Ex HtbrtB 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 When you leave, please leave this hook 
 
 Because it has heen said 
 "Sver'thing comes t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned hook.'' 
 
 Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/aboardmavisitistOOmark 
 
THE WAGONER SEEKS HIS FAMILY. 
 
 See page 128. 
 
Aboard the Mavis. 
 
 (It is told in this Book how Five Boys and Five Girls 
 cruise in the Schooner "Mavis" about the cast end of Long 
 Island, and how, in addition to sundry Good Times, they 
 learn somewhat of the Early History of their Country.) 
 
 By 
 
 Richard Markkam, 
 
 Author of "Around the Yule Log." 
 
 Illustrated. 
 
 New York: 
 Dodd, Mead, and Company \ 
 
 Publishers. 
 
Copyright, 1880, 
 PODD, MEAD, & CO. 
 
ABOARD THE MAVIS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 It was a day in early Sep- 
 tember. Beyond the fields, yel- 
 low with the golden-rod, or white 
 with the tiny autumn daisy, lay 
 the ocean, more blue than the 
 
 sky above it, while the little Lake Agawam seemed like a sap- 
 phire in a golden setting. A fresh, crisp wind was rustling the 
 grass, now turning brown in the falling year ; and the never- 
 ceasing thunder of the surf on the long stretch of beach-sands 
 filled the air. 
 
 Indoors about the dining-table were seated Mr. and Mrs. 
 Longwood, and Tom and Carrie. Tom had just laid down his 
 fork, and was looking out of the window with an air of forced 
 resignation. 
 
 " And to think," he said, after a moment, " that a fellow 
 must leave all this, day after to-morrow, and go back to school ! " 
 
IO 
 
 TOM IS DISCONSOLATE. 
 
 No one answered ; for, indeed, if all Tom's regrets had been 
 sympathized with, some one of the family would have been talk- 
 ing all the time. 
 
 The arrival of the pudding seemed to revive his spirits ; and 
 he did not speak again until it had all vanished from his plate, 
 when he said briefly, — 
 
 " Sterscuseme ? " 
 
 To this enigmatical remark his mother gave a pleasant nod, 
 and Master Tom was quickly out of the room. As he reached 
 the piazza, he cried out, " Hallo ! there's Andrew ! " and, seizing 
 his cap, he started down the path to the pier, toward which a 
 boat driven by the sturdy arms of a young Irishman was rapidly 
 approaching. 
 
 " Any letters ? " he asked, as he seized the painter of the 
 boat, and made it fast. 
 
 Andrew, who was a man of few words, silently took off his 
 hat, and, producing therefrom two envelopes, handed them over, 
 together with three or four newspapers, which he fished out of 
 a side pocket. 
 
 " All for papa," said Tom, looking at the superscriptions ; and 
 he set out for the house, and gave them to his father, who was 
 still sitting at the table. Then he was on his way out of doors 
 once more, when a sudden call from his father, who had broken 
 one of the seals, stopped him. 
 
 " Wait a moment, Tom," he said. " I think this letter con- 
 cerns you ; " and, after reading it carefully through, he tossed it 
 over, and Tom picked it ud. This was the letter : — 
 
AN EPISTLE FROM THEOPHILUS GRINDER. 
 
 MR. GRINDER'S SELECT SCHOOL FOR YOUNG GENTLEMEN. 
 
 PUPILS FITTED FOR COLLEGE OR BUSINESS. THE MODERN LANGUAGES 
 
 CAREFULLY TAUGHT. 
 
 No. 2000 Madison Avenue, New-York City, Sept. 8, 1879. 
 
 William Longwood, Esq. I 
 Dear Sir, — It is with sincere regret that I am compelled to notify you of 
 the postponement of the opening of the autumn term of my school from Sept. 15, 
 to Oct. 1. 
 
 A defect in the drainage-pipes of the house having made itself perceived, I 
 have decided that it was due to the health of my scholars to have a thorough 
 revision made of the plumbing of the establishment, in order that any suspicion 
 of trouble might be done away with. This revision is in progress, and is making 
 such headway that by the 1st of October, prox., I hope to meet again all my 
 young friends. 
 
 The delay is of course detrimental to their interests ; but by home study of 
 three or four hours each day, until school begins, a great portion of the loss may 
 be made up. Your son was about to enter on Algebra, Sallust's Jugurthine Wars, 
 and Latin Prose Composition. 
 
 The idea that I have thrown out will, no doubt, commend itself to your judg- 
 ment, jnd I shall hope for your hearty co-operation. 
 
 Yours with esteem, 
 
 THEOPHILUS GRINDER, M.A. 
 
 Tom gave a wild shout of delight, and threw his cap into 
 the air, deftly catching it as it came down. 
 
 " Carrie ! Mamma ! " he shouted, rushing into the hall, " no 
 school ! 
 
 Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea : 
 Grinder's pipes are out of order, his pupils are free ! " 
 
 " Tom," said Carrie with great severity, " that is a hymn that 
 
I 2 
 
 TOM COMMITS A SIN. 
 
 you are turning into ribald rhyme, and it is very wrong of 
 you." 
 
 " You seem to have forgotten, Master Tom," said his father, 
 with a queer twinkle in his eye, as he came into the hall, " that 
 Mr. Grinder wishes you to study Latin prose and algebra four 
 hours a day, and confidently relies on my co-operation in seeing 
 that you do it. Had you not better get your books at once, 
 and begin ? " 
 
 Tom's countenance fell. That part of the letter had hardly 
 caught his eye at all. 
 
 " O papa ! " he said, " that would be dreadful." 
 
 His father laughed. " I confess," he said, " that a different 
 plan had occurred to me. How would Carrie and you like to 
 ask down some of your friends, and all go next week on an 
 expedition to Montauk ? " 
 
 There was such a chorus of delighted shouts at this, that 
 Mrs. Longwood, who had come to the head of the stairs at 
 Tom's first call, deliberately put her hands over her ears, and 
 went back to her room. 
 
 When at last quiet was restored, Mr. Longwood said, — 
 
 " Well, to-day is Wednesday. You will have two hours in 
 which to write the letters before the mail closes. I am going to 
 the village, and will post them. They ought to reach their des- 
 tination to-morrow early, and you should have answers by Friday 
 noon. Ask them all to come on Saturday; and Monday, bright 
 and early, we will set off. Whom do you intend to ask?" 
 
 "We must have Will and Charlie Morgan," said Tom. 
 
 " And Rose and Kate Waring." said Carrie. 
 
SOME LETTERS ARRIVE. 
 
 13 
 
 " And Ned and Lou Grant, of course," said Tom. 
 
 "And Gertrude and Jack Hastings," added Carrie. 
 
 "That will be the same party that we had when we kept 
 up our Yule-tide festivities," said Mr. Longwood, " and will do 
 nicely. Now off to your letter-writing ; and don't make any more 
 noise than you can help, for I want to read my paper." 
 
 The letters were duly written and posted, and Tom and 
 Carrie were all impatience for the time to come when the 
 answers should arrive. Friday noon they were both on hand at 
 the office when the mail came in, and watched with eagerness 
 as one letter after another was thrust into their box. And at 
 last, when the little square window was opened for delivery, 
 Tom seized the handful of letters and papers that were passed 
 to him ; and both ran out together, where they could examine 
 them free from the curious eyes of the loungers in the store. 
 
 " Here are two for you, Carrie, and two for me," said Tom. 
 "Hallo! where is papa? The dog-cart was here a moment 
 ago." 
 
 " Perhaps the horse was restless, and he has driven down the 
 road. Let us sit down here, and read the letters," said Carrie, 
 tearing one open. 
 
 They proved highly satisfactory. All wrote that they were 
 coming, but Gertrude and Jack, and from them there was no 
 reply. Tom turned over the whole package, and even went 
 back to see if by chance any thing could have been left in the 
 box ; but there was no trace of such to be found. 
 
 " Perhaps they may have been away from home," said Carrie : 
 " but, unless they were very far away, I think we shall hear by 
 
14 
 
 A SHORT STOUT MAN IN A PEA-JACKET. 
 
 to-morrow ; for I put ' Haste ' in big letters on the envelope, 
 and I fancy Mrs. Hastings would open it. Where can papa 
 be?" 
 
 If they had not been so intent on watching for the mail, they 
 would have noticed that Mr. Longwood had driven on slowly 
 down the village street. He had hardly passed the first bend in 
 the road when he noticed coming toward him a short, stout man, 
 with grizzled hair and beard, dressed in a pea-jacket, whose roll- 
 ing gait at once proclaimed him a sailor. As he came abreast, 
 Mr. Longwood pulled up his horse suddenly, and said: — 
 
 " Why, it's Capt. Jackson ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay, Mr. Longwood, here I am," said the captain. 
 
 "And where is the schooner?" asked Mr. Longwood; "and 
 how did you get so far from blue water ? " 
 
 " ' The Mavis ' is tied up at the wharf in Sag Harbor. You 
 see, my mate and two of the hands own an interest in her, and 
 they both came from this section, and we've been a-v'yagin' 
 pretty steadily for two years, and they thought they'd come 
 down and see their folks for a couple of weeks ; and that's how 
 it is the schooner's tied up idle. What I'm to do for two weeks, 
 I dono ; for I have neither chick nor child, and time passes 
 kind o' monotonous ashore." 
 
 " Well, I suppose, then," said Mr. Longwood, " that you 
 would consider favorably an offer from me to charter the 
 schooner for a week." 
 
 Capt. Jackson at once became all attention, and in ten 
 minutes it was arranged. Mr. Longwood was to furnish a crew 
 of four men, — a thing that he knew could be easily done 
 
AROUSE YE, HARDY MARINERS. 
 
 15 
 
 in a place where every other man had been to sea ; and 
 Capt. Jackson and the Mavis were to be at his service for a 
 week. 
 
 " We will arrange the trip in this way," Mr. Longwood ex- 
 plained to Tom and Carrie that day at dinner : " Your mamma 
 and the girls will drive to Montauk, taking a day and a half to 
 reach the light-house. The rest of us will sail, joining them 
 there. Then we can make any further plans we fancy. Per- 
 haps we might all go on board our craft, and make a trip to 
 New London. 
 
 "The first thing to do now, though, is to hunt up the crew 
 that I have agreed to furnish. So, Tom, if you will go with 
 me, we will start on our search in an hour." 
 
 The crew was easily obtained. Thomas John Wilsey from 
 North Sea was engaged as mate ; for he had been to sea, and 
 was quite a skilful sailor. The man whom they had met at 
 Shinnecock Bay was to be one of the hands, and two other 
 sturdy fellows were only too glad to go. 
 
 The night's mail brought no word from Gertrude ; but the 
 next morning, when Carrie was in the attic hunting out from an 
 old trunk something for the trip, she heard some one hurrying 
 up the crooked stairs ; and the next minute one of the maids 
 came panting toward her with a yellow envelope in her hand. 
 
 " It's a telegram, Miss Carrie. Your papa told me to take it 
 to you as quickly as I could." 
 
 Carrie tore it open, and read: — 
 
 " Letter received. Hurrah ! We are coming. 
 
 JACK." 
 
i6 
 
 THE GUESTS ARRIVE. 
 
 The morning train brought Will and Charlie, Rose and Kate, 
 and Lou and Ned ; and it was a merry and noisy party that 
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF THE TELEGRAM. 
 
 gathered about the dining-table. And in the evening came Jack 
 and Gertrude. Jack could not sit still, but jumped out when he 
 
JACK COMES ON FOOT. 
 
 '7 
 
 came near, and raced across the fields to the house, beating by 
 several minutes the rumbling old stage that brought them. 
 
 And now our party is all together, and everv one is wishing 
 for Monday to come, that they may set out. 
 
 GERTRUDE COMES AT LAST. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Monday came at last. At nine 
 o'clock, John, the coachman, brought 
 to the door the great Concord 
 i wagon, while Andrew followed with 
 j the farm-cart for the two small 
 trunks into which all the baggage 
 teaisg^i l rfffiM 8 of the land party had been com- 
 pressed. Then Mrs. Longwood and the girls climbed up to their 
 seats, John drew up the reins, and off they went at a spank- 
 ing pace, the boys giving them a parting cheer as they turned 
 into the road, and disappeared. Then every boy rushed into the 
 house for his own luggage ; for the lumbering stage that was to 
 take them to the station was seen slowly approaching, half visible 
 through the cloud of dust by which it was enveloped. 
 
 A half-hour's ride on the railway brought them to Sag Har- 
 bor, where they found Capt. Jackson waiting, his crew all on 
 board, and every thing in readiness for an immediate start ; and, 
 only delaying while Mr. Longwood made some purchases at one 
 of the provision-stores, they hurried aboard, and in ten minutes 
 had cast off, and were afloat. 
 
 Long before they had made their way out through the crooked 
 
 18 
 
JACK PROPOUNDS NAUTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 19 
 
 channel, into the open water of the Sound, Jack had been through 
 every part of " The Mavis." He had surveyed with unspoken 
 admiration the bunks around the little cabin where they were to 
 sleep ; he had pulled at every rope, and asked its name ; and 
 he had propounded to Capt. Jackson more questions on nautical 
 points than that worthy seaman had ever heard, even from an 
 examining board. The other boys, too, had not been idle ; so 
 that when the black head of the cook suddenly appeared, an- 
 nouncing that dinner was ready, they all discovered that they 
 were ravenously hungry, and made a rush for the cabin. 
 " Come, Captain," said Mr. Longwood. 
 
 " No," said Capt. Jackson. " I'll wait till we get out of the 
 channel, into deep water, before I take a bite." 
 
 " Well," said Jack, as he paused, after a vigorous attack on 
 a sweet-potato, " this is what I call jolly. Why, we might be a 
 party of bold navigators bound on exploring some unknown sea, 
 — Columbus about to discover America, for instance." 
 
 " If you want to represent the discoverer of America," said 
 Mr. Longwood, " you will have to go nearly five hundred years 
 farther back than Columbus." 
 
 " Why, the question in my geography," said Jack, "is, ' Who 
 first discovered America ? ' and the answer is, ' Christopher Colum- 
 bus, in 1492.'" 
 
 " Nevertheless," said Mr. Longwood, " it was discovered about 
 the year 1000, by a Northman." 
 
 "What was his name?" asked Tom; "and how did it come 
 about ? " 
 
 "Well, to make you understand it clearly," said Mr. Long- 
 
20 
 
 THE SEA-KING HASTINGS. 
 
 wood, " I shall have to go back to the year 850, when there 
 lived in Norway a king, Harold Fairhair. He was a man of 
 great strength of will ; and he brought all the independent 
 chiefs, who had before been subject to no one, under his power. 
 But there were many who preferred to leave their country, rather 
 than submit. They flocked to the Orkney, and Shetland, and 
 Faroe Isles, and became Vikings, or sea-rovers. In their long- 
 ships, as the war-vessels were called, to distinguish them from 
 merchantmen, they were the terror of the world. 
 
 " Did you ever hear how one Hastings took the city of Luna, 
 in Italy ? 
 
 THE SACK OF LUNA. 
 
 The guards on the walls of Luna, 
 
 As they seaward cast the eye, 
 See a mighty fleet of Vikings 
 
 Clear cut against the sky. 
 ' What, ho ! the town is threatened, 
 
 Quick sound the bell's alarm ! 
 Tis the sea-king Hastings cometh : 
 
 Bid every freeman arm.' 
 
 The dreaded fleet draws nearer, 
 
 Till each ship at anchor rides ; 
 But no gay-wrought pennons flutter, 
 
 No warriors crowd their sides. 
 Instead, a pall of blackness, 
 
 And the death-song chanted slow, 
 While two messengers in sable robes 
 
 To the gates of the city go. 
 
NAVE AT TNEAf NOW, YE SEA-DOGS. 
 
 ' We come not here in anger, 
 
 Nor the battle-cry to sound ; 
 But we seek a grave for our leader 
 
 In consecrated ground. 
 And if ye, of your courtesie, 
 
 Shall grant this our request, 
 Full many a roll of yellow gold 
 
 Will we pay for his spirit's rest.' 
 
 Next day the corpse of the sea-king, 
 
 In an oaken coffin lain, 
 Is borne on the shoulders of Vikings, 
 
 At the head of a goodly train. 
 Full reverently they bear him, 
 
 To music's mournful sound, 
 Before the great high altar, 
 
 And in silence stand around. 
 
 Why shrink the priests in terror? 
 
 Why blanch their cheeks with fear? 
 Can it be their craven hearts stand still, 
 
 At the pale corpse lying here? 
 Ha ! the coffin bursts asunder, 
 
 And the dead man leapeth out ; 
 Above his head his good blade shines, 
 
 From his lips there rings the shout, — 
 
 ' Have at them now, ye sea-dogs ! 
 
 Plunder, and burn, and slay ! 
 Hew down these craven- hearted priests, 
 
 The town is ours this clay ! 
 
24 
 
 HAROLD FATh'HATR GOES TO WAR. 
 
 Fear not the odds against us, 
 
 Glory waits him who falls : 
 For those who live there's treasure ; 
 
 For the dead great Odin's halls.' 
 
 Down crash the half-burned rafters, 
 
 On the dead priests within ; 
 Without, the shrieks of women 
 
 Above the battle's din. 
 
 So fell the town of Luna, 
 
 In the days long since gone by: 
 Give God true thanks that we live at peace, 
 
 Nor dread a battle-cry. 
 
 " Well, the Vikings harried England and all the Atlantic coast, 
 going, as we have seen, into the Mediterranean even ; but the 
 land they most loved to fall upon was that from which they had 
 been driven. 
 
 " Harold Fairhair was not a man to submit to such treatment ; 
 and no sooner had he established his authority over his own land 
 than he fitted out a great fleet, and fell upon the outlying islands 
 with such violence, that he broke the power of the Vikings for- 
 ever. 
 
 \ " Those who were left alive after these bloody battles, having 
 now less than ever a mind to be the subjects of Harold Fair- 
 hair, turned their eyes to Iceland ; and such numbers went there, 
 that in a few years the habitable parts of the island were thickly 
 peopled. 
 
 " They were, as I have said, a race of warriors. Their reli- 
 
WITH ODIN AT VALHAL. 
 
 25 
 
 gion made them so. The hero who died in battle went straight 
 to live with Odin, at Yalhal. Here the roof was made of the 
 golden shields of heroes ; and the time passed in stirring feats 
 of arms, and in drinking great horns of mead. Thor was another 
 o-od : he it was whose voice made the thunder. Ran was the 
 
 o 
 
 goddess of the sea ; and there were other- gods and goddesses 
 without number. 
 
 AN ICELANDIC HAKBOR. 
 
 " The Vikings recounted their valorous deeds in chants after 
 this fashion : — 
 
 ' Hewed we with the hanger, 
 When I young was ; 
 East in Eyra's channel, 
 Outpoured we blood for grim wolves.' 
 
26 
 
 THORFINN THE SKULLS PLIT'lER. 
 
 "The very names that some of them carried — such, for 
 instance, as ' Thorfinn the Skullsplitter ' — attested their prowess. 
 
 " It was a wild land they chose for their home when they 
 were driven from the Western Islands by Harold. Great volca- 
 noes belch forth in its central portion, so that, for hundreds of 
 miles, there is not a sign of plant-life to be found. At times 
 
 THE KlVhR JUKl'LSA. 
 
 the gloomy river Jokulsa comes seaward, its swollen waters cov- 
 ered with ashes, while at night it looks like a river of blood, as 
 it reflects the stream of flame shooting high in air from some 
 crater's mouth. Only near the seaboard is the country habitable. 
 " But the Northmen cared little for its wildness, or for the 
 
A WINTER NIGHT'S TALE. 
 
 29 
 
 bleakness of its coast, and its frightful storms. Here Harold 
 Fairhair could not reach them ; and out of the landlocked fjords, 
 or arms of the sea, their long-ships could sally forth, carrying 
 destruction to the enemy. It was one of these men who dis- 
 covered America. 
 
 " Eirek the Red had tired of Iceland. Learning of a new 
 country called Greenland, he had gone there with his family to 
 settle. In the long winter nights, as they sat about the fires, 
 listening to the wild experiences of any stranger that might have 
 claimed their hospitality, they heard with astonishment the tale 
 of one Bjarni. He declared that once, driven by wild storms, 
 he had discovered land far to the westward. The coast had 
 seemed bleak and unattractive to him ; and, the wind hauling, he 
 had left it astern, and sailed back to Greenland. 
 
 " Old Eirek and his son Leif were much stirred at this story. 
 They decided that they would buy Bjarni's ship, and themselves 
 hunt out this strange land. They loaded her with all needed 
 provisions, and with a crew of thirty-five men, were just about 
 to sail, when Eirek, on his way to embark, fell from his horse. 
 Regarding this as an ill omen, he decided to stay at home, 
 and Leif sailed without him. 
 
 " He found, after a few days, that Bjarni's tale was true ; for 
 there lay the land before him. It was the south-eastern ex- 
 tremity of Newfoundland, recognizable to this day by their de- 
 scription : ' a bare, rugged plain, covered with broad flat rocks.' 
 Two days more they sailed before a north-east wind ; then, coast- 
 ing westward, they came, after a little, to a river. Pleased with 
 the country, they passed up the river, and decided to winter on 
 
3o 
 
 A TIMBER-LADEN SHIP. 
 
 its banks. With all speed they built themselves huts : Leifsbuder 
 they called them. The river furnished them the finest salmon ; 
 and the country about so abounded in grapes, that they called it 
 Vinland. 
 
 " Here," said Mr. Longwood, taking down a chart from a 
 rack above his head, " this is the spot. It is now called the 
 Taunton River." 
 
 " Why, it is not very far from where we now are," said Will. 
 
 " No," said Mr. Longwood ; " not more than twenty-five 
 miles, as the crow flies. 
 
 " The winter passed away quietly ; and in the spring Leif 
 loaded his vessel with timber, and his long boat with dried grapes, 
 and so went home again." 
 
 " Was Leif the only Northman who came ? " asked Ned. 
 
 " No, indeed. Thorvald, his brother, spent two or three years 
 in Vinland. He explored the coast all about this very region 
 where we now are ; but his love for adventure caused his death ; 
 for, on one of these voyages of investigation, attacked by a band 
 of Skrsellings in canoes, he was slain by an arrow. 
 
 " Thorstein too, a wealthy and powerful man of distinguished 
 family, made a journey to the new world with three ships. He 
 planned to form a colony. His wife Gudrida went with him ; 
 and a son, Snorri, was no doubt the first Christian boy born in 
 America. For Leif and Thorvald and Thorstein had all been 
 converted to Christianity a few years before, and had forsaken 
 the worship of the wild gods of the North. 
 
 " But after three winters Thorstein made up his mind that 
 his colony was a failure ; and so, back he went to Greenland. 
 
A SECOND THORFINN THE SKULLSP LITTER. 
 
 33 
 
 He took with him, as cargo, all the wood that he could carry, 
 and sold it in Norway at an enormous price. For a small piece 
 of what was probably bird's-eye maple, he received about eighty 
 dollars. 
 
 " So you see, Master Jack," said Mr. Longvvood, rising, " that 
 Columbus was not the first man that discovered America, though 
 your geography does say so." 
 
 The boys all rose from the table, and crowded around the 
 chart, to make out more plainly the places Mr. Longwood had 
 spoken of. After a little, Jack went up the ladder, to see what 
 had been going on while they were at dinner. A moment after, 
 the others followed him. 
 
 When they were in the open air, they stopped an instant to 
 look around. The deck seemed quite deserted. Only Capt. 
 Jackson was to be seen, standing at the wheel, now casting his 
 eyes aloft where the sails were bellied out by the fresh wind, and 
 now ahead, scanning the coast. All the rest of the crew were 
 below, forward, where, in the absence of any cargo, they had 
 hung up hammocks. 
 
 " Where is Jack ? " the boys said. " Jack ! Jack ! " but there 
 was no answer. 
 
 " Oh ! there he is," said Will, looking at the bowsprit, a little 
 way out on which, in a somewhat dangerous position, Jack sat 
 cross-legged. "Why didn't you answer us, you bad boy?" 
 
 " I am not Jack," said that youth. 
 
 " Thorfinn am I, 
 Skullsplitter hight. 
 
34 
 
 MAN OVERBOARD. 
 
 Many a hero, 
 I, with my downstroke, 
 Hurried to Valhal. 
 Now, in my long-ship, 
 Roam I o'er ocean, 
 Ran defying " — 
 
 At this, Thorfinn ceased abruptly, and clutched convulsively 
 at some ropes overhead, to recover the balance which he had lost. 
 He failed to reach them, however ; and, after some wild struggles, 
 down he went, splash into the water, into the embrace of the 
 goddess he had been defying. 
 
 " Man overboard ! " shouted Ned, bawling down the hatch to 
 the men below. 
 
 Will Morgan's coat and shoes were off in a twinkling, and 
 he was over the schooner's side after Jack ; but, quick as he was, 
 he was hardly in the water before Thomas John, who, hearing 
 Ned's shout, had run up from below. 
 
 Fortunate it was that Tom Longwood and the Morgans had 
 been brought up by the sea, and knew just what to do. At the 
 first shout, Capt. Jackson had put the helm hard down ; but, 
 before the vessel's head had fairly come around into the wind, 
 Tom and Charlie had lowered the boat, cast it off, and were 
 pulling lustily to where Will and Thomas John were holding up 
 Jack. 
 
 " And a mighty good thing it is," said Capt. Jackson to him- 
 self, " that I had that boat's tackling overhauled. I am afraid it 
 wouldn't have worked so well a week ago." 
 
 The boat quickly made its way to the unfortunate Thorfinn, 
 
A HOT LEMONADE. 
 
 35 
 
 and the three dripping figures were soon aboard. Jack and Will 
 hurried to the cabin, to get rid of their wet clothes ; and Will 
 was soon out again ; but Mr. Longwood thought that Jack had 
 better turn into one of the berths for an hour or so, to make 
 sure of not taking cold. 
 
 So, after bringing him a glass of hot lemonade, they covered 
 him up with blankets, and left him, bidding him be a good little 
 boy, and get into no more mischief. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 CARCELY had the sound of the 
 
 boys' retreating footsteps died away, 
 when Capt. -Jackson's burly form 
 appeared. The captain, as we have 
 said before, was a man of few 
 words. He nodded to Jack, and, 
 seating himself at the table, proceeded 
 to do justice to the food before him. 
 Jack watched with silent astonishment 
 :T — the rapidity with which the contents of the 
 dishes disappeared. Silence, however, was 
 not his strong point. So he raised himself upon his elbow, and 
 proceeded to open conversation. 
 
 "What is Montauk, anyway, captain?" he asked. 
 " Montauk," said Capt. Jackson, pausing with his fork half 
 way to his mouth, "Why, Montauk is — Montauk; the east end 
 of Long Island, you know." 
 
 "Yes," said Jack; "but what is it?" 
 
 "Well," said the captain, "it's a fine rolling country; pas- 
 tures a sight of stock. There must be a good many thousand 
 cattle and sheep on it. There used to be a tribe of Indians,. 
 
 36 
 
AN INTERRUPTED WEDDING. 
 
 37 
 
 but they are about gone. Hardly a dozen are lsft of them 
 all." 
 
 "And do the Indians own it?" 
 
 "Oh, no!" said the captain. "It happened this way: Wyan- 
 dance was the sachem of the Montauks, and all the other tribes 
 on Long Island were subject to him. But at Block Island, and 
 on the main land, there was a tribe, the Narragansetts, that was 
 more powerful still. Ninigret was their sachem's name ; and he 
 made things so uncommonly hot for the Montauks, that they 
 hardly slept o' nights. Why, at one time, Wyandance's daughter 
 was gettin' married, when in walked the Narragansetts, without 
 so much as sayin' ' By your leave,' killed the groom and half 
 the company, and carried the bride off to Block Island. 
 
 " Well, one of these war-parties of Ninigret's made them- 
 selves so very much at home, that the Montauks concluded they 
 would go down to Easthampton, and see if the settlers there 
 would not protect them. So down they went : the white men 
 let them stay, and the Narragansetts dared not attack them 
 there. The result of it all was a big document, wherein, for the 
 love they bore their white brethren, they did grant and convey 
 all Montauk to those white brethren, only reservin' the right to 
 hunt and fish, and live on the land. The document says that it 
 was the Indians' own idee to make over all the property; but I 
 take notice that it wasn't in Indian handwriting that the deed 
 was made." 
 
 " I wish I could get up," said Jack, as the captain started to 
 " Let me have a look at you," said that worthy. " I am 
 
38 
 
 CAPTAIN JACKSON'S SURGERY. 
 
 somethin' of a doctor. I once performed a surgical operation 
 on one of my men, — took off a crushed finger." 
 " How did you do it ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " Hammer and chisel," said the captain concisely. " So," he 
 went on, taking Jack's hand, " pulse steady, skin cool : why, you 
 are all right ! I'll speak to Mr. Longwood when I get on deck, 
 and have you up in no time." 
 
 The captain was as good as his word ; for, in a moment, Ned 
 Grant shouted down to him, "Jack! I say, Jack! get up!" 
 
 " Come down, and stay with me while I dress," called Jack. 
 
 " Can't be done," said Ned : " too much going on up here. 
 Hurry up ! " 
 
 Spurred by this, Jack hurried as never before ; and in five 
 minutes was running across the deck to join the others, button- 
 ing the last button as he came. 
 
 He was just in time to see close beside them a boat such as 
 the fishermen on all the Long-Island shore use when the)" put 
 off through the surf to draw the seine. Two men were ; n it. 
 One was examining a lobster-pot, which he had just drawn to 
 the surface, and out of which he was pulling a reluctant victim ; 
 while the other was keeping the boat's head to the wind, for 
 the sea was rising before a light gale, and the spray every now 
 and then dashed over her bow, sprinkling them both thoroughly. 
 
 " It is wonderful how strong those boats are," said Will. 
 "They can live in almost any sea. — Isn't that so?" he asked, 
 turning to one of the sailors who stood close by. 
 
 " I know a time when I was mighty glad to get out of one," 
 said the man. 
 
/ IV AS DIGGING IN THE GARDEN. 
 
