as the midshipman crawled away from the tent of the french general, he adopted the precautions which james had suggested, and felt the ground carefully for twigs or sticks each time he moved. the still-glowing embers of the campfires warned him where the indians and canadians were sleeping, and, carefully avoiding these, he made his way up beyond the limits of the camp. there were no sentries posted here, for the french were perfectly safe from attack from that quarter, and, once fairly beyond the camp, the midshipman rose to his feet, and made his way to the edge of the slopes above the saint lawrence. he walked for about a mile, and then paused, on the very edge of the sharp declivity, and whistled as agreed upon.
a hundred yards further, he repeated the signal. the fourth time he whistled he heard, just below him, the answer, and a minute later james walsham stood beside him.
"you young scamp, what are you doing here?"
"it was not my fault, captain walsham, it wasn't indeed; but i should have been tomahawked if i had stayed there a moment longer."
"what do you mean by 'you would have been tomahawked,'" james asked angrily, for he was convinced that the midshipman had made up his mind, all along, to accompany him.
"the pilot of the sutherland swam ashore, with the news that you had been taken prisoner on purpose, and were really a spy."
"but how on earth did he know that?" james asked. "i took care the man was not on deck, when we made the holes in the boat, and he does not understand a word of english, so he could not have overheard what the men said."
"i am sorry to say, sir, that it is a case of treachery, and that one of our officers is concerned in it. the man said that an officer released him from his cell, and took him to his cabin, and then lowered him by a rope through the porthole."
"impossible!" james walsham said.
"it sounds impossible, sir; but i am afraid it isn't, for the officer gave him a note to bring to the general, telling him all about it, and that note i have got in my pocket now."
the midshipman then related the whole circumstances of his discovery.
"it is an extraordinary affair," james said. "however, you are certainly not to blame for making your escape when you did. you could not have got back into your tent till too late; and, even could you have done so, it might have gone hard with you, for of course they would have known that you were, what they would call an accomplice, in the affair."
"i will go on if you like, sir," the boy said, "and hide somewhere else, so that if they track me they will not find you."
"no, no," james said, "i don't think there's any fear of our being tracked. indian eyes are sharp; but they can't perform miracles. in the forest it would be hopeless to escape them, but here the grass is short and the ground dry, and, without boots, we cannot have left any tracks that would be followed, especially as bodies of french troops have been marching backwards and forwards along the edge of these heights for the last fortnight. i won't say that it is impossible that they can find us, but it will not be by our tracks.
"now, come down to this bush where i was lying. we will wait there till daylight breaks. it is as far down as i dare go by this light, but, when we can see, we will find a safer place further down."
cautiously they made their way down to a clump of bushes, twenty feet below the edge, and there, lying down, dozed until it became light enough to see the ground. the slope was very steep, but bushes grew here and there upon it, and by means of these, and projecting rocks, they worked their way down some thirty feet lower, and then sat down among some bushes, which screened them from the sight of anyone who might be passing along the edge of the river, while the steep slope effectually hid them from anyone moving along above.
"is there any signature to that letter," james asked presently.
the midshipman took the piece of paper out and looked at it.
"no, there is no signature," he said; "but i know the handwriting. i have seen it in orders, over and over again."
james was silent a few minutes.
"i won't ask you who it is, though i fear i know too well. look here, middleton, i should like you to tear that letter up, and say no more about it."
"no, sir," the boy said, putting the paper in his pocket. "i can't do that. of course i am under your orders, for this expedition; but this is not an affair in which i consider that i am bound to obey you. this concerns the honour of the officers of my ship, and i should not be doing my duty if i did not, upon my return, place this letter in the hands of the captain. a man who would betray the general's plans to the enemy, would betray the ship, and i should be a traitor, myself, if i did not inform the captain. i am sorry, awfully sorry, that this should happen to an officer of the sutherland, but it will be for the captain to decide whether he will make it public or not.
