TRUE TO THE 
 -OLD FL-AG- 
 
 nia
 
 UNIV 
 
 . OF CALIF. LIB3AKY. LOS ANGELES 

 
 PEARSON TRIES THE ICE. Page 856.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG: 
 
 A TALE OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY, 
 
 Author of " With Clive in India," "The Lion of the North," "ft 
 
 Freedom's Cause," " The Dragon and the Raven," "The 
 
 Young Carthaginian," etc., etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
 52-58 DUANE STREET, NEW YORK.
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 PR 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 MY DEAR LADS : 
 
 You have probably been accustomed to regard 
 the war between England and her colonies in 
 America as one in which we were not only beaten, 
 but to some extent humiliated. Owing to the war 
 having been an unsuccessful one for our arms, 
 British writers have avoided the subject and it has 
 been left for American historians to describe. 
 These, writing for their own countrymen and draw- 
 ing for their facts upon gazettes, letters, and other 
 documents emanating from one side only, have 
 naturally, and no doubt insensibly, given a very 
 strong color to their own views of the events, and 
 English writers have been too much inclined to 
 accept their account implicitly. There is, however, 
 another and very different side to the story, and 
 this I have endeavored to show you. The whole of 
 the facts and details connected with the war can be 
 relied upon as accurate. They are drawn from the 
 valuable account of the struggle written by Major 
 Stedman, who served under Howe, Clinton, and
 
 iv PREFACE. 
 
 Cornwallis, and from other authentic contemporary 
 sources. You will see that although unsuccessful 
 and success was, under the circumstances, a sheer 
 impossibility the British troops fought with a 
 bravery which was never exceeded, and that their 
 victories in actual conflict vastly outnumbered their 
 defeats. Indeed, it may be doubted whether in any 
 war in which this country has been engaged have 
 our soldiers exhibited the qualities of endurance 
 and courage to a higher degree. 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 G. A. HENTY,
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 A Frontier Farm , 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 An Indian Raid 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Redskin Attack. . 38 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Fight at Lexington 59 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Bunker'sHill ... 77 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Scouting 99 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 In the Forest 121 
 
 CHAPTER Vni. 
 Quebec 142 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Surprise of Trenton 164 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 A Treacherous Planter 186
 
 ti CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Capture of Philadelphia 217 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Settler's Hut..... 238 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Saratoga * 259 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Rescued 288 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Island Refuge 305 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Great Storm 825 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 The Scout's Story 342 
 
 CHAPTER XVIH. 
 The Siege of Savannah 362 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 In an American Prison 385 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 The War in South Carolina 405 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 The End of the Struggle 426
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A FRONTIER FARM. 
 
 " CONCORD, March 1, 1774. 
 
 " MY DEAR COUSIN : I am leaving next week with 
 my husband for England, where we intend to pass 
 some time visiting his friends. John and I have 
 determined to accept the invitation you gave us 
 last summer for Harold to come and spend a few 
 months with you. His father thinks that a great 
 future will ere many years open in the West, and 
 that it is therefore well the boy should learn some- 
 thing of frontier life. For myself, I would rather 
 that he stayed quietly at home, for he is at present 
 over fond of adventure ; but as my husband is medi- 
 tating selling his estate here and moving west, it is 
 perhaps better for him. 
 
 " Massachusetts is in a ferment, as indeed are all 
 the Eastern States, and the people talk openly of 
 armed resistance against the government. My hus- 
 band being of English birth and having served in 
 the king's army cannot brook what he calls the 
 rebellious talk which is common among his neigh- 
 bors, and is already on bad terms with many around 
 us. I myself am, as it were, a neutral. As an 
 American woman, it seems to me that the colonists 
 have been dealt with somewhat hardly by the English
 
 3 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG 
 
 Parliament, and that the measures of the latter have 
 been high-handed and arbitrary. Upon the other 
 hand, I naturally incline toward my husband's views. 
 He maintains that as the king's army has driven 
 out the French and gives protection to the colony, 
 it is only fair that the colonists should contribute to 
 its expenses. The English ask for no contributions 
 toward the expenses of their own country, but 
 demand that at least the expenses of the protection 
 of the colony shall not be charged upon the heavily 
 taxed people at home. As to the law that the col- 
 ony shall trade only with the mother country, my 
 husband says that this is the rule in the colonies of 
 Spain, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands, and 
 that the people here, who can obtain what land 
 they choose and till it without rent, should not 
 grumble at paying this small tax to the mother 
 country. However it be, I fear that troubles 
 will come, and this place being the head and focus 
 of the party hostile to England, my husband, feeling 
 himself out of accord with all his neighbors,, saving 
 a few loyal gentlemen like himself, is thinking much 
 and seriously of selling our estate here and of mov- 
 ing away into the new countries of the West, where 
 he will be free from all the disputation and con- 
 tentious talk which occupies men's time here. 
 
 " Indeed, cousin, times have sadly changed since 
 you were staying with us five years ago. Then our 
 life was a peaceful and quiet one ; now there is 
 nothing but wrangling and strife. The dissenting 
 clergy are, as my husband says was the case in Eng- 
 land before the great civil war, the fomenters of 
 this discontent. There are many busybodies who 
 pass their time in stirring up the people by violent 
 harangues and seditious writing ; therefore every 
 one takes one side or the other and there is neither 
 peace nor comfort in life.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 3 
 
 " Accustomed as I have always been to living in 
 ease and affluence, I dread somewhat the thought of 
 a life on the Indian frontier. One has heard so 
 many dreadful stories of Indian fights and massa- 
 cres that I tremble a little at the prospect ; but I do 
 not mention this to John, for as other women are, like 
 yourself, brave enough to support these dangers, I 
 would not appear a coward in his eyes. You will 
 see, cousin, that as this prospect is before us, it is 
 well that Harold should learn the ways of a frontier 
 life. Moreover, John does not like the thought of 
 leaving him here while we are in England, for, as 
 he says, the boy might learn to become a rebel in 
 his absence ; therefore, my dear cousin, we have re- 
 solved to send him to you. An opportunity offers 
 in the fact that a gentleman of our acquaintance is, 
 with his family, going this week west with the in- 
 tention of settling there, and he will, he tells us, go 
 first to Detroit, whence he will be able to send 
 Harold forward to your farm. The boy himself is 
 delighted at the thought and promises to return an 
 accomplished backwoodsman. John joins me in 
 kind love to yourself and your husband, and believe 
 me to remain your affectionate cousin, 
 
 "MARY WILSON." 
 
 . Four months after the date of the above letter a 
 lad some fifteen years old was walking with a man 
 of middle age on the shores of Lake Huron. Behind 
 them was a large clearing of about a hundred acres 
 in extent ; a comfortable house, with buildings for 
 cattle, stood at a distance of some three hundred 
 yards from the lake ; broad fields of yellow corn 
 waved brightly in the sun ; and from the edge of 
 the clearing came the sound of a woodman's ax,
 
 4 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 showing that the proprietor was still enlarging the 
 limits of his farm. Surrounding the house, at a 
 distance of twenty yards, was a strong stockade 
 some seven feet in height, formed of young trees 
 pointed at the upper end, squared, and fixed firmly 
 in the ground. The house itself, although far more 
 spacious and comfortable than the majority of back- 
 wood farm-houses, was built in the usual fashion, of 
 solid logs, and was evidently designed to resist 
 attack. 
 
 William Welch had settled ten years before on 
 this spot, which was then far removed from the 
 nearest habitation. It would have been a very 
 imprudent act, under ordinary circumstances, to have 
 established himself in so lonely a position, so far 
 removed from the possibility of assistance in case 
 of attack. He settled there, however, just after 
 Pontiac, who was at the head of an alliance of all 
 the Indian tribes of those parts, had, after the long 
 and desperate siege of Fort Pitt, made peace with 
 us upon finding that his friends the French had 
 given up all thought of further resistance to the 
 English and had entirely abandoned the country. 
 Mr. Welch thought, therefore, that a permanent 
 peace was likely to reign on the frontier, and that 
 he might safely establish himself in the charming 
 location he had pitched upon, far removed from the 
 confines of civilization. 
 
 The spot was a natural clearing of some forty 
 acres in extent, sloping down to the water's edge, 
 and a more charming site could hardly have been
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 5 
 
 chosen. Mr. Welch had brought with him three 
 farm-laborers from the East, and as time went on 
 he extended the clearing by cutting down the for- 
 est giants which bordered it. 
 
 But in spite of the beauty of the position, the fer- 
 tility of the soil, the abundance of his crops, and the 
 advantages afforded by the lake, both from its plen- 
 tiful supply of fish and as a highway by which he 
 could convey his produce to market, he had more 
 than once regretted his choice of the location. It 
 was true that there had been no Indian wars on a 
 large scale, but the Indians had several times broken 
 out in sudden incursions. Three times he had been 
 attacked, but fortunately only by small parties 
 which he had been enabled to beat off. Once, when 
 a more serious danger threatened him, he had been 
 obliged to embark with his wife and child and his 
 more valuable chattels in the great scow in which 
 he carried his produce to market, and had to take 
 refuge in the settlements, to find on his return his 
 buildings destroyed and his farm wasted. At that 
 time he had serious thoughts of abandoning his 
 location altogether, but the settlements were ex- 
 tending rapidly toward him, and with a prospect of 
 having neighbors before long and the natural reluc- 
 tance to give up a place upon which he had expended 
 so much toil, he decided to hold on, hoping that 
 more quiet times would prevail until other settlers 
 would take up land around him. 
 
 The house had been rebuilt more strongly than 
 before. He now employed four men, and had been
 
 6 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 unmolested since his return to his farm, three years 
 before the date of this story. Already two or three 
 locations had been taken up on the shores of the 
 lake beyond him, a village had grown up thirty-five 
 miles away, and several settlers had established 
 themselves between that place and his home. 
 
 " So you are going out fishing this morning, 
 Harold ?" Mr. Welch said. "I hope you will bring 
 back a good supply, for the larder is low. I was 
 looking at you yesterday, and I see that you are 
 becoming a first-rate hand at the management of a 
 canoe." 
 
 " So I ought to be," the boy said, " considering 
 that for nearly three months 1 have done nothing 
 but shoot and fish." 
 
 " You have a sharp eye, Harold, and will make a 
 good backwoodsman one of these days. You can 
 shoot nearly as well as I can now. It is lucky that 
 I had a good stock of powder and lead on hand ; 
 firing away by the hour together as you do con- 
 sumes a large amount of ammunition. See, there 
 is a canoe on the lake ; it is coming this way, too. 
 There is but one man in it ; he is a white by his 
 clothes." 
 
 For a minute or two they stood watching the 
 boat, and then seeing that its course was directed 
 toward the shore, they walked down to the edge of 
 the lake to meet it. 
 
 " Ah ! Pearson, is that you ?" Mr. Welch asked. 
 " I thought I knew your long, sweeping stroke at a 
 distance. You have been hunting, I see ; that is a 
 fine stag you have got there. What is the news?"
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLA&. 7 
 
 "About as bad as can be, Master "Welch," the 
 hunter said. " The Iroquois have dug up the toma- 
 hawk again and are out on the war-path. They 
 have massacred John Brent and his family. I heard 
 a talk of it among some hunters I met ten days 
 since in the woods. They said that the Iroquois 
 were restless and that their chief, War Eagle, one 
 of the most troublesome varmints on the whole 
 frontier, had been stirring 'em up to war. He told 
 'em, I heard, that the pale-faces were pushing 
 further and further into the Injun woods, and that 
 unless they drove 'em back the redskin hunting- 
 grounds would be gone. I hoped that nothing 
 would come of it, but I might have known better. 
 When the redskins begin to stir there's sure to be 
 mischief before they're quiet again." 
 
 The color had somewhat left Mr. Welch's cheeks 
 as the hunter spoke. 
 
 "This is bad news indeed, Pearson," he said 
 gravely. "Are you sure about the attack -on the 
 Brents?" 
 
 "Sartin sure," the hunter said. "I met their 
 herder ; he had been down to Johnson's to fetch a 
 barrel of pork. Just when he got back he heard 
 the Injun yells and saw smoke rising in the clear- 
 ing, so he dropped the barrel and made tracks. I 
 met him at Johnson's, where he had just arrived. 
 Johnson was packing up with all haste and was 
 going to leave, and so I said I would take my canoe 
 and come down the lake, giving you all warning on 
 the way. I stopped at Burns' and Hooper's. Burns
 
 8 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 said he should clear out at once, but Hooper talkev- 
 about seeing it through. He's got no wife to bo 
 skeary about, and reckoned that with his two hands 
 he could defend his log hut. I told him I reckoned 
 he would get his har raised if the Injuns came that 
 way ; but in course that's his business." 
 
 " What do you advise, Pearson ? I do not like 
 abandoning this farm again to the mercy of the 
 redskins." 
 
 " It would be a pity, Master Welch, that's as true 
 as Gospel. It's the likeliest clearing within fifty 
 miles round, and you've fixed the place up as snug 
 and comfortable as if it were a farm in the old prov- 
 inces. In course the question is what this War 
 Eagle intends to do. His section of the tribe is 
 pretty considerable strong, and although at present 
 I ain't heard that any others have joined, these 
 Injuns are like barrels of gunpowder : when the 
 spark is once struck there's no saying how far the 
 explosion may spread. When one band of 'em 
 sees as how another is taking scalps and getting 
 plunder and honor, they all want to be at the same 
 work. I reckon War Eagle has got some two hun- 
 dred braves who will follow him ; but when the 
 news spreads that he has begun his work, all the 
 Iroquois, to say nothing of the Shawnees, Dela 
 wares, and other varmint, may dig up the hatchet. 
 The question is what War Eagle's intentions are. 
 He may make a clean sweep down, attacking all 
 the outlying farms and waiting till he is joined by 
 a - j ot more of the red reptiles before attacking tho
 
 THUS TO THE OLD FLAG. 9 
 
 settlements. Then, on the other hand, he may 
 think himself strong enough to strike a blow at 
 Gloucester and some other border villages at once. 
 In that case he might leave the outlying farms 
 alone, as the news of the burning of these would 
 reach the settlements and put 'em on their guard, 
 and he knows in course that if he succeeds there he 
 can eat you all up at his leisure." 
 
 "The attack upon Brent's place looks as if he 
 meant to make a clean sweep down," Mr. Welch 
 said. 
 
 " "Well," the hunter continued thoughtfully, " I 
 don't know as I sees it in that light. Brent's place 
 was a long way from any other. He might have 
 wished to give his band a taste of blood and so raise 
 their spirits, and he might reasonably conclude that 
 naught would be known about it for days, perhaps 
 weeks to come. Then, again, the attack might have 
 been made by some straggling party without orders. 
 It's a dubious question. You've got four hands here, 
 I think, and yourself. I have seen your wife shoot 
 pretty straight with a rifle, so she can count as one, 
 and as this young un here has a good idea too with 
 his shooting-iron, that makes six guns. Your place 
 is a strong one, and you could beat off any strag- 
 gling party. My idea is that War Eagle, who 
 knows pretty well that the place would make a 
 stout fight, won't waste his time by making a 
 regular attack upon it. You might hold out for 
 twenty-four hours ; the clearing is open and there 
 ain't no shelter to be had. He would be safe to
 
 10 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 lose a sight of men, and this would be a bad begin- 
 ning and would discourage his warriors greatly. 
 No, I reckon War Eagle will leave you alone for 
 the present. Maybe he will send a scout to see 
 whether you are prepared ; it's as likely as not that 
 one is spying at us somewhere among the trees now. 
 I should lose no time in driving in the animals and 
 getting well in shelter. When they see you are 
 prepared they will leave you alone, at least for the 
 present. Afterward there's no saying that will 
 depend on how they get on at the settlements. If 
 they succeed there and gets lots of booty and plenty 
 of scalps, they may march back without touching 
 you ; they will be in a hurry to get to their villages 
 and have their feasts and dancings. If they are 
 beaten off at the settlements I reckon they will pay 
 you a visit for sure ; they won't go back without 
 scalps. They will be savage like and won't mind 
 losing some men for the sake of having something 
 to brag about when they get back. And now, 
 Master Welch, I must be going on, for I want to 
 take the news down to the settlements before War 
 Eagle gets there, and he may be ahead of me now 
 for aught I know. I don't give you no advice as to 
 what you had best do ; you can judge the circum- 
 stances as well as I can. When I have been to the 
 settlements and put 'em on their guard maybe 1 
 shall be coming back again, and in that case you 
 know Jack Pearson's rifle is at your disposal. You 
 may as well tote this stag up to the house. You 
 won't be doing much hunting just for the present, 
 and the meat ma^ come in handy."
 
 TRUE TO TSE OLD FLAG. 11 
 
 The stag was landed, and a minute later the 
 canoe shot away from shore under the steady 
 stroke of the hunter's powerful arms. Mr. Welch 
 at once threw the stag over his shoulders and, ac- 
 companied by Harold, strode away toward the 
 house. On reaching it he threw down the stag at 
 the door, seized a rope which hung against the wal! 5 
 and the sounds of a large bell rung in quick sharp 
 strokes summoned the hands from the fields. The 
 sound of the woodman's ax ceased at once, and the 
 shouts of the men as they drove the cattle toward 
 the house rose on the still air. 
 
 "What is the matter, William?" Mrs. Welch 
 asked as she ran from the house. 
 
 " I have bad news, my dear. The Indians are out 
 again and I fear we have trouble before us. We 
 must hope that they will not come in this direction, 
 but must be prepared for the worst. Wait till I see 
 all the hands and beasts in the stockade, and then 
 we can talk the matter over quietly." 
 
 In a few minutes the hands arrived, driving be- 
 fore them the horses and cattle. 
 
 "What is it, boss?" they asked. "Was that the 
 alarm-bell sure enough ?" 
 
 "The Indians are out again," Mr. Welch said, 
 "and in force. They have massacred the Brents 
 and are making toward the settlements. They may 
 come this way or they may not ; at any rate, we 
 must be prepared for them. Get the beasts into the 
 sheds, and then do you all take scythes and set to 
 work to cut down that patch of corn, which is high
 
 12 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 enough to give them shelter ; there's nothing else 
 which will cover them within a hundred yards of 
 the house. Of course you will take your rifles with 
 you and keep a sharp lookout ; but they will have 
 heard the bell if they are in the neighborhood, and 
 will guess that we are on the alert, so they are not 
 likely to attempt a surprise. Shut one of the gates 
 and leave the other ajar, with the bar handy to put 
 up in case you have to make a run for it. Harold 
 will go up to the lookout while you are at work." 
 
 Having seen that all was attended to, Mr. "Welch 
 went into the house, where his wife was going about 
 her work as usual, pale, but quiet and resolute. 
 
 "Now, Jane," he said, "sit down and I will tell 
 you exactly how matters stand as far as Pearson, 
 who brought the news, has told me. Then you 
 shall decide as to the course we had better take." 
 
 After he had told her all that Pearson had said 
 and the reasons for and against expecting an early 
 attack, he went on : 
 
 "Now, it remains for you, my dear, to decide 
 whether we shall stay and defend the place till the 
 last against any attack that may be made, or 
 whether we shall at once embark in the scow and 
 make our way down to the settlements." 
 
 " What do you think, William ?' ? his wife asked. 
 
 " I scarcely know myself," he answered ; " but if 
 I had quite my own way I should send you and 
 Nelly down to the settlements in the scow and fight 
 it out here with the hands." 
 
 " You certainly will not have your own way in
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 13 
 
 that," his wife said. " If you go of course I go ; if 
 you stay I stay. I would a thousand times rather 
 go through a siege here and risk the worst than go 
 down to Gloucester and have the frightful anxiety 
 of not knowing what was happening here. Besides^ 
 it is very possible, as you say, that the Indians maj 
 attack the settlement itself. Many of the people 
 there have had no experience in Indian war, and the 
 redskins are likely to be far more successful in their 
 surprise there than they would be here. If we go 
 we should have to leave our house, our barns, our 
 stacks, and our animals to the mercy of the savages. 
 Your capital is pretty nearly all embarked here 
 now, and the loss of all this would be ruin to us. 
 At any rate, "William, I am ready to stay here and 
 to risk what may come if you are. A life on the 
 frontier is necessarily a life of danger, and if we are 
 to abandon everything and to have to commence 
 life afresh every time the Indians go on the war- 
 path, we had better give it up at once and return 
 to Massachusetts." 
 
 " Yery well, my dear," her husband said gravely. 
 "You are a true frontiersman's wife; you have 
 chosen as I should have done. It is a choice of 
 evils ; but God has blessed and protected us since 
 we came out into the wilderness we will trust and 
 confide in him now. At any rate," he went on 
 more cheerfully, " there is no fear of the enemy 
 starving us out. We got in our store of provisions 
 only a fortnight since, and have enough of every- 
 thing for a three months' siege. There is no fear
 
 U THUS TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 of our well failing us ; and as for ammunition, we 
 have abundance. Seeing how Harold was using 
 powder and ball, I had an extra supply when the 
 stores came in the other day. There is plenty of 
 corn in the barn for the animals for months, and I 
 will have the corn which the men are cutting 
 brought in as a supply of food for the cows. It 
 will be useful for another purpose, too; we will 
 keep a heap of it soaked with water and will cover 
 the shingles with it in case of attack. It will 
 effectually quench their fire-arrows." 
 
 The day passed off without the slightest alarm, 
 and by nightfall the patch of corn was cleared away 
 and an uninterrupted view of the ground for the 
 distance of a hundred yards from the house was af- 
 forded. "When night fell two out of the four dogs 
 belonging to the farm were fastened out in the open 
 at a distance of from seventy to eighty yards of the 
 house, the others being retained within the stock- 
 ade. The garrison was divided into three watches, 
 two men being on the alert at a time, relieving each 
 other every three hours. Mr. Welch took Harold 
 as his companion on the watch. The boy was great- 
 ly excited at the prospect of a struggle. He had 
 ofted read of the desperate fights between the fron- 
 tier settlers and the Indians and had longed to take 
 share in the adventurous work. He could scarcely 
 believe that the time had come and that he was 
 really a sharer in what might be a desperate strug 
 
 le - 
 The first watch was set at nine, and at twelve Mt,
 
 THUS! TO THE OLD FLAG. 1& 
 
 Welch and Harold came on duty. The men they 
 relieved reported that all was silent in the woods, 
 and that they l^ad heard no suspicious eries of any 
 kind. When the men had retired to their room 
 Mr. Welch told Harold that he should take a turn 
 round the stockade and visit the dogs. Harold was 
 to keep watch at the gate, to close it after he went 
 out, to put up the bar, and to stand beside it ready 
 to open it instantly if called upon. 
 
 Then the farmer stepped out into the darkness 
 and, treading noiselessly, at once disappeared from 
 Harold's sight. The latter closed the gate, replaced 
 the heavy bar, and stood with one hand on this and 
 the other holding his rifle, listening intently. Once 
 he thought he heard a low growling from one of 
 the dogs, but this presently ceasod and all was quiet 
 again. The gate was a solid one, formed of strong 
 timbers placed at a few inches apart and bolted to 
 horizontal bars. 
 
 Presently he felt the gate upon which his hand 
 rested quiver as if pressure was applied from with- 
 ( out. His first impulse was to say " Is that you 2" 
 \ but Mr. Welch had told him that he would give a 
 low whistle as he approached the gate ; he there- 
 fore stood quiet with his whole attention absorbed 
 in listening. Without making the least stir he 
 peered through the bars and made out two- dark 
 figures behind them. After once or twice shaking 
 the gate, one took his place against it and the other 
 sprang upon his shoulders. 
 Harold looked up and saw a man's head appear
 
 16 TRUE TO TH OLD FLAG. 
 
 against the sky. Dim as was the light, he could 
 see that it was no European head-gear, a long 
 feather or two projecting from it. In an instant he 
 leveled his rifle and fired. There was a heavy fall 
 and then all was silent. Harold again peered through 
 the bars. The second figure had disappeared and a 
 black mass lay at the foot of the gate. 
 
 In an instant the men came running from the 
 house, rifles in hand. 
 
 " What is it ?" they exclaimed. " Where is Mr. 
 Welch T 
 
 " He went out to scout round the house, leaving 
 me at the gate," Harold said. " Two men, I think 
 Indians, came up ; one was getting over the gate 
 when I shot him. I think he is lying outside the 
 other has disappeared." 
 
 "We must get the master in," one of the men 
 said. " He is probably keeping away, not knowing 
 what has happened. Mr. Welch," he shouted, " it 
 is all safe here, so far as we know ; we are all on 
 the lookout to cover you as you come up." 
 
 Immediately a whistle was heard close to the 
 gate. This was cautiously opened a few i iches and 
 was closed and barred directly Mr. Welch entered. 
 
 Harold told him what had happened. 
 
 " I thought it was something of the sort. I heard 
 Wolf growl and felt sure that it was not at me. 
 I threw myself down and crept up to him and found 
 him shot through the heart with an Indian arrow. 
 I was crawling back to the house when I heard 
 Harold's shot. Then I waited to see if it was fol-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 17 
 
 lowed by the war-whoop, which the redskins would 
 have raised at once on finding that they were dis- 
 covered had they been about to attack in force. 
 Seeing that all was quiet, I conjectured that it was 
 probably an attempt on the part of a spy to dis- 
 cover if we were upon the alert. Then I heard your 
 call and at once came on. I do not expect any at- 
 tack to-night now, as these fellows must have been 
 alone ; but we will all keep watch till the morning. 
 You have done very well, Harold, and have shown 
 yourself a keen watchman. It is fortunate that you 
 had the presence of mind neither to stir nor to call 
 out when you first heard them, for had you done so 
 you would probably have got an arrow between 
 your ribs, as poor Wolf has done." 
 
 When it was daylight and the gate was opened 
 the body of an Indian was seen lying without ; a 
 small mark on his forehead showed where Harold's 
 bullet had entered, death being instantaneous. His 
 war-paint and the embroidery of his leggings showed 
 him at once to be an Iroquois. Beside him lay his 
 bow, with an arrow which had evidently been fitted 
 to the string for instant work. Harold shuddered 
 when he saw it and congratulated himself on having 
 stood perfectly quiet. A grave was dug a short 
 distance away, the Indian was buried, and the house- 
 hold proceeded about their work. 
 
 The day, as was usual in households in America, 
 was begun with prayer, and the supplications of 
 Mr. Welch for the protection of God over the house- 
 hold were warm and earnest. The men proceeded
 
 18 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 to feed the animals ; these were then turned out of 
 the inclosure, one of the party being always on 
 watch in the little tower which had been erected 
 jor that purpose some ten or twelve feet above the 
 roof of the house. From this spot a view was ob- 
 tainable right over the clearing to the forest which 
 surrounded it on three sides. The other hands pro- 
 ceeded to cut down more of the corn, so as to ex- 
 tend the level space around the house.
 
 TttUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. J9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 AM INDIAN RAID. 
 
 THAT day and the next passed quietly. The 
 first night the raan who was on watch up to mid- 
 night remarked to Mr. Welch when he relieved 
 him that it seemed to him that there were noises in 
 the air. 
 
 "What sort of noises, Jackson calls of night- 
 birds or animals ? If so the Indians are probably 
 around us." 
 
 "No," the man said ; "all is still round here, but 
 I seem to feel the noise rather than hear it. I 
 should say that it was firing very many miles off." 
 
 " The night is perfectly still and the sound of a 
 gun would be heard a long way." 
 
 " I cannot say that I have heard a gun ; it is 
 rather a tremble in the air than a sound." 
 
 When the man they had relieved had gone down 
 and all was still again, Mr. Welch and Harold stood 
 listening intently. 
 
 " Jackson was right," the farmer said ; " there is 
 something in the air. I can feel it rather than hear 
 it. It is a sort of murmur no louder than a whisper. 
 Do you hear it, Harold ?" 
 
 4< I seem to hear something," Harold said. " It
 
 20 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 might be the sound of the sea a very long way off, 
 just as one can hear it many miles from the coast 
 on a still night at home. "What do you think 
 it is ?" 
 
 " If it is not fancy," Mr. Welch replied, " and I do 
 not think that we should all be deceived, it is an at- 
 tack upon Gloucester." 
 
 " But Gloucester is thirty-five miles away," Harold 
 answered. 
 
 " It is," Mr. "Welch replied ; " but on so still a 
 night as this sounds can be heard from an immense 
 distance. If it is not this I cannot say what it is." 
 
 Upon the following night, just as Mr. "Welch's 
 watch was at an end, a low whistle was heard near 
 the gate. 
 
 " "Who is there ?" Mr. "Welch at once challenged. 
 
 " Jack Pearson, and the sooner you open the gate 
 the better. There's no saying where these red 
 devils may be lying round." 
 
 Harold and the farmer instantly ran down and 
 opened the gate. 
 
 "I should advise you to stop down here," the 
 hunter said as they replaced the bars. " If you did 
 not hear me you certainly would not hear the red- 
 skins, and they'd all be over the palisade before you 
 had time to fire a shot. I'm glad to see you safe, 
 for I was badly skeared lest I should find nothing 
 but a heap of ashes here." 
 
 The next two men now turned out, and Mr. 
 Welch led his visitor into the house and struck a 
 light
 
 TRUE TO ERE OLD FLAG. 21 
 
 "Halloo! Pearson, you must have been in a 
 skirmish," he said, seeing that the hunter's head 
 was bound up with a blood-stained bandage. 
 
 "It was all that," Pearson said, " and wuss. I 
 went down to Gloucester and told 'em what I had 
 heard, but the darned fools tuk it as quiet as if all 
 King George's troops with fixed bayonets had been 
 camped round 'em. The council got together and 
 palavered for an hour, and concluded that there 
 was no chance whatever of the Iroquois venturing 
 to attack such a powerful place as Gloucester. I 
 told 'em that the redskins would go over their 
 stockade at a squirrel's jump, and that as War 
 Eagle alone had at least a hundred and fifty 
 braves, while there warn't more than fifty able- 
 bodied men in Gloucester and all the farms around 
 it, things would go bad with 'em if they didn't 
 mind. But, bless yer, they knew more than I did 
 about it. Most of 'em had moved from the East 
 and had never seen an Injun in his war-paint. 
 Gloucester had never been attacked since it was 
 founded nigh ten years ago, and they didn't see no 
 reason why it should be attacked now. There was 
 a few old frontiersmen like myself among 'ern 
 who did their best to stir 'em up, but it was no 
 manner of good. "When the council was over we 
 put our heads together, and just went through the 
 township a-talking to the women, and we hadn't 
 much difficulty in getting up such a skear among 
 'em that before nightfall every one of 'em in the 
 farms around made their husbands move into the 
 stockade of the village.
 
 23 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " When the night passed off quietly most of the 
 men were just as savage with us as if it had been a 
 false alarm altogether. I p'inted out that it was not 
 because War Eagle had left 'em alone that night 
 that he was bound to do so the next night or any 
 night after. But in spite of the women they would 
 have started out to their farms the fust thing in the 
 morning, if a man hadn't come in with the news 
 that Carter's farm had been burned and the whole 
 of the people killed and scalped. As Carter's farm 
 lay only about fifteen miles off this gave 'em a 
 skear, and they were as ready now to believe in the 
 Injuns as I had tried to make 'em the night before. 
 Then they asked us old hands to take the lead and 
 promised to do what we told 'em, but when it came 
 to it their promises were not worth the breath they 
 had spent upon 'em. There were eight or ten 
 houses outside the stockade, and in course we wanted 
 these pulled down ; but they wouldn't hear of it. 
 Howsomever, we got 'em to work to strengthen the 
 stockades, to make loop-holes in the houses near 
 'em, to put up barricades from house to house, and 
 to prepare generally for a fight. We divided into 
 three watches. 
 
 " Well, just as I expected, about eleven o'clock at 
 night the Injuns attacked. Our watch might just 
 as well have been asleep for any good they did, for 
 it was not till the redskins had crept up to the 
 stockade all round and opened fire between the 
 timbers on 'em that they knew that they were 
 near. I do 'em justice to say that they fought stiff
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 23 
 
 enough then, and for four hours they held the line 
 of houses ; every redskin who climbed the stockade 
 fell dead inside it. Four fires had been lighted 
 directly they attacked to enable us to keep 'em from 
 scaling the stockade, but they showed us to the 
 enemy, of course. 
 
 "The redskins took possession of the houses 
 which we had wanted to pull down, and precious 
 hot they made it for us. Then they shot such 
 showers of burning arrows into the village that half 
 of the houses were soon alight. We tried to get 
 our men to sally out and to hold the line of stock- 
 ade, when we might have beaten 'em off if all the 
 village had been burned down ; but it were no man- 
 ner of good ; each man wanted to stick to his wife 
 and family till the last. As the flames went up 
 every man who showed himself was shot down, and 
 when at last more than half our number had gone 
 under the redskins brought up fagots, piled 'em 
 against the stockade outside, and then the hull tribe 
 came bounding over. Our rifles were emptied, for 
 we couldn't get the men to hold their fire, but 
 some of us chaps as knew what was coming gave 
 the redskins a vollej' as they poured in. 
 
 "I don't know much as happened after that, 
 Jack Eobins and Bill Shuter, who were old pals oi 
 mine, and me made up our minds what to do, and 
 we made a rush for a small gate that there was in 
 the stockade, just opposite where the Injuns came 
 in. "We got through safe enough, but they had left 
 men all round. Jack Kobins he was shot dead.
 
 24 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Bill and I kept straight on. We had a grapple 
 with some of the redskins ; two or three on 'em 
 went down, and Bill and I got through and had a 
 race for it till we got fairly into the forest. Bill 
 had a ball in the shoulder and I had a clip across 
 the head with a tomahawk. We had a council, and 
 Bill went off to warn some of the other settlements 
 and I concluded to take to the water and paddle 
 back to you, not knowing whether I should find 
 that the redskins had been before me. I thought 
 anyway that I might stop your going down to 
 Gloucester, and that if there was a fight you would 
 be none the worse for an extra rifle." 
 
 Mr. Welch told the hunter of the visit of the two 
 Indian spies two nights before. 
 
 " Waal," the hunter said, " I reckon for the pres- 
 ent you are not likely to be disturbed. The Injuns 
 have taken a pile of booty and something like two 
 hundred scalps, counting the women and children, 
 and they moved off at daybreak this morning in the 
 direction of Tottenham, which I reckon they'll 
 attack to-night. Hovvsomever, Bill has gone on 
 there to warn 'em, and after the sack of Gloucester 
 the people of Tottenham won't be caught napping, 
 and there are two or three old frontiersmen who 
 have settled down there, and War Eagle will get a 
 hot reception if he tries it. As fav as his band is 
 concerned you're safe for some days. The only fear 
 is that some others of the tribe, hurrying up at hear- 
 ing of his success, may take this place as they go 
 past. And now I guess I'll take a few hours' sleep. 
 I haven't closed an eye for the last two nights."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 25 
 
 A week passed quietly. Pearson, after remain- 
 ing two days, again went down the lake to gather 
 news, and returned a day later with the intelligence 
 that almost all the settlements had been deserted 
 by their inhabitants. The Indians were out in great 
 strength and had attacked the settlers at many 
 points along the frontier, committing frightful dev- 
 astations. 
 
 Still another week passed, and Mr. "Welch began 
 to hope that his little clearing had been overlooked 
 and forgotten by the Indians. The hands now w$jat 
 about their work as usual, but always carried arms 
 with them, while one was constantly stationed on 
 the watch-tower. Harold resumed his fishing, never, 
 howevor, going out of sight of the house. Some- 
 times he took with him little Nelly Welch, it being 
 considered that she was as safe in the canoe as she 
 was in the house, especially as the boat was always 
 in sight, and the way up from the landing to the 
 house was under cover of the rifles of the defend- 
 ers ; so that even in case of an attack they would 
 probably be able to make their way back. 
 
 One afternoon they had been out together for 
 two or three hours ; everything looked as quiet and 
 peaceable as usual; the hands were in the fields 
 near the house, a few of the cows grazing close to 
 the gate. Harold had been successful in his fishing 
 and had obtained as many fish as he could carry. 
 He stepped out from the canoe, helped Nelly to 
 land, slung his rifle across his back, and picked up 
 the fish, which -,vere strung on a withe passed 
 through their
 
 26 TRUE TO THS OLD PLA&. 
 
 He had made but a few steps when a yell arose, 
 so loud and terrible that for a moment his heart 
 seemed to stop beating. Then from the corn-fields 
 leaped up a hundred dark figures ; then came the 
 sharp crack of rifles, and two of the hands dashed 
 down at full speed toward the house. One had 
 fallen. The fourth man was in the watch-tower. 
 The surprise had been complete. The Indians had 
 made their way like snakes through the long corn, 
 whose waving had been unperceived by the sentinel, 
 who was dozing at his post, half-asleep in the heat 
 of the sun. Harold saw in a moment that it was 
 too late for him to regain the house ; the redskins 
 were already nearer to it than he was. 
 
 " Now, Nelly ! into the boat again quick !" he 
 said. " "We must keep out of the way till it's all 
 over." 
 
 Nelly was about twelve years old, and her life in 
 the woods had given her a courage and quickness 
 beyond her years. Without wasting a moment on 
 cries or lamentations she sprang back into the canoe. 
 Harold took his place beside her, and the light 
 craft darted rapidly out into the lake. Not until 
 he was some three or four hundred yards from the 
 shore did Haroid pause to look round. Then, when 
 he felt he was out of gunshot distance, he ceased 
 paddling. 
 
 The fight was raging now around the house; 
 from loop-holes and turret the white puffs of smoke 
 darted angrily out. The fire had not been inef- 
 fectual, for several dark forms could be seen lying
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 27 
 
 round the stockade, and the bulk of the Indians, 
 foiled in their attempt to carry the place at a rush, 
 had taken shelter in the corn and kept up a scatter- 
 ing fire round the house, broken only on the side 
 facing the lake, where there was no growing crop 
 to afford them shelter. 
 
 " They are all right now," Harold said cheerfully. 
 "Do not be anxious, Nelly ; they will beat them off. 
 Pearson is a host in himself. I expect he must 
 have been lying down when the attack was made. 
 I know he was scouting round the house all night. 
 If he had been on the watch those fellows would 
 never have succeeded in creeping up so close un- 
 observed." 
 
 " I wish we were inside," Nelly said, speaking for 
 the first time. " If I were only with them I should 
 not mind." 
 
 "I am sure I wish we were," Harold agreed. 
 " It is too hard being useless out here when such a 
 splendid fight is going on. Ah! they have their 
 eyes on us !" he exclaimed as a puff of smoke burst 
 out from some bushes near the shore and a ball 
 came skipping along on the surface of the water, 
 sinking, however, before it reached it. 
 
 "Those Indian muskets are no good," Harold 
 said contemptuously, "and the trade powder the 
 Indians get is very poor stuff ; but I think that they 
 are well within range of my rifle." 
 
 The weapon which Harold carried was an English 
 rifle of very perfect make and finish which his 
 father had given him on parting.
 
 28 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 "Now," he said, "do you paddle the canoe a few 
 strokes nearer the shore, Nelly. We shall still be 
 beyond the range of that fellow. Pie will fire again 
 and I shall see exactly where he is lying." 
 
 Nelly, who was efficient in the management of a 
 canoe, took the paddle, and dipping it in the water 
 the boat moved slowly toward the shore. Harold 
 sat with his rifle across his knees, looking intently 
 over the bows of the boat toward the bush from 
 which the shot had come. 
 " That's near enough, Nelly," he said. 
 The girl stopped paddling, and the hidden foe, 
 seeing that they did not mean to come nearer the 
 shore, again fired. 
 
 Harold's rifle was in an instant against his 
 shoulder ; he sat immovable for a moment and then 
 fired. 
 
 Instantly a dark figure sprang from the bush, 
 staggered a few steps up the slope, and then fell 
 headlong. 
 
 "That was a pretty good shot," Harold said. 
 " Your father told me when I saw a stag's horns 
 above a bush to fire about two feet behind them and 
 eighteen inches lower. I fired a foot below the 
 flash, and I expect I hit him through the body. I 
 had the sight at three hundred yards and fired a 
 little above it. Now, Nelly, paddle out again. 
 See !" he said, " there is a shawl waving from the 
 top of the tower. Put your hat on the paddle and 
 wave it." 
 
 " What are you thinking of doing, Harold ?" the 
 girl asked presently.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 29 
 
 " That is just what I have been asking myself for 
 the last ten minutes," Harold replied. " It is quite 
 clear that as long as the siege is kept up we cannot 
 get back again, and there is no saying how long it 
 may last. The first thing is, What chance is there 
 of their pursuing us ? Are there any other canoes 
 on the lake within a short distance ?" 
 
 "They have one at Braith waiters," the girl said, 
 " four miles off ; but look, there is Pearson's canoe 
 lying by the shore." 
 
 "So there is," Harold exclaimed. "I never 
 thought of that. I expect the Indians have not 
 noticed it. The bank is rather high where it is 
 lying. They are sure to find it sooner or later. I 
 think, Nelly, the best plan would be to paddle back 
 again so as to be within the range of my rifle while 
 still beyond the reach of theirs. I think I can keep 
 them from using the boat until it is dark." 
 
 "But after it is dark, Harold?" 
 
 " Well, then, we must paddle out into the lake so 
 as to be well out of sight. When it gets quite dark 
 we can paddle in again and sleep safelyany where a 
 mile or two from the house." 
 
 An hour passed without change. Then Nelly 
 said: 
 
 "There is a movement in the bushes near the 
 canoe." 
 
 Presently an arm was extended and proceeded to 
 haul the canoe toward the shore by its head-rope. As 
 it touched the bank an Indian rose from the bushes 
 and was about to step in, while a number of flashes
 
 30 TRUE TO THE OL1, FLAG. 
 
 of smoke burst out along the shore and the bullets 
 skipped over the water toward the canoe, one of 
 them striking it with sufficient force to penetrate 
 the thin bark a few inches above the water's edge. 
 Harold had not moved, but as the savage stepped 
 into the canoe he fired, and the Indian fell heavily 
 into the water, upsetting the canoe as he did so. 
 
 A yell of rage broke from his comrades. 
 
 " I don't think they will try that game again as 
 long as it is daylight," Harold said. "Paddle a 
 little further out again, Nelly. If that bullet had 
 hit you it would have given you a nasty blow, 
 though I don't think it would have penetrated ; still 
 we may as well avoid accidents." 
 
 After another hour passed the fire round the 
 house ceased. 
 
 " Do you think the Indians have gone away ?" 
 Nelly asked. 
 
 " I am afraid there is no chance of that," Harold 
 said. " I expect they are going to wait till night 
 and then try again. They are not fond of losing 
 men, and Pearson and your father are not likely to 
 miss anything that comes within their range as long 
 as daylight lasts." 
 
 " But after dark, Harold 2" 
 
 " Oh, they will try all sorts of tricks ; but Pear- 
 son is up to them all. Don't you worry about 
 them, dear." 
 
 The hours passed slowly away until at last the 
 sun sank and the darkness came on rapidly. So 
 long as he could see the canoe, which just floated
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 31 
 
 above the water's edge, Harold maintained his posi- 
 tion ; then taking one paddle, while Nelly handled 
 the other, he sent the boat flying away from the 
 shore out into the lake. 
 
 For a quarter of an hour they paddled straight 
 out. By this time the outline of the shore could be 
 but dimly perceived. Harold doubted whether it 
 would be possible to see the boat from shore, but in 
 order to throw the Indians off the scent, should this 
 be the case, he turned the boat's head to the south 
 and paddled swiftly until it was perfectly dark. 
 
 " I expect they saw us turn south," he said to 
 Nelly. " The redskins have wonderful eyes ; so if 
 they pursue at all they will do it in that direction. 
 No human being, unless he borrowed the eyes of 
 an owl, could see us now, so we will turn and pad- 
 dle the other way." 
 
 For two hours they rowed in this direction. 
 
 " "We can go into shore now," Harold said at last. 
 "We must be seven or eight miles beyond the 
 house." 
 
 The distance to the shore was longer than they 
 expected, for they had only the light of the stars to 
 guide them and neither had any experience in night 
 traveling. They had made much further out into 
 the lake than they had intended. At length the 
 dark line of trees rose in front of them, and in a 
 few minutes the canoe lay alongside the bank and 
 its late occupants were stretched on a soft layer of 
 moss and fallen leaves. 
 
 " What are we going to do to-morrow about 
 eating ?" Nelly asked.
 
 32 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 "There are four or five good-sized fish in the 
 bottom of the canoe," Harold replied. "Fortu- 
 nately we caught more than I could carry, and I in- 
 tended to make a second trip from the house for 
 these. I am afraid we shall not be able to cook 
 them, for the Indians can see smoke any distance. 
 If the worse comes to the worst we must eat them 
 raw, but we are sure to find some berries in the 
 wood to-morrow. Now, dear, you had better go to 
 sleep as fast as you can ; but first let us kneel down 
 and pray God to protect us and your father and 
 mother." 
 
 The boy and girl knelt in the darkness and said 
 their simple prayers. Then they lay down, and 
 Harold was pleased to hear in a few minutes 
 the steady breathing which told him that his cousin 
 was asleep. It was a long time before he followed 
 her example. During the day he had kept up a 
 brave front and had endeavored to make the best 
 of their position, but now that he was alone he felt 
 the full weight of the responsibility of guiding his 
 companion through the extreme danger which 
 threatened them both. He felt sure that the In- 
 dians would prolong the siege for some time, as 
 they would be sure that no reinforcements could 
 possibly arrive in aid of the garrison. Moreover, 
 he by no means felt so sure, as he had pretended to 
 his companion, of the power of the defenders of the 
 house to maintain a successful resistance to so large 
 a number of their savage foes. In the daylight he 
 felt certain they could beat them off, but darkness
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 33 
 
 neutralizes the effect both of superior arms and 
 better marksmanship. It was nearly midnight be- 
 fore he lay down with the determination to sleep, 
 but scarcely had he done so when he was aroused 
 by an outburst of distant firing. Although six or 
 seven miles from the scene of the encounter, the 
 gound of each discharge came distinct to the ear 
 along the smooth surface of the lake, and he could 
 even hear, mingled with the musketry fire, the faint 
 yells of the Indians. For hours, as it seemed to 
 him, he sat listening to the distant contest, and then 
 he, unconsciously to himself, dozed off to sleep, and 
 awoke with a start, to find Kelly sitting up beside 
 him and the sun streaming down through the 
 boughs. He started to his feet. 
 
 " Bless me," he exclaimed, " I did not know that 
 I had been asleep. It seems but an instant ago 
 that I was listening " and here he checked him- 
 self " that is, that I was wide awake, and here we 
 are in broad daylight." 
 
 Harold's first care was to examine the position of 
 the canoe, and he found that fortunately it had 
 touched the shore at a spot where the boughs of 
 the trees overhead drooped into the water beyond 
 it, so that it could not be seen by any one passing 
 along the lake. This was the more fortunate as he 
 saw some three miles away a canoe with three fig- 
 ures on board. For a long distance on either side 
 the boughs of the trees drooped into the water, with 
 only an opening here and there such as that through 
 which the boat had passed the night before.
 
 34 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " "We must be moving, Nelly. Here are the 
 marks where we scrambled up the bank last night. 
 If the Indians take it into their heads to search the 
 shore both ways, as likely enough they may do, 
 they will be sure to see them. In the first place let 
 us gather a stock of berries, and then we will get 
 into the boat again and paddle along under this 
 arcade of boughs till we get to some place where 
 we can land without leaving marks of our feet. If 
 the Indians find the place where we landed here 
 they will suppose that we went off again before 
 daylight." 
 
 For some time they rambled in the wood and suc- 
 ceeded in gathering a store of berries and wild 
 fruit. Upon these Nelly made her breakfast, but 
 Harold's appetite was sufficiently ravenous to en- 
 able him to fall to upon the fish, which, he declared, 
 were not so bad after all. Then they took their 
 places in the canoe again and paddled on for nearly 
 a mile. 
 
 "See, Harold!" Nelly exclaimed as she got a 
 glimpse through the boughs into the lake, " there is 
 another canoe. They must have got the Braith- 
 waite boat. We passed their place coming here, 
 you know. I wonder what has happened there." 
 
 " What do you think is best to do, Nelly ?" Har- 
 old asked. " Your opinion is just as good as mine 
 about it. Shall we leave our canoe behind, land, 
 and take to the woods, or shall we stop quietly in 
 the canoe in shelter here, or shall we take to the 
 lake and trust to our speed to get away ? in which
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 36 
 
 case, you know, if they should come up I could pick 
 them off with my gun before they got within 
 reach." 
 
 "1 don't think that would do," the girl said, 
 shaking her head. " You shoot very well, but it is 
 not an easy thing to hit a moving object if you are 
 not accustomed to it, and they paddle so fast that 
 if you miss them once they would be close alongside 
 at any rate we should be within reach of their 
 guns before you could load again. They would be 
 sure to catch us, for although we might paddle 
 nearly as fast for a time, they would certainly tire us 
 out. Then as to waiting here in the canoe, if they 
 came along on foot looking for us we should be in 
 their power. It is dreadful to think of taking to 
 the woods with Indians all about, but I really think 
 that would be our safest plan." 
 
 " I think so too, Nelly, if we can manage to do it 
 without leaving a track. We must not go much 
 further, for the trees are getting thinner ahead and 
 we should be seen by the canoes." 
 
 Fifty yards further Harold stopped paddling. 
 
 " Here is just the place, Nelly." 
 
 At this point a little stream of three or four feet 
 wide emerged into the lake ; Harold directed the 
 boat's head toward it. The water in the stream 
 was but a few inches deep. 
 
 " Now, Nelly," he said, " we must step out into 
 the water and walk up it as far as we can go it 
 will puzzle even the sharpest redskins to find 
 track then."
 
 3tf TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 They stepped into the water, Harold taking the 
 head-rope of the canoe and towing the light boat 
 which, when empty, did not draw more than two 
 inches of water behind him. He directed Nelly 
 to be most careful as she walked not to touch any 
 of the bushes, which at times nearly met across the 
 stream. 
 
 " A broken twig or withered leaf would be quite 
 enough to tell the Indians that we came along this 
 way," he said. " Where the bushes are thick you 
 must manage to crawl under them. Never mind 
 about getting wet you will soon dry again." 
 
 Slowly and cautiously they made their way up 
 the stream for nearly a mile. It had for some dis- 
 tance been narrowing rapidly, being only fed by 
 little rills from the surrounding swamp land. 
 Harold had so far looked in vain for some spot 
 where they could land without leaving marks of 
 their feet. Presently they came to a place where a 
 great tree had fallen across the stream. 
 
 "This will do, Nelly," Harold said. "Now, 
 above all things you must be careful not to break 
 off any of the moss or bark. You had better take 
 your shoes off ; then I will lift you on to the trunk 
 and you can walk along it without leaving a mark." 
 
 It was hard work for Nelly to take off her 
 drenched boots, but she managed at last. Harold 
 lifted her on to the trunk and said : 
 
 " Walk along as far as you can and get down as 
 lightly as possible on to a firm piece of ground. It 
 rises rapidly here and is, I expect, a dry soil where 
 the upper end of the tree lies."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 37 
 
 " How are you going to get out, Harold 8" 
 
 " I can swing myself up by that projecting root." 
 
 Before proceeding to do so Harold raised one end 
 of the canoe and placed it on the trunk of the tree ; 
 then having previously taken off his shoes, he swung 
 himself on to the trunk ; hauling up the light bark 
 canoe and taking especial pains that it did not grate 
 upon the trunk, he placed it on his head and fol- 
 lowed Nelly along the tree. He found, as he had 
 expected, that the ground upon which the upper end 
 lay was firm and dry. He stepped down with 
 great care, and was pleased to see as he walked 
 forward that no trace of a footmark was left. 
 
 " Be careful, Nelly," he exclaimed when he joined 
 her, " not to tread on a stick or disturb a fallen leaf 
 with your feet, and above all to avoid breaking the 
 smallest twig as you pass. Choose the most open 
 ground, as that is the hardest." 
 
 In about a hundred yards they came upon a large 
 clump of bushes. 
 
 " Now, Nelly, raise those lower boughs as gently 
 and as carefully as you can. I will push the canoe 
 under. I don't think the sharpest Indian will be 
 able to take up our track now." 
 
 Yery carefully the canoe was stowed away, and 
 when the boughs were allowed to fall in their nat- 
 ural position it was completely hidden from sight to 
 every passer-by. Harold took up the fish, Nelly 
 had filled her apron with the berries, and carrying 
 their shoes for they agreed that it would be safer 
 not to put them on they started on their journey 
 through the deep forest.
 
 38 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE KEDSKIN ATTACK. 
 
 MR. WELCH was with the men two or three hun- 
 dred yards away from the house when the Indians 
 suddenly sprang out and opened fire. One of the 
 men fell beside him ; the farmer stooped to lift 
 him, but saw that he was shot through the head. 
 Then he ran with full speed toward the house, 
 shouting to the hands to make straight for the gate, 
 disregarding the cattle. Several of these, however, 
 alarmed at the sudden outburst of fire and the yells 
 of the Indians, made of their own accord for the 
 stables as their master rushed up at full speed. The 
 Indians were but fifty or sixty yards behind when 
 Mr. Welch reached his gate. They had all emptied 
 their pieces, and after the first volley no shots had 
 been fired save one by the watchman on the lookout. 
 Then came the crack of Pearson's rifle just as Mr. 
 Welch shut the gate and laid the bar in its place. 
 Several spare guns had been placed in the upper 
 chambers, and three reports rang out together, for 
 Mrs. Welch had run upstairs at the first alarm to 
 take her part in the defense. 
 
 In another minute the whole party, now six in 
 all, were gathered in the upper room.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 39 
 
 " Where are Nelly and Harold ?" Mr. Welch ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 " I saw the canoe close to the shore just before 
 the Indians opened fire," the watchman answered. 
 
 " You must have been asleep," Pearson said 
 savagely. " Where were your eyes to let them red- 
 skins crawl up through the corn without seeing 
 'em ? With such a crowd of 'em the corn must have 
 been a- waving as if it was blowing a gale. You 
 ought to have a bullet in yer ugly carkidge, instead 
 of its being in yer mate's out there." 
 
 While this conversation was going on no one had 
 been idle. Each took up his station at a loop-hole, 
 and several shots were fired whenever the movement 
 of a blade of corn showed the lurking-place of an 
 Indian. 
 
 The instant the gate had been closed War Eagle 
 had called his men back to shelter, for he saw that 
 all chance of a surprise was now over, and it was 
 contrary to all redskin strategy to remain for one 
 moment unnecessarily exposed to the rifles of the 
 whites. The farmer and his wife had rushed at 
 once up into the lookout as the Indians drew off, 
 and to their joy saw the canoe darting away from 
 shore. 
 
 " They are safe for the present, thank God !" Mr. 
 Welch said. " It is providential indeed that they 
 had not come a little further from the shore when 
 the redskins broke out. Nothing could have saved 
 them had they fairly started for the house." 
 
 " What will they do, William ?" asked his wife 
 anxiously.
 
 40 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " I cannot tell you, my dear. I do not know 
 what I should do myself under the circumstances. 
 However, the boy has got a cool head on his 
 shoulders and you need not be anxious for the 
 present. Now let us join the others. Our first duty 
 is to take our share in the defense of the house. 
 The young ones are in the hands of God. We can 
 do nothing for them." 
 
 "Well?" Pearson asked, looking round from his 
 loop-hole as the farmer and his wife descended into 
 the room, which was a low garret extending over 
 the whole of the house. " Do you see the canoe ?" 
 " Yes, it has got safely away," William Welch 
 said ; " but what that lad will do now is more than 
 I can say." 
 
 Pearson placed his rifle against the wall. " Now 
 keep your eyes skinned," he said to the three farm 
 hands. " One of yer's done mischief enough this 
 morning already, and you'll get your har raised as 
 sure as you're born unless you look out sharp. Now," 
 he went on, turning to the Welches, " let us go 
 down and talk this matter over. The Injuns may 
 keep on firing, but I don't think they'll show in 
 the open again as long as it's light enough for us to 
 draw bead on 'em. Yes," he went on as he looked 
 through a loop-hole in the lower story over the 
 lake, " there they are, just out of range." 
 
 " What do you think they will do ?" Mrs. Welch 
 asked. 
 
 The hunter was silent for a minute. 
 " It ain't a easy thing to say what they ought to
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 41 
 
 do, much less what they will do ; it ain't a good 
 outlook anyway, and I don't know what I should 
 do myself. The whole of the woods on this side of 
 the lake are full of the darned red critters. There's 
 a hundred eyes on that canoe now, and go where 
 they will they'll be watched." 
 
 "But why should they not cross the lake and 
 land on the other side ?" Mr. Welch said. 
 
 " If you and I were in that canoe," the hunter 
 answered, "that's about what we should do; but, 
 not to say that it's a long row for 'em, they two 
 young uns would never get across ; the Injuns would 
 have 'em before they had been gone an hour. 
 There's my canoe lying under the bushes ; she'd 
 carry four and would go three feet to their two." 
 
 " I had forgotten about that," William Welch 
 said, and then added after a pause : " The Indians 
 may not find it." 
 
 " You needn't hope that," the hunter answered ; 
 " they have found it long before this. I don't want 
 to put you out of heart ; but I tell ye ye'll see them 
 on the water before many minutes have passed." 
 
 " Then they are lost," Mrs. Welch said, sinking 
 down in her chair and bursting into tears. 
 
 " They air in God's hands, ma'am," the hunter 
 said, " and it's no use trying to deceive you." 
 
 " Would it be of any use," William Welch asked 
 after a pause, " for me to offer the redskins that my 
 wife and I will go out and put ourselves in their 
 hands if they will let the canoe go off without pur- 
 suit?"
 
 42 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " Not it," the hunter replied decidedly. " You 
 would be throwing away your own lives without 
 saving theirs, not to mention, although that doesn't 
 matter a straw, the lives of the rest of us here. It 
 will be as much as we can do, when they attack us 
 in earnest, to hold this place with six guns, and 
 with only four the chance would be worth nothing. 
 But that's neither here nor there. You wouldn't 
 save the young ones if you gave up. You can't 
 trust the word of an Injun on the war-path, and if 
 they went so far as not to kill 'em they would carry 
 'em off ; and after all I ain't sure as death ain't 
 better for 'era than to be brought up as Injuns. 
 There," he said, stopping suddenly as a report of a 
 musket sounded at some little distance off, " the 
 Injuns are trying their range against 'em. Let's 
 go up to the lookout." 
 
 The little tower had a thick parapet of logs some 
 three feet high, and crouching behind this they 
 watched the canoe. 
 
 " He's coming nearer in shore, and the girl has 
 got the paddle," Pearson muttered. " What's he 
 doing now ?" 
 
 A puff of smoke was seen to rise near the border 
 of the lake, then came the sharp crack of Harold's 
 rifle. They saw an Indian spring from the bushes 
 and fall dead. 
 
 " Well done, young un," Pearson exclaimed. " I 
 told yer he'd got his head screwed on the right way. 
 He's keeping just out of range of their guns, and 
 that piece of bis can carry twice as far as theirs. I
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 43 
 
 reckon he's thought of the canoe and means to 
 keep 'era from using it. I begins to think, Mr. 
 Welch, that there's a chance for 'em yet. Now 
 let's talk a little to these red devils in the corn." 
 
