SCENE 40 - Outside the prison shed - night
(Sgt. HOLLISTER instructs the sentinel to guard the prisoner.)
HOLLISTER: Your life will depend on his not escaping. Let none enter
or leave the room till morning.
TROOPER: But my orders are to let the washerwoman pass in and out,
as she pleases.
HOLLISTER: Well, let her then; but be careful that this wily peddler
does not get out in the folds of her petticoats. (He continues his walk
to give similar orders to each of the sentinels near the spot.)
(After departure of HOLLISTER, silence prevails for some time within
the solitary prison of the peddler, until the dragoon at the door hears
loud breathings in regular cadence of one in deep sleep. The man continues
walking his post, musing on an indifference to life which allows nature
its customary rest, even on the threshold of the grave.)
(HARVEY BIRCH, with a name long detested by the corps, knew, except
for the sergeant, there is probably not another man of his rank in the whole
party who would give equal benevolence to the prisoner, or who would not
also reject the bribe, though probably from a less worthy motive.)
(There is something of disappointed vengeance in the feelings of the
sentinel, watching the door of the room and finding the prisoner enjoying
a sleep of which he himself is deprived. More than once he feels tempted
to disturb the repose of the peddler by taunts and revilings; but the discipline
he is under, and a secret sense of shame at the brutality of the act, holds
him in check.)
(His meditations are interrupted by the appearance of the washerwoman,
who comes staggering through the door that communicated with the kitchen,
muttering execrations against the servants of the officers, who, by their
waggery, had disturbed her slumbers before the fire. The sentinel understands
enough of her maledictions to comprehend the case; but all his efforts to
enter into conversation with the enraged woman are useless, and he suffers
her to enter her room without explaining that it contains another inmate.)
(The noise of her huge frame falling on the bed is succeeded by a silence
soon interrupted by the renewed respiration of the peddler, and within a
few minutes BIRCH continues to breathe aloud, as if no interruption had
occurred. The relief arrives at this moment, and the sentinel who felt nettled
at the contempt of the peddler, after communicating his orders while retiring,
exclaims to his successor:
SENTINEL: You may keep yourself warm by dancing, BEN; the peddler
spy has tuned his fiddle, you hear him? and it will not be long before BETTY
will strike up in her turn.
(The joke is followed by a general laugh from the party, who march on
in performance of their duty. The next instant the door of the prison opens,
and BETTY reappears, staggering back again toward her former quarters.)
SENTINEL: Stop! (catching her by her clothes) Are you sure
the spy is not in your pocket?
BETTY: Can't you hear the rascal snoring in my room, you dirty blackguard?
(her frame shaking with rage) and it is so yee would sarve a dacent
famale, that a man must be put to sleep in the room with her, yee rapscallion?
SENTINEL: Pooh! do you mind a fellow who's to be hanged in the morning?
You see he sleeps already - tomorrow he'll take a longer nap.
BETTY: Hands off, yee villain! (relinquishing a small bottle that
the trooper succeeds in wresting from her.) But I'll go to Captain JACK,
and know if it's orders to put a hang-gallows spy in my room; ay, even in
my widowed bed, you tirf!
SENTINEL: Silence, old Jezebel! (laughing, taking the bottle from
his mouth to breathe) or you will wake the gentleman - would you disturb
a man in his last sleep?
BETTY: I'll awake Captain JACK, you reprobate villain, and bring him
here to see me righted; he will punish yee all, for imposing on a dacent
widowed body, you marauder!
(With these words, which only exhorts a laugh from the sentinel, BETTY
staggers around the end of the building, and makes the best of her way towards
the quarters of her favorite, Captain JACK LAWTON, in search of redress.
Nothing further occurs to disturb the repose of the peddler, which astonishes
the different sentinels on how little the gallows could affect his slumbers.)
SCENE 41 - Night outside FLANAGAN'S Inn, immediately following
the exit of Capt. LAWTON leading the Skinners
(The Skinners follow Capt. LAWTON toward the quarters occupied by
his troop. The Captain had manifested so much zeal for the cause in which
he was engaged, was so regardless of personal danger when opposed to the
enemy, and his stature and stern countenance had contributed to the qualities
that procured him a reputation distinct from the corps in which he served.
His fearlessness was mistaken for ferocity; his hasty zeal, for a natural
love of cruelty.)
(On the other hand, a few acts of clemency, or perhaps more descriptive,
of discriminating justice, had acquired, with one portion of the community,
for Major DUNWOODIE, the character of undue forbearance. It is seldom that
either popular condemnation or popular applause falls, exactly in the quantities
earned, where it is merited.)
(While in the presence of the Major, the leader of the gang had felt
himself under that restraint which vice must ever experience in the company
of acknowledged virtue; but having left the Inn he was under the protection
of a congenial spirit. There was a gravity in the manner of LAWTON that
deceived most of those who did not know him intimately; and it was a common
saying in his troop, "that when the Captain laughed, he was sure to
punish.")
(Commencing a confidential dialogue after drawing near to the the Captain
-)
HEAD SKINNER: 'Tis always well for a man to know his friends from
his enemies.
