Michael Fitzgerald

“ Our own laws dealing with his majesty’s Catholic subjects are no credit to our enlightenment.”
“I quite agree with you, Fotheringay, and I hope we may live to see the day when every man can freely worship God as his conscience dictates. Creeds should matter little when a common danger threatens a people. I must say, however, that I am surprised to learn of intolerance in this young land of America. In old Europe we are the slaves of tradition and suspicion, and reform is slow, but the same thing does not apply to the New World where there’s a chance for all to start on the same level.” ”

“ Captain Jared turned fiercely to where Peter sat in his accustomed place. “Everybody knows that you can’t lose much by the war. What is it to you if the British destroy the salt works? You took good care to sell your share in the salt business to Ed. Clark, though I’m not saying that you did so on account of the war. Still, if a man has so little to lose as you have in that way, it don’t seem right for him to find fault with those who suffer most.” ”

“ Here, he was in a bad predicament, held fast on the treacherous flats and obliged to wait for hours until the flood tide floated the schooner. The hated Yankees ashore would soon discover his plight and, perhaps, muster sufficient force to seize his vessel, making prisoners of all on board. The gloomy prospect affected Dunton’s nerves and he longed to vent his spleen on the pilot, but he had no evidence whatever that the latter had not acted in good faith.
As the daylight got stronger a few men were observed on the beach. ”

“ The scene of his operations was just below the hut of Goody Hallett, on the line between Eastham and what is now Wellfleet. Goody Hallett lived alone. She was old and most people regarded her as a witch, but this was probably because she kept much to herself. She was expert at the spinning-wheel and ostensibly supported herself by this industry. She never asked charity, though people wondered how so old a woman could earn enough to keep her from want. She courted seclusion, and the situation of her small dwelling, far removed from the prying eyes of neighbors, favored this. ”

“ When the frigate and the schooner left Provincetown Master Jonathan Cook immediately sent messengers with the news to the other towns. The unwelcome tidings were received with mixed feelings by the people of Eastham. Members of the war party argued that this move was to be expected any day, and, now that it had come, they saw no reason why it should cause any surprise or add to the already desperate condition of the inhabitants. Things couldn’t be much worse and they should be ready to face the inevitable like men and go down with colors flying. ”

“ The dark-eyed maidens of the Nausets had not been found unwilling to share the white man’s lot, and though the red man had vanished from the district, a dash of his blood remained to tell of some forgotten romance in the olden days. Strong-bodied, self-reliant citizens were these people of Eastham. ”

“ There was nothing to prevent Raggett from holding the envoys and demanding ransom for their release.
“I think that’s a sensible view to take of it, Mr. Chairman,” said Peter Walker. “For my part, I’m very sure that Hoppy Mayo’s brain is hard at work trying to devise means to outwit the British. You surely don’t imagine that Hoppy’s nimble wit has failed him all of a sudden? Any man who succeeded in disposing of a spavined mare as a sound horse, and that to a minister of the Gospel, sleeps with one eye open when he’s in the hands of the enemy!” ”

“ Hoppy was surprised to find Dunton in such a conversational mood and gave him every encouragement to talk.
“What good does an aristocracy do for England, Mr. Dunton?”
“Of course you Yankees can’t be expected to understand the matter, Mayo; but, for one thing, will you tell me how England could officer her army and navy unless she had an aristocracy to furnish the men for the positions?”
“I certainly can’t answer that question, Mr. Dunton, knowing so very little about your ways over there, but I have heard [74] Uncle Jabez Rich say that a title does not make a man an aristocrat.” ”

“ I take this opportunity to tell you that Captain Raggett is in a very bad humor. He has had despatches from the Admiralty finding fault with him for not being more active in harassing the shore towns. There is trouble hatching for your people and it will not help matters if you cross him in any way. Captain Mayo, you will excuse me, but I think you are a little hotheaded. You had better let Captain Knowles do the talking.”
“Thank you kindly, Mr. Fotheringay,” said Hoppy heartily, “Win certainly is a smoother talker than I am; never much of what you call a diplomat, myself. ”

