CHAPTER III.THE ESCAPE.
How it may have been with Alec Perry while we stood inside that pen, listening eagerly, and yet fearing lest we might hear something, I know not. As for myself, it was as if the blood in my veins was at boiling point, and I could hardly breathe because of the sense of suffocation which had come upon me.
At first I began to count as rapidly as it was possible to speak the figures in my thoughts, and then came the knowledge that by hastening the time ever so little I might be destroying our chances for escape.
In case the fall of the timber had been heard, and one of the soldiers came out to learn the cause of the noise, it was possible he would fail to observe what had been done, for the snow was so light that the log must be concealed from view in its frosty bed.
I say again, it was possible, even probable, that one or more of the Britishers might come out and yet fail to detect what we had done; but if Alecand I should begin the attempt a few moments too soon, all would be lost. Better waste half the night than try to gain sixty seconds of time, and in the doing cut ourselves off from all hope of gaining liberty.
Similar thoughts must have been in my comrade’s mind; for when I had counted up to thirty, and then waited ten seconds to give fair measure, he clutched my arm as if advising that we remain yet a little longer.
And so we did, standing there hand in hand, looking toward the narrow aperture through which lay home and freedom.
While we thus hesitated there came into my mind the fear that after we gained the outside some of the more kindly hearted Britishers would enter the prison-pen in order to bring us coverings, lest we freeze to death; and I literally shivered with dread, fearing so much of charity might be bestowed upon us.
Then, when we had waited fully two minutes, I could restrain my impatience and my nervousness no longer.
Surely the very beating of my heart would betray us unless flight was begun at once.
I dared not so much as whisper, so great was the fear of discovery upon me, and pressing Alec’s hand yet more vigorously, I pointed to the aperture.
He, understanding the gesture, motioned for me to go ahead; but that I would not do, and rather than play so cowardly a part as to seek my own safety first, I ventured upon speech:—
“You shall lead the way, Alec, lad,” I whispered, my voice trembling despite every effort to render it steady; “and if it so be that when you have gained the outside the Britishers enter here, I beseech you to strain every muscle in the attempt to escape, regardless of what they may be doing to me.”
“I will never leave a comrade alone in danger,” he said stoutly; and for a moment it seemed as if we should come to a quarrel then and there, while halting ’twixt liberty and imprisonment.
“You must leave me, should the flight be discovered before I am out of here,” I said earnestly, gripping his arm so hard that twenty-four hours later I saw the imprints of my fingers upon the flesh where the blood had settled. “It is neither your life nor mine that is to be considered now, but the safety of Presque Isle; and I charge you, dear lad, make your way to the settlement without loss of time, once you are free. I pledge myself to do the same, leaving you wherever it may be that we are halted by the enemy, in order to save the village and the vessels, upon which so much of our country’s safety depends.”
Now he understood what I would have him bear well in mind, and whispered:—
“One or the other of us must live to reach the village; but I pray earnestly, Dicky, that if either falls, it be me.”
This sort of a conversation was not calculated to make a timorous fellow overly bold, and I realized at once that an end must be put to it, else we might become so faint-hearted as to retreat even before the advance was begun.
Therefore, clasping him by the legs, I lifted him straight up until his head and shoulders were through the aperture; and then, pushing at his feet, I literally forced him out of the pen.
Instantly this was done I reproached myself for having been so hasty, fearing lest he, like the log, might fall, failing to find support on the sides of the hut, and thus an alarm be given.
Alec Perry was not a lad to be guilty of a blunder, even though his comrade did his best toward forcing him into one; and in some way, I know not how, he contrived to drop from the top of the timbers as lightly as a cat.
Listening intently, I began to clamber up the wall, gripping my fingers into the crevices between the logs until the blood came from under my nails, and whenI was nearly at the top, the thought flashed upon me that we had left our skates behind.
They lay in one corner of the pen, and so great was our excitement, when the way of escape had been opened, that neither of us so much as thought of them.
Without skates we might as well remain where we were, for it would not be possible to walk across the lake in eight-and-forty hours.
I lowered myself down, losing the advantage I had gained at the expense of so much suffering, and thrust a pair of skates into each coat-pocket, after which the painful task of scrambling up the side of the pen was begun again.
It seemed to me of a verity that a full hour had been spent before I looked down from the top of the wall to see Alec making an effort to clamber back.
The time had dragged heavily with him also, and fearing lest some mishap had befallen me, he was returning, forgetful of the promises made to push forward at all hazards.
I heard plainly the sigh of relief which escaped his lips when he saw me, and in another instant I was lowering myself down on the outside.
Free, so far as concerned the walls of the pen!
Now the storm was little less than a blessing tous, for the wind, howling and shrieking as it dashed the frosty particles against the walls of the huts, must have drowned any sound which we made while floundering through the snow.
A start of five minutes was all I had asked for, and this we surely would gain, unless it so chanced that a sentinel was stationed on the shore, in which case we stood every chance of being recaptured.
“It is necessary to go forward slowly, and by a devious way,” Alec whispered. “It seems most likely some of the men are on guard, and it would be a sad blow to our hopes if we ran across them now.”