"there is one thing. if it was to be anyone, i would rather that it was he than anyone else, for there isn't a man on board can abide him. no, sir, i am sorry, but i cannot give up the letter, and, even if you had torn it up when you had it in your hand just now, i should have reported the whole thing to the captain, and say i could swear to the handwriting."
james was silent. the boy was right, and was only doing his duty in determining to denounce the act of gross treachery which had been perpetrated. he was deeply grieved, however, to think of the consequences of the discovery, and especially of the blow that it would be, to the squire, to hear that his nephew was a traitor, and indeed a murderer at heart, for, had not his flight taken place before the discovery was made, he would certainly have been executed as a spy.
the day passed quietly. that the indians were searching for him, far and wide, james walsham had no doubt, and indeed, from their hiding place he saw several parties of redskins moving along on the river bank, carefully examining the ground.
"it's lucky we didn't move along there," he said to his companion, "for the ground is so soft that they would assuredly have found our tracks. i expect that they think it possible that we may have been taken off, in a boat, during the night."
"i hope they will keep on thinking so," the midshipman said. "then they will give up looking for us."
"they won't do that," james replied; "for they will be sure that they must have seen our tracks, had we passed along that muddy bank. fortunately, they have no clue to where we really are. we might have gone east, west, or north, and the country is so covered with bush that anything like a regular search is absolutely impossible."
"i hope we ain't going to be very long, before we get on board again," the midshipman said, as he munched the small piece of bread james served out to him for his dinner. "the grub won't last more than two days, even at this starvation rate, and that one bottle of water is a mockery. i could finish it all, straight off. why, we shall be as badly off as if we were adrift at sea, in a boat."
"not quite so bad," james replied. "we can chew the leaves of some of these bushes; besides, people don't die of hunger or thirst in four days, and i hope, before that, to be safely on board."
not until it was perfectly dark did they leave their hiding place, and, by the aid of the bushes, worked their way up to the top of the ascent again. james had impressed on his companion that, on no account, was he to speak above a whisper, that he was to stop whenever he did, and, should he turn off and descend the slope, he was at once to follow his example. the midshipman kept close to his companion, and marvelled how assuredly the latter walked along, for he himself could see nothing.
several times, james stopped and listened. presently, he turned off to the right, saying "hush!" in the lowest possible tone, and, proceeding a few paces down the slope, noiselessly lay down behind the bush. the midshipman imitated his example, though he wondered why he was so acting, for he could hear nothing. two or three minutes later he heard a low footfall, and then the sound of men speaking in a low voice, in some strange tongue. he could not see them, but held his breath as they were passing. not till they had been gone some minutes did james rise, and pursue his course.
"two indians," he said, "and on the search for us. one was just saying to the other he expected, when they got back to camp, to find that some of the other parties had overtaken us."
another mile further, and they saw the light of several fires ahead.
"that is a french battery," james said. "we must make a detour, and get to the other side of it; then i will crawl back, and see if there is any path down to the river."
the detour was made, and then, leaving the midshipman in hiding a few paces from the edge, james crawled back. he soon saw, by the fires, that the battery was manned by sailors from the french fleet, and he had little fear of these discovering him. keeping well below them, he came presently upon a narrow path. above him, he could hear a french sentry walking. he followed the path down, with the greatest caution, stepping with the most extreme care, to avoid displacing a stone. he found the path was excessively steep and rugged, little more, indeed, than a sheep track. it took him half an hour to reach the bottom, and he found that, in some places, sappers had been lately at work obliterating the path, and that it could scarcely be considered practicable for men hampered with their arms and ammunition.
another half hour's work took him to the top again, and a few minutes later he rejoined his companion.
"that won't do," he said. "we must try again. there is a path, but the troops could scarcely climb it if unopposed, and certainly could not do so without making such a noise as would attract the notice of the sentinels above."
"that is the battery they call sillery," the midshipman said. "they have fired at us over and over again from there, as we went up or down the river. there is another about a mile further on. it is called samos."
upon reaching the samos battery, james again crept up and reconnoitred. the way down, however, was even more difficult than at sillery. there was, indeed, no regular path, and so steep was the descent that he doubted whether it would be possible for armed men to climb it. even he, exceptionally strong and active as he was, and unencumbered with arms, had the greatest difficulty in making his way down and up again and, indeed, could only do so by grasping the trunks of trees and strong bushes.
"it can't be done there," he said to the midshipman when he joined him again. "and now we must look for a hiding place. we must have been five or six hours since we started, and the nights are very short. at any rate, we cannot attempt another exploration before morning."
"i wish we could explore the inside of a farm house and light upon something to eat and drink," the midshipman said.
