University of Virginia Library

43. CHAPTER XLIII.
THE OUTLAW AND HIS FOLLOWERS.

Miss Van Kleeck and her cousin, to whom, on their way to
Ogdensburgh, she had fully disclosed the object of her errand
thither, and who had zealously promised a hearty co-operation in
her plans, repaired immediately after their arrival in that village,
to the hotel in which Thomas Vrail was sojourning. They found
the young man in a state of great grief and consternation, for he
had received tidings of his brother's fearful doom, and he had not
dared to anticipate any favorable result from the application to
the governor. Gertrude herself, although buoyed by this new
hope, and relieved by the necessity for continual action, had her
moments of torturing anxiety and fear, far surpassing any that
such a mind as the younger Vrail's could ever experience. Yet
she came to him in the character of a comforter, whose office it
was to solace and sustain.

She at once imparted to him as much of the new and daring
project as she was at liberty to reveal, and, with an eagerness betokened
by the trembling of voice and frame, she as speedily
inquired if he knew anything of the present abode of that celebrated
man, whose co-operation in their plan Harry had considered
so essential to its success.

Her hopes fell with his reply.

“Johnson left here a week since for Oswego and other frontier
villages, to visit and advise with the lodges in regard to future
movements, but it is impossible even to guess at his present place

of sojourn, and weeks might be spent in a fruitless search for
him.”

“He has been here, then,” replied Gertrude, sadly, “and might
have been detained—oh, that I had known it!”

There was an implied reproach in this remark which Thomas
felt, and he at once perceived his own great remissness in not
having tried to secure so powerful an ally for any contingency
which might arise in relation to his brother's fate.

“Let us go in search of him,” continued Gertrude, promptly;
“if we fail to find him in Oswego, it will at least be as easy to
enlist other aid there as here, and it has the advantage of being
nearer Kingston than this.”

Without rest, without delay, even for a meal, the travellers,
accompanied by Thomas Vrail, immediately set out by express
coach, and by the aid of frequent relays, they completed their
hurried journey in the evening of the same day, although at too
late an hour to admit of instituting any inquiries until the next
morning.

The day was Tuesday, and but two more remained beside it
for all the momentous action which was yet needed to give even
a chance of success to their great enterprise.

Gertrude counted the hours as the miser counts the golden
pieces which are wrung by torture from his grasp, each seeming
more valuable than the last, and fleeter in its progress.

“You will make immediate and earnest inquiries for Johnson,”
she said to her friends, “and learn, if possible, if he is still here;
or, if he has left, in what direction he has gone. While there is
hope of engaging him, we will look for no other.”

“Yet his name must not be mentioned,” replied Thomas.
“Hundreds who may have seen and conversed with him yesterday,
would deny that they had ever met him. Ask only for”—

“For whom?” inquired Gertrude, impatiently.

“I had almost forgotten that I am not at liberty to tell the

name by which alone he is now known, if here. But you may
safely leave all inquiries to me. If he is in town, or if he has
been here within the last few days, I can learn it without fail, and
probably within a very few minutes. Hunters here are plentier
than blackberries in August.”

Vrail, in fact, telegraphed his landlord at the breakfast table,
learned that he was one of the secret fraternity, and within a few
minutes after the meal was ended, they were closeted together.
Familiarly addressing the stranger who, by a motion of the hand,
had been converted into a friend and ally, Thomas said,

“I wish to find Mr. Miller, the Commodore's friend and agent,
whom, of course, you know. I parted with him a week since at
Ogdensburgh, and he expected to visit this place.”

“He was at the lodge night before last,” replied the other,
and gave us a full account of the affair at Windmill Point. He
assured us, too, of Johnson's safety, of which we had great fears;
but Mr. Miller has actually seen him on this side since the battle.
The house rang with cheers at the announcement.”

“I doubt it not. He fully deserves his great popularity. I,
also, can vouch for his safety, if need be, having crossed the St.
Lawrence in his company.”

“Is it possible? You, then, were in the battle?” exclaimed the
other, extending his hand and grasping his companion's, as if that
circumstance gave him a new claim upon his regard.