 41 
 
 " When was it ? Tell us about it," said the boys, scenting a 
 story, and closing up about him. # 
 
 " Well," said the man, " it was one May. I was at my house 
 — think I was digging in the garden. Yes," he said medita- 
 tively, stroking his chin ; " am sure I was digging in the garden. 
 I remember I was putting in Early-Rose potatoes. Most ex- 
 traordinary thing, the yield I had with them potatoes. I never 
 yet saw their like." 
 
 " But the boat," interrupted Charlie. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " said the man. " Well, along the road, coming 
 toward me, I saw that boy of Jared Wilsey's, shouting, ' WJiale ! 
 whale ! ' I never knew a boy like that. His tongue is hung in 
 the middle, and clatters at both ends all day long. They say he 
 even talks in his sleep. And there's his father and mother, the 
 silentest people in the whole town." 
 
 " And did he see the whale first ? " asked Ned. 
 
 " Yes : he seen her spouting, close in shore. So, down a 
 lot of us ran ; and we manned four boats, and after a short chase 
 we killed her, about three mile out. But no sooner was she 
 dead, than the critter sank. So there was nothing for it but to 
 make her fast to an anchor, and wait for her to rise. 
 
 " The man on the lookout, two days after, saw, at sunrise, 
 that she had risen, and was drifting eastward, because the anchor- 
 rope was too short. The others were sure it was long enough ; 
 but I knew 'twa'n't ; " and the man shut his jaws with a snap, as 
 if there were no more to be said on the subject, and relapsed 
 into silence. 
 
 " Well ? " said Will. 
 
4 2 
 
 BLOWING GREAT GUNS. 
 
 " Eh ? Oh, yes ! Two boats went off, and they saw her fairly 
 anchored, this time. Then they started for shore, on a double- 
 quick, for the fog shut in, and the surf got up ; and mighty 
 thankful they were when they were safely on land again. 
 
 " Next day it was blowing great guns from the sou'west, and 
 no boat could live. The whale dragged anchor, and went off 
 
 BRINGING DOWN A BOAT. 
 
 before the wind. We heard of her near Easthampton, and how 
 parties there were going to get her as soon as the sea went 
 down. That was more than we could stand. Some one called for 
 volunteers ; and a crew was made up. The surf was tremen- 
 dous, and things looked squally enough. I more'n half expected 
 our boat would be staved before she got afloat. However, at 
 
BAREFOOTED, IN OUR SHIRT-SLEEVES. 
 
 43 
 
 last we were off, with only a wetting. But outside we found 
 the sea so heavy, that we were afraid the boat would be swamped. 
 We were in a sorry plight, — afraid to go ahead, and afraid to 
 £0 back. As good luck would have it, we seen, a mile or so 
 ahead, a schooner belonging to the Coast Wrecking Company. 
 We pulled for dear life, and got aboard, and at last worried our 
 boat up on to her deck. A thankful man was I, when I had 
 something thicker than inch plank under me." 
 
 " And what became of the whale ? " asked Tom. 
 
 " We borrowed the schooner, and went after her," said the 
 man ; " took her in tow, and started back. But the wind all at 
 once hauled to the east, and blew a gale. Snap went the tow- 
 rope, and off went the whale again. By this time we had all 
 the whale we wanted, for things looked ticklish for the schooner. 
 We didn't dare risk her on the coast any longer, so she scudded 
 before the gale ; and next day we turned up in New- York har- 
 bor, barefooted, in our shirt-sleeves, ninety miles irom home, 
 without a cent in our pockets. By good luck, we had friends 
 there : so we borrowed some money, and came back by railroad." 
 
 " And did you lose the whale, after all ? " asked Charlie. 
 
 " No : she went ashore, a ways west. We cut her up, and 
 cleared nine hundred dollars from her." 
 
 " What land is that ? " asked Jack, as the man turned away. 
 "Is it an island ? " 
 
 " That," said Mr. Longwood, " is Gardiner's Island. W hen 
 Capt. Kidd was roving the seas, chasing and burning every ill- 
 fated ship that he met, he stopped .at Gardiner's Island on his 
 way homeward to Boston, after a cruise in the Spanish Main, 
 
44 
 
 MRS. GARDINER ROASTS A SUCKING-PIG. 
 
 where was the scene of his chief exploits. He summoned Gardi- 
 ner, and in his presence buried a chest of treasure, telling him 
 that he should hold him personally responsible for its safe keep- 
 ing. Then he ordered Mrs. Gardiner to roast him some sucking- 
 pig for dinner. She must have been an excellent cook ; for he 
 
 KIDD AFTER A MERCHANTMAN. 
 
 was so pleased with the dish, that he presented her with a quan- 
 tity of cloth-of-gold, after which he sailed away to Boston. His 
 treasure did him little good though, for hardly had he reached 
 port before he was seized." 
 
GARDIXER HAS CHILLS O' XIGHTS. 
 
 45 
 
 " What became of it ? " asked Will. 
 
 " Gov. Bellamont heard of his having buried it ; so he sent 
 commissioners from Massachusetts to recover the spoil. Gardi- 
 ner delivered it up, and it was taken away ; but I imagine the 
 good man had many a chill at the thought that perhaps the old 
 freebooter might yet escape, and come back to claim his own, 
 and that he was a happy man when he heard, about two years 
 after, that Kidd had been hung in chains at Execution Dock, in 
 London." 
 
 " I wonder he did not try to keep it for himself," said Ned. 
 " Was it very great ? " 
 
 " Yes : there were some thirteen bags," said Mr. Longwood. 
 " They contained gold and silver, coined, in bars, and in dust. 
 There were, beside, precious stones and jewels. It is not pleas- 
 ant to think of the bloody deeds by which it was got together." 
 
 " Why, Jack," said Ned suddenly, looking at him, " how pale 
 you are about the gills ! I do believe you are going to be sea- 
 sick." 
 
 " I am not," said Jack indignantly. 
 
 " There certainly is a great deal more motion than there was 
 an hour or two ago, and the wind is much fresher," said Mr. 
 Longwood. 
 
 " The schooner's empty," said Capt. Jackson, who had come 
 up just at that moment. " If she had a cargo aboard, she'd be 
 much steadier. I have an idea," he went on, " that a storm is 
 brewing. The barometer is falling fast, and I don't like the looks 
 of things altogether ; " and he cast his eyes in a weather-wise 
 fashion at the sky, and then at the horizon. " I shouldn't won- 
 der if we had a nasty night." 
 
4 6 
 
 THE MAVTS IS DESERTED. 
 
 " That's not a very pleasant prospect," said Mr. Longwood. 
 " I con ;ider myself a fair sailor ; but I must confess that I like 
 to sleep in a bed that is moderately still." 
 
 " Well, there's nothing easier than to have a quiet night," 
 said the captain. " We can run into Fort Pond Bay, and anchor. 
 There's no safer harbor on the coast, when the wind is east." 
 
 " Fort Pond Bay, then, let it be, by all means. Let us look 
 at the chart in the cabin, boys, and see just where it is," said 
 Mr. Longwood. 
 
 Then it was, when all heads were bent over the chart, that a 
 brilliant idea came to Jack. " Why ! House No. 2, where Mrs. 
 Longwood and the girls were to spend the night, was at Fort 
 Pond. The island looks very narrow there, on the chart. I don't 
 believe it can be more than a mile wide. What fun it would 
 be to walk across, and surprise them ! I am going to ask Thomas 
 John about it." 
 
 Thomas John pronounced the plan entirely feasible ; and so 
 it turned out, that when, in the ofatherincr dusk, " The Mavis " 
 dropped her anchor in the quiet waters of the bay, our party 
 made haste to disembark ; and Capt. Jackson and his men, while 
 they were making all snug for the night, saw them disappear 
 across the moors in single file, Thomas John at their head as 
 pilot. 
 
 Meantime, at House No. 2, toward which our friends were 
 striding, Mrs. Longwood and the girls had arrived, and had just 
 finished their supper. They were now all standing in the little 
 porch facing the sea. It seemed, in the dim twilight, as if the 
 ocean which was thundering so angrily on the sands, but a few 
 
A SCENE AT TWILIGHT. 47 
 
 hundred feet away, might suddenly come rushing forward, and 
 sweep tnem all to destruction. 
 
 As they looked to the east, they could catch the fitful gleam 
 
4 8 
 
 AN INDIAN STORY. 
 
 of the spray that lined the foot of the cliffs where the waves 
 were lashed to fur)-. Far out at sea glimmered the solitary light 
 of a passing vessel ; but over the moorlands all about them, 
 there was nothing but the dull gray of coming night. The 
 nearest house was four miles away. 
 
 " What a dreadfully lonely place ! " said Gertrude. " I am 
 going into the house. I should soon see ghosts, or Indians, or 
 some more horrible things, if I stayed out." 
 
 " You are as bad as the farmer's lass," said Carrie, as they 
 all followed her. "Did you ever hear of her? 
 
 When autumn nights grow sharp and chill, 
 
 And cold white mists the valleys fill, 
 
 The farmer's lass at the window-pane 
 
 Starts back in fright, yet peers again ; 
 
 For she sees, by the pale light the moon doth yield, 
 
 Red Indians crouching in the field. 
 
 ' Injuns, father ! ' she cries, and flees 
 
 To a refuge safe on her father's knees. 
 
 The farmer's laugh rings loud and free ; 
 
 ' Indians they are, in truth,' says he ; 
 
 ' But wait till once comes the rising sun, 
 
 And we'll take them prisoners, every one ; 
 
 We'll beat them with clubs, and we'll grind their bones 
 
 To the finest flour, through the old millstones ; 
 
 And we'll eat them smoking hot,' laughs he ; 
 
 'For they're buckwheat Indians 1 that you see.'" 
 
 1 For the benefit of such of my readers as are not versed in farmers' wrys, I wCl sav 
 that the sheaves of buckwheat left standing in the field are known as " Injuns.'' 
 
HUGH ! BIG IiXJUN! 
 
 49 
 
 As Carrie finished the last line, she turned toward the door, 
 and gave a little scream ; for there, apparently, stood an Indian. 
 He had about his shoulders an old, worn buffalo-robe loosely 
 thrown. His face was concealed by the robe, but through his 
 dishevelled hair they could see a couple of arrows sticking. From 
 this disreputable figure came a voice that said, — 
 
 " You callee, he comee. Plentee hungry, this fellow. Hugh ! 
 big Injun ! " 
 
 As for Gertrude, at these words she disappeared like a flash 
 through the door that led to the dining-room ; nor did she pause 
 in her flight till she reached the kitchen. There, finding a man 
 calmly sitting by the fire, smoking his pipe, I will not say that, 
 like the farmer-lass, she found a refuge safe on his knees, but 
 she certainly did seize him by the arm, and hold on very tightly. 
 
 Carrie, on the other hand, looked at the Indian for a moment, 
 and then, rushing forward, seized the buffalo-robe, and, dragging 
 it from his shoulders, exclaimed, — 
 
 " Jack ! you wicked boy, to frighten your sister ! Where in 
 the world did you come from ? and where are the rest ? " 
 
 A shout of laughter from without answered Carrie's question ; 
 and the next moment all were shaking hands together in the 
 little sitting-room. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 After a little, when the 
 buffalo-robe, which Jack had 
 filched from a wagon at the 
 stable, had been returned to its 
 place, and a second supper had 
 been hurriedly prepared, the boys 
 and Mr. Longwood hastened to 
 the dining-room, to fall upon it. 
 The girls all followed, and sat 
 at the long table, by way of 
 helping them to the various 
 dishes. 
 
 " Dear me ! " said Carrie, 
 after a little, during which there 
 had not been a sound, except 
 of knives and forks: "this is 
 dreadful. Not a word has one 
 of these boys spoken for five minutes, and Ned has 
 had four slices of bread already. I know, for I 
 passed him the plate. I feel as if I were in a 
 zoological garden, tossing buns to a bear. Do, some 
 of you, tell us your adventures." 
 
HAUL THE KEEL ABOARD. 
 
 51 
 
 " Jack fell overboard," said Ned concisely. 
 
 " What a story ! " cried each of the girls. " It isn't true ! 
 — Did he fall overboard, Mr. Lon^wood ? " 
 " He certainly did," said that gentleman. 
 
 " O Jack ! " they said : " how frightened you must have been ! 
 Wasn't it dreadful ? " 
 
 " It was an awful moment," said that young man, with his 
 mouth full of bread and butter. " But above the gurgling of 
 the waters in my ears, as I sank, I heard the deep voice of Capt. 
 Jackson shouting, ' Avast ! All hands holystone the deck, and 
 haul the keel aboard,' and then I knew that I was safe." 
 
 " Nevertheless," said Mr. Longwood, when the laugh had died 
 out, " Master Jack had a very narrow escape ; and I fear that, 
 had not Will Morgan and Thomas John come so promptly to his 
 help, Capt. Jackson's command to haul the keel aboard would 
 hardly have saved him." 
 
 Jack's eyes glistened as he looked toward Will ; and I am 
 quite certain that a very thankful heart beat under his jacket, 
 and that his nonsense was only put on to conceal his real 
 feelings. 
 
 " It is hardly fair to make us talk now," said Charlie. " You 
 should tell us of your exploits. Begin, Rose. What has hap- 
 pened ? Did you meet with any dragons, and did a gallant knight 
 deliver you ? " 
 
 " No," said Rose : " there were neither dragons nor knights ; 
 and we had a much nicer time than if there had been. We had 
 the crisp September air overhead, and the rustling of the early 
 fallen leaves as we passed through the woods, and every little 
 
52 
 
 A PITCHER OF MILK. 
 
 while we came to a view of the sea that was enough to take 
 one's breath away. And half of the time some of us were out 
 of the wagon, running on ahead, or gathering asters by the 
 roadside." 
 
 A WALK BY THE WAY. 
 
 "Oh, yes!" broke in Lou; "and we stopped at the prettiest 
 little house ; and Carrie went in to get us some water, and, after 
 being gone about ten minutes, came out with a great pitcher of 
 milk. How good it tasted ! What in the world kept you so 
 long, Carrie ? I meant to ask at the time, but the sight of the 
 milk put it all out of my mind." 
 
A SAILOR'S LULLABY. 
 
 53 
 
 " The woman was singing a lullaby to her baby," said Carrie ; 
 "and I persuaded her to sing it again, while I took down the 
 words. 
 
 When waves are wild, 
 And the winds are out, 
 
 And, 'mid the blinding spray, 
 The good ship, staggering, leaps on, 
 
 Where do the sailors stay? 
 
 High up aloft 
 
 On the swaying yards, 
 
 Like birds on an elm-tree bough, 
 Little they heed the tossing sea 
 
 Breaking about their prow. 
 
 When night comes on, 
 O'er the darkening sea, 
 
 Like birds in their wind-tossed nest, 
 Each in his swinging hammock lies, 
 
 Rocked by the winds to rest. 
 
 " The woman said that her husband was a sailor," went on 
 Carrie ; " and that he had been away more than a year on a 
 whaling-ship in the Arctic seas. She did not expect him back 
 for another year. And, oh, papa ! she had some old blue-and- 
 white cups and saucers on a little shelf, that you would have 
 liked to have. She said that her father brought them home from 
 China, many and many a year ago. I was so much interested 
 in talking to her, that I almost forgot that the others were wait- 
 ing for me outside." 
 
AN OLD DUTCH CHEST-OF-DRA WERS. 
 
 " I must look that place up," said Mr. Longwood, much 
 interested. 
 
 " Papa, you must know," said Tom, " is a great collector. If 
 he can only coax his way into the attic of some of these old 
 houses, he is perfectly happy. He is sure to come home with a 
 
 WAITING FOR CARRIE. 
 
 curious pair of fire-dogs, or perhaps an old Dutch chest-of- 
 drawers, or some old china. The people all about have come 
 to know him; and they think — well, not to put too fine a 
 point on it, they think him a little weak in his mind. And 
 then, some fancy that they have only to show him something 
 
A HAUL OF J /AW HA DEN. 
 
 55 
 
 old, for him to buy it. One woman actually tried to sell him an 
 old broken-down iron caster, because it was a hundred years old, 
 and another talked him into buying a corset-board." 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " laughed Mr. Longwood ; " but there were a dozen 
 old Nankeen cups and saucers in that house, and I wanted to 
 get into the old lady's good graces ; and so I bought the corset- 
 board." 
 
 " What is a corset-board, pray ? " asked Gertrude. 
 
 " In the old days," said Mrs. Longwood, " before steels were 
 used, corsets were laced up behind ; and, to keep them in shape, 
 a thin board of proper shape was inserted in front. The one 
 Mr. Longwood has is chased, and is really quite elaborate." 
 
 " I suppose you took dinner at Easthampton," said Charlie. 
 
 " Yes," answered Kate. " It was just after eleven when we 
 reached there. We found that we had quite two hours before 
 dinner ; so, after seeing John and Andrew set out for home, and 
 leaving all our wraps to be put into the stage that was to bring 
 us on, we strolled down to the beach. It was very exciting ; 
 for a school of menhaden were close in shore, and the fishermen 
 were bringing down their boat. We watched them go off, cast 
 the seine, and draw it." 
 
 "Did they have a good haul?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Not very," said Kate ; " for the fish mostly escaped through 
 a hole in the net. The men said that a shark had been caught, 
 and had been strong enough to break his way through. They 
 spread the net out on the sand ; and the hole was there, sure 
 enough." 
 
 " Proceed with your narration," said Ned, as Kate paused. 
 
56 
 
 A SATANIC LEGEND. 
 
 "Well, after dinner we set out in a stage; and our driver 
 was quite a character. He told us why there are no stones on 
 Long Island." 
 
 " Because it is a sandbank washed up by the ocean," inter- 
 rupted Jack. " I knew as much as that." 
 
 OVERHAULING THF. NET. 
 
 " Not at all," said Carrie. " He said, that, before the first 
 settlers came, Long Island was full of great bowlders. Connecti- 
 cut, however, had not a stone in it, and was a lovely country. 
 
A SHOWER OF STO.VES. 
 
 57 
 
 But it belonged to the Devil, and was, in fact, his own peculiar 
 garden. One Sunday, Satan thought he would visit his fair 
 domain, which he had not seen for some time. The first thing 
 that his eyes lighted on was a Puritan meeting-house. He drew 
 near, to see what it could be, and heard the loud voice of the 
 dominie praying. Now, prayer is the one thing that Satan cannot 
 stand. It always puts him to flight. So he clapped his hands 
 over his ears, and fled across to Long Island, where he sat him 
 down to think. But, the more he thought, the more angry he 
 grew ; and presently he worked himself up to such a pitch, that 
 he seized all the bowlders, and hurled them across the Sound to 
 Connecticut. And, if you don't believe the story," said Carrie, 
 ■" you can go to Connecticut, and see them." 
 
 " It was a long ride over the Napeague meadows," said 
 Kate ; " and we tried to get our driver to tell us some other 
 story, to shorten the way. For six miles and more, the sand 
 was so heavy that our horses could go no faster than a walk. I 
 never saw such a picture of desolation. Great wastes of drifting 
 sand were on one side, with here and there a peep at the sea 
 through the dunes, and, on the other, long stretches of marshes, 
 with sea-birds rising from them." 
 
 " You forget the mosquitoes," said Rose : " there were mil- 
 lions of them." 
 
 " I am not likely to forget them in a hurry," said Kate rue- 
 fully. 
 
 " And did not your driver tell you any other story ? " asked 
 Mr. Longwood. 
 
 "No," said Lou. "The best he could think of was how 
 
58 
 
 A HUNDRED PI -OVER IN ONE DAY. 
 
 Col. Somebody-or-other went shooting on the Montauk moors 
 last autumn, and bagged a hundred plover in a single day." 
 
 " That certainly was a sad falling-off, after so brilliant a be- 
 ginning as the bowlder story," said Mr. Longwood. "There were 
 some quite exciting scenes all about here in Revolutionary days. 
 
 NAPEAGUF.. 
 
 After the battle of Long Island, when the defeated patriot troops 
 had made good their escape to the mainland, the whole island 
 fell under the British sway. And a great thing it was for the 
 British, too, that they did get possession of it ; for it was the 
 garden whence all the provisions for the army at New York 
 came. The Tories were only too glad to get high prices for their 
 
A WHALE-BOAT WARFARE. 
 
 59 
 
 cattle •and produce at the New- York market ; and, if the unwill- 
 ing patriots did not appear, a summary order from Sir Henry 
 Clinton, enforced by a detachment of soldiers, directing their 
 cattle to be brought in at once for sale, under penalty of imme- 
 diate seizure, soon brought the helpless men to terms. Great 
 quantities of wood, too, were cut from the Montauk lands, and 
 carried off in sloops to New York, for barracks and for fire- 
 wood. 
 
 " But the British did not have every thing their own way. 
 Of course, all who had been leaders among; the Americans knew, 
 after that unfortunate battle, that matters would go hard with 
 them, if Sir Henry Clinton once got them in his clutches. So 
 they lost no time in escaping. They took their wives and their 
 children, and such of their household effects as they could get 
 together, and, hurrying them into whale-boats, crossed the Sound, 
 and found a refuge in Connecticut. And then began a guerilla 
 warfare. The farms of those who fled were often given to some 
 prominent Tory, as a reward. But few dared take possession 
 of them. He who did, presently received a notice to leave if 
 he would save his life. If he paid no heed to the warning, he 
 was visited, some dark and stormy night, by a party of armed 
 men. They had crossed the Sound in whale-boats, under the 
 leadership, perhaps, of the former owner of the lands ; and they 
 made small matter of burning the house over the ill-starred 
 loyalist's head. 
 
 " Many of those who did not take flight to Connecticut were 
 secretly in sympathy with the patriots. They gave them informa- 
 tion as to the proper time for armed parties to make midnight 
 
6o 
 
 SO, BOSSY/ SO, BOSSY/ 
 
 journeys in whale-boats across the Sound. They even bought 
 goods in the New- York markets, which were sent across to Con- 
 necticut by these same whale-boats, thus bringing substantial aid 
 to the patriots. 
 
 " On the other hand, there were Tories on the mainland, who 
 much preferred good British gold pieces to the depreciated Con- 
 tinental money, and who smuggled their cattle across to Long 
 Island, where some agent was sure to take them off their hands 
 at once. I remember a story of two men who tried to take a 
 fat steer across in this way. They tied him fast, so that he could 
 not struggle, and laid him in the bottom of a whale-boat, and 
 then, starting out as soon as darkness came, pulled manfully 
 away for Long Island. 
 
 " All went well till they got half-way across ; and then a rope 
 came unfast, so that the animal's hind-legs were loosened. The 
 beast struck out so vigorously, that the man in the stern had to 
 jump about with the greatest activity, to prevent his back and 
 legs from being broken. Encouraged by this partial success, the 
 animal made such play with his horns, that the man in the bow 
 lost no time in scrambling from his seat also. In this way they 
 passed the night in the middle of the Sound, one man in the 
 extreme bow, and one in the extreme stern, and between them 
 an active young steer, threatening to stave in the boat, and sink 
 them at any moment." 
 
 " I think I see them now," said Jack ecstatically. " ' So, 
 bossy ! so, bossy ! ' says one ; and then he steps forward, to catch 
 an end of the rope, when away go the heels, and back he scur- 
 ries. What larks ! " 
 
A SKELETON STORY. 
 
 6 1 
 
 " What was the end of it all ? " asked Will. 
 
 " A patriot cruiser was in sight at daylight. The men had 
 no choice but to surrender ; and the unruly steer was speedily 
 taken on board, where the sailors highly praised his good taste 
 in refusing to be eaten by the enemies of his country." 
 
 " Those must have been wonderfully exciting times," said 
 Will. " What a chance for a few brave men, by some daring 
 deed, to gain a name ! " 
 
 ' There was one such man," said Mr. Longwood, " who must 
 have had quite a reputation at the time, though he has long 
 since been forgotten. I noticed, on a shelf in the other room, 
 while we were waiting for supper, a book which, if it be the 
 one I think it, is made up of extracts from the newspapers at 
 the time of the Revolution. Will you get it for me, Carrie, 
 please? It is called 'Revolutionary Incidents of Long Island.' 
 Yes," said Mr. Loncrwood, as he took the book ; " it is as I 
 thought. I will read you a few extracts which give you, as it 
 were, the skeleton of the man's story. You can fill out the 
 details from your imagination. Here is the first mention I find 
 of him. It is from a patriot paper : — 
 
 '"E. Dayton, under Capt. John Clark, by order of Putnam, seized, Apl. '77, 
 a wagon & goods on Long Island, the property of Oba Wright, of Saybrook.' 
 
 " The next is from a New- York Tory paper : — 
 
 '"Sunday night, 10th inst. (May, '78), 2 whale-boats, 7 men in each, came 
 to Blue Point, & took thence 5 boats lying there with oysters. This party was 
 commanded by one Dayton, from Corum, & were all well armed. They brought 
 their boats from the N. side of the Island, and sent their prizes to N. London. 
 
62 
 
 A PEDDLER TURNS PRIVATEER. 
 
 The head of the banditti who captured the five vessels thus loaded with lumber 
 & produce, was Ebenezer Dayton, a noted pedler who lately lived at Corum.' 
 
 " The next dates from New London, the port to which nearly- 
 all prizes taken by the Americans were sent : — 
 
 "'New London, May 15. — Sunday night last, 2 boats, under the command 
 of Capt. Dayton & Chester, with 14 men in both, went to L. I., and, carrying 
 one of the boats across a narrow part of the island at S. Hampton, they went 
 about sixty miles up the S. side of the island to Fire Island Inlet, & took pos- 
 session of 5 sail of coasting vessels which lay there, laden with lumber, oysters, 
 household furniture, dry goods, provisions, &c. The prizes are all safe airived. 
 More might have been brought off, could they have manned them.' 
 
 " The records of the Maritime Court have preserved the names 
 of these unfortunate vessels. They were the ' Peggy,' ' Polly,' 
 ' George,' ' Dalancey,' and ' Jacob ; ' and the proceeds of their 
 sale no doubt helped mightily to fill the empty pockets of Capt. 
 Dayton and his men." 
 
 " He would soon be rich, at that rate," said Charlie. 
 
 " He did not rest on his oars, at all events," said Mr. Long- 
 wood. "Here is a record only a week later: — 
 
 "'New London, May 22, '78. — Tuesday night 8 whale-boats arrived here, 
 taken by Dayton, S. side of L. L' 
 
 "'New London, June 12, '78. — Capt. E. Dayton, in an armed boat, carried 
 3 prizes into N. Haven, which he took near Fire Island Inlet.' 
 
 " Our privateersman has now got on in the world," said Mr. 
 Long-wood. " He commands an armed vessel, and not a mere 
 whale-boat. But he is about to come to grief. Hear this, from 
 a Tory paper in New York : — 
 
" ' Capt. Eben Dayton, in the sloop Ranger, of 45 men, 6 carriage guns, and 
 12 swivels, blunderbusses, muskets, hand grenadoes (to throw on the deck of 
 
6 4 
 
 JACK DRAWS ON HIS IMAGINATION. 
 
 the vessel attacked as they run her aboard with whale-boats), was taken in South 
 Bay (Nov. 20th, '78), by Capt. Stout of a N. Y. Privateer, and brought to N. Y.,, 
 Wed. last.'" 
 
 " What a pity," said Will, " that the records are not more 
 full ! One would like so much to know how he was taken ; 
 whether by surprise, or by overpowering numbers, after a brave 
 fight." 
 
 " I am going to imagine," said Jack, " that he stood by his 
 guns till the last, and that he was picked up out of the water 
 after his ship went down. But it is all up with him now. He 
 will be put in one of the sugar-houses that were used as prisons 
 in New York, for captured rebels ; and no man can live long 
 there. W hy, they had to lie on a bare floor at night, so close 
 together that they were just like sardines in a box. If one 
 ached from his cramped position, he called out, and the whole 
 line had to turn over at the same time. Good-by, Capt. Eben 
 Dayton. That's the last of you." 
 
 " Don't dispose of him in quite so summary a manner," said 
 Mr. Longwood. " Here is another newspaper extract : — 
 
 "'Aug. 28, '79. — Aug. 14, a party of about 20 rebels made their appearance 
 at Comm. The well-known Eben Dayton was at the head of this party.' 
 
 " So you see, Master Jack, that he certainly did not end his 
 days as you proposed, for here he is at liberty again. And that 
 is all I have been able to find about him. 
 
 " But, Rose," said Mr. Longwood, " I broke right in, with my 
 Revolutionary reminiscences, on your account of your ride here. 
 It was very thoughtless of me." 
 
THE WILD KOLLIXG MOORS. 
 
 65 
 
 " Oh ! your story was a thousand times better," said Rose ; 
 " and beside, I had nothing to say. Our driver, you remember, 
 could only tell about bagging plover." 
 
 " There was a lovely view backward," said Lou, " as we left 
 Napeague, and climbed the highlands. Below us, we saw the 
 salt meadows with the sea-birds flying over them, while on one 
 side lay the ocean, and on the other the Sound. We should 
 have stayed for hours, looking, if our driver had not hurried us, 
 so as to reach here before dark." 
 
 A LOOK BACK. 
 
 " And the moors were lovely," said Carrie. " I wanted to 
 run all the way. There was not a fence nor a stone ; only the 
 wild rolling moors, with thousands of cattle on them." 
 
 " And we came on a desolate little graveyard," said Gertrude, 
 " on a hillside looking down on the ocean. Nearly every grave 
 was marked by a quantity of rough stones piled about it. They 
 
66 
 
 WHERE SHALL WE SLEEP TO-NIGHT? 
 
 told us that unknown mariners, lost on the coast, were buried 
 there. How sad it seemed for them to be lying in their last 
 long sleep in an unknown grave, apart alike from dead or living 
 friends, in these lonely solitudes ! " 
 
 " By the way," said Jack, after a minute, breaking in on the 
 sober silence that had followed Gertrude's words, "where are all 
 we fellows to sleep to-night ? This tiny house can never hold 
 us." 
 
