Commodore Barney's Young Spies Page 5

  CHAPTER IV.

  A LIVELY TUSSLE.

  Darius would have it that the traitor had not been seriously hurt bythe blow on the head; but when he failed to show any signs ofconsciousness after we stowed him away in the hold, I grew alarmed,and, calling on Jim Freeman for assistance, set about trying to bringhim to life, for of a verity I believed him dead.

  It was not until we had worked over him ten minutes or more that Icould see any change, and then suddenly he opened his eyes, blinkingin the rays of the lantern Jim was holding close by his face.

  "What happened to me?" he asked wildly, and as my fears that he hadbeen killed were banished by the words, so did my anger against himreturn.

  "You were known to have been giving information to the enemy, andpiloting English spies to a hiding-place," I replied sharply. "We tookit upon ourselves to cut your career as a traitor short, and while thejob was being done you got a clip on the head that knocked yousenseless."

  While I was speaking the cur looked me full in the face, as if tryingto make out who I was; but I believe he feigned ignorance only that hemight have time in which to decide upon a course of action.

  I could see by the look in his eyes, when his mind was made up as tohow he should steer, and a moment later he said with a start ofpretended surprise.

  "Is it you, Amos Grout? I was afraid I had fallen into the hands ofenemies!"

  "You are not among friends, and that is certain," I replied, boilingwith rage because the miserable cur would try to pull wool over myeyes, for I well knew what tack he was about to take.

  "And are you willin' to hold enmity simply because we had a bit of ascrimmage over differences of opinion? I thought all that was settledon the spot."

  "So it was," I said curtly.

  "Then why have you tied me up in this fashion?"

  "Listen to me, Elias Macomber," I cried. "Do you think for a momentthat you can deceive any one aboard this craft. We heard all you saidto the British officer who is in the Patuxent with a boat's crewspying, and know where you took him to pass the night. We sailed upthe river for the purpose of capturing you, and here you remain untilwe can deliver the meanest traitor in Maryland over to CommodoreBarney."

  Now the cur was frightened, and with good cause. He would have saidsomething more, thinking, I dare say, that it might yet be possible toblind me; but I refused to listen.

  "I only came here to learn if you were alive, and now that matter hasbeen settled, I count on leaving you. Don't be so foolish as to thinkyou can wiggle out of the scrape by lying, for when you made your talkwith the Britisher this pungy was on the other side of the river, herspars hidden by the trees. We heard nearly every word that wasspoken."

  "An' you're gettin' out of this part of the trouble mighty easy, ifAmos insists you shall be left alone," Jim added angrily. "If I had myway, all hands of us would take a turn at thumpin' you, an' then theaccount between us wouldn't be square."

  "Come on, Jim," I said impatiently. "It is doing no good to parleywith such as him. Leave the traitor to himself until the commodoredirects what shall be done."

  Elias called after us imploringly as we went out of the hold; but Ihad no desire to remain longer with the cur, and we put on the hatchin order that, if he did succeed in freeing himself of the bonds, hewould yet be imprisoned.

  On gaining the deck I looked around for Darius, but he was not to beseen, and Jerry, understanding for whom I searched, said:

  "The old man has gone ashore. He counts on lookin' around the mill, sothat we may know exactly how to get at work when the time comes."

  "At work?" I repeated in bewilderment. "What does he reckon on doingnow that we have caught the traitor?"

  "It is in his mind that we can make prisoners of all the boat's crew,an' if that could be done, we'd be takin' with us such as would insurea hearty welcome from the commodore."

  "We had better let well enough alone," I replied irritably. "IfCommodore Barney won't be pleased to see him when we offer our ownservices, the use of the pungy, and the biggest traitor in Maryland,then there's little reason to try to purchase his favor."

  "You've agreed that Darius should run this thing to suit himself, an'he's doin' it. I believe he's right, too! If there's a chance to takea few prisoners, it would be downright folly to let it slip."

  "And do you expect that we can capture at least half a dozenwell-armed Britishers?"

