Commodore Barney's Young Spies Read online

  CHAPTER XXI.

  IN PORT.

  The moments passed in silence, save for the hissing of the rain-dropsas they mingled with the water of the river, and I was saying tomyself that of a verity we must have drifted safely through the fleetwithout touching a ship, when that came which I had been fearing.

  Suddenly I felt a shock; then a noise as of wood grinding againstwood, and I knew we had fouled the enemy!

  While one might have counted five the pungy rubbed against the side ofthe ship, and then came the hail:

  "Ahoy there! Ahoy!"

  "What are you hailing?" a strange voice cried, and he who had firstbroken the silence replied:

  "There's a craft of some kind alongside, sir!"

  Then it was as if a swarm of bees had been let loose. The enemy's shipwas alive with moving, buzzing beings, some of whom cried out this orthat order, and others called down maledictions on the head of the manwho had needlessly aroused them.

  "There's nothin' here, sir. Sam was dreamin'," I heard the voice of asailor cry, and almost at the same instant came the rattling offire-arms as they were being handled, sounding so near aboard that itseemed as if a portion of the enemy had leaped upon our decks.

  "Make ready! Fire!" sounded the command, sharp and quick.

  Then came a sheet of flame which lighted up surrounding objects untilwe could distinctly see the deck of the bomb-vessel, and the eager menthronging her deck.

  This illumination was but as the lightning's flash, and then we couldhear the angry hum of the bullets as they swarmed above our heads.

  We had been seen, and I believed that a broadside would follow inshort order, yet at the same time I realized that our good fortune hadfollowed us when it sent the pungy afoul of a bomb-vessel, instead ofa craft which had her guns ready trained for service.

  Now had come the time, however, when we were to remain idle no longer.

  I heard Darius call Bill Jepson, and knew by the noises which followedthat the two sailors were taking to the canoe in order to tow thepungy, and at the same time Captain Hanaford cast off the lashing ofthe tiller as he ordered us to run up the canvas.

  Work? I have never moved so lively before nor since, as I did thenwhen I felt positive that within a very few seconds our deck would beswept by grape and cannister.

  At such moments of supreme danger one's senses are unnaturally acute,and while I gave strict attention to all that was taking place aboardthe pungy, it became possible to understand what the enemy was about.

  The other vessels of the fleet were making ready to take a hand in ourdestruction. From every quarter we could hear cries of command,mingled with the noise of men running to and fro, and just when thepungy began to feel the effect of the canvas which was clapped on herin such a hurry, a rocket went up, illumining the scene for tenseconds or more.

  Then it was I saw that we had passed three of the ships, having cometo grief on the last in the line, and had no time to take further noteof the surroundings when the guns of all four craft belched forth witha mighty roar that caused the pungy to tremble, but the impact of theshot did not follow.

  Thus suddenly aroused, and in the intense darkness which had beendispelled only long enough to dazzle a fellow's eyes, the gunners hadnot been able to take accurate aim, otherwise we must have gone to thebottom like a stone.

  "They won't have time to try that game more than once again beforewe'll be well out of their way," I heard Darius say, and I knew wehad sufficient speed to render useless the work of towing, otherwisethe two sailors would not have come aboard.

  Now three rockets were sent up in rapid succession, and while thelight lasted I knew that the British gunners were taking aim at us;but we had slipped so far down the river by this time that there weresome few chances in our favor, however closely they might shoot.

  "Down on your faces!" Darius cried, and I dropped like a stone,understanding that such an order had been given to lessen the chancesof our being hit; but at the same time the thought came to me that itwas better to be killed by a round-shot which would cut a man's lifeshort instantly, than mangled by a splinter.

  Then came the flash of burning powder; the mighty roar of big guns;the hurtling shot striking the water on every side, and the pungyreeled and quivered as if she had struck a rock.

  "One ball went home that time!" Darius cried, and I knew by the soundthat he had leaped to his feet, running with all speed into the cuddy.

  From below I made out the tiny gleam of the match as Darius lighted alantern, and did not need to be told that he was gone to learn whatinjury our vessel had received.