 "That is indeed a serious question," said Mr. Longwood, as 
 they rose from the table ; " and we must give it prompt atten- 
 tion." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 An examination into the anatomy of the 
 house showed that Jack's assertion that they 
 could never all find sleeping-quarters in it 
 was true indeed. At first the situation ap- 
 peared rather depressing, particularly as their 
 landlady could suggest nothing other than that the boys should 
 lie on the sitting-room floor. Matters looked brighter, however, 
 when Tom suggested, — 
 
 " Why not try the barn ? " 
 
 The boys all received this plan with decided approval ; and 
 Thomas John gave it as his opinion, that a hay-mow was equal 
 to a spring-mattress any day ; and that decided the matter. 
 
 So, half an hour later, you might have seen them stumbling 
 along the path through the pitchy blackness, which was only 
 made more black by the fitful glimmer of the lantern that 
 swung from Thomas John's hand. What a wild night it was 
 growing ! The clouds had come up in great masses, so that not 
 a star was visible. The wind was blowing furiously, threatening 
 every instant to put out their light ; and the whole air was dank 
 with spray from the sea, that was lashing itself to fury on the 
 sands. 
 
 6? 
 
68 
 
 A NASTY NIGHT AT SEA. 
 
 " It is a nasty night at sea," said Will. 
 
 "Yes," said Thomas John; "I am glad" — 
 
 The cause of Thomas John's gladness, the boys could only 
 guess ; for at that moment he tripped over an unseen stone, 
 and, striving to recover his balance, pitched wildly forward, and 
 disappeared through the barn-door with lightning-like suddenness, 
 
 They followed, laughing, and looked about their new bed- 
 room. 
 
 " It is going to pour presently," said the practical Tom ; " and 
 the building is very old. The roof probably leaks. Therefore 
 we shall fare better if we pitch some hay down on the floor ; 
 for there is a mow above it which will shield us." 
 
 " I'll pitch it down," said Thomas John, " in a minute. 
 " But, if the rain does come, it will drive through the cracks on 
 this side of the barn, toward the storm, and wet us thoroughly. 
 Here are a hammer and some nails. Now, if we can only find 
 some old horse-blankets, you might nail them up while I pitch 
 down the hay." 
 
 The horse-blankets were found, and nailed up ; the floor was 
 piled deep with hay ; and in a few minutes the boys, thoroughly 
 tired with their long day's excitement, were so soundly asleep 
 that they never even stirred when the expected rain did come 
 clattering and stamping on the old roof above them, with a 
 tremendous uproar. 
 
 It must have been seven o'clock before any one stirred. The 
 horses in their stalls rose from their sleep, and, stretching their 
 heads over their mangers, took stolen mouthfuls from the boys' 
 beds, which they munched with great satisfaction. At length the 
 
THOMAS JOHN AWAKES. 
 
 69 
 
 one near Thomas John, growing bolder, decided to find out for 
 himself why a man was lying there so quietly, when, according 
 to all equine experience, he should have been moving about, 
 getting him his breakfast. So he stretched his moist nose as far 
 forward as he could, and smelled all over Thomas John's face, 
 ending up with a snort of astonishment directly in his ear. 
 
 It is unnecessary to say that this manoeuvre was perfectly 
 successful, and that Thomas John awoke. 
 
 His rising awoke the rest ; and together they shook the hay- 
 seeds from their hair, and forced open the great doors on the 
 leeward side of the barn. The prospect was no whit pleasanter 
 than it had been the ni^ht before. The wind whistled and 
 shrieked louder than ever, and the rain came in such blinding 
 torrents that one could not see more than a hundred feet away. 
 
 "It is a pity that we did not bring our towels with us," said 
 Ned. "We could have a shower-bath by simply putting our 
 heads out of doors." 
 
 " There is a great tub standing under the spout from the 
 roof," said Will. " No one can see us here ; and I, for one, 
 vote for a bath. We can get our towels from the house ; and 
 we'll feel better for it all day." 
 
 Thomas John, who had been rummaging about the dark 
 corners of the barn, hereupon appeared, attired in a yellow tar- 
 paulin suit which he had found hanging on a peg, and volun- 
 teered to bring from the house any toilet-articles they wished. 
 
 " Find out when breakfast will be ready," called the boys 
 after him, " and how all our party are." 
 
 Thomas John speedily re-appeared, and the ablutions in the 
 
70 
 
 A STARTLING QUESTION. 
 
 big tub under the sheltered side of the barn began. The storm, 
 he told them, as they rubbed themselves down and dressed about 
 him, was tremendous. The wind was terrific. It had seized him 
 in an unguarded moment, and flattened him out so vigorously 
 against the side of the house, that, if a lull had not come, he 
 thought he should have been spread, like butter on bread, all 
 over the side of the building. " Like that sheepskin there," he 
 added, pointing to one nailed on the barn-door. 
 
 After breakfast, their situation came up for discussion. 
 
 ' 1 think we had much better sit at the table all day," said 
 Jack disconsolately. " There are so many of us, that, if we get 
 up, the room will not hold us." 
 
 "Why not all go out to the barn again?" said Mr. Long- _ 
 -wood. " The great floor is dry, you say, and we can find room 
 there." 
 
 So, wrapped in all manner of strange waterproof garments, 
 Mrs. Longwood and the girls were safely escorted out. They 
 found Thomas John and the cattle-keeper sitting on a box, both 
 whittling away for dear life. Jack, as usual, began the conversa- 
 tion ; and, as usual, his question to the cattle-keeper was a 
 startling one. 
 
 " Do any corpses ever come ashore here ? " he asked. 
 
 " What a question, Jack ! " said Carrie. " Of course not ! 
 Where could they come from ? " 
 
 " Shipwrecks at sea," said Jack. " Do they, Mr. Cattle- 
 keeper ? " 
 
 " Fourteen came ashore ri^ht in front of the house, in a 
 single morning," said the man. " It was after the wreck of 
 
AN UNLUCKY SHIP. 
 
 71 
 
 ' The Circassian.' That was a dreadful time. Twenty-eight lives 
 were lost. The ship was wrecked at Bridgehampton, more than 
 twenty miles west, and the bodies were brought here by the 
 current." 
 
 " Tell us about it," said the boys, while the girls drew into 
 the circle, though with rather disquieted faces. 
 
 " Oh ! I am no story-teller," said the cattle-keeper. " And, 
 beside, I know of it only by hearsay. Mr. Longwood knows 
 far more than I do, no doubt." 
 
 So Mr. Longwood was urged to tell the story, and began, — 
 
 " ' The Circassian ' went ashore on the bar close to the life- 
 saving station at Bridgehampton." 
 
 " Was she a steamer ? " asked Ned. 
 
 " No ; though she had been originally. During the Rebellion 
 she was a blockade-runner. She was an unlucky ship, from the 
 first. She was captured by a man-of-war, at the outset of her 
 unlawful career. After being sold as a prize, she went ashore 
 twice ; but each time the wrecking companies brought her off. 
 At last she was bought by some Englishmen, who changed her 
 to a sailing-ship. It was her first voyage as a sailing-ship, and 
 when on her way to New York, that she went ashore." 
 
 " Was she a large ship?" asked Will. 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Longwood. " She was nearly three hundred 
 feet long, if I remember rightly. Her size was against her, in 
 one way ; for she drew twenty feet, and grounded four hundred 
 yards from shore, where no ball from a mortar could reach her." 
 
 " How r dc you mean, about a ball from a mortar ? " asked 
 Rose. 
 
72 
 
 MR. LONG WOOD EXPLAINS. 
 
 " Every life-saving station is furnished with a small mortar, 
 or cannon," said Mr. Longwood. " When a ship goes ashore, 
 and the surf is so heavy that a boat cannot be launched, the 
 mortar, which is pa:ked in a two-wheeled car, is dragged down 
 to the very edge of the surf. Then it is loaded with a conical 
 shot, to which a very light but very strong rope is fastened. It 
 
 CARRYING A LINE ABOARD, THE NEW WAY. 
 
 is, perhaps, more like a cord than a rope. This cord is coiled 
 by the side of the cannon, and when all is ready the gun is fired. 
 The ball flies through the air over the ship, if all goes well, and 
 the line drops on the deck." 
 
 " But how does having a line to the ship help matters ? " 
 asked Kate. 
 
THE BREECHES BUOY. 
 
 73 
 
 " The men on the vessel hai 
 the life-crew have made fast a 
 much heavier one, so that soon 
 there is quite a strong cable 
 from the wreck to the shore. 
 A board, on which is painted 
 directions in several languages, 
 has been tied to the rope, and 
 hauled in with it ; and from this 
 the crew learn that they are to 
 carry their end of the cable 
 high up the mast, and make it 
 fast there. On the cable thus 
 stretched, runs, on a pulley, a 
 sort of seat, called the breeches 
 buoy, which is dragged back and 
 forth between ship and shore, 
 by guide-ropes ; and in this the 
 wrecked crew are brought safely 
 to land." 
 
 " They must get a precious 
 ducking, if the rope sags," said 
 Jack. 
 
 " I dare say they often do," 
 said Mr. Longwood ; " but com- 
 ing ashore wet is better than 
 drowning on the bar." 
 
 " What a vast advance the 
 
 in the line, to the end of which 
 
 THE BREECHES BUOY. 
 
 se of the mortar is," said Mrs. 
 
74 
 
 THOMAS JOHN COMES TO THE FORE. 
 
 Longwood, " over the times when the only way to get a line to 
 a ship was by means of some brave fellow, who tied the rope 
 about him, and swam out to the vessel in distress, in most cases 
 at the risk, if not loss, of his life ! " 
 
 " No man living could get through the Long-Island surf in 
 the gales that I have seen," said Thomas John. " He would be 
 beaten to death by the waves, in no time. It was so the night 
 ' The Circassian ' struck." 
 
 " Were you there ? " they all cried. 
 
 " I was on the next station," said Thomas John ; " but we 
 were sent for, to help." 
 
 Mr. Longwood found, all at once, that he was deserted, and 
 that Thomas John was the centre of attraction. 
 
 "Tell us all about it," said Jack. "What kind of weather 
 was it ? " 
 
 " Bad as could be. Wind north-east, blowing a gale, and 
 the air so full of snow that we could not make her out well 
 enough to use the mortar, even if she had been within range. 
 And no boat made could have lived in the surf that was run- 
 ning. There was nothing to be done but wait for daylight. 
 
 " When that came, the snow held up a little, and matters 
 looked better. The sea had been pounding her on the bar, and 
 had driven her shoreward quite a ways ; and the tide had gone 
 out, so that the beach was not under water, and we could bring 
 the mortar forward. We had good luck, for the third shot fell 
 plump on her deck ; and in a little while we had the buoy all 
 rigged, ready to run them ashore. 
 
 " But, when that was done, we found that the surf had gone 
 
CARRYING A LINE ABOARD, THE OLD WAY. 
 
A HAPPY RELEASE. 
 
 77 
 
 down enough to launch a boat ; and so, in six or seven trips, 
 we brought the whole forty men safely ashore." 
 
 " But I thought they were all drowned," said Gertrude, in 
 astonishment. 
 
 " That was later," said Thomas John ; " when the Coast 
 Wrecking Company were trying to get the ship off. It was 
 
 iWI— Trim ji if iiiibmi H i h in nu i fcngrnr*— — ~ r "-*'' ; 
 
 LAUNCHING THE SURF-BOAT. 
 
 nearly three weeks after she went ashore, before she broke up. 
 All this time, the Wrecking Company were hard at work. A 
 gang of men were landing cargo, to lighten her. Then, they 
 had anchors sunk out to sea, and carried hawsers from them 
 aboard. By keeping a strain on these hawsers, they dragged her 
 out a few feet, every high tide. But what they wanted was a 
 
78 
 
 THE LINE IS CAST OFF. 
 
 regular gale. Then the seas would come in high enough to lift 
 her clear off the bar, and they could drag her out, and get away 
 under sail. So they worked for dear life, and hoped for a storm. 
 As she lay, every day made her chances worse ; for the sand 
 banked up about her, and she was in danger of breaking in two. 
 Being aground in the middle, with both ends in deep water, the 
 strain was tremendous ; and, being an iron ship, of course she 
 would break much quicker than a wooden one. 
 
 " The storm came ; but it was more than they bargained for. 
 It was just at the end of December. Before noon, on that day, 
 the gang of men who had been shifting cargo came ashore, and 
 the line to the beach was cast off." 
 
 " That would seem to have been a strange thing to do," said 
 Mr. Longwood. 
 
 " It cost them their lives," said Thomas John. " It was this 
 way : The Wrecking Company were determined to get the ship 
 off. They believed that she was strong enough to stand any 
 surf; and they had an idea, that, if the line were there, some of 
 the crew might get frightened, and make for shore, just at a 
 time when their leaving would block the whole thing. So they 
 cast off the line. But it was not a storm that came : it was a 
 tornado." 
 
 The girls and boys all drew a little nearer. 
 
 " Late that day, the life-saving crew at Bridgehampton made 
 out that all was not right aboard. They could see her, half 
 buried in foam and spray, and she was rolling and pounding ; 
 but her hawsers had been slacked, and that meant that they had 
 given up trying to get her off. Something had gone wrong, 
 
that was certain. We found out afterwards that she had broken 
 
8o 
 
 A FEARFUL NIGHT. 
 
 her back. Still no one ashore felt uneasy (for they knew how 
 strong she was) until about eight o'clock, when they made out 
 that one of her masts was gone. That showed that she was 
 breaking up ; and then the life-crew at Bridgehampton sent for 
 help to the other stations. 
 
 " I remember that I had just come off my beat, and was 
 turning in, thankful enough that my work for the night was 
 over, when we heard a horseman coming at full gallop, to call 
 us. 
 
 " As soon as the mast went, the life-saving crew tried to 
 get a line aboard. But it was no use. You know how the 
 Long-Island beach looks, — back of the sea a broad stretch 
 of sand, two or three hundred feet wide, and back of that the 
 sand-hills. Well, that night all the sand was covered, and the 
 waves came lashing up the sand-hills, — sweeping over them, 
 and cutting sluiceways clean through them. It was fearful to 
 see. The mortar had to be fired from the top of the sand-hills ; 
 and, in the teeth of such a wind as was blowing, the ball did 
 not begin to reach the ship. Besides, the wet sand blew so that 
 it would bury the line before it could be coiled, and it was so 
 cold, that at times it froze stiff. 
 
 " The crew had long since taken to the rigging ; for every 
 sea made a clean breach over her. 
 
 " And then a most uncommon thing happened. The wind 
 had been blowing from the sou'-east, and all at once it chopped 
 around into the sou'-west, and blew a perfect whirlwind. It made 
 a sea, the like of which I never saw before, or after. Overhead, 
 the clouds were torn apart by the gale, and went sweeping 
 
FOUR MEN ARE SAVED. 
 
 8l 
 
 across the sky like mad ; and now and then the moon shone 
 between their ragged edges, so that we could see better. We 
 kept the mortar going all the time ; but, from the start, it was 
 no use. 
 
 " Close on to midnight the tide was low, so that the ship's 
 deck was no longer under water. We saw a light on it, and 
 made out that the men were changing to the mast nearest shore. 
 By three o'clock, the mast they had left was gone, — the vessel 
 had broke clean in two, and the for'ard part had sunk in the 
 deep water outside the bar. A little after that, the one they 
 were on began to careen. We could hear them shout for help, 
 above the wind and surf. Slowly it settled, lower and lower, till 
 it went under, and the cries ceased." 
 
 The girls all drew a long breath of horror. 
 
 " But did none of them escape ? " asked Rose. 
 
 " Four men got ashore," said Thomas John ; " and that was 
 the strangest part of the whole business. It was all owing to 
 the pluck of one of them. When the mast went down, we 
 scattered along the beach to the eastward, on the bare chance ; 
 but not a soul ever dreamed that any one could live in such a 
 sea. However, the ship's first mate had forecasted what he would 
 do if the ship broke up. He was as strong as a giant, — the 
 finest-built man I ever met. While the others were running 
 around, kind o' terror-stricken, he and the second mate cut out 
 from under the seats of one of the ship's boats a piece of cork 
 buoy. It was cigar-shaped, and about five feet long. They 
 rigged it with ropes, through which an arm could be thrust, and 
 lugged it up into the rigging with them. 
 
82 
 
 A WONDERFUL ESCAPE. 
 
 " When the mast went under, they grabbed it, and jumped 
 as far towards shore as they could. A sailor, struggling in the 
 water, got hold with them ; and one of the Wrecking Company's 
 men, who came up alongside, also managed to reach it. Then 
 the first mate ordered them to lock legs underneath. This held 
 them together, and turned them into a kind of craft, that he 
 took command of. When a big wave was coming, he'd give the 
 order, ' Hold hard ! ' and, when it had gone by, ' Ease up, and 
 breathe ! ' When they got in towards shore, he loosened his 
 legs, and sounded, telling them, ' After next wave, run ! ' A big 
 sea pitched them well up the beach, and they tried to run, as it 
 swept back ; but they were too far gone, and would have been 
 dragged out in the undertow, and killed, if the life-saving men 
 had not rushed in, and dragged them back." 
 
 " What a hero that man must have been ! " said two or three ; 
 and Mrs. Longwood asked, " Did they all live ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Thomas John. " They came ashore nearly a 
 mile to eastward of the wreck, though they thought they had 
 not been in the water more than three minutes. It was so cold, 
 that, before we could carry them to the station, they were cased 
 in ice. One man was very low, and for a day or so we did 
 not think he could live ; but the first mate was smoking his 
 pipe by the fire, a half-hour afterward." 
 
 " And they were all that were saved," said Mrs. Longwood ; 
 " and twenty-eight lost." 
 
 " Ten of the men were Indians, who were working for the 
 Wrecking Company. They were the pick of the Shinnecocks, 
 and their death was a great blow to the tribe. Some of the 
 
ANOTHER TALE OF THE SEA. 
 
 85 
 
 lost, too, were hardly more than boys. They were a sort of 
 apprentices, in the same position in the merchant-service that 
 midshipmen are in the navy, I fancy. The captain was urged to 
 leave them ashore ; but he said their place was aboard." 
 
 " Poor boys ! " said Mrs. Longwood sadly. " I am thinking 
 of their mothers." 
 
 " There was a very strange shipwreck on the Jersey coast, a 
 few months after the loss of ' The Circassian,' " said Mr. Long- 
 wood. " It was a schooner, if I remember rightly, ' The Margaret 
 and Lucy.' The patrolman on the beach, about eight o'clock in 
 the evening, saw, down the coast before him, a bright light like 
 a torch. While he was looking, it went out. He hurried on as 
 fast as possible, through the driving rain, and saw, about three 
 hundred yards out from the shore, a red and a green fight, one 
 only a few feet above the other. He at once burned the red 
 light with which each patrol is furnished, to give notice to those 
 on board that they had been seen ; but not a sound was heard, 
 nor was there any signal in response. So he made all speed 
 back to his station, to report. A man was sent at once to the 
 spot, to watch, while the rest of the crew dragged the mortar- 
 car slowly through the sand. 
 
 " All at once the man on guard saw the lights disappear ; 
 the next moment came the sound of a crash from the sea ; and 
 that was all that was ever seen of ' The Margaret and Lucy,' 
 except the pieces of wreckage that lined the beach for miles, 
 the next morning." 
 
 " Why, what an extraordinary thing ! " said Will. 
 
 "The pieces that came ashore," said Mr. Longwood, "were 
 
86 
 
 GERTRUDE TIRES OF HORRORS. 
 
 broken into bits, and thoroughly decayed. It was believed that 
 the ship was so rotten, that, when she struck the bar, her bot- 
 tom rubbed off, and that she sank before the crew had a chance 
 to save themselves. The torch was thought to have been lighted 
 by them when she first struck, and its almost instant disappear- 
 ance showed how quickly she sank. The red and green lights 
 were those in the rigging. Seven lives were lost in this catas- 
 trophe." 
 
 " Dear me ! " said Gertrude : " we have had enough of horrors. 
 Do let us have something cheerful." 
 
 "I think so too," said Carrie. "What say you to a game?" 
 
 A game was decided on ; and girls and boys were soon scaling 
 ladders, and hiding in mows. And such good fun did they find 
 it, that, before they realized it, the morning had gone, and they 
 were called to dinner. 
 
 " There is one thing that always provokes me," said Carrie, 
 as they sat about the table ; " and that is, that, in these stories 
 that one hears of deeds of braver) - , a man is always the hero. 
 Just as if women never did brave things ! Women do just as 
 many, I believe, only they don't talk of them. But, for a 
 change, I would like to hear one in which a woman was the 
 heroine." 
 
 " My great-grandmother " — began Jack. 
 
 But he got no farther than the word " great-grandmother ; " 
 for, at that, every one broke out laughing. Jack had often 
 boasted of a great-grandmother of his, and of some bold deed 
 which she had once done. But, though many a time urged to 
 tell the tale, something had always happened to prevent, and the 
 
NIGHT PATROL BURNING THE RED LIGHT. 
 
JACK TELLS THE STORY OF HIS GREAT-GRANDMOTHER. 89 
 
 subject had come to be regarded as a great joke. Carrie had 
 even suggested that her name was Harris, and had openly stated 
 that she didn't " believe there was no sich a person." 
 
 Jack flushed at the laughter, and looked very indignant. 
 
 " What was it you were going to say, Jack ? " asked Mr. 
 Longwood kindly. 
 
 " I was only going to say, sir," he replied, with considerable 
 dignity, " that my great-grandmother was a woman." 
 
 At this, there was such another peal of merriment that Jack's 
 wrath was kindled afresh, and he declared that he would never tell 
 the story anyway. But, seeing that his feelings were really hurt, 
 they all set to work to appease him, with such good results that 
 presently he began. 
 
 " Some fellow has worked it into poetry," he said ; " so here 
 goes : — 
 
 SIXTY YEARS AFTER. 
 
 ' Hark, hark ! I hear the sound of hoofs : 
 
 'Tis the British horse. Hide ! flee ! ' 
 ' Nay, Grand-dame, lay aside your fears : 
 The British horse, these sixty years, 
 
 Have been across the sea. 
 'Tis but some traveller of a night : 
 You're by your fireside warm and bright.' 
 
 ' Ay, so I am. My thoughts were back 
 
 In those days of war and flight. 
 Once more my blood seemed chill with fear, 
 At those loud hoof-beats drawing near, 
 
 As on that dreadful night, 
 
9 o 
 
 A WOMAN'S WIT. 
 
 When, roused from sleep, I heard the shout, 
 " Come forth, you rebel, or be burned out ! " 
 
 ' Who was the rebel ? Your grandsire, child ; 
 
 A major of rebels, he. 
 To see his wife, he'd stolen home, 
 Near British posts. They learned he'd come, 
 
 Through Tory treachery. 
 They stayed to see the burned house fall ; 
 But woman's wit outmatched them all. 
 
 * Down to the door, half choked with smoke, 
 
 Where their captain stood, I went ; 
 " You fight not women, sir," I said : 
 *' To move my mother, ill in bed, 
 
 Give us, at least, consent." 
 On her feather-bed we bore her out, 
 Half dead with fright at that wild rout. 
 
 * Not a man there would lend a hand : 
 
 So the bed dragged on the ground. 
 Your grandsire, crouching, crept along, 
 Safe underneath, through the wild throng 
 
 That jeering stood around. 
 As the roof fell, they laughed, and said, 
 " One rebel more has joined the dead." 
 
 * Then, mounting steeds, they rode away, 
 
 And I laughed aloud in glee ; 
 For what cared I for roof-tree burned, 
 And household goods to ashes turned? 
 
 My rebel was safe for me. 
 But still the tramp of horses' feet 
 At night makes my heart cease to beat.' " 
 
ANOTHER DAY IS OVER. 
 
 91 
 
 They lingered about the table for a long time, discussing 
 Jack's story, and talking of one thing and another. At length 
 Will, looking out of the window, exclaimed, — 
 
 " Why, it's stopped raining ! and I think the wind has hauled. 
 I shouldn't wonder if it cleared." 
 
 A rush to the door followed ; and there they found that his 
 surmise was true ; for away in the west, on the horizon's edge, 
 was a streak of pale-blue sky, while the heavy clouds overhead 
 were beginning to break away and to hurry seaward. 
 
 W T ith exclamations of satisfaction, the boys seized their hats, 
 and rushed out. Every thing was dripping wet ; but the girls 
 donned their wraps, and joined them, and all went together to- 
 ward the beach, where the sea was rolling in with fearful fury. 
 There was a strange fascination in watching the waves, as, one 
 after another, they drew nearer, and finally snapped themselves 
 out, with a report like a cannon, and disappeared in a shower 
 of spray. 
 
 Toward evening they took a stroll across the moors, which 
 brought them home to supper with wet feet and rousing appe- 
 tites. And, by the time the clock struck nine that night, every 
 boy and girl was fast asleep, and another day was over. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The sun was 
 well out of his wa- 
 tery bed before the 
 boys awoke the 
 next morning. In 
 the crisp Septem- 
 ber air, blowing in 
 
 fresh gusts down from the New-England hills, every object stood 
 out clear and distinct. Jack, as he put his head out of the barn- 
 door, even insisted that he could see the Connecticut shore ; 
 but, as there was quite a hill between him and that somewhat 
 distant land, I am inclined to think that he must have been 
 mistaken. 
 
 There was no great shower-bath pouring from the roof on 
 this morning ; but the large tub was full, and, by the aid of a 
 pail, a fair substitute for yesterday's plunge was had. Then, 
 finding that it was still a good hour until breakfast, and that no 
 one of their party at the house was stirring, the boys decided to 
 work off their superfluous energy by a long walk down the 
 beach. 
 
 " Perhaps we may find a corpse or two," said Jack, skipping 
 92 
 
TOM HAS A PRESENTIMENT. 
 
 93 
 
 for lightness of heart, " and around its waist a money-bag stuffed 
 with gold and jewels." 
 
 So, now walking, now running, and now stopping short, they 
 soon were out of sight. 
 
 Presently, as they were looking seaward, where a full-rigged 
 ship was flying along with all canvas spread, one of them chanced 
 to glance over his 
 shoulder. On the 
 road across the moors, 
 some distance away, he 
 saw a man on horse- 
 back, moving along at 
 good speed. They all 
 watched him for a 
 moment, when Tom 
 said, — 
 
 " I'll wager any 
 thing that he has 
 come to bring a mes- 
 sage to papa. I feel 
 it in my bones. Let's 
 go back." 
 
 Off they all start- 
 ed ; but Tom was so 
 much impressed by his fancy, that he strode on at a pace that 
 left the others out of sight, and brought him to the house 
 breathless. 
 
 Sure enough, he found the man sitting on his horse, talking 
 
 TOM HURRIES BACK. 
 
94 
 
 A TELEGRAM ARRIVES. 
 
 to his father. Mr. Longwood had apparently been called down 
 from his room unexpectedly, for his coat was loosely thrown on, 
 and his hair dishevelled. 
 
 THE MAN FROM EASTHAMPTON. 
 
 " O Tom ! " he said, "I am glad to see you. Perhaps you 
 can suggest some way out of the difficulty. This man brings 
 me a telegram from my clerk in New York, saying that there 
 
BREAKFAST IS READY. 
 
 95 
 
 are some papers there requiring my immediate attention. I am 
 afraid that I must go back, and leave you." 
 
 "That would be awful," said Tom, "and spoil all our fun. 
 Let me see. I have it ! Telegraph him to meet you at New 
 London to-morrow. It would be a jolly sail across ; and we 
 could get back that same evening." 
 
 " I believe you've hit the very thing," said Mr. Longwood. 
 " I'll go in, and write the despatch." 
 
 While he was gone, Tom climbed the fence, and opened 
 conversation with the messenger. 
 
 " Where did you get the telegram ? " asked he. 
 
 " Your man fetched it to Easthampton yesterday. He laid 
 out to hire a horse there to bring him on. I thought I'd kind 
 o' interrogate him 'bout the road ; and found he'd never been 
 over it. So I told him, that, if the thing must go, I'd take it 
 myself ; but I didn't propose to have one of my horses bogged 
 in the Napeague marshes. And 'twas lucky I did ; for no green 
 hand 'ud ever got through. Half the road was washed clean 
 away. I got to House No. i at dark, and come on first thing 
 this morning." 
 
 At this point the other boys hurried up, and Mr. Longwood 
 came out with the despatch. 
 
 " Now, then," he said, as the man rode away, after buttoning 
 it up in his coat, " I must make haste, and get ready for break- 
 fast. Our landlady told me that she was just putting it on the 
 table. Kate and Carrie are down by the beach. Will one of 
 you call them ? " 
 
 " I will," said Jack ; and he set off on a run toward where 
 
9 6 
 
 A TERRIBLE CALAMITY AVERTED. 
 
 the two could be seen standing on a little bluff overlooking the 
 sea. As he came close to them he stopped, and a look of mis- 
 chief came over his face. 
 
 " Girls," he said, in a steady voice, " be calm ! Don't be 
 frightened. But get away from that bluff as quickly and quietly 
 
 as you can. This whole shore 
 is washing away at a fearful 
 rate." 
 
 Involuntarily Kate dropped 
 her arms from Carrie, and both 
 hurried backward. But they 
 had not gone a dozen feet, 
 before they stopped with some- 
 what sheepish faces. Then 
 Carrie turned upon Jack, who 
 had thrown himself down on 
 the grass, and was rolling over 
 and over in an ecstasy of de- 
 light. 
 
 " You wicked boy ! " she 
 said. " You told a story ! " 
 " I did not," said Jack. " I read a book on Long Island, the 
 'morning before I left New York ; and it said that it was esti- 
 mated that two thousand tons of soil were washed away from 
 Montauk every day." 
 
 The sound of a bell from the house put a speedy end to 
 Carrie's indignation, and together they all hurried thither. 
 
 Breakfast and prayers over, there ensued a scene of bustle. 
 
 CARRIE AND KATE. 
 
CAPTAIN JACKSON ESCORTS THEM ABOARD. 
 
 97 
 
 It had been decided that all were to go aboard " The Mavis," 
 and sail to the point. Should the sea be smooth, they might 
 perhaps go a little way out. They could, in any case, easily 
 make a landing at the light-house, and take dinner there. 
 