  "There are as many of us, when you come to figgerin' up the fightin'force, an' the advantage of takin' them by surprise will overbalancethe difference in weapons."

  It was useless to argue with Jerry, as I understood by his tone,therefore I turned away, saying to myself that by trying to bite offtoo big a piece in the way of taking prisoners, we might find thetables turned very suddenly to our disadvantage.

  Jim Freeman and his friends seemed to be of the same mind as Jerry,and I said nothing to them lest I be accused of faint-heartedness,when everything was apparently going our way.

  We waited in silence for the coming of Darius, allowing the Avenger toremain in the stream where some of the boys had anchored her while Iwas caring for the prisoner, and not until nearly midnight did the oldman put in an appearance.

  Jim Freeman was on the lookout well forward, and that he did his dutywell was shown by the fact that he came aft with the word that a canoewas drifting down the river while the craft was yet some distanceaway.

  Jerry and I, each with a musket, went forward to make certain thenewcomer was a friend rather than an enemy, and when we hailed softly,Darius replied with a low hissing sound which was familiar to us all.

  He made fast, came inboard, and entered the cuddy without speaking,therefore we followed, knowing full well that he had something ofimportance to impart.

  When we were all together, unable to see each other because of thedarkness, Darius said softly, in a tone of triumph:

  "I've found the Britishers, an' can put my hand on the whole gangwithout much trouble. There are but three men an' the officer, who, Ireckon, will be the only fellow to make much fuss when we get at work.Now I'm countin' that one of Jim's friends shall be left on board tolook out for the pungy, an' make certain the traitor don't kick up anyrow. Three of us will have a musket each, an' the other two can domighty good work with belayin' pins."

  "Where are the men?" Jerry asked.

  "In the loft of the mill. The officer is havin' a right sociable timewith Essek Harland, an' if the miller's bottle holds out, I reckonthem two won't be in shape to make much trouble. Jim is to say whichof his party shall stay aboard, an' the sooner the rest of us get towork the better, for I want to begin the scrimmage in a couple ofhours."

  It was evident that my opinion as to whether the attempt to capturethe Britishers should be made, was not to be asked, and yet I mustfollow where Darius led, or give my comrades good reason for callingme a coward--or worse.

  The old man settled it that he and Jerry should arm themselves withbelaying pins, and the two muskets he brought back from Benedict,together with our old fowling-piece, was distributed among the restof us.

  Jim Freeman named Dody Wardwell as the one to keep ship and look afterthe prisoner, and Darius instructed the watchman to be free with hisblows in case Elias tried to pick up a row.

  "If he undertakes to yip even once, give him a dose over the head thatwill put him to sleep, an' it won't be much harm if you kill such acur as he is. Keep your wits about you, lad, an' remember that theprisoner is the one who can make the most trouble."

  Then the old man saw to it that each of our weapons was loaded, afterwhich he led the way to the rail where the canoe was made fast.

  The little craft would not carry more than three, therefore two tripswere necessary in order to land us all, and when we stood on the bankDarius proposed that Jerry paddle the boat up to the mill.

  "Why do we want her there?" I asked, thinking he was providing for ameans of escape. "We couldn't all take passage in her, and in case weneed to get away in a hurry, it might be done
easier by striking intothe woods."

  "I'm not thinkin' how we can get her off, for if the plan fails towork there's little chance any of us will need the canoe," Darius saidgrimly, and I began to understand that he might be more of a fighterthan would suit me. "It may be we shall want to send some prisonersdown to keep Macomber company, an' then a small craft will come inhandy, for their boat is hauled up high an' dry among the bushes; sheis so heavy that it would be a long job to float her."

  Jerry was so impatient to be in the thick of danger that he hardlywaited for the old man to conclude his long-winded speech, and beforethe last word had hardly been spoken he was paddling up stream at arate which told that he would arrive at the rendezvous some time inadvance of us who were to walk.