“We must take the chances,” I said, bolder grown since we were free from the pen. “To leave this path would be to flounder about in the snow or the bushes, where we must necessarily make so much noise that any sentinel, however dull, could not fail to hear us. There is no other course than to push ahead and trust to chances, Alec, lad. Besides, the danger in advance is less than that behind, and if we come upon a soldier near-by the edge of the ice, surely the two of us ought to be more than a match for him, half stupefied by the cold as any man must be who has remained long outside on this night.”
There was no need for him to make answer. He stood ready to do whatsoever was needed, and I ventureto say, however great the perils which menaced, he would not have flinched from braving them.
We went forward swiftly, yet making no noise that could be avoided, and when finally we were arrived at the shore of the lake no living thing could be seen.
“We are free, Dicky, lad! Free!” Alec cried, speaking so loudly that I covered his mouth with my hand, lest in his joyous excitement he work us the greatest mischief which could come upon two lads in our situation.
It can well be imagined that not a second was lost in fastening on our skates, and when we stood erect, shod with those thin plates of steel which would enable us to glide over the surface of the ice with the speed of a race-horse, it was with difficulty that I could repress a shout of triumph.
We two, who had never before known by experience the horrors of war and its usages,—we who had through carelessness allowed ourselves to be made prisoners,—were escaped without a scratch within a few hours of capture, and by escaping would be able to prevent Presque Isle from being taken by surprise.
When I bent my body in striking out on that long, swinging stride which had served me time and time before, I thought with exultation that that which had seemed the direst calamity that could come upon twolads, was, in fact, a blessing in disguise, as are many of the troubles which for the time bear us down in sorrow. Save for Alec Perry’s foolhardiness in continuing on toward the Canadian shore, we would never have known of that gathering of soldiery at the North Foreland, and the people of Presque Isle, lulled into a sense of security, might have fallen easy victims to the first assault of the redcoats.
“It has been a good day’s work, Alec, boy!” I said, when we were a mile or more from the shore, and escape was absolutely certain unless we lost our lives in the whirl of snow, for no man in that camp could overtake me on skates. “A good day’s work, because we have scouted to a purpose, even though it was done ignorantly!”
The dear lad’s mind went farther afield than mine, as I understood when he added quietly, yet with a certain ring of satisfaction in his tone:—
“So that we reach the village, Dicky, we have made a name for ourselves which shall be spoken in years to come, long after we are dead, for we will be known as the boys who saved Presque Isle and the beginnings of the American navy. It is what Oliver has been praying might be his good fortune, to come into some adventure which would give him an opportunity of making a name that should live inhistory; and God grant he succeed, for my brother is a hero, Dicky Dobbins, and some day he will prove it to those of the king’s forces who come against him.”
Fortunately at this moment I remembered that there must be an end to this self-glorification, and a speedy one, else were we likely to come to grief.
I had heard the bravest men in Presque Isle say that the one thing they feared the most was to be overtaken by a snow-storm while on that vast field of ice which imprisoned the waters of Lake Erie; for few there be who can walk or skate in a straight line amid the falling, whirling particles of snow.
We had come two miles, perhaps, from the shore by this time, and I caught Alec’s arm, that he might take the better heed to my words, as I explained the dangers which were before us, begging that he put from his mind all else save the aim of moving forward as nearly in a straight line as might be.
“You shall go ahead, lad, keeping in advance so far as I am able to see you, and perhaps by this means it will be possible for me to know when you turn to the right or the left, as it is said one is ever inclined to do under such circumstances.”
Perhaps if it had not been for our having foolishly run into the arms of the Britishers, Alec would haveinsisted that I was making a great cry when no danger threatened, because he seemed to think it a simple matter to go ahead in a straight line without anything to guide his movements; but now that the knowledge of his foolhardiness was sharp upon him he obeyed readily; and thus we set out on our thirty-mile journey in the darkness, our faces stung until they burned by the icy particles which were flung against them on the wings of the east wind.
Here again did that which seemed to be a danger and a discomfort prove a blessing. But for the wind we should have had nothing to give us the slightest idea of the direction in which Presque Isle lay. As it was, I could not say to a certainty that these furious blasts came from the east, because the direction might have changed since we were made prisoners; but I knew beyond a peradventure it had not swung around either to the north or the south, and, therefore, if our left cheeks were stung by the driving snow more bitterly than our right, we must be advancing somewhere near on the desired course.
During the first half-hour Alec went straight forward, and then, growing weary, perhaps, he would swerve to one side or the other, insisting, when I checked him, that it was I, rather than himself, who mistook the direction.
I am making this story of our escape from the North Foreland overly long, for it may be that what then seemed, and seems now, to me most thrilling, will be dry reading to others. Therefore it is best I come to a halt in this play of words, although it would be possible to fill page after page with what we thought, and said, and did during that long, painful night’s journey; for, although we had set out, as nearly as we could judge, at about eight o’clock in the evening, the sun was two hours high in the heavens before we were come to Presque Isle, so nearly exhausted that Alec fell upon the shore, unable to move hand or foot, when we were arrived in front of my home.
