Kitabı oku: «With Rogers on the Frontier», sayfa 5

CHAPTER IX
DOING DAMAGE TO THE ENEMY

Although Major Rogers had entirely succeeded in the chief purpose of his expedition, namely, to obtain a full understanding of what the French were about at Crown Point, and had, moreover, captured one of their soldiers, who was quite ready to tell all he knew, provided his life was spared, he was not content to return to Fort William Henry without leaving behind evidence of his visit that would make it remembered by the enemy. Accordingly, after what he deemed a sufficient period of lying low, he said to his men:

"If I'm not mistaken there's a good store of grain in that village, which, as we can't take it away with us, we'll have to burn up so that the Frenchies and their friends won't have it to depend upon, and we might kill off a few of their cattle, too. They mustn't be allowed to live too well here or they'll be too anxious to stay."

The Rangers laughed at their leader's way of putting things, and replied that they were ready to do whatever he had in mind.

"Let us take a good look at the village, then, and see where it's best to begin," said the Major.

Breaking up into parties of ten, they advanced upon the village from different directions, and at sight of them the terrified inhabitants fled to their houses, in which they shut themselves without any thought of offering resistance.

"I hope we won't have to set the houses on fire," whispered Seth to Reuben as they drew near a rude dwelling, which he judged sheltered women and children. "I don't mind how many barns we burn, but I don't want to have a hand in hurting the poor people."

"Oh, surely Major Rogers won't do anything to them!" Reuben exclaimed under his breath. "We're not Indians."

They had no need to be anxious upon this score, however, for the Major, while merciless enough in his methods where it seemed necessary to be so, had no thought of following the shocking example set by the French in their harrying of the borders. He waged war against men, not against women and children.

But as much damage as possible had to be done, so the torch was applied to the barns, and the cattle were killed in the yards, and when the Rangers departed they left that part of the village in flames.

"What can the garrison of the fort be about that they haven't come after us?" queried Reuben naturally enough, when at last they turned their faces homeward; but no one could answer him. Whatever was the reason, whether they imagined the invaders to be in much greater force than they were, or whether they had no stomach to try a brush with them in the forest, certainly the French kept within their own defences and allowed the daring Rangers to go away unchallenged and unscathed, leaving the burning village as a hint of what they would do to Crown Point itself at the first opportunity.

Just ten days after they had set out they were back at Fort William Henry, whose commander warmly praised their leader for the success of his undertaking and the exceedingly important information he had secured.

A period of quiet followed, during which the garrison made shift to while away the time with such sports as were possible in mid-winter. They had snow fights, and snowshoe races, and they practised shooting at a mark, and they had wrestling matches, and whatever other amusements could be devised for either outdoor or indoors.

Into all this Seth entered with keen zest, and being so active and agile of both brain and body, rather more than held his own with the majority of his associates, which fact did not pass unnoticed by the all-observant Major, and no doubt had much to do with the pleasant surprise that he gave him when he sent for him one morning in March.

Seth found the Major in his room with a letter before him, from which he lifted his eyes to look him over with a searching glance that gave Seth a nervous feeling, and caused him to wonder in his mind what was on the carpet.

"Have you ever been to Boston, young man?" he was asked in a tone that afforded no hint of the purpose of the question.

"No, sir," replied Seth, "I have not."

"How would you like to go there?" was the next question.

Now to a frontier lad, who had never set foot in a city of any size, Boston naturally loomed very large and wonderful, and the idea of seeing it for himself could not be otherwise than highly attractive, so that it was without hesitation Seth answered:

"Why, very much indeed, sir. Do you want to send me there?"

"I don't want to send you, but I have some notion of taking you," the Major responded in his brusk way, and then went on to say that the letter in his hand was from General Shirley, Commander-in-Chief of the King's forces in North America, who was at Boston making preparations for the ensuing campaign, and had desired Major Rogers to wait upon him at Boston to receive his instructions.

Seth listened with eager ears. To have the trip to Boston, and there to see not only the famous city, but the great General, under whose command the war would be carried on, this certainly was an opportunity such as he had not dreamed of, and his heart beat quickly as he waited for the Major's definite instructions. When they came, they were characteristically brief and to the point.

"I'll take you with me," he said. "You can be of use to me. We'll start this afternoon. Get your things packed and be ready right after dinner."

In great glee Seth hurried off to tell the good news to Reuben, who warmly congratulated him upon his good luck, while he frankly expressed his envy.

"I've been wanting to go to Boston for ever so long too. I wonder when my chance will come," he said ruefully. "You seem always to get the good things first."

"Oh! your turn will come all right!" responded Seth, patting him on the back. "We'll go to Boston together some fine day, see if we don't."

