Commodore Barney's Young Spies

We left the cabin without delay, and while Darius went forward to have speech with the commodore's cook, Jerry and I clambered on board the pungy to let Jim and his friends know of the new duty to which we had been assigned.

"Its a case of keeping on as spies," I said, after repeating the commander's words. "You're to be ready at once; but who's to look after the Avenger is something that hasn't been told us."

There was no time to say anything more, for at that point the guard-boat came alongside, having in tow a long canoe which looked as if a single stroke of the paddle might send her on a long voyage.

"Here is the swiftest craft on the river, and her owner's heart will be broken if you allow the Britishers to get hold of her," the officer in charge of the boat said as he passed me the painter of the canoe.

"Do you know what we are to do with the pungy?" I asked.

"My orders are to anchor her further up stream after you have gone. Don't leave anything valuable aboard, for there's a good chance you'll never see her again."

"We don't own anything valuable, except the pungy herself, and I fancy she wouldn't be very precious save to two lads like Jerry and me who may never own one again if anything happens to her," I said with a laugh, for, strange to say now, when we were about to set off on the most dangerous portion of our work, I failed to feel the slightest fear.

At this moment Darius and the commodore's cook came on deck, each bearing in his arms a certain amount of cooked food, and this the old sailor threw without care into the bottom of the new canoe, himself following with the utmost haste.

"Come on, lads, if you count on gettin' any sleep this night," he cried impatiently as he took up one of the paddles.

"Are we to go without weapons?" I asked.

"We shan't need them. If we meet the Britishers it will be in such force that half a dozen of the best rifles ever made would do us no good, and there will be none others on the river with whom we shall want to interfere."

"But we might run across Elias Macomber," I urged, not minded to go empty-handed on such a perilous voyage.

"It is too late to fool around with spies now," Darius said sharply. "They've done us all the mischief possible, an' it's a case of standin' before an open enemy."

I had no desire to argue further within hearing of the commodore, and scrambled down into the boat, where my comrades were seated ready to begin the voyage.

Now indeed was Darius the leader of the party, and after the conversation in regard to the muskets, I was prepared to obey him without a murmur.

It is a large canoe which will carry six people comfortably, without sign of being overloaded, yet the boat we were in did it, and I would not have hesitated to put in a couple more had it been necessary, while she paddled as easily as a craft half her size.

"It's a great little boat," Darius said approvingly as we began the voyage with a burst of speed which absolutely surprised me. "I reckon we could show our heels to the best that can be found on the river."

"Where are we goin'?" Jim Freeman asked, impatient to know more regarding our purpose.

"That's what I can't say, lad. We'll run down till we see somethin' of the Britishers, even though we come off the Tangiers again; but I'm thinkin' we'll do well if we make Hog Point this trip."

Jim would have asked more questions; but that Darius cut him short by saying gruffly:

"There's a decently good reason for believin' that the enemy may show himself any minute now, an' if we don't want to get into trouble it'll be safe to hold our peace. There'll be plenty of time for tongue-waggin' later."

It can be fancied that we remained silent after such a remark and the old man kept four of us at the paddles constantly, himself doing twice as much work as any other, while the helmsman occupied that post only in order to rest himself, the steering blade being shifted from one to the other accordingly as we grew tired.

For the fourth time we passed Benedict without making a stop, but on this occasion I made no protest, and when we had run a mile further down the river we came upon a pungy belonging to our village, the master of which was evidently doing his best to get all the speed possible out of the craft.

"Better put back!" he shouted nervously, and Darius gave the word to cease paddling as he asked:

"What's the news?"

"The Britishers are comin' this way thicker'n spatter, an' I made up my mind it was time to get under cover."

"Where were the foremost ships when you saw them?"

"Less'n a mile below Hog Point; it looked like there was more'n a hundred vessels."

"You'd better not count on stoppin' long at Benedict," Darius cried as he motioned for us to take up the paddles again, and before the captain of the pungy had time to ask a question, we were beyond earshot.

"It may be the fleet that's bound for Baltimore," I suggested, not being prepared at that time to believe the enemy would attempt to take large vessels far enough up the river to disturb our fleet.

"I allow some of 'em are headin' Baltimore way," Darius replied grimly; "but you'll find that a good many of the fleet will make a try at stirrin' up Joshua Barney."

I knew the old man believed all he said, because from this out when we were come to a bend in the river we would steer the canoe close up to the bank, and slow down until he made certain that the next reach did not have in it any of the enemy's craft.

In this cautious manner we ran down stream perhaps five miles below Benedict, when, on rounding a bend, we saw no less than four armed vessels, with a dozen or fourteen barges, not more than a mile away.

"Back water, lads!" Darius cried sharply, swinging the canoe's stern around with the steering paddle. "Here's where we find our work. I'd like it better if you wasn't so nearly fagged out; but I reckon we can make five miles more before you give in."

He had turned the canoe while speaking, and we were running up stream in less than two minutes after having sighted the Britishers.

"Five miles should bring us to Benedict," I suggested.

"Ay, lad, an' that's where we'll make the first stop."

"But do you count that the enemy will get as far up as the village?" I asked in surprise mingled with no little consternation, for this was bringing the war home to us with a vengeance.

"Some of the ships may find the bottom; but they'll get a few of 'em there. Take the helm, Amos, an' I'll pull at the paddles."

Thus far, since we took service under Commodore Barney, all of Darius' predictions had turned out to be correct, therefore I was fully prepared to believe all he said regarding the danger which threatened my native village.

The old man would not allow us to indulge in conversation after the retreat was begun.

"Don't waste your breath by talkin'," he said peremptorily. "We'll need all our wind to take us to Benedict, an' once there I'll give some of you a chance for tongue-waggin'."

Within two miles of the village we passed the pungy we had met while going down stream, going by her as if she was standing still, and Darius shouted:

"Keep right on up the river! The Britishers won't stop this side of Benedict, an' you can only save your vessel by joinin' Barney's fleet."

"If all I've heard be true I'm as like to lose her where he is as in most any other place," the captain cried, looking here and there anxiously as if believing it possible he might find a few puffs of wind lying around loose.

I was in good shape when we arrived finally at the village, because of having remained at the steering paddle; but the other fellows were well-nigh exhausted, and when we ran the bow of the canoe up on the shore, not one of them made a move toward changing his position.

"Get your wind, lads, as soon as may be, for we'll pull half a mile or more up-stream before settlin' down here for any length of time," the old man said, leaping ashore smartly as if he had just awakened from the most refreshing slumber, and while hurrying up the bank he added sharply, "Stay where you are, all hands, until we finish this business."

What it was he counted on finishing I could not so much as guess, and my companions were too weary to speculate upon the matter just at that moment.

We saw him speak with this or that person who came out of the shops or buildings as he appeared, and immediately it was as if he had disturbed a colony of ants. Men and women began running hither and thither in terror, and not a few carried with them household goods of such small value that it was a sheer waste of time to lug them around. In a twinkling the entire village was in a commotion, and no one appeared to have time to spend on us who had brought the disagreeable news.

Darius remained beyond our range of vision perhaps ten minutes, and then he appeared with the four Byard brothers trailing behind him, whereupon Jerry, who had no particular love for these lads, asked fretfully: