Activate Javascript or update your browser for the full Digital Library experience.
Previous Page
–
Next Page
OCR
. . . I I t '
the great horn spoon, them Brtttshers will make quick work of ‘ one more
you it they get hold of yer."
“Never fear,” returned our hero. “ I do not mean to expose
myself without need. I think you‘ll sree me hut-k RL’:ll!I in safety.
All is, if I do not retunt, you will know how to do your duty
The cruiser must not fail with my loss."
“Stop a minnit,” uttered Old Obcll, with rntu-ll earnest feelitlgr
in his manner “By thunder, if yott talk so we slt:ln’t lot you
go-most sartinly we. . n't. If there is the ltu.t possible tlmtgt,-r
that you wont come bnc You know you
hadn't. It’s yer duty to take care of your vessel and crew I'll t."
"I understand you,” said Vim-cut, u ho could not help fce ,.
flattered hy the honest anxiety of the old man. “I ttnd--rstantl
you, Obed; but you do not quite utldcrstantl me. I tlltl ttot give
you the injunction in View of any lltlIl;I('l” I npprt-‘-n-ndt tl, hut in
view only of that lot which is comnunt to n. all.”
"AXl'l:.VCSm“'(!ll,” littered 0‘-ml, “ I SIl[)It0>C wt: should all try
to do our duty as well us no could; ltttt-ltttl-‘putt nt.-tst come
back."
you tu.tln't ou;;ht'r go.
"I’ll risk him," saitl I[lIClIIm', ulto ltnd been stttttdltlgz llear, .
GLEASOVS PICTORIAL DRAWI G‘ ’t()l))I COBII’.-I
‘romtts ptlllnt his ours, lIL' (lt't-wlltt-tn '1, ztntl that
He tn.-.l tun-.-l, ('
that ln- l‘
ntrrit-tl to the l-ows ot" the .sltitl'.
himself when the hoot stru
rtmntltztl tty Ilm
front llitn.
not tzct wet in L'u.sC or lit-rltletlt, ho L'l‘:HtlI,'ll out. upon the ti1nlu'I',
illtll it... soon upon thy land.
The youn;; nutu’.s cy I now hm-t-tl.e so at-eustotnetl to tile
tlnllznc. ' that he could make out llltjnt ts nlmut llitn tvtth l'0IlsItll"
altlc cert. my null, after g:lI.lII::;Ill()tIt ltitll fora u'l.ilt', he llI>t't)-'
cred tltttt ll-: unis ill :1 ship . At tirst he thought ll. ln‘t;:ltI lu'
B;-.l;t r's, hut he szttv lights to Ill!’ let’: i ii. h he knt-trnttlst lac upon
the Norm Bath’ r ml he t-out-lutletl that he had lnmletl in (iH'LlI-
Ile knt ' (‘llollull of the loe titles of the town to
-tzul, uitll :1 1.lIIll()ll= ll'k‘tUl, hc nmvt.-l up zon-
' sur-
-, and lw could '
ing titnln-r, hut that the shnrc nus only :: lbw
lluving taken ;t:trtit-nlttr t-.u'e Iltill his plstttls .sltottl.I
s It.
Ix
mm,
In: tgllt‘ til‘ tilt‘ y-. l was ltr4‘1s4‘ll, luv he ltlzlllflpcll to
-r it, . .o, tll'li])])Ctl one of’
piolml it up, ill)!’ tstctwl or‘ put
tullon, ht llspt It in '
-- who gout th
, Ill tloi
The gunucr Well knew the tntstnm on n‘-tnclt Illcy0tlngt‘:l])l:lltI , t-onv'.s- rttr.
was bound, and he was the only one of the crew who had any
clear idea about it.
ltttontuns rctutzrk olosett the (‘ultVL‘ra';1lioIl, i KHHI ll-cs
and Durkeo only shook his comrnntnlcr wttrmly by the hand in ‘
expression of his further tllot -l nrd feelings.
