Commodore Barney's Young Spies. Otis James
venture had come to a most successful end, providing there were no others in the vicinity whose love for the British would prompt them to interfere, and I was amazed, even amid the excitement of victory, that we had come off ahead when it seemed certain the enemy could overcome us easily.
Darius, having bound his captive, stood up facing me, and from the expression on his face one never would have supposed that he had just come unscratched out of as lively a tussle as I ever took part in. It was as if he had been stowing oysters in the hold of the Avenger, and was stretching his back before going at it again.
"You've done a big thing," I said, holding out my hand to congratulate him. "To you belongs all the credit of having taken these prisoners, and when we meet Commodore Barney I shall insist that he hears the whole story, for I doubt if every old sailor has head enough to put such 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 given it goes to the whole crowd."
"Not a bit of it!" Jerry cried, looking up from his task of binding the sailor with whom I had fought. "It's as Amos says; but for you this never would have been done, an' it won't be my fault if all the men of the fleet don't hear of it."
"We're not out of the woods yet," Darius said, as though he would change 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 ready to put our prisoners aboard she should be here."
This proposition suited the old man, and Jim's friend left the building at full speed, while I asked Darius to make certain the miller 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 help it if a crowd of Britishers take possession of my mill?"
"Talk that over with Elias Macomber; he's aboard the pungy," Darius replied in a matter-of-fact tone as he proceeded to bind the man with strips of bags provided by Jim.
CHAPTER V.
WITH THE FLEET
The British sailors did not make any talk on returning to consciousness and finding themselves bound hand and foot. The officer, however, after recovering from the bewilderment which appeared to have come over him because of having been taken prisoner in such an unceremonious fashion, protested against being tied like a criminal.
"Will you give your word to make no attempt at escape?" Darius asked; but this did not suit the Britisher, for most likely he was reckoning on a rescue by those of the people who favored the king, and there were not a few of such vermin on the Patuxent river.
"I refuse to give my parole, save to an officer of the American army or navy," he said stiffly, and Darius replied cheerily:
"Then you see that we've got no other course save to deal out the same dose for all, 'cause we're not countin' on losin' any of you."
"What are you goin' to do with me?" the miller asked, and I took it on myself to make reply:
"You'll get the same treatment as Elias Macomber, and however harsh it may be, you won't have it as tough as is deserved. These others are prisoners of war; but you two are traitors and spies, therefore must expect to fare according to your deserts."
"That's about the size of it, Amos," Darius said as he went from one to another of the prisoners to make certain they were secured properly, and in condition to travel. "I reckon, lad, that we might as well be gettin' the crowd down to the shore, for unless the wind has died away entirely Josiah Coburn should be here mighty soon."
"How would it do to take along a supply of meal?" Jerry asked. "If it so be that we don't come up with the fleet by noon to-morrow, we'd be short of provisions, with so many to feed."
"Right you are, lad. We'll take from Essek Harland's meal-chest as much as may be needed, an' surely he can't make any complaint when he gets his share."
While Jerry was rummaging around to discover the miller's store, we got the prisoners down-stairs, finding it no slight task because two of the sailors, in a spirit of pure mischief, refused to walk, and we were forced to tote them like so many barrels of flour. By the time they were at the foot of the stairs, however, both were willing to provide their own means of transportation, for we did not handle them with any too much care.
Essek Harland whimpered and whined like the cur that he was, until we came to suspect he might be making a noise in order to give an alarm to somebody in the vicinity, when Darius reduced him to silence by threatening to put a gag in his mouth.
We had no more than got in fairly good marching shape when Josiah came up with the Avenger, the wind being strong enough to push her along about as fast as a man could walk.
Then well on to an hour was spent before the prisoners and the meal were stowed in the hold of the pungy, and I counted that it was near daybreak when we started up the river toward where Commodore Barney's fleet was supposed to be.
It struck me that we should meet with a warm reception from the commander, when we delivered up to him the Britishers and the traitors, for by capturing the spies we had delayed the coming of the enemy for a few hours at least.
And in thinking of this I came to ask myself how we were to present ourselves? Whether as lads who wanted to make a bargain to supply the fleet with fish, or as recruits? Ponder over it as I might, it was impossible to come to any satisfactory conclusion, and I decided that before committing myself in any way I would ask the advice of my father, whom I was likely to find on some of the vessels belonging to the flotilla.
It was Darius who broke in upon my perplexing thoughts by asking:
"Well, what do you think of it now, lad? We couldn't have done the job any browner if we'd had on board a full cargo of rifles an' ammunition."
"Ay, Darius, it has been well done because you were on hand; but I question if another might have worked the scheme as well."
"There are thousands who'd make less bungle of it," the old man replied, and I could see that he was well pleased because of being praised, even by a boy. "All that's needed is a little backbone; but if the other fellow happens to have more'n you've got, then things are apt to go wrong."
"Thanks to your arrangement of the affair, the enemy didn't have a chance to show his pluck; but we'd have been in a bad box if you hadn't made the Britishers believe, for a minute or two, that we were their friends."
Darius laughed heartily as he thought of the brief conversation with the sailors, and then said with a chuckle:
"If I'd only known the name of a vessel belongin' to their fleet, we'd been right on top of 'em before bein' found out; but as it was we got well alongside when the trouble began."
Then Jerry came aft to take part in the conversation, and we spent a good half-hour praising each other and chuckling over the good fortune that had been ours.
We might have continued at such pleasing occupation a very long while, but that day began to break, and there was too much work on hand to admit of further foolishness.
Darius gave up the tiller to me, and went below to look after the prisoners, returning five minutes later with the British officer, who, much to my surprise, was no longer fettered.
"This gentleman has decided that he can give his parole to us as well as to brother officers," Darius said by way of introduction. "He has pledged his word to make no attempt at escape, therefore we will give him the liberty of the ship."
"Which won't mean much for one who has been accustomed to the luxury found on board some of his majesty's vessels," I added, trying to show that I had some semblance of good breeding. "An oyster pungy isn't the most beautiful craft in the world."
"Very true," the officer replied with a friendly smile; "but there is a vast difference between the hold and the deck of an oysterman."
"Yes, I can fancy that to one