"We've got to steer a roundabout course," he said, "an' I reckon it'll be plain sailin' from now till dark. Stay where you are, lads, an' don't so much as poke your nose out till half-after-nine."
"How shall we be able to tell the time?" I asked, rather for the sake of saying something, than because I wanted information.
"You will hear the sentinels at the encampment often enough to give you a fair idee. Get there as near as possible to the hour set, an' you'll find me close at hand."
Then he went out, my father leaning heavily on his arm, and Jerry and I faced each other in the gloom, heeding not the fact that we had had nothing to eat during nearly eight and forty hours, save the chips of ham and the unsavory mess prepared by Jim; thinking only of what we were to do, and the many chances against success.
It was Jerry who broke a long silence by saying with an attempt at cheerfulness:
"I don't know of any reason why we should moon 'round here like a couple of chumps. It won't help matters any, an' surely it don't improve my courage."
Then I forced myself to take part in conversation, speaking of this or that trouble or adventure in the past; but never once of what might be before us in the future, and thus the time passed until we believed we were warranted in setting forth.
With all due regard to prudence, we went by the most direct course to the "stone house," never seeing a Britisher on our way, and it must have been at least a quarter-hour before the time set, when we were come to where it was possible to have a good view of the roof of the jail.
The night was dark, with heavy, ominous looking clouds hanging low in the sky; but yet we could have distinguished the form of a man on the top of the building.
We were half hidden by the clump of bushes in the garden of the dwelling where I had been screened from view of Elias Macomber, when we saw a man approaching leisurely, and looking from side to side in search of some one.
I recognized Captain Hanaford, and stepped out to meet him, asking how he and father had managed to get along.
"He pulled through all right, lad, an' was lyin' in my bunk happy as a cricket when I left."
"But you've forgotten the rope!" I exclaimed, and the captain opened his coat to show me the line wound around his waist in such a fashion that one might have come close upon him without suspecting that he carried anything.
He stepped behind the bush to unwind it, and while he was thus engaged I distinctly saw the form of a man emerge from the scuttle-hatch on the roof of the jail.
"They're coming out!" I whispered excitedly, and then glanced hurriedly around to learn where the sentries were stationed.
To my surprise I could not see a single person, save the soldier who appeared at the corner once in every two or three minutes as he paced his beat at the end of the building. It seemed extraordinary that there should be no others in sight; but such was the fact, and surely we had no reason to complain because the enemy was careless.
A few hours later I understood the reason for this seeming neglect of the prisoners.
My comrades were ready for the work on hand immediately I gave the alarm, and swiftly the three of us crossed over, I wondering if it would be possible for us to throw the rope to the roof where the sailors could catch it.
As soon as the line was made fast a man slipped down quickly followed by another. P. 335.As soon as the line was made fast a man slipped down quickly followed by another. P. 335.
As we neared the building I saw that Darius had already made arrangements for getting one end of the rope into his possession.
A bit of cloth was swinging to and fro at the corner of the jail when I arrived, and taking hold of it curiously, I saw that it was made fast to a string formed of two or three strands of yarn.
The old sailor had unraveled their socks in order to procure that which would enable them to haul up the rope.
There was no need of word or signal. Captain Hanaford made fast one end of the half-inch manilla, gave the yarn-twine a jerk in token that all was ready, and then we payed out on the rope to make certain it went up without kinks.
In less than three minutes a man slipped down the line at a rate of speed that must have heated his hands in great shape, and he was hardly more than on the ground before the second prisoner followed.
We had effected the escape, and it now remained to get under cover in the shortest possible space of time.
"It won't do to run; but you can keep close at my heels," the captain said as he set off at a walk which fully equaled running, and we followed very closely, I literally holding my breath as I tried to realize that the task which had seemed so formidable a few moments previous, had been accomplished with the greatest ease.
There is little need for me to set it down that we neither slackened pace nor halted until we were in the cuddy of the pungy.
Not a member of our party spoke until we descended the companion-way stairs, and faced the lads and my father, who had lighted a candle as a sort of welcome, and then Darius exclaimed:
"Well I'm blowed if you don't look kind'er cozy here! Who'd think this crowd had been hob-nobbin' with the Britishers for the last two or three days? Bob Hanaford, where did the lads run afoul of you, an' why didn't you get your pungy down river before the enemy's fleet came up?"
There was a deal of handshaking and congratulations before we settled down to anything like rational talk, and then Jerry and I told how we found the captain, and what had happened since Darius left the smoke-house.
Then it was the old man's turn to give an account of his misadventures, and this he did afterrefreshing himself with an enormous piece of tobacco.
"I went out, leavin' you people in hidin', with the idee that if many shops were to be robbed by the soldiers I might get somethin' to eat out'er the general wreck. First off nothin' came my way, an' then I ran square across a basket of ship's bread. Thinks I, this is good enough for one trip, an' I gathered the stuff under my arm, puttin' for the smoke-house under full sail without bein' noticed by the red-coats, who were havin' too lively a time to give me much attention. As luck would have it, the thought never came into my mind that I had need to look for anybody but Britishers, an' before I was halfway to port I struck up agin that sneak, Elias Macomber.
"Then it was I understood that the red-coats wasn't the only snags in the road, an' I gave him one clip on the jaw that I counted would knock him down an' out; but my calkerlations was wrong. Instead of topplin' over as a decent man would have done after gettin' the full weight of my fist, he began to screech an' yell fit to raise the dead. My legs moved mighty lively jest then, for a blind man could have seen what might happen; but the Britishers had me foul before I'd more'n got well started. No less than six grappled me, an' I hauled down my flag, 'cause there wasn't any sense in makin' a bad matter worse.
