Kate saw, from the velocity with which they moved, that this object would soon be gained. She feared also that the patriots had not seen her, and would probably not pursue the boat. With the quick decision and boldness of her character she rose suddenly from her seat, and screamed for help, making gestures of appeal to those on shore.
But, almost instantaneously, Arrison, who had seen her rise, struck her a violent blow, which felled her nearly senseless into the sternsheets. Here she lay, comparatively helpless for a while, stifling the moan which pain extracted from her.
Meantime, however, her scream had been heard on shore. The firing of the field piece was stopped. But, in its place, a boat, which lay near the bank, was instantly manned by several of the men, and a pursuit begun. The refugees had, indeed, a considerable start; but so energetically did the patriots row, that, before the former had got half a mile beyond the bend, the latter were seen rounding it gallantly in full chase.
The struggle soon became one of thrilling interest. The refugees had the lightest boat, but were fatigued with their day’s toil, and with their exertions at the oars in descending the river; while the patriots were entirely fresh. In a short while, consequently, it became apparent that the former were losing ground.
Arrison, at this, broke into a torrent of oaths, and urged his crew afresh.
“Pull, pull,” he cried; “do you want to taste cold hemp, you rascals?”
The stimulus of these words produced a perceptible influence on the speed of the boat. The refugees, stripped to their shirts, and with their chests and arms bared, toiled at the oars till the big drops of perspiration gathered like beads upon them. The stout ashen blades, with which they propelled their craft, bent until they seemed about to snap in two. The boat itself fairly leaped along, the water surging under her bows, or whirling in roaring eddies from the rudder.
“We hold our own now,” cried Arrison, swaying to the strokes of the oarsmen. “Pull, pull, and we’ll gain on them. There, we made something at the short bend. No,” he added, suddenly, his inflamed face reddening still more, “they cut across after us. Pull, pull, I say,” he shouted, “or we are taken.”
As he spoke, he glanced over his shoulder continually and in perceptible anxiety. The men knew that the chase was for life and death; and rallying all their strength, they struggled on.
Meantime the exertions of the other crew were not a whit behind those of the refugees. Their helmsman could be seen stimulating them by pointing to Kate; and continually one or more of them glanced over his shoulder to see how the chase went on. The water flashed and glittered in the fading sunlight, as it fell showered from the blades of their oars; while the cataract of foam that rolled under the bows of their craft, proved with what velocity they were driving her along.