  Immediately the cannon had been discharged Captain Hanaford was onhis feet, grasping the tiller as if it was possible to steer the pungywhile the blackness continued so dense that one might fancy he couldfeel it, and then came the glare of more rockets.

  This aided the helmsman of ours more than it did the British gunners,since it gave him an opportunity to see exactly where his vessel was;but as to that I gave no heed. All my mind was centered on thedistance between us and the enemy.

  I could have cried aloud with joy, and am not certain but that I did,on seeing that we were drawing away with more speed than I hadbelieved was in the clumsy craft, and, what was of greater importance,the pungy was rounding a bend which, once passed, would put us beyondreach of the guns.

  The rockets had been fired just in the nick of time, otherwise wewould have gone ashore on the western bank.

  For the third time we heard the thunder of the guns; but the shot musthave passed astern of us, for I did not hear either the splashing ofwater or the splintering of our wood-work to tell where they struck.

  Then Darius came on deck with an announcement that relieved me ofnearly all my fears.

  "The pungy has a solid shot above the water-line well forward; butthere's no need of pluggin' it, for the ball didn't get through thetimber. I reckon we've done the trick, eh, captain?"

  "We're off for a fact, an' unless we strike the mud 'twixt here an'the bay, we've seen the last of that lot of Britishers."

  Now it was that all hands of us were ordered forward to act aslook-outs, and the pungy danced along in the darkness, as if rejoicingat her escape from a peril that had well-nigh proved her ending.

  It is impossible for me to set down what we said or did when it wasseen that we had really escaped from as dangerous a venture as humanbeings ever embarked in. I dare say we acted like a party of simples,and certain it is that the older members of the crew were no lessboisterous in their rejoicings than we lads.

  And now there remains but little more to be said, for the homewardvoyage was short.

  At midnight the rain ceased falling; the clouds were partiallydispersed, and we had sufficient light to enable us to navigate thelittle vessel without difficulty.

  In four and twenty hours, without having come across an enemy, oranything to cause alarm, we were in Benedict once more, CaptainHanaford having sailed past his own home in order to land us, and wellwas it for all hands that we did not arrive the day previous, becausenot until then did the fleet under Admiral Cochrane, with the landforces under General Ross, take their final departure, leaving thelittle village looking as if a herd of cattle had been pastured there.

  It only remains for me to say, since this story has nothing to do withmy movements after we were returned from service under CommodoreBarney, that in due time the government honored the commodore'sguarantee, thus enabling Jerry and me to purchase a pungy much largerand better than the Avenger, and at the same time have quite asubstantial sum of money to give our parents.

  And all this I have written in the cuddy of the new boat, which wehave named the "Joshua Barney," while Jim Freeman, Dody Wardwell,Josiah Coburn, Darius and Jerry have discussed each portion as it wasset down, for we are shipmates in the oyster business, sharing theprofits as well as the work, until a stranger would find it difficultto say which is the captain or which the cook.

  Now that my portion of the work has come to an
end, I shall copy herethat which will serve to wind up the yarn in proper shape.

  Referring to the close of the battle of Bladensburg, a newspaperwriter says:

  "The English sharp-shooters had straggled about, and were doing muchmischief; Barney's horse fell between two of the guns, pierced by twoballs; several of his officers were killed or wounded, the ammunitionwagon had gone off in the general confusion and retreat of the army;the enemy began to flank out to the right, under cover of a thickwood, and had nearly surrounded the commodore. His men were nearlyexhausted, having undergone a three-days' march without a regularsupply of provisions. He had received a wound in the thigh some timebefore, and was faint from loss of blood, when he ordered a retreat,which was effected in good order by the men and such officers as couldfollow. He retired a few yards with the help of three of his officerswhom he had ordered away, and fell from weakness, in which situationhe was found by the enemy.

  "General Ross and Admiral Cockburn came to him and tendered everyassistance. He was carried in a litter to the village of Bladensburg,and the next day, in the company of his wife and son, was taken homein a carriage. A week later he was formally exchanged for two Britishcolonels. The ball had been probed for by the English surgeons, butwithout effect, and it was not found until after his death, which issaid to have been caused by the wound."