“I was, and at another time I will relate to you, or to your
lodge, if they desire it, all the information in my possession; but
at present I have the most urgent business with this Mr. Miller,
and I must speedily find him, if it is possible to do so. Important
interests are involved in the success of my search. Can you
assist me?”

“I will certainly do all that I can,” was the zealous reply. “In
two hours I can see all our people, and if he is here you shall see
him; if he is gone, you shall know whither.”

The two hours did not elapse without the complete fulfillment
of the promises of the good-natured landlord, who not only found
the disguised outlaw, but triumphantly brought him, “much
amazed, and wondering much,” into the presence of Vrail.

They were left alone in the room of the young man, who, greeting
him warmly, expressed his great gratification at the meeting.

“Your messenger was just in time,” replied the other; “in half
an hour I should have started on my return home, for I have
seen our friends in a dozen villages, and I am convinced that
nothing can be done at present; we must at least lie still for a few
weeks, or do you bring better news from other quarters?”

“I bring no good news, but I am at least glad that you are disengaged.
I have travelled express from Ogdensburgh to find
you.”

“My disguise, then, is discovered; I am pursued? Or, still
worse, my children”—

“No, nothing of this. Your children are safe; your disguise is
unsuspected. It is for myself, or rather for poor Harry's sake that
I have sought you. He is to die on Friday, if there is no possibility
of rescue.”

Johnson shook his head slowly, as he replied, “If rescue had
been possible, Van Shoultz should not have died, nor Woodruff,
nor Abbey. I would have risked my life for either of those gallant
men, had there been the shadow of a chance to save them;
but there was not. And your poor brother will share their fate.
Do not for a moment indulge any other hope. We may avenge,
but we cannot save him.”

“I fear you are right,” replied Thomas, sadly; “but before you
decide fully on this, you must see Miss Van Kleeck, who is here
with me, and who, indeed, has done all that has yet been done
towards assisting Harry. She has much to tell you, and something
that even I am not to know.”

“Her conduct is most praiseworthy, yet I am sorry she is here

with any hope of help from me. It will be painful to disappoint
her.”

“You will see her, and hear what she has to say?”

“I would willingly do so, if it were not uselessly confiding my
disguise to another party. She knows me only as Mr. Miller.”

“You need not fear to trust her. By design, of course, she cannot
betray you, and whatever may be the result of this dreadful
business, we shall both in a few days return to our distant home,
where an accidental allusion to your secret, if we should be indiscreet
enough to make it, would do you no harm. I beg that you
will see her.”

Johnson reluctantly complied, and Gertrude was admitted,
trembling, to his presence. Great was her astonishment to learn
that the hero, whose name was in so many mouths, and whose
deeds had been blazoned so far, was the same quiet and gentlemanly
man whom she had met on her first arrival at Ogdensburgh,
and who then had so kindly and mildly counselled her in regard
to her course of action in Canada.

His manner was not essentially different now, until she had related
to him, in an earnest and impassioned manner, the particulars
of Lieutenant Vrail's trial, and until she began to impart to
him her reasons for hoping that a rescue might be effected.

As these were gradually disclosed, the countenance of the outlaw
underwent a rapid change, and when she had told him all
that she was at liberty to reveal, and had assured him of the rank
and influence of her ally in Canada, his demeanor exhibited the
utmost interest and excitement.

He asked her numerous questions, to which she replied, as she
had uttered many of her previous remarks, in an under-tone, which
even Thomas, who had seated himself apart from the eager colloquists,
was not allowed to hear.

“I will see this man,” he replied, at length, with strong emphasis,
rising from his chair as he spoke, “if he will meet me on

Grand Island, or on any smaller island near to Kingston. I will hear
all his plan from his own lips, and if there is half the chance for
rescue which you fondly imagine, I am ready to make the attempt
with half a dozen followers, if they can be found of the right material.
It would be a triumph to snatch one victim from the jaws
of this devouring lion—yes, a triumph to be remembered through
life. It would repay some of the many humiliations and defeats
we have been compelled to suffer.”

