Kitabı oku: «Corporal 'Lige's Recruit: A Story of Crown Point and Ticonderoga», sayfa 2
CHAPTER II. A SECLUDED CAMP
When these raw recruits departed from the town – Corporal ’Lige insisted that they did not march – they were followed for several miles by nearly all the men and boys in the vicinity.
The old man was greatly exercised because Colonel Easton, who now assumed command, allowed such an unsoldierly proceeding as that his troops should walk arm in arm with their friends, each in his own manner and at his own convenience.
Had the corporal been invested with the proper authority he would have had these raw recruits marshaled into ranks and forced to step in unison, carrying their muskets at the same angle, and otherwise conforming themselves to his idea of soldierly bearing – all this he would have had them do; but whether he could have brought about such a condition of affairs is extremely problematical.
“I allowed Colonel James Easton came somewhere near bein’ a soldier, even though he is only a militiaman,” the corporal said in a tone of intense dissatisfaction to Isaac as the two marched solemnly side by side in the midst of their disorderly companions, “and I did think we could set out from here and capture Ticonderoga, if all hands were willin’ to put their shoulders to the wheel; but I take back that statement, lad, and am sorry I ever was so foolish as to enlist. I ought to have known better when I saw the crowd that was signin’ the rolls.”
“Why, what’s the matter, corporal?” and Isaac looked around in surprise, for until this moment he had believed everything was progressing in proper military fashion.
“Matter?” Corporal ’Lige cried angrily. “Look around and see how these men are comportin’ themselves, an’ then you’ll know. Here are them as should be soldiers, seein’s they’ve signed the rolls, mixed up with citizens till you couldn’t tell one from the other unless personally acquainted with all hands. Then how are they marchin’? Why, a flock of geese couldn’t straggle along in any more ungainly fashion.”
“I shouldn’t suppose it would make any difference how they marched so that they got there in time,” Isaac ventured to suggest timidly.
“Shouldn’t, eh? Then what’s the good of calling themselves soldiers? Why don’t they start out like a crowd of farmers an’ try their hand at taking the fort?”
“Well?” Isaac replied calmly. “Why shouldn’t they? They are not soldiers, you know, corporal, and so long’s the fort is taken why wouldn’t it be as well if they didn’t try to ape military manners?”
The old man gazed sternly at the boy while one might have counted ten, and then said in a tone of sadness:
“It’s a shame, Isaac Rice, that after bein’ with me all these years, an’ hearin’ more or less regardin’ military matters, you shouldn’t have more sense.”
“Why, what have I said now, corporal? Is it any harm to think that farmers might take a fort?”
“Of course it is, lad. If anything of that kind could happen, what’s the use of having soldiers?”
“But I suppose it is necessary to have an army if there’s going to be war,” Isaac replied innocently, and this last was sufficient to completely fill the vials of the old man’s wrath.
That this pupil of his should fail at the very first opportunity to show a proper spirit, was to him most disappointing, and during the half-hour which followed he refused to speak, even though Isaac alternately begged his pardon for having been so ignorant and expressed regret that he had said anything which might give offense.
During all this while the citizens of Pittsfield were following the recruits in a most friendly manner, believing it their duty to thus cheer those who might soon be amid the carnage of battle, and perhaps not one realized how seriously he was by such method offending Corporal ’Lige.
Isaac’s father was among this well-intentioned following, as were two of the lad’s brothers, and when these representatives of the Rice family, having walked as far as the head of the household deemed necessary, were about to turn back, they ranged themselves either side of the corporal and his pupil, in order to bid the latter farewell.
“I expect you will give a good account of yourself, Isaac, when it comes to fighting, and I feel all the more confident in regard to it because you are under the wing of a man who knows what it is to be a soldier.”
This compliment was intended for Corporal ’Lige as a matter of course; but he paid no other attention to it than to say:
“If the lad had profited by my teachings, he’d know that he has no right to talk with outsiders while he’s in the ranks.”
“That’s exactly it,” Mr. Rice replied, wholly oblivious that the corporal was administering what he believed to be a most severe rebuke. “That is exactly it, my son, and you will do well to remember that you cannot fail in your duty so long as you take pattern from the corporal.”
The old soldier gave vent to what can be described only as a “snort” of contempt; and the boy’s sorrow was as nothing compared with what it had been when bidding good-by to his mother.