  And now regarding the fleet which we dodged, Mr. Lossing says in his"War of 1812."

  "The British squadron appeared before Fort Washington on the 27th ofAugust, three days after the capture of the capital. Captain Dysoneither misunderstood General Winder's order, or was influenced bymortal fear, for he blew up and abandoned the fort without firing agun. No doubt the British fleet could have been kept below by theheavy cannon of the fort. Dyson chose not to try the experiment, andfor his injurious conduct he was dismissed from the service.

  "The British squadron now had nothing to fear, and withoutinterference the frigates sailed on, anchoring off Alexandria on theevening of the 28th. On the morning of the 29th it assumed a hostileattitude a hundred yards from the wharves, and was well prepared tolay every building in the town in ashes. The citizens sent adeputation to Captain Gordon to ask upon what terms he would consentto spare the town. He replied that all naval stores and ordnance; allthe shipping and its furniture; merchandise of every description inthe city, or which had been carried out of it to a place of safety;and refreshments of every kind, must be immediately given up to him.Also that the vessels which had been scuttled to save them fromdestruction must be raised, and delivered up to him. 'Do all this,' hesaid, 'and the town of Alexandria, with the exception of public works,shall be spared, and the inhabitants shall remain unmolested."

  "These were harsh and humiliating terms, and the inhabitants wereallowed only one hour for consideration. They were powerless, and werecompelled to submit. The merchandise that had been carried from thetown and the sunken vessels could not be given up to the invader, sohe contented himself by burning one vessel and loading several others,chiefly with flour, cotton and tobacco. With these in charge, thesquadron weighed anchor and sailed down the Potomac."

  THE END.

  Good Fiction Worth Reading.

  A series of romances containing several of the old favorites in thefield of historical fiction, replete with powerful romances of loveand diplomacy that excel in thrilling and absorbing interest.

  * * * * *

  =A COLONIAL FREE-LANCE.= A story of American Colonial Times, ByChauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  A book that appeals to Americans as a vivid picture of Revolutionary scenes. The story is a strong one, a thrilling one. It causes the true American to flush with excitement, to devour chapter after chapter, until the eyes smart, and it fairly smokes with patriotism. The love story is a singularly charming idyl.

  =THE TOWER OF LONDON.= A Historical Romance of the Times of Lady JaneGrey and Mary Tudor. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with fourillustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.

  This romance of the "Tower of London" depicts the Tower as palace, prison and fortress, with many historical associations. The era is the middle of the sixteenth century.

  The story is divided into two parts, one dealing with Lady Jane Grey, and the other with Mary Tudor as Queen, introducing other notable characters of the era. Throughout the story holds the interest of the reader in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy, extending considerably over a half a century.

  =IN DEFIANCE OF THE KING.= A Romance of the American Revolution. ByChauncey C. Hotchkiss. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  Mr. Hotchkiss has etched in burning words a story of Yankee bravery, and true love that thrills from beginning to end, with the spirit of the Revolution. The heart beats quickly, and we feel ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described. His whole story is so absorbing that you will sit up far into the night to finish it. As a love romance it is charming.

  =GARTHOWEN.= A story of a Welsh Homestead. By Allen Raine. Cloth,12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  "This is a little idyl of humble life and enduring love, laid bare before us, very real and pure, which in its telling shows us some strong points of Welsh character--the pride, the hasty temper, the quick dying out of wrath.... We call this a well-written story, interesting alike through its romance and its glimpses into another life than ours. A delightful and clever picture of Welsh village life. The result is excellent."--Detroit Free Press.

  =MIFANWY.= The story of a Welsh Singer. By Allen Raine. Cloth, 12mo.with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  "This is a love story, simple, tender and pretty as one would care to read. The action throughout is brisk and pleasing; the characters, it is apparent at once, are as true to life as though the author had known them all personally. Simple in all its situations, the story is worked up in that touching and quaint strain which never grows wearisome, no matter how often the lights and shadows of love are introduced. It rings true, and does not tax the imagination."--Boston Herald.

