CHAPTER XI
THE COUNCIL OF SAFETY
The sun had risen when we came once more in view of the groves ofFairlee. Toby's pace had degenerated into a walk, as if not to disturbthe fair burden he bore, for she, overcome with fatigue andexcitement, was quietly sleeping with her head on my shoulder. Tobypicked his way like a dancing-master, and though the road was rough,never once did he stumble; he still bore himself gallantly for the oldHouse of Fairlee. Ah! Toby, that road was miles too short for yourmaster. Willingly would he have ridden thus, aye, until his hair hadturned as white as snow on his brows, until the hand that guided thereins became too feeble to grasp them; aye, even unto the end of time.
But before us lay Fairlee, and beyond that lay duty and the army."Look once more, my cavalier," said I to myself; "look once more, forthe moments are short, and in the days to come, in the dreary bivouacsand on the long marches, when the world seems bare and cold, thememory of that sweet face will brighten up with sunshine yourexistence and make it all glorious again. Oh, hang it, here isFairlee!"
"Mistress Jean," I whispered. I was loath to wake her, but it had tobe done. "Mistress Jean!" I said, this time louder, and she awoke witha start. "This is Fairlee, and you can rest here with my mother, whileI push on."
"Fairlee? Why, where am I? Oh, I remember now. Did I go to sleep, Mr.Frisby?"
"You did, Mistress Jean."
A quick, blush came.
"Oh," she said, "how can I thank you? I don't deserve----"
"Ah, Mistress Jean, it is I who do not deserve that pleasure. I wouldgo through a hundred fights to be able to do it again; but you aretired, and I will rouse the house."
So, hammering on the door, I soon brought John Cotton to it. Hiswoolly hair almost went straight on seeing me, and he started back,for he thought he saw my ghost.
"Good Lord, Mars Jim," he stammered, "does that be you?"
"Yes, you black scamp." And I soon convinced him of my realpersonality.
"But, Mars Jim, who is dat you got wid you? It ain't one of demYankee ladies, is it?" For, I am sorry to say, John Cotton did notapprove of the ladies in question, and was afraid I would "disgrace defamily" if I married one of them. Before I could answer I heard a gladlittle cry, and there was my mother, coming down the stairway of thegreat hall.
"How is my little lady?" said I, as I picked her up and kissed her,and then I introduced Mistress Jean to her and told her of ouradventure at the Braes.
Then my mother went up to her, in her stately little way, and took herhands in hers, and kissed and welcomed her to the House of Fairlee.
So they made friends with each other then and there, as women do, andmy mother led her away, up the broad stairs, and I stood looking afterthem. Then I turned to my own room, and, throwing myself on the bed,I slept the sleep of exhaustion for many hours.
When the hour of my awakening came I sprang up, for there lay thedespatch which I was to bear to the Council of Safety.
Drawing on my riding-boots and buckling on my sword, I called JohnCotton to bring my horse to the door, for several miles lay betweenFairlee and Rock Hall, where the boat lay to take me to Annapolis.
I walked across to the hall and on to the old porch, where I sawMistress Jean standing, gazing wistfully out on the broad bay.
"He is safe now, Mistress Jean."
"Yes," she said with a sad smile, "but when shall I ever see himagain?"
"Just as soon as we whip them," I replied.
"Then it will never be," came her retort.
"Oh, ho! What will your uncle, Captain Nicholson, say when he finds hehas such a fiery little Tory in his house? He will have to give upchasing the redcoats to suppress the Goddess of Sedition in his owncamp."
But at this Mistress Jean gave her head a toss and walked away to theend of the porch.
Then John Cotton brought the horse to the steps.
"Are you going so soon, Mr. Frisby?"
"I must," I answered; "I am a bearer of despatches to the Council ofSafety. I would gladly desert my trust to be your escort toChestertown, but--"
"The honour of the House of Fairlee stands in the way," said shemockingly.
"Not that, my lady," I replied, bowing courteously, "but the fact thatI would fall even lower in your good graces."
"Well said, cavalier," she retorted, with a sweeping courtesy. "'Tis apity that so fine a gentleman should be a rebel."
"Or so fair a maid a Tory."
"Is this a minuet?" came the laughing voice of my mother from thedoor.
"Nay, mother, I am only bidding Mistress Jean good-bye with all dueceremony."
A few moments later I was in the saddle, trotting slowly off, whilebehind me fluttered their handkerchiefs, waving good-bye.
Rock Hall lies on a bluff, looking out across the bay. To thesouthward lies the Isle of Kent, with its fertile fields of wavinggrain, and off there on the horizon the greenish ribbon near the skyline tells where the hills of Anne Arundel lay.