"Them soldiers must have had orders in advance to lug any prisoners they might take, to the shanty back of the arsenal, for they steered a straight course for the place without stoppin' to ask any man's advice, an' what chafed me more'n everythin' else was that rat of a Macomber, close at my heels, as he told what he would do now that his friends had taken possession of the country. I contrived to give him one kick on the shins which I'll guarantee he remembers this minute, an' then he kept well back in the rear. That's the end of the yarn, lads."
"But where did you meet Bill?" I asked.
"In the jail. He was brought up with a sharp turn durin' the retreat, bein' so stuffy that he kept well in the rear, instead of pushin' ahead as he might have done."
"Did Macomber succeed in getting into the prison?"
"He wasn't inside, an' that's a fact; but he stood at the window, an' kept shoutin' all kinds of threats till one of the sentries drove him away, havin' had too much of his yip."
"You saw me quickly enough."
"Well, you see, lad, I had my eye on the window, countin' to throw my shoe through the glass when he showed his ugly face again, hopin' that he'd get cut a bit, an', besides, I somehow had it in my head that you an' Jerry would flash up sooner or later."
"But how did you contrive to come at the scuttle?" Captain Hanaford asked.
"That was plain sailin'. Bill was one of the first put into the place, an' knowin' he'd take a trip to the yard-arm when the Britishers found out who he was, he naturally took advantage of the chance to snoop 'round a bit. We had the run of the whole buildin', seein's there wasn't many of us, an' when he went in the prisoners didn't number more'n twenty. He found a key in the door that led up to the attic, which seemed to be a sort of store-room, an', thinkin' it might come in handy if the others didn't know the lay of the land, he locked the bloomin' place, havin' done so without bein' seen. When I came he didn't know anythin' about the scuttle; but we figgered that if there wasn't one, we could get up stairs an' pull bricks enough out of the chimney to give us a hole. There wasn't any need of doin' that, however, 'cause we found the hatch bolted on the inside, an' the rest was easy. The only thing about the whole business which bothers me is, why the Britishers didn't have a good look around before turnin' the buildin' into a jail."
"The drubbin' they got at Bladensburg, even though they did win the battle, confused them," my father said with a chuckle of satisfaction.
"It strikes me that we'd better get the pungy under way mighty soon," Captain Hanaford interrupted. "It can't be a great while beforesome of the crowd sees the rope we left danglin' from the chimney, an' then you may set it down as a fact that this city will be searched in a way that won't be comfortable for us."
"But where'll you go, Bob?" Bill Jepson asked. "The British fleet is in the river, an' to sail up stream strikes me as bein' dangerous, for they can send light boats after us, an' this draft won't make much fist of runnin' away from them in such a breeze as you've got now."
"I had an idee the wind was gettin' up," the oysterman said as he opened the hatch a few inches, and at that instant a gust swept into the cuddy bringing with it a full pail of water.
"A good, nice little thunder squall," the captain said in a tone of content, "an' if it comes from the right quarter, we're in luck."
Darius was on deck in a twinkling, and I followed him, hoping that we might be able to leave our mooring, for at such a time it would not be a very difficult matter to get so far up stream as to baffle pursuit.
At the moment, however, it seemed as if our good fortune had deserted us. The wind was drawing down the river with a force that shut off all hope of sending the pungy against it, and the rain came in such torrents that the deck was awash in short order.
"It's a case of stayin' where we are, or takin' the chances of runnin' down river when youcouldn't see a nigger under your nose," Darius said as he and I re-entered the cabin wet to the skin, although we had not been exposed to the fury of the tempest above two minutes. "I'm willin' to run a good many risks; but puttin' this pungy under sail, with half a dozen frigates somewhere on the course, is a little too steep for me."
Captain Hanaford was exceeding anxious to be under way; but he understood that nothing could be done while the storm raged with such fury, and we sat in the darkness, discussing what might be done when the morning came.
It was finally decided that we would take all the risk of going down stream as soon as the tempest abated, for there were many creeks along the shore where we might run under cover to avoid the fleet, or, if the worst came, we could go on shore, abandoning the pungy.
In order that Captain Hanaford might be willing to take the chances of losing his vessel, I showed him the guarantee we had received from Commodore Barney, and promised that when we got the money from the government he should share equally with us.
"I'm ready to do whatsoever is agreed upon without askin' you lads to pay for my pungy in case I lose her," he said stoutly. "There ain't any certainty I'd been able to keep her if you hadn't come aboard, for if the Britishers will burn nigh on to a whole city, they won't stop ata few oyster-boats, if there's any fun to be had in settin' 'em afire. I don't jest hanker, though, to fool around with a lot of frigates, an' that's a fact."
"We won't fool with 'em," Darius said decidedly. "It stands to reason they must be below Fort Washington, else we'd heard the firin' when they tried to come past. Now 'twixt here an' there we should find a creek where a pungy like this could be hidden."
"I know of a place about eight miles from here," the captain said thoughtfully, and Bill Jepson cried cheerfully:
"Then that settles the whole business. We'll get under way when this 'ere squall is over, and before daylight be where we can keep out of sight till the fleet comes up. Once they're this side of us we shall be in clear water."
But Bill was not calculating on the force of the "squall." I have seen a good many summer storms; but never one to equal that on the night of August twenty-fifth, in the year of grace 1814.
We could hear now and then ashore, even amid the howling of the wind and the crashing thunder the rending of wood as houses were unroofed, and from the terrible uproar which came later we believed the trees growing near where we lay were being torn up by the roots, as was really found to be the case when morning dawned.
The pungy rocked to and fro as if in the open bay, straining at her hawsers until it became necessary to pass extra ones, otherwise she would have been swept from her moorings.
Those of us who went on deck to do this work were wetted in an instant as if we had jumped overboard, and at times it became necessary to hold fast by the rail, otherwise we would have been literally blown into the river.