(To this prefatory observation the captain makes no other reply than
a sound, which the other interprets as agreeable.)
HEAD SKINNER: I suppose Major DUNWOODIE has the good opinion of Washington?
LAWTON: There are some who think so.
HEAD SKINNER: Many of the friends of Congress in this county wish
the horse was led by some other officer; for my part, if I could only be
covered by a troop now and then, I could do many an important piece of service
to the cause, to which this capture of the peddler would be a trifle.
LAWTON: Indeed, such as what?
HEAD SKINNER: For the matter of that, it could be made as profitable
to the officer as it would be to us who did it.
LAWTON: But how? (quickening his step to get out of the hearing
of the rest of the party.)
HEAD SKINNER: Why, near the royal lines, even under the very guns
of the heights, might be good picking if we had a force to guard us from
DeLancy's men, and to cover our retreat from being cut off by the way of
King's Bridge.
LAWTON: I thought the Refugees took all that for themselves.
(The Refugees, sometimes called Cowboys, having taken refuge under the
crown, were led by a Colonel DeLancy, who was considered odious to the Americans
by his fancied cruelty, though his acts were not unusual in this species
of warfare. He should not be confused with his cousin, Colonel Oliver DeLancy,
who at this time is serving as adjutant-general of the British Forces in
America, having succeeded the unfortunate Andre.)
HEAD SKINNER: They do a little at it, but they are obliged to be sparing
among their own people. I have been down twice, under an agreement with
them. The first time they acted with honor, but the second they came upon
us and drove us off, and took the plunder to themselves.
LAWTON: That was a very dishonorable act, indeed; I wonder that an
honorable man would associated with such rascals.
HEAD SKINNER: It is necessary to have an understanding with some of
them, or we might be taken; but a man without honor is worse than a brute.
Do you think Major DUNWOODIE is to be trusted?
LAWTON: You mean on honorable principles?
HEAD SKINNER: Certainly. You know Arnold was thought well of until
the royal major was taken.
LAWTON: Why, I do not believe DUNWOODIE would sell his command as
Arnold wished to do; neither do
I think him exactly trustworthy in a delicate business like this of yours.
HEAD SKINNER: That's just my notion.
(They arrive at a better sort of farm house and outbuildings which were
in tolerable repair for the times. The barn housed the men, while the horses
were arranged under long sheds which protected the yard from the cold north
wind. The latter were quietly eating, with saddles on their backs and bridles
thrown on their necks, ready to be bitted and mounted at the shortest warning.)
(LAWTON: excuses himself for a moment, then returns, holding in his
hand one of the stable-lanterns, and leads the way toward a large orchard
that surrounds the buildings on three sides. The gang follows the trooper
in silence, believing his object to be facility of communicating further
on this interesting topic, without the danger of being overheard.)
(The Head Skinner approaches LAWTON and renews the discourse with a view
of establishing further confidence, and of giving his companion a more favorable
opinion of his intellects.)
HEAD SKINNER: Do you think the colonies will finally get the better
of the king?
LAWTON: Get the better! No doubt they will. If the French will give
us arms and money, we can drive out the royal troops in six months.
HEAD SKINNER: Well, so I hope we shall soon; and then we shall have
a free government, and we, who fight for it, will get our reward.
LAWTON: OH! Your claims will be indisputable; while all these vile
Tories who live at home peaceable, to take care of their farms, will be
held in the contempt they merit. You have no farm, I suppose.?
HEAD SKINNER: Not yet - but it will go hard if I do not find one before
the peace is made.
LAWTON: Right; study your own interests, and you study the interests
of your country. Press the point of your own services, and rail at the Tories,
and I'll bet my spurs against a rusty nail that you get to be a county clerk
at least.
HEAD SKINNER: (Thrown off guard by LAWTON's manner.) Don't
you think Paulding's party were
fools in not letting the royal adjutant-general Andre escape?
LAWTON (cries out): Fools! (laughs bitterly) Ay, fools,
indeed, King George would have paid them better; for he is richer. He would
have made them gentlemen for their lives. But -
LAWTON sings FIDELITY:
"Thank God,.. thank God,.. thank God there's a pervading
spirit ... in people,.. in people,... in people that seems miraculous...
Men who have nothing,.. have nothing,.. act as if all the wealth,.. all
the wealth ... of the Indes,.. of the world,.. depended,.. depended ...
on their fidelity,.. fidelity."
HEAD SKINNER: How! (startled, dropping his musket to the level
of the captain's breast) Am I betrayed, and are you my enemy?
LAWTON (shouts): Miscreant! (his saber rings in its
steel scabbard as he strikes the musket of the fellow from his hands) Offer
but again to point your gun at me and I'll cleave you to the middle.
HEAD SKINNER: And you will not pay us then, Capt. LAWTON?
(He begins to tremble as he sees a party of mounted dragoons silently
encircling the whole party.)
CAPT. LAWTON disgustingly sings
RANSOM:
"Yes, you shall have the ransom ... for captors of
the spy ... Here are your fifty guineas ... all in gold ..(He throws
a bag at their feet) .. but ground your arms, you rascals ... while
counting what there lies ... and check to see it all there as we told."
