"What'er you goin' to do with me?" Essek Harland cried with a whine. "I ain't to be blamed for what's been done this night! How can I help it if a crowd of Britishers take possession of my mill?" "Talk that over with Elias Macomber; he's aboard the pungy," Darius replied in a matter-of-fact tone as he proceeded to bind the man with strips of bags provided by Jim. CHAPTER V. WITH THE FLEET. The British sailors did not make any talk on returning to consciousness and finding themselves bound hand and foot. The officer, however, after recovering from the bewilderment which appeared to have come over him because of having been taken prisoner in such an unceremonious fashion, protested against being tied like a criminal. "Will you give your word to make no attempt at escape?" Darius asked; but this did not suit the Britisher, for most likely he was reckoning on a rescue by those of the people who favored the king, and there were not a few of such vermin on the Patuxent river. "I refuse to give my parole, save to an officer of the American army or navy," he said stiffly, and Darius replied cheerily: "Then you see that we've got no other course save to deal out the same dose for all, 'cause we're not countin' on losin' any of you." "What are you goin' to do with me?" the miller asked, and I took it on myself to make reply: "You'll get the same treatment as Elias Macomber, and however harsh it may be, you won't have it as tough as is deserved. These others are prisoners of war; but you two are traitors and spies, therefore must expect to fare according to your deserts." "That's about the size of it, Amos," Darius said as he went from one to another of the prisoners to make certain they were secured properly, and in condition to travel. "I reckon, lad, that we might as well be gettin' the crowd down to the shore, for unless the wind has died away entirely Josiah Coburn should be here mighty soon." "How would it do to take along a supply of meal?" Jerry asked. "If it so be that we don't come up with the fleet by noon to-morrow, we'd be short of provisions, with so many to feed." "Right you are, lad. We'll take from Essek Harland's meal-chest as much as may be needed, an' surely he can't make any complaint when he gets his share." While Jerry was rummaging around to discover the miller's store, we got the prisoners down-stairs, finding it no slight task because two of the sailors, in a spirit of pure mischief, refused to walk, and we were forced to tote them like so many barrels of flour. By the time they were at the foot of the stairs, however, both were willing to provide their own means of transportation, for we did not handle them with any too much care. Essek Harland whimpered and whined like the cur that he was, until we came to suspect he might be making a noise in order to give an alarm to somebody in the vicinity, when Darius reduced him to silence by threatening to put a gag in his mouth.