CHAPTER VIII
A FIGHT WITH THE HESSIANS
"Children, have you planned to do anything this morning?" asked Mrs.Davis, at breakfast the following morning after their arrival.
"What did you expect to do?" countered George.
"Oh, nothing much, but it looks so much like rain, and the Scotch mistis so heavy and cold, I thought you children could play upstairs thismorning while aunty and I do some shopping downtown. We will be home forlunch and take you to a matinee if you will be good," promised Mrs.Davis.
"Cross your heart?" demanded Jack, for matinees were rare treats, asMrs. Davis thought children were better off at wholesome play in thefresh air, than sitting in a crowded theatre watching make-believescenes on the stage.
"Yes, I'll take you to Barnum's Circus, showing this week inPhiladelphia."
"Oh, goody! goody! We'll be good, all right!" cried George.
"Indeed we will. If it clears off some we might play basket-ball out inthe backyard, that's all," promised Anne.
So the ladies started downtown with assurances that the four cousinswould be models of virtue and good behavior until noon when they wouldlook for their reward.
Soon after they left, the mist lifted and the air grew warmer andpleasant.
"It's kind of stuffy in the house, isn't it?" said Jack, after a heatedbout with George, where both wore boxing gloves, and the girls wereumpires.
"Yes, let's go out and cool off," agreed George, mopping his face.
"We can play out in the backyard, you know," suggested Anne.
"I'm so warm I don't want to play ball, but let's go out anyway," saidGeorge.
So the four ran downstairs and out of the rear hall-door to the piazzathat had steps leading down to the square of grass that was used fordrying clothes. Back of this plot was a small garden that was cultivatedin the summer, but was now chiefly used for a basket-ball ground.
The wash was out, so the grass-plot was impossible for the children, andthey skirted the laundry and reached the barren garden.
"What's on the other side of your high fence?" asked George, eyeing thesix-foot boards that had nice cross-pieces at convenient distance fromthe ground to the top.
"Nothing, only a big vacant lot. Father says the owners have had troubleover the title to it for so many years, that now they couldn't improveit even if they had the money left to do it on," said Jack.
"And every kind of youngster from down in those tenements comes up inthat lot to play," added Anne, with disgust.
Voices were now heard on the other side of the fence and George lookedat his companions.
"Guess I'll climb up and sit on top and watch 'em."
"So'll I! That won't do any harm, I guess," said Jack.
Anne and Martha watched their brothers climb up, and then following,they all sat on the smooth round top of the fence.
Some boys from the tenements were about to have a game of baseball. Atfirst, they failed to see the four spectators sitting on the fence. Whenthey did, however, their remarks were not flattering.
"Ha! See the sports up on the bleachers!" cried one.
"Come down and we'll show you how we bat!" called another, and at thishis friends all jeered.
Jack wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue in his cheek, making a wryface at the last speaker.
That led to more remarks from the diamond, and more faces from all fourperched on the fence; finally, at a taunting sneer from one of the teamon the diamond, Jack replied angrily.
Over at one side of this large vacant area was a depression thatgenerally held muddy water from past rain storms. It seldom filteredinto the earth, and the sun not reaching that side of the property,failed to dry it up. Hence, the younger children from the tenementsplayed in this large puddle, sailing boats, or throwing stones to watchthe splash.
As Jack retorted, one of the boys standing near the puddle, stooped andflung a handful of dripping mud at the fence. It struck low, but Georgeinstantly shouted:
"Don't you do that again! It's against the law to throw things in citylimits!"
"Ha! Lot you know about law! Why, sissy, we're a law by ourselves!"laughed one of the boys, going over to pick up a handful of the ooze.
The rest of the gang instantly followed their leader, and before thefour on the fence could imagine what would follow, the air was filledwith flying mud-balls. Some struck the fence, some flew over andspattered the clean white clothes, and some struck the four defiantcitizens on the fence, although they ducked and dodged many of themissiles.
"Shall we jump down and let them laugh at us?" asked Jack.
"Don't you dare! Even if you do I won't!" cried Anne, too furious towonder what might be the result of this fracas.
