CHAPTER XVII.
THE BATTLE AT THE BRIDGE
The governor and his band were certainly in a predicament. A half dozen tugs were, by this time cruising about the bay in all directions; the Storm King lay at the upper end of the shoals under the bluffs, her crew kept constantly at quarters, in readiness to board the Sweepstakes if she came out; and a strong force, under command of the midshipman, was preparing to assault the pirates in their hiding-place. Harry thought he had them surrounded; and there were few, indeed, among the Crusoe men who did not believe that their voyage was at an end. It is true they had a way of escape from the cove that the students knew nothing about – by the channel that ran across the lower end of the shoals – but who among them could promise that they would not meet a tug there when they went out? Even Tom, who was generally expert at finding his way out of difficulties, believed it was all over with the Crusoe band. He leaned against the rail and looked down into the water; the governor thoughtfully paced the deck, and the rest of the band stood in a group in the waist, watching the movements of their officers, and waiting impatiently for them to make known their plans.
"Come, skipper," said Sam, at length, "why don't you wake up and talk to us?"
"O now, what shall I say?" drawled Tom. "I am the unluckiest boy in the whole world!"
"We've heard that a thousand times," said the governor, impatiently. "We're all of us unlucky, for the matter of that. But what shall we do? Are we goin' to give up?"
"No, we are not. We have had a good many adventures to-night. I don't believe that any other boys of our age ever came safely out of as many scrapes as we have been into, and now we are not going to allow ourselves to be cornered, like rats in an oat-bin. We must leave here at once."
"I say, governor," suddenly exclaimed one of the robbers, who had made the circuit of the cove without finding any way of egress, "how do you get out of this hole?"
"We don't go out at all," replied the chief. "We stay in."
"We do not intend to remain here any longer. We have wasted time enough with you, and now we are going off on our own hook."
"Well, then, why don't you go?" drawled the skipper
"Because we can't find any way out of the cove."
"We don't want nothing more to do with you two fellers, whatsomever," said Sam. "Go off about your business."
"Now see here, boys, this thing has gone about far enough. We've had more than we want of this nonsense, and we'll teach you to give a civil answer to a civil question. We are going out, and one of you must show us the way," said the burglar; and, as he spoke, he came on board the schooner, and, striding up to Sam, seized him by the collar.
"Let me be!" roared the chief.
"Will you guide us to the top of the cliff?"
"Will you pay us the thousand dollars you promised us for taking you out to sea?" whined Tom. "If you go back from your word, you need not ask favors of us."
"You have not taken us to sea yet."
"That's because you haven't given us a chance. We can do it, and we will, too, if you will stay with us."
"Let go my collar, I say!" shouted Sam.
"Answer my question first," replied the robber.
"I don't know nothing about a way to the top of the cliff. Stand by, here, fellers. Hit him with a handspike, somebody."
The Crusoe men began to bustle about in a state of intense excitement, and the other burglar leaped over the rail to assist his companion. There was a lively prospect for a fight, and, no doubt, if Tom Newcombe had not interposed, the deck of the pirate vessel would have been the scene of a desperate conflict. The governor and his men were very much enraged at their passengers, and were fully determined that they should not leave the cove until they had kept their promise, in regard to the thousand dollars. Sam was a very stubborn fellow, and the robber would have found it a much more difficult task than he had bargained for to force the secret of the path from him. "It's no use, mister," said he, doggedly. "You may shake me as much as you please, but I just ain't a goin' to tell you what you want to know till I see the color of that money. You promised to give it to us, an' we're bound to have it. Punch him in the ribs with your boat-hook, Friday."
"O now, look here!" drawled the skipper. "I won't have any quarreling and fighting on a vessel I command. Stand back, Friday. Put away that handspike, Xury. If you are determined to leave us, I'll send a man to show you the way up the cliff."
"No you won't, neither!" shouted Sam, indignant at the proposition.