  Neither was Darius willing to waste much time, and when Jerry was lostto view in the darkness he struck through the underbrush toward thehighway, leading the party, while I brought up the rear.

  It can well be fancied that we moved with the utmost caution, forpeople do not set out on such an enterprise as we were bent upon withany great blowing of horns, and although none of us were what might becalled woodsmen, I flatter myself that we did not bungle the job verybadly.

  Hardly more than a quarter-hour had passed when Darius left theunderbrush to cut across toward the river, and within five minutesmore we were halted near the southeast corner of the mill, not havingheard or seen anything of those whom we hoped to make prisoners.

  Jerry joined us almost immediately, having been on the lookout duringfive minutes or more, and he reported that there had been no signs oflife in the vicinity since his arrival.

  "We who carry the clubs will go ahead, an', if it so be possible, dothe biggest part of the work, for our weapons ain't the kind that makemuch of any noise," Darius whispered. "Jim Freeman will stand guard atthe door of the mill, but he is not to shoot unless it becomesnecessary to prevent the Britisher or the miller from takin' a hand inthe scrimmage, pervidin' there is one. Now follow me, lads, an'remember that we must get the three sailors under our thumbs, oncewe've started, no matter what turns up."

  We stole up to the big door on the northwest corner, the only entranceto the building, and, as I had expected, found it fastened on theinside. One would hardly have supposed that the Britishers in hidingwould neglect to make themselves as secure as possible.

  It appeared that Darius was not disappointed, for after pushing gentlyat the door, and motioning for Jim to stand in front of it, he led theway along the northerly side of the mill to a portion of theunder-pinning which had given way, disclosing an aperture throughwhich a mule might have been driven.

  "Keep close at my heels," he whispered, and then he plunged into thedarkness, we obeying his command to the letter, for a mis-step mightthrow us into the mill-race, which we could hear rippling close athand.

  One would have said that the old man had always lived in this place,so directly and swiftly did he go to the desired point, which was aportion of the flooring where was a trap-door, evidently used to dumpthe refuse, for suddenly we found ourselves climbing up a heap of whatappeared to be husks and cobs of corn.

  It was a simple task to gain entrance to the building in this manner,for Darius had only to force the trap-door up with his shoulder, andin a twinkling we were standing on the lower floor, near-by what Itook to be the hopper.

  Touching each of us in turn that we might be warned to follow closely,Darius led the way to the easterly end of the building, where hehalted at the foot of a flight of stairs.

  Now he marshaled his force according to the weapons. Jerry was behindhim; I came next, determined to use my musket as a club so long as itcould be done, rather than take the risk of killing a man, and in therear of me was Josiah Coburn, one of Jim Freeman's party.

  Now it must be understood that we could see nothing; the darkness wasso intense that one could almost feel it, and yet we proposed toblunder in upon enemies who would probably shoot without warning inthe direction of the slightest suspicious noise.

  It was not a cheerful adventure, and I hold myself well excused forbeing frightened, so that I followed the leader's orders implicitly tothe best of my ability.

  Just at this point, when we were trembling with suppressed excitement,and, as in my case, fear, Darius remembered that he had not unlockedthe outer door in order that Jim might hide within the building, andwe were forced to stand at the foot of the stairs while he groped hisway back to remedy the neglect.

  It seemed to me that we remained there hardly daring to breathe, afull half-hour, although I suppose now that it was no more than fiveminutes, and then our leader was returned.

  Pushing his way to the head of the line once more, we began the ascentof the stairs, each fellow stepping cautiously; but despite all ourefforts each board sent forth loud protesting creaks as we bore ourweight upon it, and the only wonder was that the Britishers did notawaken sooner.

  The noise we made in ascending the stairs seemed to me loud enough toalarm the inmates of the house near at hand, and, therefore, I wasneither startled nor surprised when some person at one end of thesecond floor, cried out:

  "Who is there? What's the row?"

  "Can't you give your shipmates the same show for a watch below thatyou've got?" Darius asked with a regular deep-sea note in his voice,and this it was that gave us a slight advantage, since the men did notopen fire.

