Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 106, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1899 — THE PATRIOTS TALISMAN. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE PATRIOTS TALISMAN.

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.

CHAPTER IX. ' The following morning was sharp and Mur, and long before daylight Seaton |&d his lieutenants had made a hearty Itaeakfast upon Harry Lee’s mutton, and pjirere out among the gathering men. The 'troop was up to its full standard of one jKtmdred rank and file. Three-and-twenty the original members had fallen in batbut it was a crack company, and Mjnainly by the efforts of Robert Morris, itatd by bis individual expenditure of jaoney, both men and horses, of the right 'Stamp, had been furnished to fill all vanmry Lee of Virginia kept Light-Horse pKarry’s command at its maximum. ■ Beaton had seen his troop all gathered, •nd was ready himself to mount, when he felt a hand upon his arm, and on turning saw his old Philadelphia friend and natron, Dr. Benjamin Rush, who had ween appointed surgeon general of the Middle Department, and who had come up from York to help care for the sick •nd suffering ones of the army. . "Captain, our general tells me you are gptng for beef.” ' ’ "Yes, Doctor —that is my mission.” ? “"And do you realize how important it Is? O, Captain Seaton, in heaven’s name, 1 Implore you, let there be no failure. If you could have seen what .1 have seen Wring this night just passing away, you Would leap upon this mission as a mother would leap to save her drowning infant. My brave, true boy, I do not draw at all •pon my fancy when I tell you that you *old in your hands the lives of at least taree thousand men —that you can save ■gbem within the next eight-and-forty hours, if you will.” "Doctor!” "It is true, Seaton. Our medicine ■chests are no longer of use to the famtahiug. Those who are strong and well can subsist a while longer on present tare, but the sick and the weak cannot ,4o it. Not an ounce of meat in our hoafor three whole days. Captain Lee Would have given me a mutton carcass Met evening, but what could it do? The hundreds whom it could not have reached would only have gone crazy in seeing 4ind smelling. I had to refuse it. If I way tell the poor sufferers that they ■shall have a rich beef soup within four-■and-twenty hours, the blessed hope will go them more good than all the stimulating potions and drugs in the world.” “Doctor,” cried our hero, moved to the <ore, "go and tell the martyrs that they shall have beef in their kettles before this day is passed. Tell them that Robert Seaton has premised. I will send in tae first lot to yduas soon as I have It tn hand.” “Bless you, Captain! and be sure the 'Messings upon your head shall be many!” “No, no, Doctor, not upon my head. I sun but the agent of the man whom they •ahould bless. Upon our noble chieftain Jet their filial benedictions rest.” "They shall understand. And now, my *oy, God speed you!” It was well for our hero that this duty tad been laid upon him.* Not only did ■tte thrill of the occasion lift his heart .above repining, but the picture of sufferwhich had been so vividly placed betar* him—the suffering of thousands al•peoet unto death—so far overshadowed Individual cause of unrest, that he 4ared not give the latter a place in his thoughts; he could not do it, while the wall of the martyrs sounded in his ears, without lowering himself in his own estimation. His last Item of preparation was made in his hut, by the light of his ■Randle, and before he extinguished the taper his eyes rested upon the device and the legend upon the pommel of his sword —“Deus meumque Jus.” "Aye,” he cried, reverently, “I will not forget it —God and my Right! While the Bight is mine, in God will I put my taust!” And a few minutes later he was In the saddle, ready for the work before klm. By the time the sun was up, the troop 'had descended into the wood beyond the bills of the valley, where was found a good path made by the woodmen, and in half an hour more they had entered upon the territory of the gently undulating and fertile farming district. “Of course,” said Douglas, riding by 'hia commander’s side, “we must not expect to find the cattle of these farmers ready to our hands. The condition of aur camp is known far and wide. We art surrounded by enemies. The staid .and prim old Quakers are many of them Tories, and they would crush us rather -than help us. At least, they will not willingly give us a saving hand. We ■Aall have to hunt for the game we seek.” “But,” suggested Seaton, “cattle cannot be easily concealed.” “And yet they may be hidden away,” pursued the lieutenant. “There is probably not a farmer in this whole section Who does not know that our army is suffering from want of meat; and, knowing -thia, they must know that we shall, sooner or later, make a requisition upon their herds. Ah! there, if I mistake not, is the smoke of old Gabriel Van Tromp’s Chimney I know him. He is a miserly rascal, a red-handed Tory, and rich. And I know that his house was for weeks Ifae headquarters of Kirk Fagan. And -that reminds me, Captain—where is Fatah now?” "The last I heard of him,” replied our Ikero, “he was with Fenton, in the Monmouth Pines. Had he not broken jail by the help of his friends, the fortunes of war might have set him free ere this, ta it has set free three-score of his coung'And I have no doubt,” said Douglas, ‘*that the rascals are now enrolled under Ithe banner of one of Howe’s legions.” “Moat likely," nodded Seaton. “They would make juat the men for foraging "Aye—and my life upon it, that la just what they are at ” At this point the head of ’ the column, table to a bend in the path around a a If | a | » a a a JlWaW* j «uu *u * mJ*