 For some little time Pearson and William Welch 
 turned their attention to the Indians, while the 
 mother sat with her eyes fixed upon the canoe. 
 
 " He is coming closer again," she exclaimed pres- 
 ently. 
 
 " He's watching the canoe, sure enough," Pearson 
 said. Then came the volley along the bushes on 
 the shore, and they saw an Indian rise to his feet. 
 " That's just where she lies," Pearson exclaimed ; 
 " he's getting into it. There ! well done, young un." 
 
 The sudden disappearance of the Indian and the 
 vengeful yell of the hidden foe told of the failure 
 of the attempt. 
 
 " I think they're safe now till nightfall. The In- 
 juns won't care about putting themselves within 
 range of that 'ere rifle again." 
 
 Gradually the fire of the Indians ceased, and the 
 defenders were able to leave the loop-holes. Two 
 of the men went down and fastened up the cattle, 
 which were still standing loose in the yard inside 
 the stockade ; the other set to to prepare a meal, for 
 Mrs. Welch could not take her eyes off the canoe. 
 
 The afternoon seemed of interminable length 
 Not a shot was fired. The men, after taking their 
 dinner, were occupied in bringing some great tubs 
 on to the upper story and filling them to the brim 
 with water from the well.
 
 44 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 This story projected two feet beyond the one 
 below it, having been so built in order that in case 
 of attack the defenders might be able to fire down, 
 upon any foe who might cross the stockade and at- 
 tack the house itself; the floor boards over the 
 projecting portion were all removable. The men 
 also brought a quantity of the newly cut corn to the 
 top of the house, first drenching it with water. 
 
 The sun sank, and as dusk was coming on the 
 anxious watchers saw the canoe paddle out far into 
 the lake. 
 
 " An old frontiersman couldn't do better," Pear- 
 son exclaimed. "He's kept them out of the 
 canoe as long as daylight lasted ; how he has de- 
 termined to paddle away and is making down the 
 lake," he went on presently. " It's a pity he turned 
 so soon, as they can see the course he's taking." 
 
 They watched until it was completely dark, but 
 before the light quite faded they saw another canoe 
 put out from shore and start in the direction taken 
 by the fugitives. 
 
 " Will they catch them, do you think ?" Mrs. 
 Welch asked. 
 
 " No, ma'am," Pearson said confidently. " The 
 boy's got sense enough to have changed his course 
 after it gets dark, though whether he'll make for 
 shore or go out toward the other side is more than 
 I can say. You see, they'll know that the Injuns 
 are all along this side of the lake, but then on the 
 other hand they'll be anxious about us and'll want 
 to keep close at hand. Besides, the lad knows noth-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 45 
 
 ing of the other side ; there may be Injuns there 
 for aught he knows, and it's a skeary thing for a 
 young un to take to the forest, especially with a gal 
 in his charge. There ain't no saying what he'll do. 
 And now we've got to look after ourselves, don't 
 let us think about 'era at present. The best thing 
 we can do for them, as well as for ourselves, is to 
 hold this here place. If they live they'll come back 
 to it sooner or later, and it'll be better for 'em to 
 find it standing and you here to welcome 'era than 
 to get back to a heap of ruins and some dead 
 bodies." 
 
 ""When will the redskins attack, do you think?" 
 the farmer asked. 
 
 " We may expect 'em any time now," the hunter 
 answered. " The Injuns' time of attack is generally 
 just before dawn, but they know well enough they 
 ain't likely to ketch us asleep any time, and as they 
 know exactly what they have got to do they'll gain 
 nothing by waiting. I wish we had a moon ; if we 
 had we might keep 'em out of the stockade. But 
 there it's just as well it's dark after all, for if the 
 moon was up the young uns would have no chance 
 of getting away." 
 
 The garrison now all took their places at the loop- 
 holes, having first carried the wet fodder to the 
 roof and spread it over the shingles. There was 
 nothing to do now but to wait. The night was so 
 dark that they could not see the outline of the 
 stockade. Presently a little spark shot through the 
 air, followed by a score of others. Mr. "Welch had
 
 46 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG, 
 
 taken his post on the tower, and he saw the arrows 
 whizzing through the air, many of them falling on 
 the roof. The dry grass dipped in resin which was 
 tied round the arrow-heads was instantly ex- 
 tinguished as the arrows fell upon the wet corn, 
 and a yell arose from the Indians. 
 
 The farmer descended and told the others of the 
 failure of the Indians' first attempt. 
 
 " That 'ere dodge is a first-rate un," Pearson said. 
 " We're safe from fire, and that's the only thing 
 we've got to be afeard on. You'll see 'em up here 
 in a few minutes." 
 
 Everything was perfectly quiet. Once or twice 
 the watchers thought that they could hear faint 
 sounds, but could not distinguish their direction. 
 After half an hour's anxious waiting a terrific yell 
 was heard from below, and at the doors and win- 
 dows of the lower rooms came the crashing blows 
 of tomahawks. 
 
 The boards had already been removed from the 
 flooring above, and the defenders opened a steady 
 fire into the dark mass that they could faintly make 
 out clustered round the windows and doors. At 
 Pearson's suggestion the bullets had been removed 
 from the guns and heavy charges of buckshot had 
 been substituted for them, and yells of pain and 
 surprise rose as they fired. A few shots were fired 
 up from below, but a second discharge from the spare 
 guns completed the effect from the first volley. 
 The dark mass broke up, and in a few seconds all 
 was as quiet as before,
 
 TRUE 10 THE OLD FLAG. 47 
 
 Two hours passed and then slight sounds were 
 heard. 
 
 " They've got the gate opened, I expect," Pearson 
 said. " Fire occasionally at that ; if we don't hit 
 'em the flashes may show us what they're doing." 
 
 It was as he had expected. The first discharge 
 was followed by a cry, and by the momentary light 
 they saw a number of dark figures pouring in 
 through the gate. Seeing that concealment was 
 no longer possible, the Indians opened a heavy fire 
 round the house ; then came a crashing sound near 
 the door. 
 
 " Just as I thought," Pearson said. " They're 
 going to try to burn us out." 
 
 For some time the noise continued as bundle after 
 bundle of dried wood was thrown down by the 
 door. The garrison were silent, for, as Pearson 
 said, they could see nothing, and a stray bullet 
 might enter at the loop-holes if they placed them- 
 selves there, and the flashes of the guns would 
 serve as marks for the Indians. 
 
 Presently two or three faint lights were seen ap- 
 proaching. 
 
 " Now," Pearson said, " pick 'em off as they 
 come up. You and I'll take the first man, Welch. 
 You fire just to the right of the light, I will fire to 
 the left ; he may be carrying the brand in either 
 hand." 
 
 They fired together and the brand was seen to 
 drop to the ground. The same thing happened as 
 the other two sparks of light approached ; then it
 
 48 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG, 
 
 was again quiet. Now a score of little lights 
 flashed through the air. 
 
 " They're going to light the pile with their flam- 
 ing arrows," Pearson said. " War Eagle is a good 
 ' leader." 
 
 Three or four of the arrows fell on the pile of 
 dry wood. A moment later the flames crept up and 
 the smoke of burning wood rolled up into the room 
 above. A yell of triumph burst from the Indians, 
 but this changed into one of wrath as those above 
 emptied the contents of one of the great tubs of 
 water on to the pile of wood below them. The 
 flames were instantly extinguished. 
 
 " What will they do next ?'' Mrs. Welch asked. 
 
 " It's like enough," Pearson replied, " that they'll 
 give the job up altogether. They've got plenty of 
 plunder and scalps at the settlements, and their at- 
 tacking us here in such force looks as if the hull of 
 'em were on their way back to their villages. If 
 they could have tuk our scalps easy they would 
 have done it ; but War Eagle ain't likely to risk 
 losing a lot of men when he ain't sartin of winning 
 after all. He has done good work as it is and has 
 quite enough to boast about when he gits back. If 
 he were to lose a heap of his braves here it would 
 spoil the success of his expedition. N"o, I think as 
 he will give it up now." 
 
 " He will be all the more anxious to catch the 
 children," Mrs. Welch said despondently. 
 
 " It can't be denied, ma'am, as he will do his best 
 that way," Pearson answered. "It all depends,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 40 
 
 though, on the boy. I wish I was with him in that 
 canoe. Howsomever, I can't help thinking as he 
 will sarcumvent 'em somehow." 
 
 The night passed without any further attack. 
 By turns half the garrison watched while the other 
 la} r down, but there was little sleep taken by any. 
 With the first gleam of daylight Mrs. Welch and 
 her husband were on the lookout. 
 
 " There's two canoes out on the lake," Pearson 
 said. " They're paddling quietly; which is which 
 I can't say." 
 
 As the light became brighter Pearson pronounced 
 postively that there were three men in one canoe 
 and four in the other. 
 
 "I think they're all Injuns," he said. "They 
 must have got another canoe somewhere along the 
 lake. Waal, they've not caught the young uns 
 yet." 
 
 " The boats are closing up to each other," Mrs. 
 Welch said. 
 
 " They're going to have a talk, I reckon. Yes, 
 one of 'em's turning and going down the lake, while 
 the other's going up. I'd give a heap to know 
 where the young uns have got to." 
 
 The day passed quietly. An occasional shot to- 
 ward the house showed that the Indians remained 
 in the vicinity, and indeed dark forms could be seen 
 moving about in the distant parts of the clearing. 
 
 " Will it be possible," the farmer asked Pearson 
 when night again fell, " to go out and see if we can 
 discover any traces of them ?"
 
 50 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 ""Worse than no use," Pearson said positively. 
 " We should just lose our har without doing no good 
 whatever. If the Injuns in these woods and I 
 reckon altogether there's a good many hundred of 
 'em can't find 'em, ye may swear that we can't. 
 That's just what they're hoping, that we'll be fools 
 enough to put ourselves outside the stockade. 
 They'll lie close round all night, and a weasel 
 wouldn't creep through 'em. Ef I thought there 
 was jest a shadow of chance of finding them young 
 uns I'd risk it, but there's no chance not a bit of 
 it." 
 
 A vigilant watch was again kept up all night, but 
 all was still and quiet. The next morning the 
 Indians were still round them. 
 
 " Don't ye fret, ma'am !" Pearson said as he saw 
 how pale and wan Mrs. Welch looked in the morn- 
 ing light. " You may bet your last shilling that 
 they've not caught 'em." 
 
 "Why are you so sure?" Mrs. Welch asked. 
 " They may be dead by this time." 
 
 " Not they, ma'am. I'm as sartin as they're liv- 
 ing and free as I am that I'm standing here. I 
 know these Injuns' ways. Ef they had caught 'em 
 they'd jest have brought 'em here and would have 
 fixed up two posts, jest out of rifle range, and 
 would have tied them there and offered you the 
 choice of giving up this place and your scalps or of 
 seeing them tortured and burned under your eyes. 
 That's their way. No, they ain't caught 'em alive, 
 nor they ain't caught 'em dead neither ; for ef they
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 51 
 
 had they'd have brought their scalps to have shown 
 yer. No, they've got away, though it beats me to 
 say how. I've only got one fear, and that is that 
 they might come back before the Injuns have gone. 
 Now I tell ye what we had better do we better 
 keep up a dropping fire all night and all day fcx 
 morrow and so on until the redskins have gone. Ef 
 the young uns come back across the lake at night 
 and all is quiet they'll think the Injuns have taken 
 themselves off, but if they hear firing still going on 
 they'll know well enough that they're still around 
 the house. ' 
 
 "William "Welch at once agreed to this plan, and 
 every quarter of an hour or so all through the 
 night a few shots were fired. 
 
 The next morning no Indians could be seen, and 
 there was a cessation of the dropping shots which 
 had before been kept up at the house. 
 
 " They may be in hiding," Pearson said in the 
 afternoon, " trying to tempt us out ; but I'm more 
 inclined to think as how they've gone. I don't see 
 a blade of that corn move ; I've had my eyes fixed 
 on it for the last two hours. It are possible, of 
 course, that they're there, but I reckon not. I ex- 
 pect they've been waiting ever since they gave up 
 the attack, in hopes that the young uns would come 
 back ; but now as they see that we're keeping up a 
 fire to tell them as how they're still round us, 
 they've given it up and gone. When it gets dark 
 to-night I'll go out and scout round." 
 
 At ten o'clock at night Pearson dropped lightly
 
 52 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 from the stockade on the side opposite to the gate, 
 as he knew that if the Indians were there this 
 would be the point that they would be watching ; 
 then crawling upon his stomach he made his way 
 slowly down to the lake. Entering the water and 
 stooping low, he waded along by the edge of the 
 bushes for a distance of a mile ; then he left the 
 water and struck into the forest. Every few min- 
 utes he could hear the discharges of the rifles at the 
 house, but, as before, no answering shots were 
 heard. Treading very cautiously, he made a wide 
 detour and then came down again on the clearing at 
 the end furthest from the lake, where the Indians 
 had been last seen moving about. All was still. 
 Keeping among the trees and moving with great 
 caution, he made his way for a considerable dis- 
 tance along the edge of the clearing ; then he 
 dropped on his hands and knees and entered the 
 corn-field, and for two hours he crawled about, 
 quartering the ground like a dog in search of game. 
 Everywhere he found lines where the Indians had 
 crawled along to the edge nearest to the house, but 
 nowhere did he discover a sign of life. Then, still 
 taking great care, he moved down toward the house 
 and made a circuit of it at a short distance outside 
 the stockade ; then he rose to his feet. 
 
 " Yer may stop shooting," he shouted. " The 
 pesky rascals are gone." 
 
 Then he walked openly up to the gate ; it was 
 opened at once by William Welch. 
 
 " Are you sure they have gone ?" he asked.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 53 
 
 " Sure as gospel," he answered, " and they've been 
 gone twenty-four hours at least." 
 
 " How do you know that ?" 
 
 " Easy enough. I found several of their cooking- 
 places in the woods ; the brands were out, and even 
 under the ashes the ground was cold, so they must 
 have been out for a long time. I could have walked 
 straight on to the house then, but I thought it safer 
 to make quite sure by searching everywhere, for 
 they might have moved deeper into the forest and 
 left a few men on guard here in case the young uns 
 should come back. But it ain't so ; they've gone, 
 and there ain't a living soul anywhere nigh the 
 clearing. The young uns can come back now, if 
 they will, safely enough." 
 
 Before doing anything else the farmer assembled 
 the party together in the living-room, and there 
 solemnly offered up thanks to God for their deliver- 
 ance from danger and implored his protection for 
 the absent ones. When this was over he said to his 
 wife: 
 
 " Now, Jane, you had better lie down and get a 
 few hours' sleep. It is already two o'clock, and 
 there is no chance whatever of their returning to- 
 night, but I shall go down to the lake and wait till 
 morning. Place candles in two of the upper win- 
 dows. Should they be out on the lake they will see 
 them and know that the Indians have not taken the 
 house." 
 
 Morning came without any signs of the absent 
 ones. At daybreak Pearson went out to scout in
 
 54 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the woods, and returned late in the afternoon with 
 the news that the Indians had all departed, and that 
 for a distance of ten miles at least the woods were 
 entirely free. 
 
 When it became dark the farmer again went 
 down to the lake and watched until two, when 
 Pearson took his place. Mr. Welch was turning to 
 go back to the house whsn Pearson placed his hand 
 on his shoulder. 
 
 " Listen !" he said, and for a minute the men stood 
 immovable. 
 
 " What was it ?" the farmer asked. 
 
 "I thought I heard the stroke of a paddle," 
 Pearson said ; " it might have been the jump of a 
 fish. There ! there it is again !" He lay down and 
 put his ear close to the water. " There's a canoe 
 in the lake to the north'ard. I can hear the strokes 
 of the paddle plainly." 
 
 Mr. Welch could hear nothing. Some minutes 
 passed, then Pearson exclaimed : 
 
 " There ! I saw a break in the water over there ! 
 There it is !" he said, straining his eyes in the dark- 
 ness. " That's a canoe, sure enough, although they 
 have ceased paddling. It's not a mile away." 
 
 Then he arose to his feet and shouted " Halloo !" 
 at the top of his voice. An answering shout faintly 
 came back across the water. He again hailed 
 loudly, and this time the answer came in a female 
 voice. 
 
 " It's them, sure enough. I can swear to Nelly's 
 voice."
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 55 
 
 William Welch uncovered his head and, putting 
 his hand before his face, returned fervent thanks to 
 God for the recovery of his child. Then he dashed 
 off at full speed toward the house. Before he 
 reached it, however, he met his wife running down 
 to meet him, the shouts having informed her that 
 something was seen. Hand in hand they ran down 
 to the water's edge. The canoe was now swiftlj 
 approaching. The mother screamed : 
 
 "Kelly, is that you?" 
 
 "Mamma ! mamma !" came back in the girl's clear 
 tones. 
 
 With a low cry of gladness Mrs. Welch fell 
 senseless to the ground. The strain which she had 
 for four days endured had been terrible, and even 
 the assurances of Pearson had failed to awaken any 
 strong feeling of hope in her heart. She had kept 
 up bravely and had gone about her work in the 
 house with a pale, set face, but the unexpected relief 
 was too much for her. 
 
 Two minutes later the bow of the canoe grated 
 on the shore and Nelly leaped into her father's 
 arms. 
 
 " Where is mamma ?" she exclaimed. 
 
 " She is here, my dear, but she has fainted. The 
 joy of your return has been too much for her." 
 
 Nelly knelt beside her mother and raised her 
 head, and the farmer grasped Harold's hand. 
 
 " My brave boy," he said, " I have to thank you 
 for saving my child's life. God bless you !" 
 
 He dipped his hat in the lake and sprinkled
 
 56 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 water in his wife's face. She soon recovered, and a 
 few minutes afterward the happy party walked up 
 to the house, Mrs. "Welch being assisted by her hus- 
 band and Pearson. The two young ones were 
 soon seated at a table ravenously devouring food, 
 and when their hunger was satisfied they related 
 the story of their adventures, the whole of the gar- 
 rison being gathered round to listen. After relat- 
 ing what had taken place up to the time of their 
 hiding the canoe, Harold went on : 
 
 " We walked about a quarter of a mile until we 
 came to a large clump of underwood. We crept in 
 there, taking great pains not to break a twig or 
 disturb a leaf. The ground was fortunately very 
 dry, and I could not see that our footprints had left 
 the smallest marks. There we have lain hid ever 
 since. We had the fish and the berries, and for- 
 tunately the fruit was ripe and juicy and quenched 
 our thirst well enough, and we could sometimes 
 hear the firing by day and always at night. On the 
 day we took refuge we heard the voices of the 
 Indians down toward the lake quite plainly, but we 
 have heard nothing of them since. Last night we 
 heard the firing up to the middle of the night, and 
 then it suddenly stopped. To-day I crept out and 
 went down to the lake to listen, but it seemed that 
 everything was still. Nelly was in a terrible way 
 and was afraid that the house had been taken by the 
 Indians, but I told her that could not be, for that 
 there would certainly have been a tremendous lot 
 of firing at last, whereas it stopped after a few shots,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 5? 
 
 just as it had been going on so long. Our provi- 
 sions were all gone and Nelly was getting very bad 
 for want of water. I of course got a drink at the 
 lake this morning. So we agreed that if everything 
 was still again to-night we would go back to the 
 place where we bad hidden the canoe, launch it, 
 and paddle here. Everything was quiet, so we 
 came along as we had arranged. When I saw the 
 lights in the windows I made sure all was right; 
 still it was a great relief when I heard the shout 
 from the shore. I knew, of course, that it wasn't a 
 redskin's shout. Besides, Indians would have kept 
 quiet till we came alongside." 
 
 Yery hearty were the commendations bestowed 
 on the boy for his courage and thoughtfulness. 
 
 " You behaved like an old frontiersman," Pear- 
 son said. " I couldn't have done better myself. 
 You only made one blunder from the time you set 
 out from shore." 
 
 " What was that ?" Harold asked. 
 
 " You were wrong to pick the berries. The red- 
 skins, of course, would find where you had landed, 
 they'd see the marks where you lay down, and 
 would know that you had paddled away again. 
 Had it not been for their seeing the tracks you 
 made in picking the berries they might have sup- 
 posed you had started before daybreak and had 
 gone out of sight across the lake ; but them marks 
 would have shown 'em that you did not take to 
 your canoe until long after the sun was up, and 
 therefore that you couldn't have made across the
 
 58 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 lake without their seeing you, but must either have 
 landed or be in your canoe under shelter of the 
 trees somewhere along the shore. It's a marvel to 
 me that they didn't find your traces, however care- 
 ful you were to conceal 'em. But that's the only 
 error you made, and I tell you, young un, you have 
 a right to be proud of having outwitted a hull tribe 
 of redskins."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 59 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON. 
 
 HAROLD remained for four months longer with 
 his cousin. The Indians had made several attacks 
 upon settlements at other points of the frontier, but 
 they had not repeated their incursion in the neigh- 
 borhood of the lake. The farming operations had 
 gone on regularly, but the men always worked with 
 their rifles ready to their hand. Pearson had pre- 
 dicted that the Indians were not likely to return to 
 that neighborhood. Mr. Welch's farm was the only 
 one along the lake that had escaped, and the loss 
 the Indians had sustained in attacking it had been 
 so heavy that they were not likely to make an ex- 
 pedition in that quarter, where the chances of booty 
 were so small and the certainty of a desperate re- 
 sistance so great. 
 
 Other matters occurred which rendered the re- 
 newal of the attack improbable. The news was 
 brought by a wandering hunter that a quarrel had 
 arisen between the Shawnees and the Iroquois, and 
 that the latter had recalled their braves from the 
 frontier to defend their own villages in case of hos- 
 tilities breaking out between them and the rival 
 tribe.
 
 60 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 There was no occasion for Harold to wait for 
 news from home, for his father had before starting 
 definitely fixed the day for his return, and when 
 that time approached Harold started on his east- 
 ward journey, in order to be at home about the date 
 of their arrival. Pearson took him in his canoe to 
 the end of the lake and accompanied him to the set- 
 tlement, whence he was able to obtain a conveyance 
 to Detroit. Here he took a passage in a trading 
 boat and made his way by water to Montreal, thence 
 down through Lake Champlain and the Hudson 
 River to New York, and thence to Boston. 
 
 The journey had occupied him longer than he 
 expected, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were already in 
 their home at Concord when he arrived. The 
 meeting was a joyful one. His parents had upon 
 their return home found letters from Mr. Welch 
 and his wife describing the events which had hap- 
 pened at the farm, speaking in the highest terms of 
 the courage and coolness in danger which Harold 
 had displayed, and giving him full credit for the 
 saving of their daughter's life. 
 
 Upon the day after Harold's return two gentle- 
 men called upon Captain Wilson and asked him to 
 sign the agreement which a number of colonists had 
 entered into to resist the mother country to the 
 last. This Captain Wilson positively refused to do. 
 
 '* I am an Englishman," he said, " and my sympa- 
 thies are wholly with my country. I do not say 
 that the whole of the demands of England are justifi- 
 able. I think that Parliament has been deceived as
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 61 
 
 to the spirit existing here. But I consider that 
 it has done nothing whatever to justify the attitude 
 of the colonists. The soldiers of England have 
 fought for you against French and Indians and are 
 still stationed here to protect you. The colonists 
 pay nothing for their land ; they pay nothing to- 
 ward the expenses of the government of the mother 
 country; and it appears to me to be perfectly just 
 that people here, free as they are from all the bur- 
 dens that bear so heavily on those at home, should 
 at least bear the expense of the army stationed 
 here. I grant that it would have been far better 
 had the colonists taxed themselves to pay the extra 
 amount, instead of the mother country taxing them ; 
 but this they would not do. Some of the colonists 
 paid their quota, others refused to do so, and this 
 being the case, it appears to me that England is 
 perfectly justified in laying on a tax. Nothing 
 could have been fairer than the tax that she pro- 
 posed. The stamp-tax would in no way have affect- 
 ed the poorer classes in the colonies. It would 
 have been borne only by the rich and by those 
 engaged in such business transactions as required 
 stamped documents.. I regard the present rebellion 
 as the work of a clique of ambitious men who have 
 stirred up the people by incendiary addresses and 
 writings. There are, of course, among them a large 
 number of the men among them, gentlemen, I 
 place you who conscientiously believe that they 
 are justified in doing nothing whatever for the land 
 which gave them or their ancestors birth, who
 
 62 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 would enjoy all the great natural wealth of this 
 vast country without contributing toward the ex- 
 pense of the troops to whom it is due that you en joy 
 peace and tranquillity. Such, gentlemen, are not 
 my sentiments. You consider it a gross hardship 
 that the colonists are compelled to trade only with 
 the mother country. I grant that it would be more 
 profitable and better for us had we an open trade 
 with the whole world ; but in this England only 
 acts as do all other countries toward their colonies. 
 France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands all 
 monopolize the trade of their colonies ; all, far more 
 than does England, regard their colonies as sources 
 of revenue. I repeat, I do not think that the 
 course that England has pursued toward us has 
 been always wise, but I am sure that nothing that 
 she has done justifies the spirit of disaffection and 
 rebellion which is ripe throughout these colonies." 
 
 " The time will come, sir," one of the gentlemen 
 said, " when you will have reason to regret the line 
 which you have now taken." 
 
 " No, sir," Captain Wilson said haughtily. " The 
 time may come when the line that I have taken may 
 cost me my fortune, and even my life, but it will 
 never cause me one moment's regret that I have 
 chosen the part of a loyal English gentleman." 
 
 When the deputation had departed Harold, who 
 had been a wondering listener to the conversation, 
 asked his father to explain to him the exact position 
 in which matters stood. 
 
 It was indeed a serious one. The success of Eng-
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 63 
 
 land in her struggle with France for the supremacy 
 of North America had cost her a great deal of 
 money. At home the burdens of the people were 
 extremely heavy. The expense of the army and 
 navy was great, and the ministry, in striving to 
 lighten the burdens of the people, turned their eyes 
 to the colonies. They saw in America a population 
 of over two million people, subjects of the king, like 
 themselves, living free from rent and taxes on their 
 own land and paying nothing whatever to the ex- 
 penses of the country. They were, it is true, forced 
 to trade with England, but this obligation was set 
 wholly at naught. A gigantic system of smuggling 
 was carried on. The custom-house officials had no 
 force at their disposal which would have enabled 
 them to check these operations, and the law enforc- 
 ing a trade with England was virtually a dead letter. 
 
 Their first step was to strengthen the naval force 
 on the American coast and by additional vigilance 
 to put some sort of check on the wholesale smug- 
 gling which prevailed. This step caused extreme 
 discontent among the trading classes of America, 
 and these set to work vigorously to stir up a strong 
 feeling of disaffection against England. The rev- 
 enue officers were prevented sometimes by force 
 from carrying out their duties. 
 
 After great consideration the English government 
 came to the conclusion that a revenue sufficient to 
 pay a considerable proportion of the cost of the 
 army in America might be raised by means of a 
 stamp-tax imposed upon all legal documents, re-
 
 64 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 ceipts, agreements, and licenses a tax, in fact, 
 resembling that on stamps now in use in England. 
 The colonists were furious at the imposition of this 
 tax. A Congress, composed of deputies from each 
 State, met, and it was unanimously resolved that 
 the stamp-tax should not be paid. Meetings were 
 everywhere held, at which the strongest and most 
 treasonable language was uttered, and such violent 
 threats were used against the persons employed as 
 stamp-collectors that these, in fear of their lives, re- 
 signed their posts. 
 
 The stamp-tax remained uncollected and was 
 treated by the colonists as if it were not in existence. 
 The whole of the States now began to prepare for 
 war. The Congress was made permanent, the mili- 
 tia drilled and prepared for fighting, and everywhere 
 the position grew more and more strained. Massa- 
 chusetts was the headquarters of disaffection, and 
 here a total break with the mother country was 
 openly spoken of. At times the more moderate 
 spirits attempted to bring about a reconciliation be- 
 tween the two parties. Petitions were sent to the 
 houses of Parliament, and even at this time had any 
 spirit of wisdom prevailed in England the final con- 
 sequences might have been prevented. Unfortu- 
 nately the majority in Parliament were unable to 
 recognize that the colonists had any rights upon 
 their side. Taxation was so heavy at home that 
 men felt indignant that they should be called upon 
 to pay for the keeping up of the army in America, 
 to which the uutaxed colonists, with their free
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 65 
 
 farms and houses, would contribute nothing. The 
 plea of the colonists that they were taxed by a 
 chamber in which they were unrepresented was an- 
 swered by the statement that such was also the case 
 with Manchester, Leeds, and many other large 
 towns which were unrepresented in Parliament. 
 
 In England neither the spirit nor the strength of 
 the colonists was understood. Men could not bring 
 themselves to believe that these would fight rather 
 than submit, still less that if they did fight it would 
 be successfully. They ignored the fact that the 
 population of the States was one-fourth as large as 
 that of England ; that by far the greater proportion 
 of that population were men trained, either in bor- 
 der warfare or in the chase, to the use of the rifle ; 
 that the enormous extent of country offered almost 
 insuperable obstacles to the most able army com- 
 posed of regular troops, and that the vast forests 
 and thinly populated country were all in favor of a 
 population fighting as guerrillas against trained 
 troops. Had they perceived these things the 
 English people would have hesitated before em 
 barking upon such a struggle, even if convinced, 
 as assuredly the great majority were convinced, of 
 the fairness of their demands. It is true that even 
 had England at this point abandoned altogether her 
 determination to raise taxes in America the result 
 would probably have been the same. The spirit of 
 disaffection in the colony had gone so far that a 
 retreat would have been considered as a confession 
 of weakness, and a separation of the colonists from
 
 66 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the mother country would have happened ere many 
 years had elapsed. As it was, Parliament agreed 
 to let the stamp-tax drop, and in its place established 
 some import duties on goods entering the American 
 ports. 
 
 The colonists, however, were determined that 
 they would submit to no taxation whatever. The 
 English government, in its desire for peace, aban- 
 doned all the duties with the exception of that 
 on tea ; but even this concession was not sufficient 
 to satisfy the colonists. These entered into a bond 
 to use no English goods. A riot took place at 
 Boston, and the revenue officers were forced to 
 withdraw from their posts. Troops were dispatched 
 from England and the House of Commons declared 
 Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. 
 
 It must not be supposed that the colonists were 
 by any means unanimous in their resistance to Eng- 
 land. There were throughout the country a large 
 number of gentlemen, like Captain "Wilson, wholly 
 opposed to the general feeling. New York refused 
 to send members to the Congress, and in many 
 other provinces the adhesion given to the disaffected 
 movement was but lukewarm. It was in the 
 New England provinces that the spirit of re- 
 bellion was hottest. These States had been peopled 
 for the most part by Puritans men who had left 
 England voluntarily, exiling themselves rather than 
 submit to the laws and religion of the country, and 
 among them, as among a portion of the Irish 
 population of America at the present time, the feel-
 
 TRUE TO TEJS OLD FLAG. 6? 
 
 ing of hatred against the government of England 
 was, in a way, hereditary. 
 
 So far but few acts of violence had taken place. 
 Nothing could be more virulent than the language 
 of the newspapers of both parties against their 
 opponents., but beyond a few isolated tumults the 
 peace had not been broken. It was the lull before 
 the storm. The great majority of the New Eng- 
 land colonists were bent upon obtaining nothing 
 short of absolute independence ; the loyalists and 
 the English were as determined to put down any 
 revolt by force. 
 
 The Congress drilled, armed, and organized ; the 
 English brought over fresh troops and prepared for 
 the struggle. It was December when Harold re- 
 turned home to his parents, and for the next three 
 months the lull before the storm continued. 
 
 The disaffected of Massachusetts had collected a 
 large quantity of military stores at Concord. These 
 General Gage, who commanded the troops at 
 Boston, determined to seize and destroy, seeing that 
 they could be collected only for use against the 
 government, and on the night of April 19 the 
 grenadier and light infantry companies of the various 
 regiments, eight hundred strong, under command of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, of the Tenth Regiment, 
 and Major Pitcairne, of the marines, embarked in 
 boats and were conveyed up Charles River as far as 
 a place called Phipp's Farm. There they landed at 
 midnight, having a day's provisions in their haver- 
 sacks, and started on their march to Concord, 
 twenty miles distant from Boston.
 
 6$ TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 The design had been discovered by some of the 
 revolutionary party in the town, and two of their 
 number were dispatched on horseback to rouse the 
 whole country on the way to Concord, where the 
 news arrived at two o'clock in the morning. 
 
 Captain Wilson and his household were startled 
 from sleep by the sudden ringing of the alarm-bells, 
 and a negro servant, Pompey, who had been for 
 many years in their service, was sent down into the 
 town, which lay a quarter of a mile from the house, 
 to find out what was the news. He returned in 
 half an hour. 
 
 " Me tink all de people gone mad, massa. Dey 
 swarming out of deir houses and filling de streets, 
 all wid guns on deir shoulders, all de while shout- 
 ing and halloing * Down wid de English ! Down 
 wid de red-coats ! dey shan't have our guns ; dey 
 shan't take de cannon and de powder.' Dere were 
 ole Massa Bill Emerson, the preacher, wid his gun 
 in his hands, shouting to de people to stand firm 
 and to fight till de last ; dey all shout, ' We will.' 
 Dey bery desperate ; me fear great fight come on." 
 
 "What are you going to do, father?" Harold 
 asked. 
 
 " Nothing, my boy. If, as it is only too likely, 
 this is the beginning of a civil war, I have deter- 
 mined to offer my services to the government. 
 Great numbers of loyalists have sent in their names 
 offering to serve if necessary, and from my knowl- 
 edge of drill I shall, of course, be useful. To-day I 
 can take no active part in the fight, but I shall take
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. &$ 
 
 my horse and ride forward to meet the troops and 
 warn the commanding officer that resistance will be 
 attempted here." 
 
 " May I go with you, father?" 
 
 " Yes, if you like, my boy. Pompey, saddle two 
 horses at once. You are not afraid of being left 
 alone, Mary ?" he said, turning to his wife. " There 
 is no chance of any disturbance here. Our house 
 lies beyond the town, and whatever takes place will 
 be in Concord. When the troops have captured 
 the guns and stores they will return." 
 
 Mrs. Wilson said she was not frightened and had 
 no fear whatever of being left alone. The horses 
 were soon brought round, and Captain Wilson and 
 his son mounted and rode off at full speed. They 
 made a detour to avoid the town, and then, gaining 
 the high-road, went forward at full speed. The 
 alarm had evidently been given all along the line. 
 At every village the bells were ringing, the people 
 were assembling in the streets, all carrying arms, 
 while numbers were flocking in from the farm- 
 houses around. Once or twice Captain Wilson was 
 stopped and asked where he was going. 
 
 " I am going to tell the commander of the British 
 force, now marching hither, that if he advances 
 there will be bloodshed that it will be the begin- 
 ning of civil war. If he has orders to come at all 
 hazards, my words will not stop him ; if it is left to 
 his discretion, possibly he may pause before he 
 brings on so dire a calamity." 
 
 It was just dawn when Captain Wilson and
 
 70 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Harold rode into Lexington, where the militia, 
 one hundred and thirty strong, had assembled. 
 Their guns were loaded and they were ready to de- 
 fend the place, which numbered about seven hun- 
 dred inhabitants. 
 
 Just as Captain Wilson rode in a messenger ran 
 up with the news that the head of the British 
 column was close at hand. Some of the militia had 
 dispersed to lie down until the English arrived. 
 John Parker, who commanded them, ordered the 
 drums to beat and the alarm-guns to be fired, and 
 his men drew up in two ranks across the road. 
 
 "It is too late now, Harold," Captain Wilson 
 said. " Let us get out of the line of fire." 
 
 The British, hearing the drums and the alarm- 
 guns, loaded, and the advance company came on at 
 the double. Major Pitcairne was at their head and 
 shouted to the militia to lay down their arms. 
 
 It is a matter of dispute, and will always remain 
 one, as to who fired the first shot. The Americans 
 assert that it was the English ; the English say that 
 as they advanced several shots were fired at them 
 from behind a stone wall and from some of the ad- 
 joining houses, which wounded one man and hit 
 Major Pitcairne's horse in two places. 
 
 The militia disregarded Major Pitcairne's orders 
 to lay down their arms. The English fired ; several 
 of the militia were killed, nine wounded, and the 
 rest dispersed. There was no further fighting and 
 the English marched on unopposed to Concord. 
 
 As they approached the town the militia re-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 71 
 
 treated from it. The English took possession of a 
 bridge behind the place and held this while the 
 troops were engaged in destroying the ammunition 
 and gun-carriages. Most of the guns had been re- 
 moved and only two twenty-four-pounders were 
 taken. In destroying the stores by fire the court- 
 house took flames. At the sight of this fire the 
 militia and armed countrymen advanced down the 
 hill toward the bridge, The English tried to pull 
 up the planks, but the Americans ran forward 
 rapidly. The English guard fired ; the colonists re- 
 turned the fire. Some of the English were killed 
 and wounded and the party fell back into the town. 
 Half an hour later Colonel Smith, having performed 
 the duty that he was sent to do, resumed the home- 
 ward march with the whole of his troops. 
 
 Then the militiamen of Concord, with those from 
 many villages around and every man in the district 
 capable of bearing arms, fell upon the retiring 
 English. 
 
 The road led through several defiles, and every 
 tree, every rock, every depression of ground was 
 taken advantage of by the Americans. Scarcely a 
 man was to be seen, but their deadly fire rained 
 thick upon the tired troops. This they vainly at- 
 tempted to return, but they could do nothing against 
 an invisible foe, every man of whom possessed a 
 skill with his rifle far beyond that of the British 
 soldier. Very many fell and the retreat was fast 
 becoming a rout, when, near Lexington, the column 
 met a strong reenforcement which had been sent
 
 72 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 out from Boston. This was commanded by Lord 
 Percy, who formed his detachment into square, in 
 which Colonel Smith's party, now so utterly ex- 
 hausted that they were obliged to lie down for some 
 time, took refuge. When they were rested the 
 whole force moved forward again toward Boston, 
 harassed the whole way by the Americans, who 
 from behind stone walls and other places of shelter 
 kept up an incessant fire upon both flanks, as weli 
 as in the front and rear, against which the troops 
 could do nothing. At last the retreating column 
 safely arrived at Boston, spent and worn out with 
 fatigue. Their loss was sixty-five men killed, one 
 hundred and thirty-six wounded, forty-nine missing. 
 
 Such was the beginning of the war of independ- 
 ence. Many American writers have declared that 
 previous to that battle there was no desire for in- 
 dependence on the part of the colonists, but this is 
 emphatically contradicted by the language used at 
 the meetings and in the newspapers which have 
 come down to us. The leaders may not have wished 
 to go so far may not have intended to gain more 
 than an entire immunity from taxation and an ab- 
 solute power for the colonists to manage their own 
 affairs. But experience has shown that when the 
 spark of revolution is once lighted, when resistance 
 to the law has once commenced, things are carried 
 to a point far beyond that dreamed of by the first 
 leaders. 
 
 Those who commenced the French Revolution 
 were moderate men who desired only that some
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 73 
 
 slight check should be placed on the arbitrary power 
 of the king that the people should be relieved in 
 some slight degree from the horrible tyranny of 
 the nobles, from the misery and wretchedness in 
 which they lived. These just demands increased 
 step by step until they culminated in the reign of 
 terror and the most horrible scenes of bloodshed 
 and massacre of modern times. 
 
 Men like Washington and Franklin and Adams 
 may have desired only that the colonists should be 
 free from imperial taxation, but the popular voice 
 went far beyond this. Three years earlier wise 
 counsels in the British Parliament might have 
 averted a catastrophe and delayed for many years 
 the separation of the colonies from their mother 
 country. At the time the march began from Bos- 
 ton to Concord the American colonists stood virtu- 
 ally in armed rebellion. The militia throughout 
 New England were ready for fight. Arms, ammu- 
 nition, and military stores were collected in Rhode 
 Island and New Hampshire. The cannon and mili- 
 tary stores belonging to the crown had been carried 
 off by the people, forty cannon being seized in 
 Rhode Island alone. Such being the case, it is non- 
 sense to speak of the fray at Lexington as the cause 
 of the Revolutionary War. It was but the spark in 
 the powder. The magazine was ready and primed, 
 the explosion was inevitable, and the fight at Lex- 
 ington was the accidental incident which set fire 
 to it. 
 
 The efforts of American writers to conceal the
 
 74 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 real facts of the case, to minimize the rebellious 
 language, the violent acts of the colonists, and to 
 make England responsible for the war because a 
 body of troops were sent to seize cannon and mili- 
 tary stores intended to be used against them are so 
 absurd, as well as so untrue, that it is astonishing 
 how wide a credence such statements have received. 
 
 From an eminence at some distance from the line 
 of retreat Captain Wilson and his son watched sor- 
 rowfully the attack upon the British troops. When 
 at last the combatants disappeared from sight 
 through one of the defiles Captain Wilson turned 
 his horse's head homeward. 
 
 " The die is cast," he said to his wife as she met 
 him at the door. " The war has begun, and I fear 
 it can have but one termination. The colonists can 
 place forces in the field twenty times as numerous 
 as any army that England can spare. They are in- 
 ferior in drill and in discipline, but these things, 
 which are of such vast consequence in a European 
 battle-field, matter but little in such a country as 
 this. Skill with the rifle and knowledge of forest 
 warfare are far more important. In these points 
 the colonists are as superior to the English soldiers 
 as they are in point of numbers. Nevertheless, my 
 dear, my duty is plain. I am an Englishman and 
 have borne his majesty's commission, and I must 
 fight for the king. Harold has spoken to me as we 
 rode home together, and he wishes to fight by my 
 side. I have pointed out to him that as he was 
 born here he can without dishonor remain neutral
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 75 
 
 in the struggle. He, however, insists that as a loyal 
 subject of the king he is entitled to fight for him. 
 He saw to-day many lads not older than himself in 
 the rebel ranks, and he has pleaded strongly for 
 permission to go with me. To this I have agreed. 
 Which would you prefer, Mary to stay quietly 
 here, where I imagine you would not be molested 
 on account of the part I take, or will you move into 
 Boston and stop with your relations there until the 
 struggle has ended one way or the other ?" 
 
 As Mrs. Wilson had frequently talked over with 
 her husband the course that he would take in the 
 event of civil war actually breaking out, the news 
 that he would at once offer his services to the Brit- 
 ish authorities did not come as a shock upon her. 
 Even the question of Harold accompanying his 
 father had been talked over ; and although her 
 heart bled at the thought of husband and son being 
 both engaged in such a struggle, she agreed to 
 acquiesce in any decision that Harold might arrive 
 at. He was now nearly sixteen, and in the colonies 
 a lad of this age is, in point of independence and 
 self-reliance, older than an English boy. Harold, 
 too, had already shown that he possessed discretion 
 and coolness as well as courage, and although now 
 that the moment had come Mrs. Wilson wept pas- 
 sionately at the thought of their leaving her, she ab- 
 stained from saying any word to dissuade them 
 from the course they had determined upon. When 
 she recovered from her fit of crying she said that 
 she would accompany them at once to Boston, as in
 
 76 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the first place their duties might for some time lie 
 in that city, and that in any case she would obtain 
 far more speedy news there of what was going on 
 throughout the country than she would at Concord. 
 She would, too, be living among her friends and 
 would meet with many of the same convictions and 
 opinions as her husband's, whereas in Concord the 
 whole population would be hostile. 
 
 Captain Wilson said that there was no time to be 
 lost, as the whole town was in a tumult. He there- 
 fore advised her to pack up such necessary articles 
 as could be carried in the valises on the horses' 
 backs. 
 
 Pompey and the other servants were to pack up 
 the most valuable effects and to forward them to a 
 relation of Mrs. Wilson's who lived about three 
 miles from Boston. There they would be in safety 
 and could be brought into the town if necessary. 
 Pompey and two other old servants were to remain 
 in charge of the house and its contents. Jake, an 
 active young negro some twenty-three or twenty- 
 four years old who was much attached to Harold, 
 whose personal attendant and companion he had 
 always been, was to accompany them on horseback, 
 as was Judy, Mrs. Wilson's negro maid. 
 
 As evening fell the five horses were brought 
 round, and the party started by a long and circuitous 
 route, by which, after riding for nearly forty miles, 
 they reached Boston at two o'clock next morning.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 77 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BUNKER'S HILL. 
 
 THE excitement caused by the news of the fight 
 at Concord was intense, and as it spread through 
 the colonies the men everywhere rushed to arms. 
 The fray at Lexington was represented as a wanton 
 outrage, and the facts wholly ignored that the 
 colonists concerned in it were drawn up in arms to 
 oppose the passage of the king's troops, who were 
 marching on their legitimate duty of seizing arms 
 and ammunition collected for the purpose of warring 
 against the king. The colonial orators and news- 
 paper writers affirmed then, as they have affirmed 
 since, that up to the day of Lexington no one had a 
 thought of firing a shot against the government. 
 A more barefaced misstatement was never made^ 
 Men do not carry off cannon by scores and ac- 
 cumulate everywhere great stores of warlike am- 
 munition without a thought of fighting. The 
 colonists commenced the war by assembling in arms 
 to oppose the progress of British troops obeying the 
 orders of the government. It matters not a whit 
 on which side the first shot was fired. American 
 troops have many times since that event fired upon 
 rioters in the streets, under circumstances r\Q
 
 78 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 stronger than those which brought on the fight at 
 Lexington. 
 
 From all parts of New England the militia and 
 volunteers poured in, and in three days after the fight 
 twenty thousand armed men were encamped between 
 the rivers Mystic and Roxburgh, thus besieging 
 Boston. They at once set to work throwing up 
 formidable earthworks, the English troops remaining 
 within their intrenchments across the neck of land 
 joining Boston with the mainland. 
 
 The streets of Boston were crowded with an ex 
 cited populace when Captain Wilson and his party 
 rode into it at two in the morning. No one 
 thought of going to bed and all were excited to the 
 last degree at the news of the battle. All sorts of 
 reports prevailed. On the colonial side it was 
 affirmed that the British in their retreat had shot 
 down the women and children ; while the soldiers 
 affirmed that the colonists had scalped many of their 
 number who fell in the fight. The latter statement 
 was officially made by Lord Percy in his report of 
 the engagement. 
 
 Captain Wilson rode direct to the house of his 
 wife's friends. They were still up and were de- 
 lighted to see Mary Wilson, for such exaggerated 
 reports had been received of the fight that they 
 were alarmed for her safety. They belonged to the 
 moderate party, who saw that there were faults on 
 both sides and regretted bitterly both the obstinacy 
 of the English Parliament in attempting to coerce 
 the colonists and the determination of the latter to
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 79 
 
 oppose by force of arms the legitimate rights of the 
 mother country. 
 
 Until the morning the events of the preceding 
 day were talked over ; a few hours' repose were 
 then taken, after which Captain Wilson went to the 
 headquarters of General Gage and offered his services. 
 Although Boston was the headquarters of the dis- 
 affected party, no less than two hundred men came 
 forward as volunteers in the king's service, and 
 Captain Wilson was at once appointed to the com- 
 mand of a company of fifty men. Before leaving 
 the army he had taken part in several expeditions 
 against the Indians, and his knowledge of forest 
 warfare rendered him a valuable acquisition. 
 Boston was but poorly provisioned, and as upon the 
 day when the news of Lexington reached New York 
 two vessels laden with flour for the use of the 
 troops at Boston were seized by the colonists and 
 many other supplies cut off, the danger of the place 
 being starved out was considerable. General Gage 
 therefore offered no opposition to the exit from the 
 city of those who wished to avoid the horror of a 
 siege, and a considerable portion of the population 
 made their way through to the rebel lines. Every 
 day brought news of fresh risings throughout the 
 country ; the governors of the various provinces 
 were powerless ; small garrisons of English troops 
 were disarmed and made prisoners ; and the fortress 
 of Ticonderoga, held only by fifty men, was 
 captured by the Americans without resistance. In 
 one month after the first shot was fired the whole 
 of the American colonje^ were in rebellion.
 
 80 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 The news was received in England with astonish- 
 ment and sorrow. Great concessions had been 
 made by Parliament, but the news had reached 
 America too late to avoid hostilities. Public opinion 
 was divided ; many were in favor of granting at 
 once all that the colonists demanded, and many 
 officers of rank and position resigned their com- 
 missions rather than tight against the Americans. 
 The division, indeed, was almost as general and 
 complete as it had been in the time of our own civil 
 war. In London the feeling in favor of the colo- 
 nists was strong, but in the country generally the 
 determination to repress the rising was in the 
 ascendant. The colonists had with great shrewd- 
 ness dispatched a fast-sailing ship to Europe upon 
 the day following the battle of Lexington, giving 
 their account of the affair and representing it as a 
 massacre of defenseless colonists by British troops ; 
 and the story thus told excited a sympathy which 
 would not, perhaps, have been extended to them 
 had the real facts of the case been known. Repre- 
 sentatives from all the colonists met at Philadelphia 
 to organize the national resistance, but as yet, 
 although many of the bolder spirits spoke of alto- 
 gether throwing off allegiance to England, no 
 resolution was proposed to that effect. 
 
 For the first six weeks after his arrival at Boston 
 Captain Wilson was engaged in drilling his com- 
 pany. Harold was, of course, attached to it, and 
 entered with ardor upon his duties. Captain "Wilson 
 did not attempt to form his men into a band of
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 81 
 
 regular soldiers ; accuracy of movement and regu- 
 larity of drill would be of little avail in the warfare 
 in which they were likely to be engaged. Accuracy 
 in shooting, quickness in taking cover, and steadi- 
 ness in carrying out any general orders were the 
 principal objects to be attained. Most of the men 
 had already taken part in frontier warfare. The 
 majority of them were gentlemen Englishmen who, 
 like their captain, had come out from home and 
 purchased small estates in the country. The dis- 
 cipline, therefore, was not strict, and off duty all 
 were on terms of equality. 
 
 Toward the end of May and beginning of June 
 considerable reinforcements arrived from England, 
 and, as a step preparatory to offensive measures, 
 General Gage on June 12 issued a proclamation offer- 
 ing in his majesty's name a free pardon to all who 
 should forthwith lay down their arms, John Han- 
 cock and General Adams only excepted, and threat- 
 ening with punishment all who should delay to 
 avail themselves of the offer. This proclamation 
 had no effect whatever. 
 
 Near the peninsula of Boston, on the north, and 
 separated from it by the Charles Kiver, which is 
 navigable and about the breadth of the Thames 
 at London Bridge, is another neck of land called 
 the Peninsula of Charlestown. On the north bank, 
 opposite Boston, lies the town of Charlestown, be- 
 hind which in the center of the peninsula rises an 
 eminence called Bunker's Hill. Bunker's Hill is 
 sufficiently high to overlook any part of Boston and
 
 82 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 i 
 
 near enough to be within cannon-shot. This hill 
 was unoccupied by either party, and about this time 
 the Americans, hearing that General Gage had 
 come to a determination to fortify it, resolved to 
 defeat his resolution by being the first to occupy it. 
 
 About nine in the evening of June 16 a detach- 
 ment from the colonial army, one thousand strong, 
 under the command of Colonel Prescott, moved 
 along the Charlestown road and took up a position 
 on a shoulder of Bunker's Hill, which was known 
 as Breed's Hill, just above the town of Charles- 
 town. They reached this position at midnight. 
 Each man carried a pick and shovel, and all night 
 they worked vigorously in intrenching the position. 
 Not a word was spoken, and the watch on board 
 the men-of-war in the harbor were ignorant of what 
 was going on so near at hand. At daybreak the 
 alarm, was given, and the Lively opened a cannonade 
 upon the redoubt. A battery of guns was placed 
 on Copp's Hill, behind Boston, distant twelve hun- 
 dred yards from the works, and this also opened 
 fire. The Americans continued their work, throw- 
 ing up fresh intrenchments, and singularly only 
 one man was killed by the fire from the ships and 
 redoubt. A breastwork was carried down the hill 
 to the flat ground, which, intersected by fences, 
 stretched away to the Mystic. By nine o'clock 
 they had completed their intrenchments. 
 
 Prescott sent off for reinforcements, but there 
 was little harmony among the colonial troops. 
 Disputes between the contingents of the various
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 83 
 
 provinces were common; there was no head of 
 sufficient authority to enforce his orders upon the 
 whole; and a long delay took place before the 
 reinforcements were sent forward. 
 
 In the mean time the English had been preparing 
 to attack the position. The Fifth, Thirty-eighth, 
 Forty-third, and Fifty -second Kegiments, with ten 
 companies of the grenadiers and ten of the light 
 infantry, with a proportion of field-artillery, 
 embarked in boats and, crossing the harbor, 
 landed on the outward side of the peninsula 
 near the Mystic, with a view of outflanking the 
 American position and surrounding them. The 
 force was under the command of Major-Genera] 
 Howe, under whom was Brigadier-General Pigott. 
 
 Upon seeing the strength of the American posi- 
 tion, General Howe halted and sent back for further 
 reinforcements. The Americans improved the time 
 thus given them by forming a breastwork in front 
 of an old ditch. Here there was a post-and-rail 
 fence. They ran up another by the side of this and 
 filled the space between the two with the new-mown 
 hay, which, cut only the day before, lay thickly 
 over the meadows. 
 
 Two battalions were sent across to ree'nforce 
 Howe, while large reinforcements, with six guns, 
 arrived to the assistance of Prescott. The English 
 had now a force consisting, according to different 
 authorities, of between two thousand and two 
 thousand five hundred men. The colonial force is 
 also variously estimated and had the advantage
 
 84 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 both in position and in the protection of their 
 intrenchments, while the British had to march 
 across open ground. As individual shots the col- 
 onists were immensely superior, but the British had 
 the advantages given by drill and discipline. 
 
 The English lines advanced in good order, steadi- 
 ly and slowly, the artillery covering them by their 
 fire. Presently the troops opened fire, but the dis- 
 tance was too great and they did but little execu- 
 tion. Incumbered with their knapsacks they 
 ascended the steep hill toward the redoubt with 
 difficulty, covered as it was by grass reaching to 
 their knees. The colonists did not fire a shot until 
 the English line had reached a point about one 
 hundred and fifty yards from the intrenchments. 
 Then Prescott gave the order, and from the redoubt 
 and the long line of intrenchments flanking it 
 flashed a line of fire. Each man had taken a 
 steady aim with his rifle resting on the earthwork 
 before him, and so deadly was the fire that nearly 
 the whole front line of the British fell. For ten 
 minutes the rest stood with dogged courage firing 
 at the hidden foe, but these, sheltered while they 
 loaded and only exposing themselves momentarily 
 while they raised their heads above the parapets 
 to fire, did such deadly execution that the remnant 
 of the British fell back to the foot of the hill. 
 
 While this force, which was under the command 
 of General Pigott, had been engaged, another 
 division under Howe himself moved against the 
 rail fence. The combat was a repetition of that
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 85 
 
 had taken place on the hill. Here the 
 Americans reserved their fire until the enemy were 
 close ; then, with their muskets resting on the rails, 
 
 ACTION AT BUNKERS HILL, 
 on the IT^of June 1775. 
 
 Between HIS MAJESTY'S TROOPS, 
 Under the Command of Major Gn. How 
 
 at 
 
 Scale i( Yards 
 
 O 100 200 300 400 SOO 
 
 -..Royalists 
 ....Americans 
 
 they poured in a deadly fire, and after in vain try- 
 ing to stand their ground the troops fell back to 
 the shore.
 
 88 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Captain Wilson was standing with Harold on 
 Copp's Hill watching the engagement. 
 
 " What beautiful order they go in !" Harold said, 
 looking admiringly at the long lines of red-coated 
 soldiers. 
 
 " It is very pretty," Captain Wilson said sadly, 
 " and may do in regular warfare ; but I tell you, 
 Harold, that sort of thing won't do here. There is 
 scarce a man carrying a gun behind those intrench- 
 ments who cannot with certainty hit a bull's-eye at 
 one hundred and fifty yards. It is simply murder, 
 taking the men up in regular order against such a 
 foe sheltered by earthworks." 
 
 At this moment the long line of fire darted out 
 from the American in trench men ts. 
 
 " Look there !" Captain Wilson cried in a pained 
 voice. " The front line is nearly swept away ! Do 
 you see them lying almost in an unbroken line on 
 the hillside ? I tell you, Harold, it is hopeless to 
 look for success if we fight in this way. The brav- 
 est men in the world could not stand such a fire as 
 that." 
 
 " What will be done now ?" Harold asked as the 
 men stood huddled upon the shore. 
 
 " They will try again," Captain Wilson said. 
 " Look at the officers running about among them 
 and getting them into order." 
 
 In a quarter of an hour the British again advanced 
 both toward the redoubt and the grass fence. As 
 before the Americans withheld their fire, and this 
 time until the troops were far closer than before,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 87 
 
 and the result was even more disastrous. Some of 
 the grenadier and light infantry companies who led 
 lost three-fourths, others nine-tenths of their men. 
 Again the British troops recoiled from that terrible 
 fire. General Howe and his officers exerted them- 
 selves to the utmost to restore order when the 
 troops again reached the shore, and the men gal- 
 lantly replied to their exhortations. Almost impos- 
 sible as the task appeared, they prepared to under- 
 take it for the third time. This time a small force 
 only were directed to move against the grass fence, 
 while the main body, under Howe, were to attack 
 the redoubt on the hill. 
 
 Knapsacks were taken off and thrown down and 
 each man nerved himself to conquer or die. The 
 ships in the harbor prepared the way by opening a 
 heavy cannonade. General Clinton, who was watch- 
 ing the battle from Copp's Hill, ran down to the 
 shore, rowed across the harbor, and put himself at 
 the head of two battalions. Then with loud cheers 
 the troops again sprang up the ascent. The Ameri- 
 can ammunition was running short, many of the 
 men not having more than three or four rounds 
 left, and this time they held their fire until the Brit- 
 ish troops were within twenty yards. These had 
 not fired a shot, the order being that there was to 
 be no pause, but that the redoubt was to be carried 
 with the bayonet. For a moment they wavered 
 when the deadty volley was poured in upon them. 
 Then with a cheer they rushed at the intrench- 
 ments. All those who first mounted were shot
 
 gg TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 down by the defenders, but the troops would not be 
 denied, and pouring over the earthworks leaped 
 down upon the enemy. 
 
 For a few minutes there was a hand-to-hand fight, 
 the Americans using the butt-ends of their muskets, 
 the English their bayonets. The soldiers were ex- 
 hausted with the climb up the hill and their exer- 
 tions under a blazing sun, and the great majority of 
 the defenders of the redoubt were there fore enabled 
 to retreat unharmed, as, fresh and active, they were 
 able to outrun their tired opponents, and as the 
 balls served out for the English field-pieces were too 
 large, the artillery were unable to come into action. 
 
 The colonists at the rail fence maintained their 
 position against the small force sent against them 
 till the main body at the redoubt had made their 
 escape. The British were unable to continue the 
 pursuit beyond the isthmus. 
 
