The left of the line rested on the bank of the river, where a full view of the Ticonderoga could be obtained. After the fight had raged nearly three hours, without any advantage being gained on either side, one of the men reported that the ship was making signals. The commander of the expedition hurried along the line, calling out--
"Mr. Howe! Where's the signal officer, Mr. Howe?" But he received no answer. No one had seen Mr. Howe since he had so ingloriously retreated at the commencement of the fight.
"Pass the word along the line for Mr. Howe!" shouted the captain.
The order was obeyed, and finally a faint voice, some distance in the rear, replied, "Here, sir."
"What are you doing there, sir?" demanded the captain, in a voice of thunder. "Why are you not at your post? Get out there with your flag, and answer the Ticonderoga's signals." And the captain began to consult his signal-book.
Mr. Howe looked first at the rebels, then at the captain, then down at the flag which he held in his hand, but he did not move. It was a dangerous undertaking; for, in answering the signals, he would be obliged to stand on the bank of the river, where there was nothing but bushes to protect him, and where the rebels would be certain to see him; but the rattling of the musketry, the sharp whistle of the bullets as they flew thickly about among the trees, and the roar of the Ticonderoga's guns--sounds which he had never before heard--so worked upon the imagination of the terrified man, that the danger seemed tenfold worse than it really was.
In a few moments the captain had made out the signal, which was, "How do you succeed?" and exclaimed:
"Mr. Howe, make the answer that we don't succeed at all--no advantage on either side; that our ammunition is getting scarce; and that----. Why don't you start, sir?" he shouted, seeing that Mr. Howe did not move.
"Captain," faltered the man, in a scarcely audible voice, "I should be very happy, sir; very glad, indeed, sir; but--, but--"
"No remarks, sir, but do as you are ordered, instantly."
The man could go no further, but stood trembling like a leaf, with the utmost terror depicted in every feature.
"You're a coward, sir!" shouted the captain, in a terrible rage--"a mean, contemptible coward."