Down below, under the bluff, lay a long, slender boat, shaped like acanoe, but much larger, stouter, stronger, and far swifter, when thewind filled its sails and carried it like a bird skimming over thewaters.
"An English man-of-war is lying off the Isle of Kent now," said theold waterman in answer to my question, "but we can walk all around herin this boat."
"Then we will start immediately," I replied, and placing my things onboard we were soon under way.
The wind caught our sails; we stood out into the bay gloriously, andshe fairly flew through the water. As we rounded the Isle of Kent wesaw, lying almost in our track, the English man-of-war, lazily rollingwith the tide.
Then there was a great bustle on board, and the sailors flew to therigging, the sails filled with the wind, and through the port hole wasrun the ugly muzzle of a Long Tom. The waterman with me laughedmerrily.
"They think they can stop us," said he, but he never altered hiscourse.
So we bore down on her until there came a flash; a cannon ball camericochetting across the water, but fell short by a hundred yards.
The waterman chuckled. "That is about the right distance," said he;and the boat answering the helm, fairly danced around his Majesty'srepresentative, always, by a saving grace, just beyond cannon shot.
And when his Majesty's ship actually gave chase and sent a broadsideafter our impertinent piece of baggage the waterman fairly danced withdelight and led her a merry chase down the bay until we were oppositeAnnapolis. Then with a flirt of her sail we bade them good-bye and ranfor the mouth of the Severn. Gaining that, we soon passed the charredhulk of the Peggy Stewart and ran up beside the wharf, and I foundmyself walking the streets of that gay little capital.
It was growing somewhat late, but I made my way at once to the StateHouse, where the Convention of the Freemen of the Province sat, hopingstill to find them at their deliberations. I paused for the momentwhen I came to the foot of the knoll on which the State House stands,for it had only recently been completed, and was the noblest buildingin America. Its massive proportions towered high above me, overawingthe town at its feet, and commanding the country for miles around. Butit was not a time for halting. Hurrying up the long flights of steps,I found myself in the great lobby, with its lofty ceilings and its airof vastness.
The Convention had adjourned but a short time before, and the lobbywas still filled with men. As I threaded my way through them my dustyuniform and muddy boots marked me out as a bearer of despatches.
"News from the army--victory or defeat?" cried eager voices around me.Answer them I would not, but hurried on to the room where sat theCouncil of Safety, who held the fate and the fortunes of the provincein its hand and was the heart and soul of the great revolt.
An usher stood at the door, but, seeing my uniform, threw it wideopen, and, as I entered, softly swung it to behind me. It was a loftyroom in which I found myself, with immense windows looking out overthe town and the sweep of the waters of the bay to the distant lineof the eastern shore. A long
, broad table extended down the centre ofthe room. Around it were seated some sixteen or eighteen gentlemen.Staid men and grave they were, past the middle age of life, for theyounger men had gone to fight the battles of the republic; men whowere fitted by experience to guide the province through the stormyscenes of the civil war.
At their head sat a venerable gentleman whom I knew to be MatthewTilghman, the patriarch of the Colony. At his right hand sat a man ofsturdy build, ruddy countenance, and dark hair and eyes, more like aprosperous planter with many acres and numerous slaves than the manwho was soon to become the Great War Governor of Maryland. All downthe table on either side sat men with strong, determined faces, whosenames bespoke the chieftainship of many a powerful family. A movementof interest ran down the table as I entered and delivered to thevenerable Chairman the despatch. He broke the seal with nervousfingers, and then rising, read General Washington's despatch aloudamid intense interest.
"Battle," "defeat," "rout," "Cortelyou House," "the Maryland Line.""Good, I see the boys did their duty," were among the manyexclamations I heard around the table and when the despatch ended.
"The bearer will describe the battle."
They all turned to me, and Thomas Johnson said: "Come, younggentleman, tell us everything you saw and heard."
So I took my place by the Chairman and told them of what I had seenand done, amid many interruptions and eager questions from theCouncil.
Thus for a time, as I stood there, I became a man of importance,telling the tale of the battle, of the defeat and the rout, of thefiery charges, the death, the pain and the anguish of it all, untillong after the night had fallen. But an end comes to all things, andThomas Johnson, laying his hand on my shoulder, said:
"Young gentleman, you must stay with me to-night."
I accepted gladly, for the inns were crowded, and it was somewhat latein the evening to find a friend to take me in. We strolled across theState House grounds under the soft September skies, through the wide,dusty streets, until we came to the future Governor's house. Though itwas late, we talked for yet another hour, and then, with a cheerygood-night, I was shown to my room.