The Minute Boys of York Town

As a matter of course, my father was not at home, he being with the American army somewhere in the North, and I wondered much that Dalton, the overseer, had not set matters straight, for many hours had elapsed since the visit of the red-coated thieves.

Uncle 'Rasmus was the only one among the slaves or the servants who appeared to have regained possession of his senses, and he was sitting in the stable-yard as I had seen him almost every day of my life when the sun was shining, meditatively chewing a straw and looking straight ahead as if he could see in the distance that which was not visible to other eyes.

The old fellow was apparently unmoved by the bustle and confusion everywhere around him, and I, certain of finding in him a sympathizer, went to speak with him even before visiting my mother.

"Are all the horses gone, Uncle 'Rasmus?" I asked, seating myself by his side, while Saul and Pierre followed my example.

"All de saddle hosses, chile. De Britishers done took ebery las' hoof dat was wuff takin'."

"And Silver Heels with them," I said in a tearful voice.

"Yes, chile, Silber Heels is wid de res'. I kind'er 'lowed it was gwine ter break your heart, honey, but dere was nuffin' ole 'Rasmus could do to stop it, kase it seemed like dis yere stable-yard was plum full ob red-coats, all ob 'em swearin' an' laughin', till it seemed like dey was jes' achin' to 'buse some ob us niggers scandalous, an' I 'low dey would, ef we'd giben 'em de least little word ob back talk."

"Do you know who sent them here, Uncle 'Rasmus?" Saul asked suddenly, and the old negro nodded his head as he replied:

"I'se done gone hab my 'spicions, chile. Dere's plenty ob plantations nearer de town ob York dan dis yere, an' yet 'cordin' to what I heard de sogermen say, dey haben't been anywhere else yet. So I was 'lowin' dat some ob de folks 'roun' here, dem as claim to hab a mighty big love for us, set 'em on."

"Can't you guess who it was, Uncle 'Rasmus?" Saul continued, and the old man replied in a dreamy tone:

"I done hab my 'spicions; but in dese yere times when you don' know who's your friend more'n half de time, dere ain' any sense in talkin' right out what you'se tinkin'. I'se 'lowin' I can guess who set de red-coats aflame."

"You couldn't guess in a week," Saul interrupted, "because you're thinking it might be some one of the planters, like Master Sims, instead of which it was that worthless son of his – Horry."

Watching Uncle 'Rasmus closely, I fancied that this information was not new to him, and straightway fell awondering how it was that this old negro who seldom strayed out of the stable-yard, let alone going away from the plantation, should have an inkling of what might be done so far away as the Sims place.

"Pierre has been to York Town, Uncle 'Rasmus, and he knows where Silver Heels and Saul's mare are quartered."

"An' is dat all he knows, chile?"

"It strikes me that's finding out considerable in one day," and then I explained how it was little Frenchie was able to move about York Town as he had, after which Uncle 'Rasmus asked in a hopeful tone:

"Did he fin' out, chile, which ossifer was gwine to ride Silber Heels, an' which one laid his mark on Saul's mare?"

As a matter of course Pierre could not give the information; but he explained with great minuteness where the horses were stabled, and I was impatient with him because of wasting so many words when it could do no good.

Much to my surprise Uncle 'Rasmus drank it all in, and when little Frenchie had come to an end of his overly long story the old negro said, taking the straw from his mouth and holding it in the air as if to ascertain from which direction came the wind:

"I reckon I'se 'bleeged to be goin', chillun. For an ole man like Uncle 'Rasmus it's quite a journey from here to de town ob York, an' ef I counts on doin' it 'twixt now an' sunrise, I'd better get my ole legs amovin'."

"York Town, Uncle 'Rasmus?" I cried in surprise, and well I might, for within the past three years I had never seen the old negro go as far from the house as the cotton fields.

"Dat's what I said, chile, an' I'se 'bleeged to be amovin'."

"But why are you going there, Uncle 'Rasmus?" I cried, catching him by the arm to insure his attention, and he replied dreamily, but, as it seemed to me, with a certain air of decision:

"I 'low it's time I was lookin' arter Marse Hamilton's house down yander, whar ole Mary libed when he done set her free."

"There's no need of your looking after that old shanty, Uncle 'Rasmus," I cried. "Surely father gives no heed to it now; it isn't worth half a dozen shillings, except for firewood."

"I know dat, honey; I'se done foun' all dat out, but sumfin's tellin' me dat it's time I was lookin' arter Marse Hamilton's property what's been lef dere in de town ob York, whar de Britishers am rampagin' an' rarin' 'roun' like dey was gone crazy."

"But you'll starve to death there, Uncle 'Rasmus. I don't fancy there are very many of old Mary's goods left in the hovel, for if I remember rightly young Dinah laid claim to the greater portion, and how will you get along for something to eat?"

"I was kind'er 'lowin', chile, as how you an' Saul, an' maybe little Pierre as you call him, would tend out on de ole man, des enough to fetch now an' den what he was needin' to hol' de soul in his body."

"But if, as Pierre says, the British entrenchments run back of the town as far as the Pigeon Quarter, then old Mary's cabin must be inside, and how would we be able to get through the lines?"

"Well, chile, I ain' got any great lub for de Britishers; but I'se 'lowin' dey ain' so hard-hearted as to hold out a couple ob chillun what wanted to feed a pore ole nigger. It kind'er seems as if dey'd be 'shamed to let your Uncle 'Rasmus starbe, eben ef he is no 'count kase ob bein' so ole, specially ef all dey'd hab to do to keep him erlong, was to let a couple or three chillun in de lines."

