Standish of Standish: A Story of the Pilgrims

by Jane G. Austin

  CHAPTER XIII.

  THE CAPTAIN'S PROMOTION.

  The afternoon and evening were devoted to a thorough review andfurbishing of weapons, many of which had suffered from exposure andneglect during the press of building and of sickness.

  And surely never could artist find better subject for his painting thanthe scene at Elder Brewster's fireside that night where upon the hearthStandish and Alden moulded a heap of silvery bullets, while Priscillaand Mary and Elizabeth Tilley twirled their spinning-wheels, or knittedthe long woolen hose worn both by men and women in those days, lookingdemurely from time to time toward the hearth, where Alden occasionallydropped a little boiling lead into a skillet of hot water, and nodded toone or other of the girls as he drew out the emblems thus formed.

  At the back of the room gathered Brewster and Winslow and Carver andBradford, discussing plans of defense in low and eager tones, while overall fell the broad and ruddy light of the floods of flame that rushedweltering up the chimney and out upon the night, carrying tidings to thewild woods and wilder men crouching in their depths that here wereencamped a little band of invaders stronger than the primeval forest,stronger than the primeval man, stronger than Nature, stronger thanTradition.

  "Then it is well resolved," said Carver rising at last and coming towardthe fire, "that to-morrow, so soon as we have committed ourselves toGod's protection, and broken our fast, we will assemble with all the menof our company in the Common house, and take counsel for the safety andguidance of the colony. Does this movement suit you, Captain Standish?"

  "Ay, Governor. A council of war is ever fitting prelude to action,"replied Standish laying down his bullet-mould and standing up.

  "And this is a council _coram populo_," said Winslow smiling. "Acongress of the whole people."

  "Our first town-meeting, if indeed we be a town," said Bradford,answering Winslow's smile.

  "Alden, we name you sheriff _pro tempore_, to warn the brethren of thisconvention. All the men, mind you," said the governor quietly.

  "But none of the women, mark you!" whispered Priscilla to John as Carverturned aside.

  "Nay, who ever heard of women clamoring to be heard among men incouncil," suggested Mary Chilton, while Alden, with a side glance andsmile at the merry maids, followed the governor a step and said,--

  "Ay, sir, and I will moreover warn goodwife Billington to-night, thatshe may have the Common house redded betimes."

  "Well thought on, John," replied Carver smiling, for goodwifeBillington's untidiness was but too notorious among her associates.

  "Thou 'lt have to lay a hand to 't thyself, John," murmured Priscilla asthe young man returned to the fire to gather up the bullets and moulds,and if it must be confessed to seize the chance of one more word withPriscilla; "best bring up two or three buckets of sand from the beach,and when yon slattern hath done her best, spill you the sand over all,and so hide her shortcomings."

  "'T is good advice, as thine ever is," returned the lover, and soenergetic did Goody Billington find both his reminders and his help thatevening and the next morning, that the Common house was set in order ata good hour, and by nine o'clock the Council, consisting of nineteenmen, all that were left of the forty-one who signed the original compacton board the Mayflower, gathered around the table, where beside thegovernor sat Howland, ready to take minutes of the proceedings of themeeting, and, as it were, to open the Town Records of Plymouth.

  The governor in a short address set forth the danger which evidentlymenaced the little colony, and invited the opinion of the freemenassembled as to the means of meeting it. One and another offered hisbrief remarks, and at last Bradford in a few strong and sensible wordsproposed that the whole company there present should be resolved into amilitary body, and properly exercised in the use of arms and tactics ofdefense.

  "That is my own thought, Master Bradford," replied Carver eagerly; "andthis course is the more feasible that we have among us a man so skilledin warfare, and so judicious in counsel as our brother Standish, whohath already the rank of Captain in the armies of our sovereign KingJames, and hath for love of liberty and the truth given up the sureprospect of advancement in the king's armies, now that the hordes ofSpain are again let loose upon our Dutch allies, and every Britishsoldier is called to their defense. I therefore propose that we appointCaptain Standish our military commander-in-chief, with full power toorganize, order, and enforce his authority as he shall see best for theinterests of the community, and I for one place myself in all suchmatters under his command, and promise to answer to his summons, andyield to his counsel in all things appertaining to warfare, offensive ordefensive."

  "And I say as doth the governor," added Winslow, turning his astute andthoughtful face to Standish, with a smile of brotherly confidence.