"But if I do," continued Tom, without noticing the interruption, "you won't gain any thing by it. On the contrary, you will find yourselves in ten times the danger you are in now; for the prisoner we had confined in that cabin has escaped, and of course he has alarmed every body on the island. We are going to sea again, immediately, and, if you will remain with us, and behave yourselves, we will take you to a place of safety. You ought to remember that we don't want to be captured any more than you do."
"But you have got the whole village after you," said the burglar.
"Look here, mister, be you goin' to let go my collar?" asked Sam.
"It is by no means certain that every man in Newport is after us," said Tom. "Don't you suppose there are some in pursuit of you? Your best plan would be to remain with us; and, if we succeed in getting out of the bay, we will land you on some island, out of reach of the police officers and the telegraph. If we find our escape cut off, we will run our vessel ashore and take to the woods."
The burglar seemed to be impressed with Tom's arguments, for he released the governor, and turned to consult with his companion; while Sam, who was utterly amazed at Tom, led him off on one side and inquired:
"Hain't you made a nice mess of it now? Do you intend to show them fellers the way up the cliff?"
"Of course I do."
"Well now, skipper," said the governor, doubling his fist, and shaking it in the air, "of all the mean things I ever knew you to do, this yere is the beat. Have you forgot that we want to pay them for tryin' to cheat us?"
"No, indeed," replied Tom, emphatically. "I am bound to carry out my new idea, and you have seen enough of me to-night to know that I mean what I say. We will guide them up the path as far as the chasm, and leave them. We'll tell them that we had a bridge across there, but it is gone; and that they'll have to get over the best way they can. In the meantime I will turn the schooner around, and, when I am ready to sail, I'll send you word; and I'll wager my share of the thousand dollars that the robbers, rather than be left alone in the cove, will come with us."
"Humph!" grunted the chief. "You're trustin' a good deal to luck, 'pears to me. Mebbe that plan will work, an' mebbe it won't. If we lose our passage-money, we can thank you for it."
"What else can we do?" asked Tom. "It's the only way I know of to avoid a fight."
"Well, captain," said the burglar, who had thus far done the most of the talking, and who answered to the name of Sanders, "we've concluded that we had better go. You can send a man to show us up the path."
"All right," replied Tom. "You have acted very meanly toward us, and you may have the satisfaction of knowing that you take with you our best wishes for your speedy capture. Governor, you and Atkins guide them up the path, and the rest of us stand by to get the vessel under-way."
Sam thought that the skipper, in spite of his assertions to the contrary, had either given up all hopes of carrying his new idea into execution, or else, that the disappointment he had experienced in the failure of his plans against the yacht, had turned his brain. This new scheme of his for avoiding a fight with the robbers, the governor regarded as a sure method of throwing away their last chance for obtaining possession of the passage-money. If the burglars left the cove, the Crusoe men would never see them again, and the only thing that would prevent them from so doing, was the difficulty of bridging the chasm; and that could be easily overcome.
"Good-by to them thousand dollars," growled the governor, as he lighted his lantern and led the way toward the path. "I'd a heap sooner have a fight with the bugglars, than let them off so easy. They can build a bridge in five minutes."
There were other obstacles, however, besides the building of the bridge, that stood in the way of the robbers leaving the cove, that neither Sam nor Tom knew any thing about; but the former discovered them the instant he came in sight of the chasm. He stopped, astonished at the scene before him.
When Josh and Bill went into the cove to release Jed, they had built a bridge of saplings, by the aid of which the storming party was about to invade the governor's stronghold. Midshipman Richardson was half-way across the bridge, and Johnny Harding, who had armed himself with a heavy club, was preparing to follow the young officer as soon as he was safely over. Behind Johnny stood the young tars, leaning on their muskets, one of them holding a powerful dark lantern, which rendered objects in the vicinity of the bridge as plainly visible as though it had been broad daylight. The chief saw and comprehended, and a smile of exultation lighted up his face, but speedily gave way to an expression of alarm. There was some satisfaction in knowing that the robbers could not leave the cove, and that he and his band might yet have an opportunity to secure the valise and its contents; but there was little to be found in the knowledge of the fact that he was on the point of being attacked by a force that outnumbered his two to one. Sam recognized the midshipman, and knew instinctively that something was going to happen. The fight in the harbor had taught him that the young officer was an unpleasant fellow to have about.