There was no possibility of getting under way that night, and all hands kept watch in the cuddy until day broke, when, and not until then, did the storm abate.
The wind had aided the Britishers in working havoc. From the deck of the pungy I saw no less than four houses, the roofs of which had been torn off, and one negro shanty was in ruins. As far as we could see the trees were uprooted, and the river ran so full of wreckage that I wondered we had not been swamped off hand.
"We'll stay here a few hours longer, I reckon," Darius said to me as he pointed toward the fragments of buildings and trees with which the river seemed literally to be choked. "If this pungy struck fair on somethin' like that yonder, she'd founder for a fact."
The veriest landsman who ever lived would have understood that it was folly to think of getting under way just then, and my heart grew heavy as lead in my breast, for I firmly believedthat before another hour had passed the enemy would be out searching for the prisoners who had escaped, in which case all hands of us stood a good chance of seeing the interior of that "stone house."
As we stood on deck, regardless of the possibility that some of the enemy might come that way, a man ran down the street toward the water's edge, waving his arms about and otherwise acting as if nearly beside himself with joy or grief.
"What is the matter, friend?" Captain Hanaford cried at the full strength of his lungs, and the man made quite a lengthy reply; but all we could hear of it was this one exclamation:
"The British!"
"Are they comin' this way?" the captain demanded, screaming until his face was crimson, and Bill Jepson suddenly dropped out of sight through the companion-way.
"They've gone!" the man replied, and we could now hear his words more distinctly because he was coming nearer each instant.
"Gone where?" Captain Hanaford cried impatiently. "Can't you tell us what has happened?"
"The British have cleared out bag an' baggage—went durin' the storm!"
"What?" Darius screamed, and we looked at each other incredulously, for surely it couldnot be possible that the enemy had evacuated the city so soon.
"Come on board an' tell us what you know!" Captain Hanaford cried. "It is of the greatest importance for us to learn exactly the situation of affairs."
The stranger did not accept the invitation to come on board; but he halted within easy speaking distance and thus told the story, which seemed incredible:
"Last night the people livin' near the encampment were warned, on pain of death, to remain within doors from sunset till sunrise. Those who were curious enough to look out of the windows saw that the camp fires had been increased, an' supposed reinforcements were comin' in; but this mornin' neither hide nor hair is to be seen of the red-coats, an' a planter comin' in from nearabout Long Old Fields, reports that the soldiers are marchin' in the direction of Nottingham. An' that ain't all, for the troops that stayed at Bladensburg after the battle, are on the way to Upper Marlboro, 'cordin to the report of an old darkey who came into town not half an hour ago."
Having thus unfolded his budget of news, the man hurried on to spread the glad tidings, leaving us who were aboard the pungy in a state of mingled bewilderment and joy.
"I can't understand it," Darius said after abrief pause, during which we had looked at each other questioningly. "I'm goin' to take the chances of findin' out for myself."
The old man went over the rail as he spoke, and I would have followed, but that he said sharply:
"Stay where you are, lad. We ain't dead certain 'bout that yarn, an' if it's a case of gettin' into trouble, it better be one than two who pays for nosin' 'round a British camp."
Captain Hanaford felt certain the news must be correct, for our informant had the appearance of being an honest man, and nothing could have been gained by spreading such a story.
"We'll cook the best breakfast to be had, by way of rejoicin'," he said, "an' after that's been done all hands shall come into a council of war, to decide if we're to make the venture down the river."
"If the enemy has really evacuated the city, it is reasonable to suppose that the fleet will go back down the bay," I said, thinking myself very wise in such matters. "It strikes me that the way home lies open before us."
My companions were of the same opinion, and a very merry party we were on the oyster pungy that morning as we tried in vain to guess why the enemy had left so suddenly, when there seemed to be nothing to prevent him from taking possession of all the country round about.
Before the feast was ready to be eaten Darius returned, and a single glance at his face was sufficient to show that the good news was true.
"They've gone, an' there's no mistake about it," he announced, as he sprang over the rail lightly as any boy. "I went to the place where the troops were encamped, before bein' willin' to believe they'd turned tail so suddenly. Now I'd like to know if that very friendly gentleman Elias Macomber, has been left behind, or if he followed the force? If he's in this city I could make it mighty interestin' for him."
"Never mind the sneak, Darius!" my father cried. "There is no need for you to punish him, because if the British go away he'll find it very uncomfortable around here, and that's enough to serve the cur out for all he has done."
Darius did not appear to think that Macomber's misdeeds could be atoned so easily; but he kept his opinion to himself, and joined us in what was at the same time a feast of rejoicing and thanksgiving.
Not until the meal was come to an end did we begin the discussion as to how we should get home, and then Captain Hanaford opened the question by asking:
"Now, lads, are we to run up stream into the mud, or take our chances of findin' the British fleet 'twixt here an' the bay?"
Darius immediately proposed that we strikeout for the Chesapeake, using the same argument I had, that since the retreat of the soldiers there was little chance the vessels would make any effort at running past Fort Washington.
Bill Jepson, who could not be blamed for feeling a bit nervous at going any nearer a British vessel of war than was absolutely necessary, believed that it would be safer for us to go back to Benedict by land, keeping at a respectful distance in the rear of the enemy; but his plan was not considered, because it would be impossible for my father to travel on foot, and I, at least, was not disposed to part company with him.
We spent a full hour discussing the situation, and then it had been decided that we would run boldly down the river, nearly all of us feeling confident that there were no longer any British vessels to block our way.
There was nothing to delay us in making the start as soon as the river should be clear of the tokens sent by the storm, except Darius' desire to make systematic search for Elias Macomber; but to this all of us objected so strongly that, much against his will, he was forced to give over the idea.