It was nearly dusk when h 'nct-tlt's limit was sltovtnl oil", and,
by his directions, he wns pulled i()W‘.ll'll5 the beach, where the neck
of Nahant joins with the main land. As soon as the boat touched
the strund our hero leaped out, and, having; luttle his men rI'.‘tu)‘il
at once to the brignntine, he turned up tount-tls the town of Lynn
and hurried away. Ile was well armed, having a pair of trell-
tried pistols and a stout dagger, all of which were safely hidden
from sight, and it ml. with a hopeful stop that he started on his
mission. He hoped to null Mitntll Trevett; he ll0]l('(l to find I-Id‘
watt! Thnyer; and third, hut by far the (let-pest in his soul, came
the image of ltlirin. The thougzht of that heautiful, lovely being
gave strength to h . .lL‘ps and stet-led his heart against the fear of
dantger.
When Vincent reached the Yillugw? of Lynn it was dark. There
was to be no moon that night, and though most of the heavens
were now clear, yet there was it thick, smoky haze coming up
from the son, and it promised to he tltlrli are many hours. But
our hero knew the road well, and if there were likely to he ohstnV
cles in the way they were thought little of. Tho end to be gained
was uppermost, and the dangers that mipltt lie between were left
for their own time.
It was near midnight when Vincent rcat-ht-d Winnisitnnlet, untl
here was the first need of llcsitation. IIe knew that at line of son-
tries wcrc stutltmetl all around the entrances to Boston, and that
no one could openly enter the town nithour a passport. A hona
fide pass, of course, he could not ohtuin. Ilc dared not trust
himself to venture through (‘hnrlcstotvn, for he knew tlutt all was
commotion there, so he settled upon the only t-lnmee left, and thttt
was to procure a horn and run the risk of landing in Boston under
cover of the durltnc. .
With this intention he proceeded to the water's edge, and, aftcr
groping ahout for some time in the tl.t-kness that lmtl nou- envel-
oped the coast antl ltuy, IIC found usntult skitl', whit-h nus made
met to the ring; of nn 1)l(l unchor that wu Qmllitltlvtl in the Suntl
and mud. He found that he could east aunch the hunt, but
there were no ours to In‘ foutnl. In this ctnt-rgcttt-y he In-tltoucht
himself of asmttll cot he had pu:=‘ctl n slmrt .tt.-nnn-.- lmck, ttud
towards that point he l‘L‘ll'Il‘.'Ctl l . m‘(‘lIill;[ ahout
for a long while, and stunthlitt; over Vi"'I(ll.Ix' ol-stncles tlllt! t-tunc
in his way, he hit tlpon zl pair of ours that wet-e set up in one
corncr of an old shctl. He could only In-, tznided lay the sense of
feeling in his scurcll, but he was sure thnt the ours ut-re sound
ones, and, having stcurcd them, he worked his wayout of the
shed.
The young captain ttnsttutotl u few monlt-tits‘ men he tnnt gained
the open air, and gttve a few thougghts to the llllng ll(‘ was tloimg.
Pcrhups the bout he was uhout to take lnight ltt‘lmIg' to some poor
its-hermun who could not nttot-it to lose n. no wnttltl Willill,-zly
have paid for it, hat that was next to intpo. ihlc under the present
circumstances. He had no time to spend in lttullirt: up the owner,
and, moreover, he had no dcs rt: to trust ltitnst-ll‘ to the inquiries‘
he might be subject to if he should open a negotiation with tltc
fisherman.
“ Never mind," he said to himself, as he started hack towards
the water, with the oars upon his shoulde ' “ I will try to tind the
owner at some future time, and then I will pay him. He shall
lose nothing by my appropriation of his property if I can help it."
