 a good musket-shot away; but the paroxysm passed, and 
 as the soldiers relaid the planking of the bridge and 
 crossed it, I ran with the rest to the scene of the recent 
 conflict, the action of which had hardly assumed the 
 dignity of a skirmish. 
 
 History has given the details of the fight in a manner I 
 am unable to do. Though it was now broad day, all that 
 happened after the troops passed the bridge was lost to 
 me, partly from the confusion that reigned, and partly 
 because my attention was diverted from their further 
 movements. 
 
 I know there was no more firing, but whether or no 
 there were outrages committed I had no means of telling, 
 for I was soon engaged heart and hand among those who 
 had fallen at the bridge. 
 
 Among the first of the heroes I came upon was my late 
 companion Bacon. He lay on his face by the side of the 
 road, and for a space I thought him dead, but soon dis 
 covered that his wound was comparatively slight, a ball
 
 THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 13 
 
 having passed through the fleshy part of his hip, and he 
 had fainted from loss of blood. 
 
 My studies had been directed toward medicine (the pro 
 fession I was destined to follow), but I then knew little or 
 nothing of its practice, and was no better than a bungler 
 as I attempted to bind up the gap from which the blood 
 was flowing. There was no lack of assistance in caring 
 for the dead and maimed, and Bacon was carried to the 
 tavern, where his wound was dressed. lie was a plucky 
 fellow, and his first desire on recovering his senses was to 
 be up; but I soon convinced him of the importance of 
 quiet, and leaving him, went to prepare the wagon for his 
 immediate removal home. 
 
 I had more than one motive for leaving Lexington as 
 soon as possible, and getting on my way toward Cam 
 bridge. The main body of the British was yet to arrive, 
 and now that blood had been shed I feared more violence 
 would ensue, which fear was justified by later events. 
 Six months previous to this time I had joined a company 
 of thirty of my college mates, who were to march in 
 defense of colonial rights; and now that those rights had 
 been deliberately outraged, I had little doubt that we 
 should be called to act in the general retaliation which I 
 felt sure was bound to follow. 
 
 Another motive was to get Bacon under the care of his 
 own family and away from the danger of further violence; 
 while yet another though lesser consideration was that 
 possibly the sergeant with whom I had interfered the night 
 before might have joined the main body of troops, enter 
 the village, and recognize me. 
 
 I had some little difficulty in placing the wounded man 
 in his wagon, but he was at last comfortably installed on 
 a bed of hay, and I drove slowly from the spot which 
 proved to be the field of the opening of the Revolution, 
 taking the back road that I might not meet the British. 
 
 We had started none too soon, for as I ascended a hill
 
 14 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 a mile from town, I saw the scarlet column marching into 
 the village. 
 
 I shall not detail the minor events of the day, as they 
 have no bearing on my story; nor, so far as my actions are 
 concerned, would they be interesting to the reader. 
 
 The journey of ten or twelve miles, with the horse 
 never driven faster than a walk, was longer than I antici 
 pated. Enough to say that it was nearly nine at night 
 before I had finally disposed of the wounded man, rested 
 and refreshed myself, and entered the town of Cambridge. 
 
 Who does not now know the harrowing events of the 
 19th of April, 1775? The mixture of rage, sorrow, and 
 triumph that possessed the town is beyond my descrip 
 tion. The tragedy was over when I arrived, and the rem 
 nant of the redcoats safe past Charlestown Neck. I had 
 heard the whole story by the time I reached college, and I 
 started for my room to prepare for the morrow, toward 
 which each man now looked with both dread and longing. 
 I might have thought my cup was full, but I was destined 
 to receive yet another shock and of a personal nature. 
 
 As I opened the door I saw the room was tenanted. A 
 well-guttered candle burned upon the table, and among the 
 books and papers that littered it, with his head thrown 
 forward and resting on his crossed arms, sat a man, sound 
 asleep. Stepping forward, I laid my hand on his shoulder, 
 and, as he raised himself and blinked at me in sleepy-eyed 
 wonder, I recognized Hal Bailey, the close friend of my 
 boyhood, and the son of our nearest neighbor at home ; the 
 one person in the world, next my father or sister, I most 
 wished to see. 
 
 The emotions of the moment confused my thoughts. 
 My prevailing idea was that he had come to join the gen 
 eral uprising, while an instant's reflection might have told 
 me that the people of Connecticut could have hardly yet 
 heard the momentous news of Concord and Lexington. 
 
 "How could you have gotten here so quickly, Hal?
 
 THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 15 
 
 Why, you could not have heard of the fight ! or were you 
 here at the time?" I asked, as the situation dawned slowly 
 upon me. 
 
 "Nay, Tony," he replied, "I knew naught of it until I 
 was well-nigh into it. I have not come to stay, though 
 much I wish I might. It is to hurry you home I am here. 
 Your father has been stricken down, and I have a letter 
 for you I will give you the details -later on the road. 
 'Tis bad enough God grant it may not be worse." 
 
 I can even now recollect, or perhaps better to express it, 
 feel the way I drew from and stupidly looked at him. I 
 still remember the terrible pressure on the top of my skull, 
 the sickness that struck my stomach, and the distressing 
 oppression of breath as I tore loose the seal of the letter 
 he gave me, and saw a strange handwriting. 
 
 It was from my Aunt Jane, and to the effect that my 
 father's present condition was precarious. It contained a 
 trite moral in the fervent hope that his fate would stand as 
 a warning to me to follow the straight and narrow path 
 of righteousness and virtue, and ended by saying that I 
 was to take the horse she had sent by Mr. Bailey and ride 
 home as quickly as possible, making sure to bring back all 
 my belongings with me, foremost my linen, as it would 
 save carrier's expense. 
 
 The indignation aroused in me by the last few words 
 did more to awaken me from the stunning effects of the 
 tidings than aught else could have done. 
 
 Torn betwixt my duty to my only remaining parent, 
 whom I both loved and revered, and the present condition 
 of political affairs, for a moment I knew not how to act. 
 I was bound in honor not to shirk my agreement with my 
 fellow-students to risk my life on the morrow should it 
 prove necessary, and to desert them at this critical time 
 would be a reflection on my patriotism or bravery. Never 
 theless, I determined to obey the call from home. 
 
 I at once took steps to keep my character clear, and hav-
 
 16 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 ing done so, prepared for the journey. While packing, 
 and putting in order the many matters that seemed to 
 throw themselves athwart my notice, as is common when 
 we are most hurried, I obtained from Bailey the particulars 
 of my father's illness. 
 
 The old gentleman had been in New London superin 
 tending the finishing of a new boat to take the place of the 
 ancient Grloosecap, which had outlived its usefulness. 
 He had descended from the deck to the "ways" on which 
 the vessel rested prior to launching, when his foot slipped 
 and he fell. The blow completely stunned him, but he 
 recovered sufficiently to mount his horse and ride home, 
 and had fallen on his arrival there. Being carried into 
 the house, a doctor was summoned from New London, and 
 immediately pronounced him suffering from a paralytic 
 stroke. 
 
 Undoubtedly the blow received in the fall occasioned the 
 attack, and though at the time Bailey left New London he 
 was conscious, it was an open question whether he was 
 liable to another and more severe shock, or would linger 
 in hopeless helplessness.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOME. 
 
 WE started from the university town in the gray of the 
 morning shortly after the setting of the moon. My anxiety 
 and lack of rest, coupled with the penetrating chill -of the 
 early hour, reduced my spirits to their lowest ebb. With 
 cloaks closely drawn, we put our horses to a good pace, 
 the rapidity of the movement somewhat relieving the 
 extreme tension of my nerves, but conversation between 
 us was impossible. The fog from the nostrils of our ani 
 mals drove backward in clouds, and the road slid beneath 
 us like a ribbon in the uncertain light. 
 
 Spring came that year unusually early. The hillsides 
 were covered with grass; the young grain, well grown, 
 moved like a green sea; fruit trees were in blossom, and 
 the woods were hazy with foliage advanced a month 
 before its time. 
 
 The noise of rushing water was through all the air, and 
 to this day, the tumble of a torrent brings a quick, fleet 
 ing flash of recollection of that spring morning and the 
 lowness of my spirits. 
 
 The sky was cloudless and gave promise of a perfect 
 day. It was the hour when the world begins to open its 
 eyes, but a considerable portion of it seemed to have been 
 awake long before; for we constantly met upon the road, 
 singly and in groups of five or six, individuals armed and 
 unarmed, who were bound for the scene of the recent con 
 flict, and made anxious inquiries for news we were unable 
 to give. Such had been my absorption in my own misfor 
 tunes that I had made no effort to learn if aught had 
 
 17
 
 18 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 occurred during the night, and could only listen with 
 wonder to the varied reports given us, but which we were 
 unable to corroborate or deny. 
 
 I heard the British, exasperated by their defeat and 
 losses on the road from Concord, had fired Boston and 
 Charlestown, and then retired to their ships, from which 
 they were pouring a constant cannonade upon the flying 
 and defenseless inhabitants. Another report was that the 
 people of Boston, with the help of the yeomen of the sur 
 rounding country, had attacked the fortifications on Boston 
 Neck at front and rear, and after carrying them, turned 
 their attention to the demoralized redcoats in the city, and 
 had driven them into the bay. That Gage was a prisoner; 
 and Pitcairn, who had opened hostilities in Lexington 
 with a pistol shot, and who was an object of special hatred 
 to the mob, had been captured and hung out of hand, 
 while riot ruled the city. 
 
 I knew enough of the prodigious growth of rumor to be 
 aware of its exaggeration, and reports so widely differing 
 confirmed me in the belief that nothing of moment had 
 occurred since the British escaped across Charlestown 
 Neck, but that Boston would soon be the scene of tragedy 
 I nowise doubted. 
 
 The brilliant light of a lovely spring morning, the quick 
 action of the ride, the constantly recurring stoppages on 
 the road, and conversations with the excited farmers, and 
 perhaps more than all, the perfect beauty of the surround 
 ing country, did much for me. With no process of 
 reasoning for so doing, I felt better in spirits; and hope, 
 born of no argument, seemed to be a tangible thing that 
 swelled within me. 
 
 We drove forward in all haste through the fair country 
 and beneath a bright sky, in hopes of reaching a farmhouse 
 by dusk, where Bailey had stopped on the way out, thought 
 fully making arrangements for our halt for the night. As 
 the sun went low in the west our pace became a walk, both
 
 HOME. 19 
 
 horses and riders being thoroughly beaten out, and we 
 arrived as the red glow faded in the sky and the frogs 
 boomed out the setting in of night. 
 
 We breakfasted betimes the next morning, being again 
 on the road long before its freshness had worn itself away, 
 and at noon stopped to rest at the ford of a river. Here 
 we planned to remain an hour to wind and bait the horses, 
 and while there, my companion, who had been rather silent, 
 turned toward me and said: 
 
 "Tony, I have a word to say if you won't take it amiss, 
 a thing you may easily do, since it bears on a relative." 
 
 "Who?" said I wonderingly. 
 
 "Your Aunt Jane none other. I have had a year's 
 experience with her, while you have known her barely two 
 months." 
 
 This was true. At the death of my mother two years 
 before, my father had invited Aunt Jane (my late uncle's 
 widow) to make her home with us, further the education 
 of my sister Charlotte, and attend to the household affairs 
 at " Hardscrabble," the name of our estate. This rescued 
 my sister from the neglect and influence of our black ser 
 vants, and gave my father, who was deeply interested in 
 the political aspect of the colonies, more leisure to devote 
 to the cause. I soon after went to college, but my two 
 months' acquaintance with my aunt had not ripened into 
 more than a show of respect. She was a soft-spoken 
 woman of middle age, with a smile I never liked (albeit 
 it generally made an agreeable impression on strangers), 
 and whose ostentatious piety savored strongly of 
 hypocrisy. Her parsimony was extreme, and as it ex 
 tended beyond herself to everything she influenced, she 
 administered the household affairs economically and kept 
 the help in order. It was soon seen that she was incap 
 able of even assisting Charlotte at her studies, and latterly 
 my father's letters had referred to her in a semi-sarcastic 
 humor, and I readily guessed she was a source of irritation
 
 20 IN DEFIANCE OP THE KING. 
 
 to him. She comes to me now like a picture. I see her 
 silent glide; her smile that was ever ready and meant 
 nothing. I hear her soft, yet thin and high-pitched, voice. 
 She rarely volunteered a remark, but repeated the last 
 words used by others, as though they expressed the 
 opinion she had held all along, which habit went far to 
 make those as ignorant as herself think she held a vast 
 sum of hidden wisdom. 
 
 "Well, what of her?" I asked, as he hesitated. 
 
 "I may as well out with it," he began, "and then you 
 will be as wise as I. Did your father write you that 
 Squire Beauchamp's wife was dead?" 
 
 "Why, yes; six months ago." 
 
 "Then mark what I say. Your aunt is hoping to fill her 
 shoes. That is as plain as the ford yonder, and I have 
 reason to know that Squire Beauchamp, despite his smooth 
 ness, is a Tory of the sneaking kind. I know he has an 
 income from someone in England, and is kindred, in a 
 roundabout way, with the aristocracy there, and though 
 he bleats Whigism, he will stab it in the back when he 
 can. The captain, your father, told me that much. The 
 squire comes to see your aunt. He is a man of more than 
 common schooling. He knows what the times are like to 
 be; and knows, too, the need of such a person as your 
 aunt to fetch and carry news. He's no fool if your Aunt 
 Jane is. She tunes up on the divine right of the king; as 
 though George III. had aught that was godly about him. 
 She is a rank Tory, Tony, and might be up to much mis 
 chief if this trouble with the king keeps on growing, as it 
 bids fair to do. Charlotte hates her like the devil, or as 
 much as she is capable of hating anyone. I speak by the 
 mark, lad." 
 
 "Sorry am I," said I, "for the lack of unity in the fam 
 ily. As I have been living near the spring of this agita 
 tion," 1 continued, with considerable importance, "I have 
 seen enough to venture to predict that England has but
 
 HOME. 21 
 
 slight hold on her colonies here, and the trouble is sure to 
 advance apace since blood has been shed, but I fancy 
 my aunt will have small part in the broil. I remember 
 father saying that the squire was lukewarm in politics, but 
 a man can't be damned 1'or that. As to my aunt's opinions 
 what do they matter? So say no more about it." 
 
 The subject dropped here, and we arose to saddle and be 
 off. I had just mounted and was waiting for Harry to 
 gain his seat, when over the hill from the south came a 
 rider in hot haste. Down the stony slope he advanced 
 with a rush, without a turn of the rein; his horse white 
 with lather, while the noise of its breathing could be heard 
 above the clatter of its hoofs as they scattered the loose 
 pebbles. 
 
 Both horse and rider seemed to have no eyes but for the 
 road in front of them. As they dashed into the ford, a 
 halt of an instant was made while the animal bent his neck 
 for a mouthful from the clear, shallow stream. 
 
 They had just crossed when the rider caught sight of us 
 and reined up. He was a man of fifty or more, short in 
 stature and compactly built. His dress was plain home 
 spun, with coarse woolen stockings, and his heavy shoes 
 were covered with dried soil. His face was homely and 
 strong, being particularly firm about the mouth and chin. 
 The long, iron-gray hair having lost the ribbon that con 
 fined it, streamed over his shoulders. At his hip hung a 
 heavy sword in a tarnished scabbard, and he sat his horse 
 with an air that showed him to be something more than 
 the common farmer he appeared. In a voice that had a 
 full, rich ring, he sung out: 
 
 "Whither bound, young gentlemen? This is no time 
 to rest. Are ye deaf to the news?" 
 
 "The news we have, sir, is two days old. "What's 
 afoot? You are from the south what news could have 
 overreached us?" I said, as I noted the glitter of his keen 
 eyes.
 
 22 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 "Have ye not met many on the road? There has been 
 no lack of tongues, I take it, to give ye enough to act on. 
 Where be ye from?" 
 
 "We have met none," I answered, "as well informed as 
 ourselves about what has passed, though we have seen 
 many afoot and riding, bound for Boston. We are from 
 Cambridge, and on the way home to New London." 
 
 With a sudden straightening of his heavy brows, he 
 returned harshly: 
 
 "An' is it seemly that ye should be from Boston at 
 such a time as this? For shame, young gentleman ! Have 
 ye been picnicing here while the dead of Lexington are yet 
 unburied? By the God above me! ye lead easy lives to 
 be going home when ye should have your faces set to the 
 north. Were ye arrant Tories ye were better fighting 
 among your fellows where fighting is to be done, than 
 dawdling here." 
 
 "Who are you, sir, and by what right do you prejudge 
 us?" I answered warmly. "There is a limit to the endur 
 ance of horse and man, and we only take needed rest. I 
 respect you, old gentleman, as devoted to the cause; but 
 you are not more so than are we. I am called home to 
 what may be the deathbed of my father, and have been 
 two days in the saddle. My name is Anthony Gresham of 
 Groton, and I may yet fight with you; but to go home is 
 my first duty." 
 
 At this, he drove his panting horse to my side, and held 
 out a hand as tough as leather, saying: 
 
 "Aye? Then there is no lack of mettle in ye; I was a 
 trifle hasty; I insulted ye and ask your pardon. When ye 
 see your way, come, as I know ye will ; and now take with 
 ye the best wishes of Israel Putnam, and so God speed." 
 
 And with that he bowed to Harry, shook his horse into 
 a run and went thundering over the road we had just 
 traversed. 
 
 "1 have heard that name," said I, as we turned our
 
 HOME. 23 
 
 horses into the ford. "It must be Putnam of Connecti 
 cut, who did good work in the French war. He's as 
 blunt as the butt of a log, but made amends like a soldier." 
 
 Little I thought at the time that we had interrupted the 
 progress of him whose wild riding would go down in his 
 tory, and whose name would become a symbol of patriot 
 ism and disinterested devotion to his country. 
 
 Both horses and men being freshened by food and rest, 
 we drove along with all speed, my soul bent on our reach 
 ing home some time during the coming night. As we 
 drew near Groton my impatience increased. I hoped that 
 when we reached there I would be able to pick up tidings 
 of my father's condition; but on arriving at the village 
 the hour was late, the road deserted, and every house as 
 dead as though uninhabited. 
 
 By this time it seemed as though both horses would give 
 out before the last five miles that lay between us and 
 Hardscrabble could be covered. 
 
 My faithful companion, as rugged and strong as an ox, 
 was well-nigh in a state of collapse; but it is to be remem 
 bered that he had held the saddle twice as long as I, and 
 four days of hard and unusual riding had told heavily 
 upon him. 
 
 For the last few miles I had been living on my nerves, 
 and they still served me. With heel and whip I urged 
 my exhausted steed to his remaining strength, and left 
 Harry in the rear to follow. 
 
 The river road never struck me as so long or so rough, 
 and when, after what seemed an interminable length of 
 time, I came where a gap in the forest allowed a view of 
 the house high on the hill, I strained my sight as though 
 its very appearance would inform me in some manner as to 
 the state of things under its roof. 
 
 It was as bare of light as any house in the village, and 
 stood out silhouetted against the faint sky like a black 
 block.
 
 24 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 What to argue from its darkness, I knew not; but as 
 ray horse stumbled up the stony acclivity his pace dwindled 
 to a staggering walk, and his nose reached the ground. 
 He fell to his knees with a loud groan, and believing him 
 dying I dropped from the saddle, and with my heart beat 
 ing like a trip-hammer ran the rest of the way on foot. 
 
 Over the wooden steps that led across the garden wall 
 I sprang, and cut through the young shrubbery, regard 
 less of paths or flowers as straight as the flight of the bee, 
 to the back door. 
 
 It was never locked, and in an instant I was in the din 
 ing room. A fire was burning in the great fireplace, and 
 though fast falling away it gave light enough to distin 
 guish objects. Before it, with a book upon her lap, over 
 which her little hands were clasped, and her beautiful 
 hair streaming around her pretty face, sat my sister Char 
 lotte ; her cheek drooping close to her shoulder, and her 
 sweet lips half open, fast asleep. 
 
 She was dressed in her nightgown and well wrapped up 
 in a bed quilt for warmth, and as the flickering firelight 
 played upon her, bringing out the richness of her color, 
 and tinting the soft white ruffle around her throat, I felt 
 that a lovelier sight was never vouchsafed to man. 
 
 Upon a tea-stand by the side of her chair stood a burned, 
 out candle and some knitting work in white wool. For 
 the rest, all seemed as unchanged as when nearly two years 
 before I had said good-by to home. 
 
 The tall clock ticked loudly in its old corner; the same 
 red spread covered the dining table; the chairs were 
 arranged just as of old ; even the same potted plants graced 
 the windows, and the dishes on the old dresser glinted 
 back the flash of the lowering flame. The heavy sideboard 
 still held the cut glass decanters and glasses freely dis 
 posed, and the oval mirror reflected no new features in the 
 familiar room. 
 
 The intensity of the stillness gave an air of peace that
 
 HOME. 25 
 
 touched everything like a benediction, and as I stood 
 above my sleeping sister I knew all was well. The 
 book, the knitting, the nightdress, told the story in an 
 instant. My father was not yet dead, or these things 
 would not be. 
 
 That he was living 1 knew as I stood there as well as 
 though I had it from his own lips. I had been expected, 
 and that Charlotte was waiting up for me with book and 
 knitting to beguile the time, was plain to be seen; but for 
 her to have .had recourse to these had death or extreme 
 danger been in the house, was impossible; and equally 
 impossible would have been the soft slumber and regular 
 rise and fall of her bosom. 
 
 How great was my sudden relief no words can describe. 
 My strained nerves gave out as I uttered aloud, "Thank 
 God! thank God!" My eyes filled, and as a heavy, chok 
 ing sob shook me from head to foot, I dropped on my 
 knees before her, buried my face in her lap and burst into 
 a deluge of tears. 
 
 With a frightened scream she awoke and sprang to her 
 feet, flinging me from her; but the next instant a realiz 
 ing sense of the situation dawned upon her, and she threw 
 herself into my arms with a cry. 
 
 For a few moments we stood wrapped in close embrace, 
 her tears mingling with mine; but finally, as the nervous 
 excitement quieted, we seated ourselves by the fire, for 
 though the hour was late, I knew that even exhausted as I 
 was, there would be no sleep for me until I had learned of 
 my father's present condition. It was as I had intuitively 
 foreseen. He was in no immediate danger, and consider 
 ing the short time that had elapsed since tire stroke, his 
 improvement had been marked. 
 
 "I marvel I did not waken Aunt Jane by crying out," 
 said Charlotte. "In truth, I hope I did, if I have not dis 
 turbed father. Not a night's rest has she lost through all 
 the fearful time, for she claims to be useless in the sick- 
 I
 
 26 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 room of one she loves. But come! It is time you were 
 abed." 
 
 I wondered greatly that the scream had brought no one 
 downstairs; but I was aware how heavily slumber comes 
 after relaxed anxiety, and though I could have talked on 
 till daylight, I now knew all that was of moment and so 
 rose and bade Charlotte good-night. 
 
 Such was my homecoming from college, and from that 
 day for many years I never experienced heartache caused 
 by sickness in the family. My presence gave an additional 
 fillip to my father's returning health, and (to slightly 
 anticipate the time) by midsummer he seemed to have 
 recovered every faculty, there remaining only a slight 
 numbness of his lower limbs, which compelled him to 
 forego all rapidity of movement and necessitated the use 
 of a cane. 
 
 My father was a retired shipmaster, a whaler, and had 
 left the sea upon his marriage with my mother, having in 
 his calling amassed what was in those days something 
 more than a merely comfortable competence. This was 
 increased by the fortune brought to him by his wife, a 
 Maryland lady of an old family, who had some pretensions 
 to birth, breeding, and education. 
 
 My paternal grandfather had also been a follower of the 
 .sea, but a series of misfortunes on the ocean had overtaken 
 him when past middle life, and he had retired from active 
 service. 
 
 Having purchased the whole of the headland on which 
 our house now stands, he erected a dwelling upon its most 
 commanding point, that he might be near and have -in con 
 tinual view the broad water for which his passion never 
 abated. By clearing away part of the adjacent forest and 
 devoting the soil to tillage, and by utilizing the natural, 
 rocky barrens for pasturage, he eked out a fair living; but 
 such were the discouragements pretaining to the coldness 
 and almost sterility of the soil, and the labor of getting
 
 HOME. 27 
 
 anything like an adequate return for his investment, that 
 he called *Lhe place "Ilardscrabble," an apt term to describe 
 the rocky nature of the estate and the difficulties of 
 obtaining a living therefrom. 
 
 In the days of my greatest activity our house was con 
 sidered somewhat pretentious, but at this writing (1830) 
 it is looked upon as a fair type of the style known as 
 Colonial, and has fallen from its former prestige. 
 
 Standing as it does on an eminence better suited as a 
 site for a lighthouse than a dwelling, it commands a vast 
 prospect of land and sea, from a point beyond the rush of 
 the white water of the Race which marks the eastern limit 
 of Long Island Sound, to where, far south, Long Island 
 itself lies a blue sheen in the distance. At the foot and to 
 the west of the promontory on the apex of which stands 
 Hardscrabble, flows the Poquonnock River, a tidal stream 
 of but few miles in length. Well-nigh on a line with 
 its mouth lies Fisher's Island, its whole extent showing 
 like a map from the headland, its half score of miles a 
 green gem in summer and a stretch of purest white in 
 winter. 
 
 Such was the prospect we loved and which, despite the 
 isolation and inconvenience of location, bound us to the 
 spot. 
 
 Being removed from the village, our neighbors were few 
 and far between. Halfway to the Mystic Bridge at the 
 head of the river was the farm of David Bailey, a stanch 
 patriot. Near the bridge and facing the road which runs 
 over it, was the house of Squire Beauchamp, and in later 
 days this man bore heavily upon my life. These were our 
 nearest neighbors, the Beauchamps being about three miles 
 away. 
 
 The outside and domestic arrangements of Hardscrabble 
 were in charge of an old negro couple named Freeman, 
 brought from Baltimore by my mother on her marriage. 
 They were known as "Uncle" and "Aunt" respectively,
 
 28 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and were supplemented by three children: a stalwart 
 young man called George, a daughter, Nance, and a boy 
 about my own age, born on the place, whose name had 
 originally been Roderick, but who was known as "Rod," 
 and by general understanding was supposed to be my own 
 especial property.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE "WILL O' THE WISP." 
 
 BY the end of April I had exhausted the novelty of 
 being at home, for I had not left since my arrival. The 
 affairs of the farm progressed as though there was naught 
 to fear from threatened liberty, and the household moved 
 on in its quiet, peaceful routine, .though war looked to be 
 a settled matter, and, judging from reports that flew from 
 all directions, the whole country was in arms. 
 
 I felt and hoped that my inaction at such a time as this 
 would not be of long duration. At present I was not 
 becoming impatient, as the relaxation from regular duty, 
 the absence of anxiety, and the glorious spring weather 
 kept my spirits in good order. My greatest trouble was 
 what people might think of my inactivity. Most of the 
 able-bodied had gone to help their fellows in the north, 
 and I had no excuse for not joining them save the illness 
 of a parent now rapidly recovering. Further delay might 
 reflect on my patriotism or courage. When at last I sug 
 gested enlisting, my father, whose will to me was law, 
 forbade it. 
 
 "I need you here," he said. "There are twenty thous 
 and men now besieging Boston, and more are unnecessary 
 at present. This is not a mere revolt it is war! Eng 
 land will never consent to our demands, nor will the 
 colonies cease to rebel. I fully believe you will have 
 enough to do in assisting at the defense of New London. 
 I cannot give my consent to your leaving home at present." 
 
 And with this I was forced to appear content. 
 
 A few days later he wished me to see to the launching
 
 30 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and furnishing of the sloop, the plans for which, though 
 complete, had been interrupted by his illness and the 
 excitement of the town. The existence of the boat, 
 incomplete and unnamed, had not been spoken of, and I 
 had given it no thought. 
 
 I will not go into the details of the weeks before it was 
 finished, launched, and fitted. I had only to follow out 
 the plans, which were completed without my knowledge. 
 
 She was a keel sloop, thirty-six feet long on deck, with a 
 beam of eight feet. Her cabin, finished in mahogany, 
 was furnished with four sleeping berths, two on either 
 side. Directly under the skylight was a folding table, 
 and in front of the berths on either hand were cushioned 
 transoms or lockers, running the length of the cabin fore 
 and aft. 
 
 The most peculiar features of the boat were her over 
 hang at the stern, her straight stem and flush sides; the 
 shrouds being stayed by chain plates. She was steered 
 by a wheel of carved mahogany instead of the universal 
 tiller. 
 
 But the perfection and elegance of her fittings excited 
 the most comment and admiration. A small boat or dingey 
 swung from davits on the larboard beam, and mahogany 
 steps were made to be placed on the starboard quarter for 
 convenience in boarding her from alongside. For the last 
 she was painted white with a narrow stripe of crimson 
 below the gunwale, and her name was Will o' the Wisp. 
 
 Considering the times, and the laws of Great Britain, 
 which prohibited the manufacture of metal work in the 
 American colonies, the completeness of the vessel's con 
 struction was remarkable. I believe she was the only 
 strictly pleasure craft along the New England coast; cer 
 tainly by far the finest of her inches of any character with 
 which I was acquainted. 
 
 Now as I have said, by midsummer my father was in 
 good health; the lack of events and need of re-eni'orce-
 
 THE "WILL O' THE WISP." 31 
 
 merits had quieted my desire to join the army, and most of 
 the entire season I passed upon the sloop, well content to 
 be idling as of old. The broad Sound became at last so 
 familiar that I know each menacing rock and shoal along 
 our coast for the space of ten leagues about New London, 
 and in a broad way might chart it fairly, though roughly. 
 
 But this aimless life came to a stop with the waning of 
 the year. Then it was that my father arranged with Dr. 
 Ambrose, our family physician, to have me taken under 
 his tuition to advance my medical education as far as pos 
 sible, and it was finally decided that four days of each week 
 1 was to ride to New London and there pui'sue my studies. 
 
 The winter passed slowly, but life moved along, albeit 
 quiet to a degree, and I had the satisfaction of knowing that 
 my days were not being wasted. Finally Congress, recog 
 nizing the importance of New London Harbor as a naval 
 center, decided to fortify the place and raise a home guard 
 to defend it if necessary. 
 
 This organization both Harry and I joined. It is not to 
 be supposed that we were formed into a uniformed regi 
 ment and regularly armed. Such, indeed, was far from 
 being the case. The majority of the enlisted dwelt in 
 New London or Groton, but many lived at a distance. It 
 was but at intervals we met for drill, the understanding 
 being that we were subject to call in times of danger; 
 while as for arms, each did for himself the best he could.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AN EXPOSURE. 
 
 IT was about the middle of August, and the weather had 
 been extremely hot and oppressive. The constant scorch 
 ing of the sun together with the prevailing drought had 
 seared the bosom of the highland until the grass about 
 Hardscrabble had the appearance of hay. 
 
 It was on an unusually suffocating morning without the 
 slightest breath of air eve at our altitude, that I was at 
 the barns with my father on some matter connected with 
 the live stock. We had been in or about the buildings 
 some two hours, and were then in the barn, when a deep 
 rumble attracted my attention and I stepped to the great 
 open door and looked out. Away to the southwest the sky 
 was inky with a coming storm. Toward the zenith, great 
 thunderheads in smoke-colored masses, their edges creamed 
 by the sun, were rapidly climbing the face of the heavens. 
 There was no stir to the air. Under the edge of the 
 heavy banks of vapor the waters of the Sound looked flat 
 and dark, but before me the heaving roll of the sea still 
 sparkled in the intense light. A becalmed fishing schooner 
 off the end of Fisher's Island was taking in her sails as I 
 looked forth, and even at that distance I noted the apparent 
 hurry on her deck. The strident note of the locust had 
 ceased; all insect life seemed suddenly suspended, and 
 even the noisy barnyard fowls were under a spell. The 
 landscape still trembled with the sullen heat, but relief was 
 near, and, as I marked a spiteful flash that laced the edge 
 of the squall, I was joined by my father. 
 
 " Rain at last, Tony. Thank Heaven!" said he. "Give 
 
 32
 
 AN EXPOSURE. 33 
 
 me your arm and we will get to the house. Let us hope 
 the barns be not struck; 'tis coming fast and sharp." 
 
 Making our way through the garden, we reached the 
 dining room just as the first great rolls of vapor met the 
 sun, and the house suddenly darkened with a ghastly 
 gloom. As we entered, Nance came from the kitchen to 
 close the windows and was about proceeding upstairs when 
 my father said : 
 
 "Where is Charlotte?" 
 
 "Dunno, cap'n. Specs she's with missus; deys here 
 minnit or two since." 
 
 "Very well, so she's in the house. Tony, my lad, pour 
 me a dram of Medford and fetch some fresh water from 
 the well; you will have full time before this breaks." 
 
 I went to the sideboard and brought him a decanter and 
 glass, but the jug which was usually there was missing. 
 Noting a tray with cup and saucer standing on the table, 
 and not waiting to search for the jug in the increas 
 ing darkness, I picked up the cup and hurried out of 
 doors. 
 
 I was about to dip it into the full bucket that balanced 
 on the curb, when my eye fell on its contents. They were 
 tea leaves. Hardly believing it possible, for tea had been 
 a long tabooed commodity at Hardscrabble, as well as 
 throughout the colonies, I smelled of the grounds. Un 
 doubtedly it was tea, pure and simple, and I turned back 
 just as a few heavy drops admonished me to hurry. 
 
 "Father, what can this be?" I said, as I held the cup to 
 him. 
 
 He took it, examined and smelled it, and then said 
 quickly: 
 
 "Tea! How came tea into this house? Where did you 
 find it?" 
 
 "On the tray," I replied. "I picked it up to bring 
 water in and discovered this as I was at the well." 
 
 "Have the servants here at once," he said; "then find
 
 34 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 Charlotte and your aunt and bid them come to me. I shall 
 get to the bottom of it." 
 
 I found the negroes, and sending Nance to search for the 
 others, returned to the dining room. 
 
 My father sat in the same spot by the table with the 
 witnessing cup in his hand, and opposite stood the black 
 giantess Aunt Freeman denying all knowledge of the 
 matter, while her husband and sons were near her, their 
 dusky features barely visible through the rapidly increas 
 ing gloom. 
 
 "Don't know nuffin 'bout it, Massa Cap'n," she said 
 firmly. " Haint smelled no tea better'n foxberry for mor'n 
 two year, and nebber dreamed dere was no sech a t'ing in 
 de house tell dis instinct." 
 
 Nance and the rest proved no wiser, and indeed it was 
 extremely unlikely that the servants would attempt to keep 
 and drink tea, or anything else, outside their own quarters. 
 Beside, they were too true and well tried to be suspected 
 for more than an instant. 
 
 This part of the investigation had hardly been com 
 pleted when Charlotte appeared, and walking boldly up, 
 said: 
 
 "I know all about the tea, papa! It was Aunt Jane! 
 I came in here and smelled it and laid it to her, and I told 
 her I would tell! She tried to make me believe it was 
 only foxberry at first, and then promised me anything to 
 keep quiet about it. She has been following me around 
 ever since to get me to say nothing. That's how she for 
 got the cup and saucer, and she won't come down." 
 
 If there was a black storm brewing out of doors, there 
 was a blacker one about to burst in the house, and my 
 father's voice and face furnished the thunder and light 
 ning. 
 
 Wheeling on Aunt Freeman, he shouted: 
 
 "Get that woman downstairs if you have to carry her. 
 Nance, light the candles; I want to see what I'm doing.
 
 AN EXPOSURE. 35 
 
 I thought my will in this matter had been long under 
 stood; but there will be no doubt about it hereafter." 
 
 In the interval of Aunt Freeman's absence no one 
 spoke. Nance hurried to light the candles, and they had 
 become necessary, for an appalling darkness had spread 
 over the land, although so far the storm had only vented 
 itself in menacing growls of thunder and a few large drops 
 of rain. 
 
 Charlotte, impressed by the tragic air that spread over 
 everything indoors and out, sidled up to me and slipped 
 her hand into mine. Presently the door from the hall 
 opened and Aunt Jane, followed by the negress as if to 
 block off retreat, entered. The countenance of the lady 
 was white as marble, and, as her quick glance took in the 
 group, the unusual candles and the face of my father, who 
 still held the cup and had his eye firmly fixed upon her, I 
 thought she would faint. 
 
 There was no preface to his remarks. 
 
 "So, madam," he said, "it seems that you have no 
 respect for my express commands in my own house, and 
 have therefore attempted to do in an underhand manner 
 what you are afraid to do openly." 
 
 His voice was under control, a fact that gave her enough 
 assurance to reply : 
 
 "Listen, Robert; I thought you would not care, and I 
 was " 
 
 "Not care!" he suddenly thundered; "and was it 
 because you thought I would 'not care,' Jane, that you 
 attempted to bribe Charlotte to silence? You commit 
 yourself and seem as careless of truth as you do of con 
 sequences. You are probably aware that were this known, 
 my house would be published and my family viewed with 
 suspicion." 
 
 " Be not so hard on me, Robert ; I had but very little 
 and the day was so hot and I was feeling so poorly 
 
 "And you selfishly risked everything for a forbidden
 
 36 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 luxury, regardless of principle and my commands," he 
 interrupted. "Now, whence came this tea? Did you buy 
 it? By Heaven, if so, I will ruin the one who sold it to 
 you !" 
 
 There was no answer. 
 
 "Did you buy it?" repeated my father, raising his voice. 
 
 Still no answer. 
 
 "If you hope to gain time or advantage by this stub 
 bornness, Jane, you ill reckon my temper," he continued. 
 "I shall know from whom you obtained it before you leave 
 this room." 
 
 The culprit had been twisting her hands in her apron 
 with drooping head and eyes downcast, but as my father 
 ceased, after a moment's interval, she stammered: 
 
 "I I did not buy it. I had it." 
 
 "Do you mean," he made answer, with flashing eyes, 
 "that you have had tea in this house perhaps for the last 
 two or three years, and have not used it till now? You 
 will pardon me, madam, but I believe you lie! You have 
 but recently obtained it, and by the Eternal! I shall know 
 how and from whom at once, or to-morrow you shall be 
 shipped back to Southold." 
 
 With this, he brought the hand containing the cup 
 down upon the table with a bang. 
 
 The frail china flew to splinters and the untasted liquor 
 in the glass jumped in splashes over the cloth. At the 
 action, a blinding glare of lightning illumined the room, 
 and a crash of thunder followed on the instant, shaking 
 the house to its foundations. 
 
 Charlotte shrieked and flung her arms around my neck ; 
 my father sprang to his feet, and my respected aunt fell 
 to her knees, burying her face in her hands. 
 
 As the report faded away in a rattling peal among the 
 hills, and the pent-up rain came down in a roaring deluge, 
 my aunt stretched out her hands and cried between her 
 sobbings:
 
 AN EXPOSURE. 37 
 
 "Oh, don't send me back! I will tell all about it only 
 forgive me, Robert, this once! I know you will, Robert; 
 you love me too well to send me hence. I'll tell, I'll tell! 
 It was the squire who gave it to me. I tried to shield 
 him. Please, please forgive me I will give it all to you, 
 only please don't send me away." 
 
 Without unbending his features in the least, my father 
 replied : 
 
 "Bring it to me. Bring it to the last grain." 
 
 She left the room, still sobbing hysterically, and was 
 gone some time; but she finally returned 'with a packet 
 containing about a quarter of a pound of tea. My father 
 promptly handed it to me, bidding me burn it in the 
 kitchen fire, which I did. 
 
 From that moment the subject was never referred to. 
 If, however, this incident was not spoken of, it had the 
 effect of giving me food for thought as it brought to my 
 mind the words of Bailey concerning my aunt and Squire 
 Beauchamp. 
 
 That he was no true patriot was evident enough from 
 my aunt's confession, and that he and she met on common 
 ground was equally apparent. What the sequel would 
 show was to be left to time ; but I determined to keep my 
 eye on the lady.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A COUPLE OP TOKIES. 
 
 IT was with a sense of real personal loss that I awoke 
 one morning and found a cold northeaster was stripping 
 the last of the-brilliant foliage from the forest and soak 
 ing the earth with a chilly deluge. 
 
 It was my day for New London and the doctor, and I 
 was soon splashing through the muddy road, with the roar 
 of the surf at my back and the rain driving in slanting 
 sheets across the landscape with such violence that both 
 my horse and myself bent our heads to meet it. 
 
 The great trees writhed and fenced with each other like 
 giants at war, and over all the storm sung its mighty 
 diapason. The moor which borders the river near its 
 northern end was beautiful in its desolation, and even the 
 driving rain and howling wind could not bare it of its 
 color or contrast, and it was no small relief to get upon 
 the "open," and beyond the roar and danger of the forest. 
 
 I had traversed perhaps two-thirds of its extent when 
 out from the curtain of rain I beheld a horseman coming 
 toward me. There was naught familiar in his figure, his 
 face and body being so effectually concealed by the hat 
 drawn closely down and the large cloak that enveloped 
 him, as to make it impossible for me to recognize him. 
 
 Seeing me approach he reined in his horse, and placing 
 his back to the storm, awaited my coming. As I neared 
 him he asked : 
 
 "Am I upon the road leading to the house of one 
 Beauchamp?" 
 
 "If you are from New London," I answered, "you
 
 A COUPLE OF TORIES. 39 
 
 passed the house a mile back; if from Mystic, you have 
 taken an unnecessary turn ; in either case it lies the way 
 you came; I am happy to be your guide. You are a 
 stranger in these parts, are you not?" 
 
 "If you will confine yourself to directing me you will 
 compass all I desire," he answered gruffly. 
 
 " Very well," I returned, piqued at his shortness. " Turn 
 and follow your nose to the main road and then ride to the 
 west; it's the first house you come to beyond the bridge." 
 
 Without thanking me for my information, he asked: 
 
 "Is he living alone or has he a family?" 
 
 The strangeness of the question gave me some surprise, 
 but I answered that his sister was living with him and 
 closed by asking him how far he had ridden, for he was 
 literally soaked through, the water running from his satu 
 rated cloak in streams, while his horse, heavily splashed 
 with mud, seemed greatly exhausted. 
 
 "Curb your curiosity, young man, and ride your way. 
 I will follow at my leisure." 
 
 The words had hardly left his mouth when a fierce blast 
 tore over the moor, and catching his hat from his head, 
 hurled it against my chest, from whence it fell to the 
 ground and went bowling along until it rested in a clump 
 of bushes a rod or &o away. With an outspoken curse he 
 brought his hand to his head too late to save his headgear, 
 thereby releasing the cloak which he had been holding to 
 his face, and as the folds fell away it disclosed the features 
 of a very handsome man of about thirty years. His eyes 
 were black as sloes; his complexion swarthy, and his face 
 adorned by heavy mustaches turned up at the ends. 
 
 "Curse the wind! Why did you let it go?" he burst 
 out. "Get it for me, will you?" 
 
 This decidedly high-handed demand thoroughly angered 
 me, and I returned: 
 
 "Your civility hardly makes it worth while for me to 
 inconvenience myself. You will be your own assistant."
 
 40 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 And so saying, I started my horse and left him muttering 
 something I could not understand. 
 
 How thoroughly are we at the mercy of circumstances; 
 how powerless to make or mar our welfare by our own 
 unaided actions, so slightly does the best reasoning mind 
 penetrate the future, was never better illustrated than by 
 the extreme importance of the trifling incident I have just 
 recorded, and certainly nothing could have been further 
 from my thoughts as I turned and rode toward Groton 
 than that this slight encounter with a surly stranger would 
 lead up to the most important period of my life and prove 
 a factor in most of my subsequent adventures. 
 
 Two days passed, and Nature, relenting of her merciless 
 behavior, spread a warm smile over the earth like a bene 
 diction. We were blessed with that perfection of sky 
 and air known as "Indian summer," and the senses lan 
 guished in the exquisite softness that is so brief and so 
 portentous. 
 
 It was hunter's weather, and beset partly by a desire to 
 be in the woods and partly in the hope of bagging a late 
 wood duck, I plunged into the region of the Black Ponds 
 (or North Woods as they were sometimes called), with the 
 hope of finding my game on one of the deep sheets of 
 water or quiet lagoons which connect them. 
 
 Despite my caution in the approach, at first my search 
 was fruitless; but after penetrating the woods for more 
 than a mile, I came to a small lake like a jewel in a set 
 ting, the basin of which was as round as a bowl, and on 
 its center I descried two of the looked-for birds, but they 
 were well out of gunshot. Carefully crawling to a spot on 
 the bank where the lagoon carried off the surplus water, I 
 bestowed myself behind some bushes, thinking it possible 
 they might finally place themselves within reach of my 
 piece; and fixing myself comfortably, prepared to draw 
 on my patience. 
 
 The intense quiet was only occasionally broken by the
 
 A COUPLE OF TORIES. 41 
 
 cry of a bird. There was nothing to occupy the sense 
 save the zigzagging drop of a dead leaf or the clatter of a 
 nut or twig as they fell without apparent agency. 
 
 The warmth, the drowsiness of the woods, the comfort 
 of my position and the monotony of my fixed gaze, had 
 their effects and I fell fairly asleep. 
 
 How long I remained unconscious I know not, but I 
 awoke with the certainty of having been aroused. No 
 doubt some little time had elapsed, for my game was 
 swimming within easy gunshot and close enough to shore 
 to be readily secured, but I hardly gathered my wits when 
 the report of a gun within a rod of me gave me a terrible 
 start and the ducks rose with a whirr and disappeared over 
 the tops of the trees. 
 
 The confusion of woodland noises occasioned by the shot 
 had not quieted when a man ejaculated : 
 
 "Missed them both, by Heaven! What kind of a piece 
 have you given me? I could have done better with a 
 pistol." 
 
 " It is of no importance," came a reply, the voice being 
 that of Squire Beauchamp, whose tones I recognized 
 immediately; "if you care to try further we will row to 
 the next pond; they extend still deeper into the forest." 
 
 "Not with this outfit," was the answer; "it isn't worth 
 the exertion. This attempt is on a par with my whole 
 undertaking a damnable failure. I have a mind to start 
 back to Newport to-night." 
 
 Though the screen that separated me from the two was 
 barren of foliage, the thickly interwoven twigs made an 
 effectual barrier to sight at a short distance, but being 
 myself close to the tangled mass, I could readily see 
 through it and beheld, not above twenty feet from me, the 
 squire sitting in the stern of a flat-bottomed skiff, while 
 facing him upon the bow thwart with a gun between his 
 knees, sat the stranger whom I had encountered two days 
 before upon the moor.
 
 42 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 Why I did not appear and make my presence known 
 save that the finger of Fate was upon me and held me down, 
 I know not; but in fact I lay quite still and only peered 
 through the bushes. The idea of hearing anything of 
 moment never occurred to me. That I was playing the 
 part of an eavesdropper did not enter my head. I simply 
 waited, thinking each instant they would move away; 
 hoping so, in fact, as I disliked the stranger and was too 
 suspicious of the older man to be cordial. 
 
 But no motion was made to resume the sculls that lay 
 crossed athwart the gunwales; instead, the stranger drew 
 out a pipe, deliberately filled it from a package which he 
 emptied and threw down, and striking a light, puffed 
 away as though, contented with the spirit of the spot, he 
 was endeavoring to enjoy it. For a few moments the 
 silence was complete, it being finally broken by the squire, 
 who as though referring to some past conversation, said: 
 
 "I greatly regret that no action was taken in this 
 matter until the works had grown so strong. Had my 
 advice been acted upon, the king would have held posses 
 sion of the harbor two months agone. It is certain, with 
 its maritime interests, to become a swarming place for 
 privateers, and I know that 'letters of marque' have been 
 already issued. With New London you might have held 
 the whole southern coast at your mercy." 
 
 "I agree with you there," answered his companion, 
 "but Howe had his hands full at the time, and the force 
 he might have spared then would be useless now. It is a 
 cursed shame that bethought more of eating pudding than 
 of fighting, or he would have bagged Washington and his 
 whole brood after that day at Brooklyn. It might be of 
 some service to obtain plans of the fort in case of future 
 action ; but it would be compromising to have such papers 
 found on one in this rebel-rampant quarter. You told me 
 there were but few Royalists hereabouts." 
 
 "A very few," returned the squire; "and those, like
 
 A COUPLE OF TORIES. 43 
 
 myself, dare not be outspoken. Were it known that I 
 harbored an officer of the king's navy, or even had written 
 him, I would have no house to shelter me by sundown-^ 
 if I escaped with my life. I think as it is I am viewed 
 with suspicion by some of my neighbors." 
 
 "Discovery would place you in a pretty pickle, I must 
 confess," answered the stranger; "and as nothing can be 
 done by staying in this nest, where it would be death to 
 answer questions, I think I will take myself off to-night." 
 
 "But the plans of the fort!" exclaimed the squire. "It 
 would be well, my friend, not to depart with your errand 
 entirely fruitless. Both Howe and Sir Peter Parker would 
 like to know something of the plan of the works. You 
 could sketch them in a day." 
 
 The stranger blew a cloud of smoke into the quiet air, 
 and I could see the intensity of his glance as he bent his 
 eyes with a quick turn upon his elderly companion. 
 
 "And penetrate their lines to do so?" he asked sarcas 
 tically. "Perhaps you are not aware of the consequences 
 of a British officer not in uniform being captured under 
 such circumstances; or is it possible you are unfamiliar 
 with the history of Nathan Hale? He belonged here 
 abouts, did he not?" 
 
 "His is not a parallel case," said the squire, "and it is 
 naturally to be supposed that a man of the stamp of Lieu 
 tenant Bromfield would be too wary to be suspected." 
 
 "They would make it the same," answered the officer, 
 with a scowl. "It is settled so far as I am concerned; the 
 game isn't worth the candle or at least the risk. Why 
 not do it yourself, you are a civilian?" 
 
 "Ah, ha! It would never do for me to attempt it." 
 And the squire shook his head firmly. 
 
 "Then get one whom you can trust; a woman might do 
 it your sister, for instance." 
 
 "My sister! She would bear her errand on her face," 
 was the answer, with a half sneer. "It is not feasible;
 
 44 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 but," after a pause, "but you give me an idea. A 
 woman could compass it, I believe, and I have one in mind 
 who might prove an agent." 
 
 "Here?" said the officer, looking up quickly. 
 
 "Hereabouts," responded the squire. 
 
 "Oh ! I thought you might have had it in your head to 
 send for and utilize your niece," was the answer. "I 
 was about to advise you against it." 
 
 "Are you so interested in the welfare of my niece that 
 you object to her running a risk in the king's good cause?" 
 
 "In a time like this, Squire Beauchamp," said the officer, 
 knocking the ashes from his pipe and standing up in the 
 boat to stretch himself, thereby displaying the fine propor 
 tions of his stalwart figure, "in a time like this, frankness 
 is not one of my attributes; but I will be frank now and 
 confess that I am interested in your niece. If I cared 
 nothing for the risk to her, I would for our interests, for 
 she is as fascinating a little devil of a Whig as ever wore 
 brown eyes and drew on a petticoat." 
 
 "So?" said the squire. "I was aware of my brother's 
 rebel tendency, but I thought that Dorothy's residence in 
 New York with your family would have cured any dis 
 affection she might have acquired at home in Norwalk. 
 I have not seen my brother or niece for some years, though 
 I am that young lady's godfather as well as her uncle. 
 No, I did not refer to her, but to one of quite a different 
 stamp," and the squire showed his strong white teeth in 
 a smile. "I will endeavor to obtain the plans at my own 
 risk, but it must take some time. When done, I will for 
 ward them, as soon as able, to Howe, or Parker, or Clinton ; 
 but communication is not so easy as at the time of my 
 former correspondence. It is useless, I suppose, to think 
 of sending them to you to forward; you will be afloat." 
 
 "I dare say I shall be ordered on some prize as soon as I 
 have reported on New London and Newport," was the 
 answer, with a yawn. "The regular ships of the line
 
 A COUPLE OF TORIES. 45 
 
 won't have colonial-born officers on board, worse luck! so 
 I shall probably be relegated to some refitted capture and 
 sent the devil only knows where. Failing this place, I 
 think the next move will be on Newport; it is practically 
 defenseless." Then with a sudden fierceness: "Why in 
 hell they have picked me out for this infernal spying on 
 shore I know riot." 
 
 There was a momentary pause, and he resumed: 
 
 "My idea of a brief campaign, which would be both 
 practicable and romantic, is to make a descent on Norwalk, 
 and then, by the little god of love! squire, I would carry 
 off your charming niece, and like a pirate claim her for my 
 prize." 
 
 This so tickled his fancy that, throwing his head back 
 ward, he laughed so loudly that the woods echoed. The 
 squire hardly smiled; but holding up his hand quickly, 
 said: 
 
 " Hush, Bromfield, not so loud ! Who knows who might 
 be walking within earshot." Then after a pause, "Your 
 imagination is lively, and you express yourself rather too 
 freely for good taste. Come, we had better be moving." 
 
 Bromfield, as though conscious of having gone too far, 
 made no answer, but seating himself on the center thwart, 
 shipped the sculls, and turning the boat's head, they were 
 soon covered by a, bend in the canal. 
 
 What my sensations were during this conversation it 
 would be impossible for me to describe. Not knowing the 
 consequences were I discovered, 1 lay as quiet as the rock 
 beside me. Of the squire I had no fear; but I had reason 
 to believe that the other was a character more or less reck 
 less or desperate, and I had no desire to risk an encounter 
 when my gun might become necessary for my defense, and 
 no earthly good could arise by discovering myself and 
 denouncing them. They were both Tories, then; a name 
 coupling contempt with enmity. One was evidently 
 appointed to the British navy and was at present doing
 
 46 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 duty as a spy along the coast, with a view of finding its 
 weak points. The other, exerting his influence to draw the 
 king's troops upon his native town. The last was mon 
 strous. He would have blood spilled, and see the lives of 
 his own friends and neighbors extinguished while he, with 
 out the bravery to take a single risk, would work through 
 the hand of a woman and shield himself by duplicity. 
 The inhuman scoundrel! I felt oppressed by the impor 
 tance of what I had overheard. But what was I to do? 
 The Great Power that had guided me to this spot and fixed 
 upon me as the agent of discovery, had not placed within 
 my scope the means of entirely frustrating their designs. 
 The fort was unfinished, and weaker in its present state 
 than either of the conspirators dreamed. All that seemed 
 left me was to impart my information to the proper 
 authorities; my father first of all. This I must do or 
 burst with the weight of my secret. 
 
 It was growing dark in the woods by the time I quitted 
 them and came out upon the main road, and darkness was 
 over the whole land when I reached home. 
 
 At that age I was unschooled in the art of dissimula 
 tion, and my countenance was too ingenuous to hide my 
 emotions from those who knew me. Undoubtedly its 
 expression disclosed something unusual the moment I 
 entered the house. My father looked up inquiringly, and 
 Hal, whose presence was no surprise, greeted me with: 
 
 "Hello! What's wrong, Tony?" 
 
 The room being cleared, it did not take long for me to 
 repeat the whole of the conversation I had overheard, as 
 well as to retail the incident of my meeting the stranger on 
 the moor. My father's face was a study in its growing 
 gravity as I proceeded, while Hal, with his elbows on the 
 table and his chin clasped in both hands, flashed his eye 
 alternately from one to the other of us. However, there 
 was no perplexity on my father's brow as I finished. 
 
 "That man must be taken to-night!" he exclaimed.
 
 A COUPLE OF TORIES. 47 
 
 "Tell Rod to saddle and go to Colonel Ledyard's at once, 
 and ask him here." 
 
 He left the room, while I stepped into the kitchen and 
 gave Rod his instructions. In something over an hour 
 the clatter of hoofs outside announced the arrival of the 
 colonel. I met him as he dismounted and he followed me 
 to the sitting room, where, with closed doors, the stor}' was 
 told again and a plan laid for the capture of the officer, if 
 by chance he had not carried into effect his intention of 
 returning to Newport. 
 
 As regarded the squire, the usually ready colonel was at 
 some loss how to act. It was not a question with him as 
 to what he had a right to do; but what would be policy. 
 
 " Were the war at or near our own doors," he explained, 
 "I should not hesitate a moment; but as an old man and 
 an old neighbor I am loth to arrest him, while I believe I 
 have the means of repressing his actions. The officer I 
 hope to bag, but for the squire I will determine later. 
 He is a cowardly old fox, but I think I can hold him fast 
 without locking him up."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SNAKING THE FOX. 
 
 THE arrangements were simple. There being no time 
 to waste in gathering a force of neighbors, it was deter 
 mined to utilize George and Rod, who, with the colonel, 
 Hal, and myself, were deemed sufficient. The negroes 
 were armed, one with my fowling-piece, the other with 
 my rifle, I retaining only a pistol. Harry was to get his 
 rifle as we passed his house, and thus we made a band 
 strong enough to battle with a squad, there being almost 
 an element of absurdity in the force of the equipment as 
 intended for the capture of a single man in a neighbor 
 hood lacking the slightest possibility of danger. As it 
 was an easy matter to mount the party from our stable, we 
 were soon in the saddle and on our way. 
 
 We crossed the moor and dismounted near the road, 
 picketing our horses in the edge of the woods; and here 
 we received oar instructions. The negroes were now 
 made fully acquainted with the object of our ride and 
 placed under the charge of Harry. The three were to 
 make a guard around the house, allowing no one to leave it, 
 while the colonel and myself were to enter and demand the 
 officer. The night was clear and starlit, but dark enough 
 to make concealment easy, so we had no difficulty in mak 
 ing our way to the house and posting the outside guard in 
 such a manner that they could see without being seen. 
 The hour was late verging onto ten and a careful detour 
 showed no light in any of the windows. To me, this did 
 not argue a successful ending to our mission, as I feared 
 
 48
 
 SNARING THE FOX. 49 
 
 that our prey had escaped and left the household to their 
 usual ways of early retirement. 
 
 Nothing being discernible from the outside, the colonel 
 walked openly to the front door and knocked loudly with 
 the hilt of his sword. There was small need of a second 
 summons, for almost imme'diately a window opened and 
 the voice of the squire was heard demanding who was 
 there. 
 
 "It is Colonel Ledyard," was the response. "Come 
 below and open the door." 
 
 "At once, my dear sir; at once," was the reply. 
 
 This ready action was somewhat different from the 
 embarrassed parley and tardy movement I had expected; 
 but the delay was really no longer than any man would 
 take to partly dress himself and get downstairs. There 
 was a rattle of chain and the upper half of the door swung 
 back, revealing the squire in shirt and breeches, wigless 
 and sleepy-eyed, with a candle in his hand. 
 
 "Why, colonel; you startle me! How is this?" 
 
 "Open, and allow us to enter," interrupted the colonel; 
 "we will do our talking inside." As, with his own hand, 
 he reached in and unfastened the lower door, and we 
 passed into the house, the squire glancing from one to the 
 other in well-feigned astonishment. 
 
 " Well, Colonel Ledyard ! well, my young friend ! Par 
 don me, lam but half awake. What can you wish at this 
 hour? Has anything out of the common taken place? 
 How can I assist you? If any " 
 
 "Come! come! squire," said the colonel heartily, "we 
 won't beat about the bush. I am here to demand the 
 person of one Lieutenant Bromfield of the British navy, 
 known to be a spy and under your protection. I warn 
 you that it is useless to think of escape or resistance; the 
 house is surrounded. Where can he be found, or will you 
 compel me to make search ?" 
 
 For the first time I noticed a look of fear or uncertainty
 
 50 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 come into the squire's face; but on the instant he recov 
 ered himself and answered: 
 
 "There is a great mistake here, Colonel Ledyard. There 
 is no such person in my house. Pardon my inhospitality 
 in keeping you standing; come into the kitchen; it is 
 warmer there." 
 
 "Pardon me, Squire Beauchamp," said the colonel. "I 
 can start from here as Avell as from the kitchen, nor will I 
 allow further temporizing. Where is Lieutenant Brom- 
 field?" 
 
 "Your meaning is beyond me, Colonel Ledyard," 
 answered the old man. "I know of no such person. I 
 have had a gentleman from Boston, a lawyer, staying 
 with me for a few days. He departed to-night. If you 
 will not move to the kitchen, please to consider me; I am 
 but half clothed and cold. I will finish my toilet and 
 return in a moment." 
 
 "By all means, sir; and, not to lose sight of you, I will 
 go with you," said the colonel. "Anthony, take a man 
 and search the house." 
 
 Leaving the two, I went out and found Harry, and after 
 having posted the negroes at opposite angles of the build 
 ing, so that its four sides could be watched, we returned 
 together. 
 
 "I'm afraid he has got away, Hal. The squire takes it 
 too easily; but we'll know presentl} 7 ". Wait until I face 
 him down; he can't crawl around the fact then." 
 
 Together Ave -searched the house, and searched it thor 
 oughly, beginning at the cellar and going through to the 
 garret, the squire himself preceding us for the most part, 
 even through his sister's room, and showing how entirely 
 empty the house was of such a thing as a British officer. 
 
 Matthew, the squire's Irish farmhand, was finally sum 
 moned from his room in the stable, where he was found 
 fast asleep, and taken in hand by the colonel. He corrob 
 orated the squire's statement that a gentleman a Mr.
 
 SNARING THE FOX. 51 
 
 Hunter, he thought his name had been in the house for 
 three days and departed that evening, describing him 
 exactly as I had done. Beyond that he knew nothing. 
 
 Had he seen the squire and the gentleman together in 
 the boat that day? 
 
 "Divil a bit." The squire, he explained, had sent him 
 to Groton at noon, and he had only returned in time to get 
 supper, when he was ordered to saddle the gentleman's 
 horse. He had seen him go toward Mystic, and then hav 
 ing done his chores, had gone to bed. 
 
 As no further information was to be gained from him, 
 and as he evinced no tendency toward concealment during 
 the questioning, he was allowed to depart. But the squire 
 was left to be dealt with. 
 
 We were now in the kitchen and fresh fuel had been 
 thrown on the dying fire. The room brightened in the 
 blaze, and the warmth was welcome, as the night had 
 become very chilly. The colonel seated himself comfort 
 ably, throwing one booted leg across the other as he 
 turned toward his host. 
 
 "And so, squire, it seems that our bird has flown 
 fortunately for him; but you are left to bear the brunt. I 
 consider it my duty to arrest you for plotting with an 
 enemy. What have you to say?" 
 
 As from beginning to end I had watched the face of the 
 squire, I watched it now. The easy expression it had 
 worn since our fruitless search suddenly changed to deep 
 anxiety. 
 
 It was fairly plain that he had considered his troubles 
 at an end as soon as he saw we were satisfied that his guest 
 had departed, but the colonel's change of base took him 
 aback, and he clearly showed it. He hesitated a moment 
 as he stood with his back to the fire, his coat tails in hand, 
 and then replied : 
 
 "I say, sir, that I am the victim of a mistake or a per 
 secution. I have already explained who was my visitor
 
 52 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and on what business he came. I can say no more, unless 
 to tell you that I am aware of a distrust of my loyalty to 
 the colonies, and see herein the finger of special spite. I 
 would ask in turn from whom you received this false 
 report, in order that I may know my secret ill-wisher." 
 
 "You have no secret ill-wisher, Squire Beauchamp," the 
 colonel replied, "but I assure you I have you on the hip. 
 Anthony, tell this tale once more, after which I expect the 
 squire to rely more on the truth than he has so far!" 
 
 Thus appealed to, I began again my thrice-told story, 
 and as I moved on from point to point, the old man gazed 
 at me with unflinching 63 r es, while I wondered at the nerve 
 that kept his face so steady. My hope of bringing him to 
 bay and forcing a confession was doomed to a humiliating 
 disappointment, for though his eyes flashed a defiant look 
 of hatred into mine as I spoke, when I finished he turned 
 with a sneer to the colonel, and said : 
 
 "And am I indebted to that boy for this outrage, sir?" 
 
 "You are indebted to this young man for the discovery 
 of these facts and these events," answered the colonel. 
 
 "Then let me at once deny the truth of his tale," he 
 returned. "I have held no such conversation, nor have I 
 been in my skiff to-day." 
 
 Had the colonel drawn his sword and cut his own throat, 
 I should not have been more dumfounded than at this cool 
 statement which made me out a liar. Even the colonel 
 swung around and widely opened his eyes, while Harry, 
 who had been a quiet spectator near the door, made a 
 sudden ejaculation. 
 
 For a space no one spoke. My indignation grew apace 
 with the passing seconds, and I suddenly burst out: 
 
 "Squire Beauchamp, a man who would smuggle tea and 
 use a woman as a tool, would lie out of reason. It is my 
 word against yours. Which is the weightier? If you " 
 
 "Easy, boy," said the colonel; "no one doubts you." 
 Then turning to the squire, he said:
 
 SNARING THE FOX. 53 
 
 "Is it likely that this young man would come here to 
 night with a yarn made out of nothing, deliberately plac 
 ing himself in a position to be shorn of all further trust, 
 when an hour would expose the falsity of his statement? 
 An idiot would hardly be so foolish. No, no! we must 
 have something more than mere denial." 
 
 "Nay, colonel, I hardly expressed myself clearly," said 
 the squire, ignoring me. "I do not doubt the honesty of 
 our young friend, nor the loyalty of his purpose; he is 
 simply the victim of an hallucination, or more correctly, 1 
 am the victim. By his own confession he was asleep. I 
 aver the whole thing originated in his brain. In short, he 
 dreamed it, and being an impressionable and patriotic 
 young man, it has taken as firm a hold as reality. I for 
 give him freely; let us say no more about it." 
 
 Here was an ingenious and unexpected twist that at 
 least showed the activity of the old man's brain, and for a 
 moment it brought us to a halt; but the colonel soon broke 
 the silence by saying sharply: 
 
 " How could he dream of a man he never saw?" 
 
 "Oh, I had seen him!" I burst out, like a fool; "and 
 hated him on sight." I then related again our meeting 
 on the moor, while the squire, with a foxy laugh and 
 triumph in his eye, said: 
 
 " There you have the animus, colonel ! Was I not right? 
 A vivid dream would account for it all!" 
 
 "Anthony," said the colonel, with a slow smile; "you 
 tripped yourself that time. Let me deal with the squire." 
 Then addressing him: 
 
 "Have you not a niece? A niece was also in this won 
 derful dream." 
 
 "I have several," was the answer. 
 
 "InNorwalk?" 
 
 "I know not where they may be now. Some are in 
 England." 
 
 " Have you a brother?"
 
 54 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 "Yes, I have two." 
 
 "In America?" 
 
 "One is, I believe." 
 
 "Are you godfather to your niece?" 
 
 "No, but if such " 
 
 "That's a d d lie, too!" I burst out, as I was seized 
 
 with an inspiration. "One moment, colonel hear me. 
 In twenty minutes I can prove by a single fact that the 
 squire has hardly uttered the truth to-night. When Lieu 
 tenant Bromfield filled his pipe he threw aside the empty 
 pack and I think it fell into the boat. With your per 
 mission I will fetch it; going back into the forest for it 
 if need be, for it will still be afloat if it fell overboard. 
 'Twill be something more than wonderful if my dreams 
 hang on to details like that, and they come up standing. 
 .If so, squire," said I, turning to him, "then my dreams 
 are as good as facts and equally bad for you. Let me take 
 Harry as a witness." 
 
 "A brave idea, Anthony. Go by all means. If the 
 pack should be found, Squire Beauchamp, you will sleep 
 in Fort Griswold to-night and thank yourself for your 
 quarters." 
 
 Snatching the pierced tin lantern I saw hanging on 
 a nail, I lighted it, and we started for the ponds. It 
 was no more than half a mile to where the skiff was 
 fastened to the banks, and knowing its locality, we sped 
 through the damp gloom on a run and were soon at the 
 spot. 
 