For my part I had seen enough of the British-lover; we had captured him twice, which was our full share of such business, and if we did spend time hunting him down, providing heyet remained in the city, what could we do with the villain? He had forfeited all rights of citizenship in our section of the country, and I had no doubt that wherever he went his sins would find him out. It was better we leave him alone, from whatever standpoint I viewed it.
Captain Hanaford decided that the river would be clear of drift by morning, therefore we were agreed to set sail then, and, as a means of passing the time pleasantly, we lads went over to the "stone house" to see how the old shell-backs managed to escape so readily.
We found the building open and abandoned. The enemy had taken the prisoners away, and we were not hindered in going over it thoroughly.
When that inspection was ended, we viewed the ruins in the different parts of the city, paid a visit to the smoke-house, and returned to the pungy late in the afternoon, well satisfied to bring our visit to the capital to the earliest possible close.
On that evening Captain Hanaford brought aboard a surgeon, who cared for my father's wound, and, what was better, declared that he saw no reason why it should not heal speedily, leaving him none the worse for having received it.
We were eager to be under way, as may be supposed, and as soon as the day dawned on the 27th of August, we cast off from the dock, feeling that the good God had been very kind in permitting us to return to our homes when so many had been left at Bladensburg to fill soldiers' graves.
It was as if everything favored us at the start of the homeward journey. The river was free from the drift of all kinds which had covered its surface; the wind was blowing gently from the north, and the day gave promise of being clear.
The pungy slipped along as if conscious that she, like ourselves, had escaped from great dangers, and was longing for another cargo of oysters in her hold.
Bill Jepson acted as if he had suddenly lost his senses. He sang the wildest kind of songs, danced two or three hornpipes, and then insisted on Darius joining him, while Jim Freeman furnished the music by whistling fast and furiously. As a matter of fact, all of us, even including my father, were disposed to be exceeding jolly now that we were homeward bound with the belief that the enemy was no longer in a position to annoy us.
We lads talked of the pungy we would buy when the government paid us for the Avenger, and laid many a plan for the future when Jim, his two friends, Jerry, Darius and I would begin oystering again, in a craft capable of carrying three or four times the cargo we had been ableto squeeze into the old boat which had been sacrificed at Pig Point.
Then, when it was near noon, we had come within sight of Fort Washington, and as we rounded the bend Captain Hanaford gave vent to an exclamation of surprise and fear, which was echoed by Bill Jepson.
At some considerable distance down the river it was possible to see the upper spars of seven vessels of war which were slowly approaching the fortification from the southward.
"It's the British fleet!" Captain Hanaford cried as he shoved the tiller hard down, thereby swinging the pungy's nose into the mud of the eastern bank. "We were bloomin' fools to think that the enemy had all run away!"
"It's the fleet under Captain Gordon, an' I can tell you just how strong it is," Bill Jepson said as he rubbed his head nervously. "There are two frigates of thirty-six an' thirty-eight guns; two rocket ships of eighteen guns each, two bomb vessels of eight guns each, an' one schooner carryin' two guns."
"The schooner would be enough to bring us up with a sharp turn, therefore I hold that it don't make any difference how many frigates are behind her," Darius cried. "The question is whether the fort can prevent their comin' up the river?"
No one aboard could say what might be doneby those in the fortification, or how strongly it was garrisoned; but later I read the following in one of the newspapers, and will set it down here so that what happened while we were on the river may be the better understood.
"The only obstruction to the passage of the fleet on which the Americans might place the least reliance, was Fort Washington, on the Maryland side of the Potomac, about twelve miles below the national capital. It was a feeble fortress, but capable of being made strong. So early as May 1813, a deputation from Alexandria, Georgetown and Washington waited upon the Secretary of War, and represented the importance of strengthening the post.
"An engineer was sent to examine it. He reported in favor of additional works in the rear, while he believed that the armament of the fort, and its elevated situation, would enable a well-managed garrison to repulse any number of ships of war which might attempt to pass up the river. Nothing more was done.
"In July, 1814, when a British fleet and army were in the Chesapeake, the authorities of Alexandria again called the attention of the Secretary of War to the feeble condition of Fort Washington. The secretary did not believe the enemy would push for the capital, and nothing was done. The Alexandrians appealed to General Winder, who recommended the strengthening of the post. Three of the banks in Alexandria offered to loan the government fifty thousand dollars for the construction of more defences for the District. The money was accepted, but nothing was done to Fort Washington. When the battle of Bladensburg occurred, and the seat of government was left to the mercy of the invaders, Fort Washington was as feebly armed as ever, and its garrison consisted of only about eighty men, under Captain Samuel T. Dyson."
As I have said, Captain Hanaford shoved his tiller hard over, throwing the pungy around until her nose struck the mud, and it was a question of getting her off the bank in the shortest possible space of time, unless we were minded to lay there when the action began, for none of us doubted but that an engagement was close at hand.
"It's a case of runnin' back up the river," Bill Jepson said nervously, "An' the sooner we get about it the better."
Darius was not of the same opinion, as was shown when he said, after waiting a moment to learn if any other had an opinion to express:
"I'm willin' to agree that we're bound to put back a bit, so's to be out of the way when the iron begins to fly; but I don't hold that we should run very far off until findin' out how things are goin' to turn."
"You might settle that question after the pungy is afloat," my father said grimly. "Justat present we're in a bad place if there's to be any firing done, and when we're off the mud you'll have plenty of time in which to discuss the situation."
"That's about the size of it," Captain Hanaford added emphatically, and then he ordered us lads into the small boat that we might pull the pungy's bow around.
Any one who has ever run an oysterman such as we have in the Chesapeake, knows that when a craft of that build takes ground ever so lightly, it is not a simple matter to float her, especially when there's no cargo that can be shifted to bring the stern down and the bow up.