Gertrude's relief was inexpressible at this announcement, and
she vainly tried to speak her thanks to the valiant man, nor did
Thomas exhibit scarcely less satisfaction.

But the deportment of the outlaw clearly showed that his
thoughts were far less occupied with the idea of saving a single
life, however valued, or of winning the gratitude of his companions,
than with the renown of the anticipated achievement, and the
mortification it would inflict on the officials of the Canadian
government.

“But,” he said, suddenly, “we must go as fully prepared for
the undertaking as if it were already decided upon. There will
be no time to find men and means after consultation with your
noble friend. All must be done here, and now. Yet it will be
difficult, perhaps impossible, to procure sufficient volunteers for
this work on so short notice.”

“We have considered all this,” replied Gertrude. “We cannot
expect that the fame of a noble action will of itself be a
sufficient inducement to common men to enter upon a perilous
enterprise. But while you can doubtless find those whom the
renown of the exploit, and the honor of following so distinguished
a leader, will in a great degree repay for their risk, we are prepared
to add the additional incentive of a liberal pecuniary
reward. Neither shall there be any stint of means for any of
the expenses of the expedition. In this purse,” she continued,
extending a bulky porte-monnaie to Johnson, and pressing it into

his hands, “you will find a large sum, yet not so large but that it
can be doubled or quadrupled at a moment's notice, if necessary
for our purposes. Use it as freely as you find occasion for, and
call on me when you need more.”

Both Johnson and Vrail looked in astonishment at the noble
girl, and the former, after a moment's pause, replied,

“This is the ring of the true metal; could we infuse your spirit
into our men, we might almost count on certain victory. I
will take this money, and I will use it as you desire, freely; nor
do I doubt that by its aid I can secure as many able and reliable
followers as we can safely use. What remains of your treasure
shall be returned to you, for I will take none of it.”

“There will nothing remain,” replied Gertrude, “which could
be a fitting reward for services like yours; yet I shall hope to find
means to induce you to change your resolution hereafter, and to
accept for yourself at least as much as I have given you to
dispense.”

“Hope it not. I could do nothing great from such a motive,
or while liable to the suspicion of sordid views. No, I will yet
redeem my country, or I will remain an outlaw and an exile, but
never a mercenary soldier, nor a recipient of charity. Lieutenant
Vrail is entitled to all the aid I can render, and Sir George Arthur
to all the annoyance I can inflict, and I will take pay for neither
the one nor the other.”

Gertrude did not press a point which gave such evident pain;
but resolving in some way to requite so great an obligation, she
consented to dismiss the subject for the present.

Little time was wasted in further consultation. Johnson immediately
began his quest for assistants, and fortunately his extensive
acquaintance with the warlike members of the Oswego Lodge
enabled him at once to select in his own mind the very persons
who would be most useful and reliable for such an enterprise as
that on which he was bound.

They were all men of much physical strength and of proven
courage; they had all enlisted for the war, and like hundreds of
others, having proceeded to Ogdensburgh, had only been restrained
from crossing by the defection of their leaders. To these men
he went privately and made himself known, although with some
difficulty, for they could not easily dispel the hallucination which
had made two men of one, whom they intimately knew in both
characters.

Their delight was equal to their astonishment at the discovery,
and such was their enthusiasm for and their confidence in the
heroic leader, that out of six men to whom he applied, he readily
secured the services of five, without revealing to them anything
but a very indistinct outline of the enterprise upon which he was
bound. This number he considered quite sufficient, together with
Van Vrank and the negro, whom Gertrude had assured him could
be fully relied upon for an active participation in the work.

More he was convinced would only encumber his movements
and jeopard secrecy, without increasing the chances of success. A
small band of resolute men was what he needed, and it is saying
much for his recruits to record that he was fully satisfied with
them.

Having secured this important step, he next turned his thoughts
to selecting a place of conference with Hadley, and to the best
mode of reaching it with his men. A small island, well known
to him, which was near the foot of the lake, and near the city
of Kingston, was selected for this purpose, but how to reach this
point, nearly sixty miles distant, in the necessary time and with
the requisite supply of boats and munitions, became the most
serious object of inquiry.