  "And I," added Bradford heartily, and the word of assent went round thetable, until each man had given his personal adherence to the newcommander-in-chief, and Brewster closed the list by saying with abenevolent smile,--

  "And I, although a man of peace, and too well stricken in years tobecome an active soldier, will in time of need refuse not to strike ablow under our captain's command for the defense of those God hathentrusted to our care."

  "And shall we call Master Standish General, or how shall we mark his newdignity?" asked Hopkins a little pompously.

  "Nay, I'll be naught but Captain," replied Standish hastily. "So runnethmy commission from good Queen Bess, heaven rest her soul, and here havewe neither parchment nor seals, no, nor authority for making out newcommissions. I have that I tell of, and 't is enough: 'Our well belovedCaptain, Myles Standish,' it runneth, and by that name I'll live anddie. But aside from that, I would say, friends, that I am well pleasedat the trust you place in me, and that so long as God giveth me life andstrength I will heartily place them at the service of this"--

  But a shriek, followed by a hubbub of voices, and the pattering of manylight feet, broke off the captain's sentence, and brought several of theCouncil to their feet, and to the door, just as it was burst open by acrowd of women and children all clamoring,--

  "The Indians! They are upon us! They are coming into the housen! Haste!Haste if ye be men!"

  Not waiting to question farther, Standish seized his snaphance which inthese days seldom was out of reach, and briefly shouting, "Follow me!"rushed out, looked about him, and seeing nothing seized young JohnBillington by the arm and demanded, "Where are these Indians, thouyelping cur! Didst rouse that hubbub for naught?"

  "Nay, Bart Allerton and Johnny Cooke and I all saw them"--

  "Well, lead on, and show them to me too," demanded the captain sternly,and preceded by the half-frightened, half-delighted boys, and followedin more or less order by his new army, he marched up Leyden and downMarket streets, until across the brook on the crest of a little hill twosavages in full panoply of war suddenly appeared, and gazed defiantlyupon the white men.

  "Governor, the advance guard of the enemy is in sight, and I proposethat I with another, cross the brook and parley with him," said Standishturning to Carver and unconsciously resuming the stiff military mannerand habit of a trained soldier in actual service.

  "Your powers are discretionary, Captain Standish," replied Carver withgentle dignity. "All is left in your own hands, always remembering thatwe desire peace rather than war, if so be we may have it in honor."

  "Hopkins, wilt volunteer to come with me?" asked the captain briefly,and as briefly the veteran answered, "Ay, Captain," and followed.

  But as the party of parley approached, the Indian scouts withdrew, andbefore Standish could reach the spot where they had stood no creaturewas in sight, although the stir and murmur of a multitude not seeking toconceal itself were heard from the woods densely clothing Watson's Hilland the valley between.

  Returning with this report to the town, the captain gave it as hisopinion that so long as the enemy held off he should be left undisturbedwhile the colony devoted itself to works of defense, especiallyfinishing and arming the Fort up
on the hill, and making it ready forimmediate use.

  "It were well that you and I, Governor, went aboard this morning andstirred up Master Jones to get out our ordnance and help fetch itashore," concluded he. "Shall we go at once?"

  "So soon as the tide makes, Captain; for when the water is out, ourharbor is somewhat wet for walking, yet by no means suited fornavigation," replied Carver casting a whimsical glance at the verdantflats, then as now replacing the tides of Plymouth Harbor.

  "A wise provision of Nature whereby the clams are twice a day leftwithin our reach," replied Standish in the same tone. "After noon-meatthen, we will go."

  But when the governor and the captain arrived on board the Mayflowerthey found Jones too stupid with liquor to listen to any plans, and tooshort-handed when he had been made to understand to carry them out withhalf the dispatch the ardent spirit of Standish prompted, so that allthey effected was to have two of the larger pieces hoisted out of thehold, and one landed and left upon the sand. The next day was devotedto finishing the preparations on shore, and finally on Wednesday, thethird day of March, Captain Jones with all of his men fit for servicecame on shore with the rest of the ordnance, and, aided by the Pilgrims,dragged the clumsy pieces to the top of the eminence now called BuryingHill, and mounted them in the positions carefully marked out beforehandby Standish. The two minions, each eight feet long, a thousand pounds inweight, and carrying a three-pound ball, were planted, the one tocommand the landing at the rock, and the other the crest of Watson'sHill, where the savages had twice appeared. The saker, a still heavierpiece, commanded the north, where the dense coverts of an evergreenforest hid what was soon to be known as the Massachusetts trail, and avery menacing quarter. The two other pieces called bases, and of muchlighter calibre, were set at the western face of the Fort, where theywould do good service should an enemy attempt to skirt the hill andapproach at that side. The pieces were heavy, the appliances crude andclumsy, a shrewd east wind was driving in a sea-fog of the chillestdescription, and Standish, although he toiled and tugged with the best,proved himself a martinet in his requirements, not sparing in the heatof the struggle some of those curious oaths for which "our army inFlanders" gained a name. But the elder turned a deaf ear at thesemoments, and neither the truly devout Carver, nor the elegant Winslow,nor formal Allerton, nor self-restrained Bradford, chose to notice theselapses on the part of him who was giving all his energies and all hisexperience to their defense. As the sun set, Master Jones straightenedhis back, and setting his hands upon his hips exclaimed,--

