"A watch would not amount to anything unless he put as many as half a dozen men on it," answered Levi. "But I think he depends upon the secrecy of his movements and the safety of the cavern for the security of the arms. He put the things away in the night, and I don't believe anybody ever goes over the spring road in the darkness. If he put a watch anywhere he would station it on that road at the place where they shifted the boxes from the wagon to the flatboat. But I reckon we can take care of the watch if there is any there."
"But the road is about a quarter of a mile from the creek," said Deck.
"All of that; and we may pass the place without much of any noise, and no one on the road would be likely to hear us," replied Levi.
"I don't think the watch, if there is one, will give us any trouble, for if they hear us, we can keep out of their way; and I don't think they would have any boat in the creek," added the planter. "Your revolver will keep them at a proper distance when we reach the cavern."
"I found a shingling hatchet in the boathouse, and I brought that along with me," said Artie.
"Are you going to fight with that?" asked Deck.
"Not exactly that; but we couldn't open one of the boxes this afternoon for the want of a tool, and we can do so with this hatchet; then we shall have all the muskets, revolvers, and cartridges we can use," replied Artie.
"That is a good scheme, my boy," added Levi approvingly. "But I don't believe we shall have to do any fighting. If the conspirators have set a watch, it must be in the road; and I reckon we shall clean out the cavern before they can get there."
"We won't fight any battles before we get there," interposed the planter. "We have always been peaceable people, but I suppose we must get used to fighting, for we are going to have a terrible war; and I don't believe in Mr. Seward's prediction that it will all be over in a hundred days. I am ready to become a soldier, Levi, and so are the boys, in defence of the Union."
"I suppose I ought to do the same," added the overseer; "but I had not thought of it."