 There was small need of a long search. There, under 
 the stern seat, wet with the water that had leaked in and 
 settled aft when the bow was drawn ashore, was the 
 tobacco pack; somewhat muddy, as though having been 
 ground under foot, but of much more value than it had 
 ever been before. We looked for footprints on the shore, 
 but the close turf came down to the water's edge and there 
 were none shown.
 
 SNARING THE FOX. 55 
 
 On our return to the kitchen we found an addition to 
 the party in the person of the squire's sister, \vho had made 
 her toilet and was seated on the high-backed settle before 
 the fire, awaiting events. 
 
 She was an elderly and prim spinster, silent to taci 
 turnity, and possessed of a. hard and unyielding counte 
 nance, but withal not unpopular with her neighbors. It 
 was evident the squire had been explaining the occur 
 rences of the night, but she preserved an unchanged face 
 and made no reply to his remarks, which were closing as 
 we entered. 
 
 Without comment, I handed the empty tobacco pack to 
 the colonel, who examined it, and handing it to the squire, 
 who appeared mighty indifferent toward this piece of evi 
 dence, remarked: 
 
 "Here at last is a clinching argument in favor of the 
 veracity of our young dreamer; I see, too, that it bears a 
 Newport label. Squire, I am sorry, but you will go with 
 me to the fort. Your concealment of facts has convinced 
 me that what has been charged to you is true. You are 
 too dangerous to be left at large." 
 
 The old man was stubborn to the last. With grave 
 dignity he answered : 
 
 "Colonel Ledyard, I protest against this action. To be 
 outraged thus on the word of an irresponsible boy excites 
 my deepest indignation. However, I will go with you 
 quietly, as you have the means of forcing me. I trust you 
 will remember my years and not allow me to be the sub- 
 ject of further insult." 
 
 So saying, he left the room, and the colonel, telling us 
 to return home with the negroes, as he alone would escort 
 the squire to the fort, followed him. 
 
 The behavior of the lady was most remarkable. She 
 had not uttered one word in answer to the colonel, nor 
 shown the slightest emotion during the conversation. Her 
 hands remained rigidly crossed upon her bodice, and the
 
 56 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 only indication of her consciousness of the proceedings 
 was the quick movement and expression of her eyes. 
 Even after her brother and the officer had left the room 
 she remained immovable; and as Harry and I quitted the 
 house she was still sitting before the fire as motionless as 
 though carven from stone. 
 
 It was on the evening of the day following the arrest 
 and I was on my way home from New London, when I 
 was mightily astonished to see the squire standing upon 
 his own doorstep. I had thought of the old fox during 
 the day as safely shut up in the fort; but immediately 
 concluded that the lenient commander had but kept him 
 a prisoner over night and administered a warning before 
 granting him freedom. 
 
 This I afterward found was nearly the case. The 
 squire was made to take the oath of allegiance to the colo 
 nies, curse the king and his tyranny, and finally told he 
 could go at large on his sworn promise not to leave the 
 town of Groton without military permission. Being 
 caught again giving shelter to an enemy or holding corre 
 spondence with anyone in the king's interest would result 
 in his arrest and treatment as a spy. 
 
 These humiliating conditions he subscribed to under 
 protest, but with evident relief that matters were no 
 worse. How he kept them in letter and spirit remains to 
 be shown. 
 
 It greatly surprised me, as the days rolled into weeks, 
 that the crafty squire was left in peace by the towns 
 people, who in time knew of his attempt to betray them. 
 Had it happened a jeav before, he would have been waited 
 upon by a committee of his neighbors and treated to a 
 coat of paint or tar and feathers, or suffered further in 
 person and property. But as the Revolution progressed 
 the sprit of wantonness had declined. At all events the 
 squire pursued his way unmolested and nothing was heard 
 of him as the weeks slipped into months and the winter
 
 SNARING THE FOX. 57 
 
 into spring, which season advanced with its alternate 
 changes of temper toward early summer. 
 
 Late in April the war seemed to be about to thunder 
 at our own doors, for then General Tryon made his famous 
 descent on Danbury, and having laid waste the town, beat 
 so precipitate a retreat to the Sound, with the furious 
 Wooster at his heels, that his withdrawal lacked but little 
 of being a rout. 
 
 This near approach of the enemy gave plenty of excite 
 ment to the people of New London; for what with Pigot 
 at Newport to the east (that city, true to the prediction 
 of Bromfield, having fallen into British hands), and Tryon 
 to the west, there was great anxiety in town for fear that 
 they might concentrate on us, who were far removed from 
 the main army, with an enemy between us and it. 
 
 The forts had been completed, and Fort Griswold garri 
 soned by a handful of regulars; though the entire region 
 and the very forts themselves were dependent on the 
 militia for adequate defense. The fright served to put 
 more strength and method into the means of our resistance 
 should resistance become necessary. An additional earth 
 work was built between Fort Griswold and the river, and 
 in it was placed a light battery. A signal of two guns 
 was to be a notification that danger was at hand, the word 
 to be passed to those beyond the sound of the discharge; 
 while three guns at half minute intervals denoted victory, 
 or danger averted. 
 
 5
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE SPRING OF '77. 
 
 SUCH were the conditions as we waited. It was the 
 latter part of May, and I was longing for settled weather 
 in order to take my first cruise of the season. 1 mind me 
 that as the evening fell, I noted indications of a blow 
 before morning, and consulting the glass in the cabin (for 
 I was on board the Will o" 1 the Wisp), found a decided fall 
 in the mercury. Fearing the result of a gale (for the 
 wind was already rising), I hauled up to the moorings and 
 dropped an anchor for additional security ; then taking the 
 dingey, went ashore and returned to the house, cutting 
 through the woods to the orchard, where the bloom hung 
 heavy on the trees and gave its delicate odor to the quick, 
 strengthening puffs of the north wind, until the air was 
 filled with its perfume. Stepping into the dining room, 
 I took the telescope from its slings over the fireplace, and 
 going down to the wall that was the southern boundary of 
 the home lot, and which lay like a barrier betwixt it and a 
 precipitous pasture that sloped seaward, I scanned the 
 expanse of water before me; a proceeding that had become 
 regular during the past weeks; and as the position was a 
 commanding one, I could locate a sail east or south for a 
 distance of forty miles. 
 
 Many a one had I seen during that time. Sometimes a 
 fishing schooner scudding for the harbor, sometimes a 
 privateer, easily recognizable from her speed and a certain 
 jauntiness difficult to describe, sailing away for prize- 
 money and glory, and, sometimes, one of His Britannic 
 Majesty's ships of war belonging to Sir Peter Parker's 
 
 58
 
 THE SPRING OF '77. 59 
 
 fleet at Newport, bound to or from that port, always 
 under a press of canvas, as though greatly hurried. 
 
 The war had swept the waters of small traders in legiti 
 mate commerce, and the nefarious traffic known as "London 
 Trading," whereby the enemy obtained supplies of fresh 
 provisions in exchange for forbidden luxuries, was carried 
 on by night, whaleboats being commonly used for that 
 purpose. But it was not for these I looked. My object 
 was to discern the approach of an hostile fleet which might 
 hover in the offing during the evening and descend upon 
 the town at night, gaining by surprise what it would 
 require a greater strength to take in an open attack. 
 
 Thus I had made it my business each evening to scan 
 the waters as late as the light would allow me to distin 
 guish a ship at a distance; but to-night nothing filled the 
 field of the telescope save one topsail schooner under all 
 sail, making south through Plum Gut. She was too far 
 away to determine her character (and little I thought I 
 would ever know it), but she was flying before the stiff 
 north wind at a great rate. Elsewhere the glass brought 
 out naught save the heave of the ocean swell miles away, 
 seemingly at hand; but the town would be at peace for 
 one night more at least, as no ship of any tonnage would 
 care to attempt to beat into New London Harbor in the 
 face of a flawing norther, which was each moment increas 
 ing in force. 
 
 I had closed the telescope and was sauntering to the 
 house when Charlotte came running up to me. It was as 
 though the blast had blown her to me and would blow her 
 by; but she stopped as she reached me and said loudly, to 
 be heard above the roar: 
 
 "Mr. Bailey has gone, brother Tony." 
 
 "Gone! Where to?" I asked; for I had counted on 
 him for my coming cruise. 
 
 "Gone to Niantic on urgent matters for his father and 
 gone for a fortnight. He asked me to tell you how sorry
 
 60 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 he was to miss being with you, but he had no time to see 
 you ami explain." 
 
 "Not so pressed but that he could see you, though, and 
 explain fully, no doubt," I remarked, as we walked to the 
 house. "Still, I cannot quarrel with his taste in selecting 
 his messenger. And where did you see him?" 
 
 "Oh! I chanced upon him in the orchard." 
 
 "Chanced? Ah! And in the orchard! A fair place 
 for a tryst, truly, for what with the wind, the blossoms, 
 and the maiden, I doubt not he has little mind for the 
 business ahead. Seriously, Charlotte, does father know of 
 the leaning of you two? You are very young," said I, 
 speaking with the dignity of twenty-two years, "and while 
 Hal is an unexceptionable fellow, it is hardly discreet." 
 
 "La! What nonsense, brother Tony! What utter 
 nonsense!" she repeated, and though her face was aflame, 
 she showed no anger save the pretty petulance that 
 maidens use to mask their feelings. "There was no tryst. 
 I was in the orchard as he cut through on his way to say 
 good -by to us." 
 
 "Aye? And could get no farther, owing to the maiden, 
 the blossoms, and the wind; albeit the latter was at his 
 back," I said; at which she tried to look very fiei'ce, and 
 answered: 
 
 "A great pity it is, brother Tony, that no girl of all 
 those around should fill your eye and blind some of your 
 sharpness in looking at the motives of others. As for 
 father trust father; he is quite as wise as you." At 
 which she danced into the house and left me alone. 
 
 However, it was none of my business what the two 
 thought of each other. I certainly could take no excep 
 tions to her evident partiality for my friend ; a partiality 
 that to me was marked and growing, as numerous incidents 
 through the past winter had shown; and if marked to me, 
 as well marked to my father, who never put a stumbling 
 block in the way of their intercourse.
 
 THE SPRING OF '77. 61 
 
 Her remark, as applied to me, was meant as a light fling 
 at my indifference toward the young girls of the country 
 about. Not once had I succumbed to the influence of the 
 fairest of them; not that I held myself in any way 
 superior, but I had never been impressed beyond feelings 
 of friendship or calm admiration, though 1 sometimes 
 longed for a closer companionship, and envied, perhaps, 
 the happiness of others as they fell into the toils of love 
 and marriage. As yet, however, I was fancy free and had 
 not dreamed of asking a yeasay or naysay from any 
 maiden of my acquaintance, though knowing that I was 
 far from being ill-favored and might fairly hope for suc 
 cess in several quarters. The whole business had little 
 weight with me, and was gone from my mind by the time 
 I had replaced the telescope in its slings.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE DISPATCH BEAEEE. 
 
 THAT night I went to bed betimes and lay listening to 
 the humming of the wind, the creaking of the great maple 
 branches, and the tearing scrape of the limbs as they 
 swung against the house. I never shrink, as do some, at 
 the hurly-burly of a storm, and the deep music of a gale 
 brings to me a sense of security, home warmth, and com 
 fort, when to others it spreads the eyes with terror and 
 drives sleep far away. 
 
 I was well into slumber when awakened by a knock on 
 my door, and my aunt called to me, saying that a stranger 
 had arrived, and my father desired my presence down 
 stairs. 
 
 I hurried into my clothes, greatly wondering who could 
 have come at that time of night, and for what purpose I 
 was needed. As I passed through the dining room, the 
 clock in the corner was on the stroke of ten, and, hearing 
 voices in the east room, I took my way thither. 
 
 Before a freshly lighted fire, beside a table drawn near 
 it, sat my father and the visitor; the latter just raising to 
 his lips a glass of spirits, but, catching my eye as I entered, 
 he bowed to me as though drinking my health, before 
 tossing off the dram. 
 
 Upon the table were placed two lighted candles, besides 
 glasses and a decanter, pipes and tobacco; and in my 
 father's hand, which rested thereon, was an open letter. 
 As I closed the door and advanced, he said: 
 
 "Here, Mr. Moon, is my son Anthony, and the one on 
 whom you will be obliged to depend." Then to me: 
 
 62
 
 THE DISPATCH BEARER. 63 
 
 "Tony, I have jnst received this from the fort. It must 
 be acted upon." 
 
 The stranger rose from his chair, with a hearty, "Happy 
 to know you, leftenant," and made a bow with a grace 
 unexpected in one of his build; for, though broad- 
 shouldered and heavj', he' was short in limb, and while 
 sitting, seemed to warrant a greater stature than that 
 which was revealed when he came to his feet. 
 
 I bowed in return, secretly flattered at the title by 
 which I was so unaccustomed to hearing myself addressed, 
 for I had been but recently appointed a lieutenant in the 
 local militia. 
 
 Taking the paper which was held toward me, I glanced 
 at the signature and saw it was from Colonel Ledyard. It 
 ran thus: 
 
 ROBERT GRESHAM, ESQ. 
 
 My Dear Cap't: The bearer, Jacob Moon, is an emis 
 sary from General Washington, now at Morristown, N. J., 
 and desires transportation to Sag Harbor in order to com 
 municate with parties on Long Island. His business is 
 urgent, and its nature secret though for one thing, he 
 bears dispatches from the commander-in-chief. I have 
 reason to believe you will forward him on his way. I know 
 of no craft but yours that can sail thither without creating 
 suspicion, and intrust him to your hands with the belief that 
 your patriotism and wisdom will devise the best method. 
 
 I will guarantee a leave of absence to your son, Lieu 
 tenant Gresham, as he will undoubtedly be helpful in fur 
 thering your plans. 
 
 It is hardly necessary for me to add that the bearer's 
 identity and errand is to beheld strictly "under the rose." 
 Sincerely, etc., 
 
 WM. LEDYARD, 
 
 Col. Com'd'g. 
 
 FT. GRISWOLD, May 27, 1777. 
 
 I glanced keenly over the top of the paper as I finished 
 reading it; for the stranger's face had struck me as being
 
 64 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 in some way familiar, albeit I felt I had never met him 
 before. As I gazed at him, it came to me that the like 
 ness between him and a woodcut print I had seen of Chris 
 topher Columbus was remarkable. There was the same 
 broad face, the same thick, long gray hair cut square at 
 the bottom and not gathered into a queue behind as was 
 the fashion, but hanging heavily from the sides; the same 
 strength of neck, the width of brow, and the same expres 
 sion to the firmly closed mouth, even to the slight dip or 
 point of the upper lip as it met the lower. A self-reliant, 
 honest face, and then and there I would have staked my 
 existence on his bravery and trustworthiness, so completely 
 was I taken with his countenance. 
 
 "You are welcome to Hardscrabble, sir," I said, as I 
 laid down the letter. 
 
 "To which?" he asked, with a puzzled expression. 
 
 "To Hardscrabble, sir." 
 
 "What's that?" he asked, his large, clean-shaven face 
 breaking into a smile. 
 
 "Why, the name of this place," I explained. 
 
 "Well, well, my son! I see. A rocky name for a rocky 
 headland. I thought for an instant ye might ha' meant 
 the liquor," and he laughed outright, a jovial laugh, only 
 such an one as an honest man may give. 
 
 "'Twas a queer conceit of my parents'," said my father, 
 "and we have alwa}^s held the name." 
 
 "Aye? One can't quarrel with it. But if he had been 
 a sailor like yerself, as the colonel tells me, he might ha' 
 struck a little more o' a marine flavor into the naming o' 
 the place. What with the sweep o' the sea that caught 
 me as I came in, the climb, an' the wind, I take it that the 
 'mizzen-truck,' or the 'cross trees,' or the 'cro' nest,' or 
 others, belike, might ha' hit it off. I' faith, the road up 
 would do very well for the 'ratlin's,' an' the steps over 
 the wall, for 'futtuk shrouds' an' Heaven knows one catches 
 a reefed fore-tops'l gale on getting here; so ye ha' no lack
 
 THE DISPATCH BEARER. 65 
 
 o' marine reasons for changing the name when it suits yer 
 fancy." 
 
 "Does it blow so much harder here than below?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "A sight, my lad, a sight. One doesn't catch the sweep 
 from nor'ards until he gets here, for though there be a 
 sting to the squalls down on the river bottom, there's the 
 howl of a devil in pain in it at this elevation. Hark 
 now !" and as we listened the whole house shook, and the 
 corners took up a whistling shriek that seemed indeed like 
 the voices of beings inhuman. 
 
 "Ha, now! List to that!" he said. "Fortunately for 
 the blue-jackets abroad the wind isn't bitter, but cold 
 enough to give relish to this," and he touched a decanter. 
 Obeying the hint, we filled around and all lighted pipes, 
 for smoking was one of my recent accomplishments. 
 
 "Perhaps we had better bestow you for the night," said 
 my father, "you may be well tired, and nothing can be 
 done before daylight or in such a gale." 
 
 "Nay, nay! captain, not for me!" said the dispatch 
 bearer, "at least not now unless ye wish to quiet the 
 house for yer own sake. I ha' seen so much o' buffeting 
 o' late that the chance o' enjoying a storm while indoors 
 is one I don't care to smother in sleep being as how I'm 
 always something o' an owl, besides. Let us finish a pipe 
 an' talk over the matter." 
 
 "As you please," was the answer; "I am used to later 
 hours myself. As to the business in hand, I see no barrier 
 in the way. The sloop is ready for a cruise, and my son 
 will put you ashore as soon as the gale breaks." 
 
 "The sooner the better," said the stranger, settling into 
 his chair and crossing his booted legs to the blaze of the 
 fire. "Glad I am there will be no 'to do' about getting 
 off, for I expect nothing less than a set-back on the other 
 side. Though Meigs did a good and gallant deed, 'twill 
 be an unfortnit matter for me an' my errand."
 
 66 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 "How? I hardly follow you I have heard nothing," 
 remarked my father. 
 
 "Nothing!" exclaimed the old man, straightening up 
 and looking surprised, "an' ye know nothing o' Meigs o' 
 Guilford an' his whaleboat expedition to Sag Harbor? 
 Why, man! well, 'tis but three days since, an' news travels 
 slow. They sneaked across the Sound one night last, week, 
 an' surprised the British post at Sag, capturing a gunship 
 an' a nest o' transports, besides taking nigh onto a hun 
 dred redcoats. By the same token, the big storehouse 
 went up in smoke, an' the place was made useless to the 
 British, an' all without the loss of a man. Back to Guil 
 ford they went with the plunder all safe, but if this coast 
 don't pay for it before the next frost, my name's not 
 Moon." 
 
 "Indeed indeed! This is news! It were well done. 
 But if they avenge it, it bodes badly for my house. We 
 are both exposed and isolated and have little means of 
 defense." 
 
 "I grant it puts you in some danger," said the other, 
 "but it is the chance o' war an' war is yer word, 
 captain." 
 
 "It is one thing to make war on an armed invader, 
 and another to surprise a defenseless dwelling," was the 
 answer. "I would ask no odds in a fair field, but such 
 predatory warfare is as cowardly -as it would be for me to 
 raise a force this night, and tear down and burn the house 
 of the Tory, Beauchamp, without giving him a chance to 
 defend himself, or even escape." 
 
 "An* who might Beauchamp be?" inquired Moon. 
 
 At which my father gave a history of the proceedings 
 of the fall before, and the conversation led into various 
 channels, all of which were to tne of intense interest. 
 
 During the season of talk between the two I remained 
 but little more than a listener. 
 
 I can see them now, though years have passed over my
 
 THE DISPATCH BEARER. 67 
 
 head ; my honored parent in his snowy wig and courtly 
 dress, paying close attention to the other's words; his long 
 pipe in one hand, while with the other he twisted an 
 empty glass on the smooth mahogany, or pulled at his 
 white mustache, his blue eye always fixed on the speaker; 
 while the dispatch bearer, with an alternate puff of smoke 
 or a wave of the pipe stem, talked on, with his feet 
 stretched out toward the fire, the picture of a man enjoying 
 a respite from hardships while he recounted them. 
 
 The flash of the burning wood played through the strata 
 of tobacco smoke that hung midway in the still air of the 
 room, and cast huge shadows on the walls, the crackling 
 logs making a comfortable accompaniment to the whistling 
 of the wind without. Each closely shuttered window 
 became a black mirror, that reflected the rising and falling 
 blaze, and the candles burned dimly through the blue 
 vapor. 
 
 As the two talked, I watched the face of the stranger 
 with increasing wonder. The broad smile or clear laugh 
 showed a perfect set of teeth, which seemed to give a 
 touch of perfection to his countenance. He was perhaps 
 fifty-five, in perfect health, if appearances held good, and 
 his manner and conversation made him the most extraor 
 dinary character I had ever beheld. What his nationality 
 might be it was impossible to guess; for, while at one 
 moment his language was purely English, the next it took 
 on the rich burr of an Irishman. His regular calling was 
 equally mysterious and not to be gathered from either his 
 manner or dress. A familiarity with nautical terms made 
 one sure that he was a sailor until his conversation showed 
 him to be perfectly at home in military matters; while 
 again, to all appearances he was but a plain New England 
 farmer. The dress, too, was baffling. He might have 
 been a boatswain on shore liberty, a soldier on furlough, 
 or a well-to-do farmer enjoying a visit to a neighbor. 
 With all the puzzle, he fascinated me with his smile, which
 
 68 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 showed the broad arch of his teeth, his ready wit and 
 familiarity with the world, and a cheerfulness which 
 seemed to spring from self-confidence and a clear con 
 science. 
 
 Hitherto, as I have said, I had taken little or no part in 
 the talk, being engaged in listening to the others; but the 
 man himself had made such an impression on me that I 
 could not forbear getting some hint of his past experience, 
 or at least some idea of his calling in life, so I said: 
 
 "I would ask you, sir, if you are a sailor? Your words 
 compel me to think that at least you have been." 
 
 "Aye, my son," he replied, "a sailor an' a soldier as 
 well. Look here," he added, laying the back of his fist on 
 the table and unrolling a bunch of thick, bent fingers. 
 "May not that be the trade mark o' the sea? At the 
 same time, may it not be the proper hook to catch a sword 
 handle or crook 'round the trigger o' a musket? It has 
 done them all, by the bye, my lad; from fastening to a 
 cable or a brace, to coiling about the handle o' an oar or 
 wielding a hanger. My lingo vexes ye, too, I'll be bound, 
 but I lay it down on no line an' use the tarms as they come 
 uppermost. It is but fair to myself to tell ye, though, 
 that I am not the underling I once was, since they think 
 my sense is o' more account than my sinews, an' Washing 
 ton has given me a chance o' using what little I ha' 
 learned afield an' afloat." 
 
 "You know General Washington well, then?" I asked, 
 with an increased respect for the man who was trusted by 
 the commander-in-chief. 
 
 "I take it that l weW may not be used in speaking o' 
 knowing his excellency, an' that he knows me much better 
 than I do him, ye can be assured. Our first meeting was 
 during the days o' Braddock an' the French war long 
 enough agone. Faith! it was after the defeat of Du 
 Quesne, that I nigh missed track o' him before I fairly 
 knew him, for it was there I lost my scalp, though the
 
 THE DISPATCH BEARER. 69 
 
 redskin who took it little guessed be was doing me a favor 
 for time to come, an' I little thought it myself." 
 
 "But you have your scalp you wear no wig! Were 
 you indeed scalped by an Indian, and still grow a heavy 
 crop of hair?" 
 
 "Aye, I was indeed scalped by an Injun, an' the ways 
 o' Providence are past finding out," he answered soberly, 
 as he stuffed the end of a thick finger into the bowl of his 
 pipe. "However, I'm thinking, captain " 
 
 "Listen!" interrupted my father. "Anthony, see who 
 is in the hall." 
 
 I quickly stepped to the door and opened it. The light 
 that came from the room was sufficient to reveal my aunt 
 at the foot of the stairs, clad in a loose gown of some sort, 
 but bearing no candle to light her way. 
 
 "May I come in, Anthony?" she asked, in her thin 
 treble, "might not the gentleman wish some refreshment?" 
 
 Before I could reply my father came out and took from 
 me the responsibility of answering. 
 
 "Jane, what are you doing here at this hour?" he 
 demanded. "Return to your room! We have no need of 
 your services; go, and remain there." 
 
 She made no answer, but turned upstairs, while we went 
 back to our guest.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A NOVEL DISPATCH BAG. 
 
 THIS slight interruption, which bore no significance to 
 our visitor, I could see had irritated my father, and I had 
 no doubt that the same suspicion which had entered my 
 mind was held by him; for his brows were knitted and his 
 eyes had an angry flash. He resumed his seat, however, 
 and pushing a decanter to Mr. Moon, helped himself to a 
 glass of liquor, while that worthy, carefully tilting the 
 bottle, said: 
 
 "As I was about to say, captain, I have it in my mind 
 to do ye a kindness, for methinks it lies in my power to 
 stave off British interference with ye, should they per 
 chance drop their vengeance in this neighborhood a thing 
 not unlikely, for ye must make a fair mark from the sea, 
 an' stand out like a defiance or an invitation." 
 
 "In truth, your remark did start an uneasiness, especially 
 as I have no means of protecting myself against a pirat 
 ical raid. Tryon's trip to Danbury shows how much or 
 little they respect private property," was the answer. 
 "If, as you hint, you can show me how I may protect my 
 self from their usual outrage, to do it will be more than 
 kindness. We have no near neighbors; I am well-nigh a 
 cripple, and I have a daughter. Our only defense in case 
 of sudden attack would be my son and the negroes; too 
 small a force to oppose any organized company. The 
 result would be worse than disastrous." 
 
 "Aye, sir. It would be worse than ruin," was the 
 answer, impressively made. Then suddenly changing his 
 
 70
 
 A NOVEL DISPATCH BAG. VI 
 
 grave aspect to one more lively, the speaker turned to me 
 and said: 
 
 "Young man, I'll put ye a riddle, an' when ye fail on 
 it, an' I give the answer, as I needs must to serve your 
 father, I warn ye I am giving my best secret into your 
 hands; but I'll risk it I never mistake my man," he con 
 tinued, after a pause. "Look, now! I am a spy, though 
 I like not the word; it must go for lack of a better. 
 Where, bethink ye, do I carry my papers?" 
 
 "Do you dare carry them into the enemy's lines?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "Aye, verily I dare an' do, an' have now a well-worded 
 missive about me, to be taken into their lines as soon as 
 may be may confusion go with it! Where, ag'in, doth 
 it lie, think ye?" 
 
 "Sewn somewhere about your boots or clothing," I ven 
 tured; "unless, indeed, you tuck it into a hollow tooth." 
 
 "Nay, then; the last is not such a bad idea," he said; 
 "but it would be a small chest for a long letter, an' impos 
 sible. As for the first, I'm no such zany; that has ceased 
 to be a trick. Ye might cut me to shreds, boots, hat, an' 
 all, an' turn me loose for a drunken farmer, stark naked, 
 but I would still have my letters. Come, now ! I must 
 reveal, though mayhap I am foolish but I know ye of 
 old, an' can trust ye. Bring me a bowl o' hot water an' 
 a clout, an' I will soon make it plain." 
 
 "That's an easy matter," said I, wondering how and 
 what he knew of me. "I will soon have them both," and, 
 leaving the room, I betook myself to the kitchen, where I 
 trusted the kettle would be found still warm. 
 
 As I passed through the dining room, a sweep of chilly 
 air met me, and looking for its cause, I observed that the 
 garden door stood wide open. Thinking the blast had 
 caught it while insecurely fastened, I shut it firmly, went 
 m)' way, and was soon back in the east room with the 
 warm water and a cloth.
 
 72 IK DE-FIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 "Mark this," said Moon, as he soaked the cloth in the 
 water and placed it in the shape of a warm compress to 
 the crown of his head, where he left it and resumed his 
 pipe. "Mark this; an' it will show ye what a favor the 
 redskin granted me, an' at the same time discover how a 
 man may carry weighty matters on his brain as well as 
 in it." 
 
 For the space of a minute he allowed the cloth to 
 remain, and then removing it, grasped his scalp-lock, and 
 with a gentle tug lifted it clean from his head. 
 
 I marked my father's eyes grow wide with blank aston 
 ishment as the long gray tuft of hair was laid on the 
 table. Lifting again his hand to his head, the man took 
 from the deep concavity which he had thus uncovered a 
 small, flat package, and broke into a hearty laugh at the 
 sight of our faces. 
 
 "I charge ye both," he said, "never to mention this 
 abroad; names or no names. Who knows to whose ears it 
 might get! Look here now, my lad," said he, bending 
 down, "look here an' see what a tank the heathen made 
 o' my head, an' tell me could a surgeon ha' done the job 
 neater? I could swear it would ha' been with less dis 
 patch." 
 
 I looked into the hole and examined it closely, for it 
 interested me professionally as well as curiously. It was, 
 perhaps, three inches in diameter and circled by a narrow 
 strip of baldness. Originally the flesh had been stripped 
 clean from the bone. The sides were well-nigh straight 
 up and down and appeared fully a third of an inch deep, 
 while the bottom was covered with the lines of a fine cica- 
 trix as though it had been seared by hot iron. The bone 
 was but thinly covered by a scarlet cuticle, and it seemed 
 as though the blood must burst through at the slightest 
 touch; but on feeling it with my finger I found it hard 
 and unyielding as parchment. 
 
 "Ye never thought o' the like o' that, now, much less
 
 A NOVEL DISPATCH BAG. 73 
 
 saw it," be said. "Wouldn't it bother the Evil One to 
 touch on such a hiding-place? I might be shorn like a 
 sheep, or combed with a curry, an' my papers yet abide; 
 an' not the least o' the miracle for 'tis nothing less lies 
 in the workmanship o' this>" he continued, taking up the 
 tuft from the table. 
 
 "It took something more than a common wig-maker to 
 turn that out." 
 
 And it was a clever piece of artifice that he handed to 
 me, after passing it to my father. It was human hair, 
 indeed, and not the substitute of jute, horsehair, or dyed 
 flax, used by wigmakers of the time. It was strung onto 
 a substance that might have been the finest parchment, so 
 perfectly did it resemble the scalp itself, and when in 
 place, the closest scrutiny might have easily passed it 
 unmarked, so delicately was it made, and so exactly fitting 
 the aperture in his crown. 
 
 After numberless comments of wonder at the ingenuity 
 displayed in this mode of concealment, the dispatch bearer 
 carefully undid the oilskin covering of the thin package, 
 and selecting a closely folded paper from the three it 
 seemed to contain, laid it aside; then replacing the cover 
 ing to the others, he was about to lift his hand to return 
 them to the strange hiding-place. 
 
 At that moment a crash broke the silence. The heavy 
 shutter to the window directly behind me slammed to with 
 the report of a gun, and the fragments of a pane shivered 
 by the shock flew onto the carpet. 
 
 With a strange exclamation, the dispatch bearer instantly 
 jumped to his feet and blew out the lights; but nothing 
 followed the explosion save the howl of the wind, and 
 after a moment's intense listening by us all, he plunged a 
 candle into the fire and relighted it as well as its fellow. 
 
 "'Twas but the gale," he said, drawing a long breath. 
 "You must excuse me, captain, but I carry heavy matters, 
 an' I did ye the honor to throw myself off guard in this
 
 74 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 house; but that blow had the keenness o' a firearm an' 
 brought my instincts into play ere I thought." 
 
 "'Tis strange, indeed," said my father, when we had 
 recovered from the momentary excitement caused by the 
 crash. "I closed the house to-night myself. It is odd for 
 the wind to catch a tightly fitting blind; such a thing 
 never before happened." 
 
 Moon by this time had replaced the package, and hav 
 ing taken the scalplock in his hand, was moistening the 
 edges with a wet cloth, when I noticed the sudden intensity 
 of my father's gaze, as his eyes fixed on something behind 
 me. Before I had time to make a remark or turn, he 
 exclaimed in a hoarse whisper: 
 
 "My .God! quick, Anthony! there's a face at the 
 window !" 
 
 With a muttered curse, the spy was on his feet again; 
 but not waiting to mark his further action, I rushed from 
 the room to the front door of the hall, as the shortest way 
 out. This door was always locked, the key remaining in 
 it. My efforts to unlock it proved ineffectual, but I finally 
 found that the key was turned and the door unfastened. 
 With the discovery, the solution of the whole affair flashed 
 through my brain at once as I tore into the open air. 
 There was plenty of light, though the moon was well past 
 its full and was dimmed by the clouds that were flying 
 like wads of smoke across the sky from the north. The 
 front of the house was free of anything human, clear to 
 the wall, as I could readily see. 
 
 As I ran around to the side toward the garden, I fancied 
 I caught sight of a whisk of drapery disappearing behind 
 the further corner. I had another way of solving the 
 matter, that to my mind was better than chasing an uncer 
 tainty. Quickly entering the house, I ran rapidly up the 
 back stairs and knocked at my aunt's door. There was no 
 answer, and I expected none, so I opened and entered. It 
 was as I supposed: she was out. A few embers glowed in
 
 A NOVEL DISPATCH BAG. ?5 
 
 the great fireplace, and on them was placed a copper kettle. 
 A lighted candle stood upon a small table, revealing thereon 
 the paraphernalia which goes toward concocting tea cup, 
 saucer, spoon, sugar-bowl, Delft pot and milk jug; and to 
 cap the climax, a small tin canister of the stuff itself, which 
 to swear by I put to my nose, and inhaled, not without 
 pleasure, its grateful aroma. 
 
 The whole appearance of the chamber betokened extreme 
 neatness on the part of its occupant. It was easy to see 
 that my aunt had made her arrangements in a methodical 
 manner, and was about to solace herself with the forbidden 
 luxury before retiring, when her persistent curiosity, or a 
 less innocent motive, got the better of her discretion. 
 
 However, here was a flagrant disregard of express com 
 mands, and I knew as I stood there that the lady had 
 reached the end of her tether. 
 
 Stepping to the head of the stairs, I called for my father 
 to come up, which he did hurriedly, though with some 
 difficulty, after apologizing to Moon for his withdrawal, 
 lie was a little astonished at finding me alone, but when I 
 explained that the room was deserted and drew his atten 
 tion to the table, his wrath shook him, though he gave no 
 word of it. 
 
 Dropping into a chair, he said: 
 
 "Leave me and return to the guest. I will wait here 
 till your aunt comes back. She has exhausted my 
 patience. Close the door and leave me." 
 
 I did as he bade me, and descended the stairs. Moon 
 was sitting in his chair with his head in its usual order, a 
 pipe in one hand and a glass of liquor in the other. I had 
 expected to be obliged to combat some expression of doubt 
 or suspicion on his part, but if such existed he failed to 
 show it. 
 
 Whether his benign humor was due to the spirits, of 
 which he had plentifully partaken, or whether it arose from 
 his extreme confidence in the ability to take care of him-
 
 76 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING 
 
 self, I know not; but he looked up as I entered, with a 
 cheery : 
 
 "Sit down, lad. Did you catch him?" 
 
 "It was no l him\" said I, "but a 'she,"* and she is 
 caught. It proves to be nothing but the feminine curiosity 
 of an aunt of mine. However, I think an apology is due 
 you for such an untoward interruption, though I trust you 
 will forget it." 
 
 "Well, lad," he answered, between his sips from the 
 glass, " it was a trifle lucky for the lady that your father 
 saw her face peering in at the casement instead o' myself. 
 Belike I had forgotten where I was for the moment, an' 
 let fly at her. For an unbidden eye to be spying into my 
 secret might ha' made me lose mind o' all else but to 
 blind it." 
 
 Here he rose from his chair, and pulling up his waist 
 coat (or a garment that stood him in that stead), displayed 
 the butt of a single pistol stuffed into the band of his 
 breeches. With this illustration of his meaning he sat 
 down again and picked up his glass. 
 
 "I wish she had chanced to see the flourish of that!" I 
 exclaimed. "It would have done more to curb her passion 
 for minding other people's business than aught else I 
 know. But I take it you are ready for bed; shall we turn 
 in?" 
 
 "Well as you say," he answered; "but look to this for 
 a space. It was what I was at when your good kinswoman 
 came on. By the bye, think ye she saw the hole in my 
 head?" 
 
 "It is hard to say what she saw," I replied, "but I fancy 
 not. She was placed too low. At all events, I have 
 reason to believe she will never guess its import or speak 
 of it." 
 
 "Well, then, see this," he returned. "How I got it 
 would make your eyes bulge; but the story is too long to 
 tell."
 
 A NOVEL DISPATCH BAG. 77 
 
 And be laid before me the paper he had selected from 
 the packet. It was heavily written in a bold hand, and 
 read thus : 
 
 This is a safe conduct and protection to y e Person and 
 Property of y e bearer, a good and loyal subject of His 
 Majesty. 
 
 HOWE, 
 
 Genl. Com'd'g. H. M. Forces. 
 N. Y., Sept. 28, 1776. 
 
 "You don't mean to part with this?" I said, as I looked 
 up. 
 
 "Ye give a fair guess," he answered; "but there is 
 nothing to prevent a lad o' letters, like yourself, laying it 
 against a pane an' making a bold tracing. 'Twill go a 
 length toward hoodwinking any who are likely to land 
 here an' molest ye; but as for parting with it why, lad, 
 were it laid with gems the price couldn't buy it just now. 
 I will give it ye by daylight to try your hand on; but 
 have no prying eye on ye in this, for were the forgery 
 discovered, it were. a hanging matter, my son, a hanging 
 matter." 
 
 This last remark rather dampened the enthusiasm I felt 
 for the scheme as he unfolded it; but thinking it were as 
 well to be hanged on a venture as shot off-hand in defending 
 the house (for defended it would certainly be), to say 
 nothing of the suffering of my father, and the fate, worse 
 than all, that would befall my sister, there was no hesi 
 tation in my mind as I thanked him, assuring him I would 
 do my best to make a fair copy on the morrow. 
 
 After this we fell into silence; not through any feeling 
 of a lack of congeniality between us, but the eyes of my 
 companion half closed as he gazed into the falling fire, and, 
 as he volunteered no further remark, I did not offer to 
 interrupt his half dreams or meditations, whichever they 
 might be.
 
 78 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 As the night waned, the gale held its violence. The 
 chimney moaned; the trees clashed their limbs; the win 
 dows shook by fits, and it seemed as though the very sod 
 would be torn up as the wind hissed over the level top of 
 the headland. 
 
 I sat and listened to these grewsome sounds until I heard 
 the labored footsteps of my father. He entered with a 
 look of relief on his face which I had not expected, and 
 addressed Moon, who had roused himself as the door 
 opened. 
 
 "I have to beg your pardon for this lack of hospitality, 
 Mr. Moon, but I was above, sifting the matter to the 
 bottom. It turns out as my son doubtless explained to 
 you, and no harm is done." 
 
 This was a very neat way of talking around the subject 
 until he could find out what I had told, but Moon unknow 
 ingly came to his rescue by saying: 
 
 "Aye? Woman's curiosity is generally fatal to some 
 body usually herself, and it came like to being in this 
 case, as I told your son." 
 
 "It is fatal to her present mode of living," was the sur 
 prising answer. "To-morrow she leaves this house for 
 ever. Anthony, she will go with you and may be set 
 ashore at Southold before or after landing Mr. Moon, as 
 will suit him. There will be some delay, as I see not how 
 she can get her belongings into shape to sail before noon, 
 or even later." 
 
 " 'Tis of little moment," said the spy. "It were as well 
 I landed by dark as by daylight, an' mayhap in the face o' 
 recent events over there, 'twere better late than early." 
 
 "Very good! All points settled, we will go to bed and 
 gain the rest of the night." 
 
 We here broke up the party, and showing our guest into 
 the spare room next to mine I left him for the night.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE EXIT OF AUNT JANE. 
 
 THE next morning found the household stirring with 
 unwonted preparations. At an early hour had Aunt Jane 
 a long interview with my father, during which she prayed 
 for forgiveness and another trial, but to no purpose. He 
 was unyielding in his determination to punish and be rid 
 of her. 
 
 Nor was this as inconsiderate as might at first appear. 
 She was not turned adrift, homeless and unprovided with 
 money. She was in receipt of a small income, and her 
 house at Southold was still in keeping of the parties with 
 whom she had lodged when she lived there. To her, I 
 have no doubt, the worst features were the separation 
 from the squire and the residence in a village well-nigh cut 
 off from the rest of the world by the war. 
 
 Having obtained the pass from the dispatch bearer, I 
 retired to my own room, and, locking the door, after a 
 number of attempts succeeded in making a traced copy of 
 the document; which, when heavily inked over, bore such 
 a strong resemblance to the original that I was satisfied 
 it would never be suspected as a forgery. Folding the 
 copy again and again to give it a deep crease and an 
 appearance of some age, I considered it finished. Taking 
 my rifle and fowler from their places I joined my father 
 and Moon where the}' were seated on the wall enjoying the 
 flood of warm May sunlight, and smoking as they talked. 
 
 A steady breeze had taken the place of the gale of the 
 night before and now blew fair from the west, with a 
 breath of warmth that hinted at summer. Overhead, a
 
 80 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 few white rags of vapor floated in the clear azure of the 
 sky, and the immense expanse of blue water sparkled in 
 the crisp light. 
 
 The long stretch of Fisher's Island had turned from 
 brown to a tender green, and the eye plainly marked the 
 thin, white line of the surf that beat upon its southern 
 shore. The peace of the morning was unbroken. Even 
 the neighing of a horse from the barns beyond the garden, 
 and the noisy cacklings of the numerous fowls, seemed in 
 keeping with the tranquillity; nor did the distant voices 
 that wafted from the house break the universal harmony. 
 
 I was in some doubt as to Moon's opinion regarding the 
 effectiveness of my copy, and was vastly flattered when he 
 remarked, while holding the two before him: 
 
 "Faith! I would as soon have the one as the other! 
 Now keep that close," he continued, as he handed the copy 
 to my father and placed the original in his pocket, "and 
 pray ye will never have to use it. What are ye doing 
 with the guns, my lad? ye have little time for hunting 
 ere we make a start !" 
 
 " They are for the sloop. I am going down and mean 
 only to leave them aboard." 
 
 " I thought as much but ye had better take only the 
 arms God gave ye. 'Tis an errand o' peace we must seem 
 to be on, an' firearms might prove a matter o' trouble 
 were we by chance overhauled an' examined. The lady is 
 a fair pretext, I'm glad she's going, but your irons ye 
 might better leave behind." 
 
 This struck me as possible wisdom, and I returned the 
 guns to my room, though ere long 1 had reason to regret 
 my ready acquiescence to his suggestion. Then giving a 
 word of haste to the packers, I hurried down to the boat. 
 
 It was well onto three by the clock before the last of 
 Aunt Jane's luggage was gotten aboard and stored in the 
 cabin, thereby making it well-nigh uninhabitable by the 
 lumber of the boxes and packs she had taken, albeit it was
 
 THE EXIT OF AUNT JANE. 81 
 
 but a small affair she had used on her arrival. The lady 
 came on board with a face like white stone, and cheeks and 
 eyes swollen with weeping, though no word or sob broke 
 from her. I had it in me to give her a word of kindness, 
 but had no taste for the dumb look or curt answer I felt 
 sure I would get in return, for since the night previous she 
 had not deigned to give me the slightest notice. She let 
 herself down the companion-way, seated herself upon the 
 edge of a box, and for aught J could see, never stirred 
 from it while the light lasted. 
 
 Ha! Will I ever forget the keen joy within me, as we 
 bent our weight to the halyards, and saw the hoops mount 
 the mast to the music of the rattling blocks and the fierce 
 rustle of the canvas as the wind caught the loosened sail, 
 and whipped the reefing-points into a lively tattoo! 
 
 It gives my old joints a twinge as I remember the 
 alacrity with which I sprang forward to cast off the moor 
 ings and then jumped for the wheel, while Rod mastheaded 
 the jib and we bent to larboard under the pressure of the 
 air. With the dingey towing astern, we skimmed swiftly 
 over the level of the river's mouth to the sound of the 
 steady, ripping tear of the cutwater as it slid through the 
 small ripples, while Moon was giving a finishing set to 
 both throat and peak halyards. 
 
 It was no easy matter to clear the river in a west wind, 
 for the stream turned sharply toward that point as it 
 skirted the beach; but I squeezed through, closehauled, 
 without a tack, and then with sheets started, we met the 
 small swell of the Sound water and stood out. 
 
 "This, now, is a bit o' life," said Moon, coming aft, 
 while Rod busied himself in coiling down the loose gear. 
 "Ye can lay a fair course an' never shift a point until well 
 through the 'Gut,' if this air holds. I fancy the wind 
 may go down with the sun an' then come lighter out o' the 
 south. 'Twill make good the saying a howl from the 
 north brings a song from the west, an' a whisper from the
 
 82 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 south; we had our howl last night an' the west is now pip 
 ing her song. Ye show a tidy pair o' heels with the wind 
 abeam," said he, as he glanced astern and marked the 
 dingey bounding along in the smother of the hissing 
 wake. 
 
 And it was life, as we lay down to the strong breeze 
 until the deck was aslant, the white water boiling along 
 the "run, "and the bow shearing through the seas that 
 began to jump as we drew away from the land. Hand 
 and eye were both busy, for the wheel needed a firm grip 
 to keep the boat's head off the wind, and I was \vatchful 
 of the new gear that creaked and strained as we lifted to 
 the diminished Atlantic swell that found its way in 
 through the Race. I missed Hal, and pitied him for the 
 loss of this free rush of wind and water; this high exuber 
 ance of spirits which the confirmed landsman can never 
 know. But my disappointment iu not having him was 
 mightily tempered by the satisfaction I felt at my own 
 situation. 
 
 Seated low, as I was, I could make nothing of the land 
 ahead save the dim blue of the " Gulls" to the south, and as 
 forward it seemed nothing less than a blank ocean, I laid 
 our course by the compass S. S. W., which, by putting this 
 slight southing to our way to make allowance for the flood 
 tide, would bring the wind but a trifle forward and lead 
 us fair into the "Gut." 
 
 This point was perhaps the best to bring out the speed 
 of the little vessel, and Rod having finished forward, I 
 called him aft, and turning the helm over to him, prepared 
 to enjoy myself with more freedom. 
 
 Moon, who had stretched his legs out on the leather 
 cushion of the larboard locker, and with back braced 
 against the cabin was smoking a pipe in placid enjoyment 
 of life, waved its stem toward the fast receding coast, and 
 said, with a chuckle: 
 
 "Faith! the Britisher that boards ye ashore will not be
 
 THE EXIT OF AUNT JANE. 83 
 
 surprised to find ye a Royalist; for by all that's dead! if 
 ye don't look like the Union Jack afloat on the hilltop!" 
 
 I caught his meaning at once. The bright red barns 
 had the proper color as they stood out in the sunlight, 
 while a lively fancy might see the cross of St. Andrew in 
 the white house partly screened by the two immense maples 
 that stood betwixt it and the sea. Knowing that my 
 aunt's quick ear was within easy distance, I jerked my 
 thumb at the cabin and shook my head. He followed me 
 and immediately changed the subject. 
 
 "Did ye ever try the log on her?" he asked, referring 
 to the speed of the boat. 
 
 " Never," said I. 
 
 " 'Tis a pity. I think she would make ye proud ; ye 
 must be unwinding at least seven knots as she goes, an' 
 that, with the tail o' the flood which ye'll catch after 
 getting through the 'Gut,' will carry ye into Southold by 
 eight, or a trifle later. Will it be too dark for the lady to 
 land to-night?" 
 
 "She will land to-night," said I softly; "but the 
 luggage will bother me to get ashore without wetting. I 
 know of no proper landing." 
 
 "Faith ! I'll put ye into a proper landing," he answered. 
 "There's a feeler that goes out o' the bay in'ards, where 
 the water will be as still as a tub even in a gale." 
 
 "Then you know the coast well?" 
 
 "Like my two fists. An' then we'll cut across the bay 
 straight, an' ye may drop me off a strip o' woods I'll show 
 ye, where, if ye'll haul off an' wait a bit, ye may be o' 
 much help to me. Mayhap I may beg ye to give me a 
 passage back. 'Tis like this, ye see," he continued, set 
 tling himself and bending his mouth to my ear, "I fear 
 'tis but useless for me to go to Sag, as the man I want has 
 left it, past doubt, since the rumpus last week. But I 
 think, mind ye, 1 know where to finger him, an' 'tis not an 
 hour's distance from the p'int where I go ashore. Canoe
 
 84 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 Place is full o' redcoats, an' so, mayhap, is Sag Harbor 
 again by this, an' the country between, so 'tis a trifle 
 o' danger I may be in to reach him. In an hour I can finish 
 my business, get my answer, an' start the ball a-rolling. 
 I can be back in another hour, so if ye will lay to, or off 
 an' on, till midnight, ye may pick me up; for I am fain to 
 go back with ye. But mind ye, if I turn not up by eight 
 bells, ye may know I must travel; so sheer off an' get 
 through the 'Gut' by dawn, else ye may meet with bother 
 some delays. I little doubt that Parker holds something 
 afloat in these small waters, an' if ye be sighted here, they 
 will be mighty hasty to come by your business so far from 
 home." 
 
 "But how are you to get back, unless I leave the dingey 
 ashore, a rather risky proceeding, or w v hat signal will 
 you give that I may make sure of you and send the boat?" 
 
 "I'll not bother for boat nor signal unless it be a plain 
 call if ye'll stand on an' off not too far from shore," he 
 said. "Trust me for ways o' getting aboard. List, now ! 
 Is that the lady?" 
 
 As he spoke, an unmistakable sound of distress came 
 from the cabin, and craning my neck, I looked down the 
 companion, only to see that my aunt had suddenly suc 
 cumbed to the sickness caused by the violent motion of the 
 vessel, which was felt more distressingly in the close com 
 partment than upon deck, where the eye to some extent 
 may account for the movement. 
 
 She had thrown herself backward, and was half sitting, 
 half reclining, on her luggage. Her face was of ashy 
 paleness, and, with one hand to her heart and the other to 
 her head, she was vainly striving to stifle the moans that 
 broke from her. Knowing her agony, I descended and did 
 my best to persuade her to lie in a bunk, but she warded me 
 off with never a word and barely a look. Thinking it 
 might be her spite against me, I sent Rod below to assist 
 her, and closed the cabin doors that she might feel more
 
 THE EXIT OF AUNT JANE. 85 
 
 privacy, while I took the wheel and marked the strength 
 ening of the blue land ahead, for with our rate of progress 
 we were rapidly approaching Long Island, and would soon 
 be in the troubled waters of the "rips" of Plum Gut. 
 
 The breeze held strong,, and the sky clear in the blue 
 overhead, but dappled to the south with little pellets of 
 cotton, and 1 fancied the wind had backed to that quarter 
 a trifle, but no more. There was a slight touch of mellow 
 ness to the horizon in the west, that told of the waning 
 afternoon, and by the time we struck the first heave of the 
 caldron that boils between Plum Gut and the Point the 
 light had turned golden, and the force of the wind sud 
 denly abated. However, iu the wild tumult of the channel, 
 the face of the water looked as though torn by a hurri 
 cane; for between the rush of the deep current that tears 
 through the narrow way, and the obstructions that lie 
 beneath, it takes but a slight waft of wind to turn the 
 place into a wilderness of jumping waves that have no 
 direction, but seem to play up and down, a world of surg 
 ing froth, all teeth and hollows. 
 
 The war of the white-capped waves was like the sound 
 of a leaping cataract, though not so monotonous, and 
 made words impossible. Without wind enough to steady 
 us, we were thrown about, a mere plaything to the force 
 of the waters, often shipping seas over starboard and lar 
 board sides alike. Once a huge wave came aboard the 
 quarter, and rolling into the cockpit, completely soaked 
 me from the hips down. It was well the cabin doors were 
 closed, else we should have had a fine mess below and 
 damp quarters for the rest of the trip; but it drained off 
 through the pipes. 
 
 Like grief, the "Gut'' had its end, and in less than an 
 hour we were in the tranquil waters of Gardiner's Bay in 
 a calm that was almost dead; though with good way on 
 toward our destination, the tide still running flood. 
 
 As the dusk deepened, a light air came out of the south,
 
 86 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and for the first time we shifted the boom to starboard and 
 slid through the water that was growing clearer and 
 greener with every mile. 
 
 Quietly we stole past the town of Greenport with its 
 few twinkling lights, hugging the shore of the island called 
 Shelter a very garden for beauty. It was fully dark 
 when we had left its great cliffs of white sand and floated 
 quietly through the stretch of the Peconic that lies 
 between it and Southold, and were barely moving when 
 Moon indicated the proper spot to anchor. 
 
 Not a light broke the somber aspect of the shore, but 
 owing to the thick growth the place is not well seen from 
 the water. A graveyard it seemed at that hour. The 
 small piping of night sounds that came off the land in no 
 way relieved the deathlike silence, and we naturally spoke 
 in whispers. 
 
 The rattle of the falling jib as we came to, with the 
 thundering splash of the anchor as it dove to the bottom, 
 seemed like a roar that must bespeak our coming for miles 
 around; but no hail greeted us, nor by the closest scrutiny 
 could we discover so much as a small boat afloat. 
 
 When nearly abreast of Greenport my aunt had opened 
 the cabin doors and come on deck. She asked no questions, 
 but, taking a seat on a locker, fixed her eyes on the passing 
 lights of the village. Her seasickness was gone, but since 
 noon we had eaten nothing, and I asked her if Rod should 
 prepare supper, meaning only to show her an attention. 
 She shook her head and gave a sigh as though to witness 
 how heartbroken she was, after which I let her alone. 
 
 As we swung to our cable, I had Rod bring round the 
 dingey and we proceeded to load the boat as low as was 
 safe; then with the negro at the oars and Moon in the 
 stern to direct the course to the inlet, they hauled off and 
 soon disappeared in the blackness of the reflected land. 
 
 As the boat passed from sight my aunt opened her lips 
 for the first time, and betrayed her ruling passion.
 
 THE EXIT OF AUNT JANE. 87 
 
 "Anthony," said she, "who may that man be?" 
 
 I was surprised at hearing her voice at all, and more at 
 the question, for I thought her curiosity had been taught 
 to stay within bounds, but I answered: 
 
 "A friend of father's-"' 
 
 "And what does he here and yonder?" meaning our 
 house. 
 
 "A sail, for one thing; if more 'tis his business and not 
 yours or mine," I answered shortly, for I was vexed. 
 
 "It's a lie, Anthony! You're all plotting against the 
 king. You are an ungodly family. 'Tis as wicked to lie 
 as to pilfer, and to make war against the king is worse. 
 Now I'm free and I'll make you rue it." 
 
 She had risen to her feet and stood shaking her finger 
 at me, while she continued: 
 
 "I warn you you shall suffer for this outrage put upon 
 me. To-morrow I shall tell the troops that something is 
 afoot, and your designs will fail; will fail, I tell you. 
 Do you mark me? I have good ears!" 
 
 She had wrought herself into sudden, hot anger. Her 
 small eyes flashed, her voice growing high and sharp in 
 excitement, while her fist, with its one outstretched finger, 
 put a point on every word, with a spiteful shake. 
 
 By this time I was nigh as angry as she. Had she been 
 a man I would have pitched her overboard. She had 
 heard but how much had been heard, or how much was 
 simply to work on my fears, I knew not. I held my 
 temper down and replied saucily: 
 
 " My dear aunt, it is strange for you to take lying for a 
 text to preach on ; as for the rest, care will be taken of it. 
 For your own sake let me inform you that Southold is not 
 a Royalist town, so if you give vent to your temper and 
 sentiments in this fashion, you may be brought up as 
 shortly as was your friend Squire Beauchamp. You are a 
 woman, my dear aunt, but I have heard of women being 
 ducked even at this late day."
 
 88 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 She stood looking at me, not knowing what to reply to 
 this; then sat herself down suddenly all of a tremble, 
 saying: 
 
 "Anthony, I shall not leave this boat till I know who 
 that man is and what his mission may be." 
 
 "Well," said I, "if your ears be as good as you inti 
 mate, you must know without my telling; as for leaving 
 this, you surely will when the dingey returns unless 
 you prefer swimming to going ashore by boat. Out of 
 here you'll go and that as soon as possible." 
 
 This was all extremely brutal of me, I know, and with 
 little excuse; but I was a very young man and am telling 
 what I did, not what I should have done. My last remark 
 was too much for the poor lady, for she began to sob and 
 rock herself, partly in sorrow, but more, I think, in anger 
 at being thwarted at all points. She now well knew I 
 would set her ashore without giving her any satisfaction. 
 Her curiosity and prying spirit appeared to be a disease, 
 and I dare say she suffered from it as much or more than 
 her victims. 
 
 When the last of her goods had been landed and the 
 house notified of her arrival, it was late; but she made no 
 more ado and was quickly escorted home. 
 
 If she ever took steps to be revenged for what she 
 considered our cruel treatment of her, we never knew it. 
 The poor lady died before the close of the war; not greatly 
 loved by anyone, I imagine, her peculiar disposition for 
 bidding it, but I saw her no more after that night, and 
 indeed, scarcely heard of her again.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE LIFTING OF THE FOG. 
 
 WITH the final landing of ray aunt the first part of my 
 mission was completed, and the cabin rendered habitable. 
 My feeling was one of decided relief, for though I had 
 fully determined that, come what might, she should not 
 abide on board through the night and witness the landing 
 of Moon, I had been possessed of a fear that she would 
 prove obstinate in her determination not to go ashore 
 until dawn, which would have incurred the disagreable 
 necessity of placing her in the dingey by force; an act 
 that might have proved dangerous to her own safety in 
 case of a struggle, and a proceeding of little dignity. 
 
 However, here I was at last free of her with the loss of 
 nothing but a few ill-tempered words, and with hearts 
 easy and unaware of troubles to come, we took in anchor 
 and moved across the quiet waters of the bay. 
 
 It was well onto eleven o'clock when we had finished a 
 hasty supper and drew near the land to the south. I 
 stood in as far as I durst, for the black line of the land 
 met its equally black image in the water, and made it 
 impossible to fairly calculate its distance. The jib was 
 softly dropped and we stood well-nigh motionless with the 
 bow in the wind's eye, while Moon and Rod again entered 
 the dingey and rowed ashore. 
 
 "Ye may lie as near this spot as possible," said Moon, 
 as he stepped over the side. "Take your bearings on a 
 tree, or anchor if ye like; I feel it safe if ye stay hove 
 short. If ye hear a shot off shore, ye may run, or if I am 
 not back by moonset. I will be with ye shortly, I take it; 
 
 7 89
 
 90 IN DEFIANCE OP THE KING. 
 
 I may bail ye, or may not if hurried. God bless tbee, 
 lad!" and be wrung my hand in bis huge fist until I could 
 have cried out. 
 
 Left alone, I filled my pipe, took a nip of rum, and 
 seated myself in the cockpit to await Rod's return. 
 
 It was a perfect night for an enterprise. The waned 
 moon gave light enough to assist one in traveling, but it 
 was too uncertain to clearly place an object at even a short 
 distance. It put a polish on the dew that lay heavy on the 
 deck and along the rail, and dispersed the intense darkness 
 that gives one such a "shut in" and defenseless feeling, as 
 the being ignorant of the possible approach of any enemy 
 always will. 
 
 The stillness was only broken by the delicate splash of 
 some leaping fish or the ripple of the reefing-points as 
 they pattered against the sail when the light air softly 
 swung it. There was a low heave to the bay in the shal 
 low water near shore, and one could mark the crisp ruffle 
 of a cat's-paw as the breeze struck the surface. 
 
 By the time the boat returned I was getting chilly, for 
 the air grew damp and cold as it got later, so I stirred 
 around and helped Rod make things ready for flight, if 
 need be. We softly slid the kedge anchor over until it 
 lay on the bottom with the line up and down, and found 
 not more than a fathom under our keel. As that would 
 hold us in the light air and was easily gotten in, I had 
 the gaff -topsail set and the dingey hooked to the falls of 
 the davits but not hoisted, though ready on the instant. 
 All being shipshape for a sudden move, I set Rod to 
 watch for the dispatch bearer until the moon set, and 
 went below for a nap. 
 
 My sleep was sound and restful, but none too long, I 
 thought, when I was wakened by the negro, who called me 
 from the companion : 
 
 "Mas' Tony, de breeze am stronger an' I t'ink we's 
 draggin'!"
 
 THE LIFTING OF THE FOG. 91 
 
 I readied the deck and found it even so. The wind 
 was still south, but its force had increased slightly, and 
 catching our top-hamper, had caused us to lose our slight 
 hold, and we were slowly pulling into the bay. 
 
 The moon had fallen low, and now lay tipped on the edge 
 of the distant trees. A half hour more would end our stay, 
 and I was just ordering Rod to pay out more line to the 
 anchor, when I saw a dark object move out from the gloom 
 of the land and make toward the sloop. A glass brought 
 to bear on it showed a man swimming slowly, and pushing 
 something before him. I hailed as he came within easy 
 earshot, and was answered by the cheery voice of the spy: 
 
 "Ahoy there! All right! Make off, make off ! I will 
 be with ye by then." ( 
 
 Without ado, I shipped the side steps, and together 
 with Rod I hoisted home the dingey; we then laid onto 
 the kedge line and soon had the little anchor aboard, and 
 by the time the negro had hold of the jib halyard, Moon 
 was at the side clinging to a log which he had used to sup 
 port him on the trip from land, on the top of which was 
 lashed his coat, covering his pistol and powder. 
 
 "Hoist away, lad, hoist away and be off," he said, as he 
 threw his bundle aboard and crawled dripping over the 
 side. "We must be out o' this ere daylight. There's a 
 king's cruiser to sail from Sag this morning, an' a detach 
 ment o' redcoats will pass on its way to meet her but 
 they will never get to Sag Harbor, though I can say no 
 more on that head now. Ye will be seen from shore, an' 
 ye are too trim a craft to be a nonentity ; so let's make 
 way an' get into broader waters." 
 
 While saying this, he was stripping himself of his boots 
 and clothing; pouring quarts of water from the first, and 
 wringing out the latter, until finally he stood naked; after 
 which he went into the cabin, and taking a bottle of rum 
 from the locker, took a long pull from it. Then, with two 
 blankets wrapped around him, he came up and seated him-
 
 92 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 self in the cockpit, as cheerful and unconcerned as was 
 possible for a mortal to be. 
 
 "Ye'll pardon my freedom," said he, his face lighted by 
 his handsome smile, "but I never give the rheumatiz a 
 chance, for it soon makes a man a sheer hulk, be he young 
 or old, an' with it, life for me would be spent." 
 
 "You are wise, and are welcome to all that's aboard ; 
 but what of your errand ?" 
 
 " 'Twas a failure in most ways. My man is a prisoner 
 at Canoe Place, an' I hear 'tis like to go hard with him 
 he being mixed in the muss along o' Meigs. That part o' 
 my business is smoke; but I fancy I ha' started other 
 smoke more to the purpose. Look to this end o' the land 
 some day when there's a gale from the east, an' if ye 
 don't see a merry smudge that will tell o' the burning o' 
 the redcoats out o' this nest, it will be no fault o' mine or 
 the lads I have but left." 
 
 "Do you mean they will fire the forest and burn out the 
 king's troops?" 
 
 "Just that same," he answered, "and with little risk to 
 anything but fences. Every farm is cleared, an' the troops 
 lie in the heart o' the wood. Pray God they be caught 
 and scorched, for we have no other force to drive them." 
 
 And this, indeed, happened, as I afterward found out, 
 though I did not see it nor have ever known it laid down 
 in history. The forest was fired during an eastern gale, 
 and the Royalists driven down the one road that leads 
 along the backbone of the island. After retreating before 
 the flames for some five miles, they made a stand at a cer 
 tain stone in the road, which stone lies there to this day, 
 and is the only one larger than a pumpkin (and that, not 
 much) on the eastern end of Long Island.* Here they 
 tried to fight the fire, but to no purpose, and were fairly 
 driven off the field. They continued their retreat to 
 
 * The stone still lay in the same spot in 1891.
 
 THE LIFTING OF THE FOG. 93 
 
 Brooklyn, and bothered the colonists of the East no 
 more. 
 
 While thus conversing, we had paid off before the wind, 
 directing our course the way we came, deeming this safer 
 than would be the shorter cut to the south and toward Sag 
 Harbor. With the boom far out, the wind astern, and the 
 additional pull of the topsail, we moved rapidly though 
 quietly through the dark bay, the jib hanging loose and 
 useless, though at times giving a sharp flap as it filled and 
 spilled itself. 
 
 The moon by this was settled low behind the forest, and 
 it was nearly the darkest hour of the twenty-four. With 
 the tide now at ebb, we fled past Greenport and into 
 Gardiner's Bay, keeping a wide eye for the shoals that 
 there abound; for to stick on a sand spit with a falling 
 tide might mean more to us than mere delay. 
 
 By the time we had made this stretch of water the east 
 was glimmering with the coming of the dawn, and a fine 
 smoke began to rise from the surface of the sea and drift 
 across us; for we were hauled east and on the starboard 
 tack. I noted, too, the lightness of the air, which instead 
 of increasing with the break of day, seemed to go out and 
 leave a flat sea. By the time we should have put the helm 
 up and stood into the "rips," we were hardly moving; 
 while the fog seemed to gather strength and pour in upon 
 us from every point. 
 
 It was soon seen to be impossible to breast the strong 
 ebb that was running against us through Plum Gut, as 
 well as impossible to direct our course in any direction, 
 for as the air fell, we were more and more at the mercy of 
 the strong swirl of water that boiled about us with flat 
 eddies, and we were, ere long, drifting helplessly to the 
 southeast at a rate that would soon take us out into the 
 broad Atlantic. The muck had grown so thick as to shut 
 out the land, bidding fair to limit our vision to a few 
 fathoms, this lack of sight of shore making our rate of
 
 94 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 speed uncertain; but I well knew of the terrible rush of 
 the current, and marked how slightly faster than ourselves 
 sped on the funnels of the little whirlpools. 
 
 We drifted without regard to stern or bow, sometimes 
 sidewise and often spinning about as I saw by the com 
 pass. It was now broad day, and the fog was like a silver 
 net with the brightness of the sun, which, despite the 
 blur in the air, was dazzling. By this I knew it was fine 
 overhead and would clear away as the heat strengthened, 
 but in the meanwhile we were getting miles away from home 
 and out of all bearings though that troubled me but little. 
 
 Aunt Jane was housed and the spy had done his errand. 
 Thus my mission was over, and I might make a day of 
 pleasuring; for my father need only look abroad and seethe 
 fog to know what detained me, and have no cause for worry. 
 
 Therefore we breakfasted royally and without fear. I 
 knew we were clear of all obstructions, and if not, the 
 very force of the stream would tend to keep us shy of 
 rocks; but Rod was kept on the watch for the lifting of 
 the fog or any untoward thing, while Moon and I enjoyed 
 ourselves. Then the negro was sent to eat and "turn in," 
 for he had been up all night; and the spy, stretching him 
 self along the cabin cushions, was soon fast asleep, while 
 I sat myself by the wheel, whistling softly for a breeze and 
 a sight around me. 
 
 Ere long I noticed that the swirl of the water was less, 
 and that we had taken up the motion of a long, low swell; 
 by which I guessed we were well free of the rush of the 
 stream and out at sea. The deck was swimming in the 
 moisture of the white cloud around us, and the water 
 hung in great beads along the bottom of the boom. Every 
 line was taut and black with the wet, and so thick it was 
 that the end of the bowsprit softened off into a ghostly 
 point. The reefing lines beat a soft tattoo against the 
 sail, and the spars creaked as we swung to the gentle swell ; 
 but all else was quiet.
 