The summons of Major Rogers to the presence of the Commander-in-Chief aroused much curiosity at the fort, and many were the conjectures as to what it meant, but if the veteran Ranger had any idea of his own he shrewdly kept it to himself.

They set out early in the afternoon, directing their course for Albany, on the Hudson River, and as the danger of being attacked by Indians in league with the French had to be considered, Major Rogers deemed it prudent to have ten of his Rangers accompany them that far, and then return to Fort William Henry.

To Seth, whose experience of the world was so slight, even Albany, then little more than a thriving town, was a revelation, and he would have been glad to spend some days there seeing the sights and getting acquainted with the people, but the Major was not the man to dally by the way. To him Albany was of slight consequence. Boston filled his mind, and if there had been any lightning express trains in that day as there are now connecting the two cities, he certainly would have taken the first one leaving the railway station.

But there was nothing better then than the lumbering stage coach, that jolted its slow way over the New Connecticut Road, as it was called, which wound its somewhat devious course from Albany to Boston.

"Confound the old rattle-trap!" growled the short-tempered Major as the heavy coach swayed and pitched over the rough coach road. "I wish we had taken horse. We'd save time and have more comfort."

Seth, however, although he was too discreet to say so, did not at all agree with his chief. It was his first long ride in a stage coach, and it gratified a desire cherished from his earliest boyhood, and even if the vehicle was clumsy and the roads were rough, he was enjoying himself in no small degree.

From Albany to Springfield, thence to Brookfield, and so by Worcester and Marlborough the post road ran, but before reaching their destination in Boston they had an adventure which aptly illustrated the unwisdom of waking up the wrong passenger.

They travelled all night as well as all day, for the coach carried the mails, and about half-way between Worcester and Boston, on a particularly lonely spot, where the road lay along the bottom of a ravine, shut in by tree-clad hills, rising steeply on either side, the slow-going conveyance was suddenly brought to a full stop, in obedience to the command of two masked men on horseback, who covered the driver with their pistols as they sternly shouted:

"Stop! or we'll shoot you!"

Quite convinced that discretion was the better part of valor, the driver promptly reined up his horses, whereupon the men, dismounting from theirs, said roughly to the alarmed passengers, most of whom had been awakened from a doze:

"Come now, hand over your purses, and be quick about it!"

None of them had been more soundly asleep than Major Rogers, and on first awaking he did not at once grasp the situation, so that Seth whispered in his ear:

"It's robbers, sir; they want our money."

At this the veteran scout understood, and instantly set his quick wits to work to meet the emergency.

"Don't speak or move until I tell you," he whispered to Seth, "but get your pistol ready."

The Major then lay back in his seat again, as though paralyzed with terror.

Meanwhile the other passengers were fumbling in their pockets and getting out their purses, one of the highwaymen holding a lantern up in his left hand so as to make sure that all were obeying orders.

Warmly wrapped as everybody was, with their purses and watches in their innermost pockets, the process of getting at them could not be a very quick one, and the highwaymen swore fiercely at them because they were not so expeditious as they thought they might be.

Not one of them made any show of resistance. They seemed thoroughly cowed by the levelled pistols, and when their valuables had been extracted from the depths of their pockets, handed them over to the rascals as meekly as if it was quite the proper thing to do.

At last only Major Rogers and Seth were left, and the larger of the two highwaymen, who was evidently the leader, emphasizing the order with a full-flavored oath, shouted at them:

"Now then, you two, hand over your money, and be quick about it!"

Without stirring in his seat the Major whispered to Seth:

"I'll take the man with the lantern. You take the other."

And then suddenly rising, he pointed with his left hand beyond the robbers and called out joyfully:

"There they are! They're just in time!"

CHAPTER X
TO BOSTON TOWN

Instinctively the highwaymen turned their heads to see what Major Rogers meant, and as they did the latter, hissing through his clenched teeth:

"Now then, Seth. Shoot the scoundrels!" whipped out his pistol and fired, Seth doing likewise so promptly that the two reports sounded almost like one.

With a groan and a cry of agony the two wretches, mortally wounded, fell to the ground, dropping the lantern, which, of course, was at once extinguished, leaving everything in darkness.

Vastly relieved at this sudden and surprising change in the situation, the driver was about to whip up his horses and make off when the stern voice of the Major rang out:

"Hold there! Don't start until I bid you!"

The man dropped the whip and reined in the horses.

"Jump out, Seth, and find the lantern," was the Major's next order, which Seth made haste to execute.

The lantern was found and relit, and then the Major proceeded to examine the fallen men.

They were both dead already, the Rangers' aim, in spite of the imperfect light and quickness of action, having been unerring, and as the Major regarded them with an expression, curiously blended, of triumph and pity, he said grimly:

"You poor fools! You've got your deserts, but you should have known better than to try and rob me."

