A short ride brought them to rugged rocks and rude cliffs overhanging the river, in the then almost untouched forest, where Goss was left behind a sheltering boulder.
In a few moments he distinctly saw a boat floating on the quiet bosom of the water. The far-flung sound of men’s voices came to him borne on the slight wind that sighed in the treetops. It was an inexpressibly lonely spot, and Goss shuddered once with a feeling of impending tragedy.
Having heard much talk of the Smuggler—“Black Snake”—for which the Government had been watching so long—with rum, brandy, and wines on board—it was not hard for him to guess why the officers were here.
As the vessel hove to, shadowy figures dropped from her side and began unloading kegs and indistinguishable objects. For a time deathly stillness reigned. Ever responsive to influences, Goss breathed softly, and did not sneeze. The officers stepped as lightly as cats, bracing themselves.
Suddenly there was the crackle of a musket from the bank, followed by others, then the boat answered, shot for shot. The woods blazed—the echoes woke. Bullets whistled through the trees above the horse, but he neither flinched nor whinneyed as the scattered leaves fell about him. After a while, quivering with subdued excitement, he strained his neck forward with dilating nostrils—he hoped it was a battle!
And it was—in a small way.
A man, poised on the deck of the “Black Snake,” swayed and pitched head-first into the river and sank beneath the dark water. There were oaths and cries, then the “Black Snake” gathered sail and sped before the rising wind down the river and out of sight, followed by a volley of musketry.
This was but one of the many episodes of that border State, Vermont, which gave her an atmosphere of adventure and filled her young men with courage and her women with that quality of coolness which faces life and its cares unflinchingly.
A little later Goss saw several men advancing, tired, silent and grim. They were mountain men and stern, they had not much to say, but they bore between them the lifeless body of the officer who had so lately been the horse’s pleasant rider.
Goss shivered as they placed their burden across his back.