Vincent found it harder work to get the skill" into the Water
than he had anticipated, but he at length n(‘(‘DmplislIL‘tl the jolt,
and, having seated himself upon the only thwart the hoat con-
tained, he got out his ours and put off. Ile had no landmarks by
which to go, except a few twinkling lights that he could see to the
southward, and, as he felt confident that these were in Boston, he
took them for his guides. At first he pulled slotvly, for he wished
to husband his strength in case of need; then the title wa. '
favor, so he made very good heading without much exertion.
Aiicr it while our adventurer snw lights to the west of him,
which, he supposed, must he in Charlestown, and, ttpon the other
hand, he fancied he could detect the shore of Noddle‘s Island.
He was now confident that he was on the right course, and he
plied his oars with more energy. As he neared the -shore 1--2
steered towards a. point near which there wast no light ltttt'nin5:,
choosing to make out his way in the (ltll’l(lll!S>’ rather than to run
the risk of exposure. Ere long he knew from the motion of the
water that be war close upon a landing of some sort. and giving
. .
.
l
l
. that could itltllcate his presence.
'l‘l:.- yautlz pnnm onptntu ltmk-.-,tl up, and could plniulr Ill
n fen" pl‘.('l‘< rt-nnt him.
t-rttl I" he quick ‘ returned, Itnviugg tuztdo up his mind in-
st;-.nt::tu.ttt.siy upon the course, ht: would pursue.
" Tlutl :Irll‘1In(‘c and give inc lllt‘. counttrsign 5" ortlcrccl the
Sultli
Viut-tut lull; 1.-ed, ltut the sentinel mznln interrupted hltu hy-
luri-tL-ittg tits‘ tttttsluzt to X clltlrgc and ordering him to “ Stunt! l"
Inn‘ give mo tltct'mll'lter:i,':II1"
--nn-xtosilo,-l tlcclurc, It-nn't llliiilt of it. Let nu: sec:
Mt-AI’o4I5ln,A-tpon my soul, I must have forgotten it.”
Vincent l:llI(‘(l to he e erlillg himself to thc utmost to call to
mind the IHll>llId!Iit' word.
“ It’s' no use,” he cnntiuucd. “ You’ll hztre to call the otliccr of
the gtulrtl. He will know me.
“ Can't call no ollit-t-r nnw,"hlnrttly returned the soltlicr. " You
had hettt-r y to tlttxtl: of the cntlntt-I-ti-git.’
"I tell on it's of no use. (‘oloncl Lt lie -,-are me the word
himstlf, lint it's gone from me now as sure as into. You'd ltcttcr
cull your lieutt-nunt, or s('l'ucat'll, or some ding, Tillll I’l'-"’
“ I tt-ll you 'tW0l)L work. If you ltninr got Illl.‘ ctntnters-izn you
run just consitlcr yourself my prisoner-ttut
“ Very well. Just tell me where I must go and I'll follow."
As Vincent spoke the soldier I-tottgltt his musket to his zhoul
tier. This‘ was the movcmcnt our hero hucl lu-en IV1lI(‘lIlI1L' for, and,
with a sudden bound, he icupctl forward and struck the sentry
upon the side of the head with the hutt of his pistol. The hlmv
was struck with on the young rltun's mi;:llv, and the lIlI<lls]l(‘t‘Ell),<:
Soldier sunk upon the I):H'(‘mL‘llt like u tlt‘l!ll mun. Vittt-cut .toppo.l
not to see what were likely to he the ultimutc ell’-:4-ts‘ of his hlow,
but, 21! the top of his speed, he .sltIrtI‘tl otl‘ up N )rth street.
For XI long distance he travelled on without <-omin;; n(‘I‘K)<s’
uunthcr sentry, and also witltuut -no any n,;.t.- of it place
wllcrc he might flnll lotlgin - llo tlzlturully snpptpnl tllut the
nmttct he top: from the wllt'trVcs' the less wonttt he the tlztltgcr of
nlQCiin;1SCnlltlL!l.=, tlml in the end it S(‘t'nlt'rl he V Is‘ right, for In-
gniuctl the In-:nI of lluiotl Street tvttllont ll)(‘L'lIll1j an ' more of‘
them. Here Vtucent slnppetl n while to think. tto was well no
qttnintt-tl with nn old man, ntttned I-‘nllnn, who l(!’]V[ an inn in
LintlulI's I.-.mc, not far from the ltcutl of Long Wlmrf. Ilc ltntl
stopped with the old man often tvhcn he had lu't'n in Bnslttll, in
titn past, and lie knew that his hcatrt was in the l"l,‘:llt plnce.
