the result of their agent's visit was manifested in various ways to the american prisoners at prince town. some sank back upon despair and cursed each grey morning's light, as it awakened them from the blessed oblivion of sleep; many entered the british service, and of these not a few were american only in name, for their birthplace was england and they had fought in the enemy's privateers, tempted thereto by handsome payment. others, like the leaders of the seven, to whom such surrender meant dishonour, dreamed of escape and occupied their energies with projects and plots toward liberty.
but practical good ultimately accrued to the prisoners from mr. reuben blazey's brief appearance on dartmoor. that gentleman, perhaps in thanksgiving upon the discovery that he had not taken smallpox, stirred himself to some purpose after all, and not a few of the grievances that cecil stark had set forth were presently redressed. the transport board sanctioned the renewal of the market in prison no. 4; the place was entirely divided from its fellows for the greater comfort of those who dwelt there; the french outcasts were put into durance apart, and the negroes, with sole exception of sam cuffee, stark's servant, were also removed from among the americans.
more than one of the little band that had sworn to escape, now doubted whether, under this amelioration of circumstances, it would be wise or politic to exchange the inside of the prison for the outside. they held that dartmoor rather than prince town made the real prison, and that the great unknown wilderness, with its morasses and precipices, its barren mountain-tops and dangerous tempests, would be but a poor exchange even for the misery of no. 4. but these doubtful ones were overruled by stark, commodore miller and the youngster, burnham. carberry and leverett most lacked courage; knapps was indifferent and ready to follow any man; cuffee took his master's view. that the negro should be permitted to join their secret association had occasioned some natural opposition; but cecil stark, whose ideas upon the subject were more than a century ahead of his time, won permission to include the servant; and sam's personal fitness none questioned, for aboard the marblehead he had proved himself faithful and courageous. it was the principle that awakened objections, not the man.
soon the markets were again open, and finding that many of the american prisoners had more money than the french, discovering also that they spoke their own tongue and thereby rendered bargaining more easy, the native moor folk crowded among them and opened a brisk traffic in fowls and eggs, cheese, bacon and butter. no small amount of intoxicating drink was also smuggled among them, though it generally paid duty to some turnkey or sentry before reaching the prisoners. the market stalls were arranged in a wide yard; the current market prices were cried out, so that all might understand, and none from the outer world were permitted to begin his business until he had been carefully searched. but as time went on, and the regular merchants became known to the guards, a little strictness relaxed and relations became friendly. the means of the prisoners varied much. some were penniless, and made trinkets carved of bone or wood serve them in place of money; some received regular supplies from home, and these privileged ones, cecil stark and burnham among the rest, shared their funds with less fortunate neighbours.
there came a day when, towards the close of the market hours, leverett and knapps were standing at one of the stalls and addressing the countrywoman who sat upon an upturned barrel behind it.
"where's your grandson of late, mrs. lee? i ha'n't seen him with you for many a week."
"nor won't no more," answered lovey lee. "he's gone into sarvice—groom to a farmer's darter."
"waal now! do your farmers' daughters hev grooms?"
"not often. she's a lady. 'tis a newtake farm 'pon dartymoor, an' the man who started it has got more money than wits. jack takes good wages, an' i have half of 'em, as i ought, seeing i brought him up."
sam cuffee came up at this minute.
"missy lovey lee," he said, "you dun gib me my proper butter yesterday for marse stark. i swear 'twas light, ma'am."
the tall woman, whose head, though she sat on the barrel, was as high as that of mr. knapps where he stood beside her, stared at the negro with scorn in her ferocious eyes.
"get along with you, you black idol! ban't eighteen ounces to the pound good butter weight? you stole some yourself, i'll swear, to oil your ugly face."
"you's a berry imperent ole woman, and i dun take no notice ob your talk. har come marse stark hisself, so you may just speak to him, ma'am," answered cuffee.
stark, carrying a tray, appeared with burnham. this signal was concerted, and as soon as they saw him the other men moved away together.
"look here, mother lee, these won't do, you know. i must take my custom elsewhere if you are not going to deal straight with me," began the sailor bluntly.
"eggs—well, what of 'em?" asked lovey.
"the less said of them the better. here are six—the remnant of the last dozen i bought. of the first six that cuffee broke, i ate none. so the second six you have got to take back and give me six fresh ones from your basket."
but lovey by no means saw the force of this suggestion.
"what next will you ax? to rob me right an' left be your pleasure always; but i've been weak as a fly with you afore, 'cause of your curly hair. you'd starve a poor woman to death."
"take them back, or i'll never buy another thing from you. what's more, my friends shall not either," said stark loudly. then, before she could answer, he added under his breath, "take 'em and look at the yelks!"
lovey instantly perceived that more appeared than was spoken. she remembered also more than one conversation with stark's friends. struck by her intelligence, unusual education and extraordinary greed, commodore miller had called attention to the old woman as being a tool ripe for their hands. now the preliminary approach promised well, for it was manifest that mrs. lee had caught the speaker's meaning.
