Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-08-27

you" answered the young officer,
smiling with pleasure. Il myself will
lead them"
II expected as much of you. Capt.
Grafton" he said, turning to the sail
or and resuming the formal method Of
! public address, will you see that your
| f1otilla of boats is ready to receive my
men?"
II know 1t is, sir. but will look
again." answered Grafton. Capt.
| Rous, may l take Lieut. Hatfield in
my boat to assist me?'
Certainly" answered Rous, vet
eran sailor.
Followed by the delighted officer,
Grafton sprang to the gangway and
| called for his gig. Meanwhile Howe
was addressing the light infantry,
When he called for volunteers every
man responded, and 1t was difficult to
make selection Of the required number.
Presently, upon Graftcns assurance
that all was ready, the men slowly
filed down over the side and took their
places In the boats. Taking his own
boat the captain rowed from ship to
ship, finding that all preparations had
been made everywhere. and that boats
filled with men and manned by stout
seamen were already clustered under
the lee of the ships where they could
be screened from the observation of
the French at Cap-Rouge.
BY IL o'clock, midnight, the en-
barkation had been completed. and as
1t was nearing the end Of the flood
the boats slowly put off from the ships
and headed for Cap-Rouge, Gen.
Monckton being In charge and Wolfe
remaining on the Sutherland for the
present.
The iotilla approached close enough
to Cap-Rouge thoroughly to awaken
the attention of the troops of Bou-
Granville, who sprang to their arms in
expectation Of the threatening at
tack. But the advance was stopped
before they were near enough to en-
gage. After some little maneuvering
of the shore, the boats, as If deferred
by the promptness of the French SOL
derry rowed back to the ships and
sheltered themselves under the lee OF
their broadsides again where they
could not be seen. Once there, the
men, without going aboard the ships,
waited patiently for the turning of the
tide.
At four bells in the mid-watch, OF
two o'clock on the morning Of the
18th. Wolfe entered the heavy cutter
which Grafton had exchanged for his
gig, and gave the signal to shove off.
Following the generals boat came the
boats of the light infantry, and after
them the rest of the flotilla.
1t was darker than ever. The sky
was filled with light feecy clouds drift
Ing rapidly across the stars, their wild
! motion, driven as they were by some
| upper current of air, only accentuating
the stiffness on the water. Hugging
the opposite shore for time the
boats foated silently down the river
with the young ebb. AS they appeared
to be unnoticed from the camp at Cap
Rouge and as their maneuvers excited
no attention, oars were broken out and
the boats crossed to the Quebec side,
the seamen rowing gently as they
passed rapidly down the river.
Presently the boats swept around a
huge headland jutting out into the
stream. Below the headland lay lit
tie cove. The current shot swiftly
about the promontory and swept
around the little bay. The boats were
carried below the landing-place and 1t
took some hard pulling before their
stems touched the shore.
Wolfe had gone forward in the cut
ter, and the others drawing back to
give him passage, he was the first man
to set foot upon the muddy shore. II
was four o'clock now. They could hear
eight bells Ginning family across the
hills. Around them in the shadow it
was as still as death-that most ST.
lent hour before the day breaks. A
gentle breeze had sprung up and was
signing softly through the trees al
the top of the cliff; the sky was over
cast; they would have rain presently
| kAUOul GUu lSel away, SluGc ~ WA
low tide, the bluffs rose precipitously
from the level beach. There was room
at their base to disembark the whole
army. After Wolfe and the officers, in.
Guiding Grafton, had landed, the light
infantry noiselessly clambered out Of
the boats and advanced toward the
foot of the cliffs.
A zigzag path, up which single
file of men might with difficulty make
its way, broke the sheer face Of the
cliff. 1t had been barricaded with
heavy timbers and was at present un.
scalable.
There was momentary pause.
1t seemed as if the whole enterprise
30 brilliantly conceived and SO sue
cessfully carried out hitherto, woulG
lie blocked by this unfortunate OBJ
stacle. They had succeeded in landing
unobserved, but If they attempted tt
tear down the barricade they would
inevitably attract the attention of thu
negligent defenders at the top of the
path. Under such circumstances thu