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The talk of the town and the respect with which men and boys instinctively greeted him, as all men greet silent people, had affected Seth Richmond's outlook on life and on himself. He, like most boys, was deeper than boys are given credit for being, but he was not what the men of the town, and even his mother, thought him to be.
When he reached the foot of that hill where the road should have been, he found that it had disappeared. The tide had risen and covered it. It was pitch-dark, the rain was less heavy, and clouds of fog were drifting in before the wind. Seth waded on for a short distance, but soon realized that wading would be an impossibility.
Seth told her, they were the sun and the moon, turned so black because they could not shine in the face of the Father of light. Scarcely had he spoken, when an angel blew a trumpet, and all the angels cried out with awful voices, "Blessed be the glory of the Lord by His creatures, for He has shown mercy unto Adam, the work of His hands!"
They thought she had understood their plans, and had, perhaps, permanently withdrawn. They could not rest without making some effort to ascertain her retreat. Seth went in pursuit, and returned without her. They rallied others when they dis- covered that another little colored girl was miss- ing, a favorite playmate of Frado's. All effort proved unavailing.
Bascom, the practical, moved toward the edge of the seat. "Take your arm away, Seth," she cautioned. "They'll see you." "Who'll see me? What do I care who sees me? Ain't a man got a right to put his arm around his own wife, I'd like to know?" "Humph! Well, all right. I can stand it if you can. Only I cal'late your young Brown man is in for somethin' of a shock, that's all.
"We surely have," said Henry, "and as those cannon won't come into action again for some time we'd better get back into the fort." "Yes, we had," said Seth, "but I'm thinkin' I'm mighty glad you brought me along. Don't know when I've enjoyed myself so much. Curious, though, they didn't spot us there." "Too much of their own cannon smoke floating about.
"How can we fight those cannons?" he said. "Who is the best marksman you have?" asked Henry. "Seth Cole?" replied the Major promptly. "Will you call Seth Cole?" Seth Cole came promptly. He was a tall, thin man, cool of eye and slow of speech. "Are you ready to go with me anywhere, Mr. Cole?" asked Henry. "I'm thinkin' that what another feller kin stand I kin, too," replied Seth.
Mother was down to the store this afternoon buyin' liniment for Seth Strout, an' she met Miss Dearborn on the bridge. They got to talkin' 'bout school, for mother has summer-boarded a lot o' the schoolmarms, an' likes 'em. 'How does the little Temperance girl git along? asks mother. 'Oh, she's the best scholar I have! says Miss Dearborn.
Going down a few steps, Seth opened wide the door of their dugout, looking gladly up at her, standing stilly there, a picture daintily silhouetted by the pearl pink of the twilit sky. "Heah!" he smiled. Celia stared down into the darkness of it as into a grave. "A hole in the ground," she cried.
The remainder of the day passed without any demonstration from the besiegers, and Henry noticed with pleasure that the coming night promised to be dark. Already he had selected his assistants, Seth Cole and four others, all powerful swimmers, but the enterprise was kept a secret among the six and Major Braithwaite. He ate a hearty supper, lay down and slept a while.
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