This was only the beginning. The great event was that of the Gaspee. This was a British schooner carrying six cannon, which cruised about the Bay between Providence and Newport, and made itself so active and so offensive that the people hated it more than all those that had gone before. Captain Duddingstone treated every vessel as if it had been a pirate, and the people were eager to give it the same dose they had given the Liberty.
Their time came in June, 1772. The Hannah, a vessel trading between New York and Providence, came in sight of the Gaspee and was ordered to stop. But Captain Linzee had a fine breeze and did not care to lose it. He kept on at full speed, and the Gaspee set out in chase.
It was a very pretty race that was seen that day over the ruffled waters of the Bay. For twenty-five miles it kept up and the Hannah was still ahead. Then the two vessels came near to Providence bar.
The Yankee captain now played the British sailors a cute trick. He slipped on over the bar as if there had been a mile of water under his keel. The Gaspee, not knowing that the Hannah had almost touched bottom, followed, and in a minute more came bump upon the ground. The proud war-vessel stuck fast in the mud, while the light-footed Yankee slid swiftly on to Providence, where the story of the chase and escape was told to eager ears.
Here was a splendid chance. The Gaspee was aground. Now was the time to repay Captain Duddingstone for his pride and insolence. That night, while the people after their day's work were standing and talking about the news, a man passed down the streets, beating a drum and calling out:
"The Gaspee is aground. Who will join in to put an end to her?"
There was no lack of volunteers. Eight large boats had been collected from the ships in the harbor, and there were soon enough to crowd them all. Sixty-four men were selected, and Abraham Whipple, who was afterward one of the first captains in the American navy, took command. Some of the men had guns, but their principal weapons were paving stones and clubs.
It was about two o'clock in the morning when this small fleet came within hail of the Gaspee. She was fast enough yet, though she was beginning to lift with the rising tide. An hour or two more might have set her afloat.
A sentinel who was pacing the deck hailed the boats when they came near.
"Who comes there?" he cried.