 Mr. Cattle-keeper, as Jack called him, had been interviewed 
 on the subject that morning, and had promised to take them all 
 down Fort Pond in his sail-boat, so that there would be only a 
 few hundred feet to walk to " The Mavis." And so, when they 
 reached the northern end of the pond, they found Capt. Jackson 
 standing on the shore to welcome them, while one of the sailors 
 was in the schooner's boat, waiting to put them aboard. 
 
 " Well," said the captain, as he shook hands all around, 
 " you don't seem to have been damaged by the storm. No top- 
 masts gone, no sails split ; every thing taut and ship-shape. 
 That's hearty. You did well to get ashore, boys," he went on. 
 " The cabin of ' The Mavis ' wasn't big enough for me yester- 
 day ; and what we should have all done, shut up in her, I don't 
 know. Who goes aboard first ? Ladies, of course." 
 
 So saying, the captain helped Mrs. Longwood and two or 
 three of the girls into the small boat, and, taking his place in 
 the stern, was pulled out to " The Mavis," where they all got 
 on board, while the boat went back for the others. Then he 
 brought up an armful of rugs from some unseen locker, and 
 spread them on the deck, where Mrs. Longwood would be shel- 
 tered from the wind. 
 
 Meanwhile the rest were come, the boat was hauled up, the 
 sails were raised, and " The Mavis " was once more under way. 
 How lightly she flew along, lying well over, and throwing back 
 
9 8 
 
 GERTRUDE WISHES TO FLY. 
 
 in spray the waves that came rolling up under her bow ! There 
 was life and vigor in her every motion. " I feel as if I could 
 fly," said Gertrude. " I know now just how clouds feel ; " and 
 she broke out singing, — 
 
 THE SONG OF A CLOUD. 
 
 From afar, by wild, hot, west winds driven, 
 
 Have I come with flying feet ; 
 O'er mountain, forest, and broad farm-fields, 
 
 Scorched in the summer heat. 
 But now I see the breakers gleam, 
 
 And the white surf dashing free, 
 And I catch the sound of a sea-bird's scream : 
 
 Yo, ho ! for the open sea ! 
 
 Once more I breathe the strong salt air, 
 
 While around the sea-gulls fly ; 
 And the stormy petrel rocks below, 
 
 Where the tossing waves dash high. 
 And the great white ships, with all sails spread, 
 
 Leave the land upon the lea ; 
 And the wild winds, rollicking, cry aloud : 
 
 Yo, ho ! for the open sea ! 
 
 By and by they began to see before them the end of the 
 island. The great white light-house towering high above the 
 cliffs had long been in sight, but now they could look out into 
 the ocean. A fleet of small craft lay there, pitching up and 
 down in the heavy swell that came in from the sea. 
 
 " What are all those boats doing ? " asked Rose. 
 
MR. LONG WOOD ASKS A QUESTION. 
 
 99 
 
 " Fishing," said Capt. Jackson. " There is no place in the 
 world like this for fish. You have only to put in a line, and 
 
 A FISHING-BOAT OFF MONTAUK POINT. 
 
 pull up a fish. These boats, many of them, come from New Lon- 
 don, and stay out here for days." 
 
 " Do the fish bite here now on Sundays ? " asked Mr. Long- 
 wood. 
 
IOO 
 
 A PRAYIXG AND A PIOUS COMPANY. 
 
 " Didn't they always ? " asked the captain. 
 
 " I have a book at home," said Mr. Longwood, " called 
 ' Magnalia Christi.' It was written by a very eminent, if not the 
 most eminent, minister of New England, in the old colonial days. 
 In it you will find a passage something like this : — 
 
 1 "'On the 16th of October, in this present year 1697, there arrived at New 
 Haven a sloop of about fifty tuns, whereof Mr. William Trowbridge was master : 
 the vessel belonged unto New Haven, the persons on board were seven ; and sev- 
 enteen long weeks had they now spent since they came from their port, which 
 was Fayal. By so unusually tedious a passage, a terrible famine unavoidably came 
 upon them ; & for the five last weeks of their voyage they were so destitute of all 
 food, that thro' faintness they would have chosen death rather than life. But they 
 were a praying & a pious company ; and when " these poor men cried unto the 
 Lord, he heard & saved them." God sent his dolphins to attend 'em ; and of 
 these they caught still one every day, which was enough to serve 'em : only on 
 Saturdays they still catched a couple : and on the Lord's Days they could catch 
 none at all. With all possible skill & care they could not supply themselves with 
 the fish in any other number or order ; and indeed with an holy blush at last they 
 left off trying to do any thing on the Lord's Days, when they were so well sup- 
 ply'd on the Saturdays. 
 
 " ' Thus the Lord kept feeding a company that put their trust in him, as he 
 did his Israel with his manna : and thus they continu'd until the dolphins came 
 to that change of water, where they us'd to leave the vessels. Then they so 
 strangely surrendered themselves, that the company took twenty-seven of 'em ; 
 which not only suffie'd them until they came ashore, but also some of 'em were 
 brought ashore dry'd, as a monument of the divine benignity.' " 
 
 The effect of this story on Capt. Jackson was peculiar. He 
 
 1 As Mr. Longwood was not quite exact in the wording of this passage, we have asked 
 Tom Longwood to copy it out of the book, and give it here just as it was written. 
 
A FISH-STORY. 
 
 turned toward the boys, put his tongue in his cheek, and winked 
 three distinct winks. 
 
 Mr. Longwood looked up, and saw him. 
 
 " Then you don't believe it ? " he asked. 
 
 " I didn't say that," said the captain ; " but it sounds to me^ 
 a good deal like 
 a fish-story." 
 
 Just then a 
 voice was heard 
 shouting, " Skip- 
 per, ahoy ! " 
 
 Close to their 
 stern was passing 
 a small fishing- 
 craft ; and stand- 
 ing up in it, one 
 hand grasping 
 the tiller, was a 
 weather-beaten 
 fellow, with a 
 hearty, open face. 
 
 " Ye seem to 
 have your family 
 aboard, skipper," he bawled, with a grin, as Capt. Jackson an- 
 swered his hail. " Their keep must be a big drain on ye. 
 Now, if ye've a nice spry lad that ye'd like to 'prentice out, 
 chuck him over, and I'll pick him up. Must be spry and handy, 
 though, and know how to clean fish." 
 
 THE JOVIAL FISHERMAN. 
 
102 
 
 MRS. LONG WOOD DECIDES TO LAND. 
 
 The girls and boys all laughed, and the old man seemed 
 highly delighted at the way his little joke had been taken. 
 
 " A pleasant v'yage to ye all," he said, and he took off his 
 hat to them. 
 
 By this time the heavy swell from the sea was beginning to 
 reach them, and " The Mavis " rose and fell on it in a way that 
 made Mrs. Longwood decide that they would land at once. " It 
 will be quite dinner-time when we are landed, and have climbed 
 the hill to the light-house," she said. " You boys can all go to 
 sea this afternoon, if you wish ; and the rest of us will drive 
 back over the moors. I took the precaution to order the stage 
 to meet us here." 
 
 So "The Mavis" was headed into the quieter waters, under 
 shelter of the point, and they made a landing by the aid of her 
 boat. In half an hour they had climbed the hill, and were at 
 the light-house. 
 
 Instinctively they all ran out to the edge of the point. A 
 hundred feet or more sheer below them, lay the sea. Great swells, 
 the remnants of yesterday's storm, came rolling in from the ocean, 
 pitching up and down the fleet of fishing-craft like so many toy 
 boats. Ten miles away, Block Island rose out of the sea. On 
 one side of them was the boundless ocean, and, on the other, 
 Long Island Sound. Overhead swept the sea-gulls, with long, 
 steady beat of wings, uttering hoarse cries. 
 
 They all stood fascinated for a few moments. Jack was the 
 first to break the spell. 
 
 " I fancy I detect the odor of broiled bluefish," he said, 
 sniffing the air. " Dinner must be ready. Let's go in." 
 
A NEW KIND OF ICE-BOAT. 
 
 103 
 
 They made their way to the little parlor, and seated them- 
 selves. The odor of broiled bluefish was much stronger. It 
 was evident to the least tutored nose that dinner could not be 
 far off. 
 
 Nevertheless it seemed to the hungry young folk to be a 
 long while in coming. Jack wandered restlessly about ; but Tom, 
 taking down a book from the chimney-shelf, began to read. 
 
 " Why, this is a jolly book ! " he said after a little, looking 
 up. "It is written by a man who was in the quartermaster's 
 department during the Revolution." 
 
 " ' My feyther fit into the Revolution,' " remarked Jack ; 
 " ' that is, he druv a baggage- wagon. He was wounded ; that 
 is, he was kicked by a mule.' " 
 
 " This man drove a baggage-wagon too," laughed Tom. " It's 
 quite jolly. The part I have been reading tells how he went up 
 Lakes George and Champlain, on the ice, to Canada. Coming 
 back, he passed great numbers of sleighs carrying troops north- 
 ward. On Lake George, he says the men stood up on the seats, 
 with arms locked. The wind was fresh from behind, and carried 
 them on at such a pace, that the horses had to go at a full 
 gallop, to keep the sleigh from running on their heels." 
 
 " Read us a little," asked Kate. 
 
 So Tom began : — 
 
 "'Early in the year 1777, my father and I were again in 
 active employment. Large quantities of provisions had been 
 accumulating at Bennington for the use of our northern armies, 
 and the New-England people had been quite industrious in fur- 
 nishing their quota of supplies. As there was always some con- 
 
104 
 
 OVER THE HILLS AND EAR AWAY. 
 
 tention about getting a job, as it was called, my father took the 
 precaution to bring the loads contracted for, down to his own 
 farm, and then he carried them to the north afterwards, as he 
 had leisure. We went with them to Whitehall, then known as 
 Skenesborough. Thence we travelled down Lake George to Ti, 
 and there delivered our loads. On our second trip, we had 
 scarcely unloaded our sleighs, when Col. Hay, well known as an 
 active and efficient quartermaster-general, informed us that we 
 must stay, and commence dragging timber for the bridge which 
 was about to be constructed, by order of Congress, between Ti 
 and Mount Independence. As we had not yet fulfilled our con- 
 tract in regard to forwarding the supplies, my father remonstrated, 
 and mentioned that, if he was not allowed to bring on the 
 remainder, as he had contracted, before the lake opened, it would 
 after that become impracticable. Col. Hay, however, said that it 
 was far more important for him to assist in the construction of 
 the works, than to transport the supplies. My father, on this 
 occasion, gave a specimen of his boldness and ingenuity, and it 
 illustrated the manner in which every thing was managed in 
 those days. An officer was despatched to take charge of our 
 party ; and my father then requested permission to cross over to 
 Mount Independence, to deposit his load. He gave me private 
 instructions to follow him, at all hazards. The officer jumped 
 into my sleigh, and stood up in it. My father led the way, and 
 drove down hill at full speed in another direction than the one 
 intended. I followed him as fast as possible, when the officer 
 cried out, " Where are you going to ? " I replied, " After my 
 father ; " and a fresh application of the whip made the horses 
 
CARRYING TROOPS INTO CANADA. 
 
A NEW SORT OF GUIDE-BOARD. 
 
 107 
 
 dash on in the most furious manner. The officer, in full dress, 
 and not relishing the strange manoeuvre, nor even understanding 
 it, thought proper to jump out of the sleigh, and, in doing so, 
 described a parabolic curve, or rather a long ellipse, which gave 
 him time to turn heels upward, and descended with velocity, head 
 foremost in the snow. I gave him one look over my shoulder, 
 as he was flying through the air, and then another, when I per- 
 ceived him stuck upright in the snow, like a guide-board, one 
 foot pointing to Mount Independence, and the other to Ti. But 
 I was too happy at the thought of again rejoining my father, to 
 indulge in any other sentiments than those of exceeding joy. 
 
 " ' We very soon got under the brow of the hill, and on the 
 lake shore, where, to our surprise, we found many others of our 
 companions before us, parleying with a sentry, who guarded the 
 roads to the lake, and who required them to show a permit 
 before he could allow them to pass. It was a critical moment 
 for us, as we expected an alarm and pursuit. One John Mahony, 
 a neighbor of ours, had previously drawn out of his pocket an 
 old certificate, and, though unable to read himself, endeavored, 
 from memory, to mutter out the words of a permit. Nor was 
 the sentry any wiser, for he could not read ; and Mahony had 
 declared that it was a pass for nine sleighs, the exact number 
 that was already there, before we arrived. My father, with great 
 presence of mind, corrected him, and read the paper so it ap- 
 peared a permit for eleven sleighs. The sentry took all for 
 granted, as he saw the paper before his eyes ; and we came off 
 together in high glee. We were then safe ; for, however within 
 the line of sentinels we were liable to detention, beyond them 
 
io8 
 
 A DISCOMFITED PRESS-GANG. 
 
 we knew we were not to be overtaken, either by their fire, or 
 by pursuit on any of the worn-out horses of the garrison. 
 
 " ' Some others of our companions were not so fortunate. 
 Coming down the wrong road, with similar intentions of escaping 
 from impressment like that which my father had determined net 
 to submit to, they crossed the very same sentinel, though under 
 circumstances which showed confusion at seeing him ; still they 
 determined to force their way past him. He hailed them. They 
 pretended not to hear him. He hailed again. They were deaf. 
 He hailed again. They kept their horses at full speed. The 
 sentinel fired ; and, as they were exactly in the range of his fire, 
 the ball struck the nearest sleigh, passed between the legs of 
 the driver, between the horses in front, and struck the next 
 sleigh, \ he e it lodged. They were out of reach before he could 
 •fire again. When we arrived at Fort Anne, we had another similar 
 attempt at coercion to resist. A sentinel there also stopped us ; 
 and we were ordered to remain, and to load with hides, to be 
 carried down to Albany, for the purpose of being manufactured 
 into shoes for the army. As it was getting late in the season, 
 and we were anxious to finish our contract before it was impracti- 
 cable, objections were made to going on to Albany at that time. 
 Mahony endeavored to force the guard ; but a scuffle took place, 
 and he was overpowered. An officer came up ; and, as he was 
 inclined to use compulsion, we hit upon the expedient of giving 
 one of our companions, an honest, good-natured militia officer, 
 the title of colonel, and, in a measure, placed ourselves under 
 his protection. The mention of his title had considerable effect 
 upon the press-gang. By mutual agreement, a further arrange- 
 
ANOTHER RACE FOR LIBERTY. 
 
 ment was to be made in relation to the business, at the fort, 
 which was on a piece of rising ground. The sentinel himself, 
 far from being boisterous, civilly pointed out the road, which went 
 across the creek and around a point of land, while he took a 
 short cut across the point, to be there as soon as we. The 
 colonel forgot his rank and his promise, and so did we. The 
 moment we were out of view, under the rise of ground, we left 
 the officer to imagine what he pleased. We drove off at full 
 speed, and were soon out of his reach. This post of Fort Anne 
 was, in fact, a mere block-house surrounded by palisades. It 
 was near the creek, which poured down the r.ocks into the basin 
 below, and in its passage turned the wheel of a saw-mill. We 
 escaped from the block-house and its occupants, and reached 
 our home without further molestation. We took up our last 
 load, and again set out for Ticonderoga, which we reached with- 
 out incident. But, when we arrived there, some apology was 
 indispensable for our previous conduct. My father, albeit unused 
 to play the orator, acted as spokesman for the delinquents. As 
 I have a full recollection of the interview with Col. Hay, I will 
 give the particulars. Wiping his forehead with the back of his 
 hand, handkerchiefs being rather scarce in those days, and then 
 straightening his locks over his forehead, he gave a hem, and a 
 nod, and then observed briefly, and to the point, " Well, here 
 we are again, Col. Hay." — " Yes, so I perceive," said the colonel ; 
 " and the public interests have suffered severely by your late 
 conduct. I must hold you responsible for the consequences." 
 My father instantly replied, " I have no objections to be held 
 responsible : my urgent business is now finished. My word is 
 
I IO 
 
 THE TEAMSTERS COME TO GRIEF. 
 
 kept, my contract is finished. You can take any course the law 
 will warrant" Col. Hay knew his man. He immediately ob- 
 served, " Give me your word that the sleighs in your company 
 shall remain to assist us for a few days, and I am satisfied." 
 My father did not hesitate to give the required promise, as he 
 was always willing to aid the service, and he well knew the 
 necessity of completing the works of defence, then in a state of 
 preparation, to resist the approaching enemy. 
 
 " ' The rapid change of the weather soon rendered our sleighs 
 a while useless, and our return home necessary. My father was 
 again the organ of communication ; and Col. Hay agreed to dis- 
 charge the whole party, if three pairs of horses could be pur- 
 chased at fair prices for the service. My father readily undertook 
 to obtain them, and a general muster of all our cattle immedi- 
 ately took place. The object was then explained ; and, as he had 
 from the first anticipated, all were willing to sell. The three 
 pairs were selected, with sleighs and harness. The highest price 
 paid was two hundred and seventy dollars. The money was 
 counted out to them from a store of Continental currency. The 
 purchase being thus effected, we came away, right glad to be 
 released from the laborious operation of dragging over hill and 
 dale the immense pieces of timber which were to become integral 
 parts of the defence of Ticonderoga. 
 
 " ' At length we set out for Skenesborough ; and there fresh 
 trouble awaited us. The commanding officer remembered the 
 trick we played him, but had not ventured to interrupt us on 
 our way north, loaded as we were with important supplies for 
 Ticonderoga. Now, however, a sergeant and file of men took 
 
AN OUTPOST. 
 
A MOMENT OF MISERY. 1 1 3 
 
 possession of our " pale caravan." We were compelled by the 
 law of the strongest to go to work drawing saw-logs for the 
 confounded little saw-mill I have before mentioned. Here we 
 tugged away, in no good humor, for several days, when my 
 father's generalship again brought us off with flying colors. The 
 escape from our new tormentors was brought about in the fol- 
 lowing manner : A day was fixed on which to make the attempt. 
 On that day I was told by my father to take charge of the pair 
 of horses I had usually under my care, and lead them into the 
 woods, where, in a certain place, covered up with branches of 
 wood, I would find my sleigh ; and, that done, to follow, by a 
 given route, the party who were to take an early start. I did 
 so ; leading one horse, and riding the other. When I reached 
 the forest, I could not at first discover the place where our sleigh 
 was concealed. I looked, and looked in vain. Every moment I 
 feared the long absence of the company would lead to inquiry 
 and detection. They were all well gone ; and I was left alone, 
 to bear, perhaps, the weight of increased resentment. My father 
 gone too ! The idea was absolutely frightful. At this moment 
 my eyes caught a glimpse of the place of concealment. I moved 
 off at a brisk pace to the spot, and found the object of my 
 search. It was but a minute's work to adjust the harness. It 
 took but another to get my horses at full speed. I drove them 
 for eight miles as fast as they would go ; and a joyful meeting 
 it was when I overtook my friends. They had left me behind 
 for the purpose of making good their retreat, well knowing that, 
 if I had been detected, my youth would have saved me from 
 any difficulties, and have prevented my detention. My escape, 
 
H4 
 
 DfN.XER IS READY. 
 
 however, was foremost in my own mind, and I considered myself 
 almost a hero, in consequence of the adventure.' " 
 
 " Dinner is ready, sir," said a voice, as Tom read the last 
 word. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 After dinner was over, 
 Mrs. Longwood proposed 
 that they should all sit 
 quietly for a time, and get 
 thoroughly rested. But 
 this proposition the young 
 people treated with scorn. 
 They had done nothing 
 to tire them, they de- 
 clared ; and they did not 
 want to rest. So, leaving 
 Mr. and Mrs. Longwood 
 •comfortably settled on the sunny porch of the light-keeper's 
 house, they all ran around to the tall white tower, and began 
 the ascent of the dark, spiral stairs. Presently they came troop- 
 ing down again, as restless as ever. 
 
 " It must be getting quite late," said Tom. after a little ; 
 " and the eight miles over the moors, back to House No. 2, is 
 over a rough road. The twilight, too, falls early at this time of 
 the year. I think, mamma, I should feel easier if you set out 
 on your homeward drive quite soon." 
 
 "5 
 
u6 
 
 A CHASE ACROSS THE MOORS. 
 
 " Thanks for your consideration, Tom," said Mrs. Longwood, 
 laughing. " I fancy, however, that I detect one thought for me, 
 and two for yourself. You would fain be back on your schooner, 
 I fear." 
 
 " I think, though, after all," said Lou, " that Tom's idea is a 
 good one. We could walk along the edge of the cliff, and the 
 stage could pick us up whenever we felt tired." 
 
 The girls all approved of this, and scampered down the 
 hill to the stable, to deposit their wraps in the stage. Then, 
 waving their handkerchiefs as a good-by to the boys, they 
 chased one another across the moors, stopping at last, breathless, 
 on the crest of one of the highest swells, to look back. 
 
 " Dear me ! " said Carrie, " I forgot all about mamma. We 
 ought to have waited for her." 
 
 " Let us go back," said Rose. 
 
 " There she comes out of the house now ! " said Gertrude, 
 panting for breath ; " and she is walking to the stables. Now 
 she is getting into the stage, and the man is bringing out the 
 horses. We'd better wait here." 
 
 Presently the stage came up to them, and Mrs. Longwood 
 got out. Then they strolled on together, while the lumbering 
 vehicle followed, with much creaking of harness and rattling of 
 joints, as it jolted over the rough way. 
 
 Their run had put them all out of breath, so that, for some 
 little time, they walked along sedately enough. But of a sud- 
 den they came to a break in the cliffs, where an easy descent 
 might be made to the water's edge. 
 
 " Let's go down," said they all. " May we, Mrs. Longwood ?" 
 
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE WAGONER. 
 
 11/ 
 
 " It looks perfectly safe," said that lady. " I will have our 
 driver take one of those buffalo-robes off the seat of the wagon, 
 and spread it out for me in this hollow, where I shall be shel- 
 tered from the wind. You may be gone as long as you please, 
 provided you call to me from time to time, to let me know that 
 all is going well." 
 
 ALONG THE CLIFFS. 
 
 So, down they went ; and it was more than a half-hour be- 
 fore they re-appeared, clambering up the cliff's side, hot and 
 breathless. 
 
 " What a heat you are all in ! " said Mrs. Longwood. " Sit 
 down here in this warm nook, and cool off gradually, and I will 
 read to you of the further adventures of the wagoner of whom 
 we heard at noon." 
 
THE INDIANS ARE COMING. 
 
 "Why, you have brought the book away with you ! " exclaimed 
 Carrie, in astonishment. 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Longwood : " I persuaded the light-keeper 
 to sell it to me. 
 
 " To make you understand clearly what I am going to read, 
 I will give you a little bit of history. During the Revolution, 
 when the English held New- York City, it was planned that a 
 British army should march from Canada down Lake Champlain, 
 and force its way through to Albany, where the New- York army 
 would effect a junction with it." 
 
 : I see," said Lou. "It was to be a sort of Sherman's march 
 to the sea, and would cut the Americans in two." 
 
 "Exactly," said Mrs. Longwood. "Well, the army assembled 
 in Canada, under Gen. Burgoyne. A large army it was, too, for 
 those days ; and the British, beside, had a great following of 
 Indian allies. Many was the council-fire that had been burned 
 the preceding winter ; and the savages, led by their great chief 
 Brant, were wild for the march to begin. 
 
 " So, in the spring, they advanced. The Americans fell back 
 from Ticonderoga, which they had fortified, and the British came 
 on toward Saratoga, where our wagoner lived. And now I will 
 let him speak for himself. 
 
 " ' It was in August, and we had just risen from dinner. 
 My father had remained in the neighborhood of the invaders' 
 army much longer than most of his friends ; and, relying upon 
 the advantages of early advice from our army, pursued his agri- 
 cultural avocations with his usual diligence. It was then, when, 
 as I have before mentioned, we were just risen from the dinner- 
 
A FRIGHTENED NEGRO. 
 
 119 
 
 table, when one of my uncle's negroes came running to the 
 house, with eyes dilated. We learned from him that an Indian 
 
 INDIANS COMING TO A COUNCIL. 
 
 had been discovered in the orchard near the house, evidently 
 intending to shoot a person belonging to the family, who was 
 
4 
 
 120 THE CLOTHES ARE HIDDEN IN A CASK. 
 
 at work in the garden : the blacks, however, had given the 
 alarm, and the man escaped into the house, while, at the same 
 moment, six other savages rose from their place of concealment, 
 and ran into the woods. This was on our side of the river. 
 The savages that remained with Burgoyne were continually for 
 miles in advance of him, on his flanks, reconnoitring our move- 
 ments, and beating up the settlements. Their cruelty was not 
 to be restrained. My father, on learning the fact of their ap- 
 proach, went immediately over to his brother's house, which was 
 about one- fourth of a mile off, to ascertain what was to be done 
 for the safety of the families. He found him making every ex- 
 ertion to move away, and the domestics busily engaged in getting 
 every thing ready. During my father's absence, my mother, who 
 was a resolute woman, was industriously placing the most valuable 
 of her clothing in a cask ; and at her instance I went out with 
 some of our servants to catch a pair of fleet horses, and harness 
 them as fast as possible to the wagon. To those who now sit 
 quietly by their own firesides, I leave it to be imagined with 
 what feelings we hastened to abandon our home, and fly for 
 safety, we knew not whither. 
 
 " ' I can never forget the distress of our family at this moment 
 of peril and alarm. The wagon was soon at the door ; and, as 
 'my father came up, he directed us to carry a few loads down to 
 the river, and place them in a light bateau which belonged to 
 us, and was fastened to the shore, at the meadow's bank, near 
 the ferry. The first time I went down alone, and soon unloaded 
 the contents of the wagon. The distance I had to go was about 
 a quarter of a mile. The road ran down the meadow, and was 
 
WE PREPARE TO ESCAPE. 
 
 121 
 
 cut through the bank on the river-side, in order to make it easy 
 of ascent. Between the upland and lowland of our farm, there 
 
 BRANT. 
 
 was a board fence, and a few bars were usually placed across 
 the road. The second time, having some heavier articles to 
 carry, I was accompanied by my father. As we approached the 
 
122 
 
 A SUDDEN ALARM. 
 
 fence, which he had left down, we saw the third bar across the 
 road, so as effectually to prevent our passing through. " What 
 does this mean ? " exclaimed he. I was breathless with agitation, 
 and stopped the horses. My father sprang out, making an ex- 
 pressive motion with his hand, to keep back for a few moments. 
 Warily and carefully turning his eye in every direction, he ap- 
 proached the bar, and let it down. I drove on, he jumped in, 
 and we lost no time in hastening home. The circumstance gave 
 us great uneasiness. When we reached home he made minute 
 inquiries among his laborers and blacks, if any of them had 
 been down to the meadow. He found that none of them had 
 been away from the house. He then formed the conclusion that 
 some Indians had passed along that way, and supposing we had 
 crossed the river, and got beyond their reach (for we were hid 
 from their observation by being under the bank at the river- 
 side), had gone away. The danger was so near as to induce 
 him to make more speed, and use greater precaution. A gun 
 was loaded, and placed in my hands ; and I patrolled about the 
 house with a feeling of some responsibility. I strained my eye 
 to detect the least appearance of motion, presented my piece at 
 every waving bush, but was not under the necessity of dischar- 
 ging it. A friendly neighbor, who was also anxious to ascertain 
 the state of things, came up at this time, and assisted me in 
 keeping guard. My father, in the interim, placed the family in 
 the wagon. He also buried in the road some valuable domestic 
 utensils, which we recovered some years afterwards, in perfect 
 preservation. At last we bade adieu to our homestead, and 
 arrived safely at the river. At about five o'clock p.m., my father 
 
FRESH BREAD AND MUTTON. 
 
 123 
 
 crossed over with the family at the ferry, while I and one of 
 the blacks were put into a small canoe, and we proceeded down 
 the stream as fast as we could ply our paddles. We joined the 
 family at Vandenbergh's, eight miles down the river, where we 
 obtained further information. We learned that a party of Indians 
 had been going from our neighborhood to the south-east, after 
 surprising a farmer by the name of Lake. While working at 
 his trade as a carpenter, in an out-house near his dwelling, he 
 was surprised by the salutation from the savages, of " Sago." 
 With great presence of mind, he said " Sago," in reply to them. 
 He saw that resistance would be vain, and therefore continued 
 quietly at work. They looked at him a few moments, and then 
 went towards his house, but took nothing from it. On coming 
 out, they discovered an oven which gave signs of having just 
 been heated. They opened it, and, finding it full of bread, took 
 each of them a loaf. In a field adjacent, a sheep came straying 
 near them ; one of them instantly shot it, and in a few mo- 
 ments it was cut into quarters, and carried off. Lake was a 
 resolute man, and observed, if he could only have had any chance 
 with them, he never would have suffered them all to escape 
 alive. At Vandenbergh's we found my father, who had arrived 
 there first, and was keeping an anxious lookout for us on the 
 shore. 
 
 " ' We found, on landing, a number of people, who, like our- 
 selves, had been driven from their homes. We passed the night 
 amongst them. Some obtained accommodations within doors ; 
 some were happy to be under the cover of the cattle-sheds ; 
 while others stretched themselves in their wagons, and endeavored 
 
124 
 
 A LONG CAVALCADE OF WAGONS. 
 
 to snatch a few moments of repose. Early in the morning the 
 sleepers were awakened, and no fresh rumors alarmed them to 
 any very hasty movements. Indeed, my father rather rashly re- 
 solved to return home, accompanied by a few congenial spirits, 
 to get further information of the enemy, and, if possible, to 
 save some of his cattle and farming-stock. I say rashly, as Bur- 
 goyne was expected down with his army every hour. Soon after 
 he was gone, the whole body of the people moved off towards 
 Stillwater, a general panic now prevailing among them, which 
 seemed every hour to increase. My father, however, safely reached 
 his house, and succeeded in getting off part of his stock. He 
 immediately pushed for the Hoosick River, which he intended 
 Vo cross, and then pass over into New England. Corresponding 
 arrangements had been made on our part, when he left us, to 
 rejoin him there. Our procession of flying inhabitants wore a 
 strange and melancholy appearance. A long cavalcade of wagons, 
 filled with all kinds of furniture, not often selected by the owners 
 with reference to their use or value on occasions of alarm, 
 stretched along the road ; while others on horseback, and here 
 and there two mounted at once upon a steed panting under the 
 double load, were followed by a crowd of pedestrians. These 
 found great difficulty in keeping up with the rapid flight of their 
 mounted friends. Here and there would be seen some humane 
 person assisting the more unfortunate, by relieving them of the 
 packs and bundles with which they were encumbered ; but gen- 
 erally a principle of selfishness prevented much interchange of 
 friendly offices. Every one for himself, was the constant cry. 
 After my father's departure, he committed to me the care of his 
 
A BRAVE AND DESPERATE WOMAN. 
 
