"It must have surprised you when that 'ere glass was broken in; but I noticed it didn't take a great while to get your wits about you."
"I had been warned. Standing near by the window when the lightning flashed, I saw you, and knew what might be your purpose."
"'Tis a great night for business like this," and again Hiram chuckled as if the whole matter was a huge joke. "Here we are in one of his majesty's own boats, snug as bugs in a wet rug, and being carried faster than any ten-oared barge could move, we not raising a hand. Talk about getting out of Boston town! I can't say that it is any great trick, and we are going as comfortably as possible except, perhaps, that there's a little too much water about. If this 'ere thunder gust holds out ten minutes longer we should be well off the Penny ferry. It would give Silas a good shaking up if we got into camp before he did," and Hiram laughed long and loud, seeming to enjoy making a noise now that we were the same as free from pursuit.
Then it was that Harvey put me to shame by much the same as proving I had not head enough to hold command of the Minute Boys.
"I can see full well why Archie should go to Cambridge," he said, forced almost to scream in order to make his words heard above the noise of the tempest; "but what puzzles me is why Luke Wright and I are going? It appears as if we were advertising the fact that we had a hand in the lad's escape, whereas, by returning to our homes now, and showing ourselves to-morrow morning in the usual places, no suspicion would be aroused."
Hiram stared at the speaker as if in surprise during a dozen seconds, and then said emphatically:
"That's no mean head you've got on your shoulders, lad, and it mixes me up not a little because I was such a simple as not to have thought that for you and Luke Wright to disappear at the exact time Archie did, would be much the same as confessing that you had a hand in the neat little trick done at the Britishers' prison."
Now that Harvey had spoken, reminding me of my duty, I could understand full well how foolish we would be to remain with Hiram and Archie. We could gain nothing by going to Cambridge, because Silas was most like already on his way there carrying such information as had been gathered, and the dullest fellow that ever walked the streets of Boston town could not fail to realize how much of trouble we might be laying up for ourselves. Therefore it was that I asked quickly of Hiram whether or no he could work the boat so far in shore that we might land.
By this time we were well off Barton's point, having sailed around the easterly end of the town, and the tempest was yet as fierce as when we set off.
"Bless your soul, lad, I can put her almost anywhere on this 'ere shore, though I don't claim to be what you might call a sailor, nor even a good imitation of one: but it's a mighty poor stick that can't work a pair of oars."