The emphasis he put upon the last word was not lost upon his fellow-passengers, who looked at one another sheepishly, for they now felt thoroughly ashamed of their cowardice, and they hastened to cover their confusion by volubly expressing their gratitude to the Major for his gallant conduct.

"Recover your purses and watches, gentlemen," was his only response, however, and when that had been done, and the bodies of the two ill-starred highwaymen had been decently disposed of at the side of the road to await the action of the authorities, who would be informed in due course, the coach resumed its journey.

After they had settled down again in their seats Seth got a chance to ask the question which had been on his lips:

"Whom did you mean, sir, when you said: 'There they are! They're just in time!' and pointed behind the robbers?"

Major Rogers chuckled complacently.

"Whom do you think I meant? Why nobody, of course. It was just a ruse to fool the rascals and get them to turn their heads so that we could fire first. And how easily they were taken in!" and he chuckled again at the success of his scheme.

Seth's admiration for his commander was vastly increased by this fresh proof of his courage and resourcefulness, and as for the other passengers, they professed that he was a perfect hero, and that no words of praise were too strong for what he had done.

At last the tiresome journey came to an end, and as the coach lumbered through the tortuous streets of Boston Seth's heart beat high with expectation. He was now in the big city, and the days before him could not fail to be full of novelty and interest.

They put up at a comfortable tavern where the Major was well known, and the best accommodation the house afforded was placed at his disposal. It was a very ordinary establishment, and in no wise resembled a modern hotel; but to Seth's untravelled eyes it seemed quite grand and the substantial fare that burdened the tables sumptuous indeed.

The morning after their arrival Major Rogers said:

"I have certain business to attend to that will take me the best part of the day and you will have to look after yourself. You'd better go out and see the town, but mind where you go, and don't get lost. I'll be back by supper-time."

"All right, sir," responded Seth cheerily, much pleased at the idea of being left to his own devices. "I'll take good care of myself."

After the Major, attired in his best uniform, had set out, Seth inquired the way to the waterside, for he was first of all anxious to see the shipping.

He found the wharves crowded with shipping, and was immensely interested in the bustle and noise as the sailors, with many a shout and song, toiled away at loading or unloading the cargoes. It was all new to him, and he did not hesitate to ask many questions of the weather-beaten men, some of whom answered him civilly enough, while others were decidedly gruff, and others still, rightly judging that he was a country lad, tried to run rigs on him.

But Seth was too shrewd to be fooled very far. He understood pretty well when he was being answered correctly, and he picked up a good deal of information as he strolled about in an apparently aimless way.

One of the largest ships which hailed from England was discharging a cargo of general goods bewildering in variety, and as Seth talked with one of the sailors he was thinking to himself:

"How I'd like to go across the ocean to England and see everything there! It must be a wonderful place. I wonder will I ever have the chance."

The possibility of his realizing his desire seemed remote enough, but that fact did not trouble him, and he made a mental resolution to get over to the Mother Land some day, however distant it might be.

His pleasant meditations were at this point interrupted by cries of pain and terror, coming from a boy who was evidently being cruelly treated, and instinctively he hastened to see what was the matter.

On the other side of a great pile of casks he found a hulking fellow of the wharf-rat genus ill-using a small boy who was vainly endeavoring to escape from his clutches.

Instantly his ire was aroused, and without taking thought of the consequences, but simply obeying the chivalrous impulse to rescue the little victim from the ruffian, he sprang forward, and, seizing the latter by the shoulders, flung him upon his back, at the same time saying to the released boy:

"Run now! I'll not let the brute follow you!"

The little chap at first obeyed, but had not gone many yards ere he stopped and looked back, being anxious to see how it fared with his timely rescuer.

The wharf rat had been so taken by surprise and thrown so hard that for a moment he lay prostrate and breathless, but the next moment he was up, and with a foul oath hurled himself upon Seth, who had stood his ground so as to protect the flight of the boy.

So far as size and weight went the ruffian had decidedly the best of it, and if Seth had permitted him to get at close grips and fight in his own rough and tumble fashion, it certainly might have gone hard with him.

But he had more sense than to do that. He rightly judged his assailant's purpose, and when the latter was almost upon him, sprang quickly aside and thrust out his foot, at the same time landing with his right fist upon the fellow's head.

Down he went again, this time forward instead of backward, and now, utterly infuriated, he seized a large stone as he rose, and was about to hurl it at Seth, who could hardly have evaded the missile at such short range, when his arm was grasped by a newcomer upon the scene, who said to him sternly:

"Drop that, you rascal! If you don't fight fair, I'll throw you into the dock."