 127 
 
 wagon and horses, and the safe-conduct of my mother and the 
 family. Unfortunately for me, when we left home I had selected 
 the most valuable and spirited horses ; and so restive did I now 
 find them, that they completely overcame my strength, and wearied 
 my patience. They were continually attempting to run past the 
 wagons ahead of me, and were every instant making an effort 
 to get off the road. My chafed and blistered hands could no 
 longer restrain them. I saw that, in a few moments more, I 
 should be unable to prevent the lamentable consequences. My 
 mother was then nursing a young infant, which she now held in 
 her arms, and felt an indescribable anxiety on that account. She 
 succeeded in making a person who came alongside of us sensi- 
 ble of our distress, and hired him to drive the horses at the then 
 dear rate of a shilling a mile ; but he soon gave up, from ina- 
 bility to control them, having far less skill than myself. In this 
 dilemma, with tears in her eyes, and despair in her looks, she 
 got out of the wagon, and, picking up a stout club in the road, 
 walked on for many miles at the head of the unruly animals, 
 and, with her infant on one arm, actually kept them back, and 
 restrained them from breaking the line, by striking them over 
 the heads with the stick she held in the other. And so great 
 was each individual's anxiety for himself, that not a person in 
 the throng offered to assist her. When we reached Stillwater, it 
 was evident that our retreat was well-timed, for the advance- 
 guard of Gen. Schuyler's army arrived almost as soon as we 
 did. They encamped there ; and the increasing confusion and 
 noise every moment added new difficulties to those we already 
 were doomed to encounter. We remained here all night, as it 
 
128 
 
 A NIGHT OF WRETCHEDNESS. 
 
 was our intention next day to cross the river, and overtake my 
 father, who, by this time, we supposed several miles on his way 
 to Massachusetts. Some of his brothers also agreed to take the 
 same direction ; and early in the morning we crossed the river, 
 and travelled a whole day through a penetrating rain, and over 
 the worst of roads. We had gone about fifteen miles when 
 darkness overtook us, and we were far from any place of shelter. 
 We had no alternative but to remain there till morning ; and, 
 selecting the dryest place in the marsh, where we were fairly 
 stuck fast, some beds were taken out of the wagons, and laid 
 on the ground. On these my mother reposed, if the wakeful 
 and comfortless hours could be said to have been repose. We 
 were afraid to light any fire, for we knew the woods were filled 
 with Tories and Indians. To our hard fate, necessity therefore 
 compelled us to submit. Cold, wet, and dreary was the night : 
 yet it was not without its consolation ; for, before morning broke 
 upon our wretched bivouac, my father arrived, to our great 
 astonishment and pleasure. We started as soon as it was light 
 enough to travel, and that day reached San Coick, in the south 
 part of Cambridge, where we were received by some distant 
 connections with much hospitality.' " 
 
 " How glad they must have been to see him ! " said Kate. 
 " The wagoner's mother must have been of the same stuff as 
 Jack's great-grandmother, I should imagine." 
 
 " Burgoyne did not carry out his great scheme of dividing 
 the Americans," said Mrs. Longwood. " Attacked on all sides, 
 he was obliged to retreat, and at last surrender. As soon as 
 his retreat began, our wagoner and his father made their way 
 
A THOUSAND EASTERN MILITIA. 
 
 129 
 
 back to their home. And this is the way he tells of their home- 
 coming : — 
 
 " ' I mentioned that my father had arrived with the news of 
 the retreat. The intelligence was joyful to us. He ordered the 
 black to get three horses ready early in the morning, to take us 
 back to Saratoga. Our sleep, though not sound, was filled with 
 pleasant dreams. Early as the day dawned, all were on the 
 move but my mother, who remained behind. We met on the road 
 great numbers of wounded men belonging to both armies. A 
 great many were carried on litters, which were blankets fastened 
 to a frame of four poles. I never saw the effects of war until 
 now. The sight of these wretched people, pale and lifeless, with 
 countenances of an expression peculiar to gunshot-wounds, and 
 the sound of groaning voices as each motion of the litter re- 
 newed the anguish of their wounds, filled me with horror, and 
 sickness of heart. 
 
 " ' We reached the American camp, and drove through it to 
 the bank of the river opposite my uncle's farm. We got out, 
 and walked along the bank, to see if there was any thing to 
 aid us in getting across. My father luckily recognized a Capt. 
 Knute of the bateau men, who kindly offered us the use of a 
 scow, and, indeed, saw us safely over the river. We drove that 
 night to our own home. But oh, how much changed ! It looked 
 like a military post, to which use it was actually converted. A 
 thousand Eastern militia were quartered around the premises. 
 We began to think we had not gained much by coming on at 
 this juncture. My father, however, entered the house in the 
 dark, and, being familiar with the passages and rooms, made his 
 
ISO 
 
 STIR, HOYS, CLEAR THE WAY. 
 
 way into the stove-room, which he naturally thought would be 
 most comfortable. Having brought a candle from the wagon 
 with him, he deliberately lighted it at the stove. The moment 
 it glimmered, a person jumped off his bed, and observed to my 
 father with as much twang as was agreeable, " You seem to be 
 considerable acquainted here." My father's reply was, " I used 
 to be." The stranger rejoined, " You are the owner, maybe ? " 
 My father answered, "No! I find some here before me." — 
 "Oh, well!" continued the speaker, "you shall be accommodated." 
 At this instant the steady blaze of the candle showed the room 
 to be occupied by a number of persons, and there appeared no 
 probability of our receiving the promised accommodation. But 
 he spoke as one having authority, when he exclaimed, " Stir, 
 boys, stir ; clear the way : here is the owner come ! " They 
 yawned and grunted, and got out of the way with unexpected 
 good-nature. He also placed a guard over our wagon, to pro- 
 tect it from invasion. My father, in order to return his civilities, 
 brought in some spirits to the officer, and a social glass was 
 handed round. It was an unexpected happiness to the kind- 
 hearted Yankee. The draught was repeated until sleep came to 
 refresh us after our fatigues. Stretched on pallets of straw, we 
 laid ourselves down ; and, after strange vicissitudes of hope and 
 fear, we sunk to rest once more in our own house, every ill and 
 every fatigue forgotten.' 
 
 " Well, we had better be on our homeward way," said Mrs. 
 Longwood, as she closed the book, " or Tom's fears for our 
 safety may come true, after all. Shall we walk on a little, or 
 get into the stage ? " 
 
A CAPTIVE CLOUD-HORSE. 
 
 " The road leaves the cliffs here for some miles," said their 
 driver. " I think you would do well to ride." 
 
 So in they all clambered, and the horses set out on a jog- 
 trot. It was such a beautiful day, that, for very lightness of 
 heart, the girls broke out singing. Overhead the clouds in great 
 white masses were flying before the fresh wind. Away on the 
 horizon a full-rigged ship was making its way on, every stitch 
 of canvas spread. The sun made its sails gleam white and 
 sparkling, so that, as Carrie said, it looked like a captive cloud. 
 
 " You are not the first that has had that idea," said Mrs. 
 Longwood. " Did you ever hear this ? 
 
 A SHIP AT SEA. 
 
 Adown the sky the wild cloud-horses run, 
 
 Tossing their glistening manes in wanton play ; 
 
 Their unshod feet no hoof-marks leave behind, 
 
 As through the blue sky fields they hold their way. 
 
 But, look ! down where the ocean meets the sky, 
 A captive cloud-horse wears his life away ; 
 
 Chained to a huge sea-plough, and, hapless, doomed 
 To turn a never-ending furrow night and day. 
 
 See how he tugs and strains to burst his bonds, 
 
 And snorts defiance in his misery ! 
 Poor wretch ! his spirit broken by his chains, 
 
 The first brief calm he'll die, and so be free." 
 
 Meanwhile the stage horses had not been idle. Mile after 
 mile of moorland they had left behind them ; and now, just as 
 
132 
 
 YO, HO.' FOR THE OPEN SEA. 
 
 ie sun was sinking, they drew up in front of the little h 
 hence they had set out in the morning. 
 
 By this time the boys were well out at sea. They had r 
 aste to board " The Mavis," as soon as Mrs. Longwood and 
 
 MUNTAUK FROM THE SEA. 
 
 girls had started on their homeward way. They had sailed close 
 by the cliffs, where, the tide now being out, the surf was much 
 less than it had been. Then they had steered out into the open 
 ocean, and the land was now nearly fading from view. 
 
POGIES, WHITE-FISH, MENHADEN, BONY-FISH, 
 
 133 
 
 And yet it must be confessed that they were a little disap- 
 pointed. They had rather expected some adventure, or some 
 strange sensation ; and all had been as tame and matter-of-fact 
 as could be. And so they were standing around in a rather 
 discontented state of mind. 
 
 " Fish ! fish ! " cried Jack, who was looking over the side. 
 " See, there are thousands ! " 
 
 " About a million in that school," said Thomas John, survey- 
 ing them critically. 
 
 And, indeed, when the boys looked carefully, they could see 
 that Thomas John's estimate was a moderate one. Several acres 
 of water were in a boiling state from the quick swish of the 
 fishes' tails. They lay as closely together, Ned said, as sardines 
 in a box. 
 
 " What are they ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " Mossbunkers," said Thomas John, " pogies, white-fish, men- 
 haden, bony-fish, fat-backs, alewives, old-wife chebogs, hardheads, 
 greentails. There, you can take your choice of names. The 
 same fish is called all those different ways on different parts of 
 the coast." 
 
 " Are they good for any thing ? " asked Ned. 
 
 " Some folks say," answered Thomas John, " that they are 
 brought into the world to be eaten. They have no means of 
 defence, and so can't help themselves. When we make a haul 
 from shore, we often bring in several shark with them, and these 
 have each half a bushel of bunkers in their stomachs. Then 
 these bony whales that you see hereabouts often, — I am told 
 that they can take down as many as would fill a hogshead, at a 
 
134 
 
 FAT-BACKS, ALE WIVES, 
 
 HARDHEADS, GREENTAILS. 
 
 gulp. Porpoises go for them too, and dog-fish. But the worst 
 enemy they have are blue-fish. Blue-fish are regular pirates, 
 sea-rovers, who kill for the fun of it. Why, they will go through 
 :a school of menhaden, and leave a streak of blood behind them. 
 For every one they eat, they kill a hundred." 
 
 " When you haul from shore, what do you do with them ? " 
 asked Jack. 
 
 " Sell them for manure," said Thomas John. " We can't 
 catch enough to make it pay to make oil. There are no end 
 of steamers, though, in the fishing business, who carry all they 
 catch to the oil-factories." 
 
 " Have you any idea how many are taken in this way ? " 
 asked Mr. Longwood. 
 
 " I have heard that it was calculated somewhere about seven 
 hundred millions a year," said Thomas John. 
 
 " Why, I should think they would begin to grow scarce," 
 said Charlie. 
 
 " It seems a good many," said Thomas John ; " but the fish- 
 commissioner at Washington has made an estimate of how many 
 are eaten by other fishes. I s'pose it's guess-work, mainly ; but 
 still they get a good many statistics in Washington to go on. 
 It's three thousand millions of millions." 
 
 "If the fish can hold their own against such destruction as 
 that," said Mr. Longwood, " they are not likely to be lessened 
 much by the number taken by man." 
 
 " I suppose the steamers take them with seines," said Ned. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " said Tom. " Haven't you ever seen them ? They 
 lie off the beach at home, sometimes, by dozens. I have often 
 
s 
 
 THE FfSl) ARE SURROUNDED. 137 
 
 made out all their operations with a glass. They have a great 
 seine, which is kept half in one boat, and half in another. 
 These boats row away from one another, around the fish in a 
 circle, throwing out the net as they go, until they meet. Then 
 
 A MEETING BY NIGHT. 
 
 the ends are fastened together. The fish now cannot escape 
 except at the bottom, and they have a way of stopping that. 
 All along the bottom of the net are sewed rings, and through 
 
138 
 
 THE DAY COMES TO AN END. 
 
 these a rope runs. The men haul for dear life on this rope 
 until the bottom is drawn tight together, and the fish are in a 
 bag. Then the steamer comes alongside, and they let down a 
 big iron caldron into the flopping mass ; and aboard they go, 
 a thousand at a time." 
 
 " Aren't they good to eat at all ? " asked Charlie. 
 
 " Well," said Thomas John, " I understand that they are put 
 up like sardines, and that there is quite a little business in 
 shipping them salted to the West Indies ; but, after all, it doesn't 
 amount to much. A good many, too, are sold as bait to the 
 fishing-fleet on the banks." 
 
 The school was soon passed, and forgotten in the excitement 
 of supper, which was served in " The Mavis's " little cabin. 
 Nothing of especial interest happened during the evening, except 
 that a large ship passed them, within easy hail. Her stern, as 
 she went by, showed five bright cabin-lights, and made their 
 own tiny quarters look even smaller than ever. Small as they 
 were, though, five tired and sleepy boys found them very com- 
 fortable, as each stretched himself out in his bunk, and pulled 
 his blanket up over him. They were still out of sight of land, 
 but now were headed homeward ; and Capt. Jackson assured them, 
 that, when they awoke the next morning, they should find them- 
 selves off Fort Pond Bay. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The sun was only a 
 short distance above the 
 horizon the next morn- 
 ing, when from the cabin 
 might have been seen 
 emerging two scantily- 
 robed figures. True to 
 his promise, Capt. Jack- 
 son had brought " The 
 Mavis " around to her 
 former anchorage. She 
 now lay idly, like a de- 
 serted ship, save for the 
 one man, who, huddled 
 up on the leeward side of the hatch, was seeking solace in a 
 short black pipe. Her boat lay alongside, bumping against her, 
 as the little waves lifted it up and down. 
 
 " I say," said Will, drawing about him a rug, and thereby 
 disclosing a bare and shivering leg, " this begins to look less 
 amusing than it did down below. The water must be awfully 
 cold. What do you say to giving it up ? " 
 
140 
 
 TOM TAKES A HEADER. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said the other scantily-clad figure, which was 
 Tom's, " it's always warmer than the air. Come on ! " 
 
 The man who was on duty, hearing their voices, came 
 forward. 
 
 " Don't you think the water is warm ? " asked Tom. 
 
 " Well, I expect it's some tepid," said the man. 
 
 " There," said Tom, " I told you so ! Come on : I'll give 
 you a lead ; " and, dropping his rug, he leaned forward, and 
 took a header. In a moment more he was scrambling up into 
 the small boat. 
 
 " Don't miss it on any account," he called to Will. " It's 
 wonderful ! " But the moment that Will, too, took a header, 
 and disappeared, he scrambled up on to the deck with the greatest 
 speed. And it was well that he did so, for the next instant a 
 clinched fist came up from the waves, and was shaken vigor- 
 ously at him, while its owner lost no time in scrambling on 
 deck. 
 
 " You wretch ! " cried Will, as he wildly rushed toward the 
 •cabin, near which Tom was standing, grin on face, and towel 
 in hand. " W T hy didn't you tell me that it was like ice ? " 
 
 " I didn't want to spoil your fun," said Tom ; and he attempted 
 to elude Will's grasp. He succeeded ; but his feet slipped out 
 from beneath him, and he disappeared down the companion-way, 
 and arrived in the cabin in a sitting position, with a loud crash. 
 
 His noisy entrance awoke the boys and Mr. Longwood. 
 
 " I remember," said that gentleman, after he had heard of 
 Tom and Will's performance, " that once, when I was crossing 
 the ocean, I went to take my morning bath. The steward had 
 
TEN THOUSAND NEEDLES. 
 
 141 
 
 it all drawn for me ; and, expecting my usual delightful experi- 
 ence, I plunged in. But it seemed as if ten thousand needles 
 were sticking into me, and I sprang out like a flash. As I 
 raised my eyes to the porthole, I saw, hardly a quarter of a 
 mile away, a gigantic iceberg. I used, after that, to look out 
 of the porthole first." 
 
 Breakfast seemed particularly good that morning. Possibly it 
 may have been that the cook was an adept in his art ; possibly 
 it may have been that the sea-air had given them great appe- 
 tites. However that may be, they lingered so long over it, that, 
 before they had left the table, Thomas John announced that the 
 cattle-keeper's boat, with the ladies on board, was in sight, com- 
 ing up the pond. 
 
 And before long the whole party were together again, and 
 " The Mavis," with all sails set, was flying along toward New 
 London. 
 
 " Come, Jack," said Rose, after a time, when they had all 
 settled comfortably down on a mass of rugs that had been spread 
 on the deck, " you are a scholar ; tell us something of the 
 country to which we are going." 
 
 " The climate is temperate," said Jack, quoting glibly from an 
 imaginary geography ; " the products are hay, straw, oats, and 
 wooden nutmegs. The government is vested in a governor, 
 lieutenant-governor, senate, and house of representatives." 
 
 " You seem to be very well up in your facts, Master Jack," 
 said Mr. Longwood : " tell us if there were ever two persons 
 governors of Connecticut at the same time." 
 
 " Let me think," said Jack meditatively, assuming a grave air. 
 
142 
 
 NIEGOR MAN TO GOVERNOR SKENE. 
 
 " I don't recall the circumstance, nor can I recall having met 
 with the subject in my large and varied course of reading." 
 
 " Well," laughed Mr. Longwood, " I fear that your reading 
 must have been misdirected. In the good old times, as some 
 people call them, before the Revolution, when Connecticut was 
 a slave-holding State, it was the custom for the negroes to elect 
 their governor, as well as their masters ; and, though he did not 
 have all the perquisites of the white governor, he was treated 
 with the greatest respect by all his colored brethren. The proc- 
 lamation that one of these negro governors put forth created 
 quite an excitement on one occasion. It was this : — 
 
 Hartford, nth May, 1776. 
 
 I Governor Cuff of the Niegro's in the province of Connecticut, do Resign 
 my Govermentshipe, to John Anderson Niegor Man to Governor Skene. 
 
 And I hope that you will obeye him as you have Done me for this ten 
 year's past, when Colonel Willis' Niegor Dayed I was the next. But being weak 
 and unfit for that office do Resine the said Governmentshipe to John Anderson. 
 
 I : John Anderson having the Honour to be appointed Governor over you I 
 will do my utmost endevere to serve you in Every Respect, and I hope you will 
 obey me accordingly. 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON Governor 
 
 over the Niegors in Connecticut. 
 
 Witnesses present, 
 
 The late Governor Cuff, Hartford, 
 Quackow, 
 
 Petter Wadsworth, 
 Titows, 
 Pomp Willis, 
 John Jones, 
 Fraday. 
 
 " Now, Gov. Skene, to whom John Anderson was ' Niegor 
 
GOVERNOR ANDERSON OFFERS TO TREAT. 
 
 143 
 
 Man,' was a great Tory. He was in Hartford on his parole, 
 for it was in the early days of the Revolution ; and it was at 
 once suspected that he had concocted a plot by which all the 
 slaves should kill their masters. So he was summoned before 
 the officials, and great examinations were held." 
 
 " And did they find out any thing ? " asked Rose. 
 
 " If I remember rightly," said Mr. Longwood, " it was dis- 
 covered that Gov. Cuff abdicated on Gov. Anderson's offering to 
 treat to the amount of twenty dollars. Gov. Anderson lamented 
 loudly that the treating had cost him twenty-five dollars, and 
 considered himself an injured man." 
 
 " Connecticut," said Jack, " was where Gen. Putnam came 
 from. He was a fine fellow. When he was a young man, there 
 was a wolf " — 
 
 At this point, however, our young friend stopped short, for a 
 smile was on every countenance. 
 
 " We think we have all heard that story," said Charlie apolo- 
 getically, and Jack subsided. 
 
 " There is another story about Putnam, though," said Tom, 
 " that I don't believe you have heard. He was marching, at one 
 time, under Gen. Amherst, to attack the French in Canada. 
 The troops, late on an afternoon, reached a lake, which it was 
 necessary they should cross. But there, sailing up and down, 
 was an armed French vessel, ready to attack them the moment 
 they attempted it. 
 
 " Putnam went to Gen. Amherst. ' We must capture that 
 vessel,' said he. 
 
 " Gen. Amherst was of the same mind ; but how to do it 
 Avas the question. 
 
144 PUTNAM MAKES A CAPTURE. 
 
 " ' Give me,' said Putnam, ' half a dozen picked men, a mallet, 
 and some wedges, and I'll take her.' 
 
 " Amherst didn't quite see how he was to capture a ship 
 with a mallet and wedges ; but he told him that he should have 
 them. In the middle of the night Putnam and his men stole 
 softly out in a small boat, and, under cover of the darkness, 
 drove the wedges in back of the vessel's rudder, so that it could 
 not move. As soon as daylight came, the troops began to get 
 on the rafts and bateau that were to take them across, and 
 the Frenchman hoisted his sail to attack them. But, somehow, 
 his craft wouldn't behave. She just blew along over the water ; 
 and, before he knew it, he was ashore, and a party of the enemy 
 were aboard and in possession." 
 
 " I say," called out Jack presently, returning from a tour into 
 the bows, " I can ^ee the light-house off New London harbor." 
 
 " New London was a stirring town during the Revolution," 
 said Mr. Longwood. " Before the war broke out she had a large 
 shipping- trade with the West Indies and Mediterranean ports. 
 But the British cruisers soon put an end to that. And so she 
 became the headquarters of privateersmen. You remember how 
 Capt. Dayton brought his prizes there. Well, he was only one 
 of hundreds. Woe to the English transport or merchant-vessel 
 that fell behind her convoy as she entered the Sound ! A 
 low, swift-sailing craft suddenly crept out from shore, and, before 
 her escort could help, compelled her, by the logic of cold lead, 
 to haul down her flag, and surrender. At times the warehouses 
 of New London were crammed with English goods, taken in this 
 way. 
 
THEIR HEARTS IN THEIR MOUTHS. 
 
 145 
 
 " But the New-London people did not have it all their own 
 way. Half of the time they lived with their hearts in their 
 mouths ; for the harbor defences were practically worthless, and 
 there was nothing to 
 have prevented a British 
 
 fleet anchoring- before 
 the town, and blowing 
 it to pieces. And many 
 a time the good citizens 
 thought the hour had 
 come, when they saw 
 frigate after frigate com- 
 ing to anchor, and furl- 
 ing their sails off the 
 harbor mouth. Many a 
 time the alarm-guns to 
 rouse the country about 
 sounded, but the enemy 
 sheered off, and went 
 elsewhere. But at last, 
 when they had grown 
 bold, and least expected 
 it, the blow fell. The 
 British came, and burned 
 the town." 
 
 " I remember reading about it, not long ago," said Will. 
 " It was Arnold the traitor who led the British, was it not ? " 
 " Yes," said Mr. Longwood. "Go on, and tell the story." 
 
 FURLING THEIR SAILS. 
 
146 
 
 THE TRAITOR SETS SAIL. 
 
 " Well," said Will, " if I remember rightly, Arnold made the 
 point of assemblage for his vessels somewhere on the Long- 
 Island shore, perhaps near where we started from in the 
 morning. 
 
 " As soon as it was dusk they, set sail, intending to reach 
 New London, and make the attack in the night, before the 
 militia could be summoned to the aid of the town. But just as 
 they reached the harbor mouth, a little after midnight, the wind 
 hauled, and they could not enter, but had to beat off and on, 
 waiting for daylight. 
 
 " With the first dawn they were seen ; and the alarm-guns 
 from the forts began to echo over the country-side, rousing the 
 militia to their aid." 
 
 " The signal for danger," interrupted Mr. Longwood, " was 
 two guns. Three meant the arrival of a prize, or good news. 
 The enemy had learned this ; and, whenever the forts fired two 
 guns, one of their ships added a third, so as to confound the 
 signals." 
 
 " It was ten o'clock before the British made a landing," went 
 on Will ; " and by that time the militia had begun to come in. 
 But a parcel of half-disciplined farmers could do nothing against 
 well-drilled regulars. They fired from behind fences, and every 
 now and then a rebel bullet reached its mark, and brought down 
 a man ; but the militia were practically helpless, and the English, 
 with the traitor at their head, marched forward, and took the 
 town." 
 
 " Arnold was doubly a traitor on this expedition," said Mrs. 
 Longwood ; "for he was born only a few miles from New Lon- 
 
A SCENE OF TERROR. 
 
 H7 
 
 don, and no doubt had 
 known the town for 
 years, so that it was 
 his own native place he 
 was destroying." 
 
 " You can imagine 
 the excitement," Will 
 continued, " when it was 
 known that the British 
 were really at hand. 
 Wagons were hastily 
 loading; women and 
 children half wild with 
 terror rushed here and 
 there, and then made 
 their way to the open 
 country, whence they 
 watched the flames that 
 made them homeless. 
 
 " The people had 
 hoped that the town 
 might escape ; but this 
 was not Arnold's inten- 
 tion. The warehouses, 
 shops, dwellings, were 
 soon in a blaze, while 
 
 A REBEL HULLET. 
 
 he watched it all from the steeple of the meeting-house. Among 
 the townspeople were many old acquaintances. He even took 
 
1 4« 
 
 A FORTUNATE CHANGE OF WIND. 
 
 dinner with one of them ; but before he rose from the table the 
 house had been fired, and he left it wrapped in flames." 
 
 "What an old scamp he must have been! " said two or three ; 
 and Ned added, " After all, the British must have lost more 
 men than the patriots, for they had the advantage of firing only 
 from cover, and did not once meet them in the open." 
 
 " Ay, but," said Will, " there was some of the bloodiest fight- 
 ing in the whole war on the other side of the harbor. You see, 
 there were a lot of sail, great and small, in port, and Arnold 
 meant to make a clean sweep of them all. There was, among 
 others, a large ship, ' The Hannah,' which had been brought in 
 as a prize, and was unloading. These vessels would naturally 
 all go up the river, where the British could not follow, and 
 escape. But the wind was dead against them, so that they could 
 not. Arnold had foreseen all this, and so he had landed men 
 on each side of the harbor mouth, and, while one party was 
 burning the town, the other was marching to get above the 
 shipping. They almost made it out ; but, just at the right mo- 
 ment, with the change of the tide, the wind changed, and all 
 that lay in the stream hoisted sail, and fled in safety. 
 
 *' Now, as this detachment of the British marched along, they 
 came to Fort Griswold. In it were only a hundred and fifty 
 militia ; but they refused to surrender when challenged, though 
 the enemy outnumbered them ten to one. Then began a fight 
 that was a fight in earnest. The militia, with grape-shot, swept 
 down whole ranks of the enemy, killing their two commanding 
 officers at the first fire. But the odds were too unequal. The 
 British poured over the works, and the fort was theirs. They 
 
ARNOLD VIEWING THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TOWN. 
 
FALL BACK TO THE SHIPS. 
 
 151 
 
 must have been fiends, and they were led by a fiend ; for, when 
 the American colonel surrendered his sword, the wretch seized it, 
 and plunged it into his heart. The soldiers, angered at the 
 unexpected resistance they had met, acted like so many wild 
 beasts, and, falling upon the Americans who had laid down their 
 arms, cut them down in cold blood, firing upon them in platoons, 
 and despatching the wounded with their bayonets. It could 
 never be found out who was the officer who allowed it all." 
 
 " The whole conflict at Fort Griswold was totally unnecessary," 
 .said Mr. Longvvood. "The British did not intend to hold New- 
 London ; and the fort, after they had possession of the town, 
 ■was of no earthly use. Two or three hundred men were killed 
 and wounded through sheer stupidity. They had hardly gained 
 possession of the fort, too, before they began to see that, if 
 they wished to get away in safety, they must make all speed. 
 For the news of their landing had spread, and all over the 
 country the militia were coming in by the hundreds. Bullets 
 from unseen rifles began to fly among the red-coats, and make 
 them long to be back on their ships. So they made haste to 
 gather about the shore. 
 
 " Before they left, though, they determined to blow up what 
 was left of the fort. They had recovered from their madness 
 by this time, and prepared to remove the wounded first, though 
 after a barbarous fashion. Getting an ammunition-wagon, they 
 piled them in on top of one another, regardless of their groans. 
 Then some twenty soldiers dragged the wagon along toward 
 the crest of the hill, at the foot of which was a house in 
 which they could be left. But the hill was steep, and the 
 
152 
 
 A HARDY MILITIAMAN. 
 
 wagon heavy ; the men could not hold it back. Leaping aside, 
 they let it go Down it went, faster and faster, bumping over 
 rocks and stones, until at the foot, when, under full headway, it 
 crashed against an apple-tree, and came to a sudden halt. The 
 screams and cries of the wounded men were heard across the 
 harbor, and several died outright from the shock. 
 
 " By this time it was sunset, and the British embarked, and 
 dropped down the harbor, watching to see the fort fly into the 
 air ; for they had laid a train to the magazine, and had fired it. 
 But, though they looked and looked, the fort never moved, much 
 to their disgust and astonishment. Arnold, in his report, was 
 very severe on the artillery-officer whose work failed ; but it 
 was not the officer's fault. The train was burning fast, when a 
 hardy militiaman made his way in, and, seeing the danger, rushed 
 to the pump, and, filling an old cartridge-box with water, put 
 out the fire, and saved the fort." 
 
 Just at this time Jack, who had not been paying much 
 attention to Mr. Longwood's and Will's story, came aft, and, seat- 
 ing himself, remarked abruptly, " I say, here's larks ! Dinner's 
 been ready for ten minutes, and cookie's in a stew ! " 
 
 "What's the matter?" asked they all. 
 
