the reign of the new commandant opened auspiciously at prince town, for captain short came to his work with understanding and sympathy. he was still young, and his heart had not grown callous before the spectacle of human misery. compassion filled him at the sufferings of those half-naked hordes who wandered through the war prison; he countermanded many of his predecessor's egregious enactments, and stated in feeling terms to the board of transport the conditions that he discovered. the zeal of a reformer first marked his achievements; then he grew discouraged, erred, lost heart, and fell from his own ideals.
cecil stark served a term of imprisonment in the cachot, after which he returned to his compatriots and found familiar faces missing. some among his acquaintance were exchanged; not a few had passed away. caleb carberry perished soon after his punishment; burnham had also suffered as a result of that awful penance in ice and granite; but he was now restored to health. of the seven, two were dead, and james knapps remained hidden with lovey lee.
now, even as the lowest note of their sad hearts had sounded, came light upon the darkness of the americans. while they hung their heads and mourned as men forgotten of their country; while hundreds daily threatened mr. blazey with letters and vowed to transfer allegiance to britain if he did not better their case, good news arrived, and the first written communication ever received from their representative reached the prisoners.
cecil stark read blazey's message aloud in the exercise yard of no. 4, and jubilant crowds gave ear to it.
"fellow citizens," wrote the agent, "i am authorised by the government of the united states to allow you one penny half-penny per day for the purpose of procuring you tobacco and soap, which will commence being paid from the first day of last january, and i earnestly hope it will tend towards a great relief in your present circumstances."
a roar of delight greeted the announcement. men cheered and wept flung their red caps into the air, fell upon each other's necks, embraced, danced wildly, sang and laughed.
"not forgotten! not forgotten!" was the burden of their cry. a great emotion of thankfulness animated the mass and woke fire in the meanest spirit amongst them. the actual blessing of this pittance seemed less to that forlorn gathering than the thought that had inspired it. a link, sorely tested, stood firm. now all again gloried in their sonship with the mother country; for congress had remembered. every man viewed the news through the glass of his own nature; but pride in their nation glowed upon each face, and trust renewed uplifted their sinking hearts. from the powder-monkeys and negroes to the committee of six leading men now appointed to administer the moneys all rejoiced and blessed their native land. their trustful natures shone out of them, and congress received many a cheer; captain short was also saluted; and even the sluggard blazey won his meed.
"burn the old country; it ha'n't thrown us over after all," said david leverett to a companion. "i guess my first dollop of money will go in drink, for we've done so long without soap that we can easy keep dirty a while more. we've come out of a tarnation tight snarl at last, and nobody's better pleased than me."
"such a swipe ob money, gem'men!" cried cuffee. "de lord him send back marse stark; den he send free cents a day. our own mudders won't know us, nebber no more."
"we-alls shall be eating money presently," laughed leverett's friend. "things is on the bounce for sartin. we've got our monkey up agin; and if we can't follow that chap's lead—stark i mean—and hev another try to quit this place, 'tis pity."
"no smouch him," admitted leverett. "if there's any hanky-panky in the wind, we'll do well ter let him boss it. 'tis the differ between a man well aggicated and you and me. we'd be as good as him if we'd had his luck and his money."
"maybe we should, maybe we should not," answered the other. "anyway, if we pull together and let him lead i lay he'll hit on a contrapsion ter get every doodle of us clear of this."
something prophetic marked the sailor's speech, for within two months of that conversation cecil stark, burnham, one ira anson and other leaders in no. 4, were maturing their historic scheme to liberate the whole of the american prisoners at one stroke. enthusiasm, like a subterranean fire, burnt in every man when the project was whispered abroad, and each entered upon his part with determination and courage. until this enterprise, defections, while rare, were yet regularly recorded. nearly a hundred americans had entered british service rather than endure the plagues of longer durance; but henceforth none could be persuaded, despite well-directed efforts to win them.
we are now concerned with an extraordinary undertaking. the seven were separated by death and other accidents, but james knapps was free; and henceforth the boatswain of the marblehead enjoyed an importance beyond his ambitions. in connection with lovey lee, knapps was able greatly to assist his countrymen in their endeavour; and first, he proved by the fact of his personal safety that mrs. lee remained, after all, faithful to the cause of the prisoners. it was agreed, therefore, that lovey might be further trusted, and she immediately received a gift of ten guineas; while within a fortnight, and upon payment of a much greater sum, she accepted stark's proposals and prepared to alter her manner of life accordingly.