"it's no use wishing," james replied. "we can't risk anything of that sort and, probably, all the farm houses are full of troops. we have got a little bread left. that will hold us over tomorrow comfortably."
"it may hold us," middleton said; "but it certainly won't hold me comfortably. my idea of comfort, at the present time, would be a round of beef and a gallon of ale."
"ah! you are an epicure," james laughed. "if you had had three or four years of campaigning in the forest, as i have had, you would learn to content yourself on something a good deal less than that."
"i might," the boy said; "but i have my doubts about it. there's one comfort. we shall be able to sleep all day tomorrow, and so i sha'n't think about it. as the indians did not find our tracks yesterday, they are not likely to do so today."
they were some time before they found a hiding place, for the descent was so steep that they had to try several times, before they could get down far enough to reach a spot screened by bushes, and hidden from the sight of anyone passing above. at last they did so, and soon lay down to sleep, after partaking of a mouthful of water each, and a tiny piece of bread. they passed the day for the most part in sleep, but the midshipman woke frequently, being now really parched with thirst. each time, he chewed a few leaves from the bush in which they were lying, but derived but small comfort from it.
"it's awful to think of tomorrow," he said, as evening approached. "even supposing you find a way down tonight, it must be midnight tomorrow before we are taken off."
"if i find a way down," james said, "i will, if possible, take you down with me, and then we can take a long drink at the river; but, at any rate, i will take the bottle down with me, and bring it up full for you. the next place to try is the spot where we saw some tents, as we went up the river. there is no battery there, and the tents can only have been pitched there because there was some way down to the water. it cannot be more than half a mile away, for it was not more than a mile from fort samos."
"can't i go with you?" the midshipman said. "i will be as quiet as a cat; and, if you find it is a good path, and come up to fetch me down, you see there will be a treble risk of being seen."
"very well," james agreed. "only mind, if you set a stone rolling, or break a twig, it will cost us both our lives, to say nothing of the failure of our expedition."
"i will be as quiet as a mouse. you see if i ain't," the midshipman said confidently; "and i will try not to think, even once, of the water below there, so as not to hurry."
together they crept cautiously along the edge of the ridge, until they came to a clump of some fifteen tents. as they approached they could see, by the light of the fires, that the encampment was one of canadian troops.
james had not intended to move forward until all were asleep, but the men were all chatting round the fires, and it did not seem to him that a sentry had, as yet, been placed on the edge of the descent. he therefore crept forward at once, followed closely by the midshipman, keeping, as far as possible, down beyond the slope of the descent.
presently, he came to a path. he saw at once that this was very different from the others--it was regularly cut, sloping gradually down the face of the sharp descent, and was wide enough for a cart to pass. he at once took his way down it, moving with the greatest caution, lest a sentry should be posted some distance below. it was very dark, for, in many places, the trees met overhead.
about halfway down he suddenly came to a stop, for, in front of him, rose a bank breast high. here, if anywhere, a sentry should have been placed, and, holding his companion's arm, james listened intently for some time.
"mind what you are doing," he said in a whisper. "this is a breastwork and, probably, the path is cut away on the other side. fortunately, we are so far down the hill now, that there is not much risk of their hearing any slight noise we might make. you stand here, till i find out what's on the other side."
james climbed over the breastwork, and cautiously let himself go on the other side. he fell some five or six feet.
"come on," he said in a low voice. "lower yourself down by your arms. i can reach your legs then."
the gap cut in the path was some ten feet across, and six feet deep. when, with some difficulty, they clambered up on the other side, they found the path obstructed by a number of felled trees, forming a thick abattis. they managed to climb the steep hillside, and kept along it until past the obstruction. then they got on to the path again, and found it unbroken to the bottom.
"so far, so good," james said. "now, do you stop here, while i crawl forward to the water. the first thing to discover is whether they have a sentinel stationed anywhere near the bottom of this path."
the time seemed terribly long to middleton before james returned, though it was really but a few minutes.
"all right!" he said, as he approached him. "there is no one here, though i can hear some sentries farther up the river. now you can come forward, and have a drink. fortunately, the river is high."
after having satisfied their thirst, middleton asked:
"where are you going now? i don't care how far we have got to march, for, after that drink, i feel ready for anything."