(lttr lIl‘I'O was not long; in nntkin: up his mind that he would
seek oltl Fzlllttll, and, just as the town 4'ltIl‘l( strttt-I: the hour of
two, he <l:U‘h’ll down llo , Wtuare and (‘IlI(‘l‘U(l Mt-rt-lt:tut‘< Itmv.
llc paw-tl two scntrit-s on It‘ u-nv, l-ut, under carer of the dark-
ncs'.s', ltc 0<(‘1l]>(‘(lilN’nl, rltttl, Ill lengtlt, ln- lmtl (‘l‘tt<St‘4l K I: Street
in sufct lle ltatl,iu.<t entered i‘I1ll'lik'l"Ql Lune (now Iitlhy SIFIWI),
when he was startled by the snurld of vnit-t>s IIll(':Hl of him.
rm-tly upon his" right hurul he could tlistitlgttish nn outlet of some
tles't-riptiou, and into this he <-urcfttlly lllrllL'(l. Ile found it to In-
a sort of lmrrow slletl, and, RS he felt his wily in, he tlist-t.u't-retl
ttnn it WAS partly full or WDOAI. By the Iillll‘ he tunl gztitletl what
he thottgltt it place or soft-ty, the Vt)it'(‘x' ullich he lnnl heard had
t-onn: to the entritnce of the shed, unl Vincent was not a little
:t.=y upon titltlitn: tlttlt he was likely to have visitors, for he
But he did not give a sound
He crowdecl himself as f.tr out
of the way us possil-lc, uud, lmving cautiously cocked one of his
pistols, he awaited the result of this uulooltetl for companionship.
llllk
knew til." sonic one was entering.
CHAPTER X. I.
THE ASSA4SI.YS.
t
Vt (‘I '1' Gun’ had hccu crouched uwuy in his place of con-
cealment some five minutes. During: this timc hc had made up
his mind tlutt the fellows who hutl come into the shed were not
after him, hut that they had come in for some purpnsc of thcir
own. He judged that there were only two of them, for he could
just d "u-;ui.slt the outlines of their forms inst the open space
in front of the shcd.
"-sh," uttered one of the men, in a low tone, but yet loud
enouu-ll for Vincent to distinctly ltcur, “ you must be cnrcful now.
We must do the thing toenigltt, if ever.”
“ Yes," returned his companion. “ and that must he soon, too.
for it tr us me that ’twont he a great while lwforc Il3y'll;1llI."
" No," l‘t‘>'IIrl)l‘ll Illr‘ first speaker; “hut thrn he'll he snrc to he
altnu; heforc thut titne.”
There W s a silence of some minutes, during which both the
mea occasionally peered out into the alley.
Iii’ ‘
NIHN.
"I hope you ttut-t-n't llmlt-.21 hluntl r now," at lLl'l‘,!lll$t1lLl lo
wltn tnot ln-foru l)t'L'H the s('('t)IIll to spualli.
“ Iilutnlcrl ‘Vllnl tl' ytx tzt
“ “'lty .s’p--.s'c ‘ll hr shouldn't come along; lIL'I't‘., after all I”
“t>,I l<tu.u- ln- will
ltottsi-, up in (‘ow I.t:tt-. and l km--.v in-’ll t-ott:-- ltut-k this way
ll“
I stir him go into Admiral Graves’:
n.l tht‘ near. .1. :or ltltn.”