We lads worked our prettiest with the paddles after making fast to the vessel's nose, and, finding that we were making no headway, the three able-bodied men began pushing with poles which are kept aboard for such purpose, until she slid slowly into deeper water.
Then it was a case of clawing away from the fort, which was not easy, since the wind that had brought us down so finely, now blew directly in our teeth, and the pungy was a master-hand for sliding off when you tried to tack.
As a matter of course it was necessary to stand over toward the opposite shore, which was not a pleasant piece of business since it carried us within view of the enemy; but we had no choice in the matter.
"If we get back as far as Alexandria by sunset we'll be doin' mighty well, unless you bring her around an' try to slide up," Bill Jepson said grumblingly; but she did not make any better headway because of his being disgruntled.
"We'll have to take things as they are, matey," Darius said grimly. "If the old hooker won't carry us out of harm's way, we can take to the shore at any time, which is a bit of consolation you'd better keep pasted in your hat."
"This breeze will fine down within an hour," Captain Hanaford said as if speaking to himself, "an' then it'll be a case of anchorin', no matter where we——"
He did not finish the remark, for at that moment it was as if the earth and sky had come together with one deafening crash; then followed three or four reports like unto peals of thunder near at hand, and those of us who chanced to be looking astern, saw the fort actually leap into the air, while from the mass of earth and stone came a shower of fragments such as literally obscured the light of the sun for an instant, after which it fell upon us with a crash that caused the pungy to rock to and fro like an egg-shell.
While one might have counted fifty I stood dazed, unable to understand what had happened, and bleeding from a dozen scratches caused by the fall of fragments which absolutely coveredthe deck of the pungy to a depth of two or three inches. Then I understood that the fort had been blown up, Captain Dyson believing he could not hope, with the small force under his command, to withstand an assault from the fleet.
As we afterward came to know, his instructions from the War Department were to the effect that he should destroy the fortification rather than take the chances of its being captured by the enemy; but what seemed strange to me then, and does now, was the fact that he had not fired a single gun in defiance. Surely he might have discharged his pieces once, in the hope of doing a little damage, before setting a match to the magazine.
Of all our party in the pungy, not one escaped more or less severe bruises or scratches, and the wonder is that the vessel was not sent to the bottom off hand.
However, we were yet afloat, and the river was open for the passage of the Britishers, therefore it may be understood that we could not afford to spend many minutes in speculations upon what might or might not have been done.
Within three minutes from the time of the explosion, Darius and Bill Jepson were in the small boat making fast to the bow of the pungy, and when Captain Hanaford shouted to ask what they counted on doing, the old sailor replied:
"There's a creek half a mile further up stream,an' if you can get any headway on this apple-bowed lugger, we may be able to hide before the Britishers come in sight."
It was absolutely certain that we could not hope to escape by sailing, because any four-oared boat in the British fleet would have overtaken us in a twinkling, therefore, unless it might be possible to hide, we were in a bad scrape, from which I saw no relief save at the expense of abandoning the pungy.
How we worked to push the vessel through the water! Darius and Bill plied the paddles with every ounce of strength in their bodies, while we on deck trimmed the sails to a nicety, shifted everything movable to bring her into better trim for sailing, and even swung the two long sweeps outboard.
We five lads manned the enormous oars with which the pungy was provided to help her around, or when she drifted too near inshore, and I dare venture to say that we did quite as much toward forcing the craft ahead as the two old shell-backs did by towing.
Fortunately for us, the Britishers did not appear to think it necessary to move up the river swiftly, knowing full well that all the towns above were at their mercy whenever they arrived; but the fleet hove to off the ruins of the fortification while some of the officers landed to ascertain the amount of damage done. It wasthis last which gave us the opportunity of which we stood so sorely in need, otherwise we were taken prisoners beyond a peradventure.
By dint of pulling and paddling we contrived to get the pungy into the creek of which Darius had spoken, before the enemy came in sight again, and then it was a case of hauling her so far inland that she would be hidden from view by the foliage.
It can well be supposed that we did not waste any time at this last work; the perspiration was running down our faces in tiny streams when the craft was finally as far up the narrow water-way as she could be taken, and then all hands were so exhausted that we threw ourselves on the deck to regain breath and strength.
All the while that we had been in strenuous flight my father stood at the helm, thus giving Captain Hanaford the chance to aid us, otherwise the task would not have been accomplished so quickly.
But even when we were thus snug, unless, perchance, the Britishers took it into their heads to search the river banks, our work was by no means done.
It was now necessary that we should know if the enemy went up stream, and after we had rested no more than five minutes, when a full hour would have been hardly enough to put me in proper trim again, Darius said:
"Come, Amos, you an' I will stand the first watch. Bill an' Jerry can spell us in a couple of hours."
"What do you count on watching?" I asked curtly.
"The Britishers, of course. We'll paddle down to the river, an' lay there till the fleet goes one way or the other."
It would have been a long watch had we remained on duty until the entire fleet sailed in one direction; but as to that we were happily ignorant, and I took my place in the canoe believing the enemy would sail past our hiding place in a very short time.
We allowed the canoe to drift down the creek until we were come within a few yards of the river, and then, well hidden by the undergrowth, we made ourselves as comfortable as possible where we could command a full view of the channel.
"It doesn't appear to be as easy to get back home as we counted on," I said, by way of starting a conversation, and Darius replied confidently:
"This 'ere stop won't put us back very much, though it'll make a power of extra work, for I count to be slippin' down river within a couple of hours at the longest."
Then the old man fell silent, and I was not disposed to wag my tongue, because of lookingahead to the meeting with mother and the children, which now seemed so near at hand.
