Read Ebook: The Dare Boys in Virginia by Cox Stephen Angus Douglas Mencl Rudolf Illustrator

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 1065 lines and 35558 words, and 22 pages

They ate a cold bite for luncheon, and then rested a while, and discussed the matter that had brought them into the wilderness, trying to figure out which direction was most likely to lead them to Arnold, and finally they got up and set out again.

They kept on going till about the middle of the afternoon, and then they came to the top of a ridge. It was covered with trees--in fact, they had been traveling through the timber pretty much ever since leaving camp--and here they paused, looking down the slope at the other side of the ridge.

At first, they saw nothing unusual, then suddenly an exclamation escaped the lips of Dick, and pointing his finger, he said in a low voice: "See yonder, boys."

Tom and Ben looked in the direction indicated, and Tom said, excitedly: "Sure as living, a party of redcoats!"

"Yes," said Dick. "Be careful, boys, and don't let them see you. Get slowly behind trees."

They took up their stations as suggested, and after a few minutes Dick said: "I'm going to slip down there, get within hearing distance of those fellows, if I can, and learn what they are doing here."

"Look out that they don't see and capture you, Dick," cautioned Tom.

"I'll be careful," was the reply. Then, telling the two to remain there, Dick set out on his perilous expedition.

He was careful to keep trees between himself and the redcoats, and as he was skilled at this kind of work, he managed to reach a point within hearing distance of the redcoats as they sat talking, then stationed behind a tree, Dick stood there, listening intently.

As it turned out, he was well repaid for the danger he had run in coming there, for he heard the British soldiers talking of how they were going to visit a settlement made up mostly of patriots, as soon as it was dark, plunder the homes of the settlers, and then burn the houses down.

It was a cold-blooded plan, and Dick shuddered as he listened, but at the same time he made up his mind to hasten to the settlement, warn the settlers, and thus enable them to either prepare to defend themselves, or take their leave before the redcoats put in an appearance.

Dick was on the point of slipping away, when he saw a couple of redcoats leave the group and come slowly toward the very tree behind which he was standing.

His blood suddenly seemed to congeal, for he realized that he was in great danger of discovery and capture.

About the time that Dick was standing behind the tree, with the two redcoats approaching, in a little log cabin that was used as a school building, at a point about a mile from a Tory settlement consisting of about thirty families, sat a rather good-looking young man of perhaps twenty-four years of age. He was to play a rather important part in the life of Dick Dare and must now be introduced to the reader.

Herbert Miller was his name, and he was the teacher of the school. As the children had gone home, he was sitting at his desk, reading.

As has been stated, the schoolhouse stood about a mile from a Tory settlement, and about two miles from the schoolhouse, in the other direction, was a patriot settlement, consisting of about a dozen families. The schoolhouse had been placed where it stood, for the convenience of the children from both settlements, but was closer to the Tory settlement because there were more of the Tories than of the patriots. Of late, however, since the coming into that region of Arnold, with his army of British and Tory soldiers, the Tories of the settlement had grown rather arrogant. This, being taken up by their children, resulted in lots of trouble at the school, the Tory children abusing the patriot children in spite of the efforts of the teacher to prevent it, and at the time of which we write only a few patriot children were attending the school. These few were the larger children, who could hold their own successfully against the arrogant and aggressive Tory children.

Herbert Miller was an intelligent young man, and he was at heart a sympathizer with the patriots, and hoped the American people would gain their independence, but of course he did not say much about this in the settlement, where he boarded. He was not a resident of this community, having come from a point more than a hundred miles distant.

Suddenly the sound of voices and the scraping of feet were heard by the teacher, and he rose and walked to the door. He was about to open it, but hesitated, and then placed his eye to a crack and looked through. He saw standing in front of the schoolhouse four men, and they were the worst and most rabid Tories in the settlement. Their leader was Hank Sprowl. He was practically a desperado, who made his living by hunting, and was not liked even by those who professed to be his friends.

Miller stood there gazing through the crack and wondering why the Tories were there. What did it mean? And why did they not enter, if they had business with him?

These questions he could not answer, and so after hesitating a few moments, he having first thought of opening the door and questioning the men, he turned and walked back to his desk, sat down and began reading. "If they have any business with me, they will come in and say so, presently." This he thought was likely.