"i won't; i won't do it—'tis flat robbery, i tell you, an' you'd not care if i starved on the moor all alone in my hovel without strength to lift a dying prayer. you are cruel devils—all of you, and i'll go back to the french folks, as have got hearts in their breasts. i'll——"
then stark, now alive to the fact that lovey was only acting for the benefit of the sentry, interrupted with threats. but still mrs. lee argued, and only after much chatter, and a great deal of disgraceful language, she took back the eggs and gave the sailor six fresh ones in exchange.
"now i must sell these to somebody else," she said, "or i shan't get bit or sup inside my lips to-day."
"better eat 'em yourself, missis," said the sentry. "anyway, time's up now, so off you go."
a bell rang to clear the market, and the folk began to stream out of the prison.
"here, sam!" shouted stark jubilantly. "take these to the kitchen. i've near choked myself talking and swearing at that old witch; but i've won my way. she's taken the bad eggs and give me fresh ones instead."
cuffee hurried forward.
"you was dam smart, sar. i dun fink nobody in de prison could hah git around dat party 'cept you."
and lovey lee, grumbling and whining to the last, took herself and her baskets back across the moor; tramped home; entered her hovel, and then turned with greedy curiosity to the secret of the eggs. she was as safe from interruption in her lonely cabin by siward's cross as she had been in the desert of sahara; yet caution and suspicion were a part of her; therefore she locked her door and covered up her little window with an apron before she turned to her basket. then, one by one, she broke the eggs into a basin, and her mouth watered at the sight of such food, even while she mourned to see two pennyworth of marketable commodity wasted upon herself. the fifth egg weighed normally; but it was filled with dust, and, after all, lovey made no rare meal, for she spoilt the mess in the basin by pouring the dust on top of it. a vital matter, however, she rescued, for in the dust was a little roll of paper, and upon the paper a message closely but clearly written.
"to mistress lee, an offer of money in plenty if she will help cecil stark to escape from the war prison at prince town. let her sell two fowls next market day if she will serve him; let her sell two ducks if she will not serve him. but if she betray cecil stark, his friends will be revenged upon her."
to the young man from vermont had fallen this first step in the plot. lots were drawn as to who should get the message to lovey lee, for all agreed that one only need be inculpated until it was certain that she would assist them. now, if she proved loyal to the authorities, stark alone would suffer; but upon that score little anxiety was felt, for lovey had often expressed sentiments much the reverse of patriotic, and had at all times made it clear that money was the only sovereign lord she acknowledged or served.
upon the following market day two fine fat fowls were displayed at mrs. lee's stall. she sat behind them on her upturned barrel, and gave stark an indifferent "good morning" as he strolled past with the commodore and james knapps.
"here's a nice brace of chicks, your honour," said lovey.
but stark laughed and shook his head.
"no luxuries to-day, ma'am; we're not made of money, you know. they would look well upon commandant cottrell's table."
"i serve him, too," she answered. "but he likes his poultry stuffed wi' marjoram an' wild thyme."
"and these?"
"they be stuffed different."
"well, we won't quarrel as to that. hungry men don't criticise their sauces. what's the price?"
"you shall have 'em for half-a-crown."
"lordy! preserve us agin you greedy women!" cried knapps. "i reckon you'd make soup out o' stones an' sell it for ten cents a pint if you dared."
"come along, commodore," said stark, "we'll try mrs. luscombe at the next stall. lovey lee's too grasping."
at that moment william burnham approached and saw the fowls.
"just what i want," he exclaimed. "poor matthew mercer is still alive; but he can't eat any victuals, so we'll make some chicken broth for him. what's your price, mrs. lee?"
lovey glanced at stark, and, seeing that he was not concerned, understood that she might sell safely.
"half-a-crown, an' i'd sooner fling 'em into the moor for the foxes than take a penny less," she said.
commodore miller turned to a sentry and asked the market value of fowls. the man did not know, but a turnkey passing at that moment answered him.
"fowls are tenpence each—eighteen pence a pair to-day," he said.
whereupon lovey called down lightning upon his head, and behaved with such impropriety that the man turned round in a rage and threatened to have her removed out of the markets. upon this she relapsed into sulky silence, and presently, after some haggling, took the money that was her due, and almost flung the fowls at burnham.
anon mr. cuffee departed with the poultry under his arm, and, guessing what to expect, he made a careful examination. a few words much to the point were scrawled upon paper and packed within one bird. lovey lee had written an answer to stark's invitation.
"right. tell me what you want and what you'll give. put message in a chaw of baccy next week."