With a wolfish snarl he turned upon the speaker, as though he would strike him with the stone, but his uplifted hand dropped quickly, and there was something of a whine in his tone as he said:

"What did he hit me for? I wasn't doing nothing to him."

"Why did you hit him?" inquired the man of Seth. "What mischief was he up to?"

"He was beating that boy, sir," answered Seth promptly, "and I interfered. He had no business to be hurting a little fellow like that."

"Ah, ha, just as I supposed, you miserable cur!" and as he spoke the wharfinger, who had kept hold of the bully, gave him a good shake. "Now, look here, if you're so anxious to use your fists, why don't you take some one of your own size? I dare say this stranger would not object to having a round or two with you if you want it."

Seth smiled and nodded his head. Assured of fair play by the presence of the wharfinger, he was indignant enough with the bully to feel quite in the humor of giving him a good pummelling.

Not so, however, the other. He had already had sufficient taste of Seth's quality to show him that he was an antagonist by no means to be despised, and instead of accepting the challenge thus offered, he hung down his head and slunk off out of sight, while the wharfinger, chuckling at his discomfiture, turned to Seth and asked him courteously if there was anything he could do for him, as he seemed to be a stranger.

"No, thank you, sir," Seth responded brightly. "I'm just amusing myself looking around. I never saw big ships before. I've always lived in the country."

"And I suppose everything about here is very new and strange to you," the wharfinger broke in. "Come along with me and I'll explain things a bit and then you'll understand better."

Nothing could have suited Seth better. He had been puzzled by many things he saw, but shrank from asking questions of the busy men about him, but now, thanks to his new acquaintance, all would be made clear.

The wharfinger asked him some questions about himself, and was evidently much interested when he learned that he was a member of Rogers' Rangers, the fame of whose exploits had reached even to Boston.

"And you say Major Rogers is in Boston now," he exclaimed. "Well, well! I must try and see him. I should esteem it an honor to shake hands with the man who has done such wonderful things if all accounts of him be true."

Seth assured him that the Major was quite as great a hero as he was reported to be, and added that if the wharfinger would come up to the tavern that evening he would introduce him to the great man.

This suggestion pleased the wharfinger very much, and so in great mutual good humor they began their round of the ships and warehouses.

This was pure enjoyment for Seth. He asked as many questions as a school-boy, and to every one of them received an enlightening answer. They went on board several of the ships, descending into their holds and visiting their cabins, and chatting with their officers, some of whom showed them hearty hospitality, and altogether it was a rich experience to Seth, whose keen eyes took in everything, while his active mind stored away what he heard, and he said to himself exultantly:

"Won't I have a lot to tell Reuben and the rest of them at the fort when I go back."

One of the captains whose vessel they boarded, just at mid-day, insisted upon their sitting down to dinner with him, and after some demur they consented, because it seemed easier to do so than to refuse him, and it was consequently well into the afternoon ere Seth was able to get away from his new friends and return to the tavern, where he found Major Rogers wondering what had become of him.

The Major was in high feather, and, although not ordinarily inclined to be communicative, after cutting short Seth's account of the way he had spent the morning, he proceeded to relate with great gusto how it had fared with him.

It seemed that his reception by General Shirley was very cordial, and the Commander-in-Chief had said many flattering things about the value of his services as a pleasant preliminary to the highly gratifying information that he had decided to give him the command of an independent company of Rangers, and he was to wait upon him the following morning in order to receive his commission and instructions for future action.

"Why, isn't that fine!" Seth exclaimed, his countenance glowing with pride and pleasure, for he heartily shared in his leader's feeling. "You will be your own master now, won't you, and do just what you like?"

"To a certain extent, yes," responded the Major complacently, "but not entirely. I shall have, of course, to work together with those in command at the forts, but my Rangers will have no one to obey but myself."

"And what is the great General like?" Seth asked, with boyish curiosity. "Is he very big and splendid, and everything grand about him?"

Major Rogers smiled indulgently at his young companion.

"I don't think I'll tell you. I'll leave you to judge for yourself. You can come with me to-morrow morning when I go to get my commission."

"Oh! can I?" cried Seth, his face radiant at the prospect. "You are very good. I'll be so glad to go."

That evening the wharfinger called as he had promised, and Seth, now prouder of his chief than ever, lost no time in telling him of the new honors conferred upon the Major ere he led him into his presence.

The two men were soon on easy terms, and Seth keenly enjoyed their conversation as they exchanged experiences, the one being so familiar with the life of the sea and the other with the life of the forest. Altogether it was a memorable day for the backwoods youth, and yet as he lay down to sleep it was with lively anticipation of yet more notable events which the morrow held in store for him.