"Ah, Mr. Barton, we 're glad to see you," said Richardson, when he had recovered from his surprise. "You are just the man we are looking for. You may consider yourself a prisoner – you and your villainous companions there. Your harboring place is completely surrounded, and you will save yourselves trouble if you surrender at once."
"Jerusalem!" exclaimed Will Atkins, looking about him, as if seeking some avenue of escape. As he did so, his eyes rested on the pile of stones which he and Jack Spaniard had collected to defend their breastwork against the assaults of the governor, and a bright idea struck him. "Sam," he whispered, "let's heave them rocks at him, an' drive him back, an' then throw down the bridge."
The chief was prompt to act upon the suggestion. He and Atkins sprang behind the breastwork, and, before the midshipman could make up his mind what they were going to do, the stones were flying about him in a perfect shower. It would have been utter folly to stand longer upon the bridge in that exposed position, and, without waiting for a second volley, the officer turned and took to his heels.
"Hurrah for Governor Barton and the Crusoe men," shouted Sam. "You needn't talk to us about surrenderin', 'cause we ain't them kind of fellers, as I told you once before to-night. Chuck the bridge into the gully, Atkins."
If the chief imagined that he had disposed of the attacking party, he soon discovered his mistake. They were by no means defeated simply because their commanding officer had been driven from his position on the bridge. They had come there to capture the pirates, and they knew that two of them carried revolvers in their pockets. If the knowledge of that fact was not enough to turn them from their purpose, they were not likely to be frightened away by such missiles as Sam and his man had discharged at them. They were sharp enough to know that the bridge was the key to the enemy's position, and that much depended upon their ability to prevent Atkins from carrying out the governor's order. Stones were plenty on their side of the chasm, and there was also nearly half a bushel of potatoes left of those Sam had used against the mutineers. They were prompt to follow the example set them by the enemy, and, when Will Atkins ran forward to throw the bridge into the chasm, the order to halt, which he disregarded, was enforced by a volley of stones and potatoes that made the path in the vicinity of the bridge so uncomfortable that the Crusoe man was glad to retreat.
"Go on," thundered the governor. "That bridge must come down."
"Well, you can throw it down yourself," retorted Atkins "I ain't in no hurry to be hit by them taters an' rocks."
"Keep away from that bridge," said the midshipman. "Harding, if you and your three friends will act as artillery-men, we'll charge across and capture those fellows – the Crusoe men, I mean. Of course we can't arrest the robbers unless we can take some advantage of them; but we can keep them in here until we can send word to Mr. Grimes, and I don't think they will dare use their revolvers on him. If they find that they are fairly cornered, they won't have the courage to resist an officer of the law."
"But how can we keep them in?" asked Bill.
"Easy enough. If they attempt to come across the bridge we'll pepper them with stones. If they return to their vessel, and go out the other way, we can't help it. That's Harry Green's business. Simmonds," he added, "go down and report to the first lieutenant that we have found the pirates, that the robbers are with them, and that we are preparing to attack them."
The midshipman was almost on the point of adding: "And tell him that he had better send for re-enforcements and keep a bright lookout for the Sweepstakes, for she may try to run by him;" but he did not say it, for he knew that it was no part of his business to instruct his superior officer. Harry was smart enough to attend to all such matters, and Richardson was sure that he would neglect no precautions to insure the capture of all the schooner's crew.
"Now," continued the young officer, when Simmonds had started off to obey the order, "open fire on them, and drive them into the bushes, so that they can't throw at us."