It was all blind to me, this sudden whim of Uncle 'Rasmus to take up his quarters in old Mary's cabin, which was hardly more than the veriest shanty, and while I stood looking at the old man, trying to get some glimmer of truth out of what was fast becoming a mystery, little Frenchie's face lighted up wondrously, as he leaped forward, seizing the old darkey by both hands while he cried joyously:

"It's a great plan, Uncle 'Rasmus, it's a great plan! I'll go with you a good part of the way so's to help along, for of course you count on carrying something."

"I spects I'se boun' to hab a blanket, chile, an' sumfin in de way ob food, kase I ain' sich a foolish ole nigger as to tink I could get trou a sogerman's lines in de night, an' so I'll be needin' sumfin for a bed ef nothin' more."

"But if you are foolish enough to go to York Town, what's the sense of starting to-night? Why not wait till morning? You say yourself you don't expect to get through the lines after dark, therefore why sleep on the ground when you could stay here in comfortable quarters?" Saul cried, whereupon Pierre, turning from Uncle 'Rasmus, said to the lad:

"Can't you understand that this old negro is paving a way for you and Fitz to get at your horses?"

"I may be a thick-head; but I surely can't see how taking up his quarters in old Mary's cabin, where we've got to carry food to him every day or two, is helping us along very fast," Saul cried angrily, and little Frenchie, throwing back his shoulders, laughed heartily, finding something so comical in Saul's words that it was a full minute before he could make reply.

Then he said, his voice all atremble with mirth:

"Don't you see that Uncle 'Rasmus is making a reasonable excuse for you to go into the town of York every day, if so be you're minded? Can't you understand that once he's in old Mary's cabin there's good reason why we should spend the night with him now and then? Suppose we carried Uncle 'Rasmus food three days running, it would become necessary to explain that the old man had been intending to come out to the plantation; but since we had lost our horses we were forced to feed him as best we might, because he was too feeble to walk home. Can't you also see," Pierre continued eagerly, "why the old man wants to get there in the night? He counts on sneaking through the lines, instead of meekly lying down on the ground, as he has said, and intends, if so be it is possible, to get into old Mary's cabin without making known to the Britishers that he has just come into the village; but rather counts on letting it be understood that he has been there ever since they entered the town."

"It's amazin' how some ob dese yere chillun can pick up an idee what oder folks am tryin' to hide," Uncle 'Rasmus said as he patted little Frenchie on the head, and then hobbled toward his cabin as if he was so feeble that only with the greatest exertion could he drag one foot after another.

Surely I was thick-headed on that afternoon, for even after Pierre had made full explanation of Uncle 'Rasmus's intended movements, it was a good five minutes before the whole scheme came plain in my mind, and then I realized that this old negro of ours was about to do more toward regaining possession of Silver Heels, if indeed she ever did come into my possession again, than all of us lads with our noisy talk.

He would take up his abode in the town of York, sneaking through the lines, if so be it was possible, to the end that the British might not know he had just come in from the outside, and once there the way was open for all three of us lads to wander at least so far through the town as old Mary's cottage. It would be strange indeed, after the red-coats were accustomed to seeing us come and go, for there could be no question but that we would get permission to minister to the poor old negro, if we could not venture further and further inside the lines until, should fortune favor us, we might be able to go whithersoever we desired.

At all events, with Uncle 'Rasmus dwelling in the town – with Uncle 'Rasmus ill and needing our attention, we would be enabled to spend our time in York without arousing even the suspicions of that miserable snake whom people call Horry Sims.

Of course, so far as the little scoundrel was concerned, he might well wonder how it chanced that Uncle 'Rasmus had gone into the town of York, for whenever any of the lads had come around the Hamilton plantation they had been accustomed to seeing the old negro sitting in his favorite place in the stable-yard; but I could see now as the scheme came home to me, that it would be possible, in case Horry Sims made inquiries, to let it be understood that Uncle 'Rasmus had gone there some days before my Lord Cornwallis's army entered the town, being stricken so ill he could not be safely moved.

In fact, I saw nothing but brightness in the future, and all through this old negro whom I had seen sitting in the stable-yard chewing straw day after day until he had come to seem much like one of the dogs or the horses, having no mind of his own; but implicitly obeying the will of his master.

Having come to fully understand all of benefit which might accrue to us in this move of Uncle 'Rasmus, I would have aided the old negro to the best of my ability, and insisted that he wait until I go to this plantation or that where I might borrow a horse to carry him; but he would have none of it.

He was bent on entering the town of York in his own way, and alone. The only assistance he would agree to, was that we might carry his blankets and scanty store of provisions a certain portion of the distance, and when I would have insisted on bringing out some delicacies from the house, he positively refused to accept them, whereupon I urged almost angrily to be allowed to do as I pleased, until little Frenchie, whose head is ever clear, said to me laughingly:

"Can't you understand, you thick-headed Fitz, that it would be strange if Uncle 'Rasmus was disabled in old Mary's cabin with all sorts of delicacies in the way of food? If the Britishers should grow suspicious and look into the matter, wouldn't they think it odd the old man had been allowed to remain in that hovel while there were yet horses in the stables of the Hamilton plantation to bring him back where he belonged?"

Surely there was good reason why I should be called thick-headed, for this was not the only time since morning that I had shown myself to be a stupid; yet I was not so simple but I could readily understand that even though we might have the advantage of being able to go and come from the town of York to the plantation at will, we would not be so far advanced toward the recovery of the stolen horses as to be able to say that our work was in a fair way of being performed.

It was one thing, and I grant you an important one, to enter the town without giving rise to suspicions; but quite another and more serious to take from the quarters of the British army horses which would be guarded by soldiers, and get away with them through the lines of sentinels out over the entrenchments.

"Then this Minute-Boy business that you talked about Fitz, is to be dropped?" Saul asked a few moments after Uncle 'Rasmus had left us, and I turned upon him in astonishment, whereupon he, reading the question which must have been plainly written on my face, added: