"I don"t want to do anything mean with any of our fellows; so don"t say a word to me. I shall do my duty as an officer, as I promised to do when I was made third lieutenant."
"Do you mean to say you will stop me, Shuffles, if you see me going?"
demanded Wilton.
"I do mean so; I promised faithfully to do my duty as an officer, and I shall do it."
"See here, Bob Shuffles; you needn"t talk to me in that manner. I knew the ship"s cable from a pint of milk, and you can"t come the flunky over me."
"I"m going to do just as you would do if you were in my place. I won"t hear a word about any of your plans."
"But will you interfere with them?"
"If it is my duty to do so, I shall. I intend to obey orders; and if I have the deck, I shall keep things straight, whatever happens."
"Lowington don"t know you as well as I do."
"No matter if he don"t; he shall have no fault to find with me this term, if I can help it."
"It"s no use for me to mince the matter with you, Bob Shuffles. We understand each other too well for that. Something"s up."
Shuffles turned on his heel, and was about to walk away.
"Hold on a minute, Shuffles," continued Wilton. "I won"t tell you what"s up, but I"ll tell you this; if you interfere with what I do, or with what the fellows with me do, I"ll tell Lowington about the mutiny--I will, as sure as your name is Bob Shuffles. Do you understand me?"
"Well, I do; and it seems to me that sounds very much like a threat."
"Call it what you like. If you turn traitor to our fellows, you must stand the racket of it. You are not a saint just yet, and those that live in gla.s.s houses musn"t throw stones."
"I believe I haven"t played false to any of our fellows. If I don"t choose to get into any sc.r.a.pe with them, I have a right to keep out.
That"s all I"ve got to say."
"But what are you going to do, Shuffles? Our fellows will want to know."
"I"m going to do my duty," replied the third lieutenant as he walked away, regardless of the efforts of his companion to detain him.
Shuffles was experiencing the truth of the old maxim, that honesty is the best policy. It is to be regretted that his present devotion to duty had no higher incentive than mere policy; but it may be hoped of those who do their duty from low motives, that they may gather inspiration even from their politic fidelity to obey its behests from higher motives. The third lieutenant of the Young America intended to keep the promise he had made in accepting his office, simply because it would pay best.
Wilton and his confederates had no difficulty in making up the required number of discontents and malcontents before six o"clock, which was the time fixed for carrying out the enterprise they had planned. Some of the recruits joined because they antic.i.p.ated a good time in the city in celebrating the Fourth, and others from a mere love of mischief and excitement. The details of the scheme had been carefully elaborated by Monroe and Wilton, after the ranks of the conspirators were full. Having learned a valuable lesson from the daily discipline of the ship, the mischief was certainly well planned. Each boy was a.s.signed to a particular position in the boats, and knew on what thwart he was to sit, and which oar he was to pull.
Wilton and Monroe, as the master spirits of the enterprise were to run out first on the swinging boom, and slide down the painters, each into the boat he was to command. The others were to follow in the same way, descending from the boom, for it was not considered prudent to run the boats up to the gangway, where some enthusiastic officer might easily interfere with the plan, which was to depend for its success upon the celerity of its execution.
When four bells struck, the professors went down to their evening meal, as usual, and the boatswain piped the port watch to supper, the starboard watch having taken theirs at three bells, or half past five.
Wilton gave a low whistle, when Shuffles, officer of the deck, was abaft the mizzenmast, with his back to the runaways who had gathered in the waist, and were waiting for the signal.
"Be lively, fellows," said the leader of the enterprise, as he sprang over the rail, and ran out on the boom, followed by Monroe.
The others, in the order in which they had been instructed, did the same. About half of them were on the boom, when the movement was reported to the officer of the deck by the midshipman on duty in the waist. Shuffles rushed forward, now understanding, for the first time, the intentions of Wilton; and true to the inspiration of fidelity, he set about defeating the object of "our fellows."
