Richard Judkins' Wooing: A Tale of Virginia in the Revolution — John Shaqi
Richard Judkins' Wooing: A Tale of Virginia in the RevolutionHains, T. Jenkins (Thornton Jenkins)
History
Richard Judkins' Wooing: A Tale of Virginia in the Revolution
Hains, T. Jenkins (Thornton Jenkins)
Historical fiction; Virginia -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Fiction
"It's no use, we are in for it," said Barron, smiling, "I only hope we
will catch up with the frigate before Captain Cahill recovers from that
tap. Very neatly done, Will, most remarkable--if it had been a trifle
further forward though it would have made a pretty mess of
things--Hello! What's that?"
We were on the weather side of the schooner, and she was heeling over
and going through the water at a great rate. The rush of the waves was
quite loud and continuous against the vessel's side, but above the noise
I could hear a hail from somewhere in the distance to windward. Then
came an answer from the schooner's deck--
"Three men!" bawled Mr. Rose from somewhere above us. Then came another
hail.
"Don't know," bawled the Lieutenant in reply. "One named Perkins, of
Perkins' hole."
Then came another pause followed by another hail.
"Two young--one old, with a face like the breech of a brass
carronnade--all alive and well--no one hurt."
A pause.
"Didn't suppose you knew them"--
Another pause.
"Will not hurt them, sir"--
Then came a pause, followed by a hail I could just distinguish as the
vessels neared each other.
"Keep them until his lordship has time to look into the matter," said
the voice faintly in the distance.
"Aye, aye, sir," bawled Mr. Rose.
"Hold on," I cried desperately, "tell him who we are and let us go
ashore. This outrage has gone far enough"--
"Kape quiet, ye gentleman, or I'll be for jabbing yez with me baynit,"
growled private Rooney, and he held the point against my ribs.
"It's no use," said Barron, smiling pleasantly, "we are in for some
sport. It's a wonder, though, that his lordship didn't recognize me from
that lieutenant's description"--
"Ef yez opin that ugly mug agin, afore the lootinant comes below, I'll
cut off yer elephant years and jam them into it," said the soldier,
Rooney. And then we kept quiet while the schooner drove steadily along
up the river. Sometimes she tacked around the bends and sometimes she
flew along with the wind fair, but before dark we knew by the sound of
the rushing water, that could be distinctly heard through her sides,
she had traveled many miles, and we were a long way from Judkins' Hall.
Just before coming to an anchor for the night the forecastle pivot-gun
was fired at some hostile object, and there appeared to be some
excitement on deck, but this soon subsided. Then the anchor chain roared
through the hawse pipe and the sound of rushing water ceased. Men began
to swarm below, and it was evident that the schooner had made her run
for the day, and that unless Lord Dunmore interested himself quickly in
our behalf we would spend the night uncomfortably.
It was late in the evening when the sergeant who had captured us came
below. He made his way to where we lay through the crowd of sailors and
soldiers who were sitting about talking and eating their evening meal,
and looking at us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account