We had been on watch an hour or more when the enemy appeared. The schooner was leading the way slowly, being towed by boats, with the men taking soundings every fifteen or twenty yards in order to show the channel to the two frigates close astern, and another hour went by before the three vessels had passed our hiding-place.
Then we watched eagerly, expecting to see the rocket-ships and bomb-vessels appear; but they did not heave in sight, although it seemed to me as if they should have been close behind the larger ships in order to take advantage of the labor being performed by those on board the schooner.
When half an hour had passed, and the river, so far as we could see in either direction, was free from craft of any kind, Darius bestowed a resounding slap upon his leg as he cried angrily:
"What an old fool I am, to be sure! In two years more, if I keep on runnin' down hill, I won't be able to tell my own nose from somebody's else, even when it's pulled."
"What's the matter now?" I asked in surprise.
"What's the matter, lad? Can't you see that only part of the fleet is goin' up stream? If the other ships counted on leavin' anchorage they'd been in the wake of the frigates. We'reshut in here between two ends of the British force, an' likely to stay quite a spell."
There could be no question but that he was right, and I sat staring at him like a stupid, the dreams in which I had been indulging disappearing like mist before the morning sun. Of a verity mother and the children were further from me than when we had crouched in the smoke-house at Washington with General Ross' army close at hand.
"Whatcanwe do?" I asked at length.
"That's a question easier asked than answered," the old man replied as if he had come to an end of his ideas. "While your father is wounded beyond the power of walkin', we're anchored to the pungy, so to speak."
"What would you do if he was in good shape?"
"It couldn't be such a terrible tough voyage to strike across the country from here to Benedict, leavin' the pungy in the creek till the Britishers get tired of foolin' around in the Potomac; but it's no use to spend breath on what can't be done. Our crew will hang together, whatever comes. Let's go an' report; it won't do us any good to stay here."
We paddled slowly back to our comrades, and when we had told them the situation of affairs they were in as much of a muddle as had been Darius and I.
"There's no tellin' how long the frigates will stay 'round Washington," Captain Hanaford said, and then, as a sudden thought came to him, he added, "I'm gettin' the best of this scrape, I reckon. If the pungy was where you lads found her, she'd fare badly when the bloomin' Englishmen get where they can make mischief."
"I'll stay here and keep ship, while the rest of you walk across lots to Benedict," my father suggested; but Darius refused to hear any such proposition, declaring as he had when we were in the canoe, that our party should hang together to the last.
"So far as bodily harm is concerned, we're safe here till the cows come home," the old man said thoughtfully, "an' that oughter make us feel reasonably good, seein's how, one spell, it looked a deal like bein' killed, or stayin' in a British prison-ship. We're a mighty poor crowd if we can't manage to lay still a week or two."
It did really seem as if we had reason to be ashamed of grumbling when matters had been so much worse, and I mentally resolved that I would make the best of the situation, even though we were forced to remain in hiding a full month.
My father did his best at cheering us by saying, and with a deal of reason in his speech, that the enemy would not dare remain shut up in the river very long, lest the American fleet cometo the mouth of the river and blockade him, or with a superior force, force him to surrender.
"It's Captain Gordon of the Sea Horse, who is in command," Bill Jepson said, "an' you can count that he won't be caught nappin'."
"Then we can reckon on bein' free to leave this creek within three or four days at the outside, and after that it'll be a question of dodging the Britishers into Chesapeake bay, which shouldn't be a hard task."
Taking this view of the matter, and knowing we had provisions in plenty, all hands began to look at affairs in a more cheerful light, with the result that ours was soon a jolly party, with but one aim, which was to make the time pass as pleasantly as possible.
During the remainder of that day we talked of all that had occurred since Commodore Barney left Pig Point, and speculated upon the result of an attack upon Baltimore.
That night we turned in without standing watch, and next morning came a light, drizzling rain which forced us to keep under cover unless we were willing to toddle around on the wet decks, which was not particularly cheerful amusement.
By three o'clock in the afternoon we had talked until our tongues were tired, and every topic of conversation was exhausted. Then we fell silent, with none too pleasing thoughts for company,until Darius sprang to his feet with an exclamation that aroused us all.
"What bloomin' idjuts we are to think we must needs wait here till the Britishers come down the river!" he cried excitedly.
"I thought it was settled that we couldn't well do anything else," Captain Hanaford said in mild surprise.
"So it was; but the sun was shinin', with every prospect of a fair night."
I looked at the old sailor in bewilderment. It seemed as if he had suddenly taken leave of his senses, for there was nothing to be made of his words.
"What's crawlin' over you, Darius?" Captain Hanaford asked. "Has anythin' happened suddenly?"
"Yes, an' that's a fact! Here we are lyin' up here in a nasty storm as if we was bound to stay, when it's only a case of haulin' the pungy into the channel, an' lettin' her drift past the vessels below the fort. I'll wager an apple against a doughnut that we'll go by slick as fallin' down hill, 'cause it'll be darker 'n Sam Hill to-night; there ain't any moon to break the blackness, an' unless we come plump on to the enemy, they'll never be any the wiser."
I could see that the older members of the party believed as did Darius; but to me it seemed like taking needless chances, when by remainingin hiding a few days we might set sail without hindrance, for if our pungy was seen, there could be little doubt but that she would be sunk off hand.
However, it was not for me to start any argument with my elders who understood such matters far better than did either of us lads, and I held my peace, expecting that an argument would ensue.
To my great surprise no further word was spoken regarding the plan; but Captain Hanaford pulled on his oiled-coat as he said curtly:
"It'll be a good two-hours' job to pull the pungy into the stream, an' won't be handy work after dark."
Darius and Bill made ready to accompany him on deck, and, to my great surprise, I found that these three, at least, believed the plan of trying to drift past the British ships in the darkness one which should be carried into effect.