 In the whole history of the British army there is 
 no record of a more gallant feat than the capture 
 of Bunker's Hill, and few troops in the world would, 
 after two bloody repulses, have moved up the third 
 time to assail such a position, defended by men so 
 trained to the use of the rifle. Ten hundred and 
 fifty-four men, or nearly half their number, were 
 killed and wounded, among whom were eighty-three 
 officers. In few battles ever fought was the pro- 
 portion of casualties to the number engaged so 
 great. The Americans fought bravely, but the ex- 
 traordinary praise bestowed upon them for their 
 valor appears misplaced. Their position was one of
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 89 
 
 great strength, and the absence of drill was of no 
 consequence whatever in such an engagement. They 
 were perfectly sheltered from their enemy's fire 
 while engaged in calmly shooting him down, and 
 their loss up to the moment when the British rushed 
 among them was altogether insignificant. Their 
 casualties took place after the position was stormed 
 and on their retreat along the peninsula, and amount- 
 ed in all to one hundred and forty-five killed and 
 captured and three hundred and four wounded. It 
 may be said that both sides fought well, but from 
 the circumstances under which the}' fought the 
 highest credit is due to the victors. 
 
 The battle, however, though won by the English, 
 was a moral triumph for the Americans, and the 
 British Parliament should at once have given up the 
 contest. It was from the first absolutely certain 
 that the Americans, with their immense superiority 
 in numbers, could, if they were only willing to 
 fight, hold their vast country a ainst the British 
 troops, fighting with a base thousands of miles 
 away. The battle of Bunker's Hill showed that 
 they were so willing that they could tight sternly 
 and bravely : and this point once established, it was 
 little short of madness for the English government 
 to continue the contest. They had not even the ex- 
 cuse of desiring to wipe out the dishonor of a de- 
 feat. Their soldiers had won a brilliant victory and 
 had fought with a determination and valor never 
 exceeded, and England could have afforded to say, 
 " "We will fight no more. If you, the inhabitants of
 
 90 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 a vast continent, are determined to go alone, are 
 ready to give your lives rather than remain in con- 
 nection with us, go and prosper. We acknowledge 
 we cannot subdue a nation in arms." 
 
 From the height of Copp's Hill it could be seen 
 that the British had suffered terribly. Captain 
 Wilson was full of enthusiasm when he saw the suc- 
 cess of the last gallant charge of the English sol- 
 diers, but he said to Harold : 
 
 " It is a disastrous victory. A few such battles 
 as these and the English army in America would 
 cease to exist." 
 
 But although they were aware that the losses 
 were heavy they were not prepared for the truth. 
 The long grass had hidden from view many of 
 those who fell, and when it was known that nearly 
 half of those engaged were killed or wounded the 
 feeling among the English was akin to consterna- 
 tion. 
 
 The generalship of the British was wholly un- 
 worthy oi. the valor of the troops. There would 
 have been no difficulty in placing some of the ves- 
 sels of light draught so far up the Mystic as to out- 
 flank the intrenchments held by the colonists. 
 Indeed, the British troops might have been landed 
 further up the Mystic, in which case the Americans 
 must have retreated instantly to avoid capture. 
 Lastly, the troops, although fighting within a mile 
 of their quarters, were incumbered with three days' 
 provisions, and their knapsacks, constituting, with 
 their muskets and ammunition, a load of one hun-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 91 
 
 dred and twenty-five pounds. This was indeed 
 heavily handicapping men who had, under a blazing 
 sun, to climb a steep hill, with grass reaching to 
 their knees and intersected by walls and fences. 
 
 American writers describe the defenders of the 
 position as inferior in numbers to the assailants, but 
 it is due to the English to say that their estimate of 
 the number of the defenders of the intrenchments 
 differs very widely from this. General Gage esti- 
 mated them as being fully three times as numerous 
 as the British troops. It is probable that the truth 
 lies between the two accounts. 
 
 Captain Wilson returned with Harold greatly dis- 
 pirited to his house. 
 
 " The lookout is dreadfully bad," he said to his 
 wife after describing the events of the day. " So far 
 as I can see there are but two alternatives either 
 peace or a long and destructive war with failure at 
 its end. It is even more hopeless trying to conquer a 
 vast country like this, defended by irregulars, than 
 if we had a trained and disciplined army to deal 
 with. In that case two or three signal victories 
 might bring the war to a conclusion ; but fighting 
 with irregulars a victory means nothing beyond so 
 many of the enemy killed. There are scarcely any 
 cannon to take, no stores or magazines to capture. 
 When the enemy is beaten he disperses, moves off, 
 and in a couple of days gathers again in a fresh 
 position. The work has no end. There are no fort- 
 resses to take, no strategical positions to occupy, 
 no great roads to cut. The enemy can march any-
 
 92 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 where, attack and disperse as he chooses, scatter, 
 and re-form when you have passed by. It is like 
 fighting the wind." 
 
 "Well, John, since it seems so hopeless, cannot 
 you give it up ? Is it too late ?" 
 
 " Altogether too late, Mary, and if I were free 
 to-morrow I would volunteer my services again 
 next day. It is not any the less my duty to fight 
 in my country's cause because I believe the cause to 
 be a losing one. You must see that yourself, dear. 
 If England had been sure to win without my aid I 
 might have stood aloof. It is because every one's 
 help is needed that such services as I can render 
 are due to her. A country would be in a bad way 
 whose sons were only ready to fight when their suc- 
 cess was a certainty." 
 
 The Congress determined now to detach Canada 
 from the English side and prepared a force for the 
 invasion of that colony, where the British had but 
 few regular troops. 
 
 Captain Wilson was one morning summoned to 
 headquarters. On his return he called together four 
 or five of the men best acquainted with the coun- 
 try. These had been in their early days hunters or 
 border scouts and knew every foot of the forest and 
 lakes. 
 
 " I have just seen the general," Captain Wilson 
 said. " A royalist brought in news last night that 
 the rebels are raising a force intended to act against 
 Montreal. They reckon upon being joined by a 
 considerable portion of the Canadians, among whom
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 93 
 
 there is, unfortunately, a good deal of discontent. 
 We have but two regiments in the whole colony. 
 One of these is at Quebec. The rebels, therefore, 
 will get the advantage of surprise, and may raise 
 the colony before we are in a condition to resist. 
 General Howe asked me to take my company 
 through the woods straight to Montreal. We 
 should be landed a few miles up the coast at night. 
 I suppose some of you know the country well 
 enough to be able to guide us." 
 
 Several of the men expressed their ability to act 
 as guides. 
 
 " I've fought the Injuns through them, woods over 
 and over again," said one of them, a sinewy, weath- 
 er-beaten man of some sixty years old, who was 
 known as Peter Lambton. He had for many years 
 been a scout attached to the army and was one of 
 the most experienced hunters on the frontier. He 
 was a tall, angular man, except that he stooped 
 slightly, the result of a habit of walking with the 
 head bent forward in the attitude of listening. The 
 years which had passed over him had had no effect 
 upon his figure. He walked with a long, noiseless 
 tread, like that of an Indian, and was one of the 
 men attached to his company in whom, wisely, 
 Captain Wilson had made no attempt to instil the 
 very rudiments of drill. It was, the captain thought, 
 well that the younger men should have such a 
 knowledge of drill as would enable them to perform 
 simple maneuvers, but the old hunters would fight 
 in their own way, a way infinitely better adapted
 
 94 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 for forest warfare than any that he could teach 
 them. Peter and some of his companions were in 
 receipt of small pensions, which had been bestowed 
 upon them for their services with the troops. Men 
 of this kind were not likely to take any lively in- 
 terest in the squabbles as to questions of taxation, 
 but when they found that it was coming to fighting 
 they again offered their services to the government 
 as a matter of course. Some were attached to the 
 regular troops as scouts, while others were divided 
 among the newly raised companies of loyalists. 
 
 Peter Lambton had for the last four years been 
 settled at Concord. During the war with the 
 French he had served as a scout with the regiment 
 to which Captain Wilson belonged, and had saved 
 that officer's life when with a portion of his com- 
 pany he was surrounded and cut off by hostile 
 Indians. A strong feeling of friendship had sprung 
 up between them, and when, four years before, 
 there had been a lull in the English fighting on the 
 frontier, Peter had retired on his pension and the 
 savings which he had made during his many years' 
 work as a hunter, and had located himself in a cot- 
 tage on Captain Wilson's estate. It was the many 
 tales told him by the hunter of his experiences in 
 Indian warfare that had fired Harold with a desire 
 for the life of a frontier hunter, and had given him 
 such a knowledge of forest life as had enabled him 
 to throw off the Indians from his trail. On 
 Harold's return the old hunter had listened with ex- 
 treme interest to the story of his adventures and
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 95 
 
 had taken great pride in the manner in which he 
 had utilized his teachings. Peter made his appear- 
 ance in the city three days after the arrival of Cap- 
 tain Wilson there. 
 
 " I look upon this here affair as a favorable occur- 
 rence for Harold," he said to Captain Wilson. 
 " The boy has lots of spirits, but if it had not been 
 for this he might have grown up a regular town 
 greenhorn, fit for nothing but to walk about in a 
 long coat and to talk pleasant to women ; but this'll 
 jest be the making of him. With your permission, 
 cap, I'll take him under my charge and teach 
 him to use his eyes and his ears, and I reckon he'll 
 turn out as good an Injun fighter as you'll see on 
 the frontier." 
 
 " But it is not Indians that we are going to fight, 
 Peter," Captain Wilson said. " I heartily wish it 
 was." 
 
 " It'll be the same thing," Peter said ; " not here, 
 in course ; there'll be battles between the regulars 
 and the colonists, regular battles like that at 
 Quebec, where both parties was fools enough to 
 march about in the open and get shot down by 
 hundreds. I don't call that fighting ; that's jest 
 killing, and there ain't no more sense in it than in 
 two herd of buffalo charging each other on the 
 prairie. But there'll be plenty of real fighting 
 expeditions in the woods and Injun skirmishes, for 
 you'll be sure that the Injuns'll join in, some on 
 one side and some on the other ; it ain't in their 
 nature to sit still in their villages while powder'*
 
 96 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 being burned. A few months of this work will 
 'make a man of him, and he might have a worse 
 teacher than Peter Lambton. You jest hand him 
 over to my care, cap, and I'll teach him all I know 
 of the ways of the woods, and I tell yer there ain't 
 no better kind of edication for a young fellow. He 
 larns to use the senses God has given him, to keep 
 his head when another man would lose his presence 
 of mind, to have the eye of a hawk and the ear of a 
 hound, to get so that he scarcely knows what it is 
 to be tired or hungry, to be able to live while other 
 men would starve, to read the signs of the woods 
 like a printed book, and to be in every way a man 
 and not a tailor's figure." 
 
 "There is a great deal in what you say, old 
 friend," Captain Wilson answered, "and such a 
 training cannot but do a man good. I wish with all 
 my heart that it had been entirely with red foes 
 that the fighting was to be done. However, that 
 cannot be helped, and as he is to fight he could not 
 be in better hands than yours. So long as we re- 
 main here I shall teach him what drill I can with 
 the rest of the company, but when we leave this 
 town and the work really begins I shall put him in 
 your charge to learn the duties of a scout." 
 
 The young negro, Jake, had also enlisted, for 
 throughout the war the negroes fought on both 
 sides, according to the politics of their masters. 
 There were only two other negroes in the company, 
 and Captain Wilson had some hesitation in enlisting 
 them, but they made good soldiers. In the case of
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 97 
 
 Jake, Captain Wilson knew that he was influenced 
 in his wish to join solely by his affection for Harold, 
 and the lad's father felt that in the moment of 
 danger the negro would be ready to lay down his 
 life for him. 
 
 There was great satisfaction in the band 'when 
 they received news that they were at last about to 
 take the field. The long inaction had been most 
 wearisome to them, and they knew that any fight- 
 ing that would take place round Boston would be 
 done by the regular troops. Food, too, was very 
 scarce in town, and they were heartily weary of the 
 regular drill and discipline. They were, then, in 
 high spirits as they embarked on board the Thetis 
 sloop-of-war and sailed from Boston harbor. 
 
 It was a pitiful parting between Mrs. Wilson and 
 her husband and son. It had been arranged that 
 she should sail for England in a ship that was leav- 
 ing in the following week and should there stay 
 with her husband's family, from whom she had a 
 warm invitation to make their home her own until 
 the war was over. 
 
 The Thetis ran out to sea. As soon as night fell 
 her bow was turned to land again, and about mid- 
 night the anchor was let fall near the shore some 
 twenty miles north of Boston. The landing was 
 quickly effected, and with three days' provisions in 
 their knapsacks the little party started on their 
 march. 
 
 One of the scouts who had come from that 
 neighborhood led them by paths which avoided a,U
 
 98 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 villages and farms. At daybreak they bivouacked 
 in a wood and at nightfall resumed the march. By 
 the next morning they had left the settlements be- 
 hind and entered a belt of swamp and forest ex- 
 tending west to the St. Lawrence.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 99 
 
 OHAPTEK VI. 
 
 SCOUTING. 
 
 A PABTT of six men were seated around a fire in 
 the forest which covered the slopes of the northern 
 shore of Lake Champlain. The spot had been 
 chosen because a great tree had fallen, bringing 
 down several others in its course, and opening a 
 vista through which a view could be obtained of 
 the surface of the lake. The party consisted of 
 Peter Larabton, Harold, Jake, Ephraim Potter, 
 another old frontiersman, and two Indians. 
 
 The company under Captain Wilson had made 
 its way safely to the St. Lawrence after undergoing 
 considerable hardships in the forest. They had 
 been obliged to depend entirely on what game they 
 could shoot and such fish as they could catch in the 
 rivers whose course they followed. They had, 
 however, reached Montreal without loss, and there 
 tney found that General Carleton had in all about 
 five hundred regulars and about two hundred 
 volunteers who had recently been engaged. 
 
 It was clear that if the people of Canada were as 
 hostile to the connection with England as were 
 those of the other colonies, the little force at the 
 disposal of the English general could do nothing to
 
 100 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 defend the colony against the strong force which 
 the Americans were collecting for its invasion. 
 Fortunately this was not the case. Although the 
 Canadians were of French descent and the province 
 had been wrested by arras from France, they for 
 the most part preferred being under English rule to 
 joining the insurgent colonies. They had been in 
 no way oppressed by England, their property had 
 been respected, and above all things no attempt 
 had ever been made to interfere with their religion. 
 In the New England provinces the hard puritan 
 spirit of the early fathers had never ceased to 
 prevail. Those who had fled from England to 
 obtain freedom of worship had been intolerant 
 persecutors of all religion different from their own. 
 The consequence was that the priests of Canada 
 were wholly opposed to any idea of union with the 
 insurgent colonists. Their influence over the 
 people was great, and although these still objected 
 to the English rule and would have readily taken 
 up arms against it under other circumstances, they 
 had too little sympathy with the New Englanders 
 to join in their movement, which, if successful, 
 would have placed Canada under the rule of the 
 United States instead of that of England. 
 
 The upper classes of Canadians were almost to a 
 man loyal to the English connection. They had 
 been well treated and enjoyed a greater state of in- 
 dependence than had been the case under French 
 rule. Moreover, they were for the most part de- 
 scended from old French families, and their sympa-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 101 
 
 thies were entirely opposed to popular insurrection. 
 Thus when Captain Wilson and his party reached 
 Montreal they found that, in spite of the paucity of 
 English troops under the command of General 
 Carleton, the position was not so bad as had been 
 feared by General Gage. It was possible, and in- 
 deed probable, that Upper Canada might fall into 
 the hands of the Americans, and that even Quebec 
 itself might be captured ; but unless the people 
 joined the Americans the success of the latter would 
 be but temporary. With the spring the navigation 
 of the river would be open and reinforcements 
 would arrive from England. The invaders would 
 then be at a disadvantage. Separated from home 
 by a wide tract of forest-covered country, they 
 would have the greatest difficulty in transporting 
 artillery, ammunition, and stores, and fighting as 
 an army in invasion they would be placed in a very 
 different position to that occupied by the colonists 
 fighting on their own ground. It was probable 
 that for a time the tide of invasion would succeed. 
 
 The Indians of the Five Nations, as those dwell- 
 ing near the British frontier at this point were 
 called, had volunteered their services to the gen- 
 eral to cross the frontier to recapture Ticon- 
 deroga and Crown Point, which had been seized 
 by the Americans, and to carry the war into the 
 colonies. But General Carleton, an exceedingly 
 humane and kind-hearted man, shrank from the 
 horrors that such a warfare would entail upon the 
 colonists. He accepted the services of the Indians
 
 102 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 as far as the absolute defense of Canada from in- 
 vasion, but refused to allow them to cross the 
 frontier. 
 
 On the arrival of Captain Wilson with his little 
 force he was ordered to march at once to the fort 
 of St. John's, which was held by a party of regular 
 troops. 
 
 On arriving at that place the two scouts had been 
 sent down toward Lake Champlain to watch the 
 proceedings of the enemy. Harold had obtained 
 leave from his father to accompany the scouts, and 
 Jake had been permitted to form one of the party. 
 Peter Lambton had grumbled a little at this last 
 addition to the number. He knew Jake's affection 
 for his young master, and the great strength of the 
 negro would have rendered him useful in a hand-to- 
 hand fight, but he was altogether unaccustomed to 
 forest work, and his habit of bursting into fits of 
 laughter on the smallest provocation, as is the 
 manner of his race, enraged the scout to the last 
 degree. Indeed, he had not left the fort above an 
 hour when he turned savagely on the negro. 
 
 " Look-ee here," he said, " if that's the way ye're 
 a-going on, the sooner ye turns yer face and tramps 
 back to the fort the better. When you were at 
 Concord it done no harm to make as much noise as 
 a jackass braying whenever you opened that mouth 
 of yours, but it won't do in the forests. It would 
 cost us our har and your wool ef yer were to make 
 that noise with the enemy anywhere within fifteen 
 miles of yer. I ain't a-going, if I knows it, to risk
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 103 
 
 my sculp on such a venture as this, still less I ain't 
 a-going to see this young chap's life thrown away. 
 His father hez put him in ray charge, and I ain't 
 a-going to see him sacrificed in no such way. So 
 ye've got to make up yer mind ; yer have got to 
 keep that mouth of yours shut tight or yer've got 
 to tramp back to the fort." 
 
 Jake gave many promises of silence, and although 
 at first he often raised his voice to a point far ex- 
 ceeding that considered by the hunters safe in the 
 woods, he was each time checked by such a savage 
 growl on the part of Peter or by a punch in the 
 ribs from Harold that he quickly fell into the ways 
 of the others and never spoke above a loud 
 whisper. 
 
 At a short distance from the fort they were joined 
 by the two Indians, who were also out on a scouting 
 expedition on their own account. They had pre- 
 viously been well known both to Peter and Ephraim. 
 They were warriors of the Seneca tribe, one of the 
 Five Nations. 
 
 They had now been for two days on the north 
 shore of Lake Champlain. They were sitting round 
 a fire eating a portion of a deer which had been 
 shot by Harold that morning. So far they had 
 seen nothing of the enemy. They knew that three 
 thousand men, under Schuyler and Montgomery, 
 had marched to the other end of the lake. The 
 colonists had been sending proclamations across the 
 frontier to the inhabitants, saying that they were 
 coming as friends to free them from the yoke of
 
 104 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 England and calling upon them to arise and strike 
 for freedom. They were also in negotiation with 
 some of the chiefs of the Five Nations and with 
 other Indian tribes to induce them to join with 
 them. 
 
 " I propose," Peter said when the meal was fin- 
 ished and he had lighted his pipe, "to go down the 
 lake and see what they're doing. Deer Tail here 
 tells me that he knows where there's a canoe. He, 
 Harold, and me will go and reconnoiter a bit ; the 
 other three had best wait here till we comes back 
 with news. In course, chief," he continued to the 
 other Indian, after explaining to him in his own 
 language what he intended to do, : ' you'll be guided 
 by circumstances you can see a long way down 
 the lake, and ef anything should lead you to think 
 that we're in trouble, you can take such steps as 
 may seem best to you. It's mighty little I should 
 think of the crowd of colonists ; but ef, as you say, 
 a number of the warriors of the Five Nations, indig- 
 nant at the rejection of their offers by the English 
 general, have gone down and joined the colonists, 
 it'll be a different affair altogether." 
 
 The Elk, as the second Seneca chief was called, 
 nodded his assent. In a few words Peter told Har- 
 old what had been arranged. Jake looked down- 
 cast when he heard that he was not to accompany 
 his master, but as he saw the latter had since leav- 
 ing the fort obeyed without questioning every sug- 
 gestion of the scout, he offered no remonstrance. 
 
 A quarter of an hour later Peter rose, Deer Tail
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 105 
 
 followed his example, and Harold at once took up 
 his rifle and fell in in their steps. There was but 
 little talk in the woods, and the matter having been 
 settled, it did not enter the mind either of Peter or 
 of the Indian to say a word of adieu to their com- 
 rades. Harold imitated their example, but gave a 
 nod and a smile to Jake as he started. 
 
 Half an hour's tramp took them to the shore of 
 the lake. Here they halted for a minute while the 
 Indians closely examined the locality. With the 
 wonderful power of making their way straight 
 through the forest to the required spot, which seems 
 to be almost an instinct among Indians, Deer Tail 
 had struck the lake within two hundred yards of 
 the point which he aimed at. He led the way along 
 the shore until he came to a spot where a great 
 maple had fallen into the lake ; here he turned into 
 the forest again, and in fifty yards came to a clump 
 of bushes ; these he pushed aside and pointed to a 
 canoe which was lying hidden among them. Peter 
 joined him, the two lifted the boat out, placed it on 
 their shoulders, and carried it to the lake. There 
 were three paddles in it. Peter motioned Harold 
 to take his place in the stern and steer, while he 
 and the Indian knelt forward and put their paddles 
 in the water. 
 
 " Keep her along on the right shore of the lake, 
 about fifty yards from the trees. There's no fear 
 of any one lurking about near this end." 
 
 The canoe was light and well made and darted 
 quickly over the water under the strokes of the two
 
 106 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 paddlers. It was late in the afternoon when they 
 started, and before they had gone many miles dark- 
 ness had fallen. The canoe was run in close to 
 shore, where she lay in the shadow of the trees until 
 morning. Just as the sun rose the redskin and 
 Peter simultaneously dipped their paddles in the 
 water and sent the canoe under the arches of the 
 trees. They had at the same instant caught sight of 
 four canoes making their way along the lake. 
 
 "Them's Injuns," Peter whispered. "They're 
 scouting to see if the lake's free. If the general 
 could have got a couple of gunboats up the Sorrel 
 the enemy could never have crossed the lake, and it 
 would have given them a month's work to take their 
 guns round it. It's lucky we were well under the 
 trees or we should have been seen. What had we 
 best do, Deer Tail ?" 
 
 For two or three minutes the scouts conversed 
 together in the Indian tongue. 
 
 " The Seneca agrees with me," Peter said. " It's 
 like enough there are Injuns scouting along both 
 shores. "We must lay up here till nightfall. Ef 
 we're seen they'd signal by smoke, and we should 
 have them canoes back again in no time. By their 
 coming I expect the expedition is starting, but it 
 won't do t go back without being sure of it." 
 
 The canoe was paddled to a spot where the 
 bushes grew thickly by the bank. It was pushed 
 among these, and the three, after eating some 
 cooked deer's flesh which they had brought with 
 them, prepared to pass the day.
 
 TR US TO THE OLD FLAG. 107 
 
 " The Seneca and I'll keep watch by turns, w the 
 scout said. " We'll wake you if we want ye." 
 
 Harold was by this time sufficiently accustomed 
 to the ways of the woods to obey orders at once 
 without offering to take his turn at watching, as his 
 inclination led him to do, and he was soon sound 
 asleep. It was late in the afternoon when he was 
 awoke by the scout touching him. 
 
 " Theres' some critters coming along the bank," 
 he said in a whisper. " They ain't likely to see us, 
 but it's best to be ready." 
 
 Harold sat up in the canoe, rifle in hand, and 
 listening intently heard a slight sound such as would 
 be produced by the snapping of a twig. Presently 
 he heard upon the other side of the bushes, a few 
 yards distant, a few low words in the Indian tongue. 
 He looked at his companions. They were sitting 
 immovable, each with his rifle directed toward the 
 sound, and Harold thought it would fare badly with 
 any of the passers if they happened to take a fancy 
 to peer through the bushes. The Indians had, 
 however, no reason for supposing that there were 
 any enemies upon the lake, and they consequently 
 passed on without examining more closely the 
 thicket by the shore. Not until it was perfectly 
 dark did Peter give the sign for the continuance of 
 the journey. This time, instead of skirting the lake, 
 the canoe was steered out toward its center. For 
 some time they paddled, and then several lights 
 were seen from ahead. 
 
 " I thought so," the scout said. " They've crossed
 
 108 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 to the Isle La Motte and they're making as many 
 fires as if they war having a sort of picnic at home. 
 We must wait till they burns out, for we daren't go 
 near the place with the water lit up for two or three 
 hundred yards round. It won't be long, for I 
 reckon it must be past eleven o'clock now." 
 
 The fires were soon seen to burn down. The 
 paddles were dipped in the water and the canoe 
 approached the island. 
 
 " I'd give something," Peter said, " to know 
 whether there's any redskins there. Ef there are, 
 our chance of landing without being seen ain't 
 worth talking of; ef there ain't we might land 
 a hull fleet ; at any rate we must risk it. Now, 
 Harold, the chief and me'll land and find out how 
 many men there are here, and ef we can how long 
 they're likely to stop. You keep the canoe about 
 ten yards from shore, in the shadow of the trees, 
 and be ready to move close the instant you hear my 
 call. I'll jest give the croak of a frog. The instant 
 we get in you paddle off without a word. Bf ye 
 hears any shouts and judges as how we've been 
 seen, ye must jest act upon the best of yer 
 judgment." 
 
 The boat glided noiselessly up to the shore. All 
 was still there, the encampment being at the other 
 side of the island. The two scouts, red and white, 
 stepped noiselessly on to the land. Harold backed 
 the canoe a few paces with a quick stroke upon the 
 paddle, and seeing close to him a spot where a long 
 branch of a tree dipped into the water, he guided
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 109 
 
 the canoe among the foliage and there sat without 
 movement, listening almost breathlessly. 
 
 Ere man}^ minutes had elapsed he heard footsteps 
 coming along the shore. They stopped when near 
 him. Three or four minutes passed without the 
 slightest sound, and then a voice said, in tones 
 which the speaker had evidently tried to lower, but 
 which were distinctly audible in the canoe : 
 
 " I tell yer, redskin, it seems to me as how you've 
 brought us here on a fool's errand. I don't see no 
 signs of a canoe, and it ain't likely that the British 
 would be along the lake here, seeing as how there's 
 a score of canoes with your people in them scouting 
 ahead." 
 
 " I heard canoe," another voice said, " first at 
 other end of the island and then coming along 
 here." 
 
 " And ef yer did," the first speaker said, " likely 
 enough it was one of the canoes of your people." 
 
 " No," the Indian answered. " If canoe eome 
 back with news would have come straight to fires." 
 
 " "Well, it ain't here, anyway," the first speaker 
 said, " and I don't believe yer ever heard a canoe at 
 all. It's enough to make a man swear to be called 
 up jest as we were making ourselves comfortable 
 for the night on account of an Injun's fancies. I 
 wonder at the general's listening to them. How- 
 ever, we've got our orders to go round the island 
 and see ef there's any canoe on either shore ; so we'd 
 better be moving, else we shall not get to sleep be- 
 fore morning."
 
 210 TRUJS TO THB OLD FLAG. 
 
 Harold held his breath as the group passed 
 opposite to him. Fortunately the trunk of the tree 
 grew from the very edge of the water, and there 
 were several bushes growing round it, so that al 
 this point the men had to make a slight detour in- 
 land. Harold felt thankful indeed that he had 
 taken the precaution of laying his canoe among the 
 thick foliage, for although the night was dark it 
 would have been instantly seen had it been lying on 
 the surface of the lake. Even as it was, a close in- 
 spection might have detected it, but the eyes of the 
 party were fixed on the shore, as it was there, if at 
 all, that they expected to find an empty canoe 
 
 Harold was uneasy at the discovery that there 
 were still some redskins on the island. It was pos- 
 sible, of course, that the one he had heard might be 
 alone as a scout, but it was more likely that others 
 of the tribe were also there. 
 
 After landing, Peter and the Seneca made their 
 way across the island to the side facing the Ameri- 
 can shore. Creeping cautiously along, they found 
 a large number of flat-bottomed boats, in which the 
 Americans had crossed from the mainland, and 
 which were, Peter thought, capable of carrying two 
 thousand men. They now made their way toward 
 the spot where the forces were encamped. The 
 fires had burned low, but round a few of them men 
 were still sitting and talking. Motioning to the 
 Seneca to remain quiet, Peter sauntered cautiously 
 out on to the clearing where the camp was formed.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. HI 
 
 He had little fear of detection, for he wore no uni- 
 form, and his hunter's dress afforded no index to 
 the party to which he was attached. 
 
 A great portion of the Americans were still in 
 their ordinary attire, it having been impossible to 
 furnish uniforms for so great a number of men as 
 had been suddenly called to arms throughout the 
 colonies. 
 
 From the arbors of boughs which had been 
 erected in all directions, he judged that the force 
 had been already some days upon the island. But 
 large numbers of men were sleeping in the open 
 air, and picking his way cautiously among them, he 
 threw himself down at a short distance from one of 
 the fires by which three or four men were sitting. 
 
 For some time they talked of camp matters, the 
 shortness of food, and want of provisions. 
 
 " It is bad here," one said presently ; " it will be 
 worse when we move forward. Schuyler will be 
 here to-morrow with the rest of the army, and we 
 are to move down to Isle-aux-Noix, at the end of 
 the lake, and I suppose we shall land at once and 
 march against St. John's. There are only a couple 
 of hundred Britishers there, and we shall make 
 short work of them." 
 
 " The sooner the better, I say," another speaker 
 remarked. " I am ready enough to fight, but I hate 
 all this waiting about. I want to get back to my 
 farm again." 
 
 " You are in a hurry, you are," the other said. 
 " You don't suppose we are going to take Canada
 
 112 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 in a week's time, do you ? Even if the Canadians 
 join us, and by what I hear that ain't so sartin after 
 all, we shall have to march down to Quebec, and 
 that's no child's play. I know the country there. 
 It is now September 4. Another month and the 
 winter will be upon us, and a Canadian winter is no 
 joke, I can tell you." 
 
 "The more reason for not wasting any more 
 time," the other one grumbled. " If Montgomery 
 had his way we should go at them quickly enough, 
 but Schuyler is always delaying. He has kept us 
 waiting now since the 17th of last month. "We 
 might have been half-way to Quebec by this time." 
 
 " Yes," the other said, " if the Britishers had run 
 away as we came ; but we have got St. John's and 
 Fort Chamblee to deal with, and they may hold 
 out some time. However, the sooner we begin the 
 job the sooner it will be over, and I am heartily 
 glad that we move to-morrow." 
 
 Peter had now obtained the information he re- 
 quired, and rising to his feet again, with a grum- 
 bling remark as to the hardness of the ground, he 
 sauntered away toward the spot where he had left 
 the Indian. Just as he did so a tall figure came out 
 from an arbor close by. A fire was burning just in 
 front, and Peter saw that he was a tall and hand- 
 some man of about forty years of age. He guessed 
 at once that he was in the presence of the colonial 
 leader. 
 
 "You are, like myself," the new-comer said, 
 " unable to sleep, I suppose ?"
 
 TRUE TO TSB OLD FLAG. H3 
 
 " Yes, general," Peter answered. " I found I 
 could not get off, and so I thought I'd stretch my 
 legs in the wood a bit. They're lying so tarnal 
 thick down there by the fires, one can't move with- 
 out treading on 'em." 
 
 " Which regiment do you belong to ?" 
 
 " The Connecticut," Peter replied, for he knew 
 by report that a regiment from this province 
 formed part of the expedition. 
 
 " As good men as any I have," the general said 
 cordially. " Their only fault is that they are in too 
 great a hurry to attack the enemy." 
 
 " I agree with the rest, general," Peter said, 
 'it's dull work wasting our time here when we're 
 wanted at home. I enlisted for six months, and the 
 sooner the time's up the better, say I." 
 
 " You have heard nothing moving ?" the general 
 asked. "One of the Chippewas told me that he 
 heard a canoe out in the lake. Ah ! here he is." 
 
 At that moment five or six men, headed by an 
 Indian, issued from the wood close by. It was too 
 late for Peter to try to withdraw, but he stepped 
 aside a pace or two as the party approached. 
 
 "Well, have you found anything?" the general 
 asked. 
 
 " No find," the Chippewa said shortly. 
 
 " I don't believe as there ever was a canoe there," 
 the man who followed him said. " It was jest a 
 fancy of the Injun's." 
 
 " No fancy," the Indian asserted angrily. " Canoe 
 there. No find."
 
 114 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " It might have been one of our own canoes," 
 Montgomery said in a conciliatory tone. " The In- 
 dians are seldom mistaken. Still, if no one has 
 landed it matters not either way." 
 
 " Only as we have had a tramp for nothing," the 
 colonist said. " However, there's time for a sleep 
 yet. Hullo !" he exclaimed as his eye fell on Peter 
 Lambton. " What, Peter ! Why, how did you get 
 here? Why, I thought as how general," he ex- 
 claimed, sharply turning to Montgomery, " this man 
 lives close to me at Concord. He's a royalist, he is, 
 and went into Boston and joined the corps they got 
 up there." 
 
 "Seize him!" Montgomery shouted, but it was 
 too late. 
 
 As the man had turned to speak to the general 
 Peter darted into the wood. The Chippewa, with- 
 out waiting to hear the statement of the colonist, at 
 once divined the state of things, and uttering his 
 war-whoop dashed after the fugitive. Two or three 
 of the colonists instantly followed, and a moment 
 later three or four Indians who had been lying on 
 the ground leaped up and darted like phantoms into 
 the wood. 
 
 The general no sooner grasped the facts than he 
 shouted an order for pursuit, and a number of the 
 men most accustomed to frontier work at once fol- 
 lowed the first party of pursuers. Others would 
 have done the same, but Montgomery shouted that 
 no more should go, as they would only be in the 
 others' way, and there could not be more than two 
 or three spies on the island.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 115 
 
 After the Chippewa's first war-cry there was si- 
 lence for the space of a minute in the forest. Then 
 came a wild scream, mingled with another Indian 
 yell ; a moment later the leading pursuers came 
 upon the body of the Chippewa. His skull had 
 been cleft with a tomahawk and the scalp was 
 gone. 
 
 As they were clustered round the body two or 
 three of the Indians ran up. They raised the Indian 
 wail as they saw their comrade and with the rest 
 took up pursuit. 
 
 Peter and the Seneca were now far among the 
 trees, and as their pursuers had nothing to guide 
 them, they reached the spot where they had left 
 the canoe unmolested. 
 
 On the signal being given, Harold instantly pad- 
 dled to the shore. Not a word was spoken until 
 the canoe was well out in the lake. Occasional 
 shots were heard on shore as the pursuers fired at 
 objects which they thought were men. Presently 
 a loud Indian cry rose from the shore. 
 
 " They see us," Peter said. " We're out of shot 
 and can take it easy." The redskin said a few 
 words. " You're right, chief. The chief says," he 
 explained to Harold, " that as there are redskins on 
 the island they have probably some canoes. The 
 moon's jest getting up beyond that hill, and it'll be 
 light enough to see us half across the lake. It 
 would not matter if the water was free ; but what 
 with injuns prowling along the shores and out on 
 the lake, we shall have to use our wits to save our
 
 116 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 bar. Look!" he exclaimed two or three minutes 
 later as two columns of bright flame at a short dis- 
 tance from them shot up at the end of the island. 
 " They're Injun signals. As far as they can be seen 
 Injuns will know that there are enemies on the 
 lake. Now, paddle your hardest, Harold, and do 
 you, chief, keep your eyes and your ears open for 
 sights and sounds." 
 
 Under the steady strokes of the three paddles 
 the bark canoe sped rapidly over the water. When 
 the moon was fairly above the edge of the hill they 
 halted for a moment and looked back. The two 
 columns of fire still blazed brightly on the island, 
 which was now three miles astern, and two dark 
 spots could be seen on the water about half-way be- 
 tween them and it. 
 
 " You can paddle, my lads," Peter Lambton said 
 to the distant foes, " but you'll never ketch us. I 
 wouldn't heed you if it weren't for the other varmint 
 ahead." 
 
 He stood up in the canoe and looked anxiously 
 over the lake. 
 
 " It's all clear as far as I can see at present," he 
 said. 
 
 " Can't we land. Peter, and make our way back 
 on foot?" 
 
 " Bless you," Peter said, " there ain't a native 
 along the shore there but has got his eye on this 
 canoe. "We might as well take her straight back 
 to the island as try to land. Better ; for we should 
 get a few hours before they tried and shot us there,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 while the Injuns would not give us a minute. No, 
 we must just keep to the water ; and now paddle 
 on again, but take it quietly. It's no odds to let 
 them varmints behind gain on us a little. You 
 needn't think about them. When the danger comes 
 we shall want every ounce of our strength." 
 
 For half an hour they paddled steadily on. The 
 pursuing canoes were now less than a mile behind 
 them. 
 
 " I'd give a good deal," muttered the scout, " for 
 a few black clouds over the moon ; we'd make for 
 shore then and risk it. It will be getting daylight 
 before long. Ah !" he exclaimed, pausing suddenly 
 as the chief stopped rowing, "a canoe on each side 
 is rowing out to cut us off." 
 
 Harold was now paddling forward, while the 
 scout had the place at the stern. The former was 
 surprised to feel the canoe shooting off from its 
 former course at right angles toward the shore ; 
 then, curving still more round, they began to paddle 
 back along the lake. 
 
 The canoes which had been pursuing them were 
 nearly abreast of each other. They had embarked 
 from opposite sides of the island, but they had been 
 gradually drawing together, although still some 
 distance apart, when Peter turned his canoe. See- 
 ing his maneuver, both turned to head him off, but 
 by so doing they occupied an entirely different 
 position in relation to each other, one canoe being 
 nearly half a mile nearer to them than the other. 
 
 " Take it easy," Peter said. " These varmints will
 
 118 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 cut us off and we've got to fight, but we can cripple 
 the one nearest to us before the other comes up." 
 
 The boats were now darting over the water in a 
 line which promised to bring the leading canoe 
 almost in collision with that of Peter. When with- 
 in two hundred yards of each other Peter ceased 
 rowing. 
 
 " Now," he said, " Harold, see if you can pick one 
 of them fellows off. It's no easy matter, traveling 
 at the pace they are. You fire first." 
 
 Harold took a steady aim and fired. A yell of 
 derision told that he had missed. The Indians 
 stopped paddling. There was a flash and a ball 
 struck the canoe. At the same moment Peter fired. 
 
 " There's one down !" he exclaimed. 
 
 The Seneca fired, but without result; and the 
 three unwounded Indians in the canoe for it had 
 contained four men replied with a volley. 
 
 Harold felt a burning sensation, as if a hot iron 
 passed across his arm. 
 
 " Hit, boy ?" Peter asked anxiously as he gave a 
 short exclamation. 
 
 "Nothing to speak of," Harold replied. 
 
 " The varmints are lying by waiting for the other 
 canoe. Paddle straight at 'em." 
 
 The Indians at once turned the boat and paddled 
 to meet their companions, who were fast approach- 
 ing. 
 
 " Now," Peter exclaimed, " we've got 'em in a 
 line a steady aim this time." 
 
 The three rifles spoke out ; one of the Indians fell
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 119 
 
 into the boat and the paddle of another was struck 
 from his grasp. 
 
 " Now," the scout shouted, " paddle away. We've 
 got 'em all fairly behind us." 
 
 Day broke just as they were again abreast of the 
 island. One canoe was following closely, two 
 others were a mile and a half behind, while the one 
 with which they had been engaged had made for 
 the shore. 
 
 "What do you mean to do?" Harold asked 
 Peter. 
 
 " I mean to run as close as I can round the end 
 of the island, and then make for the place where 
 they must have embarked on the mainland. They 
 may have seen the signal fires there, but will not 
 know what has been going on. So now row your 
 best. We must leave the others as far behind as 
 possible." 
 
 For the first time since they started the three 
 paddlers exerted themselves to the utmost. They 
 had little fear that there were any more canoes on 
 the island, for had there been they would have 
 joined in the chase. It was only necessary to keep 
 so far from the end of the island as would take them 
 out of reach of the fire. Several shots were dis- 
 charged as they passed, but these fell short as the 
 canoe shot along at its highest rate of speed, every 
 stroke taking it further from its nearest pursuer. 
 
 At the end of an hour's paddling this canoe was a 
 mile and a half behind. Its rowers had apparently 
 somewhat abated their speed in order to allow the
 
 120 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 other two boats to draw up to them, for the result 
 of the encounter between their comrades and the 
 fugitives had not been of a nature to encourage 
 them to undertake a single-handed contest with 
 them.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 IN THE FOREST. 
 
 SEE, Peter !" Harold exclaimed ; " there is a whole 
 fleet of boats ahead." 
 
 " I sees 'em," Peter said, " and have seed 'em for 
 the last quarter of an hour. It's Schuyler with the 
 rest of what they calls their army. Steer a little 
 out of the course ; we must pass close by 'em. 
 They won't suspect nothing wrong and will suppose 
 we are merely carrying a message." 
 
 In half an hour they were abreast of the flotilla, 
 consisting of flatboats laden with troops. With 
 them were two or three Indian canoes. Peter 
 steered so as to pass at a distance of a hundred and 
 fifty yards. They rowed less strongly now, but 
 still vigorously. There was a shout from the boat. 
 
 " All well on the island ?" 
 
 " All well," Peter shouted back, waving his hand, 
 and without further word the canoe passed on. 
 "There! do you hear that?" Peter exclaimed. 
 " They're firing shots from the canoes to call their 
 attention. The chances are they won't hear them, 
 for the rattle of their oars and the talking and the 
 row they're making are enough to drown the sound
 
 12$ TRUE TO THE OLD FLA. 
 
 of a cannon. Now put it on again as hard as you 
 can. Another hour will take us to the landing- 
 place." 
 
 They could see when the flotilla came up to the 
 pursuing boats that the canoes which accompanied 
 it turned their heads and joined in the pursuit, but 
 they were now near three miles ahead and there 
 was no chance whatever of their being overtaken. 
 They slackened their speed slightly as they ap- 
 proached the land, and rowed up to the landing- 
 place without any signs of extraordinary haste. A 
 few men were loitering about. 
 
 " What's the news from the island ?" one asked as 
 they landed. 
 
 " All well there," Peter said. 
 
 " Did you see anything of Schu3 T ler ?" 
 
 " Yes, we met him about half-way across." 
 
 " "What have you come for ?" 
 
 " General Montgomery says that no spare flints 
 have been sent over for the firelocks." 
 
 " I'll swear that some went," one of the men ex- 
 claimed, " for I packed a sack of them myself in 
 one of the boats." 
 
 "I s'pose they have been mislaid," Peter said. 
 " Perhaps some of the stores have got heaped over 
 'em. Ef you are quite sartin, we have had our 
 journey for nothing." 
 
 " As sartin as life," the man replied. " I'll swear 
 to the sackful of flints ; and tarnation heavy they 
 was too." 
 
 " Well, then, I need not trouble about it further,'*
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 123 
 
 Peter said. " "We'll take a rest and paddle back in 
 an hour or two. Was there any marks on the sack, 
 so as I may tell the general how to look for it ?" 
 
 " Marks !" the man repeated. " Why, it had 
 ' Flints ' written on it in big black letters six inches 
 long. It must turn up, anyhow. They'll find it 
 when they come to shift the stores." 
 
 Then, accompanied by his two companions, Peter 
 strolled quietly through the little village, Stop- 
 ping at a small store, he purchased some flour and 
 tea; then he followed the road inland and was 
 soon out of sight of the village ; he stopped for a 
 moment and then shook his head. 
 
 "It's no use trying to hide our trail here," he 
 said. " The road's an inch thick in dust, and do 
 what we will they'll be able to see where we turn 
 off. It's our legs as we have got to trust to for a 
 bit. We've got a good half-hour's start of the 
 canoes ; they were a long three miles behind when 
 we struck the shore." 
 
 Leaving the road, he led the way with a long, 
 swinging stride across the cultivated land. Twenty 
 minutes' walk took them into the forest, which ex- 
 tended from the shore of the lake many miles in- 
 land. 
 
 " Take off your boots, Harold," he said as he 
 entered the wood. "Them heels will leave marks 
 that a redskin could pick up at a run. Now tread, 
 as near as you can, in the exact spot where the 
 Seneca has trodden before you. He'll follow in my 
 track, and you may be sure that I'll choose the
 
 124 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 hardest bits of ground I can come across. There, 
 the varmints are on shore !" 
 
 As he spoke an angry yell rose from the distant 
 village. At a long, steady pace, which taxed to the 
 utmost Harold's powers as a walker, they kept their 
 way through the woods, not pursuing a straight 
 course, but turning, winding, and zigzagging every 
 few minutes. Harold could not but feel impatient 
 at what seemed to him such a loss of time, especially 
 when a yell from the edge of the wood told that 
 the Indians had traced them thus far showed, too, 
 that they were far nearer than before. But, as 
 Peter afterward explained to him, all this turning 
 and winding made it necessary for the Indians to 
 follow every step, as they would an animal, to guess 
 the direction they had taken. The weather had 
 been dry and the ground was hard ; therefore the 
 most experienced trapper would be obliged to pro- 
 ceed very slowly on the trail and would frequently 
 be for a time at fault ; whereas had they continued 
 in a straight line the Indians could have followed 
 at a run, contenting themselves with seeing the 
 trail here and there. They came across two or 
 three little streams running down toward the lake. 
 These they followed, in some cases up, in others 
 down, for a considerable distance, leaving the bed 
 where the bushes grew thick and hid the marks of 
 their feet as they stepped out from the water. 
 Harold would gladly have gone at a run, but Peter 
 never quickened his pace. He knew that the In- 
 dians could not pick up the trail at a rate faster
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. . 125 
 
 than that at which they were going, and that great 
 delay would be caused at each of the little streams, 
 as it would be uncertain whether they had passed 
 up or down. 
 
 As the time passed the Indian yells, which had, 
 when the}^ first entered the wood, sounded so alarm- 
 ingly near, died away, and a perfect stillness 
 reigned in the forest. It was late in the afternoon 
 before Peter halted. 
 
 " We can rest now," he said. " It'll be hours be- 
 fore the critters can be here. Now let us have some 
 tea." 
 
 He began to look for some dried sticks. Harold 
 offered to assist. 
 
 " You sit down," the scout said. " A nice sort of 
 fire we should get with sticks of your picking up ! 
 "Why, we should have a smoke that would bring all 
 the Injuns in the woods on to us. No, the sticks as 
 the Seneca and me'll pick up won't give as much 
 smoke as you can put in a tea-cup ; but I wouldn't 
 risk even that if we was nigh the lake, for it might 
 be seen by any redskins out in a canoe. But we are 
 miles back from the lake, and there ain't no other 
 open space where they could get a view over the 
 tree-tops." 
 
 Harold watched the Indian and the scout collect- 
 ing dry leaves and sticks, and took particular notice, 
 for future use, of the kinds which they selected. A 
 light was struck with a flint and steel, and soon a 
 bright blaze sprang up, without, so far as Harold 
 could see, the slightest smoke being given off. Then
 
 126 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the hunter produced some food from his wallet and 
 a tin pot. He had at the last spring they passed 
 filled a skin which hung on his shoulder with water, 
 and this was soon boiling over the fire. A handful 
 of tea was thrown in and the pot removed. Some 
 flour, mixed with water, was placed on a small iron 
 plate, which was put on the red-hot ashes. A few 
 cakes were baked, and with these, the cold venison, 
 and the tea an ample meal was made. 
 
 After nearly an hour's halt they again proceeded 
 on their way. A consultation had taken place be- 
 tween Peter and the Seneca as to the best course to 
 be pursued. They could, without much difficulty or 
 risk, have continued the way through the woods be- 
 yond the lake, but it was important that they should 
 reach the other side by the evening of the following 
 day, to give warning of the intended attack by the 
 Americans. There were, they knew, other redskins 
 in the woods besides those on their trail, and the 
 nearer they approached the shore the greater the 
 danger. They had determined that they would at 
 all hazards endeavor to obtain another canoeu and 
 cross the lake. Until nightfall they continued their 
 course, and then, knowing that their trail could no 
 longer be followed, they made down to the lake. 
 They were many miles distant from it, and Harold 
 was completely worn out when at last he saw a 
 gleam of water through the trees. He was not yet 
 to rest. -Entering the lake they began wading 
 through it at a few feet from the edge. 
 
 After an hour's walking thus they entered the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 127 
 
 bushes, which thickly covered the shore, and made 
 their way through these until they came to a spot 
 sufficiently open for them to lie down ; and Harold, 
 wrapping himself in the blanket which he carried 
 over his shoulder, was sound asleep in less than 
 a minute. When he woke the sun was shining 
 brightly. 
 
 " Get up, youngster. "We're in luck," the scout 
 said. " Here's a canoe with two of the varmints 
 making toward the shore. By the way they're 
 going they'll land not far off." 
 
 The scout led the way, crawling on his hands and 
 knees, to the water's edge, to where the Seneca was 
 sitting watching the canoe through a cover of green 
 leaves. The course that the boat was taking would 
 lead it to a point some three hundred yards from 
 where they were sitting. 
 
 " We shall have no difficulty in managing them, 1 ' 
 Harold said, and grasped his rifle eagerly. 
 
 " Not too fast," Peter said. " The chances are 
 that the varmints have friends on shore. Like enough 
 they have been out fishing." 
 
 The shore formed a slight sweep at this point, 
 and the bushes in which they were hidden occupied 
 the point at one extremity. In the center of the 
 little bay there was a spot clear from bushes ; to 
 this the canoe was directed. As it approached the 
 shore two other Indians appeared at the water's 
 edge. One of them asked a question, and in reply 
 a paddler held up a large bunch of fish. 
 
 "Just as I thought. Like enough there are a 
 dozen of them there," said Peter.
 
 128 TRUSS TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 On reaching the shore the men sprang out, taking 
 their fish with them. The canoe was fastened by 
 its head-rope to the bushes, and the Indians moved 
 a short distance inland. 
 
 " There is their smoke," Peter said, indicating a 
 point some thirty feet from the lake, but so slight 
 was it that even when it was pointed . out to him 
 Harold could hardly make out the light mist rising 
 from among the bushes. Presently he looked round 
 for the Seneca, but the Indian had disappeared. 
 
 " He's gone scouting," Peter said in answer to 
 Harold's question. " Ef there are only four of them 
 it would be an easy job, but I expect there's more 
 of the red varmints there." 
 
 In ten minutes the Seneca returned as noiselessly 
 as he had gone. He opened his hand and all the 
 fingers twice ; the third time he showed only three 
 fingers. 
 
 " Thirteen," Peter said. " Too many of them 
 even for a sudden onslaught." 
 
 The Indian said a few words to Peter ; the latter 
 nodded, and Deer Tail again quietly stole away. 
 
 " He's going to steal the boat," Peter said. " It's 
 a risky job, for where it lies it can be seen by 'em 
 as they sit. Now, you and me must be ready with 
 our shooting-irons to cover him if need be. Ef he's 
 found out before he gets the boat he'll take to the 
 woods and lead them away from us ; but ef he's 
 fairly in the boat, then we must do our best for him. 
 Ef the wust comes to the wust, I reckon we can 
 hold these bushes agin 'em for some time ; but in
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 129 
 
 the end I don't disguise from ye, youngster, they'll 
 beat us." 
 
 Harold now sat intently watching the canoe. It 
 seemed an age to him before he saw a hand emerge 
 from the bushes and take hold of the head-rope. 
 
 The motion given to the canoe was so slight as to 
 be almost imperceptible ; it seemed as if it was only 
 drifting gently before the slight breeze which was 
 creeping over the surface of the lake. Half its 
 length had disappeared from the open space, when 
 an Indian appeared by the edge of the water. He 
 looked at the canoe, looked over the lake, and with- 
 drew again. The hand had disappeared in the 
 bushes on his approach. The movement of the 
 canoe, slight as it was, had caught his eye, but, sat- 
 isfied that it was caused only by the wind, he had 
 returned to his fire again. The hand appeared 
 again through the bushes, and the canoe was drawn 
 along until hidden from the sight of those sitting 
 by the fire. Again the watchful Indian appeared, 
 but the boat was lying quietly by the bushes at the 
 full length of its head rope. He stooped down to 
 see that this was securely fastened and again re- 
 tired. Harold held his breath, expecting that every 
 moment the presence of the Seneca would be dis- 
 covered. Scarcely had the Indian disappeared than 
 the Seneca crawled out from the bushes. With a 
 sweep of his knife he cut the rope of the canoe and 
 noiselessly entered it, and as he did so gave a shove 
 with his foot, which sent it dancing along the shore 
 toward the spot where Harold and his companion
 
 130 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 were hidden. Then he seized the paddle, and in 
 half a dozen strokes brought, it within reach of 
 them. Harold and Peter stepped into it ; as they 
 did so there was a sudden shout. The Indian had 
 again strolled down to look at the canoe, whose 
 movements, slight as they had been, had appeared 
 suspicious to him. He now, to his astonishment, 
 saw it at the point with two white men and an In- 
 dian on board. He had left his gun behind him 
 and, uttering his war-cry, bounded back for it. 
 
 "Round the p'int, quick!" Peter exclaimed. 
 " They'll riddle us in the open." 
 
 Two strokes took the canoe round the projecting 
 point of bushes, and she then darted along the 
 shore, driven by the greatest efforts of which the 
 three paddlers were capable. Had the shore been 
 open the Indians would have gained upon them, but 
 they were unable to force their way through the 
 thick bushes at anything like the rate at which the 
 canoe was flying over the water. The first start 
 was upward of a hundred yards, and this was in- 
 creased by fifty before the Indians, arriving at the 
 point, opened fire. This distance is beyond any- 
 thing like an accurate range with Indian guns. 
 Several bullets struck the water round the canoe. 
 
 " Now steer out," Peter said as the firing sudden- 
 ly ceased. " They're making a detour among the 
 bushes and'll come down ahead of us ef we keep 
 near the shore." 
 
 Two or three more shots were fired, but without 
 effect, and the canoe soon left the shore far behind*
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 131 
 
 " Now," Peter said, " I think we're safe. It's not 
 likely they've another canoe anywhere near on this 
 side, as most of 'em would have gone with the ex- 
 pedition. Ef the firing has been heard it will not 
 attract much attention, being on this side, and I see 
 nothing in the way of a boat out in the lake. Still, 
 these redskins' eyes can see 'most any distance. 
 Now, chief," he went on to the Indian in his native 
 language, "the young un and I'll lie down at the 
 bottom of the boat; do you paddle quietly and 
 easily, as ef you were fishing. The canoe with a 
 single Indian in it will excite no suspicion, and even 
 ef you see other canoes, you had better keep on in 
 that way unless you see that any of 'em are intend- 
 ing to overhaul you." 
 
 The chief nodded assent. Peter and Harold 
 stretched themselves at full length in the canoe, and 
 the Indian paddled quietly and steadily on. For an 
 hour not a word was spoken in the canoe. Harold 
 several times dozed off to sleep. At last the Seneca 
 spoke : 
 
 "Many boats out on water American army." 
 
 Harold was about to raise his head to look out 
 when Peter exclaimed. 
 
 "Lie close, Harold. Ef a head were shown now 
 it would be wuss than ef we had sat up all the 
 time. "We know there are Injun canoes with the 
 flats, and they may be watching us now. We may 
 be a long way off, but there's no saying how far a 
 redskin's eyes can carry. Can you see where they 
 are going to, chief ?" he asked the Seneca. " Are
 
 132 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 they heading for Isle-aux-Noix, as we heard 'em 
 say they were going to do ?" 
 
 The Seneca nodded. 
 
 " Going to island." 
 
 " Then," Peter said, " the sooner we're across the 
 lake the better." 
 
 The Seneca again spoke, and after a consultation 
 with Peter laid in his paddle. 
 
 " What is he doing now ?" Harold asked. 
 
 " Our course lies pretty near the same way as 
 theirs," Peter said. "-The island is but a short dis- 
 tance from the shore, near the mouth of the Sorrel, 
 so where we're going would take us right across 
 their line. "We fooled them yesterday, but are not 
 likely to do it again to-day. So the chief has 
 stopped paddling and makes as if he were fishing. I 
 doubt whether it will succeed, for he would hardly 
 be fishing so far out. But we'll soon see. It's bet- 
 ter so than to turn and paddle in any other direc- 
 tion, as that would be sure to excite their sus- 
 picions." 
 
 The fleet of boats had already passed the spot 
 where the canoe would have crossed had she been 
 going directly across the lake when she was first 
 seen, and was therefore now ahead of it. The great 
 flotilla kept on as if the canoe with its single oc- 
 cupant in its rear had not excited suspicion. The 
 Seneca, however, knew that sharp eyes must be 
 upon him. The manner in which the canoe had 
 baffled pursuit the day before must have inflicted a 
 severe blow upon the pride of the Indians, and aJ-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 133 
 
 though, having driven them off the lake, they could 
 have no reason for suspecting that their foes could 
 have obtained a fresh canoe, the Seneca knew that 
 their vigilance would not sleep for a moment. 
 Therefore, although bending over the side of the 
 canoe as if watching his lines, his eyes were never 
 off the boats. 
 
 "There are canoes making for the shore both 
 ways," he said at last. " It is time that my white 
 brother should take the paddle." 
 
 Peter and Harold at once sat up in the boat and 
 looked round the lake, which at this point was about 
 ten miles wide. The canoe was four miles from the 
 eastern side ; the flotilla was a mile further up the 
 lake and the same distance nearer to the western 
 shore. Four or five canoes were detaching them- 
 selves from the flotilla, apparently rowing direct for 
 the shore. It would have been easy for the canoe to 
 have regained the eastern side long before she could 
 have been cut off, but here they might find the 
 Chippewas. The Indians whose boat they had 
 taken would assuredly follow along the shores of 
 the lake in hopes that something might occur to 
 drive them back. Besides, had they landed there 
 they would be unable to carry in time the news of 
 the approaching attack upon St. John's. For the 
 same reason it was important to land up the lake 
 near the Canadian end. 
 
 Peter rapidly took in the situation. He saw that 
 it was possible, and only just possible, to reach 
 the shore at a point opposite to that at which they
 
 134 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLA G. 
 
 now were before the hostile canoes could cut them 
 off from it. If they headed them there they would 
 be obliged to run down to the other end of the lake 
 before effecting a landing, while he could not 
 calculate on being able to beat all the canoes, most 
 of which carried four paddlers, who would strain 
 every nerve to retrieve their failure of the previous 
 day. 
 
 Not a word was spoken as the boat darted through 
 the water. Harold, unaccustomed to judge dis- 
 tances, could form no idea whether the distant 
 canoes would or would not intercept them. At 
 present both seemed to him to be running toward 
 the shore on nearly parallel courses, and the shorter 
 distance that the Indians would have to row seemed 
 to place them far ahead. The courses, however, 
 were not parallel, as the Indians were gradually 
 turning their canoes to intercept the course of that 
 which they were pursuing. As the minutes went 
 by and the boats converged more and more toward 
 the same point, Harold saw how close the race 
 would be. After twenty minutes' hard paddling the 
 boats were within a quarter of a mile of each other, 
 and the courses which they were respectively taking 
 seemed likely to bring them together at about a 
 quarter of a mile from the shore. There were 
 three Indian canoes, and these kept well together. 
 So close did the race appear that Harold expected 
 every moment to see Peter sweep the head of the 
 canoe round and make a stern chase of it by run- 
 ning down the lake. This Peter had no inten-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 135 
 
 tion of doing. The canoes, he saw, traveled as fast 
 as his own and could each spare a man to fire 
 occasionally, while he and his companions would all 
 be obliged to continue paddling. Better accustomed 
 to judge distances than Harold, he was sure, at the 
 speed at which they were going, he would be able 
 to pass somewhat ahead of his foes. 
 
