James Otis - Commodore Barney's Young Spies

"If he undertakes to yip even once, give him a dose over the head that will put him to sleep, an' it won't be much harm if you kill such a cur as he is. Keep your wits about you, lad, an' remember that the prisoner is the one who can make the most trouble."

Then the old man saw to it that each of our weapons was loaded, after which he led the way to the rail where the canoe was made fast.

The little craft would not carry more than three, therefore two trips were necessary in order to land us all, and when we stood on the bank Darius proposed that Jerry paddle the boat up to the mill.

"Why do we want her there?" I asked, thinking he was providing for a means of escape. "We couldn't all take passage in her, and in case we need to get away in a hurry, it might be done easier by striking into the woods."

"I'm not thinkin' how we can get her off, for if the plan fails to work there's little chance any of us will need the canoe," Darius said grimly, and I began to understand that he might be more of a fighter than would suit me. "It may be we shall want to send some prisoners down to keep Macomber company, an' then a small craft will come in handy, for their boat is hauled up high an' dry among the bushes; she is so heavy that it would be a long job to float her."

Jerry was so impatient to be in the thick of danger that he hardly waited for the old man to conclude his long-winded speech, and before the last word had hardly been spoken he was paddling up stream at a rate which told that he would arrive at the rendezvous some time in advance of us who were to walk.

Neither was Darius willing to waste much time, and when Jerry was lost to view in the darkness he struck through the underbrush toward the highway, leading the party, while I brought up the rear.

It can well be fancied that we moved with the utmost caution, for people do not set out on such an enterprise as we were bent upon with any great blowing of horns, and although none of us were what might be called woodsmen, I flatter myself that we did not bungle the job very badly.

Hardly more than a quarter-hour had passed when Darius left the underbrush to cut across toward the river, and within five minutes more we were halted near the southeast corner of the mill, not having heard or seen anything of those whom we hoped to make prisoners.

Jerry joined us almost immediately, having been on the lookout during five minutes or more, and he reported that there had been no signs of life in the vicinity since his arrival.

"We who carry the clubs will go ahead, an', if it so be possible, do the biggest part of the work, for our weapons ain't the kind that make much of any noise," Darius whispered. "Jim Freeman will stand guard at the door of the mill, but he is not to shoot unless it becomes necessary to prevent the Britisher or the miller from takin' a hand in the scrimmage, pervidin' there is one. Now follow me, lads, an' remember that we must get the three sailors under our thumbs, once we've started, no matter what turns up."

We stole up to the big door on the northwest corner, the only entrance to the building, and, as I had expected, found it fastened on the inside. One would hardly have supposed that the Britishers in hiding would neglect to make themselves as secure as possible.

It appeared that Darius was not disappointed, for after pushing gently at the door, and motioning for Jim to stand in front of it, he led the way along the northerly side of the mill to a portion of the under-pinning which had given way, disclosing an aperture through which a mule might have been driven.

"Keep close at my heels," he whispered, and then he plunged into the darkness, we obeying his command to the letter, for a mis-step might throw us into the mill-race, which we could hear rippling close at hand.

One would have said that the old man had always lived in this place, so directly and swiftly did he go to the desired point, which was a portion of the flooring where was a trap-door, evidently used to dump the refuse, for suddenly we found ourselves climbing up a heap of what appeared to be husks and cobs of corn.

It was a simple task to gain entrance to the building in this manner, for Darius had only to force the trap-door up with his shoulder, and in a twinkling we were standing on the lower floor, near-by what I took to be the hopper.

Touching each of us in turn that we might be warned to follow closely, Darius led the way to the easterly end of the building, where he halted at the foot of a flight of stairs.

Now he marshaled his force according to the weapons. Jerry was behind him; I came next, determined to use my musket as a club so long as it could be done, rather than take the risk of killing a man, and in the rear of me was Josiah Coburn, one of Jim Freeman's party.

Now it must be understood that we could see nothing; the darkness was so intense that one could almost feel it, and yet we proposed to blunder in upon enemies who would probably shoot without warning in the direction of the slightest suspicious noise.

It was not a cheerful adventure, and I hold myself well excused for being frightened, so that I followed the leader's orders implicitly to the best of my ability.

Just at this point, when we were trembling with suppressed excitement, and, as in my case, fear, Darius remembered that he had not unlocked the outer door in order that Jim might hide within the building, and we were forced to stand at the foot of the stairs while he groped his way back to remedy the neglect.

It seemed to me that we remained there hardly daring to breathe, a full half-hour, although I suppose now that it was no more than five minutes, and then our leader was returned.

Pushing his way to the head of the line once more, we began the ascent of the stairs, each fellow stepping cautiously; but despite all our efforts each board sent forth loud protesting creaks as we bore our weight upon it, and the only wonder was that the Britishers did not awaken sooner.

The noise we made in ascending the stairs seemed to me loud enough to alarm the inmates of the house near at hand, and, therefore, I was neither startled nor surprised when some person at one end of the second floor, cried out:

"Who is there? What's the row?"

"Can't you give your shipmates the same show for a watch below that you've got?" Darius asked with a regular deep-sea note in his voice, and this it was that gave us a slight advantage, since the men did not open fire.

"How did you get here?" the same voice asked, and again the old man answered as if speaking to shipmates:

"The bloomin' swab that piloted you here, gave us the course. Where are you?"

"Over here," and the voice came from the westerly end of the building, thus showing that we must walk the entire length of the mill before coming upon our adversaries. "What ship are you from?"

My heart stood still as this question was asked, for I knew only too well that Darius was wholly ignorant as to what British vessels had entered the bay; but the old sailor never hesitated, as he replied:

"What other than the flag-ship, you lubber?"

"No, I'll be burned if you are!" the man cried loudly, and I heard him spring to his feet. "She's in the Potomac river long before this! Rouse up, my bullies, an' let's have a look at these beach-combers."

During this brief conversation we had been advancing swiftly in the direction from which the sailor's voice could be heard, and when his comrades were ready to receive us, we could not have been a dozen paces distant from the three.

I felt, rather than saw, that Darius sprang forward; there was a dull thud, a groan, and a cry from one of the other Britishers which told that the battle was on, but the number of active enemies had been reduced by one, for there could be no question but that Darius had put his man out of the fight for some time to come.