 " The cabin won't begin to hold us ; and he hasn't plates 
 and things enough to go around in such a crowd." 
 
 " Why should we go into the cabin ? " said the girls. " Let's 
 call it a picnic, and have dinner on deck ; and then it will be a 
 good joke, not having dishes enough." 
 
 So they all went forward, much to the cook's embarrassment. 
 His black face was screwed up into a comical knot in his per- 
 
TTTE BURNING OF NEW LONDON. 
 
A HASTY PLATE OF SOUP. 
 
 '55 
 
 plexity. " 'Pears like I don't see how ye're to eat dis yer soup, 
 nohow," he said. 
 
 The soup smelled very nicely, and boys and girls were very 
 hungry. " How many soup-plates have you ? " asked Rose. 
 
 Jack hastened to explain that there were no soup-plates at 
 all, but that there were six bowls. 
 
 " Tumblers for the rest of us," cried Ned, seized by a sudden 
 inspiration. 
 
 So, this difficulty being over, the soup was soon disposed of. 
 After that the other courses were more easily managed ; for 
 " The Mavis's " stock of plates and other articles, though small, 
 was yet enough to go around, with a little ingenious assistance. 
 The cook had evidently a pretty thorough idea of what hungry 
 boys and girls could do ; for one good thing appeared after 
 another, until, at last, peaches and raisins ended the meal. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 EANTIME "The Mavis" had been 
 making good progress. She had 
 passed the light-house and the great 
 hotel buildings, and had glided up 
 the harbor; and, just as Jack was 
 surreptitiously sweeping the last of 
 the raisins into his pocket, she 
 rounded the point on which Fort 
 Trumbull stands, and dropped her 
 anchor before the town. 
 A small boat shot out at once from one of the piers, and 
 came alongside ; and a young man in it touched his hat to Mr. 
 Longwood, and scrambled up the schooner's side. 
 
 " You are very prompt, sir," he said. " I have only just 
 arrived." 
 
 Mr. Longwood led the way to the cabin, and the young man 
 followed. Presently he came out again, and said, " I thought 
 that only my signature was wanted ; but I find that there is 
 work here that will take me two or three hours. You had all 
 better go ashore, and enjoy yourselves." 
 
 So, after a brief consultation, it was decided that they should 
 
 .56 
 
THEY MAKE A LANDING. 
 
 157 
 
 land at the foot of the hill where the fight that we have just 
 heard of took place, and visit the remains of the old fort. It 
 was necessary that the boat should make two trips to take them 
 all : so Ned, Tom, and Will, with three of the girls, went first. 
 While the boat went back for the rest, they began to climb, and \ 
 
 LOADING AND UNLOADING. 
 
 presently reached the top of the hill. Somewhat out of breath, they 
 waited for the others to come, before they should begin their ex- 
 plorations. They had with them a glass, and through it they could 
 see the piers of the town plainly, with schooners lying along- 
 side, taking in and discharging cargo. Presently they cast their 
 restless eyes about them. Not far away, on an old stone, was 
 
i 5 8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF MOSES. 
 
 seated a man with his back toward them, smoking a pipe. His 
 shabby coat showed that his circumstances were not of the best. 
 " Let's go and talk to him," said Tom. 
 
 So he and Will strolled over. As they came near, the man 
 removed his pipe, not noticing their approach, and began to 
 sing a song in a low tone. The boys stopped to listen. 
 
 Whin Pharaoh's daughther wint down to the wather, 
 
 Sure there was young Moses a-shwimmin' around 
 In his arruk all so handy, wid a shtick of swate candy, 
 
 To kape him from cryin' ontil he was found. 
 
 Says she to a maithen, says she, " Bring yon haythen, 
 
 Your trotters be shakin', ye lazy spalpeen ; 
 If the wathers wance wet him, or the crockodiles get him, 
 
 It's no crockodile tears ye'll be sheddin', I ween." 
 
 So, whin from his shwimmin' he was brought to the wimmin, 
 Faith, it shows how the blarney's a famale's chafe joy, 
 
 A nate bow he was makin', as sure as I'm spakin' ; 
 " Begorra ! " says she, " he's the broth of a boy." 
 
 " He seems to have attended Sunday school in his youth," 
 said Will, as the singer broke off abruptly, to put his pipe back 
 into his mouth. 
 
 The man heard his voice, and turned around. " Long life to 
 your honors," he said, rising. 
 
 " That's quite a nice song you were singing," said Will. 
 '* Where did you learn it ? " 
 
 " It was injuced by me own circumsthances," said the man. 
 
THE REST OF THE PARTY ARRIVE. 
 
 159 
 
 " I was lookin' at that bit of wather just fornint yez, and wishin' 
 Moses had left his boat whin he got through wid it ; for how I 
 am to get across, I doan know, be raison that I have niver so 
 much as a pinny, and the fare is five cints on the boat. On- 
 less," he added, with a grin, " ye may be a brother of Pharaoh's 
 daughther, and inclined to hilp a poor man a bit, like your 
 sister did wid Moses." 
 
 Will laughed, and gave him a small coin ; and, with another 
 41 Long life to your honors ! " he set out briskly for the ferry. 
 
 By this time, Mrs. Longwood and the rest of the party had 
 arrived, and together they strolled about the hill-top. There was 
 not much to see, though, beside the view : so, after a little, they 
 sat themselves down on a grassy knoll, and two or three began 
 to urge Mrs. Longwood to tell them more about Arnold and his 
 crime. 
 
 " It is not a pleasant subject," said that lady ; " but it is a 
 good thing for every boy and girl to know the story of that 
 traitor, and how his acts recoiled on his own head, and left him 
 despised alike by friends and foes. 
 
 " Arnold was born some ten or a dozen miles from where 
 we now are, on the very river Thames that we see winding be- 
 neath us. He grew up to be a man among the stirring scenes 
 that preceded the Revolution, in the days of the Stamp Act, 
 and other attempts at oppression by the mother country. He 
 was a thorough patriot. When the news of the battle of Lex- 
 ington came, he was in business in New Haven. He summoned 
 the guards of which he was captain, and called for volunteers to 
 march with him to Cambridge. Sixty men stepped forward. He 
 
i6o 
 
 PRODUCE THE KEYS. 
 
 demanded arms and ammunition of the selectmen. But these 
 worthies were not accustomed to such rapidity of action : they 
 said that he would do better to wait a little, for regular orders. 
 Arnold marched his men to the house where they were assem- 
 bled, and sent in word, that, if the keys of the magazine were 
 not produced in five minutes, his men should break in the 
 doors. The keys were produced ; and the company, well armed 
 and equipped, set out at once." 
 
 " What an energetic fellow he must have been ! " said Charlie. 
 
 " He was, indeed," said Mrs. Longwood. " No sooner had 
 he and his men arrived in camp than he proposed to the authori- 
 ties a plan for seizing Fort Ticonderoga." 
 
 " Why, that is where the wagoner went," said Carrie. 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Longwood ; " but the wagoner was two or 
 three years later. Well, the authorities fancied Arnold's plan ; 
 and they made him a colonel, with power to recruit four hun- 
 dred men. So he set out to the western part of Massachusetts 
 to raise his men ; but, when he reached there, he found that a 
 party of Green-Mountain Boys under Ethan Allen had already 
 started for the same purpose. He went after them, and, showing 
 his commission, claimed the command. But the Vermonters did 
 not know him, and would not obey him. They would fight under 
 their own leader, or go home. Arnold, however, went on with 
 them ; and he and Ethan Allen were side by side at the head 
 of the men, when, in the gray morning, the troops seized the 
 fort, and, waking up the commander from his sleep, demanded 
 his surrender in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Conti- 
 nental Congress. 
 
THE MARCH ON CANADA. 
 
 " Arnold's reputation was now established as a bold and 
 •daring man, and one who could rouse his followers to enthusi- 
 asm. And so he was chosen to lead one of the most dangerous 
 expeditions of the whole war. Its plan was this. Here," said 
 Mrs. Longwood, drawing with her parasol an imaginary map on 
 the grass, " is Montreal, and here Quebec, which were occupied 
 by the British. Now, an American army was on its way to 
 Canada, to attack these cities. It was marching northward by 
 way of the lakes," and she pointed out their course. " It was 
 proposed that Arnold should lead a force to join them. His 
 route was to be through Maine. No one but Indians had ever 
 passed through these northern wilds; but it was thought that his 
 army might ascend the Kennebec River in scows, as far as pos- 
 sible, then strike across country to the head waters of the 
 Chaudiere, down which they could float to the St. Lawrence. 
 
 " Arnold's men were bold and hardy. Three companies were 
 from Western Virginia, — men who had seen rough service on 
 the Indian frontier, — the rest were rugged farmers used to all 
 manner of toil and exposure. Full of determination they set 
 out, and were soon lost to sight in the forest." 
 
 " It must have been glorious fun, though, making their way 
 up the rivers, and camping in the Maine woods ! " said Tom. 
 " Just think of it, fellows : salmon, and trout, and deer, and all 
 that sort of thing." 
 
 " These men did not go for a lark, as you would call it," 
 said Mrs. Longwood. " They had to pole great heavy bateaux 
 against the current all day, sometimes stopping to carry the 
 baggage on their backs around rapids. When night came, they 
 
164 A SUDDEN COLD BATH. 
 
 were glad enough to broil their salt pork over the camp-fire, 
 and drop off to sleep, without thinking of trout and venison. 
 A band of pioneers went before, to explore the way, and many 
 was the rough experience they had. 
 
 A ROUGH EXPERIEN'CE. 
 
 " At length, after days and days of toil, the little army 
 reached the head-waters of the Kennebec, where the stream was 
 to be left, and the forest crossed that lay between them and the 
 head-waters of the Chaudiere. And now they were in peril 
 indeed. They were too far along to go back, and to go forward 
 
DOG-SOUP FOR DINNER. 
 
 167 
 
 seemed almost certain death. Storm after storm came upon 
 them. In a single night the streams rose ten feet, so that they 
 were often up to their waists in the icy water. And, worst of all, 
 their provisions gave out. Many lay down and died in their 
 misery. To push on, and reach some of the friendly French 
 villages, was their only hope. They were reduced to such straits, 
 that they killed the two dogs that were with them, and made 
 them into soup ; they boiled their buckskin breeches, and ate 
 them ; and they gnawed the roots of trees and shrubs that they 
 dug out of the ground. In all these trials Arnold shared as a 
 common soldier, and was everywhere present, encouraging and 
 sympathizing with the men. 
 
 " And at last a remnant, ragged and famishing, found them- 
 selves within reach of help from the friendly French settlers." 
 
 " Poor fellows ! " said Lou, " they certainly deserved success : 
 they worked hard enough for it." 
 
 " They did not achieve it, however," said Mrs. Longwood. 
 " It was early in September when Arnold's little army left Boston. 
 Now it was the 10th of November; and his force, after all 
 stragglers had come in, was only six hundred men, — half-clothed. 
 They had not lost their determination, though, but pressed 
 forward with all speed toward Quebec. But the British had 
 learned of their coming, and recruits poured into the city from 
 all about. They burned every boat on the St. Lawrence, for 
 twenty miles, to prevent their crossing. And when, one dark 
 night, Arnold, eluding a man-of-war, landed his little army in 
 Wolfe's Cove, and scaled the plains on which the city stood, 
 there were three men inside her walls, to his one without." 
 
"ROW, BROTHERS, ROW* 
 
 " It looks to me," said Jack, " as if he were in rather a 
 tight place." 
 
 " Of course he could not attack the city with such a force," 
 said Mrs. Longwood : " so he intrenched himself, and waited for 
 
 carleton's escape. 
 
 the other American army to join him. That army, led by Gen. 
 Montgomery, had had brilliant success. It had taken Montreal, 
 and would have taken the English commander, Gen. Carleton, 
 
THE BELLS CLANG FORTH AN ALARM. 
 
 169 
 
 had he not made his escape in disguise, in a small boat. But 
 by reason of the garrisons it had had to leave behind it, and 
 the expiration of the time for which the men had enlisted, it 
 had so dwindled that it numbered only three hundred men." 
 
 " And so Arnold was not much better for their coming," 
 said Kate. 
 
 "No; he was not, indeed," said Mrs. Longwood. "The two 
 commanders held a conference. To attack the city seemed mad- 
 ness, but they were determined to attempt it. They planned a 
 night assault. The snow was coming down thick and fast when 
 the attack was made. A hundred yards before his men ran 
 Arnold, while all the bells of the city were clanging forth a wild 
 alarm. On a run after him came his men, holding their muskets 
 under their coat-flaps, to keep the locks dry. At the very first 
 onset Montgomery was killed, and Arnold was struck by a mus- 
 ket-ball that broke his leg. Rising on his other leg, he tried 
 to press forward, and cheered the men as they passed him. 
 They made a gallant fight, but it was in vain : Quebec was not 
 to fall." 
 
 " What a shame it was," exclaimed the boys, " that he should 
 fail ! but it was a desperate venture at the best. The fight 
 must have given him a great reputation." 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Longwood. " Congress at once promoted 
 him to be a brigadier. The Americans were forced to retire 
 slowly from Canada, and the British followed them up as they 
 went. Gen. Carleton was determined to get full possession of 
 Lake Champlain, because of its nearness to Ticonderoga. The 
 British always had their eyes on Ticonderoga, longing to gain it, 
 
I JO 
 
 SKILLED SEAMEN AGAINST LAND-LUBBERS. 
 
 because, with it once in their hands, they thought they could easily 
 force their way to Albany, and effect a junction with the forces 
 in New York. So Carleton began to build vessels with all speed, 
 and Arnold, too, began to build vessels to fight him. Of course 
 Carleton had great advantages. He was not far from Montreal, 
 his base of supplies, whence he could get men and material, 
 and he had the whole purse of England to draw from, while 
 Arnold had only the backwoods about him. And so it came 
 about, that, when the two fleets met in fight, the British had 
 more than twice the weight of guns, and twice as many ships, 
 as he, and had skilled seamen to navigate them, while he had 
 but land-lubbers." 
 
 " I suspect this will be as vigorous a scrimmage as the other," 
 said Ned. 
 
 " You shall see," said Mrs. Longwood. " When the British- 
 ships, with all their flags proudly flying, came sailing down to 
 attack the American, the English captain, seeing the smallness 
 of the American fleet, said that he thought they should have 
 little trouble ; but Gen. Carleton, who was aboard, remembered 
 the march through the Maine woods, and thought differently. 
 And he was right. It was half-past twelve when the two fleets 
 were within musket-shot and hard at work. Arnold had that 
 morning lost the ship on which he was, ' The Royal Savage,' 
 and now had taken his station on ' The Congress ' galley. He 
 anchored her in the hottest part of the fire, and there she stayed 
 until, at five o'clock, the British retired. 
 
 " Not only were he and his men exposed to the fire of the 
 enemy's ships, but the whole shore close at hand blazed with 
 
THE BRITISH COMMANDER CAUGHT NAPPING. 
 
 the rifles of the Indians. Fortunately, though, he had foreseen 
 this, and had protected his sides so that the bullets did little 
 harm. He was omnipresent on his ship. His men were inexpe- 
 rienced, and he himself pointed and discharged most of the guns. 
 He knew no such word as submission. His vessel was hulled 
 eleven times. Seven shots had passed through her, above the 
 water-line, her mast and rigging were cut to pieces, while around 
 him lay the dead and wounded ; and yet he fought as madly as 
 at first. 
 
 " That night the British fleet, confident that another day 
 would see the Americans in their power, stationed themselves in 
 the channel through which they must pass to escape. Arnold 
 called a council. His fleet was in a dreadful way : three-fourths 
 of their ammunition was spent. They must escape if possible. 
 The night was a hazy one. Each ship put out all lights save 
 one at the stern, to guide the vessel that followed her, and, 
 raising their sail, they stole noiselessly away. And when morn- 
 ing awoke the British commander, to go on with the struggle of 
 the day before, his enemy had escaped him." 
 
 " How provoked he must have been ! " said they all. 
 
 " He was indeed," said Mrs. Longwood. " He hoisted all 
 sail, and set out in pursuit ; and after a little he came up with 
 the hinder vessels of the flying fleet. Two had sunk from their 
 injuries ; and the others, crippled and struggling, were making 
 the best of their way to Crown Point and safety. Arnold, in his 
 ' Congress ' galley, with one or two gondolas, determined to fight 
 the whole fleet, and so detain them till the others had time to 
 escape. His poor old craft was in a terrible way from the en- 
 
172 
 
 ONE STEADY ROUND OF SHOT AND SHELL. 
 
 counter she had just had ; but for four hours she fought des- 
 perately. Seven Englishmen surrounded her, and poured into 
 her one steady round of shot and ball, and still Arnold's cry 
 •was, No surrender ! At last, when he saw that the rest of his 
 fleet had made good their escape, he ran her ashore, and com- 
 manded his men to leap overboard, and wade to land. With his 
 own hand he set her on fire, and, keeping off the enemy's small 
 boats till the flames had such headway that they could not be 
 extinguished, he left his flag still flying, and escaped to land. 
 
 " I am going to tell you only one story more of Arnold's 
 daring," said Mrs. Longwood. " It was at the battle of Saratoga. 
 You remember about that in the wagoner's story. It was the 
 battle which caused the surrender of Burgoyne, and allowed our 
 worthy wagoner to return to his home. 
 
 " Gates, who had command of the American forces, had thrown 
 up earthworks at a place called Bemis Heights, and here the 
 battle took place. The two armies were within earshot of one 
 another. Early in the morning the British troops were seen to 
 be moving. Arnold was wild with impatience. He was not now 
 in command, and so had to await orders. At last they came. 
 All da)- long the battle raged, until night put an end to the 
 strife. Like a madman he rushed into the wildest danger, lead- 
 ing the troops in person to the charge. He was so well known 
 that his presence alone seemed to bring success. 
 
 "The battle was a drawn one. Both armies rested on the 
 field. But Burgoyne's advance was checked. He no longer 
 thought of marching to Albany, but of how to escape. It was 
 too late. His camp was surrounded, his provisions were growing 
 
THE EARTHWORKS AT I .'EM IS HEIGHTS. 
 
I 
 
A WRONGLY DIRECTED BULLET. 
 
 175 
 
 shorter. Not a mouthful could he gain by foraging, so closely 
 was he watched. His only chance was in another battle ; and, a 
 little more than a fortnight after the first conflict, came the 
 second and decisive one. 
 
 " Arnold had in this interval quarrelled with his commanding 
 officer, and had been relieved of his command. When the sound 
 of the guns came to his ears, telling that the battle had begun, 
 he paced up and down his tent in a fever of impatience. ' I 
 can stand it no longer ! ' he exclaimed. ' If I cannot command, 
 I can at least serve as a volunteer ; ' and, leaping on his great 
 brown horse, he tore madly to the fight. Above the noise of 
 the guns could be heard the jells of the men, as they welcomed 
 their old leader back. Placing himself once more at their front, 
 he led them on, waving his broadsword above his head, and 
 utterly disregarding the leaden missives of death that filled the 
 air. 
 
 " And he led them to victory ; for at the end of that day, 
 when he fell, wounded in the same leg that received the ball at 
 Quebec, the British were routed." 
 
 " What a hero he must have been ! " exclaimed they all. 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Longwood. " An historian has well said, 
 that, if that bullet had ended his life, no one would have stood 
 higher on the roll of patriot heroes than Arnold. 
 
 " Among the British officers who were killed in this battle 
 was Gen. Frazer. He begged that he might be buried at six 
 o'clock in the evening, on the top of a neighboring mountain, 
 in a redoubt that had been built there. 
 
 " Slowly the mournful procession moved up the hillside in 
 
176 
 
 A WILD BURIAL SCENE. 
 
 the sight of both armies, just as the sun was setting. It was so 
 far distant that the Americans mistook it for a body of troops, 
 and opened fire upon them. As the chaplain read the burial- 
 service the shot were whistling over his head, and at times he 
 was covered with loose earth as one struck near him ; but his 
 voice never faltered. 
 
 " Then, all at once, as the Americans discovered the nature 
 of the work they were intent upon, the cannonading ceased, 
 and, in its place, the solemn minute-guns echoed through the 
 hills, bearing token of their sympathy and admiration of him 
 who was gone." 
 
 " How thankful I am," said Rose, " that there is no war 
 now ! Think of going through such dreadful scenes ! " 
 
 " How could such a man as Arnold turn traitor ? " said Ned. 
 " He had reached such a height in the affections of his country- 
 men, and had fought so bravely for his native land ! " 
 
 " The height he had reached only made his fall the greater, 
 and the lustre of his name only made his treason blacker," said 
 Mrs. Longwood. ." I have shown you only one side of his 
 character, and the brightest side. Unfortunately he was arrogant 
 and overbearing, — he made enemies by the score, — and it was 
 openly said that he was not honest. In his Canada campaign, 
 as well as at other times, he was accused of taking property 
 and using it for his own advantage. His enemies, and they 
 were many, worked busily. When Congress raised five briga- 
 diers to higher rank they were all his juniors, and men who 
 had done nothing, while his great services were ignored. There 
 is no doubt that this slight was most unjust. His wrongs grew 
 in his mind, bearing bitter fruit. 
 
THE PATRIOTS OPEN FIRE. 
 
 177 
 
 " Then the British emissaries began their work. They praised, 
 and they flattered, and they promised. It was in vain, they told 
 him, for the colonies to succeed in their struggle against such a 
 mighty country as England. If he would go over to the British, 
 and yield up possession of some important post, the war would 
 be ended all the sooner, and great credit would be his. And, 
 besides, it should be to his pecuniary advantage. He should be 
 a major-general in the British army, and should receive a certain 
 sum in cash. And so he listened, and he fell." 
 
 " How he must have wept tears of rage and mortification in 
 after-life," said Tom, " when he saw what he had thrown away ! 
 How did he turn traitor ? " 
 
 " He obtained the command of West Point, a post of such 
 importance, that, had he succeeded in delivering it up to the 
 enemy, as he intended, it would have, no doubt, put an end to 
 the war. 
 
 " The plan was this : Arnold was to weaken the garrison as 
 much as possible, by sending men away on one pretext and 
 another. Then the British, who were to be embarked in readi- 
 ness, were suddenly to appear before the fort, and he was to 
 surrender it. All these plans had been fully discussed and 
 arranged with Major Andre, and, had it not been for the fortu- 
 nate capture of that officer, would have succeeded. 
 
 " His capture came about in this way : Andre had come up 
 the river in the British man-of-war ' Vulture.' Arnold had sent 
 a boat for him, and had a conference, lasting until daylight, by 
 the river-side. Then, as all the arrangements had not been fully 
 made, Andre accompanied the traitor to a house near at hand. 
 
1 7 8 
 
 THREE MEN APPEAR SUDDENLY. 
 
 While he was there, a patriot battery opened fire on ' The Vul- 
 ture,' with such effect that she was driven to hoist her anchors, 
 and fall down with the current. Consequently Andre could not 
 return to her. Arnold furnished him with maps and plans of 
 West Point, which he put inside his stockings; and then, with a 
 pass in his pocket, Andre set out to make the journey to New- 
 York on horseback. 
 
 " All went well for a time ; but when he reached Tarry town, 
 and thought himself in comparative safety, he was stopped by 
 three men, who seized and searched him. As soon as they saw 
 the plans in his stockings, they knew that he was no common 
 man, and they carried him to the nearest American post. Here 
 he managed to get a letter sent Arnold, telling of his capture. 
 It came to the traitor just as he, with his aides, was at break- 
 fast. Without a moment's delay, he went to his wife's room, 
 and broke to her the intelligence that he must fly for his life. 
 Then, springing on a horse that stood at the door, he tore madly 
 down the hill to the river, and, entering a barge, bade the men 
 row- him to ' The Vulture,' which still lay in the stream. His 
 treason had failed, but he himself was safe." 
 
 "And what became of Andre?" asked Lou. 
 
 " He was tried as a spy, and was hanged," said Mrs. Long- 
 wood. 
 
 " It seems hard that Arnold should escape, and he suffer," 
 said Carrie. 
 
 " I think it served him right," said Will. " It was not a very 
 creditable piece of business for an officer to be engaged in. 
 Trying to bribe a man to be a traitor is not generally considered 
 
ARNOl.r S ESCAPE. 
 
I 
 
i8i 
 
 to be 'work for a gentleman, in the army or out. But it is an 
 awful pity that Arnold could not have been hung too." 
 
 " His treason benefited him little," said Mrs. Longwood ; 
 ,l for he was distrusted, and held in secret if not open contempt, 
 by the English, and despised by his countrymen. 
 
 " Once, anxious to know how he was regarded, he asked a 
 patriot captain who had been taken prisoner, what would be his 
 fate, should he be taken by the Americans. 
 
 " ' They will cut off,' said the captain, ' that shortened leg of 
 yours, wounded at Quebec and Saratoga, and bury it with all 
 the honors of war, and then hang the rest of you on a gibbet.' 
 
 " When the Revolution came to an end, Arnold saw that 
 America could never more be a home for him. With his family 
 he removed to England, and there passed the rest of his days in 
 obscurity. Business reverses came upon him ; and, when he lay 
 dying, he knew that, except the pensions which his treason had 
 bought, his family had almost nothing wherewith to buy their 
 daily bread. 
 
 " So much for treason." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Just as Mrs. Long- 
 wood finished, the head 
 and shoulders of Mr. 
 Long wood appeared, 
 coming up the hill. 
 Tom and Carrie ran to 
 meet him, and soon he 
 was sitting on the grass 
 beside them. 
 
 " That tiresome busi- 
 ness is through with, at 
 last," he said; "and now 
 what shall we do ? Do 
 you propose to stay at 
 a hotel in New London 
 all night ? or what are your plans, young people ? " 
 
 " Shall we not get back to House No. 2 in time to sleep ? " 
 asked the girls. 
 
 "Hardly," said Tom. "Why, it is now half-past four; and, 
 if we set out at once, with the light wind there is blowing, we 
 should hardly get back to Fort Pond before twelve o'clock. 
 
 182 
 
THEY SET OFF FOR THE TOWN. 
 
 183 
 
 And I presume you would not enjoy the walk across the moors 
 to the house, in the pitchy blackness of midnight." 
 " No, indeed," said Gertrude. 
 
 ' A hotel is so stupid ! " said Carrie ; " but I suppose there 
 is nothing else for it." 
 
 " I have an idea," said Jack. " Why not all spend the night 
 on the schooner ? The cabin will take Mrs. Longwood and you 
 girls very snugly, and Mr. Longwood can have a hammock, — I 
 am sure there must be an extra one. We fellows could roll 
 ourselves up, each in a rug, and camp down anywhere. It will 
 be delicious sailing to-night. There is a moon ; and it is so 
 warm that we can be on deck late, without feeling the slightest 
 chill." 
 
 The girls all seemed to fancy Jack's idea ; and so it was 
 decided to adopt it. 
 
 " Well, then," said Mr. Longwood, " unless you wish to sit 
 longer on this hill, suppose we go over to the town, and see 
 what is to be seen. I should like to get a newspaper, and learn 
 what has been going on in the world while we have been away 
 from it. Possibly, too, we may find something to supplement 
 ' The Mavis's ' larder." 
 
 So they started off for the town. Apparently they did find 
 something there to add to their table ; for when, an hour later, 
 they came straggling down to the waterside, to once more get 
 aboard their schooner, every boy and girl was carrying a package 
 of some kind, while Jack led the way with two huge melons 
 under his arms. 
 
 " There," he said, with a sigh of relief, as he handed them 
 
JACK EARXS HIS SUPPER. 
 
 to Thomas John, who laid them carefully in the bottom of the 
 boat, " I've earned my supper, anyway ! " 
 
 The sun was low down in the west as "The Mavis" glided 
 slowly out of the harbor. The air was full of sea-gulls, and 
 here and there, as they moved onward, they passed an incoming 
 craft. One of these attracted their especial attention, for the 
 skipper was no other than a young girl. The sun was shining 
 brightly on her slender figure, as she grasped the tiller firmly ; 
 and, just as they passed, they heard her father's gruff call, 
 " Luff a little, lassie ! " and her clear answer, " Luff it is, sir ! " 
 
 The girls all waved their handkerchiefs, as they passed close 
 by. What effect the sight of her had on the boys, I can only 
 judge from its effect on one. Jack disappeared : at least, they 
 saw nothing of him for ten minutes. At the end of that time 
 he came back, with a piece of paper and a stump of a pencil 
 in his hand, and inquired softly of Will, " I say, what rhymes 
 with skipper ? " 
 
 " Hallo ! " said Charlie, who overheard. " Jack wishes to 
 write a poem about the pretty skipper, but is balked by the 
 lack of a rhyme. Let's see, Jack: what rhymes with skipper? 
 Why " — 
 
 " I'd rather know what rhymes with supper," said Rose. 
 1" Do, boys, see when we are to have it." 
 
 So two or three of them went forward at once, and, return- 
 ing after a little, announced that it was almost ready. 
 
 " You sat a long time on the hill-top this afternoon," said 
 Mr. Longwood, as they lingered about the remains of their 
 meal. " I suppose you learned all about New r London in the 
 olden times." 
 
THE PRETTY h KIP HER. 
 
MATHER BYLES IS TROUBLED. 
 
 I8 7 
 
 " No, indeed," said Ned. " We learned a great deal about 
 Arnold ; but we heard nothing of New London. Do tell us 
 something." 
 
 " Didn't Mrs. Longwood tell you about the Rev. Mather 
 Byles and his troubles ? " 
 
 " No," said Jack. " What were his troubles ? Colds in the 
 head ? His name sounds like that." 
 
 " I do not know that he was troubled in that way," said Mr. 
 Longwood, smiling. " He was a minister." 
 
 " Do let us hear about him," said they all, drawing nearer. 
 
 " You know," said Mr. Longwood, " that our excellent ances- 
 tors of many generations ago came to this country for religious 
 toleration. By religious toleration they understood that any 
 person should be free to believe as they did. If he did not so 
 believe, they made short work of him. Roger Williams, for 
 instance, was driven out of the Massachusetts Colony in winter, 
 and travelled through the woods alone and unprotected to Provi- 
 dence, where he could found a new settlement, and hold his 
 opinions undisturbed. 
 
