When Tom drew near the house he saw the Quaker standing in the doorway.
His broad-brimmed hat and the peaceful expression upon his face were in marked contrast to the warlike men he had just left behind him in the road.
"How now?" said Nathan, as he perceived who the approaching man was.
"Thee travels early, Friend Thomas; I trust all is well at thy house."
Tom quickly dismounted, and in a few words explained how it was that he happened to be there, and what the purpose of his visit was.
"Thee doesn"t say so!" said Nathan in surprise. "And the redcoats even now are at my door and seek refreshment?"
"They are out in the road. They want some breakfast, and I think they"ll pay you for it."
"Friend Thomas, I think I can trust thee. I have known thee since thou wert a little lad. Ah, these are sad times for men of peace! The sons of Belial are on all sides. Verily, these days are days of wrath."
Tom was puzzled by Nathan"s manner and made no reply. The man turned quickly into the house and soon returned with a well-filled stocking in his hands. Tom instantly surmised what the stocking contained, for he was well aware of the banking purposes to which that article of clothing was turned in many of the homes.
"Come with me, Friend Thomas," said Nathan, grasping a hoe as he spoke and leading the way into his garden. There he dug a hole, and, placing his "bank" within it, covered it again with the earth.
"But Nathan," protested Tom, "if these men search your place for money they"ll find this spot, and it"ll show at once you"ve hidden something there. The earth is all fresh and moist here, and it"s dry all around it."
"Yea, thou speakest truly, Friend Thomas, but I have a thought by which I may yet outwit these men of war. Tarry here till I return."
The Quaker instantly turned and again entered the house. In a moment he appeared, bearing a large bowl in each hand. One contained water, which he poured over the place where his money was concealed, and the other was filled with corn. He quickly scattered the corn over the wet ground, and then, turning towards the barn, called, "Chick! Chick! Chick! Come, chick! Come, chick!"
Instantly there was a fluttering within the barns, the doors to which were wide open, and the hens came running from every direction.
Nathan"s face took on a meaning smile as he watched his flock hastening toward him for their breakfast, and then, turning to Tom, he said, "Is it plain to thee, Friend Thomas, that it is still possible for a man of peace to outwit these sons of Belial? Now go and tell thy companions that such food as I have shall be set before them."
Tom laughed at the trick of the Quaker, and then ran back to his horse, and, mounting, started towards his recent companions, whom he could see still waiting in the road. Doubtless they were becoming impatient by this time, and, without waiting to go all the way back to the road, he stopped at a distance and called to them, beckoning with his hand for them to come, as he shouted.
As soon as he perceived that the lieutenant heard him, he turned about and once more rode back to Nathan"s house. He then dismounted and tied his horse to a post which stood near to the kitchen door.
As he glanced up he saw that the leader was riding alone up the lane and now was near the house. Just then he heard the sound of a horse behind him, and, turning quickly about, saw young Lieutenant Gordon dash past him on horseback.
Amazed by the sudden and unexpected appearance of his friend, he stood still and watched him as he rode swiftly up the lane directly toward the approaching men. Gordon was leaning low on his horse"s neck, and Tom could see that he was grasping a pistol in his right hand.
Before the startled lad could fairly realize what was occurring, he saw the young lieutenant raise his weapon and aim it at the approaching horseman. He waited for the report, but none came. Again Gordon raised his pistol, and once more it flashed without a report.
His heart almost stopped when he perceived that the other members of the band had now entered the lane and were riding towards their leader, although as yet they were far behind him. The young lieutenant had also discovered them, and, instantly turning his horse about, dashed back up the lane, with the British lieutenant in swift pursuit.
Unmindful of Tom, they swept past him, and Gordon turned the corner of the barn. Twice around the barn the men raced their horses, and then Gordon turned his horse into the open doorway and dashed through to the other side.
After him followed the leader of the British band in desperate pursuit, and then, as Tom glanced up, he saw his recent companions come shouting and hallooing into the yard which was between the barn and Friend Nathan"s little house.
CHAPTER XV
THE BOAT ON THE BAR
WHEN Little Peter discovered the presence of the men before him, his first impulse had been to turn and make a dash into the woods; but the call which he heard quickly changed all that. As one after another of the band appeared, he recognized some of them as men who had been enrolled in the local militia, and his alarm for a moment subsided.
The one who had addressed him he remembered as a young man not much older than himself, who had all the summer been away from his home, busied with his friends and neighbors in protecting the salt works along the sh.o.r.e, and striving to hold back the outlaws from their raids in the county.