“ What a subject for Peter Walker’s sarcastic rhymes! The British bullets and bayonets were harmless compared with the poisonous shafts of Peter’s poetic quiver; their misery could be quickly ended by the former, but Peter’s undying verse could be read by future generations and Hoppy Mayo and Win Knowles would be the laughing-stock of posterity!
“Boat ahoy!”
“Hullo!” answered Hoppy.
“Come aboard!” shouted the officer on the schooner’s deck. They were soon alongside. Lieutenant Fotheringay of His Britannic Majesty’s frigate “Spencer” greeted them:
“It is the fortune of war, sirs. ”

“ In the year 1814 Provincetown was the rendezvous of the British fleet which harassed the Massachusetts merchant marine and levied tribute on the towns of Cape Cod. The inhabitants of the Cape were practically defenceless against the enemy, and though the artillery of the period was of insignificant calibre as compared with the big guns of the present day, the British gunners were able to terrorize the scattered communities of the coast and it was a time of stress and trouble for the good people of Cape Cod. ”

“ Hoppy knew full well what Raggett meant. He was, then, expected to act as pilot for the British and help them to destroy the lives and property of his kinsmen and neighbors! It required all his selfpossession to keep his outraged feelings in check, but he realized that it would be worse than useless to let Raggett suspect what he thought of the proposition, so he pretended ignorance of the British commander’s purpose.
“It shouldn’t be hard for you to find a good man for the work in your ship’s company, Captain Raggett. ”

“ You all know, neighbors, that the old pedler is true as steel to the cause. What do you say to the proposition, Mr. Chairman?”
“Well, Peter,” answered the chairman, “the idea looks all right to me, but would Phil care about the risk now that the British are getting aggressive?”
“Phil will do it all right; I will be answerable for that,” returned Peter. “He stops at my house overnight whenever he comes to Eastham. I know the old man thoroughly and I have a great admiration for his geniality and honesty, so he is always welcome.” ”

“ Hoppy flushed, and Captain Knowles, seeing trouble ahead, nudged his compatriot warningly but without effect.
“Don’t know as you’re any beauty yourself, Dunton, with all your finery in the way of brass buttons. Ignorant folks might take you to be the king of England himself, but I have met king’s officers before now and I know that a master’s mate of your stripe is no ornament to a ship’s company.” ”

“ There is too much risk about landing a large force and Raggett will not take it. If Eastham, Orleans and Brewster join forces to repel the invaders they will surely beat them.”
“I wish I could look at it in your way, Hoppy, but I can’t. The ‘Spencer’ could get close enough to destroy the salt works, anyway.”
“The salt works be damned! Good God, man! this is war, and something has to go. Her artillery can’t do very much damage to the town which, after all, is only a sparsely settled place. She will be too far off shore for the range, though, of course, she’s bound to do some injury to property. ”

“ We haven’t three hundred cents in our possession!”
“That’s more than the boat and cargo are worth,” put in Hoppy.
“I’m afraid that’s the best I can do for you,” replied Raggett. “It is not much money, considered as prize-money to be distributed among a large number of men.”
“But how are we to raise the money, captain? We have no means of communicating with the shore, and even if we had, we should hesitate about asking our hard-pressed friends in Eastham to pay it. Money is pretty scarce nowadays.” Captain Knowles looked despairingly at his fellow-prisoner as he said this. ”

“ He was, then, in no amiable mood as he addressed the Cape men:
“So you have been running the blockade in a whaleboat? Pretty small business for shipmasters like you?”
[14] “Shipmasters without a ship, Captain Raggett, and until captured engaged in bringing necessaries of life from Boston to our town,” replied Captain Knowles.
“By G——, sir!” cried Raggett with the suspicion of a smile, “your people have a pretty good idea of what are necessaries of life. I find that your cargo mostly consisted of good Jamaica rum.”
This rather upset Win, but Hoppy was equal to the occasion. ”