"it won't do to hide anywhere near," james said; "for, if the boat which comes to take us off were to be seen, it would put them on their guard, and there would be plenty of sentries about here in future. no, we will keep along at the foot of the precipice till we are about halfway, as far as we can tell, between samos and sillery, and then we will climb up, as high as we can get, and show our signal in the morning. but you must be careful as we walk, for, as i told you, there are some sentries posted by the water's edge, higher up."
"i will be careful, don't you fear," the midshipman said. "there is not much fear of a fellow, walking about in the dark without boots, not being careful. i knocked my toe against a rock, just now, and it was as much as i could do not to halloa. i will be careful in future, i can tell you."
an hour's walking brought them to a spot where the hill was rather less steep than usual. they climbed up, until they gained a spot some fifty feet above the level of the river, and there sat down in a clump of bushes.
"as soon as it's daylight, we will choose a spot where we can show a signal, without the risk of it's being seen from below," james said. "we mustn't go to sleep, for we must move directly the dawn commences, else those sentries below might make us out."
at daybreak they shifted their position, and gained a spot completely hidden from below, but from which an entire view of the river could be obtained.
"tide will be low in a couple of hours," the midshipman said. "there are the fleet below. they will come up with the first flood, so, in three or four hours, they will be abreast of us. i hope they will make out our signal."
"i have no fear of that," james replied. "they are sure to keep a sharp lookout for it."
presently the tide grew slacker, and, half an hour later, the ships were seen to hoist their sails, and soon began to drop slowly up the river. when they approached, james fastened his handkerchief against the trunk of a tree, well open to view from the river, and then stood with his eyes fixed on the approaching ships. just as the sutherland came abreast of the spot where they were standing, the ensign was dipped. james at once removed his handkerchief.
"now," he said, "middleton, you can turn in and take a sleep. at twelve o'clock tonight there will be a boat below for us."
two or three hours after darkness had fallen, james and his companion made their way down the slope, and crawled out to the water's edge. there was no sentry within hearing, and they sat down, by the edge of the river, until suddenly a light gleamed for an instant, low down on the water, two or three hundred yards from the shore.
they at once stepped into the river, and, wading out for some little distance, struck out towards where they had seen the light. a few minutes' swimming, and they saw something dark ahead. another few strokes took them alongside, and they were hauled into the boat.
the slight noise attracted the attention of a sentry, some little distance along the shore, and his qui vive came sharply across the water, followed a few seconds later by the flash of his gun.
the crew now bent to their oars, and, a quarter of an hour later, the boat was alongside the sutherland, which, with her consorts, was slowly drifting up the stream. general wolfe and the admiral were on deck, and anxiously waiting the arrival of the boat. the former, in his anxiety, hailed the boat as it approached.
"is captain james walsham on board?"
"yes, sir," james replied.
"bravo, bravo!" the general cried, delighted.
"bravo!" he repeated, seizing james walsham's hand as he stepped on deck. "i did not expect to see you again, captain walsham, at least until we took quebec. now, come to my cabin at once and tell me all about it. but perhaps you are hungry."
"i am rather hungry, general," james said quietly. "we have had nothing to eat but a crust of bread for three days."
"we? who are we?" the general asked quickly.
"mr. middleton and myself, sir. he escaped after i had left, and joined me."
"the galley fires are out," the admiral said, "but you shall have some cold meat in my cabin, instantly."
james was at once led to the cabin, where, in two or three minutes, food and a bottle of wine were placed before him. the general would not allow him to speak a word, till his hunger was satisfied. then, when he saw him lay down his knife and fork, he said:
"now, captain walsham, in the first place, have you succeeded--have you found a practicable path down to the river?"
"i have found a path, sir. it is cut in one place, and blocked with felled trees, but the obstacles can be passed. there are some canadians, in tents, near the top of the path, but they seem to keep a very careless watch, and no sentry is placed at the bottom, or on the edge of the river anywhere near."
"admirable, admirable!" wolfe exclaimed. "at last there is a chance of our outreaching montcalm. and you were not seen examining the path? nothing occurred to excite their suspicion, and lead them to keep a better lookout in future?"
"no, sir," james replied. "they have had no suspicion of my presence anywhere near. the spot where i was taken off was two miles higher. i moved away in order that, if we were seen swimming off to the boat, no suspicion should occur that we had been reconnoitring the pathway."