  * * * * *

  =DARNLEY=, A Romance of the times of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey.By G. P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. WatsonDavis. Price, $1.00.

  In point of publication, "Darnley" is that work by Mr. James which follows "Richelieu," and, if rumor can be credited, it was owing to the advice and insistence of our own Washington Irving that we are indebted primarily for the story, the young author questioning whether he could properly paint the difference in the characters of the two great cardinals. And it is not surprising that James should have hesitated; he had been eminently successful in giving to the world the portrait of Richelieu as a man, and by attempting a similar task with Wolsey as the theme, was much like tempting fortune. Irving insisted that "Darnley" came naturally in sequence, and this opinion being supported by Sir Walter Scott, the author set about the work.

  As a historical romance "Darnley" is a book that can be taken up pleasurably again and again, for there is about it that subtle charm which those who are strangers to the works of G. P. R. James have claimed was only to be imparted by Dumas.

  If there was nothing more about the work to attract especial attention, the account of the meeting of the kings on the historic "field of the cloth of gold" would entitle the story to the most favorable consideration of every reader.

  There is really but little pure romance in this story, for the author has taken care to imagine love passages only between those whom history has credited with having entertained the tender passion one for another, and he succeeds in making such lovers as all the world must love.

&nbs
p; =CAPTAIN BRAND, OF THE SCHOONER CENTIPEDE.= By Lieut. Henry A. Wise,U. S. N. (Harry Gringo). Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  The re-publication of this story will please those lovers of sea yarns who delight in so much of the salty flavor of the ocean as can come through the medium of a printed page, for never has a story of the sea and those "who go down in ships" been written by one more familiar with the scenes depicted.

  The one book of this gifted author which is best remembered, and which will be read with pleasure for many years to come, is "Captain Brand," who, as the author states on his title page, was a "pirate of eminence in the West Indies." As a sea story pure and simple, "Captain Brand" has never been excelled, and as a story of piratical life, told without the usual embellishments of blood and thunder, it has no equal.

  =NICK OF THE WOODS.= A story of the Early Settlers of Kentucky. ByRobert Montgomery Bird. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  This most popular novel and thrilling story of early frontier life in Kentucky was originally published in the year 1837. The novel, long out of print, had in its day a phenomenal sale, for its realistic presentation of Indian and frontier life in the early days of settlement in the South, narrated in the tale with all the art of a practiced writer. A very charming love romance runs through the story. This new and tasteful edition of "Nick of the Woods" will be certain to make many new admirers for this enchanting story from Dr. Bird's clever and versatile pen.

  * * * * *

  =GUY FAWKES.= A Romance of the Gunpowder Treason. By Wm. HarrisonAinsworth. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank.Price, $1.00.

  The "Gunpowder Plot" was a modest attempt to blow up Parliament, the King and his Counsellors. James of Scotland, then King of England, was weak-minded and extravagant. He hit upon the efficient scheme of extorting money from the people by imposing taxes on the Catholics. In their natural resentment to this extortion, a handful of bold spirits concluded to overthrow the government. Finally the plotters were arrested, and the King put to torture Guy Fawkes and the other prisoners with royal vigor. A very intense love story runs through the entire romance.

  =THE SPIRIT OF THE BORDER.= A Romance of the Early Settlers in theOhio Valley. By Zane Grey. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  A book rather out of the ordinary is this "Spirit of the Border." The main thread of the story has to do with the work of the Moravian missionaries in the Ohio Valley. Incidentally the reader is given details of the frontier life of those hardy pioneers who broke the wilderness for the planting of this great nation. Chief among these, as a matter of course, is Lewis Wetzel, one of the most peculiar, and at the same time the most admirable of all the brave men who spent their lives battling with the savage foe, that others might dwell in comparative security.

  Details of the establishment and destruction of the Moravian "Village of Peace" are given at some length, and with minute description. The efforts to Christianize the Indians are described as they never have been before, and the author has depicted the characters of the leaders of the several Indian tribes with great care, which of itself will be of interest to the student.

  By no means least among the charms of the story are the vivid word-pictures of the thrilling adventures, and the intense paintings of the beauties of nature, as seen in the almost unbroken forests.