After the young Rices had turned their faces homeward in obedience to the orders of the elder Rice, Isaac gave more heed to copying the movements of the corporal, thereby atoning in a certain measure for his previous injudicious remarks.
The boy firmly believed that no more able soldier could be found in all the colonies than this same Corporal ’Lige, and had any person ventured to remark that the expedition might be as well off without him, Isaac would have set the speaker down as one lacking common sense.
Take the corporal out of the ranks, and young Rice would have said there was no possibility either Crown Point or Ticonderoga could be captured.
Thus it was that an order from Colonel Allen, Colonel Easton, or Seth Warner was as nothing compared with one from Corporal ’Lige, in the mind of Isaac Rice; but there were many in the ranks who did not have such an exalted opinion of the old soldier, and these were free with their criticisms and unfavorable remarks, much against the raw recruit’s peace of mind, as well as the corporal’s annoyance.
It was because of these light-headed volunteers, who saw only in this expedition a novel and agreeable form of junketing, out of which it was their duty to extract all the sport possible regardless of the feelings of others, that Corporal ’Lige withdrew himself, so to speak, from his comrades, and barely acknowledged the salutes of any save his superior officers.
At the end of the second day’s journey he refused to go into camp with them; but applied to the captain of his company for permission to advance yet a short distance further, at which point he could join the troops when they came forward next morning. It was known by all the expedition, even including those who were making the old soldier the butt of their mirth, that he was held in high esteem by Colonel Ethan Allen, and the request, although irregular, was readily granted, after a warning against the perils attendant upon such a course.
“It is better you stay with the troops, corporal,” the captain said kindly, “although I have no hesitation in saying you are free to do as you choose.”
“And I do not choose to remain in the encampment for all the young geese – who fancy that by signing the rolls they have become soldiers – to sharpen their wits upon, therefore I would halt by myself, taking only the recruit I claim as my own, for company.”
“I will have a care that you are not annoyed again,” the officer replied in a kindly tone; but this was not to Corporal ’Lige’s liking.
“If a soldier can only keep his self-respect by running to his superior officers like a schoolboy when matters are not to his fancy it is time he left the ranks. After we have smelt burning powder I fancy these youngsters will keep a civil tongue in their heads, and until then I had best care for myself.”
This was such good logic that the captain could oppose no solid argument against it, therefore the old soldier received permission for himself and “his recruit” to form camp wherever it should please him, provided, however, that they remained in the ranks while the command was advancing.
Not until after the matter had been thus settled did the captain take it upon himself to warn the corporal that it was not wholly safe to thus separate from his companions.
“It is well known that our movements are being watched by both Tories and Indians,” he said in a friendly manner, such as would not offend the obstinate old soldier, “and you can well fancy that they would not hesitate to do some mischief to any of the expedition whom they might come upon alone.”
“I can take care of myself, and also the boy,” Corporal ’Lige replied stiffly, as he saluted his superior officer with unusual gravity, and with this the subject was dropped.
Then the old man said to his recruit, as he motioned him aside that others might not get information concerning his purpose:
“We’ll draw such rations as may be served out, lad, and then push ahead to where we can be in the company of sensible people, meaning our two selves.”
Isaac would have felt decidedly more safe if he could remain with the main body of troops, for he had heard the captain’s caution; but he did not think it wise to give such a desire words, and by his silence signified that he was ready to do whatsoever his instructor should deem to be for the best.
The rations served these volunteers who proposed to reduce the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point ere they yet knew a soldier’s duties were not generous, and he who, from a desire to avoid seeming greedy, delayed in applying for them, generally found himself without food, save he might be so fortunate as to beg some from his more provident companions.
Corporal ’Lige was exceedingly friendly to his stomach; he made it a rule never to allow modesty to deprive him of a full share of whatever might be served out, therefore it was he had drawn rations for himself and Isaac almost before the troops came to a halt, and the hindermost were yet marching into camp, weary and travel-stained, when he said to his small comrade:
“There is nothing to keep us here longer, and the sooner we are at a goodly distance from these silly youngsters who fancy that the taking of a musket in their hands makes them soldiers, the better I shall be pleased.”
Isaac gave token of willingness to continue the march by shouldering his weapon once more, and the two set off, attracting no attention from their companions-in-arms, each of whom had little thought save to minister to his own comfort, for this soldiering was rapidly becoming more of a task and less of a pleasure-tour than had been at first supposed.