  "How did you get here?" the same voice asked, and again the old mananswered as if speaking to shipmates:

  "The bloomin' swab that piloted you here, gave us the course. Whereare you?"

  "Over here," and the voice came from the westerly end of the building,thus showing that we must walk the entire length of the mill beforecoming upon our adversaries. "What ship are you from?"

  My heart stood still as this question was asked, for I knew only toowell that Darius was wholly ignorant as to what British vessels hadentered the bay; but the old sailor never hesitated, as he replied:

  "What other than the flag-ship, you lubber?"

  "No, I'll be burned if you are!" the man cried loudly, and I heard himspring to his feet. "She's in the Potomac river long before this!Rouse up, my bullies, an' let's have a look at these beach-combers."

  During this brief conversation we had been advancing swiftly in thedirection from which the sailor's voice could be heard, and when hiscomrades were ready to receive us, we could not have been a dozenpaces distant from the three.

  I felt, rather than saw, that Darius sprang forward; there was a dullthud, a groan, and a cry from one of the other Britishers which toldthat the battle was on, but the number of active enemies had beenreduced by one, for there could be no question but that Darius had puthis man out of the fight for some time to come.

  I ran forward with my companions; but it was impossible to use themusket, even had I been eager to shoot, because of the darkness, andas I swung the weapon from side to side, striving to feel my way, someone clutched me by the throat.

  "Here's one of 'em!" I managed to scream before the fellow's fingersshut off my wind, and then I had my hands full trying to save my ownlife.

  I managed to hit my adversary two or three solid blows which weakenedhis hold somewhat, otherwise I would have been strangled in shortorder, and then I fought as I never did before, but sadly at adisadvantage, as can be imagined.

  How long we swayed to and fro, I striving to reach the enemy's facewith my fists, and he trying to strengthen his hold on my throat, Iknow not; but certain it is that I held him in fairly good play fiveminutes or more before the report of Jim Freeman's musket told thatthe Britishers were about to receive reinforcements.

  Even as I fought with my adversary I understood that the Englishofficer, and, probably, the miller, aroused by the noise of thescrimmage, were coming to the rescue, and the thought flashed throughmy mind that in a few moments more the battle would be decided infavor of his majesty's forces.

  Just at that moment a heavy body pushed past me; I heard thatsickening sound which tells that
a living object has been struck apowerful blow, and instantly the hands relaxed their grasp on mythroat.

  "That makes the third one; we've got the upper hands of all up here,an' you lads are to make the Britishers fast the best you can in thedarkness, while I 'tend to the visitors."

  It was Darius who spoke, and when this had been said I understood thathe was running toward the stairway.

  Now it was possible to see faint gleams of light coming through thecracks of the floor, and I realized that the newcomers had with them alantern.

  The report of Jim's musket had been followed by the discharge of apistol, and I heard the lad running across the floor at full speed.

  I did not have sense enough to obey the old man's command in regard tothe prisoners; but stood there like a simple, staring at the movingrays of light, and wondering how long it would take the Britishofficer to shoot us all down.

  Then, to my great surprise, I heard a voice from the head of thestairs, on the floor where we were, cry loudly:

  "This way, sir! We've got the best of two bloomin' Yankees, an' theother is sneakin' in some corner!"

  There came the sound of hurried footsteps, and then the light of thelantern so far illumined the head of the stairway that I could seeDarius, lying at full length on the floor, within a few inches of theopening.

  Just for one second I stood as if stupefied, and then I understoodwhat the old man would do.

  The British officer ascended swiftly; but before his head was fairlyabove the top of the stairs Darius stretched out his long arm, seizingthe gentleman by the throat even as my adversary had seized me.

  Now I had my wits about me; running forward swiftly I caught thelantern before the officer could let go his grasp on it, and thus madeit possible to have a view of what was going on.