(The intimidated band did as they were ordered; and while they were eagerly
employed in this pleasing avocation, a few of LAWTON's men privately knocked
the flints out of their muskets.)
Capt. LAWTON: Well, is it right? Have you the promised reward?
HEAD SKINNER: This is just the money, and we will now go to our homes,
with your permission.
LAWTON loudly sings LASHINGS:
"Hold! We redeemed our promise ... It's justice we
serve now ... for burning, robbing, murdering ... you'll feel the lashes
bough... Give them the law of Moses, lads ... forty ... save one!"
(The command is given to no unwilling listeners, and in the twinkling
of an eye, the Skinners are stripped of their shirts and fastened, by the
halters of the party, to as many of the apple trees as are necessary to
furnish one to each of the gang. Swords are quickly drawn and fifty branches
cut from trees, like magic, from these are selected the most subtle for
switches, and a willing dragoon soon found to wield each of the weapons.)
(Capt. LAWTON gives the word, humanely cautioning his men not to exceed
the discipline prescribed by the Mosaic law, and the uproar of Babel commences
in the orchard. The cries of the leader are easily distinguished above those
of his men; a circumstance which might be accounted for, by Capt. LAWTON's
reminding his corrector that he is dealing with an officer, and should remember
to pay him unusual honor.)
(The flagellation is executed with neatness and dispatch, excepting that
none of the disciplinarians began to count until they had tried their whips
by a dozen or more blows, as they said, to find out the proper places to
strike. As soon as this operation is completed, LAWTON directs his men to
leave the Skinners to replace their clothes, and to mount their horses.
As they prepare to depart -)
Capt. LAWTON: You see, my friend (to the LEADER), I can cover
you to some purpose, when necessary. If we meet often, you will be covered
with scars, which, if not very honorable, will at least be merited.
(The fellow makes no reply, but is busy with his musket and hastening
his comrades to march; when, all being ready, they proceed sullenly toward
some rocks at no great distance, which overhangs a deep wood. The moon is
just rising and the dragoons are easily distinguishable where they are standing.)
(Suddenly turning, the whole gang levels their guns and draw the triggers.
The action is noticed, and the snapping of locks heard by the soldiers ,
who return the gang's futile attempt with a laugh of derision.)
LAWTON (loudly): Ah! rascals, I knew you, and have taken away your
flints.
HEAD SKINNER: You should have taken away that in my pouch, too.
(He fires a gun in the next instant. The bullet grazes the ear of LAWTON,
who laughs as he shakes his head -)
LAWTON: A miss is as good as a mile.
(One of the dragoons had seen the preparations of the leader - who had
been left alone by his gang, as soon as they began their abortive attempt
at revenge - and was in the act of plunging his spurs into his horse as
the fellow fired. The distance to the rocks was but small, thus the speed
of the horse compels the leader to abandon both money and musket, to effect
his escape.)
(The soldier returns with his prizes, and offers them to his captain;
but LAWTON rejects them, telling the man to retain them himself, until the
rascal appeared in person to claim his property. It would have been the
business of any tribunal then existing in the new states to have enforced
a restitution of the money; for it was shortly after most equitably distributed,
by the hands of Sergeant HOLLISTER among a troop of horse.)
(The troop departs and the captain slowly returns to his quarters, with
an intention of retiring to rest. A figure moving rapidly among the trees,
in the direction of the wood where the Skinners had fled, caught his eye.
Wheeling on his heel, the cautious partisan approaches it, and, to his astonishment,
sees the washerwoman at that hour of the night, and in such a place.)
LAWTON: What, BETTY, walking in your sleep, or dreaming while awake?
Are you not afraid of meeting ancient Betsy in her favorite pasture?
(Reeling in a manner that made it difficult to raise her head, her native
accent garbled -)
BETTY: Ah, sure, Captain, It's not Jenny, or her ghost I'm saaking,
but some yarbs for the wounded, and it's the vartue of the rising moon,
as it jist touches them, that I want. They grow under yon rocks and I must
hasten, or the charm will lose it power.
LAWTON: Fool, you are fitter for your pallet than for wandering among
those rocks; a fall from one of them would break your bones, besides the
Skinners have fled to those heights, and should you fall in with them, they
would revenge on you a sound flogging they have just received from me. Better
return, old woman, and finish your nap; we march in the morning.
(BETTY disregards his advice and continues her devious route to the hillside.
For an instant, as LAWTON mentioned the Skinners, she had paused, but immediately
resumed her course and was soon out of sight among the trees.)
SCENE 42 - Night, moments later outside LAWTON's quarters
(As LAWTON returns to his quarters and prepares to enter -)
SENTINEL: Sir, did you meet Mrs. FLANAGAN, she passed here, filling
the air with threats against her tormentors at the Inn, and inquired for
you in search of redress.
(LAWTON hears the man in astonishment -, gives an inaudible answer, but
appears struck with a new idea - walks several yards toward the orchard,
then returns again.)
(For several minutes he paces rapidly, to and fro, before the door
of the house, then hastily enters it, and can be heard throwing himself
on a bed, apparently in his clothes, and soon in a profound heavy sleep.)
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