Suddenly Miller's attention was attracted by a tapping on the window, and he glanced in that direction, and saw the face of Henry Philips, a boy of ten years, and a true friend of his. The boy was indeed a patriot at heart, and for that reason he was not liked by the other pupils at the school, and Miller had often interfered to keep bigger boys from abusing Henry, thus earning the boy's regards.

There was a look of excitement on the boy's face, and Miller, guessing that there was something in the wind, rose and went quietly to the window, and raising it, was about to speak, but the boy said, "Sh! Don't say anything, Mr. Miller. I've come to warn ye."

"What is the trouble?" the teacher asked in a whisper.

"The Tories are goin' to ketch ye when ye leave the schoolhouse an' give ye a coat uv tar an' feathers!" whispered the boy, glancing warily around him.

Miller started. "Why?" he asked.

"Cause ye're a patriot," was the reply. "Hank Sprowl an' two or three more Tories are aroun' at the front, now, waitin' fur ye to come out."

"I knew they were out there, Henry, but I didn't know, could not imagine, why they were there. So that is what they are up to, is it?"

"Yes, an' ye had better climb out of the winder an' make your escape."

Doubtless that was Miller's first inclination, but he thought a few moments, and then shook his head. "I don't think that I'll do that, Henry," he said. "No, I'll go out through the front door, as usual, and I don't believe they'll dare lay hands on me."

"Ye don' know Hank Sprowl ef ye think that," said the boy. "He's a bad one, he is."

"I don't doubt that, but I'm not going to climb out at the window and try to avoid them. I might as well meet them face to face, and I don't believe they'll bother me."

"They're cookin' the tar down here in the gully," said the boy, his face pale. "An' I seen Jim Simmons comin' with a bag of feathers as I left the gully."

"Oh, well, I'll not try to avoid them by slipping out of the window, Henry. If they are making their preparations, I might as well meet them and show them that I'm not afraid of them."

"They'll handle ye rough, Mister Miller," said the boy, his face pale. "They're mighty mean men, them fellers that Hank Sprowl has helpin' him."

"I know that, Henry. I'm much obliged for your kindness in coming to warn me. Now you had better go, before they see you, and handle you roughly also."

"I'll go. Well, good-by, Mister Miller. I hope they won't put no tar an' feathers onto ye."

"I hardly think they will, Henry. Good-by."

Then the boy dropped to the ground, and disappeared into the brush at the back of the schoolhouse.

Miller slowly and thoughtfully lowered the window, returned, took a seat at his desk, and sat there, gazing toward the door and evidently doing a lot of thinking. He glanced toward the window once or twice, and then resolutely rose and walked to the door, and opening it, stepped out of doors--to be confronted by Hank Sprowl and the three Tories.

"Good evening, gentlemen," greeted Miller, pleasantly. "Fine evening, is it not?"

"Good evenin'," said Sprowl, gruffly. "Yas, et's a fine evenin'--a fine evenin' to put geese-feathers onto rebel birds like ye! Hey, fellers?"

The others nodded, and one said: "Ye're right, Hank."

"What do you mean?" asked Miller, pretending that he did not grasp Sprowl's meaning.

"I mean that we're goin' to give ye a coat of tar and feathers, ye blamed rebel!" snarled Sprowl. "That's what I mean."

Miller looked from one to another inquiringly, and then said: "Why should you want to do that?"

"I've jest told ye," replied Sprowl, harshly. "Because ye're a rebel, that's why."

"But I'm not a rebel."

"I know better. Ye air a rebel. We've heerd how ye talk in favor of the rebels, and how ye hev said as how ye hope ther rebels will win in ther war ag'in ther king. Ye kain't deny that ye hev talked in favor of ther rebels, an' so now we're goin' to give ye a coat of tar and feathers an' twenty-four hours to git out of this part of the country. We don't want no rebel a teachin' our children rebel sentiments."

"I am sorry, my friends," said Miller, calmly, "but I shall not quit teaching here unless told to do so by the men that hired me--and neither of you had anything to do with that. I will now go on home. Good evening," and he walked quietly away.

This action on his part so amazed the ruffians that they stood there, staring after him, with mouths agape. But Hank Sprowl presently recovered from his amazement, and said to his companions sharply: "After him, boys! We mustn't let him git away. We'll give him that coat of tar and feathers, that's what we'll do. Come with me."

Then he hastened after Miller, and his three companions hurried to followed him. They soon caught up with the young man, and as he heard their footsteps, and half-turned, as if to speak to them, they leaped upon him and bore him struggling to the ground.

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet