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"My dear fellow, you must act as you think best."
"All right, colonel. Good-by; I may never see you again."
"Good-by, Eben. Take care of yourself, and may Heaven bless you."
Several times Allen tried to communicate with Eben, and to try todissuade him from his hazardous undertaking, but the youth feltinstinctively that he would do so, and remained out of reach of hisbeloved colonel's voice.
When night came Eben managed to get to the side of the ship unobserved,and in a few moments he had dropped noiselessly into the water.
But, as ill luck would have it, he got entangled in some chains as hestruck out from the ship, and the noise attracted the attention of theguard.
"Man overboard!" he cried.
Allen heard the cry and his heart stood still, for he was sure Ebenwould be captured, and then nothing could save his life.
The officer in charge of the prisoners heard the cry also, and at onceordered every man to answer to his name.
It was the work of but a few minutes, and it was ascertained that Ebenhad really escaped.
"Do you see him?" asked the captain.
"Yes."
"Fire on him!"
Several muskets were fired, and had not the Vermonter been an excellentswimmer he would have been killed. But Eben dived and swam under thewater a great distance, and the bullets were deflected by the water.
A boat was lowered and the stoutest sailors, with four marines, mannedit.
"Ten pounds to the man who kills him," said the captain, "and twentyfor the man who brings him in alive."
There was a stimulus in the offer of reward, although the Englishmen,every one of them, would have gloried in the chase and in hunting theboy to his death without even the chance of a reward.
Eben saw the boat coming after him, and he knew that he was in a racefor life.
He was not daunted.
He watched the boat skim through the moonlit water, and he floated forsome little distance to ascertain whether he was seen.
Assured of that, he laughed quietly to himself over the chase he wouldgive them.
He dashed the water about as though he was about to sink, and instantlya musket ball struck the water within a few feet of him.
Then he dived and swam in another direction, knowing that the boatwould continue on its straight track.
When he reappeared above the water he saw that he had gained verymaterially on his pursuers, and as he did not care what part of thecoast he reached, he again dived and swam farther down the shore.
When he came to the surface and floated, he looked round and saw thatthe boat's crew had given him up for lost.
The boat was circling round and round, and every eye was strained tofind his dead body.
Eben leisurely swam to the shore, and was glad when he reached land,for he was nigh exhausted.
He had to be very cautious, for many tories resided on the shore, andhe knew that he would be treated as a suspicious character.
He found a wood which afforded him shelter.
Undressing, he hung his clothes out to dry, while he climbed into atree, with the double object of not being found in a state of undressand be the better able to see if anyone approached.