 " But everywhere, whatever difference on doctrines there might 
 be, they agreed on one thing, and that was, that Sunday was to 
 be kept in the strictest way possible. The Pilgrims who came 
 in ' The Mayflower ' fined any one of their number who might 
 be seen walking in the fields on Sunday ; and, if you look over 
 the old court records of New London, you will find, in the year 
 1670, an entry like this : — 
 
 " John Lewis and Sarah Chapman are presented for sitting together on the 
 Lord's day, under an apple-tree in Goodman Chapman's orchard.' " 
 
AN AWFULLY MEAN FELLOW. 
 
 " He must have been 
 an awfully mean fellow who 
 told of them," said Jack. 
 
 " They ought to have 
 been reading their Bibles," 
 said Carrie, with great se- 
 verity. 
 
 " I imagine that some- 
 times the young people were 
 hard to manage, even when 
 they did come to church," 
 said Mr. Longwood. " A 
 year or two before John 
 Lewis and Sarah Chapman 
 came to such signal grief 
 for defying public opinion, 
 a town in Massachusetts 
 held a meeting, and — 
 
 " ' The town ordered that no 
 woman, maid, nor boy, nor gall, 
 shall sit in the South Alley & East 
 Alley of the M. House, upon penalty 
 of twelvepence for every day they 
 sit in the alley after the present day. 
 It was further ordered that every 
 dog that comes to the meeting after 
 the present day, either of Lord's 
 days or lecture days, except it be 
 their dogs that pays for a dog whipper, the owner of these dogs shall pay sixpence 
 for every time they come to the meeting, that doth not pay the dog whipper.' " 
 
 A FAIR PURITAN. 
 
RQr.F.R WILLIAMS IN TFIF ''WEST. 
 
UNFRUITFUL WORK OF DARKNESS. 
 
 I 9 I 
 
 " I say," said Jack, " it must have been fun to go to church 
 in those days ! " 
 
 " Especially for the dog-whipper," said Ned. 
 
 " Well," continued Mr. Longwood, " the Rev. Mather Byles 
 lived about a hundred years after John Lewis and Sarah Chap- 
 man ; but the people in his day did much worse things to trouble 
 him than sitting together under apple-trees on Sunday. A sect 
 sprang up, called Rogerines, who considered it their duty to 
 bear testimony against the ministers of the day, because, among 
 other things, they preached for hire, and because they made long 
 prayers, which are forbidden in the New Testament, and because 
 they observed the first day of the week, which they said was no 
 sabbath by God's appointment. Their way of bearing testimony 
 was peculiar. One of them has written a book on the subject, 
 and this is what he says : — 
 
 ut June 10, 1764. — We went to the meeting house and some of our people 
 went in and sat down ; others tarried without & sat upon the ground. And when 
 Mather Byles their priest began to say over his formal synagogue prayer, some of 
 our women began to knit, others to sew, that it might be made manifest they 
 had no fellowship with such unfruitful works of darkness. But Justice Coit and 
 the congregation were much offended at this testimony and fell upon them in the 
 very time of their prayer and drove us all out of the house in a most furious 
 manner.' 
 
 " These testimony-bearing Quakers were brought before the 
 justices the next day, and sent to prison for a short time for 
 disturbing the peace. But this only egged them on. The women 
 brought their spinning-wheels ; and every Sunday they bore their 
 testimony in the same disagreeable way, and were ejected. They 
 
192 
 
 visited every church in the neighborhood ; but were especially 
 fond of Mather Bylcs, because of his choleric temper. If all 
 were quiet in the church, and he were proceeding with his ser- 
 mon, a Quaker had but to put on his hat, to bring on a tempest. 
 
 THE WAY JOHN LEWIS OUGHT TO HAVE SPENT THE SABBATH. 
 
 The minister would stop short ; nor could he be persuaded to 
 go on, until the obnoxious covering was removed. He was so 
 touchy on this subject, that he would not leave his house to go 
 
JACK SIGHS FOR THE PAST. 
 
 193 
 
 to church, if one were in the path. The wily Quakers knew 
 this ; and on Sunday morning a couple might, perhaps, sit on 
 his doorstep, and one or two more loiter by the path that led to 
 church. Then the congregation would assemble, and take their 
 seats. The hour would pass ; but no minister would come. 
 There would the people sit, and the bell would keep on tolling, 1 
 perhaps fifty or sixty minutes ; but Mr. Byles would not budge 
 from his house until a constable arrived, to drive the obnoxious 
 Quakers from his path." 
 
 " Why wasn't I born in those days ? " said Jack earnestly. 
 
 " I fear, you young rogue, that you would have been a 
 Quaker," said Mr. Longwood. 
 
 " Well, at each new outbreak the testimony-bearers were 
 brought up for trial. For each fresh offence the time of impris- 
 onment was doubled ; so that presently the jail was crowded. 
 At length, one Sunday, the imprisoned Quakers saw a fresh 
 party approaching, under the care of the constables. They 
 decided that they had already as many in the jail as could be 
 comfortable. So they barred the door. Their historian says : — 
 
 " ' We blew a shell in the prison in defiance of their idol Sabbath, and to 
 mock their false worship, as Elijah mocked the worshippers of Baal. The authority 
 gave orders to break open the prison door, so they went to work and labored 
 exceeding hard on their Sabbath, cutting with axes and heaving at the door with 
 iron bars for a considerable time till they were wearied, but could not break open 
 the door.' 
 
 " The constables were not to be balked, however : finding 
 the door so stout, they cut a hole in the roof, and dropped the 
 fresh arrivals on the heads of their friends below." 
 
194 
 
 A REACTION SETS IN. 
 
 " And how did all these troubles end ? " asked Lou. 
 
 " I am sorry to say that the authorities proceeded presently 
 to very brutal measures, for they began to whip men and 
 women ; but this produced a re-action, and gradually the whole 
 thing died out." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 I have forgotten to mention, 
 that, among the purchases at 
 New London, was one by Jack, 
 of a very shrill whistle. It had 
 lain forgotten in his trousers 
 pocket, until now ; but, of a 
 sudden remembering it, he drew 
 it forth, and gave a blast upon 
 it that caused them all to put 
 their hands to their ears. 
 
 " I have noticed, with great 
 pain," said he, attempting to hold the whistle between his lips, 
 and talk at the same time ; and, in consequence, uttering some 
 unintelligible sounds, — "I have noticed, with great pain, that 
 this vessel was so insufficiently manned and provided, that it had 
 not a boatswain, or even a boatswain's whistle. At great trouble, 
 and out of my limited resources, I have procured a whistle, 
 which, while lacking in proper force, is yet a fair substitute for 
 that in ordinary use." 
 
 And he gave another blast upon it, by way of illustration, 
 grinning with mischief, as the girls again covered their ears with 
 
HAST/AGS THE BO'SUN. 
 
 their hands, to deaden the shrill sounds. " By a little practice, 
 I think I can make myself heard quite a distance," he added. 
 " Henceforth you will please address me as Hastings the bo'sun. 
 I say, Carrie, toss me over a peach, will you ? " 
 
 " It is not customary for the bo'sun to mess with the pas- 
 sengers," said Carrie with great dignity. "I do not know 
 whether Capt. Jackson has provided peaches for the crew, or 
 not. If he has, you will probably find them forward ; " and she 
 took up one, and commenced to munch it with great satisfaction. 
 
 The laugh was decidedly against Jack ; but that young man 
 was equal to the emergency. He came close behind Carrie, and 
 said : "If the passengers revolt, and disobey the officers, they 
 are put under arrest. Will you hand me a peach ; or shall I 
 pipe all hands, to put you in irons ? " and he bent forward, so 
 that his mouth was close to her, and put the whistle to his lips. 
 
 " Goodness, Jack ! " she cried. " Don't blow that fearful thing 
 in my ears, and you shall have all the peaches you want. Here, 
 take them ! " and she handed him the dish. 
 
 The victor selected the best one, and, magnanimously saying 
 nothing about his triumph, strolled away, eating it. 
 
 The others sat about, chatting idly. Presently the sun went 
 down, and twilight began to come over the waters. The moon, 
 however, did her best to enliven the scene, so that the little 
 groups scattered about " The Mavis's " deck were plainly visible 
 to one another. By and by Capt. Jackson made his appearance 
 from somewhere below, and began to talk with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Longwood. 
 
 Carrie soon joined them. " Capt. Jackson," she exclaimed, 
 
CAPT. JACKSON BROUGHT TO BOOK. 
 
 197 
 
 " you haven't told us a story ; and you must know ever so many. 
 Tell us one ; won't you ? " 
 
 Capt. Jackson looked like a man upon whom a long-expected 
 blow had fallen. 
 
 THE MOON ENLIVENS THE SCENE. 
 
 " I never in all my life saw a passel of boys and girls so 
 sharp-set after stories as you all," he exclaimed. " Why, you're 
 worse than blue-fish after menhaden. I knew it was comin', 
 though," he went on. " I knew you'd be after me for a story ; 
 and it seemed like as if all the little wits I had went clean out 
 of me at the idee. I kep' away from you the whole way over 
 this mornin', a-purpose. There was a story I remembered havin' 
 
198 
 
 AUNT J E RUSH A' S BABY. 
 
 heard my mother tell, which was considerable amusin', — how my 
 aunt Jerusha's baby cut her first teeth. I put a powerful amount 
 of strain on myself to overhaul that yarn, but - somehow I 
 couldn't get the points to lie rightly in my mind ; and what to 
 do I couldn't tell, no ways. I didn't know but I should have to fall 
 back on the Flying Dutchman. 
 
 " And so, while you were all on the top of the hill at New 
 London, — yarnin', I'll be bound, — I went ashore in the town, 
 to walk about a bit, and give my mind a rest. I strolled on, for 
 a time, till I kind o' lost my bearin's ; so I stopped in a gro- 
 cer's shop, to get the reckonin'. The young man behind the 
 counter was waitin' on a young woman ; so I cast my eyes about 
 a bit, and there, lyin' on a barr'l, was an old newspaper. The 
 fust thing I see, in the corner of it, was a bit of poetry. I 
 read down a ways, and then I knew that my goin' into that 
 store was providential ; for there was the story I was after, all 
 blocked out in print." 
 
 " About aunt Jerusha's baby ? " asked Jack, who had joined 
 the group. 
 
 " No," said the captain ; "a much better story than that. 
 Just wait a bit. 
 
 " Well, when the young man had done up the young woman's 
 package, which took some time, he turned to me kind o' sharp, 
 and says he, — 
 
 " ' What will you have, sir ? 
 
 " I rather calcalate that they two was a-conversin'," said the 
 captain with a chuckle, " and didn't think my comin' in was so 
 providential as I did. I was kind o' took aback by his question, 
 for I was readin' away for dear life ; but I looks up at once. 
 
A POUND OF GUNPOWDER. 
 
 I 99 
 
 " ' I'll have a pound of gunpowder,' says I. 
 
 " ' We don't keep it,' says he, short like, and snappish. 
 
 " Well, then,' says I, ' give me a pound of saleratus. That 
 will answer the same purpose.' 
 
 " He looked at me as if he thought I was an ijot ; but he 
 went away back, and began to dig it out of a drawer, and I 
 just folded that paper up small, and put it in my pocket. When 
 he brought the saleratus, I paid for it, and come away, without 
 even so much as asking the question I went in for. When I 
 got to the next corner, I looked around, and there was that 
 young man standing in the doorway watchin' me. 
 
 " 'Twas the fust time that I ever stole, — that I recollect," — 
 added the captain ; " and, till I got safe aboard again, I was 
 afraid to look over my shoulder, for fear of seein' a policeman 
 after me. But they haven't caught me yet ; and I calcalate that, 
 by this time, we're out of the jurisdiction of Connecticut, and 
 I'm tolerable safe." 
 
 " Pipe all hands to hear Capt. Jackson's story," said Hastings 
 the bo'sun, blowing vigorously on his whistle. 
 
 The girls and boys all gathered around. 
 
 " I must have a lantern," said the captain, taking the news- 
 paper out of his pocket, and unfolding it. 
 So Jack brought one. 
 
 " It's poetry," said he, looking around on their attentive faces. 
 "The paper says it's written by a gifted fellow-townsman. The 
 name of the piece is ' Scituate, 18 12.' Scituate is the name of 
 a place; 18 12 is a date." And without further preamble, he 
 began to read : — 
 
200 
 
 CAPT. JACKSON'S TALE. 
 
 Away in the top of the tall white tower, 
 
 The light-keeper's daughter breathless stands; 
 
 Forgotten the lamps with their half-trimmed wicks, 
 
 Forgotten the scissors that fall from her hands. 
 
 The fishing-boats below sail free, 
 
 But her gaze is fixed far out at sea, 
 
 As she shields her eyes from the sun's strong glare. 
 
 Then her voice rings shrilly down the stair : 
 
 ' Run, boys, run ! and rouse the town ! 
 
 'Tis a British cruiser coming down ! ' 
 
 Up on the cliffs that o'erhang the bay, 
 
 The fisher-folk run at the first alarm. 
 
 W ar is abroad ! To these peaceful folk 
 
 A British cruiser is rife with harm. 
 
 Nets and boats are their worldly good ; 
 
 For they wring from the sea a livelihood, 
 
 And gaunt hunger follows when these are gone. 
 
 Helpless they watch the ship bear down ; 
 
 Not a dozen muskets in the bay, 
 
 And Boston a score of miles away. 
 
 Steadily on with the rising tide, 
 The incoming ship draws near the land. 
 They can hear the splash as her anchor drops, 
 » They can hear from her decks the gruff word of command : 
 
 ' Man the boats, and lower away. 
 Burn out these rats that infest the bay ! ' 
 Their red coats gleam as the boats draw near, 
 But a redder gleam there shall soon appear, 
 As the cruel flames seize boats and town, 
 While the men above look helpless down. 
 
UNDER THE SAND-HILLS WE'LL BEAT AND PLAY. 
 
OUT PEALED THE FIFE. 
 
 203 
 
 Away on the point, from the light-house tower, 
 
 The light-keeper's daughter sees it all. 
 
 An angry flush on each red cheek burns, 
 
 And she springs to her feet with a sudden call : 
 
 ' Sal ! take the drum. I'll take the fife. 
 
 We'll bear a hand in the coming strife. 
 
 Under the sand-hills we'll beat and play, 
 
 As we stride out of sight by the side of the bay. 
 
 They'll think us the troops from Boston down. 
 
 'Tis the only chance to save the town.' 
 
 Forward, march ! And out pealed the fife, 
 And steadily rolled the throbbing drum. 
 The red-coats across the bay stop short. 
 As the warlike notes o'er the waters come. 
 ' Recruits are marching down the bay, 
 To cut us off! To the boats! Away! 
 In, men, and pull for your lives ! ' they cry. 
 ' We are caught in a trap, and we must fly. 
 Pull for the ship. Make no delay. 
 Let us get out of this cursed bay ! ' 
 
 Then from the cliffs those old muskets blazed, 
 And on many a red coat a redder spot burned ; 
 But they never slacked oars in their headlong flight, 
 Or a single glance over their shoulder turned; 
 For on the wind came sharp and clear 
 The sounds that told of the foemen near. 
 Shrill and more shrilly the fifer blew, 
 And louder and louder the deep drum-beats grew; 
 So they fled in haste down the quiet bay, 
 Hoisted their anchor, and sailed away." 
 
204 
 
 JACK INQUIRES AS TO SALERATUS. 
 
 The reading of this ballad took some time ; for Capt. Jack- 
 son had not given that attention to his early studies that he 
 ought to have done. Besides, as he read on, he became more 
 and more impressed with the idea that this poetry was very fine ; 
 and, whenever a line occurred that struck him as particularly 
 good, he stopped, and read it over again. At last, however, it 
 was finished. 
 
 " What became of the saleratus ? " asked Jack the irrelevant. 
 
 Capt. Jackson looked dazed. " I don't recall no mention of 
 saleratus in the poem," he said with dignity. 
 
 " I mean the saleratus you bought," said Jack. 
 
 " Oh ! " said the captain, relaxing. " I gave it to a poor 
 woman on the pier. She thanked me kindly, and said that her 
 husband was very fond of it in his bread." 
 
 " Don't you think you could remember about aunt Jerusha's 
 baby ? " asked Carrie. " Try again." 
 
 Capt. Jackson was very much elated by the success of his 
 ballad. He felt very much like talking on indefinitely. He 
 scratched his head with his hand, and meditated for a moment. 
 
 " The story, as my mother used to tell it," said he, " was a 
 full-rigged ship, with all sails set, and streamers flyin'. As I 
 remember it, it is nothin' but an old hull, with not a spar aloft. 
 Howsomendever : — 
 
 " My aunt Jerusha was a spinster lady who married late in 
 life. Her husband was the squire of the place, — a big, burly 
 fellow, who seemed to like a sight better to be out with his 
 cows and horses, with a dozen dogs around, than in the house 
 with his wife. And, to tell the truth, I don't much blame him ; 
 
AUNT J E RUSH A IS A NEAT WOMAN. 
 
 205 
 
 for she was as neat as Sunday mornin'. She'd a-liked to had 
 him take off his boots on the porch, every time he come into 
 the house, only he was a man of sperrit, and would have his 
 own way. 
 
 " Well, by and by, aunt Jerusha she had a girl-baby. She 
 and the squire was sot up, no end. The squire, fust time he 
 see the child, was considerable took aback. She was smaller 
 than he expected. He looked her over pretty careful, and said 
 her p'ints was good, though he'd liked it better if the roof of 
 her mouth had been black ; and that he thought, as far as he 
 could judge of so young a filly, she had good stayin' powers. 
 
 " Well, that couple was considerable foolish over that baby. 
 It was really amusin'. And so things went on for a spell, when 
 the squire had to go to Boston on one of his cattle-trades. He 
 always put up at Adams's Hotel, and Miss Jerusha she knew it. 
 The baby had been considerable fretful for quite a spell ; and, 
 the day after he went, she found that two teeth had come through. 
 And she alone was foolisher about those teeth than they both 
 had ever been at any time since that baby was born, and that's 
 say in' a good deal too. 
 
 " Now, the telegraph had just been put into the town. The 
 squire he thought highly of it ; but Miss Jerusha she said it 
 was flyin' in the face of Providence, and never, no, never, would 
 she use such a sinful thing. But when those ' little toothins ' 
 come, she was wild to have the squire know. And, the more 
 she thought, the less the telegraph seemed like flyin' in the face 
 of Providence. So she up with an old memorandum-book that 
 lay on the table, and tore a page out, and on it she wrote : — 
 
206 
 
 THE BRINDLE AND THE RED COW. 
 
 " ' The baby has cut two teeth. Bring it a present.' 
 
 " Then she called Jake the hired man, and gave it to him, 
 and told him to go to the office, and ask the operator to get 
 that there piece of paper to the squire's hands at Adams's Hotel 
 in Boston, just as quick as he could. It was an old diary of 
 the squire's grandfather that she took the page out of to write 
 on ; but she said the squire'd know her writin', so it didn't make 
 no difference what was wrote on the other side. But it did 
 made a difference ; for the operator sent the wrong side of the 
 paper, and this was the message the squire got : — 
 
 " ' This day the brindle and the red cow got fast in the bog. We did our 
 best, but could not extricate them.' 
 
 " Miss Jerusha she felt very chipper after her despatch went 
 off. To be sure, she was some took aback by what it cost, — 
 the worth of six whole dozen eggs ; but, after all, that was of 
 no account. So there she sot, thinking what the squire would 
 bring, — a silver rattle, no doubt, — and kind o' huggin' her own 
 smartness, when up come a message from the squire : — 
 
 " ' Get Jerry the blacksmith, and his gang and tackle, and yank them out 
 before they get in any faster. I'll be down in afternoon train.' 
 
 " Miss Jerusha she was a woman who had considerable tem- 
 per, and they do say she sputtered considerable when she read 
 this. This was the squire's idee of a good joke, was it ? She 
 always knew his family were inferior to her'n in breedin', but she 
 did think he had better manners 'n that. And she was so riled 
 up that she just locked the door of her room when the time 
 
' JERUSHA. n SAYS HE. 
 
 207 
 
 come for the squire, and there she sot The squire he come on 
 time ; and, as he walked up to his house, he passed by the 
 blacksmith-shop. 
 
 " ' Well, Jerry,' he says to the smith, who stood in the door ; 
 4 did you get 'em out ? ' 
 
 " But Jerry didn't know what the squire was talkin' about, 
 and told him so. 
 
 " When the squire found that Jerry had had no message from 
 aunt Jerusha, he was quite excited, for he sot great store by his 
 cattle ; and he thought it was the fault of the telegraph, who 
 hadn't delivered his message. So he stirred about ; and, pretty 
 soon, Jerry and the two men had the tackle on their shoulders, 
 and were marchin' down the street as fast as they could go, — 
 the squire, red-faced and puffin', at their head. 
 
 " Miss Jerusha she saw 'em comin' ; but she only gave a sniff, 
 and tossed her head, and sot still, contemptuous like. 
 
 " Pretty soon she saw Jerry and his men go back down the 
 road ; for the squire had met Jake the hired man, and found 
 that the cattle had not been in the bog. 
 
 " Then she heard him come up the stairs and try the door ; 
 but she sot still. 
 
 " ' Jerusha ! ' says he. 
 
 " Not a word says she. 
 
 " Then he tried to bend down, to look through the keyhole ; 
 but he was so stout that he couldn't. 
 
 " ' Jerusha ! ' says he again ; but not a word says she. 
 
 " ' I vum ! ' says he, scared like ; and aloud, ' She's off her 
 mind ; and that accounts for the telegram. Bill Jones told me, 
 
208 
 
 JACK INSTRUCTS THE CAPTAIN. 
 
 before I married, that there was a streak of craze in her family, 
 and that I'd better keep my eye open.' 
 
 " ' This was morn Jerusha could stand. ' I ain't off my 
 mind ! ' she says ; ' and there ain't no such thing in my family.' 
 
 " Well, by and by the whole facts come out ; and the squire 
 he sot down on the stairs, and laughed till the tears rolled down 
 his cheeks, and you could have heard him a mile off. But Miss 
 Jerusha she was powerful mad at the telegraph man, and they 
 do say she didn't ever speak to him again." 
 
 Capt. Jackson was a wise man. He felt that he had reached 
 a point where he might retire from the role of story-teller, and 
 leave behind him quite a glowing reputation. So he rose up 
 from the deck where he had been sitting, and, in the midst of 
 the laugh that his story had raised, strode away. We should 
 have said, walked away, except that his gait, like that of all true 
 sailors, was a compound of roll and jerk, and indescribable by 
 any one word. The boys and girls all called to him to come 
 back; but he paid no attention, and disappeared down the steps 
 that led to the cabin. Jack followed presently, and found him 
 standing in the midst of the room, looking helplessly around at 
 the berths that lined it. 
 
 " I ain't much used to women-folks' ways, myself," said the 
 captain slowly and solemnly. " Do you reckon they'll expect 
 pillers, all on 'em ? " 
 
 " I think not," said Jack promptly. " I understand that on 
 land it is the custom for ladies to sleep with their heads hanging 
 down over the side of the bed ; and I presume that at sea they 
 would follow the same habit." And the young rascal looked the 
 
WOMEN -FOLKS' WAYS. 
 
 209 
 
 captain as steadily and calmly in the face, as if he had been 
 only saying that it was a quarter past nine o'clock. 
 
 Capt. Jackson was more dazed than ever. " Tell you what," 
 he said, after a moment's meditation, "you're bo'sun, eh?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ! " said Jack. 
 
 'Then on deck with you, and ask Mr. Longwood to step 
 here a moment." 
 
 Jack disappeared at once. " The Admiral of the Squadron," 
 said he, saluting Mr. Longwood as he approached, " presents his 
 compliments to the Commander of the Land-forces, and would 
 like to see him in his cabin." 
 
 The Commander of the Land-forces evidently was more versed 
 in " women-folks' ways " than the Admiral of the Squadron. He 
 pulled about blankets and rugs vigorously for a few moments, 
 and then announced that all was in readiness for the ladies. 
 Capt. Jackson, notwithstanding Jack's assurance as to the sleeping 
 habits of the fair sex, was still uneasy on the point of pillows ; 
 but as Mr. Longwood did not seem to consider them necessary, 
 and as it would have been impossible to have obtained them in 
 any case, he finally dismissed the subject from his mind. 
 
 " Well, then," he said, " I calcalate the best thing we can do 
 is to get them stowed below, with the hatches battened down ; 
 and then we sha'n't have no uneasiness about them until morn- 
 in . 
 
 It having been intimated to the ladies that the captain thought 
 it about time for them to retire, they shortly afterward gathered 
 themselves together, and made their way below, where sleep soon 
 closed their tired eyes, and quieted their busy tongues. 
 
2 10 
 
 THE BOSUN DRILLS HIS MEN. 
 
 The boys, being thus left to themselves, hung about for a 
 time ; but it was very dull, and the fresh wind had made them 
 drowsy, so they shortly voted that they, too, would turn in. 
 
 " I tell you what, men ! " said Jack, who, in virtue of his 
 self-assumed office, considered himself entitled to take a lofty 
 position ; " this going to bed must be done in ship-shape style. 
 No slinking out of your clothes like landlubbers. Pay attention 
 now to your bo'sun." 
 
 The place they were in was the waist of the schooner. In 
 ordinary times it would have been full of cargo. Now, as " The 
 Mavis " was on a pleasure-trip, and was empty, Thomas John 
 and the crew had hung up their hammocks here, in place of the 
 forecastle. In these hammocks the boys were to sleep. The 
 place was dimly lighted by one swaying lamp, that made the 
 darkness seem only more dark, and brought out the shadows 
 cast by the swinging hammocks as they moved back and forth 
 in answer to the vessel's motion. " The Mavis's " last voyage 
 had been from the West Indies, and there was a strong smell 
 of molasses and sugar ; but the boys did not seem to mind. 
 
 Each hammock had in it a thick rug ; and the boys were 
 about to select their resting-places for the night, when Jack thus 
 summarily called them to order : — 
 
 " Now, then," he said, " look sharp. Fall into line there, 
 and mind your eye ; or I'll have your grog stopped ! " 
 
 This threat was so dreadful, that the four at once fell in, and 
 meekly awaited orders. 
 
 " Now," said the bo'sun, " one blast on the whistle means 
 unbutton ; two blasts close together, off with coats and vests ; 
 three, off with shoes." 
 
THE BO 1 SUN LOSES HIS WHISTLE. 
 
 -II 
 
 " Please, mister bo'sun," said Ned, " what are we to do with 
 them ? " 
 
 " Roll 'em up, and use them for pillows," said the bo'sun. 
 " Now, then " — 
 
 The blasts from the whistle came sharp and fast ; and, in the 
 twinkling of an eye, all stood unrobed. 
 
 " Now," said the bo'sun, " take your stand by your ham- 
 mocks. One blast of whistle means, Haul down the main- 
 sheet " — 
 
 " The main-sheet is up on deck," said Charlie. 
 
 " The main-sheet here is the rug you are to sleep under," 
 said the bo'sun, with decision. " Two blasts mean, in with you. 
 Now, then ! " 
 
 One blast came, and each rug was hauled down ; two, and 
 each boy leaped into his hammock. There was a moment's 
 silence, and then a crash. The bo'sun had leaped too far, 
 overshot his mark, and come headlong to the floor. The others, 
 as they turned cautiously, to prevent following his example, saw 
 their bo'sun, lately so full of dignity, dancing around on one 
 foot, with his thumb in his mouth, while he gave utterance to 
 these unofftcer-like words : — 
 
 " Oh, Jiminy, doesn't it hurt ! and I've lost my whistle." 
 
CHAPTER 
 
 XII. 
 
 The untiring sun, when 
 again it looked clown on 
 Fort Pond Bay, saw " The 
 Mavis " K ing there as idly 
 as if it had not stirred from 
 the position in which it was 
 twenty-four hours before. 
 And there were as few 
 signs of life about it now 
 as then. But presently the 
 five boys emerged together 
 from their quarters. 
 
 " Well, I must say," said 
 
 one, " that sleeping in a vessel that has carried a cargo of sugar 
 is not my idea of a good time. I feel as if I had been dipped 
 head first into a cask of molasses. Let me draw a few breaths 
 of clear air." 
 
 " I say, bo'sun," said Ned, " how was it that, after putting 
 us to bed in so ship-shape a fashion, you let us get up and. 
 dress like land-lubbers ? Where is the whistle ? " 
 
 212 
 
TOM PRESCRIBES FOR JACK. 
 
 213 
 
 " It rolled off somewhere when I fell," said Jack ; " and my 
 thumb hurt me so much that I didn't care, then, whether I found 
 it or not." 
 
 " Let's see your thumb," said Will. " Why ! " he went on, as 
 Jack, unrolling his handkerchief, showed a swollen and discolored 
 hand ; " you never said you'd hurt yourself like that. You 
 should have told us. I thought it was only a thump on the 
 floor that was the trouble. This must have given a good deal 
 of pain. Why didn't you speak ? " 
 
 " It did keep me awake a good deal," said Jack ; " but I 
 didn't see how making a fuss would help matters." 
 
 " Well, you're a plucky little beggar, any way," said Tom ; 
 " but I think that hand ought to have some Pond's Extract on 
 at once. There's a bottle in my satchel. I'll get it." 
 
 So presently Jack's hand was bound up in a wet handker- 
 chief, while another handkerchief was tied neatly over all ; and, 
 just as it was finished, the cook announced that he had some 
 coffee ready on his stove. 
 
 It had been decided the day before that the boys should get 
 up early, and walk across to House No. 2. Here they should 
 give notice that the rest of the party would arrive to a late 
 breakfast, and should despatch 'the sail-boat to bring them down. 
 Accordingly, when each had fortified himself with a cup of coffee 
 and a piece of hard-tack, Thomas John put them ashore, and 
 they set out. 
 