 " Kow all you know, Harold," he said. " Now, 
 chief, send her along." 
 
 Harold had been rowing to the utmost of his 
 strength, but he felt by the way the canoe quivered 
 at every stroke that his companions were only now 
 putting out their extreme strength. The boat seemed 
 to fly through the water, and he began to think for 
 the first time that the canoe would pass ahead of 
 their pursuers. The latter were clearly also con- 
 scious of the fact, for they now turned their boats' 
 heads more toward the shore, so that the spot 
 where the lines would meet would be close to the 
 shore itself. The canoes were now within two 
 hundred yards of each other. The Indians were 
 nearer to the shore, but the oblique line that they 
 were following would give them about an equal dis- 
 tance to row to the point for which both were 
 making. Harold could not see that there was the 
 slightest difference in the rate at which they were 
 traveling. It seemed to him that the four canoes 
 would all arrive precisely at the same moment at 
 the land, which was now some five or six hundred 
 yards distant. 
 
 Another two minutes' paddling, and when the
 
 136 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 canoes were but seventy or eighty yaras apart, 
 Peter, with a sweep with his paddle, turned the 
 boat's head nearly half-round and made obliquely 
 for the shore, so throwing his pursuers almost astern 
 of him. The shore was but three hundred yards 
 distant; they were but fifty ahead of their pur- 
 suers. The latter gave a loud yell at seeing the 
 change in the position in the chase. They had, of 
 course, foreseen the possibility of such a movement, 
 but had been powerless to prevent it. But they 
 were prepared, for on the instant one man in each 
 canoe dropped his paddle and, standing up, fired. 
 It is a difficult thing to take aim when standing in 
 a canoe dancing under the vigorous strokes of three 
 paddlers. It was the more difficult since the canoes 
 were at the moment sweeping round to follow the 
 movement of the chase. The three balls whistled 
 closely round the canoe, but no one was hit. 
 
 The loss of three paddlers for even so short a 
 time checked the pace of the canoes. The Indians 
 saw that they could not hope to overtake their foes, 
 whose canoe was now but a few lengths from shore. 
 They dropped their paddles and each man seized his 
 rifle. Another moment, and the nine pieces would 
 have poured their fire into the canoe about fifty 
 yards ahead of them, when from the bushes on the 
 shore three puffs of smoke shot out, and three of 
 the Indians fell, one of them upsetting his boat in 
 his fall. A yell of surprise and dismay broke from 
 them, the guns were thrown down, the paddles 
 grasped again, and the beads of the canoes turned
 
 TRVE TO TSE OLD FLAG. 137 
 
 from the shore. The Indians in the overturned 
 boat did not wait to right it, but scrambled into the 
 other canoes, and both were soon paddling at the 
 top of their speed from the shore, not without 
 
 further damage, for the guns in the bushes again 
 spoke out, and Peter and the Seneca added their 
 fire the instant they leaped from the boat to shore, 
 and another of the Indians was seen to fall. Harold 
 was too breathless when he reached the bank to be 
 able to fire. He raised his gun, but his hands 
 trembled with the exertion that he had undergone, 
 and the beating of his heart and his short panting 
 breath rendered it impossible for him to take a 
 steady aim. A minute later Jake burst his way 
 through the bushes. 
 
 " Ah ! Massa Harold," he exclaimed. " Bress 
 de Lord dat we was here. What a fright you hab 
 giben me, to be sure. We hab been watching you 
 for a long time. Ephraim and de redskin dey say 
 dey saw little spot far out on lake, behind all dose 
 boats; den dey say other boats set off in chase. 
 For a long time Jake see nothing about dat, but at 
 last he see dem. Den we hurry along de shore, so 
 
 as to get near de place to where de boats row ; 
 ebery moment me tink dat dey catch you up. 
 Ephraira say no, berry close thing, but he tink you 
 come along first, but dat we must shoot when dey 
 come close. We stand watch for some time, den 
 Ephraim say dat you no able to get to dat point. 
 You hab to turn along de shore, so we change our 
 place and run along, and sure 'nough de boat's head
 
 138 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 turns, and you come along in front of us. Den we 
 all shoot, and the redskins dey tumble over." 
 
 " Well, Jake, it is fortunate indeed that you were 
 on the spot, for they could scarcely have missed all 
 of us. Besides, even if we had got to shore safely 
 they would have followed us, and the odds against 
 us would have been heavy." 
 
 " That ar war a close shave, Peter," Ephraim said, 
 " an all-fired close shave I call it." 
 
 " It war, Ephraim, and no mistake." 
 
 " Why didn't yer head down along the lake ?" 
 
 " Because I got news that the colonists air going 
 to attack St. John's to-morrow, and I want to get 
 to the fort in time to put 'em on their guard. Be- 
 sides, both sides of the lake are sure to be full of 
 hostile Injuns. Those canoes paddled as fast as we 
 did, and in the long run might have worn us out." 
 
 " Did you have a fight on the lake two nights 
 ago ? Me and the redskin thought we heard firing." 
 
 " We had a skirmish with 'em," Peter said ; " a 
 pretty sharp shave it war, too, but we managed to slip 
 away from them. Altogether we've had some 
 mighty close work, I can tell yer, and I thought 
 more than once as we were going to be wiped out." 
 
 While they were speaking the men had already 
 started at a steady pace through the woods, away 
 from the lake, having first drawn up the canoe and 
 carefully concealed it. 
 
 It was late at night when they reached Fort St. 
 John. A message was at once dispatched to a party 
 of the Senecas who were at their village, about six-
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 139 
 
 teen miles away. They arrived in the morning and, 
 together with a portion of the garrison, moved out 
 and took their place in the wooded and marshy 
 ground between the fort and the river. Scouts were 
 sent along the Sorrel, and these returned about one 
 o'clock, saying that a large number of boats were 
 coming down the lake from Isle-aux-Noix. It had 
 been determined to allow the colonists to land with- 
 out resistance, as the commander of the fort felt no 
 doubt of his ability, with the assistance of his In- 
 dian allies, to repulse their attack. Some twelve 
 hundred men were landed, and these at once began 
 to advance toward the fort, led by their two gen- 
 erals, Schuyler and Montgomery. Scarcely had 
 they entered the swamp, when from every bush a 
 fire was opened upon them. The invaders were 
 staggered, but pushed forward, in a weak and un- 
 decided way, as far as a creek which intercepted 
 their path. In vain General Montgomery endeav- 
 ored to encourage them to advance. They wavered 
 and soon began to fall back, and in an hour from 
 the time of their landing they were again gathered 
 on the bank of the river. Here they threw up a 
 breastwork, and as his numbers were greatly inferior 
 the British officer in command thought it unadvisa- 
 ble to attack them. After nightfall the colonists 
 took to their boats and returned to Isle-aux-Noix, 
 their loss in this their first attempt at the invasion 
 of Canada being nine men. 
 
 A day or two later the Indians again attempted 
 to induce General Carleton so permit them to cross
 
 140 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the frontier and carry the war into the American 
 settlements, and upon the general's renewed refusal 
 they left the camp in anger and remained from that 
 time altogether aloof from the contest. 
 ; St. John's was now left with only its own small 
 garrison. Captain Wilson was ordered to fall back 
 with his company to Montreal, it being considered 
 that the garrison of St. John's was sufficient to de- 
 fend that place for a considerable time. As soon 
 as the Indians had marched away, having sent word 
 to the colonists that they should take no further 
 part in the fight, Montgomery, who was now in 
 command, Schuyler having fallen sick, landed the 
 whole of the force and invested the fort. An 
 American officer, Ethan Allen, had been sent with 
 a party to try to raise the colonists in rebellion in 
 the neighborhood of Chamblee. He had with him 
 thirty Americans and was joined by eighty Cana- 
 dians. Dazzled by the success which had attended 
 the surprise of Ticonderoga, he thought to repeat 
 the stroke by the conquest of Montreal. He crossed 
 the river in the night about three miles below the 
 city. Peter and some other scouts who had been 
 watching his movements crossed higher up and 
 brought the news, and thirty-six men of the Twen- 
 ty-sixth Regiment, Captain Wilson's company, and 
 two or three hundred loyal Canadians, the whole 
 under the command of Major Campbell, attacked 
 Ethan Allen. He was speedily routed and with 
 thirty-eight of his men taken prisoners. The siege 
 of St. John's made but little progress. The place
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 141 
 
 was well provisioned, and the Americans encamped 
 in the low, swampy ground around it suffered much 
 from ill hedlth. The men were mutinous and inso- 
 lent, the officers incapable and disobedient. So far 
 the invasion of Canada, of which such great things 
 had been hoped by the Americans, appeared likely 
 to turn out a complete failure.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 QUEBEC. 
 
 GENERAL CARLETON, seeing that Montgomery's 
 whole force was retained idle before St. John's, be- 
 gan to hope that the winter would come to his as- 
 sistance before the invaders had made any serious 
 progress. Unfortunately he had not reckoned on 
 the utter incapacity of the officer in command of 
 Fort Chamblee. Major Stopford, of the Seventh 
 Regiment, had a hundred and sixty men and 
 a few artillerymen, and the fort was strong 
 and well provided with provisions. American 
 spies had found the inhabitants around the place 
 favorable to the Americans. Major Brown was 
 sent down by Montgomery with a small detach- 
 ment, and being joined by the inhabitants sat 
 down before the fort. They had only two six- 
 pounders and could have effected nothing had the 
 fort been commanded by a man of braver}^ and 
 resources. Such was not the character of its com- 
 mander, who, after a siege of only a day and a half, 
 surrendered the place with all its stores, which were 
 of inestimable value to the invaders, who were upon 
 the edge of giving up the siege of the fort, their 
 ammunition being entirely exhausted ; but the six
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 143 
 
 tons of gunpowder, the seventeen cannon, mortars, 
 and muskets which fell into their hands enabled 
 them to carry on the siege of St. John's with re- 
 newed vigor. There was no excuse whatever for 
 the conduct of Major Stopford in allowing these 
 stores to fall into the hands of the Americans, as 
 even had he not possessed courage to defend the 
 fort he might, before surrendering, have thrown 
 the whole of the ammunition into the river, upon 
 which there was a safe sally-port, where he could 
 have carried on the operation entirely unmolested 
 by the enemy. The colors of the Seventh Regiment 
 were captured and sent to Congress as the first 
 trophy of the war. 
 
 The siege of St. John's was now pushed on by 
 Montgomery with vigor. Colonel Maclean, with 
 eight hundred Indians and Canadians, attempted to 
 relieve it, crossing the St. Lawrence in small boats. 
 On nearing the other bank they were received with 
 so heavy a fire by the Americans posted there that 
 they were obliged to retire without effecting a 
 landing. Provisions and ammunition were now 
 running short in St. John's, there was no hope 
 whatever of relief from the outside, and the officer 
 commanding was therefore obliged to surrender on 
 November 14 after a gallant defense. 
 
 As there were only some fifty or sixty regulars 
 in Montreal General Carleton was unable to defend 
 that town, and upon the news of the fall of St. 
 John's he at once retired to Quebec and Montreal 
 was occupied by the Americans. In the mean time
 
 144 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 another expedition had been dispatched by the 
 Americans under Arnold. This officer, with fifteen 
 hundred men, had started for Quebec from a point 
 one hundred and thirty miles north of Boston. Suf- 
 fering enormous fatigue and hardship, the force 
 made its way up the river ; past rapids, cataracts, 
 and through swamps they dragged and carried their 
 boats and stores. They followed the bed of the 
 river up to its source, and then crossing the water- 
 shed descended the Chaudigre and Duloup rivers on 
 to the St. Lawrence within a few miles of Quebec. 
 
 This was a wonderful march one scarcely 
 equaled in the annals of military history. Cross- 
 ing the St. Lawrence in canoes. Arnold encamped 
 with his little force upon the heights of Abraham. 
 Such a daring attempt could not have been under- 
 taken had not the Americans been aware of the ex- 
 treme weakness of the garrison at Quebec, which 
 consisted only of fifty men of the Seventh Kegi- 
 ment, two hundred and forty of the Canadian 
 militia, a battalion of seamen from the ships-of-war 
 under the command of Captain Hamilton, of the 
 Lizard, two hundred and fifty strong, and the co- 
 lonial volunteers under Colonel Maclean. 
 
 The fortifications were in a ruinous condition. It 
 was fortunate that Colonel Maclean, who had come 
 from the Sorrel upon the surrender of St. John's by 
 forced marches, arrived on the very day on which 
 Arnold appeared before the city. Directly he ar- 
 rived Arnold attacked the city at the gate of St. 
 Louis, but was sharply repulsed. He then desisted
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. U5 
 
 
 
 from active operations and awaited the arrival of 
 Montgomery, who was marching down from Mont- 
 real. The flotilla in which Carleton was descend- 
 ing the river was attacked by the Americans, who 
 came down the Sorrel, and was captured, with all 
 the troops and military stores which it was bring- 
 ing down. General Carleton himself escaped in a 
 small boat under cover of night and reached Quebec. 
 
 Captain Wilson's company had been attached to 
 the command of Colonel Maclean and with it ar- 
 rived in Quebec in safety. 
 
 Upon the arrival of Montgomery with his army 
 the city was summoned to surrender. A strong 
 party in the town were favorable to the invaders, 
 but General Carleton treated the summons with 
 contempt and turned all the inhabitants who refused 
 to join in the defense of the city outside the town. 
 
 The winter had now set in in earnest and the dif- 
 ficulties of the besiegers were great. Arnold's force 
 had been much weakened by the hardships that they 
 had undergone, Montgomery's by desertions; the 
 batteries which they erected were overpowered by 
 the fire of the defenders, and the siege made no 
 progress whatever. The men became more and 
 more disaffected and mutinous. Many of them had 
 nearly served the time for which they had enlisted, 
 and Montgomery feared that they would leave him 
 when their engagement came to an end. He in 
 vain tempted the besieged to make a sally. Carle- 
 ton was so certain that success would come by wait- 
 ing that he refused to allow himself to hazard it by 
 a sortie.
 
 146 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 The weather was fighting for him, and the be- 
 siegers had before them only the alternatives of 
 taking the place by storm or of abandoning the 
 siege altogether. They resolved upon a storm. It 
 was to take place at daybreak on December 31. 
 Montgomery determined to make four attacks 
 two false and two real ones. Colonel Jamea 
 Livingstone with two hundred Canadians was to 
 appear before St. John's gate, and a party under 
 Colonel Brown were to feign a movement against 
 the upper town, and from high ground there were 
 to send up rockets as the signal for the real attacks 
 to commence that led by Montgomery from the 
 south and that under Arnold from the northwest 
 both against the lower town. 
 
 The false attacks were made too soon, the rockets 
 being fired half an hour before the main columns 
 reached their place of attack. The British were not 
 deceived, but judging these attacks to be feints, left 
 but a small party to oppose them and marched the 
 bulk of their forces down toward the lower town. 
 Their assistance, however, came too late, for before 
 they arrived the fate of the attack was already de- 
 cided. The Americans advanced under circum- 
 stances of great difficulty. A furious wind with 
 cutting hail blew in their faces ; the ground was 
 slippery and covered with snow. 
 
 Half an hour before the English supports arrived 
 on the spot Montgomery, with his leading company, 
 reached the first barricade, which was undefended ; 
 passing through this they pressed on tovrard the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. U7 
 
 next. The road leading to it was only wide enough 
 for five or six persons abreast. On one side was the 
 river, on the other a steep cliff ; in front was a 
 log hut with loop-holes for musketry and a battery 
 of two three-pounders. It was held by a party of 
 thirty Canadians and eight militiamen under John 
 Coffin, with nine sailors under Bairnsfeather, the 
 captain of a transport, to work the guns. Montgom- 
 ery with sixty men pushed on at a run to carry 
 the battery, but when within fifty yards Bairns- 
 feather discharged his pieces, which were loaded 
 with grape-shot, with deadly aim. Montgomery, 
 his aid-de-camp Macpherson, Lieutenant Cheeseman, 
 and ten others fell dead at the first discharge, and 
 with them the soul of the expedition fled. The 
 remaining officers endeavored to get the men to 
 advance, but none would do so, and they fell back 
 without losing another man. So completely cowed 
 were they that they would not even carry off the 
 bodies of their general and his companions. These 
 were brought into Quebec next day and buried with 
 the honors of war by the garrison. 
 
 The force under Arnold was far stronger than 
 that under Montgomery. The Canadian guard ap- 
 pointed to defend the first barrier fled at the 
 approach, but the small body of sailors fought 
 bravely and were all killed or wounded. Arnold 
 was shot through the leg and disabled. Morgan, 
 who commanded the advanced companies, led his 
 men on and carried the second barrier after an ob- 
 stinate resistance. They were attacking the third
 
 148 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 when Maclean with his men from the upper town 
 arrived. The British then took the offensive and 
 drove the enemy back, and a party going round fell 
 upon their rear. Fifty were killed in Arnold's 
 column, four hundred taken prisoners, and the rest 
 retreated in extreme disorder. 
 
 Thus ended the assault upon Quebec an assault 
 Avhich was all but hopeless from the first, but in 
 which the Americans showed but little valor and 
 determination. In fact, throughout the war it may 
 be said that the Americans, when fighting on the 
 defensive behind trees and intrenchments, fought 
 stubbornly ; but that they were feeble in attack and 
 wholly incapable of standing against British troops 
 in the open. 
 
 It would now have been easy for Carleton to have 
 sallied out and taken the offensive, but he preferred 
 holding Quebec quietly. He might have easily 
 driven the Americans from their position before the 
 walls, but with the handful of troops under his 
 orders he could have done nothing toward carrying 
 on a serious campaign in the open. 
 
 Until spring came and the rivers were opened no 
 reinforcements could reach him from England, 
 while the Americans could send any number of 
 troops into Canada. Carleton therefore preferred 
 to wait quietly within the walls of Quebec, allow- 
 ing, the winter, hardships, and disunion to work 
 their natural effects upon the invaders. 
 
 Arnold sent to Washington to demand ten thou- 
 sand more troops/ with siege artillery. Several
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 149 
 
 regiments were sent forward, but artillery could not 
 be spared. Eight regiments entered Canada, but 
 they found that instead of meeting, as they had ex- 
 pected, an enthusiastic reception from the inhabit- 
 ants, the population were now hostile to them. The 
 exactions of the invading army had been great, and 
 the feeling in favor of the English was now all but 
 universal. 
 
 On May 5 two frigates and a sloop-of-war made 
 their way up the river to Quebec. The Americans 
 endeavored to embark their sick and artillery above 
 the town. Keenforced by the marines, the garrison 
 sallied out and attacked the enemy, who fled with 
 precipitation, leaving their provisions, cannon, five 
 hundred muskets, and two hundred sick behind 
 them. The British pursued them until they reached 
 the mouth of the Sorrel. 
 
 The arrival of the fleet from England brought 
 news of what had taken place since Captain Wil- 
 son's company had marched from Boston, a short 
 time after the battle of Bunker's Hill. Immediately 
 after the battle the colonists had sent two deputies, 
 Penn and Lee, with a petition to Parliament for the 
 restoration of peace. This petition was supported 
 by a strong body in Parliament. The majority, 
 however, argued that from the conduct of the Amer- 
 icans it was clear that they aimed at unconditional, 
 unqualified, and total independence. In all their 
 proceedings they had behaved as if entirely separated 
 from Great Britain. Their professions and petition 
 breathed peace and moderation ; their actions and
 
 150 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 preparations denoted war and defiance ; every at- 
 tempt that could be made to soften their Hostility 
 had been in vain ; their obstinacy was inflexible ; 
 and the more England had given in to their wishes, 
 the more insolent and overbearing had their de- 
 mands become. The stamp-tax had been repealed, 
 but their ill-will had grown rather than abated. 
 The taxations on imports had been entirely taken, 
 off save on one small item, but rather than pay this 
 they had accumulated arms and ammunition, seized 
 cannon belonging to the king, and everywhere pre- 
 pared for armed resistance. Only two alternatives 
 remained for the British nation to adopt either to 
 coerce the colonists to submission or to grant them 
 their entire independence. 
 
 These arguments were well founded. The con- 
 cessions which had been made had but encouraged 
 the colonists to demand more. No good whatever 
 would have come from entering into negotiation ; 
 there remained but the two alternatives. It would 
 have been far better had Parliament, instead of de- 
 ciding on coercion, withdrawn altogether from the 
 colonies, for although hitherto the Americans had 
 shown no great fighting qualities, it was clear that 
 so small an array as England could spare could not 
 permanently keep down so vast a country if the 
 people were determined upon independence. They 
 might win every battle might overpower every 
 considerable force gathered against them, but they 
 could only enforce the king's authority over a mere 
 fractional portion of so great an area. England,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 151 
 
 however, was unaccustomed to defeat ; her spirit ih 
 those days was proud and high ; and by a large 
 majority Parliament voted for the continuance of 
 the war. The next step taken was one unworthy 
 of the country. It tended still further to imbitter 
 the war and it added to the strength of the party in 
 favor of the colonists at home. Attempts were 
 made by the government to obtain the services of 
 large numbers of foreign troops. Negotiations were 
 entered into with Russia, Holland, Hesse, and other 
 countries. Most of these proved ineffectual, but a 
 considerable number of troops were obtained from 
 Hesse. 
 
 The news of these proceedings excited the Amer- 
 icans to renewed efforts. The force under Wash- 
 ington was strengthened and he took possession of 
 Dorchester Heights, commanding the town of Bos- 
 ton. A heavy cannonade was opened on the city. 
 The British guns answered it, but the American 
 position gave them an immense advantage. Gen- 
 eral Howe, who was in command, at first thought 
 of attempting to storm the heights, but the tremen- 
 dous loss sustained at the battle of Bunker's Hill 
 deterred him from the undertaking. His supineness 
 during the past four months had virtually lost the 
 American colonies to England. He had under his 
 command eight thousand troops, who could have 
 routed with ease the undisciplined levies of Wash- 
 ington. Instead of leading his men out against the 
 enemy he had suffered them to be cooped up for 
 months in the city, and had failed to take possession
 
 !52 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 of the various heights commanding the town. Had 
 he done this Boston might have resisted a force 
 many times as strong as that which advanced against 
 it, and there was now nothing left for the English 
 but to storm the heights with enormous loss or to 
 evacuate the city. 
 
 The first was the alternative which had been 
 chosen when the Americans seized Bunker's Hill ; 
 the second was that which was now adopted. 
 
 Having adopted this resolution, Howe carried it 
 out in a manner which would in itself be sufficient 
 to condemn him as a military leader. Nothing was 
 done to destroy the vast stores of arms and ammuni- 
 tion, and two hundred and fifty pieces of cannon 
 were left for the colonists to use against England. 
 No steps were taken to warn ships arriving from 
 England of the surrender of the town. The conse- 
 quence was that in addition to the vast amount of 
 stores captured in the town, numbers of the British 
 store-ships fell into the hands of the Americans 
 among them a vessel which, in addition to carbines, 
 bayonets, gun-carriages, and other stores, had on 
 board more than seventy tons of powder, while 
 Washington's whole stock was all but exhausted. 
 
 But worse even than this hurried and unnecessary 
 abandonment of vast munitions of war was the deser- 
 tion of the loyalist population. Boston was full of 
 loyalists, among whom were many of the wealthier 
 and better-born persons in the colony, who from the 
 commencement of the troubles had left their homes, 
 their fortunes, and their families to rally round the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 153 
 
 standard of their sovereign. The very least that 
 Howe could have done for these loyal men would 
 have been to have entered into some terms of ca- 
 pitulation with Washington, whereby they might 
 have been permitted to depart to their homes and 
 to the enjoyment of their property. Nothing of 
 the sort was attempted, and the only choice offered 
 to a loyalist was to remain in the town, exposed to 
 certain insult and ill-treatment, perhaps to death, at 
 the hands of the rebels, or to leave in the transports 
 for England or Halifax and to be landed here penni- 
 less and starving. 
 
 Howe's conduct in this was on a piece with his 
 behavior throughout the campaign ; but he was 
 little if at all inferior to the other generals, who 
 vied with each other in incapacity and folly. Never 
 in the whole history of England were her troops 
 led by men so inefficient, so sluggish, and so inca- 
 pable as those who commanded her armies in the 
 American Revolutionary War. 
 
 The first ships from England which arrived at 
 Quebec were followed a few days later by the 
 Niger and Triton, convoy transports, with troops. 
 The British now took the offensive in earnest. 
 From the west Captain Forster marched from 
 Detroit with forty men of the Eighth Regiment, 
 a hundred Canadians and some Indians, against a 
 pass called the Cedars, situated fifteen leagues above 
 Montreal. This was held by four hundred men 
 with two cannon. As soon as the British force 
 opened fire the Americans surrendered. The fol-
 
 154 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 lowing day Forster's force, advancing, came upon a 
 hundred and forty men under Major Sherbourne, 
 who were marching to reenforce the garrison at the 
 Cedars. These were forced to retreat and a hundred 
 of them taken prisoners. 
 
 Arnold, with seven hundred men, advanced 
 against the British force. The British officer, 
 fearing that in case of an attack the Indians with 
 him might massacre the prisoners, released the whole 
 of them, four hundred and seventy-four in number, 
 under the promise that an equal number of British 
 prisoners should be returned. This engagement 
 was shamefully broken by the Americans, who 
 raised a number of frivolous excuses, among others 
 that prisoners taken by the British were ill-treated 
 an accusation which excited the indignation of 
 the prisoners themselves, some of whom wrote to 
 members of Congress stating that nothing could be 
 kinder or more courteous than the treatment which 
 they received. 
 
 While Forster was advancing toward Montreal 
 from the west, Carleton was moving up against the 
 Americans at Sorrel from Quebec. At the death 
 of Montgomery Wooster had taken the command 
 of the main American force. He had been suc- 
 ceeded by Thompson, but the latter dying of small- 
 pox, Sullivan took his place. The new commander 
 determined to take the offensive against the English, 
 and dispatched a force of about two thousand men 
 to attack General Fraser, who held a post at a place 
 called Three Rivers.
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 155 
 
 A Canadian peasant brought news to General 
 Fraser of the approach of the Americans, and as he 
 had received reinforcements from below he de- 
 termined to anticipate their attack. His move- 
 ments were completely successful. Some of the 
 Americans fought well, but the rest dispersed with 
 but little resistance. Two hundred were killed and 
 a hundred and fifty taken prisoners. The rest suc- 
 ceeded in returning to Sorrel. 
 
 The main body of the British army now came up 
 the river in their ships, and as they approached 
 Sorrel Sullivan broke up his camp and retreated. 
 At the same time Arnold, who commanded at 
 Montreal, evacuated the town and joined Sullivan's 
 army at St. John's. 
 
 Had the English pushed forward with any energy 
 the whole of the American army of invasion would 
 have fallen into their hands. They were complete- 
 ly broken in spirits, suffering terribly from sickness, 
 and were wholly incapable of making any defense. 
 Burgoyne, who commanded the advance of the 
 English army, moved forward very slowly, and the 
 Americans were enabled to take to their boats and 
 cross, first to Isle-aux-Koix and then to Crown 
 Point. An American historian who saw them after 
 they landed says : " At the sight of so much priva- 
 tion and distress I wept until I had no more power 
 to weep. I did not look into a tent or hut in which 
 I did not find either a dead or dying man. Of 
 about five thousand men full half were invalids. 
 In little more than two months they had lost by 
 desertion and death more than five thousand men."
 
 156 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Captain Wilson and his company were not present 
 with the advance of the British troops. General 
 Howe, after evacuating Boston, had sailed with his 
 array to Halifax, there to wait until a large body 
 of reinforcements should be sent in the spring from 
 England. General Carleton had in his dispatches 
 mentioned favorably the services which the little 
 company of loyalists from Boston had performed, 
 and Lord Howe wrote requesting that the company 
 should be sent down by ship to Halifax, as*he was 
 about to sail from New York to undertake opera- 
 tions on a large scale, and should be glad to have 
 with him a body of men accustomed to scouting and 
 acquainted with the country. Accordingly the 
 company was embarked in a transport and reached 
 Halifax early in June. On the llth they sailed with 
 the army and arrived at Sandy Hook on the 29th. 
 On July 3 the army landed on Staten Island, op- 
 posite Long Island, and soon afterward Lord 
 Howe, brother of General Howe, arrived with the 
 main army from England, raising the total force to 
 nearly thirty thousand men. It consisted of two 
 battalions of light infantry, two of grenadiers, the 
 Fourth, Fifth, Tenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-second, 
 Twenty-third, Twenty-seventh, Thirty-fifth, Thirty- 
 eighth, Fortieth, Forty-second, Forty-third, Forty- 
 fourth, Forty-fifth, Forty-ninth, Fifty-second, Fifty- 
 fifth, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Kegiments of 
 foot, part of the Forty-sixth and Seventy-first Regi- 
 ments, and the Seventeenth Regiment of light 
 dragoons. There were besides two battalions of
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 15? 
 
 volunteers from New York, each a thousand strong. 
 Had this force arrived, as it should have done, three 
 months earlier, they might have achieved great 
 things ; but the delay had enabled the Americans to 
 make extensive preparations to meet the coming 
 storm. 
 
 Lord Howe brought with him a communication 
 from Parliament, giving him and his brother full 
 power to treat with the Americans on any terms 
 which they might think fit. Upon his arrival Lord 
 Howe addressed a letter to Dr. Franklin, informing 
 him of the nature of his communication, expressing 
 hopes that he would find in America the same dis- 
 position for peace that he brought with him, and 
 requesting his aid to accomplish the desired end. 
 Dr. Franklin, in answer, informed Lord Howe that 
 " prior to the consideration of any proposition for 
 friendship or peace, it would be required that Great 
 Britain should acknowledge the independence of 
 America, should defray the expense of the war, 
 and indemnify the colonists for all damages com- 
 mitted." 
 
 After such a reply as this Lord Howe had no 
 alternative but to commence hostilities, which he 
 did by landing the army in Gravesend Bay, Long 
 Island. The enemy offered no opposition to the 
 landing, but retreated at once, setting fire to all the 
 houses, and granaries and taking up a position on 
 the wooded heights which commanded the line by 
 which the English must advance. 
 
 The American main force, fifteen thousand
 
 158 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 strong, were posted on a peninsula between Mill 
 Creek and Wallabout Bay, and had constructed a 
 strong line of intrenchments across the end of the 
 peninsula. The intrenchments were strengthened 
 by abattis and flanked with strong redoubts. Five 
 thousand remained to guard this post, and ten thou- 
 sand, under General Puttenham, advanced to hold 
 the line of wooded hills which run across the 
 island. 
 
 In the center of the plain, at the foot of these 
 hills, stood the village of Flatbush. 
 
 The Hessian division of the JBritish army, under 
 General De Heister, advanced against this, while 
 General Clinton, with the right wing of the Eng- 
 lish army, moved forward to attack the enemy's 
 left. 
 
 This force marched at nine o'clock at night on 
 August 26 ; General Sir William Howe himself ac- 
 companied it. The line of hills trended away 
 greatly to the left, and the enemy had neglected to 
 secure the passes over the hills on this flank ; con- 
 sequently at nine o'clock in the morning the Brit- 
 ish passed the range of hills without resistance and 
 occupied Beford in its rear. Had Sir William 
 Howe now pushed on vigorously the whole of 
 Puttenham's force nrast have been captured. 
 
 In the mean time the Hessians from Flatbush at- 
 tacked the center of the Americans, and after a 
 warm engagement routed them and drove them in- 
 to the woods with a loss of three pieces of cannon. 
 
 On the British left General Grant also advanced.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 159 
 
 and at midnight carried a strong pass on the 
 enemy's left. Retiring, they held a still stronger 
 position further back and offered a fierce resistance 
 
 i British 
 
 Americans 
 
 Buc 
 
 Sketch of 
 THE BRITISH POSITION 
 
 on 
 LONG ISLAND. 
 
 EhglishMOes 
 H
 
 100 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 until the fires at Bedford showed that the English 
 had obtained a position almost in their rear, when 
 they retreated precipitately. 
 
 The victory was a complete one, but it had none 
 of the consequences which would have attended it 
 had the English pushed forward with energy after 
 turning the American left. Six pieces of cannon 
 were captured and two thousand men killed or 
 taken prisoners. The English lost seventy killed 
 and two hundred and thirty wounded. 
 
 So impetuously did the English attack that even 
 Sir William Howe admitted that they could have 
 carried the intrenchments. He alleges he did not 
 permit them to do so, because he intended to take 
 the position by regular approaches and wished 
 therefore to avoid the loss of life which an immedi- 
 ate assault would have occasioned. On the 27th 
 and 28th regular approaches were commenced, but 
 on the 29th, under cover of a fog, the Americans 
 embarked in boats and succeeded in carrying the 
 whole of their force, without the loss of a man, 
 across to the mainland. 
 
 The escape of this body of men was disgraceful 
 in the extreme to the English commanders. They 
 had a great fleet at their disposal, and had they 
 placed a couple of frigates in the East Eiver, be- 
 tween Long Island and New York, the escape would 
 have been impossible, and General Washington and 
 his army of fifteen thousand men must have been 
 taken prisoners. Whether this misfortune would 
 have proved conclusive of the war it is now too late
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 161 
 
 to speculate ; but so splendid an opportunity was 
 never before let slip by an English general, and the 
 negligence was the more inexcusable inasmuch as 
 the fleet of boats could be seen lying alongside of 
 the American position. Their purpose must have 
 been known, and they could at any moment have 
 been destroyed by the guns of a ship-of-war taking 
 up its position outside them. 
 
 Lord Howe dispatched the American General 
 Sullivan, who had been taken prisoner on Long 
 Island, to Congress, repeating his desire to treat. 
 A committee of three members accordingly waited 
 on Lord Howe, who informed them that it was the 
 most ardent wish of the king and government of 
 Great Britain to put an end to the dissatisfaction 
 between the mother country and the colonists. To 
 accomplish this desire every act of Parliament 
 which was considered obnoxious to the colonists 
 should undergo a revisal and every just cause of 
 complaint should be removed if the colonists would 
 declare their willingness to submit to the authority 
 of the British government. The committee replied 
 that it was not America which had separated herself 
 from Great Britain, but Great Britain had separa- 
 ted herself from America. The latter had never 
 declared herself independent until the former had 
 made war upon her, and that even if Congress were 
 willing to place America in her former situation, it 
 could not do so, as the Declaration of Independence 
 had been made in consequence of the congregated 
 voice of the whole people, by whom alone it could
 
 162 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 be abolished. The country was determined not to 
 return under the domination of England. 
 
 The negotiations were therefore broken off. Lord 
 Howe published a declaration to the people of 
 America giving the answer of the committee to his 
 offer of reconciliation. He acquainted them with 
 the fact that the parent country was willing to 
 receive into its bosom and protection all who might 
 be willing to return to their former obedience. In 
 taking this step, Lord Howe was convinced that a 
 majority of the inhabitants of America were still 
 willing to enter into an accommodation of the dif- 
 ferences between the two powers, and the con- 
 viction was not ill founded. The declaration, how- 
 ever, produced but little effect, for the dominant 
 section, that resolved to break off all connection 
 with England, had acquired the sole management 
 of affairs, and no offers which could possibly have 
 been made would have been accepted by them. 
 
 Convinced that all further negotiations would be 
 ineffectual, Lord Howe prepared to carry his army 
 across from Long Island to New York, where the 
 American army had taken up their post after the 
 retreat from Long Island. The armies were sepa- 
 rated by the East River, with a breadth of about 
 thirteen hundred yards. A cannonade was kept up 
 for several days. On September 13 some ships-of- 
 war were brought up to cover the passage. Wash- 
 ington, seeing the preparations, began to evacuate 
 the city and to abandon the strong intrenchments 
 which he had thrown up. At eleven o'clock on the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 163 
 
 morning of the 15th the men-of-war opened a heavy 
 fire, and Clinton's division, consisting of four 
 thousand men in eighty-four boats, sailed uj> the 
 river, landed on Manhattan Island at a place called 
 Kipp's Bay and occupied the heights of Inclenberg, 
 the enemy abandoning their intrenchments at their 
 approach. General Washington rode toward Kipp's 
 Bay to take the command of the troops stationed 
 there, but found the men who had been posted at 
 the lines running away, and the brigades who should 
 have supported them flying in every direction, 
 heedless of the exertions of their generals. 
 
 Puttenham's division of four thousand men was 
 still in the lower city and would be cut off unless 
 the British advance should be checked. Washing- 
 ton therefore made the greatest efforts to rally the 
 fugitives and to get them to make a stand to 
 check the advancing enemy, but in vain, for as soon 
 as even small bodies of red-coats were seen advanc- 
 ing they broke and fled in panic. 
 
 Howe as usual delayed giving orders for an 
 advance, and thus permitted the whole of Putten- 
 ham's brigade, who were cut off and must have 
 been taken prisoners, to escape unharmed. And 
 thus with comparatively little loss the Americans 
 drew off, leaving behind them only a few heavy 
 cannon and some bayonets and stores. 
 
 So rapid had been their flight at the approach of 
 the English that only fifteen were killed, two men 
 falling on the English side.
 
 164 TRUE TO TSE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE STJRPBISE OF TBENTON. 
 
 THE Americans, finding that they were not pur- 
 sued, rallied from their panic and took up a posi- 
 tion at Harlem and Kingsbridge. So great was the 
 disorganization among them that had the British 
 advanced at once they would have taken the place 
 with scarcely any loss, strong as it was by nature 
 and by the intrenchments which Washington had 
 prepared. Great numbers deserted, disputes broke 
 out between the troops of the various States, insub- 
 ordination prevailed, and the whole army was 
 utterly disheartened by the easy victories which the 
 British had obtained over them. Washington re- 
 ported the cowardice of his troops to Congress, 
 who passed a law inflicting the punishment of death 
 for cowardice. 
 
 Before leaving New York the Americans had 
 made preparations for burning the whole town, but 
 the speediness of their retreat prevented the 
 preparations being carried into effect. Fire was set 
 to it in several places and a third of the town was 
 destroyed. 
 
 The position taken up by the enemy was so 
 strong that it was determined to operate in the rear.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 165 
 
 Some redoubts were thrown up to cover New York 
 during the absence of the main part of the British 
 force. 
 
 A portion of the British army was landed at a 
 point threatening the retreat of the Americans, and 
 a series of skirmishes of no great importance took 
 place. The enemy fell back from their most ad- 
 vanced works, but no general move was undertaken, 
 although, as the numbers on both sides were about 
 even and the superior fighting powers of the Eng- 
 lish had been amply demonstrated, there could have 
 been no doubt as to the result of a general battle. 
 Lord Howe, however, wasted the time in a series of 
 petty movements, which, although generally suc- 
 cessful, had no influence upon the result and served 
 only to enable the Americans to recover from the 
 utter depression which had fallen upon them after 
 the evacuation of Long Island and the loss of New 
 York. 
 
 Gradually the Americans fell back across a coun- 
 try so swampy and difficult that it was now no 
 longer possible to bring on a general action. Their 
 retreat had the effect of isolating the important 
 positions of Kingsbridge and Fort Washington. 
 The latter post was of the utmost importance, inas- 
 much as it secured the American intercourse with 
 the Jersey shore. The fortifications were very 
 strong and stood upon rising and open ground. It 
 was garrisoned by three thousand of the best 
 American troops under the command of Colonel 
 Magaw. Washington was gradually withdrawing
 
 166 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 his army, and had already given orders that Fort 
 Washington should be evacuated ; but General Lee, 
 who was second in command, so strongly urged 
 that it should be retained that, greatly against his 
 own judgment, he was obliged to consent to its 
 being defended, especially as Colonel Magaw in- 
 sisted that the fort could stand a siege. On the 
 night of November 14 the British passed some 
 troops across the creek, and Lord Howe summoned 
 the place to surrender on pain of the garrison being 
 put to the sword. Magaw had upon the previous 
 day received large numbers of reinforcements, and 
 replied that he should defend the fort. Soon after 
 daybreak on the 16th the artillery opened on both 
 sides. Five thousand Hessians, under the com- 
 mand of General Knyphausen, moved up the hill, 
 penetrated some of the advanced works of the 
 enemy, and took post within a hundred yards of the 
 fort. The second division, consisting of the guards 
 and light infantry, with two battalions of Hessians 
 and the Thirty-third Regiment, landed at Island 
 Creek, and after some stiff fighting forced the 
 enemy from the rocks and trees up the steep and 
 rugged mountain. The third and fourth divisions 
 fought their way up through similar defenses. So 
 steep was the hill that the assailants could only 
 climb it by grasping the trees and bushes, and so 
 obstinate was the defense that the troops were 
 sometimes mixed up together. 
 
 The bravery and superior numbers of the British 
 troops bore down all resistance, and the whole of
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 167 
 
 the four divisions reached their places round the 
 fort. They then summoned it to surrender, and its 
 commander, after half an hour's consideration, see- 
 ing the impossibility of resisting the assault which 
 was threatened, opened the gates. 
 
 Upon the English side about eight hundred men 
 were killed and wounded, of whom the majority 
 were Hessians. These troops fought with extreme 
 bravery. The American loss, owing to their supe- 
 rior position, was about one hundred and fifty killed 
 and wounded, but the prisoners taken amounted to 
 over three thousand. 
 
 On the 18th Lord Howe landed a strong body on 
 the Jersey shore under Lord Cornwallis, who 
 marched to Fort Lee and surprised it. A deserter 
 had informed the enemy of his approach and the 
 garrison had fled in disorder, leaving their tents, 
 provisions, and military stores behind them. Lord 
 Cornwallis, pushing forward with great energy, 
 drove the Americans out of New Jersey. Another 
 expedition occupied Khode Island. 
 
 Cold weather now set in and the English went 
 into winter quarters. Their success had been com- 
 plete, without a single check, and had they been led 
 vigorously the army of Washington might on two 
 occasions have been wholly destroyed. In such a 
 case the moderate portion of the population of the 
 colonies would have obtained a hearing and a peace 
 honorable to both parties might have been arrived 
 at. 
 
 The advantage gained by the gallantry of the
 
 168 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 British troops was, however, entirely neutralized by 
 the lethargy and inactivity of their general, and 
 the colonists had time given them to recover from 
 the alarm which the defeat of their troops had 
 given them to put another army in the field and 
 to prepare on a great scale for the following cam- 
 paign. 
 
 The conduct of General Howe in allowing Wash- 
 ington's army to retire almost unmolested was to 
 the officers who served under him unaccountable. 
 His arrangements for the winter were even more 
 singularly defective. Instead of concentrating his 
 troops he scattered them over a wide extent of 
 country at a distance too great to support each 
 other, and thus left it open to the enemy to crush 
 them in detail. 
 
 General Howe now issued a proclamation offer- 
 ing a free pardon to all who surrendered, and great 
 numbers of colonists came in and made their sub- 
 mission. Even in Philadelphia the longing for 
 peace was so strong that General Washington was 
 obliged to send a force there to prevent the town 
 from declaring for England. 
 
 During the operations which had taken place 
 since the landing of the British troops on Long 
 Island Captain Wilson's company had taken but 
 little part in the operations. All had been straight- 
 forward work and conducted on the principles of 
 European warfare. The services of the volunteers 
 as scouts had not, therefore, been called into requisi- 
 tion. The success which at first attended the ex-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 169 
 
 pedition had encouraged Captain Wilson to hope 
 for the first time since the outbreak of the Revolu- 
 tion that the English might obtain such decisive suc- 
 cesses that the colonists would be willing to accept 
 some propositions of peace such as those indicated 
 by Lord Howe a repeal of all obnoxious laws, free- 
 dom from any taxation except that imposed by 
 themselves, and a recognition of the British au- 
 thority. When he saw that Lord Howe, instead of 
 actively utilizing the splendid force at his disposal, 
 frittered it away in minor movements and allowed 
 Washington to withdraw with his beaten army un- 
 molested, his hopes again faded, and he felt that 
 the colonists would in the long run succeed in gain- 
 ing all that they contended for. 
 
 When the army went into winter quarters the com- 
 pany was ordered to take post on the Delaware. 
 There were four frontier posts, at Trenton, Borden- 
 town, White Horse, and Burlington. Trenton, oppo- 
 site to which lay Washington with the main body 
 of his army, was held by only twelve hundred Hes- 
 sians, and Bordentown, which was also on the Dela- 
 ware, was, like Trenton, garrisoned by these troops. 
 No worse choice could have been made. The 
 Hessians were brave soldiers, but their ignorance of 
 the language and of the country made them pecul- 
 iarly unsuitable troops for outpost work, as they 
 were unable to obtain any information. As foreign- 
 ers, too, they were greatly disliked by the country 
 people. 
 
 Nothing was done to strengthen these frontier
 
 170 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 posts, which were left wholly without redoubts or 
 intrenchments, into which the garrison could with- 
 draw in case of attack. 
 
 Captain Wilson's little company were to act as 
 scouts along the line of frontier. Their headquar- 
 ters were fixed at Bordentown, where Captain 
 Wilson obtained a large house for their use. Most 
 of the men were at home at work of this kind, and 
 Peter Lambton, Ephraim, and the other frontiers- 
 men were dispatched from time to time in different 
 directions to ascertain the movements and intentions 
 of the enemy. Harold asked his father to allow 
 him, as before, to accompany Peter. The inactivity 
 of a life at a quiet little station was wearisome, and 
 with Peter he was sure of plenty of work, with a 
 chance of adventure. The life of exercise and 
 activity which he had led for more than a year had 
 strengthened his muscles and widened his frame, 
 and he was now able to keep up with Peter, how- 
 ever long and tiresome the day's work might be. 
 Jake, too, was of the party. He had developed 
 into an active soldier, and although he was but of 
 litttle use for scouting purposes, even Peter did not 
 object to his accompanying him, for the negro's un- 
 failing good temper and willingness to make himself 
 useful had made him a favorite with the scout. 
 
 The weather was now setting in exceedingly cold. 
 The three men had more than once crossed the 
 Delaware in a canoe and scouted in the very heart 
 of the enemy's country. They were now sitting by 
 the bank watching some drifting ice upon the 
 river.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 171 
 
 "There won't be many more passages of the 
 river by water," Peter remarked. " Another ten 
 days and it'll be frozen right across. 
 
 "Then we can cross on foot, Peter." 
 i 
 
 "Yes, we can do that," the scout said, "and so 
 can the enemy. Ef their general has got any inter- 
 prise with him, and ef he can get them chaps as he 
 calls soldiers to fight, he'll be crossing over one 
 of these nights and capturing the hull of them 
 Hessians at Trenton. What General Howe means 
 by leaving 'em there is more nor I can think ; he 
 might as well have sent so many babies. The 
 critters can fight, and fight well too, and they're 
 good soldiers; but what's the good of 'em in a 
 frontier post ? They know nothing of the country ; 
 they can't speak to the people nor ask no questions 
 nor find out nothing about what's doing the other 
 side of the river. They air no more than mere 
 machines. What was wanted was two or three 
 battalions of light troops, who would make friends 
 with the country people and larn all that's doing 
 opposite. If the Americans are sharp they'll give 
 , us lots of trouble this winter, and you'll find there 
 ; won't be much sitting quiet for us at Bordentown. 
 Fortunately Bordentown and Trenton ain't far 
 apart, and one garrison ought to be able to arrive 
 to the assistance of the other before it's over* 
 powered. We shall see. Now, I propose that we 
 cross again to-night and try and find out what the 
 enemy's doing. Then we can come back and man- 
 age for you to eat your Christmas dinner with yer
 
 172 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 father, as you seem to have bent yer mind upon 
 that, though why it matters about dinner one day 
 more than another is more nor I can see." 
 
 That night the three scouts crossed the river in 
 the canoe. Avoiding all houses, they kept many 
 miles straight on beyond the river and lay down for 
 a few hours before morning dawned ; then they 
 turned their faces the other way and walked up to 
 the first farm-house they saw. 
 
 " Can we have a drink of milk ?" the hunter 
 asked. 
 
 " You can," the farmer replied, " and some break- 
 fast if you like to pa} 7 for it. At first I was glad to 
 give the best I had to those who came along, but 
 there have been such numbers r oing one way and 
 the other, either marching to join the army or run- 
 ning away to return to their homes, that I should 
 be ruined if I gave to all comers." 
 
 " We're ready to pay," Peter said, drawing some 
 money from his pocket. 
 
 " Then come in and sit down." 
 
 In a few minutes an excellent breakfast was put 
 before them. 
 
 "You are on your way to join the army, of 
 course ?" the farmer asked. 
 
 " Jest that," Peter replied. " We think it's about 
 our time to do a little shooting, though I don't sup- 
 pose there'll be much done till the spring." 
 
 " I don't know," the farmer said. " I should not 
 be surprised if the general wakes up them Germans 
 when the Delaware gets frozen. I heard some talk
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 173 
 
 about it from some men who came past yesterday. 
 Their time was expired, they said, and they were 
 going home. I hear, too, that they are gathering a 
 force down near Mount Holly, and I reckon that 
 they are going to attack Bordentown." 
 
 " Is that so ?" Peter asked. " In that case we 
 might as well tramp in that direction. It don't 
 matter a corn shuck to us where we fight so as it's 
 soon. We've come to help lick these British and 
 we means to do it." 
 
 " Ah !" the farmer said, " I have heard that senti- 
 ment a good many times, but I have not seen much 
 come of it yet. So far it seems to me as the licking 
 has been all the other way." 
 
 "That's so," Peter agreed. "But every one 
 knows that the Americans are just the bravest 
 people on the face of the habitable arth. I reckon 
 their dander's not fairly up yet ; but when they be- 
 gin in arnest you'll see what they'll do." 
 
 The farmer gave a grunt which might mean any- 
 thing. He had no strong sympathies either way, 
 and the conduct of the numerous deserters and dis- 
 banded men who had passed through his neighbor- 
 hood had been far from impressing him favorably. 
 
 " I don't pretend to be strong either for the Con- 
 gress or the king. I don't want to be taxed, but I 
 don't see why the colonists should not pay some- 
 thing toward the expenses of the government ; and 
 now that Parliament seems willing to give all we 
 ask for, I don't see what we want to go on fight- 
 ing for."
 
 174 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " "Waal I" Peter exclaimed in a tone of disgust, 
 "you're one of the half-hearted ones." 
 
 " I am like the great majority of the people of this 
 country. We are of English stock and we don't 
 want to break with the old country ; but the affairs 
 have got into the hands of the preachers, and the 
 newspaper men, and the chaps that want to push 
 themselves forward and make their pile out of the 
 war. As I read it, it's just the civil war in England 
 over again. We were all united at the first against 
 what we considered as tyranny on the part of the 
 Parliament, and now we have gone setting up de- 
 mands which no one dreamed of at first and which 
 most of us object to now, only we have no longer 
 the control of our own affairs." 
 
 " The great heart of this country beats for free- 
 dom," Peter Lambton said. 
 
 " Pooh !" said the farmer contemptuously. " The 
 great heart of the country wants to work its farms 
 and do its business quietly. The English general 
 has made fair offers which might well be accepted ; 
 and as for freedom, there was no tyranny greater 
 than that of the New England States. As long as 
 they managed their own affairs there was neither 
 freedom of speech nor religion. No, sir, what they 
 called freedom was simply the freedom to make 
 every one else do and think lik( the majority." 
 
 " Waal, we won't argue it out,'' Peter said, " for 
 I'm not good at argument, and I came here to fight 
 and not to talk. Besides, I want to get to Mount 
 Holly in time to jine in this battle, so I guess we'll 
 be moving."
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 175 
 
 Paying for the breakfast, they started at once in 
 the direction of Mount Holly, which lay some 
 twenty-five miles away. As they approached the 
 place early in the afternoon they overtook several 
 men going in the same direction. They entered 
 into conversation with them, but could only learn 
 that some four hundred and fifty of the militia from 
 Philadelphia and the counties of Gloucester and 
 Sailing had arrived on the spot. The men whom 
 they had overtaken were armed countrymen who 
 were going to take a share in the fight on their own 
 account. 
 
 Entering the place with the others, Peter found 
 that the information given him was correct. 
 
 " We better be out of this at once," he said to 
 Harold, " and make for Bordentown." 
 
 " You don't think that there is much importance 
 in the movement," Harold said as they tramped 
 along. 
 
 " There ain't no importance whatever," Peter 
 said, "and that's what I want to tell 'em. They're 
 never thinking of attacking the two thousand Hes- 
 sians at Bordentown with that ragged lot." 
 
 "But what can they have assembled them for 
 within twelve miles of the place ?" Harold asked. 
 
 " It seems to me," the hunter replied, " that it's 
 jest a trick to draw the Germans out from Borden- 
 town and so away from Trenton. At any rate, it's 
 well that the true account of the force here should 
 be known. These things gets magnified, and they 
 may think that there's a hull army here."
 
 176 TRUE TO THE OLP FLAG. 
 
 It was getting dusk when they entered Borden- 
 town, and Harold was glad when he saw the little 
 town, for since sunset on the evening before they 
 had tramped nearly sixty miles. The place seemed 
 singularly quiet. They asked the first person they 
 met what had become of the troops, and they were 
 told that Colonel Donop, who commanded, had 
 marched an hour before with his whole force of two 
 thousand men toward Mount Holly, leaving only 
 eighty men in garrison at Bordentown. 
 
 " We are too late," Harold said. They have gone 
 by the road and we kept straight through the woods 
 and so missed them." 
 
 " "Waal, I hope no harm'ill come of it. I sup- 
 pose they mean to attack at daybreak, and in 
 course that rabble will run without fighting. I 
 hope when the colonel sees as how thar's no enemy 
 there worth speaking of he'll march straight back 
 again." 
 
 Unfortunately this was not the case. The mili- 
 tia, according to their orders, at once dispersed 
 when their outposts told them of the approach of 
 the British, but the German officer, instead of 
 returning instantly, remained for two days near 
 Mount Holly, and so gave time to Washington to 
 carry out his plans. 
 
 Captain Wilson's company had gone out with the 
 force, and Peter and his companions had the house 
 to themselves that night. Harold slept late, being 
 thoroughly fatigued by his long march the day be- 
 fore, carrying his rifle, blanket, and provisions. 
 Peter woke him at last.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 177 
 
 " Now, young un, you've had a good sleep ; it's 
 eleven o'clock. I'm off to Trenton to see what's 
 doing there. "Will you go with me or will you stop 
 here on the chance of eating your dinner with your 
 father?" 
 
 " Oh, it's Christmas Day," Harold said, stretch- 
 ing. " "Well, what do you think, Peter are they 
 likely to come back or not ?" 
 
 " They ought to be back, there's no doubt about 
 that, but whether they will or not is a different 
 affair altogether. I've never seed them hurry 
 themselves yet, not since the war began ; things 
 would have gone a good deal better if they had ; 
 but time never seems of no consequence to them. 
 They marched twelve miles last night, and I reckon 
 it's likely they'll halt to-day and won't be back till 
 to-morrow. I feel oneasy in my mind about the 
 whole affair, for I can't see a single reason for the 
 enemy sending that weak force to Mount Holly, 
 unless it was to draw away the troops from here, 
 and the only motive there could be for that would 
 be because they intended to attack Trenton." 
 
 " Yery well, Peter, I will go with you." 
 
 Accompanied by Jake they set out at once for 
 Trenton. On arriving there they found no partic- 
 ular signs of vigilance. Since the Hessians had 
 reached Trenton their discipline had much relaxed. 
 A broad river separated them from the enemy, who 
 were known to be extremely discontented and dis- 
 organized. They had received instruction on no ac- 
 count to cross the river to attack the colonials, and
 
 178 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the natural consequence of this forced inactivity had 
 manifested itself. Discipline was lax and but a 
 slight watch was kept on the movements of the 
 enemy across the stream. Ignorant of the language 
 of the people, they were incapable of distinguishing 
 between those who were friendly and those who 
 were hostile to the crown, and they behaved as if 
 in a conquered country, taking such necessaries as 
 they required without payment, and even sending 
 parties to a considerable distance on plundering ex- 
 peditions. 
 
 Peter, on his arrival, proceeded to the head- 
 quarters of Colonel Rhalle, who was in command 
 an officer of great bravery and energy. One of his 
 officers was able to speak English, and to him Peter 
 reported the departure of the force from Borden- 
 town, of which Colonel Rhalle was already aware, 
 and the weakness of the American force at Mount 
 Holly. He stated also his own belief that it was 
 merely a feint to draw off Colonel Donop, and that 
 preparatory to an attack on Trenton. The officer 
 treated the information lightly, and pointing to the 
 mass of ice floating down the river asked whether 
 it would be possible for boats to cross. 
 
 " "When the river freezes," he said, " there may be 
 some chance of attack. Till then we are absolute- 
 ly safe." 
 
 Peter, shaking his head, rejoined his companions 
 and told them of the manner in which his advice 
 had been received. 
 
 " But it would be difficult to cross the river,"
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 179 
 
 Harold aid. " Look at the masses of ice on the 
 water." 
 
 " It would be difficult," the hunter admitted, " but 
 not by no manner of means impossible. Determined 
 men could do it. Waal, I've done my duty and can 
 do no more. Ef the night passes off quietly we'll 
 cross again before daybreak and go right into the 
 Yankee camp and see what they're up to. Now, 
 Harold, you can take it easy till nightfall ; there's 
 naught to be learned till then, and as we shall be 
 on foot all night ye may as well sleep to-day." 
 
 Returning to a spot on the bank of the river at a 
 short distance from the town, they made a fire, on 
 which Jake cooked some steaks of venison they had 
 procured. After smoking a pipe the hunter set the 
 example by stretching himself on the ground near 
 the fire and going to sleep. Used as he was to 
 night marches, he had acquired the faculty of going 
 to sleep at any hour at will. Jake and Harold were 
 some time before they followed his example, but 
 they too were at last asleep. At sunset they were 
 on their feet again, and after taking supper pro- 
 ceeded along the river. 
 
 The night passed off quietly, and Harold became 
 convinced that his companion's fears were un- 
 founded. Toward morning he suggested that it 
 was time to be crossing the river. 
 
 " I'm not going yet," the hunter said. " Before I 
 <itart we'll go down to Trenton Ferry, a mile below 
 fche town. Ef they come over at all it's likely 
 enough to be there. There'll be time then to get
 
 180 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 back and cross before it's light. It's six o'clock 
 now." 
 
 They kept along the road by the river until they 
 were within a quarter of a mile of the ferry. Pres- 
 ently they saw a dark mass ahead. 
 
 "Jerusalem!" Peter exclaimed. "There they 
 are." 
 