  It is the spirit of the frontier which is described, and one can by it, perhaps, the better understand why men, and women, too, willingly braved every privation and danger that the westward progress of the star of empire might be the more certain and rapid. A love story, simple and tender, runs through the book.

  =RICHELIEU.= A tale of France in the reign of King Louis XIII. By G.P. R. James. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J. Watson Davis.Price, $1.00.

  In 1829 Mr. James published his first romance, "Richelieu," and was recognized at once as one of the masters of the craft.

  In this book he laid the story during those later days of the great cardinal's life, when his power was beginning to wane, but while it was yet sufficiently strong to permit now and then of volcanic outbursts which overwhelmed foes and carried friends to the topmost wave of prosperity. One of the most striking portions of the story is that of Cinq Mar's conspiracy; the method of conducting criminal cases, and the political trickery resorted to by royal favorites, affording a better insight into the statecraft of that day than can be had even by an exhaustive study of history. It is a powerful romance of love and diplomacy, and in point of thrilling and absorbing interest has never been excelled.

  * * * * *

  WINDSOR CASTLE. A Historical Romance of the Reign of Henry VIII.,Catharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. By Wm. Harrison Ainsworth. Cloth,12mo. with four illustrations by George Cruikshank. Price, $1.00.

  "Windsor Castle" is the story of Henry VIII., Catharine, and Anne Boleyn. "Bluff King Hal," although a well-loved monarch, was none too good a one in many ways. Of all his selfishness and unwarrantable acts, none was more discreditable than his divorce from Catharine, and his marriage to the beautiful Anne Boleyn. The King's love was as brief as it was vehement. Jane Seymour, waiting maid on the Queen, attracted him, and Anne Boleyn was forced to the block to make room for her successor. This romance is one of extreme interest to all readers.

  HORSESHOE ROBINSON. A tale of the Tory Ascendency in South Carolina in1780. By John P. Kennedy. Cloth, 12mo. with four illustrations by J.Watson Davis. Price, $1.00.

  Among the old favorites in the field of what is known as historical fiction, there are none which appeal to a larger number of Americans than Horseshoe Robinson, and this because it is the only story which depicts with fidelity to the facts the heroic efforts of the colonists in South Carolina to defend their homes against the brutal oppression of the British under such leaders as Cornwallis and Tarleton.

  The reader is charmed with the story of love which forms the thread of the tale, and then impressed with the wealth of detail concerning those times. The picture of the manifold sufferings of the people, is never overdrawn, but painted faithfully and honestly by one who spared neither time nor labor in his efforts to present in this charming love story all that price in blood and tears which the Carolinians paid as their share in the winning of the republic.

  Take it all in all, "Horseshoe Robinson" is a work which should be found on every book-shelf, not only because it is a most entertaining story, but because of the wealth of valuable information concerning the colonists which it contains. That it has been brought out once more, well illustrated, is something which will give pleasure to thousands who have long desired an opportunity to read the story again, and to the many who have tried vainly in these latter days to procure a copy that they might read it for the first time.

  THE PEARL OF ORR'S ISLAND. A story of the Coast of Maine. By HarrietBeecher Stowe. Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated. Price, $1.00.

  Written prior to 1862, the "Pearl of Orr's Island" is ever new; a book filled with delicate fancies, such as seemingly array themselves anew each time one reads them. One sees the "sea like an unbroken mirror all around the pine-girt, lonely shores of Orr's Island," and straightway comes "the heavy, hollow moan of the surf on the beach, like the wild angry howl of some savage animal."

  Who can read of the beginning of that sweet life, named Mara, which came into this world under the very shadow of the Death angel's wings, without having an intense desire to know how the premature bud blossome
d? Again and again one lingers over the descriptions of the character of that baby boy Moses, who came through the tempest, amid the angry billows, pillowed on his dead mother's breast.

  There is no more faithful portrayal of New England life than that which Mrs. Stowe gives in "The Pearl of Orr's Island."

  * * * * *

  For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price bythe publishers, A. L. BURT COMPANY, 52-58 Duane St., New York.