Despite all our efforts we went so far astray as to strike the American shore near Indian Bend, full eighteen miles above the village, and arriving there during the hours of darkness, I was not able to say positively where we were; therefore it became necessary to wait until daylight.
This halt, while it refreshed us in a certain degree, allowed our limbs to stiffen until, when we arose to our feet again, it seemed almost impossible to advance one foot before the other.
But we were arrived at last, and could give the information which it was so necessary our peopleshould have; therefore was the work done well, even though death had come upon us after the story was told.
Strange as it may seem, we found it difficult to repeat that which we had learned. Every man was so engrossed with the work in hand that it appeared like a waste of time to listen to two lads who had been pleasuring on the Point, as was supposed; and we, fatigued beyond power of further movement, could not run from one to another insisting upon being heard.
But for the fact that Noah Brown chanced to pass near by where I was trying to induce one of the shipwrights to listen to me, it might have been a full hour before we gained the ear of any in authority.
Once I began to speak, however, and he realized from whence we had escaped, it can be fancied that no further entreaties on our part were necessary.
It was he who pleaded with us to tell more, and when the story of the adventure had been repeated twice over, an alarm was given which aroused every man, woman and child in Presque Isle.
What was done toward defending the place during the first four and twenty hours of excitement I know not, because, when our work had been accomplished,Alec Perry and myself were given the needed opportunity to sleep, and until the morning after our arrival we realized nothing of what was passing around us.
It is now well known that the Britishers did not make an attack upon the village; but—and here I must go ahead of my story for a moment—we learned five months later, from a prisoner, that the expected reënforcements arrived twelve hours after our escape, and save for the fact that we had succeeded in giving them the slip, the assault would have been made without delay. The commandant decided, however, that the news which we carried regarding the assembling of the forces at that point would be sufficient to give an alarm, and concluded, with good cause, that it was no longer possible to take Presque Isle by surprise.
There was no lack of scouts on the lake from the day of our return until the ice broke up, and in the meanwhile my father had come back from Buffalo with a twelve-pound cannon, four chests of small arms, and a limited supply of ammunition.
It was a scanty store toward fitting out the vessels which were nearing completion; but it served to put us all in better spirits, because, with these much needed munitions, we could the better defend the bay.
Lest it should seem that I am vainglorious, the words which my father spoke to Alec and myself when he learned what we two had done shall not be set down here; but this much is necessary in order that what follows may be understood. He agreed, in the name of Captain Perry, that we lads should be allowed to enlist on whatsoever vessel pleased us; and promised also, in the name of Alec’s brother, that a full report of our adventure be sent to the Government at Washington.
We still continued, so long as it was possible, to skate back and forth on the lake within half a dozen miles of the American shore, and perhaps I need not say that never again did Alec make any attempt at venturing farther across than seemed absolutely necessary.
When not thus employed we watched eagerly the building of the ships, and had much discussion between ourselves as to which one we should volunteer to serve on. For my part I was wholly at a loss to decide, until Alec settled the question by saying:—
“Where my brother is, there must be the hottest fighting, for I assure you he will seek out the enemy whether they be disposed to give battle or not; and when he returns from Pittsburg we shall know on which craft we are to sail.”
Captain Perry came back on the 10th day of April. The ice was out of the lake, and the forces in the blockhouse at the entrance of Presque Isle Bay were redoubled, for now we had every reason to expect the British fleet.
Two weeks after his return the three gunboats were launched, and I dare venture to say not one person in Presque Isle, old or young, missed the spectacle.
It was a gala day in the village, and when we saw the little craft swinging at their cables just off the landing-place, there came to every one, I believe, to myself I know, an additional sense of security, although these vessels were as yet uncompleted, and without guns or ammunition.
The two brigs would be ready for leaving the ways in three weeks, it was said, and Alec and I looked forward to that day with the keenest interest, for Captain Perry had told us that upon one of these he should sail, while at the same time he ratified the promise made by my father.
We promised ourselves that nothing should prevent us from seeing these two craft, which both of us felt certain would make the bravest showing against the Britishers, leap into the water, and yet we failed of being present.
This is how it was:—
One week before the day set for the launching a message came from Commodore Chauncey, who was then at Buffalo, ordering Captain Perry to join him in a certain secret enterprise against the enemy.
Now Alec’s brother was not minded to take two lads with him, and would have kept the matter secret, but that it came to us quite by accident.
Emboldened by the service already rendered, we decided that it was our right to accompany the expedition.
I need not repeat the arguments which we used to persuade the captain to receive us as volunteers. He objected to our proposition; first, because it was not expected he should bring any force with him, and secondly, because he must journey from Presque Isle to Buffalo in an open four-oared boat, which, in itself, was like to be a perilous undertaking at that season of the year.
Alec had a persuasive tongue, fortunately, as I then thought, and the result of our pleadings was that on the evening of the 23d of May, the day before the brigs were to be launched, we two lads embarked in what was hardly more than a skiff, manned by four oarsmen, with Captain Perry, exulting in the thought that now were we bearing men’s parts in the war against the enemies of our country.