The Hero of Ticonderoga Part 53

He was considered dangerous, and had to be forced back into the prison inclosure.

The vessel set sail, and every day the captain taunted the prisoners with their captivity, and took every means to make them suffer.

Some days, when the weather was more than ordinarily oppressive, he would order that no water should be given, and as the food consisted of salt pork and bread, or s.h.i.+p's biscuit, it can be well imagined how much they all suffered.

After the vessel had been out twenty days one of the prisoners crawled up to Allen and whispered into his ear:

"Can we live much longer like this?"

"I am afraid not."

"Then let us put an end to it."

"How?"

"Will you agree to join us?"

"I cannot answer that until I know what is proposed."

"If you do not want to join, you will not betray us?"

"What do you think of me? Have I ever been a sneak?"

"No, colonel, but the scheme is a desperate one."

"What is it?"

"To seize the s.h.i.+p and then take her into port as a captured vessel."

"How can it be done?"

"Jack--you know Jack, the one who brings us tobacco?"

"Yes; he is a kind-hearted Englishman."

"He isn't English, he is Irish. Now, he will file off these handcuffs and give me the file. By working at every opportunity we can all be free in a few days; then all we have to do is to force our way out and seize the skipper. We will throw him overboard, and kill all who oppose us; then the s.h.i.+p will be ours and we can sell it and divide the prize money."

"My good fellow, we cannot do it."

"Why?"

"If we seized the s.h.i.+p we should have to sink it, for no one would purchase it. But I will not countenance murder."

"It is not murder, it is war."

"War is brutal, I know, but when it comes to seizing a captain on board his own vessel and killing him, that is not war, but murder, or piracy."

"Well, you will not betray us?"

"No. Only give me a chance to fight openly and I will do so, but I will not kill a man in cold blood."

"But, colonel, you will not interfere with us?"

"No. Only do not tell me anything you are doing."

Allen did not understand that in war all things were justifiable.

He was a gentleman all the way through, and would not fight unless he could do so honorably.

Whether Jack failed to find the file, or that the prisoners decided not to mutiny, Allen never knew, but no attempt was ever made to secure freedom, and after forty days' torture land was sighted.

The prisoners were ordered on deck.

It was a glorious change for them, for they had not breathed a breath of pure air for forty days.

As they stood on the deck the captain pointed out the distant land.

"Do you know what land that is?" he asked.

There was no response; the American prisoners were too much engaged in inhaling all the fresh air they could to care about talking.

"That is Land's End, in England. You will soon be there, and then you will all be hanged. A short life and a wretched one will be yours from now on. That is all. Take the prisoners back to their palatial quarters."

The captain may have thought he was inflicting torture on the prisoners, but he was mistaken. They were not afraid of the fate which awaited them.

If they were to die, they would prefer to die on land to being tortured to death in the hold of a small s.h.i.+p.

As one of the prisoners quoted the words of an older rebel in England:

"The n.o.blest place for man to die Is where he dies for man."

So all felt that if they were to be hanged in England they would be tried, and on their trial they would be able to make their defense and let the world know under what grievances the American colonies were suffering.

In two days the vessel landed in Falmouth Harbor.

The news that the vessel had on board a number of American prisoners caused thousands of people to flock to the wharf.

The greatest curiosity was manifested.

Had a cargo of wild beasts entered port the curiosity could not have been greater.

In fact, Allen soon learned that the Americans were looked upon as wild beasts or savages, and certainly not as civilized beings.

The windows were filled with members of the fair s.e.x, the sidewalks of the old English town were closely packed by men and children.

Hour after hour they waited to see the show.

A lot of detail, commonly called "red tape," had to be attended to before the prisoners were allowed to land.