"I should say _double no_! For a dare, I'd jump over and fight them!"declared George.
"Wish we had our air-rifles!" said Jack.
"Are they fighters? Do they play fair?" asked George.
"Fight! Like tigers, but they don't know what fairness means. The wholemob'd just as soon light on you if you went over as they would throwthese mud-balls," sneered Jack.
"Let's all four attack them!" ventured Martha, who was as daring asGeorge.
"There are six of them--besides the mob that will run the minute theysniff a fight!" warned Jack.
"I've got it! Let's jump down, run alongside the house by the areaway,and get out on the street. We can run around the corner and get to theempty lot from the street, then they will be taken by surprise and can'trun away," suggested Anne.
"I wish to goodness we had two other friends," sighed Jack, as the fourdropped from the fence to the wild jeering of the six boys on the otherside.
"Oh, Jack! Maybe Bob and Dick are home by this time. You know, when wewent away, they were expected back from the country that Saturday," saidAnne significantly.
As the children ran across the garden they beheld with dismay that thelovely white clothes on the lines were now all bespattered with mud.This made them determined to mete out judgment.
"Coo-ooh! Bo-ob!" shouted Jack, as he stood under the neighboringdining-room window.
"Come ahead out, Dick!" yelled Anne, making a megaphone of her hands.
Two heads appeared at the side window almost immediately.
"When did you get home?" called Bob, raising the sash.
"Never mind that! Hurry out--Dick and you! Big fight on," said Jackhurriedly, running to the street.
Bob and Dick needed no further incentives, but were soon with the otherfour children on the sidewalk.
"Where?" was all they said.
"Empty lot back of our house. Those boys dirtied all of Bridget's cleanclothes and pelted us with mud too, besides insulting and doing lots ofthings to us!" said Jack, while the six comrades, friends on the spotwithout introductions to the two southern cousins, ran around the cornerof the street.
When they reached the vacant lot, however, they hid back of the stonesteps belonging to the adjoining house, and peeped about the corner tosee what chances they had for a victory.
To their delight they found that the two larger boys had been calledaway for some reason, and only four boys of their own size were leftplaying ball in a half-hearted way.
"Agh! dem sissies ain't fighters! I t'ought sure dey would come ober defence and pitch in!" said one of the ball-players to his companions.
"Yeh! So'd I. Ef Bill and Huck stayed here, we coul' have chased 'emover into their own yard and licked 'em!" said another.
At this information, George exchanged glances with Jack.
"Shall we warn them, or just fall in?" asked he.
"Did Washington send a polite letter to Howe or any of the British, whenhe started a fight?" was all Jack replied.
"Here you, Bob--you tackle that red-headed fellow. Dick--you take careof the fat one. Jack can fight the thin one and I'll take charge of thatfreckled scrawny one--I can fight better than any of you, I guess!"planned George hurriedly.
"Here! here, what about us two girls! Can't we h
elp?" cried Martha, withdeep grief at the turn events appeared to be taking.
"Sure! You watch and warn us, and if the other two fellows come back,you blow this whistle for help!" advised Jack, handing hisnewly-acquired police-whistle to Anne.
Before the four ball players could well understand who was rushing, orwhat the four boys were about, each one of the Washington forces hadpicked his man and was already busy on the offensive.
In a few moments, the ball players, termed by George the low-downHessians, recognized the two boys from the fence-top and with a yell offury, pitched in to fight with all their strength.
George bawled out orders for his companions to follow, and at everyfresh attack upon the Hessians, the four Americans whooped and fell towith renewed lust of battle.
Martha and Anne were deeply interested in hoping and watching for theHessians--those cruel heartless fellows, who had injured and destroyedthe lives and properties of the American citizens at Brunswick,Princeton, and other Jersey towns. It served them good and right to haveWashington's men flay the breath out of them.
But the Hessians were almost spent and ready to give up when Cornwallis,in the form of two pals from the tenements, came along and seeing thebattle, added reinforcements to their almost vanquished army.
Now Washington was desperate. He and his men were out-numbered by thearrival of the new forces, who were fresh and somewhat larger than therest of the Hessians, and this meant watchful and wary war.