"that is right," the general said. "now, tell me the whole story of what you have been doing, in your own way."
james related his adventures, up to the time when he was joined by the midshipman.
"but what made mr. middleton escape?" the admiral asked. "i thought that his instructions were precise, that he was to permit himself to be taken prisoner, and was to remain quietly in quebec, until we could either exchange him or take the place."
"that was how he understood his instructions, sir," james said; "but i would rather that you should question him, yourself, as to his reasons for escaping. i may say they appear to me to be perfectly valid, as an occurrence took place upon which it was impossible for captain peters to calculate, when he gave them."
james then finished the report of his proceedings, and general wolfe expressed his great satisfaction at the result.
"i will put you in orders, tomorrow, for your brevet-majority," he said; "and never was the rank more honourably earned."
the admiral rang a hand bell.
"send mr. middleton to me. where is he?"
"he is having supper in captain peters' cabin."
"ask captain peters if he will be good enough to come in with him."
a minute later captain peters entered, followed by the midshipman.
"i suppose, peters, you have been asking young middleton the reason why he did not carry out his instructions?"
"i have, admiral," captain peters said gravely, "and i was only waiting until you were disengaged to report the circumstance to you. he had better tell you, sir, his own way."
captain peters then took a seat at the table, while the midshipman related his story, in nearly the same words in which he had told it to james. when he told of the account the canadian pilot had given of his escape, the admiral exclaimed:
"but it seems altogether incredible. that some one has unbolted the man's cabin from the outside seems manifest, and it is clear that either gross treachery, or gross carelessness, enabled him to get free. i own that, although the sergeant of marines declares positively that he fastened the bolts, i think that he could not have done so, for treachery seems almost out of the question. that an officer should have done this seems impossible; and yet, what the man says about the cabin, and being let out by a rope, would seem to show that it must have been an officer."
"i am sorry to say, sir," middleton said, "that the man gave proofs of the truth of what he was saying. the officer, he said, gave him a paper, which i heard and saw the general reading aloud. it was a warning that captain walsham had purposely allowed himself to be captured, and that he was, in fact, a spy. the french officer, in his haste, laid down the paper on the table when he rushed out, and i had just time to creep under the canvas, seize it, and make off with it. here it is, sir. i have showed it to captain peters."
the admiral took the paper and read it, and handed it, without a word, to general wolfe.
"that is proof conclusive," he said. "peters, do you know the handwriting?"
"yes," captain peters said gravely. "i recognized it at once, as did mr. middleton. it is the handwriting of lieutenant horton."
"but what on earth could be the motive of this unhappy young man?" the admiral asked.
"i imagine, sir, from what i saw on the evening before captain walsham set out, and, indeed, from what captain walsham said when i questioned him, that it was a case of private enmity against captain walsham."
"is this so, captain walsham?" general wolfe asked.
"i have no enmity against him, sir," james said, "though i own that his manner impressed me with the idea that he regarded me as an enemy. the fact is, we lived near each other as boys, and we had a fight. i got the best of it. he gave an account of the affair, which was not exactly correct, to his uncle, mr. linthorne, a wealthy landowner and a magistrate. the latter had me up at the justice room; but i brought forward witnesses, who gave their account of the affair. mr. linthorne considered that his nephew--whom he had at that time regarded as his heir--had not given a correct account, and was so angry that he sent him to sea.
"i would say, sir," he said earnestly, "that, were it possible, i should have wished this unhappy affair to be passed over."
"impossible!" the admiral and general said together.
"i fear it is impossible now, sir," james said gravely; "but it might have been stopped before."
"captain walsham wanted me to tear up the note," the midshipman put in; "but, though i was awfully sorry such a thing should happen to an officer of the sutherland, i was obliged to refuse to do so, as i thought it was my duty to hand the note to you."
"certainly it was, mr. middleton," the admiral said. "there can be no question about that."
"i wonder that you even suggested such a thing, captain walsham," the general remarked. "this was not a private affair. the whole success of the enterprise was jeopardized."
"it was, sir," james said quietly; "but you must remember that, at the time i asked mr. middleton to tear up the note, it had ceased to be jeopardized, for i had got fairly away. i am under great obligations to mr. linthorne, and would do much to save him pain. i regarded this act, not as one of treason against the country, but as one of personal enmity to myself, and i am sure that lieutenant horton, himself, did not think of the harm that his letter might do to the cause, but was blinded by his passion against me."