He hastened to the harbor, and learned that a small steamboat,
which had been used for coasting voyages, was lying idle in port,
and could be chartered for a few days for any part of the lake,
though at an expense so large that he feared even the liberal Gertrude

would shrink from encountering it. He was, of course, mistaken.
He found her not less rejoiced than himself at what
seemed a Providential supply of the very means best adapted for
the prosecution of their daring enterprise.

With this vessel at their command, they could proceed directly
to their desired rendezvous, taking with them the smaller boats
which would be required to effect a landing, both there and on
the Canadian shore, and all else that was necessary or might
prove useful in their expedition. Provisions were hastily laid in,
and weapons were carried on board in strange shaped boxes,
which defied the attempts of the curious to divine their contents,
and by sundown the little steamer, well “wooded and watered,”
and with her fires lighted, lay quietly beside the wharf, ready for
instant departure. Her mysterious passengers did not come on
board until after dark, and not an unnecessary minute was lost
after their arrival in casting off the hawser and putting out to sea,
the wondering crew being as much at a loss as the idlers upon
the wharves as to the design of these unusual proceedings.

No difficulty was encountered in their voyage. The captain
received instructions to sail for the upper end of Grand Island,
and when near that point, which was long before dawn of day,
Johnson was at his side to give minute directions for the remaining
part of their course. It was not yet light when the adventurous
voyagers landed, by means of their small boats, on the
southern side of a very small island, less than half a mile from the
Canadian shore, and but a few miles from the city of Kingston.
This little territory was inhabited in the planting and harvesting
seasons by a single farmer, who cultivated its few acres of
productive soil, but whose home was on the main land, where
he was now sojourning. The island was therefore now uninhabited,
and had the additional advantage of a tenement, though
of the poorest class and of very diminutive size.

These facts were known to Johnson, (whose roving life had

made him familiar with almost all the isles of the lake and river,)
and they had influenced him in selecting this place of landing.

As it would have been unsafe to risk attracting attention to his
quarters, by allowing the steamboat to be anchored near at hand,
he instructed her captain to proceed at once down the river, and
to return and pass the island at intervals of a few hours through
the day, at as great a distance as would admit of observing a concerted
signal, which was to call him, if needed, to his employers.
If not sooner required, he was to approach the island after dark,
although no immediate service was anticipated for the vessel.

Speedy measures were now taken to convey Gertrude and Van
Vrank to Kingston, in order that the former might meet Hadley,
and make arrangements for an interview between him and the
venturous leader of the American party. Johnson had resolved
to cross in the evening, and proceed to the city, where he was to
take quarters at an obscure inn, under his assumed name, Miller,
and await Mr. B— or his messenger, if he chose to designate
any other place of meeting. The name and locality of the inn
were communicated to Gertrude, who also well knew the alias of
the outlaw, and early in the forenoon she started for Kingston, in
a small boat, accompanied by Garret and by two other men of
her party. They rowed far enough down the lake, before turning
shoreward, to avoid indicating by the direction of their approach to
the land the point from which they had set out, and they selected
a spot for landing, remote from any habitation, and several miles
from the city. Only Garret and Gertrude left the boat, the oarsmen
immediately returning to the island, and leaving the two
former to complete their journey as best they could. This was
no difficult matter to accomplish. They proceeded to the nearest
farmhouse, and readily procured a conveyance to the city, where
they at once sought their former hotel, and were received by the
anxious Ruth with tears of mingled joy and sadness.

Gertrude had little time to weep. She heard her young friend's

hasty narration of what little she had to tell about poor Harry's
condition, whom she had daily seen and conversed with during
the absence of Miss Van Kleeck, and when Ruth, in turn, looked
anxiously to her friend for some word of encouragement, the
latter dared only to repeat her former vague and unsatisfactory
answers, intimating, indeed, that all hope was not abandoned, but
leaving the child in a maze of wild conjecture as to the source of
anticipated help.