 They immediately discharged their rifles and ran 
 back at full speed to the outposts, which were but a 
 quarter of a mile from the town. The Americans 
 had also pressed forward at full speed, and the out- 
 posts, who had been alarmed by the discharge of 
 the rifles, were forced at once to abandon the post 
 and to run into the town, whither they had, on 
 hearing the rifles, already sent in one of their 
 number with the news. Here all was in confusion. 
 The Hessian leader was trying to collect his troops, 
 who were hurrying in from their quarters, but 
 many of them thought more of storing their plunder 
 away in the wagons than of taking their places in 
 the ranks. 
 
 Washington had crossed with twenty-five hun- 
 dred men and a few field-pieces, and upon gain- 
 ing the Jersey side had divided his troops into two 
 detachments, one of which marched by the river 
 side, the other by an upper road. Hurrying for- 
 ward they surrounded the town, and placing their 
 field-pieces in the road opened fire on the astonished 
 Heesians. Khalle had by this time succeeded in as- 
 sembling the greater part of his force and charged 
 the Americans with his usual courage. He received,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAO. 181 
 
 however, a mortal wound as he advanced. His 
 troops immediately lost heart, and finding their re- 
 treat cut off at once surrendered. A body of Hes- 
 sian light horse succeeded in making their escape. 
 The casualties were few on either side, but a thou- 
 sand prisoners were taken. Two other divisions of 
 the Americans had attempted to cross, the one at 
 Bordentown, the other at Mackenzie's Ferry, but 
 both had failed owing to the quantity of floating 
 ice. "Washington retired across the Delaware the 
 same afternoon. 
 
 The consequences of this success were great. 
 The spirits of the Americans, which had fallen to 
 the lowest ebb in consequence of the uninterrupted 
 series of defeats, rose greatly. They found that 
 the British were not invincible, and that if unable 
 to oppose them in great battles they might at least 
 inflict heavy losses on them and weary them out 
 with skirmishes and surprises. The greatest joy 
 reigned throughout the various States ; fresh levies 
 were ordered ; the voices of the moderate party, 
 which had been gaining strength, were silenced, 
 and the determination to continue the war vigor- 
 oulsy was in the ascendency. 
 
 The lesson given at Trenton was wholly lost upon 
 the English commander-in-chief. Instead of at once 
 ordering General Leslie to advance from Princeton 
 and to hold the enemy in check by reoccupying 
 and fortifying Trenton, he allowed Colonel Donop 
 to abandon Bordentown and to fall back to Prince- 
 ton thus laying it open to Washington to cross
 
 182 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the Delaware again and carry the war into New 
 Jersey. Washington, after waiting eight days, see- 
 ing the indecision and ineptitude of the British 
 general, again crossed with four thousand men and 
 occupied Trenton. 
 
 Peter Lambton and his two companions were not 
 among the prisoners taken at Trenton. On enter- 
 ing the town Harold was about to join the Hessians 
 assembling under Colonel Rhalle, but Peter gave a 
 violent tug to his coat. 
 
 " Come along, young un," he said. " The darned 
 fools have let themselves be caught in a trap and 
 they'll find there's no way out of it. In ten minutes 
 the Americans will be all round the place, and as I 
 don't wish to spend a year or two in a Yankee 
 prison at present I'm going to make tracks at once. 
 Fighting aren't no good now. Men who'll let 
 'emselves be caught in a trap like this'll never be 
 able to cut their way out of it. Come on." 
 
 Much against his will Harold yielded to Peter's 
 wishes, and the three kept straight on through the 
 town by the river side and issued into the country 
 beyond before the Americans had surrounded it. 
 A minute or two after leaving the town the light 
 horse galloped past. 
 
 " There are some more out of the hole, and I 
 reckon that's about all. There, do ye hear the 
 guns? The Yanks have brought their artillery 
 over I reckon the fight won't last long." 
 
 For two or three minutes there was a roar of 
 musketry ; then this suddenly ceased.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 183 
 
 " I thought as much," Peter said. " They've sur- 
 rendered. K they had only kept together and 
 fought well they should have cut their way through 
 the enemy. Lord ! what poor things regular soldiers 
 are in the dark! A frontiersman would just as 
 soon fight in the dark as in the light ; but here are 
 the men who climbed up the hill to Fort Washing- 
 ton and that was no child's play no better nor a 
 pack of women when they're attacked half-asleep 
 and half-awake just as day is breaking." 
 
 The three comrades walked to Bordentown, 
 which, they were relieved to find, had not been 
 attacked. A few miles beyond this place they met 
 Colonel Donop marching back at full speed with his 
 corps, having received the news of the disaster at 
 Trenton from the horsemen who had fled. They 
 joined their company and marched to Princeton. 
 
 A fortnight later Lord Cornwallis, with the 
 forces at Lrunswicl', under General Grant, advanced 
 to Princeton and then moved forward to attack the 
 army at Trenton. General Washington on his ap- 
 proach retired from the town and, crossing a' rivulet 
 at the back of it, took post on some high ground 
 there, with the apparent intention of defending him- 
 self against an attack. It was late in the afternoon, 
 and a heavy cannonade was kept up till night-time. 
 Lord Cornwallis determined to attack next morn- 
 ing. At two in the morning Washington retired 
 suddenly, leaving his fires burning. Quitting the 
 main road he made a long circuit through Allen- 
 town and marched with all speed toward Prince- 
 ton, which place he intended to surprise. When
 
 184 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis advanced he had left the Seven- 
 teenth, Fortieth, and Fifty-fifth Regiments there. 
 
 On arriving at Trenton he had sent word back 
 for the Seventeenth and Fifty-fifth to advance to 
 Maidenhead, a village half-way between Princeton 
 and Trenton. Colonel Mawhood, who commanded, 
 marched at daylight, but scarcely had he started 
 when he met Washington advancing with his army. 
 The morning was foggy, and it was at first supposed 
 that the enemy were a body of British troops 
 marching back to Princeton, but it was soon found 
 that the force was a hostile one. Its strength could 
 not be seen on account of the fog, and he deter- 
 mined to engage it. Possessing himself of some 
 high ground, he sent his wagons back to Princeton 
 and ordered the Fortieth Regiment to come out to 
 his assistance. 
 
 As the Americans advanced, the artillery on both 
 sides opened fire. The leadings columns of the 
 colonists soon showed signs of disorder. The 
 Seventeenth Regiment fixed bayonets and with 
 great gallantry charged the enemy in front of them, 
 driving them back with considerable slaughter ; and 
 so far did they advance that they were separated 
 from the other battalions, and cutting their way 
 through the American force the regiment pursued 
 its march to Maidenhead. The Fortieth and Fifty- 
 fifth fought stoutly, but were unable to make their 
 way through the American force, and fell back to 
 Brunswick, while the Americans occupied Prince- 
 ton. At daybreak Lord Cornwallis discovered the 
 retreat of the American army, and being appreheu-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 185 
 
 sive for the safety of Brunswick, where great stores 
 of the army were accumulated, marched with all 
 haste toward that town. 
 
 Brigadier Matthew, the officer commanding there, 
 on hearing of the approach of the enemy at once 
 dispatched the store wagons toward the rear and 
 drew up his small command to defend the place to 
 the last. The gallant resistance before Princeton 
 had delayed the Americans so long that the van of 
 the army of Cornwallis was already close to their 
 rear as they approached Brunswick. Seeing this, 
 Washington abandoned his design on that town and 
 crossed the Millstone Kiver, breaking down the 
 bridge at Kingston to stop pursuit. 
 
 Washington now overran East and West Jersey, 
 penetrated into Essex County, and making himself 
 master of the country opposite to Staten Island, 
 thus regained almost all the district which the Eng- 
 lish had taken from him in the autumn. 
 
 All this greatly heightened the spirit and courage 
 of the Americans, while the loyalists and the Eng- 
 lish troops were disheartened and disgusted at see- 
 ing an army of thirty thousand fine troops kept in- 
 active, while the enemy, with but four thousand 
 men, who were wholly incapable of opposing an 
 equal number of English troops, were allowed to 
 wander unchecked, to attack and harass the Eng- 
 lish pickets, and to utilize the whole of the resources 
 of their country. Had General Howe entertained 
 a fixed desire to see English authority overthrown 
 in America he could not have acted in a manner 
 more calculated to carry those wishes into effect
 
 1*6 2'J.iUti TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A TREACHEROUS PLANTEB. 
 
 IT must not be supposed that the whole of the 
 time was spent in scouting and fighting. Between 
 the armies lay a band of no man's land. Here, as 
 elsewhere, the peopla of the country wer dividsd 
 in their opinions, but generally mad vaiy little dis- 
 play of these, whatever they might be. It is true 
 that as a rule non-combatants were but little inter- 
 fered wi f ,h ; still, a warm and open display of sym- 
 pathy with one side or the other w;*,s likely to be 
 attended by the loss of cattle and damage to crops 
 when tlie other party got the upper hand. In some 
 other States feeling ran much higher. In the 
 Carolinas the royalists were most cruelly perse- 
 cuted. Their property was destroyed and they 
 were in many cases shot down without mercy ; but 
 generally throughout the colonies a considerable 
 latitude of opinion was allowed. This was especially 
 so in the zone between the armies in the erseys. 
 None could tell what the positions of armies a 
 week hence might be, and any persecution inflicted 
 by the one party might lead to retaliation upon a 
 shift of positions a few weeks later. A general 
 toleration therefore reigned.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 187 
 
 Next to Peter Lambton, Harold's greatest friend 
 in the corps was a young man named Harvey. He 
 was of good family and belonged to New York. 
 Being a strong loyalist, he had, like many other 
 gentlemen, enlisted for service under the old flag. 
 He had naturally many acquaintances among the 
 county families, and Harold often accompanied him 
 in his visits to one or other of them. 
 
 During the winter, when things were quiet, the 
 duties of the scouts were light, and it was the habit 
 among them that one- third should be on outpost 
 duty at a time, the rest being free to move about as 
 they liked. The scouts had no n'xed order or posi- 
 tion. They went out alone or in twos or threes, as 
 it pleased them, their duty simply being to watch 
 everything that was going on along the enemy's 
 line of outposts, to bring in the earliest news of any 
 intended movements, and to prevent dashing parties 
 of the enemy's horsemen from making raids into or 
 behind the British lines. They were not, of course, 
 expected to check bodies of cavalry starting on a 
 raid, but simply to obtain information of their hav- 
 ing left tbeir lines and of the direction taken, and 
 then to hurry back to the British posts, whence a 
 force of cavalry would be sent out to intercept or 
 check the invaders. Many dashing exploits were 
 performed by the cavalry on both sides in the way 
 of getting behind their opponents' quarters, cutting 
 off provision trains, attacking small posts, and carry- 
 ing off straggling parties. 
 
 One of the houses to which Harold used most
 
 188 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 frequently to accompany his friend Harvey was 
 situated nearly half-way between the rival armies 
 and was about eight miles from either. The owner 
 Mr. Jackson was a man of considerable wealth, 
 and the house was large and well appointed. He 
 had before the troubles began a fine business as a 
 lawyer in New York, but when the outbreak of 
 hostilities put a stop to all business of a legal kind 
 in that city he had retired to his country house. 
 Although himself born in England, he professed to 
 be entirely neutral, but his family were undis- 
 guisedly loyal. It consisted of his wife and two 
 daughters, girls of seventeen and eighteen years 
 old. 
 
 When the English army advanced to the neigh- 
 borhood of his property Mr. Jackson was always 
 ready to offer his hospitality to the officers of corps 
 which might be stationed near him, and he similarly 
 opened his house to the Americans when they in 
 turn advanced as the British turned back. Being, 
 as he always made a point of saying, perfectly neu- 
 tral in the struggle, he was glad to meet gentlemen, 
 irrespective of the opinions they held. The line 
 taken by Mr. Jackson was one which was very 
 largely pursued among the inhabitants of the coun- 
 try houses and farms scattered over what was 
 throughout the war a debatable land. So frequent 
 were the changes of the position of the armies that 
 none could say who might be in possession in a 
 week's time, and it was therefore an absolute neces- 
 sity for those who wished to live unmolested to ab- 
 stain from any strong; show of partisanship.
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 189 
 
 As is always the case in struggles of this kind, 
 the female population were more enthusiastic in 
 their partisanship and more pronounced in their 
 opinions than the men ; and although, upon the ar- 
 rival of a troop of cavalry or a detachment of foot 
 belonging to the other side, the master of the house 
 would impartially offer what hospitality he was 
 capable of, it was not difficult to perceive, by the 
 warmth or coldness of the female welcome, what 
 were the private sentiments of the family. 
 
 Harold was not long in discovering, from the 
 frequency with which Harvey proposed an excur- 
 sion to the Jacksons' and from his conduct there, 
 that Isa belle, the eldest daughter, was the object 
 which mainly attracted him. The families had long 
 been friends, and Harvey, although now serving as 
 a simple scout, was of a position equal to her own. 
 The friends were always cordially received by Mr. 
 Jackson, and Harold was soon as intimate there as 
 his comrade. They usually left their quarters a lit- 
 tle before dusk and started back late at night. 
 Often as Mr. Jackson pressed them to stay, they 
 never accepted his invitation. 
 
 The scouts, from their activity and ubiquitous- 
 ness, were the letes-noirs of the Americans, whose 
 most secret plans were constantly detected and 
 foiled by the sagacity and watchfulness of these 
 men, whose unerring rifles made frequent gaps in 
 the ranks of the officers. They therefore spared no 
 pains, whenever there was a chance, of killing or 
 capturing any of these most troublesome foes, and
 
 190 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Harvey and Harold knew that a report of their 
 presence at the Jacksons' would suffice to bring a 
 party of horsemen from the American lines. Their 
 visits, therefore, were always made after dark and 
 at irregular intervals, and in spite of their inclina- 
 tion to the contrary, they made a point of return- 
 ing at night to their quarters. 
 
 Other visitors were often present at the Jacksons', 
 the sons and daughters of neighbors, and there was 
 generally music and singing, and sometimes the 
 young people stood up for a dance. 
 
 The scouts wore no regular uniform, although 
 there was a general similarity in their attire, which 
 was that of an ordinary backwoods hunter. When 
 off duty they were allowed to dress as they pleased, 
 and at Mr. Jackson's the two friends were attired 
 in the ordinary dress of colonists of position. At 
 these little gatherings political subjects were never 
 discussed, and a stranger spending an evening there 
 would not have dreamed that the house stood be- 
 tween two hostile armies, that at any moment a 
 party of horsemen belonging to one side or other 
 might dash into the court-yard, and that even those 
 laughing and talking pleasantly together might be 
 of opinions diametric? IIv opposed. 
 
 Harvey and Harold were introduced to visitors 
 simply as friends from New York, and although the 
 suspicions as to their character and position might 
 be strong, no one thought of asking questions. 
 
 "I do not like that fellow Chermside," Harvey 
 said one night as he and his friend were returning 
 to their quarters*
 
 TR TJB TO THE OLD FLAB. 191 
 
 They were mounted ; for although when on duty 
 the scouts worked on foot, many of them, who were 
 men of property, kept horses which they used when 
 not so engaged. Harvey had two horses, and one 
 of these was always at Harold's service. 
 
 " I am not surprised you don't like him," Harold 
 replied with a laugh, " and I imagine the dislike is 
 mutual. When two gentlemen are paying atten- 
 tions to one lady they seldom appreciate each 
 other's merits very cordially." 
 
 "I don't think it is entirely that," Harvey 
 laughed. " Isabelle and I understand each other, 
 and I have no fear of his rivalry ; but I do not like 
 him." 
 
 " I do not think I like him myself," Harold said 
 more seriously ; " and yet I do not know why I 
 should not. When he has been there alone with us 
 and the family he has frequently used expressions 
 showing his strong leaning toward the loyalists' 
 side." 
 
 " I don't put much faith in that," Harvey said. 
 "He knows how strongly Mr. Jackson and the 
 girls lean toward the crown, and would say anything 
 that he thought would please Isabelle. I have 
 spoken to her and she thinks that he is sincere ; in 
 fact, she has rather a good opinion of him. How- 
 ever, we shall see. It was rather curious that that 
 party of Morgan's cavalry should have ridden up 
 the other night and searched the house two hours 
 after we left. You see, we had agreed to sleep 
 there that night and only changed our minds after
 
 192 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the others had all left, when we remembered that 
 we were both for duty early next morning. It 
 might have been a coincidence, of course, but it had 
 an ugly look. I think Mr. Jackson thought so too, 
 for he did not ask us to stop to-night ; anyhow I 
 wish Chermside's plantation was not so near this 
 and that he did not drop in so often." 
 
 A week later they paid another visit. When 
 dinner was over Harold was chatting with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Jackson. Harvey was sitting at the piano, 
 where the eldest girl was playing, and the younger 
 was looking out of window. 
 
 " We are going to have another fall of snow," she 
 said. " There is not a star to be seen. Oh !" she 
 exclaimed suddenly. 
 
 " What is it, my dear ?" Mr. Jackson asked. 
 
 " There is a rocket gone up from the woods." 
 
 " A rocket !" M r. Jackson repeated. 
 
 " Yes, papa ; there are the stars falling now." 
 
 "That is a curious thing," Mr. Jackson said, 
 while the others went to the window. They stood 
 watching for some minutes, but nothing was to be 
 seen. 
 
 " I do not like that rocket," Mr. Jackson said as 
 they left the window. " It means something. It 
 can only be a signal. People don't let off rockets 
 for amusement nowadays. Did you meet any one 
 on the road ?" 
 
 " No, sir," Harvey said, " not a soul." 
 
 " I do not like it," their host repeated. " It means 
 mischief of some sort or other. I do not wish to
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 193 
 
 seem inhospitable, but my advice to you is, get on 
 your horses at once and ride to your quarters. You 
 are on duty to-morrow, and you told me you would 
 pass near here on your way toward the enemy's 
 lines. You might look in as you go past and hear 
 whether anything came of it. If I mistake not we 
 shall have another visit from Morgan's horse this 
 evening." 
 
 Much against their inclination the young men 
 followed Mr. Jackson's advice. 
 
 The next day they, with Peter and Jake, stopped 
 at the house as they passed. 
 
 " I was right," their host said as the two young 
 men entered. " An hour after you left twenty of 
 Morgan's horse rode up here. They would not 
 take my word that we were alone, but searched the 
 house from top to bottom and were evidently greatly 
 disappointed at finding no one. I have been mak- 
 ing inquiries this morning and find that all the 
 servants were in the house at the time my daughter 
 saw the rocket, so I hope that I have no traitor 
 here. Still, it is clear that some one must be keep- 
 ing watch over your movements." 
 
 <; Have you asked, sir," Harvey said after a 
 pause, " whether any one came after we had ar- 
 rived 3" 
 
 " I do not see how any one could come, but I will 
 ask." 
 
 He rang the bell and a negro servant appeared. 
 
 " Did any one come to the house yesterday, Caesar, 
 after these gentlemen came any beggar or ped' 
 dler, or any one of that sort I"
 
 194 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG, 
 
 " No, sir, no one came except Massa Chermside. 
 He get off his horse and ask if you hab any visitors. 
 I said that Massa Harvey and Massa Wilson were 
 here. He say he call again another night when the 
 family alone, and rode off." 
 
 " Just what I expected, sir," Harvey said when 
 the servant left the room. " I have always doubted 
 that fellow's honesty." 
 
 " Oh, nonsense !" Mr. Jackson replied. " You 
 must be mad, Harvey. Chermside's father was an 
 old friend of mine, and I have known the young 
 fellow since he was a child. I should as soon sus- 
 pect one of my own daughters of being capable of 
 such an act of gross treachery as laying a plot to 
 bring the American cavalry down upon guests of 
 mine. The idea is preposterous. Bless me, how 
 amused the girls will be at your suspecting their old 
 playfellow 1" 
 
 " I hope I may be mistaken, sir," Harvey said, " but 
 Harold's opinion of him agrees with mine, and in 
 talking it over last night we both put our finger on 
 him as the man who fired the rocket. "Well, now, 
 we must be pushing on. "We are bound for the ford 
 where Morgan's horse must have come over, and 
 shall hear from our fellows there whether they rode 
 straight here after crossing, as if so there can be no 
 doubt whatever that the rocket was a signal." 
 
 Upon arriving at the ford they found that Mor- 
 gan's horse had only crossed an hour before the time 
 at which they arrived at Mr. Jackson's. One of the 
 scouts had instantly taken word to the nearest cav-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 195 
 
 airy outpost, but the enemy had recrossed the river 
 before these had arrived on the spot. 
 
 After three days on duty at the front the party 
 returned to their lines, and the next time that the 
 young men rode out to their friends they took with 
 them Jake and Peter, to whom they related the 
 circumstances. 
 
 The scouts proceeded on foot and separated from 
 the others a mile before reaching the house, having 
 arranged that Peter should scout round it, while 
 Jake should proceed to the plantation of Mr. Chenn- 
 side and keep a sharp lookout there. 
 
 They had arranged with Mr. Jackson that no 
 mention of the rocket should be made to any one, 
 however intimate with the family. 
 
 " I am glad to see you again," the host said as 
 they entered the room where the family were as- 
 sembled, " although I own that these two raids of 
 Morgan's horse have made me uneasy. The girls 
 have been immensely amused at your suspicions of 
 young Chermside." 
 
 " How could you think such a thing ?" Isabelle 
 said. "He was here on the following evening and 
 was as indignant as we were at the thought of 
 treachery being at work. He quite agreed with us 
 that the coming of the Yankees could hardly have 
 been accidental." 
 
 " You said nothing about the rocket, I hope ?" 
 Harvey asked. 
 
 " No, we kept quite silent about that, as you 
 made such a point of it ; but it seemed ridiculous
 
 196 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 with him. But I shall be in a fright now every 
 time you come." 
 
 "We have brought two of our men with us," 
 , Harvey said, " and they are scouting round, so we 
 shall hear if another rocket goes up ; and even if the 
 person who let it up suspects that the last was 
 seen as he might do from our having left so sud- 
 denly and tries some other plan to warn the ene- 
 my, we can trust our men to fire a shot and so give 
 us warning in time. We have told the groom not 
 to take the saddles off the horses, as we may stop 
 but a short time." 
 
 At eight o'clock a disturbance was heard outside, 
 and Jake entered the room, dragging with him by 
 main force the young planter. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ?" Mr. Jackson 
 asked as they rose from their seats in surprise. 
 
 " Me tell you, sar," Jake answered. " Me had 
 orders from Massa Harold to watch outside ob de 
 house ob dis feller and see what going on dere. 
 About half an hour after me got dere a nigger come 
 along running from dis direction. Dat no business 
 of Jake's, so he stood in de trees and let him pass. 
 He go into de house ; five minutes afterward dis 
 feller he come out and he walk away. Jake follow 
 him bery quiet to see what him after. He walk 
 more dan a mile, den he get on to de oder side of 
 dat big hill ; den me see him stop, and Jake tink it 
 time to interfere, so he ran up and catch him. He 
 had put dis ting against a stump of a tree, and had 
 him pistol in him hand, and was on de point of 
 firing it close to dis ting, so as to light him."
 
 A TREACHEROUS FRIEND CAUGHT. Page 196.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 197 
 
 As Jake spoke he held out a rocket. Several 
 times while Jake had been speaking the planter had 
 tried to interrupt him, but each time Jake, who 
 had not released his hold of him, gave him so 
 violent a shake that he was fain to be silent. 
 
 " This is a scandalous indignity," he exclaimed 
 furiously when Jake finished. " What do you 
 mean, sir," he demanded of Harvey, " by setting 
 this nigger to watch my abode ? I will have satis- 
 faction for this treatment." 
 
 " It seems, sir," Mr. Jackson said, signing to Har- 
 vey to be silent, " that you have been detected in a 
 gross act of treachery. My friends have suspected 
 you of it, but I indignantly denied it. Could we be- 
 lieve, I and my family, that you, whom we have 
 known as a child, would betray our guests to the 
 Americans? Loyalists and republicans are alike 
 welcome here. I do not ask my friends their 
 opinions. My house is neutral ground, and I did 
 not think that any who used it would have had the 
 treachery to turn it into a trap; still less did I 
 imagine you would do so. These gentlemen would 
 be perfectly within their right did they take you 
 out and hang you from the nearest tree ; but for 
 my sake I trust that they will do so ; but should 
 the American cavalry ever again visit this house 
 under circumstances which may lead it to be sup- 
 posed that they have been brought here to capture 
 my guests, I shall let them punish you as you 
 deserve. No word of mine will be raised in your 
 favor. Now, sir, go, and never again enter this
 
 198 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 house, where the loathing and contempt that I feel 
 for you will, I know, be shared by the ladies of my 
 family." 
 
 At a nod from Harold Jake released his hold of 
 the captive, who, without a word, turned and left 
 the room. 
 
 Not a word was spoken for a minute or two after 
 he had left. The youngest girl was the first to 
 speak. 
 
 " The wretch !" she exclaimed. " To think that 
 Herbert Chermside should turn out such a mean 
 traitor! Papa, I would have let them hang him at 
 once. It would have served him right. .Now he 
 may do us all harm." 
 
 " I do not know that you are not right, Ada," Mr. 
 Jackson replied gravely. " I am far from saying 
 that I acted wisely. Young Chermside has many 
 friends among the Americans, and it is possible that 
 he may work us harm. However, my position as a 
 neutral is well established. Officers on both sides 
 have at times been welcomed here, and his report, 
 therefore, that our friends here are often with us 
 can do us no harm. Henceforth he must be 
 regarded as an enemy, and there will always be 
 danger in these visits. So long as the American 
 outposts are within an hour's ride he can have the 
 road watched, and although he is not likely to ven- 
 ture upon signaling with rockets, he may send or 
 take word on horseback. A bonfire, too, might be 
 lit at the other side of the hill to call them over. 
 Altogether you will never be safe from home except
 
 TRUE TO TSE OLD FLAG. 199 
 
 when you have a strong body of your own troops 
 between this and the river." 
 
 " I am glad to say," Harvey answered, " that in 
 consequence of the news of Morgan's raids on this 
 side a body of two hundred infantry and a troop of 
 cavalry are to move to-morrow and take up their 
 position by the ford, so we shall be safe from any 
 surprise from that direction." 
 
 " I am very glad to hear it," Mr. Jackson said. 
 " It will relieve me of a great anxiety. Bat pray 
 be watchful when you are in this neighborhood. 
 You have made a bitter enemy, and after what he 
 has proved himself capable of we cannot doubt that 
 he would hesitate at nothing. I understand," he 
 went on with a smile toward his eldest daughter, 
 " what is at the bottom of his conduct, and as I 
 have long suspected his hopes in that quarter I am 
 not surprised that he is somewhat hostile to you. 
 Still, I never for a moment deemed him capable of 
 this." 
 
 The next day Mr. Jackson learned that his 'neigh- 
 bor had left bis plantation and had told his servants 
 that he was not likely to return for some time. 
 
 Shortly after this a series of bad luck attended 
 the doings of the British scouts. Several parties 
 were killed or captured by the enemy and they were 
 constantly baffled by false reports, while the 
 Americans appeared to forestall all their movements. 
 It was only when enterprises were set on foot and 
 carried out by small bodies that they were ever 
 successful, anything like combined action by the 
 orders of the officers constantly turning out ill.
 
 200 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " There must be a traitor somewhere," Peter said 
 upon the return of a party from an attempt which, 
 although it promised well, had been frustrated, to 
 carry off a number of cattle from one of the 
 American depots. " It ain't possible that this can 
 be all sheer bad luck. It ain't no one in our com- 
 pany, I'll be bound. We ain't had any new re- 
 cruits lately, and there ain't a man among us whom 
 I could not answer for. There must be a black 
 sheep in Gregory's or Vincent's corps. The enemy 
 seem up to every move, and between us we have 
 lost more than thirty men in the last few weeks. 
 There ain't no doubt about it there's a traitor 
 somewhere and he must be a clever one, and he 
 must have pals with him, or he couldn't send news 
 of what we are doing so quickly. It beats me al- 
 together, and the men are all furious." 
 
 " I've been talking with some of our men," Peter 
 said a few days afterward, "and we agree that we 
 are bound to get to the bottom of this matter. 
 We're sartin sure that the traitor don't belong to 
 us. What we propose is this, that the hull of us 
 shall go up together, without saying a word to a 
 soul, and scatter ourselves along the river at all the 
 points where a chap going with a message to the 
 enemy would be likely to cross. The night we go 
 out we'll get the three captains all to give orders to 
 their men for an expedition, so that whoever it is 
 that sends messages from here would be sure to send 
 over word to the Yankees ; and it'll be hard if we 
 don't ketch him. What do you say ?"
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 201 
 
 " I think the plan is a very good one," Harold 
 answered. " If you like I will go with my father 
 and ask Gregory and Vincent to send their men." 
 
 Captain Wilson at once went to these officers. 
 They were as much irritated and puzzled as were 
 their men by the failures which had taken place, 
 and agreed that next evening an order should be 
 issued for the men of the three corps to act in com- 
 bination, and to allow it to leak out that they in- 
 tended to surprise an American post situated near 
 the river, twenty-one miles distant. Captain Wil- 
 son's scouts, instead of going with the others, were 
 to act on their own account. 
 
 On the day arranged, as soon as it became dark, 
 the forty scouts quietly left their quarters in 
 small parties and made their way toward the river, 
 striking it at the point where a messenger would be 
 likely to cross upon his way to give warning to the 
 American post of the attack intended to be made 
 upon it. They took post along the river at a dis- 
 tance of fifty or sixty yards apart and silently 
 awaited the result. Several hours passed and no 
 sound broke the stillness of the woods. An hour 
 before dawn Peter Lambton heard a slight crack, 
 as that of a breaking twig. It was some distance 
 back in the woods, but it seemed to him by the di- 
 rection that the man who caused it would strike the 
 river between himself and Jake, who was stationed 
 next to him. He noiselessly stole along toward the 
 point. Another slight sound afforded him a sure 
 indication of the direction in which the man, who-
 
 202 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 ever he might be, was approaching. He hastened 
 his steps, and a minute later a negro issued from 
 the wood close to him. He stood for an instant on 
 the river bank and was about to plunge in, when 
 Peter threw his arms around him. 
 
 Although taken by surprise, the negro struggled 
 desperately and would have freed himself from the 
 grip of the old scout had not Jake run up instantly 
 to his comrade's assistance. In a minute the negro 
 was bound and two shots were then fired, the con- 
 certed signal by which it would be known along 
 the line that a capture had been effected. In a few 
 minutes the whole body was assembled. The negro, 
 who refused to answer any questions, was carried 
 far back into the woods and a fire was lighted. 
 
 " Now, nigger," Peter said, taking as captor the 
 lead in the matter, "jest tell us right away where 
 you was going and who sent you." 
 
 The negro was silent. 
 
 " Now. look ye here, darky, you're in the hands 
 of men who are no jokers. Ef you tell us at once 
 who put ye on to this trick no harm will happen to 
 you ; but ef ye don't we'll jest burn the skin off 
 your body bit by bit." 
 
 Still the negro was silent. 
 
 " Half a dozen of yez," Peter said, " as have got 
 iron ramrods shove them into the fire. We'll soon 
 find this nigger's tongue." 
 
 Not a word was spoken until the ramrods were 
 heated red-hot. 
 
 " Now," Peter said, " two of yez clap your ram 
 rods against this darky's flanks."
 
 T&TTE TO THE OLD FLAG. 203 
 
 The negro struggled as the men approached him 
 and gave a terrific yell as the hot iron was applied 
 to his sides. 
 
 " I will tell you, sars oh ! have mercy upon me 
 and I will tell you eberyting !" 
 
 " I thought," Peter said grimly, " that you'd find 
 a tongue soon enough. Now, then, who sent you ?" 
 
 " My massa," the negro answered. 
 
 " And who is your master ?" 
 
 The negro was again silent, but as, at a nod from 
 Peter, the men again raised the ramrods, he blurted 
 out : 
 
 " Massa Chermside." 
 
 The name was known to many of the scouts, and 
 a cry of anger broke from them. 
 
 " I thought as much," Harvey said. " I suspect- 
 ed that scoundrel was at the bottom of it all along. 
 Where is he ?" he asked the negro. 
 
 " Me not know, sar." 
 
 " You mean you won't say," Peter said. " Try 
 the vartue of them ramrods again." 
 
 " No ! no !" the negro screamed. " Me swear me 
 do not know where him be. You may burn me to 
 death if you will, but I could not tell you." 
 
 " I think he is speaking the truth," Harvey said. 
 " Wait a minute. Have you done this before ?" he 
 asked the negro. 
 
 " Yes, sar. Eight or ten times me swim de river 
 e-.t night." 
 
 " With messages to th-e Americans ?" 
 
 " Yes, sar ; messages to American officers."
 
 204 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAB. 
 
 " Have you any written message any letter ?'* 
 
 " No, sar, me never take no letter. Me only carry 
 dis." And he took out from his hair a tiny ball of 
 paper smaller than a pea. 
 
 It was smoothed out and upon it were the words 
 " General Washington." 
 
 " Where I go, sar, I show dem dis, and dey know 
 den dat de message can be believed." 
 
 " But how do you get the message ? How do you 
 see your master ?" 
 
 " Massa's orders were dat me and two oders were 
 to meet him ebery night after it got dark at a tree 
 a mile from de place where de soldiers are. Some- 
 times he no come. When he come he gibs each of 
 us a piece of money and tell us to carry a message 
 across the river. We start by different ways, swim 
 across de water in different places, take de message, 
 and come back to de plantation." 
 
 " A pretty business !" Peter said. " Now you 
 must come back with us to the post and tell your 
 story to the commanding officer. Then we must 
 see if we can't lay hands on this rascally master of 
 yours." 
 
 Upon the news being told, the general in com- 
 mand sent a party out, who, after searching the 
 house and out-buildings of the plantation in vain, 
 set fire to them and burned them to the ground. 
 The negroes were all carried away and employed to 
 labor for the army. The town and all the surround- 
 ing villages were searched, but no trace eould be 
 obtained of the missing man. One of the men of
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 205 
 
 Gregory's corps of scouts disappeared. He had re- 
 cently joined, but his appearance as a man with 
 beard and whiskers in no way agreed with that of 
 the planter. He might, however, have been dis- 
 guised, and his disappearance was in itself no proof 
 against him, for the scouts were under no great dis- 
 cipline, and when tired of the service often left 
 without giving notice of their intention of doing so. 
 It was, moreover, possible that he might have fallen 
 by an enemy's bullet. 
 
 The strongest proof in favor of the deserter being 
 Chermside was that henceforth the scouts were 
 again as successful as before, often surprising the 
 enemy successfully. 
 
 Now that the ford nearest to Mr. Jackson's was 
 strongly guarded, the young men had no apprehen- 
 sion of any surprise, although such an event was 
 just possible, as the cavalry on both sides often 
 nade great circuits in their raids upon each other's 
 country. That Chermside was somewhere in the 
 neighborhood they believed, having indeed strong 
 reason for doing so, as a rifle was one evening fired 
 at them from the wood as they rode over, the ball 
 passing between their heads. Pursuit at the time 
 was impossible, but the next day a number of 
 scouts searched the woods without success. Soon 
 after they heard that Chermside had joined the 
 Americans and obtained a commission in a body of 
 their irregular horse. 
 
 Harvey was now formally engaged to Isabelle 
 Jackson, and it was settled that the wedding should
 
 206 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 take place in the early spring at New York. "When, 
 not on duty he naturally spent a good deal of his 
 time there, and Harold was frequently with him. 
 Since he had been fired at in the woods Isabelle 
 had been in the highest state of nervous anxiety 
 lest her lover's enemy should again try to assassinate 
 him, and she begged Harold always to come over 
 with him if possible, as the thought of his riding 
 alone through the wood filled her with anxiety. 
 
 Although he had no order to do so, Jake, when- 
 ever he saw Harold and his friend canter off toward 
 the Jacksons', shouldered his rifle and went out 
 after them to the house, where, so long as they 
 stayed, he scouted round and round with the 
 utmost vigilance. Very often Harold was ignorant 
 of his presence there, but when, after his return, he 
 found by questioning him how he had been 
 employed, he remonstrated with him on such ex- 
 cessive caution. 
 
 " Can't be too cautious, raassa," Jake said. " You 
 see dat fellow come one of dese days." 
 
 Jake's presentiment turned out correct. One 
 evening when with several friends the young men 
 were at Mr. Jackson's the sound of the report of a 
 rifle was heard at a short distance. 
 
 " That must be Jake's rifle !" Harold exclaimed. 
 " Quick, Harvey, to your horse." 
 
 It was too late. As they reached the door a 
 strong party of American cavalr} 7 dashed up to it. 
 
 " Surround the house !" an officer shouted. " Do 
 not let a soul escape."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 207 
 
 The young men ran upstairs again. 
 
 " "We are caught," Harvey said. " Escape is cut 
 off. The Yankee cavalry are all round the house. 
 Good-by, Isabelle. We shall meet one of these 
 days again, dear." 
 
 The girl threw herself into his arms. 
 
 "Be calm, love," he said. "Do not let this 
 scoundrel have the satisfaction of triumphing over 
 you." 
 
 A moment later Chermside, accompanied by sev- 
 eral soldiers, entered the room. 
 
 " I am sorry to disturb so pleasant a party," he 
 said in a sneering voice, " but if Americans choose 
 to entertain the enemies of their country they must 
 expect these little disagreeables." 
 
 Mr. Jackson abruptly turned his back upon him, 
 and no one else spoke, although he was personally 
 well known to all. 
 
 " These are the two men," he said to the soldiers 
 " two of the most notorious scouts and spies on 
 the frontier. We will take them to headquarters, 
 where a short shrift and two strong ropes will be 
 their lot." 
 
 " The less the word spy is in the mouth of such a 
 pitiful traitor as yourself the better, I should say," 
 Harvey said quietly ; and walking forward with 
 Harold he placed himself in the hands of the 
 soldiers. 
 
 No one else spoke. Isabelle had fainted when 
 she heard the threat of execution against her lover. 
 Ada stood before her with a look of such anger
 
 208 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 and contempt on her young face that Chermside 
 fairly winced under it. 
 
 " To horse !" he said sullenly, and turning, fol- 
 lowed his men and prisoners downstairs. 
 
 The troop, Harold saw, numbered some two hun- 
 dred sabers. They had with them a number of 
 riderless horses, whose accouterments showed that 
 they belonged to an English regiment ; most of the 
 men, too, had sacks of plunder upon their horses. 
 They had evidently made a successful raid, and had 
 probably attacked a post and surprised and driven 
 off the horses of a squadron of cavalry, and were 
 now on their return toward their lines. 
 
 " This is an awkward business, Harold," Harvey 
 said as in the midst of their captors they galloped 
 off from the Jacksons'. " Of course it's all nonsense 
 about our being hung. Still, I have no wish to see 
 the inside of a prison, where we may pass years be- 
 fore we are exchanged. Once handed over to the 
 authorities we shall be safe, but I shall not feel that 
 we are out of danger so long as we are in this 
 scoundrel's hands. Fortunately there are officers of 
 superior rank to himself with the squadron, other- 
 wise I have no doubt at all that he would hang us 
 at once." 
 
 Such was indeed the case, and Chermside was at 
 that moment fuming intensely at the chance which 
 had thrown his rival in his hands at a time when he 
 was powerless to carry out his vengeance. He had, 
 indeed, ventured to suggest that it would be les? 
 trouble to hang the prisoners at once, but the majo?
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAU'. 209 
 
 in command had so strongly rebuked him for the 
 suggestion that he had at once been silenced. 
 
 " I blush that I should have heard such words 
 from the mouth of an American officer. It is by 
 such deeds, sir, that our cause is too often dis- 
 graced. We are soldiers fighting for the independ- 
 ence of our country, not lawless marauders. Had 
 these men been taken in their civilian dress over on 
 our side of the river they would have been tried 
 and hung as spies ; but they were on neutral 
 ground, and in fact in the rear of their own posts. 
 There is no shadow of defense for such an accusa- 
 tion. Should I ever hear a similar suggestion I 
 shall at once report your conduct to General Wash- 
 ington, who will know how to deal with you." 
 
 " I wonder what has become of Jake/' Harold 
 said to his comrade. "I trust he was not shot 
 down." 
 
 " Not he," Harvey said. " He made off after fir- 
 ing his rifle, you may be sure, when he saw that there 
 was nothing to be done. The fellow can run like a 
 hare, and I have no doubt that by this time he has 
 either got back to the village and given the alarm 
 there or has made for the ford. There are one hun- 
 dred cavalry there now as well as the infantry. 
 Jake will be there in an hour from the time he 
 started. The dragoons will be in the saddle five 
 minutes later, and it is just possible they may cut 
 off our retreat before we have crossed the river. 
 Peter is on duty there, and if he happens to be at 
 the post when Jake arrives he will hurry up with 
 all the scouts he can collect'*
 
 210 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Jake had taken flight as Harvey supposed. He 
 had, after firing his rifle, taken to the wood, and 
 had remained near the house long enough to see 
 which way the cavalry rode when they started. 
 Then he made for the post at the ford at the top of 
 his speed. It was less than an hour from starting 
 when he arrived there, and three minutes later the 
 cavalry trumpets were blowing " To horse !" After 
 giving his message to the officer in command Jake 
 went into the village, where the sounds of the trum- 
 pet brought all. the soldiers into the little street. 
 
 " Hullo, Jake ! is that you ?" a familiar voice 
 asked. " What the tarnal is up now ?" 
 
 Jake hastily related what had taken place. 
 
 " Tarnation !" Peter exclaimed. " This is a bad 
 job. They're making, no doubt, for Finchley's 
 Ford, fifteen mile down the river. With an hour's 
 start they're sure to be there before us." 
 
 "What are you going to do, Peter? Are you 
 tinking of running wid de cavalry ?" 
 
 " Thinking of running to the moon !" the scout 
 said contemptuously. " You can run well, I don't 
 deny, Jake, but you couldn't run fifteen mile with 
 the dragoons ; and if you could you'd get there too 
 late. Yer bellows are going pretty fast already. 
 Now don't stand staring there, but hurry through 
 the camp and get all our boys together. Tell them 
 to meet by the water side. Get Gregory and Yin- 
 cent's men as well as our own. There's twenty or 
 thirty altogether in the place." 
 
 Without asking a question Jake ran off to carry
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 211 
 
 out the orders, and in a few minutes twenty-four 
 men were collected together on the bank. 
 
 "Now, you fellows," Peter said, "we've got to 
 rescue these two young chaps out of the hands ol 
 the Yankees. Them who don't want to jine, and 
 mind 3 T ou the venture is a risky one, had better say 
 so at once and stop behind." 
 
 No one moved. 
 
 " What I propose is this : we'll take the ferry 
 boat, which ain't no good to no one seeing as how 
 the Yankees are one side of the river and we the 
 other, and we'll drop down the stream about ten 
 mile. Then we'll land on their side of the river and 
 strike inland, hiding the boat under the bushes 
 somewhere. They'll halt for the night when they're 
 safe across the river. There's fi ve or six hundred of 
 their infantry camped on the ford. There's two 
 hundred on our side, but the Yankees'll ride through 
 in the dark and get across before the red-coats are 
 awake. Now, I propose that after we've landed we 
 make a sweep round until we get near the Yanks' 
 camp. Then the rest'll wait and two or three of 
 [ us'll go in and see if we can't get the young fellows 
 out of wharever they've put 'em. Then we'll jine 
 you and make a running tight of it back to the 
 boat." 
 
 The others assented. The boat was amply large 
 enough for all, and pulling her out into the stream 
 they dropped down, keeping under shelter of the 
 trees on the British side. Half an hour after they 
 had started they heard the faint sound of distant 
 musketry.
 
 212 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " There," Peter said, " the Yanks are riding 
 through the British camp, close to the ford." 
 
 A few more shots were heard and then all was 
 silent. The stream was swift, for it was swollen by 
 recent rains, and at three in the morning the boat 
 touched the bank about a mile above the ford. 
 The party disembarked noiselessly, and fastening 
 the boat to a tree moved along toward the camp. 
 
 When they were within four or five hun- 
 dred yards of the village Peter chose Jake and 
 two others of his band, and telling the rest to re- 
 main where they were, ready for action, he struck 
 inland. He made a detour and came in at the back 
 of the camp. 
 
 Here there were no sentries, as the only danger 
 to be apprehended was upon the side of the river. 
 Peter therefore entered boldly. In front of the 
 principal house a sentry was walking up and down, 
 and he, in the free-and-easy manner usual in the 
 American army, gladly entered into conversation 
 with the new-comers. 
 
 "All pretty quiet about here?" Peter asked. 
 " We're from the West, and have jest come down 
 to do a little fighting with the Britishers. I reckon 
 they ain't far off now ?" 
 
 " They are just across the river," the sentry said. 
 " Have you come far ?" 
 
 " We've made something like two hundred mile 
 this week, and mean to have a day or two's rest be- 
 fore we begin. We've done some Injun fighting, 
 my mates and me, in our time, and we says to our-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 selves it was about time we burned a little powder 
 against the red-coats. Things seem quiet enough 
 about here. Nothing doing, eh ?" 
 
 " Not much," the sentry said ; " just skirmishes. 
 Some of our cavalry came across through the red- 
 coats late to-night. I hear they have got a quantity 
 of plunder and some fine horses, and they have 
 brought in a couple of the British scouts," 
 
 "And what have they done with 'em?" Peter 
 asked. " Strung 'em up, I suppose." 
 
 "No, no; we ain't fighting Indians now; we 
 don't hang our prisoners. No, they are safe under 
 guard over there in the cavalry camp, and will be 
 taken to headquarters to-morrow." 
 
 " "Waal," Peter said, stretching himself, " I feel 
 mighty tired and shall jest look for a soft place for 
 an hour's sleep before morning." 
 
 So saying he sauntered away, and the sentry 
 resumed his walk. 
 
 Peter and his three companions now moved off 
 toward the spot where, as the sentry had indicated, 
 the cavalry were encamped. They were not in 
 tents, but were sleeping wrapped up in their 
 blankets. Two tents had been erected, lent prob- 
 ably by the infantry on the spot. One was much 
 larger than the other and sentries were placed be- 
 fore each. They had some difficulty in making 
 their way, for the night was dark and the cavalry 
 had picketed their horses without order or regu- 
 larity. In their search they had to use great 
 caution to avoid stumbling over the sleeping men,
 
 214 TRUE TO THtfOLD FLAG. 
 
 but at last they saw the tents faintly against the 
 sky. They crawled cautiously up. There were two 
 sentries on the smaller tent. 
 
 ; " Now, Jake," Peter whispered, " you're the 
 blackest and so had better do the trick. Don't cut 
 a hole in the tent, for they'd be safe to hear the 
 canvas tear. Crawl under. It's been put up in 
 haste and ain't likely to be pinned down very tight. 
 They're safe to be bound, and when you've cut the 
 cords and given them time to get the use of their 
 feet, then crawl along and jine us." 
 
 Jake did as he was instructed. One of the 
 sentries was pacing up and down before the en- 
 trance, the other making a circuit round the tent. 
 The circle was a somewhat large one to avoid 
 stumbling over the tent ropes. Jake, watching his 
 opportunity, had no difficulty in crawling up and 
 squeezing himself under the canvas before the 
 sentry returned. 
 
 " Hush !" he whispered as he let the canvas fall 
 behind him. " It's Jake." 
 
 Both the captives were fast asleep. Jake, feeling 
 about in the darkness, found them one after the 
 other, and putting his hands on their mouths to 
 prevent them making an exclamation he woke them, 
 and soon cut the cords with which they were bound 
 hand and foot. Then in whispers he told them 
 what had happened. They chafed their limbs to 
 produce circulation, for they had been tightly tied, 
 and then one by one they crawled out of the tent. 
 
 Harvey went first and was safely across before
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 215 
 
 the sentry returned. Harold followed, but as he 
 went in his hurry he struck a tent rope. 
 
 "What's that?" the sentry in front asked sharp- 
 ly. " Bill, was that you 2" 
 
 "No," his comrade replied. "Something's up. 
 Look into the tent." 
 
 And so saying he ran round behind, while the 
 sentry in front rushed into the tent and, kicking 
 about with his feet, soon found that it was empty. 
 
 Jake, on hearing the exclamation, at once crawled 
 from, the tent, but as he did so the sentry, running 
 round, saw him and leveled his rifle. Before he 
 could fire a shot was heard and the man fell dead. 
 
 Jake started to his feet and joined his friends. 
 The other sentry also discharged his rifle, and the 
 whole camp awoke and sprang to their feet. The 
 horses, alarmed at the sudden tumult, plunged and 
 kicked ; men shouted and swore, every one asking 
 what was the matter. Then loud cries were heard 
 that the sentry was shot and the prisoners had 
 escaped. 
 
 Running closely together and knocking down all 
 I who stood in their way, the fugitives hurried in the 
 darkness until at the edge of the camp and then 
 started at full speed. 
 
 The trumpets were now sounding to horse and 
 several shots were fired after them. Many of the 
 horses had not been unsaddled and mounted men at 
 once dashed off. Several had seen the little party 
 rush away, and the horsemen were speedily on their 
 track. The six men ran at the top of their speed 
 and were soon close to their hidden frienda.
 
 216 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 "This way! this way! I see them!" shouted a 
 voice, which Harold and Harvey recognized as that 
 of their enemy, who a minute later galloped up with 
 half a dozen troopers. It was not until he was 
 within a few yards that his figure was clearly dis- 
 cernible; then Peter Lambton's rifle flashed out 
 and the planter fell from his horse with a bullet in 
 his brain. 
 
 Jake and the other two men also fired, and the 
 horsemen, astonished at their number, reined in 
 their horses to await the coming up of more of 
 their comrades. 
 
 In another minute the fugitives were with their 
 friends, and at a rapid trot the whole ran up the 
 river bank toward the spot where they had hidden 
 their boat. 
 
 The country was covered with brushwood and 
 forest, and as the cavalry, now swollen to a consid- 
 erable force, advanced, they were greeted by so 
 heavy a fire that, astonished at this strong force of 
 foes upon their side of the river and not knowing 
 how numerous they might be, they halted and 
 waited for the infantry to come up. Long before 
 the enemy were prepared to advance against the 
 unknown foe the scouts reached their boat and 
 crossed in safety to the other side. 
 
 Shortly after this adventure Mr. Jackson and his 
 family moved for the winter to New York, where 
 soon after their arrival the wedding between Har- 
 vey and Isabelle took place, the former retiring 
 from the corps of scouts.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 DURING the course of the spring of 1777 a large num* 
 ber of loyal colonists had volunteered their services. 
 They had been embodied into battalions, and when 
 the army prepared to take the field they were 
 placed in garrisons in New York and other places, 
 thus permitting the employment of the whole of 
 the British force in the field. The Americans had 
 occupied themselves in strongly fortifying the 
 iflore defensible positions, especially those in a 
 mountain tract of country called the Manor of 
 Courland. This was converted into a sort of 
 citadel, where large quantities of provisions, forage, 
 and stores of all kinds were collected. About fifty 
 miles from New York, up the North River, was a 
 place called Peekskill, which served as a port to the 
 Manor of Courland. The country was so difficult 
 and mountainous that General Howe shrank from 
 engaging his army in it. He determined, however, 
 to attack and destroy Peekskill, and a party of five 
 hundred men, under the command of Colonel Bird, 
 of the Fifteenth Regiment, were sent up the rivei 
 in two transports to destroy it. The garrison, con- 
 sisting of eight hundred men, set fire to the place
 
 218 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 and withdrew without firing a shot. The British 
 completed the destruction of the stores and returned 
 to New York. 
 
 A little later two thousand men were sent on a 
 similar expedition against the town of Danbury, 
 another place on the confines of Courland Manor, 
 where great stores had also been collected. They 
 proceeded up the East River and landed at Camp's 
 Point. They started on foot at ten o'clock at night, 
 and after a ten hours' march arrived at eight o'clock 
 at Danbury. The enemy evacuated the place on 
 their approach, and the English set fire to the great 
 magazines filled with stores of all kinds. 
 
 The news of the march of the English had spread 
 rapidly, and the enemy assembled from all quarters 
 and posted themselves under the command of Gen- 
 eral Arnold at a town called Ridgefield, through 
 which the English would have to pass on their re- 
 turn. Here they threw up intrenchments. It was 
 late in the afternoon when the English, fatigued 
 with the long march, arrived at this spot. The} 7 
 did not hesitate, but when the Americans opened 
 fire they boldly assailed the intrenchments and car- 
 ried them with the bayonet. They were unable to 
 march further, and lying down so as to form an 
 oblong square, slept till morning. All night the 
 Americans continued to come up in great force, and 
 in the morning as the troops advanced a terrible 
 fire was opened upon them from the houses and 
 stone walls in which the country abounded. The 
 British had to fight every foot of their way. Gen-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 219 
 
 eral Wooster had brought up some field-artillery on 
 the side of the Americans. Gradually the column 
 fought its way forward until it arrived within half 
 a mile of Camp's Point. Here two strong bodies of 
 the enemy barred their way. The column were by 
 this time greatly exhausted ; the men had had no 
 real rest for three days and two nights and several 
 dropped on the road with fatigue. Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral Erskine picked out four hundred of those who 
 were in the best condition and attacked the two 
 bodies of the enemy with such vigor that he put 
 them utteiJy to flight, and the column again ad- 
 vancing reached their destination without further 
 molestation. Nearly two hundred men, including 
 ten officers, were killed and wounded on the part of 
 the British ; the loss of the Americans was still 
 greater, and General Wooster and some field-officers 
 were among the slain. 
 
 Many other skirmishes took place with varied 
 success. The Americans at Bond wick, seven miles 
 from Brunswick, twelve hundred in number, were 
 surprised and routed by Corn wall is, while on the 
 other hand the American Colonel Meigs carried out 
 a most dashing expedition by crossing to Long 
 Island and destroying quantity of stores at a place 
 called Sag Harbor, burning a dozen brigs and sloops 
 which lay there, taking ninety prisoners, and re- 
 turning safely across the sound. 
 
 In June "Washington with eight thousand men 
 was encamped in a strong position at Middlebrook. 
 General Howe, although he had thirty thousand
 
 220 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 men, hesitated to attack him here. By a feigned 
 retreat he succeeded in drawing General Washing- 
 ton from his stronghold and inflicted a decisive de- 
 feat on three thousand of his men. Washington 
 fell back to his position in the mountains, and Gen- 
 eral Howe retired altogether from Jersey and with- 
 drew his troops to Staten Island. A dashing feat 
 was executed at this time by Colonel Barton, of the 
 American army. Learning that General Prescott, 
 who commanded at Rhode Island, had his head- 
 quarters at a distance of a mile from his troops, he 
 crossed from the mainland in two boats, seized the 
 general in his bed, and carried him off through the 
 British fleet. The object of this dashing enterprise 
 was to obtain a general to exchange for the Ameri- 
 can General Lee, who had been captured by the 
 British. 
 
 General Howe, in June, again marched against 
 Washington and again fell back without doing any- 
 thing. Had he, instead of thus frittering away his 
 strength, marched to the Delaware, crossed that 
 river, and advanced against Philadelphia, Washing- 
 ton would have been forced to leave his stronghold 
 and either fight in the open or allow that important 
 city to fall into the hands of the English. 
 
 General Howe now embarked his army in trans- 
 ports. Had he sailed up the North River to Albany 
 he would have effected a junction with General 
 Burgoyne's army, which was advancing from Can- 
 ada, and with the united force could have marched 
 through America from end to end as he chose. In
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 221 
 
 stead of doing so he sailed down to Chesapeake Bay 
 and there disembarked the whole army, which had 
 been pent up in transports from July 3 to August 
 24. Not till September 11 did they advance in ear- 
 nest toward Philadelphia. The Americans thus had 
 ample time to take up a strong position and fortify 
 it. This they did on the other side of Brandy wine 
 Creek. Under cover of a cannonade the British ad- 
 vanced, mastered the fort, and carried the intrench- \ 
 ments. General Sullivan, with a considerable force, 
 had now arrived, accompanied by General Wash- 
 ington himself. He took up his position a short dis- 
 tance from the Brandy wine, his artillery well placed 
 and his flanks covered with woods. 
 
 The following afternoon the British attacked. 
 The Americans fought well, but the British were 
 not to be denied, and rushing forward drove the 
 enemy from their position into the woods in their 
 rear. Here they made a stand and were only dis- 
 lodged after a desperate resistance. The greater 
 portion of them fled in all directions. Washington 
 himself, with his guns and a small force, retreated 
 eight miles from Chester and then marched by 
 Derby to Philadelphia. Here he waited three da} r s 
 rallying his troops, and then having recruited his 
 stores from the magazines, marched away. 
 
 All this time the British remained inactive on the 
 ground they had won. In the battle the Americans 
 lost three hundred killed, six hundred wounded, and 
 four hundred prisoners. Several guns were also 
 taken. The British lost one hundred killed and four 
 hundred wounded.
 
 222 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 On September 20 they advanced toward Phila- 
 delphia. The American General Wayne had con- 
 cealed himself in the woods with fifteen hundred 
 men, with the intention of harassing the rear of the 
 British army. News of this having been obtained, 
 Major-General Grey was dispatched at once to sur- 
 prise him ; he ordered his men not to load, but to 
 rely wholly on the bayonet. The success of the ex- 
 pedition was complete. General Wayne's outpost 
 was surprised and the British troops rushed into his 
 encampment. Three hundred of the Americans 
 were killed or wounded and one hundred taken 
 prisoners. The rest escaped through the woods. 
 On the English side one officer was killed and 
 seven privates killed and wounded. 
 
 The capture of Philadelphia was an important 
 advantage to the British, but it could not be thor- 
 oughly utilized until the fleet could come up the 
 river to the town. The American Congress, which 
 had sat at Philadelphia until General Howe ap- 
 proached the town, had taken extensive measures 
 for rendering the passage impracticable. Three 
 rows of chevaux-de-frise, composed of immense 
 beams of timber bolted and fastened together and 
 stuck with iron spikes, were sunk across the chan- 
 nel, and these lines were protected by batteries. 
 At these forts were fourteen large row-boats, each 
 carrying a heavy cannon, two floating batteries 
 carrying nine guns each, and a number of fire-ships 
 and rafts. 
 
 The forts commanding the chevaux-de-frise were
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 223 
 
 abandoned on the approach of the British, and Cap- 
 tain Hammond, of the Roebuck, succeeded, in spite 
 of the opposition of the enemy's boats and batteries, 
 in making an opening through the chevaux-de-frise 
 sufficiently wide for the fleet to pass. 
 
 Large numbers of troops having been sent away 
 from Germantown, a place seven miles from Phila- 
 delphia, where the main body of the British army 
 were posted, General Washington determined to 
 attempt the surprise of that position. For this pur- 
 pose he reenforced his army by drawing fifteen 
 hundred troops from Peekskill and one thousand 
 from Virginia, and at daybreak on October 4, 
 under cover of a thick fog, he made an attack on 
 the troops posted at the head of the village. 
 
 Half of the British force lay on one side of the 
 village and half on the other, and had the attack 
 upon the place succeeded the British army would 
 have been cut in two. The village was held by the 
 Fortieth Regiment, who, fighting obstinately, were 
 driven back among the houses. The Americans 
 were pushing forward in five heavy columns, when 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Musgrave, who commanded the 
 Fortieth, threw himself into a large stone house. 
 Here he offered a desperate resistance, and so im- 
 peded the advance of the enemy that time was 
 given for the rest of the British troops to get under 
 arms. 
 
