E-text prepared by David Edwards, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net/) from scanned images of public domain material generously made available by the Google Books Library Project (http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/library.html) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 18622-h.htm or 18622-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/6/2/18622/18622-h/18622-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/8/6/2/18622/18622-h.zip) Note: Images of the original pages are available through the the Google Books Library Project. See http://books.google.com/books?vid=LCCN04016133&id The Big Brother Series. CAPTAIN SAM Or The Boy Scouts of 1814 by GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON Author of "The Big Brother," etc., etc. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 182 Fifth Avenue. 1876. Copyright. G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1876. TO MY BOY-FRIEND MONTAGUE DOUGLAS, IN RECOGNITION OF HIS MANLY CHARACTER, AND IN MEMORY OF THE FOOT-JOURNEYS WE MADE TOGETHER A YEAR AGO, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. CAPTAIN SAM. CHAPTER I. A MUTINY. "If you open your mouth again, I'll drive my fist down your throat!" The young man, or boy rather,--for he was not yet eighteen years old,--who made this very emphatic remark, was a stalwart, well-built youth, lithe of limb, elastic in movement, slender, straight, tall, with a rather thin face, upon which there was as yet no trace of coming beard, high cheek bones, and eyes that seemed almost to emit sparks of fire as their lids snapped rapidly together. He spoke in a low tone, without a sign of anger in his voice, but with a look of earnestness which must have convinced the person to whom he addressed his not very suave remark, that he really meant to do precisely what he threatened. As he spoke he laid his left hand upon the other's shoulder, and placed his face as near to his companion's as was possible without bringing their noses into actual contact; but he neither clenched nor shook his fist. Persons who mention weapons which they really have made up their minds to use, do not display them in a threatening manner. That is the device of bullies who think to frighten their adversaries by the threatening exhibition as they do by their threatening words. Sam Hardwicke was not a bully, and he did not wish to frighten anybody. He merely wished to make the boy hold his tongue, and he meant to do that in any case, using whatever measure of violence he might find necessary to that end. He mentioned his fist merely because he meant to use that weapon if it should be necessary. His companion saw his determination, and remained silent. "Now," resumed Sam, "I wish to say something to all of you, and I will say it to you as an officer should talk to soldiers on a subject of this sort. Fall into line! Right dress! steady, front!"