“ They could in the course of time make up for the present loss of money, but the gallant lives sacrificed in a futile struggle could never be recalled. There were hopes that the war would soon be over. The wailing of the British merchants for their ships and cargoes [76] captured by the American privateers was having an effect on the British government, and the lesson of the Revolution was not yet forgotten in England. There was no dishonor in seeking the best terms they could get in their plight. ”

“ So far as Provincetown was directly concerned, Raggett’s change of front would not materially add to the troubles of the inhabitants, who were already completely at the enemy’s mercy. But for their neighbors and friends in the other towns of the lower Cape, Master Jonathan Cook and his colleagues were deeply concerned.
“You will tell them at Eastham, Phil,” said the chairman, “that we regret our inability to be of any assistance to them. Our own poor town is in a sad plight and I fear me if this war continues much longer we shall have a repetition of the exodus of Revolutionary times.” ”

“ That either of the prisoners should fight against his country, no matter what the penalty of refusal might be, was not to be thought of by any Eastham man.
“Don’t see what he wants them for, then,” cried Obed Sparrow. “He has idle men enough on his hands already. Why, there’s nothing for his crew to do now as there are no boats running since the whaleboat was taken.”
“Well, Neighbor Sparrow, that’s very true; but if Captain [36] Raggett is holding our friends for any ulterior purpose, we should very much like to know what that purpose is. How we are going to find out is the puzzle.” ”

“ They have always been leading men in their town and they wouldn’t be if they didn’t prove themselves worthy.”
“I’m not saying anything against their characters, Obed. They are friends of mine though I don’t agree with their politics. They think they can defy the British fleet! Any fool should know that you can’t beat off a heavily armed force with a few old muskets, and, so far as I know, that’s about all the arms they have.”
“Then you don’t believe in fighting, Captain Jared?”
“Obed, you are a young man and you have proved yourself a brave man. ”

“ The high tide concealed the treacherous flats so much dreaded by the British commander, and the placid surface of the sea revealed no evidence of the dangerous sandbars on which many a heedless mariner had come to grief. Within the encircling arm of the Cape, almost at the point where it abruptly turns northward, the pilot could see his native village of Eastham, and the sight added to his bitterness of soul. Cape Cod towns were then, and, indeed, are at the [72] present day, straggling places altogether different from the old-world idea of a town. ”

“ Now I have a few [95] words to say, Dunton, and when you hear them you will know how we stand. You and your men are my prisoners. The schooner is my prize. I have no desire to treat you harshly, though you must feel that I owe you nothing in the way of civility. My people, as you can see, are now in force on the beach, and when the flats are dry, as they will be in a short time, I shall deliver you to the proper authorities in Eastham. ”

“ I have been considering that point and I have come to the conclusion that these accursed flats are the greatest ally of the Cape Codders. Now, I have made up my mind to send the schooner on a surveying cruise in the bay and I purpose to have your friend Mayo act as pilot. Dunton will be the officer in charge of the schooner.”
“I foresee trouble, Captain Raggett. Dunton heartily hates all Americans and there is sure to be a clash. You know Dunton’s surly disposition?”
“Yes; but he’s a good man in his place. He’s sour because so many younger men have got ahead of him in the service. ”

“ Webb, I resumed my journey to Truro just as the shades of evening were gathering, expecting to reach Mr. Avery’s in time for his usually late supper. Before I had gone very far, my horse showed a slight lameness and I was, perforce, obliged to travel at a slow pace. Night comes on rapidly at this season and it was very dark when I reached the confines of Billingsgate. I had long since left the thickly populated district behind and I guided my horse carefully over the dunes as I was not sure of the way, not having been accustomed to traveling by night in that region of the Cape. ”