"No, sir; but I can very soon put a load in," replied Enoch. "I will wager that it will stop any Tory inside of two hundred yards," he added, stepping up alongside of a man who stood there with a club in his hand.
"How long has this thing been going on?"
"We have but just commenced," said the man. "When I came down here they were just bringing these men off as prisoners."
"Are we going to take the sloop and go out and capture that schooner?"
"That is the intention."
"Well, Mr. O"Brien told me to take your place here now, and you go and help unload that lumber. I have got a gun, and there"s a bullet that will hit anything that tries to get away from me."
He held up the bullet so that all the sailors could see it, and then pushed it home. Then he took up his powder-horn and proceeded to "cap"
his piece, which he did by pouring a lot of powder into the chamber.
Then he brought down the slide, pushed his hat back and was ready for some prisoner to try to escape.
"You fellows are going to get licked as sure as the world," said one of the captives. "You can"t take that schooner."
"What makes you think we are going to try?" asked Enoch.
"That is where you are going with that sloop. There will be some troops up here directly, and then you will all go in jail."
"Well, you won"t have to go with us to keep us company," said Enoch, with a laugh.
"You are mighty right I won"t," said the man, with something that savored of a threat in his tones. "I am on the side of England every day in the week. She will brush you rebels off on one side----"
"Hold on!" exclaimed Enoch, bringing his gun to a "ready." "You must not talk that way while I am about. When we come back we will be on board that schooner."
The man muttered something under his breath and then relapsed into silence; while Enoch turned his eyes toward the sloop to see how far they had progressed toward unloading her. The lumber was tumbled off any way, some going overboard into the bay and the rest being piled up helter-skelter on the wharf, and finally Zeke raised his voice and shouted--
"All you men who are going off with us to capture that schooner come on board here."
"Does that mean me?" asked Enoch.
"Yes, everybody. Come on."
"What shall we do with the prisoners?"
"Let them go where they please," answered Mr. O"Brien. "They can"t hinder us."
"Now mark my words, sonny," said the man who had been talking to him a few moments before. "I haven"t got anything against you, but I really wish you would not go off with that sloop. You are going to be killed, the last one of you."
"We will not be the first men who have fallen before British bullets,"
said Enoch, shouldering his gun and starting for the sloop. "Look at the ones the redcoats killed at Lexington. We are going to have revenge for that."
When Enoch got aboard the sloop he found O"Brien at the wheel and Zeke was ordering the lines hauled in. After that the mainsail and jib were hoisted--that was the only two sails she had--a shove was given at the bow while the stern-line held on, and as soon as the wind took the canvas she moved silently away from the wharf. She seemed to know that she was going on a dangerous mission, for not even her blocks creaked as the sailors pulled at the ropes.
"Well, Enoch, you are here, are you not?" exclaimed a voice at his elbow. "You have got your gun all handy, too."
"Yes, but where is yours, Zeke?" said the boy. "You haven"t got anything."
"Yes, I have," said the man, pulling out his club from behind him. "If ever this falls on a Tory"s head it is my opinion that he will see stars."
By this time the sloop was squared around with her bow pointed toward the sea and, contrary to the expectation of her company, she took a bone in her teeth and settled down to an exhibition of speed that surprised everybody. They were sure of one thing: The schooner must go faster than they had ever seen her go before in order to escape.
"But perhaps she won"t depend on her speed," said Enoch, when somebody made use of this remark close at his elbow. "Perhaps she will stay and fight it out."
"I hope she will," was the reply; and the man showed a pitchfork which he had brought to a.s.sist in whipping the schooner"s company. "If one of them gets a prod with this he will know what hurt him."
"Now I want all you men to gather here amidships where I can see you. I have something to say to you."
He spoke in a loud voice, and when Enoch turned to see who it was, he found Wheaton standing near the main-mast with his hat off. None of the men knew what there was pending, and one of them inquired, as he moved over to Wheaton"s side--
"What"s up?"
"I will tell you right away," said he. "Thus far in this business we have got along without a leader. We have agreed to everything that anybody had to propose, because we thought his proposition the best; but now we are coming to a point where we need a single mind to direct us.
There is one man I have in mind who has done more to a.s.sist us in a quiet way than anybody else, and if you don"t care I will propose him for our captain from this time on. I will nominate Mr. O"Brien. Those in favor of it will manifest it by saying "Aye!""
"Aye!" burst from a score of throats.
There was no need of calling for the nays on this question. As soon as Zeke heard the vote, he elbowed his way through the crowd and took off his hat and made a very low bow to his newly appointed commander. Then he laid his hand on the wheel, which O"Brien readily gave up to him.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CHASE.
When O"Brien gave up his wheel to Zeke he also took off his hat and moved a step or two nearer to his men. Then followed an outcry from the crew which anybody has heard who has been tempted to attend a political meeting in America, to-wit--
"Speech, speech!" chorused all hands!
"I have not much to say to you beyond this," said the captain. "We have come out here to capture that schooner, and we are not going back with that flag flying at her peak."
"Hear, hear!" shouted Zeb Short.
"We haven"t got any guns, so we will run afoul of her and board her the first good chance we get," continued the captain. "If any man tells you that he surrenders--I never expect to hear any such cry from any man now before me--let him go and help him up and treat him as you would like to be treated if you were a prisoner. When we get aboard that boat, if none of her company pull down her flag, Wheaton is the man to attend to it. He proposed this thing, has suggested me for captain and he ought to have the privilege of handling the flag. That ensign has floated the "mistress of the sea" and I don"t believe that any body of men has ever pulled it down before. We will show them before we get through with them that it can"t stand up before a "flock of Yankees.""
The cheers which greeted this little speech seemed to have raised the sloop fairly out of the water. When she came down again she settled to her work and went ahead faster than ever. By this time she had rounded the point of land behind which the schooner had run for safety the day before, but to the surprise of everybody her berth was empty. The schooner during the night had pulled out and chosen another place of refuge. It looked as though she had abandoned the sloops and left them to watch out for themselves.
"Well, Zeke, what do you think of this?" asked Captain O"Brien, seeking advice of his steersman. That was not exactly the proper thing to do, but this was a household matter, everybody in the village was bent on capturing the schooner, every man in his crew knew as much about handling a vessel as he knew himself, and he did not see why he shouldn"t go for help where he was most likely to get it.
"They are afraid of us, Cap," replied Zeke. "There isn"t any other place that I know of where she can run for refuge, except it is that little harbor about five miles up the bay. She may have gone in there."
"Why, she could not get in," replied the captain. "She draws too much water."
"She can go in there if the tide is up, and she will have to come out pretty soon or we will catch her, sure," said Zeke. "If I was you I would go up and take a look at that place."
The crew had by this time found out that the schooner"s berth was empty, and they all crowded around their captain to see what he thought about it. Contrary to the custom in these days, the captain explained his movements when he brought the sloop about and headed her up the bay, and the men all agreed that that was the place to find her.