the markets reopened when the weather broke, and a brisk correspondence with the miser and james knapps was established from inside the prison. thus lovey learned that her co-operation must be secured at closer quarters than siward's cross. she was bidden to establish herself as near the war prison as possible, and chance enabled her to take up the identical position desired. mention has already been made of a ruinous cottage immediately without the prison walls. some acres of rough land went along with this deserted "newtake," and the authorities were well content to let the worthless place to a tenant. instantly grasping the significance of the manoeuvre, and alive to the importance of blinding all official eyes, lovey, for the first time in her life, spent the prodigious sum of twenty pounds in a week. she had the old cottage thatched and rendered storm-proof; she ploughed up a part of the land and fenced all in. she continued to traffic among the americans, and no question of her integrity had ever arisen. her stock increased and she became one of the most important among the small merchants. she sold tobacco and potatoes; she also smuggled many prohibited articles, such as candles, alcohol, oil. she paid private taxes upon these things to the turnkeys, but nobody in high authority ever heard of the matter. lovey even made the commandant a friend, and regularly provided his table with poultry. she deceived him by her independent manners; and he fell into the common error of supposing that one who is laconic, businesslike and dour, must of necessity be honest.
a general escape having been planned in every detail, conventions were ordered, the plot revealed, and the americans sworn to secrecy. such liberty did these prisoners of war enjoy within their own confines, that their assemblies were never interrupted nor their meetings for entertainment opposed. on this occasion, however, special guards were set by the captives themselves and every precaution taken to prevent surprise.
then stark addressed his fellows, for by common consent the ringleaders appointed him their spokesman.
"gentlemen," he said, "as honest americans, born under the flag of freedom, it becomes us to attempt escape. our condition of late has been much bettered, and i, for one, owe no grudge against our present guards or their commandant, captain short. he is honourable, and does what he may to lessen our tribulations; he is also generous; he has increased our privileges, and by throwing open the new yards and admitting us to larger quarters for exercise and the amusement of games, he has earned universal blessings. our bill of health is greatly improved, thanks to him; he has, indeed, put fresh life into us. yet are we prisoners, and, upon careful study of the journals smuggled to us, it is clear that no immediate hope of peace or of further exchange can be held out. our country is suffering a period of sea losses, and it is not in the moment of these reverses that she will tune her ear to peace. our circumstances have, therefore, prompted us to plan a scheme of escape, and we now submit it to your opinions. immediately the pending changes in our disposal are made, and we have wider fields to work in, we mean to dig under these walls a tunnel, that must be two hundred and eighty feet long. it is planned and calculated most fully. it will be sunk in prison no. 6, and, concerning the exit of it on to the moor, no more need yet be said than that we have stout friends outside who will look to that. our numbers, as you know, increase very rapidly, because our ships have fallen upon a bout of ill-luck; but ever recollect that these relays of our countrymen from plymouth and elsewhere only represent american mishaps. our successes are hidden from us; yet our hearts tell us that they exist and occur. many english doubtless languish in american prisons. so thus it stands. i speak to two thousand men, and i ask them all to swear secrecy before almighty god."
a dozen bibles were circulated, and there arose a strange and solemn murmur throughout the company as every man swore to his neighbour that he would maintain absolute silence concerning this matter, and that neither by word nor pen, by look nor gesture, would he divulge the secret to any among those set in authority.
"to break this oath is death," said stark. "you have now sworn to keep the secret; and we, your leaders, have also sworn that the man who gives one hint of this business to those whose duty it is to stop it, will be cut off. he shall not escape. in ancient sparta there was a society called crypteia who slew by night. the helots perished at their hands, but none knew who struck the blow. they only left corpses behind them. so will it be with us. eyes are upon every one of us, and he that watches has eyes upon him also. a traitor will most surely fall. he will vanish from amongst us; his place will be empty, and none will ever know where his dust lies rotting. i who speak to you have been once betrayed with others whom death has since freed. woe to that man! let him tremble yet while he hears me, for his hour will surely come."
the meeting disbanded, and a small sub-committee sat to select five-and-twenty trustworthy persons who should fulfil the important office of spies upon the majority. many refused this unpleasant work, until it was explained to them that they incurred no shame. among those finally chosen were leverett and samuel cuffee. the negro had work apportioned him with his kindred, while it was the duty of leverett and others to keep in touch with the general throng, glean public opinion and report upon any sign of unrest, disaffection, or other danger. a martial system marked the plot. every sentry and turnkey was under close surveillance; the digging parties were chosen for their strength and sobriety; while the work itself had been so planned that it proceeded night and day without intermission. a pit was first sunk perpendicularly to the depth of twenty feet, and then pursued upon a horizontal plane. this tunnel, if extended for ninety yards, would clear the foundations of the outer wall and reach beneath lovey lee's cottage.
while stark and his companions cautiously opened their enterprise in prison no. 6, to which they were now admitted, james knapps, snugly hidden with mrs. lee, was engaged upon a similar task. here, when lovey kept watch, the boatswain laboured; and if she went abroad: to the prison, or upon other business, he hid himself closely and smoked his pipe in a hole under the roof of the cottage.
as for cecil stark, a passionate zest marked his attitude to the plot, and for mingled reasons he permitted it to fill his mind. but greater than patriotic ardour or personal thirst for freedom, was the desire to escape his own thoughts. he believed that liberty could never more be anything but a word to him, for his soul was for ever fast bound. one girl's face haunted him; one voice rang musical upon his ear by day and night. he suffered enough; but no man guessed it.