 First, however, they all climbed the little slope or bluff, and 
 looked about them. " If one had only the magic power of some 
 of the old wizards," said Thomas John, " what a wonderful place 
 
214 
 
 A RESURRECTION OF INDIANS. 
 
 this would be to exhibit it ! One moment there would be these 
 great desolate moors, with only the sea-birds flying over them. 
 A stamp of the wizard's foot, and the hundred thousand warriors 
 buried here would spring to life, each with bow and tomahawk 
 in hand. That would be a sight worth seeing." 
 
 " Are there so many buried here as that ? " asked the boys. 
 
 " Yes," said Thomas John. " Some say, many more than a 
 hundred thousand. This was the chosen ground for all the 
 Indian tribes of the east end of Long Island. The dead were 
 brought here from a distance, some in great state. One chief 
 was carried on the shoulders of his principal men, while the 
 whole tribe followed as mourners. That was Pogattacutt, sachem 
 of Manhansackahaqushuwamock." 
 
 " Say it again," said Jack. 
 
 " It is too much work," said Thomas John, laughing. " I 
 would rather give it its English name of Shelter Island." 
 
 It was a very languid party that sat about the table after 
 breakfast was over, and the dishes removed. " What shall we do 
 to-day ? " asked Ned. 
 
 " Do ! " echoed the girls. " Let's do nothing. We have 
 hardly had a quiet moment for four days. Our bones fairly ache. 
 Let's sit around, and take naps." 
 
 i The boys laughed, and affected to think the girls very weak, 
 and easily tired out ; but, in point of fact, I fancy that they 
 themselves were not sorry to be idle. For, when the cattle- 
 keeper went into the barn at noon to give his horses a bite, he 
 found three of them stretched out on the floor, with their heads 
 on their arms, fast asleep. 
 
FOR SHAME, WILLIAM AND CAROLINE! 
 
 215 
 
 By dinner-time, however, they had all pulled themselves to- 
 gether ; and a suggestion from Mr. Longwood, that they should 
 get into the big wagon, and drive over the moors, was received 
 with decided interest Will and Carrie, however, did not join in 
 the expressions of satisfaction at the plan. 
 
 "The fact is," said Will, "that Carrie and I had formed a 
 scheme for a little ride on our own account ; so that we shall 
 not be able to join you." 
 
 " Upon my word ! " said Jack ; " that's cool. What in the 
 world are you two up to, anyway ? It's some fun, I know. 
 What a shame, not to let us all in ! Tell us about it." 
 
 The others joined in demanding to know what their plan 
 was ; but Will and Carrie were silent. Not a bit of information 
 was to be had from them. 
 
 " Well, then," said Tom, " since nothing can prevent these 
 two young madcaps from going off by themselves, what time 
 shall the rest of us start ? " 
 
 " I would go pretty early, if I were you," said Carrie. " It 
 grows quite cold toward evening now." 
 
 " Oho ! " exclaimed they all. " One thought for us, and two 
 for yourself. We'll wait until quite late, and have you set out 
 first ; and then we'll follow you, and find out your little game." 
 
 But, in spite of this malevolent determination, the big wagon 
 drove away that afternoon, leaving Will and Carrie alone on the 
 doorstep. 
 
 "Hurrah!" cried Will, as the horses started. "Come along: 
 I thought they would never go. We must be off." 
 
 And now I will explain to you their plan. It was this : 
 
2l6 
 
 FEATHERS FOR A HAT. 
 
 Carrie had noticed flying over the moors some birds with beauti- 
 ful wings; and she had cried out to Will, who was with her at 
 the time, " What lovely wings ! Wouldn't they be perfectly 
 beautiful on a hat ? " Will had thereupon assured her that she 
 should have one ; and this afternoon they were to secure it. 
 They had borrowed of the cattle-keeper his double-barrelled gun, 
 and they had hired his horse and old box-wagon ; and this 
 turnout was now harnessed, and waiting for them at the barn. 
 
 They hurried out, and scrambled in. Will set the loaded gun 
 carefully between his knees, and, drawing up the reins, said, 
 " Get up ! " 
 
 " Had you not better let me drive," said Carrie, " and you 
 manage the gun ? " 
 
 "Oh! I don't think I shall have any trouble," said Will. 
 " The horse seems very gentle. W hich way shall we go ? " 
 
 " Anywhere," said Carrie ; " only, don't let's follow the road, 
 but drive ritrht across the downs." 
 
 So, oft they set. The cattle-keeper's dog, at sight of the 
 gun, seemed to consider himself invited, and ran along by their 
 side, plunging into the reedy ponds, and startling the wild fowl 
 that were idling away the sunny hours, and wondering much, in 
 his own canine fashion, that none of the many birds that he 
 started up were considered worth shooting. Such a sportsman 
 he had never known before. But these young people had one 
 kind of game in their minds, and were not to be diverted from 
 their intention by any other. 
 
 They jogged on for perhaps an hour. They were having a 
 very good time, but not a sign of the wished-for bird had been 
 seen. 
 
THE CATTLE-KEEPER'S DOG. 
 
i 
 
 { 
 
 * 
 
A REGULAR WORN-OUT BEAST. 
 
 219 
 
 " What a regular old worn-out beast this is ! " said Will. " I 
 haven't been able to get him off a jog-trot once. I don't believe 
 he could hurry, to save his life. Hallo ! there's a bird ! Whoa ! " 
 
 The horse stopped short. Will dropped the reins, raised the 
 gun, and pulled the trigger. Bang ! went the gun. The next 
 minute he and Carrie thought that there must have been a con- 
 vulsion of nature. They felt themselves flying backward through 
 space, and in their flight were conscious of another bang, as the 
 other barrel of the gun went off wildly in the air. Then they 
 came down at full length on the soft turf, and, picking them- 
 selves up in a dazed way, found presently that they were sound 
 of wind and limb. 
 
 But across the moors, a full quarter of a mile away, they saw 
 the old worn-out horse, whom nothing could persuade to go off 
 a slow trot, tearing madly toward home, the old wagon rattling 
 along at his heels in the wildest fashion. 
 
 " What has happened ? " asked Carrie. 
 
 "Well," said Will, "as nearly as I can judge, I should say 
 that the horse sprang at the report of the gun, and that the 
 seat, being only set in, instead of fastened in, tipped backward, 
 and it and we both went out the back of the waeon. At all 
 events, we seem to be here; and the wagon, I should judge, 
 must be nearly home by this time." 
 
 " How fortunate that the other barrel did not hit us ! " said 
 Carrie. " I wonder if you killed the bird." 
 
 " Yes," said Will, after looking about a little. " Here he is." 
 
 " Oh ! what a beauty ! " exclaimed Carrie. " But here come 
 all the rest of our party. What shall we say to them ? " 
 
220 
 
 A HORSE THA T JUMPS AT A GUN. 
 
 " Don't tell them how it happened, for any thing," said Will. 
 *' Leave it to me." 
 
 Just at that moment, the big wagon, which had suddenly 
 come in sight over a ridge, drew up beside them. 
 
 " Your coming is very fortunate," said Will, speaking at once, 
 to forestall the host of inquiries that he saw were ready to be 
 rained down upon them. " We got out of our wagon, and the 
 horse took that occasion to go off home, without waiting for us." 
 
 " I see," said Mr. Longwood ironically. " You must have 
 devised a new way of getting out ; for I notice that you took 
 the seat with you. And Carrie has a long green grass-stain on 
 her shoulder. However, as you seem sound in body, both of 
 you. we won't ask any embarrassing questions. Stow away that 
 seat behind, and hop on. What a beautiful bird you have, 
 Carrie ! " 
 
 " I can tell you how it happened," said their driver confiden- 
 tially and in a low tone, to Jack, who sat behind them. " That 
 hoss they had always jumps at a gun. They was spilled out." 
 
 " Oh, ho ! " said Jack. " They needn't think they're going to 
 get off so easily. Hear' Will talking about the color of the 
 ocean, to turn the conversation! — Wait a bit, my lad. You'll 
 get it presently. — But I should think," he said to the driver, 
 " that a horse down here would cret used to the sound of a 
 gun." 
 
 " Some hosses never do," said the man. " My father had an 
 old mare that used to get frightened out of her wits at the 
 sound. Men were around the field where she was, off and on, 
 half the time, shootin' game. By and by, she seemed to kind 
 
NED AND JACK INTERROGATE W ILE 
 
 221 
 
 of put two and two together; and, if a plover came down in 
 the field where she was, she'd take to her heels in no time, just 
 the same as if 'twas a gun." 
 
 Jack, as soon as they reached home, made haste to communi- 
 cate to Ned what the driver had told him as to the probable 
 cause of Will and Carrie's being found on the open heath alone. 
 These two young scapegraces proposed a scries of such apt 
 questions during supper, to the two discomfited bird-hunters, 
 that they fully believed that their whole performance had been 
 seen. And it was a happy release for them when the pushing- 
 back of chairs announced that the meal was over, and that they 
 could escape from their tormentors. 
 
 " This is the last night of our trip when we shall be all 
 together," said Jack ; " and we must have oik- more story. And 
 it must be a regular jolly one ; an Indian story, I think." 
 
 " O Jack ! " said Gertrude. " Let's have a nice quiet one, 
 that a body can sleep after." 
 
 " Gertrude," said Jack briefly and authoritatively, " I am 
 ashamed of you. It is very rude, when Mr. Longwood offers to 
 tell us an Indian story, for you to object." 
 
 So Gertrude, finding that no one would take her part, meekly 
 subsided, and Mr. Longwood began : — 
 
 " If you want an Indian story," he said, " I can tell you a 
 little bit of history, the scene of which was around about New 
 London, where we were yesterday. In the early days of the 
 country a savage tribe, the Pequots, lived there, and the harbor 
 was known as Pequot Harbor. At the time I am about to tell 
 you of, this tribe had become most troublesome. They had fallen 
 
222 
 
 TWO CAPTAINS ARE KILLED. 
 
 upon two captains, who had ventured up the Connecticut to 
 trade, and, taking them unexpectedly, had killed them and their 
 entire crews. Off Block Island, too, they had murdered Capt. 
 Oldham. The colonists were alarmed. Something must be done, 
 or they would be all slaughtered. No man's life would be safe 
 
 for a minute, un- 
 
 ^^v^Kwifj l ess tne Indians 
 were taught some 
 severe lesson. 
 So an expedition 
 was sent out 
 from Massachu- 
 setts, which 
 sailed along the 
 coast, and burned 
 |JjPj a few wigwams, 
 and destroyed a 
 little corn, but 
 succeeded in do- 
 ing nothing more 
 than arousing the 
 savages to a pitch 
 of fury. 
 
 " As soon 
 as the backs of 
 
 their invaders were turned, they fell upon all the settlers on the 
 Connecticut. Their pow-wows, or medicine-men, assured them 
 that they should soon drive out every Englishman from the land. 
 
 INDIAN POW-WOWS. 
 
THE FATE OF TILLY. 
 
 223 
 
 A sorry time the poor wretches had of it. They had prayed for 
 a force that should teach the red men a lesson of the white 
 man's strength. Instead, their troubles had been only increased. 
 ' You,' said one of these settlers derisively to the commander 
 of this fiasco, ' will keep yourselves safe in the bay, but myself 
 you will leave at the stake to be roasted.' 
 
 TILLY SURPRISED BY THE INDIANS. 
 
 " Sorry times followed. Not a day passed without some one 
 falling a victim. Many were the hairbreadth escapes. No man 
 went to the field without having his rifle within reach. The 
 settlers fought desperately ; for it was better to be killed outright 
 than made prisoner, for the captives were tortured frightfully. 
 One Tilly, for instance, was taken when he was out in a canoe, 
 
224 
 
 THE SAVAGES ARE HAPPY. 
 
 hunting. He made a hard fight for liberty, but was unsuccessful. 
 Determined that they should not make him wince at any pain 
 they might inllict, he: sat grimly, without moving a muscle, while 
 they cut off his hands, and then his feet, and so killed him by 
 inches. 
 
 " Of course this state of things could not continue. Those 
 who were not killed outright would soon have to fight ' Capt. 
 Hunger ; ' for no fields could be tilled, and the cattle were slain 
 by the hundred. So an expedition set out from Connecticut, an 
 army of ninety men. under the command of Capt. John Mason. 
 Their orders were to sail along the coast until they came to 
 Pequot Harbor. There they were to make a landing, and attack 
 the foe. Capt. .Mason did not like this plan at all. The Pequots 
 would know ot their coming, and could watch every movement 
 they made. lie proposed that they should sail by the harbor, 
 on to Narragaiw-u Bay, and by forced marches reach their forts, 
 and attack them, as it were, in the rear. 
 
 " The other officers of the fleet disagreed with their captain. 
 They thought they had much better follow their instructions. In 
 this juncture the chaplain of the fleet was summoned, and bade 
 to spend the night in prayer, that they might decide wisely. He 
 did so, and in the morning reported in favor of Capt. Mason's 
 plan. 
 
 " So the fleet sailed past Pequot Harbor, and the watching 
 savages saw it depart with joy. Once again their prowess had 
 frightened away their foe, and they returned to carouse and 
 dance in triumph in their villages. 
 
 " Meantime Mason was sailing onward. Uncas, chief of the 
 
A RACK FOR LIFE 
 
 Moneeans, had joined him with a band of warriors eager to right 
 
226 
 
 UNCAS TAKES THE WAR-PATH. 
 
 against heir old enemies. They landed in the country of the 
 Narragansetts, and marched at once to their chief fort, where 
 they stated the business on which they had come. The Narra- 
 gansetts, while they highly approved of the plan of the whites, 
 doubted much if so small a party could stand for a moment 
 against such terrible fighters as the Pequots. However, they 
 said they would go along, and take a hand in the fray. 
 
 " The next day the little army, with its following of Mohegans 
 and Narragansetts, marched twenty miles to a place called Nyan- 
 tick, where lived Ninigret, another Narragansett sachem." 
 
 " Why, that is the name of the man who made things so hot 
 for the Montauks, as Capt. Jackson said," excLl-ned Jack. 
 
 "It is the same fellow," said Mr. Longwood. " He was a 
 great nuisance to the English for many years. Capt. Mason 
 found him so surly, that he distrusted him at once, and suspected 
 that he intended sending word to the enemy of his approach. 
 That night he stationed guards about his fort, and gave him 
 notice that any of his men who left it, did it at the peril of 
 their lives." 
 
 " That was a high-handed proceeding, at all events," said 
 Will. 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Longwood, " it seems to us, under the cir- 
 cumstances, the height of effrontery ; but Capt. Mason was not 
 one to stop at any obstacle, after he had gone through so much. 
 And the morning showed that he did wisely ; for many of the 
 warriors then announced their intention of joining him, and they 
 danced a war-dance before starting, with great vigor and zest 
 
 " At last the Pequot country was reached. Their great lort 
 
SEVEN HUNDRED WARRIORS. 
 
 227 
 
 was close at hand. It was strongly stockaded, and in it were 
 some seven hundred warriors, with their wives and children. The 
 invaders as, close at hand, they nearly held their breaths for fear 
 of discovery, could hear them chanting of their prowess, and of 
 the English scalps they had taken. 
 
 " All night long they waited, till the gray dawn came. The 
 noisy Pequots were now deep in sleep. Mason summoned his 
 Indian allies, but they were not to be found. The nearness of 
 the dreaded Pequots had filled them with terror. He sent them 
 word to look on, and see how Englishmen could fight. 
 
 " The fort had an entrance at either end. The invaders 
 divided their force, and made their way in. The enclosure was 
 full of wigwams, behind which the suddenly-roused warriors 
 took refuge, pouring in a shower of arrows on their foe. Seeing 
 that this would soon prove a losing game, Mason caught up a 
 firebrand, and, thrusting it into the mats and straw which lay 
 about, cried out to burn them out. The light wind fanned the 
 flames, and in a few moments the whole fort was in a blaze. 
 The English made their way out, and, forming a circle about it, 
 cut down every soul that attempted to escape. If, perchance, 
 one more fortunate than the rest passed them, he fell before 
 the tomahawks of the Mohegans and Narragansetts, whose cour- 
 age had somewhat returned, and who hung on the outskirts, 
 cutting down every flying survivor. 
 
 " The Indians had at last received a lesson. Ninety men had 
 put to the sword nearly seven hundred of their greatest warriors. 
 The power of the Pequots was broken forever. 
 
 " The position of the victors, though, was by no means pleas- 
 
228 
 
 JACK IS BLOODTHIRSTILY INCLINED. 
 
 ant. They were miles inland ; many were wounded. They had 
 almost no provisions; and another body of Pequot warriors, some 
 three hundred in number, who had been at another fort, learning 
 the fate of their brethren, followed them, mad with rage. Vic- 
 tors though they were, it was a joyful moment when from a 
 hilltop they saw New London Harbor in the distance, with their 
 ships, that they had ordered to meet them there, awaiting them." 
 
 " It's a pity they didn't go back, and wipe out those other 
 three hundred Pequots, when they had their hand in," said Jack 
 bloodthirstily. 
 
 " These poor wretches met their end soon enough," said Mr. 
 Longwood. "Another expedition destroyed many; and the Mo- 
 hegans and Narragansetts, now grown bold, hunted them up and 
 down the country, till the miserable remnant came to the English, 
 and besought protection. Make them but secure of their lives, 
 and they asked no more. To such desperation had they come." 
 
 " And what became of them ? " asked Jack. 
 
 " They were divided up. Uncas, the sachem of the Mohe- 
 gans, took a hundred ; Miantonimoh, sachem of the Narragan- 
 setts, took eighty ; and your old friend Ninigret was given twenty. 
 He had, however, as usual, been making trouble; and he was not 
 allowed to have his men until he had made satisfaction for the 
 mare of one Pomeroye, which he or his men had killed." 
 
 " What did they do with them ? " asked Ned. " Put them to 
 death ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ! they adopted them into their tribe. They ceased 
 to be Pequots, and became Mohegans and Narragansetts, — though 
 I do not imagine that they had the foremost seats in the council, 
 nor, indeed, that life was made very sweet to them." 
 
DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. 
 
 231 
 
 " Go on," said Jack, as Mr. Longwood paused. 
 
 " Why, I think I have made a pretty thorough ending of the 
 Pequots," said that gentleman. 
 
 " Yes," said Jack ; " but of course the Mohegans and Narra- 
 gansetts fought." 
 
 " They did, indeed," said Mr. Longwood. " When the Pequots 
 were out of the way, Miantonimoh aspired to be the sachem of 
 all the tribes about. There was but one obstacle to his plans, 
 and that was Uncas. He had made a formal treaty of friendship 
 with him, after the fall of their common enemy. But this he 
 treacherously ignored. He hired one of Uncas's captive Pequots 
 to shoot him. The man, watching his chance, fired, and shot 
 him through the arm. Then, making his way to the Narragan- 
 setts, he boasted that he had killed his chief. 
 
 " Presently, however, Uncas turned up as well as ever. This 
 was unexpected. Miantonimoh, finding that his doings were 
 somewhat known, quietly knocked the Pequot on the head, on 
 the principle that dead men tell no tales. It was too late, how- 
 ever : his treachery was evident. 
 
 " Presently he made another attempt. As Uncas was going 
 down the Connecticut, Miantonimoh tried to shoot him. This 
 attempt, too, failed, as the first had done. 
 
 " Then he raised an army of a thousand warriors, and made 
 all his plans to fall upon his enemy when he did not expect 
 him. Uncas had warning from his scouts, not a moment too 
 soon. He summoned half a thousand of his bravest men, all 
 that he could gather in that short time, and marched forward to 
 meet his foe. There is a good account of this battle by an old 
 historian, which is something like this : — 
 
232 
 
 A PAGE OF HISTORY. 
 
 1 « < when they had advanced within fair bow-shot of each other, Uncas had 
 recourse to a stratagem with which he had previously acquainted his warriors. He 
 desired a parley ; and both armies halted in the face of each other. Uncas, gal- 
 lantly advancing in front of his men, addressed Miantonimoh to this effect : " You 
 have a number of stout men with you, and so have I with me. It is a great pity- 
 that such brave warriors should be killed in a private quarrel between us only. 
 Come, like a man as you profess to be, and let us fight it out. If you kill me, 
 my men shall be yours ; but if I kill you, your men shall be mine." 
 
 " ' Miantonimoh replied : " My men came to fight : and they shall fight." 
 Uncas falling instantly upon the ground, his men discharged a shower of arrows 
 upon the Narragansetts, and, without a moment's interval, rushing upon them in a 
 furious manner, with their hideous Indian yell, put them immediately to flight. 
 The Mohegans pursued the enemy with the same fury and eagerness with which 
 they commenced the action. The Narragansetts were driven down rocks and 
 precipices, and chased like a doe by the huntsman. Among others, Miantonimoh 
 was exceedingly pressed. Some of Uncas's bravest men, who were most light of 
 foot, coming up with him, twitched him back, impeding his flight, and passed him, 
 that Uncas might take him. 
 
 " ' Uncas was a stout man, and, reaching forward like a lion greedy of his 
 prey, seized him by his shoulder. He knew Uncas, and saw that he was now in 
 the power of the man whom he had hated and by all means attempted to destroy ; 
 but he sat down sullen, and spoke not a word. Uncas gave the Indian whoop, 
 and called up his men who were behind, to his assistance. The victory was com- 
 plete. About thirty of the Narragansetts were slain, and many more wounded. 
 
 " ' Miantonimoh made no request, either for himself or his men,, but continued 
 in the same sullen, speechless mood. Uncas therefore demanded of him why he 
 would not speak. Said he, " Had you taken me, I should have besought you for 
 my life." ' " 
 
 " And now I suppose," said Jack, " that he lopped off his 
 head." 
 
 1 We are again indebted to Tom Longwood, who has copied the extract for us from the 
 book in his father's library, so that we can give it as it was written. 
 
DEATH OF MIANTONIMOH. 
 
i' 
 
UNCAS KILLS HIS ENEMY. 
 
 235 
 
 " You are in rather too much of a hurry," said Mr. Long- 
 wood. " He did not quite dare to do it off-hand, for fear that 
 the English might not approve ; though he longed, in his savage 
 way, for his death. So he carried the speechless sachem to 
 Hartford, where his case was laid before the authorities. They 
 decided, in their solemn way, that Miantonimoh should be delivered 
 over to him, because he had repeatedly tried to kill him, and 
 because Uncas could never be safe as long as his enemy was 
 alive. 
 
 " So Uncas, with some of his trustiest braves, was summoned 
 to Hartford, where they took their prisoner, and departed. The 
 authorities knew, of course, that the Narragansett would be 
 killed ; and so they sent two white men along, to see that no 
 tortures were inflicted. In single file they strode away. Sud- 
 denly, at a sign from his leader, the man who was directly 
 behind Miantonimoh, raised his hatchet, and, at a single blow, 
 split his skull. Without a groan, he fell prostrate ; and his sav- 
 age captor, cutting a large piece from his shoulder, ate it, 
 exclaiming that ' it was the sweetest meat he ever ate : it made 
 his heart strong. ' " 
 
 " What an old villain ! " exclaimed Gertrude. " Jack, how can 
 you want to hear such awful stories ? " 
 
 " I think they are splendid," said Jack. " Go on, please, Mr. 
 Longwood. I am sure there is something to tell about Ninigret." 
 
 " Nothing in especial, that I know of," said that gentleman, 
 " except that he was a dreadful nuisance all his days. For two 
 seasons the Connecticut Colony had to keep an armed vessel 
 cruising between Montauk and Block Island, to prevent his 
 making incursions on the Long-Island Indians." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " Well," said Tom, 
 after a little, as they sat 
 about, chatting idly, " to- 
 morrow we start for 
 home. Our jig is nearly- 
 danced out." 
 
 " That's a capital idea," 
 said Ned, starting up. 
 " What ? " said Tom. 
 " A jig," answered 
 Ned. " Why shouldn't 
 we all go out to the barn, 
 and have a Virginia reel ? 
 We can hang up some 
 lanterns to light it. We will just sit here stupidly, if we don't, 
 for an hour ; and then you girls will politely try to stifle your 
 yawns, and go off to bed." 
 
 " But what shall we do for music ? " asked the o-irls. 
 " Listen," said Ned, holding up his hand. 
 
 They all stopped talking, and at once the sound of an old 
 
 fiddle in the kitchen became audible. It was squeaking out with 
 236 
 
 'an. ' 
 
GABRIL, COME BLOW DE HORN. 
 
 237 
 
 great vigor, " Gabril, come blow de horn," and involuntarily the 
 boys' and girls' feet all began to beat time to the music. 
 
 Ned made haste to secure the services of the fiddler, who 
 was nothing loath to give his services to secure a little jollifica- 
 tion. The cattle-keeper produced three lanterns, and went him-^ 
 self to hang them up, so as to see that his barn was not set 
 on fire by inexperienced hands. For an hour or two the old 
 building resounded with peals of merriment, and the fiddle 
 squeaked almost without cessation. Then, at the same moment, 
 Mr. Longwood announced that they must turn in for the night, 
 and the fiddler announced that his arm had given out. 
 
 " What a shame it is that our good time is over ! " said Tom. 
 
 " Let us hope that it will rain pitchforks to-morrow," said 
 Jack ; " and then we can't get away." 
 
 " No hope of that, I reckon," said the cattle-keeper morosely, 
 — he would have liked to have had them stay on indefinitely, — 
 " the wind is sou'-west. We'll have a fine day, 'thout a doubt." 
 
 And so it turned out ; for the next morning, when, after a 
 hearty breakfast, the big wagon was loaded with the girls, and 
 the boys made ready to tramp across to " The Mavis," the moors 
 were everywhere glistening with dew, which the rising sun 
 turned into drops of gold and fire. The sea was bluer than the 
 sky above it. The fresh wind came softly, laden with odors from 
 the moorlands, — odors which it would carry many a mile out to 
 sea, to gladden the incoming mariner, — Nature's cry of " Land 
 ho!" 
 
 The 1st of October had arrived. The hands of the clock in 
 
2 3 8 
 
 HOW DO YOU DO, FELLOWS? 
 
 the steeple of the church close by pointed to five minutes of 
 nine. Around the door of Mr. Grinder's select school, at No. 
 2,000 Madison Avenue, stood a large group of boys, busily 
 talking. Nearly all of them were tanned from the sun, though 
 here and there a white face told of a summer in the hot city. 
 But five were especially brown. They looked almost copper- 
 colored. They were the centre of an admiring group, who were 
 plying them with questions, and regarding them with envious 
 eyes. 
 
 " Well, fellows," said Will, " the clock has almost reached the 
 hour. We had better go up and say ' How do you do ? ' to our 
 revered instructor. Come on." 
 
 So the whole group broke up, and tramped noisily up the 
 winding' stairs. 
 
 The room was a large one. In the centre, against the wall, 
 was Mr. Grinder's desk, and beside it, on either hand, were two 
 lonof benches on which the classes sat to recite. All the rest of 
 the room was filled with rows of desks. 
 
 The boys walked toward Mr. Grinder. He was at that mo- 
 ment listening to a pale-faced, lantern-jawed young man, whom 
 they heard say, " Yes, sir : I have translated twenty pages of 
 Sallust, and I have made corresponding progress in my other 
 studies." 
 
 " It gives me great pleasure, Master Jones," Mr. Grinder 
 replied, " to hear of such commendable assiduity in study. A 
 like energy shown in the affairs of after-life will be sure to 
 secure you a position of mark. Here are some of your class- 
 mates. I hope we may hear an equally good report from them. 
 
MULTIPLICATION IS VEXATION. 
 
 239 
 
 Ah ! Morgan primus, and secundus, and Longwood, how do you 
 do ? Your classmate, Timothy Jones, here, tells me " — 
 
 But at this moment the clock struck nine, and Mr. Grinder 
 broke off abruptly, to call the school to order, and the boys 
 made haste to gain their desks before any awkward questions 
 should be asked. 
 
 As soon as the roll had been called, Mr. Grinder opened the 
 school, as usual, with prayer. All listened reverently; though I 
 must confess that there was a little smile on more than one 
 face, when he returned thanks that this separation, alike painful 
 to instructor and scholar, was over. 
 
 Then he called, " The first Latin." 
 
 This was the name of a class. Timothy Jones, the lantern- 
 jawed boy, came forward at once. Tom, the two Morgans, Ned 
 Grant, and one or two other boys, followed more slowly. 
 
 " I presume," said Mr. Grinder, " that your parents all received 
 the circular which I sent, informing them of the cause of the 
 untoward postponement of the opening of the school, and sug- 
 gesting that you should make up the loss by home study. I am 
 glad to know that at least one of you, and, I have no doubt, 
 all, have followed my suggestion." 
 
 But somehow, as his glance rested on the sunburned counte- 
 nances of our four friends, his voice seemed to lose a little of 
 the confident tone that it had when he began. 
 
 " Jones, here," he went on, " tells me that he has read twenty 
 pages. Perhaps he has gone farther than others of you. Mor- 
 gan primus, you may begin at the first paragraph on page 8. 
 We will consider this first recitation somewhat in the nature of 
 a review of your home study." 
 
240 
 
 HASTINGS IS MARKED FOR MISCONDUCT. 
 
 Will opened the book, and looked at it hopelessly. 
 " I have not been able to do any thing at my studies at all, 
 sir," he said. 
 
 Mr. Grinder looked sober. 
 " Longwood, you may try it." 
 
 Tom made haste to avow his innocence of any home study. 
 Mr. Grinder looked solemn. 
 
 At this moment a half-suppressed chuckle was distinctly audi- 
 ble. It came from a distant corner of the room, where Jack 
 was watching with glee the discomfiture of his cronies. 
 
 Mr. Grinder looked up, and caught him. 
 " Hastings," he said severely, " I am truly sorry that you 
 should begin, thus early in the session, to merit reproof. I give 
 you one mark for misconduct." 
 
 Jack subsided. 
 
 " How many of this class," said Mr. Grinder, returning to the 
 subject in hand, " have done any study whatever, on their Latin ? 
 Let them raise their hands." 
 
 Timothy Jones's hand went up. No other kept it company. 
 
 "It is as I feared," said Mr. Grinder with great severity. 
 " When you get to be men, young gentlemen, you will look 
 back, and regret in sackcloth and ashes these wasted opportuni- 
 ties. To your desks ! It will take persistent application to make 
 up for these two weeks of idleness." 
 
 THE* END.