 THE LIFTING OF THE FOG. 95 
 
 By the time I had finished my pipe and whistled my fill, 
 I felt the heat of the sun and knew that ere long the fog 
 would be gone. It went suddenly when it once started ; 
 blowing nowhere for there was no breath of air that I 
 could feel, though I whipped my finger in and out of my 
 mouth and held it up a dozen times. The vapor simply 
 vanished in the growing heat, and in a quarter of an hour 
 I could see the horizon. 
 
 Away to the northwest Plum Island looked faint in the 
 distance, and to the south of it hung a long, blue sheen I 
 took to be Gardiner's Island. But the point of interest 
 lay not in that, for betwixt us and the land was a topsail 
 schooner with all sail set, as thoroughly becalmed as 
 ourselves. 
 
 As I reached into the cabin doorway for the spy-glass 
 that was bracketed to the side of the companion, Moon 
 turned over and awoke. 
 
 "Are we still beset, captain?" he asked good-naturedly, 
 and with a yawn. 
 
 "No longer by the fog," I answered; "but there's a 
 schooner yonder I wish to make out. Mayhap she is from 
 Sag Harbor and is the Britisher you spoke about early this 
 morning. I fancy I saw her through the telescope last 
 night." 
 
 .1 got a bearing on her and soon made out she was no 
 trader, for she was armed, as I could see from the polish 
 of a brass piece forward of her foremast; though whether 
 she was an enemy or a Yankee privateer I could not tell. 
 I saw two men on her quarter-deck, but failed to discover 
 if they were in uniform or not. There was no flag- at her 
 peak, and the one thing in our favor was her small size 
 arid decidedly American rig and rake. As we then lay, 
 she was off our starboard quarter some two miles. 
 
 I had handed the glass to Moon, who had come up, when 
 a small cloud of smoke broke from her larboard bow, and 
 presently a dull report floated to us.
 
 96 IX DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 The shot was blank for I marked not the skip of the 
 ball, but at the same time a flag went up to the head. 
 
 "That's the colonies," said Moon, with the glass to 
 his eye; "but means nothing. Hoist your own in 
 answer." 
 
 I jumped below to the flag locker without disturbing 
 Rod, for I knew the lad needed sleep. While bending the 
 bunting to the signal halyard I heard Moon mutter to 
 Limself : 
 
 "The bloody villain! The cursed pirate ! The last craft 
 I ever hoped to see! If ye be not the Dragon, may I 
 never eat more." 
 
 "What's the Dragon?" I asked, as I run the flag to the 
 peak, where it hung like a wet rag. 
 
 "She's the devil, an' well named a British patrol for 
 the Sound, an' given to picking up small fry like ourselves. 
 I never thought she would venture so far east. That 
 schooner was a peaceful trader plying on the Hudson until 
 we lost New York; then she was stolen by the redcoats, 
 who need small craft rather than great ones for these 
 waters, an' armed an' called the Dragon. I know her 
 well, an' God help us if she boards us an' I am found!" 
 
 "And why so bad?" I asked. 
 
 Without directly answering me, he continued: 
 
 "It means the prison ship Jersey for you, my lad an' 
 death for me. I' faith ! I prefer my lot to yours, for a 
 taste I've had o' the Jersey, an' a taste is but a draught 
 o' hell! God forgive me, lad, for leading ye into this 
 coil! What will your poor father do? But who would ha' 
 dreamed o' the only vessel I feared turning up as though 
 dropped from the clouds!" 
 
 "What is all this, Jacob?" said I fiercely, giving him 
 his first name. "Do you fear I am a coward that you take 
 a turn at testing me?" For the horrors of the Jersey had 
 spread through the land, though then the half was un 
 known excepting to those who had suffered imprisonment
 
 THE LIFTING OF THE FOG. 97 
 
 on board. His reference to my father had also given me 
 a twinge I cared not to express. 
 
 " Nay, nay ! lad ; I ha' no reason to doubt your stout 
 ness of heart," he returned as kindly as a woman. "I 
 know ye of old, though it's doubtless a surprise to ye to 
 hear it; but let us below an' I will give ye a tale. I had 
 better not be marked from yon deck. I take it they will 
 have hard work to make out our colors, as there is no wind 
 to spread them." 
 
 He went down the companion, I following, and we both 
 stood looking out of the oval windows of the cabin as he 
 talked. He began at once, never shifting his eye from the 
 schooner: 
 
 "I know ye of old, I tell ye, though your memory might 
 well ha' played tricks, for our first acquaintance was short. 
 'Twas at the White Horse in Cambridge, on the eve o' 
 'Lexington,' that I marked your mettle. And now, may 
 hap, ye will discover the man who fell atop o' the red 
 coat, an' bid ye fly. Aye! I it was!" he interrupted, as I 
 began to speak, "an' knowing ye is the reason I trusted ye 
 with my secret last night but enough o' that." 
 
 "What became of the sergeant?" I asked, for a moment 
 forgetting our situation. 
 
 "I know not. I quieted him with a trifle o' choking 
 when he turned ugly, an' dragged him into what I thought 
 a closet but fear 'twas the cellar stairs, for he went out 
 o' sight suddenly when I let go my hold. He's still alive, 
 for I ha' seen him since; there's no blood o' his on my 
 hands. But let me get on. I served around Boston, an' 
 after the loss o' New York I was taken at Fort Washing 
 ton with Magraw an' the rest when the place fell. What 
 became of the mass that remained alive is beyond me; but 
 some fifty of us were thrust into the Jersey after a spell o' 
 being shut up in different places. I learned enough in my 
 short stay there to prefer quarters in hell to another turn 
 o' it, though then it was a new thing; but I was taken
 
 98 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 out an' put on board the Dragon, this very vessel yonder, 
 when it was found that I could pilot Hell Gate an' the 
 Sound. 
 
 " 'Twas pleasant enough, barring the fact that a marine 
 was always by me with a loaded piece, an' orders to shoot 
 or run me through if I as much as touched ground, 
 whether by chance or ill will. This worked very well for 
 them, for I was careful to make no miss, but I began to 
 get mightily sick of seeing the small stuff fall into their 
 hands through my own skill. My very blood used to boil 
 at their treatment o' the poor devils who were caught, 
 though they had no more hand in the war than unborn 
 babes. 
 
 "I have seen them seized-up an' lashed till nigh dead, 
 because their small tubs were worthless, or they had no 
 fish or loot aboard an' would give no information. They 
 acted like devils straight from home, an' presently the 
 Dragon became a terror from the 'Gate' to New Haven; 
 but further east they durst not venture for fear o' the Yankee 
 privateers o' New London an' I wish by all that's dead 
 that a wind would heave one in sight at this moment! 
 
 "I stood this for three or four weeks, with a letter from 
 Magraw to Washington snug under my hair the while, 
 for I was caught in the fort, an' was not a regular soldier. 
 'Twas on board, too, I stole the 'protection' ye copied at 
 home, an' that lay with the other. By then, they were 
 beginning to get used to me, when one night we were 
 becalmed like this off the Sawpits, only on the Long 
 Island side, an' there 1 saw my chance. 
 
 "My guard was like a wart on my elbow, forever at my 
 side, an' though he never prevented my going whither I 
 would, he followed always, a pace or so in the rear. 
 
 "The officer o' the deck was half asleep, an' forward all 
 was quiet. The night was a black one, an' it came to me 
 in a minute to be off. I stepped to the bulwark to knock 
 the ashes from my pipe, an' the red-laced devil followed me
 
 THE LIFTING OF THE FOG. 99 
 
 close. As I reached the rail at the waist (for I was amid 
 ships), I suddenly turned an' hit the fellow a blow with 
 my fist. It was badly aimed, for its being so dark, but it 
 knocked the musket off his shoulder, an' he jumped an' 
 grappled with me. There I had him foul, for I'm no 
 weakling, an' knew my life hung on it, so one hand hav 
 ing a grip on his windpipe, an' the other on the slack o* 
 his breeches, I pitched him clean over the rail into the 
 sea. The fall o' the gun an' the scuffle an' the splash, 
 brought the officer on the quarter-deck to his senses, an' 
 he gave the alarm. Someone came out o' the darkness 
 aft, I know not who, but by that time I had the gun in my 
 hands an' gave him the full foot o' the steel bagnet in the 
 bowels, an' then I ran across the deck an' threw myself 
 into the water on the shore side. There was a hue an' cry, 
 ye may well think, an' many a shot; but all went wide o' 
 me, for I finally got ashore, well blown, I tell ye, an' hid 
 in the woods for the night. They made no search, know 
 ing it was useless, an' at early dawn I saw the Dragon 
 stand away, nor ever did I lay eyes on her again till now, 
 an' I know her as well as I know my own face. 
 
 "So ye see, my son, the fact o' my being here aboard 
 will damn ye as a rebel, an' finish me at the same time." 
 
 "And when did this happen?" I asked. 
 
 "'Tis not more than six weeks agone, an 'there be 
 plenty jet there to know the pilot, for they've doubtless 
 made little change in either officers or crew." 
 
 "What's to be done, then?" I inquired, beginning to 
 quake a little. " We have no wind to take our chances 
 in running, and no arms to fight, desperate as we are." 
 
 "Aye! that last is my fault again who could tell?" 
 said he dejectedly, "but," with sudden wrath, "by Heaven ! 
 they'll not have the pleasure o' seeing Jacob Moon dance 
 at the yard-arm; an' mark me, if I fail to see sunset this 
 night, there'll be others struck with the same blindness 
 at least one more."
 
 100 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 As be said this he pulled out the pistol from the hand 
 of his breeches, and taking a powder flask from his 
 pocket, carefully reprimed the weapon and laid it handy 
 on the cushion. 
 
 "Might you not hide and let me take my chances?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "Where, lad?" turning full toward me for the first 
 time. 
 
 "In the lazarette. I can clear out enough to make 
 room." 
 
 "Ay el I had thought o' that, but the dunnage about 
 would look bad ; besides, ye are bound to be searched there, 
 as the only place where a cat might hide. Were it dark, I 
 might get aloft an' wrap me in the bunt o' the tops'l, but 
 that's out o' the question. There, now ! There goes their 
 true colors; get up an' see if it be not so." 
 
 I went on deck and with a spy-glass could plainly see 
 they had lowered the Colonist flag and put the Union Jack 
 in its place. At the same time I marked a number of men 
 at their davits and saw a boat lower away. I looked around 
 for a sign of a breeze to aid our last desperate chance 
 of running, but nowhere was there a ripple, although 
 a bank of slate-colored clouds to the north showed from 
 which way the wind would finally come. The ocean was a 
 vast stretch of swells, low and long; their parallel lines 
 reaching for miles, their tops like burnished steel in the 
 sunlight as they rolled imvard, lifting us easily and pass 
 ing on to break in a thundering surf somewhere on the 
 coast to the north. 
 
 The sky was becoming hazy, another sign of wind, but 
 was in no way overcast. Again I directed the glass to the 
 schooner and saw the boat only one, putting awa}^ from 
 her. How many she contained I could scarce make out, 
 they were so huddled by distance; but I easily caught the 
 glint of bayonets and knew they came fully armed. 

 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE. 
 
 Two miles. Less than half an hour would certainly 
 bring them to us, and then tragedy, captivity, suffering, 
 and Heaven only knew what more. 
 
 I marveled at my own calmness, but have since come to 
 know that the inevitable will often quiet a coward. It 
 is uncertainty that flutters the heart, causes the brain to 
 whirl, atid the breath to thicken. 
 
 The situation had a hopeless cast. I had been well 
 frightened, I am free to confess, but fright no longer mas 
 tered me. 
 
 Without any special reason I mechanically hauled down 
 the ensign, and, going to the locker again, tied on the 
 Union Jack and ran it up. 
 
 As I bela} r ed the end of the line, I noticed for the first 
 time that since the lifting of the fog we had not altered 
 our position in relation to the schooner, the swell keeping 
 us both in the trough of the sea and parallel each to the 
 other. As I marked it, an idea sprang into my head, and I 
 stepped slowly to the cabin that the haste in my heart 
 might not show in my actions, albeit it was plain enough in 
 my excited speech. 
 
 " Jacob," I exclaimed, " they are well on their way, but 
 there is one chance yet. We have been stern on for an 
 hour and are likely to stay so, as it is time for slack water 
 at the ebb. Go you through the galley and out at the 
 hatch, keeping under the comb of the cabin, then swing 
 yourself into the water under the larboard bow, and hold 
 
 101
 
 102 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 your head out by a grip on the bobstay. By Heaven! they 
 will never think of looking overboard save they have some 
 suspicion, and I will try to lull that. I'll engage to tie 
 them up on the starboard quarter and keep the boat there. 
 Quick, now ! Leave nothing behind to tell of your going. 
 They've not seen you yet. If they've marked two, Rod 
 will account for the second." 
 
 " Ha ! 'Tis a chance ! How long have we, think ye?" 
 
 "Twenty minutes, perhaps ; not more." 
 
 " Then I've time. Give me some water in haste." 
 
 I crawled into the galley and kicked Rod awake, bidding 
 him go on deck through the cabin, and, pumping a jug of 
 water, handed it back to Moon, who, scooping several 
 handfuls, applied it to his crown, thereby loosening the 
 false scalp.- 
 
 "Methinks your head will win yet," he added, as he 
 lifted the hair and took the packet from its hiding-place. 
 " Here is Howe's 'safety ' ye copied from. I' put it back 
 last night, little thinking I would need it to save my neck 
 so soon. Use it on the gulls when they come aboard. 
 Faith ! it's a quick brain ye have. I'll do your bidding 
 an' in truth 'tis all that's left ; but woe to the man that 
 catches sight o' me for alive I'm detarmined not to be 
 taken. If I go down, Hi}' lad, remember that Jacob Moon 
 would ha' loved ye as a son, an' if by chance ye slip awa}-, 
 mayhap ye can get word to Gen'ral Washington that 
 Moon has gone, an' his last dispatches safely witli him." 
 
 " Never fear ! The plan will work if they be not too 
 curious ; but budge not till you hear me call. Get gone ! 
 I must give Rod his lesson while they are yet at a distance." 
 
 " Hei-e goes, then ! " said he, giving my hand a squeeze; 
 and, taking his pistol, he crowded his bulky form through 
 the narrow passage to the galley. 
 
 The hatch above was open, and he crawled out. I put 
 my head up after him and saw him snake himself forward 
 to the heel of the bowsprit and drop gently into the water.
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE. 103 
 
 " Are you all right ? " I sung out, in a low voice, for I 
 could not see him. 
 
 " All right, but a bit damp, an' I'll not bile here, either. 
 Make a short shift o' it, if ye can." 
 
 His good spirits braced me, and the sudden reaction that 
 came with the chance of possible escape made my own rise 
 suddenly, albeit it set my heart beating rapidly. Taking 
 up a cabin cushion, I made a small slit in the bottom of the 
 lining and thrust in the paper he had given me, to make a 
 show of secrecy, and then I went on deck. 
 
 " Rod," said I to the negro, who was all eyes as he 
 looked at the approaching boat, " do you know what that 
 is yonder? " 
 
 " No, Mars Tony." 
 
 " Well, it's a Britisher. They are coming aboard to 
 search for Mr. Moon, and if he is caught we will all hang 
 together. Now mind what I tell you. Mr. Moon is over 
 board at the bow. Our business is to keep their boat aft, 
 if possible ; so when they come alongside take their painter 
 if they offer it, and make a land-lubber's knot when you 
 belay it. Remember we are Tories, and this boat hails 
 from Newport. My name will be, for the time being, 
 Forbes " (as a common one came to mind), "and we have 
 been to Canoe Place and among the red-coats there, but 
 you are not to know wherefore. Tell them naught if you 
 are not questioned, but talk to them here when I go into the 
 cabin. First and foremost, keep your eyes from the bow 
 and don't look frightened. Do you understand all this ? " 
 
 " Yes, sah. We wants to fool dem an' make dern t'ink 
 we's Britishers. Golly ! Yes, sah, Mars Tony. I un'stan' 
 we's Fo'bes." 
 
 "Veiy good ! Get forward and make as though busy, 
 but come when I call j^ou." 
 
 I then again descended into the cabin, and going to the 
 locker, took from it a bottle of rum and one of brandy, 
 with glasses, and set them on the table. Then going into
 
 104 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 the cockpit again, I seated myself quite carelessly, though 
 inwardly trembling, and proceeded to fill a pipe. 
 
 Gradually the boat drew nearer, lifting over the glassy 
 hills until at last I could mark the flash of the oar blades and 
 count the inmates. As it came on, I saw four men at the 
 oars, and astern sat two marines with muskets, and an offi 
 cer in uniform. When they came close, the order was 
 given to cease rowing and back water, which was executed 
 with tolerable precision, and finally they lay not five 
 fathoms astern. 
 
 " What boat's that ? " shouted the officer, standing up 
 with the yoke lines in his hands. 
 
 "The Will o' the Wispf" I sung back, with my heart 
 thumping like a drum. " What schooner's that ? " 
 
 " The Dragon, of H. M. Navy, out of New York. 
 What are you doing here ?" 
 
 " Waiting for a breeze," I answered, with an attempt 
 to appear easy. 
 
 " D n your impudence ! Where do you belong ! " 
 
 " Newport. Won't you come aboard ? " for I saw the 
 boat slowly forging ahead, and was afraid of her getting 
 on our beam. 
 
 Without further parley he gave an order, and the boat 
 shot alongside. 
 
 Calling Rod aft, I directed him to ship the steps, and 
 then said to the bow-man, who stood ready with boatliook 
 in hand : 
 
 " Pass your painter, friend, and I'll make fast. Look 
 out for my sides ! " 
 
 He threw the line aboard without remark, Rod passing 
 it through a scupper hole, and I saw him fussing over it as 
 I turned to the officer and offered my hand. He disre 
 garded it, however, and leaped aboard, but without being 
 followed by his men. 
 
 All this suited my purpose to a hair, but I had scarce 
 time to think before he spoke.
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE. 105 
 
 " Why did you hoist that rag first there ? " said he, 
 scowling, as he pointed at the peak. " What are you ? A 
 
 d d rebel, I believe ! Where are your papers, and 
 
 what are you doing in these waters ? " 
 
 This was delivered with a pomposity that would have 
 caused me to laugh had we not been in such a dilemma, 
 and as he asked his questions, he threw out his chest and 
 looked about as though remarking the completeness of our 
 fittings. 
 
 I saw with half an eye the character with which I had to 
 deal. He was a young man, whose rank (that of a lieu 
 tenant, as his uniform showed), sat heavily upon him, and 
 I figured him a light weight mentally and physically. 
 There is no conciliating such. They need a rough hand ; 
 but I was hardly in a position to give him a lesson, though 
 I knew any meekness on my part would make him top- 
 heavy with arrogance. 
 
 " As to the bunting," I answered boldly, " you can 
 hardly criticize it, as you set the example yonder. How 
 did 1 know you were not a Yankee ? you look it by your 
 rig at this distance. There ai'e my colors ! " and I pointed 
 to the limp, red flag aloft. 
 
 " You are a blatant Yankee yourself," he blurted out. 
 " Do you think to trick me? Who have you on board ?" 
 
 " Only the negro." 
 
 " Well, you and the nigger will step into the boat and 
 go aboard the schooner." 
 
 " I think not," I replied very coolly, foul had gotten the 
 mastery of my nerves again, though I was far from feeling 
 the confidence I expressed. "I have been on an errand 
 in the king's name, from Pigot to the encampment at 
 Canoe Place, and arn returning to report; nor do I pro 
 pose to be stopped by anything but an enemy or a lack of 
 wind." 
 
 " Where are your papers, then ?" he demanded. 
 
 " They are delivered ; nor would I show them to you if
 
 106 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 they were not, for the service was secret. If yon will but 
 step into the cabin, I can satisfy you in all respects. There 
 is no soul else on board, and you are safe, for we are not 
 even armed by as much as a cutlass." 
 
 I forced a laugh as I made the last remark, and dove 
 down the companion steps, while he turned to the crew of 
 the boat before following, and said : 
 
 "Lay where you are and stand handy for a call." 
 
 Seating myself at the table, I motioned him to do the 
 same ; but before complying, he drew his sword and gave 
 a quick glance into the bunks and about the cabin. 
 
 "You'll moisten your lips, sir," I began, pushing the 
 bottle toward him, " and in two words I can make this 
 plain. You lay at Sag Harbor last night, did you 
 not ? " 
 
 " We did. What then ? " 
 
 " I knew it. Did you not hear of the coming of a de 
 tachment from Canoe Place this morning ?" 
 
 " We did," he answered, softening a little in his interest, 
 " but got word about dawn that they would not be there 
 to meet us." 
 
 " Then thatfs a Yankee trick, for my business was to 
 carry instructions to them from General Pigot, to proceed 
 at once to Newport and make requisition on the first ves 
 sel that touched at ' Sag,' though neither the general 
 nor Admiral Parker then knew of the havoc that the 
 rebels had made. The detachment has been cozened in 
 some way. It is a dangerous spot, and I was told to sail 
 out by night. Were you bound for Newport ? " 
 
 " We were, but only to trans-ship an officer but I'm not 
 discreet," he added suddenly, " I'm saying too much. You 
 ai'e evidently possessed of some important facts, but I can 
 not let you go on the strength of these and your unverified 
 word. Who are you personally ? " 
 
 " I am the son of a citizen of Newport ; by name, 
 Forbes. I have chosen to do the king a service, and not
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE. 107 
 
 the first, without the protection of his uniform. You 
 yourself see how easily I might pass as a rebel, for I have 
 not half convinced you of my loyalty." 
 
 " You have not, indeed. I am by no means satisfied, and 
 though I may be making a" mistake, I must insist on your 
 going aboard with me. We will move at once, so make 
 ready. I will leave men in charge of the sloop." 
 
 Here then, was I driven to my last throw, and if that 
 failed, there was nothing for it but to give up or fight,' 
 though how we could do the latter with such odds against 
 us, I failed to see. 
 
 "Perhaps this will satisfy you," I replied, rising and 
 turning over the cushion, when thrusting my fingers into 
 the slit, I drew forth the paper and laid it open before him, 
 then threw myself carelessly on the locker. 
 
 He picked it up and read it two or three times, turning 
 it over and over in his hands, as I knew he was doing in 
 his mind. As I looked anxiously at him, I then and there, 
 quick as a flash, made up my mind to fight if he caviled at 
 it, and was ready to spring at his throat and throttle him 
 the moment he showed signs of disapproval. 
 
 I knew that even if destruction followed the act it would 
 make little difference, for destruction was certainly in 
 store if the sloop became the prize of the schooner. I 
 could. easily master this stripling, and kill him with his own 
 ssvord and without noise; then by obtaining the pistol, 
 which past doubt he carried, and getting the spy on board, 
 we might make a fair show of resistance until help came 
 for the enemy. 
 
 This sped through my brain as I waited. Outside, I 
 could hear Rod talking to the boat's crew, who were evi 
 dently amused by the negro, for anon, I caught the sound 
 of a muffled laugh in answer to his chattering. Finally the 
 officer laid down the paper, and the pucker on his forehead 
 relaxed as he said : 
 
 " This puts a new face on the matter, and I must believe
 
 108 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 it genuine, for I have seen his Excellency's writing. And 
 why did you not show this to me at once?" 
 
 "Because, beyond your uniform, I was by no means sure 
 of your identity. Suppose now that you were a Yankee 
 privateer in disguise ; what would be my position with this 
 paper in my possession ?" 
 
 "True ! Well, you may go your way," he returned, evi 
 dently disappointed. " But lastly, I desire to search you if 
 only as a matter of form, that I may give a complete report. 
 The darky, I think, we will have to press in the king's 
 name, as we. are short-handed." 
 
 "Nay, sir. The darky is my property, and this paper 
 covers him as well as myself and the craft." For it never 
 entered my head to give up Rod as a sacrifice to save my 
 self. 
 
 " The devil take your paper ! " he said pettishly. 
 " Can't you lend us your man ?" 
 
 "His Excellency should hear your respect for his author- 
 ity. As for the boy, I need him myself. Do you think I 
 could handle this boat alone if it should come on to blow 
 as I think it will ? " 
 
 "Send a man aboard !" lie shouted, without answering 
 me ; and present!} 7 a marine came stumbling down the step. 
 
 "Search the lazarette and all on board," ordered the 
 officer. 
 
 This command was a relief, for I thought he meant the 
 call to refer to Rod, and I knew not how to act. 
 
 The sea-soldier pulled away the steps and opened the 
 doors ; but the little hold was packed tight with ropes, 
 spare canvas, and a large anchor. He pulled out a mass of 
 stuff, poking his head and shoulders into the space, only to 
 draw back and report nothing but gear within. He then 
 opened all the lockers, though they would not have hidden 
 a good-sized dog, and passed through to the galley, which 
 lie took in at a glance, then climbed through the hatch 
 overhead.
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE. 109 
 
 Now I listened with bated breath for the shot that 
 would come if he sighted the spy. He had left his musket 
 lying along the transom cushions, a godsend to me in case 
 of need, and I coiled myself for a spring on the instant, 
 until my muscles were as tight as fiddle-strings. The 
 officer, too, was thoroughly off his guard, for, taking the 
 search as only a form, he was helping himself to a glass of 
 brand v, little knowing how near he was to sudden death. 
 
 / J . & 
 
 I scarce breathed as I heard the marine's footsteps, but 
 in a few seconds, though they seemed like hours, his form 
 blocked the light from the companion door and he called 
 down : 
 
 " All clear and in shape, sir! " 
 
 I Unsprung myself with a long breath of relief, and 
 turned to the table, pouring out a stiff glass of brandy, 
 which I downed to brace me against the shake which 
 I feared would come as a result of reaction. Then, 
 passing up the musket to the waiting marine, I called Rod 
 and ordered him to re-stow the lazarette. In the meantime 
 the officer was in deep thought, but finally his face cleared 
 a bit as he said : 
 
 " Though you insist on not parting with your man, who, 
 by the by, I am half inclined to take, you can hardly 
 refuse to do a favor and help us right the muddle at Sag 
 Harbor." 
 
 " Anything in my power for the king's cause. You can 
 command me, but I don't care to be crippled for lack of my 
 only hand." 
 
 " Well, sir," said he, courteously enough, " we have an 
 officer aboard who must get to Newport at once. He is 
 also on secret service for the king. If you will take him 
 with you and land him there, we may return to Sag Har 
 bor, look after the detachment for Pigot, and punish the 
 freebooters who have dared to meddle with this move 
 ment. I cannot now say that this will meet the approval 
 of the captain until I have reported ; but you will not sail
 
 110 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 if the wind should rise. Work toward us. If we decide 
 not to use you, a gun will be fired and you may proceed on 
 your course ; if we need your services we will send the 
 officer aboard as soon as possible. I believe," he concluded, 
 rising and looking out of the window, " we will have wind 
 enough ere long, so I will get away at once." 
 
 " The king's health, sir, and yours," said I, pouring out 
 two glasses of liquor. " Send your man aboard by all 
 means, and I promise to have him ashore to-night." 
 
 We picked up the glasses, bowed, and drank. He then 
 turned up to the deck and jumped into the boat. 
 
 After much fumbling and swearing the painter was cast 
 off, and it was with thankfulness that I heard the order to 
 " Give way ! " and saw the boat started back to the schooner. 
 
 So far, so good, thought I. If they send this fellow 
 aboard, there will be only one to three. I will see to it 
 that it is mighty little use his arms will be to him. Put 
 him ashore ! Aye by the mark ! but 'twill be strange if 
 Newport be the point. A fine thing will it be to not 
 only bedevil the schooner and get away free, but to cap 
 ture a British officer as well. 'Tis a smooth ending, 
 indeed ; but let me not whistle too fast, for the end is not 
 yet; only, so far, so good. 
 
 I watched the boat as it receded until they had gotten 
 at such a distance that I knew they would not return on 
 an afterthought. 
 
 There was less brightness to the sea than when they 
 came, and the clouds in the north were breaking from a 
 solid mass into lumps that told of wind, as plain as reading. 
 
 But now T wanted no wind, for I cared not to work 
 toward them, and for a wonder it held off in spite of the 
 appearance of the sky, though I knew that when it did 
 come it would make more than a " lady's day " of the ocean. 
 
 The boat was no more than a few good strokes from the 
 schooner before I dared move to call Moon, but at last I 
 got my head through the galley hatch.
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE. Ill 
 
 " Jacob ! " I shouted. 
 
 " Alioy, there ! " came back cheerily. 
 
 " Get aboard now ; they are far enough." 
 
 " 'Tis easier said than done. I must have a hand ; your 
 sides are too high." 
 
 At this, I ran back through the cabin and hauled on the 
 larboard jib-sheet until the sail came around and formed a 
 screen ; then going to the halyard, I let it down halfway, 
 where it hung as if jammed, and, while pretending to fuss 
 over it, for I knew not what glass might be on us, I gave 
 Moon a hand, and, Avith much tugging, landed him on 
 deck pistol and all. 
 
 Under the sail he crawled and dropped into the galley 
 while the canvas was lowered and showed a clear deck to 
 any who might be looking. 
 
 I joined him by way of the cabin, and found him sitting 
 in a puddle made by the water that drained from his 
 clothes. 
 
 " Well, my son," he said, looking hard at me, " ye are 
 one to be proud of. I would hug ye were I less of a 
 mop." 
 
 " Are you the worse for your bath ? " I inquired, hand 
 ing him the bottle of rum ; for he had been in the water 
 nearly an hour. 
 
 " Not now," he replied, stripping himself ; " but when 
 ye went below I thought ye were both taking a nap over 
 the matter, for then I could hear nothing ; an' what betwixt 
 the cold o' the water on my body an' the heat o' the sun on 
 my brain, I was nigh having a fit an' letting go my hold. 
 But ye laid it down to him finely at the outset. I hardly 
 thought ye would have the daring, though I might ha' 
 known ye would not be backward. An' what was the 
 upshot ? " 
 
 I repeated at length what had transpired in the cabin, 
 even to my thoughts ; and then we laid our plan for the 
 capture of the officer should he be sent to us.
 
 112 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " *Tis easy," said Jacob, as I showed him how simply 
 and quickly it could be done, " an' high time I were doing 
 more than hanging like a pickle in brine. Have the 
 darky handy, and the line stout." 
 
 Calling Rod, I let him into the plan and detailed his 
 part to him, he nodding sagaciously as I went along. 
 
 "And you had best arm j^ourself with a belaying pin in 
 case a rap is needed to quiet him," I concluded. 
 
 " Hi, Mars Tony ! I got sumfin better'n b'layin' pin ; 
 I prick 'im wif dishere." 
 
 Here he reached into a space between the top of the 
 upper lockers and the deck carlines, and drew out a short 
 spear which he handed to me for inspection. It was a 
 crude affair, made of a piece of straight, peeled hickory, 
 about four feet long. In the thick end, which had been 
 split to receive it, was a murderous-looking knife blade, 
 fashioned out of a broken scythe, ground to -a double 
 edge, and brought to a needle-like point. 
 
 " I aint much use wif a gun, Mars Tony, but I kin plunk 
 an aig twenty foot off wif dishere, mos' ebbery time. I kin 
 frow dis an' kill a chicken in de haid," said he, with evident 
 pride. 
 
 And indeed he could, for I afterward saw him do it ; 
 but then, though I had often noticed him playing javelin, 
 I had no idea he was making a practical effort, and of the 
 existence of the weapon I had no knowledge. 
 
 This is but a slight incident to remark ; but Rod and his 
 spear have gone down in history long since, and are there 
 fore not unworthy of notice here. 
 
 Telling him the spear would do as well as the belaying pin, 
 I ordered him on deck to look out ; but he had hardly got 
 ten his woolly head through the hatch, when he sung back : 
 
 " Dar's big breeze, Mars Tony." 
 
 I ran up and saw the northern rim of the ocean turned 
 dark blue with the coming wind. The streak stretched 
 broadly from east to west and would soon be on us.
 
 AN HOUR OF SUSPENSE. 113 
 
 " Douse the tops'l, Rod ! " I shouted, as I sprang and cast 
 loose the main sheet; for we stood broadside to the com 
 ing blast, and I had no notion of finishing with a capsize. 
 " Clew up ; then take the bonnet off the jib. Work quick 
 at it, and bear a hand to reef." 
 
 But hurry as we might, the wind was upon us before the 
 great sail was half reduced. It came with a rush that 
 heeled us to starboard as it struck us, and created a rumpus 
 with the loose canvas and slackened ropes ; but it brought 
 us into the eye of the gale, and as there was no sea on, 
 we lay steadily, though all seemed confusion overhead. 
 There was less weight to it than I expected, after the first 
 gust had passed, but 'twas a merry double reefer and would 
 soon get up a lively sea, I had no doubt. 
 
 As the last point was knotted and the sail run up, I 
 betook myself to the spy-glass and the schooner, and noted 
 that a boat had put off from her and was a third of the 
 distance on its way to us. Evidently they had acted 
 quickly on the suggestion of the young officer, and had no 
 further suspicion as to our character. 
 
 The vessel had taken in her square sail, fore sail and fly 
 ing jib, and was standing off for headway to tack, so I 
 concluded it were better for me to move toward the visitor 
 and not create remark.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE STKUGGLE IN THE CABIN. 
 
 THE straining oarsmen were doubtless glad to see us 
 bearing down on them, for the boat was making but little 
 progress against the wind ; at times seeming barely to 
 hold its own. My attention was taken from them as we 
 swept past and rounded up, for I was busy getting the jib 
 to windward in order to lay to, that they might come 
 alongside, and the officer was aboard ere I finished belay 
 ing the sheet. He tossed a black portmanteau- to the deck, 
 and followed it immediately with a jump, the boat sheer 
 ing off and making for the schooner still to leeward, before 
 I caught sight of his face. 
 
 When I finally did I was staggered. 
 
 There before me and within arm's-reach stood Lieuten 
 ant Bromfield ; his dark countenance as supercilious and 
 impatient as when I first met him months before on the 
 moor. He was dressed in plain black as of yore. The 
 same cloak, or one like it, hung from his shoulders, and in 
 his hand was a sword around which was wrapped its belt. 
 His keen, black eyes snapped a look at me, but showed no 
 recognition which was not remarkable, as he had never 
 had a fair look at my face before. He quickly turned his 
 attention to the cabin and the fittings about the deck, 
 betiding to peer into the former and letting his gaze play 
 rapidly over the latter, before he deigned to speak. Then 
 with a suddenness that went well with his temper, he said : 
 
 " You have a tidy enough craft; I hope you will give 
 me a quick passage. Will you have your man take my 
 traps below ? " 
 
 114
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN THE CABIN. 115 
 
 Now in courtesy I thought something due me in the 
 shape of introduction before he ventured to make half 
 demands ; and as my first fear of his possibly remembering 
 me had given place to a feeling of security, I was some 
 what nettled at his tone, which was none of the smoothest. 
 
 Rod, without waiting to be told, disappeared with tlie 
 bag ; and I, with all the ease I could muster, let go the 
 sheet to windward, hauled aft to leeward, and seated myself 
 at the wheel before I answered : 
 
 " The sloop is well enough ! As for the passage, you 
 can direct your prayers to the wind. Pray, sir ! whom 
 have I the honor of addressing ? My own name is Forbes." 
 
 This while I was trimming the main sheet for a run on 
 the larboard tack. 
 
 We careened to the gale as we gathered headway, and 
 were tearing along at a rate which ought soon to raise 
 Block Island dead ahead, before he gathered sufficient 
 politeness to reply. 
 
 " My name is Beverly of His Majesty's service," he 
 said. " Have I not seen you before ? " and now he looked 
 fixedty at me. 
 
 Perhaps something in my voice and semi-defiant manner 
 may have awakened a passing memory in him, which I 
 evidently dispelled when I returned : 
 
 " Not to my knowledge surely, though it is possible I 
 have met and forgotten you. I have met many in my 
 day." 
 
 "Very like ; but the first is not a broad compliment to 
 me, if so," he replied indifferent!}^ throwing off his cloak 
 and standing on the sloping deck with graceful ease. 
 " Have you any eatables below ? I am well-nigh famished, 
 and 'tis high noon or more." 
 
 " Certainly," I replied; " I am sharp-set myself. If you 
 will tighten your belt a bit we will go below together," 
 and calling Rod, I ordered him to place on the table what 
 ever the larder afforded.
 
 116 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 His suggestion necessitated bis going to the cabin, thus 
 carrying out the first part of my plan, for in it must come 
 the final action, and the prize would be greater than I 
 had anticipated. 
 
 Though no wise doubtful of the result, I was nervous 
 about the onset, as I knew enough of the man to believe he 
 would not tamely submit to becoming a prisoner, no matter 
 what odds were arrayed against him. Force must be used, 
 and it would take tact to make the opportunity when it 
 could be used to the best advantage. The first was pro 
 vided for ; the latter he was himself leading up to. 
 
 Bromfield presented a picture of illy-controlled impa 
 tience ; his standing was but an expression of it. He would 
 have walked like a caged animal had there been sufficient 
 space. His white teeth gnawed his mustaches, as with 
 knitted brows he looked ahead for land, and astern at the 
 schooner already nearly hull down on the horizon ; his 
 fine figure swaying with the vessel as the seas, which were 
 now growing tumultuous, swung under us. I looked at his 
 powerful physique with a feeling of something more than 
 mere respect, as I saw at what a disadvantage I would be 
 in his hands ; for he was undoubtedly my superior in both 
 size and strength. He had no inkling of the trap yawning 
 to receive him. Suddenly he turned and said : 
 
 " What time, think you, will we reach Newport ? " 
 
 " I hope to have you ashore shortly after dark," I 
 truthfully returned ; " but we are a small vessel and are 
 well at sea." 
 
 Pie mused a moment and then asked : 
 
 "What force has Sir Peter now in the bay, and what 
 progress has Pigot made ? ' n 
 
 Here was a poser. I could but hazard an answer, and if 
 by chance I made a blunder, matters might take a sudden 
 turn for the worse. What to say puzzled me. My brain 
 worked quickly. I saw the necessity of getting matters to 
 a head as soon as possible, and of placing myself near
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN THE CABIN. 117 
 
 Moon, who I knew was on end for action. To gain time, 
 I called Rod to hasten, and tlien said : 
 
 "Sir Peter's force is shifting so frequently 'tis not easy 
 to sa}' just what ships are there. Of course I know naught 
 of his plans." 
 
 " Is the Cerberus there ? " 
 
 Here again was a poser, and one that demanded a direct 
 answer. At a venture I said " No," trusting he was asking 
 for information and not giving me test questions out of 
 suspicion. He evidently wished to know, for his manner 
 remained unchanged and lie made no further queries. To 
 take no chances, however, I called Rod to the wheel, giving 
 him a sharp look (which he understood), as I directed him 
 to hold the course, and then motioned Bromtield to go 
 below. This he did quickly, as though glad of a change, 
 but to my great relief leaving his sword in the cockpit. 
 
 I placed him on the starboard side of the table and seated 
 myself by the galley entrance. The officer was evidently 
 hungry, for he fell to with the gusto of a hungry man, 
 while I dabbled with the food before me, getting more and 
 more nervous with suppressed excitement until a mouthful 
 would have choked me. For a space, no word was spoken 
 by either. The timbers creaked as we lifted to the seas ; 
 the lockers rattled their contents and the galley curtains 
 blew in and out with a flap as the strong air drew down 
 the hatch. 
 
 Knowing that the time was at hand, and he would be at 
 a greater disadvantage while seated on the depressed side 
 of the cabin, I stepped on deck as though to look about ; 
 then, albeit in plain sight of the officer, I told Rod in a low 
 voice to bring the helm up and careen us to starboard as 
 far as he durst, when he heard me shout the word "king;" 
 then, going down, resumed my place. 
 
 " I regret," said I to Bromfield, " that I can offer you 
 neither tea nor coffee. 'Twould have been dangerous 
 for me had I been overhauled by a Yankee and either
 
 118 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 found aboard ; they have a prejudice against these small 
 matters, but I can recommend this Medford" raising my 
 voice on the word ' Medford,' as the agreed upon signal to 
 Moon that I was coming to the point. 
 
 " Rum is a fair substitute," he replied. 
 
 "Very good ! Fill, and I will give you a toast you 
 rarely hear," and I handed him the bottle. He was no 
 novice at it, for he filled his glass almost to a level and 
 passed me the liquor; then setting the tumbler betwixt his 
 fingers to steady it, waited for me. 
 
 " Now," I began, rising, and with all the smile I could 
 force (which must have been made ghastly by my inward 
 tumult), " here's long life to General Washington, God 
 bless him ! and confusion to the king!" 
 
 For the space of a moment he stared at me with amaze 
 ment, his black eyes flashing like fire ; then catching the 
 situation, he uttered a terrible oath and hurled the glass at 
 my head, at the same time springing to his feet. 
 
 The frail glass took me in the forehead, and though lacer 
 ating the skin to the bone, was too light to stun me. At 
 the same instant the head of the vessel paid off until we 
 were nigh broadside to the gale and lay almost on our beam 
 ends. The sudden tip threw me across the table and drove 
 Bromfield into the bunk at his back with the mess of the 
 meal on top of. him. 
 
 As we both struggled to gain a controlling position, I 
 heard a loud " Ha-a-a! " behind me, and grasping the bulk 
 head of the bunk, I pulled myself upright. 
 
 There, halfway though the galley door and as naked as on 
 the day he was born, knelt Moon ; his right hand, in which 
 he held a cocked pistol, resting on the table in such a way as 
 to have the weapon leveled full at the prostrate Royalist. 
 His face was terrible in the intensity of its expression. 
 Every element of kindliness was gone. His lips were 
 drawn back against his teeth till they showed like an angry 
 dog's. With eyes literally blazing and breath that came
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN THE CABIN. 119 
 
 and went with a snarl, he glared at his victim. Every 
 fiber in the man was trembling like a leaf in a breeze, and I 
 expected nothing less than to hear the report of his pistol 
 and see Bromfield die ; but as the seconds sped, the shot 
 came not, nor did either move. 
 
 " Let her come np ! " I shouted to Rod, for nothing 
 could be done with the vessel at such a terrible incline, and 
 we gradually swung into the wind until the floor became 
 a heaving level. Even then the situation remained 
 unchanged. The two looked to be in a trance as they 
 glared at each other without moving, Bromfield seeming 
 fascinated by his opponent's face. It was a dramatic 
 tableau ; but no time was to be lost, for the blood that was 
 pouring from my forehead was blinding me, and like one 
 in a frenzy, I threw myself upon the British officer and 
 drove him onto his back. Even with this disadvantage, he 
 would have made short work of me alone, I fear, for his 
 grip was like iron ; but Moon came to the rescue, catching 
 him by the legs and hauling us both to the cabin floor, 
 where there was room to work. 
 
 Will I ever forget the maddening dance of the cabin 
 lights as we swung around, each striving for mastery ! 
 The struggle for a foot-hold, the crashing fall and twist 
 for recovery ; the clutch at the throat, and the devil that 
 shone in the eyes of the Tory. 
 
 It was a fierce encounter a confusion of oaths and 
 blows ; at the end of which I was thrown against the wood 
 work half stunned. I was so dazed by my exertion and 
 the loss of blood, I have small memory of the detail of the 
 fight. But we won it. 'Twas but a few seconds ere the 
 proud Royalist was tied hand and foot, wound round and 
 round with a coil of signal halyard, and laid upon his back 
 on the floor ; for the tossing of the vessel would have 
 thrown him from a bunk. 
 
 I could barely tell what happened, so great was the con 
 fusion of my brain, and it was not till after Moon had
 
 120 IX DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 bathed and bound up my head and backed his treatment 
 with stimulants, that I realized all we had planned had 
 been carried out. The details of our scheme had some 
 what miscarried by reason of the gale, which had not been 
 taken into account, but the end had been attained. I was 
 too dizzy and sick to fully realize the import of our success, 
 and the nausea that assailed me was in no wise lessened by 
 the pitching of the little craft. Continued nervous strain, 
 lack of food, and hard blows had worsted me, for a time 
 rendering me helpless ; so, feeling I had earned a needed 
 respite, I crawled into a bunk and turned my attention to 
 the captive. 
 
 Though he was incapable of movement and a great gash 
 on his head showed where he had been struck in the melee, 
 I bade Rod get his spear and mount guard by his side ; 
 while Moon, still naked, took the wheel until I could pull 
 myself together. 
 
 The most virulent hatred was expressed in the officer's 
 eyes when I spoke to him, and though it be not manly to 
 exult over a fallen enemy, there was something mightily 
 like exultation in my voice as I said to him : 
 
 " Lieutenant Bromfield alias Beverly, I shall land you 
 as I promised, but hardly at Newport. To Fort Griswold 
 you will go, and you can then see the works, as you once 
 had a desire to do ; but it will hardly be to your advantage, 
 nor that of Howe, Clinton, Parker, and the rest." 
 
 " Who, and what are you ? " he demanded with an 
 oath. 
 
 "Your inquiry would be needless had you stayed at 
 Squire Beaucharnp's a few hours longer on the occasion of 
 your spying last fall," I answered ; and I then detailed the 
 manner in which I had acquired my knowelge of him, end 
 ing by stating how I had hoodwinked the officer who came 
 aboard, and where Moon had been concealed. 
 
 He twisted in his coil of line as he listened, and when he 
 heard that Moon had been over the bow, vented his rage
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN THE CABIN. 121 
 
 by heaping maledictions upon the head of the young officer 
 for being so readily deceived. 
 
 He made no inquiries as to our intentions in regard to 
 himself, but I voluntarily told him that he would be taken 
 to Colonel Ledyard, before whom he would be questioned 
 and searched. If compromising papers were found on him 
 he would probably be hanged as a spy ; in any other event 
 he would be held as a prisoner of war until exchanged. 
 
 "But even as a spy, I am not taken within your lines," 
 he snapped out. 
 
 " You make a fine point ; but for the matter of that, 
 Nathan Hale was not taken within your lines, yet he 
 suffered. You have set us the precedent." 
 
 " I am no spy, nor have I doubtful papers ; I was merely 
 being trans-shipped." 
 
 " The better for you," I answered, " unless your previous 
 errand to Beauchamp counts against you. We will wait 
 and see what Colonel Ledyard finds on you." 
 
 I had decided not to risk loosening his bonds, as would 
 be necessary in order to give his person a thorough over 
 hauling. He had been gone over for arms, but beyond his 
 sword, he carried nothing but a pistol of small and unusual 
 pattern, and that not loaded. 
 
 He gritted his teeth at my answer and became silent ; 
 while I slept or dozed, until, awakening with a start, I 
 realized that Moon was still at the wheel, clad like Adam 
 before the Fall. Leaving the prisoner to Rod, I went on 
 deck to relieve the old man. That worthy was in an angelic 
 frame of mind, albeit he presented anything but an angelic 
 appearance. 
 
 From beginning to end, no word had passed betwixt 
 him and Bromfield, but when I first saw them face to face, 
 I felt they knew and hated each other. 
 
 " By the powers ! my son," said he, with his old smile as 
 he relinquished the wheel, "ye have the devil's pet cub 
 
 below there." 
 9
 
 122 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 "Was he aboard tlie Dragon with you?" 
 
 "Much o' the time, an* he was the most cruel o' the 
 bloody gang when they took a prize. I know little o' him 
 except that he was forever on the p'int o' j'ining a Line 
 ship, an' always failing, which seemed to sour his addled 
 temper ; for I never heard him speak without an oath slip 
 ping off his tongue. He's a Jersey Tory, an' bitter as sin 
 itself. But faith ! 'twill be a tall feather in your cap for 
 this day's work." 
 
 " There would have been few feathers for me, save wing 
 feathers as an angel, had it not been for you. I am not his 
 equal in strength, and you deserve the credit for his capture." 
 
 " Nay, nay, man ! I was but a pistol backed by so many 
 stone weight o' bone an' muscle ; 'twas your head that 
 plotted the whole from start to finish, an' ye fought like a 
 shrew. To say nothing o' bagging this brute, I owe ye iny 
 neck an' I can't tell ye what I feel for ye." And his eyes 
 glistened as he put his arm around me and inquired about 
 the wound on my head. 
 
 "I'll soon be right," I replied, honestly flattered by his 
 words and touched by his affection ; "but we had better 
 get about and lay our course for New London. If you will 
 give your duds a swing in this air you will soon have a dry 
 rig. You've been damp since last night." 
 
 The wind was neither stronger nor weaker as we came 
 about on the starboard tack, but the seas had gotten to be 
 monstrous for a craft of our size, and I determined to 
 make for the lee of the Connecticut shore by the straightest 
 line I could sail. The great somber combers had an ugly 
 look as they broke about us with a hiss, and if they con 
 tinued to grow we would be in a danger but little less, 
 though of a different sort, than that through which we had 
 just passed. I laid our course due northwest, or as I 
 judged, for the eastern end of Fisher's Island, and with the 
 fervid hope that we would face no further interruption, 
 settled down to master the surrounding element.
 
 THE STRUGGLE IN THE CABIN. 123 
 
 It was fortunate that we lay on the wind closehauled. 
 To have laid a course with the wind abeam in such a sea 
 would have been impossible. 
 
 As it was, sailing was .difficult enough. Our progress 
 was almost stopped at times by the crash of some huge 
 billow striking our bows, while ever and anon the jib boom 
 would bury itself in the depths of a charging torrent and 
 threaten to snap off as we lifted. The jib was soaked well- 
 nigh to the head, and the deck forward so deluged that the 
 galley hatch was shipped to keep the flood from getting 
 below. 
 
 As time progressed, the weather turned dirty. The sky 
 flattened into a dull slate color and a few drops of rain 
 splashed on my face with a sting that showed the force of 
 the wind as we beat against it. With the wearing hours, 
 my sufferings increased. My head throbbed as though the 
 brain was loose, and a nausea, for which there came no re 
 lief, made me blind and dizzy. 
 
 My impatience to get home became, in my fevered state, 
 more like a thing than a condition, and though barely 
 twenty-four hours had elapsed since our departure, I felt 
 as though we had been away a week ; and the events of 
 yesterday seemed long since passed, so thickly had the 
 time been strewn with incidents. 
 
 Our progress appeared rapid as we jumped into the 
 seething green hills, but I knew it could be measured by 
 feet rather than fathoms, and that our seeming speed was 
 due to the rush of water and not to ourselves. 
 
 The land was yet a blue cloud, northward, differing but 
 a shade or two from the bleak sky above it. Its distance 
 was indescribabl}'' depressing. 
 
 Meantime, while I sat in abject misery at the helm, Rod 
 kept ward over the prisoner with an attention as fixed as 
 though the rope-swathed victim was liable to burst his 
 bonds at any instant. With spear in hand, and an un 
 swerving devotion to his duty, he never marked my condi-
 
 124 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 tion ; but Moon, who was at last getting into his clothing, 
 observed me sway from weakness, and promptly came on 
 deck to order me below ; an order I was fain to obey. 
 
 Once more crawling into a bunk, I soon yielded to my 
 exhausted condition and slept, and was only awakened, 
 hours after, by the rush of the anchor chain, to find we 
 were tying near the old rope ferry in New London Harbor, 
 and that the voyage was over. 
 
 It was dark. Consulting the cabin clock, I found it was 
 past ten. I felt refreshed and relieved, albeit somewhat 
 light-headed from an empty stomach, and, while Moon and 
 the negro snugged matters for the night, I rummaged 
 about for something to eat. 
 
 Bromfield lay with his eyes closed as though asleep, but 
 on my asking if he were hungry he gave a negative reply 
 and demanded water, to which I helped him. He was 
 decidedly weakened by the pressure of the cord and his 
 enforced rigidity, but was still unsubdued in temper or 
 spirit. 
 
 Owing to the lateness of the hour, it was suggested that 
 the captive be kept aboard till morning, but on his own 
 earnest appeal to be sent to the fort, where his bonds at 
 least would be taken from him and the pain of the stric 
 ture released, I dispatched Rod with a note to Colonel 
 Ledyai'd, and in the course of half an hour I had the satis 
 faction of seeing Lieutenant Bromfield escorted to the 
 works under a strong guard. 
 
 He could scarcely walk, his limbs had become so stiff 
 ened, and despite the little love I bore him, I was struck 
 with pity for his suffering a waste of feeling, doubtless ; 
 but with his departure from the Will o' the Wisp my 
 responsibility for his safety ended.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE ALARM. 
 
 BEING far from pessimistic, and no misanthrope at that 
 time, nor since, for that matter, it can readily be imagined 
 with what zest I took in the compliments that were poured 
 upon me. Moon had told the story his own way, which 
 despite my earnest protest made me the hero of the cruise, 
 albeit my companions were not without their meed of 
 praise. 
 
 It turned out that aside from the risks we had so suc 
 cessfully encountered, we had done nothing of great mo 
 ment in the capture of the British lieutenant. The closest 
 search had failed to uncover papers of any consequence, 
 and though it was to me a source of satisfaction to have 
 thus proved by my recognition my previous knowledge of 
 him, I much regretted that no collusion betwixt him and 
 Beauchamp could be shown. 
 
 Bromfield was tried before a military court and finally 
 held as a prisoner of war. Though confronted with the 
 squire, he would only admit an acquaintance, and that his 
 previous visit was purely on matters of private business. 
 His confinement to the' fort did not last long. Within 
 three months from the date of his capture he was ex 
 changed. 
 
 'Twas but little I saw of him at this time, but I saw and 
 heard enough to know that his temper was morose and 
 well-nigh ungovernable, and his malice and threats of future 
 vengeance were directed less toward those who had taken 
 him than toward Colonel Ledyard, against whom he 
 seemed to feel the wild hatred of a madman. 
 
 125
 
 126 IN DEFIANCE OP THE KING. 
 
 If I ever thought of him after, it was only casually. 
 I was far from dreaming that this devil incarnate would 
 crop up in ray life again. But as some men are followed 
 by adverse fortune, which seems to hang like a demon over 
 their lives, as though waiting for an opportunity to work 
 them evil, so this dark-browed Tory became my bete noire, 
 as the French say, and a thorn in my side. 
 
 So far, we were opponents only by the chance of war ; 
 but the future held for us an enmity occasioned by circum 
 stances that fostered an antagonism to which war was a 
 mere pastime. Fate was to determine whether the victory 
 belonged to the dashing man of the world or to the 
 country stripling. 
 
 I will not load these pages with the minor doings of my 
 every-day life, nor devote my space to the military move 
 ments of the time, however interesting might be the latter 
 theme. Every reader of history can supply the events of 
 the years 1777 and 1778 ; events in which I played no 
 part. 
 
 The war had extended to such a length that to us it had 
 become almost a matter of course, and, aside from the 
 temporary public stir on the receipt of news which came 
 only at long intervals, there was no excitement. 
 
 Only once was the town in danger. On the last day of 
 August, 1778, Clinton, with a fleet of one hundred sail, 
 threatened us ; and but for the providential interference of 
 an adverse gale, which prevented his working into the 
 harbor, history would have had another bloody page to 
 unroll. But he sailed back to New York and left us to 
 pursue our course as onlookers over a theater that was 
 extending more and more, until finally the war drifted to 
 the south, and we heard of defeat after defeat, as one 
 listens to disasters occurring afar, without a full or even 
 fair realization of their import. 
 
 My excursions by water had become restricted, owing to 
 the prevalence of the enemy's vessels, and I always kept
 
 THE ALARM. 127 
 
 within easy running distance of New London. The saying 
 to the effect that whomsoever one meets in the desert is 
 sure to prove an enemy, had its counterpart on Long 
 Island Sound in those days. I fled from a sail with all 
 dispatch, having no stomach to again try a policy of decep 
 tion or to possibly run into the arms of the Dragon 
 herself. 
 
 The face of the great sea wrinkled or smoothed itself as 
 it frowned or smiled, and the twinkling edge of the surf 
 lazily lapped the beach or bit into the sands with its vary 
 ing moods. The forests turned brown and green and 
 brown and green again before my time was ripe to bear 
 new fruits of action. All nature alternately dressed herself 
 as a bride and fell into the barrenness of age, and this 
 great world swung twice through its course befoi'e my 
 story again takes up its thread and spins a line which still 
 glitters through all the years that have since gone. 
 
 But erstwhile, under the blossoms of the orchard in 
 spring, beneath the shelter of the summer forests, and 
 beside the fostering warmth of the great fires in winter, 
 had grown a quiet romance; for Charlotte and Hal had 
 put aside all concealment and stood before us betrothed. 
 At present marriage was not spoken of, for times were 
 hard and the future too uncertain to make such a step 
 advisable. The grasp of poverty hung over all, and even 
 we, who had never known its hand before, now felt its 
 grip and were forced to forego luxuries that had hitherto 
 been considered necessities. 
 
 This was far from being remarkable, for the money of 
 the Confederacy, which had been freely taken when first 
 issued, had now fallen so as to be worth but four cents on 
 the dollar. 
 
 .Little, however, did poverty trouble the two, for at 
 their ages love was enough. The curse of heartache, 
 through waiting, was not near them, and my sweet sister 
 grew Gweeter and more beautiful as she stepped onto the
 
 128 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 throne of first love, the throne a woman occupies and feels 
 the dizzy glory of but once. 
 
 Moon had long gone, and we had seen him but for a 
 brief space since our adventure; but he had promised a 
 speedy return, a promise he had so far not fulfilled. For 
 myself, the days had found me no laggard in the main, and 
 the people had grown to know me as a young practitioner, 
 while the old doctor, on whom each passing month now 
 told heavily, depended on me more and more. 
 
 I cannot say that I had an abiding love for my profes 
 sion. A life of greater activity than could be found in the 
 shady streets of the quiet old town would have suited me 
 better ; but I knew no other road into which to turn, and 
 those two years which saw me emerge from the unformed 
 student into something less negative were tinged with but 
 little color, and held no great hopes for the future. 
 
 I confess to the keener pleasures of my home, over the 
 moderate activity of time spent in following the path of 
 my manifest duty in town. I confess to the greater satis 
 faction of an hour's day-dream while reclining on the top 
 of a certain high, "chestnut-shaded bowlder that pushed 
 from the side of the hill overlooking the sea ; a great half- 
 rounded rock, standing ten feet above its fellows, with a 
 depression on its top like a cradle, in which I was wont to 
 lie and pretend to study, while my eye and brain drifted 
 away from the materia medico, and went fog-hunting or 
 wool-gathering, as you please. 
 
 To this same bowlder a strange thing happened the fol 
 lowing winter, during the "great freeze " of January, 1780. 
 On a quiet night in the middle of the month, when the 
 still air seemed to crackle with the intensity of the cold, and 
 all nature shriveled up in the terrible temperature, the 
 rock split from top to bottom with a wonderful report that 
 equaled the discharge of a heavy cannon, and was heard 
 for miles around. I mind me that it was in the dead of 
 night, and the ground feet deep with snow, when the noise
 
 THE ALARM. 129 
 
 that shook the house broke upon us. At first we thought 
 it the bursting of the ice on the river or along the Sound 
 shore, due to the swing of the tide, and not until a day or 
 two later did I make the discovery that my cradle had been 
 split through its center and gaped widely. It had been an 
 immense toy to me in childhood, and I can remember dig 
 ging away the earth at its front and putting my little 
 shoulder to it in the vain hope of seeing it topple from its 
 place and roll down the steep declivity into the sea. And 
 there the old rock still lies ; a wonder to the country 
 around, at the mighty power in the freezing of a few drops 
 of water in its heart. In its nest Charlotte and I had 
 played, summers in and out, while over it further and 
 further the chestnut spread its arms. On it I had dreamed 
 as a youth, dreamed and hoped as a young man, and was 
 so dreaming and hoping on the afternoon of Sunday, 
 July 4, 1779, when my half-dozing senses were aroused by 
 a sound more portentous than that of a splitting rock : the 
 distant boom of a single cannon that vibrated through the 
 quiet air. 
 
 I had hardly realized the nature of the report when it 
 was followed by another, and then all was silent but for 
 the swish of the leaves above me and the chirping of the 
 crickets. 
 
 Suddenly I felt its significance in full force. Inaction 
 had fostered a feeling of security, and the import of the 
 dull, rumbling shots had come slowly, but I was fully alive 
 to them now. 
 
 Throwing myself from my perch, I tore up the hill and 
 into the house shouting : 
 
 " The alarm from the fort ! Where's Harry ? " for I 
 knew he would be somewhere on the place, as I had seen 
 him and Charlotte together but a while since. 
 
 My father, who was writing, looked up anxiously, then 
 rose and walked slowly to the open door. The outside 
 world was exquisite in its aspect of peace and beauty,
 
 130 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and it seemed impossible that war should mar its perfec 
 tion. 
 
 " Are you sure you heard aright ?" he asked, as he looked 
 out onto the barren stretch of blue water, for no sail 
 specked it south or east, and the west was hidden from 
 where we stood. 
 
 " Hark ! there again ! " I exclaimed, as the sound of two 
 more reports came from the distance. " 'Tis a call from 
 the fort. What force could have approached us unknown 
 yet what else would demand an alarm?" 
 
 " God grant it be not what I have long feared ! There 
 is but one thing to do. Haste to the fort, Tony ; I will 
 send Rod to follow and bring back tidings." 
 
 I rushed to my room for sword and rifle, and, starting for 
 the barns to saddle up, I met Harry hurrying through the 
 garden with Charlotte, whose face was white and scared. 
 
 " I heard it," he said briefly, as he turned and went with 
 me, while Charlotte, without a word, followed. None of 
 the help was about, but it was short work for us to saddle 
 a couple of animals. It was not so short a business, how 
 ever, to get clear of Charlotte, who clung to her lover as 
 though it were to be an eternal separation and the cannons 
 were his funeral salute. She held him as only a woman 
 holds the man to whom she surrenders, giving vent but 
 little to words or tears, but with a desperation that was 
 pitiful from its very earnestness. 
 
 " Heaven help me ! What am I to do, Tony ? " he cried, 
 as he strove in vain to unclasp her arms from about his neck. 
 "It's as cruel as death to leave her in this state, yet I must 
 get hence. Sweetheart, for the love of mercy, let me go ! " 
 he urged, his face growing set as he looked at her. " You 
 should be the first to send me off and not the one to make 
 me prove a coward. Unclasp me, love ; I will be back 
 soon the alarm may mean nothing." 
 
 As if to give the lie to his words, two more sullen booms 
 broke on our ears and worked him to a pitch of frenzy,
 
 TEIE ALARM. 131 
 
 though he plead and struggled to no purpose. But this 
 combat of love and duty ended suddenly, for my sister 
 became limp in his arms, and fainted. 
 
 Leaping on to my horse, I rode through the garden to 
 my father, who still stood where I had left him, and bid 
 ding him farewell, told him to send Aunt Freeman to 
 Charlotte, and made my way to the gate. Here Hal soon 
 joined me and we sped away. At his house a brief halt 
 was made that he might gather his arms, and we then 
 hastened onward. 
 
 Never but once, and that later, have I urged a horse to 
 greater speed. As we turned into the Mystic road, clouds 
 of dust before and behind marked the quick gathering of 
 the militia. We passed them going on foot, on horseback, 
 and in carts men, women, and children on the way to 
 fight or look on, all unsmiling and all filled with suppressed 
 excitement. We saw them cutting across fields and climb 
 ing fences singly and in pairs, and my heart gave a bound 
 of delight at seeing how promptly the people sprang to 
 arms in defense of their homes, albeit they were far less 
 prompt in joining the regular troops. 
 
 I scarce knew what I expected to see as we approached 
 the fort, but in fact there was nothing unusual to behold 
 beyond the numbers that poured in and out of the gate. A 
 company was already formed in the field, which marched 
 down the road to the ferry as we came up, and I learned it 
 was dispatched to the feeble works of Fort Trumbull across 
 the river. 
 
 There was no sign of an enemy in sight, and it was with 
 some little difficulty that I gathered the cause of the alarm, 
 but the cause was sufficient. 
 
 Five British ships lay in the offing, either preparing to 
 work into the harbor later, or to land troops undercover of 
 darkness to do their work by night. It seemed strange to 
 us that they should have thus given a chance for the country 
 side to rise before making an attack. Presently word came
 
 132 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 from the lighthouse that there were no troopships or tran 
 sports among them, and that the fleet meant only to block 
 the port. 
 
 This proved to be the fact, though until we knew the 
 reason, it kept us on the alert. Though most of the militia 
 retunied to their homes that night, a large number remained 
 to garrison the fort. 
 
 A week passed with the silent enemy before our eyes, 
 and the rattle of our own drums and notes of preparation 
 in our ears, when, on Sunday afternoon, as I was placing a 
 patrol on the beach back of Pine Island, I received an 
 oi-der to report to Colonel Ledyard, and immediately 
 repaired to headquarters. 
 
 In the meantime enough had come to our knowledge to 
 stir the blood and make inactivity well-nigh unbearable. 
 Tryon had suddenly fallen on New Haven, burning it and 
 the surrounding villages. Outrages unspeakable had been 
 perpetrated on the defenseless inhabitants by the foreign 
 troops. The movement had none of the dignity of military 
 etrateg} 7 , and had been foreshadowed in the action of the 
 British Parliament, which had determined that predatory 
 incursions on defenseless points had become necessary to 
 break the spirit of rebellion. Tryon had given the key of 
 his intentions in a proclamation to the people, issued from 
 the fleet then before the town, which ended by saying : 
 
 " The existence of a single habitation on your defenseless 
 coast ought to be a subject of constant reproof to your 
 ingratitude." 
 
 The war vessels before us were thus accounted for. The 
 eastern end of the Sound and the port of New London 
 were blocked from interference by water, and the move 
 was too sudden for resistance by land. Having no knowl 
 edge of the whereabouts of the main fleet, or intimation of 
 where the next blow might be struck, we were in a lament 
 able state of fear and uncertainty on the day I was sent for 
 by Colonel Ledyard.
 
 THE ALARM. 133 
 
 I marked an air of expectation as I entered the fort and 
 saw a line drawn up on the parade as if for inspection, but 
 not stopping to inquire the cause, I proceeded to the 
 colonel's quarters and entered. 
 
 In the room were a dozen officers and men of importance 
 in the town, all gathered about a table at which sat the 
 colonel in earnest conversation with a noble-looking old 
 gentleman in a white wig, who was a stranger to me. That 
 he was a person of importance, I knew at once by the def 
 erence paid him. I mingled with the group for some time 
 without attracting attention, until the colonel at last, look 
 ing up, caught my eye. 
 
 " Here, Anthony," he said, rising and beckoning to me, 
 "let me present you to Governor Trumbull. Governor, 
 this is Doctor, or rather Lieutenant Gresham, the young 
 gentleman of whom I spoke. Shall I give him his 
 orders ? " 
 
 Governor Trumbull of Connecticut ! So this was the 
 man, who, next to General Washington, commanded my 
 greatest reverence. The friend and adviser of the Com 
 mander-in-chief, and the one on whom he most relied. 
 The spirit and backbone of Connecticut, who never for a 
 moment wavered in his faith in our ultimate triumph. The 
 man who proved himself the " Solon of the East," and 
 whose resources seemed never at an end. 
 
 He rose from his chair and shook me warmly by the 
 hand, saying : 
 
 " The State is already indebted to you, lieutenant, but 
 with your permission I will increase the debt." 
 
 I felt both honored and confused at this notice given so 
 freely and in such company, and bowed with my best grace, 
 while I murmured something to the effect that I was at his 
 service. 
 
 " As it is not in the line of your regular duty," he con 
 tinued, reseating himself and apparently studying my face, 
 " you are not ordered, as the colonel intimates, but asked
 
 134 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 to volunteer on a service not necessarily attended with great 
 danger." 
 
 He paused as though waiting a reply, and I managed to 
 get ray tongue and say that I considered Colonel Ledyard's 
 wishes as orders. 
 