Although Richardson spoke in a tone so low that the governor could not catch his words, he knew what he was saying, and saw the necessity of making some arrangements to offer a decided resistance to the advance of the students. "Atkins," he whispered, "go down an' bring up the rest of the fellers. That bridge must come away from there, or them spooneys will be down on us like a hawk on a June bug."
"Suppose we point our revolvers at them," said Sanders.
"What good will that do? They ain't easy scared, an' they know you wouldn't dare to shoot them as well as you know it yourself. What I am afraid of is, that they will send off after more help. We must get out of here to onct, but we must throw that bridge down first, or they will catch us before we can get our vessel under-way."
Scarcely had Sam ceased speaking when the artillery-men opened fire on him, and he and his companions were driven to the shelter of the bushes; but not until a potato, thrown by Jed, his former prisoner, had smashed his lantern and extinguished the light. The bull's-eye of the dark lantern was turned full upon the place where he had taken refuge, and, although the artillery-men could not see him, they kept up a continuous shower of missiles, hoping to confine him so closely in his concealment that he could not return the fire. In this they thought they were successful, for not a single stone was thrown from Sam Barton's side of the chasm, and the midshipman, believing that he had retreated to his vessel, gave the order to advance, and led the way upon the bridge. The governor, however, had never once thought of retreating. He was still in a position to defend the cove, and, moreover, he had been re-enforced by Tom Newcombe and the rest of the band. While the fire from the artillery-men was the hottest, the Crusoe men and their allies had been quietly collecting ammunition and patiently awaiting an opportunity to use it. The burglars worked as hard as the rest, and Sanders, little dreaming how closely his movements were watched by all the members of the band, hid his valise in the bushes, and stood with his arms full of stones, ready to fire upon the young tars when they came in sight. This did not escape the notice of Sam Barton, who mentally resolved that, the instant the bridge was thrown into the chasm, he would catch up the valise and run for the vessel. He and his men were well enough acquainted with the path to travel it rapidly in the dark, and they might, perhaps, succeed in getting the Sweepstakes under-way before the burglars could reach her. This plan he communicated in a whisper to Tom, who declared himself strongly in favor of it, and watched his opportunity to reveal it to the other members of the band. The Crusoe men were all intensely excited, and heartily enjoyed their anticipated triumph over the robbers.
The governor and his companions, who dared not show so much as the tops of their hats above the bushes, could not see what was going on among the students, but they had a plain view of about half the bridge, and when the attacking party appeared they opened so hot a fire upon it that the advance was speedily checked, the column thrown into confusion, and the young tars, after expending all the ammunition they had brought with them, in the vain attempt to dislodge the enemy, retreated precipitately to the shelter of the trees on the opposite side of the chasm.
"Now's your time, governor," exclaimed Sanders, who entered as heartily into the work, and was as much interested in what was going on, as though he had been a boy himself; "rush out and throw down the bridge."
"Well, now, if you are in such a hurry to see that bridge come down, you had better rush out there yourself," replied Sam. "I can't see any sense in a feller's puttin' himself in the way of gettin' his head broke."
"We whipped 'em, didn't we?" said Xury.
"O yes, we did, but what good will it do?" drawled the captain. "They'll keep on charging us as long as that bridge is there. All they want is to employ us here till daylight, and by that time we must be out of the bay, or we can just consider ourselves captured. I've got another idea," he added, suddenly. "Mr. Mate, send a man to the vessel after a rope."
"Will Atkins," said Xury, "go down and fetch up a rope."
"Will Atkins! Will Atkins!" repeated the owner of that name, angrily. "It's always Will Atkins, if there is any thing to be done. Aint there nobody in this band that can do nothing besides Will Atkins?"
"Go on, now, an' bring up that rope, an' quit your growlin'," commanded the governor, sternly.