The salt works were of especial value at this time, as some of them were owned by the government and aided in increasing the scanty revenues of the poverty-stricken country. Several of them already had been burned by tories or bands of sailors, who had landed from some of the gunboats which had come to anchor off the sh.o.r.e for the purpose of inflicting such damage as lay within their power upon the adjacent region.
"What are you doing here, Peter?" repeated the lad who had first spoken.
As Little Peter now recognized the men before him as friends, he quickly related to them the story of the sad misfortunes which had come upon his home; and the many expressions of anger and sympathy which his words called forth were not unwelcome, we may be a.s.sured, to the troubled boy.
When his brief story was told, the young man who had hailed him said, "We"re on an errand that may fit into your feelings a bit. We"re short one man, too. Don"t you want to join us?"
"What are you trying to do?"
"We"ve just had word that a boat is aground off here on the bar, and we"re going to see if we can"t get her. We"ve got a whaleboat down here on the sh.o.r.e, and we"re going to put out in her and see if we can"t pull the other boat off and bring her in with us."
"But there are a couple of gunboats not more than three quarters of a mile out," protested Peter. "You can"t do anything while they are there."
"We can try," said the man who was acting as the leader. "We"re one man short, as Lyman here has just said, and if you feel inclined to join us we shall be glad to have you."
Little Peter hesitated. It was not alone the danger of the enterprise which troubled him. He was thinking of his father and his own purpose to discover whether he had been sent to New York or not.
When he explained the cause of his perplexity, the leader said, "That"s all right, Peter. We"re going down to Tom"s River just as soon as we"ve taken this boat out here. You see, our watch told us the boat is loaded with supplies, and, if we can get her, we"re going to do a double deed, for we"ll keep the others from having them, and we"ll make good use of the stuff ourselves. Now, if you"ll go along with us, you"ll make another oar for us, and we"ll be all the more likely to succeed. Then you can go with us down to Tom"s River, and poor company will be better than none in times like these."
"I"ll go," said Little Peter quickly, and the march was at once resumed.
As they approached the wigwam, where Peter had left his Indian friends, he stopped for a moment to explain to Indian John the cause of the change in his plans.
John listened quietly until the lad had finished, and then said, "Me see um again."
Little Peter did not understand just what the Indian meant by his words, but he did not wait to inquire, for his friends were already in advance of him, and he hastened to rejoin them.
No one spoke as they silently walked on to the sh.o.r.e, but when they had gained the bluff, Lyman suddenly said, "There! Look there, will you? The word was all right. The boat"s aground out there on the bar."
Little Peter instantly recognized the boat as the one which he had seen approaching from the gunboats, and for which the band of men from Refugee Town had evidently been waiting. Doubtless they had mistaken him and Indian John for members of the neighboring militia, and the cause of their pursuit was now explained.
The men did not hesitate now, but going to a place a little farther up the sh.o.r.e, they hastily removed a pile of brush and drew forth the long whaleboat which they had concealed beneath it. The boat was not heavy, and, lifting it in their arms, they bore it down to the water"s edge.
Then grasping its sides, they ran with it into the water, and, at the word from the leader, scrambled on board. In a moment they were all seated, the long oars were drawn forth, and the men gave way with a will.
Little Peter was in the bow, next to his friend Lyman. The excitement now for a time banished from his mind the thoughts of his sorrow, and even the search for his father was for the moment forgotten.
About three-quarters of a mile out at sea were the two gunboats riding at anchor, and resting as gracefully upon the water as if they had been birds. Directly before them was the supply boat, about a quarter of a mile from the sh.o.r.e, and not more than that distance in advance. They could see that four men were on board, and they were still striving desperately to push her off from the bar on which she had grounded.
Not a word was spoken on the whaleboat now, and the men were all rowing with long and steady strokes. The ocean was unusually calm, but every lift of the heavy groundswell disclosed to them more clearly the outlines of the boat they were seeking. Their purpose had not yet been discovered by the men on the other boat, or if it had been discovered no token was displayed. It was more than possible that they were regarded as friends coming to the aid of the unlucky boat.
In this manner several minutes pa.s.sed, the whaleboat, meanwhile, making rapid progress over the water, driven forward by the efforts of the determined men. The long, sandy sh.o.r.e stretched away in the distance, the ma.s.ses of clouds in the sky seemed to be lined with silver as the rays of the sun shone through them, and not a sound could be heard except the heavy breathing of the men and the regular clicks of the oars in the row-locks.