But they had not counted on Anne and Martha. The moment the tworeinforcements from the Hessians arrived, Martha cried:
"Come on, Anne! Let's throw mud at them!"
Mud-balls flew thick and fast for a time, and every one--Americans aswell as Hessians--was blinded, choked, or spattered before Anneremembered the whistle! Neither Jack nor she knew what would happen ifit were used. They had heard, however, that in times of dire need helpwould come upon the blowing of a whistle.
The whistle did bring help. But Anne wished she had not used it when shesaw a strange officer run across the street, and rush into the mob ofboys where nothing but flying fists could be seen. The Hessians wereaccustomed to being routed by the police, and instantly took to theirheels, leaving the battle-field to the American forces.
The officer thought the four remaining boys were also from the tenementdistrict, as their clothes were torn and spattered with mud. He musteredthem in a group, and was about to march them off to the station-house,when the fat laundress from the Davises' house mounted a ladder she hadplaced against the fence, determined to investigate the cause of the mudwhich she had found all over her clean laundry.
The policeman was a friend of Bridget's, and she berated the "durtyvarmints," who ruined her week's washing. She shook two great fists atthe four boys, but not until the two girls had explained, would theybelieve that the boys had been erstwhile clean, decent citizens fightingunder Washington's command.
So the battle with the Hessians ended, and the American troops had toretreat to their "fastnesses in the Jersey Hills."
As the six warriors and the policeman walked up the street where thehouses of the children stood, a taxicab pulled up alongside the curb andstopped before the Davises' house. Two ladies alighted, and one of thempaid the chauffeur. As they turned to go up the steps of the house, thevanquished army met them.
"Well, mother, that was a great battle, and I'm sure those Hessianswill know better than to attack defenceless people again," braggedGeorge, trying to see from a swollen eye.
"Not defenceless--but 'on-the-fence' Americans," corrected Jack,tittering.
"Oh, oh! Are these our children?" wailed Mrs. Davis, backing away fromthe muddy, tattered group.
"They says they are--and Miss Bridget--she oughter know when she sees'em. She says dey are belongin' here, all right!" said the officer,grinning at their plight.
"Where did you find them, officer?" asked Mrs. Davis.
"Yander, on the nex' block! They were fighting with a lot of ruffians,"said the officer, lifting his hat and preparing to leave.
"Oh, thank you so much for taking care of them! And do buy some candyfor your children at home, officer!" said Mrs. Davis, handing the man adollar.
The children then proudly related the "Battle of the Hessians." Themothers, however, were not impressed, and soundly reproved them fortheir failure to keep the promise of good behavior.
As they left the dining-room after lunch, Mrs. Parke remarked: "Wesecured tickets for the circus, but I don't see why we should take youperformers when you manage to have all the circus you want withouttroubling us."
"What do you suppose we hurried and bathed and combed our hair anddressed up for, if not for the circus this afternoon?" complained Jack,thinking of all the wasted moments used to make his neck clean, and tobrush down his unruly cow-licks.
"Surely you didn't expect to come into this dining-room covered with mudand rags, did you?" cried Mrs. Davis, aghast.
"Not exactly, but we didn't have to _waste_ so much soap and hot water,if we thought you were going to turn traitor. I'm not surprisedWashington had such a hard time in that war, when even his own relationswent back on him--after he fought for the honor of his people the wayhe did!" grumbled George.
"I'd just as soon be born a descendant of Howe as to have folksmisunderstand your Americanism!" added Jack.
But this was too much for the mothers, who were Daughters of theRevolution, and although the connection between Washington at Princetonfighting the Hessians seemed to have nothing in common with the boys ofthe tenement alleys, they felt the spirit of patriotism that had movedtheir army to enter the defence of the place.
So, in spite of the dire need of punishment for four fighting Americans,they were treated to the circus instead. And the event of the battle inthe morning was quite erased from their minds when they came forth fromthat wonderful place, having feasted their eyes on animals, tricks,clowns too funny to describe, trapeze actors, acrobats, and too manythings to remember all at once.