 "Excellent ! " he answered. "You of course are aware 
 of the disaster which has overtaken the Commonwealth. 
 The enemy have withdrawn to Huntington Harbor on the 
 Long Island coast and are refitting. This much Ave know 
 and this is all. Messengers by land are plentiful, and we 
 now need one by water. You will take your vessel, which 
 I hear has already done good service and seems fitted for 
 the duty, and sail around these gentry outside by night, 
 bearing west till you meet this fleet which is at the back 
 of Tryon. If you can determine their movements in any 
 direction, return with the information. Place on shore the 
 messenger I shall send with you, and make your return as 
 safe as possible. If hard pressed and in danger of capture, 
 run your vessel ashore, and the State will indemnify you 
 for all loss. You may ask for volunteers to the number 
 you think you may require, and they too may be set ashore 
 at different points at your discretion, to make their way 
 back with such information as you acquire. The whole 
 will be under your command. Do you understand this 
 plainly ? " 
 
 " Perfectly," I replied, losing all diffidence in listening 
 to his concise orders, and feeling the prospect of immediate 
 adventure. " I will ask for three men and start by dark 
 to-night." 
 
 " If your action is as prompt as your answer, there is 
 little to fear, and all will go well," he returned. " Com 
 mend me to your father, whom I know and admire. I wish 
 you a fortunate trip." 
 
 " I trust your Excellency will hear a good account of 
 me. I will prepare at once. Is your express ready to go 
 with me ? "
 
 THE ALARM. 135 
 
 "Not here, lieutenant, not here yet; but he will be 
 instructed to meet you a little after sunset. Good-by to 
 you ! " 
 
 Considering this as a dismissal, I withdrew with a bow 
 to him and another to the assemblage and, flushed with 
 pride and gratification, set about finding Harry, who would 
 of course form part of the expedition. 
 
 After much trouble and inquiry I came upon him seated 
 on top of Avery's Knoll (an elevation just outside the 
 fort), where he was sucking a pipe and gazing pensively 
 out at sea. He became all animation when I stated the 
 nature of my business, and readily agreed with me as to 
 the advantage of taking the Rose boys, upon whom I had 
 settled in my mind as being suited to make up the needed 
 number. 
 
 These were two brothers who lived near the ferry and 
 were competent watermen; a qualification I deemed neces 
 sary. Both had been with the army around Boston, and 
 we had known them since boyhood. Their names were 
 Ben and Arnasa respectively. Jolly, devil-may-care fisher 
 men in times of peace, and equally brave and devil-may- 
 care in these days of war. They joined us eagerly, and 
 such was the looseness of the military organization that 
 the matter of asking for leave of absence was not con 
 sidered. They simply stated their intention of leaving 
 and left. 
 
 Not knowing the state of the family larder, and doubting 
 its ability to provision us on so short a notice, we drew 
 what rations we could from the commissariat, and with 
 light hearts set out for Hardscrabble, more like boys 
 bound on an errand of pleasure than like men going on an 
 expedition that might prove disastrous even fatal.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 
 
 BESIDES laying in every available weapon, with a supply 
 of ammunition, and taking on board such provisions as 
 could be spared from the house, there had been little to 
 do. Otherwise the Will o* the Wisp, like a blooded hound, 
 was always kept trim for a run, and was tugging at the 
 leash of her moorings against the young ebb. We were 
 only waiting the coming of the Governor's messenger and 
 the darkness, to be off. 
 
 As a fighting force on the start, we would have, with 
 Rod, six men ; and I had small fear of our ability to take 
 care of anything of our draught. Our numbers precluded 
 the possibility of fatigue from being short-handed, yet 
 left ample room to work ship, fight, or live comfortably, as 
 the future decreed. 
 
 Good-bys and God-speeds had been given, though in 
 Harry's case it seemed a protracted function. We were all 
 aboard save Rod, who with the dingey was ashore waiting 
 the completion of our complement of men. Slowly the 
 light sank and the shore lost its details. The water rippled 
 under our bow, the tree-toads and frogs started up 
 their night concert, and still no messenger appeared. 
 What would be my duty in case of his non-arrival bothered 
 me greatly, and I was about calling a general council when 
 the stroke of oars reached my ears, and a boat appeared 
 from up the river and swung alongside. Before I dis 
 covered it was not Rod in the dingey, the figure of a man 
 stepped from it to the deck. His first words introduced 
 him. 
 
 136
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 137 
 
 " I'm late, lads, but through no fault. Where's your 
 captain ? " 
 
 There was no mistaking the voice and gesture. It was 
 Jacob Moon. 
 
 In a trice the old man was wringing my hand, while the 
 others stood wondering. The greeting was warm and 
 short enough, for there was no time to be lost. 
 
 " Let's be off," lie said, as he released me, " the wind's 
 fair an' we should make New Haven early ; there'll be 
 plenty o' time to palaver." 
 
 At once all hands were busy. Rod was recalled and the 
 sloop got under way; and ere the low west was fairly freed 
 of the glimmer of the sun's last light, we were standing out 
 into the Sound and bearing south to make a long loop 
 around the blockade. 
 
 The night was hot and bid fair to be dark enough to suit 
 our purpose, for the thin haze that oft accompanies a south, 
 wind veiled the light of the stars, and there was no moon. 
 
 " Keep a sharp watch ahead till we round them," said 
 Jacob, as we drove out into the blackness of the Sound. 
 "The ships may be moving abroad ; 'tis just the night they 
 would be on the lookout, but ye can give them the slip 
 though they sight us, for they feai* shallow water as the 
 devil fears a cross." 
 
 We made our way to the south, however, without seeing 
 any sign of the enemy, and then stood west until we had 
 put the harbor well on our starboard quarter. It was nine 
 o'clock when we started, and by half-past eleven I con 
 sidered it safe to run in and get the land within easy dis 
 tance, for there was no knowing what cruiser we might 
 chance upon in the depth of the Sound. We made the 
 land near Millstone Point and then bore away west again, 
 just near enough to the coast to make its black outlines 
 barely visible against the sky, yet far enough t6 clear the 
 outh'ing reefs. 
 
 To have Jacob aboard was the one thing that completed 
 10
 
 138 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 my appetite for the expedition, and as we bad much to talk 
 over, we took the first watch together while the rest turned 
 in below. 
 
 " How happens it, old fellow," said I, " that you drop on 
 us in this fashion like a meteor, when I have figured you as 
 being leagues hence ? " 
 
 " Faith ! 'tis a long story," he replied. " Since I had 
 the last o' ye I ha' covered a power o' ground. From ye 
 to Sullivan at Providence, then on to Boston, then to Fal- 
 mouth, and from there back to headquarters, with many a 
 side road and many a delay. I fetched Germantown in 
 time to winter at Valley Forge. I tell ye, lad, I ha' been 
 better clad, better fed, an' better housed before an' since 
 that time, an' many was there penned in who were about 
 ready to give up an' return to the king, only no one had 
 the backbone to propose it for fear o' his fellows. Good 
 Lord ! those were black days, my son ! I thought the 
 cause the same as .lost during the early winter. But the 
 chief God bless him ! is made o' iron, methinks, for he 
 was always the same, blew the wind east or west; an' now, 
 albeit I see not how, we look to be climbing the hill. 'Tis 
 the French that ha' put the heart in us again and given the 
 king a fit, mayhap; for do ye mind, I think this matter o' 
 burning houses an' shooting unarmed men, an' robbing an' 
 outraging, is a token o' weakness among the red-coats, an' 
 that matters be on the mend. 
 
 "I'll not be telling ye what ye know, but how I hap 
 pened here. Washington got wind o' this movement o' 
 the Bloody Wolf,* an' sent me to yon fine old gentleman, 
 your Governor, an' he sent me to Glover's Brigade at Provi 
 dence ; but it is far too late, if I may venture an opinion, 
 an' now I am ordered back to Washington by this route, 
 which delighted my heart when I heard o' it, an' will take 
 him what scraps o' matter we pick up, if so be we pick up 
 any." 
 
 * The name given to General Tryon by the Americans.
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 139 
 
 " Are you to leave us, then, before we return ? " I asked, 
 mightily disappointed at so soon losing him. 
 
 " Aye, lad ! When ye start back I quit ye an' sorry I 
 am ; but we'll meet again, past doubt ; my loss is the 
 greater for the quitting. An' now that you have a coarse 
 cutting o' my doings up to this night, ye'll tell me o' 
 yourself." 
 
 I gave him my history for the past two years, but being 
 devoid of incident, it took little time. When at last I told 
 him that our prisoner had been exchanged, he snapped his 
 fingers suddenly, and said : 
 
 "I know it, an' by the powers ! but I came near forget 
 ting the news I had o' him. He's out o' the navy. He 
 thro wed up his commission on blue water an' wants a berth 
 in the army, which he hasn't got yet, if I hear aright. I 
 had the story down in Princeton, where he hails from, an' 
 there is little love borne him even among his friends. I 
 heard no good o' him. In or out o' the service he is one 
 to keep clear of, for he can't arguefy save with a sword, an' 
 is fond o' a pistol an' ten paces an' doesn't always wait for 
 the fair word. Why ! 'tis but a short time agone, and 
 since we caught him, that he as good as murdered a boy 
 Bowden was his name, a young ensign with Parker at 
 Newport. The lad was drunk at mess, an' in his high 
 flight (an' high they all get), he insulted our friend some 
 way though how he could do it beats me ; anyhow, 
 Bromfield called him out then and there, an' they fought 
 with swords, though the boy for he was naught else, being 
 but eighteen knew nothing of the art, so I am told, an' 
 was too far gone in liquor to manage if he had been a 
 master. 'Twas cold murder as ever murder was, for Brom 
 field run him through before they had more than crossed 
 swords, an' a devil o' a time there was made o' it, for the. 
 lad was o' high society. The upshot o'* it was that our 
 friend had to give up the navy, an' that is how he lacks a 
 job at present. The affair was winked at some way, an'
 
 140 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 no\v lie's after the land branch o' the service. His family's 
 a good one an' well to do. He's the black sheep on't." 
 
 I was surprised to hear this, but not surprised at such an 
 exposition of his character, for it seemed in keeping ; the 
 topic was one of but momentary interest and was soon put 
 aside. 
 
 In such manner of conversation the time slipped by, the 
 wind holding steady and driving us at a good speed, for 
 the sea was not boisterous. 
 
 At one o'clock I called the relief, and Moon and I took 
 their places below and soon slumbered. When I awoke it 
 was bi'oad day and we were still making progress. We 
 breakfasted at once, the wheel was relieved, and Hal and 
 Arnasa, who had held the last watch, turned in for a nap. 
 By eight o'clock we were off Guilford, and by nine thread 
 ing our way through the " Thimbles." 
 
 The day bid fair to be intensely hot. The sun was 
 bright and the sky without a cloud, but the steadiness and 
 weight of the wind made the heat bearable, and I hoped 
 that, for comfort alone, we should not be overtaken by a 
 flat calm. The telescope had been in use since daj^light, 
 the horizon being constantly swept in search of tokens of 
 the fleet, but nothing marred the dazzle of blue, neither 
 did any craft put out to meet us as I had hoped, and we 
 sailed along in total ignorance as to what might be going 
 on ashore. 
 
 We had lapsed into the silence that always comes to a 
 boat's company after the novelty of the situation wears off 
 and the immediate future holds out nothing of interest, 
 and the "Thimbles" dropped astern. Before noon we 
 were off New Haven harbor, but not caring to lose time by 
 tacking out, as we would have to do if we went in, I 
 decided not to enter, but stood for a point known as Savin 
 Rock, a few miles west. Here we dropped anchor and 
 sent a boat to the beach, trusting to pick up news from the 
 farmers in the vicinity. To give them a taste of what
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 141 
 
 they might be required to do later, I dispatched the Rose 
 boys with it, and after an absence of nearly two hours, 
 during which time we suffered greatly from the heat, they 
 returned with the information that the disaster to New 
 Haven had drawn thither most of the yeomen of the sur 
 rounding country, and the only positive fact that could be 
 gathered was that the fleet had left Huntington Harbor, its 
 destination being unknown to the inhabitants of the coast 
 hereabouts. 
 
 Not considering this of sufficient importance to warrant 
 sending back a messenger, we hauled up anchor and con 
 tinued on our course. 
 
 The afternoon passed without incident and with hardly 
 a word among us, so depressing, despite the breeze, was the 
 closeness of the atmosphere. The cabin was intolerable, 
 while on deck the direct sun was terrific, the planks radi 
 ating heat like molten iron. I overcame the latter by hav 
 ing the decks soused with water, and, by dodging into the 
 shade of the main-sail, all but the one at the wheel man 
 aged to exist without suffering. 
 
 So wore the hours until we were abreast of Black Rock 
 and running close to" shore, when we marked a small boat 
 with but one man in it, put out from the land and pull as 
 though to intercept us. Having no fear of him, we luffed 
 up and let him come alongside. 
 
 By his dress and speech he appeared half fisherman, half 
 fanner, and his first words awoke us all. 
 
 " Go no further ! " he exclaimed excitedly, as he came 
 up, " unless you want to fall into the hands of the Hessians. 
 Try on is out again and at Norwalk since last night, and the 
 town is burned. I had the news scarce two hours since. 
 The whole fleet lies off the creek and you will be taken if 
 they catch sight of you." 
 
 "Was there no resistance?" I asked, as he sat in his 
 boat holding onto our side. 
 
 " None that I wot of; there are no troops thereabouts,
 
 142 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and the militia is weak. My own house at Fail-field was 
 burned on Thursday, and I escaped here. I saw you com 
 ing and felt it my duty to warn you." 
 
 Further questioning brought forth the fact that the 
 people along shore were terrorized and ready to move at 
 the first sight of the hostile fleet, but there was no know 
 ing whether it would work destruction along the coast 
 east or west. 
 
 My mind was at once made up to dispatch one of the 
 Rose boys back with this news, and telling Ben that he 
 would have no difficulty in getting the means of transpor 
 tation to forward him, I sent him ashore with our inform 
 ant. He was loth to go from us, but I put it in the form 
 of a command, and with short leave-taking he stepped into 
 the boat while we filled away. 
 
 With the whereabouts of the danger located, we centered 
 our attention ahead, and as we opened and drew around 
 each point of land, it was with relief that we discovered it 
 sheltered no sail, and held on, not knowing what the next 
 point might reveal. 
 
 I figured that the position of the fleet lay ten or twelve 
 miles west of Black Rock, and though they might have 
 been seen from the middle of the Sound, our policy of hug 
 ging the shore cut off a view far ahead and made it possi 
 ble for us to come upon some detached vessel of the enemy's 
 before we were aware of its proximity. 
 
 But we slipped by the wooded points and black reefs, 
 and nothing met our gaze that changed my determination 
 to proceed. The wind, which had been without a flaw 
 since sunrise, now shifted to the west and began to head us 
 off and blow fitfully. My expectation of a squall, which the 
 heat of the day had led me to look for, seemed about to be 
 realized, for as we made a tack toward open water, I marked 
 a heavy cloud hanging over the horizon, and called Moon's 
 attention to it. He looked at it a moment and then went 
 below to consult the barometer. As he came up he said :
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 143 
 
 " We will have thunder, past doubt, for the glass is fall 
 ing, but I take it 'twill not be from yon cloud. 'Tis not far 
 out to say that yonder smut marks Nbrwalk, an' 'tis the 
 smoke o' the burning town ye see. The wind has drawn 
 west an' 'tis bringing it down on us, but there's a black 
 squall behind. Ha ! The Bloody Wolf leaves a broad 
 banner to mark his work, an' hangs it high," he continued, 
 as the cloud rose rapidly ; " an' yet the tears he causes 
 were almost enough to swamp the fires he kindles. I 
 would to God I could settle the matter with him single- 
 handed ; I'd willingly lay my life for the chance," and the 
 old man's face took on something of the expression I had 
 seen in the cabin Avhen he captured Bromfield. 
 
 On we went, with alternate short tacks, the sun dipping 
 lower and lower as we covered the distances; but our prog 
 ress was slow, owing to the nature of our course, which zig 
 zagged in and out, until finally the wind dropped flat 
 as we were close ashore, and we lay rocking to a slight 
 swell. 
 
 Our position was then off a point that I judged was not 
 more than four or five miles from the burning town, but 
 beyond, no sight could be had, as the Nor walk Islands, 
 which lay thick off the mouth of the harbor, blocked the 
 way. The smoke that rose spread like a pall over us and 
 dimmed the sun that was near its setting, though the water 
 lay clear and golden in the mellow of the evening. 
 
 We were doubtless in for a blow, as all signs showed, 
 from the drop of the wind to the bank of clouds that was 
 now but partly hidden by the thick haze of smudge. Here 
 I took in the light sails, for we had been carrying both gaff 
 and jib topsails all day, and lowered the jib itself until the 
 squall should break. 
 
 After a general consultation, it was determined to set 
 Amasa ashore to make his way to Norwalk by night, and 
 from thence home, bearing such news as he could gather. 
 It was a difficult undertaking, but not dangerous, as I had
 
 144 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 reason to argue that the town was deserted by the enemy, 
 and the man was full of resources. With the parting 
 injunction to report to the commander of any patriot force, 
 if such were near, and offer himself as an express to the 
 east, I sent him ashore with Rod in the dingey, and saw 
 him land and disappear in the thick wood that covered the 
 point and came down to the water's edge. 
 
 Everything was now snugged for a sudden change, and 
 we sat watching the climbing of the clouds and the faint 
 flashes of lightning that lit them with an angry glare. 
 Blacker and blacker grew the sky as the sun went down. 
 At last our expectation was broken by the first heavy drops 
 that splashed on deck like bullets, quickly followed by the 
 roar of the rain that tore the face of the water into spray, 
 and sounded like a cavalry charge in its advance. The line 
 that marked its edge was on us in an instant, and in a 
 twinkling we were soaked ; but we sat some minutes in the 
 down-pour before the wind struck us. The sloop was 
 saved from the greatest fury of the squall as it broke by 
 the point in the lee of which we were lying, and she met it 
 in the best possible position, bow on. 
 
 When the first blast had roared itself out, the wind 
 steadied into a pouring of cool, fresh air, and the sky 
 behind the black front of the storm lightened a bit, though 
 the thunder and lightning increased in force and frequency. 
 Wishing to make the most of the faint remains of the day, 
 we got up the jib and stood out for the Norwalk Islands, 
 among which I knew we must pass the night (and it bid 
 fair to be a stormy one), for there 1 could find a harbor in 
 any wind though it blew a hurricane. But the night fell 
 rapidly and I was glad of the gleams that shot from the 
 clouds so often, for without the lightning I know not how 
 we could have progressed through the narrow passages, so 
 intensely dark had it become. It was dangerous work at 
 best, and I felt my way slowly until I came to an opening 
 made bv the triangle of three small islands. As here there
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 145, 
 
 was room enough to swing, everything was let go and the 
 anchor dropped in four fathoms of water. 
 
 The fitful flashes that opened and shut the prospect 
 showed the island to the west to be slightly wooded, while 
 the other two and those beyond w r ere low and barren of 
 trees, though covered with bushes and thick short grass, 
 with here and there a rock to break the surface. So far 
 into this little archipelago had we penetrated that the 
 water was without a swell, and when we had nosed up to 
 the wind, we lay as steady as a house ashore. It was no 
 easy matter to furl the great, wet sail in a down-pour of 
 rain, but we got it in " stops," and once snugged, I felt safer 
 than at any time during the day, albeit we now lay close 
 to the British. 
 
 Nothing could find us in this labyrinth, and our pres 
 ence was unsuspected. It was near ten o'clock by the time 
 the last gasket was tied, and determining to get some com 
 fort after our experience, I ordered Rod to block the 
 cabin sky-light and windows, and with the companion 
 closed, we lighted the lamps and had supper like Christians. 
 
 However, our comfort was short-lived. The closeness of 
 the quarters, owing to the heat from the galley and the 
 lamps, together with tobacco smoke and steam from the 
 wet clothing which we had stripped from us, made the 
 place unendurable ; so, with extinguished lights, we 
 opened everything to the sluice of cool air outside, and, 
 wrapping ourselves in blankets, prepared for the night. 
 By eleven the rain ceased and a few stars broke out over 
 head ; so I went on deck for the first watch. Hal was to 
 relieve me at one o'clock and be relieved by Rod at three, 
 and with this understanding all turned in, leaving me to 
 my vigils. 
 
 For two hours I smoked, slapped the mosquitoes that 
 came in clouds, and harkened to the slatting of the hal 
 yards against the mast, with no other sound for company 
 save the chirrup of one lone cricket on the island hard by,
 
 146 IN DEFIANCE OP THE KING. 
 
 or a mysterious splash that once in a while broke from the 
 waters about. After the heat of the day and the cabin, 
 the wet night air was like wine, and I drank it in with 
 long breaths, but was drowsy enough by the time I called 
 Hal and turned in. 
 
 It was gray dawn when I awoke, and I lay looking at 
 the square of pale sky framed by the open companion, 
 when I saw Rod put his head through the opening and 
 look around. Seeing that I was not sleeping, he stepped 
 softly down and whispered : 
 
 " I reckon dar's a dead woman on de island yonder, Mars 
 Tony, but dey aint naos' light nuff to see fo' sho." 
 
 I jumped from my bunk and went up to the cockpit, 
 from whence he pointed out a black object lying along the 
 sand close above high-water mark, but whether a woman 
 or a log I could not determine. Reaching for the glass, I 
 brought it to bear on the object, and with a start, plainly 
 made out a female ; but whether dead or not it was im 
 possible to tell, there being no movement. Turning to 
 the cabin, I roused the others, and we got into our damp 
 clothes, while Rod brought the boat alongside. 
 
 Leaving him in the sloop, we rowed quickly to the spot, 
 and were soon by what appeared to be the corpse of a 
 young woman. I say young, for, though the face was 
 drawn and white and her dark hair threaded with gray, 
 there was nothing but youth in the small, girlish form 
 that plainly showed through the clinging water-soaked 
 garments ; and the face itself, though pinched by suffer 
 ing, had an oval that only goes with youth or early 
 maturity. 
 
 She rested on her side, with her small hands thrown out 
 loosely, and her face, attractive even in its plight, turned 
 half upward. By the fact that the body lay some way 
 above high-water mark, I knew it was not a case of drown 
 ing and being washed ashore. - 
 
 The first sign that made me think life remained in the
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 147 
 
 body was the swarm of mosquitoes that had settled on her, 
 but not the faintest breath could I discover coming through 
 her pale, half open lips. We turned her over gently, while 
 I stripped the dress from her bosom, that I might get my 
 ear close to her heart, and as the white flesh was uncov 
 ered I saw with surprise a gunshot wound in the shoulder. 
 Further examination showed that the ball had passed clear 
 through and out at the back, without touching the bone, 
 but the rain had washed away all traces of blood ; so I 
 could make nothing of the extent of the hemorrhage, 
 though I doubted that being the cause of death. 
 
 I held my ear to her heart for fully half a minute, lis 
 tening with the greatest intentness the while, before at 
 last I heard a faint click, and then another, proving the 
 poor creature was still of this world, though about cross- 
 ing the threshold of the next. 
 
 " There's life there yet ! " I cried, as I jumped to my 
 feet and met the inquiring eyes of my companions. " The 
 woman lias been shot, and has, past doubt, Iain here all 
 night in this state, and the Lord knows how much longer. 
 Shock, exposure, and loss of blood have brought her to the 
 last extremity, but perhaps something may yet be done. 
 Jump aboard, Hal, and get some brandy and water and a 
 blanket ; also fetch the telescope ! " for I determined to 
 take a look toward the enemy from a tree while we were 
 still on the island. 
 
 It would have been natural, mayhap, to have taken her 
 aboard the sloop at once, but I hesitated to move one 
 so low in vitality until I could see the effect of stimu 
 lants, and the air here was better than that of the cabin. 
 AVhile I set to work chafing the hands, Moon walked down 
 the little beach, but soon came back and reported an empty 
 rowboat ashore just around a small point. Both oars were 
 gone and the boat deep with water, but it accounted for 
 the woman's presence on the island. 
 
 " Some poor thing from the town," he said, bending to
 
 148 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 assist me. " If she pulls out o' this, she can thank her 
 stars that her luck landed her at the door of a doctor, 
 though I'm not hopeful; it looks to go hard with her. 
 'Tis fit to make one's eyes run blood to see war in this 
 shape. Are the scarlet-backed devils afeard to meet men, 
 that they come in force to murder helpless women ? Aye, 
 aye ! " he continued, shaking his head vigorously, " God's 
 will be done ! But what a footstool He's made o' this 
 world, that a man can't breathe free air without fighting 
 for the right, an' dragging babes like this into the muss ! " 
 
 But while venting his indignation in this manner he was 
 working away with the tenderness of a woman. When 
 Hal returned I took the poor head on my knee and poured 
 a few drops of brandy and water between the lips ; then, 
 laying her down, we covered her loosely with the blanket, 
 and, with all possible delicacy, removed her wet clothing. 
 
 I knew little of woman's rig in those days, and greatly 
 felt the need of one of her own sex; but there was no 
 time for false modesty, as I saw the on/y chance of bring 
 ing back the spirit was to get warmth into the cold form. 
 
 In constant chafing of the limbs and small doses of 
 brandy we passed an hour working like beavers, by which 
 time the sun was lifting over the land and the day well 
 begun. The heart was slowly increasing in action, but no 
 outward sign of life was yet visible. During the whole 
 time the mosquitoes were a perfect pest, swarming by the 
 hundreds, greatly interfering with our efforts at resuscita 
 tion, and I verily believe they alone would have killed her 
 had she been left much longer on the sand. 
 
 The first token that I had of her returning vitality was 
 a slight flow of blood from the wound in her shoulder, 
 and soon after the small mouth trembled an instant, and 
 the lungs took up their work, for she began to breathe, 
 though very weakly. With what means I could gather I 
 bound up the shoulder, that she might lose no more blood, 
 and, wrapping the blanket closely about her, Jacob took
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 149 
 
 her in his arms like a child and carried her to the dingey, 
 Hal rowing him to the sloop, while I, picking up the tel 
 escope, made my way to the other side of the island for 
 a look about. 
 
 The little island was some two acres in extent, and it took 
 me but a few minutes to cross it. As I waded through the 
 thick, wet grass the mosquitoes rose in clouds and made 
 this small jewel of the Sound nothing short of purgatory. 
 I fought them off as best I could, and found on arriving 
 at the opposite shore that there was small need of a tree 
 to assist me in viewing the British fleet, for from where I 
 stood they were in plain sight, and lying about five miles 
 off the mouth of Norwalk creek. 
 
 I counted a dozen ships of all sorts, and as I stood watch 
 ing, there were signs of activity among them, the nature 
 of which I could not make sure. Hurrying back, I called 
 the boat and sent Moon to take an observation, bidding 
 him stay until he could determine their intention, if the 
 insects let him live to do it, while I tended to the patient. 
 
 She had been laid on a transom cushion, and was still 
 unconscious, though breathing with more freedom, some 
 warmth having come into her extremities. Fora long time 
 I sat watching her while awaiting the return of Moon, with 
 no chancre to be noted save that the breathing became 
 
 O *~J 
 
 deeper, and the face lost something of its pinched 
 appearance. 
 
 While thus waiting, I had a chance to study her. The 
 gray in her hair, the drawn look of the features, and the 
 blotches caused by the mosquitoes, made it difficult to tell 
 her age, yet I thought her to be not more than nineteen or 
 twenty years old. Her feet and hands were small and 
 finely molded, the latter soft and white, showing her a 
 stranger to coarse, manual labor. The homespun garments 
 we had removed were no indication of her position, for 
 in those times of war with the mother country, the highest 
 ladies in New England covered themselves with material
 
 150 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 woven by their own hands. Who she was I could give no 
 guess, nor was there anything about her to help me form 
 an opinion ; yet I would have sworn she was of gentle 
 birth, for the stamp was set in the close, well-shaped ear, 
 and small, straight nose with its delicate nostrils. By 
 and by the little hands began to work ; a weak and piti 
 ful moan broke from her lips, and presently she opened her 
 eyes, but there was no intelligence in the look she gave, 
 though they played over my features in a puzzled way. 
 Soft, brown, frightened eyes they were, but I had little 
 chance to study them, for they closed at once, and with a 
 half turn of her head she sank into her former state. 
 Soon after this, Moon hailed us and was brought aboard. 
 
 " The whole grand legion o' Beelzebub is off," he said, 
 " an' gone west. I waited till I saw the last o' them string 
 away, an' I must be moving to follow along shore. I take 
 it ye'll go no further, seeing your orders are to return as 
 soon as ye get their bearings, an' faith ! 'twould not be 
 safe. Just give me a bite and let me out." 
 
 As this was plain duty I made no demur, though it gave 
 me a feeling akin to homesickness to have him go. During 
 breakfast I conceived it would be a good idea to have 
 Harry accompany him to the ruined town and return to 
 me with news of the extent of the disaster ; at the same 
 time inquiring into the identity of the unfortunate girl we 
 had found. This was acted upon, and with a short shift 
 of leave-taking, the two were set ashore on the mainland 
 some mile or so away, with the understanding that the 
 boat would meet Hal at sundown. 
 
 The day was a long and weaiying one. The patient had 
 opened her eyes several times, but made no answer to 
 the questions I put, and beyond taking the only nourish 
 ment I could give her an egg beaten up in weak spirits 
 required little attention save to see that she was not pes 
 tered by the swarming insects. 
 
 The sun finally set in a great glory of color and fire, like
 
 FOUND ON THE SAND. 151 
 
 a ball of burnished gold, and the dingey was dispatched 
 for Hal, who came with a heart-rending tale of all he had 
 seen and heard. General Parsons had arrived with a force 
 of militia, but too late to save the town, and death, destruc 
 tion, and suffering were rampant in all directions. It was 
 common report that the rapacious Tryon had sat in a chair 
 upon a hill-top, and laughed to see the Hessians chasing 
 and bayoneting the fleeing inhabitants of the town, and 
 this I have seen verified in history. 
 
 Of the identity of the lady, for such she undoubtedly 
 was, there was not the faintest clew. Too many were miss 
 ing to mark a particular one, and those who remained had 
 sorrows of their own to occupy mind and heart. The fleet 
 had gone west, probably to New York, and Moon had left 
 him at midday to join Washington, whom he had heard 
 was at West Point. 
 
 Such was the breadth of his tale, and it seemed there 
 was nothing left for us to do but make sail for New 
 London, carrying the unfortunate girl with us. It would 
 be a relief to do the first, if only to be rid of the flying 
 pests that abounded, and the second went not against my 
 desires, as the brown eyes had awakened an interest in me, 
 and I would have been loth, at this juncture, to have lost 
 the little woman whom I had brought back to life at least, 
 if not to reason.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DOROTHY BEAUCHAMP. 
 
 THE return trip was uneventful. I noted with groat 
 anxiety the symptoms of the sick girl, the bounding pulse, 
 the low muttering of delirium, and the uneasy rolling of 
 the head, which, together with a high fever, betokened 
 trouble with the brain. We were miserably equipped for 
 such an emergency, and I could offer no relief to her 
 suffering. 
 
 Fortunately the wind blew strong and fair, mile after 
 mile slipping beneath our keel. At Niantic I ran in to 
 wait for night, to round again the blockading ships off New 
 London. It was a useless precaution, as I afterward found 
 they had gone, we probably having passed them in the 
 darkness of the night before. At midnight we were once 
 more at our old moorings. 
 
 It was a short matter to arouse the household, but an in 
 finite difficulty to get the patient ashore, carried up the 
 steep hill, and placed in a bed in my aunt's old room. 
 What with the greetings, questions, story-telling, and won 
 derment, and the care of the sick girl, there was no sleep 
 for us that night. And many a night thereafter was the 
 house a scene of unrest, for the patient had plunged into 
 the depths of brain fever. 
 
 She would call out for her father, or start up in bed with 
 shrieks and wild words about fire, and a broad stretch of 
 water that would never let her rest for its heaving. Hor 
 rors came in the shape of darkness and blood, and strange, 
 uncanny things she thought she saw, but no word or name 
 did she drop to give a hint of who she was. All the time
 
 DOROTHY BEAUCHAMP. 153 
 
 Charlotte nursed her like an angel, and Nance helped her, 
 a figure of mercy in ebony. 
 
 The old doctor did his best, but with many shakes of his 
 white head, and I followed his lead, using my few wits, 
 working night and day over her, seeing her grow to a poor 
 shadow, so thin she became, until at last she fell into that 
 state of lengthened stupor, the change from which meant 
 to slip into life anew, or glide into the great, blank beyond. 
 
 As the days had passed my interest in the unknown 
 patient had grown, knowing it would be a fine thing for 
 my reputation if I could carry her safely through so violent 
 an illness ; therefore I was only away from the bedside 
 when my duty called me elsewhere. But either skill, or 
 youth, or both, with good nursing, conquered. One night, 
 while we were hanging over her, anxiously watching for 
 the change that I knew was due, she opened her eyes at 
 last, and with no horror in them only a vague, wondering 
 look at the faces about her ; then closing them, slept, and 
 I knew she would live. 
 
 A poor, broken, snowflake of a thing she looked against 
 the pillows, with her hollow eyes and cropped hair ; and 
 many a day went by before she really began to mend, or I 
 would allow the slightest question put to her or an answer 
 given, save that she was getting well and was among 
 friends. 
 
 There was a world of pathetic sweetness in the glance 
 that showed plain thanks for the drink given her, or the 
 pat to the pillow and the countless little attentions be 
 stowed ; and surely no mother ever nursed her child with 
 more devotion than did my sister nurse this stranger. 
 
 Her look would follow my every motion as I prepared the 
 medicine, or her lips would form some question which I was 
 forced to stop with uplifted finger and a shake of my head. 
 Little by little she gained, until she would greet me with a 
 wan smile that strengthened the sweet, patient expression 
 of her face; but she never spoke of the past, till one day, 
 11
 
 154 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 when I deemed it safe, I made up my mind to determine 
 her identity, and putting my questions gently, to my as 
 tonishment I found the life behind her was a blank and 
 that she had not retained even the recollection of her own 
 name. The detailed story of how and when she was found 
 made no impression ; nor did the name of " Nonvalk," and 
 the recital of the attack on the town, give her any help. 
 She would only clasp her poor head, looking wildly at me, 
 and then I desisted, fearing to force her into a fever; tell 
 ing her it would all come back when she grew stronger. 
 And I had no doubt it would, for these lapses of memory 
 are common after brain fever, when caused by shock and 
 suffering. 
 
 The curtain lifted slowly; and once I found her in a half 
 wild state, for she could tell of being in an open boat that 
 was gradually filling from a leak, and had a recollection of 
 the fierce thunderstorm, and finally of drifting against the 
 land, when she got out in fear that the boat would sink if 
 it floated again into deep water. Why she was in the boat 
 and whence she came, worked her half distraught in striv 
 ing to think ; so I gave her a quieting draught and left 
 her, telling her to be comforted, as it was plain to be seen 
 that her memory was slowly returning. 
 
 Thus the summer days drew on with no change in her, 
 save gaining strength, until at last on my home-coming one 
 afternoon, I was met by my father, who halted me as I was 
 going to my patient, and led me outside and down to the 
 stone wall. There we sat in the last of the day's sunlight, 
 while he told me a strange tale, which I give as he gave 
 it rne. 
 
 " The brain of our charge has come to life at last, An 
 thony," said he, "and at present she is divided betwixt 
 joy upon the recovery of her memory, and grief for all it 
 has revealed. Her home was in Norwalk, and she lived on 
 the bank of the creek with her father, who was a stanch 
 patriot, though an Englishman by birth. When the British
 
 DOROTHY BEAUCHAMP. 155 
 
 first entered the town they committed no worse outrages 
 than the ruin of public property, and had they been unmo 
 lested, 'tis possible 'twould have ended there ; but it was 
 more than flesh and blood could abide, and they were fired 
 upon by a few brave townspeople who got together in 
 haste ; among them her father. 
 
 " Try on but needed that as an excuse for his usual course, 
 and the little band was defeated and fled to their homes. 
 With the firing of the first dwelling, all the misery began. 
 The Hessians caught the spirit, and to the general burning 
 was added a general slaughter. 
 
 " She gives me no details beyond her own experience, 
 and that was too harrowing for her to go into deeply. 
 Defending his own home, her father was shot and bay 
 oneted before her eyes, and the house fired. She was driven 
 from his body by the wretches who had killed him a 
 squad of half a dozen, and only saved herself from foul 
 outrage by hiding in a closet, from whence she heard them 
 making search for her. But ere long, the house being well 
 ablaze, they were forced to quit, and doubtless thought she 
 had escaped. 
 
 " In fear of the flames and trusting they had gone, she 
 climbed from a rear window and fled to the boat that was 
 moored at the foot of the garden. She had scarce made 
 her way into the stream when they discovered her, and one 
 of the ruffians ran to the bank and, deliberately kneeling to 
 aim, shot her in the shoulder, as we know. 
 
 " All this she remembers clearly, but then comes a blank, 
 and she must have fainted from fright and loss of blood, 
 for the next she minds is lying in the boat with the water 
 almost covering her. When she raised herself she found 
 the oars gone, a storm coming on and it was getting dark. 
 
 " She recollects striving to paddle with her hands to some 
 land hard by, but the exertion made her weak and the 
 motion of the boat sickened her, so it seems she must have 
 been out of the river and drifting east with the ebb tide.
 
 156 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 Then she sat and waited while the storm broke, and the 
 water kept deepening in the boat. It grew very dark and 
 she had no idea of her whereabouts. She was probably in 
 a dazed state when at last the boat grounded, and she got 
 ashore and then fell, after which of course she remembers 
 nothing. In landing, she probably pushed the boat away, 
 and it floated off to where it grounded again and was found. 
 
 " The horror of it all overcame her as she told me the 
 story ; mainly the knowing that her father is dead and his 
 body burned with the house. 
 
 " She has no relations in Norwalk, and of course knows 
 naught of the friends she left. The poor waif would be 
 welcome to stay here, for Charlotte has grown very fond 
 of her as indeed have I, for her disposition is winning ; 
 but she has more legitimate shelter hard by." 
 
 " Indeed ! Where ? " I asked, with a mind divided 
 betwixt pity for her and wonder at the last remark. His 
 reply amazed me. 
 
 " Her name is Dorothy Beauchamp, and she is the niece 
 and goddaughter of our neighbor, the squire. You may 
 call to mind the conversation you overheard betwixt the 
 squire and Bromfield. He spoke of his brother in Norwalk 
 and his niece Dorothy. The brother is her father, and 
 she the niece is the young lady in whom Bromfield 
 showed so much interest. The squire must be notified. 
 He is her natural guardian and nearest relative, and will 
 doubtless be glad to have her with him." 
 
 " But she should not go yet," I replied warmly ; " nor for 
 some time to come. The change from here to yon gloomy 
 old house, with a human gravestone as her only companion, 
 would work her an injury," for I thought of the squire's 
 prim and silent sister, and the cold, colorless life of the 
 two. 
 
 " Well ! as her physician you will of course be consulted 
 in the matter ; she is welcome here as long as she chooses 
 to stay."
 
 DOROTHY BEAUCHAMP. 157 
 
 And so it had turned out that this was the " fascinating 
 little devil of a Whig," for whom Btomfield had as much as 
 confessed his love. She certainly belied the description in 
 her present state, but I nothing doubted that time would 
 improve botli looks and spirits. She was still a subject for 
 nursing, though she sat up every day in a big chair, looking 
 out at the Sound water, with the flickering lights and 
 shadows made by the maples shifting over her, and the 
 summer wind that whipped the muslin window curtains 
 into a dance, bringing her new life and health though 
 alas ! happiness seemed far off, if judged by the expression 
 in her eyes. 
 
 The squire was told of the presence of his niece, and 
 came often, having many interviews with her, the nature of 
 which none of us might guess. Then with the permission 
 of the authorities, he went to Norwalk and was gone a 
 week, but told us nothing on his return, save what we had 
 feared that the house was a ruin. Her father's bones had 
 been found and decently buried. He did not press for her 
 immediate removal, a point on which I was prepared to 
 fight, but left her to the tender care of Charlotte ; and 
 between them there grew a love that never failed. 
 
 By the time the golden-rod nodded its plumed head 
 in the fields, and its purple companion put on the ancient 
 mourning color for the summer that had passed, and 
 sprinkled its signals of the waning year along the roadside 
 and in the fence corners, Dorothy was strong enough to 
 get out into the open air and walk to the stone wall with 
 Charlotte's assistance or the aid of my arm ; and sitting 
 there, talk quietly of the grand prospect before us. Some 
 times she would visit the barns and pat the smooth noses of 
 the horses, talk to the cattle and coax the poultry, or do 
 what most people would call " senseless things." Or in 
 the jungle of the garden she would bury her little nose in 
 the depths of the late flowers and gather huge bunches of 
 them for the table.
 
 158 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 She was a child in the ease of her entertainment, yet 
 there was no lack of good, hard sense in our long conversa 
 tions. Many a day I cut short my stay in the village to 
 get home for a talk with my patient, as I still called her, 
 and later, as she grew stronger, for longer walks under the 
 trees of the forest or on the crescent beach that lay below 
 Hardscrabble like a white sickle ; and all the time I saw 
 her figure gradually fill to its perfect proportions, the 
 cheek and chin grow round and touched with color, the 
 smile that showed her pretty teeth come more freely and 
 more often, and the step take on something of the bound 
 that a healthy girl's should have. The cropped hair had 
 begun to grow, but with more shining lines than when I 
 found her, and she had curled it up to get rid of the 
 "awkward shortness" of it, as she said, in a way -that 
 became her mightily in my eyes. It was strange indeed to 
 see so young and fresh a face crowned with hair so thickly 
 threaded with silver, but it only increased its interest and 
 gave no suggestion of age. 
 
 Together we would saunter along the edge of the surf, 
 or sit in the hot sand and build houses like children as we 
 chatted, or pick up shells to cast away again. I beguiled 
 the time by telling her of my adventures and the capture 
 of Lieutenant Bromfield, and she in turn, told of his family 
 as they were when she visited them in New York early in 
 the war ; of his mother and sister, and a thousand other 
 things ; but of Bromfield himself she had little to say. 
 
 Charlotte would never follow us in our longer wander 
 ings (which I thought was strange), but somehow I never 
 pressed her; she always seemed to have some work to do, 
 or was about to meet her lover, which was enough to 
 account for it. She would dance off with a wave of her 
 hand and a smile, and leave us to ourselves. 
 
 It was a glorious autumn somehow. I never knew the 
 sky to be so soft or the foliage so brilliant. I never knew 
 the surf to crawl up the sand with so musical a hiss, or the
 
 DOROTHY BEAUCHAMP. 159 
 
 brooks to tinkle so clearly. I never knew the sun to move 
 so fast or the chill air and dusk of evening strike so sud 
 denly, nor did I, poor idiot, know the cause of it all or of 
 my vague unrest, until the sun had drawn well to the 
 south and the flaming forests dropped their dead fires in 
 ashes of brown leaves ; not until I noticed the birds had 
 fled and the golden-rod was blackening in the frost ; not 
 until the meadows had lost their depth of green and the 
 garden was a tangled mass of withered shrubbery ; not 
 until the broad fires were lighted on the dining room, 
 hearth, and in its cozy glow we heard the patter of the 
 autumn rains through the evenings, all too short. Not 
 until then, when the squire came at last and took his niece 
 home with him, did I awake and know that I loved 
 Dorothy Beauchamp..
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE " GREAT FREEZE." 
 
 I KNEW it by the blankness of home, that never before 
 in my life had I noticed. Somehow the place became sud 
 denly barren, and small things, that erstwhile held an in 
 terest, flattened into tameness, while others, equally trivial, 
 grew into importance because of their associations with her. 
 
 If there were anything needed to re-enforce the con 
 sciousness of my love for this girl it was shown in my 
 moody walks over the haunts we were wont to frequent 
 together, and the spirit of retrospection which possessed 
 me during these wanderings. 
 
 I knew perfectly well what ailed me now, as I fancjr did 
 my father and sister, but no word of it did either say. 
 Charlotte was fond of talking of Dorothy, and found in 
 me a willing listener, though I affected all but a profes 
 sional indifference on the subject. No doubt her womanly 
 instincts fathomed my trouble, for she was unusually atten 
 tive to the wants of her " big brother." I was not living 
 in a " fool's paradise," my state had not lifted me so far, 
 but in a lover's purgatory ; and even then I honestly 
 believe I hugged my melancholy, and would not have 
 changed to the matter-of-fact days when I was "heart 
 whole and fancy free." 
 
 Yes, I was in love deeply ; and I was a miserable man, 
 though the object of my affections was but three miles 
 away, and there was no obstacle to prevent my seeing her. 
 
 I am afraid what strength of character I possessed was 
 on the wane in those days. Neglecting my practice, I 
 took to haunting the neighborhood of the squii'e's, calling 
 
 160
 
 THE "GREAT FREEZE." 161 
 
 on Dorothy, of course, and basking in the light of her 
 brown eyes, after which I cudgeled my brains for an 
 excuse to go again without a reasonable wait. But my 
 wits failing me, my bashfulness and fear of discovering 
 my passion to her (who had never given me a word or look 
 that I could translate into encouragement) kept me often 
 away. 
 
 I tried to content myself by going past and around the 
 house (which all at once had an individuality), and sitting 
 at the edge of the woods where I could command the 
 home-lot, hoping to catch a giimpse of her and vainly try 
 ing to deceive myself into the belief that I was not needed 
 elsewhere, and that I was playing the part of a man; which 
 latter, by the way, was exactly what I was doing, as nine 
 men out of ten will testify, if they be honest. 
 
 When, at times, the period of waiting gone, I would 
 summon up courage to approach the door and enter, a boy 
 of sixteen could hardly have been more diffident. Some 
 how I felt we were losing the old, free, companion feeling 
 which used to exist between us, for then she would never 
 color under my gaze, while now, when I took her hand 
 in greeting, she seemed to shrink within herself, and the 
 pink would flash through the rounded cheek as though her 
 face had caught the rose of the setting sun. 
 
 There were, however, no wanderings for us, not even to 
 the edge of the woods or to the brook that bounded the 
 the farm, for the late season was boisterous and gave 
 early indications of the severity of the terrible winter of 
 1779-80. 
 
 History tells of the rigors of that winter. It tells of the 
 sufferings of both armies, not only from cold, but from the 
 absence of necessary supplies. It tells of the isolation of 
 communities, of slow starvation and rampant disease, and 
 nature gave early warning of what was in store for the 
 land. 
 
 I had marked it in the death-like stillness of the nights ;
 
 162 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 in the extra brilliancy of the autumn colorings and the 
 sudden and complete fall of the leaf. It showed in the 
 dead brown of the fields that lay full to the southern sun, 
 albeit hitherto they had always retained a suggestion of 
 green until the snow fell. It was plain, too, in the way the 
 frost struck its spurs into the ground and never loosened 
 its hold. 
 
 The weather seers of the community predicted a hard 
 winter, but they never imagined the like that came upon 
 us and pinched us till life was almost gone before it eased 
 its grasp. There had been but little rain that fall, and the 
 brooks had run low, their faint murmurings sounding like 
 the distress of weakness. By the end of October the land 
 was a desolate waste, lying like one crouched to receive a 
 blow. The sun rarely shone clear, but gave its light from 
 behind an impalpable haze that threw a melancholy cast 
 over everything, making land, sea, and sky one vast 
 monotone of gray. 
 
 November entered with an increase of the steady cold ; 
 a deadly, windless cold that silenced the small streams and 
 all but locked the river. Then the haze thickened over the 
 sun deeper and deeper each day, until at last noon was like 
 twilight. The snow was gathering aloft and finally it fell; 
 gradually at first, as it does in long storms ; then thicker 
 and thicker it piled on the solid bed the frost had prepared. 
 
 There was no wind, so that it fell evenly and steadity, 
 until the night succeeded the day, and another dawned and 
 died without a cessation of the feathery downpour. When 
 at last the sickly sun looked out, it seemed to be only as a 
 warning of further tempests, and shone down on a scene 
 unequaled for its purity, but attended by most serious 
 conditions. 
 
 No prisoner behind bars was ever more shut from the 
 world than were we by the miles of snow that lay between 
 us and the town. Deep, driftless snow ; snow that came 
 to the saddle girths and made even a passage to the barns
 
 THE "GREAT FREEZE." 163 
 
 a matter of infinite labor. The walls were gone. The 
 woods were dwarfed to half their height. Every branch 
 was clearly outlined by its white covering, and stood out 
 in sharp contrast. The headland was a smooth, spotless 
 bosom that descended to the gray waters of the Sound, 
 with only a soft mound here and there to mark a hidden 
 bowldei'. The quintessence of purity was almost painful, 
 and the silence hardly to be borne. Our isolation was 
 complete. To break a path to the main road through the 
 yielding mass would be impossible ; there was nothing to 
 do but wait, but the wait was not long. 
 
 A comparatively warm rain at once followed the snow 
 storm and drove the white covering to half its depth. 
 Here and there the top of a wall appeared, and the largest 
 of the rocks cropped out above the surface of the snow. 
 The forests were washed clean and black, and the edges of 
 the river became sodden. But this was only the beginning. 
 A hard frost turned the mass to marble. Then came a suc 
 cession of storms of snow and sleet followed by thaws and 
 rains ; then more snow, that drove in drifts and penetrated 
 the crevices of the house like dust, until on the first of the 
 year, the land lay under successive slabs of half snow half 
 ice, and all artificial boundaries were obliterated. 
 
 The climax came in the " great freeze " of January, 1780. 
 Such a protracted spell of cold had been unheard of in this 
 region, and the very marrow of one's bones seemed to con 
 tract in the terrible temperature. The river froze solid 
 from shore to shore, salt though it was. The Sound threw 
 a snow-covered boundary further and further from the 
 land, which sometimes broke with the lifting and falling of 
 the tide. 
 
 It was during this period, when the cold was most intense 
 and every atom of moisture was extracted from the air, so 
 pure and dry it was, that the great rock of which I have 
 spoken was rent asunder during the night. 
 
 I discovered it in one of my walks, for now travel was
 
 164 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 as easy as though granite was under foot, and on foot I 
 always went, as it was worse than cruel to sit a horse and 
 face the terrible north wind. One would have frozen stiff 
 in scarce a mile, and many a one did freeze to death that 
 season, the cold numbing the faculties without warning 
 its victims. 
 
 I had, myself, felt the creeping of delicious drowsiness 
 on one occasion when coming home at night, and pulled 
 n^self together with a sense of horror that set the blood 
 bounding, while I started and ran as though fleeing from 
 a demon. Thereafter, I never ventured far from shelter 
 without being in violent motion ; going to and from the 
 town on skates, using the level of the river as a highway to 
 the bridge, then skirting the edge of the road on the 
 adamantine crust of the snow. 
 
 Now the days were dazzling in their brilliancy, but the 
 sun gave no heat to soften the armor of ice. The north 
 wind held during the light, but the nights were still and 
 terrible, the sun and wind going down together ; the 
 former in a steely glory of violets and cold blues which 
 barely faded before the splendor of the Northern Lights 
 would flash toward the zenith, for at this time they were of 
 constant occurrence. 
 
 During these still nights a crash Avould come, and by 
 the character of the sound that died in many echoes, one 
 could tell whether the ice had cracked or a tree in the forest 
 had been riven by the frost ; for the former gave way with 
 a ripping noise as the opening progressed, ending in a roar, 
 while a tree or limb would split with the quick report of 
 heavy artillery. 
 
 Fires were piled high throughout the house, but, even 
 with these, water froze indoors during the dark hours. 
 The windows were thickly mailed with frost while the fires 
 were at their fiercest, and to the north and west the light 
 was completely shut out by the immense drifts which had 
 banked against the building. Our supply of water was
 
 THE "GREAT FREEZE." 165 
 
 gotten from melting blocks of snow hewn out with an ax, 
 as the well, which had never been known to freeze, was 
 apparently solid. No icicles hung from the eaves to mark 
 a temporary relenting, but all was firm, clear-cut, and 
 remorseless. The Arctic Circle had extended south, and 
 winter seemed to hold the universe with a hand as stiff as 
 Death's. 
 
 This period of intense cold lasted more than a fortnight. 
 None but the hardy ventured abroad without the force of 
 necessity. No news from the outside world broke the 
 monotony of existence. 
 
 The dazzling brilliancy of the days became a source of 
 irritability, and the severe beauty of the nights and 
 unearthly clearness of the sky and crispness of the few 
 stars which withstood the light of the aurora, commanded 
 a feeling more of awe than of admiration. Nature lost her 
 half-tints between sunset and sunrise ; her tones were posi 
 tive. The shadows cast by the moon that sailed high 
 above the horizon were black and sharply cut, and the 
 whole picture a drawing in the most intense black and 
 white. 
 
 Necessity detained me at home during the mornings, for 
 the negroes became semi-torpid, like chilled snakes, and it 
 was but by using measures akin to force that they could be 
 gotten to move from the great settle before the kitchen fire. 
 Snow was to be melted for the live stock, fodder provided, 
 and fuel brought into the house, and most of my time was 
 occupied in seeing that they performed these simple duties, 
 for they were prolific in excuses to return to the house, and 
 was my attention relaxed for half an hour I would find the 
 fire dying under the caldron in the barnyard, the ax neglected 
 and the gang huddled together in the kitchen. 
 
 Visitors we had none, saving Harry, if he could be called 
 one, for the day never passed during which he did not 
 appear at some hour, his road lying along the ridge above 
 the river, down which he came before the wind on skates,
 
 166 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 for the crust was hard and strong as an ice block, and no 
 fence or waterway broke the course. 
 
 I envied him his warm welcome, his contentment, and the 
 air of happiness that he brought with him, and which clung 
 to him like the stream of cold air that followed and grad 
 ually diffused itself through the room, freshening it.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 BROMFIELD DECLARES WAR. 
 
 THERE was no cessation in the regularity of my visits to 
 the squire's. It would have been a wild storm, indeed, 
 that would have kept me from fulfilling my intention made 
 days ahead, and many a time did I go determined to loosen 
 my tongue and end the harrowing uncertainty which clung 
 to me like a weight, but there never came an opportunity. 
 
 Were Dorothy the veritable Angel of Light and I the 
 Prince of Darkness, she could not have been more jealously 
 guarded ; for, while during the early winter we often had 
 moments few, indeed alone, now not for an instant were 
 we rid of surveillance, for either the squire was there, or 
 his sphinx of a sister with her knitting, or both of them. 
 The lady would move her lips on my entry, but never 
 vouchsafe a word during my stay. I had grown to think 
 of her as a nightmare with a mission to watch, and was 
 torn by impatience, indignation, and pity, to think that my 
 darling was having her young life flattened and her vivacity 
 ground out between the squire and his gloomy sister, while 
 I was powerless to interpose. 
 
 I hoped and prayed for an opportunity to unburden 
 n^self, and this possibility had lately kept my spirits from 
 waning. 
 
 The month of January was nearing its end, albeit the 
 winter held its severity, when one evening I strapped on 
 my skates preparatory to making a visit at the squire's 
 house. A week had passed since my last call, and I 
 expected nothing more nor less than the old conditions of 
 watch ful ness. 
 
 167
 
 168 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 The outlook was not calculated to stir my spirits, except 
 with the hope that a possible chance might be given me to 
 open my heart and end my anxiety. But with this slight 
 prospect my feet were quickened and I flew down the 
 smooth declivity which ended at the river, my momentum 
 carrying me far on its expanse. 
 
 Up the river I sped, skipping the great tidal fissures 
 which broke the wide surface of the winding stream, the 
 sharp cutting of the skates being the only sound. Finally, 
 I stood panting and knocking at the door of the squire's 
 house. 
 
 It was not opened, as was usual, by the squire, nor his 
 sister, nor Dorothy ; but instead, as the two halves unfolded, 
 I beheld no less a person than Lieutenant Bromfield. 
 
 Without moving, I stood blinking at him as though 
 asleep, but he woke me promptly. 
 
 " Come in, come in, doctor ! This is a pleasure I am 
 prepared for, as we figured you would be due to-night." 
 
 Mechanically I entered, and without answering advanced 
 into the sitting room, where I had always found the family 
 assembled, but no one was there. Before I had made this 
 discovery Bromfield followed me, closing the door behind 
 him. 
 
 "Draw near the fire and warm yourself, doctor. You 
 must be chilled, and I dislike to see suffering in a fellow- 
 creature." As I made no reply and remained standing, he 
 continued : 
 
 " Do you know that I should have been greatly disap 
 pointed had you not turned up to-night? It would have 
 caused me to place on paper what I have to say. You may 
 be aware how difficult it is to write words of appreciation 
 and thanks ; speech is much more satisfactory." 
 
 There was no mistaking the irony of this, which was 
 accompanied by a low laugh. His face was not clear to 
 me, there being no light in the room save that which rose 
 
 O O 
 
 and fell from the fire, but I could fancy the maliciousness
 
 BROMFIELD DECLARES WAR. 169 
 
 of liis countenance. He seemed much the same as ever 
 no better nor worse that I could see, his voice and manner 
 being suggestive of something disagreeable held in reserve. 
 I had small fear of personal violence here, and feeling 
 obliged to answer, I followed the meter he had set and said : 
 
 "Lieutenant Bromfield is always considerate, but I can 
 not imagine how he is in my debt when I confess to being 
 in his. If he has anything to communicate I am ready to 
 hear it." 
 
 "You in my debt, doctor! How so? I fancied it 
 otherwise ! " he returned easily. 
 
 " Oh ! nothing beyond the glory of capturing an enemy," 
 I replied as easily, shifting my back to the fire and facing 
 him. " You must know it has its reward." 
 
 His eyes flashed a spark at this, but he seated himself. 
 
 "Ah, yes!" he returned. "My captor! That is an 
 other affair ! We will cry quits later ! I probably did 
 you a favor by presenting myself at that time; but the 
 matter in hand is different. What you did was in the 
 Avay of honorable war; I would have done the same. You 
 see I harbor no ill-will ! " 
 
 " You are graciousness itself," I replied. 
 
 " You are complimentary. And how is the public health, 
 doctor? Since your great success, I presume you have 
 obtained a firm footing in yom' profession ; so firm, indeed, 
 that you cannot find time to serve in the field the glorious 
 cause for which you have so disinterested a love." 
 
 " I have served it fairly well at home, so far, as you will 
 allow," I answered, without apparent notice of the sneer. 
 " But as an end to this what is Lieutenant Bromfield 
 doing here ? Is he aware of his danger ? " 
 
 " There is no danger to an exchanged prisoner, doctor, 
 if you bushwhackers pretend to honorable warfare." 
 
 "Ah ! Then he has not obtained the coveted commis 
 sion ! How is it, lieutenant, that you have resigned the 
 sea, without a firmer grasp on the army ? " 
 12
 
 HO IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " What the devil do you know of my affairs ? " he said, 
 scowling at me. 
 
 " Very little of interest or consequence to me," I returned, 
 with a forced smile ; " only it seems strange that you 
 should have resigned and taken no part in your own pet 
 scheme." 
 
 " To what scheme do you refer ? " 
 
 "To that you proposed to the squire when I chanced 
 to overhear you : that of murdering the inhabitants of 
 Norwalk and forcibly abducting a young lady. Honor 
 able warfare, of course ! " 
 
 " Damnation ! " he exclaimed, leaning forward as if to 
 rise ; " have you dared repeat this to her?" 
 
 " I have certainly not repeated it to her," I answered, 
 without flinching, and looking at him defiantly ; " though 
 the 'dare' had no weight with me." 
 
 "The better for you, sir ; the better for you! " he said, 
 controlling himself and settling back again; "and that 
 brings us to the point. For what sum am I indebted to 
 you for your medical services in her behalf ? I have much 
 to thank you for in restoring her to us. To be mighty 
 plain with you, I have no desire nor intention to have her 
 placed in a position where you can draw on her gratitude, 
 or of letting the account compound until you feel at liberty 
 to draw on her affection. Do you understand me ? " 
 
 " I understand your brutality," I replied, with a tight 
 ening of the throat. "I have called to see the young lady 
 in question, and until I do see her I shall acquit her of all 
 complicity in this insult. What is she to you but an ac 
 quaintance you are unworthy of, and by whose authority 
 do you dare tender me payment for an act of humanity?" 
 
 " By my own authority, you miserable leech ! " he thun 
 dered, standing up and losing control of himself. "I 
 never knew one of your cloth but who thought more of 
 his fee than his feelings. Name your sum and quit forcing 
 yourself into this house or, by Heaven ! I will find a way
 
 BROMF1ELD DECLARES WAR. 171 
 
 to make you. It may help you when I tell yon the lady is 
 my affianced wife," he continued, lowering his voice to a 
 thick whisper, "and I will attend to the chastisement of 
 any of your image who tries to beguile her interest. This 
 is my business here to-night and to-night will end it. 
 Mark me well." 
 
 I felt that he was lying, even the lowering of his voice 
 carrying that significance, but the possible doubt was to 
 me like a blow on the head. As the life of a drowning 
 man is said to drift before him in an instant, so did past 
 events, tones, looks, and trivial incidents flash before me 
 and make me find a solution for them in this. She miglit 
 be his affianced wife. The incongruity of the characters 
 never struck me. The fact that she might not be a party to 
 this, and was ignorant of Bromfield's errand, had no weight. 
 There was enough cause for the curse of jealousy, and it 
 leaped on me in full force, silencing and staggering me. 
 Had I not been deeply angered by his insults, I might have 
 given way abjectly and left the house ; but I was too 
 thoroughly aroused to allow him to mark my defeat, so I 
 answered without heat and without moving : 
 
 " Your reputation, sir, is not such as will permit me to 
 believe you. When I have this from the lips of Miss 
 Beauchamp, I shall feel bound to withdraw my attentions 
 not before." 
 
 " You confess you have intentions, then ? " 
 
 " I confess to attentions ; to no one have I confessed 
 more. Give me conclusive proof that these attentions are 
 unwelcome to her and they shall cease. That is all I have 
 to say." And with this, I sauntered to the window and 
 began boring a hole in the thick frost of the pane. 
 
 He had passed behind his chair, the back of which he 
 grasped tightly with both hands. I felt his ej^es follow 
 me in hate as I crossed the room, but for a moment or two 
 he remained silent, as though gathering his words. For 
 one so impetuous, he controlled himself well, for it was
 
 172 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 with something like a low snarl instead of a shout, that he 
 said: 
 
 "For a country spark, you carry a high hand; but if 
 you think so insignificant a being can thwart my wish, 
 you are a poor reckoner. My authority shall be the law 
 in this. You make pretensions to gentility, and yet come 
 unwarrantably between a lady and her desires. I appeal 
 to your reason, you see, before using other methods." 
 
 " You have made no appeal to either my reason or my 
 credulit} r ," I answered, facing him. "You hint violence 
 because I do not tamely accede to a wish as you express 
 it, and which I have yet to find is shared by the lady in 
 question. Let me be plainer. I have small desire to come 
 between her and her wishes, but between you and your 
 unjustifiable demands, I shall certainly stand and as surely 
 as I starid here. I presume I am safe from assault in 
 this house. Give me one minute's conversation with her, 
 and the matter will be final." 
 
 "That you shall not have," he answered, setting his 
 teeth. "If necessary, she will be removed from your im 
 portunities." 
 
 " As would have been done long since," I ventured, " had 
 her dissent not stood in the way. Do you refuse to allow 
 me an interview ? " 
 
 "As nothing to the purpose, I do." 
 
 "On what grounds and by what right?" 
 
 " Damnation ! " he broke out. " On my own will ! And, 
 if you must have it, on her own expressed wish, so begone! " 
 
 He was trembling in anger now, and his face was as 
 malignant as a devil's as he shouted the last words. 
 
 "Do you mean to say that she lias expressed a wish 
 Tiever to see me again on any terms ?" I asked, trembling 
 myself. 
 
 " I do." 
 
 "Lieutenant Bromfield, you lie ! " 
 
 His chair went down with a crash as he flung it from
 
 BROMFIELD DECLARES WAR. 173 
 
 him and rushed at me. I had barely time to spring behind 
 another and swing it over my head when the door opened 
 with a bang, and the squire rushed in and threw himself 
 upon the maddened officer. 
 
 " Bromfield ! Stop ! " he shouted. " I told you you 
 would gain nothing by your headlong temper if you 
 applied it to him. Let him alone, man. Leave him to me, 
 and for God's sake shut the door ! " he said, as lie pushed 
 back my opponent and stood looking from one to the other 
 of us in evident trepidation. 
 
 I still held the chair aloft and stood braced to bring it 
 down on the officer had he passed the squire and advanced; 
 but as though brought suddenly to his senses, he made no 
 movement forward. Instead, he backed slowly to the door 
 with his eyes fixed on me, and softly closed it. 
 
 The squire broke the silence. 
 
 "Put aside that chair, Anthony. Are you not ashamed, 
 gentlemen, to forget yourselves in this house and in this 
 manner ? Bromfield, leave us alone ; I will finish the sub 
 ject with the doctor." 
 
 "Not until I have arranged matters to offset the insult 
 he has offered me," he said doggedly. " Sir Upstart, when 
 and where will you give me satisfaction ? I have three 
 indictments against you now ; we can settle them all at 
 short notice, and wipe them out in one meeting." 
 
 Lowering the chair, yet keeping a firm hold on it, and 
 speaking with my voice trembling with excitement, I 
 answered : 
 
 " Lieutenant Bromfield, I understand you well. But you 
 forget that I have no reason to give or demand satisfaction, 
 for with this evening's interview and events I am not ill- 
 pleased. You must credit me with wonderful magnanim 
 ity or unequaled idiocy if you think I would make myself 
 a target for your gratification. You overlook the fact 
 that I have naught against you, save that you are a Tory 
 and no gentlemen, and if, perchance, I had sufficient cause
 
 174 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 to meet you on what you may be pleased to term the 
 ' field of honor,' I should hesitate in this case, as I have 
 small desire to be murdered as you are reported to have 
 murdered the boy Bowden you cowardly cur ! " 
 
 This I said slowly and clearly, and with startling effect. 
 Even in the uncertain light of the room his face showed 
 livid. He took a step backward as though struck ; then 
 with a cry of "Hell and damnation ! " he stooped to leap 
 on me, but was met by the open arms of the old man, 
 while I again lifted the chair in defense. 
 
 There was a short struggle, and the squire's grasp and 
 voice prevailed. 
 
 " In the name of Heaven, Bromfield, would you ruin 
 everything?" he exclaimed, as he hugged the stalwart 
 frame around which he had clasped his arms. "Are 
 you mad to resent a boyish taunt at such a time ? 
 Settle your affairs elsewhere, but calm yourself while in 
 this house. Leave the room ! For God's sake, leave the 
 room ! Had you given me my way, this would never have 
 occurred. You will ruin me and mine ! Suppose they got 
 wind of this above. Go, now ; I will bring Anthon}' to his 
 senses." 
 
 So, urging and pushing, he finally got the door between 
 us, but not before the thwarted Tory had shaken his fist at 
 me, and, with many an oath, vowed a future settlement. 
 
 "And now, Anthony," said the squire, as he locked the 
 door and proceeded with shaking hands to make a light, 
 " I trust you will listen to reason. It was fortunate for 
 you that I came in in time to save you from the fury of 
 that madman." 
 
 "Exactly, squire. Fortunate and strangely opportune. 
 I feel you have condoned my sin of eavesdropping," I 
 replied, not in the least mollified by his suavity. 
 
 He straightened himself and looked hard at me for a 
 moment, but made no answer ; while I seated myself away 
 from the fire, for though I felt somewhat calmed after the
 
 BROMFIELD DECLARES WAR. 175 
 
 late excitement, I was in a glow of heat and needed tbe 
 influence of tlie cooler portion of the room. 
 