This l. thn way in tutti,
“ Set-lns to me this is turns time for him I) go and see the
atluf .ll 1
“ Not )1 hit ufi‘. t);tl Gl’>Il' .-
ttulnw tfA‘I hark ttll ll('.I'y tnltltti-,:ltt'
You see while
, so l kt1mt'just how to
llzis ltecn tluun in lllv llarlnlr Jflll
ind tin-
I t .s nutlt-r the win-
-.ttt: t-ltupk l'Ilh‘l>
no... Ira: kind or pres-sills’
don‘ t lit.-art] soltlutllittg ot
l:LhllIL'
"VI'cll
. new 1 .Hl‘n’)I1l1l,iUwI
he Kt -
ice to I-t-to-.v wtnn you hcard. Don’?
.‘Ll""'
It'ttlllIltl't tell you out in the open
tow, . ‘l
‘ or non-
-.1 ltmltvl put ennttgit U7 lrt mt" know nun
I17 n sttlp I0 old rro.
-an. I‘l'tll 7"
“But I til I. I ltutr-I sotrt-.-l
“tog iv tntm
he s-urtnl or nnn.tn;."
“l llllli ensilvstuirctl, ll.trlty; hut I shouldn't like to he kl‘[(‘llEd
-ly move in here."
'u'PIl ml‘ l trn-I on u rtick of wood. 1)on’t
in this hus-iltt-<s.'
" Neither s‘ uttl-I I: hut oltl Trcvcltfs gzolrl-"
“ tun-tn n noise no-nan E" utt- spcnker. "By thc
cross, I).tt-liy, t’tcre’.< stvtlcltotly llcrc.”
“ I tell you I don't ht '."
“ “W-ll, I ll look, any way. You keep W:<l‘A‘ll hero, and I'll take
a survey tn amctll-,1-I Illc wontl tttot-or’
Vincent heard the fellow lokittw in alnonust the wood - but he
I '3 .
Upon
grits;-ell t.s.- pistol t‘ lttlyntll r.-m.nnnt p.n1ott,- tpr t.
ri : the n.-.tne H
mm ,ft-cit lhnl on
tllttll1llts,:mtl,t-t'ctt u'ltt‘-- :l..- nnttnu was‘ hnnnn; tlltbul among
upon “'lI:V he htd heard. Ilo
o ll’l(l tonic into the slnd, for he
' I to be
tlist-or:-retl, and for this he hull [W0 V It: the tirst
place, llll)llL'll lte I'll -fen-.I ltitust-It‘ with his pistols, yet
tllcy Wtrtlltl expose him In a (mum of pultltt-ity which he did not
com; nun, s('('tllttllt', he tvisln-ti mkttou‘tllt:)‘t‘sl1ltt>flllc inten-
tions of his UV-V inv iltlc comp.mions'. This I st tllolngltt had thr-
mostux-izltt upon his lnilltl, and, it’ for nothing else, In- Wullltl
lmvt: risked at great (I Ilv hurl
In-itrd cuotlggll to satisfy ltitn thtt tln-so nn-n new ulmut to do
some jolt (or Mr. Tretcn, null, or t-n.trs-t-, he tlnntt;ht it must he
Micah Trcrctt
. t-otul xtt‘I'st)tI’tIIllll that that st-t-mttl pot-sot: shout-l ln- I-ltltvnrtl
Th-an-r 7
he i t: ovcrn'ln-ltnt-tl with anxiety. Th: tvllolc :tlI.lir I
lit
'l'r:wtt he lt--tl tnutie nu ‘ti-olun
lei
int; ml-I now he 'lCP:1‘Il to collect his
the wt-,ruI, he lt)<tl( inn. tn u-.t.
lt.-nl no ll-.tr oftltc t vo ill
lmt‘. ct-cry Il(lI'.' hut yet he llitl not
I‘L‘Hs(Hlst
l : onstly d
ll lur .-.nt.r.n-lion on Iltlll point.
is it :1 won ler that his mind should run on to it
At ltnst, that was the t-our-e “'lIlt’ll his mind look, and
tt
5:’
very ' mlI;':C, and even tto.v VllIt'l'nI f.tu--it-tl tlt-t he could st-u u
wontlctftll providt-ttcc in the results‘ of his uzlvetlturu that had
thus‘ for l"l'uu‘tI('ll upon him.
