Historic Events of Colonial Days

by Rupert Sargent Holland

"Do you really think he was?" exclaimed Sam, his tone of voice showing that he had expected a Yorker to be a much more terrifying looking creature than this stranger. "What did he want of Farmer Robins' place then?"

"I don't know," answered Jack. "But I think we might be able to find out something more about it if we follow his tracks."

They turned to the west, following the road where the prints of the man's big hob-nailed boots could now and then be seen in the frozen crust of snow. The sun was setting, and the wind was rising, and they pulled their fur caps down over their ears and stuck their hands in their pockets as they trudged along. It grew dark rapidly. They passed two cabins where they looked closely for a clump of maples and then scoured the road to find the prints of the hob-nails. The man's tracks went on, and they followed, only speaking in whispers now lest they should be overheard.

At the third log house they stopped. Jack, catching Sam by the sleeve, pointed to the back of the house, where the starlight unmistakably showed a grove of trees. Smoke came from the chimney, and the front door, not quite plumb in its frame, showed there was a light inside. Jack crept round the cabin, Sam following him, each as silent as if they were stalking moose. There were four windows, but each was securely shuttered from the inside, and though light came through the cracks, the boys could see nothing of what was going on inside nor catch a sound of voices.

Then Jack made the circuit of the house again, this time examining the logs and the filling of clay between them with the greatest care. At last he found a place that seemed to interest him, and he pulled out his hunting knife from its sheath and began to pick at a knot-hole in the wood. His knife was very sharp, and he dug into the circle round the knot and then into the clay just below it. He worked swiftly and very quietly. In a short time he had the wood loosened; pressing inward with his blade he forced the knot out, and then scraped some of the plaster away. Now he had a hole that enabled him by stooping a little to look into the cabin.

He put his eye to the opening and saw about a dozen men in the room. He could hear what they said. They were, as he had suspected, Yorkers, planning to make an attack on the people at Beaver Falls. As Jack listened he pieced one remark to another, and caught the gist of their plans. They meant to march down to the Falls that night, stop at each house, rout the people out, make them prisoners in the sawmill, and take possession of houses and farms under orders from officers of the province of New York.

Jack drew away from the hole, and let Sam have a chance to look into the log-house room. When Sam had watched and listened for a few minutes he nodded to Jack, and the two stole away from the cabin as noiselessly as they had circled round it.

Out on the road, as they went hurrying back by the way they had come, they whispered to each other, telling what each had overheard. Then they went at a dog-trot to the path along the river and came to the sawmill at Beaver Falls.

Peter, "Big Bill" Dutton, Snyder, and most of the other men were at the mill, though some had been stationed on sentry-duty in the fields and woods. Jack told his story without interruption, and then the men began to plan how they should welcome the Yorkers. It was "Big Bill's" plan they finally adopted, and set to work to carry it into effect at once.

All the people at the Falls had had their supper, the women were busy cleaning up, most of the children were in bed. The men went to the houses, and told the women that they and the children must spend the night in the sawmill. Children were bundled into warm clothes, and, wondering what was happening, were hurried to the mill by their mothers. Half a dozen men under command of Snyder were stationed at the mill, the others were allotted to the different houses in the village. Two were told off to each house, and it happened that Peter and Jack stood on guard at the house nearest the Falls.