 " Though I am under your roof, Squire Beauchamp," I 
 continued, as he maintained silence, ' 1 need not apologize 
 for what I am about to say, especially as I am perfectly 
 aware I can never impose on your hospitality again, for an 
 imposition it has undoubtedly been. I am to thank you 
 for the events of to-night, and know from what has hap 
 pened that Bromfield's presence is due entirely to you, 
 although you are under oath not to communicate with the 
 enemy. And I shall " 
 
 "Hold ! my young friend," he interrupted, in some haste ; 
 "you are at fault. He is an exchanged prisoner and not 
 under arms." 
 
 " Precisely, sir. An exchanged prisoner notoriously an 
 enemy and exchanged ; but not a paroled one on oath not 
 to take up arms, and I happen to know that he is only 
 waiting for a commission to be openly obnoxious." 
 
 "No ! no ! Anthony no !" cried the old man, holding 
 up his hands. " He is not on service and is harmless " 
 
 " As a rattlesnake ! " said I impatiently, cutting him 
 short ; " but it is of you I am speaking. 'Tis a thousand 
 to one, Squire Beauchamp, that he was within the enen^'s 
 lines when you communicated with and brought him 
 hither." 
 
 " Now, Anthony ! now, Anthony ! I protest ! You 
 are trying to get me into trouble." He came toward me, 
 speaking with the persuasive patronage I so well knew and 
 hated. " Bromfield came on a matter no doubt he spoke 
 to you of it regarding my ward and niece. It is of this 
 matter that I wish to talk with you firmly perforce, but 
 kindly if you will receive it in the proper spirit." 
 
 " I am bound to listen, squire," I replied, mentally apos 
 trophizing the old hypocrite ; "but I hope you will not 
 open by insulting me with an offer of money for my ser 
 vices to Miss Dorothy."
 
 176 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " Did be do that ? did he do that ? I told him it were 
 worse than folly." 
 
 "So the hay was cut and cured, and the ground plowed, 
 was it?" I sneered, feeling mightily relieved somehow, 
 by the knowledge that they had plotted a fact I had 
 hardly doubted. "And now, I presume, }'ou will allow me 
 a final word with Mistress Dorothy, that I may receive my 
 dismissal at first hands." 
 
 "Anthony," said the old man, with an attempt to appear 
 kindly impressive, and in his own slow manner, "let me 
 explain matters. You are not aware that Lieutenant 
 Bromfield has expressed his affection for my niece, and 
 considers himself bound to her ; in fact, it has been so 
 considered for some time, they having been intimate long 
 before the unfortunate occurrence which brought her to 
 me. Place yourself in his position and consider how you 
 would feel if if circumstances certain circumstances, 
 prevented your immediate marriage, and you were aware 
 that another was making overtures to gain her affection. 
 So 3 r ou see that I we are not unreasonable in asking you to 
 discontinue your attentions, your visits here. lam sure your 
 good sense will lead you aright, and your growing interest, 
 which has been all too plain to us, will easily be controlled 
 and finally forgotten. I am sure your profession " 
 
 "Confusion to such humbuggery ! " I interrupted, cut 
 ting him short, as my patience gave out. " Will you, 
 once for all, permit me to have this from the lips of your 
 niece herself ? " 
 
 "But, my dear doctor, my niece has retired for the 
 night, and " 
 
 " To-morrow, then ? " 
 
 " I am afraid it would be to no purpose, and I cannot 
 consent to more mischief being done. It could make no 
 difference." 
 
 " No difference, if the lady denied an interest in that 
 brute ? I assure you, sir "
 
 BROMFIELD DECLARES WAR. 177 
 
 " No, sir ; no difference ! " he interrupted, with consid 
 erable asperity. " If she is blind to her own future wel 
 fare, I am not. You cannot see her, nor do I believe she 
 wishes it." 
 
 " Has she so expressed herself exactly ? " I asked, grad 
 ually beginning to heat up again. 
 
 " Well, she has intimated as much ; but as to expressing 
 herself in so many words, no ; it were hardly necessary." 
 
 " I knew Bromfield lied when he said she had," I re 
 turned, feeling the full weight of the imposition put upon 
 me, " and you abet him, and will allow the lady no choice. 
 It is more than plain that you and Bromfield have been 
 plotting, with a very slim foundation to rest on the belief 
 in my easy intimidation. Now let me clinch this matter 
 and open myself as I have never done before. I love your 
 niece in a way which your friend upstairs, or perhaps lis 
 tening at the door, is incapable of feeling. I openly and 
 proudly confess this fact, though I never dreamed I would 
 first confess it to you or under this pressure. What is 
 more, I shall not attempt to cover or dislodge such feelings 
 until I hear from her own lips that she finds my love un 
 welcome. This is my right, the world to the contrary. 
 Now, sir, as for you. For my own peace of mind, and 
 possibly for the happiness of Miss Dorotl^, I shall place 
 you under conditions to this extent : if any attempt be 
 made to move her from under your roof to a distance, 
 without first granting me the interview I have demanded, 
 I shall have you a prisoner to answer for breaking your 
 parole. Give her wishes due consideration and you will 
 not be molested through word of mine. I shall see her 
 sooner or later, and be either accepted or rejected. But 
 see her I will / if not here, elsewhere that you may de 
 pend upon. I trust I have made m} r self understood." 
 
 And with that I picked up my skates and walked to the 
 door. 
 
 While I was speaking he sat looking at me, his face
 
 178 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 growing darker and darker as I proceeded. As I finished, 
 and tried vainly to open the door, which I had forgotten 
 was locked, he arose and took the key from the table, 
 saying : 
 
 " Before you leave this house for the last time, my pep- 
 pen' young rebel, I wish to speak one more word." 
 
 There was nothing suave about him now, in face or 
 voice. It was honest ugliness. 
 
 " Mark well that neither you nor yours attempt to cross 
 my doorstep again. I owe you much for the indignities 
 that have been put upon me, and for that reason alone 
 I should forbid and prevent your alliance with my niece. 
 Be assured I shall take such steps as will make your meet 
 ing impossible ; not by removing her secretly," he added 
 hurriedly, as he saw I was about to speak, " but by uniting 
 her with her lawful lover at the first opportunity. He will 
 then have the right to protect her, and even you will not 
 gainsay his right to remove her." 
 
 "I grant as much," I answered, with a sneer; "but 
 appearances indicate that neither you nor he have great 
 faith in the strength of her affection for him, else you 
 would not be afraid to trust her in the presence of one who 
 has not been an avowed admirer. Under the circum 
 stances, you will have some difficulty in forcing a lady of 
 her spirit into wedding one of Bromfield's stamp. My 
 knowledge of both shows nothing in common. I wish you 
 joy in the attempt. Now, please unlock the door and let 
 me out." 
 
 " Young sir, you will meet with your reward at no dis 
 tant da3 r , I trust." Then, in a loud voice, as I stepped out 
 of the house : " Give my regards to your father, and a 
 good-night to you. I will deliver your message." And 
 before I could speak, the door was shut, and I heard the 
 fastenings slide into place.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE EXPLANATION. 
 
 As I sat on the snow crust and bound on my skates, it 
 was with a lighter heart than I had known for months. 
 Shut out from Dorothy as I was, and about to be misrep 
 resented (a matter plainly to be guessed from the squire's 
 last remark), I was in no way depressed. His whole con 
 duct, down to his farewell (given for the benefit of any 
 one who might have been within earshot), laid open his 
 studied deceit, and was practically an avowal of its con 
 tinuance. 
 
 His knowledge of Bromfield was an admission that he 
 had lied under oath, and now he was about to give Dorothy 
 a false message from me, the nature of which I was left to 
 conjecture. 
 
 If their wishes met with her approval, deceit would have 
 been unnecessary. I had but to wait for an opportunity 
 to see her, though then I had no realization of the burden 
 of the word " wait." Why rny sentiments were to be 
 feared, lest there was reason to fear their being recipro 
 cated, was beyond my understanding. The squire's dis 
 like of me could be no factor, else I should have felt its 
 effects long since. No ; it was to be an attempt at coer 
 cion, which they feared would be unsuccessful so long as I 
 remained in the field. 
 
 As I reviewed the events of the evening as I sped home 
 ward, I gathered hope. My jealousy of Bromfield went 
 to the wind, and I only dreaded for my darling (as I 
 fondly thought of her) the ordeal she was about to un 
 dergo, and which I could no more prevent than could any 
 of the buried stones by the roadside. 
 
 179
 
 180 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 The advent of spring was tlie point on which my eyes 
 were now fixed. Beyond it I had no future ; no details 
 planned when it should come. In some unknown way it 
 was to be a climax. What it would bring and how bring 
 it, I never thought upon. 
 
 Bleakness and sunshine alternated, but at last spring did 
 come, and, in its way, was as impetuous as the winter. 
 Almost like a transformation ice and snow disappeared, 
 and the land was a flood of running water. Almost imme 
 diately the bosom of the hills and the fields showed out 
 black and sodden. The season advanced in its strength 
 and glory, and so rapid was the change at last that the 
 meadows were green and trembling in the heat, and the 
 forest soft and plumy, before I was well aware that my 
 time to look for something definite was at hand. 
 
 During all this wait there had been no word from the 
 squire's, nor had any knowledge been gathered as to the 
 state of things under his roof. We knew nothing of the 
 departure of Bromfield, and only through report did I 
 know that Dorothy was still there. 
 
 Now that the advent of mild weather made it possible 
 that I might meet Dorothy out of doors, I became alive to 
 signs of activity about her house, and renewed my old 
 method of watching from a distance. My passion had not 
 been abated by time ; rather had it strengthened ; nor was 
 I aware how I had idealized her until we finally came face 
 to face. 
 
 It happened much as I would have planned it months 
 before had I given my head to plans and details. I had 
 lately taken to hitching my horse near the spot where we 
 had dismounted on the night of our first attempt to capture 
 Bromfield, and then making a detour of the home-lot ; 
 keeping within the edge of the forest that I might see 
 without being seen. Nothing occurring, I would remount 
 and proceed to town, doing the like thing on my way 
 home.
 
 THE EXPLANATION. 181 
 
 This system of espionage bad continued for a week 
 without rny having observed anyone ; but on a beautiful, 
 warm morning, when I was later than usual, I tethered my 
 horse as had been my custom, and struck into my path 
 around the home-lot. It was the middle of May, and life, 
 light, and happiness filled the air. Birds sung in the sun 
 shine ; the tenderest of green showed in all growing 
 things ; the full brook, brown with the recent rains, gave 
 a noisy summons for all to come into the open air, and 
 Dorothy had accepted the invitation. 
 
 The brook flowed under a rude arch in the stone wall, 
 coming from the north and, cutting a corner from the lot, 
 went its babbling way southward and out again. The 
 space between the wall and the brook, which was here 
 crossed by a small foot-bridge, was a triangle of some fifty 
 feet each way. From the center of the close, level turf, 
 sprang two great chestnut trees united near their roots, 
 and between them a rustic seat had been constructed, 
 though it was now in an advanced stage of deca}'. Other 
 trees grew along or near the wall, and this spot, unblem 
 ished by underbrush, was one of singular beauty and had 
 the added charm of seclusion. Screened from the road by 
 the tangled growth that overran the wall, and from the 
 house by the rising ground, although not distant from 
 either, it was an ideal retreat for a dreamer. 
 
 A paradise it was to me, for there on the seat between 
 the trees was Dorothy, her hands lying loosely, palms 
 upward on her lap, and her dark eyes on the water of the 
 brook, that bore away all manner of tiny, floating things 
 her own thoughts with the rest if I could judge by her 
 listlessness. She did not look well. The paleness of long 
 confinement indoors marked her face, and her attitude 
 betokened weakness or weariness. There was no covering 
 on her head, though the scarf which hung from her shoul 
 ders showed that she had used it as such. Her pretty feet 
 were crossed and the lights fell on her like a caress.
 
 182 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 I came upon her unawares, and stood looking over tlie 
 wall with rny heart in ray eyes, as rigid as a hound that 
 points his prey. I was under a spell, but it was broken by 
 her lifting her head and gazing straight at me ; her eyes 
 growing large and frightened. 
 
 In an instant I was over the wall, but ere I had taken a 
 step forward she arose and drew her small figure to its full 
 height, trembling while looking at me from head to foot 
 before she spoke. 
 
 " Doctor Gresham has surely forgotten himself !" 
 
 " Dorothy " 
 
 " Mistress Beauchamp, at your service," she interrupted, 
 with a sweeping courtesy ; " and wliy have you seen fit to 
 force yourself on me in this manner ? " 
 
 " Mistress Beauchamp, then, if you will," I answered, 
 nettled at her attitude, yet vaguely understanding it all. 
 " Why, in turn, have I lost the common regard which you 
 once held for me ? You scarce treated me with this for 
 mality at our last meeting. Is it presuming too much for me 
 to ask civility at your hands ? How have I merited this?" 
 
 " Your own conscience should tell you, as it doubtless 
 does, sir ; and to be frank, I am bound by my own promise 
 as well as desire, to hold no further communication with 
 you. As I am defenseless, will you not leave me and 
 refrain from molesting me in the future ? " 
 
 For a moment this struck me dumb. It was a situation 
 for which I was totally unprepared, and after the months 
 of suffering I had gone through on her account, it seemed 
 almost inhuman treatment. To obey and leave her was 
 not to be thought of for an instant. An explanation must 
 come now or never ; and mastering myself, I spoke : 
 
 " It would be untrue for me to say your conduct is all 
 a riddle. I am aware that I have been vilified, but how 
 and to what extent I cannot say. As a friend, I ask this 
 information of you that I may set myself right in your 
 eyes. I think I have a claim to this much."
 
 THE EXPLANATION. 183 
 
 As she made no reply, I slightly advanced, and holding 
 out my hand, said : 
 
 " Mistress Beauchamp ! Dorothy ! Am I not to have 
 common justice ?" 
 
 She repelled me by a step backward, but the coldness of 
 her face was a little softened, and then as with an effort, 
 she broke out piteously : 
 
 " Oh ! why did you come here ? Be generous and go ! 
 Even as a man you must know what it costs me to stand 
 before you to whom I owe my life, and feel the gratitude that 
 is your due being smothered by the resentment that is my 
 right ! You will not force me to be unmaidenly ! Why 
 should you seek to renew a friendship you have thrown 
 aside, and sue me to explain the cause of my attitude when 
 you know it but too well ? " 
 
 "I know naught," I burst out, "save that on my last 
 attempt to see you months ago, I was assaulted by that 
 cowardly Bromfield, and forbidden the house by your 
 uncle. I had tried to see you that night, but was thwarted, 
 and am, I hope, too manly to force myself where I was 
 plainly told I was not wanted." 
 
 "Assaulted ! And forbidden the house !" 
 
 " Aye ! Not only myself forbidden, but Charlotte also. 
 How could I set myself right but by seeking you thus? 
 hardly expecting this reception to reward my waiting. 
 The cause of the trouble, I care not to state to you now ; 
 enough to say that my presence interfered with their plans. 
 Oh, Dorothy ! " I exclaimed, holding out my hands, "if 
 as a simple right you will not let me know how I have 
 been maligned, I will appear ungenerous and demand in 
 the name of my past good offices in your behalf, that you 
 tell me how I have been belied. I have the right of 
 defense. If then I do not explain away this thing, I will 
 never molest you more." 
 
 Her hands were clasped now, and she was bending for 
 ward in eager listening.
 
 184 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " Assaulted ! And by Bromfield ! " slie again ex 
 claimed, in amazement and with knitted brows. "For 
 what ? " 
 
 " My candor will be in sharp contrast with your hesita 
 tion, if have it you must. Because I would not accept a 
 fee for my services to you, as he wished to have his affi 
 anced wife under no obligations to a country leech." 
 
 " His affianced wife ! His Ah, I see," she said, 
 
 drawing herself up and blushing violently, her eyes dilat 
 ing as she fixed them on me. 
 
 " And my uncle ? " 
 
 "Abetted him in all, albeit he prevented actual violence. 
 I was plainly told that } r our desire was to see me no more, 
 and was threatened and final!}' banished because I doubted 
 their words and claimed my my dismissal," said I, bow 
 ing, " from your own lips." 
 
 " But but the message you sent " 
 
 I interrupted ere she could go further. " I sent you no 
 message ; covered or otherwise. That I swear as I stand 
 here," and I removed my hat to give weight to my oath. 
 " Your uncle has created a lie. Bromfield vowed ven 
 geance at my crossing him, and the two were united against 
 .me principally because I dared demand to see yon and ask 
 you what I would ask you now. Dorothy, did you wit 
 tingly hold aloof from me that night, or ever say my visits 
 were distasteful and that you wished them to cease ?" 
 
 "Never /"she answered, looking me full in the face. 
 " I was told you made no inquiries for, or mentioned, me 
 except slightly." 
 
 "Slightly! You! My And lastly," I continued, 
 
 controlling myself and looking away over the stretch of 
 green that lay before me, " may I ask if you be the 
 promised wife of Lieutenant Bromfield ? " 
 
 "JVb/" with vigor; "nor ever was nor ever will be. 
 Leave me, doctor ; leave me now and let me think. I 
 have been grievously hoodwinked if all if any part of
 
 THE EXPLANATION. 185 
 
 what you tell me is true. Oh, I have been blind ! I must 
 act slowly. Please go for now." 
 
 " Dorothy," I said, with all my might holding my feel 
 ings in check lest I should betray my passion, " tell me 
 that you believe me in part at least ; I will prove it 
 wholly if you will but listen." 
 
 " Nay, nay, not now. I do believe you, yes, and I say 
 it gladly, though sorrowfully. I have been troubled by 
 many things. Do you not mark it ? Do I look like your 
 friend of a few months agone ? I was unhappy enough then 
 but now I might have known. Go, please go," she 
 urged, glancing toward the house and holding out her 
 hand, which I grasped as though I could not let it free. 
 " You will see me again." 
 
 "When?" 
 
 "You are scarce forbidden the outside world, if you are 
 the house," she answered, with the first ghost of a smile I 
 had seen. " I shall be often here when it is warm and 
 pleasant," and she withdrew her hand, gathering up her 
 skirts preparatory to leaving me. 
 
 It would have been ungraceful and ungracious for me 
 to have disregarded her wishes, which had more force in 
 her appearance and action than in her words; and I 
 backed from her as though in the presence of royalty, 
 until I could back no farther. Then with a little nod to 
 me, she waited until I had leaped the wall before she 
 turned and crossed the bridge, and I marked her walking 
 over the rising ground toward the house, slowly, and with 
 head down as though in deep thought. 
 
 "Adieu, my love !" said I. "God grant the sun may 
 shine to-morrow as it does to-day." 
 
 13
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 
 
 I WAS her lover still, but not an accepted one, and yet 
 the tumult within me was one of extreme happiness. It 
 may have been that her statement denying Bromfield's 
 right to her was the cause ; or possibly the simple fact 
 of seeing her after so long an exclusion from her presence. 
 It may have been something inherent in the hot blood of a 
 lover ; I cannot define the reason, but I could have dropped 
 on my knees and prayed in very thankfulness. 
 
 My impatience so overran my judgment that I was at 
 the wall the next morning, long before I had reason to 
 expect she would venture forth. Moreover, beyond my 
 intuition, I had no certainty of her coming at all and no 
 right to believe she would expect to see me. As I seated 
 myself where I could command a view of her approach and 
 had recourse to my only solace a pipe, I wasted a deal of 
 brains in trying to forestall a possible disappointment in 
 case of her non-appearance. There was everything in the 
 day itself to keep up the spirits. The sky was clean 
 washed and wonderful in its purity, and the sun, with a 
 hint of summer fervencj^, sent a dancing mass of lights 
 and shadows to enliven the prospect. 
 
 But there was no need of philosophy; for though I had 
 sat, smoked, and thought for more than an hour, my stay 
 ing powers had not been tested when at last I saw her 
 coming over the rising ground. Before she had fairly set 
 foot on the shaky bridge, I was over the wall and at her 
 side. She gave a little start and a wnn smile as she held 
 out her hand, saying : 
 
 186
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 187 
 
 " Frankly, doctor, I did not expect to see you again so 
 soon." 
 
 "And as frankly, Dorothy, it is none too soon, and 
 would have been before had it lain with me." 
 
 " I doubt the wisdom of it," she returned. 
 
 "And why?" 
 
 " You know you are outlawed, and were I discovered 
 with you, even this small stretch of liberty might be cur 
 tailed. My uncle is no friend of yours." 
 
 "You believe it now ? " 
 
 " I have known it a day now, and had I not been amiss 
 in my head, I might have marked it before. But it matters 
 little ; my punishment cannot be long nor severe." 
 
 " But long or short, I cannot let you suffer inconvenience 
 through me," I replied. "The squire, I know, hates me 
 with the hatred of his kind ; yet what can he do to his 
 niece to make her suffer because she will not share his hate?" 
 
 " Ah, my friend," she said, turning to me with an air of 
 depression, but not attempting to seat herself on the bench 
 to which I had led her, " what suffering cannot be 
 inflicted by a caustic tongue or one unbridled ! What 
 misery and hurt pride may not come from being continu 
 ally watched and harassed ! I now know you were right 
 in all you told me, and the knowledge has only made my 
 life here harder; but at the same time it eases it by bring 
 ing it to an end. Pardon my frankness, doctor," she con 
 tinued, with an appeal in the brown eyes that looked into 
 mine, " it is best you understood ; I owe you that much at 
 least. I told my uncle that I had seen you, and faced him 
 with the facts as you gave them to me, and though he 
 denied them all, I knew by his manner you spoke true. 
 
 " Of course there were words I cannot repeat, bitter 
 ones, but so it has been. It ended finally, in my deter 
 mining to return to Norwalk, where I have friends who 
 will doubtless welcome me. There, at least, I will not be 
 constantly at war, as has been my lot here for a time past."
 
 188 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " Return to Norwalk ! " I repeated mechanically, aghast 
 at the prospect of her departure. 
 
 " Yes ; Norwalk is my old home, and and I know " 
 with a little choking to her voice " oh, it will be hard at 
 first so hard, but it is best; I cannot endure this con 
 stant pressure. I had rather you had left me where you 
 found me, than to have been brought back to life and 
 this." 
 
 Here the eyes that had begun to fill, overflowed, and, 
 burying her face in her hands, she sank with a sob onto 
 the seat by which we were standing. 
 
 Had I been caught in some flagrant crime I probably 
 would have turned no paler, and will swear I would have 
 trembled less than I did then at the sight of her distress 
 and the aspect of blankness that overwhelmed me at the 
 idea of her going to a distance. Hitherto, I had governed 
 mj'self by restraint or a sense of the fitness of things; but 
 now I was beyond my own control. 
 
 The sky might have been black instead of blue, and the 
 breeze a thundering menace for aught I saw or cared. I 
 was only aware that before) me sat the girl I loved, and she 
 was going away. The abject misery of the whole winter 
 was forced into the few moments I stood there watching 
 her, and I knew that at last I was to shake off its grasp or 
 face the worst. 
 
 . I had made no movement or sound up to the time she 
 recovered herself and removed her hands. She was about 
 to speak again, but as she raised her eyes to mine, some 
 thing she saw in my face made her recoil and drop them, 
 and then I placed myself at her side, while the torrent of 
 my feelings boiled over. 
 
 My first words were in pity for myself, but what I said, 
 and how spoke, I cannot tell. Indeed, such details are too 
 sucred to transmit. I know that in some inexpressible 
 way I caught encouragement from her face, though the 
 head was drooping, and her eyes remained downcast on the
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 189 
 
 trembling little hands that lay folded in her lap. I know 
 what I saw added to my eloquence, and that I marked the 
 track of my love's life with all its happiness and unhappi- 
 ness, from the time I found her on the sands up to the 
 present moment. There were no soft endearments and 
 no clasping to the heart ; no knee worship or lip service. 
 God knows there were no flippancies, but' only a man 
 pleading as though for life aye ! and it was for life 
 and heart's ease. My voice was deep with feeling when 
 I ended. 
 
 " And now, my love, for my love you are and will be, I 
 am in your hands and at your mercy. Give me what you 
 can." 
 
 And she God bless her turned her sweet, brown eyes 
 on me for the first time, looking full into mine. Eyes 
 that were brimming with tears that she did not shame to 
 show, and from which the love light shone a light I had 
 never known before ; and smiling like an angel, she lifted 
 her hands and placed them both in mine, and said : 
 - " You saved my life, my love; it is yours to keep. I 
 was wishing it so oh, so much ! " 
 
 I had won her. It was a blinding change from darkness 
 to light. My want was filled, my hunger satisfied; but 
 great as was my reward, I could no more have spoken than 
 though I had been stricken dumb ; neither could I express 
 my passion, save by bending my head as though under the 
 weight of a tremendous obligation, and humbly kissing the 
 hands that were not withdrawn from mine. 
 
 But humility is not an abiding thing in the heart of a 
 successful lover, and I soon rose above its level. There 
 was no affectation of coyness on the part of this pure girl 
 as she yielded me my rights; but time is no laggard, and I 
 was startled to find the morning had flown, by the blast of 
 the dinner horn, that never sounded so prosaic as it did 
 when it came sharply from the house and brought us to 
 earth again. Then for the first time we were face to face
 
 190 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 with reality, and there was scant time for Dorothy to make 
 her flushed cheeks presentable before meeting the squire 
 and his sister, so there was nothing for it but an engage 
 ment for the morrow and a hasty adieu. 
 
 When she had disappeared over the hill, and I had turned 
 to and mounted my horse, the excitement of the morning 
 gave place to a natural reaction. Not one that lowered my 
 spirits, but it sobered me and prevented any excess of ela 
 tion, though life to me that day had rounded into some 
 thing near perfection. 
 
 I desired my family to keep the matter secret from 
 all save Harry, until we had formed some line of action ; 
 for stronger and stronger grew the realization of the 
 obstacle we had yet to contend with in the person of the 
 squire. 
 
 Well I knew that I could not at once marry, nor would 
 Dorothy now go to Norwalk, unless her treatment com 
 pelled it. To remain, hold her secret, keep Bromfield and 
 the squire at bay, and yet lead an endurable life, would be 
 a delicate matter, and need the tact that only a woman 
 possesses. 
 
 I now knew that the stress under which she had lived 
 was due to the never-ceasing pressure brought to bear on 
 her to marry the British officer; and that with a heart 
 yearning for another's affection, together with a pride 
 galled by deceit, and a hope stifled by disappointment, ere 
 half grown, her life in the gloomy old house had become 
 well-nigh desperate. 
 
 I pitied her in the telling of it, and hinted that an open 
 avowal of our relations might aid her escape from further 
 persecutions, but she had shrunk from the idea. 
 
 " 'Twill but make matters worse, rather than better," she 
 said. " You do not know my uncle as do I ; and as for 
 Lieutenant Bromfield, he would ride post-haste on the news 
 of it, and goad you into some act of violence. I know not 
 what he might dare, or what might befall you ; he is a
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 191 
 
 wicked man. No, no, Anthony ! Grant me my first wish. 
 Promise secrecy." 
 
 And I had promised. 
 
 It was not through fear of Bromfield that I had made 
 this promise. I confess I shrank from another personal 
 encounter with him, especially as he would be smarting 
 under a sense of disappointment, and his fury would not 
 be bounded by a spirit of fairness ; but being confident of 
 my ability to keep out of his way, I was uninfluenced by 
 fear of his violence. 
 
 It was the squire, and the hell he would conjure up to 
 plague the life of Dorothy, that gave me the most concern. 
 The length of deceit to which he had gone was an index 
 of his possibilities, and was shown in the character of the 
 message he had delivered as coming from me on the night 
 of our last meeting. 
 
 He had invented the one most likely to touch the pride 
 and kill the love of such a nature as Dorothy's, and that 
 without the saving grace of delicacy. He had stated that 
 I had called to see him touching the payment of a bill for 
 my services to his niece ! On his refusing to pay the great 
 sum I had demanded, he asserted that he had offered me 
 what he considered a just recompense, which I refused, and 
 my last words were to the effect that if he, knowing the 
 worth of the lady, placed her at so low a value, it would be 
 hardly worth my while to waste my time on her in future. 
 
 The coarseness of this should have been the best proof of 
 its falsity, and she had doubted it ; but as I had returned 
 no more and all intercourse between her and my family 
 came to an end, she gradually grew more and more indig 
 nant, especially as the influence of both her uncle and 
 aunt was constantly brought to bear, and she finally came 
 to believe it. 
 
 However, this had not influenced her regarding Brom 
 field, as they had undoubtedly hoped it would. Had she 
 not withstood their efforts to force him upon her, and gain
 
 192 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 her consent to a union entirely repugnant to her, they 
 might not have developed the later ugliness that took pos 
 session of them and rendered her a victim to every chance 
 for pettjr persecution. 
 
 All this, and many other details, I obtained from her in 
 our future meetings, sometimes brief, but often prolonged. 
 Knowing the risk we ran in a trysting place as open as the 
 home-lot corner, the nook was abandoned and our walks 
 were through the forest, where, under the protection of its 
 intricacies, we felt free from observation ; and apparently 
 no suspicion was attached to her wanderings. 
 
 The change of her intentions concerning Norwalk went 
 by unremarked; the squire, in his stupidity, probably 
 thinking her original determination arose from passing 
 anger. 
 
 For us, the days slipped by with a speed known only to 
 lovers ; but no happiness is perfect for long at least, and 
 though in a measure, life then held more than I had ever 
 dared to hope, there was forever the consciousness that we 
 were being ground between the nether millstone of our 
 desires, and the upper one of the circumstances that held us 
 apart. 
 
 Lower and lower had fallen the credit of the country and 
 the finances of my family. A Continental dollar was now 
 worth but two cents, and my income for some time past 
 had been no more than one pound a month in good value, 
 though I had no lack of practice. My poverty showed in 
 my clothing. Instead of a certain spruceness I had beerr 
 wont to affect, I presented a picture of one very low in the 
 world, and the fact that I had many companions in misery 
 was the only thing that salved my pride and made me bear 
 my altered appearance with decent grace. In dress, I was 
 anything but a beau. My shoes were coarse, heavy, and 
 without buckles ; my stockings darned and re-darned. I 
 had descended to wearing leather breeches in order to pre 
 serve the only presentable pair of cloth ones I had remain-
 
 THE PROPOSAL. 193 
 
 ing, while my coat, waistcoat, and hat were shabby in the 
 extreme. 
 
 To take a wife and throw her on the charity of my dis 
 tressed father, who by his. donations to the Commonwealth 
 had reduced himself to extremities, appeared to me 
 unmanly and not to be considered ; but this would have 
 been necessary had I then married. The war the eternal 
 war that now seemed to belong to the natural order of 
 things, was accountable for our state of grinding poverty. 
 The whisper of actual hostilities came only from the south v 
 Nothing marred the tranquillity of the northern colonies, 
 save the ripple caused by two unsuccessful excursions of 
 the enemy into Jersey. 
 
 But lights as well as shades are necessary to produce a 
 picture, and though for the most part the sun shone merrily 
 that summer, it was to be expected that clouds would fly 
 across its face at times. And they did ; though happily 
 not throwing a shadow that touched me very heavily.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 
 
 THE natural depression caused by the stringency of the 
 times had been of such gradual growth that it produced no 
 shock, and we faced it bravely ; but suddenly there came 
 an event which spread such a gloom over the whole land 
 that men became panic-stricken and the end of our national 
 hopes seemed very near. I speak of the treason of Bene 
 dict Arnold, the knowledge of which fell with an effect 
 that paralyzed the community. 
 
 Though this shadow marked a broad streak in the history 
 of the times, it had no bearing on me or those near me ; I 
 was too thoroughly in love and too much absorbed in per 
 sonal affairs to be sharply hit by a matter so general in 
 effect. My own difficulties were enough ; and in regard to 
 Dorothy, around whom they crystallized, matters seemed 
 about to draw to a head. 
 
 The fall found us as far as ever from the object of our 
 desires. Beyond the positive pleasure I obtained in meet 
 ing my love, and the rather negative one of hope for the 
 future, the last sentiment that leaves the breast, life was 
 deadly dull in those days. Had it not been for Dorothy I 
 would then have joined the regular army, and doubt if I 
 should have received much opposition from my father. 
 
 The years had used him well. On the breezy promon 
 tory of Hardscrabble animal life and health flourished. 
 No changes had come to us save those of development. 
 Charlotte had grown to be a woman for whom a man might 
 well yearn, and Hal was showing a furtive discontent that 
 I, better than the rest, understood. 
 
 194
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 105 
 
 As for myself, I was at the acme of physical health, and 
 had but two cares : my love and my poverty. But love 
 and poverty are distressing factors though they help to 
 balance each other, and, while I felt myself hard pressed by 
 misfortune, I was still capable of standing another blow. 
 
 At last came the day when the steady swing of my life 
 was to be interrupted, and I should be near the hour that 
 marked the lowest ebb of my fortunes. I have reason to 
 remember it. It was a glorious aftei'noon and I had met 
 Dorothy by appointment, all discontent vanishing for the 
 time as I took her in my arms and lifted her from the wall. 
 Through the forest we went, the fear of discovery having 
 long since vanished ; my happiness in my love as great as 
 on our betrothal, albeit my spirits were not so riotous. 
 
 Hand in hand we wandered, the hours hurrying on as 
 such hours do. We were returning and had almost reached 
 the wall by the edge of the woods, when to my profound 
 astonishment, I saw the lank form of the squire's sister 
 standing by a tree, her eyes fixed on us with an expression 
 there was no mistaking. She must have had us in view for 
 some time, for the timber growth was open at this spot ; 
 but, fortunately, Dorothy and I were then walking some 
 few feet apart, and to an ordinary onlooker our meeting in 
 the woods might have passed as an accidental one. 
 
 The spinster stood as motionless as the tree at her side, 
 her skimp, black gown hanging loosely over her skimpier 
 figure. Her bony hands, covered with half-mitts, each 
 clasped an elbow, and her thin lips were drawn into a hard, 
 straight line. She was as swarthy as a gypsy, her general 
 squareness and hardness of outline making her an unattract 
 ive object at best ; but here in the woodland, and under 
 the circumstances, she appeared entirely out of place, and 
 to me was a hateful object. She spoke no word nor made 
 a movement, nor for a second did her black eyes turn from 
 us as we advanced, for there was nothing to do but con 
 tinue forward and brazen it out.
 
 196 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 I was decidedly shaken by her sudden advent, and could 
 see that Dorothy was in a panic, for the color had at once 
 forsaken her cheeks and she was trembling so she could 
 scarce control herself. Not daring to offer her assistance, 
 I walked on, my love trailing a few steps behind. As we 
 reared the somber figure, I saluted with as much ease as I 
 could command, but she made no return by as much as a 
 sign. We continued on our way, I feeling like a culprit 
 caught at'a piece of villainy, and Dorothy looking as though 
 she was about to faint. I could feel the black eyes boring 
 into my back as I walked on, and I cut at the grasses with 
 the stick I carried, knowing the while what a lament 
 able failure I was making of my efforts to appear un 
 concerned. 
 
 "Does that basilisk never speak?" I whispered to 
 Dorothy, as I sidled near her. 
 
 "She will speak to me, and to the purpose," she answered, 
 with an hysterical laugh. "I know not what may happen 
 now ! I confess to being fairly frightened ! Oh, Anthony ! 
 what shall I do ? " 
 
 " Do nothing unusual ; only let me know if they increase 
 their persecution and I will find a way out of it," I answered 
 in desperation. "Let us know the worst first; perhaps we 
 are both unduly frightened it may pass as a chance and a 
 few words settle it." 
 
 And so trying to comfort her with a possibility that I 
 felt scarcely existed, I mounted the wall, prepared to assist 
 her over. 
 
 It would have been wiser had we proceeded, to the road 
 and gone openly to the front of the house, by so doing 
 giving the matter the flavor of an accident, but fate ruled 
 otherwise. Dorothy had but just put her hands into mine 
 when her aunt's voice broke on us. We had been followed 
 by her at a distance, but she now came up. 
 
 "Dorothy, you may come to me," she said, in atone 
 devoid of harshness ; then addressing me directly : "I will
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 197 
 
 take charge of this lady, sir, and relieve you of further 
 trouble. Get from the wall and good-day to you." 
 
 Except that she had spoken, there was no change in her. 
 The arms were as rigidly folded, and the figure came to a 
 rest in exactly the same position as when I discovered her. 
 It was as though she had been moved along by a spring 
 which had suddenly run down. That she had not been 
 violent gave me some comfort, and not wishing to further 
 compromise my darling, who promptly moved to her side, 
 I obeyed, bowing myself away with my best grace and 
 without making a reply. 
 
 The hopes I had of this incident passing unnoticed were 
 doomed to disappointment; for though I received no mes 
 sage from Dorothy concerning her treatment (a thing I 
 scarce expected unless they had gone a step further in their 
 persecution), I saw nothing of her for five days, which 
 seemed as many weeks, though I waited each day for signs 
 of her, and this to the detriment of duties elsewhere. 
 
 I had begun to fear that she was confined to the house 
 and all means of communication cut off, when on the fol 
 lowing Sunday I approached my old lurking spot and spied 
 her sitting beneath the chestnuts in the familiar corner by 
 the brook. I had barely realized my good fortune, and 
 was about to break cover and go to her, when I suddenly 
 marked that she was under guard ; for on the apex of the 
 lift of land lying between her and the house, sat the old 
 lady in a chair, so posed that she could command the house 
 itself and have her eye on her niece as well. 
 
 This watch-dog of a woman suffered no discomfort in 
 her vigil, for she had placed herself beneath a maple which 
 was now a glory of color, apparently reading what was 
 probably her Bible, feeling, no doubt, that she was fulfilling 
 her duty to her God and her wayward niece at the same 
 time. She was a keen-eyed old sentinel, and to have 
 approached within earshot of Dorothy, unseen by her, was 
 impossible.
 
 198 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 x 
 
 I was brought up, therefore, with a " round turn," as the 
 saying is, and betwixt anger and disappointment, came very 
 near losing my head and discovering myself. But I fell 
 short of the latter and took to thinking instead of fuming, 
 and I there hit upon a plan to forestall the guard and get 
 an uninterrupted conversation with my darling. However, 
 my plan could not work till the next day, when I trusted 
 Dorothy would return to the old trysting-place, and I 
 strove to content myself with my eyes alone, looking at her 
 a long time, but making no sign for fear of the sharp, black 
 ones on the hill. 
 
 Finally Dorothy closed the book that she too had been 
 reading, and, with a backward glance, returned to the 
 house. On this, the aunt picked up her chair and fol 
 lowed after, and I now knew that the episode in the woods 
 had resulted in the tightening of the bands that would 
 make the days of my betrothed an unbearable misery if 
 continued. 
 
 The simplicity of my scheme to see her recommended 
 itself to me on the first thought. It was to climb the very 
 chestnut under which she was in the habit of sitting, before 
 she arrived and while the way was clear, and there, 
 perched a few feet above her head and protected by the 
 foliage, which had not yet greatly thinned, we could talk 
 to our hearts' content, if the old lady would remain at her 
 distant station. 
 
 Therefore, the next day, with my wits on the alert, I 
 was in the brave old chestnut before the chill of the morn 
 ing had fairly gone. My elevated seat commanded the 
 door of the house, which I watched with an intensity born 
 of the fear that I might watch in vain. But the same hope 
 which stirred me prompted Dorothy to the old spot at the 
 old hour, and I had correctly surmised her probable action. 
 
 She came finally. In each step she took down the hill I 
 noted by the bent head and helpless look the weight she 
 was carrying on her heart. My pity went out to her until
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 199 
 
 I could have cursed myself for my inabilit} 7 to relieve her 
 distress, and I vowed that a different state of things should 
 exist ; though to cut the knot of the difficulty by marrying, 
 and leading her into poverty, would be but shifting her 
 suffering to a fresh spot. 
 
 She dreamed not of my presence, but I knew she would 
 brighten under it for a time at least, though now she was 
 listless enough. Before she was halfway to the brook her 
 aunt came from the house with a chair, and, placing it on 
 the golden carpet made by the fallen leaves, took up her 
 watch. 
 
 She was well out of eai'-shot if I spoke low; and, as 
 Dorothy came under me and cast a look over the wall, I 
 softly called her name. The work she held dropped to the 
 ground in the start she gave, but quickly recovering her 
 self, she took her seat, and leaning against the trunk of the 
 chestnut like one aweary, answered with evident relief : 
 
 " I felt you must come to-day, Anthony, and knew you 
 would devise some plan." 
 
 " Aye, to-day, and each day, so far," I answered guard 
 edly. " But this thing cannot go on forever. You are 
 hugging our secret for my sake, while I would sooner take 
 the old man by the throat and abide by the consequences 
 than to have you suffer, as it is all too plain you do and 
 will." 
 
 " Yes, my love, I do, and will and must, if I stay here," 
 she answered sweetly, though like one exhausted. " Even if 
 I dared overstep their last commands and leave the home-lot, 
 I would be followed and watched, and pay the penalty in a 
 torrent of words. I shall never be free from my aunt's eye 
 again. I must leave here, love ; I must go, and we must 
 both be patient, though I know 'tis a wearying thing. 
 Never, never could I pass through another such winter as 
 the last. I have wished so to see you and say this, dear; 
 for it will kill me long before my time if I am obliged to 
 remain where I am, shorn of all independence arid respect."
 
 200 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 She spoke with a pitiful air of dejection in voice and 
 manner. I could make no immediate reply, but was forced 
 to remain silent by the inward struggle I was undergoing, 
 the like of which I had never experienced. 
 
 I bent low as I dared when I had mastered myself to 
 answer, and could see the tears trickling down her cheeks. 
 The sight of them, with the knowledge how surely the 
 canker of melancholy would eat away her health, only 
 strengthened the determination to which I had just come. 
 
 She should go to Norwalk for this winter, and I would 
 join the army. Not as a recruit, but as a surgeon, as I felt 
 amply qualified for the office. This I had determined upon 
 as next to the last resort, the whole matter coming to me 
 at once with the force of wisdom. The hour for sacrifice 
 had arrived, but the sacrifice should not be one-sided. 
 
 How I longed to take her in my arms and comfort her 
 no words can tell ; but worse than a wall kept us asunder, 
 and I could only use barren words to hearten her as I 
 unfolded my plans to the poor thing, who was now sobbing 
 beneath me with a violence I feared would be noticed from 
 the hilltop. 
 
 But she consented to the plan. There was no other 
 feasible thing to do. When at last she had controlled her 
 self and left me, and the watch was withdrawn, I descended 
 from the tree, it having been settled that in a fortnight she 
 would depart to Norwalk, and I offer my services to the 
 regular forces, then lying along the Hudson River and in 
 New Jersey. 
 
 The summer campaign had closed, and as there was no 
 demand on the colony for recruits, it looked as if I should 
 be obliged to journey alone to the American camp, a pros 
 pect for which I had but little liking. 
 
 Harry's patriotism became blunted when I proposed his 
 joining me, and there was nothing for it but to set off by 
 myself, or wait an uncertain length of time for a batch of 
 volunteers to be gathered and forwarded.
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 201 
 
 But at this juncture Jacob Moon arrived from the east 
 and put an end to my embarrassment. The old man was 
 overjoyed at my determination to enter the service, and a 
 week after his arrival we started together, our destination 
 being White Plains. 
 
 There had been heavy rains for several days, but now it 
 had cleared into the perfection of crisp, autumn weather. 
 The dust on the roads had been well laid, and the air 
 washed clean of all haziness. The genial companionship of 
 the spy was a foe to depression, and from the liveliness 
 caused by constantly changing scenery, the motion of 
 riding, and the prospect of honorable activity, my spirits 
 quickened into something like their normal condition. 
 
 During the natural flow of our conversation I retailed the 
 course of events concerning Dorothy and myself, to which 
 the old man listened with a serious face, many ejaculations, 
 and many questions. When I reached and described the 
 encounter with Bromfield the previous winter he slapped 
 his thigh violently, shook his head, and frowned. 
 
 "I would I had been there, my son ; I would I had been 
 there!" he broke out. "Ye should ha' brained the infernal 
 villain with the chair while ye had the chance, and choked 
 the old man into a sense o' what's pi'oper. I believe in the 
 choke ; 'tis salutary. Well, well ! between the two black 
 Tories and the old cat, the lass had a hard spell, no doubt." 
 
 Many a time he shook his head and muttered to himself 
 as we rode along, and I knew it was of Dorothy and her 
 troubles he was thinking. 
 
 14
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 THE "DEBATABLE GROUND." 
 
 As we approached the western boundary of Connecticut, 
 we made a detour to the north to escape possible contact 
 with the British, whose detachments were constantly scour 
 ing the region between White Plains and New York. 
 This brought us into the southern portion of the " Debatable 
 Ground " the section of country along the banks of the 
 Hudson between the outposts of West Point and White 
 Plains. In a general way, this strip of country was con 
 sidered occupied by the American forces, but the posts 
 were few and far between ; the intervening distances being 
 common ground for two distinct factions known as the 
 "Cowboys" and the "Skinners." 
 
 They were semi-military banditti, the first supposed to 
 be attached to the colonial interests, the latter to the 
 British, and while each was at war with the other, they 
 both preyed alike on the private property of patriot and 
 loyalist. These bands of freebooters were composed of 
 the most desperate of the off-scourings of society, and, 
 as they generally worked in small squads, were without 
 principle, discipline, or responsibility, and under no author 
 ized command, their advent, which was always as sudden 
 as it was unexpected, was a terror to all. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon of the last day of our jour 
 ney, which had thus far been made without mishap or ad 
 venture. We had struck into a comparatively disused 
 road, in order to turn south again without the roundabout 
 trip to North Castle, which lay some fifteen or twenty miles 
 north of our destination. As Moon calculated, we were 
 
 202
 
 THE "DEBATABLE GROUND." 203 
 
 then only twelve miles or so from the American camp at 
 White Plains, which we hoped to reach ere a late hour. 
 The section we had lately been traversing was the most 
 attractive I had yet seen ; the frost effects on the foliage 
 being exquisite, and the country itself all that a lover of 
 nature could desire. Our change of road, however, shut 
 out extended prospect, as it led through a forest whose som 
 ber grandeur was in sharp contrast with the undulating 
 and open country we had just left, and we pushed along 
 hoping to get through and onto the main road before 
 dusk. Small paths extended from the way and ran into 
 the depths of the woods that surrounded us, the evidences 
 of habitation becoming more and more infrequent as we 
 progressed. 
 
 After a long and silent ride that had taken us deeper and 
 deeper into this wilderness, we came to a narrow stream of 
 considerable depth, that was crossed by a bridge, the black 
 ened timbers of which appeared to be in the last stages of 
 rottenness. Here Jacob pulled up his horse and knitted 
 his brows. 
 
 "In trying to shorten the trip by crossing country in 
 stead of sticking to the known way, I fear I have lost bear 
 ings," said he. "I fancy we'll have to take the back 
 track and make for the detachment at North Castle for the 
 night. Ye be lighter than I, lad ; dismount an' pick your 
 way over the bridge to yon rise in the road, an' see if 
 ahead ye can make an end o' these woods. They bother 
 me, an' we be not as safe here as within a fort that I 
 tell ye." 
 
 Without knowing why, I felt the latter fact myself. 
 The forest was already becoming gloomy as the sun sank 
 to a level with the west, and we were in the country infested 
 by the lawless bands before mentioned. 
 
 I dismounted in haste and advanced upon the bridge, 
 when its condition immediately arrested me. 
 
 " The bridge has been fired, Jacob, and recently. It is
 
 204 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 no rot that lias blackened it ! " I called back ; for the 
 timbers and planking still clearly showed the comparatively 
 fresh char of the wood. " But 'tis too weak to ride 
 over," I continued, noticing the shaking of the structure 
 as I walked. 
 
 "Then keep your voice down, my lad," was the reply, in 
 a low tone. " There's been some deviltry here. Hurry on 
 an' get back." 
 
 I walked rapidly up the slope to its top, which might 
 have been forty or fifty rods from the bridge, loosening 
 the pistols in my belt as I went. Once there I cast a hasty 
 glance about. The road continued as straight as an arrow, 
 but on either side for a space of perhaps a dozen or more 
 acres was a clearing. In the center of the opening to the 
 right stood the blackened ruins of a burned house, with 
 nothing left standing but its stone chimney, and across the 
 road were the remains of a partly consumed barn built of 
 logs. The land around showed signs of recent cultiva 
 tion, and as I walked forward to satisfy my curiosity I saw 
 the tangled growth of what was once a flourishing garden, 
 now giving evidence of having been trampled by horses. 
 
 The field to the south had been reaped, and by that I 
 guessed the conflagration had been since harvest time. 
 But if I had a doubt of the recentness of the date, it was 
 soon set at rest and in a horrible manner. 
 
 As I approached the house to gather further details, my 
 attention was attracted to a tree which stood near the 
 ruined building, its foliage blasted and its trunk charred 
 by intense heat ; and there, at the end of a rope thrown 
 over its lowest bough hung the body of a man, his flesh on 
 one side baked to a crisp. The few remaining rags of 
 clothing that clung to the revolting object were scorched 
 and blackened, though enough was left to show that when 
 alive the victim had worn the scarlet uniform of a British 
 soldier. 
 
 I quailed at the sight. Accustomed as I was to death, I
 
 THE "DEBATABLE GROUND." 205 
 
 had never seen it in tliis form. The profound silence sur 
 rounding me, the gloom of the coming evening, and the 
 evidence of tragedy before my eyes, presented a combi 
 nation for which I was unprepared; and without daring to 
 look into the ruins of the. dwelling, I turned and hurried 
 away. Making straight for the road, I was about entering 
 it, when I detected a movement in the wild growth that 
 bordered the highway. There was barely time to wonder 
 at its cause, for the air was still, when the figure of a man 
 partly rose from the tangled mass and turned toward me. 
 So ghastly a face on a human being I have never seen. 
 It was livid. Across his forehead appeared the gash of a 
 recent wound, and both mental and physical suffering 
 showed in the large, deep-set eyes and hollow cheeks. His 
 hair hung about in the wildest disorder, and his lips were 
 blue and swollen. 
 
 The figure was but half clad and appeared a skeleton in 
 its thinness. He was on his knees with his hands clasped 
 in abject supplication, and spoke in a voice so weak I could 
 make nothing of what he said. As I halted involun- 
 tai'ily and marked these details, he fell forwai'd onto his 
 face. 
 
 Friend or enemy, there was nothing to fear from this 
 pitiful creature, and I was at once by his side. He made 
 no movement as I turned him over, and for a moment I 
 thought he had expired ; but he soon opened his eyes and 
 from his lips came the word " Food ! " By looking at him 
 I might have guessed the man was starving, but now I knew 
 it. Lifting him bodily and with but slight exertion, I 
 carried him to the road and laid him on a strip of grass, 
 then with a word of encouragement, I turned and ran back 
 to Moon. 
 
 While I hurriedly ransacked the saddle-pack for food 
 and brandy, I retailed all I had seen, and asked the spy to 
 return with me. 
 
 " Gladly enough," he answered. " But I must get the
 
 206 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 horses over. Had ye an idea I would leave them beyond 
 my ken ? Will not the bridge bear at a pinch ? " 
 
 " The risk is great ; I am afraid of it." 
 
 " Then hie ye back alone, an' I'll try for a ford. Failing 
 that, I'll swim the animals across an' soon be with ye." 
 
 Hastily dipping a cup of water from the stream, I made 
 my return to the poor fellow as quickly as possible. He 
 lay as I had left him. Raising his head, I first gaA'e him 
 water, which he took with avidity, and followed it \ty a 
 liberal dose of brandy. Watching him closely to mark the 
 effects, I gave him the yolk of a hard-boiled egg mixed to 
 a paste with spirits and water, and then a sliver of cold 
 chicken ; for our haversacks had been well stocked at our 
 last stopping-place. 
 
 Not a word did he utter during the while I was feeding 
 him, only looking up at me with the calmness of one who 
 is helpless and puts his trust in another. 
 
 "How came you in this plight, friend?" I finally 
 asked. 
 
 His only answer was to lift a trembling hand and point 
 to his feet. My attention being drawn to them, I saw they 
 were wrapped halfway to the knees with the remnants of 
 a shirt, and carefully removing the covering, I discovered 
 that both legs were broken above the ankles, the bone of 
 one protruding through the skin, which showed evidence 
 of gangrene. 
 
 I had hardly finished my examination and determined 
 the hopeless condition of the sufferer, when Moon arrived, 
 and, from his saturated breeches and the appearance of 
 the hoi'ses, I knew he had been forced to swim the stream. 
 
 " Well, my son," he said, after an inspection of the starv 
 ing man, " we can do but little for him more's the pity. 
 We must ride for North Castle an' get help 'tis the 
 nighest spot I know. But how can we bestow him in the 
 meantime ? he is far past traveling ! " 
 
 "There's a long journey for him soon," I remarked,
 
 THE "DEBATABLE GROUND." 207 
 
 knowing Jacob would understand, but the prostrate man 
 had caught my meaning. 
 
 " God bless ye for your kindness, who e'er ye be. I'm 
 nigh my end, I know it." 
 
 It was the first sentence he had spoken, the words coming 
 feebly and with effort, but seeing that food and stimulant 
 were having their effects, I gave him more brandy and 
 was soon able to get his story. 
 
 It was short enough. He was a victim of the Skinners, 
 though a leaner toward the king, his son having been in 
 the British army, and it was the body of his son that hung 
 on the tree. The murder had been committed by the gang, 
 because the young man, who chanced to be at home, 
 resented some insult offei'ed his mother. The band, which 
 consisted of about a dozen, having once used violence, car 
 ried it to greater lengths. The house was ransacked for 
 booty, and as little resulted from the search, they became 
 possessed with the idea that the farmer had a hidden hoard 
 somewhere in the vicinity. The poor fellow before us, who 
 had seen his son and his wife murdered, but was powerless 
 to interfere, next occupied their attentions. In the en 
 deavor to force from him the whereabouts of his treasure 
 (which to us, with his dying breath he denied having), 
 they had resorted to torture ; first breaking one leg and 
 then the other, by blows with a fence rail. Finally firing 
 the house and barn, they had dragged him to the edge of 
 the woods, and there left him, after giving him a parting 
 cut on the head. When he recovered consciousness it was 
 raining and the fires were out. He managed with infinite 
 labor to drag himself to the edge of the road in hopes of 
 seeing a chance passer, but, until we came, no soul had 
 appeared on the lonely highway, save three of the band 
 that had worked the destruction, and to have attracted the 
 attention of these would have meant instant death. For 
 a week, as he guessed, he had lain there without food 
 or drink. They had stripped him of coat, shoes, and
 
 208 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 stockings, but with his shirt he had bound up his wounded 
 legs. 
 
 Little by little we got the story, and now it behooved us 
 to provide for him in some way, and then push for assist 
 ance, though I doubted if he would last till it reached 
 him. The remains of the barn was the only thing like 
 shelter, and thither we carried him, laying him on the floor 
 under a portion of the partly fallen roof. 
 
 The charred hay, soaked by the recent rains, made a 
 stench I could scarce abide, but I fancied it troubled the 
 dying man but little. Putting food and brandy within his 
 reach, I again filled the cup with water, and spreading my 
 cloak over him, bade him keep up hope. As a last word, 
 Jacob bent over him and inquired the nearest way to 
 camp. 
 
 "North Castle," he whispered, in answer. "On the 
 way ye were going." Then speaking louder with a great 
 effort: " Five miles through the woods north the first 
 road for two. God bless ye both ! Look to yourselves 
 the way is unsafe. Curse the war ! " 
 
 He fell back at this, and having done all in my power 
 for the dying man, I turned and left the place, Moon 
 quickly following, and we were soon mounted and going 
 rapidly on our way. 
 
 By this time it was dark in the forest, though the road 
 was plain befoi'e us, being lighted by the yet brilliant sky. 
 We had traversed perhaps three miles, neither of us speak 
 ing, and doubtless both engrossed in the same thoughts, 
 when out from the woods ahead stepped two men. The 
 light was too uncertain to make out their characters, or if 
 they were armed, but we immediately pulled up our horses. 
 
 " 'Tis what I've mistrusted all along," said Jacob. " Go 
 slow, now ; follow my lead an' mayhap we can pull 
 through. Be ready for aught that happens, but don't shoot 
 unless driven to it 'twould be but a signal to the rest. 
 Keep your eye on me, an' if I use violence, ride down the
 
 THE "DEBATABLE GROUND." 209 
 
 other chap. Have no fear for me. I'll ne'er strike unless 
 I am sure o' my man." 
 
 He spoke quickly and quietly as we walked our horses 
 forward. We had approached within a rod of the two, 
 when one of them called a halt. He wore a common army 
 hat with the black and white cockade of the American 
 forces, but no other part of his dress bespoke military par 
 tisanship. His companion bore no distinctive mark about 
 him. 
 
 As they advanced to meet us, I saw both were armed with 
 pistols. Their faces showed their desperate characters, and 
 I had but little doubt they were pickets to a larger force; 
 but had no time to go deeply into surmises. 
 
 " Who be ye ? " said he who had stopped us, advancing 
 and laying hands on Moon's bridle rein. 
 " " Friends to the cause, an' peaceable men when unmo 
 lested," was the answer. "Take your hand from my 
 rein, my man ; 'tis an offense." 
 
 " Ho ! but ye have a free tongue," returned the fellow 
 without loosening his hold. " I know not what ye mean 
 by ' cause.' Are ye for the king or for congress ? " 
 
 "Trust me for being no king's man," said Jacob 
 easily. 
 
 " I think ye be ! " was the rejoinder. "I'll not take 
 your word, whether or no. I shall hale ye to the captain 
 for a search; and if so be ye have vallables about ye, ye had 
 best first hand them to us for safe-keeping, for the captain 
 has had a dry hand o' late. Do ye mark the hint ? " 
 
 " Aye, I mark it," said the spy. " Move on ; we'll 
 follow." 
 
 " Ye'll not follow. Ye will get from the horse an' go 
 before ; but first, what have ye ?" 
 
 "Aught I have is in the saddle-bags," said Jacob, with 
 the air of one submitting to the inevitable. " If it must 
 be, it must be ; but ye are only to hold them in safe 
 keeping."
 
 210 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 "Safe enough, I'll warrant ye," said the other, with a 
 broad grin at his companion, who had not yet spoken. 
 " Drop off, now ; an' ye too," said he to me. " Move 
 lively ! " 
 
 Like one stiffened by infirmities, Jacob began slowly to 
 dismount. As he threw his leg from the saddle, his eyes 
 met mine, and I knew that the instant for action was at 
 hand. He had no sooner reached the ground, than like 
 lightning his manner changed, and he jumped for his 
 opponent, grasping him about the body in a way that 
 pinned the outlaw's arms to his sides. 
 
 I looked for no more. It was the signal. Driving my 
 spurs into my horse, I put him full at the other man who 
 was standing in front and about ten feet from me. He 
 was not taken entirely off guard, for before the animal 
 struck and bore him to the ground, I saw the flasji of a 
 pistol, and my temple felt as though a hot wire had been 
 laid along the flesh. 
 
 My frightened horse bore me some distance before I 
 could check and turn him, but when I did, I saw that Moon 
 had his man down and was putting his choking theory into 
 practice. The other had struggled to his feet and was 
 about going to his companion's assistance. Before he had 
 fairly taken a step I was upon him again, riding him down 
 as before, but as I went over him this time, I dropped from 
 the saddle, and, drawing a pistol from my belt, with its butt 
 I dealt him a blow on the head that stretched him lifeless 
 in the road. 
 
 With the exception of the pistol shot, there had been but 
 little noise and no shouting. The action had been too sud 
 den and violent to permit of signals. From the fact that 
 there was no immediate attempt at rescue, I judged that 
 the fight had been without outside witnesses, but as Moon 
 arose from his now unconscious enemy and we stood to 
 gether in the gloom, I distinctly heard the hoof beats of a 
 body of horses coming from the direction we had ridden.
 
 THE "DEBATABLE GROUND." 211 
 
 Though for a long distance in the rear the road was 
 straight, the waning light did not permit of an extended 
 vision, but the ear soon told us they were approaching 
 rapidly and were in considerable numbers. 
 
 " Our work was done with dispatch," said Jacob, after 
 an instant's keen listening. " But now we have the 
 whole pack on us. Our pattern is cut. We must ride for 
 it, lad." 
 
 With a last glance at the two lying motionless in the 
 road, we at once mounted and put speed to the horses. 
 
 " I fail to fathom how we got between the main body 
 an' their outpost," he continued, as we sped along. 
 "There's something strange in it. The more I think o' 
 it the more I fancy 'twas not the shot that roused them 
 they were too distant to hear it. What e'er conies now, 
 we must ride over there must be no stopping. God give 
 us luck this night ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A DASH AND A DISASTER. 
 
 .My wound did not trouble me. Though the blood was 
 running down my cheek and soaking into my neck-band, I 
 felt it was nothing serious, the pistol bullet fired by the 
 man I had ridden down having but plowed the flesh of 
 my temple. I could feel with my hand that there was no 
 depth to the cut, but it had been a narrow escape. 
 
 For half a mile or more we went at a great rate, the 
 horses warming to the work as we progressed ; the sound 
 of our pursuers, if such they were, being lost in the noise 
 of the hoof beats of our own animals. 
 
 I had little fear of being overtaken at the pace which we 
 were going, and was congratulating m} T self on the certainty 
 of our escape, when we came to where the road finally 
 turned. It showed us that danger was ahead as well as 
 behind. 
 
 By the side of the road and some twenty rods before us 
 burned a huge fire, around which were a number of men, 
 some standing, and some lying or sitting. We came into 
 view so suddenly and acted so quickly that I caught no 
 details of the group, but I saw we were marked almost at 
 once, our speed having made cautious approach impossible. 
 There was a general commotion and springing to feet as 
 Jacob shouted : 
 
 " Spur on, lad, spur ! 'tis our only chance." 
 
 Driving in the rowels, I pulled a pistol and we dashed 
 ahead. Possibly their ignorance as to whether we were 
 friends or foes saved us from instant misfortune; for they 
 stood still and fired no shot until we were well abreast of
 
 A DASH AND A DISASTER. 213 
 
 them and going like the wind. Then a wild shout arose, 
 and a volley was sent after us as we flew past. 
 
 I felt my bridle arm jerk up convulsively and then drop 
 helpless. At the same instant my horse gave a terrific 
 bound and seemed to double his speed, nearly unseating me 
 as he sprang forward, and I knew that he, as well as I, had 
 been hit. 
 
 Stuffing the pistol back into my belt, I took the rein in 
 my right hand and looked around for Jacob. He was close 
 behind, and safe so far as I could see but that was not 
 much, it being now quite dark. The speed with which I 
 was going kept him a little in the rear, and thus we went 
 for a matter of three minutes, when, without warning, my 
 horse suddenly went down, sending me flying over his 
 head. 
 
 I know that I turned .a complete somersault in the air 
 before landing. I know there was a horrible sense of snap 
 ping and crushing as I struck the road, and then I knew no 
 more. 
 
 When I recovered consciousness I felt no pain, but, 
 instead, was overcome by a numbness more unendurable. 
 It was black darkness I awoke to, but in a moment I found 
 it was because I was in the woods, for on looking up I saw 
 the faint radiance of the sky through the limbs of the tree 
 beneath which I was lying. 
 
 The misery of the deadness that possessed me was so 
 keen that a groan broke from my lips. It was immediately 
 answered by the voice of my companion. 
 
 " God be thanked ! ye are yet alive ! My poor, poor 
 son ! God be thanked for this ! I thought I had lost ye ! 
 Where do ye suffer ? " 
 
 "Nowhere everywhere," I groaned, try ing to move, but 
 finding it impossible. " What has happened ? " 
 
 " Your horse fell, my dear lad ; an' mine in its speed 
 rode over ye before I could check him. Were ye struck by 
 a ball ? There is much wet on ye is it blood ?"
 
 214 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " The left arm only, I think, Jacob. Were you hit ?" 
 
 " Nowhere, lad ; nowhere nor the horse, but yours lies 
 dead in the road." 
 
 " Where are we ? " 
 
 " In the forest hard by the way Great Jehovah ! 
 
 Hark ! " 
 
 As he spoke, the sound of a rattling volley of firearms 
 came on the still air. It was answered by wild yells and 
 irregular shots that plainly told of an engagement; and 
 then for a space silence fell, only to be broken by an 
 occasional report or a distant shout. Presently a horse 
 approached, dashing along the road at full speed. It was 
 followed by another and another, as though in flight, and 
 as the sound of hoofs were lost in the distance, an unbroken 
 quiet settled over the forest. 
 
 The minutes which ensued were filled with expectation, 
 but nothing happened to cause further alarm, and after the 
 brooding silence had lasted for a space Jacob broke it by 
 saying : 
 
 "I fathom it all now. That scrimmage was a fracas 
 'twix the Cowboys an' Skinners. One was behind us, the 
 other before. We were not the game of the cavalry in our 
 rear ; 'twas the gang we flew by that they were after. 
 Mighty Heavens ! To think that we could have slipped 
 quietly into the woods an' had ye saved all this ! But the 
 way is clear now. Do ye think ye might make a shift o' 
 riding if I carry ye to the horse ?" 
 
 " Not to save both our lives," I replied. " My arm is 
 broken and a rib or two, if not more," for as I took a long 
 breath and spoke, I became conscious of a dull, sickening 
 pain in my chest. " You must leave me, Jacob, even as we 
 left the poor fellow awhile back. Ride to North Castle 
 and get heTp ; I can no more stir than though impaled." 
 
 "Ye poor lad ! Are ye maimed so badly ? How can I 
 leave ye here alone ? " 
 
 " You must and the sooner the better," I groaned, as
 
 A DASH AND A DISASTER. 215 
 
 sharp pains began to shoot through me. "There is no 
 other way ; only make haste and return." 
 
 With this he moved off, but soon returned bearing a 
 saddle, which lie placed beneath my head ; then getting the 
 horse-cloth under me, he tucked his cloak snugly about 
 me, and after a few words left, and I heard him galloping 
 away. 
 
 I either fainted or slept soon after, for of that night I 
 remembered nothing. When I awoke, it was broad day 
 and the forest was full of woodland noises, though in the 
 active misery I then experienced, I wonder that I marked 
 them. The sun was shining, but it must have rained 
 heavily during the night, for I was wet through and chilled 
 to the bone. At first I was absolutely rigid, but soon found 
 I could use my right arm and both my legs, though they 
 were exceedingly stiff. To shift my body an inch was 
 impossible, and what between the uncertainty of Jacob's 
 fortunes (for he might have been stopped on the road), and 
 my own plight, made desperate in case of his ill luck, I 
 was as down-hearted as was possible. My state and that 
 of the outraged farmer might become parallel, and I had 
 about succumbed to utter hopelessness when I heard the 
 distant tramp of horses, and shortly after, Moon, followed 
 by half a dozen dragoons, burst through the underbrush. 
 
 Never in my life have I been so glad to see a human 
 face, nor ever was a mother more tender of her child than 
 was the old man, albeit I promptly fainted when they 
 moved me to the horse litter they had brought, and knew 
 nothing of his doings until afterward told. 
 
 Then there was a wait; for half the party had been 
 dispatched to the barn to rescue the unfortunate man we 
 had left there. It was more than an hour ere they returned 
 and reported the wretched creature dead. They also 
 reported that one of the two men we had encountered lay 
 dead in the road, and the locality of the bivouac was 
 marked by four bodies undoubtedly Cowboys ; while the
 
 216 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 surroundings showed indications of a sharp fight. The 
 neighborhood was a dangerous place in which to linger, 
 and our cavalcade moved slowly forward. 
 