 General "Washington ordered a whole brigade of 
 infantry to attack the house and turned four guns 
 against it. Colonel Musgrave and his men resisted
 
 224 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 desperately and held the post until Major-General 
 Grey, with the third brigade, and Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral Agnew, with the fourth brigade, came up and 
 attacked the enemy with great spirit. The engage- 
 ment was for some time very hot. At length a 
 part of the right wing fell upon the enemy's flank, 
 and the Americans retired with great precipitation. 
 The fog was so dense that no pursuit could be 
 attempted. 
 
 On the part of thb English six hundred were 
 killed and wounded. The loss of the Americans 
 amounted to between two and three hundred killed, 
 six hundred wounded, and four hundred taken 
 prisoners. General Howe had on the previous 
 night been acquainted with the intention of Gen- 
 eral Washington to attack the place, and had he 
 taken the proper measures to have received them 
 the American army would have been destroyed. 
 He took no measures whatever, gave no warning to 
 the army, and suffered the camp to be taken by 
 surprise. 
 
 Aftor this battle the fleet and army united, 
 cleared away the chevaux-de-frise across the Dela- 
 ware, and took the forts commanding them after 
 some hard fighting. 
 
 The passage of the Delaware being thus opened 
 and the water communication secured, the army 
 went to their winter quarters at Philadelphia. 
 
 Captain Wilson and his son had taken no part in 
 any of these operations, as a short time after the 
 capture of Harold and Harvey by the American
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 225 
 
 cavalry the company had been disbanded. The 
 men when they entered the service had volunteered 
 for a year. This time already had been greatly 
 exceeded twenty months had passed since the 
 battle of Bunker's Hill and although the men 
 were willing to continue to give their services so 
 long as it appeared to them that there was a pros- 
 pect of a favorable terminatior of the war, no such 
 hope any longer remained in their minds. The 
 great army which England had sent over had done 
 nothing to \\ard restoring '.lr king's authority in the 
 colonies, and if after a year' fighting its outposts 
 were still within a few miles of New York, how 
 could it be expected or ev r n hoped that it could 
 ever subdue a country containing hundreds of 
 thousands of square miles ? The retreat from the 
 Delaware and the virtual handing over of New 
 Jersey again to Washington was the finishing 
 stroke which decided the volunteers to demand 
 their discharge, according to the terms of their 
 engagement. Except during the Canadian cam- 
 paign they had had but little fighting, nor in such a 
 warfare as that which General Howe was carrying 
 on was there much scope for their services. Many 
 of the gentlemen who formed the majority of the 
 company, and who for tha most part had friends 
 and connections in England, sailed for that country ; 
 some had left wives and families on their estates 
 when they took up arms ; and most of them, de- 
 spairing of the final success of the war, had instruct- 
 ed their agents to sell these estates for any sum that
 
 226 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 they would fetch ; others among them Captain 
 Wilson now followed their example. It was but a 
 mere tithe of the value of the property that was 
 obtained, for money was scarce in the colonies, and 
 so many had sold out and gone to England, rather 
 than take part on one side or the other of the 
 fratricidal strife, that land and houses fetched but 
 nominal prices. 
 
 Mrs. Wilson had long since gone to England, and 
 her husband, having made arrangements for the 
 disposal of his property, now determined to join 
 her. Fortunately he possessed means irrespective 
 of his estate in America. This had come to him 
 through his wife, and his own fortune and the 
 money obtained by the sale of his commission had 
 remained invested in English securities. While 
 determined on this course for himself, he left it to 
 his son to choose his own career. Harold was 
 now nearly eighteen, and his life of adventure and 
 responsibility had made a man of him. His father 
 would have preferred that he should have returned 
 with him to England, but Harold finally decided 
 upon remaining. In war men's passions become 
 heated, the original cause of quarrel sinks into 
 comparative insignificance, and the desire for vic- 
 tory, the determination to resist, and a feeling of 
 something like individual hatred for the enemy 
 become predominant motives of the strife. 
 
 This was especially the case in the American war. 
 On both sides there were many circumstances which 
 heightened the passions of the combatants. The
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 227 
 
 loyalists in the English ranks had been ruined by 
 the action of their opponents many had been 
 reduced from wealth to poverty, and each man felt 
 a deep passion of resentment at what he regarded 
 his personal grievance. Then, too, the persistent 
 misrepresentations both of facts and motives on the 
 part of the American writers and speakers added to 
 the irritation. The loyalists felt that there were vast 
 numbers throughout the colonies who agreed with 
 them and regarded Congress as a tyrannical faction 
 rather than the expression of the general will. In 
 this, no doubt, they were to some extent mistaken, 
 for by this time the vast majority of the people had 
 joined heart and soul in the conflict. Men's passions 
 had become so stirred up that it was difficult for 
 any to remain neutral ; and although there were 
 still large numbers of loyalists throughout the 
 States, the vast bulk of the people had resolved 
 that the only issue of the contest was complete and 
 entii 3 separation from the mother country. 
 
 Harold had now entered passionately into the 
 struggle. He was in constant contact with men who 
 had been ruined by the war. He heard only one side 
 of the question, and he was determined, so long as 
 England continued the struggle, to fight on for a 
 cause which he considered sacred. He was unable 
 to regard the prospects of success as hopeless ; he 
 saw the fine army which England had 'collected ; 
 he had been a witness of the defeat of the 
 Americans whenever they ventured to stand the 
 shock of the British battalions ; and in spite of the
 
 228 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 unsatisfactory nature of the first campaign, he could 
 not bring himself to believe that such an army could 
 fail. 
 
 When the company was disbanded he decided to 
 continue to serve as a scout, but, sharing in the 
 general disgust in the army at the incapacity of 
 General Howe, he determined to take ship again 
 for Canada and take service under General Bur- 
 goyne, who was preparing with a well-appointed 
 army to invade the States from that side. 
 
 When he communicated his determination to 
 Peter Lambton the latter at once agreed to accom- 
 pany him. 
 
 " I've gone into this business," the hunter said, 
 " and I mean to see it through. Settling down don't 
 suit me. I ain't got any friends at New York, and 
 I'd be miserable just loafing about all day doing 
 nothing. No, I'll see this business out to the 3nd, 
 and I'd much rather go with you than any one 
 else." 
 
 Jake was of the same opinion. Accustomed all 
 his life to obey orders and to the life on his master's 
 plantation, he would not have known what to do if 
 left to his own devices. Captain Wilson pointed 
 out to him that he could easily obtain work on the 
 wharves of New York or as a laborer on a farm, 
 but Jake would not listen to the proposal and was 
 hurt at the thought that he could leave his young 
 master's side as long as Harold continued in the 
 war. 
 
 Accordingly the day after Captain Wilson sailed
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 for England the three comrades embarked in a ship 
 for Halifax, whence another vessel took them to 
 Quebec. They then sailed up the river to Montreal 
 and took service as scouts in General Burgoyne's 
 army. 
 
 For political reasons General Burgoyne had been 
 appointed to the command of the expedition which 
 had been prepared, and General Carleton, naturally 
 offended at being passed over, at once resigned the 
 governorship. His long residence in Canada, his 
 knowledge of the country, of the manners of its 
 inhabitants and the extent of its resources, and his 
 acquaintance with the character of the Indians, 
 rendered him far more fit for command than was 
 General Burgoyne. In military knowledge and ex- 
 perience, too, he was his superior, and had he 
 retained a command the fate of the expedition 
 would probably have been very different. 
 
 The army under General Burgoyne consisted 
 of seven thousand one hundred and seventy-three 
 men, exclusive of artillerymen. Of these about 
 half were Germans. The Canadians were called 
 upon to furnish men sufficient to occupy the 
 woods on the frontier and to provide men for the 
 completion of the fortifications at Sorel, St. John's, 
 Chamblee, and Isle-aux-Koix, to furnish horses and 
 carts for carriage, and to make roads when neces- 
 sary. A naval force was to go forward with him 
 on the lake. The Indian question had again to be 
 decided. Several tribes volunteered to join the 
 British. General Burgoyne hesitated, as General
 
 230 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Carleton had done before, to accept their services, 
 and only did so finally on the certainty that if he 
 refused their offers they would join the Americans. 
 He resolved to use them as little as possible. He 
 knew that their object in all wars was murder and 
 destruction, and although he wished to conquer the 
 Americans, he did not desire to exterminate them. 
 
 On June 16, 1777, General Burgoyne advanced 
 from St. John's. The naval force had preceded the 
 army and opened a way for its advance. The 
 troops were carried in a flotilla of boats, and under 
 the protection of the fleet passed Lake Champlain 
 and landed at Crown Point. 
 
 Harold and his companions had joined the army a 
 fortnight previously, and as they crossed the lake 
 with the fleet they could not but remember their 
 last expedition there. At Crown Point they were 
 joined by one thousand Indians, who marched round 
 the lake, and at this place General Burgoyne gave 
 them a great feast and afterward made a speech to 
 them, exhorting them to abstain from all cruelty, to 
 avoid any ill-treatment of unarmed combatants, and 
 to take as prisoners all combatants who fell into 
 their hands. 
 
 But while thus exhorting the Indians to behave 
 with humanity and moderation, the general took a 
 most ill-judged step, which not only did the English 
 cause great harm, but was used by the Americans 
 with much effect as a proof of the cruel way in 
 which England warred against the colonists. He 
 issued a proclamation, threatening to punish with
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 231 
 
 the utmost severity all who refused to attach them- 
 selves to the British cause, and at the same time he 
 magnified the ferocity of the Indians, pointing out 
 with great emphasis their eagerness to butcher 
 those who continued hostile to the mother country, 
 whose interests they had espoused. 
 
 This proclamation was naturally construed by the 
 Americans as a threat to deliver over to the tender 
 mercies of the Indians to slay, scalp, and destroy all 
 who ventured to resist the authority of the king. 
 
 The Americans had fallen back on the approach 
 of the British, and upo the landing being effected 
 the scouts were instantly sent forward. 
 
 Among the Indians who had joined at Crown 
 Point were the Senecas among them their old 
 friend Deer Tail. 
 
 The scouts received no particular orders and were 
 free to regulate their own movements. Their duty 
 was to reconnoiter the country ahead and to bring 
 in any information they might gather as to numbers 
 and position of the enemy. 
 
 Finding that Peter and his companions were 
 about to start, Deer Tail said that instead of waiting 
 for the feast he would take five of his warriors and 
 accompany them. 
 
 It was at Ticonderoga that the Americans had 
 prepared to make their first stand. The place lies 
 on the western shore of the lake a few miles to the 
 northward of the narrow inlet uniting Lake Cham- 
 plain to Lake George. It was to reconnoiter the 
 fort that the party now set out. News had been
 
 232 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 brought that the Americans had been executing 
 great additional works, and the British general was 
 anxious to learn the nature of these before he ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 It was certain that the enemy would on their side 
 have sent out scouts to ascertain the movements of 
 the royal army, and the party proceeded with the 
 greatest care. They marched in the usual fashion 
 in Indian file ; the Seneca chief led the way, fol- 
 lowed by one of his braves ; then came Peter, Harold, 
 and Jake ; the other Senecas marched in the rear. 
 
 When they came within a few miles of the fort 
 their progress was marked with profound caution. 
 Not a word was spoken, their tread was noiseless, 
 and the greatest pains were taken to avoid stepping 
 on a twig dried stick. The three scouts when 
 they left S1 ohn's had abandoned their boots and 
 had taken to Indian moccasins. Several times 
 slight murmurs were heard in the forest, and once 
 a party of four American frontiersmen were seen in 
 the wood. The party halted and crouched in the 
 bushes. The Senecas turned toward Peter as if 
 asking if an attack should be made, but the latter 
 shook his head. A single shot would have been 
 heard far away in the woods and their further prog- 
 ress would have been arrested. Their object now 
 was not to fight, but to penetrate close to the Amer- 
 ican intrenchments. 
 
 When the enemy had passed on the party con- 
 sinued its way. As they neared the fort the caution 
 observed increased. Several times they halted,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 233 
 
 while the Seneca, with one of his braves, crawled 
 forward to see that all was clear. At last they 
 stood on the edge of a great clearing. Before them, 
 just within gun-shot range, stood the fort of Ticon- 
 deroga. Peter Lambton was well acquainted with 
 it, and beyond the fact that the space around had 
 been cleared of all trees and the stockades and 
 earthworks repaired, little change could be seen. 
 
 As he was gazing the Indian touched his shoulder 
 and pointed to a high hill on the opposite side of 
 the narrow straits. This had been cleared of 
 trees and on the top a strong fort had been erected. 
 Many cannon were to be seen along its crest, the 
 roofs of huts, and a large number of men. Half- 
 way up the hill was another battery and a third 
 still lower down to sweep the landing. 
 
 " They've been working hard," the hunter said, 
 " and the army '11 have a mighty tough job before 
 it. What do you think of that, Harold ?" 
 
 " It is a very strong position," Harold said, " and 
 will cost us a tremendous number of men to take it. 
 The fort cannot be attacked till that hill has been 
 carried, for its guns completely command all this 
 clearing." 
 
 For some time they stood gazing at the works, 
 standing well back among the trees, so as to be 
 screened from all observation. At last Harold said : 
 
 " Look at that other hill behind. It is a good bit 
 higher than that which they have fortified and must 
 be within easy range both of it and the fort. I 
 don't see any works there do you ?"
 
 234 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Peter and the Seneca chief both gazed long and 
 earnestly at the hill and agreed that they could see 
 no fortification there. 
 
 " It won't do to have any doubt about it," Peter 
 said. "We must go round and have a look at it." 
 
 " We shall have to cross the river," Harold re- 
 marked. 
 
 " Ay, cross it we must," Peter said. " That hill's 
 got to be inspected." 
 
 They withdrew into the wood again and made a 
 circuitous deviation till they came down upon the 
 river, two miles above Ticonderoga. They could 
 not reach the water itself, as a road ran along 
 parallel with it and the forest was cleared away for 
 some distance. A number of men could be seen 
 going backward and forward on the road. 
 
 Having made their observations, the scouts re- 
 tired again into a thick part of the forest and waited 
 till nightfall. 
 
 "How are we to get across?" Harold asked 
 Peter. " It's a good long swim, and we could not 
 carry our muskets and ammunition across." 
 
 "Easy enough," the scout said " Didn't you 
 notice down by the road a pile of planks ? I suppose 
 a wagon has broke down there, and the planks 
 have been turned out and nobody has thought any- 
 thing more about 'em. We'll each take a plank, 
 fasten our rifle and ammunition on it, and swim 
 across ; there won't be any difficulty about that. 
 Then when we've seen what's on the top of that 
 ; ere hill we'll tramp round to the other end of the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 235 
 
 lake. I heard that the army was to advance half 
 on each side, so we'll meet 'em coming." 
 
 When it was perfectly dark they left their hiding- 
 place and crossed the clearing to the spot where 
 Peter had seen the planks. Each took one of them 
 and proceeded to the river side. Peter, Harold, 
 and Jake divested themselves of some of their 
 clothes and fastened these with their rifles and 
 ammunition to the planks. To the Indians the 
 question of getting wet was one of entire indiffer- 
 ence, and they did not even take off their hunting 
 shirts. Entering the water the party swam noise- 
 lessly across to the other side, pushing their planks 
 before them. On getting out they carried the 
 planks for some distance, as their appearance by 
 the water's edge might excite a suspicion on the 
 part of the Americans that the works had been re- 
 connoitered. 
 
 After hiding the planks in the bushes they made 
 their way to Sugar Hill, as the eminence was called. 
 The ascent was made with great circumspection, 
 the Indians going on first. No signs of the 
 enemy were met with, and at last the party stood 
 on the summit of the hill. It was entirely unoccu- 
 pied by the Americans. 
 
 "Well, my fine fellows," laughed the scout, "I 
 reckon ye've been doing a grist of work, and ye 
 might jest as well have been sitting down quietly 
 smoking yer pipes. What on arth possessed ye to 
 leave this hill unguarded ?" 
 
 Tn point of fact General St. Clair, who commanded
 
 236 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the Americans, had perceived that his position was 
 commanded from this spot. He had only three 
 thousand men under him, and he considered this 
 number too small to hold Ticonderoga, Mount Inde- 
 pendence, and Sugar Hill. The two former posts 
 could afford no assistance to the garrison of a fort 
 placed on Sugar Hill, and that place must therefore 
 fall if attacked by the British. On the other hand, 
 he hoped that should the attention of the English 
 not be called to the importance of the position by 
 the erection of works upon it, it might be over- 
 looked, and that General Burgoyne on his arrival 
 might at once attack the position which he had pre- 
 pared with so much care. 
 
 Having ascertained that the hill was unoccupied, 
 Peter proposed at once to continue the march. 
 Harold suggested to him that it would be better to 
 wait until morning, as from their lofty position 
 they would be able to overlook the whole of the 
 enemy's lines of defense and might obtain in forma- 
 tion of vital importance to the general. Peter saw 
 the advantage of the suggestion. Two of the In- 
 dians were placed on watch, and the rest of the 
 party lay down to sleep. At daybreak they saw 
 that the delay had been fully justified, for they had 
 now a view of the water which separated Ticon- 
 deroga from Mount Independence, and perceived 
 that the Americans had made a strong bridge of 
 communication between these posts. Twenty-two 
 piers had been sunk at equal distances, and between 
 them boats were placed, fastened with chains to the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 237 
 
 piers. A strong bridge of planks connected the 
 whole. On the Lake Champlain side of the bridge 
 a boom, composed of great trees fastened together 
 with double chains, had been placed. Thus not 
 only had communication been established across the 
 stream, but an effectual barrier erected to the 
 passage of the fleet. Fully satisfied with the result 
 of their investigations, the party set out on their 
 return.
 
 238 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 THE SETTLER'S HUT. 
 
 BEFORE starting they stood for a minute or two 
 looking over the forest which they were to traverse. 
 To Harold's eye all appeared quiet and still. Here 
 and there were clearings where settlers had estab- 
 lished themselves, but with these exceptions the 
 forest stretched away like a green sea. 
 
 " Tarnation !" Peter exclaimed. " We'll have all 
 our work to get through safely, eh, chief ?" 
 
 The Seneca nodded. 
 
 " What makes you say so ?" Harold asked in 
 surprise. " I see nothing." 
 
 Peter looked at him reproachfully. 
 
 " I'm downright ashamed of ye, lad. You should 
 have been long enough in the woods by this time to 
 know smoke when you see it. Why, there it is 
 curling up from the trees in a dozen ay, in a score 
 of places. There must be hundreds of men out 
 scouting or camping in them woods." 
 
 Harold looked fixedly again at the forests, but 
 even now he could not detect the signs which were 
 so plain to the scout. 
 
 " You may call me as blind as a bat, Peter," he 
 said with a laugh, " but I can see nothing. Look-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 239 
 
 ing hard I imagine I can see a light mist here and 
 there, but I believe it is nothing but fancy." 
 
 " It's clear enough to me, lad, and to the redskins. 
 What do you say, chief ?" 
 
 " Too much men," the Seneca replied senten- 
 tiously. 
 
 For another minute or two he and Peter stood 
 watching the forest, and then in a few words con- 
 sulted together as to the best line to follow to avoid 
 meeting the foe who, to their eyes, swarmed in the 
 forest. 
 
 "It's mighty lucky," the hunter said as they 
 turned to descend the hill, which was covered with 
 trees to its very summit, " that they're white men 
 and not redskins out in the woods there. I don't 
 say that there's not many frontiersmen who know 
 the way of the woods as well as the redskins. I do 
 myself, and when it comes to fighting we can lick 
 'em on their own ground ; but in scouting we ain't 
 nowhere not the best of us. The redskin seems to 
 have an instinct more like that of an animal than a 
 man. I don't say as he can smell a man a mile off 
 as a dog can do, but he seems to know when the 
 enemy's about ; his ears can hear noises which we 
 can't ; his eyes see marks on the ground when the 
 keenest-sighted white man sees nothing. If that 
 wood was as full of redskins as it is of whites to- 
 day, our sculps wouldn't be worth a charge of 
 powder." 
 
 " You are not going to follow the shores of the 
 lake, I suppose ?" Harold asked.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " No," Peter said. " They'll be as thick as peas 
 down there watching for the first sight of our fleet. 
 No, we must just keep through the woods and be 
 as still and as silent as ef the trees had ears. You'd 
 best look to the priming of yer piece before we goes 
 further, for it's likely enough you'll have to use it 
 before the day's done, and a miss-fire might cost you 
 yer life. Tell that nigger of your'n that he's not to 
 open his mouth again till I gives him leave." 
 
 With a long, stealthy tread the party descended 
 the mountain and took their way through the 
 woods. Every hundred yards or so they stopped 
 and listened intently. When any noise, even of the 
 slightest kind, was heard, all dropped to the ground 
 until the chief had scouted round and discovered 
 the way was clear. Once or twice they heard the 
 sound of men's voices and a distant laugh, but they 
 passed on without seeing those who uttered them. 
 
 Presently they again heard voices, this time 
 raised as if in angry dispute. The Seneca would, 
 as before, have made a long detour to avoid them, 
 but Peter said : 
 
 " Let's have a squint at what's going on, chief." 
 
 With redoubled caution they again advanced 
 until they stood at the edge of the clearing. It was 
 a patch of land some hundred yards wide and ex- 
 tending from the shore of the lake nearly a quarter 
 of a mile inland. In the center stood a log hut, 
 neatly and carefully built. A few flowers grew 
 around the house, and the whole bore signs of 
 greater neatness and comfort than was usual in the 
 cabins of the backwood settlers.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 241 
 
 The point where the party had reached the edge 
 of the wood was immediately opposite the house. 
 Near it stood a group of some twenty men, one of 
 whom, apparently their leader, was gesticulating 
 angrily as he addressed a man who stood facing 
 him. 
 
 " I tell ye, ye're a darned royalist ye're a traitor 
 to the country, and I've a mind to hang ye and all 
 belonging to ye to the nearest bough." 
 
 " I tell you," the man answered calmly, but in the 
 still air every word he said could be heard by those 
 at the edge of the forest, " I hae naething to do 
 with the trouble ane way or the ither. I am a quiet 
 settler, whose business only is to mak a hame for 
 my wife and bairn ; but if you ask me to drink suc- 
 cess to the Congress and confusion to the king's 
 troops, I tell you I willna do it ; not even if you 
 are brutal enough, but this I canna believe possible, 
 to carry your threats into execution. I hae served 
 my time in a king's regiment. With the bounty I 
 received instead o' pension on my discharge I settled 
 here wi' my wife and bairn, and no one shall say 
 that Duncan Cameron was a traitor to his king. 
 "We do no harm to any one ; we tak no part for or 
 against you ; we only ask to be allowed to live in 
 peace." 
 
 " That ye shall not," the man said. " The king's 
 troops have got Injuns with 'em, and they're going 
 to burn and kill all those who won't take part with 
 'em. It's time we should show 'em as we can play 
 at that game too. Now ye've either got to swear
 
 242 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 to be faithful to the States of America or up 
 ye go." 
 
 " I canna swear," the settler said firmly. " You 
 may kill me if you will, but if you are men }'ou will 
 nae harm my wife and girl." 
 
 " We'll just do to you as the redskins'll do to our 
 people," the man said. " We'll make a sweep of 
 the hull lot of you. Here, you fellows, fetch the 
 woman and girl out of the house and then set a 
 light to it." 
 
 Four or five of the men entered the house. A 
 minute later screams were heard and a woman and 
 child dragged out. The settler sprang toward them, 
 but three or four men seized him. 
 
 "Now," the man said, stepping toward the house, 
 " we'll show 'em a bonfire." 
 
 As he neared the door a crack of a rifle was heard 
 and the ruffian fell dead in his tracks. A yell of 
 astonishment and rage broke from his followers. 
 
 " Jerusalem ! youngster, you've got us into a nice 
 fix. Howsomever, since you've begun it here goes." 
 
 And the rifle of the hunter brought down another 
 of the Americans. These, following the first im- 
 pulse of a frontiersman when attacked, fled for 
 shelter to the house, leaving the settler with his 
 wife and daughter standing alone. 
 
 " Ye'd best get out of the way," Peter shouted, 
 " or ye may get a bit of lead that wasn't intended 
 for ye." 
 
 Catching up his child, Cameron ran toward the 
 forest, making for the side on which his unknown
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 243 
 
 friends were placed, but keeping down toward the 
 lake so as to be out of their line of fire. 
 
 " Make down to 'em, Harold," Peter said. Tell 
 'em they'd best go to some neighbor's and stop 
 there for a day or two. The army'll be here to- 
 morrow or next day. Be quick about it, and come 
 back as fast as ye can. I tell ye we're in a hornet's 
 nest, and it'll be as much as we can do to get out 
 of it." 
 
 A scattering fire was now being exchanged be- 
 tween the redskins behind the shelter of the trees 
 and the Americans firing from the windows of the 
 log house. Harold was but two or three minutes 
 absent. 
 
 " All right, Peter !" he exclaimed as he rejoined 
 them. 
 
 "Come along, then," the hunter said. "Now, 
 chief, let's make up round the top of this clearing 
 and then foot it." 
 
 The chiei at once put himself at the head of the 
 party and the nine men strode away again through 
 the forest. It was no longer silent. Behind them 
 the occupants of the hut were still keeping up a 
 brisk fire toward the trees, while from several 
 quarters shouts could be heard, and more than once 
 the Indian war-whoop rose in the forest. 
 
 " That's jest what I was afeard of," Peter mut- 
 tered. " There's some of those darned varmint with 
 'em. We might have found our way through tha 
 whites, but the redskins'll pick up our trail as sar- 
 tin as if we were driving a wagon through the 
 woods."
 
 244 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Going along at a swinging noiseless trot the party 
 made their way through the forest. Presently a 
 prolonged Indian whoop was heard in the direction 
 from which they had come. Then there were loud 
 shouts and the firing ceased. 
 
 " One of the red reptiles has found our trail," 
 Peter said. "He's with a party of whites, and 
 they've shouted the news to the gang in the clear- 
 ing. Waal, we may calculate we've got thirty on 
 our trail, and as we can hear them all round it'll be 
 a sarcumstance if we git out with our sculps." 
 
 As they ran they heard shouts from those behind, 
 answered by others on both flanks. Shots, too, 
 were fired as signals to call the attention of other 
 parties. Several times the Seneca chief stopped 
 and listened attentively, and then changed his course 
 as he heard suspicious noises ahead. Those behind 
 them were coming up, although still at some dis- 
 tance in the rear. They could hear the sound of 
 breaking trees and bushes as their pursuers followed 
 them in a body. 
 
 " Ef it was only the fellows behind," Peter said, 
 " we could leave them easy enough, but the wood 
 seems alive with the varmint." 
 
 It was evident the alarm had spread through the 
 forest, and that the bands scattered here and there 
 were aware that an enemy was in their midst. The 
 dropping fire which the pursuers kept up afforded 
 an indication as to the direction in which they were 
 making, and the ringing war-whoop of the hostile 
 Indians conveyed the intelligence still more surely.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 245 
 
 Presently there was a shout a short distance 
 ahead, followed by the sound of a rifle-ball as it 
 whizzed close to Harold's head and buried itself in a 
 tree that he was passing. In a moment each of the 
 party had sheltered behind a tree. 
 
 " It's of no use, chief," Peter said. " We'll have 
 the hull pack from behind upon us in five minutes. 
 "We must run for it and take our chances of being 
 hit." 
 
 Swerving somewhat from their former line, they 
 again ran on ; bullets whisked round them, but they 
 did not pause to fire a shot in return. 
 
 " Tarnation !" Peter exclaimed as the trees in 
 front of them opened and they found themselves on 
 the edge of another clearing. It was considerably 
 larger than that which they had lately left, being 
 three hundred yards across and extending back from 
 the lake fully half a mile. As in the previous case, 
 a log hut stood in the center some two hundred yards 
 back from the lake. 
 
 " There's nothing for it, chief," Peter said. " We 
 must take to the house and fight it out there. 
 There's a hull gang of fellows in the forest ahead, 
 and they'll shoot us down if we cross the clearing." 
 
 Without a moment's hesitation the party rushed 
 across the clearing to the hut. Several shots were 
 fired as they dashed across the open, but they gained 
 the place of refuge in safety. The hut was desert- 
 ed. It had probably belonged to royalists, for its 
 rough furniture lay broken on the ground, boxes 
 and cupboards had been forced open, and the floor
 
 246 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 was strewn with broken crockery and portions of 
 wearing apparel. 
 
 Harold looked round. Several of the party were 
 bleeding from slight wounds. 
 
 " Now to the windows," Peter said as he barred 
 the door. " Pile up bedding and anything else that 
 ye can find against the shutters, and keep yerselves 
 well under cover. Don't throw away a shot ; we'll 
 want all our powder, I can tell ye. Quickly now 
 there ain't no time to be lost." 
 
 While some began carrying out his instructions 
 below, others bounded upstairs and scattered them- 
 selves through the upper rooms. There were two 
 windows on each side of the house one at each 
 end. Disregarding the latter, Peter and Harold 
 took post at the windows looking toward the forest 
 from which they had just come. The chief and an- 
 other Indian posted themselves to watch the other 
 side. At first no one was to be seen. The party 
 who had fired at them as they ran across the open 
 had waited for the coming up of the strong band 
 who were following before venturing to show them- 
 selves. The arrival of the pursuers was heralded 
 by the opening of a heavy 'fire toward the house. 
 As the assailants kept themselves behind trees no 
 reply was made, and the defenders occupied them- 
 selves by piling the bedding against the shutters, 
 which they had hastily closed. Loop-holes had 
 been left in the walls when the hut was first built ; 
 the moss with which they were filled up was torn 
 out, and each man took his post at one of these.
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 As no answering shot came from the house, the as- 
 sailants became bolder and one or two ventured to 
 show themselves from behind shelter. In a moment 
 Harold and Peter, whose rifles would carry more 
 truly and much further than those of the Indians, 
 fired. 
 
 " Two wiped out !" Peter said as the men fell and 
 shouts of anger arose from the woods. " That'll 
 make them careful." 
 
 This proof of the accuracy of the aim of the be- 
 sieged checked their assailants, and for some time 
 they were very careful not to expose themselves. 
 From both sides of the forest a steady fire was 
 maintained. Occasionally an answering shot flashed 
 out from the house when one of the enemy incau- 
 tiously showed an arm or a part of his body from 
 behind the trees, and it was seldom the rifles were 
 fired in vain. Four or five of the Americans were 
 shot through the head as they leaned forward to 
 fire, and after an hour's exchange of bullets the at- 
 tack ceased. 
 
 " What are they going to do now ?" Harold asked. 
 
 "I expect they're going to wait till nightfall," 
 Peter said. " There's no moon and they'll be able 
 to work up all round the house. Then they'll make 
 a rush together at the door and lower windows. 
 We'll shoot down a good many on 'em, and then 
 they'll burst their way in or set fire to the hut, and 
 there'll be an end of it. That's what'll happen." 
 
 " And you think there is no way of making our 
 way out?" Harold asked.
 
 248 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " It's a mighty poor chance, if there's one at all,* 
 the hunter replied. " I should say by the fire there 
 must be nigh a hundred of 'em now, and it's likely 
 that by nightfall there'll be three times as many. 
 As soon as it gets dusk they'll creep out from the 
 woods and form a circle round the house and grad- 
 ually work up to it. Now let's cook some vittles ; 
 we've had nothing to eat this morning yet, and it 
 must be nigh eleven o'clock. I don't see why we 
 should be starved, even if we have got to be killed 
 to-night." 
 
 One of the party was left on watch on each side 
 of the house, and the others gathered in the room 
 below, where a fire was lit and the strips of dried 
 deer flesh which they carried were soon frying over 
 it. Harold admired the air of indifference with 
 which his companions set about preparing the meat. 
 Every one was aware of the desperate nature of 
 the position, but no allusion was made to it. The 
 negro had caught the spirit of his companions, but 
 his natural loquacity prevented his imitating their 
 habitual silence. 
 
 " Dis bad affair, Massa Harold," he said. " We 
 jess like so many coons up in tree, wid a whole 
 pack ob dogs round us, and de hunters in de distance 
 coming up wid de guns. Dis child reckon dat some 
 ob dera hunters will get hit hard before dey get us. 
 Jake don't care one bit for himself, massa, but he 
 bery sorry to see you in such a fix." 
 
 " It can't be helped, Jake," Harold said as cheer- 
 fully as he could. " It was my firing that shot
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 249 
 
 which got us into it, and yet I cannot blame myself. 
 We could not stand by and see those ruffians murder 
 a woman and child." 
 
 " Dat's so, Massa Harold ; dere was no possinbility 
 of seeing dat. I reckon dat when dose rascals come 
 to climb de stairs dey'll find dat it are bery hard 
 work." 
 
 " I don't think they will try, Jake. They are 
 more likely to heap brushwood against the door and 
 windows and set it alight, and then shoot us down 
 as we rush out. This hut is not like the one I had 
 to defend against the Iroquois. That was built to 
 repel Indians' attacks ; this is a mere squatter's 
 hut." 
 
 After the meal was over Peter and the Seneca 
 chief went upstairs, looked through the loop-holes, 
 and talked long and earnestly together ; then they 
 rejoined the party below. 
 
 " The chief and I are of opinion," Peter said to 
 Harold, " that it are of no manner of use our wait- 
 ing to be attacked here. They'd burn us out to a 
 sartinty ; we should have no show of a fight at all. 
 Any thing's better than that. Now, what we 
 propose is that directly it gits fairly dark we'll all 
 creep out and make for the lake. Even ef they 
 have formed their circle round us, they ain't likely 
 to be as thick there as they are on the other side. 
 What they'll try to do, in course, is to prevent our 
 taking to the forest ; and there'll be such a grist of 
 'em. that I don't believe one of us would git through 
 alive if we tried it. Now they'll not be so strong
 
 250 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 toward the lake, and we might break through to 
 the water. I don't say as there's much chance of 
 our gitting away, for I tell you fairly that I don't 
 believe that there's any chance at all ; but the chief 
 here and his braves don't want their sculps to hang 
 in the wigwams of the Chippewas, and I myself, ef 
 I had the choice, would rather be drownded than 
 shot down. It don't make much difference, but of 
 the two I had rather. Ef we can reach the lake we 
 can swim out of gunshot range. I know you can 
 swim like a fish, and so can Jake, and the Injuns 
 swim as a matter of course. Ef we dive at first we 
 may git off ; it'll be so dark they won't see us with 
 any sartinty beyond fifty yards. "When we're once 
 fairly out in the lake we can take our chance." 
 
 "And is there a chance, Peter? Although, if 
 there is none, I quite agree with you that I would 
 rather be drowned than shot down. If one were 
 sure of being killed by the first shot that would be 
 the easiest death; but if we were only wounded 
 they would probably hang us in the morning." 
 
 "That's so," the hunter said. ""Waal, I can 
 hardly say that there's a chance, and yet I can't say 
 as how there ain't. In the first place, they may 
 have some canoes and come out after us ; there's 
 pretty safe to be some along the shore here. The 
 settlers would have had 'em for fishing." 
 
 "But what chance will that give us?" Harold 
 asked. 
 
 ""Waal," the hunter replied, "I reckon in that 
 case as our chance is a fair one. Ef we dive and
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 251 
 
 / 
 
 come up close alongside we may manage to upset 
 one of 'em, and in that case we might get off. 
 That's one chance. Then ef they don't come out in 
 canoes we might swim three or four miles down the 
 lake and take to land. They couldn't tell which 
 way we'd go and would have to scatter over a long 
 line. It's just possible as we might land without 
 being seen. Once in the woods and we'd be safe. 
 So you see we have two chances. In course wo 
 must throw away our rifles and ammunition before 
 we come to the water." 
 
 " At any rate," Harold said, " the plan is a hope- 
 ful one, and I agree with you that it is a thousand 
 times better to try it than it is to stop here with the 
 certainty of being shot down before morning." 
 
 The afternoon passed quietly. A few shots were 
 fired occasionally from the wood, and taunting 
 shouts were heard of the fate which awaited them 
 when night approached. 
 
 A vigilant watch was kept from the upper win- 
 dows, but Peter thought that it was certain the 
 enemy would make no move until it became per- 
 fectly dark, although they would establish a strong 
 cordon all round the clearing in case the besieged 
 should try and break out. Harold trembled with 
 impatience to be off as the night grew darker and 
 darker. It seemed to him that at any moment the 
 assailants might be narrowing the circle round the 
 house, and had he been the leader he would have 
 given the word long before the scout made a move. 
 
 At last Peter signaled that the time had come.
 
 252 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 It was perfectly dark when the bars were noiselessly 
 removed from the door and the party stole out. 
 Everything seemed silent, but the very stillness 
 made the danger appear more terrible. Peter had 
 impressed upon Harold and Jake the necessity for 
 moving without making the slightest noise. As 
 soon as they left the house the whole party dropped 
 on their hands and knees. Peter and the Seneca 
 chief led the way ; two of the braves came next ; 
 Harold and Jake followed ; the remaining Indians 
 crawled in the rear. Peter had told his comrades 
 to keep as close as possible to the Indians in front 
 of them, and grasping their rifles they crept along 
 the ground. As they led the way Peter and the 
 Seneca carefully removed from before them every 
 dried twig and threw it on one side. 
 
 The distance to be traversed from the hut to the 
 water was about two hundred yards, and half of 
 this was passed over before they encountered any 
 obstacle. Then suddenly there was an exclamation, 
 and Peter and the Seneca sprang to their feet as 
 they came in contact with two men crawling in the 
 opposite direction. They were too close to use their 
 rifles, but a crushing blow from the Seneca's toma- 
 hawk cleft down the man in front of him, while 
 Peter drew his long knife from its sheath and buried 
 it in the body of his opponent. 
 
 The others had also leaped to their feet, and each 
 as he did so fired at the dark figures which rose 
 around them. They had the advantage of the sur- 
 prise ; several scattered shots answered their volley,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 253 
 
 then with their rifles clubbed they rushed forward. 
 For a moment there was a hand-to-hand fight. 
 Harold had just struck down a man opposite to him 
 when another sprang upon him ; so sudden was the 
 attack that he fell from the shock. But in an in- 
 stant Jake buried his knife between his opponent's 
 shoulders and dragged Harold to his feet. 
 
 " Kun for your life, Massa Harold. De whole 
 gang's upon us !" 
 
 And indeed the instant the first shot broke the 
 silence of the woods a babel of sounds arose from 
 the whole circuit of the clearing ; shouts and yells 
 burst out from hundreds of throats. There was no 
 further use for concealment, and from all sides the 
 men who had been advancing to the attack rushed 
 in the direction where the conflict was taking place. 
 This lasted but a few seconds. As Peter had ex- 
 pected, the line was thinner toward the lake than 
 upon the other sides, and the rush of nine men had 
 broken through it. Shouts were heard from the 
 woods on either side extending down to the water, 
 showing that the precaution had been taken by the 
 assailants of leaving a portion of their force to guard 
 the line of forest should the defenders break through 
 the circle. 
 
 At headlong speed the little band rushed down 
 to the water's side, dropped their ammunition 
 pouches by its edge, threw their rifles a few yards 
 into the water, to be recovered, perhaps, on some 
 future occasion, and then dived in. The nearest of 
 the pursuers were some thirty yards behind when
 
 254 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 they neared the water's edge. Swimming as far 
 under water as they could hold their breath, each 
 came to the surface for an instant and then again 
 dived. Momentarily as they showed themselves 
 they heard the rattle of musketry behind, and the 
 bullets splashed thickly on the water. The night, 
 however, was so dark that the fire could only be a 
 random one. Until far out from the shore they 
 continued diving and then gathered together. 
 
 "We're pretty well out of range now," Peter 
 said, " and quite out of sight of the varmints. Now 
 we can wait a bit and see what they do next." 
 
 The enemy were still keeping up a heavy fire 
 from the shore, hallooing and shouting to each 
 other as they fancied they caught a glimpse of their 
 enemies. 
 
 " There must be two or three hundred of 'em," 
 Peter said. " We've fooled 'em nicely so far." 
 
 By the crashing of the bushes the fugitives could 
 hear strong parties making their way along the 
 shore in either direction. An hour passed, during 
 which the fugitives floated nearly opposite the 
 clearing. 
 
 "Hullo!" Peter exclaimed presently. "There'i 
 a canoe coming along the lake. I expect they got 
 it from Cameron's." 
 
 As he spoke a canoe appeared round the point. 
 Two men were standing up holding blazing torches ; 
 two others paddled ; while two, rifle in hand, sat by 
 them. Almost at the same moment another canoe, 
 similarly manned, pushed out from the shore im- 
 mediately opposite.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 255 
 
 "I wish we had known of that canoe," Peter 
 said ; " it would have saved us a lot of trouble ; but 
 we had no time for looking about. I suspected 
 them settlers must have had one laid up sorae- 
 wheres. Now," he went on, " let's make our plans. 
 The canoes are sure to keep pretty nigh each other. 
 They'll most likely think as we've gone down the 
 lake and'll not be looking very sharply after us at 
 present. It'll never do to let 'em pass us. Now 
 Jake and I and two of the Injuns will take one 
 canoe and the chief and three of his braves the 
 other. We must move round so as to get between 
 'em and the shore and then dive and come up close 
 to 'em. Now, Harold, do you swim out a bit further 
 and then make a splash so as to call their attention. 
 Do it once or twice till you see that they've got 
 their eyes turned that way. Then be very quiet, so 
 as to keep 'em watching for another sound. That'll 
 be our moment for attacking 'em." 
 
 They waited till the two canoes joined each other 
 and paddled slowly out from shore. Then the eight 
 swimmers started off to make their deton^r, while 
 Harold swam quietly further out into the lake. The 
 canoes were about three hundred yards from shore 
 and were paddling very slowly, the occupants keep- 
 ing a fixed look along the lake. There was perfect 
 quiet on the shore now, and when Harold made a 
 slight splash with his hand upon the water he saw 
 it was heard. Both canoes stopped rowing, the 
 steerers in each case giving them a steer so that 
 they lay broadside to the land, giving each man a
 
 256 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 view over the lake- They sat as quiet as if carved 
 in stone. Again Harold made a splash, but this 
 time a very slight one, so slight that it could hardly 
 reach the ears of the listeners. 
 
 A few words were exchanged by the occupants 
 of the boats. 
 
 "They are further out on the lake, Bill," one 
 said. 
 
 " I am not sure," another answered. " I rather 
 think the sound was further down. Listen again." 
 
 Again they sat motionless. Harold swam with 
 his eyes fixed upon them. Every face was turned 
 his way and none was looking shoreward. Then, 
 almost at the same instant, there was a shout from 
 both boats. The men with torches seemed to lose 
 their balance. The lights described a half circle 
 through the air and were extinguished. A shout of 
 astonishment broke from the occupants, mingled 
 with the wild Seneca war-yell, and he knew that 
 both canoes were upset. 
 
 There was the sound of a desperate struggle going 
 on. Oaths and wild cries rose from the water. 
 Heavy blows were struck, while from the shore 
 arose loud shouts of dismay and rage. In two min- 
 utes all was quiet on the water. Then came Peter's 
 shout : 
 
 *' This way, Harold. We'll have the canoes 
 righted and bailed in a minute. The varmin's all 
 wiped out." 
 
 With a lightened heart Harold swam toward the 
 spot. The surprise had been a complete success.
 
 THUS TO THE OLD FLAU. 267 
 
 The occupants of the canoes, intent only upon the 
 pursuit and having no fear of attack for they 
 knew that the fugitives must have thrown away 
 their rifles were all gazing intently out on the 
 lake, when close to each canoe on the shore side 
 four heads rose from out of the water. In an in- 
 stant eight hands had seized the gunwales, and be- 
 fore the occupants were aware of their danger the 
 canoes were upset. 
 
 Taken wholly by surprise the Americans were no 
 match for their assailants. The knives of the latter 
 did their work before the frontiersmen had 
 thoroughly grasped what had happened. Two or 
 three, indeed, had made a desperate fight, but they 
 were no match for their opponents and the struggle 
 was quickly over. 
 
 On Harold reaching the canoes he found them 
 already righted and half-emptied of water. The 
 paddles were picked up, and in a few minutes, with 
 a derisive shout of adieu to their furious enemy on 
 the shore, the two canoes paddled out into the lake. 
 When they had attained a distance of about half a 
 mile from the shore they turned the boats' heads 
 and paddled north. In three hours they saw lights 
 in the wood. 
 
 " There's the troops," Peter said. " Soldiers are 
 never content unless they're making fires big 
 enough to warn every redskin within fifty miles 
 that they're coming." 
 
 As they approached the shore the challenge from 
 the English sentinel came over the water :
 
 258 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 w Who comes there?" 
 
 " Friends," Peter replied. 
 
 " Give the pass- word." 
 
 " How on arth am I to give the pass-word," Peter 
 shouted back, " when we've been three days away 
 from the camp ?" 
 
 " If you approach without the pass-word I fire," 
 the sentinel said. 
 
 " I tell ye," Peter shouted, " we're scouts with 
 news for the general." 
 
 "I can't help who you are," the sentinel said. "I 
 have got my orders." 
 
 "Pass the word along for an officer," Harold 
 shouted. " "We have important news." 
 
 The sentry called to the one next him, and so 
 the word was passed along the line. In a few min- 
 utes an officer appeared on the shore, and after a 
 short parley the party were allowed to land, and 
 Peter and Harold were at once conducted to the 
 headquarters of General Burgoyne.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SARATOGA. 
 
 "WHAT is your report?" asked General Bur- 
 goyne as the scouts were conducted into his tent. 
 
 " We have discovered, sir, that the Americans 
 have strongly fortified Mount Independence, which 
 faces Ticonderoga, and have connected the two 
 places by a bridge across the river, which is pro- 
 tected by a strong boom. Both positions are, how- 
 ever, overlooked by Sugar Hill, and this they have 
 entirely neglected to fortify. If you were to seize 
 this they would have to retire at once." 
 
 The general expressed his satisfaction at the 
 news and gave orders that steps should be taken to 
 seize Sugar Hill immediately. He then questioned 
 the scouts as to their adventures and praised them 
 highly for their conduct. 
 
 The next day the army advanced, and at night- 
 fall both divisions were in their places, having 
 arrived within an hour or two of each other from 
 the opposite sides of the lake. Sugar Hill was 
 seized the same night, and a strong party were set 
 to work cutting a road through the trees. The 
 next morning the enemy discovered the British at 
 work erecting a battery on the hill, and their gen-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 eral decided to evacuate both Ticonderoga and 
 Mount Independence instantly. Their baggage, 
 provisions, and stores were embarked in two hun- 
 dred boats and sent up the river. The array started 
 to march by the road. 
 
 The next morning the English discovered that 
 the Americans had disappeared. Captain Lutwych 
 immediately set to work to destroy the bridge and 
 boom, whose construction had taken the Americans 
 nearly twelve months' labor. By nine in the 
 morning a passage, was effected, and some gunboats 
 passed through in pursuit of the enemy's convoy. 
 They overtook them near Skenesborough, engaged 
 and captured many of their largest craft, and 
 obliged them to set several others on fire, together 
 with a large number of their boats and barges. 
 
 A few hours afterward a detachment of British 
 troops in gunboats came up the river to Skenes- 
 borough. The cannon on the works which the 
 Americans had erected there opened fire, but the 
 troops were landed, and the enemy at once evacu- 
 ated their works, setting fire to their store-houses 
 and mills. While these operations had been going 
 on by water Brigadier-General Fraser, at the head 
 of the advance corps of grenadiers and light infantry, 
 pressed hard upon the division of the enemy which 
 had retired by the Hubberton Road and overtook 
 them at five o'clock in the morning. 
 
 The division consisted of fifteen hundred of the 
 best colonial troops under the command of Colonel 
 Francis. They were posted on strong ground and
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 261 
 
 sheltered by breastworks composed of logs and old 
 trees. General Eraser's detachment was inferior in 
 point of numbers to that of the defenders of the 
 position, but as he expected a body of the German 
 troops under General Reidesel to arrive immedi- 
 ately he at once attacked the breastworks. The 
 Americans defended their post with great resolution 
 and bravery. The reinforcements did not arrive 
 so soon as was expected, and for some time the 
 British made no way. 
 
 General Reidesel, hearing the fire in front, 
 pushed forward at full speed with a small body of 
 troops. Among these was the band, which he or- 
 dered to play. 
 
 The enemy, hearing the music and supposing that 
 the whole of the German troops had come up, evacu- 
 ated the position and fell back with precipitation. 
 Colonel Francis and many others were killed and 
 two hundred taken prisoners. On the English side 
 one hundred and twenty men were killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 The enemy from Skenesborough were pursued by 
 Colonel Hill, with the Ninth Regiment, and were 
 overtaken near Fort Anne. Finding how small was 
 the force that pursued them in comparison to their 
 own, they took the offensive. A hot engagement 
 took place, and after three hours' fighting the 
 Americans were repulsed with great slaughter and 
 forced to retreat after setting fire to Fort Anne 
 and Fort Edward. 
 
 In these operations the British captured one
 
 262 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 hundred and forty -eight guns, with large quantities 
 of stores. At Fort Edward General Schuyler was 
 joined by General St. Clair, but even with this ad- 
 dition the total American strength did not exceed 
 forty-four hundred. 
 
 Instead of returning from Skenesborough to 
 Ticonderoga, whence he might have sailed with his 
 army up to Lake George, General Burgoyne pro- 
 ceeded to cut his way through the woods to the 
 lake. The difficulties of the passage were immense : 
 swamps and morasses had to be passed, bridges had 
 to be constructed over creeks, ravines, and gulleys. 
 The troops worked with great vigor and spirit. 
 Major-General Phillips had returned to Lake George 
 and transported the artillery, provisions, and bag- 
 gage to Fort George and thence by land to a point 
 on the Hudson Tliver, together with a large number 
 of boats for the use of the army in their intended 
 descent to Albany. 
 
 So great was the labor entailed by this work that 
 it was not until July 30 that the army arrived on 
 the Hudson River. The delay of three weeks had 
 afforded the enemy time to recover their spirits and 
 recruit their strength. General Arnold arrived 
 with a strong reenforcement, and a force was de- 
 tached to check the progress of Colonel St. Leger, 
 who was coming down from Montreal by way of 
 Lake Ontario and the Mohawk River, to effect a 
 junction with General Burgoyne. 
 
 General Burgoyne determined to advance at 
 once. The army was already suffering from want
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 263 
 
 of transportation, and he decided to send a body 
 of troops to Bennington, twenty-four miles to 
 the eastward of the Hudson River, where the 
 Americans had large supplies collected. Instead of 
 sending light infantry he dispatched six hundred 
 Germans the worst troops he could have selected 
 for this purpose, as they were very heavily armed 
 and inarched exceedingly slowly. Several of the 
 officers remonstrated with him, but with his 
 usual infatuated obstinacy he maintained his dis- 
 position. 
 
 On approaching Bennington Colonel Baum, who 
 commanded the Germans, found that a very strong 
 force was gathered there. He sent back for re- 
 enforcements, and five hundred more Germans, 
 under Lieutenant-Colonel Breyman, were dispatched 
 to his assistance. Long, however, before these 
 slowly moving troops could arrive Colonel Baum 
 was attacked by the enemy in vastly superior num- 
 bers. The Germans fought with great bravery and 
 several times charged the Americans and drove 
 them back. Fresh troops continued to come up on 
 the enemy's side, and the Germans having lost a 
 large number of men, including their colonel, were 
 forced to retreat into the woods. The enemy then 
 advanced against Colonel Breyman, who was 
 ignorant of the disaster that had befallen Baum, 
 and with his detachment had occupied twenty-four 
 hours in marching sixteen miles. The Germans 
 again fought well, but after a gallant resistance 
 were obliged to fall back. In these two affairs they 
 lost six hundred men-
 
 264 TRUE TO THE OLD FLA&. 
 
 In the mean time Colonel St. Leger had com- 
 menced his attack upon Fort Stanwix, which was 
 defended by seven hundred men. The American 
 General Herkimer advanced with one thousand 
 men to its relief. Colonel St. Leger detached Sir 
 John Johnson with a party of regulars and a num- 
 ber of Indians, who had accompanied him, to meet 
 them. The enemy advanced incautiously and fell 
 into an ambush. A terrible fire was poured into 
 them, and the Indians then rushed down and at- 
 tacked them hand to hand. The Americans, al- 
 though taken by surprise, fought bravely and 
 succeeded in making their retreat, leaving four 
 hundred killed and wounded behind them. 
 
 Colonel St. Leger had no artillery which was 
 capable of making any impression on the defenses 
 of the fort. Its commander sent out a man who, 
 pretending to be a deserter, entered the British 
 camp and informed Colonel St. Leger that General 
 Burgoyne had been defeated and his army cut to 
 pieces, and that General Arnold, with two thousand 
 men, was advancing to raise the siege. Colonel St. 
 Leger did not credit the news, but it created a panic 
 among the Indians, the greater portion of whom at 
 once retired without orders, and St. Leger having 
 but a small British force with him was compelled to 
 follow their example, leaving his artillery and stores 
 behind him. 
 
 On September 13 General Burgoyne, having with 
 immense labor collected thirty days' provisions on 
 the Hudson, crossed the river by a bridge of boats
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 265 
 
 and encamped on the heights of Saratoga. His 
 movements had been immensely hampered by the 
 vast train of artillery which he took with him. In 
 an open country a powerful force of artillery is of 
 the greatest service to an army, but in a campaign 
 in a wooded and roadless country it is of little utility 
 and enormously hampers the operations of an army. 
 Had General Burgoyne, after the capture of Ticon- 
 deroga, pressed forward in light order without 
 artillery he could unquestionably have marched 
 to New York without meeting with any serious 
 opposition, but the six weeks' delay had enabled 
 the Americans to collect a great force to oppose 
 him. 
 
 On the 19th, as the army were advancing to Still- 
 water, five thousand of the enem}^ attacked the 
 British right. They were led by General Arnold 
 and fought with great bravery and determination. 
 The brunt of the battle fell on the Twentieth, 
 Twenty-fourth, and Sixty-second Regiments. For 
 four hours the fight continued without any advan- 
 tage on either side, and at nightfall the Americans 
 drew off, each side having lost about six hundred 
 men. After the battle of Stillwater the whole of 
 the Indians with General Burgoyne left him and 
 returned to Canada. 
 
 Hampered with his great train of artillery, un- 
 provided with transportation, in the face of a power- 
 ful enemy posted in an exceedingly strong position, 
 General Burgoyne could neither advance nor re- 
 treat. The forage was exhausted and the artillery
 
 266 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 horses were dying in great numbers. He had 
 hoped that Sir William Howe would have sailed 
 up the Hudson and joined him, but the English 
 commander-in-chief had taken his army down to 
 Philadelphia. Sir Henry Clinton, who commanded 
 at New York, endeavored with a small force at 
 his command to make a diversion by operating 
 against the American posts on the Hudson River, 
 but this was of no utility. 
 
 Burgoyne's army was now reduced to little more 
 than five thousand men, and he determined to fall 
 back upon the lakes. Before doing this, however, 
 it would be necessary to dislodge the American? 
 from their posts on his left. Leaving the camp 
 under the command of General Hamilton, Bur 
 goyne advanced with fifteen hundred men against 
 them. But scarcely had the detachment start- 
 ed when the enemy made a furious attack 
 on the British left. Major Ackland, with the 
 grenadiers, was posted here, and for a time defend- 
 ed himself with great bravery. The light infantry 
 and Twenty-fourth were sent to their assistance, but, 
 overpowered by numbers, the left wing was forced 
 to retreat into their intrenchments. These the 
 enemy, led by General Arnold, at once attacked 
 with great impetuosity. For a long time the result 
 was doubtful, and it was not until the American 
 leader was wounded that the attack ceased. IE 
 the mean time the intrenchments defended by the 
 German troops under Colonel Breyman had alsc 
 been attacked. Here the fight was obstinate, but
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 267 
 
 the German intrenchments were carried, Colonel 
 Breyrnan killed, and his troops retreated with the 
 loss of all their baggage and artillery. Two hun- 
 dred prisoners fell into the hands of the Americans. 
 
 That night the British army was concentrated on 
 the heights above the hospital. General Gates, 
 who commanded the Americans, moved his army so 
 as to entirely inclose the British, and the latter, on 
 the night of October 8, retired to Saratoga, being 
 obliged to leave all their sick and wounded in 
 hospital. These were treated with the greatest 
 kindness by the Americans. An attempt was now 
 made to retreat to Fort George or Fort Edward, 
 but the Americans had taken up positions on each 
 road and fortified them with cannon. 
 
 Only about thirty-five hundred fighting men 
 now remained, of whom but one-half were Brit- 
 ish, and scarcely eight days' provisions were left. 
 The enemy, four times superior in point of num- 
 bers, held every line of retreat and eluded every 
 attempt of the British to force them to a general 
 engagement. 
 
 The position was hopeless, and on October 13 a 
 council of war was held and it was determined to 
 open negotiations for a surrender. Two days were 
 spent in negotiations, and it was finally agreed 
 that the army should lay down its arms and that it 
 should be marched to Boston, and there allowed to 
 sail for England on condition of not serving again 
 in North America during the contest. The Cana- 
 dians were to be allowed to return at once to their
 
 268 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 own country. On the 16th the army laid do\vn 
 its arms. It consisted of thirty-five hundred 
 fighting men and six hundred sick and nearly 
 two thousand boatmen, teamsters, and other non- 
 effectives. 
 
 Never did a general behave with greater incom- 
 petence than that manifested by General Burgoyne 
 from the day of his leaving Ticonderoga, and the 
 disaster which befell his army was entirely the re- 
 sult of mismanagement, procrastination, and faulty 
 generalship. 
 
 Had Harold remained with the army until its 
 surrender his share in the war would have been at 
 an end, for the Canadians, as well as all others who 
 laid down their arms, gave their word of honor not 
 to serve again during the war. He had, however, 
 with Peter Lam bton and Jake, accompanied Colonel 
 Baum's detachment on its march to Bennington. 
 Scouting in front of the column, they had ascertained 
 the presence of large numbers of the enemy, and 
 had by hastening back with the news enabled the 
 German colonel to make some preparations for 
 resistance before the attack was made upon him. 
 During the fight that ensued the scouts, posted 
 behind trees on the German left, had assisted them 
 to repel the attack from that quarter, and when the 
 Germans gave way they effected their escape into 
 the woods and managed to rejoin the army. 
 
 They had continued with it until it moved to the 
 hospital heights after the disastrous attack by the 
 Americans on their camp. General Burgoyne then
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 269 
 
 CI
 
 270 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 sent for Peter Lambton, who was, he knew, one of 
 his most active and intelligent scouts. 
 
 " Could you make your way through the enemy's 
 lines down to Ticonderoga ?" he asked. 
 
 " I could try, general," Peter said. " Me and the 
 party who work with me could get through if any 
 one could, but more nor that I can't say. The 
 Tanks are swarming around pretty thick, I reckon, 
 but if we have luck we might make a shift to get 
 through." 
 