Atkins sullenly started down the path, grumbling to himself as he went, and vowing vengeance against the officers of the band. The mutinous spirit in him was as strong as ever, and only awaited a favorable opportunity to break forth again in open opposition to the governor's authority. He spent a good deal of time in searching for the rope, and, before he returned to the chasm, the Crusoe men had successfully resisted another attempt, on the part of the students, to charge across the bridge.
"How are things in the village?" asked the governor, as Atkins spitefully threw the rope down in front of Tom. "Did you see Mr. Henry?"
"I hain't been near the village for two hours," replied the discontented member.
"Well, you might have been there and back two or three times, since you went away. I concluded you couldn't find a rope on board the vessel, and had gone over to Mr. Henry's store for one."
Some sharp words passed between the governor and his man, and while the conversation was going on, Tom completed his arrangements for carrying out his new idea, which were very simple. He coiled the rope on the ground so that it would run out rapidly, and to one end of it fastened a heavy stone. "I understand it all, now," said the chief. "That bridge is bound to come down. Be ready to run, fellers, the minute I grab the valise," he added, in a whisper.
Tom's first attempt to remove the bridge was successful. He threw the stone over it, hauled in on the rope, and in a moment more the saplings were lying at the bottom of the chasm. The yell of indignation which arose from the students, mingled with the triumphant shouts of the Crusoe men.
"That's the way to do it," cried Sanders. "We are all right now. I say! Hold on, there, boy!" he continued, in quite a different tone of voice, when he saw the governor, with the valise in his hand, disappear around the bend in the path, closely followed by his men. "What do you mean? Stop, I tell you."
The burglars looked as though they thought it was not all right with them after all. They stood for an instant irresolute, and then started in hot pursuit of the Crusoe men, dashing recklessly down the slippery path, apparently all unconscious of the fact that a single misstep would precipitate them upon the rocks forty feet below. They reached the cove in safety, having made such good use of their time that, when the governor sprang over the schooner's rail, they were close at his heels. Sam was astonished, and highly enraged, but accepted the situation as gracefully as he could. Seeing that his plan for "getting even" with the robbers had failed, he placed the valise against the rail, and said, innocently:
"There's your money, mister. Cap'n, get under-way, to onct."
Sanders looked sharply at the governor. He had nothing to say, but he resolved that as long as he remained on board the Sweepstakes, he would never for an instant release his hold upon the valise. He believed the chief had some designs upon it.
"I reckon you'll stay with us now, won't you?" asked Sam.
"We must, I suppose," replied Sanders. "What are you going to do? Do you intend to cross the breakers again?"
"Sartin; there aint no other way to get out of the cove."
The actions of the burglars very plainly indicated that they did not like the idea of again attempting the passage of the shoals; and Sam himself would have been very glad indeed if there had been some less dangerous avenue of escape open to them. He could not forget the rock on the outer edge of the breakers, nor the risk he had run there a few hours before. Every thing being ready for the start, he went to the wheel, the line with which the schooner was made fast to the bank was cast off, and she moved slowly out of the cove. The skipper stationed two men at the fore and main sheets, placed Xury in the waist to pass orders, and then took his stand beside the governor. The latter would have stoutly denied that he felt the least nervousness or timidity, but his compressed lips and trembling hands told a different story. All the Crusoe men were more or less alarmed, with the exception of the mate, who was as careless and indifferent as ever. Nothing seemed to disturb him. He stood leaning against the rail, whistling a lively tune, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes fastened on the rock at the opposite side of the shoals. He never moved a muscle when a huge wave carried the schooner almost over the ledge, and, when the order was given to haul in the sheets, he repeated it with as much calmness as he would have exhibited had the Sweepstakes been in smooth water, and running before a favorable breeze. The passage was safely accomplished, much to the relief of every one on board; and again the Crusoe men told themselves that they had dared the fury of the shoals for the last time. Where was the Storm King all this while? She was still lying at the upper end of the breakers, waiting for the Sweepstakes. Her commander did not know there were two channels that led across the shoals.