 Of these latter facts I then knew naught, nor very little 
 of anything for days after. The fever that seized me and 
 which was due as much to lying so long on the wet ground 
 as to broken bones, brought me so low that my living 
 became a question of endurance. It had soon been dis 
 covered that besides the slight wound in my temple, the 
 jar of the fall and the contusions caused by being trampled 
 by Jacob's horse, I had a shattered arm, three fractured 
 ribs, and a broken collar-bone. 
 
 . The bones of the ribs and collar knitted fast enough, but 
 the arm became a problem to the surgeon, and for a time 
 the question of whether or no I would lose it, hung in the 
 balance. But my youth and general good health conquered, 
 and the limb was saved, though the winter had well-nigh 
 half gone ere I was pronounced out of danger. 
 
 Then came the tedious up-hill climb and slow enough 
 it was. I had plenty of friends and as good care as any 
 army post could furnish, but it was dreary to wait and 
 wait. Jacob had been forced to leave long since, promising 
 a speedy return ; but thus far I had looked for him in 
 vain. Letters there were, both from Dorothy and from 
 home coming like little gleams of sunshine through a 
 leaden sky. They brought no bad news, though Dorothy 
 was already dreading the spring, when she must return to 
 the squire's ; doubly dreading it as she saw no chance of 
 my being near ; but no other spot on earth could she claim 
 as home. 
 
 It was not until the winter was over, and a new cam 
 paign about to open, that I took to mending rapidly. 
 Then I was little more than a bag of bones, a wreck of my 
 old self, and barely able to sit up in bed. It was early in 
 April, and land and sky were full of promise when I 
 finally left the hospital ; and no baby learning to walk
 
 A DASH AND A DISASTER. 217 
 
 tottered more. I was forced to admit that my services as 
 an army surgeon, or in any other capacity, would be worth 
 less for a long time to come. My sole desire was now to 
 get home, and as I had never been " sworn in," there lay 
 no difficulty in my way, save a lack of strength and means 
 of transportation. 
 
 The latter might be easily remedied, as my credit would 
 procure me a horse, but the first bid fair to keep me 
 anchored in North Castle for an indefinite period. 
 
 But Fate always turned kind to me when she had me 
 fairly " betwixt the devil and the deep sea" (for which I 
 am under obligations to her, as she throws so many to the 
 one or to the other), and this will be seen in more than 
 one instance if my tale is perused to the end. 
 
 It was late in the month. The leaves were budding and 
 the beauties of the season rapidly unfolding, when Moon 
 unexpectedly arrived. 
 
 " I have good news for ye, lad," he said, after greeting 
 me and hearing my wail, " an' will bear ye company the 
 way back. I'm for Providence this time, an' in no press o' 
 hurry. Well, the Lord's will be done ! but I am getting 
 over old for much more o' this traveling." 
 
 No strengthening draught could have had the tonic 
 effect on me that came with the knowledge of the possi 
 bility of having the old man as a traveling companion ; 
 and with no more delay than was necessary for me to pre 
 pare an outfit, we set off for the east; this time keeping 
 to the most direct and frequented roads. 
 
 Dorothy was still in Norwalk, and thither we directed 
 our course; but owing to my feeble condition, our prog 
 ress was slow and by short stages. Though slow, to me 
 it was not tedious. Each day brought a marked improve 
 ment in my strength, and by the time we arrived at Nor 
 walk I was able to keep the saddle without an almost 
 hourty stop. As we approached the town, Moon left me ; 
 for I was determined to seek rest and comfort in the pres- 
 15
 
 218 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 ence of the one person who could best minister to my 
 necessities. He could not be prevailed upon to stop with 
 me, but promised to return by way of Hardscrabble and be 
 my guest for a few days. 
 
 It was not without a shock that Dorothy noticed my 
 changed appearance, but the joy of again being with her 
 did more for my health than aught else could have done. 
 When after three days I left her, I jogged homeward with 
 something more than mere good spirits, as the Gordian 
 knot had been cut at last ; for, deeming the old life impos 
 sible, we had decided to be married at midsummer, letting 
 come what might. It was easy for us both to argue that 
 it were better to suffer poverty together than heart-ache 
 apart, and we agreed that our secret should continue to be 
 kept until the banns were called in church; then our imme 
 diate union would remove her from the control of the 
 squire, and perhaps, in the face of the inevitable, he would 
 decently sanction what it was past his power to prevent. 
 
 It may be advanced that we might have done this 
 before, but we had not had time to digest our experience; 
 now, nothing else seemed possible. Before my arrival it 
 had been determined that Dorothy should return to 
 Groton within a week, and I had narrowly missed seeing 
 her ; therefore no suspicion arose from the fact that our 
 home-coming was so nearly coincident. 
 
 I might dwell on the days that were passed at this 
 period, for I remember them clearly; but no salient point 
 presents itself, and to recount them would only lengthen 
 my tale to no purpose. It is enough to say that Dorothy 
 had nothing to complain of in her treatment, save that the 
 old watch was regularly put over her, and as regularly 
 made useless by my taking to the tree after the fashion 
 of the fall before. 
 
 It was a little exasperating, but we could well afford to 
 wait the passage of the few weeks that intervened before 
 springing the mine under the squire, and now, with my
 
 A DASH AND A DISASTER. 219 
 
 rapidly increasing strength and spirits, I was looking for 
 ward to a period of mental rest and all the happiness a 
 man has a right to expect. 
 
 But instead of peace and mild activity, I was on the 
 threshold of events beside which all my previous adven 
 tures paled. My former experiences seemed to repeat 
 themselves with double force and wonderful coincidence, 
 and to follow in a quick series of misfortunes that threat 
 ened, and came nigh, to overwhelming me. But the details 
 shall come in their proper sequence.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE LAST TRYST. 
 
 IT was the middle of July, and the weather, which had 
 been intensely hot, had eased in point of temperature, 
 though the air remained close and sultry. The sky over 
 head was as uncompromising as- a sheet of brass, but 
 blurred away toward the horizon, and there was a thick, 
 murky haze portentous of something threatening. The 
 indications were toward one of those summer gales known 
 as " smoky sou'westers," the strength and duration of 
 which there is no guessing ; but as it was a matter of 
 little interest except to those who follow the sea, I thought 
 nothing of it ; only praying for a break in the drought 
 and a breeze that might come from any quarter, if it would 
 change the atmospheric conditions. 
 
 It wanted but a fortnight more and notice was to be 
 given to the parson to publish the banns, and to this event 
 I was looking with feelings of mingled trepidation and 
 delight. 
 
 And then Moon put in his appearance. Though tardy, 
 his welcome was warm, but I noticed that he carried an 
 air of fatigue and despondency that was unusual with him, 
 though I thought the cause his long journey and the de 
 pressing effect of the weather. 
 
 " I know I come late, lad," said he, as we sat on the 
 stone wall the first evening of his arrival. " 'Tis many a 
 day since I knew what it was to shake a free foot, but I 
 hope 'twill not be many another. I'm getting too near 
 harvest time to endure much more o' being under orders, 
 an' I fancy this will be my last trip. I will e'en try to 
 
 220
 
 THE LAST TRYST. 221 
 
 make it so, an' ask for an honorable discharge ; then, my 
 lad, methinks I will come hereabouts an' settle hard by ye, 
 for I know o' none to whom my heart clings more than to 
 ye here. Here I can well wear out my remaining years 
 in peace." 
 
 He paused a moment and then resumed : 
 
 " I trust ye'll see me soon after the matter I have in 
 hand goes through ; then near ye I'll sit an' play dry-nurse 
 to your children, lad, if ye won't meet my wishes by an 
 objection, an' finally lay my old bones where I know they'll 
 not lack respect, if only for the good wishes they bear in 
 them now." 
 
 He spoke like one wearied out, as he undoubtedly was ; 
 but it was the first time I had ever heard him give voice 
 to low spirits. As though marking it himself, his manner 
 immediately took a new turn and he spoke cheerfully. 
 
 "An' how's affairs between ye an' the lass?" 
 
 I freely told him of our plans, and he expressed a hearty 
 satisfaction at the way the matter was to be brought 
 about, and all traces of depression vanished in the laugh 
 he gave as he fancied the impotent fury of the squire. 
 
 "But, lad, ye might do me a great favor an' let me see 
 the little lady before we go. Can ye not manage it ?" 
 
 " Before ice go ! Where ? " I exclaimed, turning to him 
 in open wonder. 
 
 " Well by the Lord ! " he ejaculated, bringing himself 
 up suddenly with a stare and slapping his great hands to 
 gether. " Here I've rammed home the ball without the 
 powder to drive it out. Faith ! 'tis a sign of age, an' high 
 time for me to quit. Let me make amends. I must let ye 
 into a state matter, for I have this right when I feel the 
 need, an' count on your help. 
 
 " List, now, an' keep it close ! When I left ye at Nor- 
 walk, I was for Newport, after the Frenchman o' the fleet 
 there but the name bothers me." 
 
 " De Ternay ? " I suggested.
 
 222 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " Nay, nay. T'other one with a Frenchier twist to it." 
 
 " Rochambeau ? " 
 
 " Aye, by the mark ! .Roshamby that's it ! He was to 
 meet Washington at Wethersfield, such was my message, 
 an' I was to quit an' come here according to promise. 
 Well, well ! I had to go back with them to point the road, 
 an' that's what made me late. But to be short. Instead 
 o' being let go, I was held there until the talk was over 
 an' a time it took. Betwixt the chief an' the Frenchman 
 there was hatched up some scheme to bother the British, 
 but o' it I know naught. I was given a dispatch to de 
 liver to the red-coats, so that it may appear to have fallen 
 into their hands by accident. 'Tis but one o' many that 
 will be sent out for the same purpose. 
 
 " Now the matter in it is this : Washington an' the 
 whole army, with the French, are to sit down around 
 New York an' starve the enemy out; a regular siege, mind 
 ye, an', by the same token, as this is a false letter that 
 won't be done ; though what will be done I have no mind, 
 as I was not honored with their confidence, an' my guess is 
 neither here nor there. 
 
 " 'Tis a plain job, but one o' the hardest I've had laid to 
 me, though I've half a plan an' wish ye an' your boat to 
 carry it out. Now ye have it at last." 
 
 "When do we go?" I asked, my spirits falling in the 
 face of the thought of leaving Dorothy at this stage. 
 
 " In three days at most time enough to ease the good- 
 bys o' the lass." 
 
 "Where, and for how long?" I asked, with unusual 
 unreadiness. 
 
 " Why, lad ! ye be quizzical ! " said he, looking hard 
 at me and laughing outright. " But I understand the" 
 state o' affairs. 'Tis but a trip to Hnntington Bay, where 
 I can put the paper into the hands o' a friend who is a red 
 coat or a buff jerkin as occasion may warrant. His is the 
 head for fine twists o' this sort. He an' I together may
 
 THE LAST TRYST. 223 
 
 hatch a plan, for this letter must get to Clinton by way o' 
 Brooklyn an' their rear on Long Island. Mayhap I can 
 leave the whole business in his hands an' be free. 'Tis just 
 a pleasant sail, an' a quitting o' four-an'-twenty hours or 
 more. There can be little risk. Are ye for it ? " 
 
 I still hesitated. There was no excuse for refusal, but an 
 indefinable dread of possibilities took possession of me and 
 made my answer a lingering one, but I decided. 
 
 " Well, Jacob, as it lies in the line of dutj r , 'tis beyond 
 me to refuse you," I answered, " but we will take Bailey, 
 as one more in case of mischance, and is that all ? " 
 
 " All," said he, with evident relief. " The matter's settled, 
 an' now for your lady. As I told ye, I'm fain to meet her 
 at close quarters. I have never beheld her since she lay 
 senseless in the cabin. 'T\vas on that trip with me, two 
 years agone, ye found your fate ; I would I could find 
 mine on the trip to come. But my mind's easy, my son. 
 Your going sets me right ; after that, a long rest." 
 
 During the interval of our further conversation (for the 
 warm night kept us long out of doors), I had been casting 
 about how to get Dorothy and Moon to meet; but of my 
 plans, all lacked reason save one, and that was to place myself 
 in the tree and tell her my old friend, of whose history and 
 services she well knew by this, was over the wall. Then 
 she might walk toward it without creating suspicion, hold 
 a brief conversation, and possibly allow him to get a fleet 
 ing glimpse of her ; but the latter I would leave him to 
 manage. It was an awkward expedient, but I saw no 
 other way to gratify the old man, and he readily took to 
 the idea with great good humor. 
 
 Therefore the next morning saw us early mounted and 
 away for the squire's. The weather had changed during 
 the night, and from the southwest was blowing a brisk 
 wind that promised to grow in force. It was warm 
 enough, but the looked-for gale gave a breath of life 
 which was welcome after the long stillness of the air.
 
 224 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 The sun was murky, one being almost able to hold the bare 
 eye on it while it was j r et low, for the smoky conditions 
 were unchanged, and nothing but rain would clear the sky 
 and give the blue its proper brilliancy. There was a brave 
 rustle of leaves in the forest, and on the moor the long 
 grasses bent and sprung in the sweep of the wind that 
 drove over its unbroken level. As we got further inland 
 the gale seemed to abate, but it was only because the shel 
 ter of the woodland flawed it, and caused it to come in 
 violent puffs. 
 
 " Now, this is pleasant," said Moon, as he settled down 
 on the grass under the wall and lighted his pipe. " Shin 
 ye into yon tree an' let us wait ; but mind ye be not too 
 free with the love on your tongue, as ye will have two 
 pair o' ears to take it in, instead of one. Aha ! 'Tis 
 many a day since I lay in wait for a lass, an' never before 
 with a gooseberry to keep matters straight. Give me the 
 word when ye see her break cover, lad; I wish time to 
 get rid o' my pipe." 
 
 It was early to expect her, especially as the wind might 
 make it a trifle uncomfortable for a seat out of doors ; but 
 I had not been on my accustomed perch five minutes when 
 I saw her come from around the house and start for the 
 brook. 
 
 " She is coming, Jacob ! " I sung out, loud enough for 
 him to hear. 
 
 "Aye? 'Tis a short shift she makes o' delay. An' is 
 the old cat about ? " 
 
 " Nay, but there's a flaw in the wind," I remarked, more 
 to myself than to him, for her unusual mode of leaving 
 the house, and the hurried way in which she advanced, 
 showed me that something out of common had happened. 
 
 The fact, too, that her aunt had not appeared gave color 
 to my belief, and thoughts of sickness at the house came 
 for the moment as the probable explanation of the slight 
 change in her usual procedure.
 
 THE LAST TRYST. 225 
 
 As she came rapidly on and crossed the bridge, I noticed 
 the paleness of her face ; then, without taking her seat, 
 she appeared to be looking over the sod at the foot of the 
 tree, as though searching for something lost. 
 
 "Anthony," she said softly, without lifting her head, 
 " Bromfield is here. I watched for you from my window, 
 and have slipped out to tell you." 
 
 " Bromfield ! Here again ? " 
 
 " Yes," she repeated hurriedly, " Bromfield is here. He 
 came late last night. I have kept my room, and must go 
 thither at once to lock myself away from him. He has 
 begged to see me, but I have put him off. I think he goes 
 this evening. I shall not meet him if possible to prevent 
 it. Come to-morrow, dear, and if he is yet here some 
 thing will hang from my window to let you know. Oh, 
 love, I am so frightened, and shall be until he goes ! I 
 am afraid of him and fear for you." 
 
 I confess I was vastly disturbed by this. I had now 
 little anxiety for Dorothy and less for myself, but his 
 mere presence gave me a feeling akin to that which is felt 
 when close to a snake a mingling of hatred and disgust. 
 It would have been much the same had he been near me, 
 though caged ; for his individuality was more than disa 
 greeable, and made itself felt even at a distance. 
 
 His being there was a fact, however, and the wisest 
 thing for both Dorothy and myself appeared to be retreat. 
 Since he knew the risk of being in the neighborhood, his 
 stay would not be protracted, and my love could avoid 
 meeting him by a temporary sacrifice of her liberty. It 
 exasperated me to be pinched, in any way or for any time, 
 by this black Royalist, but policy came to my rescue, and 
 caused me to take a practical view of the situation. 
 
 For the nonce Moon and his errand were driven from 
 my head by the news she had brought, and I had told her 
 to return to the house until Bromfield had gone his way, 
 and was about proposing a plan to protect her in case she
 
 226 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 was driven to extremities, when I spied the officer himself 
 making his way toward us with a rapidity that made it 
 impossible for me to descend from my place of conceal 
 ment without immediate discovery. 
 
 Dorothy was still bending over in her pretended search, 
 and did not mark his advance until I suddenly exclaimed : 
 
 " By thunder ! Here he is now ! 'Tis too late for me 
 to escape." 
 
 There was no time to say more, for he came over the grass 
 to the footbridge with a speed that was all too lover-like. 
 
 I never had a better illustration of the feminine re 
 sources, or a woman's ability to play a part when forced, 
 than at this juncture. Instead of starting in fright, 
 Dorothy circled away from the tree, and continued search 
 ing the ground, as though absorbed in the occupation. It 
 was not until Bromfield had removed his hat and saluted 
 her with " Good-morning, Dorothy ! " that she looked up 
 in well-feigned astonishment, and answered in a voice from 
 which all hurry had vanished: 
 
 " Ah, good-morning to you, sir ! A boisterous wind, is 
 it not? I have been looking for a thimble I fancy I 
 dropped here yesterday, but the hunt is fruitless, and it 
 must be elsewhere. I will look further in the house." 
 
 She made as if to pass him, wearing a little smile of 
 apparent good will, for I could see her face, as she had 
 moved some distance from the tree. 
 
 "Nay, Dorothy," he interposed; "let the thimble be 
 and spare me a moment. Seat yourself for a space. I 
 desire a word with you before you go." 
 
 " Nay, sir, in turn," she said, with a pretty laugh. 
 " 'Tis far too windy here for me. Will not your words 
 wait ? I am busy this morning and have no time." 
 
 " I warrant you, my words will be well worth your while. 
 Spare your pretty fingers and listen ; this is a chance to be 
 alone with you that I have hoped for, and one not to be 
 lightly lost. The wind is warm ; come and sit."
 
 THE LAST TRYST. 227 
 
 He had blocked her way before, and he now took her 
 hand and attempted to lead her to the rustic bench beneath 
 me, but she caught it from him, saying : 
 
 "Pardon me, but I hardly need assistance. What is it 
 that will so much command my interest ? " 
 
 " Will you not sit ? " 
 
 "Aye, if you will have it so," she returned, and walking 
 to the bench she seated herself with an air of determina 
 tion that one less blind than he might have seen boded no 
 good to his cause, let it be what it would. " And now 
 what is your further will ? " she continued, as though forc 
 ing to a head what she feared was to come. 
 
 " Ah, Dorothy," he began, dropping close beside her on 
 the seat, and bending to look into her face, " why do you 
 harden your heart against me? Have I not proved to you 
 by words, and will yet by deeds, how I love you? I have 
 even in this journey, which was taken solely for you, 
 incurred some little risk." 
 
 "Nay, no risk for me, sir," she answered quickly; "I 
 have asked none ; you have come and gone ere this and 
 have been unmolested. If it be a risk, why should you 
 take it ? It will hardly pay you, if for me. You are in no 
 position to be successful. I regret it if I wound you, but 
 I must tell you that I know your story, your devotion, and 
 what you call your love for me ; but it is to no purpose. 
 My uncle knows it. See him ; he can convince you. Now 
 pray pardon me and let me go. I have much work to do." 
 
 She arose, and dropping him a courtesy, took a step 
 toward the bridge ; but he was instantly on his feet, and 
 grasping her hand with some vigor, drew her down 
 again. 
 
 " Listen, Dorothy ; listen to ine," he said, with something 
 less than his previous smoothness. " You might have been 
 right in sajdng that my position was one in which I could 
 not hope for success right the last time I saw you, but not 
 to-day ; and you are wrong in thinking that the risk of
 
 228 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 coming among these rebels is the one to which I referred. 
 Of that I have no fear. Let me give you a plain tale, my 
 love, and you will change your manner toward me." 
 
 Now, this was mighty pleasant to me, as can be imagined. 
 Within a few feet of me sat the man I hated, making open 
 love to the girl whom in a month I hoped to call my wife ; 
 and there I was, bound by every consideration to remain 
 quiet and listen. My blood boiled. I would have dropped 
 on to the broad shoulders that were exactly beneath me, 
 and fought him, tooth and nail, with the best will in the 
 world, save for the sufficient reason that nothing would 
 have been gained thereby, and I should surely have been 
 worsted, perhaps killed by him in his blind fury at being 
 overheard and overcome in the field he held the dearest. 
 
 I was therefore compelled to listen, as was Dorothy 
 also ; for the hand he laid upon her arm was meant as 
 much for a detaining force as for a caress. Without an 
 interruption, he continued : 
 
 " When I was here two winters since, I was wild for fear 
 of the constant coming between us of that impudent young 
 quack ; who, after all, did me a great favor in finding you. 
 My own affairs were then under a cloud, and his miserable 
 arrogance wrought me to such a pitch that when I saw you 
 I no doubt pressed my suit awkwardly enough. But I 
 loved you none the less, before or since, for, sweetheart, 
 you have filled me, heart and mind, since I first knew you 
 as my sister's schoolmate, while visiting us in New York. 
 
 " Two years ago I was nothing, holding no position and 
 with only a possibility of getting influence to help me to 
 something better than I had held. This tied my tongue, 
 Dorothy, and made it impossible to use the arguments I 
 have now at hand. I could give you no position in society, 
 no wealth, no brilliancy to gladden you, and no hope for 
 the future ; not even could I have given you much of my 
 presence, for I was taken up in the ceaseless matter of 
 acquiring influence for the end I have at last attained.
 
 THE LAST TRYST. 229 
 
 " Your uncle wrote me that he had effectually disposed 
 of that young doctor, with whom, by the way, I have a 
 heavy account to settle. That relieved my mind to some 
 extent, and then at last, but.recently, I received my longed- 
 for wish. Dorothy, I hold a commission of a major in 
 His Majesty's Regulars, and am now on my way to join my 
 regiment. I should have gone at once from New York to 
 Brooklyn, where they are stationed, but could not forbear 
 a journey to you to lay this new honor at your feet; this, 
 with the position and wealth it will bring ; for I shall not 
 long be inactive, I assure you. Hence, the risk I run is 
 disobedience to orders. I was due two days since, but 
 they will condone the offense, or I will gladly take the 
 punishment, which will be light enough at the price of this 
 dear hand." 
 
 There was a momentary pause as he laid his palm on the 
 back of her hand, but not a word did she speak, nor made 
 any sign, save to draw away a trifle. Presently he 
 resumed : 
 
 " I shall return by the rear of the line, crossing the Sound 
 to Huntington Bay, and if I bear with me your promise to 
 become my wife, I swear the honors I gather shall be re 
 flected to you. It will give me a strong hand to deal with 
 these rebels, for a strong hand is necessary. And now, my 
 love, for my love you are, and will be " 
 
 " Nay, nay, sir," cried Dorothy, starting up and putting 
 both hands to her ears at the words which I had used when 
 on that very seat I had opened my heart to her, and which, 
 womanlike, she had treasured and I remembered. " Nay, 
 sir, no more, I shall hear no more. Had you position, 
 wealth, or all the world could bestow, you lack one 
 thing my affection. You know but little of me or my 
 sex, if you think we can all be bought. So, sir, no more. 
 As your errand is fruitless, it is therefore finished. You 
 had better be gone to your new duties and not trouble rny 
 peace."
 
 230 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 She had stepped away from him now, leaving him. seated 
 and looking at her in evident astonishment. On either of 
 her cheeks burned a bright red spot. Her eyes were wide 
 open and flashing, though her voice was not raised. 
 
 It was pure self-control that kept her at this height, and 
 never had she looked more bewitching than in her sup 
 pressed excitement. But now the whole tenor of the man 
 changed, and his real character came to the surface. He 
 strode toward her, and taking her wrists in his hands, 
 peered closely into her face for a moment, and then slowly 
 and suspiciously asked : 
 
 " Have you seen that fellow again ? If so, by " 
 
 " What fellow ? " 
 
 " That d d doctor. Have you seen the man ? " 
 
 " The constant and insulting watch kept upon me is an 
 answer to that. Please let me go ! " 
 
 "Aye, true enough!" he said, dropping her hands. 
 " But is there no one to whom I owe my defeat ? Give me 
 but an inkling and " 
 
 " There is no one but yourself, Major Bromfield for 
 that is now your title. Were I free to meet your wishes, 
 my nature could never mate with yours. Your need is 
 more for a woman of the world, and though I feel highly 
 honored, I shall decline further intercourse." 
 
 Again she swept a courtesy over the short grass and 
 essayed to cross the bridge ; but again the major inter 
 posed with a still more violent manner. 
 
 " Were you free ! Then you are not free ! By Heaven, 
 Dorothy ! you will drive me mad ! Tell me j^our heart is 
 wholly untouched, and I shall still hope. Tell me, tell 
 me!" 
 
 He had gone to great lengths now. With one hand he 
 grasped hers, and the other was passed around her waist 
 while he drew her to him in a close embrace. The girl 
 turned away her head, and struggled in a vain endeavor to 
 free herself, but nearer and nearer he bent his face to hers.
 
 THE LAST TRYST. 231- 
 
 This was too much for flesh and blood to bear. I was 
 nearer to going crazy tlian I ever was before or since. 
 Had I been armed I should have committed murder by 
 shooting him as he stood, I saw nothing but Dorothy 
 struggling in his arms, and heard nothing but Dorothy 
 and her piteous prayers to be let free. In an instant, and 
 with consequence far out of sight, I swung from the branch 
 and dropped to the ground within a rod of the villain.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION. 
 
 THE proverbial clap of thunder from a clear sky, or the 
 coming of an angel from heaven, would have had no more 
 startling effect on the major than did my sudden advent. 
 Unloosing his hold on Dorothy, he stepped back a pace to 
 take the measure of the interloper. For an instant he failed 
 to recognize me, as the two years since we had met had 
 doubtless altered my appearance, and he gazed at me in 
 wonder ; while with a premonition of a tragedy, Dorothy 
 flew to my side as though to protect me. It took not many 
 seconds for the situation to dawn upon him, and his face 
 became a picture of hate. 
 
 "And this," he snarled, between his teeth, "is how the 
 squire has been hoodwinked. And 'tis you, you sneaking 
 dog, to whom I owe the debfc. By the devil and all his 
 angels, we are well met ! And here and now I will settle 
 the score I owe you. By the Eternal ! if you escape me 
 this time, I deserve branding ; so prepare yourself. I will 
 kill you you cur ! Dorothy, turn you aside that you may 
 not see me break your lover's back, for as I'm a man, you 
 shall never rest in his arms and he breathe. I say you are 
 mine and not his, and here's the proof." 
 
 The man was a maniac for the time, and murder was 
 plain enough in his eye as he walked slowl} 7 toward me. 
 He was evidently unarmed, as he drew no weapon, but as 
 he came forward Dorothy uttered a shriek, and threw her 
 arms about my neck. 
 
 " Unloose me, love quick !" I cried, as he drew toward 
 us, and putting her off as he came up, I threw all my
 
 MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION. 233 
 
 strength into my right arm, and dealt him a blow in the 
 face, springing beyond his reach as I did so. 
 
 The blow staggered him, but did not bring him down, 
 and while I was vainly casting around for some means of 
 defense, he tore off his coat and made a rush at me. 
 
 At that instant there interposed between us the square, 
 squat form of Jacob Moon. In my excitement I had lost 
 thought of him, but I was in his debt from that moment, 
 as he undoubtedly saved my life. 
 
 " Avast there, ye hot-headed loon ! " he shouted, as he 
 pushed Bromfield back from the embrace with which he 
 had caught him. " Would ye kill a boy o' half your 
 years an' weight, or are ye still up to your old tricks? 
 There'll be no back breaking here save I take a hand. 
 Look to the lass, my lad, I'll tend to our friend; faith ! 
 I thought ye would never make a move." 
 
 I ran to Dorothy, who had sunk to the ground, and was 
 staring before her with glassy eyes and lips apart, like one 
 distraught. Even my call to her and my touch had no 
 effect at first. The shock from fright had dazed her brain 
 for the moment, but as I put my arm around her, and lifted 
 her to the seat, while a terrible fear struck me, she turned 
 and looked at me, and putting her hand over ray face as 
 though to be sure of its realness, she suddenly took to sob 
 bing violently ; then I knew at least her mind was safe. 
 
 The reaction from this little episode shook me more than 
 that which had gone before; and sitting with my arms 
 around her, I turned my attention to the other two. 
 
 Bromfield stood glaring at us over the shoulder of Moon, 
 who stood betwixt him and the tree. His hands worked 
 nervously, and his face was white as chalk, save where a 
 large spot, from which trickled a few drops of blood, 
 marked the impact of my fist. Some few words had 
 passed between them, which I do not clearly remember, but 
 the Royalist had come to his senses, in a measure, for he 
 looked more like an angry man than one bereft of all 
 16
 
 234 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 brain control. Moon, whose back was toward me, stood 
 braced as though to take up the shock of the onset that 
 appeared imminent ; but instead of immediately flying at 
 his opponent, Bromfield spoke violently, and as though in 
 answer to some remark. 
 
 " Then stand aside and let me give him his deserts. Let 
 him fight if he be a man. Stand off and see fair play, if 
 you will I have an old score to settle with the fellow." 
 
 "So?" returned Moon. "An' I have an older one to 
 settle with thee, ye heartless, man-lashing bully. Ye have 
 made my blood boil on the deck o' the Dragon many's the 
 day, an' ye may thank the Lord ye are now dealing with a 
 man o' conscience an' not one o' your own kind, else ye'd 
 be lying face skyward, by this. Fair play, is it? Nay, 
 thou roach, it lies not in ye for see the difference between 
 your bodies." 
 
 " Give us arms, then," Avas the answer; "anything that 
 he may be my equal and I get ray right." 
 
 "Aye, an' see him killed by thee? Faith! I should 
 think ye would fear the crossing o' swords might fetch the 
 ghost o' young Bowden to blast ye." 
 
 "Curse you!" yelled Bromfield, "what devil conjured 
 you up at this time? Hold your infernal tongue, or 
 by " 
 
 " Nay, then," said Moon, lifting aloft his hand and inter 
 rupting, "no devil but the Lord raised me to smite the 
 Philistine." Then with a change of tone and manner, "An' 
 by that same Lord, my humor is getting short, an' as an 
 end to this Major Bromfield, I make ye a prisoner in the 
 name o' Gin'ral Washington, an' to your old berth at the 
 fort ye'll shortly go. Leftenant, take the lass to the 
 house, an' then ride to Colonel Ledyard an' ask for a hand 
 ful o' men." 
 
 This was the last straw to the baffled major. As tlie 
 old man spoke he half turned to give the order, while the 
 officer, with the eye of a trained athlete watching to take
 
 MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION. 235 
 
 his opponent off guard, sprang at him with the quickness 
 of a cat, and seizing him with the under-hold, tried to 
 throw him. Then began a terrible struggle. The stocky 
 form of Moon fell back a few paces at the shock, but he 
 had turned in time to meet the charge breast on, though 
 at a great disadvantage. The two were instantly locked 
 in close embrace, and sway as he would, Bromfield failed 
 to immediately drive the spy to the ground, as by the rush 
 he had undoubtedly hoped to do. It therefore became a 
 wrestling match with life and death for the prizes. They 
 had turned in the struggle so that the face of Moon was 
 now toward me. Fury was on his countenance and he 
 seemed to be holding his breath. His head was bent, but 
 I could see his teeth set over the upper lip, and the great 
 veins swelling on his forehead, as, with a force slow but irre 
 sistible, he tried to bow his broad back away from the strain 
 of the brawny arms that encircled him, and I saw his hands 
 working slowly downward over his opponent's back ; while 
 the officer strove to lift him till the muscles in his neck 
 stood out in broad bands, showing the fierceness of his 
 exertions. 
 
 Together they tottered over the smooth turf, a magnifi 
 cent spectacle of human strength in battle, and one that 
 held me spellbound. There was no sound made by either, 
 save the short quick breathing of the officer, and the breath 
 of Moon, which was let go with a sudden blast only to be 
 caught again and held. Neither seemed to be able to 
 
 o o 
 
 obtain the mastery. The play of the trip was made 
 entirely by the Tory, whose attempts to interlock were 
 frustrated by Moon with a jerk that sent the officer's leg 
 back "to brace," and the contest became one of brute 
 strength. 
 
 There was no telling what the end might be, but such a 
 terrific strain could not last for long, and I had witnessed 
 the combat fully a minute before I realized I had a part 
 to act.
 
 236 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 At the onset, Dorothy had turned and hidden her face 
 against me to shut out the sight, but recognizing all the 
 significance of the overthrow of Moon and fearing his 
 possible injury, I put her aside, and springing to the rick 
 ety foot-bridge, tore up a loose plank and advanced on the 
 infuriated men. 
 
 I was too late. I had not taken six steps toward them, 
 when there came a quick change of position, a lightning- 
 like shifting of hands and legs, and the feet of the 
 Royalist flew into the air while his body shot over 
 Moon's shoulder, landing heavily, back down, on the 
 grass. 
 
 Before it had fairly settled the latter was upon him, and 
 with his knee ground into his chest, he gripped the bare 
 throat with both hands. 
 
 " Now may God keep me from killing ye as ye lie ! " he 
 thundered, as he settled his weight on the prostrate body. 
 " But if ye don't give token o' surrender I'll choke ye till 
 your face turns the color o' your black heart; by the 
 Might}' Power above me, I will ! " 
 
 As nothing but an effort to rise came from this threat, 
 the hold tightened until the legs of Bromfield were flnng 
 wildly about, his eyes bulged from their sockets, his tongue 
 hung from his mouth, and he grasped the wrists of the old 
 man with both hands in a vain endeavor to loosen the vise- 
 like grip that was killing him. 
 
 " Throw up your fists as a sign, an' I'll ease ! " said the 
 spy, as I noticed an ashy hue creeping over the officer's 
 face. There was life and sense enough in him to under 
 stand this, and he tried to lift them aloft, but they fell 
 limply to the ground. Moon immediately relaxed his hold 
 and got to his feet, where he stood looking down on the 
 fallen man, who gasped for breath, but made no attempt to 
 rise. 
 
 He was in sore distress for a space, and all fight was gone 
 from him ; but he finally succeeded in raising himself and
 
 MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION. 237 
 
 resting on his elbow, and was rubbing bis throat and gazing 
 about like one recovering from a stupor, when I saw the 
 squire coming down the hill on a tottering run, closely 
 followed by his sister. Hatless and out of breath he 
 crossed the bridge, bristling with anger and excitement as 
 he advanced upon us. 
 
 "Who has had the temerity to assault my guest ?" he 
 vociferated, as soon as his access of wind would let him. 
 "Begone from my land, you interloper! What brought 
 you hither? Who is yon fellow ?" 
 
 Before a reply could be made, he turned to his sister, who 
 had gone directly to Dorothy, and said authoritatively: 
 "Abigail, take her to tlie house ; this is no place for 
 women." Then stooping to Bromfield, he helped him to 
 his feet. " What cowardly conduct is this, my friend ? 
 It shall be paid for dearly," he continued, glaring at 
 Moon, who was standing a pace or two apart, his face 
 gathering darkness as he looked at the excited man, while 
 he combed back with his fingers the long hair that in the 
 tussle had fallen over his forehead. 
 
 Something in the spy's look evidently changed the 
 squire's policy of brag, for he said somewhat more quietly 
 to the officer, " Come, Bromfield, you are hurt. We will 
 return with them." And he took a step to follow, but 
 Moon's voice abruptly called a halt. 
 
 " Ye'll stir not hence no, an' neither will the lass. 
 Your sister I have nothing with; she may go." 
 
 " What is the meaning of this?" demanded the squire, 
 in wide-eyed astonishment. "Do you dare " 
 
 " Aye, I dare ! " said Moon, interrupting him ; " an I'll 
 brook no interference from ye, though ye be the squire o* 
 this land, an' ticklish ground it is on which ye be standing. 
 Your guest, as ye call him, is my prisoner, being a major 
 in the king's army by his own confession, for I heard each 
 word o' it ; an' squire though ye be, ye are under a ban an' 
 have broken your parole. But little better off are ye.
 
 238 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 Guest, is it? A guest yourself ye'll be, an' o' the fort 
 yonder." 
 
 The squire's white face had become a shade paler at 
 these words. He turned a blank look on his companion, 
 saying : 
 
 "Brornfield ! Bromfield ! Is it, indeed, so? Ho\v came 
 it about? Have you ruined me at last by j r our violence 
 and temper? How came you in this plight ? Answer me 
 as we go." Then with an effort at dignitj 7 , he said to 
 Moon : " Let us pass, sir, or you shall suffer." 
 
 " Shut up, you fool ! " was the ungracious reply of 
 Bromfield, who for the first time found his voice; "the 
 man is ai'med." 
 
 " Aye, armed I am ! " said Moon, to my great astonish 
 ment drawing a pistol from out his waistband. "An' had 
 it not been for that ye might have come off better through 
 the scrimmage. But he felt the weapon when he hugged 
 me," said he, turning to me in explanation, " an' 'twas his 
 loosening his hand to get it that gave me the hold I wished 
 when I tossed him. 'Twas murder he was after. He 
 might ha' thrown me finally had he not given me an open 
 ing. 'Twas your advance, lad, that hurried him, as I hoped 
 it would, for I knew he felt the iron an' would strive for it." 
 
 There was a grim smile on his face as he spoke, and he 
 paid no attention to the implied threat of the squire, but 
 said firmly : 
 
 "Ye will bide where ye be till I finish." Then still 
 further relaxing his countenance until it assumed its old 
 benign expression, he advanced to Dorothy. 
 
 " An' now, lass, I have but detained ye to speak a word 
 to ye ; for first an' foremost, ye it was that brought me 
 hither. I came to greet ye an' say good-by at once. Have 
 no more fear for your sweetheart. 'Twas I who asked him 
 to bring me hither this morn, that I might see your sweet 
 face, an' that ye might know me again as a good friend ; 
 an' little I recked o' what would fall out, but 'twas the
 
 MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION. 239 
 
 Lord's will an' a grand, good tiling. Go ye to the house 
 now an' forget not the name o' Jacob Moon, or that he will 
 stand by your lover an' ye through thick an' thin, an' may 
 God bless your pretty head:" 
 
 These words, uttered in a way that might have won a 
 stone, brought the angelic disposition of my love at once 
 to the surface. Albeit, pale and shaking, as- she still was, 
 she put her hand in his, saying : 
 
 " I do not know you, sir, save by what I have been told 
 and what I have just seen, but more I owe you than ever 
 will lie in my power to repa} 7 . You are a good man you 
 are a good man ! " and lifting her sweet mouth, she kissed 
 his rough cheek before he fairly knew her intention. He 
 stepped back a pace in astonishment, and his face, weather- 
 beaten though it was, showed the blush that came over it, 
 while the quick tenderness that lit his eye told how com 
 pletely he was won by the caress. 
 
 As his look followed her while she crossed the bridge 
 with her aunt, he said to me : 
 
 " Go, my son, go to the house with her, an' then hie to 
 the fort. I can hold the two here, without doubt. Faith, 
 'tis a gentle ending to a broil." 
 
 In an instant I was at Dorothy's side assisting her up the 
 hill without any objection being interposed by the spinster, 
 who had spoken no word from first to last. Dorothy clung 
 to me with a nervous force that told how she had been 
 shaken and yet felt the effects of the scene of*violence she 
 had witnessed. Still the little woman bore herself bravely, 
 though with great effort, as I could see. We had just 
 arrived at the top of the slope when a loud shout from 
 Moon caused me to turn in haste, but there was no cause 
 for alarm, for he simply made a sign for me to return. 
 
 Bidding my love adieu, I went back to the old man who, 
 seated on the bench with pistol in hand, was watching 
 the two who stood at a little distance in close conversation. 
 His face had grown stern again, and as I came up he said in
 
 240 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 a voice far from genial, and in tones that were evidently 
 intended more for them than for me : 
 
 " I have changed my mind." Then rising he approached 
 his prisoners, and addressing Bromfield, said : " Look ye ! 
 I will give ye a choice o' two things ; nor need ye bless 
 me for a change o' heart. Either ye go to the fort on your 
 old footing, where ye will lie an' rot before your friends 
 trouble more about an exchange, or ye will consent to 
 mount an' ride out o' town within the next quarter o' an 
 hour, an' swear on your life to return no more, or molest 
 those ye have tried to come between. Think quick, now ! 
 As for you" he said to the squire, "I leave ye to the marcy 
 o' the doctor here ; he can do with ye as he wills. Now, 
 my son, there's your man. See him hanged if ye like ; he's 
 yours, an' ye have enough to hang him on." 
 
 This sudden change in the determination of the spy took 
 me aback. 'Twas from no feeling of tenderness, I felt 
 sure, for voice and face belied that. 
 '" Why do you let him go ? " I asked. 
 
 "Because it suits my purpose ; perhaps to let him gather 
 rope to swing himself with ; anyway, he's my prisoner, ye 
 will allow, an' I do as I list." 
 
 This he said harshly, and I felt hurt at the reply; but 
 before I could demand an explanation he blurted out to 
 Bromfield : 
 
 "Come now, be quick ! " 
 
 " Give me my luggage and let me be gone," said the 
 officer. " I promise on my honor." 
 
 Moon looked at him for a moment and then burst into a 
 laugh. 
 
 " On your honor, is it ? Well, but I have small faith in 
 your honor. I would as soon look for comfort with cold 
 feet as for honor an' ye to be housemates, but 'twill do for 
 this time. Show the lad his traps," said he to the squire ; 
 and turning to me : "My son, go through them for arms 
 an' papers, then come to the barn, but let not the squire
 
 MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION. 241 
 
 from your sight the time ; after that we'll to horse an' ride 
 this devil out o' town." 
 
 At this we moved away from the brook, Moon, with 
 pistol still in hand, following Brornfield in the direction of 
 the barn, while the squire and I went toward the house. 
 As we walked on the old hypocrite became abject in his 
 pleadings for me to spare him. 
 
 " I'm a ruined old man, Anthony, and my life is in your 
 hands. If you give me up it will be ray death. Have 
 mercy on me ! I will withdraw all opposition to your union 
 with my niece ; I knew not matters had gone so far. I 
 have been no enemy to the colonies in all this; I'm a victim 
 of appearances. 'Twas all for what I thought the good of 
 Dorothy, but now I know how you have made my wishes 
 barren. No good can come to you no good by giving 
 me into the hands of the authorities. They will have no 
 mercy ; I am a doomed man if you show me none." 
 
 He wrung his hands and clutched my sleeve in his 
 endeavor to detain me and exact a promise, but I only 
 looked at him from the corner of my eye and made no 
 answer. 
 
 In this fashion we entered the house, and ere long I had 
 gone through the major's effects. There was a brace of 
 pistols, both loaded, and a number of papers, among them 
 being his commission as a major in the Royal army. His 
 clothing I put in his saddle bags ; the pistols and papers in 
 my pocket, and without apparently noticing the continued 
 pleading of the squire, told him to go to the barn, which 
 lie did, I following with the luggage. 
 
 His man Matthew, in utter ignorance of what had hap 
 pened, and seemingly with little curiosity, was saddling the 
 major's horse, and having finished, was dispatched for the 
 two we had left fastened by the road. In the interval of 
 waiting, Moon went over the papers, and giving back to 
 me all but the commission, he handed it to Bromfield, 
 saying :
 
 242 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " Ye would be lame without this, an' so ye may 
 have it." 
 
 I could make no head nor tail of his actions, and not 
 until afterward did I understand his apparent generosity, 
 but I felt there must be a purpose beneath it all, so held 
 my peace. The horses having been brought, without as 
 much as a farewell to the squire, who looked as though the 
 his world was about ending, Bromfield climbed into 
 saddle at the command of Moon, and with a " Come, my 
 lad," from the sp} r , I followed suit, and we three filed into 
 the highroad. 
 
 It was getting toward noon by this time, and the wind 
 was still blowing merrily as we took the way to New Lon 
 don ; Bromfield riding ahead, Moon, with his pistol still 
 uncovered, and I following close behind. Many were the 
 eyes that showed curiosity as we crossed the ferry and rode 
 through the town ; but Bromfield never turned nor spoke, 
 and but for Moon's weapon we might have seemed valets 
 riding behind a master. 'Twas a strange procession even 
 for the times, and had I not been recognized as part of it I 
 doubt if we had been unmolested ; for to see a stranger riding 
 through the town with an armed man at his rear was a 
 sight that would have commonly required explanation there 
 and then. Once well through it, however, we rode rapidly 
 for a mile or more, and then Moon ordered a stop. 
 
 We were on the brow of a gentle hill that sloped to the 
 west when we came to a halt, and the spy, turning on the 
 officer, said : 
 
 "An' now, here we part. Ye have met me twice ; 
 beware o' the third time. Ye may go your way alone to 
 do your worst in the service ye disgrace, but it behooves ye 
 to do your best to mind your promise ; an' this I say if ye 
 do come back, come well armed an' with as many eyes in 
 your head as has a peacock in his tail, for if the war be 
 still on at our next meeting, I'll kill ye at sight. Now go!" 
 
 Without a word the Tory drove his horse into a canter,
 
 MOON MASTERS THE SITUATION. 243 
 
 and was soon hidden by a curve in the road. As we saw 
 him disappear, Moon turned to me with a radiant face and 
 a complete change of manner. 
 
 " Ride now, my son," said he, " for we must be off to 
 Huntington Bay as though life lay in the getting there. 
 Yonder innocent will bear my mail to Clinton."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE START. 
 
 As we sped back, a dim understanding came to me as 
 to his motive in letting bis prisoner go, and, during the 
 delay in crossing the ferry be unfolded bis plan, which 
 was simple enough. 
 
 " I owe ye an apology for the short way I took ye up 
 when ye spoke a while since, but I had a cause. How to 
 be sure to get this letter to Clinton has been a sore bother 
 to me, as in the end I might have been stumped when I 
 got to Huntington if my man was not ready with a way. 
 But here was a messenger bound straight for their lines if I 
 but chose to open my hand. An' now to get there before 
 he has time to cross, an 'twill be given him as though just 
 taken. Do ye see the p'int ? Then, again, to have it sure 
 I make no mistake, I am telling ye the war is well-nigh 
 over, though I say it not abroad. I have reasons for so 
 thinking, an' little good would it do to lock him up for a 
 few months, when I could use him. Neither would I be 
 hard on the squire, were I ye, though he deserves all he 
 would get. I turned him over to ye that he might feel the 
 need o'your mercy an' do your will by the lass. Hold it 
 over him. But I think we pulled his fangs this day, an' 
 tilings be in good shape. An' now," said he, as we mounted 
 on the other side, "stop and bid good-by to your little 
 lady while I press forward an' pick up young Bailey an' 
 get the iiigger to the boat. We must make a start, an' if 
 this wind holds 'twill be quick work an' the last business 
 for Jacob Moon God be thanked ! " 
 
 We rode rapidly until we were abreast of the squire's, 
 
 244
 
 THE START. 245 
 
 and, telling Moon I would join him at home in an hour, I 
 turned in and saw him post on at full speed. I was evi 
 dently looked for, as the squire promptly came to me when 
 I dismounted at the door, and began, in a cringing way, to 
 ask what he had to expect at my hands. 
 
 I cut him short by a demand for Dorothy, for I had 
 little time to waste on him, and it disgusted me to see the 
 old man, who had hitherto carried his head so high, become 
 servile to one so man}^ years his junior. 
 
 " Dorothy is in her chamber," he said, in answer to my 
 question. 
 
 " Call her at once, then." 
 
 " I am afraid she is ill, Anthony, and will be unable to 
 descend." 
 
 Hearing this, I brushed past him into the house and up 
 the stairs two steps at a time. I knew the location of 
 her room, and, as the door stood wide open, I immedi 
 ately entered. 
 
 She was lying on the bed, with her aunt in attendance, 
 and at once I saw that the difficulty lay in the nervous 
 shock she had received. Giving the spinster directions to 
 procure certain remedies that might be found about the 
 house, I took advantage of our being left alone to explain 
 to my darling, who lay and listened with flushed cheeks 
 and dry, bright eyes, the necessity of my temporary 
 absence, telling her just what we were about to do. I had 
 little time to stay by her, and it went to my heart to leave 
 her ailing, though I thought a rest of a night and a day 
 would make her right again. I left, therefore, bidding her 
 be of good cheer, as the squire would make no more trouble; 
 telling her to think nothing of what had passed, but to try 
 and sleep. I kissed her sweet lips and went from her side 
 with a word to her aunt that the fate of her brother would 
 depend upon how they treated Dorothy. E'en at the door- 
 sill I stopped and looked back and saw my dear girl close 
 her eyes in obedience ; but the little start, and their quick
 
 246 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 opening again, made it too plain that she would live over 
 the scene of violence and terror time after time, until her 
 bruised nerves were rested. Having great faith in my 
 prescription, however, I heartened myself and turned down 
 stairs again, and without paying attention to the squire, 
 who still waited and at once began his prayers anew, I 
 leaped into the saddle and was off. 
 
 As I galloped on, the wind I was facing roared at me ; 
 but I judged it had not increased in its force, as I thought 
 it would in the early morning, for in the way I was riding 
 my ears would have hummed in a dead calm. 
 
 I was glad there was no increase to it, as a gale of great 
 strength would have stayed our progress on the water 
 instead of hurrying us on our way. 'Twas something 
 more than a whole-sail breeze at present, but though not 
 fair for our course, would well serve ; and as I had had 
 scant sailing that season, I looked forward to getting onto 
 the broad waters of the Sound and feeling the pull of the 
 wheel and bound of the swell. 
 
 As was usual, there was not much to do to the little vessel 
 itself, and though there was no bustle about her, there 
 was plenty at the house, and I was at once set upon for the 
 story that Moon had but partly and too modestly told. 
 The wonder of it was how completely the air had been 
 cleared by the storm, and the only dissatisfied one Avas 
 Harry, who cursed his fate for always being adrift some 
 where when a ready arm would have been of use. He took 
 to the matter in hand with all his heart, but had little to do 
 with the preparations, as Charlotte seemed to have mys 
 terious reasons for getting him away from the rest. But 
 e'en lover's partings drag to an end, and the hours that 
 appeared to hang for Moon, who was all impatience to be 
 off, doubtless went at speed for the two who made such an 
 ado when we came to say " All's ready ! " 
 
 It was more the distance we had to go than the mission 
 itself that made the undertaking a serious one.
 
 THE START. 247 
 
 Huntington Bay is across the Sound almost due south 
 from Norwalk, and, as the crow flies, about seventy-five 
 miles from our anchorage ; but with a wind that might 
 hold from the southwest for two or three days, as these 
 smoky gales are apt to do, and our course lying almost in 
 the wind's eye, the distance to sail would not be short of 
 an even hundred and fifty, though the getting back would 
 be but play and would be done in about half the time it 
 would take to beat up the wind. 
 
 Huntington at this time was in the line of a great high 
 road for the British, and was the point of departure for 
 many of their vessels, a small detachment being posted 
 there to keep open a supply line from the Sound to their 
 lines in the rear of Brooklyn. To the east of the bay at 
 the head of which stands the hamlet of Huntington, the 
 Long Island coast is a barren beach of beautiful white sand 
 and pebbles, broken here and there by a cove that might 
 give shelter to a small vessel, but in those days devoid of 
 habitation save for an occasional rude dwelling in the 
 woods hard by the water ; and even now the forest skirts 
 the shore with the aspect of an unbroken wilderness. Five 
 miles to the west, there is a long arm to the Sound, called 
 Cold Spring, that runs inland and bends so that the head 
 of it almost meets the head of Huntington Bay, and ends 
 not more than three miles from the town of Huntington. 
 Into this arm of the sea it was Moon's intention to slip and 
 make his way overland to the cabin of the party to whom 
 he was to deliver the bogus communication, if chance 
 favored his finding him ; while he (Moon's friend), acting 
 as though in the interests of the British, would intercept 
 Bromfield upon his arrival and deliver the message into 
 his hands. Such was the raw plan, that might demand a 
 change later. To get there was now our single object. 
 
 I figured that with the present aspect of wind and 
 weather it would consume all of three days before our 
 return would be made good, and as it was evident that the
 
 248 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 approach and landing must be under the cover of dark 
 ness, it behooved us to make a start during the evening of 
 the day we were on, that we might fall to arrive the night 
 following. Well armed we were this time, with a rifle, a 
 fowling piece loaded with slugs, three brace of pistols, and 
 a cutlass, to say nothing of Rod's spear and the knives we 
 carried. We had naught else aboard to excite suspicion 
 in case we were halted, but even in that event we still had 
 the paper from Howe which I had once used and which 
 might still prove effective despite its old date. As a last 
 resort there would be four to fight, but I think none of us 
 looked for any difficulties save those of approaching shore 
 by night, the uncertainty of finding the party Moon was 
 after, and the possibility of Bromfield getting over and 
 on his way before the plan could be straightened out for 
 practice. 
 
 It was nigh onto six o'clock before the last thing had 
 been made ready, and much time had been lost too, for the 
 tale of the events of the morning had to be told and re 
 told and talked over and tossed this way and that and 
 wondered at. Charlotte was to go to Dorothy the next 
 day, which helped my heart not a little. My father showed 
 anxiety, though he would not tell the cause, but the grace 
 he asked at the supper table was of more than usual fer 
 vency and length, and was answered by the deep "Amen," 
 of old Moon. 
 
 After this it was a short shift to get aboard, and when 
 we drew out of the river's mouth and were bearing south on 
 a long leg to windward, under jib and mainsail only, we 
 could see my father and sister waving to us from the 
 height of Hardscrabble, as they stood in the yellow haze 
 of smoky light made by the lowering sun. 
 
 Even then a fear clutched me ; but it was not for myself, 
 and I took it to be a qualm at leaving Dorothy, wishing 
 myself again ashore and on my way to her instead of put 
 ting miles of water between us.
 
 THE START. 240 
 
 It was uncanny enough outside. Even in that light the 
 waves had black hollows in them and broke with a hiss 
 that might try the nerves when darkness drew on ; but the 
 plow had been grasped and there was no turning back, so 
 I steadied myself at the wheel and minded me of the four 
 leagues of water due south, over which we must travel 
 before we could make a tack for the west and an inch on 
 our real way, and it seemed a never-ending distance. 
 
 As the slm went down and darkness came on apace, I 
 felt a shivering sense of loneliness I had not marked since 
 I was a lad. There was the violent motion of the vessel, 
 and the snapping hiss of the water in the blackness of the 
 night was made more grewsome by the phosphorescence 
 that was in the sea, for the foam of the wake had a radi 
 ance that gave no light. Anon, some huge wave greater 
 than the rest would break hard by, but out of sight, with 
 a roar that made me think of rocks and gave me a "turn," 
 though I knew there were no rocks near. Overhead, a 
 few stars struggled through the haze, but it was a black 
 night aye, a black night to be on angry water and close 
 to it, as in a small vessel ; and it makes a sight of differ 
 ence whether one be so near the treacherous stuff that by 
 bending, one can thrust one's arm into it to the elbow, or 
 one be raised above it on the high deck of a stanch craft 
 and feels a sense of security from its very distance. 
 
 There was no light shown save in the little binnacle that 
 glimmered under my eye. Rod lay on the heel of the bow 
 sprit in a shower of spray, keeping a lookout, while the 
 others sat silent near me. I have no doubt that Hal 
 was impressed by the darkness, the rush of wind and water 
 and the roar of both, but Moon would sometimes put in a 
 word and show by his easy manner that his nerves were 
 not affected. 
 
 At ten o'clock, having been four hours at the wheel, I 
 gave the helm to Moon, after coming about and laying a 
 course a little north of west, so as to fetch into the lee of 
 17
 
 250 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 the Long Sand Shoals that lie off the mouth of the Con 
 necticut River. By so doing we would have some miles of 
 comparatively quiet water when we struck there, and 
 knowing Moon was safe to find the way, I took a big 
 draught of rum and turned in, leaving them to settle as 
 they would, on the watch for the night. 
 
 The day had been a hard one for me, but, tired as I was 
 (and my arms ached from the strain of steering), I could 
 not readily sleep, but lay listening to the thump of the 
 waves, or their hissing as they tore along the run of the 
 vessel. Everything was a-creak and a- rattle, and when I 
 did finally lose myself, it was to get uneasy dreams, the 
 worst of which woke me in terror; but I slept again, and 
 when I at length came to myself it was glimmering day, 
 and I was thankful the night was spent. The old man lay 
 asleep in the bunk opposite mine, his face as peaceful as 
 that of a child. His white hair fell about it like a circle 
 of light, and he was a picture of a man whose heart, mind, 
 and health swung in harmony. 
 
 Harry, all dressed, was lying along a transom cushion; 
 and this, with the easy motion of the boat, told me we had 
 gotten into quieter water ; probably inside the shoal. Rod 
 was steering when I got on deck, and, sending him below 
 to rest, I took the wheel. 
 
 We were then abreast of Cornfield Point, or just by the 
 mouth of the Connecticut River. As we sailed close 
 ashore, the land looked lovely in the growing light, but 
 the prospect to the south was angry beyond telling. The 
 wind still held, or was a little heavier, I thought, and the 
 way the seas broke over the bar that guards the river was 
 a sight to behold. 
 
 This streak of shallow water, that has forever been and 
 will forever be a menace to the mariner, is known as the 
 Long Sand Shoal, and is the result of the ages of deposit 
 brought down by the great river and dropped, in the delta 
 fashion, a few miles off its mouth. The tides have cut
 
 THE START. 251 
 
 and shifted it, until it is piled into a long, narrow bank, 
 shaped like a hog's back, the water deepening gradually 
 from the center to the ends. For its entire length it has 
 no hole or opening, and there it lies, and ever will, from 
 three to five miles of grim death, hidden by the sea. The 
 inside, or north side, is pretty steep, owing to the wash of 
 the tide east and west, and between it and the land there 
 is almost a harbor, the bar so thoroughly breaks the swell 
 from the south. 
 
 It was through this narrow strip of water we were 
 now speeding, and I had determined to again tack south 
 for an ofling, when we should clear the west end of the 
 shoal, but it was close sailing, for the wind seemed to back 
 and head us off. There was no change in the aspect of 
 the sky, which still remained blue at the zenith and went 
 all murky as the eye came downward, but I was pleased 
 to know the weather would hold, for now that light was 
 over the water, the face of things was better and my vapors 
 of the night blew away, though the ash-colored tumult we 
 would soon run into was not encouraging. 
 
 We were drawing dangerously near land, and I had 
 shaken the sails a dozen times in trying to claw off, when 
 Moon came up. 
 
 " Ye may get over the end o' the bar now," he remarked, 
 as he saw where we were. "A whole day o' this is bad, 
 but thank God 'tis the last, an' we will make the bay soon 
 after dark." 
 
 He was in the best of spirits, and I turned the wheel 
 over to him while I took the glass and tried to see if .aught 
 was in sight, but nothing showed anywhere, so we hauled 
 on the wind and came about, pointing now due south, and 
 were soon plunging into the raging water to the windward 
 of the Sands. There was not enough violence to the 
 wind to account for such a tumult, but it had been blow 
 ing steadily for thirty-six hours now, and had piled up 
 a swell that on the Shoals created a rumpus that was
 
 252 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 well-nigh sickening, and we were not in the worst of it 
 either. 
 
 The strain of the little ship was great and she labored 
 heavily. I was fearful of the gear, for my poverty pre 
 vented my buying a single new rope, but fortunately all 
 seemed in fair condition, and if nothing carried away in 
 the next few miles, we should get easier as we reached the 
 lee of Long Island. The pitching of the sea had at last 
 rolled Harry onto the cabin floor, and he came on deck 
 with a sleep-hungry look in his eyes that was laughable. 
 Rod still slept below in the galley, and thus we held on 
 until after sunrise, making small progress against the 
 blows we got, but gradually drawing away from the 
 roughest of the muss. 
 
 The sun was well above the horizon before we saw it, 
 and then it gave no brightness to the day, but hung in the 
 haze like a ball of blood and cast no ghost of a shadow. 
 There was no beauty to sky or sea ; only a pale blue, with 
 out clouds, overhead, and a dust-colored tumble of white- 
 capped waves all about. Despite the season, it gave me 
 almost a chill to see the bleak desolation that encompassed 
 us ; the never-ceasing heave and toss of the water and the 
 blue outline of the land we were again leaving. 
 
 Breakfast heartened both Harry and myself, as Rod had 
 come to life again and prepared the meal, but the old man 
 seemed to stand in no need of spirits, and was the youngest 
 of us in his gayety and lightness of heart, being like a man 
 about to wed. He was constantly talking of the one less 
 mile we were to go, or laughing at the prospect of having 
 Bromfield carry the letter which he (Moon) had on him 
 even during the fight. 
 
 But time told at last, and we pounded along until finally 
 I could see the Long Island coast and noted that the waves 
 were a bit less spiteful as we drew toward the land. It 
 was then that Harry, who had the telescope to his eye, 
 said :
 
 THE START. 253 
 
 "There's a craft yonder and coming east." 
 
 " What is she ? " asked Moon. 
 
 " A schooner is all I can see," was the reply ; " but she 
 carries a yard on her foremast, though no cloth to it or 
 'tis furled. She's far off to be sure of her." 
 
 " Perhaps she's a fisher hugging the lee of the land," I 
 su 2: nested. 
 
 C5 O 
 
 " Aye ! 'tis possible," put in Harry, " but she's not cut 
 like a fisherman. Mayhap she is out of Huntington." 
 
 " Faith ! I hope not," said Moon quickly. " Give me 
 the glass." 
 
 He took it, and swaying with the boat, looked for a full 
 minute before lowering it. 
 
 " She's too distant, an' the muck makes her unsartin," 
 he said, as he handed the glass to me and took my place at 
 the wheel. 
 
 I got a bearing on her, but she bobbed in and out so 
 rapidly there was nothing to be discovered beyond what 
 Harry had seen. It was plain she was in no hurry, as she 
 had on no upper cloths, and, try my best, I could not make 
 out aught of her colors ; so I gave the tube back to Moon 
 and resumed the helm. 
 
 " Do you think she sees us ? " I asked the old man, who 
 with knitted brows seemed mightily interested in the 
 vessel. 
 
 " I know not. She makes no sign that I can mark, but 
 I take it there's no use o' beckoning trouble, an' if we hold 
 our course we'll close on her. Ye had better get about, 
 lad, an' if they have a curiosity about us we'll find it out 
 soon enough." 
 
 Singing out to Rod, I put the helm hard a-lee, and again 
 we were facing west by north and making for the center of 
 the Sound, which here was nigh its greatest width, and 
 save that the seas were shorter, it differed in no wise from 
 the aspect of the ocean.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE WRECK. 
 
 As I altered the boat's head and put the stranger for 
 ward of the larboard beam, I felt a sudden return of the 
 depression of the night before. It seemed premonitory of 
 immediate events, and though there was no reason for it, 
 I had a feeling that there was trouble in store. 
 
 Our course was now almost parallel with the schooner, 
 but in the opposite direction, and she might have been 
 three or four miles away, being just discernible to the 63^6 
 through the hazy air. 
 
 We had not been sailing on the new tack for three min 
 utes when I saw them come about also, and head to cross 
 our bows. 
 
 " Ha ! The}'- scent us," cried Moon. " Now, what the 
 devil does that mean ? I wish I could see her nearer an' 
 yet be further away. I've a notion that I hate to be 
 stopped an' have to explain." 
 
 " What need we fear ? " I asked, though I had plenty of 
 fear in me as I spoke. " We have nothing on board, and, 
 should it prove a Britisher, we still have Howe's pass. 
 Perhaps we had better lay to and let them come up ; it 
 may ease matters." 
 
 "There's no call to do that till we're asked; but I like 
 it not I like it not. Could it be by chance they make to 
 cross us ? A Yankee would know us no enemy by our 
 size. By Jehovah ! I know not whether to run an' lose 
 time, or to keep on at a risk. I'm fairly stumped." 
 
 His face bore an expression of deep perplexity now, and 
 it was contagious. Harry looked at me and I at him, but 
 
 254
 
 THE WRECK. 255 
 
 neither spoke as we waited for tlie old man, on whom we 
 both depended, to determine what action should be taken. 
 Again Moon took the glass, and getting on one knee, made 
 a bracket of his arm on the cabin top, and with the tele 
 scope thus steadied, looked long at the schooner that was 
 by this well off the larboard bow and rapidly crossing us. 
 I could make out that since she had changed her course 
 she had set her maintopsail, and was about to remark it to 
 Hal, when a round puff of smoke broke from her bow. The 
 sound did not reach us through the noise about, but a little 
 speck went aloft to the peak at the same time, and I knew 
 it was a summons to heave to. 
 
 It acted like magic on Moon. Jumping to his feet and 
 closing the glass with a snap, he shook his fist at the boat 
 and shouted : 
 
 " Aha ! ye blathering whelp o' the devil ! I have it 
 I know ye now, an' I'm not to be caught by chaff. Up 
 with the helm, Anthony ; they have the weather gauge o' 
 us ; hard up an' show them your heels." 
 
 " What is it ?" I asked, as I put the wheel over hur 
 riedly, while Hal paid out the main sheet until the great 
 sail was broad to the blast. 
 
 " l&y the Lord o' Israel ! 'tis fate in the shape o' the 
 Dragon, an' ye may know what that means unless your 
 memory has failed ye. If I don't take the throne from 
 Jonah for bringing ye bad luck on the sea, may I be cussed ! 
 I know her now, I know her now ! an' she hoisted the 
 colors o' the colonies, union down, to coax us. The Dragon 
 it is ! Aye ! 'tis a fit name for the scaly pirate ; but Jacob 
 Moon's no fool, an' we'll lead her a dance. 'Tis a starn 
 cliase, ye black imp," he said, again shaking his fist, with a 
 scowl, and speaking at the schooner, which was now on our 
 starboard quarter, " an' I'll let ye into the length o' it. 
 We're not your game yet. Ye need have no fear o' their 
 guns," he said, as he turned and almost smiled on us, for 
 he doubtless read the consternation on the faces of us both.
 
 256 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 "In such a jump o' sea they could never hit a speck like 
 this, though they were at easy range. They may try later 
 if they close up, which misfortnitly, I fear they'll do. 
 Forgive me, lad," he said, laying a hand on my shoulder, 
 " I never dreamed o' risk like this. We might ha' cozened 
 nigh everything else they have afloat, but now 'tis a lost 
 cause an' we must run for it." 
 
 I felt all his words implied. Though naught but a chance 
 shot would compel us to heave to and surrender, there were 
 more hazards than that against us. She was coming on, 
 two feet to our one, for as I swung my head over my 
 shoulder, I marked them set the fore and mainsails wing on 
 wing, and spread the square sail on her fore-topmast. With 
 this spread of canvas, a few miles would bring them on 
 us and they might fairly run us down or drop a solid shot 
 into us at close quarters, though I knew their wish was to 
 take us entire, and little they guessed what a find they 
 would have if we fell into their clutches as prisoners. It 
 was a great pyramid of canvas that bore down upon us, 
 and she looked twice her size the way her sails were swung. 
 
 After his first outburst, Moon stood silently gazing at 
 her, while Hal, with the instinct of fight in him, went below 
 and began to load the rifles and pistols. For a space the 
 old man stood studying the distance of the oncoming vessel, 
 which was now visibly gaining on us, and then of a sudden 
 he said : 
 
 "She's coming like a white squall, but there is one more 
 move ye can make an' ye must chance it. Set the tops'l, 
 an' then clap on your preventer backstay an' h'ist the outer 
 jib ; 'tis all ye can pull even if your sticks hold out against 
 it. Ye must then make for the Shoals an' run over as near 
 the top as ye dare they will fear to follow in the water 
 ye draw. They're bound to go 'round, an' ye can slip up 
 river to Saybrook, where they durst not chase. We are 
 safe to get off, so be it nothing carries away." 
 
