Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1858-04-22
CHAPTER III.
THE PRISON IN THE WOODS.


CHAPTER III. 8
THE PRISON IN THE WOODS.
CONTINUED.
How many rcports?' he asked, yer.
anxiously.
Forty nine,' said Mr.. Fisher. Conn
along,sir, -andstepcleanoverthe Publi'
Whatever you do.
Mr.. Pordage instantly stepped over
as jauntly as if he was going to dance
At the moment of his crossing, a hang
ing rag Of his cursed, useless, unfortn
nate, limp Diplomatic coat touched
the Pirate Captains foreheadand woke
him. sec a eota
| drew back softly, with the child
still asleep on my shoulder, into tht
black shadow of the wall behind me
At the instant when the Pirate Captain
awoke, | had been looking at Mr.. Por
dage, and had consequently lost the
chance of applying the gag to his moutl
suddenly, at the right time.
On rouaing up, he turned his face in
wards, towards the prisoners ROOM
If he had turned it outwarls, he mus
to dead certainty have seen the tai
of Mr.. Pordags's coat disappearing il
the portico.
Thoughhe was awake enough to move
he was not awake enough to have the
full possession of his sharp senses. The
drowsiness of his sleep still hung about
him. He yawned, stretched himself
spat YEARLY, sat up, spat again, got OH
bis legs, and stood up, within three feet
of the shadow in which / was hiding
behind him. u.a
/ forgot the knife in my teeth,--I de-
clare solcmnly, in the frightful suspense
of that moment, | forgot it-and doub-
led my fist as if l was ali unarmed man,
with the purpose of stunning him by a
blow on the head if he game any nearer.
| suppose | waited, with my fist clensh-
ed, nearly o minute, while he waited,
yawning and splitting. At the end OF
that time, he made Tor his tent, and I
heard him with what thankfulness no
words can tell) roll himself down, with
another yawn, on his bed inside.
| waited-in the interest of us all
to make quite sure, before left, that
he was asleep again. In what | reck-
oncd as about five minutes time, |
heard him snoring, and fe' free to take
myself ami my little sleeping comrade
cut of the prison, at last.
The dragged guards in the rtico
were sitting together, dead asleep, with
their backs against the wall The third
man was lying fiat, on the landing OF
the steps. Their arms and ammunition
were gone: wisely taken by our men
to defend us, if we were meddled with
before we escaped, and to kill food for
us when we committed ourselves to the
river.
At the bottom of the steps | was
startled by seeing two women standing
together. They were Mrs. Macy and
Miss Maryon: the first waiting to sec
her child safe; the second (God bless
her for it,) waiting to see me safe.
In = quarter of an hour we were by
the riverside, and saw the work brave
" begun: the sailors and the marines
under their orders, labouring at the RATS
in the shallow water by the bank; Mr..
Macy and Mr.. Fisher rolling down fresh
timber as it was wanted; the women cut
ting the vines, creepers, and withes for
the lashings. Weebrought with us three
more pair of hands to help; and all work
ed with such a will, that, in four hours
and twenty miutes, by Mr.. Macy
watch, the RATS, though not finished as
they ought to have been, were strong
enough to float us away. &
Short, another seaman, and the ship
boy, got aboard the first raft, carrying
with them poles and spare timber. Miss
Maryon, Mrs. Fisher and her husband,
Mrs. Macy and her husband and three
children, Mr.. and Mrs. Pordage, Mr..
Kitten, myself, and women and children
besides, to make up eighteen, were the
passengers on the leading raft. The
SECOND raft, under the guidance of the
two other sailors, held Sergeant Drooce
gagged, for he threatened to be noisy
again. Tom Packer, the two marines,
Mrs. Belltott, and the rest of the wo-
men and children. We all got on board
silently, with afine moonlight over our
heads, and without accidents or delays
of any kind.
Itw good half-hour before the
time would come for the change of
guard at the prison, when the lashings
which tied us to the bank were cast eff,
and we floated away, u company of free
people, on the current of an unknown
river.
CHAPTER III.
THE RATS on THE RIVER.
We contrived to keep afloat all that
night, and, the stream running strong
with us, to glide long way down the
river. But, We found the night to be q
dangerous time for such navigation, sn
account Of the eddies and rapids, and
it was therefore settled next day that in
future We would bring to at sunset, and
encamp on the shore As we knew OF
no boats that the Pirates possessed, up
at the Prison in the woods, We settled
always to encalnp on the opposite side