I looked at my father; but he appeared to think all was as it should be, and for the moment I was dumfounded at the idea of taking so many and such great chances simply to save idling a few days.
When the men went on deck we lads followed, as a matter of course; but never one of us was called upon to perform any part in the labor.
The creek was too narrow to admit of turning the pungy, therefore it became necessary to towher out stern first, and this the three men did quite handily, with Darius and Bill Jepson in the boat, and Captain Hanaford on deck, to keep the branches of the trees from fouling with the rigging.
Half an hour before sunset the little vessel was at the mouth of the water-way where she could be put into the stream with but a small amount of labor, and Captain Hanaford ordered Jim Freeman and Dody Wardwell to turn to at getting supper.
While the meal was being prepared the captain and the two old sailors talked about the probable location of the enemy's ships, and when the conversation was come to an end I learned that they counted on letting the pungy take her own course, after rounding the point on which the fort had been located.
It was to be a piece of blind luck all the way through, and I made up my mind that if the vessel was afloat after we passed the ships, it would be a sure case of interposition of that divinity which watches over fools.
I seemed to be the only one, however, who was borrowing any trouble on account of the proposed venture, and it can well be fancied that I held my peace, although I did a power of thinking.
When supper had been eaten, and the last spark of fire in the cook-stove extinguished lestit should be seen by the enemy, all hands went on deck.
Of a verity the night was black enough, if that was the only thing wanted to insure success. Standing at the tiller I could not even make out the loom of the mainmast, and as for saying whether the pungy was in the stream or the river, it was impossible.
Darius and Bill Jepson went about their portion of the task, however, as if it was broad day.
The pungy was pulled out into the current, the old sailors came over the rail, and we were fully committed to the venture.
I had supposed that some portion of the sails would be spread to give us steerage-way if nothing more; but in this I was mistaken. A square of white canvas could be more readily seen in the darkness than the entire hull of the pungy, which was painted black, therefore we would go through with only the empty spars to give an alarm, if so be the enemy caught a glimpse of us.
We had hardly more than started when the rain began to fall heavily, and Bill Jepson said with a chuckle of satisfaction:
"Everythin' is workin' our way. There ain't a barnacle aboard the ships that'll stand up an' take all this water when he can keep himself dry by seekin' the shelter of the rail."
"But suppose we run plump on to them?" I asked in a whisper.
"Then it'll be a case of doin' some tall an' lively hustlin', lad, an' no man can say what ought'er be done till we're in the scrape."
"Can you make out the shore on either side?" I asked.
"Yes, by stoopin' low so's to sight the sky over the tree-tops, you can contrive to get an idee of whether we're in the middle of the stream; but you can't do much more."
"I might stand on my head without being able to tell which was land and which water."
"I reckon that's true," Bill said with a laugh; "but when you've knocked around at sea as long as I have, you'll learn to see through ink, bottle an' all."
"Stop that noise!" Darius whispered harshly. "You're not even to breathe loud from this out, an' walkin' across the deck will make trouble with me for the man or lad who does it."
Thus it was that each fellow felt obliged to remain wherever he stood when the order had been given. We could well understand the reason for such caution, and were not disposed to go contrary to the command.
I peered into the gloom intently, hoping I might distinguish the shadows of the trees ashore; but it was impossible, and from that moment I remained with my eyes shut, as oneinvoluntarily does when the blackness is intense.
How slowly the time passed! I tried to get some idea of the minutes by counting up to sixty, allowing that number of seconds had gone by; but failed in so doing because my anxiety was so great that I did not keep the reckoning.
It seemed as if an hour had fled, although the current should have carried us among the fleet in less than half that time, when I was startled by hearing a voice close by my side, apparently.
"It's a bloomin' nasty night, matey."
"Right you are," was the reply. "It's jest my luck to be muckin' 'round here when the lads from the other ships are havin' high jinks in one of the Yankee cities."
Then it was that I realized we were within a few yards of a ship, and by some stroke of good fortune had missed fowling her.
It surely seemed as if they must see us, although I could not make out even a shadow of her, strain my eyes as I might, and in case we were discovered, the end would come very rapidly, as I then believed.
From that moment it was as if I did not breathe, so fearful was I of giving some alarm which would betray our whereabouts.
The pattering of the rain on the water raised no slight noise, and this was favorable to us. Our tiller had been lashed, so that there mightbe no possibility the rudder-head would creak in its socket, and every rope was brailed to guard against its flapping.
Had ours been the ghost of a ship and those on board a phantom crew, we could not have glided down stream more silently; but the danger which had been ever present in my thoughts was that of coming in collision with one of the ships.
We had already passed the first in safety; but there were three others, and in fear and trembling I admitted to myself that we could not hope to slip by them all.
The moments passed in silence, save for the hissing of the rain-drops as they mingled with the water of the river, and I was saying to myself that of a verity we must have drifted safely through the fleet without touching a ship, when that came which I had been fearing.
Suddenly I felt a shock; then a noise as of wood grinding against wood, and I knew we had fouled the enemy!
While one might have counted five the pungy rubbed against the side of the ship, and then came the hail:
"Ahoy there! Ahoy!"
"What are you hailing?" a strange voice cried, and he who had first broken 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 ship was alive with moving, buzzing beings, some of whom cried out this or that order, and others called down maledictions on the head of the man who had needlessly aroused them.
"There's nothin' here, sir. Sam was dreamin'," I heard the voice of a sailor cry, and almost at the same instant came the rattling of fire-arms as they were being handled, sounding so near aboard that it seemed 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 until we could distinctly see the deck of the bomb-vessel, and the eager men thronging her deck.
This illumination was but as the lightning's flash, and then we could hear the angry hum of the bullets as they swarmed above our heads.