Not until he was fully a mile from the foremost of the main body did the corporal give any evidence of an intention to halt, and then he showed remarkably good judgment in his selection of a camping-place.
At the edge of a small brook about fifty yards from the main road over which they had been traveling, he threw down his knapsack, and announced in a tone of satisfaction that they would spend the night there.
“It is not too far away, and yet at such a distance that we shall not be forced to listen to the gabbling of those geese,” he said as he set about building a small campfire in order to prepare the food he had procured. “Make yourself comfortable, Isaac Rice, for it is a soldier’s solemn duty to gain all the rest he can.”
“Do you think we shall be safe here?” the boy asked almost timidly, for it seemed little short of a crime to question any proposition made by the corporal.
“Safe, lad? What’s to prevent? If you keep your ears open for stories of danger while you are with the army, you’ll never know peace of mind, for there are always those faint-hearted ones ready to exaggerate the falling of a leaf into the coming of the enemy. I have as much regard for my own safety as for yours, and I say that here we can camp in peace and safety.”
This was sufficient for the corporal’s recruit, and he set about making himself comfortable, with the conviction that none knew better than his comrade the general condition of affairs.
CHAPTER III. AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE
Surely this camping by themselves was exceedingly pleasant, Isaac thought, as the old soldier took upon himself the duties of cook, leaving his recruit with nothing to do save watch him as he worked.
On the previous night they had slept in the midst of a noisy throng who chattered and made merry until an exceedingly late hour, thus preventing the more weary from sleeping, and everywhere in the air, hanging like clouds, was the dust raised by the feet of so many men.
Now these two were in the seclusion of the woods, with a carpet of grass for a bed; the rippling brook to lull them to slumber, and nothing more noisy than the insect life everywhere around to disturb their slumbers.
Corporal ’Lige was in a rare good humor. He prepared an appetizing meal, although his materials were none of the best, and when it had been eaten, seated himself by Isaac’s side with pipe in his mouth, ready and willing to spin yarns of his previous experience as a soldier.
The boy was an eager listener; but after a certain time even the tones of the old soldier’s voice were not sufficient to banish the sleep elves, and his eyes closed in unconsciousness just when his comrade had arrived at the most exciting portion of his narrative.
“Perhaps I shan’t be so willin’ the next time you want to hear what I’ve seen in this world,” Corporal ’Lige said testily when he observed that his audience was asleep, and then, knocking the ashes carefully from his pipe, he lay down by the side of his small companion.
It seemed to Isaac that he had hardly more than closed his eyes in unconsciousness when he was aroused by the pressure of some heavy substance upon his hand, and looking up quickly he saw, in the dim light, three men standing over the corporal.
The foot of one of these strangers was upon the boy’s hand, as if he did not think Isaac of sufficient importance either to warrant his taking him prisoner, or to so much as step aside that he might be spared pain.
Before hearing a single word, Isaac understood that these late-comers were no friends of the corporal’s, and he endured the pain in silence, hoping that by so doing he might escape observation.
It was hardly probable the strangers failed to see him, for he had been lying within a few feet of his companion; but that he was not the object of their regard could be readily understood.
The man who had thus pinned the boy to the earth by his heel wore moccasins rather than boots, otherwise Isaac would have received severe injury, and as it was, the corporal’s recruit suffered considerable pain before the foot was finally removed; but yet made no sound.
So far as he could judge by the conversation, these strangers must have been in camp some time before he was awakened, for when he first opened his eyes they were in the midst of an unpleasant conversation with the old soldier, such as had evidently been carried on for some moments.
“If he don’t choose to tell, string him up to a tree,” one of the party cried impatiently at the moment Isaac first became conscious that matters were not running smoothly in this private encampment. “A dead rebel is of more good than a live one, and we have no time to lose.”
“Hang me, if that’s what you’re hankerin’ for!” Corporal ’Lige cried in a voice that sounded thick and choked as if a heavy pressure was upon his throat. “Even though I knew more concernin’ this ’ere expedition than I do, not a word should I speak.”
“We’ll soon see whether you’re so willing to dance on nothing,” the first speaker cried vindictively, and then came noises as if the man was making ready to carry his threat into execution.