 The plan was wise and as plain as day. The Long Sand
 
 THE WRECK. 257 
 
 Shoal we had left at dawn was scarce ten miles to the 
 north, and by skipping over it where there was but enough 
 water to float us, we would gain an hour on them at once, 
 and long before they could get around the bar, we would be 
 up the Connecticut River and out of reach. The addition 
 of the topsail would tend to drive us down by the head, but 
 the outer sail, or jib topsail, would lift us, the two balanc 
 ing. It meant putting on every rag we owned and trust 
 ing to Providence that nothing broke, and the increase of 
 speed would make a problem of their ability to catch us 
 before we got to a safe haven. Therefore, there was no 
 time lost in getting out the backstay to take up the extra 
 strain, and setting the sails. Then altering the course to 
 due north, so that every stitch was drawing, I set her for 
 what I thought was a point halfway between the middle 
 of the Shoal and its eastern end. A terrible strain it was 
 we were under, and an unsailorly way of carrying canvas 
 in such a wind ; but life hung on it, and the effect was at 
 once felt. 
 
 The gale, which was like a living thing while we were 
 facing it, now seemed suddenly to fall to a calm as we fled 
 before it, but the steering was a thousand times more diffi 
 cult than it had been. We yawed fearfully as the waves 
 passed under us, and it took all my strength to keep the 
 helm up, under the increase of sail ; but we were beating 
 the seas, and with the loss of the deafening roar of the 
 wind in my ears, I got a grip on my nerves, especially as I 
 watched Moon's face and saw it clear a trifle as he noticed 
 our increasing pace. The backstay that ran from the top 
 mast-head down and backward over my left shoulder to a 
 bolt in the deck by the taffrail, was as taut as a bar of iron, 
 but as it had rarely been used I was little afraid of its let 
 ting go, and so long as it held, our upper spar was safe. 
 
 If there had been the least doubt of the schooner's inten 
 tions before, it was now set at rest. As soon as I had put 
 the sloop's head to the north, she swung her mainsail to
 
 258 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 starboard and followed, now lying down to the pressure of 
 her immense spread of canvas in a way that showed the 
 intensity of her purpose to overhaul us, and despite her 
 errand, was a thing of beauty. The seas to her were noth 
 ing as compared to us. Time and again our bowsprit 
 speared a billow ahead before we rose to it, and the roll of 
 the little craft was so great that frequently the end of the 
 boom drove into the water, and I finally got Rod to take a 
 pull on the topping-lift to keep the sail from being swept 
 in and gybing, which would have meant immediate 
 destruction. 
 
 Onward we sped, the seas growing greater as we neared 
 the shallow water. A look of anxiety was coming back to 
 the old man's face, and his jaw had a firm set as he watched 
 the enemy, who in spite of our increased gait, was gaining 
 rapidly upon us. 
 
 " 'Tis getting to be an even chance," said he, " but the 
 odds left are yet in our favor. Can we but keep well at 
 long range an' they hit us not by luck, we are sure o' supper 
 ashore." 
 
 It was almost impossible to use a telescope to advantage, 
 but Moon was constantly at it, and little was said among 
 us until we were within half a mile of the boil of the bar 
 -and the Dragon about half that distance behind us. It 
 needed no glass to see them now, and all that was going on. 
 
 As it had become a sheer impossibility to hold the wheel 
 alone, I had called Rod to my aid, and thus eased, I fre 
 quently took a backward look. Five minutes more would 
 find us over the bar, and as though they knew we were 
 about to escape, they began firing at us. Above all the 
 roar of the sea, I heard the report of the brass piece they 
 carried forward, but the shot must have flown very wide of 
 us, as I saw no sign of it. The next shot passed through 
 the center of the mainsail and was a lucky hit for them, as 
 the hole it made tore wide with the pressure of the wind, 
 and reduced our speed.
 
 THE WRECK. 259 
 
 "They'll not have a chance to be doing that again," 
 burst out Moon, as he marked the rent, "for by the 
 powers ! there's none too much water under us, an' they 
 must needs look to their own necks an' sheer off or they'll 
 ground, an' the good Lord help the craft that grounds here 
 this day." 
 
 But try it again they did, and it was wonderfully good 
 work they made of it when the conditions were considered. 
 They evidently trained their gun on us and then waited 
 until we both rose, when they fired, for this time the shot 
 plunged into the sea so near us that it splashed water into 
 the cockpit. At the same time there was a spat ! and a rifle 
 bullet tore a furrow in the mahogany rail and slapped into 
 the woodwork of the cabin. 
 
 "Faith ! that's a game I'll take a hand in myself," 
 said Moon, with a grim smile, as he gripped his way down 
 the companion and reached into a bunk for the rifle. 
 Harry, who bad his gun with him, having brought it on 
 deck some time before, threw himself onto his stomach 
 along the cushion, with one leg out as a brace, and waiting 
 for a heave, fired and turned on his back to load just as 
 another bullet struck us ; but I know not where, only hear 
 ing the slap of it. He looked worried as he lay there, for 
 all his fright, if he had felt any, was gone, and while he 
 rammed home with all speed, he roared out : 
 
 " Tony, they be trying to pick off the man at the wheel. 
 Can't you lie down and steer ? I hate to see you make 
 such a mark for them ! " 
 
 " It's impossible ! " I shouted, " and 'tis only for a min 
 ute more." For now we were on the hog's back, and the 
 surf was something terrible. Sea after sea lifted us and 
 bore us on at its mercy. The boat was like a mad animal, 
 or a runaway that had taken the bit in its teeth, and for 
 an instant I forgot the danger that menaced us behind, so 
 absorbed was I in the contemplation of the fearful war of 
 waters around us.
 
 260 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 Onr escape was now to be measured by seconds, and an 
 hundred feet would clear us. They could never follow, 
 for I was sure there was less than a fathom of water be 
 neath us, and they certainly drew twice that. It was 
 strange to me they had dared to pursue us so far ; but now 
 there was no time to think of them or aught but the howl 
 ing vortex in the midst of which we were reeling. 
 
 Moon, who had primed below, had crept up the steps 
 and reached the deck, on which he stood braced against 
 the end of the cabin, with legs wide apart to balance him 
 self for a shot. There was a smile of triumph on his lips 
 as he looked at the almost baffled enemy, but while I gazed 
 into his face to read it, there came a zipp! close to my ear. 
 I saw a quick tremor to his eye, his jaw dropped, his gun 
 fell from his grasp, and, clapping both hands to his chest, 
 he pitched backward, head foremost, down the companion. 
 
 I littered a cry of horror at the sight, and Harry, drop 
 ping his piece, leaped after him. For a brief instant I 
 saw him bending over the prostrate body, and then we 
 struck with a sickening jar and a cracking of timbers, 
 and hung. It was but for a moment. There was a sharp 
 report close to my ear, and I felt a paralyzing blow on my 
 left shoulder. I saw the topmast bend and sway like a 
 whip, and then break off with a crash just above the 
 hounds, while the falling spar pierced the swollen jib 
 and tore it from top to bottom. But the wind was at us, 
 and down we came lower and lower, until we lay almost 
 on our starboard beam's end, the mainsail on the water for 
 half its length. It seemed complete destruction. Turn 
 ing to look for what I knew would be the next blow, I saw 
 a huge, green sea making at us. 
 
 It struck us fairly on the counter, and leaped aboard 
 with a deafening roar. In a second I was knocked from 
 the wheel, and, together with Rod, jammed against the 
 cockpit locker and buried under the weight of the vicious 
 roller.
 
 THE WRECK. 261 
 
 I was not unconscious in the sense of being stunned, but 
 I lost complete control of my wits, only feeling that the 
 end was at hand, while through my head, like a flash of 
 lightning, came the thoughts of Dorothy, my father and 
 sister, the quiet of Hard scrabble, and being found dead on 
 the shore. 
 
 I thought the rush of water would never end, and 
 through it all wondered when I would lose consciousness 
 and how it would feel to drown. Perhaps I had been lost 
 fora second or two, for when at last I came to myself, it was 
 like waking from sleep. I found I was still on the boat, 
 with my head out of the water, and we were on an even 
 keel, lifting heavily, and with our nose to the wind. 
 
 The first thing I marked was Rod scrambling up the 
 companion stairs, down which he had been washed. Over 
 the floor of the cabin was more than a foot of water, that 
 drove backward and forward violently with the motion of 
 the boat, whicli was so logged that she barely rose to the 
 swell. 
 
 Harry and Moon were jammed under the table, the 
 former trying to pull himself free ; while the body of the 
 latter lay like one dead, alternately covered and uncovered, 
 as the water rushed this way and that. 
 
 It took mighty few seconds for me to catch a long 
 breath and determine the situation. Leaping into the 
 water below, I got Harry by the legs and hauled him, half 
 smothered, to his feet. He gave one wild look at me, but 
 said not a word. Together we laid hold of the body of 
 Moon, and, dragging him from under the table, laid him 
 on the transom, which was just awash. I then sprang to 
 the deck, with a yell to Rod to ship the pump, and, calling 
 Harry to follow, drew my knife and ran forward to cut 
 away the wreck of the top-hamper, that was thumping the 
 life out of everything in reach, for I feared it would part 
 the jibstay or standing rigging and let the mast go by the 
 board.
 
 262 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 It took but a few moments' reflection to come at the 
 bottom of the disaster, and this was what had happened : 
 In the first place, we had struck near the inner edge of the 
 shoal. Whether I had. miscalculated the spot, or the tide 
 had carried us west, I will never know, but I had entirely 
 forgotten to make allowance for the trough of the sea. 
 We had been let down onto the hard sand as a wave 
 passed under us, and, together with the lack of water be 
 neath us and the force of the wind, we were thrown on 
 our beam's ends. As we stuck fast, something had to go, 
 and it proved to be the preventer backstay bolt that drew 
 from the deck, the iron striking me a heavy blow on the 
 shoulder with the recoil of the rope. Then came the fol 
 lowing sea that pooped and well-nigh wrecked us ; but 
 its volume was great, and while washing over, it lifted 
 and flung us from the edge of the bar into deep water, 
 where we had righted. Somehow the main sheet had 
 become entangled in the wheel, so that it was drawn home, 
 and the little vessel, relieved of all pressure forward, 
 owing to the slitting of the jib and loss of jibtopsail, had 
 flown into the wind, and lay heaving to the swell in the lee 
 of the Long Sand Shoals, a wreck aloft, and probably in a 
 sinking condition from the blow received when she struck. 
 
 Worse than anything that had yet chanced was the fall 
 of Moon, who, I had no doubt, lay dead' below, hit proba 
 bly by the last shot they had fired before we went aground. 
 But there was still a fighting chance for the rest of us 
 if we could keep the vessel afloat, for even the compar 
 atively smooth water here gave no help to escape In the 
 small boat, for the dingey was gone, having been washed 
 away by the sea that had struck us, and the davits on 
 which she had swung were bent almost straight, showing 
 the force of the resistance with which her tackle had held. 
 
 I had turned sick at the fall of the old dispatch bearer, 
 but the events that followed so rapidly shifted thoughts 
 of him into other channels for the moment ; and now,
 
 THE WRECK. 263 
 
 with the instinct to save life where life remained, I turned 
 my sole attention to the safety of the vessel. The water 
 in the cabin was from the sea that had swept in, and it 
 must be gotten rid of first. With a natural impulse, I 
 had set Rod at the pump, which was made to fit to an eye 
 on deck, and led by a pipe to the well. He was fitting it 
 while I was forward cutting and slashing with all my 
 might to free us of the debris of rope, sail, and spar that 
 cumbered us. Harry had not followed at once, and I 
 shouted for him. As I swarmed up the larboard shrouds 
 to get hold of a line that still held the wreckage, I cast my 
 eye toward Rod, who was now working the brake of the 
 pump with all his might. Even as I saw him he stopped 
 his stroke, and, with one arm pointing to the Shoal and 
 eyes bulging, he shouted : 
 
 " Fo' de Lawd God ! Mars Tony, see yonder ! " 
 The cry had an intensity to it that brought Harry to the 
 deck, and in the few intervening seconds it took me to 
 slew myself around to get a view, I saw him stop and stand 
 spellbound. The sight I beheld made me forget all else. 
 The loose wreck thrashed about me, but I felt not the lash 
 of the whipping ropes' ends. The torn mainsail thundered 
 in the wind, but I heard it not, and we might have settled 
 and gone down then and there without my remarking it, 
 so absorbing and heart-sickening was the tragedy under 
 my eye. 
 
 The Dragon had grounded ! grounded, I imagine, some 
 three hundred feet further out than where we had struck ! 
 Whether they considered our mishap as the result of a 
 chance shot, or whether in the excitement of the chase they 
 had neglected their pilotage, or the whole was due to ignor 
 ance on their part, will never be known ; but grounded she 
 was. They had evidently discovered they were in shallow- 
 water and had attempted to claw off, for she was partly 
 thrown into the wind ; but the discovery came too late. 
 When I first sighted her her foremast was gone, and the
 
 264 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 wreckage hung over her side and bows, a mas; of confusion. 
 From where I was hanging, using both arms and legs to 
 hold on, I saw her people running backward and forward 
 along the deck, but there seemed to be no united eifort at 
 any point. A number sprang into the main rigging and 
 made aloft as though to get out of danger, for the rush of 
 water that broke over her threatened each moment to sweep 
 clear her decks. 
 
 As I looked, a huge wave toppled over her, and she 
 broached to, broadside to the sea; another lifted her with 
 a sidelong lurch, and as she came down the mainmast went 
 by the board as quickly and easily as though it were a 
 twig, cai'rying with it those who were in the shrouds. 
 She was hard aground her whole length now, and the wild 
 rollers, meeting an obstruction, went clean over her or 
 spouted high in air, their tops blowing away to leeward 
 like smoke. She was partly on her side, but the next lurch 
 tipped her deck nearly up and down, and I saw her guns 
 and all the loose gearing, together with a mass of struggling 
 human beings, slip into the sea. The maddened waters 
 seemed as hungry as they were merciless, and wave after 
 wave opened and closed like great mouths. 
 
 For anyone to live in that wild tumult of water and 
 wreck seemed utterly impossible; but, as though to take no 
 chances, there came a mountain of green that met the hull, 
 and lifting it, carried it twentj r or thirty feet further onto 
 the Shoal, dropping it with a crash that could be heard 
 above all else. The sea following turned her fairly over, 
 with the keel in the air, and the Dragon lay like a black 
 rock, the surf going over or pounding on her in a way 
 that showed she would be driftwood long before her loss 
 could be known to the enemy. 
 
 It had taken but a few minutes to accomplish the com 
 plete wreck of the schooner, which an hour before had been 
 like a living thing. A beautiful menace she was a short 
 time ago, with victory in her eye and triumph in her heart,
 
 THE WRECK. 265 
 
 but now, a black hull, bottom up, and of her crew not a 
 soul remained alive or at least not for long. One man, I 
 saw, who had escaped the mass of wreckage and was cling 
 ing to a spar that drove toward us, but he never got within 
 our reach, for though I could see his head from time to 
 time as he rose, I soon saw the spar floating barren, and he 
 had gone the way of the rest. 
 
 18
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE DEATH OP MOON. 
 
 LIKE one in a reverie I still clung to tlie shrouds and 
 looked at our late enemy. 'Twas hard to believe my own 
 eyes, but I was called to my senses by Harry, who finally 
 turned to me as though he had suddenly brought to mind 
 something forgotten. Drawing a long breath, he said: 
 
 " Get below, Tony, there's life in the old man yet, but 
 that sight has knocked aught else out of me. Thank the 
 Lord we're safe so far, and I take it we can keep the water 
 down and reach land with him. Mayhap you can save 
 him ; I marked him breathe and could find no wound." 
 
 There came a sudden gleam of hope in me as I heard him, 
 and I slipped down the shrouds to the deck, leaving him in 
 my place to finish the work of clearing away the wreck, 
 while I hurried below. 
 
 The cabin looked but half its height, owing to the depth 
 of water in it, which swashed to and fro against the old 
 man as he lay on the transom. Through it all was a mass 
 of floating cushions, camp-chairs, and bedding that were 
 being flung hither and thither. To heave some of the stuff 
 out into the cockpit was the work of a moment, and, safe 
 from their battering, I went to the side of Moon. At once 
 I knew there was life in him, and knew too that his senses 
 had been knocked out by the fall down the companion steps 
 and not by the shot, as his breath was coming now, but in 
 the stertorous heaviness that plainly indicated a violent 
 blow on the head. He was still unconscious, but I opened 
 his shirt and found the wound, the first glance showing me 
 that the man's days were numbered, and he would get his 
 
 266
 
 THE DEATH OF MOON. 267 
 
 discharge from above. A small, bluish hole near the heart 
 marked the spot where he had received the bullet. There 
 was no outward show of blood, but the internal hemor 
 rhage was the worst possible feature of such a wound. 
 
 Without delay, I waded through the water to the china 
 locker, and was met by an avalanche of broken crockery as 
 I opened the door; I doubt if a whole piece remained. 
 Grubbing through the mass I found the rum bottle, 
 smashed, it is true, but still holding about a quarter of a 
 pint. Using the bottom of the bottle as a tumbler, I made 
 shift to get some of it down Moon's throat, and little by 
 little I gave him all. Putting some soaked pillows under 
 his head to raise it, I stood watching him for at least fifteen 
 minutes, and at the end of that time noticed that the water 
 in the cabin had gone down perceptibly. 
 
 Slowly the labored breathing ceased, and presently he 
 opened his kind old eyes and looked at me, and then, with 
 a half smile, closed them again and shifted his band to his 
 head. There was naught to be done. I stood looking 
 down on him with a great tenderness surging through me 
 like the waters through the cabin. The tears blinded me 
 as I realized the helplessness of the once powerful man, 
 and for him to die without one more word to me seemed 
 worse than cruel. 
 
 It was all so sudden, so hard to compass Jacob, dear old 
 Jacob, the memory of whom even now moistens my eyes 
 as I write. 
 
 Outside the steady thumping of the pump still asserted 
 itself over all other sounds, and inside the water gurgled 
 and splashed. Anon the mainsail was lowered, and its 
 folds shut out the day from the smashed skylight, and I 
 heard Hal stamping overhead as he got the canvas in stops. 
 A moment after, the eyes again opened and the hand 
 moved from his head and groped for mine, which I gave 
 him. His first efforts to speak were pitiful, but by getting 
 my ear to his mouth I heard him say, with a sigh :
 
 268 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 " 'Tis all over, lad." 
 
 "Aye, old fellow, 'tis nearly over," I said, with a choke, 
 but it was too much for me, and dropping on my knees in 
 the water I put my face in his great hand and sobbed 
 aloud. 
 
 He evidently mistook my meaning, for he opened wide 
 his blue eyes and, bringing his other hand to rest on my 
 head, he said, still feebly : 
 
 "Forgive me, my dear son, forgive me ! I could not ha' 
 guessed it. When will they get aboard, lad ? " 
 
 It was plain, then, that he thought we were taken and 
 knew naught of what had happened, as how could he ? It 
 made me frantic for the moment to think that we were 
 safe while he was slipping away. I managed to get my 
 arm about his neck and put my face close to his. 
 
 " Nay, man ! You have no need to ask forgiveness 
 from me. They will never board us now. The Dragon 
 lies a wreck on the Sands and all aboard are lost. The 
 boat has escaped, Jacob aye, all but you." I choked again 
 and then burst out: "But you, you dear old fellow, you 
 were shot and fell, and, God help me ! how can I tell you ? " 
 
 " Aye, a} r e. Is it so ? I know now, I know now. Say 
 no more. God's will be done. An' ye were not scathed ? 
 Aye, 'tis all right, 'tis all right. Weep not for me, lad. I 
 knew something was far wrong with me here, but 'tis an 
 honorable discharge, though I thought not to come by it 
 this way." 
 
 He lifted his hand and laid it over the wound, then 
 closed his eyes again and remained silent. As I still knelt 
 by him I heard the anchor let go and the chain rattle 
 through the chock. Then the pump ceased its thump for 
 a moment as Harry relieved Rod, and soon after I saw the 
 negro splashing around the galley and finally crawl to the 
 deck again. 
 
 Anxiously I watched the face of the old man, whose end 
 was not far off, for I marked on him that peculiar look I
 
 THE DEATH OF MOON. 269 
 
 had seen so oft in others as they neared the threshold. It 
 broke ray heart to think lie was to go out in this fashion, 
 lying in soaked clothing with the chill of lowering vitality 
 on him ; for with the reaction from all the excitement and 
 my lack of present exercise I felt the cold of the water, 
 which was up to my hips as I knelt, creeping all through 
 me. But there was not a dry thing aboard, from the 
 stump of the topmast to the keelson, and naught could be 
 done for his comfort. To move him to the deck meant 
 death at once, so by him I stayed and waited. He was 
 not suffering, for which I was more than thankful, and his 
 strong hold on life let him linger longer than I had looked 
 for. After a space he opened his eyes again and turned 
 them on me, saying in a voice stronger than he had yet 
 used : 
 
 " Well, dear lad, I have fixed it all. 'Twould not have 
 been many years, anyway, for I am an old man an' I might 
 ha' been a burden to ye had my plan hung ; but I did 
 hope for a bit o' quiet near ye an' the lass, an' the children, 
 mayhap. Well, let it bide. Send to headquarters the way 
 o' my taking off. There's nothing in my hiding-place 
 now, an' there be but two things more, an' ye promise me 
 not to say them nay promise, lad." 
 
 " I promise aught in my power, Jacob." 
 
 "Aye ? Then my traps ashore an' all that's in them be 
 yours. I have no kith or kin to mark my going, so ye see 
 I was for a lonely old age, saving ye an' those that belong 
 to ye. 'Tis not much ye'll find, but a trifle o' saving in 
 gold an' silver I had always by me. 'Tis not much, but 
 with it goes the blessing o' Jacob Moon, an' 'twill make a 
 small dower for your lady if ye be loth to touch it." 
 
 He stopped, for his breath was getting short, and for 
 some minutes he lay with closed eyes as though gathering 
 strength to continue. 
 
 Still went the pump with hardly a moment's rest, and 
 now I noticed that the water was low. With the swoop
 
 270 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 of the swell we tossed with more motion, and at times as 
 we pitched a small surf ran from one end of the cabin to 
 the other, leaving bare for an instant a portion of the 
 floor. And with the water was going the life of the old 
 man. 
 
 Slipping my arm from under his neck, I stepped on 
 deck to speak to Harry, who was working for dear life at 
 the little brake, the sweat standing on his forehead in 
 great drops. A glance showed me that we had drifted 
 away from the Sands, and the anchor had been let go to 
 prevent our getting on a lee shore. Forward was Rod, and 
 on going to him I saw he had a needle and palm, and Avas 
 roughly closing the rent in the jib. The wreckage had 
 been cut loose and was piled in a confused mass of canvas 
 and rope close by the mast. It had all been done while I 
 was below, and showed quick work and clear heads, and, 
 seeing that as soon as the water was out we could make 
 for home, I turned to descend again, giving word to Harry 
 to be ready for a call, and in that event to turn the pump 
 over again to Rod. 
 
 For the minutes I had been on deck the old man had 
 not moved, but as I went down into the darkened cabin, 
 he again opened his eyes and groped for my hand. He 
 took it between both of his, and looking at me, said, as 
 though there had been no interruption : 
 
 " Ye promised me, lad, but perhaps the next will be 
 harder. I ask ye to bury me at sea." 
 
 I gave a start at this and looked sharply at him, but his 
 mind was clear enough, for he continued : 
 
 " My trade has been blood, but not innocent blood, 
 thank God! an' I have seen the terror o' death around me 
 times enough. 'Tis not death I fear, my boy," he said, 
 with a weak smile and a caress in his voice, as he feebly 
 patted the hand he held ; " but I have a horror o' the dark 
 hole an' the foulness o' corruption, an' the wind an' rain, an' 
 being all alone ; an' I would fain be launched into the cold
 
 THE DEATH OF MOON. 271 
 
 brine, an' it all be washed away. Somehow, it seems not 
 so far from life an' light." 
 
 He sighed heavily, paused for breath, and in a moment 
 went on : 
 
 " It strikes me not so black, an' what odds is it that my 
 bones be not marked ? 'Tis best, my son. I always loved 
 the sea ; it will take care o' me kindly ; an' ye promised 
 ye will promise again ? " 
 
 His eyes were fixed upon mine beseechingly as I shifted 
 my glance, for I could not at once make answer. 
 
 " Ah, lad ! I know it goes hard, but ye'll not say nay to 
 the only favor old Moon will ever ask. 'Tis getting short 
 'tis getting short ye will promise will ye not, my son ?" 
 
 Words were beyond me, for the piteous tones and the 
 look he gave unmanned me again, and I could but bow in 
 promise to his strange request, which seemed less strange 
 the more I thought of it after. 
 
 He sighed, and made as if to nod, and then said : 
 
 " That's well ; I know now 'twill be done. Call your 
 comrade." 
 
 I quickly put my head up the companion and called 
 Harry, who at once got Rod to relieve him and came 
 below. The old man took his hand and placed it in mine, 
 where he held them both. 
 
 " Ye two be friends," he said, with evident effort ; "see 
 to it that ye stick fast while life remains to ye. Lay not 
 your love aside in anger for I tell ye there be but little 
 that's more God-like than true friendship. Prop me higher, 
 lads, I feel choked." 
 
 He made as though to help himself, but the exertion 
 brought on a fit of coughing that forced blood from his 
 mouth, and he sank back, while I placed another wad of 
 soaked pillow under the poor old head. 
 
 For the space of a minute he was still, then said in a firm 
 voice : 
 
 " An' now, Almighty God, take me when ye list."
 
 272 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 They were his last words. He seemed to collapse and 
 become unconscious, albeit the breath failed not to come 
 and go. 
 
 We stood over him, our three hands locked, and the 
 minutes swung by in silence. 
 
 Lower and lower sank the water. The cabin floor was 
 free, and showed the soaked carpet littered with a strange 
 mass. Down in the well I heard the first faint suck of the 
 pump that meant the last of the flood, and, as I heard it, 
 Jacob unclosed his eyes for the last time, and with a 
 wandering look caught mine, and there fixed them. There 
 were two or three quick heaves to the broad chest, and then 
 all was over. Moon was dead; but his honest blue eyes 
 were yet wide open, and looked into mine as though from 
 another world. 
 
 I know not how long we stood looking at him before 
 Harry broke the spell by saying : 
 
 " 'Twas a noble nature he had, Tony ; and 'tis a fitting 
 end. Better than being blighted by disease at last." His 
 eyes were full and his voice trembled as he continued : 
 " Go you on deck, old boy, and leave him with me for a 
 time. Send Rod down." 
 
 He bent reverently and closed the old man's eyes, while 
 I went above and sent Rod to the cabin ; then, seating 
 myself on the heel of the bowsprit, I looked over the wide 
 water and tried hard to realize all that had happened. 
 
 Just twenty-four hours ago the man who now lay dead 
 below had stood between me and probable death. Over 
 me came the recollection of my strange fears in the hours 
 just preceding our danger ; the premonitions of coming 
 disaster, for what else could they have been ? 
 
 'Twas some such matter as this, that has since grown on 
 me, that kept me gazing in seeming blankness over the sea 
 for I know not how long an hour maybe, and then Harry's 
 voice called me. I went down again, and saw that the 
 cabin had been cleared of the greatest of the litter, and the
 
 THE DEATH OF MOON. 273 
 
 body of Moon had been laid on the floor with a sheet, from 
 which the wet had been wrung, spread over him. The 
 soaked carpet sucked under the foot like a quaking bog, 
 and little streams of water still trickled beneath the 
 doors of the lazarette, as the moisture drained from the 
 mass of rope and dunnage inside. Into a corner had been 
 swept a heap of broken glass and crockery, among which 
 lay the cabin clock and the brass work of the smashed 
 barometer. The bunks had been stripped, and the bedding 
 piled on the top of the cabin house (though I had not 
 noticed its being done), and the little cuddy, once so bright 
 and comfortable, looked dark and barren ; while the still 
 figure under the sheet gave it a strange air of solemnity. 
 
 These things had been accomplished while I was on deck 
 far away in the blues, and showed Harry's consideration 
 in sparing me. Seated on the bare transoms, with the dead 
 body of the spy between us, I told my companion of the 
 last request of the old man, and my determination to have 
 it respected, and together we decided that the best thing 
 to do was to return to New London and put the matter in 
 the hands of the authorities at the fort. There seemed to 
 be nothing more on hand but to get up anchor and sail for 
 home, and we went to work in silence. 
 
 It was past high noon when we got under way, and a for 
 lorn-looking craft was the Willo* the Wisp as she bore east. 
 The torn sails were but roughly mended, and when the 
 wind struck them, gaped widely between the stitches. 
 The wet drained from the mass of stuff on the cabin house, 
 and the confused pile of wreckage by the mast, the bent 
 davits with the broken gear, together with loose rope ends 
 and the stump of the topmast, gave her a dismantled ap 
 pearance as the bright light of the sun, now comparatively 
 clear in its height above the horizon, flooded and brought 
 out all the scars she had received. 
 
 As we first rounded away before the wind I had taken 
 the wheel, but dropped it at once as the strain gave my
 
 274 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 shoulder a twinge, and I realized I had been injured by the 
 blow of the backstay bolt. Sharp pains about the ribs 
 also bothered me, and on examination I found I was hurt 
 from having been washed over the spokes of the wheel 
 when I was struck by the sea that came aboard. My wet 
 ting had not tended to help the stiffening muscles, so I was 
 well content to lie along the bare locker of the cockpit 
 for the cushions had gone and let Harry steer us home. 
 
 The wind held strong, and it would take us but three or 
 four hours to return to the spot from which we had been 
 nearly eighteen in coming. There was nothing to eat and 
 nothing to smoke, though I craved both food and tobacco, 
 and the only resource was the fresh water which the metal 
 tanks had held inviolate. As it drew toward late after 
 noon, the sun became veiled by genuine clouds, and the 
 horizon held a darkness of a different character from the 
 haze, which plainly indicated a change of weather. It was 
 five o'clock, I imagine, when we dropped anchor off the 
 town, and I was beginning to experience a used-up feel 
 ing ; for the excitements of two da3 r s had been crowded 
 on me with little chance for proper rest. There was no 
 need of hailing a boat, as our appearance raised curiosity 
 to such an extent that half a dozen were on their way to 
 us before the anchor had touched bottom. I was in 
 no mood for story- telling, so our condition was partly 
 accounted for by a tale of running on the Shoal, and as the 
 cabin doors were bolted and the slide drawn, none of our 
 visitors had an inkling of the extent of the disaster or of 
 what lay below. Leaving Rod on board to wait word 
 from me, I asked to be put ashore with Harry, and we 
 were soon at the fort. 
 
 Great was my distress to find the colonel away; but a 
 messenger was dispatched for him, and in the interval 
 of his absence I found my fatigue growing on me to an 
 extent that told me I had about reached the limit of my 
 physical endurance. When the commander finally arrived
 
 THE DEATH OF MOON. 275 
 
 and heard our story, which was mostly told by Bailey, he 
 was shocked ; but by this time my brain was so befogged 
 that I scarcely remember the details of the evening. I do 
 recall that the colonel listened with an absorbed look on his 
 face, which I see now as through a mist. I remember, too, 
 the upshot was that Harry should ride home and report 
 the manner of our return, being back early on the morrow, 
 while I was to spend the night at the fort, the officer him 
 self taking off our hands all arrangements for the final dis 
 position of the body of Moon ; and so, with the numbness 
 of exhaustion on me, I went to bed.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE BURIAL AT SEA. 
 
 SICK and sore I was from top to toe the next morning, 
 but my rest had been sound and dreamless, and I no longer 
 felt faint and jaded. .My chest was a mass of black and 
 blue, as was doubtless my shoulder, the muscles of which I 
 could barely move ; but up I got, feeling none the worse 
 for so doing, and was honored by the colonel's invitation 
 to breakfast with him. 
 
 It was a dreary morning. During the night it had 
 rained heavily, and now, though the downpour had ceased, 
 the sky was banked with dark blue clouds that lay fold on 
 fold to the horizon, and an east wind gave promise of still 
 more rain. However, the air was washed clean to the edge 
 of the ocean and the wind was light. 
 
 " Well, Anthony," said the colonel, when we were left 
 alone, " as you will wish to take the sloop to her anchorage 
 to-day, I have decided to allow the body to remain aboard. 
 It can be cast over off Fisher's Island, which will be in the 
 line of your run home. Had the old man been willing to 
 be buried ashore, I would have given him a funeral 
 with military honors ; but I fancy he was not a character 
 to care for much ceremony, and the simpler it is the better, 
 perhaps. I will read the service myself, and we will start 
 as soon as Bailey returns ; everything else has been 
 attended to." 
 
 But notwithstanding that Harry came shortly after, it 
 was nearly noon before we left for the sloop. The rain 
 still held off, but the threat of the sky remained. We 
 were soon aboard, and I was grateful when I saw with 
 
 278
 
 THE BURIAL AT SEA. 277 
 
 what care the matter had been arranged. Across the 
 bunks, from side to side of the cabin, was a litter of two 
 planks cleated together, and on it lay the body of my old 
 friend sewn in canvas, with a cannon ball from the fort 
 fastened in the foot of this rough shroud. Over all lay 
 the gay colors of the American flag, which from that day 
 to this never covered a more faithful or patriotic piece of 
 clay. At the bow of the sloop sat two old sailors sucking 
 at their pipes, while two men from the fort, with muskets, 
 were near them on the edge of the galley hatch. Rod, 
 who had been ashore, came off in a boat as we got aboard, 
 and, with no confusion and few words, the anchor was 
 weighed, the sails gotten up, and the sloop, now a dilapi 
 dated catafalque, turned out toward the Sound. As we 
 reached the mouth of the river we met the swell that came 
 in from the sea, the result of the recent blow ; and here 
 I saw the completeness of the instructions given by the 
 colonel, for at the first toss the sailors disappeared through, 
 the fore hatch and presently came struggling up the com 
 panion, bearing the body which they laid, litter and all, 
 across the top of the cabin house with feet to starboard ; 
 then, stationing themselves one on either side, steadied the 
 silent form as the menacing heaves threatened to roll it 
 from its resting-place. 
 
 There was not wind enough to make rapid progress; 
 but the swell strained the vessel and opened her weakened 
 seams. On Rod's going to the well to sound it, it was 
 found nearly full of water, though it took not many strokes 
 of the pump to clear her again. 
 
 It was a marvel to me that we had received no more 
 damage below, but the completeness of the sloop's con 
 struction was doubtless the reason for her stanch stand 
 ing of the shock caused by the drop on the Sands. A blow 
 like that to a weaker vessel would have resulted in her 
 foundering. But Fate had no more trials for the Will o' 
 the Wisp ; for ever after she saw nothing but life and light
 
 278 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 hearts aboard, though to-day she crawled like a hearse and 
 her appearance was in perfect keeping with her mission. 
 Behind her towed the fiat-bottomed punt that Rod had 
 brought off, and it slapped itself through our small wake, 
 making a sobbing sound that was fitting enough, though I 
 had not noticed it until Harry spoke of its quality. 
 
 We bore along at a snail's pace until well south and 
 west of Fisher's Island, when the colonel, standing up, 
 sTiid : " Here we will have the burial service. Haul on 
 the wind and lay to." 
 
 The boat was thrown into the wind and the jib hauled 
 over. As we gradually lost the little way we had, the 
 colonel, mounting the cabin house, stood by the mast and, 
 taking from his pocket a copy of the service, began to 
 read in an impressive manner. Everyone rose and un 
 covered, and while we tossed on the smooth swell, save for 
 the occasional slatting of the halyards and the gentle beat 
 ing of the reefing points, there was hardly a sound to 
 interrupt the words : " I am the resurrection and the life," 
 with which the service began. 
 
 With a hand against the mast to steady himself, the gal 
 lant soldier, who was so soon to follow the one for whom he 
 was performing the last office of this world, read the dig 
 nified service, while all about not a sail was in sight, and 
 overhead the somber sky hung like a pall. As he reached 
 the words, " We therefore commit his body to the deep," 
 the litter, which had been drawn over until the head alone 
 rested On the cabin, was quietly lowered at the foot, and 
 the body of Moon shot from under the flag, and parting 
 the swell, disappeared from sight. 
 
 The drops raised by the splash had scarce fallen, it 
 seemed to me, when the colonel closed the book and 
 uttered the word "Fire ! " and from the muskets of the two 
 soldiers came a report as a parting salute to the old spy. 
 
 It was all over; and even before the smoke which fol 
 lowed the shots had blown away, with the alacrity spring-
 
 THE BURIAL AT SEA. 279 
 
 insr from the reaction which follows the burial of the dead, 
 
 O ' 
 
 tlie sails were swung and we proceeded home. 
 
 Before we were halfway there the rain began again, and 
 we were well wet by the time we got ashore. 
 
 It may be supposed that I was in a strait when I would 
 forego a visit to Dorothy and take to my bed ; but this I 
 was forced to do, and received a coddling at the hands of 
 Charlotte such as I had never known before. She had 
 been to the squire's that day, and pronounced Dorothy 
 quite herself again, but greatly grieved at the death of 
 Moon and the failure of our mission. 
 
 My sister had nothing to complain of in the reception 
 given her by the squire, who had greeted her like an old 
 friend ; though he might not have been so cordial had he 
 known of the loss of my strongest ally. 
 
 Much to my surprise and more to my comfort, the next 
 day brought Dorotln^ It made me proud to see her 
 assert herself in the sick-room and in her sweet voice de 
 mand this or that for me, while her cheeks flushed at the 
 openness of the avowal of her right ; and I fancied she was 
 a bit proud of it too. Then I had to recount all that had 
 happened since I left her last, and saw the soft eyes fill 
 with tears as I described the deatli of the old man. I loved 
 her better, if possible, for the sobs that she tried to hide ; 
 but the sobs would corne and the tears had to be gotten 
 rid of which was done in lover's fashion. 
 
 Thus two days passed in a state of convalescent comfort, 
 which only those who have been in the same situation can 
 know aught about. In bed though I was, I had brought 
 to me the saddle-bags which Moon had left me as a legacy, 
 and together Dorothy and I went through them. They 
 contained nothing besides the money, save some few 
 clothes and a little ammunition. 
 
 In gold and silver there were seventy pounds (a noble 
 sum it seemed to me), together with a wad of Continental 
 notes which aside from their face value might have been
 
 280 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 two pounds more. We reverently put the things back 
 where we had found them, placing the whole in security 
 for future disposal. 
 
 Of the ten days I was in bed I did not see Dorothy for 
 the last three. This probably did much to help me to my 
 feet, for I notice a man will take his sick-room confinement 
 easily only when far in love with his nurse. But for these 
 three days I hungered for her, and then got up, and by the 
 afternoon of the next, pulled myself feebly on to my horse 
 and started for the squire's. Though Charlotte made fun 
 of me and called me a terrible "case," she put nothing in 
 my way, and quit her jokes altogether when I told her 
 there never had been such an idiot as Hal when he first 
 fledged as a lover. 
 
 I had a long talk with Dorothy alone that da} 7 -, directly 
 after which together we sought the squire, and finding him 
 at the barn told him we wished to marry with no more delay, 
 asking that the banns be published the coming Sabbath. 
 
 He was taken back at this, begging for a month more, in 
 order, he said, to make better preparations and show how 
 much he was in sympathy with our desires. It was all too 
 sudden, he avowed, and assured me that if the banns could 
 be delayed until the last of the month, the marriage might 
 follow two weeks after, and in the interim he hoped to 
 have a surprise for us both. He did not pester me for 
 mercy regarding himself, as I had expected, but looked 
 anxious as though fearing I would broach the subject. 
 Had I but had an inkling of the matter which must have 
 been even then boiling in his brain, I would have choked 
 the heart out of him on the spot ; but as it was, I was 
 almost convinced of the sincerity of his saying that he 
 would not have our relations (meaning Dorothy's and 
 mine) other than what they were ; and Dorothy looked at 
 me and I at her, and glad to have things smooth for 
 the future, we consented to wait ; so in just one month 
 from that day Wednesday we were to be wedded.
 
 . THE BURIAL AT SEA. 281 
 
 Heaven knows that death alone would have been small 
 punishment for the squire for the hours of agony he caused 
 us later as a result of the delay but I will not run beyond 
 the pace of my tale. We w.ere not losing many days after 
 all, and the matter being settled, we talked of other things, 
 and then I went home. 
 
 It struck me as strange afterward that he mentioned 
 neither Moon nor Bromfield, though his silence concerning 
 the latter might easily be accounted for. He had spoken of 
 my illness and had expressed a ready sympathy for me, but 
 now I know that in his black heart he wished I had died ; 
 all his present decency being from fear that I might drop 
 the hand I held over him. 
 
 In my subsequent visits, there was that about him to 
 which I gave little heed at the time, but of which I knew 
 the significance later. He greeted me well enough, but had 
 little to say, though I often caught him watching me from 
 the corner of his eye, which look he would shift away when 
 I turned on him. He also took long walks after dark, and 
 though I knew naught of their point or distance, his 
 absence was a relief to my love and myself. 
 
 On the day the banns were called the face of my betrothed 
 looked like a full, pink rose as she received the congratula 
 tions of the neighbors (mostly women), who flocked around 
 her as though she had shot out a third arm or a pair of 
 wings, or was in some way curiously different from the 
 damsel they had known so long. The squire tucked her 
 under his arm and bore her away, with the remark that 
 this was not the time for publicity ; her wedding-day, 
 when it came, would be more fit; and left me to bear the 
 brunt of the questions, for it was a surprise to all. For fif 
 teen minutes I was more popular than I had been since the 
 day Bromfield was brought home a prisoner, but finally got 
 away, giving the gossips enough to talk over, from the 
 short notice of the wedding, to say naught of the match 
 itself.
 
 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 I was somewhat surprised when later I heard that the 
 squire had disposed of a horse, and was said to have sold 
 his library and several heavy pieces of furniture. I remem 
 ber thinking that perhaps lie was raising money as a dower 
 for Dorothy, or in some way it was to have relation to the 
 surprise at which he had hinted; which latter it was, 
 indeed, but in a way undreamed of by me. 
 
 The humor that was in me bubbled to the top in those 
 fair days, and I was forever teasing Charlotte, who was 
 almost as tickled as though it was to be her own splicing ; 
 but Hal was a trifle downcast, albeit that he swore they 
 would not be far behind us. 
 
 I know nothing of the state of the weather at this 
 time, which is strange, as it has always had a powerful 
 effect on my moods, and through life I have associated the 
 appearance of the sea and sky with events. But of the 
 latter half of that month of August I know not whether it 
 rained or the sun always shone, for the days were bright to 
 me and not a film of a cloud passed over my spirits, save 
 Avhen once in a while I thought tenderly of old Moon HI his 
 unknown resting-place. 
 
 But there comes sharply to. me the aspect of nature on 
 the evening of the first day of September. Harry and I 
 had been late in town ; he on some matter, and I to attend 
 a sick woman. He had waited for me to be free that we 
 might go home in company, and we were walking our 
 horses slowly over the moor when he drew my attention to 
 an arrow-shaped ripple on the flat stillness of the river 
 that spread as the object moved; just as a water-rat will 
 leave a broadening wake on a still pond ; and it passed as 
 silently. We soon made it out to be a boat rowed up the 
 stream, but without the sound of oars in the tholes, and the 
 time and silent manner of passage marked it as peculiar. 
 The sun had been down some time, but the air was dead, 
 and the full stream reflected the last of the rosy hue from 
 the west as though its surface was glass. Not a cloud was
 
 THE BURIAL AT SEA. 283 
 
 in the sky; but stars there were in plenty, blinking through 
 the velvety blue overhead. We halted our animals and 
 watched the object disappear up the stream, then spoke in 
 wonder of what it could be ;-but no thought of evil crossed 
 my mind, nor am I now sure there was evil in it, though I 
 have reason to suspect it. 
 
 The peace of the hour struck me as though I had just 
 awakened to it. It was a lovely night, a lover's night, 
 and, suddenly thinking I might yet pass a few minutes 
 with Dorothy, I bade Hal good-by and turned my horse 
 back. I had not gone far when I saw the boat coming 
 down the stream, but gave it no thought or, if I did, the 
 thought was put to flight by my suddenly overtaking the 
 worthy squire, who was abroad alone, walking with bowed 
 head, and hands behind him, as though in deep reverie. He 
 started when I hailed him close by. 
 
 "Ah, Anthony," he said, with an uneasy laugh, " it is 
 you ! You frightened me. A lovely night. I was enjoy 
 ing it out of doors. Are you for the house ?" 
 
 I answered that I was, and apologized for leaving him, 
 but as it was late, said I would hurry along. He made 
 no reply as we parted, and while I was with Dorothy I 
 heard him come in and go to his chamber. 
 
 If I am right in what I now suspect, and some spirit 
 had whispered plainly in my ear the nature of the silent 
 object, it would have saved many a brave soul and spared 
 man}' a heart from agony; for even then the spread of the 
 ripples made by the mysterious boat might have been from 
 the fanning of the wings of the Angel of Death as it hov 
 ered over tlie town ; for I surely think that he then 
 unfolded them, and one, at least, knew of what was in 
 store, and that one the squire.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 
 
 IT was on the fifth day of September I well remember 
 the date when Charlotte told me she was going with 
 Dorothy to New London to assist in making some small 
 purchases. As she would return to the squire's for sup 
 per, she asked me to call and bring her home at night. As 
 though hardly an evening fell that did not find me there 
 with Dorothy, and those that did perchance get by without 
 that happiness, discovered me putting some touches on my 
 aunt's old room, which would soon be ours. Though the 
 preparations were not great, they seemed so to me, and I 
 thought the fittings good enough for a queen, as much of 
 the best furniture of the house had been given over to 
 beautify this apartment. I consented to Charlotte's request 
 with a groan, as though the going would break my heart, 
 and had my ears boxed, and was kissed and driven away, 
 taking myself to town with a heart as light as the down on 
 a thistle puff. 
 
 How lovely the world looked ! There was as yet no 
 touch of autumn that the eye might note, save, perhaps, a 
 mellowness to the green of some of the trees when com 
 pared witli others, or the little blood-colored splashes on 
 the leaves of some of the creepers. It was all stillness, 
 beauty, and warmth, though the masses of late meadow 
 flowers and the yellowing of the standing corn plainly told 
 the story of the season. The quiet of the town, too, was 
 as of midsummer, and the dark, green arch of foliage over 
 the streets, showing only spots of blue sky, was as welcome 
 as during the fervency of early August. 
 
 284
 
 THE BEGINNING OP THE END. 285 
 
 That evening, just before starting to fulfill my promise 
 to Charlotte, I went, as usual, to the headland and scanned 
 the sea. A strong wind had risen, blowing from the land, 
 and the offing was clear of the smallest sail ; so, returning 
 the glass to its well-worn slings, I proceeded on my 
 errand. Had I but lingered I might have seen creeping 
 up from the west the danger I Lad long been looking 
 for and fearing. 
 
 I did not have Dorothy alone that night, owing to Char 
 lotte's presence. The squire was in a very unusual state of 
 agitation, and was constantly in and out, frequently asking 
 me if I heard aught in the air, and acting in a manner that 
 led me to believe the old man might be going daft ; while 
 his sister, who always had about as much life and entertain 
 ment in her as a graven image, seemed to have caught his 
 nervousness and, excusing herself, went out also and stayed. 
 There they were both standing by the gate in the warm 
 night wind when I passed out later with Charlotte ; and 
 as we rode along we laughed at them, they looked so like 
 superannuated lovers saying the last words of their leave- 
 taking for the evening. 
 
 Their behavior had been out of the common but every 
 thing else seemed out of common to me in those days of 
 waiting, so that I barely noticed it ; but the light laugh 
 that came now so readily would have been changed to 
 something deeper had I known for what the old couple 
 wei-e on the watch ; had I but known that their expectant 
 ears were listening for a cannon shot that had been 
 promised, and would have come, during the dark hours of 
 this night of September 5, had it not been for the prov 
 idential gale now blowing from the north. 
 
 It was not late when we arrived home, and my father 
 dropping his book for a while, we three sat and talked. 
 There was no sign of danger anywhere. It had but just 
 become known to us that Washington had broken camp 
 and was on his way south, all indications pointing to his
 
 286 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 re-enforcement of Lafayette at Yorktown, and that was 
 the topic that held us talking ; for an authentic report of 
 the movement of the army always brought a discussion of 
 its object and probable success. 
 
 How little we guessed, as we sat in the light of the flar 
 ing candle (for the night was warm and the draught that 
 came in at the open door constantly shook the flame), tliat 
 opposite us, along the Long Island coast, at that moment 
 were sneaking the ships of the enemy, bound on an expe 
 dition which they hoped would be the means of turning 
 the direction of the American army, and withdrawing its 
 menace to Cornwallis. By and by the talk waned, the 
 house was closed for the night, and we all retired. 
 
 As I broke the sound slumber of the night's rest and fell 
 into the light drowsiness of gradual awakening, my dreams 
 were strangely mixed with sounds of talking in loud voices, 
 in which a half shriek mingled, and I was fully aroused by 
 a thunderous hammering on my door. 
 
 I sprang from bed and hastened to open it, but saw only 
 Rod, whose black face had been turned to a sickly green by 
 excitement and hurry. 
 
 " Get up, Mars Tony ; get up, fo' God sake ! De Brit 
 ishers hab come dey is in de town." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " I demanded fiercely, for I 
 thought he had gone crazy. 
 
 " Deys in de town, Mars Tony. Deys come at daylight, 
 an' Mars Bailey am downstairs mos' daid. Dere's de can 
 non now an' now an' now " 
 
 He was interrupted in his speech by Hal, who had made 
 his way upstairs and saw me standing in my night clothes 
 looking aghast at the negro. He was not nearly dead as 
 Rod had intimated, except for loss of breath ; instead, there 
 was an intense energy in him as he grasped the boy by the 
 shoulder and panted out : 
 
 " Get the horses ready ! " 
 
 Rod disappeared like a shot, and as I hurried into my
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 287 
 
 clothing Harry pulled himself together and in disjointed 
 words told me what he knew ; while at intervals came the 
 jarring sound of heavy guns that made me hasten action 
 with excitement until I nearly lost my head. 
 
 He had been aroused by a messenger sent to alarm the 
 country-side, and without taking time to catch and saddle 
 his horse, which was loose in the field, had run from his 
 house to ours. He had been told that a fleet had anchored 
 off the mouth of the river and landed a large force near the 
 lighthouse. They were advancing on Fort Trumbull. 
 The inhabitants, with the exception of those who remained 
 to defend the town, were flying to the woods, and that there 
 seemed but little organized effort to stop the progress of 
 the invaders. The last words of the messenger were to 
 bring every man and arm available. Harry was equipped 
 with all but the means of getting rapidly to the scene of 
 action, and I had little wonder at his breathless condition. 
 I managed to dress somehow, and strapping on my sword, 
 into the belt of which I stuffed a brace of pistols, the pair 
 I had taken from Bromfield's luggage, I made an armful 
 of the rest of my weapons, got downstaii's and ran for the 
 barns. Both George and Rod were there and four horses 
 were being saddled. 
 
 " De nags will be ready mighty quick," said George, as 
 he hurried. " Ise goin' too, Mars Tony." 
 
 " You are a brave fellow," I replied. " You and Rod 
 follow after us. You will find arms in the dining room. 
 Bring the animals to the house." 
 
 It had been with a hope to get him to join us that I had 
 gone to the barns. I knew that Rod could not be kept 
 away, and with a last injunction to them to hasten, I 
 hurried back to the house, where I found something of a 
 scene taking place between Charlotte and Harry. The 
 entrance of my father put a stop to a repetition of the part 
 ing of two years before, and an explanation of what had 
 happened was again given.
 
 288 IN DEFIANCE OP THE KING. 
 
 During all this time the shots had sounded at regular 
 intervals. There were always three guns, the signal of 
 danger averted ; but the knowledge that the enemy was 
 present made the signal of little importance to me, though 
 it had a different effect on many others. Later there came 
 a succession of irregular, heavy shots that told of a battle 
 in progress, and it was afterward known that the enemy 
 had become familiar with the arrangements for warning the 
 people, and when two shots (for danger) were given from 
 the fort, they fired another from the ships to disguise the 
 import of the signal. 
 
 " You must be prepared to get to the woods," I said to 
 my father, as I hastily filled my pockets with bread. 
 " There is no knowing how far they will carry this raid ; 
 to defend the house would be useless, so you had better be 
 ready to leave at the first warning. If possible I will send 
 back tidings of the state of affairs." 
 
 "Leave it to me to arrange for our safety," he answered, 
 speaking without excitement. " I never felt my crippled 
 condition more than at this time. It is for you I fear." 
 
 All was confusion. There was running to and fro, call 
 ing and tears, in the midst of which Aunt Freeman stood 
 whipping her apron and wringing her hands, praying the 
 Lord to save us all. In the excitement our two horses were 
 brought to the door. After a quick leave-taking, Harry 
 and I were in the saddle, and with the last words of my 
 father to the effect that if perchance the house was 
 threatened, they would go to a point in the forest indicated 
 by a spring we all knew, we were off. 
 
 As we went through the barnj'ard, I saw the other t\vo 
 horses tethered at the gate, and knowing the negroes would 
 soon follow, we urged our animals down the steep, stony 
 hill, and once at the bottom, spurred them into full 
 speed. On we flew through the tongue of the forest and 
 over the moor, the heavy boom of cannon always in our 
 ears. We met but two or three as we turned into the main
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 289 
 
 road, hut I accounted for it in our late start, and fancied 
 the militia were already assembled. 
 
 As we tore past the squire's house I saw no sign of life, 
 not even an open door, and with a fleeting thought of 
 Dorothy still sleeping and unconscious of the tragedy hard 
 by, we drove ahead. The little hope I had that the enemy 
 might be held in check until a sufficient force had gathered 
 to combat them, was dispelled as we approached the scene 
 of the conflict ; for above the trees, and while we were still 
 distant, could be seen clouds of smoke caused by the con 
 flagration usually indulged in by the British before they 
 began their open rapine and plunder. 
 
 When we neared the fort we dismounted, and, leading the 
 horses some distance into the woods, tethered them, then 
 cut across the open ground to the fortifications. There 
 was not a sign of military preparation in sight, but several 
 hundred men, women, and children were gathered on the 
 high ground that made a point of vantage from which to 
 view the drama then being enacted on the opposite side of 
 the river. 
 
 The scene was exciting, for the British had compelled 
 the evacuation of Fort Trumbull, and already had posses 
 sion of New London, while from a number of ships and 
 storehouses a great volume of smoke was rising, broken by 
 the unchecked tongues of lurid flame. As yet the town 
 itself had not been fired. Up the river some small vessels 
 were flying to escape the range of the guns from ships, 
 which for the most part had entered the mouth of the 
 harbor and were anchored in plain sight. I counted four 
 teen vessels in all (though there were more outside), and saw 
 at once that a crushing force had been sent against the town. 
 
 Near the edge of the river I could see small bands of 
 red-coats running hither and thither through the streets, 
 and once in a while a faint volley of musketry bespoke a 
 skirmish back in the village. 
 
 We stopped not long to mark these sights, but proceeded
 
 290 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 to the fort, as from the ramparts I concluded we could get 
 as good a view, and at the same time be ready for instant 
 call. Hardly had we entered the open gate, when Colonel 
 Ledyard arrived from Fort Trumbull on the opposite side, 
 bringing with him the handful of its defenders who had 
 remained uncaptured in the flight across the river. 
 
 Fort Trumbull was little more than a breastwork closed 
 only on three sides, and the weight of the British column 
 that advanced upon the slight works was too threatening 
 to be endured, so with a volle3 r or two at the invaders, the 
 guns were spiked and the band bad retreated to the 
 stronger defense of Fort Griswold. 
 
 So far the loss of life had not been great, though there 
 was every indication of a bloody day. History only can 
 serve me as to the events previous to my arrival on the 
 ground, and to history the reader can refer, for it is my 
 province to give my experience only, or such matters as 
 bore directly on my fortunes. Beyond assisting in the 
 defense of Fort Griswold I had no dream, and that I 
 should have a personal interest in the fight, save as a unit 
 in a force, I could not conceive. But the day had dawned 
 that was to try my soul to the utmost, and held an interest 
 that lay deeper than patriotism. 
 
 When we arrived at the fort the confusion of preparation 
 (not of fright) was at its height. There were few cowards 
 within those walls that day, I swear, and each one felt that 
 the enemy would not allow the guns on Groton Heights to 
 pass without attention. 
 
 Before I had gotten any information of what had 
 occurred, the strength of the enemy, or their purpose and 
 demands, the colonel entered the works. He was hot and 
 flushed, but full of life, and gave his orders so clearly and 
 directly that all forms of confusion at once ceased. Little 
 or nothing of military regularity took its place, though the 
 officers gathered around their leader and the men fell into 
 something like order.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 291 
 
 At this time, having resigned from the regular army, I 
 was neither officer nor private, but simply a citizen who was 
 lending his arm ; and feeling free to move, I questioned 
 Colonel Gallup, who was standing on the outskirts of the 
 group, and was informed by him of the great strength of 
 the British; also of the startling news that they were land 
 ing a large force on the beach back of Pine Island and on 
 the Groton side of the river. He was beside himself owing 
 to the small force that had gathered to defend the fort, 
 and observing that he had matters on his mind too weighty 
 to admit of long conversation with me, I went to the gate 
 to see if the negroes had yet arrived. 
 
 As I approached the sally-port, I was overtaken by an 
 officer with the word, that Colonel Ledyard wished me to 
 report to him at once. As we retraced our steps toward 
 the group I saw the colonel was talking rapidly and 
 earnestly, pointing his speech with forcible gestures, while 
 those about him silently listened. I caught no word of 
 what he was saying, for as we came up, he abruptly ceased 
 and turned toward us, the group opening as he took a step 
 forward. 
 
 " Ah, doctor," he began, somewhat hurriedly, " are you 
 here for service ?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly, colonel but only to fight in the ranks. 
 I now hold no commission." 
 
 " 'Tis a small point on such a day, sir ! We are all in 
 commission ! Perhaps your lack of an official one is for 
 tunate just now. You will do well. I wish a man of 
 intelligence to carry a message to New London ; will you 
 risk it under a flag of truce?" 
 
 " Certainly, sir ! " 
 
 " Very good ! Go to my quarters I will immediately 
 join you." 
 
 I at once turned and obeyed, but had not been in the col 
 onel's room more than a minute when he hurriedly came in 
 and, seating himself at his desk, began to write. His hand
 
 292 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 moved rapidly over the paper, then hastily dashing it with 
 sand, he folded it and seemed to notice me for the first time 
 since his entry, although he must have been aware of my 
 presence, for he swung around and addressed me. 
 
 "Doctor, we seem to be in a hopeless position. New 
 London is lost to us and the enemy in force will soon beset 
 these works. I have in this letter made a proposal to the 
 British commander, which if acted upon, will prevent a 
 useless effusion of blood. Having obtained control of the 
 town and cleared the river, Fort Griswold is as valueless to 
 them as to us, but as a soldier I cannot tamely surrender it 
 nor will I. Who their leader may be I know not. You 
 are to find him, deliver this, and return with an answer ; 
 but on no account reply to questions tending to gather 
 information. 
 
 "I have selected you for this duty partly because hold 
 ing no commission and uuenlisted, you are supposed to be 
 a non-combatant and are not liable to molestation, espe 
 cially as you will carry a white flag ; but principally 
 because I know you as a young man of sense and equal to 
 an emergency. I have nothing to add, except to say that 
 unless the terms in this letter are complied with, the fort 
 will be held and obstinately defended. Do you require 
 anything further ? " 
 
 " Nothing ! " I replied. 
 
 "Then go, and good fortune follow you! It will be 
 some hours before they can form to attack us from the 
 south. By hurrying, you may save numberless" lives. 
 You had better go unarmed." 
 
 At this, he rose from his chair, and as nothing could be 
 plainer than the instructions given me, I placed the letter 
 in my pocket and hurried out.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 PACE TO FACE WITH BENEDICT ARNOLD, 
 
 I FOUND Harry at the gate talking with George and Rod, 
 who had just arrived, the former carrying my fowling- 
 piece, the latter armed with my old pistols and his inevit 
 able spear. I was comforted by the information that the 
 family was already preparing the loose valuables for flight, 
 and with the feeling of thankfulness for once that Dorothy 
 was under the roof of a Tory, who would be unmolested 
 in case the country was overrun by the enemy, I imparted 
 the nature of rny errand to my friend and, leaving my 
 arms in his care, turned towar.d the river. 
 
 Avoiding the road and its longer route to the ferry, I 
 made straight for the water's edge, crossing the open field 
 in the rear of the low outwork with its two guns projecting 
 through the grassy embrasures. I wondered that no pro 
 vision had been made to man them or even to make them 
 useless by spiking, but giving the matter no further 
 thought, I plunged into the strip of shrubbery that grew 
 along the river's edge. 
 
 As many had escaped from New London to Groton 
 during the earlier hours, I had the idea that there would 
 be a number of small boats abandoned along the shore, and 
 this proved to be the case. Cutting a stick, I tied my 
 handkerchief to it, and throwing it into the first boat that 
 was handy, leaped aboard and was soon in mid-stream. 
 The tide was at full flood and carried me up, as I desired. 
 No other boat appeared on the river except down toward 
 the enemy's fleet, where a number were passing between 
 
 293
 
 294 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 the ships and the shore. The heights of Groton looked 
 peaceful enough, and but for the fort, with its fluttering 
 flag breaking the sky line, and the crowds assembled on the 
 hills, there was nothing to hint at what was taking place. 
 
 I was well aware I would not lack a reception on the 
 opposite side, nor was I disappointed. As I drew near I 
 heard shouting, and a shot was fired that struck in the 
 water near me, and turning, I marked a number of red-coals 
 who were making signals for me to approach them. Ceas 
 ing to row I lifted my white flag, fixing it in the bow, and 
 pulled on, touching land at the foot of the main street. 
 As I stepped ashore I was accosted by one who wore the 
 uniform of a petty officer. 
 
 " So you cut and run for it, hey ? but you were d d 
 
 lucky to get away with a whole skin. Were you in the 
 fort yonder ? " 
 
 " I am no deserter," I replied, picking up my flag and 
 pulling the boat high on the land that the rising tide might 
 not carry it away. 
 
 " What the devil are you here for, then ? Are you after 
 protection ? Where do you live and what do you want?" 
 
 " I am under a flag of truce as you see," I returned, " and 
 bear word from Coloivel Ledyard to your commander. 
 Where can I find him ?" 
 
 His only answer to this was a long stare and a shrug of 
 the shoulders, but with something like respect he bade me 
 follow him, which I did, the squad trailing behind without 
 order. The town had not yet been fired, and except for 
 the lack of familiar faces and the number of red-coated 
 soldiers, there was little change in the appearance of the 
 streets. In the distance I heard an occasional shot, but 
 my attention was soon turned to a British officer who ap 
 proached and halted us. 
 
 " Whom have we here ?" he asked, after an interchange 
 of salutes. 
 
 " Someone under a truce, who wants to get a word with
 
 FACE TO FACE WITH BENEDICT ARNOLD. 295 
 
 General Arnold in belialf of the rebel captain over the 
 river." 
 
 " What is your business, sir?" said the officer, address 
 ing me. 
 
 "As your sergeant stated I bear a letter from Colonel 
 Ledyard to the chief of your forces." 
 
 " Do you mean General Arnold ?" 
 
 " What ! I?5 it Arnold the traitor Benedict Arnold ? " 
 
 " You call him so, I presume, but you were wise if A T OU 
 curb your tongue, though you do come under the white 
 flag. General Arnold leads us at present; he is in the 
 tower of the church, surveying." 
 
 lie spoke without temper or even ill-humor. I liked his 
 face at once, and was well pleased when he ordered the 
 sergeant to return to the river, saying he would take charge 
 of me. For a moment I hesitated about going further or 
 delivering the letter ; for I was well satisfied that Colonel 
 Ledyard would not have attempted any treaty with one 
 who had placed himself beyond the pale of military recog 
 nition. I was about to so express myself, biit quickly real 
 ized that my orders gave me no discretion in the matter, and 
 therefore determined to fulfill my duty as it was laid down. 
 
 With a curt, " Come with me, sir ! " we turned, and after 
 a short walk, I found ni) r self in front of the church, around 
 the door of which were gathered a number of officers 
 resplendent in gorgeous uniforms. I guessed it was the 
 general's staff awaiting his descent from the tower, and 
 presently there was a movement among them as three 
 others emerged from the building. 
 
 For a moment I was uncertain as to which was the 
 famous renegade, but soon picked him out by the formality 
 and deference shown him. 
 
 My escort, asking me to remain at a distance, at once 
 advanced to the group, speaking to another officer, who in 
 turn went up to the commander and said something, point 
 ing >n my direction. A few words passed between them,
 
 296 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and I was immediately beckoned to approach, when, step 
 ping forward, I found myself face to face with the most 
 colossal traitor of modern history. 
 
 He was a tall man, clad in the brilliant uniform of a 
 brigadier-general. His face was strong and fine-looking, 
 as faces go. The eyes were dark blue, and the complexion 
 swarthy as though much exposure to weather had darkened 
 it. Despite the regular features, his expression \vas not 
 prepossessing, as the brow bore a scowl that looked to be 
 habitual, and the mouth was too firmly set and sour. 
 With a quick glance at me, he said : 
 
 " Who are you, sir ? " 
 
 "Dr. Anthony Gresham of Groton late lieutenant of 
 militia," I replied, with no notion of lowering myself to the 
 level of a non-combatant on that day. 
 
 " You have a message from from the fort across the 
 river. What is it?" 
 
 I gave him the letter, touching his hand as I did so, 
 immediately stepping back a pace. He opened the paper, 
 reading it with knitted brows, and then asked sharply : 
 
 " What is your rank now, young man ? " 
 
 " I have none. I am but a volunteer for the time." 
 
 " Well, by G d, gentleman ! " he said, with an angry 
 
 'rise of voice, and turning to those who had gatherc'd 
 around : "this is enough ! Here we have a simple civilian 
 sent by the colonel of the fort, and through him, who is 
 without rank or responsibility, we are expected to treat. 
 Has he not enough brains or bravery among his officers, 
 from whom to select a commissioned envoy?" he asked, 
 suddenly addressing me. 
 
 " He has plent} 7 - and to spare," I answered, with con 
 siderable spirit; "but doubtless thought he could better 
 afford to lose a citizen than one of rank." 
 
 This was a clean blow at the dishonorable action of the 
 British, who on several occasions had imprisoned messen 
 gers bearing flags of truce; and it was recognized as such.
 
 FACE TO FACE WITH BENEDICT ARNOLD. 297 
 
 " Have a care, sir; have a care ! " he repeated, in a warn 
 ing voice. " Show less bravado." Then seeming to search 
 me through with a long, steady glance, which I as steadily 
 returned, he asked : " Can he make no better showing 
 across the river than he did here ? Has he men enough 
 to work his guns? What is his force ?" 
 
 " As for that," I replied bitterly, " the attack was as 
 unprepared for as it was unexpected, and who should 
 know the spirit of the people of Connecticut better than 
 yourself ? I am only empowered to say that the fort will 
 be stubbornly defended in case of necessity; beyond this, 
 you can expect no information from me. I am simply act 
 ing as a messenger not an envoy, and was ordered to 
 request an immediate answer." 
 