mo us roof. There were two large barns, besides several smaller outbuildings; and in addition to all this there were many tons of hay and straw in stacks upon the premises. “My soul!” said Seaton, when he had taken in the scene, “this man should have cattle.” “So he has, be sure,’ “And his name heads my list.” “As it should, Captain.” “I think,” pursued our hero, “I must draw rather heavily upon Master Van Tromp. How mqny cattle do you imagine he winters?” “Not less than fifty head, all told. Look at his barn room and his fodder.” “If he has fifty, we will take twenty of them, and send a guard back to camp at once. Doctor Rush shall have his beef, and our suffering comrades shall have their soup.” Seaton had no need to look back to see that his command was following in proper order. So thoroughly were they drilled and trained that they moved as one man, and when the first section came to a halt before the door of the house, the whole troop had swung into line, in double ranks. “Where is the man?” muttered the captain, when he had waited a full minute without an appearance of anything human from the house. “He is playing frightened,” said Douglas. “He is an old rat, and wary. I know him.” Seaton sent a corporal to rap at the door. “We know the house is inhabited, from

the chimney smoke. If they do not open in thirty seconds, beat down the door.” Obedience to this last order might not have been so easily accomplished, for the door was of oaken plank, doubled and bolted; but our raiders were spared the necessity of force at this stage. A vigorous application of the pommel of the corporal’s heavy sabre soon called the owner of the establishment into sight. “That is Van Tromp,” whispered Douglas. Gabriel Van Tromp was a man somewhere between fifty and sixty; of a broad, burly figure; dark, heavy features; the iron-gray hair starting out from beneath the rim of his high-crowned, Dutch hat, like the quills of a hedgehog. “High heaven have mercy on us!” he ejaculated, rolling his deep-set eyes upward, and folding his hard, thick hands. “Good, kind gentlemen, why have you come back? You know well that I have given up even to my last cheese.” “How now, Gabriel Van Tromp?” demanded Seaton, who had ridden to the stepping stone of the door. “What do you mean by our coming back? When have you seen me before?” “Ah, good, kind sir, in truth, now that I look more carefully, your face is not familiar, but only yesterday your comrades came, and stripped me completely.” “My comrades?” “Aye—from Philadelphia—Che armed men of King George, whom may the Lord— But—what am I saying? Pardon, good sir. My perplexity and my sore losses have well nigh turned my brain. I meant not to speak against the king in your presence." “Hark ye, my man, for whom do you take us? We are from Valley Forge—not from Philadelphia.” “Good Lord deliver us! How little do I know of war. When I saw your battle array, I thought full sure you were companions of those who swept down so mercilessly upon me yesterday. O! they came in dreadful haste, and with imperious demands. They stripped me of my cattle, of my sheep, and even cleared my poor larder. Heaven’s mercy, fair sir! since the villains must needs be enemies of yours, if you will overtake them and bring back my flocks and herds, I will give you righteous compensation.” At this juncture, two of the men who had been sent to look through the barns and shed pens, returned with intarmation that there were no cattle upon the premises. They had found, in one of the stalls, two very poor cows, which were not worth taking away. Van Tromp heard most of the report. “Aye, your excellency,” he said, stepping out upon the door-stone, “the men of the king left those two poor cows because they knew the creatures could not live to be driven to Philadelphia. If yon choose to take them, I have nothing to say.” •’ "Take them?” responded the Patriot leader, with well-assumed surprise. “Who spoke of taking your cattle, my good man?" iThe man’s dark face brightened in an instant. “O, the rascal!” whispered Douglas in his, commander’s ear. “Look at him.” “Do you think,” asked Seaton, in the same low tone, “that Howe’s rangers would have made-distraint upon this man?” “Not until they had emptied er- tier stall,” replied the lieute' fi-

dently. “I tell you this fellow is the very prince of Tories, and the British have long known it, and profited by it. v “You think he has cattle secreted somewhere?” “I know it. Captain.” “Very well—we will see.” Then turning once more to the farmer, our hero continued, with a smile of entire good nature: “My dear Mr. Van Tromp, I am under the necessity of putting you to a slight inconvenience.” The smile vanished as he went on: “Not long since three men deserted from our camp. I would like to find them and carry them back.” “Indeed, sir, we have no deserters here,” protested Van Tromp, with the first really honest look his face had yet worn. “Very likely not; but still, my dear sir, my duty requires that I shall see every male member of your family—every man and fcoy employed on your premises. You should know how strict are our military orders. It might be at the risk of my head that I should let one of your lads escape my.scrutiny. Will you assemble the men and boys without delay? And, mark you. If you value your life, don’t attempt to deceive me —do not try to hidt from me any of your hands.” “As God lives, your honor, I would not deceive you. I have no object. lam an honest man, though poor—ah! how poor! Since those wretched men of King George came and stripped ” “Never mind that, sir. Let us have a mustering of your men.” “Pardon! Yes, sir.” Van Tromp went into the house and called two of the women to his assistance, and in the course of ten or fifteen minutes all the male members of the household had been assembled under cover of the long, open woodshed. There were ten of them in all —six of them sons of the and four hired men. Of the latter there was one upon whom Seaton’s gaze was instantly riveted. He was a heavily built, smooth-faced youth, not more than eighteen, with a docility in his homely features that eminently fitted him for the position he occupied. The captain beckoned him forward. He gasped for breath, turned pale as a ghost, and his knees fairly knocked together as he stood before the dismounted officer. “What is your name?”