"your conduct does credit to your heart, captain walsham, if not to your head," general wolfe said.
the admiral rang the bell.
"tell lieutenant horton that i wish to speak to him, and order a corporal, with a file of marines, to be at the door."
the messenger found lieutenant horton pacing the quarterdeck with hurried steps. on the receipt of the message, instead of going directly to the admiral's cabin, he ran down below, caught something from a shelf by his berth, placed it in the breast of his coat, and then went to the admiral's cabin. the corporal, with the two marines, had already taken his station there. the young officer drew a deep breath, and entered.
a deadly fear had seized him, from the moment he saw the signal of james walsham, although it seemed impossible to him that his treachery could have been discovered. the sudden summons at this hour of the night confirmed his fears, and it was with a face almost as pale as death that he entered the cabin.
"lieutenant horton," the admiral said, "you are accused of having assisted in the escape of the pilot, who was our prisoner on board this ship. you are further accused of releasing him with the special purpose that the plans which general wolfe had laid, to obtain information, might be thwarted."
"who accuses me?" richard horton asked. "captain walsham is my enemy. he has for years intrigued against me, and sought to do me harm. he was the companion of smugglers, and was captured by the thetis, and had the choice of being sent to prison, and tried for his share in the killing of some of the coast guards, or of going before the mast. i was a lieutenant in the thetis at the time, and i suppose, because i did not then interfere on his behalf, he has now trumped up this accusation against me, an accusation i defy him to prove."
"you are mistaken, lieutenant horton," the admiral said. "captain walsham is not your accuser. nay, more, he has himself committed a grave dereliction of duty in trying to screen you, and by endeavouring to destroy the principal evidence against you. mr. middleton overheard a conversation between the canadian pilot and the french general, and the former described how he had been liberated by an english officer, who assisted him to escape by a rope from the porthole in his cabin."
"i do not see that that is any evidence against me," richard horton said. "in the first place, the man may have been lying. in the second place, unless he mentioned my name, why am i suspected more than any other officer? and, even if he did mention my name, my word is surely as good as that of a canadian prisoner. it is probable that the man was released by one of the crew--some man, perhaps, who owed me a grudge--who told him to say that it was i who freed him, in hopes that some day this outrageous story might get about."
"your suggestions are plausible, mr. horton," the admiral said coldly. "unfortunately, it is not on the word of this canadian that we have to depend.
"there, sir," he said, holding out the letter; "there is the chief witness against you. captain peters instantly recognized your handwriting, as mr. middleton had done before him."
richard horton stood gazing speechlessly at the letter. so confounded was he, by the unexpected production of this fatal missive, that he was unable to utter a single word of explanation or excuse.
"lay your sword on the table, sir," the admiral said, "and retire to your cabin, where you will remain, under close arrest, till a court martial can be assembled."
richard horton unbuckled his sword and laid it on the table, and left the cabin without a word.
"it would have been better to send a guard with him," captain peters said; "he might jump overboard, or blow his brains out."
"quite so, peters," the admiral said. "the very thing that was in my mind, when i told him to retire to his cabin--the very best thing he could do, for himself and for the service. a nice scandal it would be, to have to try and hang a naval officer for treachery.
"i am sure you agree with me, general?"
"thoroughly," the general said. "let him blow his brains out, or desert; but you had best keep a sharp lookout that he does not desert at present. after we have once effected our landing, i should say keep as careless a watch over him as possible; but don't let him go before. it is bad enough that the french know that captain walsham went ashore for the purpose of discovering a landing place; but it would be worse were they to become aware that he has rejoined the ships, and that he was taken off by a boat within a couple of miles of the spot where we mean to land."
the admiral was right. richard horton had, when summoned to the cabin, hastily placed a pistol in his bosom, with the intention of blowing out his brains, should he find that the discovery he dreaded had been made. had the marines posted outside the cabin been ordered to accompany him, he would at once have carried his purpose into execution; but, finding himself free, he walked to his cabin, still determined to blow out his brains before morning; but, the impulse once past, he could not summon up resolution to carry his resolve into effect. he would do it, he said to himself, before the court martial came on. that would be time enough.
this was the decision he arrived at when the morning dawned upon him, lying despairing in his cot.