 " You shall have it, sir," he said suddenly. " Tell your 
 Colonel Ledyard that General Arnold, who commands His 
 Majesty's forces, now in possession of New London, refuses 
 to treat with him except in person or through officers of 
 rank. I consider his conduct an insult though perhaps 
 not a deliberate one. Your ignorance in what you have 
 undertaken will protect you until you return." With this, 
 he swung on his heel, showing me his back; and calling 
 an aid, said : " They are strongly fortified. Send Major 
 Belcher to me ; I wish to get word to Colonel Eyre." 
 
 As I stepped back, for I considered the interview as 
 over, he turned abruptly and said : 
 
 " You may tell your commander that if he will surren 
 der unconditionally, he and his garrison will be treated as 
 prisoners of war. He can thus save the effusion of blood 
 he professes to dread not otherwise." Then indicating by 
 a gesture the officer who had had me in charge, he con 
 cluded : "Take him off. Let him go the way he came." 
 It was my dismissal, and joining my guide, we moved away. 
 
 This was all I ever saw of Benedict Arnold and it was 
 enough. That day saw him blotted from history. 
 
 With this safe conduct I had no difficulty in recrossing 
 20
 
 298 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 the river without molestation, and within something less 
 than three hours from the time I started on my mission, I 
 again entered the fort. As I passed the gate I saw the 
 little force had been considerably augmented, and besides, 
 there were now many women and children, who, interested 
 in the preparations, and desirous of being near their loved 
 ones, were waiting for the moment when they must part. 
 There was plenty of movement, and my eye took in the 
 details of the scene as I hurried along in search of the 
 colonel. Gabions were being filled, balls stacked, and 
 ammunition distributed. I finally caught sight of Colonel 
 Ledyard standing on the parapet, scanning the land to the 
 south, while on the level below him were a number of 
 officers. As I neared him, he motioned me to come up, 
 and as I did so, he surprised me by saying : 
 
 " 'Twas a fruitless errand, doctor. You might have been 
 saved your trouble, and I knew it as soon as you had left. 
 I would never have asked for, nor made terms with, the 
 enemy, had I been aware that Benedict Arnold was com 
 mander ; but I am greatly under obligation to you for the 
 risk you took. What was your experience ? " 
 
 I made short work of my story, ending with the ultima 
 tum given me, but to this he made no remark. Descending 
 to the others, he said to an officer : 
 
 " Clear the fort of women and children, and stand a guard 
 at the gate, ready for closing. Will there no more come ? " 
 
 This last remark was made in a general way to those 
 near him, and was drawn out by the smallness of the force, 
 which should have been at least three times as great. To 
 a question which I did not hear, he answered : 
 
 "By the power of God ! we will do our best," and step 
 ping to the embrasure he again mounted the parapet and 
 looked toward the sea. I was standing on the banquette 
 with my hand on a loaded cannon, and my eyes on New 
 London, which had now begun to smoke from a number of 
 points, when the colonel again addressed me :
 
 PACE TO FACE WITH BENEDICT ARNOLD. 299 
 
 " You can do yet another service, doctor. Take a man 
 and spike yonder guns. We have no force to spare on them 
 and 'tis too late to mount them here." 
 
 He indicated, by pointing-, the outwork with its neglected 
 cannon. 
 
 " May we work them for a round or two ? " I asked, a 
 quick spirit leaping within me at the chance of firing the 
 first shot. 
 
 " Use j'our judgment, doctor, only render them useless 
 afterward and run no risk. We need every man, and cer 
 tainly your services later"; and stepping down he was 
 soon in earnest conversation with another messenger who 
 came running up at that moment. 
 
 The number in the inclosure was rapidly thinning as I 
 turned to find Harry and execute my order. Through the 
 throng there was constant passing to and from the maga 
 zine, and over all there brooded a quiet like that of an 
 approaching tempest, which was only broken by loud sob 
 bings, the noise of children in distress, or the rattle of 
 metal against metal. 
 
 Then for the first time it came forcibly upon me that this 
 was war, and that I was standing on the edge of a precipice, 
 the depth of which I could not fathom. 
 
 I cannot say that I was experiencing a feeling of fear, 
 but it was something akin to it, though it did not hamper 
 my determination to do my duty. I certainly had a quick 
 longing for home ; a wish that the surrounding circum 
 stances did not exist, or that I was safe at the other end 
 of the impending trouble ; but to turn my back on the 
 danger then had no place in my mind. 
 
 The necessity for action gave some relief to the nervous 
 tightening in my throat, and I had little difficulty in pull 
 ing myself together, singling out Harry, imparting n^ 
 instructions to him, and recovering my arms ; then together 
 we proceeded to the little battery. 
 
 This had been built to prevent the landing of small boats,
 
 300 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 and was known as the " water battery/' as it lay nearer the 
 stream than the fort itself ; for when the works were con 
 structed, its designers looked to an attack by land, and the 
 outwork was afterward added. It was of no value unless 
 backed by a strong force, which to-day it was impossible 
 to collect. The weak defense was rank with grass that 
 grew about the pjn-amids of balls and the carriages, and 
 seemed to choke the movement of the guns themselves. In 
 the quiet, hot sunshine it looked more like a green bank 
 on which to lie and dream than a menace to an enemy. 
 
 As we deposited our rifles against the grassy slope, I 
 found that we had been furnished with but one round of 
 ammunition for each gun. I had called for two, which had 
 been given me, but my companion had received none. 
 Doubting the ability of two men to twice load and lire 
 two guns in the face of an oncoming force, I was content 
 enough, and with little trouble we rammed home the 
 charges, lighted our matches, and waited. 
 
 On the other side of the river all opposition to the British 
 had ceased, and wanton conflagration had begun. Beyond 
 the crackling and falling of burning timbers and the roar 
 of flames, which could be plainly heard, a holy calm seemed 
 resting over the earth. The smoke from the consuming 
 town sailed across the river in heavy, graceful masses. 
 The grass bent under the west wind which spread wide the 
 flag on the fort, and the sky was flecked with the light, 
 fleecy clouds of a perfect day in the early fall. 
 
 On the hills hard by was still a crowd of people who 
 were awaiting the scene of the onset at a safe distance, and, 
 to their shame be it said, there were among them plenty of 
 men who withheld their services that d&y, when they were 
 most needed. On the top of A v cry's Knoll were a number 
 from the fort watching for the approach of the British, 
 and on them, for the most part, I kept my anxious eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS. 
 
 How the time passed I know not ; but I had gotten used 
 to the suppressed excitement and felt quite calm ; a calm 
 ness soon to be dispelled. It was nearly noon, as I guessed 
 by the sun, when I heard the first distant rattle of the 
 drums of the oncoming British, and noted the hurried 
 breaking up of the group on A very 's Knoll. 
 
 The enemy came on our sight shortly after; a mass of 
 scarlet and glitter ; a solid, formidable body, which split 
 by maneuvering into smaller columns, and finally deployed 
 into what I supposed was a line of attack, and then there 
 came a halt. They seemed great in numbers, but what we 
 saw I guessed could not be all their strength, and my rising 
 pulses kept me from fairly counting the odds against us, 
 for my eye and brain were taken up in both admiration of 
 their appearance and regularity of movement, and in watch 
 fulness for our own safety. As yet, we had an open line 
 of retreat to the fort, but as I lay against the bank, my 
 head sheltered by the long grass through which I peered, I 
 saw a detachment separate itself from the rest, and march 
 as though to cross our range. It advanced at first almost 
 parallel with the river, and I was wondering at its object 
 when it suddenly wheeled and came up the hill on a run, 
 in a manner that showed me at once they were attempting 
 to get in our rear, while a body of others from the main 
 line started pointblank for us. We had made no display 
 of ourselves, and I think we were unnoticed, but the battery, 
 which was in no way masked, was in full view and was no 
 doubt the object of their attention. The time had come 
 
 soi
 
 302 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 for quick action unless we were to fall into their hands, 
 and springing into plain sight I cried to my companion : 
 
 " Now or never, Hal ! Are you ready ? " 
 
 " Aye ! " was the hoarse reply. 
 
 From that instant I worked for my self, and in the excite 
 ment of the moment thought of naught but my own line 
 of action. Taking a fair sight, I stepped back and laid 
 the match on the vent. 
 
 There was a roar as the gun leaped back, but not wait 
 ing to see the effect of this, the opening shot of the 
 battle of Fort Griswold, I hastily inserted a spike into the 
 vent, and with a cannon ball drove it home. 
 
 As I threw down the ball and grasped my rifle, I 
 shouted : 
 
 " For your life, man we must run for it ! " and started 
 at full speed. 
 
 I thought Harry had fired with me, but another report 
 close in my rear showed me that he had delayed, and 
 thinking that now he was just behind, I tore on, with my 
 leg movement quickened by the sound of musket shots at 
 my back. The gate was open and I sprang through into 
 the fort, and in an instant I heard the clang of its closing. 
 Having no thought but that Harry had closely followed 
 me, I ran to an embrasure to see what had been the result 
 of the fire, and to my horror saw him running for the gate. 
 He was something more than halfway to the fort, but 
 already the red-coats held possession of the battery and 
 were swarming in and over it as though surprised to find 
 it empty, while a squad of half a dozen were in hot pursuit 
 of the fugitive. However, as they came nearly within 
 musket shot of the fort, one after another stopped, 
 though two of them knelt and fired at him before turning 
 back. 
 
 Leaving my look-out, I ran to the gate to meet him, and 
 for the first time realized that it was closed and Harry shut 
 out. It had been deserted as soon as securely fastened,
 
 THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS. 303 
 
 every soul having gone to the side facing the enemy, and 
 it was impossible for me to open the barrier alone, though 
 I heard my friend calling and knocking repeatedly. For 
 a few moments I tugged desperately at the beams that 
 barred the portal, but it was hopeless to think of moving 
 them without help, so with a jell to him to run for his life, 
 I scrambled to the parapet and looked over. 
 
 He was out of sight. My heart beat thickly enough 
 then as I thought that a musket ball might already have 
 found him and he had dropped. My anxiety was almost 
 instantly relieved as I saw him crawling from the eastern 
 end of the foss, or ditch, into which he had jumped to 
 shield himself, and in a moment he was out and running 
 across the open in front of the whole British force. Stoop 
 ing like an Indian, he sped along with his rifle at trail, and 
 disappeared into a field of standing corn, the nearest 
 shelter. 
 
 Not a shot was fired as lie ran, and my fear was turned 
 to thanksgiving. As he scrambled through the fence into 
 the field, and I realized that at least he was safe, I turned 
 around. 
 
 At my elevation I commanded the whole interior of the 
 fort, the enemy beyond, and the ships in the distance, and it 
 was with a sinking heart that I marked the littleness of our 
 force as compared with the array in front. There were 
 only between seven and eight score of men in the inclosure 
 at my feet, while facing them lay a host nearly a thousand 
 strong. 
 
 The inadequate means of defense, even had the fort 
 been fully manned, were too apparent. A number of 
 embrasures were empty of cannon and made a tempting 
 inlet if, in the assault, the enemy forced themselves as far 
 as the ditch. The only advantage that lay with us was in 
 point of position, or the advantage of fighting from behind 
 shelter as against fighting in an open field. Though I 
 knew naught of practical warfare, I felt a dread of the
 
 304 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 result of this unequal balancing of forces, which was more 
 than the common dread of death in battle. 
 
 The walls of Fort Griswold were ten feet high, and on 
 the exterior slope were set closely a row of sharpened 
 stakes projecting for twelve or fourteen feet, at an upward 
 angle, over the foss that surrounded the works. The foss 
 itself was ten feet deep and perhaps fifteen broad, so it was 
 a formidable defense that held us, and might only be taken 
 by swarming numbers against an inferior force. But this 
 was just the condition that beset us, and I was weighing 
 the probabilities when I heard my name called. Looking 
 down, I beheld the squire's man, Matthew, climbing to the 
 top of the gun near which I was standing. As he got 
 within reaching distance he held a paper toward me, and 
 said : 
 
 " Hi ! I have ye at last, docther. It's a divil of a hurry 
 I've been in to find ye an' git this intil yer han's, an' the 
 young mistress was in sore distriss that ye rade it to onct. 
 Give me the good word to her, av there be one, an' I'll 
 be gittin' out o' this." 
 
 So much I recollect hearing, the rest being lost in the 
 tumult of my thoughts as I tore open and read the letter 
 he handed up to me. 
 
 It ran thus : 
 
 ANTHONY : 
 
 Come to me at once. My uncle has known of the ex 
 pected arrival of the British, and is to return to New York 
 with the ships. I am to be carried off with tliern, a force 
 coming here for us. I am locked in and cannot escape. 
 The inclosed will give you the details of their intentions. 
 It was given me when I was made a prisoner by my uncle. 
 He has thrown off all disguise. I will try to get this to 
 you through Matthew. Come to me, love ; come at once. 
 You must use force. If I am taken from you by Brom- 
 field, I shall die, for I know it will mean disgrace and 
 ruin. 
 
 DOKOTHY.
 
 THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS. 305 
 
 Out of the letter dropped another and larger one, which 
 in a stupor I picked up and put in my pocket. But the 
 stupor did not last. The blood rushed to my head and then 
 out, and I was beset by a -whirl of thoughts as I turned to 
 Matthew. 
 
 " How when where did you get this ? " I demanded. 
 
 " Arly this niornin', sor,"said he, with exasperating slow 
 ness. "The lady dropped it from a windy an' 'Whisper' 
 says she, 'Matthew, I'll make yer fortin if ye'll git this to 
 the young docther beyant at onct.' I saw 'twas a quiet 
 thing she was up to, an' wint to ye at home ; but the auld 
 naygur towld me ye was here, an' I've been on the lookout 
 for ye intil now, so if ye have a word to say back, say it 
 an' I'll be off." 
 
 " Where was the squire then ? " 
 
 " Divil a bit o' me knows. It's killin' o' me he'll be, 
 for he's that sick-lookin' an' quick wid his tongue, that I 
 hate to cross him. lie towld me he was afther goin' 
 away." 
 
 "Aye, he is, Matthew and will leave you in the lurch. 
 Good God ! What shall I do ? " I cried, as the hopeless 
 ness of the situation dawned upon me. My first impulse 
 was to cast mj'solf from the parapet into the ditch and 
 hasten to Dorothy's rescue. Even half reason told me 
 there was yet time for that, as nothing would be done until 
 the fort was reduced ; but the following flash of thought 
 showed me that I should lose honor, perhaps life, and that 
 naught could justify desertion at such a time as this. My 
 next idea was to get the note through Matthew to Harry, 
 who was outside and free ; but that also failed me, as there 
 was no knowing the whereabouts of the latter, and the 
 gates being shut, Matthew would never consent to the leap 
 or the risk. I was beaten. Had I received the note an 
 hour before, I could have slipped away and all might have 
 been well ; but now the enemy were preparing to storm us, 
 the gate was closed and my presence had been marked.
 
 306 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 I was penned in. In the unreasoning rage of my agony, 
 I turned and cursed the messenger for his delay. He 
 looked at me in stupid wonder for a moment, then, dropping 
 from the gun, disappeared toward the entrance. 
 
 I was in an awful quandary. Something must be done, 
 or I stood a chance of having seen my love for the last 
 time ; but I took no action, for the tumult that stirred me 
 showed no loop-hole out of my dilemma. I was brought to 
 myself by Captain Halsey, who commanded me sharply to 
 come down from my elevation. 
 
 As I stooped to descend, I noticed a British officer leave 
 the lines, which had been spreading, and advance with a 
 white flag. It gave me a glimmer of hope, as it meant a 
 parley, and the outcome might set me free. 
 
 As I reached the ground I mechanically walked to where 
 the colonel was standing, that I might be near when the 
 result of the communication was made known, for an officer 
 from the fort had been at once dispatched to meet the flag 
 of truce. 
 
 I believe every man not an officer had found a position 
 either at the guns or on the banquette, and there was the 
 little hum of conversation that always follows a temporary 
 relaxation of the strained senses. 
 
 My position of ex-officer and surgeon left me out of the 
 strict laws that were holding just then, and no notice was 
 apparently taken of my presence among those about Colonel 
 Ledyard. The gate which had been opened for the officer 
 who had gone forth was immediately closed and guarded, 
 as much to prevent desertion as for any other reason. As 
 I looked anxiously at it for his return, I saw Matthew and 
 the guard in an excited altercation, the Irishman acting as 
 though in a rage. Presently he carne running toward me 
 with tears in his eyes, crying in a whimpering tone : 
 
 "Wirrah, wirrah ! docther, they won't lit me out, an' 
 'tis a dead man I am if I bide here ! Howly Saints ! Why 
 did I iver come to this place ? Till thim to open th' gate,
 
 THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS. 307 
 
 docther. 'Tisnot in the foight lam. They'll open fer ye, 
 docthcr, dear." 
 
 " Cease your winning," I said, drawing him aside, " 'tis 
 too late. You would be shot if you went out now. Show 
 your pluck and fight. I fear that is all that is left us," I 
 added, as the officer returned and the gate was once more 
 securely fastened. He threw his arms over his head with a 
 moan and staggered off, and I had too much on my heart 
 to give him further notice. 
 
 I knew without asking that it was a summons to sur 
 render, but the consultation was not a short one, and I drew 
 away that I might not appear too forward. My heart was 
 low enough, yet it beat hard with impatience, and half 
 formed plans were whirling through my head, when I 
 remembered the letter inclosed with Dorothy's. It might 
 throw some light on the matter, and drawing it from my 
 pocket, I read the following, which I copy from the 
 original, having always retained it : 
 
 MY RESPECTED FRIEND : 
 
 The scheme in your letter, which has just reached me, is 
 entirely impracticable. The quarry is too closely watched 
 to permit of its being successful ; nor without undue 
 violence to her, could she be removed without giving an 
 alarm. Were it the last resort, as a desperate one it might 
 be considered ; but I have another plan that is tolerably 
 certain and probable future events make it of little risk. It 
 has lately been determined to invade New London (the 
 reasons not being necessary to explain here). On the night 
 of Sept. fifth, the town will be attacked by a force 
 that will make resistance of little account. The command 
 will be given to Gen. Benedict Arnold, whose knowledge 
 of your section, and whose spirit points him as best fitted 
 for the undertaking. I have already obtained permission to 
 be of the force that is to proceed against Ft. Griswold, 
 which being surprised, will give but little opposition, and I 
 can then turn my attention to you. At the first soiuid of 
 the guns, if Miss Dorothy is still awake, place her where 
 her escape will be impossible, and where she will be safe
 
 308 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 from rescue ; then prepare transportation for her sudden 
 removal. If by chance you are interfered with by others, you 
 are armed do your duty and trust that His Majesty's forces, 
 being at hand, will protect you. Up to that moment your 
 best card is humility. I will shortly join you with a suf 
 ficient force to make her removal certain, and once free 
 from the influence of her so-called lover whom I trust I 
 may meet face to face I will see to it that she has weighty 
 reasons for reversing her late determination. 
 
 I agree with you that your life will not be worth a 
 skewer's value if you remain behind, and I have already 
 completed arrangements for the removal of you and others 
 of the loyal party who wish to accompany us back to New 
 York. Dispose of your valuables as best you can, and be 
 prepared to sail on the instant. We cannot miscarry, 
 though the general outlook south is not bright. You will 
 get this through the usual source. 
 
 B . 
 
 I finished with a groan. It was a complete trap, and 
 there had been no hitch, save for the night attack. The 
 squire had played humility well, and I had been a fool. 
 Dorothy was a prisoner, and the force was but waiting the 
 termination of the battle to abduct her. 
 
 Still, one thing more might happen : Bromfield was on 
 the field, and by all the gods of mythology he might be 
 met with. There was a ray of hope besides this. Were 
 the consultation to end in a decision to surrender, I might 
 scale the walls, and before Bromfield and his squad could 
 arrive at the squire's, I should have rescued Dorothy, and 
 Heaven help the old man if he stood in my way. 
 
 On the other hand, if the colonel still determined to 
 fight despite the odds against him (and knowing him, I 
 had little doubt of it), I might meet the villain who was 
 the cause of all my trouble. 
 
 I was not in doubt for many minutes after reading and 
 returning the letter to my pocket. There was a move 
 ment that indicated decision, and immediately the colonel
 
 THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS. 309 
 
 broke through the throng, and turning to speak so that all 
 could hear, said : 
 
 " I will fight them, for I cannot do otherwise ; and, 
 gentlemen, if it be decreed that to-day I lose my honor or 
 my life, you who know me best know which it will be." * 
 
 It is fortunate for mankind that the deepest wounds and 
 hardest blows cause the least immediate suffering. As 
 I heard those words that killed all but a forlorn hope, cut 
 me off from my love, and threw my life into hazard, I 
 felt no sense of shrinking, nor was the agony as great 
 as that which I had endured when I first realized the 
 danger to Dorothy, and then it seemed as though there 
 must be a way out of it. 
 
 My complete helplessness numbed me, yet let my wits 
 work on the matters in hand. Somehow, the result of the 
 conference was made known to the hosts outside, and some 
 how I found myself standing on the banquette (or raised 
 step that enables one to fire over a parapet), with my cocked 
 rifle in my hand. With an eager eye I tried to find the 
 one man on whom my present trial hung, that I might 
 single him out and shoot him dead; but the storming 
 party was yet too distant. If we met, he or I would fall ; 
 but the chances were great against such meeting, though 
 I prayed that it might take place. 
 
 Men were beside me and men behind me, and now the 
 attention of all was riveted on the red line that started 
 slowly along its whole front, and advanced like an irresist 
 ible sea of blood. The order to us had been to hold fire until 
 the word, and as the terrible line in front moved forward 
 at an increasing pace, so did my past and future seem to 
 slip away, and I lived only for the present moment. Dan 
 ger came to me in a different form than when I was lying 
 under the weight of the water that swept over me on the 
 Long Sand Shoals, and also it came with a different effect. 
 I forgot Dorothy, my father, Charlotte, home, and every- 
 * His own words.
 
 310 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 tiling, even death itself, in the fearful determination that 
 was rising within me to stop that steady advance, though 
 I did it alone. In five seconds more I should have pulled 
 the trigger. 
 
 They had come to within two hundred feet of us, when 
 like one man, they sprang into a run, and a terrible yell 
 broke from them as they charged. 
 
 The battle of Groton Heights had begun. On they 
 came, now resolved into a mass in which one could pick 
 out individual faces, but the face I wanted was not there ; 
 when, clear above the roar of voices rang the word " Fire ! " 
 
 There was a crash that jarred every fibre and a corres 
 ponding cry of defiance, and the line rolled np like burn 
 ing paper. I saw men pitch headlong and lie till, while 
 others stumbled over them to rise and fall, mayhap not to 
 rise again. There was an indefinable din, and over it, 
 down the breastworks and through the pall of smoke that 
 blew in on us, came the cry of " Load ! load ! " for others, 
 like myself, had forgotten all but the horrible sight 
 before us. 
 
 I was immediately pulled back, and those in waiting 
 sprang into the place of those who had fired. Running to 
 an embrasure I saw through the opening a single spot on 
 the field, where a group of officers were gathered around 
 a fallen man, and ever and anon one would drop under the 
 rifle shots from the fort ; and I rightly guessed that some 
 one high in rank had fallen, as he was picked up and car 
 ried to the rear. I now know it was Colonel Eyre, the 
 commander of the assaulting forces. 
 
 The smoke, coming down like a curtain, put an end to 
 further sight, and I loaded my gun with an eye to correct 
 ness, as we had been told of the danger of putting in the 
 ball before the charge in the excitement of being under 
 fire. There were cheers now, loud curses, and clinking of 
 ramrods, but through it all was a steady fire from the ram 
 parts. Nothing alive could have withstood the first blast
 
 THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS. 311 
 
 of hell that broke from Fort Griswold that fatal noon, and 
 when I got my head over the parapet, the red line had 
 fallen away and out of range, but its advance was marked 
 by a fringe of prostrate forms that lay still or rolled about 
 in agony. 
 
 They had been repulsed. A deadly lull took the place 
 of the pandemonium of a few moments before. It is to be 
 presumed that our fire had been returned from the rear of 
 the assaulting force as well as from the line in front ; but 
 to me the only sign of it was that the flag on the south 
 west corner of the bastion had been shot away by a cannon 
 ball, for not a man within the fort had yet fallen. 
 
 Tears of excitement were rolling down my cheeks, and I 
 was trembling like one with palsy. Nor was I alone in 
 this weakness ; for tears, blessings, handshaking, and hys 
 terical laughter were on all sides. 
 
 The enemy had retired behind the shelter of Avery's 
 Knoll, and for a time I vainly hoped that they were en 
 tirely defeated. But presently the cry arose : " They are 
 coming ! they are coming ! " and it was soon seen that 
 this time they had divided their forces and would attack 
 us on three sides. 
 
 Instantly men were called away from the front to 
 strengthen the hitherto undefended sides, and before I 
 had fairly gotten a realizing sense of the new movement, 
 they bore down on us and were met by a withering dis 
 charge. Unlike the other, however, our first fire was not 
 re-enforced, and the crimson mass came to the ditch ; not 
 in a steady line, but in sections that had been less severely 
 galled. 
 
 It was inhuman, the desperation that lit the faces below 
 us. It was inhuman to fire into the crush of humanity that 
 now made the ditch its object. But fine vapors were lost 
 in the riot that took place as they gained the foss. A cry 
 near me called my attention as I fired my rifle for the last 
 time : " Men, men, they are on us ! " Casting away my
 
 312 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 empty gnu, I sprang to the rescue, and sa\v the broad, red 
 faces of several Hessians appear above the level of the 
 embrasure near which I had been stationed, and from which 
 the cannon had been drawn to be reloaded. From the 
 shoulders of those below they must have sprung, else they 
 had scaling ladders which I had not marked, but I had 
 hardly a glimpse before I was violently jostled aside by a 
 man who jumped from behind me and into the breach. 
 Uttering a wild yell he laid about him with a clubbed 
 musket, and the embrasure was cleared in an instant, the 
 Hessians cursing in their jargon as they fell backward, 
 while the gun, again loaded, was run out. But cannon 
 had become of no service against those in the ditch, though 
 it sent death and defiance be} 7 ond it, and the hero who 
 had cleared the opening seized a ball and hurled it onto 
 the struggling crowd beneath. His example was immedi 
 ately followed, and as he shouted : " To hell with the 
 Dutchmen ! We have thim yet ! Hurroo ! " he turned, 
 and to my astonishment I recognized Matthew, the em 
 bodiment of the wild Irishman, fighting with a zest that 
 lias made his countrymen a terror in battle when their 
 blood is up. 
 
 There was no attempt at military order now. It was 
 fast becoming a hand to hand encounter. The foss was 
 full of red-coats, and the fort was lost if they got a foot 
 hold within it. There was no time to reload. Every man 
 was fighting for himself and in his own way. Following 
 the lead of others, I picked up ball after ball, hurling them 
 over the parapet onto the heads of those beneath, while I 
 shouted like one in a frenzy of madness. They seemed to 
 be clambering through every opening, and a dozen dead 
 bodies of our own side now lay in the thickest of the fight. 
 I had thrown eight or ten balls and then I lost my head. 
 When I regained control of it I found I was struggling 
 at an embrasure with the faithful Rod at my side. There 
 were but three or four with us, and the opening was clogged
 
 THE BATTLE OF GROTON HEIGHTS. 313 
 
 by fallen men ; a mass of yelling Hessians was below, 
 scrambling to get up to us, for something had been thrown 
 into the ditch to aid them in scaling the revetment. 
 
 For one instant we would clear the space, but the next 
 would find it again full of faces. I saw an officer whose 
 
 o 
 
 gold lace showed him to be a major, step to the level of 
 the breach, calling on his men to follow as he snapped his 
 pistol at me. The weapon failed to explode, and on the 
 second, Rod ran him through the throat with his spear. 
 Even in the excitement, I marked the keen blade come out 
 the other side of his neck as he threw up his hands and 
 pitched onto those below, but a maddened throng sprang 
 into the place and I was forced or pulled back. 
 
 Cries, groans, and oaths in German and English were 
 mingled with the clashing of steel. With sword in one 
 hand and pistol in the other, I was trying to cut my way 
 forward to where Rod was threatened by a man who had 
 crawled to the crest of the embankment, but before I could 
 get a footing to aim or strike, I saw the negro fall. On 
 the instant, the fellow above had his head nearly severed 
 from his body by a sword stroke. 
 
 It was horrible, but it did not seem so. The blood got 
 into my brain again and I laid about me like a madman. 
 It was a rough and tumble fight, and was probably com 
 passed by seconds. In the midst of it, I remember firing 
 a pistol in the face of a man who was about to bring his 
 sword down on me. He was lying along and half over the 
 cannon that served to block the way, the muzzle of my 
 weapon being within six inches of his eyes as I pulled the 
 trigger. He fell forward dead, but the heavy body bore 
 me with it, carrying me off my feet and backward. Some 
 thing struck me a violent blow across the eyes, a splitting 
 crash on my head turned everything whirling in a crimsou 
 sky, and I knew no more. 
 
 21
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 
 
 I COULD not have lain unconscious long, doubtless for a 
 few moments onfy, but when I came to myself my eyes 
 were full of blood and the body of the man I had shot lay 
 across my chest witli his face close to mine. Throwing 
 him from me, I sat up weak and dizzy, but it took me only 
 a little time to regain my strength and find I was not seri 
 ously injured. I had been stunned by the fall down the 
 slope, my head coming in contact with a cannon ball at the 
 bottom, while the brass basket-hilt of the dead man's 
 sword had struck me in the face, lacerating my forehead, 
 the blood from which was dripping into my eyes. 
 
 The fight had drifted away from me and was at the 
 extreme end of the fort, leaving none but the dead and 
 wounded near me. Taking off my coat I tore the sleeve 
 from my shirt, and binding it about my head, got to my 
 feet. As I did so, I marked four or five British soldiers 
 run across the parade to the gate, and in a moment it was 
 thrown open, a body of the enemy rushing in. The fort 
 had fallen, and desperation seized me. If the man I was 
 after could be found among the victors, I would find him. 
 My sword was gone, but I had one undischarged pistol in 
 my belt, his too, and with his own weapon I would kill him 
 while the fight was on. After, it would be murder. 
 
 I drew the pistol and had reached the center of the 
 parade, when Colonel Ledyard appeared, attended by two 
 or three officers. 
 
 "Cease firing and surrender !" he shouted, as lie ran. 
 " Cease firing and stop this slaughter. The day is lost." 
 
 314
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 315 
 
 At that instant I saw Bromfield. 
 
 With sword in hand and face aflame, lie broke through 
 the crush at the gate and came running toward us, fol 
 lowed by some officers and half a dozen Hessians with 
 bayonets at a charge. As they approached, Colonel Led- 
 yard sheathed his sword and lifted his hands in token of 
 surrender, as words could not be heard above the din. 
 
 At the other end of the parades shrieks and shots still 
 continued, and men were being bayoneted while unarmed 
 and with hands uplifted. I saw one poor fellow, chased 
 across the upper parade, stabbed in the back by a red-coat 
 just as Bromfield with those behind him drew near us. 
 
 " Who commands here ? " he demanded ferociously, as 
 the parties halted. 
 
 " We surrender, sir," answered the colonel. 
 
 " D n you ! Who commands here ? " again demanded 
 
 the major. 
 
 " I did, sir, but you do now," was the reply. 
 
 " Then give me your sword, you cursed rebel," he yelled, 
 with the blackest look I ever saw on man. 
 
 " It is the fortune of war, sir, and I am willing to place 
 it in your hands," said the colonel, drawing his sword and 
 holding it out by the blade. " But let me first say that 
 had it been demanded of me by the traitor who commands 
 you, I would see it buried in my body before I surrendered 
 it to him." 
 
 " You rebel dog ! you will see it so," thundered Brom 
 field, as he shifted his own sword from his right hand to 
 his left, and grasping the handle held toward him, he drew 
 it back and plunged the blade into the breast of the gallant 
 officer, then, loosening his hold, stepped back with a dia 
 bolical smile. 
 
 Colonel Ledyard fell forward without a sound, and the 
 hilt of the sword striking the ground, drove the weapon 
 clear through his body. 
 
 This dastardly act, against all precedent in civilized war-
 
 316 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 fare, was the signal for massacre the like of which is un 
 paralleled in history, but I knew little of that then. 
 
 At this deliberate murder (for it was nothing less) my 
 blood froze, and for a space I was powerless to move, while 
 even the British who had witnessed the deed remained 
 motionless as though astounded. But back came my power 
 with a rush, and stepping forward, I shouted : 
 
 " Now, for you, you black-hearted devil ! " 
 
 He turned and saw me, recognizing me in spite of my 
 bloody countenance. Facing full at me, he parted his lips 
 over his teeth as in a snarl, and made a rush for me with 
 bitter hatred blazing in his eyes. 
 
 I let him come to within six feet of me, where I had him 
 fair, then raising the pistol I still held in my hand, I fired. 
 
 I did not see him fall, though I saw the sword drop from 
 his hand, and his knees bend as he pitched forward, but no 
 more, for I heard at my side the words : " Gott verdammen 
 michf" and turned in time to see a burly Dutchman making 
 at me on a run. 
 
 His piece was evidently unloaded, for he came on the 
 charge, and was but a pace or two away when I hurled the 
 empty pistol at his broad face. The lock took him fairly 
 between the eyes, and dropping his musket with a howl, he 
 clapped both hands to his head, while I wheeled about and 
 fled. 
 
 Five minutes before, with my arm made powerless by 
 the surrender and the enemy victorious, I cared nothing 
 for life, but the act of Bromfield had changed the face of 
 matters, and the love of life was revived in me as I dashed 
 across the level toward the gate. I had started for the 
 gate instinctively, but had not gotten halfway there when 
 I saw it was useless to attempt escape in that direction, for 
 the way was blocked by the soldiers still surging in and 
 spreading as they entered. 
 
 The buildings in Fort Griswold were small and few, but 
 as I dashed along close to them, they screened me from the
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 317 
 
 eastern end, and thinking I might possibly have an opening 
 at that point, I turned the corner of the magazine, but a 
 glance showed me that quarter crammed with a struggling 
 crowd which had penned in a number of the fort's late 
 defenders and was in the midst of wholesale massacre. 
 
 To attempt to fly that way was suicidal. To turn and 
 go back whence I came, and gain the comparative quiet of 
 the south side, was to run into the arms of my pursuers. 
 No time was left me to think. There was but one thing 
 possible and that my last chance. Doubling around the 
 colonel's quarters, I dove through the open door, slamming 
 it behind me, and ran across the room to the window in the 
 rear. The way lay clear before me, and as I leaped out, I 
 heard the crash of the panels of the door as the red devils 
 rushed in. They evidently jammed themselves in the case 
 ment and at first could neither follow nor fire. But I was 
 soon shot at, for I heard the hiss of the bullets as they sped 
 by me, which but served to quicken my pace, and on I 
 flew. 
 
 The danger was still great ; for though no man could then 
 catch me on a straight-away run, a shot might, or I might 
 gtill be headed. So far I was uninjured, and I pointed my 
 self toward the nearest embrasure, with the hope of spring 
 ing through it and into the ditch. About the gun was a 
 heap of bodies, and one man stood leaning against it bleed 
 ing in streams, but sank to the ground as I drew near. 
 
 Body and brain were working at full speed as I ap 
 proached the spot, and my glance took in the details of 
 what I saw ; details that burned so deep that I remember 
 all and shudder as I write. 
 
 As I leaped up the slope I saw Amasa Rose with both, 
 hands to his throat, and between his fingers were squirting 
 great jets of blood. Agony was on his face as he turned 
 his eyes on me in mute appeal. Across his knees as he sat, 
 lay the dead body of his brother, with his jaw torn away, 
 and around him was a ghastly .hc.ap .of .slain mostly
 
 318 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 British ; but though I saw it all, 'twas no more than a 
 second before I was on the parapet. 
 
 Again I was blocked. In front of me was a squad of 
 inarching red-coats ; to go down there meant deatli and 
 death lay behind me. Turning to the left before they 
 fairly saw me, or a gun could be brought to bear, I sped 
 along the level top of the parapet toward its eastern end. 
 
 Now I thanked God, as never before, for the strength 
 he had put into my legs, for I minded me of the fearful 
 leap ahead. At the point where I must now jump the 
 stakes were set close, rising above the edge, and the ditch 
 was wide and far beneath. It was a leap of at least four 
 feet upward, twenty outward, and fifteen down, and I 
 gathered myself for the spring, where a fall meant for me 
 the end of all things. 
 
 It was none too long a start, a hundred feet, perhaps, 
 and, with a wild feeling coursing through me, I rushed at 
 it, came to the brink, and launched myself into the air. 
 
 I never met but one man who saw that leap (and he, 
 Harry), and he told me that I cleared the stakes like a bird, 
 striking fairly with both feet on the counterscarp, or 
 opposite side of the ditch, and then disappeared into it. 
 I think likely ; for I mind me of landing on its edge, but 
 the earth was soft and broken in and gave beneath me, let 
 ting me roll to the bottom. I know I struck bottom on 
 my side, falling across my sword scabbard, which I still 
 wore, breaking the metal in two. As it was, nothing more 
 important was broken, and I scrambled to my feet, some 
 what shaken by the shock of the jump and the fall, but 
 not really injured. 
 
 I was a little winded, but there was no time to rest and 
 recover. Fearing to climb out where I had gone down, 
 I ran along the bottom of the ditch, leaping the dead 
 bodies that lay in my way, to the spot where Harry had 
 clambered up. There was shouting above me as though 
 I had been marked ; shrieks for mercy, and curses, that
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 319 
 
 showed the bloody work was still going on ; but the stakes 
 over me, where they had not been torn awaj% protected me 
 somewhat and I reached the end unmolested, crawling up 
 to the level ground of the- field. 
 
 My first glance showed me that I was far from safe, 
 for I was at once seen. There were scattered groups of 
 soldiers moving irregularly toward the gate, and a number 
 among them raised a shout as I appeared from below. I 
 noticed one near me making ready to fire, and as he did so, 
 I threw myself on the ground, the shot going harmlessly 
 over me ; then knowing I was lost if I lay there (for I was 
 not two rods from the parapet and presented an easy 
 mark), I jumped to my feet. But one man, whom I had 
 not seen before, was running along the edge of the ditch 
 behind me, and as I looked around I saw him, a fine 
 athletic figure, but hampered with gun and trappings, 
 coming at full speed. As I turned and ran again, he 
 stopped and fired, the ball striking a little ahead of me, as 
 I saw by the puff of dry earth that spurted up. Pie then 
 threw down his gun, making after me, and it became a 
 race for life. Not another shot was fired by the rest as 
 they watched the upshot of the coursing. 
 
 The run was a long one, and though I had fifty feet the 
 start of him, I was out of breath and my legs dragged 
 horribly, as they will in a dream when all power seems 
 abortive. The only possible point of safety was the corn 
 field ahead. Weakened by exertion, excitement, and loss 
 of blood, I was no match for the man behind me in my 
 present condition ; for as I flung a glance over my shoulder 
 I saw him gaining on me. My limbs grew numb and I 
 was rapidly becoming breathless, nevertheless, there might 
 yet be time to gain the wilderness of standing stalks and 
 there be lost to him. With this last hope I put all my 
 remaining strength into a final burst of speed. 
 
 I was well-nigh spent, but the fence was close at hand, 
 when my foot missed and I stumbled and fell. I half
 
 320 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 raised myself to meet him, and could hear his heavy pant 
 ing as he was about to cast himself upon me, when out 
 from the corn came a flash and a report. Simultaneously 
 with the shot my pursuer doubled up and pitched forward 
 onto me, knocking me flat; the shock driving the last of 
 the wind out of my body. 
 
 I have only an indistinct recollection of the minutes that 
 followed ; a misty memory of being dragged through the 
 fence rails and falling, but when I had recovered my breath, 
 and senses I was lying on the ground with the corn all 
 about, and Harry was standing by me loading his rifle and 
 looking anxiously around, while praying me to pull myself 
 together. I got to my feet at once as the whole tiling 
 came back to me, and though partly dazed, I realized the 
 narrowness of my escape. 
 
 "Thank God for that shot! Was it you, Harry?" I 
 panted. " Where did 3^011 come from ? " 
 
 "Aye, 'twas no other, and I have been here the whole 
 time, a witness to all the bloody business. I saw you from 
 the minute you got atop of the works ; and thank the 
 Almighty ! you ran this way else you had no chance. I 
 felt safe for you when you drew that fellow within shot. 
 Come, let us get out ; they may fire the field and burn us. 
 Are you hurt, Tony? You look as though just out of the 
 shambles." 
 
 "Aye, I will," said I, as I felt my breath coming sound 
 again, " and we have work yet to do. As for me, I am 
 unhurt, but I humbly give thanks that I have gotten out 
 of that hell with no more than a mark on my forehead. 
 'Tis a modern miracle. We have both been delivered to 
 be the instruments for foiling the devil this day." 
 
 I then told him of the message from Dorothy, the 
 murder of Colonel Ledyard, and how I had shot Brom- 
 field. 
 
 "Pray God you have killed him !" he exclaimed, when 
 I had finished and we were pushing through the rows of
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 321 
 
 corn ; "but perhaps his orders have been given, and the 
 kidnaping will still go forward." 
 
 " 'Tis the one thing I fear ; but they will move quickly 
 to get the better of us, for .we have horses, so they be where 
 we left them." 
 
 And leaning heavily on him, for my knees shook and 
 had little strength, we, keeping in the shelter of the corn, 
 made our way to the woods. Like a baby I depended on 
 him now, for a child might have taken me single-handed, 
 so exhausted I was; but our way proved clear, and we 
 found the horses whisking their tails violently at the flies ; 
 nagging and stamping at being left so long without food. 
 
 By the end of the walk I felt I had regained something 
 of my strength, though I was still shaky ; but I had 
 tasted neither food nor water since the night before, and 
 the strain under which I had been might well have sapped 
 a stronger frame than mine. 
 
 There was a spring hard by, and while Hal cared for the 
 animals, I drank deeply of its sweet water and washed 
 some of the blood from my face and hands, though I 
 dared not shift the bandage on my head. I had no mind 
 to appear suddenly before Dorothy looking like a butcher, 
 or worse, like one butchered, and thought the sight of me, 
 hatless and coatless, in a torn and bloody shirt and with a 
 bound-up head, would be shock enough without being 
 plastered with the gore of another man. Therefore I 
 took the time, though time was precious, resolving that 
 the horses should amend the loss. 
 
 I had no arms, so Harry gave me his pistol, loaded and 
 primed ; but for the matter of that, I would have bearded 
 the squire, empty-handed and alone, though lie was 
 armed to the teeth. If fears had beset me on other occa 
 sions, I had none on this, and I wish I felt as certain of hap 
 piness in the world bej'ond as I felt certain of bringing the 
 old villain to book within the hour, were he never so lusty. 
 
 My strained muscles knit up of themselves when I was
 
 322 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 once more in the saddle and the weight of my body off my 
 knees, and there was a tierce joy in me as we turned into 
 the road and set the horses going. 
 
 Smoke was all about us, for a change of wind had 
 swung it low. Not a soul was in sight, for all who could 
 flee had long since fled. I gave no thought to those I had 
 left behind they were past praying for ; all of moment to 
 me lay in the next sixty minutes, while bej^ond were visions 
 of home and Dorothy. Then let what might, come after ; 
 but I felt that God had not carried me thus far unscathed 
 through the fiery furnace, to withdraw His hand just as 
 coolness and hope and almost certainty were before me. 
 
 The way we tore along was almost a cruelty, but the 
 horses, with their noses set toward home and fodder, and 
 their lean bellies, made urging hardly necessary ; but 
 that they got, and had anyone seen us (for there might 
 have been some peeping eye in the woods on the watch 
 for red-coats), no doubt they would have thought that 
 nothing short of being chased by the whole British army, 
 freshly mounted, could have made men ride like that. 
 
 Faster than the smoke we sped, and got into clear air, 
 and when \ve came to the squire's we entered the home- 
 lot with a rush, reining up with a jerk that made the 
 animals slide. Before the door stood two horses, one 
 saddled, the other put to the chaise and well I knew 
 their import; but they were a fair sign, as it proved we 
 were not too late. 
 
 We were out of saddle and at the door in a twinkling ; 
 though quick as we were, the squire was quicker, for he 
 had seen us coming, doubtless looking for men with clothes 
 of another color. He opened only the top half of the door, 
 showing little more than his head and shoulders, but he 
 was eating no humble pie just then. His usually white 
 face was red, and his voice had lost its late smoothness as 
 he shouted : 
 
 " Be off, you villains, be off ! 'Tis my turn now, you
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 323 
 
 upstart," lie said, addressing me. "Be off, else you are 
 lost; the tables are turned and my friends are on the road. 
 Be off now, while you've time ! I have the charity to warn 
 you. Your bird has flown. Did you think in your folly 
 I would let her mate with one of your breed ? Leave 
 on the instant, or by Saint George ! I will settle scores 
 now." 
 
 " Settle and be d d ! " I cried, as I put my hand in to 
 
 unfasten the lower half of the door. 
 
 At this he stepped aside and, picking up a gun that was 
 leaning against the wall, said in a threatening tone : 
 
 " Beware ! I am armed, and will do my duty in the 
 king's name." 
 
 Before he had fairly finished his threat the door flew 
 inward from the pressure of Hal's knee as I slid the bolt, 
 and jumping ahead of me, he grasped the muzzle of the 
 squire's weapon before he could shoulder it, and held it 
 aloft while I quickly slipped my arms about the old man, 
 tripped him up, and threw him sharply to the floor, where I 
 held him. 
 
 " Now, Hal, cut me a bed-cord and we will bind this 
 villain before we do aught else." 
 
 Without answering, he put down his rifle and drawings 
 knife ran up the stairs. 
 
 " You'll suffer for this, yon rebel scoundrel ! " yelled the 
 squire, as he twisted in his efforts to throw me ; for I sat 
 astride him as I would a horse. " By all the furies ! you 
 are lost ! Will they not hurry ? Let me up, I say." 
 
 " Never ! There is no hurry in them, and no hurry for 
 me. If you pray for hurry it will bring your own end the 
 sooner. Look you, you hoary sinner! " I continued, as he 
 squirmed under me, yelling for help, while I poured forth 
 upon him all my pent-up spleen. " Look you and stop 
 your noise, else I'll jam the major's letter down your 
 throat. Listen to me, you ancient liar ! I have your vile 
 plan at my tongue's end, and less than an hour ago I shot
 
 324 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 that devil Bromfield your master ; shot him dead. Do 
 you hear? And lie lies, toes up, on the parade at Fort 
 Griswold. God be thanked ! there is one black heart the 
 less on earth, and 'twill soon be joined by another." 
 
 For though I had no notion of killing him, I was willing 
 he should think it was my intention ; and as for Broru- 
 field being dead, I was not so sure about it. 
 
 At that, he gave a mighty shout and lay still, looking at 
 me with widely distended eyes. 
 
 Just then I heard a great overthrow of furniture up 
 stairs, and Harry came running down with a length of 
 bed-cord. 
 
 " Who sleeps in that bed to-night, sleeps low," he said 
 with a laugh as he handed me the cord and we proceeded 
 to bind the old man hand and foot. When we got him 
 well fastened we laid him on the settle in the kitchen with 
 a roll of rag carpet under his head, and then together went 
 in search of Doroth3% 
 
 There was nothing living in any of the rooms or closets 
 on the floor above, and I was beginning to have fearful 
 misgivings that the squire had not lied to me about her 
 having flown, when I thought of the garret. The door 
 leading to it was locked or bolted, I knew not which, but 
 the fact gave me hope. Placing my ear against it, I 
 motioned for Hal to be quiet, and then in the stillness I 
 heard a muffled cry which I would have known in another 
 world. With no feeling of weakness left in me, I rushed 
 to the hall (for we were in a little room off it) and, seizing 
 a heavy mahogany chair, I went back and with one blow 
 shivered chair and panel into pieces. Two or three blows 
 with what remained in my hands opened the whole affair 
 and we bounded upstairs. 
 
 There in the dim light, against the smoke-house door, 
 stood the spinster aunt with her back to it, and her arms 
 stretched widely out, as though to prevent entry or egress. 
 
 Like one crucified, she looked, or as Hal afterward said,
 
 RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 325 
 
 " more like a strange sort of gigantic, black bug pinned to 
 the wood." 
 
 " You cannot enter, sir," she said slowly and evenly, as 
 though it was an every-day affair ; " you dare not lay hands 
 on a woman ! " 
 
 " Cannot and dare are large words, madam," said I, as 
 I took one thin arm and Harry the other, and drew her 
 away, her resistance being much like picking up a light 
 thing when you think it is going to be heavy, she moved 
 off so easily. 
 
 It took but a second to draw the catch and open the 
 door, and the next moment I had my darling in my arms, 
 weeping as though her poor, bruised heart would break.
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 THERE was no time to lose, for I feared that a party of 
 the victorious enemy might be on the march to complete 
 the programme laid out by Bromfield ; therefore I hurried 
 my love away and down the stairs. 
 
 As we reached the light, Dorothy turned, and seeing the 
 plight I was in, gave a shriek as she held me off and looked 
 at me ; then woman-like, threw herself into my arms 
 again, crying out that I was killed ; to which I answered, 
 I was not nor likely to be by the look of things. 
 
 " What about the old witch ? " asked Harry, as we 
 reached the hall. " She may set the squire free and raise 
 the devil." 
 
 " Lock her in and let her think," I answered ; so we 
 closed the door of the little room at the foot of the garret 
 stairs, piling a mass of furniture against it, as there was no 
 fastening, and hurried away. 
 
 " We'll not wait to bid your uncle good-b} 7 ," said I to 
 Dorothy, as we reached the lower hall. " He has a press 
 ing engagement just now, and is under bonds to keep the 
 peace ; so let's be off at once." 
 
 When we left the house, not greatly to my surprise both 
 our horses were found to be gone. The knowledge that 
 they had probably run straight home and would appear 
 with empty saddles made me in unusual haste to follow, as 
 I knew what consternation the sight would create. How 
 ever, the squire's two horses were there, so telling Hal to 
 take the saddled one and ride ahead to announce our com 
 ing, I placed Dorothy in the chaise without hat or mantle 
 as she was, and drove after him. 
 
 336
 
 CONCLUSION. 327 
 
 It was a good animal I had, and well used to harness, 
 so off we bowled ; I, with my brain playing on the chances 
 of being followed and having our house burned about our 
 ears if the red-coats came and unloosed the squire, and 
 Dorothy, with moisture in her sweet, brown eyes and traces 
 of dried tears over her smooth cheeks, holding onto me as 
 though to be sure I was real. 
 
 In the wide privacy of the moor I bent and kissed her 
 a dozen times, trying to make firm the little, trembling 
 under lip, telling her that from then on, nothing should 
 part us again, and that nothing was before us but life and 
 light and love. 
 
 I have had many a drive since that day, but none in 
 which the bitter and sweet were so closely mingled in my 
 heart as on that quiet afternoon. Now no sound of war 
 fare jarred the air, and there was nothing about to suggest 
 the inferno lying so near us, excepting, perhaps, my own 
 appearance. 
 
 The effect of the beauty of the land about, and the still 
 river; the nodding of the dusty growth by the wayside, 
 the sweep of the moor and the yet lusty green of the 
 woods, the starting of birds, their quick, clear notes, and 
 the play of the slanting sunlight, was like the relief of 
 waking from delirium. 
 
 That was the bright side of the picture, made the more 
 brilliant by the girl so close to me. The shadows lay be 
 hind, and from them I tried to turn. 
 
 Ere long Dorothy got heart to tell me her story of the 
 day. It was one of brutality and mental agony. Know 
 ing that I must be at the fort, each sound of cannon shook 
 her, and as the day wore on without my coming she had 
 given me up as lost. She had been told a dozen times that 
 I was dead, and was locked in her room until the squire 
 sighted us in the distance, when she had been taken to the 
 smoke-room, to give color to the report that she had gone. 
 
 Had the old fool kept his horses in the barn and allowed
 
 328 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 me free access to the house, or removed Dorothy therefrom, 
 lie might have beaten me for a time, but he doubtless had 
 perfect faith in the coming of Bromfield, and had not the 
 kind of wit that provides for the " slip 'tvvixt the cup and 
 the lip." 
 
 However, I had her now, but told her nothing of the day 
 (not wishing to give her more of a shock) except that I 
 had shot Bromfield, so that she might have nothing to fear 
 from him. 
 
 When we passed Farmer Bail's house, every door and 
 window stood wide open, as if to proclaim its emptiness, 
 and little doubting that they had gone to Hardscrabble, I 
 urged the horse along. 
 
 It was a brave home-coming that, for everyone had 
 gathered at the gate to meet us, with more tears and ex 
 citement than I cared to have. There was too much talk, 
 inasmuch as the end might not have yet come, and I wanted 
 to put things in shape to meet the worst, should it happen. 
 
 Bailey's parents were there (as I had surmised), and the 
 joy of all, except the negroes, was unalloyed. At the foot 
 of the " Ratlines," as I always called the road leading up 
 the heights (the name suggested by old Moon on the night 
 of his first arrival), we were met by Uncle Freeman, who 
 had a large interrogation point in his bleary eyes, but I 
 knew the heart-ache in store for him, and only shook my 
 head when he asked for his boys, for of George I knew 
 nothing and Rod I could not swear was dead, though I 
 had small hopes of aught else. 
 
 Now from the elevation of Hardscrabble we could see 
 the smoke of New London, but none of us might guess 
 what was taking place beneath it. It was a fearful thing 
 to know that the old town was destroyed, and both sides of 
 the river in the hands of the red-coats. There was not 
 much to do at home, for the plate and smaller valuables, 
 with what ready money the house had contained, were 
 buried under a muck heap in the barnyard, and all the
 
 CONCLUSION. 329 
 
 cattle and horses were turned loose in the forest, save such 
 of the latter as were needed to transport the family in 
 case of necessity. I think there was more thanksgiving at 
 our safe return than mourning over the disasters in town, 
 which was natural, perhaps, for every heart knoweth its 
 own joy as well as sorrow. 
 
 I know the first thing I did, after being caressed like a. 
 schoolboy, was to demand food and regulate my wound, 
 which was a nasty one, though not serious or even very 
 painful ; then we put a look-out in the orchard and called 
 a council of war. 
 
 I was forced to make a short story of the attack on the 
 fort and what had come under my observation therein, 
 saving of course, the fall of Rod, for I could not bear the 
 eye of Aunt Freeman. At last it was decided that Uncle 
 Freeman should go to the battle-field and find out what he 
 could. It was a wise decision, for he doubtless would have 
 gone, with or without permission, and afoot if need be, for 
 both the old couple and Nance were getting beyond their 
 own control through fear and suspense. 
 
 I felt that there would be little danger for the old man, 
 believing his sa} 7 ing : " Deys nebber tech a ol' niggah like 
 me. Deys see I's mos' daid an' aint got no harm in me." 
 And so he went, taking the chaise too, because it appeared 
 more peaceful, and he might need it to fetch home his 
 sons. 
 
 Though they made a hero of me, and Dorothy was 
 petted to the last degree, it was my father, crippled as 
 he was, upon whom we all leaned and to whom we all 
 looked for advice. He spoke calmly, never for an in 
 stant losing control of himself, though fears still beset 
 him that worse than had yet happened might be in store 
 for us. 
 
 All that afternoon a watch was kept from the orchard, 
 which overlooked the road for half a mile, and another on 
 
 the wall that commanded the sea, then, as it drew near 
 
 22
 
 330 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 sunset, nothing having been seen of Uncle Freeman and 
 there having been no alarm, we made arrangements for the 
 night. 
 
 It was decided that Harry was to go down the road as 
 far as his own house, I was to approach him only near 
 enough to be within sound of his rifle, and his father should 
 be the same distance behind me, while Charlotte, Dorothy, 
 and Nance should mount guard in the orchard within ear 
 shot of Farmer Bailey's gun. This arrangement was to con 
 tinue during the night, the girls changing their watch as 
 suited themselves. Thus we had a chain extending nearly 
 two miles, and if the enemy approached by land, as they 
 probably would if at all, the signal would be passed to the 
 house in time to enable my father and the women to escape, 
 and then all would break to the agreed upon rendezvous in 
 the forest. I had no gun, and a pistol might not make 
 noise enough, so I armed myself with the dinner horn, and 
 we sallied forth. 
 
 There is little to say of that night. It was a fine, moon 
 less one, with hardly a breath of wind, and a heavy dew. 
 I dared not sit though much I needed rest for fear of 
 the sleep that might overcome me, and it lay heavih T on 
 my eyelids even as I walked the beat of two hundred feet 
 that I had selected. The hours dragged by in a com 
 plexity of physical misery and mental happiness, the chill 
 of early morning becoming penetrating as the sun gave the 
 first hints of its coming. While it was still dark, though 
 there was a livid look to the sky in the east, I heard the 
 clatter of the chaise, the music of which I knew as I knew 
 my own voice, and presently it came up, and I was hailed 
 by Harry, who was in it with a woman from New London. 
 She had been sent for me and bore news. The British 
 were gone. They had sailed away just after sunset the 
 evening before, thus making our long night's vigil unneces 
 sary, had we but known it. There had been no certainty 
 of finding me, as I was known to have been in the fight,
 
 CONCLUSION. 331 
 
 but the old negro had told of ray escape, and now my 
 services as a surgeon were required. 
 
 We hastened back to the house, relieving the sleepy 
 fears of all by the news we brought, and then Harry and 
 I saddled up again, starting once more for the town, but 
 this time freighted with my instruments instead of arms. 
 
 I think I slept in my saddle, only coming to myself 
 when we crossed the Mystic bridge near the squire's, and 
 then me thought I would see if he had been released. The 
 heavens were broad with light when we arrived there, and 
 the house looked as when we left it, with the doors still 
 open. The gun which had been wrested from the old 
 man's hands lay where it had fallen, and, believing that 
 no one had been there, I advanced boldly into the 
 kitchen. 
 
 The squire still lay on the hard settle, bound as we had 
 left him, and I thought him asleep until I found he was 
 unconscious from another cause, and knew that he had 
 reaped the harvest of fear, chagrin, and his own intemper 
 ate brain. He was alive, but paralyzed, as was shown by 
 the down-pull of one side of his face, and his insensibilitj 7 ' 
 to pain when prodded with a fork the only instrument 
 that stood handy. 
 
 There was a duty to be done here, and we carried him 
 upstairs. The old lady, hearing footsteps, called loudly 
 for help from behind her prison door. We released her, 
 placing her brother in her charge after unbinding and 
 putting him in his bed. I gave her no hope of his life, and 
 no explanation of what had occurred between us ; barely 
 speaking to her directly, in fact, so great was my resent 
 ment toward her. In as few words as possible I gave her 
 to understand that I should come or send for the effects of 
 her niece, and that later I would give the paralytic what 
 attention I could; though I foresaw he would ere long 
 need nothing but decent burial. 
 
 I cannot go into the details of that day. My indigna-
 
 332 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 tion, ray abounding wrath, swallowed up the horrors of 
 them then, but now the horror stands paramount. 
 
 New London was still smoking when we got to the 
 fort, and the dead lay thickly scattered within the ruined 
 inclosure. The wail of women and children was heard 
 before we reached it ; a wail that must have shaken the 
 heavens and made the angels weep. The enemy had done 
 their work in a way that made the efforts of those in my 
 profession well-nigh useless. There had been a semblance 
 of war in the beginning, but it had ended in murder, and 
 they had even shown their spite on the dead. 
 
 History tells of the brutality of the British ; of the load 
 of wounded men piled into a wagon, like logs, and rushed 
 down the hill toward the river ; of the hellish ingenuit} r 
 displayed in cutting off the water supply ; in the wanton 
 destruction of private property, the outrages perpetrated 
 on defenseless women, and in mutilation by the sword after 
 the bullet and bayonet had done their work. Of the one 
 hundred and odd souls that had manned the fort in the 
 morning, over eighty had been mercilessly butchered after 
 the surrender. There were but few prisoners, and fewer 
 escapes. Perhaps a dozen or fifteen had died in fair 
 fight not more ; the rest fell in a manner to make the 
 descent on New London forever a shame to its perpe 
 trators. 
 
 It has been urged in extenuation that the leader of this 
 famous raid (which utterly failed in its main purpose) 
 was an American renegade ; that the sword that killed 
 Colonel Ledyard was surrendered to an American, and that 
 the force behind them was made up of men not English in 
 any sentiment a foreign element for whose actions the 
 English nation was not accountable. 
 
 I grant the facts,, but in return : the artisan knows the 
 use and character of his tools; the executioner feels the 
 edge of his ax ; the bullet flies where it is sent, and it was 
 not the crucifix and spikes that were responsible for the
 
 CONCLUSION. 333 
 
 sufferings of our Saviour. There is no palliation of the 
 monstrous deed in the fact that Benedict Arnold dragged 
 out a long life of remorse and poverty in a strange land, 
 or that Bromfield met with his deserts. As the dregs of 
 a nation sink, the scum rises to the top, and it is a striking 
 commentary on the authorities of the times that they 
 hastened to make use of the latter. 
 
 My story has drawn its length. With the drifting away 
 of the smoke of the battle there had drifted away the 
 adverse fate that had hung over me so long and threaten 
 ingly" making my tale worth the telling. 
 
 With the rising sun was rising an era of peace, though 
 I knew it not ; peace for both my country and the remain 
 der of my days, and little now remains to relate. 
 
 George was killed killed in a dozen places, I might say ; 
 and Matthew (over whose mutilated body I asked forgive 
 ness for my unreasonable outburst) was hacked almost 
 apart. Rod was found fearfully wounded, but recovered 
 and lived to be the progenitor of what bids fair to be 
 a long line of dusky Freemans. Strangely enough, the 
 coat I had taken off in order to tear out my shirt sleeve 
 for the purpose of binding up my head, lay undisturbed 
 just where I had dropped it near him, with the papers in 
 its pockets all intact. 
 
 Whether or not my shot proved fatal to Bromfield 
 I can only surmise, for from then till now I never heard 
 of him. His ally, the squire, lived but two days after his 
 stroke, and almost immediately his sister quit our section 
 and disappeared. 
 
 But all that seems long ago and I hasten over it, for the 
 days darken as they pass, like the shadow that falls on the 
 zenith and follows the sun as it drops away. 
 
 The tumult, or the result of it, kept my darling from my 
 arms but little longer, for when the news of Yorktown came 
 to us in October, and we knew the war was over, we were
 
 334 IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING. 
 
 married quietly, as became us in the great sorrow around ; 
 and it was a double wedding, for Charlotte and Harry 
 joined hands at the same time. 
 
 My father God bless his memory ! lived to enjoy the 
 childhood of his grandchildren, and to be their adviser in 
 youth. Never failing in resource and wisdom, he stood 
 among us all until the great weight of his years broke him, 
 and he passed away, dying of no disease. 
 
 And the dear face that still lies close to mine, bears yet 
 the sweetness of girlhood, though no eye but mine can 
 see it, and we still love ah, you with hope and passion 
 and youth yet with you not with a chill in the love 
 because, forsooth, it is the love of age, but one so closely 
 welded that it will always abide ; even until the last 
 trumpet sounds and the heavens roll together like a scroll. 
 
 THE END.
 
 kPPLETONS' TOWN AND COUNTRY LIBRARY. 
 
 PUBLISHED SEMIMONTHLY. 
 
 1. The Steel Hammer. By Louis ULBACH. 
 
 2. Eve. A Novel. By 8. BARING-GOULD. 
 
 3. For Fifteen Years. A Sequel to The Steel Hammer. By Louis ULBACH. 
 
 4. A Counsel of Perfection. A Novel. By LUCAS MALET. 
 
 5. The Deemster. A Romance. By HALL CAINB. 
 
 6. A Virginia Inheritance. By EDMUND PENDLBTON. 
 
 7. Ninette : An Idyll of Provence. By the author of Vera. 
 
 8. " The Right Honourable." By JUSTIN MCCARTHY and Mrs. CAMPBELL-PRAED. 
 
 9. The Silence of Dean Maitland. By MAXWELL GRAY. 
 
 10. Mrs. Lorimer : A Study in Black and White. By LUCAS MALET. 
 
 11. The Elect Lady. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 
 
 12. The Mystery of the "Ocean Star." By W. CLARK RUSSELL. 
 
 13. Aristocracy. A Novel. 
 
 14. A Recoiling Vengeance. By FRANK BARRETT. With Illustrations. 
 
 15. The Secret of Fontaine-la- Croix. By MARGARET FIELD. 
 
 16. The Master of RathkeUy. By HAWLEY SMART. 
 
 17. Donovan: A Modern Englishman. By EDNA LY ALL. 
 
 18. This Mortal Coil. By GRANT ALLEN. 
 
 19. A fair Emigrant. By ROSA MULHOLLAND. 
 
 20. The Apostate. By ERNEST DAUDET. 
 
 21. Raleigh Westgate ; or, Epimenides in Maine. By HELEN EENDRICK JOHNSON. 
 
 22. Arius the Libyan : A Romance of the Primitive Church. 
 
 23. Constance, and Galoot's Rival. By JULIAN HAWTHORNE. 
 
 24. We Two. By EDNA LYALL. 
 
 25. A Dreamer of Dreams. By the author of Thoth. 
 
 26. The Ladies'' Gallery. By JUSTIN MCCARTHY and Mrs. CAMPBELL-PRAED. 
 
 27. The Reproach of Annesley. By MAXWELL GRAY. 
 
 28. Near to Happiness. 
 
 29. In the Wire- Grass. By Louis PENDLETON. 
 
 30. Lace. A Berlin Romance. By PAUL LINDAU. 
 
 31. American Coin. A Novel. By the author of Aristocracy. 
 
 32. Won by Waiting. By EDNA LYALL. 
 
 33. The Story of Helen Davenant. By VIOLET FANE. 
 
 34. The Light of Her Countenance. By H. H. BOYESEN. 
 
 35. Mistress Beatrice Cope. By M. E. LE CLERC. 
 
 36. The Knight- Errant. By EDNA LYALL. 
 
 37. In the Golden Days. By EDNA LYALL. 
 
 38. Giraldi ; or, The Curse of Love. By Ross GEORGE DERENG. 
 
 39. A Hardy Norseman. By EDNA LYALL. 
 
 40. The Romance of Jenny Harlowe, and Sketches of Maritime Life. By W. 
 
 CLARK RUSSELL. 
 
 41. Passion's Slave. By RICHARD ASHE-KING. 
 
 42. The Awakening of Mary Fenwick. By BEATRICE WHITBY. 
 
 43. Countess Loreley. Translated from the German of RUDOLF MENGER. 
 
 44. Blind Love. By WILKIE COLLINS. 
 
 45. The Dean's Daughter. By SOPHIE F. F. VEITCH. 
 
 46. Countess Irene. A Romance of Austrian Life. By J. FOGERTY. 
 4~. Robert Browning's Principal Shorter Poems. 
 
 48. Frozen Hearts. By G. WEBB APPLETON. 
 
 49. Djambek the Georgian. By A. G. VON SUTTNER. 
 
 50. The Craze of Christian Engelhart. By HENRY FAULKNER DARNELL. 
 
 51. Lai. By WILLIAM A. HAMMOND, M. D. 
 
 52. Aline A Novel. By HENRY GREVILLE. 
 
 53. Joost Avelingh. A Dutch Story. By MAARTEN MAARTENS. 
 V4. Katy of Catoctin. By GEORGE ALFRED TOWNSEND. 
 
 55. Throckmorron. A Novel. By MOLLY ELLIOT SB A WELL. 
 56 Expatriation. By the author of Aristocracy. 
 f>7. Geoffrey Hampstead. By T. S. JARVIS.
 
 1f\ v 
 00