We had been seen, and I believed that a broadside would follow in short order, yet at the same time I realized that our good fortune had followed us when it sent the pungy afoul of a bomb-vessel, instead of a 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 followed that the two sailors were taking to the canoe in order to tow the pungy, and at the same time Captain Hanaford cast off the lashing of the tiller as he ordered us to run up the canvas.
Work? I have never moved so lively beforenor since, as I did then when I felt positive that within a very few seconds our deck would be swept 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 aboard the 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 our destruction. From every quarter we could hear cries of command, mingled with the noise of men running to and fro, and just when the pungy began to feel the effect of the canvas which was clapped on her in such a hurry, a rocket went up, illumining the scene for ten seconds or more.
Then it was I saw that we had passed three of the ships, having come to grief on the last in the line, and had no time to take further note of the surroundings when the guns of all four craft belched forth with a mighty roar that caused the pungy to tremble, but the impact of the shot did not follow.
Thus suddenly aroused, and in the intense darkness which had been dispelled only long enough to dazzle a fellow's eyes, the gunners had not been able to take accurate aim, otherwise we must have gone to the bottom like a stone.
"They won't have time to try that game more than once again before we'll be well out of theirway," I heard Darius say, and I knew we had sufficient speed to render useless the work of towing, otherwise the two sailors would not have come aboard.
Now three rockets were sent up in rapid succession, and while the light 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 were some 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 chances of our being hit; but at the same time the thought came to me that it was better to be killed by a round-shot which would cut a man's life short 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 pungy reeled and quivered as if she had struck a rock.
"One ball went home that time!" Darius cried, and I knew by the sound that 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 a lantern, and did not need to be told that he was gone to learn what injury our vessel had received.
Immediately the cannon had been dischargedCaptain Hanaford was on his feet, grasping the tiller as if it was possible to steer the pungy while the blackness continued so dense that one might fancy he could feel 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 the distance 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 had believed was in the clumsy craft, and, what was of greater importance, the pungy was rounding a bend which, once passed, would put us beyond reach of the guns.
The rockets had been fired just in the nick of time, otherwise we would have gone ashore on the western bank.
For the third time we heard the thunder of the guns; but the shot must have passed astern of us, for I did not hear either the splashing of water or the splintering of our wood-work to tell where they struck.
Then Darius came on deck with an announcement that relieved me of nearly all my fears.
"The pungy has a solid shot above the water-line well forward; but there's no need of pluggin'it, for the ball didn't get through the timber. 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 as look-outs, and the pungy danced along in the darkness, as if rejoicing at 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 was seen that we had really escaped from as dangerous a venture as human beings 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 less boisterous in their rejoicings than we lads.
And now there remains but little more to be said, for the homeward voyage was short.
At midnight the rain ceased falling; the clouds were partially dispersed, and we had sufficient light to enable us to navigate the little vessel without difficulty.
In four and twenty hours, without having come across an enemy, or anything to cause alarm, we were in Benedict once more, Captain Hanaford having sailed past his own home in order to land us, and well was it for all hands that we did not arrive the day previous, because not until then did the fleet under Admiral Cochrane, withthe land forces under General Ross, take their final departure, leaving the little 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 with my movements after we were returned from service under Commodore Barney, that in due time the government honored the commodore's guarantee, thus enabling Jerry and me to purchase a pungy much larger and better than the Avenger, and at the same time have quite a substantial sum of money to give our parents.
And all this I have written in the cuddy of the new boat, which we have named the "Joshua Barney," while Jim Freeman, Dody Wardwell, Josiah Coburn, Darius and Jerry have discussed each portion as it was set down, for we are shipmates in the oyster business, sharing the profits as well as the work, until a stranger would find it difficult to say which is the captain or which the cook.
Now that my portion of the work has come to an end, I shall copy here that which will serve to wind up the yarn in proper shape.
Referring to the close of the battle of Bladensburg, a newspaper writer says:
"The English sharp-shooters had straggled about, and were doing much mischief; Barney's horse fell between two of the guns, pierced bytwo balls; several of his officers were killed or wounded, the ammunition wagon 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 thick wood, and had nearly surrounded the commodore. His men were nearly exhausted, having undergone a three-days' march without a regular supply of provisions. He had received a wound in the thigh some time before, 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 could follow. He retired a few yards with the help of three of his officers whom he had ordered away, and fell from weakness, in which situation he was found by the enemy.
"General Ross and Admiral Cockburn came to him and tendered every assistance. 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 home in a carriage. A week later he was formally exchanged for two British colonels. The ball had been probed for by the English surgeons, but without effect, and it was not found until after his death, which is said 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 FortWashington on the 27th of August, three days after the capture of the capital. Captain Dyson either misunderstood General Winder's order, or was influenced by mortal fear, for he blew up and abandoned the fort without firing a gun. No doubt the British fleet could have been kept below by the heavy cannon of the fort. Dyson chose not to try the experiment, and for his injurious conduct he was dismissed from the service.
"The British squadron now had nothing to fear, and without interference the frigates sailed on, anchoring off Alexandria on the evening of the 28th. On the morning of the 29th it assumed a hostile attitude a hundred yards from the wharves, and was well prepared to lay every building in the town in ashes. The citizens sent a deputation to Captain Gordon to ask upon what terms he would consent to spare the town. He replied that all naval stores and ordnance; all the shipping and its furniture; merchandise of every description in the 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 from destruction must be raised, and delivered up to him. 'Do all this,' he said, '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 were allowed only one hour for consideration. They were powerless, and were compelled to submit. The merchandise that had been carried from the town and the sunken vessels could not be given up to the invader, so he contented himself by burning one vessel and loading several others, chiefly with flour, cotton and tobacco. With these in charge, the squadron weighed anchor and sailed down the Potomac."