“Give him another chance,” one of the Tories suggested. “Let the old fool tell us all he knows of Allen’s plans, an’ we’ll leave him none the worse for our coming.”
“I know nothing!” the corporal cried in a rage. “Do you reckon the colonel would lay out his campaign before me?”
“It is said he did so before you left Pittsfield.”
“Whoever says that is a liar; but even though he had made the fullest explanations, I would not reveal the plans to you. You must think I’m a mighty poor kind of a soldier if I don’t know how to die rather than play the traitor.”
“You’ll soon have a chance of proving what you can do!” the third man cried angrily, and then it was he stepped forward, leaving Isaac free to do as he thought best.
That these three Tories were bent on hanging the old soldier, or at least so nearly doing so as to frighten him into disclosing all he knew regarding Colonel Allen’s plans, there could be no question, and young Rice, trembling with fear though he was, had no other thought than as to how it might be possible for him to aid his comrade.
It did not seem probable the men were ignorant regarding the boy’s presence, and the only explanation which can be made as to why they failed to secure him is that he was so nearly a child as to appear of but little consequence. They evidently had no thought that he could in any way thwart their purpose, and, therefore, no heed was given to him.
It can readily be imagined that Isaac did not waste much time in speculations as to why he was allowed to remain at liberty.
Now was come the moment when he might repay some portion of the debt he believed he owed Corporal ’Lige, and the only anxiety in his mind was lest he should not do it in proper military fashion.
He could not even so much as guess what a genuine soldier would do under the same circumstances; but he had a very good idea as to how a boy might extricate himself from such a difficulty, and lost no time in beginning the work.
The three men were so busily engaged trying to frighten the corporal into telling them what he might know of Colonel Allen’s forces as not to heed the noise Isaac made when he rolled himself toward the bushes in that direction where the two muskets had been set up against a tree under the foliage in such manner that they might not be affected by the dew.
It was impossible for him to say exactly what these intruders were doing to Corporal ’Lige, but, from the noises, he judged they had first made a prisoner of the old man by seizing him around the throat, perhaps while he was yet asleep, and now there was every indication that they were making ready to carry out the threat of hanging.
“Give him another chance to tell what he knows,” one of the men cried, and immediately afterward the old soldier replied:
“String me up if you will, for there’s no need of waiting any longer with the idea that I’m goin’ to give you any information, even if I have it.”
“Then up with him!” the man who had first spoken shouted, and Isaac, without looking in that direction, heard the confused noises which told him the enemy were trying to raise the old man to his feet.
By this time the boy had his hand on one of the muskets, and his first impulse was to discharge it full at the intruders; but before he could act, the thought came that there were two shots at his disposal, and he ought to so plan as to make both of them count. He believed it was necessary to work with the utmost speed, lest these three Tories should have hung the corporal before he was ready to interfere, and yet a certain number of seconds were absolutely necessary before he could carry out that plan which had suddenly come into his mind.
With both muskets under his arm he crept cautiously a few paces onward until screened by the foliage, and then raising one of the weapons, took deliberate aim at the nearest enemy.
There was no thought in his mind that he was thus compassing the death of a human being. He only knew his comrade’s life was in danger, and that a well-directed shot might save him.
The three men had by this time gotten a rope around Corporal ’Lige’s neck, and, finding that it was difficult to raise the old man to his feet, were throwing the halter over the limb of the nearest tree as a method of saving labor.
One of the Tories, he who appeared to be the elder, and who was directing the movements of the others, stood a few paces from his comrades, and, taking deliberate aim at him, Isaac shouted:
“Throw down your weapons, and surrender, or you are dead men!”
The words had but just been spoken when he discharged the musket, and a scream of pain from the living target told that the bullet had sped true to its mark.
The two men who were as yet unarmed dropped the rope they were holding and sprang toward their weapons, which had been left on the ground near by; but before they could reach them, Isaac had emptied a second musket, and another cry of pain rang out.
“Throw down your weapons and surrender, or you are dead men!” he shouted again, and at this the third Tory, who must have believed there was more than one man in the thicket, took to his heels in alarm, while Corporal ’Lige, who had received no worse injury than a severe choking, seized upon the three muskets which were lying close beside him.
Even now, when two of the intruders were wounded and the third running for dear life, Isaac was doubtful as to whether he should show himself.