For two or IlIrl‘I‘ I<IllIlllk’V‘ the I‘.-llmv, wlm had Ill1)ll‘.'lIl to sctm-lt
out Iltt' ot-t-nston urttte noise ho hlttl tn-out, ‘,:r-Jpt-(I his nay urutlntl
lllnt)lIt,;s-ttllt‘ Wotul, lult he tllll Ilttl coultt ut-:tr the =p.n n-h.-to our
lH‘l‘ll w.ts' ettswttttt-t-tl. He was feeling his xv: ’ out to the (‘Xll‘(‘nllt
cnrtn-,r of tho slletl WlIt‘Il, lay sttulv tttisll-.p, hc cunttltwl to over-
turlt ll pile of WI)J-I, and, us it t -n- lattliu;: down, ltn; sl..lrtL‘tl but-k
Il)“'1Ir<lS the t-utmntt.
“ 'l'lu-rt-, I slutul-I think you'll hnutml nhout PH0llgll,i‘ I.'l’n“'lI‘.'l
‘ the man who lt.nl retltailted on the tvuttlt.
‘ The other npplit--l rntlter an itululit-.tte epithet to the unl'ortnn:tte
l wootl ]-lll‘,uIItI, or the <.nnt- tnno, ho sloolltttl us it to rubltis rin-
‘ klc. IIe hnd ltut just (5l)IIllnl’Il I this‘ last movttntent whonhe
was amused hy tl quirk ext-luul.Itiou from his cmtlpatliolt.
“ Ilistl llerc ruttlcs sotncluuly. It must he him."
‘ “ll: .+so it is. Steutly nuw, Ilnrlty. We mustn't m
stroke "
“ llut .s’po-:t- '11 it shouldn't lu- ltitu 7" SIX;.".'L‘slCIl Ilarhy.
"It must he ltII!I. Bu! l't-c Ilstlilglli tut‘ :1 u- - to make sure.
As soon as he cotncs along you make u grmnting noise, as though
you wcrc in pain. (Email in real pond earnest, now, and he'll be
‘ sure to stop. As‘ soon as I hear his voice I phull know him."
“ Wottdcrful," utter:-tl I).lrltf. “ I’ll t-omtncnce lltttt'."
And, thercforc, the fellow t-otntnetlcctl to groan right lu.<tily-
IIQ rli it in the most agonizing style, ntnl it had the desired effect.
The pcdcstriun gradually approached the tspot, atld, as he came
nearer, the rutlian renewed the piteous moaning with extra zeal.
It had now become so light that oltlt-cu could he seen in outline
quite plttiuly. Vincent could see the forms of his two compan-
ions, and he could also sec out into the street. He could hear the
footsteps of the coming mun, and his nerves were strung for the
conflict in which he was tlctertniued to engage.
“ Notv mind, I)urhy,” whispered he who seemed to be spokes-
man, “ we must do the work with our tl zccrs. As soon as I am
sure of the man I'll strike, and you must follow suit. We mustn't
-shl Look sharp now "
As the petlt.-s-trian reached the en
" What's the muttcr here "’ he n.
his t;rolulint;.
j In an instant Vincent recognizcd the voice of Etlwurd Thnyer.
’ He had carefully possessed himself of a stout l’Illl(‘l at wood, and,
without w. llltlz tn lu-sn- l)m‘lIy tllnstvcr, he :prIl!J[,: from the place
vtltcrc he had been k'0lK'(‘nIt't.l.
cry nut to give any alarm.
co to the sited, he stopped.
rd, while I)arby still top: up
[coxct.t:m:.D xtaxr wzr:x.]