  Darius hauled his captive up, much as if he had been a bale ofmerchandise, and as he was dragged to the floor I saw one whom Ibelieved to be the miller, directly behind him, within three steps ofthe top of the stairs.

  With the lantern in my left hand, I thrust forward the barrel of mymusket full in his face, as I said sharply:

  "Throw down that gun, or I'll fire!"

  With the lantern in my left hand, I thrust forward thebarrel of my musket full in the face of the miller. Page 72.]

  The man was armed in much the same fashion as was I; but he had littlestomach for fighting, as could be seen when he dropped the weaponimmediately I spoke, and when it fell clattering to the floor below,Jim Freeman came into view from behind a pile of bags.

  "Can you look after the miller, Jim?" I cried, and the lad replied ashe came bounding up the stairs:

  "Ay, let him go, an' I'll blow the whole top of his head off if hedares to look crosswise!"

  I knew Jim's musket must be empty, since he had not had time torecharge it after firing that which served as an alarm; but I took thechances of the fact being discovered, and turned with the lantern heldhigh above my head to view the scene.

  Near at hand Darius was kneeling on the British officer's chest,industriously engaged in strapping the latter's arms to his body withthe prisoner's waist-belt.

  In the distance Jerry and Josiah knelt beside a form which wasstretched out frightfully limp, as if life had departed; but Iobserved that they were securing the man's hands and feet withportions of his trousers.

  Beyond them a short distance was a second Britisher, tied tightly withwhat appeared to be strips torn from his own clothing, and midwaybetween them and Darius, was a third body, evidently that of the manwho had attacked me; but he remained motionless, and, having heard theblow which struck him down, I could well understand why he did notgive any very violent signs of life.

  It did not appear that I was needed elsewhere, therefore I turned myattention to the miller, who was standing like a statue, not daring tolift a finger lest Jim should "blow off the top of his head."

  "Come here," I said to him. "Come here while my friend trusses you upin proper fashion. What can you find there to tie him with, Jim?"

  "Plenty," Jim cried gleefully as he picked up from the floor a coupleof bags and began cutting them into strips. "Here's enough an' tospare, of what is better than rope."

  The venture had come to a most successful end, providing there were noothers in the vicinity whose love for the British would prompt them tointerfere, and I was amazed, even amid the excitement of victory, thatwe had come off ahead when it seemed certain the enemy could overcomeus easily.

  Darius, having bound his captive, stood up facing me, and from theexpression on his face one never would have supposed that he had justcome unscratched out of as lively a tussle as I ever took part in. Itwas as if he had been stowing oysters in the hold of the Avenger, andwas stretching his back before going at it again.

  "You've done a big thing," I said, holding out my hand to congratulatehim. "To you belongs all the credit of having taken these prisoners,and when we meet Commodore Barney I shall insist that he hears thewhole story, for I doubt if every old sailor has head enough to putsuch a venture through in good shape."

  It could readily be seen that the old man was pleased by the praise;but he made as if it was of no consequence.

  "You lads have done your full share, an' if any credit is to be givenit goes to the whole crowd."

  "Not a bit of it!" Jerry cried, looking up from his task of bindingthe sailor with whom I had fought. "It's as Amos says; but for youthis never would have been done, an' it won't be my fault if all themen of the fleet don't hear of it."

  "We're not out of the woods yet," Darius said, as though he wouldchange the subject. "If I'd had half the head you give me credit for,we'd run the pungy up here, instead of leavin' her a mile away."

  "Josiah can go after her," I suggested, "and by the time we're readyto put our prisoners aboard she should be here."

  This proposition suited the old man, and Jim's friend left thebuilding at full speed, while I asked Darius to make certain themiller was trussed up in proper fashion.

  "What'er you goin' to do with me?" Essek Harland cried with a whine."I ain't to be blamed for what's been done this night! How can I helpit if a crowd of Britishers take possession of my mill?"

  "Talk that over with Elias Macomber; he's aboard the pungy," Dariusreplied in a matter-of-fact tone as he proceeded to bind the man withstrips of bags provided by Jim.