“Luke Thistle, sir.” “How long have you been on this place?” “Ever since I was a little boy, sir.” He quivered from head to foot as he answered, evidently stricken with mortal terror. “Indeed, your excellency,” volunteered the farmer at this point, “this lad has been with me full ten years. Ido assure you that I have never harbored a deserter.” “As for that, Mr. Van Tromp,” returned Seaton, with perfect urbanity, “I could not think, of doubting, your word; but I wish to question this young man somewhat closely. He may have seen some of our deserters. He has been long on> the place, and knows where men could hide. You will remain here with your family while I take him aside.” Van Tromp would have protested, but the captain would not listen, and when the burly host found himself under guard and saw his farm hand being led away, a great terror seized him. Seaton had called upon one of his sergeants, with four men, to dismount and take charge of Master Thistle, after which, in company with Douglas, he led the way to one of the barns, where the youth was bound, hand and foot, and lashed to a post. He bellowed like a suffering calf, and vehemently begged for mercy. “My lad,” said Seaton, very caknly, but with a terrible threat in his looks, “if you tell me the truth I will spare you; but, if you lie to me, I shall cut your head off and throw it out for the hogs to trample on!” And thereupon the speaker drew his gleaming sword. “Now, answer me; and remember that your life Is at stake. Tell me the truth, and you shall not be harmed a hair.” At this point Douglas drew his claymore, at sight of which the poor fellow's terror was increased. Death was certainly very near to him. “Luke Thistle, have any of the king’s soldiers been here?” “I don’t know, sir.” “Speak up. If you are telling the truth, you have nothing to fear. You certainly know who has been here.” “Yes, sir. Kirk Fagan was here two days ago.” “With how many men?" “Ten, sdr.” “What was he doing?” “I don’t know, sir. He went with my master into the house, and stayed a long spell, and then came out and rode aWay.” “He did not take any of your master’s cattle?” “No, sir.” “Where are the cattle?” The color, which had been slowly returning to the lad’s face, all fled again at this. “Look ye, Luke; we know that the cattle are concealed somewhere upon the farm. Lead us to the place, and your life shall be spared. I give!" you just one minute in which to make up your mind' whether you will live or die.” the lad preferred to live, and so signified without further hesitation. He said the cattle were in the woods, not more than half a mile away, and he would point out the path. “But,”, he sobbed, when the bonds had been* removed from his limbs, “my master will kill me.” , “Be not afraid of tibat,” yjd

that for every blow he may give co you, we will give him two." The sergeant was sent back to the house to bring half of the troop, and ere long Master Thistle was seated before a stout corporal, ready to lead the way to the corral. The path in the snow had been skillfull ly concealed from observation, first, by winding among the hay stacks, and next, by running under the hedge of an apple orchard. Beyond this, a point of woodland was struck, and finally, in a thick forest of pines, sheltered by nature and by art, and so situated that no sign of its existence was visible until its very entrance was reached, was found a series of thatched pens containing sixty head of cattle, all in good condition. With the assistance of three of his men, who were well versed in “beef lore,” Seaton selected thirty of the animals and drove them out upon the Valley path, where he detailed a corporal and six men to take them into camp. Never mind about the cursing and the swearing of Gabriel Van Tromp. He took the receipt which Captain Seaton offered him, but when he found indorsed upon the back—“An enemy, and a known harborer of outlaws,” with the signature of “Roderic Douglas,” attached, he wilted. Until then he had not recognized his old-time friend, the sheriff of Trenton. “Douglas!” he cried, with a gasp. “At your service, as formerly,” responded the lieutenant. “I am keeping an eye upon you, Gabriel; and before we go, I wish to give you just one little hint. We shall be this way again. Your boy Luke gave in to save his life. If we find that you have beaten him, or even struck him, for having led us to your pine corral, you shall suffer tenfold. Beware!” That night there was great rejoicing In the American camp, and hundreds of men were snatched from the very jaws of horrible death by the timely arrival of the beef which Captain Seaton had sent in. And two days later, when our hero descended into the vale with full two hundred more fat beeves, the joy and gratitude of the famishing troops knew no bounds. And this was not all. The troop had prisoners with them. (To be continued.) Copyright.

CAPTAIN SEATON’S RECEPTION AT HEADQUARTERS.