  "There, then, my little generalissimo, thy guns are set, and by thineown ordering, not mine. And let me tell thee now, 't is lucky thou and Ido not often train in company, for I'd sooner serve in an Algeriangalley than under thee, and if thou wast under me, I'd shoot thee in thefirst half day."

  Standish, who was on his knees sighting his saker, did not hurry himselfto rise, but when he did so turned and eyed his ally with a grim smile.

  "Thou 'rt right, Jones. Two game-cocks seldom agree until they havefought a main or two. Yet methinks I could train thee to something aftera while."

  Jones's red face grew redder yet, but before his slow wit had compasseda retort, Carver interposed,--

  "And now that our good day's work is done, it is seemly that we shouldsoberly rejoice and exult. Master Jones, wilt thou and thy men sup withus?"

  The sailor's face cleared directly, and with a roar of jovial merrimenthe replied,--

  "Marry will we, Master Governor, an' if you had not bidden us, I hadbidden you to the feast, for I brought more than cold iron ashore, Ipromise you."

  "What, then? Some beer and strong waters?" demanded Hopkins eagerly.

  "Ay, man, and a fat goose ten pound weight, and some wild fowl beside,and a whole runlet of beer and a pottle of Hollands. I brought them thatwe should all make merry for once, and forget all that's come and gone,and that you should wish me a fair passage home, and good luck ongetting there."

  "Thou 'rt a good fellow, after all, Jones, and I for one will meet theehalf way, and pledge thee in mine own liquor, and change a bit of mytender crane shot yesterday for a leg of thy goose." So saying,Standish smote the sailor upon his shoulder, and took his great paw intothe grasp of a hand small and shapely, but of such iron grip that theburly fellow winced, and wringing away his fingers cried,--

  "Nay, then, thou 'rt more cruel as a friend than thou 'rt maddening as amaster. I'll none of thee."

  "And where are thy generous gifts now bestowed?" asked Bradfordpractically.

  "In the Common house. I bade Clarke go down the hill after our snack atnoon, and take them all out of the boat's cuddy and carry them up togoodwife Billington, who is a famous cook, of wild fowl in particular"--

  "She hath had practice while her goodman was poach--nay, then, I meangamekeeper on my Lord the Marquis of Carrabas's estates," put inStandish gravely, and Billington, who stood by, started, tried to lookfierce, but ended with a craven laugh.

  "Then Alden," suggested the Governor, "thou hadst best tell the women atthe elder's house to send over their own vivers, or a portion of them,to the Common house, and we will all sup together. We have the captain'scrane and a brace of mallards, and a salted neat's tongue, with someother matters, Master Jones, and can methinks well forget for one nightthat hunger and cold and danger are lying at the door. 'T is wise to bemerry at times that we may better bear trouble at others."

  "Ay, 't is a poor heart that never rejoices," replied the Master, inwhat for him was a pleasant voice, although with a suspicious lookaround, lest anybody should be jeering at his unwonted amenity.

  But Standish was casting a comprehensive look about his little fortaliceto see if all was ready to be left for the night, and the younger menwere already going down the hill, and Carver and Bradford stood awaitingtheir guest with cheerful and open countenance, devoid of mischief orguile. So the old sea-dog sheathed his fangs, restrained his growl, andassumed the bearing of coarse good humor which was his rare concessionto the claims of good society.

  And now Alden hasting upon his errand found that Priscilla had alreadybeen warned by Helen Billington of the proposed feast, and with MistressBrewster's consent had arranged the tables in the Common house, andadded to the heavier viands some delicate dishes of her own composition,finishing by making a kettle of plum-porridge whereon the women were toregale themselves in the Brewster kitchen while their lords feasted inthe Common house.

  And thus with sober mirth and honest friendliness closed a day soimportant in the annals of the settlement.