He remained in concealment, while the corporal gazed around him in surprise for a dozen seconds or more, and gave no token of his whereabouts until the old man shouted:
“Hello, friends! Show yourselves!”
“Is it all right?” Isaac asked timidly, and in a tone which was little better than a squeak. “Is it all right, corporal?”
“Come in here, Isaac Rice. Can it be it was you who fired those shots?”
The raw recruit came forward almost timidly, and Corporal ’Lige, shifting the three muskets he had taken possession of over on to his left arm, seized the boy by the hand.
“I’ve done a good bit of soldierin’ in my day, lad; seen surprises, an’ ambushes, an’ attacks of a similar kind without number; but never did I know of anything that was done with more neatness an’ dispatch than this same job of yours, which has saved my neck from bein’ stretched. I’m proud of you, lad!”
Isaac was overwhelmed by this praise, yet not to such an extent but that there was a great fear in his mind lest he had taken a human life, and he asked anxiously:
“Do you suppose I hurt either of them seriously, Corporal ’Lige?” and he pointed to where the wounded men lay.
“It is to be hoped you killed ’em both, so that we may be spared any further trouble with the vermin,” and not until then did the corporal condescend to give any attention to those enemies who had been so sadly worsted by a boy.
Just at this moment the wounded Tories suffered more in mind than in body, for they now understood who had made the attack upon them, and it can readily be fancied that both were ashamed at having been thus defeated in their purpose by one whom they had considered of so little importance that no effort was made to deprive him of his liberty when they surprised the encampment.
It was with the most intense relief that young Rice heard the corporal’s report, which was to the effect that he who had acted as leader of the party had a severe but apparently not exceedingly dangerous wound in the shoulder, while his comrade was suffering from a bullet-hole in the leg.
“They’re disabled, lad, but not killed, an’ the first bit of soldierin’ that you have been called on to do is like to give great credit with such as Colonel Allen and Colonel Easton. Tell me how you happened to think of overcoming them in this shape?”
“I didn’t think of it,” the boy replied. “It seemed to me you were like to be hanged and I only did what was in my power.”
“I came nigher to havin’ my neck stretched than ever before, an’ as it was, the villainous Tories pulled mighty hard on that rope, before you effected the rescue; but, lad, you must have thought! This attack you made in such a soldierly fashion wasn’t the result of chance, an’ that I’ll go bail.”
It was useless to make any attempt at convincing Corporal ’Lige of what was only the truth.
The old man was so determined to look upon the rescue as a soldierly act that he would not accept any other explanation, and the boy ceased his fruitless efforts by asking:
“What is to be done with these two Tories?”
“I reckon they must be got back to camp, although it would be no more than servin’ ’em right if we put an end to their miserable lives without further parley.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t kill them in cold blood, Corporal ’Lige?” Isaac cried in alarm.
“No; I don’t reckon I would, though that’s what ought to be done with ’em. It’s plain you an’ I can’t lug the two a matter of a mile or more, so one must stand guard over ’em while the other goes back to the camp. I’m leavin’ it to you to say which service you’ll perform, for after this night’s work I’m willin’ to admit that my recruit has in him the makin’s of a better soldier than I can ever hope to be.”
The boy gave no heed to this praise at the time, although later he remembered the words with pleasure.
Now there was in his mind a fear lest the corporal should desire him to guard the prisoners, and, the more imminent danger over, he was growing exceedingly timorous.
“I’ll go back to the encampment if it so please you, Corporal ’Lige, because I can run faster than you.”
“As you will, lad, as you will. Explain to Colonel Ethan Allen what has happened here and let him say how these venomous snakes are to be treated.”
During this conversation neither of the wounded men had spoken; but now, as the boy was about to set out for the encampment, he who had evidently acted as the leader cried sharply:
“Hold on a bit! What is the sense of sending us into your camp when we are like to die? Why not give us a show for our lives?”
“In what way?” Corporal ’Lige asked sternly.
“By allowing us to go to our homes.”
“That will do,” the old soldier said angrily. “After your attempt to kill me I’m not such a simple as to let you go scot free. Get you gone, lad, and make the report to Colonel Allen as soon as may be.”
The wounded Tory continued to plead with the corporal; but Isaac did not wait to hear anything more.
He set out at full speed down the road in the direction where the troops were encamped, running at his best pace, and fearing each instant lest that Tory who had made his escape should suddenly come upon him.