 "I have hopes," the general said, "that another 
 regiment, for which I asked General Carleton, has 
 arrived there. Here is a letter to General Powell, 
 who is in command, to beg him to march with all 
 his available force and fall upon the enemy posted 
 on our line of communication. Unless the new 
 regiment has reached him he will not have a suffi- 
 cient force to attempt this, but if this has come up 
 he may be enabled to do so. He is to march in the 
 lightest order and at full speed, so as to take the 
 enemy by surprise. Twelve hours before he starts 
 you will bring me back news of his coming and I 
 will move out to meet him. His operations in their 
 rear will confuse the enemy and enable me to 
 operate with a greater chance of success. I tell you 
 this because if you are surrounded and in difficulties 
 you may have to destroy my dispatch. You can 
 then convey my instructions by word of mouth to 
 General Powell if you succeed in getting through." 
 
 Upon leaving headquarters Peter joined his 
 friends.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 271 
 
 " It's a risksome business," he went on after in- 
 forming them of the instructions he had received, 
 "but I don't know as it's much more risksome than 
 stopping here. It don't seem to me that this army 
 is like to get out of the trap into which their general 
 has led 'em. Whatever he wanted to leave the 
 lakes for is more nor I can tell. However, general- 
 ing ain't my business, and I wouldn't change places 
 with the old man to-day, not for a big sum of 
 money. Now, chief, what do you say? How's 
 this 'ere business to be carried out ?" 
 
 The Seneca, with the five braves who had from 
 the first accompanied them, were now the only In- 
 dians with the British army. The rest of the red- 
 skins, disgusted with the dilatory progress of the 
 army and foreseeing inevitable disaster, had all be- 
 taken themselves to their homes. They were, 
 moreover, angered at the severity with which the 
 English general had endeavored to suppress their 
 tendency to acts of cruelty on the defenseless 
 settlers. The redskin has no idea of civilized war- 
 fare. His sole notion of fighting is to kill, burn, 
 and destroy, and the prohibition of all irregular 
 operations and of the infliction of unnecessary suffer- 
 ing was in his eyes an act of incomprehensible 
 weakness. The Seneca chief remained with the 
 army simply because his old comrade did so. He 
 saw that there was little chance of plunder, but he 
 and his braves had succeeded in fair fight in obtain- 
 ing many scalps, and would, at least, be received 
 with high honor on their return to their tribe.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 A long discussion took place between the chief 
 and Peter before they finally decided upon the 
 best course to be pursued. They were ignorant of 
 the country and of the disposition of the enemy's 
 force, and could only decide to act upon general 
 principles. They thought it probable that the 
 Americans would be most thickly posted upon the 
 line between the British army and the lakes, and 
 their best chance of success would therefore be to 
 make their way straight ahead for some distance, 
 and then, when they had penetrated the American 
 lines, to make a long detour round to the lakes. 
 
 Taking four days' provisions with them, they 
 started when nightfall had fairly set in. It was in- 
 tensely dark, and in the shadows of the woods 
 Harold was unable to see his hand before him. 
 The Indians appeared to have a faculty of seeing 
 in the dark, for they advanced without the slightest 
 pause or hesitation and were soon in the open 
 country. The greatest vigilance was now neces- 
 sary. Everywhere they could hear the low hum 
 which betokens the presence of many men gathered 
 together. Sometimes a faint shout came to their 
 ears, and for a long distance around the glow in the 
 sky told of many fires. The party now advanced 
 with the greatest caution, frequently halting while 
 the Indians went on ahead to scout ; and more than 
 once they were obliged to alter their direction as 
 they came upon bodies of men posted across their 
 front. At last they passed through the line of 
 sentinels, and avoiding all the camps gained the 
 country in the Americans' rear-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 273 
 
 They now struck off to the right^ and by day- 
 break were far round beyond the American army, 
 on their way to Ticonderoga. They had walked for 
 fifteen hours when they halted, and it was not until 
 late in the afternoon that they continued their 
 journey. They presently struck the road which the 
 army had cut in its advance, and keeping parallel 
 with this through the forest they arrived the next 
 morning at Fort Edward. A few hours' rest here 
 and they continued their march to Ticonderoga. 
 This place had been attacked by the Americans a 
 few days previously, but the garrison had beaten 
 off the assailants. 
 
 On the march they had seen many bodies of the 
 enemy moving along the road, but their approach 
 had in every case been detected in time to take 
 refuge in the forest. On entering the fort Peter at 
 once proceeded to General Powell's quarters and 
 delivered the dispatch with which he had been in- 
 trusted. The general read it. 
 
 " No reneforcements have arrived," the general 
 said, " and the force here is barely sufficient to de- 
 fend the place. It would be madness for me to set 
 out on such a march with the handful of troops at 
 my disposal." 
 
 He then questioned Peter concerning the exact 
 position of the army, and the latter had no hesita- 
 tion in saying that he thought the whole force 
 would be compelled to lay down their arms unless 
 gome reinforcements reached them from below. 
 
 This, however, was not to be. General Clinton
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 captured Forts Montgomery and Clinton, the latter 
 a very strong position, defended with great resolu- 
 tion by four hundred Americans. The Seventh and 
 Twenty -sixth Regiments and a company of grena- 
 diers attacked on one side, the Sixty-third Regi- 
 ment on the other. They had no cannon to cover 
 their advance and had to cross ground swept by ten 
 pieces of artillery. In no event during the war did 
 the British fight with more resolution. Without 
 firing a shot they pressed forward to the foot of the 
 works, climbed over each other's shoulders on to the 
 walls, and drove the enemy back. The latter dis- 
 charged one last volley into the troops and then laid 
 down their arms. Notwithstanding the slaughter 
 effected by this wanton fire after all possibility of 
 continuing a resistance was over, quarter was given 
 and not one of the enemy was killed after the fort 
 was taken. The British loss was one hundred and 
 forty killed and wounded ; three hundred Americans 
 were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. The 
 fleet attacked the American squadron on the river 
 and entirely destroyed it. Beyond sending a flying 
 squadron up the river to destroy the enemy's boats 
 and stores of provisions, nothing further could be 
 done to effect a diversion in favor of General 
 Burgoyne. 
 
 Four days after Harold's arrival at Ticonderoga 
 the news of the surrender of General Burgoyne 
 reached the place. Upon the following day he 
 suggested to Peter Lambton that they should visit 
 the clearing of the ex-soldier Cameron and see
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 whether their interference had saved him and his 
 family. Upon arriving at the spot whence Harold 
 had fired the shot which had brought discovery 
 upon them, they saw a few charred stumps alone 
 remaining of the snug house which had stood there. 
 In front of it, upon the stump of a tree, Cameron 
 himself was sitting in an attitude of utter depression. 
 
 They walked across the clearing to the spot, but 
 although the sound of their footsteps must have 
 reached his ear, the man did not look up until Har- 
 old touched him on the shoulder. 
 
 " What has happened ?" he asked. " Who has done 
 this ruin ?" 
 
 The man still remained with his head bent down, 
 as if he had not heard the question. 
 
 " We had hoped that you had escaped," Harold 
 went on. " We were hidden in the wood when we 
 saw those ruffians drive your wife and daughter out, 
 and it was the shot from my rifle that killed their 
 leader and brought them down on us ; and a narrow 
 escape we had of it ; but we hoped that we had 
 diverted them from their determination to kill you 
 and your family." 
 
 Cameron looked up now. 
 
 " I thank ye, sir," he said. " I thank ye wi' a' 
 my hairt for your interference on our behalf. 1 
 heerd how closely ye were beset that night and how 
 ye escaped. They thought nae mair o' us, and when 
 the royal army arrived the next day we were safe ; 
 but ye might as weel ha' let the matter gang on 
 better, indeed, for then I should be deed instead o'
 
 27G TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 suffering. This wark," and he pointed toward the 
 remains of the house, " is redskin devilry. A fort- 
 night sin' a band o' Indians fell upon us. I was 
 awa'. They killed my wife and burned my house 
 and ha' carried off my bairn." 
 
 " "Who were they ?" Harold asked. 
 
 " I dinna ken," Cameron replied ; " but a neebor 
 o' mine whose place they attacked, and whom they 
 had scalped and left for deed, told me that they 
 were a band o' the Iroquois who had come down 
 from Lake Michigan and advanced wi' the British. 
 He said that they with the other redskins desairted 
 when their hopes o' plunder were disappointed, and 
 that on their way back to their tribes they burned 
 and ravaged every settlement they cam' across. 
 My neebor was an old frontiersman ; he had fought 
 against the tribe and knew their war-cry. He deed 
 the next day. He was mair lucky than I am." 
 
 " The tarnal ruffians !" Peter exclaimed ; " the 
 murdering varmints ! and to think of 'em carrying 
 off that purty little gal of yours ! I suppose by this 
 time they're at their old game of plundering and 
 slaying on the frontier. It's naught to them which 
 side they fight on ; scalps and plunder is all they 
 care for." 
 
 The unfortunate settler had sat down again on 
 the log, the picture of a broken-hearted man. Har- 
 old drew Peter a short distance away. 
 
 " Look here, Peter," he said. " Now Burgoyne's 
 arm} 7 has surrendered and winter is close at hand, 
 it is certain that there will be no further operations
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 277 
 
 here, except perhaps that the Americans will recap- 
 ture the place. What do you say to our undertak- 
 ing an expedition on our own account to try and 
 get back this poor fellow's daughter ? I do not 
 know whether the Seneca would join us, but we 
 three of course I count Jake and the settler might 
 do something. I have an old grudge against these 
 Iroquois myself, as you have heard ; and for aught 
 I know they may long ere this have murdered my 
 cousins." 
 
 " The Seneca will jine," Peter said, " willing 
 enough. There's an old feud between his tribe and 
 the Iroquois. He'll jine fast enough. But mind, 
 youngster, this ain't no child's play ; it ain't like 
 fighting them American clodhoppers. We'll have 
 to deal with men as sharp as ourselves, who can 
 shoot as well, hear as well, see as well, who are in 
 their own country, and who are a hundred to one 
 against us. We've got hundreds and hundreds of 
 miles to travel afore we gets near 'em. It's a big 
 job ; but if, when ye thinks it all over, you're ready 
 to go, Peter Lambton ain't the man to hold back. 
 As you say, there's naught to do this winter, and 
 we might as well be doing this as anything else." 
 
 The two men then went back to the settler. 
 
 "Cameron," Harold said, "it is of no use sitting 
 here grieving. Why not be up in pursuit of those 
 who carried off your daughter?" 
 
 The man sprang to his feet. 
 
 " In pursuit !" he cried fiercely ; " in pursuit ! Do 
 ye think Donald Cameron wad be sitting here
 
 278 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 quietly if he kenned where to look for his daughter 
 where to find the murderers o' his wife? But 
 what can I do ? For three days after I cam.' back 
 and found what had happened I was just mad. I 
 couldna think nor rest, nor do aught but throw 
 mysel' on the ground and pray to God to tak' me. 
 When at last I could think, it was too late. It wad 
 hae mattered naething to me that they were a , 
 hundred to one. If I could ha' killed but one o* 
 them I wad ha' died happy ; but they were gone, 
 and how could I follow them how could I find 
 them ? Tell me where to look, mon show me the 
 way ; and if it be to the ends o' the airth I will go 
 after them." 
 
 ""We will do more than that," Harold said. 
 " My friends and myself have still with us the seven 
 men who were with us when we were here before. 
 Five are Senecas, the other a faithful negro who 
 would go through fire and water for me. There is 
 little chance of our services being required during 
 the winter with the British army. We are interest- 
 ed in you and in the pretty child we saw here, and 
 if you will, we will accompany you in the search 
 for her. Peter Lambton knows the country well, 
 and if any one could lead you to your child and res- 
 cue her from those who carried her off, he is the 
 man." , 
 
 " Truly !" gasped the Scotchman. " And will ye 
 truly gang wi' me to find my bairn ? May the guid 
 God o' heaven bless you 1" and the tears ran down 
 his cheeks.
 
 i" TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 379 
 
 " Git your traps together at once, man," Peter 
 said. " Let's go straight back to the fort ; then I'll 
 set the matter before the chief, who will, I warrant 
 me, be glad enough to jine the expedition. It's 
 too late to follow the track of the red varmints ; 
 our best plan will be to make straight for the St. 
 Lawrence ; to take a boat if we can git one ; if not, 
 two canoes ; and to make up the river and along 
 Ontario. Then we must sell our boat, cross to Erie, 
 and git fresh canoes and go on by Detroit into Lake 
 Huron, and so up in the country of these reptiles. 
 "We shall have no difficulty, I reckon, in discovering 
 the whereabout of the tribe which has been away 
 on this expedition." 
 
 The Scotchman took up the rifle. 
 
 " I am ready," he said, and without another word 
 the party started for the fort. 
 
 Upon their arrival there a consultation was held 
 with the Seneca. The prospect of an expedition 
 against his hereditary foes filled him with delight, 
 and three of his braves also agreed to accompany 
 them. Jake received the news with the remark : 
 
 " All right, Massa Harold. It make no odds to 
 dis chile whar he goes. You say de word Jake 
 ready." 
 
 Half an hour sufficed for making the preparations, 
 and they at once proceeded to the point where they 
 had hidden the two canoes on the night when they 
 joined General Burgoyne before his advance upon 
 Ticonderoga. These were soon floating on the 
 lake, and they started to paddle to the mouth of the
 
 280 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Sorel, down this river into the St. Lawrence, and 
 thence to Montreal. Their rifles they had recov- 
 ered from the lake upon the day following that on 
 which Ticonderoga was first captured, Deer Tail 
 having dispatched to the spot two of his braves, 
 who recovered them without difficulty by diving 
 and brought them back to the fort. 
 
 At Montreal they stayed but a few hours. An 
 ample supply of ammunition was purchased and 
 provisions sufficient for the voyage ; and then em- 
 barking in the two canoes they started up the St. 
 Lawrence. It was three weeks later when they 
 arrived at Detroit, which was garrisoned by a 
 British force. Here they heard that there had been 
 continuous troubles with the Indians on the frontier; 
 that a great many farms and settlements had been 
 destroyed and numbers of persons murdered. 
 
 Their stay at Detroit was a short one. Harold 
 obtained no news of his cousins, but there were so 
 many tales told of Indian massacres that he was 
 filled with apprehension on their account. Hia 
 worst apprehensions were justified when the canoes 
 at length came within sight of the well-remembered 
 clearing. Harold gave a cry as he saw that the 
 farm-house no longer existed. The two canoes 
 were heaclsd toward shore, and their occupants dis- 
 embarked and walked toward the spot where the 
 house had stood. The site was marked by a heap 
 of charred embers. The out-houses had been 
 destroyed, and a few fowls were the onlj r living 
 things to be seen in the fields.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 281 
 
 " This here business must have taken place some 
 time ago," Peter said, breaking the silence. "A 
 month, I should say, or p'r'aps more." 
 
 For a time Harold was too moved to speak. The 
 thought of his kind cousins and their brave girl all 
 murdered by the Indians filled him with deep grief. 
 At last he said : 
 
 " What makes you think so, Peter ?" 
 
 " It's easy enough to see as it was after the har- 
 vest, for ye see the fields is all clear. And then 
 there's long grass shooting up through the ashes. 
 It would take a full month, p'r'aps six weeks, afore 
 it would do that. Don't you think so, chief 2" 
 
 Tme Seneca nodded. 
 
 " A moon," he said. 
 
 "Yes, about a month," replied Peter. "The 
 grass grows quick after the rains." 
 
 " Do you think that it was a surprise, Peter?" 
 
 " No man can tell," the hunter answered. " If we 
 had seen the place soon afterward we might have 
 told. There would have been marks of blood. Or 
 if the house had stood we could have told by the 
 bullet-holes and the color of the splintered wood 
 how it happened and how long back. As it is, not 
 even the chief can give ye an idea." 
 
 " Not an attack," the Seneca said ; " a surprise." 
 
 "How on arth do you know that, chief ?" the 
 hunter exclaimed in surprise, and he looked round 
 in search of some sign which would have enabled 
 the Seneca to have given so confident an opinion, 
 " You must be a witch surely."
 
 282 TRUE TO THE OLD 
 
 " A chiefs eyes are not blind," the redskin an- 
 swered with a slight smile of satisfaction at having 
 for once succeeded when his white comrade was at 
 fault. " Let my friend look up the hill two dead 
 men there." 
 
 Harold looked in the direction in which the chief 
 pointed, but could see nothing. The hunter ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " There's something there, chief, but even my eyes 
 couldn't tell they were bodies." 
 
 The party proceeded to the spot and found two 
 skeletons. A few remnants of clothes lay around, 
 but the birds had stripped every particle of flesh 
 from the bones. There was a bullet in the fore- 
 head of one skull ; the other was cleft with a sharp 
 instrument. 
 
 " It's clear enough," the hunter said, " there's 
 been a surprise. Likely enough the hull lot was 
 killed without a shot being fired in defense."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 RESCUED. 
 
 HAROLD was deeply touched at the evidences of 
 the fate which had befallen the occupants of his 
 cousin's plantation. 
 
 " If there are any more of these to be found," 
 pointing to their remains, " we might learn for a 
 certainty whether the same fate befell them all." 
 
 The Seneca spoke a word to his followers and the 
 four Indians spread themselves over the clearing. 
 One more body was found it was lying down near 
 the water as if killed in the act of making for the 
 canoe. 
 
 " The others are probably there," Peter said, 
 pointing to the ruins. " The three hands was killed 
 in the fields, and most likely the attack was made 
 at the same moment on the house. I'm pretty sure 
 it was so, for the body by the water lies face down- 
 ward with his head toward the lake. He was no 
 doubt shot from behind as he was running. There 
 must have been Injuns round the house then, or he 
 would have made for that instead of the water." 
 
 The Seneca touched Peter on the shoulder and 
 pointed toward the farm. A figure was seen ap- 
 proaching. As it came nearer they could see that
 
 284 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 he was a tall man dressed in the deer-skin shirt and 
 leggings usually worn by hunters. As he came near 
 Harold gave an exclamation : 
 
 " It is Jack Pearson !" 
 
 " It are Jack Pearson," the hunter said, " but for 
 the moment I can't recollect ye, though yer face 
 seems known. "Why !" he exclaimed in changed 
 tones, " it's that boy Harold growed into a man." 
 
 " It is," Harold replied, grasping the frontiers 
 man's hand. 
 
 "And ye may know me too," Peter Lambton 
 said, " though it's twenty year since we fought side 
 by side against the Mohawks." 
 
 " "Why, old hoss, are you above ground still ?" the 
 hunter exclaimed heartily. " I'm glad to see you 
 again, old friend. And what are you doing here, 
 you and Harold and these Senecas? for they is 
 Senecas sure enough. I've been in the woods for 
 the last hour and have been puzzling myself nigh to 
 death. I seed them Injuns going about over the 
 clearing sarching, and for the life of me I couldn't 
 think what they were a-doing. Then I seed 'em 
 gathered down here, with two white men among 
 'em, so I guessed it was right to show myself." 
 
 " They were searching to see how many had 
 fallen in this terrible business," Harold said, point- 
 ing to the ruins. 
 
 The hunter shook his head. 
 
 " I'm afeared they've all gone under. I were here 
 a week afterward ; it were just as it is now. I 
 found the three hands lying killed and sculped in
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 285 
 
 the fields ; the others, I reckon, is there. I has no 
 doubt at all about Bill Welch and his wife, but it 
 may be that the gal has been carried off." 
 
 " Do you think so ?" Harold exclaimed eagerly t 
 " If so, we may find her too with the other." 
 
 " What other?" Pearson asked. 
 
 Harold gave briefly an account of the reason 
 "which had brought them to the spot and of the ob- 
 ject they had in view. 
 
 " You can count me in," Pearson said. u There's 
 just a chance that Nelly Welch may be in their 
 hands still ; and in any case I'm longing to draw a 
 bead on some of the varmints to pay 'em for this," 
 and he looked round him, "and a hundred other 
 massacres round this frontier." 
 
 " I'm glad to hear ye say so," Peter replied. " I 
 expected as much of ye, Jack. I don't know much 
 of this country, having only hunted here for a few 
 weeks with a party of Delawares twenty year 
 afore the Iroquois moved so far west." 
 
 "I know pretty nigh every foot of it," Jack 
 Pearson said. "When the Iroquois were quiet I 
 used to do a deal of hunting in their country. It 
 are good country for game." 
 
 " Well ! shall we set out at once ?" Harold asked, 
 impatient to be off. 
 
 " We can't move to-night," Pearson answered ; 
 and Harold saw that Peter and the Indians agreed 
 with him. 
 
 " Why not ?" he asked. " Every hour is of im- 
 portance."
 
 286 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " That's so," Peter said, " but there's no going 
 out on the lake to-night. In half an hour we'll have 
 our first snow-storm, and by morning it will be two 
 foot deep." 
 
 Harold turned his eyes toward the lake and saw 
 what his companions had noticed long before. The 
 sky was overcast and a thick bank of hidden clouds 
 was rolling up across the lake, and the thick mist 
 seemed to hang between the clouds and the water. 
 
 " That's snow," Peter said. " It's late this year, 
 and I'd give my pension if it was a month later." 
 
 "That's so," Pearson said. "Snow ain't never 
 pleasant in the woods, but when you're scouting 
 round among Injuns it are a caution. We'd best 
 make a shelter afore it comes on." 
 
 The two canoes were lifted from the water, un- 
 loaded, and turned bottom upward ; a few charred 
 planks which had formed part of the roof of the out- 
 houses were brought and put up to form a sort of 
 shelter. A fire was -lit and a meal prepared. By 
 this time the snow had begun to fall. After the 
 meal was over pipes were lit and the two hunters 
 earnestly talked over their plans, the Seneca chief 
 throwing in a few words occasionally ; the others 
 listened quietly. The Indians left the matter in the 
 hands of their chief, while Harold and Cameron 
 knew that the two frontiersmen did not need any 
 suggestion from them. As to Jake, the thought of 
 asking questions never entered his mind. He was 
 just at present less happy than usual, for the negro, 
 like most of his race, hated cold, and the prospect
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 287 
 
 of wandering through the woods in deep snow made 
 him shudder as he crouched close to the great fire 
 they had built. 
 
 Peter and Jack Pearson were of opinion that it 
 was exceedingly probable that the Welches had 
 been destroyed by the very band which had carried 
 off little Janet Cameron. The bodies of Indians 
 who had been on the war-path with the army had 
 retired some six weeks before, and it was about that 
 time Pearson said that the attack on the settle- 
 ments had been made. 
 
 " I heard some parties of redskins who had been 
 with the British troops had passed through the 
 neighborhood, and there was reports that they were 
 greatly onsatisfied with the results of the cam- 
 paign. As likely as not some of that band may 
 have been consarned in the attack on this place 
 three year ago, and passing nigh it may have de- 
 termined to wipe out that defeat. An Injun never 
 forgives. Many of their braves fell here, and they 
 could scarcely bring a more welcome trophy back 
 to their villages than the scalps of Welch and his 
 men." 
 
 " Now, the first thing to do," Peter said, " is to 
 find out what particular chief took his braves with 
 him to the war ; then we've got to find his village ; 
 and there likely enough we'll find Cameron's daugh- 
 ter and maybe the girl from here. How old was 
 she ?" 
 
 " About fifteen," Pearson said, " and a fine girl, 
 and a pretty girl too. I dun know," he went on
 
 288 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 after a pause, " which of the chiefs took part in the 
 war across the lakes, but I suspect it were "War 
 Eagle. There's three great chiefs, and the other 
 two were trading on the frontier. It was War 
 Eagle who attacked the place afore, and would be 
 the more likely to attack it again if he came any- 
 wheres near it. He made a mess of it afore and'd 
 be burning to wipe out his failure if he had a 
 chance." 
 
 " Where is his place ?" 
 
 " His village is the furthest of them all from 
 here. He lives up near the falls of Sault Ste. 
 Marie, betwixt Lakes Superior and Huron. It's a 
 village with nigh three hundred wigwams." 
 
 " It ain't easy to see how it's to be done. We 
 must make to the north shore of the lake. There'll 
 be no working down here through the woods, but 
 it's a pesky difficult job about as hard a one as 
 ever I took part in." 
 
 " It is that," Pearson said ; " it can't be denied. 
 To steal two white girls out of a big Injun village 
 ain't a easy job at no time ; but with the snow on 
 the ground it comes as nigh to an impossibility as 
 anything can do." 
 
 For another hour or two they talked over the 
 route they should take and their best mode of pro- 
 ceeding. Duncan Cameron sat and listened with 
 an intent face to every word. Since he had joined 
 them he had spoken but seldom ; his whole soul was 
 taken up with the thought of his little daughter. 
 He was ever ready to do his share and more than
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 289 
 
 his share of the work of paddling and at the port- 
 ages, but he never joined in the conversation ; and 
 of an evening, when the others sat round the fire, 
 he would move away and pace backward and for- 
 ward in anxious thought until the fire burned low 
 and the party wrapped themselves in their blankets 
 and went off to sleep. 
 
 All the time the conversation had been going on 
 the snow had fallen heavily, and before it was con- 
 cluded the clearing was covered deep with the 
 white mantle. There was little wind and the snow 
 fell quietly and noiselessly. At night the Indians 
 lay down round the fire, while the white men crept 
 under the canoes and were soon fast asleep. In the 
 morning it was still snowing, but about noon it 
 cleared up. It was freezing hard, and the snow 
 glistened as the sun burst though the clouds. The 
 stillness of the forest was broken now by sharp 
 cracking sounds as boughs of trees gave way under 
 the weight of snow ; in the open it lay more than 
 two feet deep. 
 
 " Now," Peter said, " the sooner we're off the 
 better." 
 
 "I'll come in my own canoe," Pearson said. 
 " One of the Injuns can come with me and we'll 
 keep up with the rest." 
 
 "There is room for you in the other canoes," 
 Harold said. 
 
 "Plenty of room," the hunter answered. "But 
 you see, Harold, the more canoes the better. There 
 ain't no saying how close we may be chased, and
 
 290 T&UE TO THfi OLD FLAG. 
 
 by hiding up the canoes at different places we give 
 ourselves so much more chance of being able to get 
 to one or the other. They're all large canoes, and 
 at a pinch any one of them might hold the hull 
 party, with the two gals throwed in. But," he 
 added to Harold in a low voice, "don't you build too 
 much on these gals, Harold. I wouldn't say so 
 while that poor fellow's listening, but the chance is 
 a desperate poor one, and I think we'll be mighty 
 lucky ef we don't leave all our scalps in that 'ere 
 redskin village." 
 
 The traps were soon placed in the canoes, and 
 just as the sun burst out the three boats started. It 
 was a long and toilsome journey. Stormy weather 
 set in, and they were obliged to wait for days by 
 the lake till its surface calmed. On these occasions 
 they devoted themselves to hunting and killed 
 several deer. They knew that there were no Indian 
 villages near, and in such weather it would be im- 
 probable that any redskins would be in the woods. 
 They were enabled, therefore, to fire without fear 
 of the reports betraying their presence. The Senecas 
 took the opportunity of fabricating snow-shoes for 
 the whole party, as these would be absolutely 
 necessary for walking in the woods. Harold, Jake, 
 and Duncan Cameron at once began to practice 
 their use. The negro was comical in the extreme 
 in his first attempts, and shouted so loudly with 
 laughter each time that he fell head foremost into 
 the snow that Peter said to him angrily : 
 
 " Look a-here, Jake, it's dangerous enough letting
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 291 
 
 off a rifle at a deer in these woods, but it has to be 
 done because we must lay in a supply of food ; but 
 a musket-shot is a mere whisper to yer shouting. 
 Thunder ain't much louder than you laughing it 
 shakes the hull place and might be heard from here 
 well-nigh to Montreal. Ef you can't keep that 
 mouth of your'n shut ye must give up the idee of 
 learning to use them shoes and must stop in the 
 canoe while we're scouting on shore." 
 
 Jake promised to amend, and from this time when 
 he fell in the soft snow-wreaths he gave no audible 
 vent to his amusement ; but a pair of great feet, 
 with the snow-shoes attached, could be seen waving 
 above the surface until he was picked up and righted 
 again. 
 
 Harold soon learned, and Cameron went at the 
 work with grim earnestness. No smile ever crossed 
 his face at his own accidents or at the wild vagaries 
 of Jake, which excited silent amusement even 
 among the Indians. In a short time the falls were 
 less frequent, and by the time they reached the spot 
 where they were determined to cross the lake at 
 the point where Lakes Huron and Michigan join, 
 the three novices were able to make fair progress in 
 the snow-shoes. 
 
 The spot fixed upon was about twelve miles from 
 the village of War Eagle, and the canoes were 
 hidden at distances of three miles apart. First 
 Pearson, Harold, and Cameron disembarked ; Jake, 
 Peter, and one of the Indians alighted at the next 
 point; and the Seneca chief and two of his followers
 
 292 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 proceeded to the spot nearer to the Indian village. 
 Each party as they landed struck straight into the 
 woods, to unite at a point eight miles from the lake 
 and as many from the village. The hunters had 
 agreed that should any Indians come across the 
 tracks, less suspicion would be excited than would 
 have been the case were they found skirting the 
 river, as it might be thought that they were made 
 by Indians out hunting. 
 
 Harold wondered how the other parties would 
 find the spot to which Pearson had directed them, 
 but in due time all arrived at the rendezvous. 
 After some search a spot was found where the 
 under wood grew thickly, and there was an open place 
 in the center of the clump. In this the camp was 
 established. It was composed solely of a low tent 
 of about two feet high, made of deers' hides sewed 
 together, and large enough to shelter them all. 
 The snow was cleared away, sticks were driven into 
 the frozen ground, and strong poles laid across them ; 
 the deer-skin was then laid flat upon these. The 
 top was little higher than the general level of the 
 snow, an inch or two of snow was scattered over it, 
 and to any one passing outside the bushes the tent 
 was completely invisible. 
 
 The Indians now went outside the thicket and 
 with great care obliterated, as far as possible, the 
 marks upon the snow. This could not be wholly 
 done, but it was so far complete that the slightest 
 wind which would send a drift over the surface 
 would wholly conceal all traces of passage.
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 293 
 
 They had before crossing the lake cooked a 
 supply of food sufficient for some days. Intense as 
 was the cold outside, it was perfectly warm in the 
 tent. The entrance as they crept into it was closed 
 with a blanket, and in the center a lamp composed 
 of deer's fat in a calabash with a cotton wick gave 
 a sufficient light. 
 
 " What is the next move ?" Harold asked. 
 
 "The chief 11 start, when it comes dusk, with 
 Pearson," Peter said. " When they git close to the 
 village he'll go in alone. He'll paint Iroquois 
 before he goes." 
 
 " Cannot we be near at hand to help them in case 
 of a necessity ?" Harold asked. 
 
 " No," Peter said. " It wouldn't be no good at 
 all. Ef it comes to fighting they're fifty to one, 
 and the lot of us would have no more chance than 
 two. If they're found out, which ain't likely, they 
 must run for it, and they can get over the snow a deal 
 faster than you could, to say nothing of Cameron 
 and Jake. They must shift for themselves and'll 
 make straight for the nearest canoe. In the 
 forest they must be run down sooner or later, 
 for their tracks would be plain. No, they must go 
 alone." 
 
 When night came on the Seneca produced his 
 paints, and one of his followers marked his face and 
 arms with the lines and flourishes in use by the 
 Iroquois ; then without a word of adieu he took his 
 rifle and glided out from the tent, followed by Pear- 
 son. Peter also put on his snow-shoes and prepared 
 to follow.
 
 294 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " I thought you were going to stay here, Peter." 
 
 " No, I'm going half-way with 'em. I'll be able 
 to hear the sound of a gun. Then ef they're trapped 
 we must make tracks for the canoes at once, for 
 after following 'em to the lake they're safe to take 
 up their back track to see where they've come from; 
 so ef I hear a gun I'll make back here as quick 
 as I can come." 
 
 "When the three men had started silence fell on 
 the tent. The redskins at once lay down to sleep 
 and Jake followed their example. Harold lay quiet 
 thinking over the events which had happened to 
 him in the last three years, while Cameron lay with 
 his face turned toward the lamp with a set anxious 
 look on his face. Several times he crawled to the 
 entrance and listened when the crack made by 
 some breaking bough came to his ear. Hours 
 passed and at last Harold dozed off, but Cam- 
 eron's eyes never closed until about midnight 
 the blanket at the entrance moved and Peter en- 
 tered. 
 
 " Hae ye seen the ithers ?" Cameron exclaimed. 
 
 " No, and were not likely to," Peter answered. 
 " It was all still to the time I came away, and afore 
 I moved I was sure they must have left the village. 
 They won't come straight back, bless ye ; they'll go 
 'way in the opposite direction and make a sweep 
 miles round. They may not be here for hours yet ; 
 not that there's much chance of their tracks being 
 traced. It has not snowed for over a week, and the 
 snow round the village must be trampled thick for
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 295 
 
 a mile and more with the squaws coming and going 
 for wood and the hunters going out on the chase. 
 I've crossed a dozen tracks or more on my way 
 back. Ef it wasn't for that we daren't have gone 
 at all, for ef the snow was new fallen the sight of 
 fresh tracks would have set the first Injun that 
 come along a-wondering; and when a redskin 
 begins to wonder he sets to to ease his mind at 
 once by finding out all about it, ef it takes him a 
 couple of days' sarch to do so. No, you can lie 
 down now for some hours. They won't be here till 
 morning." 
 
 So saying, the scout set the example by wrapping 
 himself up and going to sleep, but Cameron's eyes 
 never closed until the blanket was drawn on one 
 side again and in the a;ray light of the winter 
 morning the Seneca and Pearson crawled into the 
 tent. 
 
 " What news ?" Harold asked, for Cameron was 
 too agitated to speak. 
 
 " Both gals are there," Pearson answered. 
 
 An exclamation of thankfulness broke from. 
 Harold. A sob of joy issued from the heart of the 
 Scotchman, and for a few minutes his lips moved 
 as he poured forth his silent thankfulness to God. 
 
 " Waal, tell us all about it," Peter said. " I can 
 ask the chief any questions afterward." 
 
 " We went on straight enough to the village," the 
 hunter began. " It are larger than when I saw it 
 last, and War Eagle's influence in the tribe must 
 have increased. I didn't expect to find no watch,
 
 296 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the redskins having, so far as they knew, no enemies 
 within five hundred mile of 'em. There was a lot 
 of fires burning and plenty of redskins moving about 
 among 'em. We kept on till we got quite close, and 
 then we lay up for a time below a tree at the edge 
 of the clearing. There were a sight too many of 
 'em about for the Seneca to go in yet awhile. About 
 half an hour arter we got there we saw two white 
 gals come outen one of the wigwams and stand for 
 awhile to warm theirselves by one of the fires. The 
 tallest of the two, well-nigh a woman, was Nelly 
 Welch. I knew her, in course. The other was 
 three or four years younger, with yaller hair over 
 her shoulders. Nelly seemed quiet and sad-like, but 
 the other 'peared more at home she laughed with 
 some of the redskin gals and even jined in their 
 play. You see," he said, turning to Cameron, " she'd 
 been captured longer and children's spirits soon rise 
 again. Arter awhile they went back to the wig- 
 wam. When the fires burned down and the crowd 
 thinned and there was only a few left sitting in groups 
 round the embers, the Seneca started. For a long 
 time I saw nothing of him, but once or twice I 
 thought I saw a figure moving among the wigwams. 
 Presently the fires burned quite down and the last 
 Injun went off. I had begun to wonder what the 
 chief was doing, when he stood beside me. We 
 made tracks at once and have been tramping in a 
 long circle all night. The chief can tell ye his part 
 of the business hisself." 
 
 " Well, chief, what have you found out ?" Peter 
 asked.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 297 
 
 The Indian answered in his native tongue, which 
 Peter interpreted from time to time for the benefit 
 of his white companions: 
 
 " When Deer Tail left the white hunter he went 
 into the village. It was no use going among the 
 men, and he went round by the wigwams and 
 listened to the chattering of the squaws. The tribe 
 were all well contented, for the band brought back 
 a great deal of plunder which they had picked up 
 on their way back from the army. They had lost 
 no braves and every one was pleased. The destruc- 
 tion of the settlement of the white man who had 
 repulsed them before was a special matter for re- 
 joicing. The scalps of the white man and his wife 
 are in the village. War Eagle's son, Young Elk, is 
 going to marry the white girl. There are several 
 of the braves whose heads have been turned by her 
 white skin and her bright eyes, but Young Elk 
 is going to have her. There have been great feast- 
 ings and rejoicings since the return of the warriors, 
 but they are to be joined to-morrow by Beaver's 
 band, and then they will feast again. When all was 
 quiet I went to the wigwam where the white girls 
 are confined. An old squaw and two of War Eagle's 
 daughters are with them. Deer Tail had listened 
 while they prepared for rest and knew on which 
 side of the wigwam the tall white maiden slept. 
 He thought that she would be awake. Her heart 
 would be sad and sleep would not come to her soon, 
 so he crept round there and cut a slit in the skin 
 close to where she lay. He put his head in at the
 
 298 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 hole and whispered, 'Do not let the white girl be 
 afraid; it is a friend. Does she hear him?' She 
 whispered, ' Yes.' ' Friends are near,' he said. 
 'The young warrior, Harold, whom she knows, and 
 others, are at hand to take her away. The Iroquois 
 will be feasting to-morrow night. When she hears 
 the cry of a night-owl let her steal away with her 
 little white sister and she will find her friends 
 waiting.' Then Deer Tail closed the slit and stole 
 away to his friend the white hunter. I have 
 spoken." 
 
 " Jest what I expected of you, chief," Peter said 
 warmly. " I thought as how you'd manage to git 
 speech with 'em somehow. If there's a feast to- 
 night it's hard ef we don't manage to get 'em off." 
 
 " I suppose we must lie still all day, Peter." 
 
 " You must so," the hunter said. "Not a soul 
 must show his nose outside the tent except that one 
 of the redskins'll keep watch to be sure that no 
 straggler has come across our tracks and followed 
 'em up. Ef he was to do that he might bring the 
 hull gang down on us. Ye'd best get as much sleep 
 as ye can, for ye don't know when ye may get an- 
 other chance." 
 
 At nightfall the whole party issued from the tent 
 and started toward the Indian village. All ar- 
 rangements had been made. It was agreed that 
 Pearson and the Seneca should go up to the village, 
 the former being chosen because he was known to 
 Nelly. Peter and one of the redskins were to take 
 post a hundred yards further back ready to give
 
 TRUE TO TEW OLD FLAQ. 299 
 
 assistance in case of alarm, while the rest were to 
 remain about half a mile distant. Cameron had 
 asked that he might go with the advance party, but 
 upon Peter pointing out to him that his com- 
 paratively slow rate of progression in snow-shoes 
 would, in case of discovery, lead to the recapture 
 of the girls, he at once agreed to the decision. If 
 the flight of the girls was discovered soon after 
 leaving the camp, it was arranged that the Seneca 
 and Peter should hurry at once with them to the 
 main body, while the other two Indians should 
 draw off their pursuers in another direction. In 
 the event of anything occurring to excite the 
 suspicion of the Indians before there was a chance 
 of the girls being brought safely to the main body, 
 they were to be left to walk quietly back to camp, 
 as they had nothing to fear from the Indians. 
 Peter and the Seneca were then to work round by a 
 circuitous route to the boat, where they were to be 
 joined by the main body, and to draw off until an- 
 other opportunity offered for repeating the at- 
 tempt. 
 
 It was eight o'clock in the evening when Pearson 
 and the Seneca approached the village. The fires 
 were burning high, and seated round them were all 
 the warriors of the tribe. A party were engaged 
 in a dance representing the pursuit and defeat of an 
 enemy. The women were standing in an outer 
 circle clapping their hands and raising their voices 
 in loud cries of applause and excitement as the 
 dance became faster and faster. The warriors
 
 300 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 bounded high, brandishing their tomahawks. A 
 better time could not have been chosen for the 
 evasion of the fugitives. Nelly Welch stood close 
 to a number of Indian girls, but slightly behind 
 them. She held the hand of little Janet Cameron. 
 
 Although she appeared to share in the interest of 
 the Indians in the dance, a close observer would 
 have had no difficulty in perceiving that Nelly was 
 preoccupied. She was, indeed, intently listening for 
 the signal. She was afraid to move from among 
 the others lest her absence should be at once de- 
 tected, but so long as the noise was going on she 
 despaired of being able to hear the signal agreed 
 upon. Presently an Indian brave passed close to 
 her, and as he did so whispered in her ear in 
 English, "Behind your wigwam friends there." 
 Then he passed on and moved round the circle as if 
 intending to take his seat at another point. 
 
 The excitement of the dance was momentarily 
 increasing, and the attention of the spectators was 
 riveted to the movements of the performers. Hold- 
 ing Janet's hand, Nelly moved noiselessly away 
 from the place where she had been standing. The 
 movement was unnoticed, as she was no longer 
 closely watched, a flight in the depth of winter ap- 
 pearing impossible. She kept round the circle till 
 no longer visible from the spot she had left. Then 
 leaving the crowd she made her way toward the 
 nearest wigwams. Once behind these the girl stole 
 rapidly along under their shelter until they stood 
 behind that which they usually habited. Twt
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 301 
 
 figures were standing there. They hesitated for a 
 moment, but one of them advanced. 
 
 " Jack Pearson !" Nelly exclaimed, with a low 
 cry of gladness. 
 
 " Jest that same, Nelly, and right glad to see you. 
 But we've no time for greeting now ; the hull tribe 
 may be after us in another five minutes. Come 
 along, pretty," he said turning to Janet. " You'll 
 find somebody ye know close at hand." 
 
 Two minutes later the child was in her father's 
 arms, and after a moment's rapturous greeting be- 
 tween father and child and a very delighted one 
 between Nelly Welch and her Cousin Harold the 
 flight was continued. 
 
 "How long a start do you think we may have ?" 
 
 " Half an hour maybe. The women may be some 
 time afore they miss her, and they'll sarch for her 
 everywhere afore they give the alarm, as they'll be 
 greatly blamed for their carelessness." 
 
 There had been a pause in the flight for a few 
 seconds when the Seneca and Pearson arrived with 
 the girls at the point where Peter and the other 
 Indians were posted, two hundred yards from the 
 camp. Up to this point the snow was everywhere 
 thickly trampled, but as the camp was left further 
 behind the footprints would naturally become more 
 scarce. Here Paarson fastened to the girls' feet 
 two pairs of large moccasins ; inside these wooden 
 soles had been placed. They therefore acted to 
 some extent like snow-shoes and prevented the girls' 
 feet from sinking deeply, while the prints which
 
 302 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 I 
 
 they left bore no resemblance to their own. They 
 were strapped on the wrong way, so that the marks 
 would seem to point toward the village rather than 
 away from it. Both girls protested that they should 
 not be able to get along fast in these incumbrances, 
 but one of the men posted himself on either side of 
 each and assisted them along, and as the moccasins 
 were very light, even with the wooden soles inside, 
 they were soon able to move with them at a con- 
 siderable pace. 
 
 Once united the whole party kept along at the 
 top of their speed. Peter Lambton assisted Cam- 
 eron with Janet, and the girl, half-lifted from the 
 ground, skimmed over the surface like a bird, only 
 touching the snow here and there with the mocca- 
 sins. Nelly "Welch needed no assistance from Har- 
 old or Pearson. During the long winters she had 
 often practiced on snow-shoes, and was consequently 
 but little incumbered with the huge moccasins, 
 which to some extent served the same purpose. 
 
 They had been nearly half an hour on their way 
 when they heard a tremendous yell burst from the 
 village. 
 
 "They've missed you," Peter said. " Now it's a 
 fair race. We've got a good start and'll git more, 
 for they'll have to hunt up the traces very carefully, 
 and it may be an hour, perhaps more, before they 
 strike upon the right one. Ef the snow had been 
 new fallen we should have had 'em arter us in five 
 minutes ; but even a redskin's eye will be puzzled 
 to find out at night one track among such hundreds." 
 
 " I have but one fear" Pearson said to Harold
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 308 
 
 What is that ?" 
 
 " I'm afeared that without waiting to find the 
 tracks they may send off half a dozen parties to the 
 lake. They'll be sure that friends have taken the 
 gals away and will know that their only chance of 
 escape is by the water. On land we should be 
 hunted down to a certainty, and the redskins, know- 
 ing that the gals could not travel fast, will not hurry 
 in following up the trail. So I think they'll at once 
 send off parties to watch the lake and'll like enough 
 make no effort to take up the trail till to-morrow 
 morning." 
 
 This was said in a low whisper, for although they 
 were more than two miles from the village it was 
 necessary to move as silently as possible. 
 
 " You had best tell the others what you think, 
 Pearson. It may make a difference in our move- 
 ments." 
 
 A short halt was called, and the Seneca and Peter 
 quite agreed with Pearson's idea. 
 
 "We'd best make for the canoe that's furthest off. 
 When the redskins find the others, which they're 
 pretty sure to do, for they'll hunt every bush, they're 
 likely to be satisfied and to make sure they'll ketch 
 us at one or the other." 
 
 Thus much decided upon, they continued their 
 flight, now less rapidly, but in perfect silence. Speed 
 was less an object than concealment. The Indians 
 might spread and a party might come across them 
 by accident. If they could avoid this they were
 
 804 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAB. 
 
 sure to reach their canoe before morning and un- 
 likely to find the Indians there before them. 
 
 It was about twelve miles to the spot where they 
 had hidden the canoe, and although they heard dis- 
 tant shouts and whoops ringing through the forest, 
 no sound was heard near them.
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 305 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 THE ISLAND REFUGE. 
 
 THE night was intensely cold and still and the 
 stars shone brightly through the bare boughs over- 
 head. 
 
 " Are you sure you are going all right ?" Nelly 
 asked Harold. " It is so dark here that it seems 
 impossible to know which way we are going." 
 
 " You can trust the Indians," Harold said. " Even 
 if there was not a star to be seen they could find 
 their way by some mysterious instinct. How you 
 are grown, Nelly ! Your voice does not seem much 
 changed, and I am longing to see your face." 
 
 "I expect you are more changed than I am, 
 Harold," the girl answered. " You have been going 
 through so much since we last met, and you seem 
 to have grown so tall and big. Your voice has 
 changed very much, too ; it is the voice of a man. 
 How in the world did you find us here ?" 
 
 Pearson had gone on ahead to speak to the 
 Seneca, but he now joined them again. 
 
 " You mustn't talk," he said. " I hope there's no 
 redskins within five miles of us now, but there's 
 never any saying where they may be." 
 
 There was, Harold thought, a certain sharpness in
 
 306 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the hunter's voice, which told of a greater anxiety 
 than would be caused by the very slight risk of the 
 quietly spoken words being heard by passing red- 
 skins, and he wondered what it could be. 
 
 They were now, he calculated, within a mile of 
 the hiding-place where they had left the boat, and 
 they had every reason for believing that none of 
 the Indians would be likely to have followed the 
 shore so far. That they would be pursued and that 
 in so heavily laden a canoe they would have great 
 difficulty in escaping he was well aware, but he re- 
 lied on the craft of the hunters and Senecas for 
 throwing their pursuers off the trail. 
 
 All at once the trees seemed to open in front, and 
 in a few minutes the party reached the river. A 
 cry of astonishment and of something akin to terror 
 broke from Harold. As far as the eye could reach 
 the lake was frozen. Their escape was cut off. 
 
 " That's jest what I've been expecting," Pearson 
 said. " The ice had begun to form at the edge 
 when we landed, and three days and nights of such 
 frost as we've had since was enough to freeze On- 
 tario. "What on arth's to be done ?" 
 
 No one answered. Peter and the redskins had 
 shared Pearson's anxiety, but to Harold and Camer- 
 on the disappointment was a terrible one ; as to 
 Jake, he left all the thinking to be done by the 
 others. Harold stood gazing helplessly on the ex- 
 panse of ice which covered the water. It was not 
 a smooth sheet, but was rough and broken, as if 
 while it had been forming the wind had broken the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. - 30? 
 
 ice up into cakes again and again, while the frost as 
 often had bound them together. 
 
 They had struck the river within a few hundred 
 yards of the place where the canoe was hidden, and 
 after a short consultation between the Seneca chief, 
 Peter Lambton, and Pearson, moved down toward 
 that spot. 
 
 " "What are you thinking of doing ?" Harold 
 asked when they gathered round the canoe. 
 
 " We're going to load ourselves with the ammu- 
 nition and deer's flesh," Peter said, " and make for 
 a rocky island which lies about a mile off here. I 
 noticed it as we landed. There's nothing to do but 
 to fight it out to the last there. It are a good place 
 for defense, for the redskins won't like to come out 
 across the open, and even covered by a dark night 
 they'd show on this white surface." 
 
 " Perhaps they won't trace us." 
 
 " Not trace us !" the trapper repeated scornfully. 
 " Why, when daylight comes they'll pick up our 
 track and follow it as easy as you could that of a 
 wagon across the snow." 
 
 They were just starting when Harold gave a 
 little exclamation. 
 
 " What is it, lad 1" 
 
 " A flake of snow fell on my face." 
 
 All looked up. The stars had disappeared. An- 
 other flake and another fell on the upturned faces 
 of the party. 
 
 " Let's thank the good God," Peter said quietly. 
 " There's a chance for our lives yet. Half an hour's 
 snow and the trailll be lost."
 
 308 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Faster and faster the snow-flakes came down. 
 Again the leaders consulted. 
 
 " We must change our plans now," Peter said, 
 turning to the others. " So long as they could 
 easily follow our tracks it mattered nothing that 
 they'd find the canoe here ; but now it's altogether 
 different. We must take it along with us." 
 
 The weight of the canoe was very small. The 
 greater part of its contents had already been re- 
 moved. There was a careful look round to see that 
 nothing remained on the bank ; then four of the 
 men lifted it on their shoulders, and the whole 
 party stepped out upon the ice. The snow was now 
 falling heavily, and to Harold's eyes there was noth- 
 ing to guide them in the direction they were follow- 
 ing. Even the Indians would have been at a loss 
 had not the Seneca, the instant the snow began to 
 fall, sent on one of his followers at full speed to- 
 ward the island. Harold wondered at the time 
 what his object could be as the Indian darted off 
 across the ice, but he now understood. Every min- 
 ute or two the low hoot of an owl was heard, and 
 toward this sound the party directed their way 
 through the darkness and snow. 
 
 So heavy was the fall that the island rose white 
 before them as they reached it. It was of no great 
 extent some twenty or thirty yards across and 
 perhaps twice that length. It rose steeply from the 
 water to a height of from ten to fifteen feet. The 
 ground was rough and broken, and several trees 
 and much brushwood grew in the crevices of the 
 rook.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 309 
 
 The Seneca and the hunters made a rapid exam- 
 ination of the island and soon fixed upon the spot 
 for their camp. Toward one end the island was 
 split in two and an indentation ran some distance 
 up into it. Here a clear spot was found some three 
 or four feet above the level of the water. It was 
 completely hidden by thick bushes from the sight 
 of any one approaching by water. There the canoe 
 was turned over, and the girls, who were both suf- 
 fering from the intense cold, were wrapped up in 
 blankets and placed under its shelter. The camp 
 was at the lower end of the island and would there- 
 fore be entirely hidden from view of Indians 
 gathered upon the shore. In such a snow-storm 
 light would be invisible at a very short distance, 
 and Peter did not hesitate to light a fire in front of 
 the canoe. 
 
 For three hours the snow continued to fall. The 
 fire had been sheltered by blankets stretched at 
 some distance above it. Long before the snow 
 ceased it had sunk down to a pile of red embers. A 
 small tent had now been formed of blankets for the 
 use of the girls ; brushwood had been heaped over 
 this, and upon the brushwood snow had been 
 thrown, the whole making a shelter which would 
 be warm and comfortable even in the bitterest 
 weather. A pile of hot embers was placed in this 
 little tent until it was thoroughly heated ; blankets 
 were then spread, and the girls were asked to 
 leave the shelter of the canoe and take their place 
 there.
 
 310 TRUE TO THE OLD VLAQ. 
 
 The canoe itself was now raised on four sticks 
 three feet from the ground ; bushes were laid round 
 it and snow piled on, thus forming the walls of 
 which the canoe was the roof. All this was finished 
 long before the snow had ceased falling, and this 
 added a smooth white surface all over, so that to a 
 casual eye both tent and hut looked like two 
 natural ridges of the ground. They were a cheer- 
 ful party which assembled in the little hut. The 
 remainder of the embers of the fire had been 
 brought in, and intense as was the cold outside, it 
 was warm and comfortable within. Tea was made 
 and the pipes filled, and they chatted some time be- 
 fore going to sleep. 
 
 Duncan Cameron was like a man transfigured. 
 His joy and thankfulness for the recovery of his 
 daughter were unbounded. Harold's pleasure, too, 
 at the rescue of his cousin was very great, and the 
 others were all gratified at the success of their ex- 
 pedition. It was true that the Indians had as yet 
 gained no scalps, but Harold had promised them 
 before starting that should the expedition be suc- 
 cessful they should be handsomely rewarded. 
 
 " We mustn't reckon as we are safe yet," Peter 
 said in answer to one of Harold's remarks. " The 
 redskins ain't going to let us slip through their 
 fingers so easy as all that. They've lost our trail 
 and have nothing but their senses to guide 'em, but 
 an Injun's senses ain't easily deceived in these woods. 
 Ef this snow begins again and keeps on for two or 
 three days they may be puzzled; but ef it stops
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 311 
 
 they'll cast a circle round their camp at a distance 
 beyond where we could have got before the snow 
 ceased, and ef they find no new trails they'll know 
 that we must be within that circle. Then as to the 
 boats, when they find as we don't come down to the 
 two as they've discovered and that we've not made 
 off by land, they'll guess as there was another canoe 
 hidden somewhere and they'll sarch high and low 
 for it. Waal, they won't find it ; and then they'll 
 suppose that we may have taken to the ice and 
 they'll sarch that. Either they'll git to open water 
 or to the other side. Ef there's open water any- 
 where within a few miles they may conclude that 
 we've carried a canoe, launched it there, and made 
 off. In that case, when they've sarched everywhere 
 they may give it up. Ef there ain't no such open 
 water they'll sarch till they find us. It ain't likely 
 that this island will escape 'em. "With nine good 
 rifles here we can hold the place against the hull 
 tribe, and as they'd show up against the snow they 
 can no more attack by night than by day." 
 
 "I don't think our food will hold out beyond 
 seven or eight days," Harold said. 
 
 " Jest about that," Peter answered ; " but we can 
 cut a hole in the ice and fish, and can hold out that 
 way, if need be, for weeks. The wust of it is that 
 the ice ain't likely to break up now until the spring. 
 I reckon our only chance is to wait till we git an- 
 other big snow-storm and then to make off. The 
 snow will cover our trail as fast as we make it, and 
 once across to the other shore we may git away
 
 313 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 from the varmints. But I don't disguise from you, 
 Harold, that we're in a very awk'ard trouble, and 
 that it'll need all the craft of the chief here and all 
 the experience of Pearson and me to git us out of 
 it." 
 
 " The guid God has been vera merciful to us sae 
 far," Duncan Cameron said ; " he will surely protect 
 us to the end. Had he na sent the snow just when 
 he did, the savages could hae followed our trail at 
 once ; it was a miracle wrought in our favor. He 
 has aided us to rescue the twa bairns frae the hands 
 of the Indians, and we may surely trust in his pro- 
 tection to the end. My daughter and her friend 
 hae, I am vera sure, before lying down to sleep 
 entreated his protection. Let us a' do the same." 
 
 And the old soldier, taking off his cap, prayed 
 aloud to God to heed and protect them. 
 
 Harold and the frontiersmen also removed their 
 caps and joined in the prayer, and the Senecas 
 looked on silent and reverent at an act of worship 
 which was rare among their white companions. 
 
 As Peter was of opinion that there was no chance 
 whatever of any search on the part of the Indiana 
 that night, and therefore there was no need to set a 
 watch, the whole party wrapped themselves up in 
 their blankets and were soon asleep. 
 
 "When Harold woke next morning it was broad 
 daylight. The Senecas had already been out and 
 had brought news that a strong party of Indians 
 could be seen moving along the edge of the forest, 
 evidently searching for a canoe. One of the In-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 313 
 
 dians was placed on watch, and two or three hours 
 later he reported that the Indians were now entirely 
 out of sight and were when last seen scouting along 
 the edge of the forest. 
 
 " Now," Peter said, " the sooner we git another 
 snow-storm the better. Ef we'd been alone we 
 could have pushed on last night, but the gals was 
 exhausted and would soon have died of the cold. 
 Now with a fresh start they'd do. Ef we can't 
 cross the lake I calculate that we're about thirty 
 mile from a p'int on the north shore below the falls 
 of Ste. Marie, and we could land there and strike 
 across through the woods for the settlement. It'd 
 be a terrible long journey round the north of 
 Huron, but we must try it ef we can't get across." 
 
 " But we could go off by night, surely," Harold 
 said, " even if there is no fresh snow." 
 
 " We could do that," Peter replied ; " no doubt of 
 it. But ef they were to find our track the next 
 day, ay, or within three days, they'd follow us and 
 overtake us afore we got to the settlements. Ef we 
 was alone it'd be one thing ; but with the gals it'd 
 be another altogether. No, we must stop here till 
 a snow-storm comes, even ef we have to stop for a 
 month. There's no saying how soon some of them 
 Injuns may be loafing round, and we daren't leave 
 a trail for 'em to take up." 
 
 They had scarcely ceased speaking when a low 
 call from the Indian placed on watch summoned the 
 chief to his side. A minute later the latter rejoined 
 the group below and said a few words to Peter.
 
 314 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " Jest as I thought !" the latter grumbled, rising 
 with his rifle across his arm. " Here are some of 
 the varmints coming out this 'ere way. Likely 
 enough it's a party of young braves jest scouting 
 about on their own account to try and get honor by 
 discovering us when their elders have failed. It 
 would have been better for them to have stopped at 
 home." 
 
 The party now crept up to the top of the rock, 
 keeping carefully below its crest. 
 
 " Ef you show as much as a hair above the top 
 line," Peter said, " they'll see you sartin." 
 
 " Would it not be as well," Harold asked, " for 
 one of us to show himself ? There is no possibility 
 of further concealment, and if they go off without 
 any of them being killed the others might be less 
 bitter against us than they would if they had lost 
 some of their tribe." 
 
 Peter laughed scornfully. 
 
 " Ye haven't had much to do with Injuns, lad, but 
 I should have thought you'd have had better sense 
 nor that. Haven't these Injuns been a-murdering 
 and a-slaying along the frontier all the summer, fall- 
 ing on defenseless women and children ? Marcy 
 and pity ain't in their natur, and fight or no fight, 
 our scalps will dry in their wigwams if they git us 
 into their power. They know that we can shoot 
 and mean to, and that'll make 'em careful of at- 
 tacking us, and every hour is important. Now," 
 he said to the others, " each of you cover a man and 
 fire straight through your sights when I gives the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAB. 315 
 
 word. There's others watching 'em, you may be 
 sure, and ef the whole five go down together it'll 
 make 'em think twice afore they attack us again." 
 