The studding-sail boom, to which the boats were fastened, was supported by a topping-lift from above, and kept in position, at right angles with the side of the ship, by guys extending forward and aft.
"Stand by that fore guy!" shouted Shuffles, as he sprang upon the rail.
"Cast off!"
"Lively, fellows!" said Wilton, when he saw that the third lieutenant intended to swing in the boom to the ship"s side.
"Stand by the after guy of the studding-sail boom!" continued Shuffles, with becoming energy.
Both his orders were promptly obeyed; but seeing that his movement would be too late, he rushed to the topping-lift, and cast it off, causing the swinging boom to drop into the water, just as the last boy was about to slide down into the professors" boat. Of course the luckless fellow went into the water; but he was promptly picked up by his companions in mischief.
"If I"m caught, Bob Shuffles, you look out for breakers!" cried Wilton, as the third lieutenant appeared at the gangway again.
The tide was coming in, and the boats swung so far abaft the boom that it had fallen clear of them when it dropped into the water. Wilton and Monroe were prompt to avail themselves of their present success, and the boys sat in the boats, with their oars up, ready to pull as soon as the order was given.
"Let fall!" said Wilton; and the eight oars of the professors" barge dropped into the water, and the rowers placed them in readiness for the first stroke.
Monroe, in the third cutter, followed the example of his princ.i.p.al, and was hardly a second behind him.
"Give way!" added Wilton.
"Give way!" repeated Monroe; and the two boats gathered way and darted off towards the nearest point of the sh.o.r.e.
Thus far the enterprise of "our fellows" was entirely successful, and Shuffles stood on the gangway, chagrined at the defeat which had attended his efforts to prevent the escape of the runaways.
"Stand by to clear away the first cutter!" shouted he, suddenly and with energy, as he made his way to the davits, where the boat indicated was suspended.
"Cast off the gripes, and man the falls!" he continued when the watch were collected at the scene of action. "Mr. Kendall, you will inform the captain what has happened."
Within three minutes, the first cutter was in the water, for the crew had been frequently exercised in the evolution of lowering boats, and performed it with remarkable facility for boys. Before the first cutter touched the water, the captain, the princ.i.p.al, and all the professors, came on deck.
Mr. Lowington was entirely cool, though everybody else appeared to be intensely excited. The crew of the first cutter were piped away, and at the princ.i.p.al"s suggestion, the third lieutenant was sent off in the boat to prevent the landing of the rebellious pupils.
"Up oars! Let fall! Give way!" said Shuffles, in the boat, delivering his orders in rapid succession; and the first cutter darted off in chase of the runaways.
CHAPTER VI.
THE FOURTH OF JULY.
The first cutter was manned by her regular crew, who had been trained with the utmost care to pull together, while Wilton, in the professors"
barge, which was of the same size, had some very indifferent oarsmen.
The runaways had made up their force of such material as they could obtain, and though all were somewhat accustomed to rowing, they had not been drilled to work together; they were not the unit of power in pulling a boat. Shuffles, therefore, had a manifest advantage, and he was determined to bring back the fugitives.
The second cutter, in charge of Paul Kendall, was cleared away, and, with Mr. Lowington and Mr. Fluxion on board, left the ship to take part in the pursuit. The chase promised to be an exciting one, for Wilton and Monroe were straining every nerve to reach the sh.o.r.e before they were overtaken. They were making for the nearest land, and having just the number of hands required to pull the boat, each of them was obliged to use an oar himself. They had no c.o.xswains, and Wilton, at the bow oar of the professors" barge, could not see what was ahead, though he kept the pursuing boats in full view.
The nearest land, not more than half a mile from the ship, was a point covered with salt marsh, above which was a cove, whose opening was about ten rods in width. Wilton was making for the point below the cove, but his calculations were made without judgment or discretion. If he reached the land, his party would be obliged to walk a mile in order to get round the cove, on a narrow strip of marsh, where they might be intercepted. But the fatal defect in his plan of operations was a failure to consider the depth of water between the ship and the point.