 Peering between some loose rocks so that he could 
 see without exposing his head above the line, Har- 
 old watched the five Indians approaching. They 
 had evidently some doubts as to the wisdom of the 
 course they were pursuing, and were well aware 
 that they ran a terrible risk standing there in the 
 open before the rifles of those concealed should the 
 fugitives be really there. Nevertheless the hope of 
 gaining distinction and the fear of ridicule from 
 those watching them on shore should they turn 
 back with their mission unaccomplished inspired 
 them with resolution. When within three hundred 
 yards of the island they halted for a long time. 
 They stood gazing fixedly, but although no signs of 
 life could be perceived, they were too well versed in. 
 Indian warfare to gain any confidence from the ap- 
 parent stillness. Throwing themselves flat on the 
 snow and following each other in single line, by 
 which means their bodies were nearly concealed 
 from sight in the track which their leader made 
 through the light, yielding snow, they made a com- 
 plete circuit of the island. They paused for some 
 time opposite the little forked entrance in which the 
 camp was situated, but apparently saw nothing, for 
 they kept round until they completed the circuit. 
 
 When they, reached the point from which they 
 had started there was apparently a short consultation 
 among them. Then they continued their course in
 
 316 TR VE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the track that they had before made until they 
 reached a spot facing the camp. Then they changed 
 order, and still prone in the snow advanced abreast 
 toward the island. 
 
 " The varmints have guessed that ef we're here 
 this is the place where we'd be hid," Peter whispered 
 in Harold's ear. 
 
 As the Indians had made their circuit the party 
 in the island had changed their position so as always 
 to keep out of sight. They were now on the top 
 of the island, which was a sort of rough plateau. 
 The girls had been warned when they left them to 
 remain perfectly quiet in their shelter whatever 
 noise they might hear. Peter and the Seneca 
 watched the Indians through holes which they had 
 made with their ramrods through a bank of snow. 
 The others remained flat in the slight depression 
 behind it. At the distance of one hundred and 
 fifty yards the Indians stopped. 
 
 "The varmints see something!" Peter said. 
 " Maybe they can make out the two snow heaps 
 through the bushes ; maybe they can see some of 
 our footsteps in the snow. They're going to fire!" 
 he exclaimed. " Up, lads ! They may send a bul- 
 let into the hut whar the gals is hid." 
 
 In an instant the line of men sprang to their feet. 
 The Indians, taken by surprise at the sudden ap- 
 pearance of a larger number of enemies than they 
 expected, fired a hasty volley and then sprang to 
 their feet and dashed toward the shore. But they 
 were deadly rifles which covered them. Peter,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 817 
 
 Harold, and Pearson could be trusted not to miss 
 even a rapidly moving object at that distance, and 
 the men were all good shots. Not in regular order, 
 but us each covered his man the rifles were dis- 
 charged. Four out of the five Indians fell and an 
 arm of the fifth dropped useless by his side ; how- 
 ever, he still kept on. The whites reloaded rapidly, 
 and Harold was about to fire again when Pearson 
 put his hand on his shoulder. 
 
 "Don't fire. We've shown them that we can 
 shoot straight. It's jest as well at present that 
 they shouldn't know how far our rifles will carry." 
 
 The four Senecas dashed out across the snow and 
 speedily returned each with a scalp hanging at his 
 belt 
 
 A loud yell of anger and lamentation had risen 
 from the woods skirting the shore as the Indians 
 fell, but after this died away a deep silence reigned. 
 
 " What will be their next move 2" Cameron asked 
 Peter as they gathered again in their low hut, hav- 
 ing placed one of the Indians on watch. 
 
 " We'll hear nothing of 'em till nightfall," Peter 
 said. " Their first move, now they know as we're 
 here, will be to send off to fetch up all the tribe 
 who're in search of us. When it comes on dark 
 they'll send scouts outside of us on the ice to see as 
 we don't escape not that they'd much mind ef we 
 did, for they could track us through the snow and 
 come up with us whenever they chose. No, they 
 may be sure we'll stay where we are. It may be 
 they'll attack us to-night, maybe not. It'd be a.
 
 318 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 thing more risksome than redskins often undertake 
 to cross the snow under the fire of nine rifles. 1 
 ain't no doubt they'd try and starve us out, for they 
 must know well enough that we can have no great 
 store of provisions. But they know as well as we 
 do that ef another snow-storm comes on we might 
 slip away from 'em without leaving a foot-mark be- 
 hind. It's jest that thought as may make 'em at- 
 tack." 
 
 " "Well, we can beat them off if they do," Harold 
 said confidently. 
 
 " Waal, we may and we may not," the scout 
 answered. " Anyhow we can kill a grist of 'em 
 afore they turn us out on this 'ere island." 
 
 " That's sartin enough," Pearson put in ; " but 
 they're a strong tribe, and ef they can harden their 
 hearts and make a rush it's all up with us. I allow 
 that it's contrary to their custom, but when they 
 see no other way to do with they may try." 
 
 " I suppose if they do try a rush," Harold said, 
 " they will do it against this end of the island ?" 
 
 " Yes, you may bet your money on that," the 
 scout answered. " In other places the rock goes 
 pretty nigh straight up from the water, but here it's 
 an easy landing. Being so close to 'em they're sure 
 to know all about it ; but even ef they didn't, the 
 chap that got away would tell 'em. I don't much 
 expect an attack to-night the bands won't be back 
 yet. They'll have a grand palaver to-night, and 
 there'll be a big talk afore they decide what is 
 best to be done; so I think we're safe for to-night.
 
 TRTJE TO THE OLD FLAG. 319 
 
 To-morrow we'll set to work and build a shelter for 
 the pretty ones up above, where they'll be safe from 
 stray shots. Then we'll throw up a breastwork 
 with loose rocks on the top of the slope round this 
 cove, so as to give it to 'em hot when they land." 
 
 " You have plenty of powder ?" Harold asked. 
 
 " Dollops," Peter replied ; " more'n we could fire 
 away if we was besieged here for a month." 
 
 " Then you could spare me twenty pounds or 
 so?" 
 
 " We could spare you a whole keg if you like ; 
 we've got three full. But what are you thinking of 
 now, young un ?" 
 
 " I was thinking," Harold answered, " of forming 
 a line of holes, say three feet apart, in the ice across 
 the mouth of the cove. If we were to charge them 
 with powder and lay a train between them, we 
 could, when the first dozen or so have passed the 
 line, fire the train and break up the ice. This 
 would prevent the others following and give them 
 such a bad scare that they would probably make 
 off, and we could easily deal with those who had 
 passed the line before we fired it." 
 
 " That's a good idea of yours, lad. A fust-rate 
 idea. The ice must be a foot thick by this time, 
 and ef you put in your charges eight inches and 
 tamp 'em well down you'll shiver the ice for a long 
 way round. The idea is a fust-rate one." 
 
 Pearson and Cameron assisted in the work, and 
 the Indians, when Peter had explained the plan to 
 them, gave deep guttural exclamations of surprise
 
 320 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 and approval. The process of blasting was one 
 wholly unknown to them. 
 
 " I will mak' the holes," Cameron said. " I hae 
 seen a deal of blasting when I was in the army. I 
 can heat the end of a ramrod in a fire and hammer 
 it to the shape of a borer." 
 
 " A better way than that, Cameron," Harold 
 said, " will be to heat the end of a ramrod white- 
 hot. You will melt holes in the ice in half the time 
 it would take you to bore them. That was what I 
 was thinking of doing." 
 
 " Eight you are, lad !" Pearson said. " Let's set 
 about it at once." 
 
 A large fire was now lighted outside the hut, for 
 there was no longer any occasion for secrecy. The 
 ends of three or four of the ramrods were placed in 
 the fire, and two lines of holes were bored in the 
 ice across the mouth of the little cove. These lines 
 were twelve feet apart, and they calculated that the 
 ice between them would be completely broken up, 
 even if the fractures did not extend a good way be- 
 yond the lines. The holes were of rather larger 
 diameter than the interior of a gun-barrel. It was 
 found that the ice was about fifteen inches thick, 
 and the holes were taken down ten inches. Three 
 or four charges of powder were placed in each ; a 
 stick of a quarter of an inch in diameter was then 
 placed in each hole, and pounded ice was rammed 
 tightly in around it until the holes were filled up, 
 a few drops of water being poured in on the top so 
 as to freeze the whole into a solid mass. There was
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 321 
 
 no fear of the powder being wetted, for the frost 
 was intense. Then the sticks were withdrawn and 
 the holes left filled with powder. With the heated 
 ramrods little troughs were sunk half an inch deep, 
 connecting the tops of the holes ; lines of powder 
 were placed in these trenches ; narrow strips of skin 
 were laid over them and the snow was then thrown 
 on again. The two lines of trenches were connect- 
 ed at the ends at the shore, so that they could be 
 fired simultaneously. 
 
 While the men were occupied with this work the 
 girls had cooked some venison steaks and made some 
 cakes. 
 
 It was just nightfall when they had finished, and 
 all sat down and enjoyed a hearty meal. Peter and 
 one of the Senecas undertook the watch for half the 
 night, when they were to be relieved by Pearson 
 and the chief. The early part of the night passed 
 off quietly, but an hour before morning the party 
 were aroused by the sharp crack of two rifles. 
 Seizing their arms all rushed out. 
 
 " What is it, Pearson ?" 
 
 "Two of their scouts," Pearson answered, point- 
 ing to two dark bodies on the snow at a distance of 
 about one hundred yards. " I suppose they wanted 
 to see ef we was on the watch. We made 'em out 
 almost as soon as they left the shore, but we let 'em 
 come on until we was sartin of our aim. There 
 ain't no more about as we can see, so ye can all turn 
 in again for another hour or two." 
 
 There was no fresh alarm before morning, and
 
 322 THUS TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 when the sun rose it shone over a wide expanse of 
 snow, unbroken save where lay the bodies of the 
 two Indians whose scalps already hung at the belt 
 of the Seneca and those of their four comrades 
 who had fallen in the first attack. 
 
 The day passed quietly. Toward the afternoon 
 two Indians were seen approaching from the shore. 
 They were unarmed and held their hands aloft as a 
 sign of amity. Peter and Pearson at once laid 
 down their guns, left the island, and advanced to 
 meet them. They were Indian chiefs of importance. 
 
 " Why have my white brothers stolen in at night 
 upon the village of War Eagle and slain his young 
 men ?" 
 
 " It's what you've been doing all last year, chief," 
 Pearson, who spoke the dialect better than Peter, 
 replied. "But we injured no one. We didn't kill 
 women and children, as your warriors have done in 
 the white villages. We only came to take what you 
 had stolen from us, and ef your young men have 
 been killed it's only because they tried to attack us." 
 
 " The white men must see," the chief said, " that 
 they cannot get away. The water is hard and their 
 canoe will not swim in it. The snow is deep and the 
 tender feet cannot walk through it. My warriors 
 are very numerous and the white men cannot fight 
 their way through them. The white settlements 
 are very far away and their friends cannot reach 
 them ; and it will be many months before the water 
 softens, and long before that the white men will 
 have eaten their moccasins."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 323 
 
 " Waal, chief," Pearson said, " we're in a tight 
 hole, I grant you ; but I'm far from allowing that 
 we ain't no chances left to us yet. What do you 
 propose ? I suppose you've some proposition to 
 make." 
 
 "Let the white men leave behind them their guns 
 and their powder and the maidens they have taken 
 from War Eagle's camp, then let them go in peace. 
 They shall not be harmed." 
 
 Pearson gave a short laugh. 
 
 "War Eagle must think the white men are fool- 
 isfi. What's to prevent the red warriors from 
 taking all our sculps when our arms are in their 
 hands ?" 
 
 " The word of a great chief," War Eagle said. 
 " War Eagle never lies." 
 
 " You may not lie, chief," Pearson said bluntly, 
 " but I've known many a treaty broken afore now. 
 You and your people may not touch us, but there's 
 other redskins about, and I wouldn't give a beaver's 
 skin for our sculps ef we were to take the back trail 
 to the settlements without arms in our hands. Be- 
 sides that, we've among us the father of the gal who 
 was stole far away off from Lake Champlain and a 
 relative of her whose parents you've killed down on 
 the lake. Ef we were to agree to give up our arms, 
 it stands to reason it ain't likely they'd agree to 
 give up the gals. No, no, chief ; your terms aren't 
 reasonable. But I tell ye what we will do: ef 
 you'll give us your word that neither you nor your 
 tribe'll molest us in our retreat we'll go back to the
 
 324 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 settlements, and'll engage that when we git back 
 there we'll send you nine of the best rifles money 
 can buy, with plenty of powder and ball, and 
 blankets and such like." 
 
 The chief waved his hand in contemptuous refusal 
 of the terms. 
 
 " There are six of my young men's scalps at your 
 girdles and their places are empty. "War Eagle has 
 spoken." 
 
 " Very well, chief," Pearson said. " Ef nothing 
 but sculps will content you, to fighting it must 
 come ; but T warn you that your tribe'll lose a good 
 many more afore they git ours." 
 
 So saying, without another word they separated, 
 each party making their way back to their friends. 
 
 "What on earth can he have proposed such 
 terms as those for?" Harold asked when Pearson 
 had related what had taken place between him and 
 the chief. " He must have known we should not 
 accept them." 
 
 " I expect," Pearson said, " he wanted to see who 
 we were and to judge what sort of spirit we had. 
 It may be, too, that there was a party among the 
 tribe who had no stomachs for the job of attacking 
 this place, and so he was obliged to make a show 
 of offering terms to please 'em ; but he never meant 
 as they should be accepted. No, I take it they'll 
 wait a few days to see what hunger'll do. They 
 must be pretty sure that we've not a very large 
 supply of food."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. $35 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 THE GREAT STORM. 
 
 "LET us overhaul our packages," Harold said, 
 " and see what provisions we have left. It would 
 be as well to know how we stand." 
 
 It was found that they had a sufficient supply of 
 flour to last with care for a fortnight. The meal 
 was nearly exhausted ; of tea they had an abun- 
 dance ; the sugar was nearly out and they had three 
 bottles of spirits. 
 
 " Could we not make the flour last more than the 
 fourteen days by putting ourselves on half-rations ?" 
 Harold asked. 
 
 " We might do that," Peter said, " but I tell you 
 the rations would be small even for fourteen days. 
 We've calkilated according to how much we eat 
 when we've plenty of meat, but without meat it'd be 
 only a starvation ration to each. Fortunately we've 
 fish-hooks and lines, and by making holes in the ice we 
 can git as many fish as we like. Waal, we can live 
 on them alone if need be, and an ounce or two of 
 flour, made into cakes, will be enough to go with 
 'em. That way the flour would last us pretty nigh 
 two months. I don't say that if the wust comes to 
 the wust we might not hold on right to the spring
 
 326 TRUE TO THE OLD 
 
 on fish. The lake's full of 'em, and some of 'em 
 have so much oil in 'em that they're nigh as good 
 as meat." 
 
 " Do you think, Peter, that if the Indians make 
 one great attack and are beaten off they will try 
 again ?" 
 
 " No one can say," Peter answered. " Injun 
 natur' can't never be calkilated on. I should say 
 if they got a thundering beating they ain't likely to 
 try again ; but there's never no saying." 
 
 " The sooner they attack and get it o'er the better," 
 Cameron said. " I hae na slept a wink the last 
 twa nights. If I doze off for a moment I wake up 
 thinking I hear their yells. I am as ready to fight 
 as ony o' you when the time comes, but the thought 
 o' my daughter here makes me nervous and anxious. 
 What do you say, Jake ?" 
 
 " It all de same to Jake, Massa Cameron. Jake 
 sleeps bery sound, but he no like de tought ob eating 
 noting but fish for five or six months. Jake nebber 
 bery fond ob fish." 
 
 " You'll like it well enough when you get used to 
 it, Jake," Pearson said. " It's not bad eating on a 
 pinch, only you want to eat a sight of it to satisfy 
 you. "Well, let's see how the fish'll bite." 
 
 Four holes were cut in the ice at a short distance 
 apart. The hooks were attached to strong lines 
 and baited with deer's flesh, and soon the fishing be- 
 gan. The girls took great interest in the proceed- 
 ing. Nelly was an adept at the sport, having 
 generally caught the fish for the consumption of
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 327 
 
 the household at home. She took charge of one of 
 the lines, Harold of another, while Jake and one of 
 the Senecas squatted themselves by the other holes. 
 There had been some discussion as to whether the 
 fishing should take place on the side of the island 
 facing the shore or behind the rocks, but the former 
 was decided upon. This was done because all were 
 anxious that the expected attack should take place 
 as soon as possible, and the event was likely to be 
 hastened when the Indians saw that they were pro- 
 vided with lines and were thus able to procure 
 food for a considerable time. 
 
 It was soon manifest that if they could live upon 
 fish they need feel no uneasiness as to its supply. 
 Scarcely had the lines been let down than fish were 
 fast to them. Harold and the other men soon had 
 trout, from three to six pounds, lying on the ice be- 
 sids them, but Nelly was obliged to call Pearson to 
 her assistance, and the fish when brought to the 
 surface was found to be over twenty pounds in 
 weight. An hours fishing procured them a suf- 
 ficient supply for a week's consumption. There was 
 no fear as to the fish keeping, for in a very short 
 time after being drawn from the water they were 
 frozen stiff and hard. They were hung up to some 
 boughs near the huts, and the party were glad 
 enough to get into shelter again, for the cold was 
 intense. 
 
 As before, the early part of the night passed 
 quietly ; but toward morning Peter, who was on. 
 watch, ran down and awakened the others.
 
 328 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " Git your shooting-irons and hurry up," he said. 
 " The varmints are coming this time in arnest." 
 
 In a minute every one was at the post assigned to 
 him. A number of dark figures could be seen com- 
 ing over the ice. 
 
 "There's nigh two hundred of 'em," Peter said. 
 " War Eagle has brought the hull strength of his 
 tribe." 
 
 Contrary to their usual practice the Indians did not 
 attempt to crawl up to the place they were about to 
 attack, but advanced at a run across the ice. The 
 defenders lost not a moment in opening fire, for 
 some of their rifles would carry as far as the shore. 
 
 " Shoot steady," Peter said. " Don't throw away 
 a shot." 
 
 Each man loaded and fired as quickly as he could, 
 taking a steady aim, and the dark figures which 
 dotted the ice behind the advancing Indians showed 
 that the fire was an effectual one. The Indians did 
 not return a shot. Their c'lief had no doubt 
 impressed upon them the uselessness of firing 
 against men lying in shelter, and had urged them to 
 hurry at the top of their speed to the island and 
 crush the whites in a hand-to-hand fight. 
 
 It was but three or four minutes from the time 
 the first shot was fired before they were close to the 
 island. They made, as Peter had expected, toward 
 the little cove, which was indeed the only place at 
 which a landing could well be effected. Harold ran 
 down and hid himself in a bush at the spot where 
 *"? train terminated, carrying with him a glowing 
 orand from the fire,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 329 
 
 "War Eagle means to have our sculps this time," 
 Peter said to Pearson. " I never seed an uglier 
 rush. White men couldn't have done better." 
 
 The Indians had run in scattered order across the 
 ice, but they closed up as they neared the cove. As 
 they rushed toward it four fell beneath the shots of 
 half the defenders, and another four a few seconds 
 later from a volley by the other section. 
 
 In a wonderfully short time the first were ready 
 again, and the Indians wavered at the slaughter and 
 opened fire upon the breastwork, behind which the 
 defenders were crouching. Those behind pressed 
 on, and with terrific yells the mass of Indians 
 bounded forward. 
 
 Harold had remained inactive, crouching behind 
 the bush. He saw the head of the dark mass rush 
 past him and then applied the brand to the train. 
 
 There was a tremendous explosion. Yells and 
 screams rent the air, and in an instant a dark line 
 of water twenty feet wide stretched across the 
 mouth of the cove. In this were pieces of floating 
 ice and numbers of Indians struggling and yelling. 
 Some made only a faint struggle before they sank, 
 while others struck out for the side furthest from 
 the island. 
 
 The main body of Indians, appalled by the ex- 
 plosion, checked themselves in their course and at 
 once took to flight; some, unable to check their 
 impetus, fell into the water upon the wounded 
 wretches who were struggling there. Those who 
 had crossed stood irresolute, and then turning
 
 330 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAB. 
 
 leaped into the water. As they struggled to get 
 out on the opposite side the defenders maintained a 
 deadly fire upon them, but in two or three minutes 
 the last survivor had scrambled out and all were in 
 full flight toward the shore. 
 
 "I think we've seen the last of the attacks," 
 Peter said as they came down from their breast- 
 work and joined Harold iu the cove. " That was a 
 fust-rate notion of yours, lad. Ef it hadn't been for 
 that we should have been rubbed out sure enough ; 
 another minute and we'd have gone down. They 
 were in arnest and no mistake ; they'd got steam 
 up and was determined to finish with us at once 
 whatever it cost 'em." 
 
 The instant the attack had ceased Cameron had 
 hastened to the hut where the girls were lying, to 
 assure them that all danger was over and that the 
 Indians were entirely defeated. In an hour a fresh 
 skim of ice had formed across the streak of water, 
 but as through its clear surface many of the bodies 
 of the Indians could be seen, the men threw snow 
 over it, to spare the girls the unpleasantness of such 
 a sight every time they went out from the cove. 
 The bodies of all the Indians who had fallen near 
 the island were also covered with snow. Those 
 nearer the shore were carried off by the Iroquois 
 in their retreat. 
 
 " I suppose, Peter," Harold said as they sat round 
 the fire that evening, "you have been in quite as 
 awkward scrapes as this before and have got out all 
 right T
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 331 
 
 " Why, this business ain't nothing to that affair 
 we had by Lake Champlain. That were as bad a 
 business, when we was surrounded in that log hut, 
 as ever I went through and I've been through a 
 good many. Pearson and me nigh got our har 
 raised more nor once in that business of Pontiac's. 
 He were a great chief and managed to get up the 
 biggest confederation agin' us that's ever been 
 known. It were well for us that that business didn't 
 begin a few years earlier when we was fighting the 
 French ; but you see, so long as we and they was at 
 war the Indians hoped as we might pretty well ex- 
 terminate each other, and then they intended to 
 come in and finish off whoever got the best of it. 
 Waal, the English they drove the French back and 
 finally a treaty was made in Europe by which the 
 French agreed to clear out. 
 
 " It was jest about this time as Pontiac worked 
 upon the tribes to lay aside their own quarrels and 
 jine the French in fighting agin' us. He got the 
 Senecas, and the Delawares, and the Shawnees, the 
 Wyandots, and a lot of other tribes from the lakes 
 and the hull country between the Niagara Kiver and 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 " Jack Pearson and me, we happened to be with 
 the Miamis when the bloody belt which Pontiac 
 were sending round as a signal for war arrived at 
 the fort there. Jack and me knew the redskins 
 pretty well, and saw by their manner as something 
 unusual had happened. I went to the commandant 
 of the fort and told him as much. He didn't think
 
 332 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 much of ray news. The soldier chaps always 
 despises the redskins till they see 'em come yelling 
 along with their tomahawks, and then as often as 
 not it's jest the other way. Howsumdever, he 
 agreed at last to pay any amount of trade goods 
 I might promise to the Hiamis if the news turned 
 out worth finding out. I discovered that a great 
 palaver was to be held that evening at the chief's 
 village, which was a mile away from the fort. 
 
 " I'd seen a good deal of the Miamis and had 
 fought with 'em against the Shawnees, so I could do 
 as much with 'em as most. Off Pearson and I goes 
 to the chief ; and I says to him, ; Look ye here, 
 chief, I've good reasons to believe you've got a mes- 
 sage from Pontiac and that it means trouble. Now 
 don't you go and let yourself be led away by him. 
 I've heard rumors that he's getting up a great con- 
 federation agin' the English. But I tell you, chief, 
 if all the redskins on this continent was to 
 jine together, they couldn't do nothing agin the 
 English. I don't say as you mightn't wipe out a 
 number of little border forts, for no doubt you 
 might ; but what would come of it ? England would 
 send out as many men as there are leaves in the 
 forest, who would scorch up the redskin nations as a 
 fire on the prairie scorches up the grass. I tell yer, 
 chief, no good can come on it. Don't build yer 
 hopes on the French ; they've acknowledged that 
 they're beaten and are all going out of the country. 
 It'd be best for } r ou and your people to stick to the 
 English. They can reward their friends handsomely,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 333 
 
 and ef you jine with Pontiac, sooner or later trouble 
 and ruin will come upon you. Now I can promise 
 you, in the name of the officer of the fort, a good 
 English rifle for yerself and fifty guns for your 
 braves and ten bales of blankets ef yer'll make a 
 clean breast of it and first tell us what devilry 
 Pontiac is up to and next jine us freely or anyway 
 hold aloof altogether from this conspiracy till yer 
 see how things is going.' 
 
 "Waal, the chief he thought the matter over and 
 said he'd do his best at the palaver that night, but 
 till that was over and he knew what the council 
 decided on he couldn't tell me what the message 
 was. I was pretty well satisfied, for Prairie Dog 
 were a great chief in his tribe, and I felt pretty 
 sartin he'd git the council to go the way he wanted. 
 I told him I'd be at the fort and that the gov- 
 ernor would expect a message after the council was 
 over. 
 
 " It was past midnight when the chief came with 
 four of his braves. He told us that the tribe had 
 received a bloody belt from Pontiac and a message 
 that the Mingoes and Dela wares, the Wyandotsand 
 Shawnees were going to dig up the hatchet against 
 the whites, and calling upon him and his people to 
 massacre the garrison of the fort and then march to 
 jine Pontiac, who was about to fall upon Detroit 
 and Fort Pitt. They were directed to send the belt 
 on to the tribes on the Wabash, but they loved the 
 English and were determined to take no part 
 against them; so they delivered the belt to their
 
 334 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 friend the white commander, and hoped that he'd 
 tell the great king in England that the Miamis were 
 faithful to him. The governor highly applauded 
 their conduct and said he'd send the news to the 
 English governor at New York, and at once ordered 
 the presents which I promised to be delivered to the 
 chief for himself and his braves. "When they'd gone 
 he said : 
 
 " ' You were right, Peter. This news is important 
 indeed, and it's clear that a terrible storm's about to 
 bust upon the frontier. "Whether the Miamis will 
 keep true is doubtful ; but now I'm on my guard 
 they'll find it difficult to take the fort. But the 
 great thing is to carry the news of what's happened 
 to Detroit, to put them on their guard. Will you 
 and Pearson start at once ?' 
 
 " In course we agreed, though it was clear that 
 the job was a risksome one, for it wouldn't be no 
 easy matter to journey through the woods with the 
 hull redskin tribes out on the war-path. 
 
 " The commander wanted me to carry the belt 
 with me, but I said, * I might jest as well carry my 
 death-warrant to the first redskins as I come across.' 
 Major Gladwin, who commanded at Detroit, knew 
 me, and I didn't need to carry any proof of my 
 story. So afore the Miamis had been gone half an 
 hour Jack and me took the trail for Detroit. We 
 had got a canoe hid on the lake a few miles away, 
 and we was soon on board. The next morning we 
 seed a hull fleet of canoes coming down the lake. 
 We might have made a race with 'em, but being
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 335 
 
 fully manned the chances was as they'd have cut us 
 off, and seeing that at present war had not been 
 declared, \ve judged it best to seem as if we weren't 
 afeared. So we paddles up to 'ein and found as they 
 were a lot of Wyandots whose hunting-grounds lay 
 up by Lake Superior. In course I didn't ask no 
 questions as to whar they was going, but jest men- 
 tioned as we was on our way down to Detroit. 
 ' We're going that way too,' the chief said, ' and'll 
 be glad to have our white brothers with us.' So we 
 paddled along together until, about noon, they 
 landed. Nothing was said to us as how we were 
 prisoners, but we could see as how we was jest as 
 much captives as ef we'd been tied with buckskin 
 ropes. 
 
 " Jack and me talked it over and agreed as it was 
 no manner o' use trying to make our escape, but 
 that as long as they chose to treat us as guests we'd 
 best seem perfectly contented and make no show of 
 considering as they was on the war-path ; although, 
 seeing as they had no women or children with 
 'em, a baby could have known as they were up to 
 no good. 
 
 " The next morning they started again at day- 
 break, and after paddling some hours landed and 
 hid away their canoes and started on foot. Nothing 
 was said to us, but we saw as we was expected to 
 do as they did. We went on till we was within ten 
 mile of Detroit and then we halted. I thought it 
 were best to find out exactly how we stood, so Jack 
 and I goes up to the chief and says that as we was
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 hear Detroit we would jest say good-by to him and 
 tramp in. 
 
 "'Why should my white brothers hurry?' he 
 Baid. ' It is not good for them to go on alone, for 
 the woods are very full of Indians.' ' But,' I said, 
 * the hatchet's buried between the whites and the 
 redskins, so there's no danger in the woods.' The 
 chief waved his hand. * My white brothers have 
 joined the Wyandots, and they will tarry with them 
 until they go into Detroit. There are manj' red- 
 skins there, and there will be a grand palaver. The 
 Wyandots will be present.' 
 
 " Jack and me made no signs of being dissatisfied, 
 but the position weren't a pleasant one, I can tell 
 you. Here was the redskins a-clustering like bees 
 around Detroit, ready to fall upon the garrison and 
 massacre 'em, and we, who was the only men as 
 knew of the danger, was prisoners among the red- 
 skins. It was sartin, too, that though they mightn't 
 take our lives till they had attacked the garrison, 
 they was only keeping us for the pleasure of tor- 
 turing us quietly arterward. The situation was 
 plain enough ; the question was, what were to be 
 done? There was about sixty of the varmints 
 around us sitting by their fires and looking as ef 
 they didn't even know as we was there, but we 
 knew as sharp eyes was watching us and that afore 
 we'd gone five yards the hull lot would be on our 
 track. 
 
 " Jack and me didn't say much to each other, for 
 we knew how closely we was watched and didn't
 
 TRUSS TO THE OLD FLAG. 337 
 
 want 'em to think as we was planning our escape, 
 so after a few words we sat down by one of the 
 fires till it got time to lie down for the night ; but 
 we had both been a-thinking. We saw when we 
 lay down that the Injuns lay pretty well around 
 us, while two on 'em, with their rifles ready to 
 hand, sat down by a fire close by and threw on some 
 logs, as if they intended to watch all night. 
 
 " It was a goodish-size clearing as they'd chose 
 for a camping-ground, and we should have had to 
 run some distance afore we got to the shelter of 
 the trees. The moon too was up, and it were well- 
 nigh as light as day, and anxious as we was to git 
 awa}% we agreed that there were no chance of slid- 
 ing off, but that it'd be better to wait till next 
 day. 
 
 " When we woke our guns was gone. We com- 
 plained to the chief, who said coldly that his young 
 men would carry the guns and give 'em back to us 
 when we got to Detroit. It were no use saying 
 more, for he might at any moment have ordered 
 us to be bound, and it were better to keep the use 
 of our legs as long as we could. 
 
 " For two days we stayed there, not seeing the 
 shadow of a chance of gitting away. Several red- 
 skin runners come in and spoke to the chief, and 
 we got more and more anxious to be off. We was 
 still allowed to walk about, provided we didn't go 
 near the edge of the clearing ; whenever we went 
 that way two Injuns who kept guard by turns over 
 us shouted to us to go no f urder.
 
 338 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " The third morning, after a runner had come in, 
 the chief gave the word for a move and we set out. 
 "We saw they wasn't taking the direct line to De- 
 troit, although still going in that direction, and 
 after two hours' marching through the woods we 
 got down on to the Detroit Biver. Here was a big 
 encampment, and some three or four hundred 
 Shawnees and Delawares was gathered here. A 
 chief come up to us as we entered the open. He 
 gave an order to the "Wyandots, and in a minute 
 we was bound hand and foot, carried to a small 
 wigwam, and chucked down inside like two logs of 
 wood. 
 
 " After a little talk Jack and I agreed as after all 
 we had a better chance of escaping now than when 
 we was watched by a hull tribe, and we concluded 
 that there weren't no time to be lost. The Wyan- 
 dots had no doubt been brought up in readiness to 
 strike the blow, and even if we'd known nothing 
 about the belt, we'd have been sure that mischief 
 was intended when these three bands of red 
 varmints had gathered so close to the fort. It was 
 sartin we couldn't do nothing till night, but we both 
 strained our cords as much as possible to get 'em to 
 stretch a bit and give us a better chance of slipping 
 out of 'em. No one come near us for some time, 
 and as we could hear the sound of voices we guessed 
 that a great council was taking place, and we 
 agreed at once to loosen the knots, so as to be in 
 readiness for work, as like enough they'd put a 
 sentry over us at night.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 339 
 
 " It was a risky thing to try, for we might be dis- 
 turbed at any minute. Still we thought it were our 
 only chance, so Jack set to work with his teeth at 
 my knots and in a quarter of an hour had loosened 
 them ; then I undone his. We unbound our thongs 
 and then fastened 'em up again so that to the eye 
 they looked jest the same as before, but really with 
 a jerk they'd fall ofl. 
 
 " I must teach you how to do that, Harold, some 
 time; ye may find it of use. The knots was tied up 
 as tightly as before, and it would have needed a 
 close examination to see that we was not tied as 
 tight as ever. Not a word was spoken and we was 
 as quiet as mice, for we could hear two redskins 
 talking outside. You may guess we was pretty 
 slick about it ; and I don't know as ever I felt so 
 thankful as when we laid ourselves down again, jest 
 as we had been throwed, without the slit in the tent 
 having opened and a red face peered in. 
 
 " A quarter of an hour later a redskin come in 
 and looked at us. Seeing, as it seemed to him, as 
 we hadn't moved, he went out again. Jest before 
 nightfall two on 'em came in together, rolled us 
 over, and looked at the knots ; they found as these 
 was all right ; then one sat down jest in the door 
 of the tent and the other took his place outside. 
 We waited some hours. 
 
 " At last the fires burned low and the camp got 
 quiet. We knew it was well-nigh hopeless to wait 
 for 'em all to be asleep, for redskin natur' is a rest- 
 less one, and especially when there's anything on
 
 40 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAQ. 
 
 hand they'll turn out two or three times in the 
 night to smoke their pipes by the fires, and they'd 
 be the more restless since, as we'd seen, there was 
 only four or five wigwams and all would be sleep- 
 ing on the ground. At last I thought the time 
 were come and gave Jack a nudge and we both sat 
 up. 
 
 " It were a ticklish moment, young un, I can tell 
 ye, for we knew that it were scarce possible to get 
 off without the alarm being raised. Ef the wigwam, 
 had stood close to the edge of the forest it would 
 have been compar'tively easy, for once among the 
 trees we might have hoped to have outrun 'em, 
 though the moon was so pesky bright ; but unfortu- 
 nately it was built not far from the river, and we 
 should have to cross the hull clearing to gain the 
 woods. The chances weren't good, I can tell you, 
 but it was clear as we had to try 'em. We had 
 purposely moved about pretty often so that our 
 movements would not attract the attention of the 
 Injun now. It didn't take a minute to slip out of 
 the cords, which, tight as they looked, really were 
 not fastened at all, there being two loose double 
 ends between our arms and our bodies. "We could 
 see the outside sentry through the open door, and 
 we waited till he turned his back and looked out on 
 the river. Then suddenly I gripped the redskin 
 sitting at the entrance by the neck with both my 
 hands, pretty tight as you may reckon, and Jack 
 ketched his knife from bis telt and buried it in his 
 body.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 341 
 
 " That was soon over, and not a sound made 
 as would have startled a mouse. Then, standing 
 up, I made a spring on to the sentry, while Jack 
 used his knife as before. We let him drop softly 
 down and prepared to bolt, when of a sudden the 
 war-whoop sounded not twenty feet away. One of 
 the redskins, finding the ground hard, I suppose, was 
 strolling up to speak to the sentry when he saw us 
 tackle him. For a moment he were too much sur- 
 prised to holler, but when he did he gave a yell as 
 brought the hull tribe to their feet. Jack had 
 taken up the sentry's rifle. 
 
 " ' Ye'd better have held yer tongue,' he said as 
 he leveled on the redskin, and before the whoop was 
 out of his lips the bullet hit him and he went down 
 like a log. It didn't need to look round to see as 
 there was no chance of getting to the trees, for two 
 hundred redskins was between us and them. ' We 
 must take to the river, Jack,' I said. It were but 
 thirty yards away. I expected every moment, as 
 we run, to hear the rifle bullets whistle round us, 
 but I guess Pontiac had given orders that no gun 
 was to be fired lest it might be heard at the fort. 
 Anyhow, not a shot was fired and we got down safe 
 to the bank.
 
 343 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE SCOUT'S STORY. 
 
 " LUCKILY enough there was a canoe lying close at 
 our feet. ' Shove it out, Jack,' says I, ' and then 
 keep along the bank.' We gave it a shove with all 
 our strength and sent it dancing out into the river. 
 Then we dived in and swum down close under the 
 bank. There was bushes growing all along, and we 
 came ap each time under 'em. The redskins was 
 some little distance behind us as we reached the 
 river, and in course thought we had throwed our- 
 selves flat in the canoe. In a minute or two they 
 got another and paddled off to it, and we soon heard 
 the shout as they raised when they found it was 
 empty. By this time we was a hundred yards be- 
 low the spot where we had taken to the water, and 
 knowing as they would be off along the bank and 
 would find us in no time, we scrambled straight up 
 and made for the trees. 
 
 " "We was within fifty yards of the edge of the 
 forest, and none of the redskins was near us, as the 
 hull body had clustered down at the spot where we 
 had jumped in. We hadn't fairly set foot on the 
 bank afore they saw us and with a whoop which 
 sometimes wakes me even now in my sleep and
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 343 
 
 makes me sit up with the sweat on my forehead 
 they started. I could run faster then than I can 
 now, and ye may guess I went my best. We 
 plunged into the trees and went as hard as we could 
 foot it, the redskins being fifty or sixty yards 
 behind. 
 
 " Our hope was to find a place with a thickish 
 underwood. It was darker a deal under the trees 
 than in the clearing, still it was not dark enough to 
 hide us from redskin eyes. "We run straight, for we 
 knew they could see us, and arter about four hun- 
 dred yards we come upon a place where the under- 
 growth grew thick. Here we began to dodge 'em, 
 turning now one way and now another, keeping al- 
 ways low in the bushes. They had lost us by sight 
 now, but there was so many of 'em that we pretty 
 nigh despaired of getting through. Some of 'em 
 had tried to follow us, but the best part had run 
 straight on for a bit, and then, when sure they had 
 headed us, scattered right and left, so that they 
 were ahead of us now as well as on our traces, and 
 we could hear r em shouting all round us, so we did 
 the only thing there was to be done and made the 
 best of our way back to the clearing, keeping low 
 and taking good care not to cross any patch where 
 the moonlight through the trees fell on the ground. 
 
 " It were lucky for us that it was a camp of 
 braves. Had it been an ordinary redskin encamp- 
 ment there would have been squaws, and boys, and 
 wuss still, dogs, who would have seed us the moment 
 we got back; but being all braves on the war-path
 
 344 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the hull gang had started arter us, and not a soul 
 had remained in the clearing. We did not rest there 
 long, you may be sure, but made straight down to 
 the water. There we picked out a canoe, crossed 
 the river, and got into the shade of the trees the 
 other side. Then we kept along down it till we got 
 close to the fort of Detroit. 
 
 " "We could see a good many smoldering fires 
 out afore it, and guessed that a strong body of red- 
 skins, pretending to be friends, had camped there. 
 We made round 'em and reached the gate of the 
 fort safe. The sentries wouldn't let us in, but when 
 a sergeant was fetched it turned out as he knew us, 
 seeing that we had been scouting out from thar in 
 the summer. Pretty thankful we was when the 
 gate closed arter us. Our news would keep, so we 
 waited till morning afore we saw the major, and 
 then told him the whole history of the matter, and 
 how Pontiac had raised all the tribes east of the Mis- 
 sissippi against us. 
 
 " We found that Pontiac had been into the camp 
 with fifty of his warriors three days afore, profess- 
 ing great friendship, and had said that in two or 
 three days he would call again and pay a format 
 visit. 
 
 " Detroit then was but a trading post, defended 
 by a stockade twenty feet high and twelve hundred 
 yards in circumference. About fifty houses of trad- 
 ers and storekeepers stood within it. The garrison 
 was composed of one hundred and twenty men 
 of the Eighteenth Kegiment and eight officers.
 
 TRUB TO TEE OLD FLAG. 345 
 
 They had three guns, two six-pounders, and a 
 three-pounder, and three mortars, but their car- 
 riages was so old and rotten that they was of 
 no real service. Two vessels mounting some 
 small guns lay in the river off the fort. The gov- 
 ernor was a good soldier, but he was naturally 
 startled at hearing that there was something like a 
 thousand redskins in the woods round ; but he said 
 that now he had warning he was not afraid of 'em. 
 A messenger was sent off in a canoe to carry the 
 tidings east and to ask for reinforcements, and the 
 traders was all told to get their arms ready. 
 
 " At eight o'clock in the morning Pontiac was 
 seen a-coming with three hundred warriors. There 
 had been no declaration of war, and the redskins 
 was supposed to be friendly, so the major didn't like 
 to be the first to commence hostilities, as folks who 
 knew nothing of it might likely enough have raised 
 an outcry about massacring the poor Injuns. How- 
 sumever, he called all the troops under arms and 
 disposed 'em behind the houses. The traders, too, 
 with their rifles were drawn up ready. The gates 
 was opened when Pontiac arrived and he and his 
 warriors entered. They had left their rifles behind 
 them, as they pretended that their mission was a 
 peaceful one, but they had all got their tomahawks 
 and knives under their blankets. They advanced 
 in a body toward where Major Gladwin and his 
 officers was standing in front of his quarters. 
 
 " Jack and me and two or three scouts who hap- 
 pened to be in the fort stood just behind careless
 
 346 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAB. 
 
 like with our rifles, so that in case of any sudden 
 attack we could keep them back for a moment or 
 two. I noticed that Pontiac carried in his hand a 
 wampum belt. I noticed it because it was green on 
 one side and white on the other, and it turned out 
 arterward that when he twisted that belt with two 
 hands it was to be the signal for an attack. 
 
 " Pontiac spoke soft for a time. He was a fine 
 redskin ; that can't be denied. He was a Catawba 
 by birth, but had been adopted into the tribe of 
 Ottawas and had risen to be their chief. He were 
 a great brave and one of the best speakers I 
 ever heard. He was a wise chief, as you may guess 
 by the way he got all the tribes to lay aside their 
 private quarrels and make common cause against 
 us. I watched him close. He kept his eyes on the 
 major and spoke as cool and as calm as if he had 
 nothing on his mind ; but I could see the warrior 
 glancing about, wondering, no doubt, what had be- 
 come of the soldiers. Presently the chief changed 
 his tone and began to pretend as he was in a rage 
 at some grievance or other. 
 
 " The major jest put his whistle to his lips, and in 
 a moment from behind the houses the soldiers and 
 traders marched out rifle in hand. You never saw 
 a more disgusted crew than them redskins. I'll do 
 Pontiac justice to say that he never so much as 
 moved, but jest went on talking as if he hadn't 
 noticed the troops at all. The major answered him 
 in the same way, and after half an hour's talk the 
 redskins went out again without so much as a knife
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 347 
 
 having been shown. Major Gladwin gave Jack and 
 me papers testifying as how we had saved Detroit 
 from destruction, and sent an account of it to Gov- 
 ernor Amherst, and to this day Jack and me draws 
 special pensions for that 'ere business besides what 
 we earned as British scouts." 
 
 " That was an adventure, Peter !" Harold said. 
 " They did not take Detroit after all, did they F 
 
 "No; we beat 'em off handsome when they 
 tried it. Then they laid siege to Fort Pitt and 
 tried very hard there too, but the place held out till 
 some troops who had come up marched out from 
 here and raised the siege. At some of the little 
 places they succeeded. Lots of settlers was massa- 
 cred. At Fort Sandusky Ensign Paulli and the 
 garrison was massacred by a party of Hurons and 
 Ottawas who come in as friends. This was on the 
 same day as they had intended to do for us at 
 Detroit. 
 
 "At St. Joseph's an English ensign with four- 
 teen soldiers was killed by the Pottawatomies, but 
 nowhere did Pontiac obtain any real successes. 
 The French in Illinois were preparing to leave and 
 he couldn't git no assistance from them. After the 
 siege of Fort Pitt was raised peace was patched up 
 again. Pontiac's confederacy, finding as they 
 hadn't got none of the successes he promised 'em, 
 was beginning to break up, and the English saw 
 no chance of doing any good by hunting the red- 
 skins among the forests, so both parties was willing 
 for peace.
 
 348 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAQ. 
 
 " Pontiac never gave any more trouble, and some 
 years arterward, coming into one of the towns, he 
 was killed by an Injun who had a private grudge 
 agin' him. And now I'm longing for a quiet pipe, 
 and you'd better turn in. There's no saying 
 whether we'll have a quiet night of it." 
 
 A fortnight passed without further incident. 
 Then the sky became overcast, and Peter and the 
 Indians agreed that snow would soon fall. All 
 hands were at once set to work to make up their 
 stores into packages. The deer-skins and blankets 
 were tied in bundles ; besides these there were only 
 two kegs of powder and about two hundred pounds 
 of frozen fish. 
 
 Harold was in high glee at the thought that their 
 imprisonment was to come to an end, although 
 there was no doubt that the attempt would be a 
 hazardous one, as the backwoodsmen were sure that 
 the instant the snow began to fall the Indians 
 would be out in great numbers round the island to 
 prevent the defenders taking advantage of the 
 storm. 
 
 Several times Harold observed the two back- 
 woodsmen talking with the Seneca chief and look- 
 ing at the sky, and he thought that their counte- 
 nances expressed some anxiety. 
 
 " What is it, Peter ?" he asked at length. " Don't 
 you think we shall have a snow-storm ?" 
 
 " We may have snow," Peter said, " but I think 
 it's more than a snow-storm that's coming. The 
 clouds are flying past very fast, and it seems to me 
 as ef we're in for a big gale of wind."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 349 
 
 " But that will drift the snow and cover our 
 footsteps almost as well as a snow-storm," Harold 
 said. 
 
 "Yes, it'll do all that," the scout answered. 
 
 " What is the objection to it, Peter ?" 
 
 " In the first place, lad, ef it don't snow we may 
 stop where we are, for there'd be no chance of get 
 ting through the Injuns unless it snowed so thick 
 you couldn't see five feet away. It'll be difficult 
 enough anyhow. There'll be four or five hundred 
 of the varmints out, for they'll bring even their 
 boys with 'em, so as to form a pretty close line 
 round the island. Our onlv chance'll be for the 
 
 */ 
 
 Senecas to go first, and to silence, afore they can 
 give the alarm, any they might meet on our line. 
 That might be done in a heavy snow-storm, but 
 without snow it would be impossible. In the next 
 place, even if we got through 'em we'd have to 
 carry our canoe." 
 
 " Why ?" Harold asked, surprised. " What good 
 could the canoe be to us, with the lake frozen 
 hard ?" 
 
 " You see, the wind is on the shore here, lad, and 
 when it does blow on these lakes it blows fit to take 
 the har off your head. It's as much as a man can 
 do to make way agin' it, and I doubt whether the 
 gals could face it even with our help. As to carry- 
 ing a canoe in its teeth, it couldn't be done." 
 
 " But why carry the canoe at jail, Peter ? That's 
 what I cannot understand." 
 
 " Waal, you see, lad, the force of the wind acting
 
 350 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 on sech a big sheet of ice will move it, and like 
 enough you'd see it piled up in a bank forty feet 
 high on this side of the lake, and there'll be a strip 
 of clear water half a mile wide on the other. That's 
 why we must take the canoe." 
 
 Harold was silent. In the face of such a prob- 
 ability, it was clear that they must incumber them* 
 selves with the canoe. 
 
 The prevision of the scout proved well founded. 
 Before evening the wind was blowing with tre- 
 mendous force. Small flakes of snow were driven 
 before it, inflicting stinging blows on the face and 
 eyes of those who ventured out of shelter. As it 
 became dark the lookout announced that he could 
 see large numbers of Indians starting from the 
 shore at some distance to the right and left of them, 
 showing that the redskins were fully alive to the 
 possibility of the garrison of the island taking ad- 
 vantage of the storm, which would hide their trail, 
 to effect their escape. 
 
 Every hour the fury of the gale increased, and it 
 was unanimously agreed that until it diminished it 
 would be impossible for the girls and for men carry- 
 ing a canoe to face it. 
 
 Two men were placed on watch at the mouth of 
 the cove, where mines similar to the first had been 
 sunk in the ice in a semicircle some little distance 
 outside that before exploded. This precaution had 
 been taken on the day succeeding the great repulse 
 of the enemy, although the scouts felt assured that 
 the attempt would not be repeated. But it was
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 351 
 
 thought possible that the Indians might toward 
 morning, if they found the whites did not attempt 
 to pass them, take advantage of the storm to at- 
 tempt a surprise. 
 
 After it became dark Cameron and Harold, as 
 was their custom, went into the girls' hut to chat 
 until it was time to turn in. The deer-skin and 
 blankets had again been unrolled, and the covering 
 of snow kept the interior warm in spite of the storm 
 without. 
 
 " "What is that noise ?" Nelly asked in a pause of 
 the conversation. 
 
 "I don't know," Harold answered. "I have 
 heard it for some time." 
 
 All were silent, intent upon listening. Even 
 above the fury of the gale a dull grinding sound 
 with occasional crashes could be heard. 
 
 " I think it must be the ice," Harold said. " I 
 will go out and see." 
 
 On issuing from the hut he was for a time blinded 
 by the force of the wind and the flying particles of 
 snow. The din was tremendous. He made his wa} T 
 with difficulty in the teeth of the storm to the edge 
 of the rocks. Then he started in surprise. A great 
 bank of cakes and fragments of ice was heaped up 
 against the wall of the rock, crashing and grinding 
 against each other as they were pressed onward by 
 fresh additions from beyond. Already the bank 
 was nearly level with the top of the rock, and some 
 of the vast blocks, two feet in thickness, had been 
 thrust on to it. The surface of the lake beyond
 
 352 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 was no longer a brilliant white. Every particle of 
 snow had been swept away and the dull gray of the 
 rough ice lay unbroken. 
 
 He made his way at once to the hut of the men, 
 and just as he reached the entrance Peter (who had 
 also been out to reconnoiter) came up, and before 
 Harold had turned to speak he put his head into the 
 hut. 
 
 " Turn out," he said. " I tell ye we're in a fix. 
 This ain't no common gale. I don't know as ever 
 I've been in a worse one." 
 
 " "What's the use of turning out ?" Pearson asked. 
 " We can't do nothing and it's warmer here a sight 
 than it is outside." 
 
 " I tell ye ye've got to go. The ice is breaking 
 up fast and it's level with the top of the island al- 
 ready. Unless I'm mistaken there'll be forty foot 
 of ice piled over this island afore an hour." 
 
 This was, indeed, alarming news. And in a min- 
 ute the occupants of the hut were all in the open 
 air. 
 
 " You can call in your scouts, Seneca. There 
 ain't no fear of an attack to-night. No mortal soul 
 not even an Injun could stand the force of the 
 wind out on the lake." 
 
 A very short examination sufficed to show the 
 truth of Peter's anticipations. 
 
 Already the upper part of the bank was sliding 
 over the rock, and it was clear that in a very short 
 time the whole would be covered. 
 
 " What is to be done, Peter ?" Harold shouted.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 353 
 
 " "We must take to the canoe. There's clear water 
 on the other side." 
 
 Harold crossed the island and saw that what 
 Peter said was correct. A broad strip of black 
 water stretched away in the darkness toward the 
 shore. The whole ice sheet was moving bodily be- 
 fore the wind, and as the island stood up in its course 
 the ice to windward of it was forced up over it, 
 while under its lee the lake was clear. Not a mo- 
 ment was lost. The canoe was got out, carried over 
 the rocks, and carefully lowered into the water un- 
 der shelter of the island. All the stores and pro- 
 visions were lowered into it. A deer-skin was 
 spread on the bottom, and the girls, having been 
 helped down into the boat, were told to lie down 
 and were then covered with blankets. The men 
 wrapped themselves up in skins and blankets and 
 took their places in the canoe, the four Indians 
 taking paddles. 
 
 Quickly as the preparations had been made, there 
 were but a few feet of the island uncovered by the 
 ice as the last man descended into the boat and 
 they pushed off and, after a couple of strokes, lay 
 with the boat's head facing toward the island at a 
 distance of fifty yards from it. Although some- 
 what sheltered from the wind, the Indians were 
 obliged to paddle hard to maintain their position. 
 Harold wondered at first that they had not kept 
 closer to the island, but he soon understood their 
 reason for keeping at a distance. The massive 
 blocks of ice, pressed forward by the irresistible
 
 354 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 force behind, began to shoot from the top of 
 the island into the water, gliding far on be- 
 neath the surface with the impetus of the fall, and 
 then shooting up again with a force which would 
 have destroyed the canoe at once had they touched 
 it. 
 
 Soon a perfect cataract of ice was falling. Peter 
 and Pearson took their places on each side of the 
 bow of the canoe, with poles to push off the pieces 
 as they drifted before the gale toward the shore. 
 The work required the utmost strength and care. 
 One touch from the sharp-edged blocks would have 
 ripped open the side of the bark canoe like a knife, 
 and in the icy cold water, incumbered by floating 
 fragments of ice, even the best swimmer could not 
 have gained the solid ice. The peril was great, and 
 it needed all the strength and activity of the white 
 men and the skill of the paddlers to avoid the dan- 
 ger which momentarily threatened them. So quickly 
 did the blocks float down upon them that Pearson 
 thought it might be impossible to avoid them all. 
 The skins, therefore, were hung round the boat, 
 dropping some inches into the water, and these, 
 although they could not have prevented the boat 
 from being stove in by the larger fragments, yet 
 protected its sides from the contact of the smaller 
 ones. 
 
 For upward of an hour the struggle continued, 
 and Harold felt something like despair at the 
 thought of a long night passed in a such a struggle. 
 Presently sounds like the booming of cannon were 
 heard above the gale.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 355 
 
 " "What is that ?" he shouted to the Seneca chief, 
 next to whom he was sitting. 
 
 "Ice break up," the chief replied. "Break up 
 altogether." 
 
 This proved to be the case. As the ice was driven 
 away from the further side of the lake the full force 
 of the wind played upon the water there, and as the 
 streak widened a heavy sea soon got up. The force 
 of the swell extended under the ice, aiding the effect 
 of the wind above, and the vast sheet began to 
 break up. The reports redoubled in strength, and 
 frequently the ice was seen to heave and swell. 
 Then with a sound like thunder it broke and great 
 cakes were forced one on the top of another, and 
 soon, instead of a level plain of ice, a chaos of 
 blocks were tossing about on the waves. 
 
 Harold watched the change with anxiety. No 
 longer was the channel on either side marked by 
 regular defined lines, but floating pieces encroached 
 upon it, and looking toward the shore the channel 
 appeared to be altogether lost. The danger was 
 overwhelming, but the Indians, paddling with in- 
 creased strength, urged the boat forward until 
 within ten yards of the island. 
 
 A few minutes before such an approach would 
 have assured the immediate destruction of the boat. 
 But Harold saw with surprise that almost simul- 
 taneously with the breaking up of the ice-sheet the 
 fall of blocks from the island had ceased. A mo- 
 ment's reflection showed him the reason of this 
 phenomenon. With the break-up of the ice-field
 
 356 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the pressure from behind had suddenly ceased. No 
 longer were the blocks piled on the island pushed 
 forward by the tremendous pressure of the ice-field. 
 The torrent was stayed and they could approach 
 the island with safety. As soon as they were as- 
 sured that this was so the canoe was brought close 
 to the rocks. 
 
 Pearson leaped ashore, climbed the rocks and the 
 ice piled twenty feet above them, and with his pole 
 convinced himself that at this point there were no 
 loose blocks likely to fall. Having satisfied himself 
 on this head he descended again and took his place 
 in the boat. This was moored by a rope a few feet 
 long to a bush growing from a fissure in the rock 
 close to the water's edge. He and Peter remained 
 on watch with their poles to fend off any pieces of 
 ice which might be brought round by the waves, 
 while the rest of the crew, wrapping themselves up 
 in their blankets, lay down at the bottom of the 
 boat. 
 
 The next morning the storm still raged and the 
 lake presented the appearance of an angry sea. 
 Sheltered under the lee of the island, the party 
 were protected from its effects, although the light 
 canoe rose and fell on the heavy swell. The ice had 
 wholly disappeared from the lake, the pieces having 
 been ground to atoms against each other in the 
 storm. Along the line of shore there was a great 
 bank of ice as high as the tree-tops. 
 
 " The ways of the Lord are won'erful," Donald 
 Cameron said. " The storm which threatened to
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 357 
 
 be our destruction hae proved our salvation. When 
 it abates we shall be able to paddle down the lake 
 without fear of interruption." 
 
 " Yes," Peter said, " the varmints are not likely 
 to follow us. In the first place, unless they thought 
 of taking their canoes into the forest when the 
 storm first began, which ain't likely, as they was 
 a-thinking only of cutting off our escape, they'd 've 
 been smashed into tinder. In the second place, 
 they couldn't ketch us if they had canoes, for as 
 we've eight paddles, counting them we made out of 
 the seats when we was on shore, we'd be able to 
 laugh at 'em. And lastly, they've had such a 
 taste of the quality of our rifles that even if they 
 had a dozen canoes on hand I doubt if they'd care 
 to attack us. No, sir, when this storm's over we 
 have nothing to do but paddle down to the settle- 
 ments at the other end of the lake." 
 
 Toward the afternoon the storm abated, and next 
 morning the sun was shining brilliantly and the 
 waves had gone down sufficiently to enable the 
 canoe to start on her voyage. 
 
 "Now, boys," Pearson said cheerfully, "ef ye 
 don't want to git froze up again you'd best be 
 sharp, for I can tell ye about thirty-six hours of this 
 weather and the lake'll be solid again." 
 
 Five minutes later the canoe with its eight sturdy 
 paddlers started on its way, speeding like an arrow 
 from the ice-covered island which had done them 
 such good service in their greatest need. 
 
 "Now, Jake," Peter said, "the more strength
 
 358 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 you put into that paddle of your'n the sooner you'll 
 have a piece of meat atween your jaws." 
 
 The negro grinned. 
 
 " Don't talk ob him, Massa Peter ; don't say a 
 word about him until I see him. Fish bery good 
 when dere's noting else to eat, but Jake never want 
 to see him again. He hab eat quite enough for de 
 rest ob his life." 
 
 Cameron, who was not accustomed to the use of 
 the paddle, sat in the stern with the two girls ; but 
 the others were all used to the exercise, and the 
 boat literally bounded along at each stroke from 
 the sinewy arms, and by nightfall they had reached 
 the opposite shore. After some hours' work to- 
 gether two of them had rested, and from that time 
 they took it by turns, six paddles being kept con- 
 stantly going. 
 
 Without any adventure they arrived safely at the 
 end of the lake. The clearing where Nelly had 
 lived so long and where her father and mother had 
 been killed was passed in the night, much to Harold's 
 satisfaction, as he was afraid that she would have 
 been terribly upset at the many sad memories which 
 the sight of the place could not but call up. On 
 their way down they had seen many gaps in the 
 forest caused by the gale, but it was not until they 
 reached the landing-place that the full effect of its 
 destructive force was visible. Several scows and 
 other boats lay wrecks upon the shore, every house 
 in the little village was leveled to the ground, the 
 orchards were ruined, palings and fences torn down, 
 and the whole place strewn with fragments.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 359 
 
 A few people were moving among the ruins. 
 They gazed with a dull apathy upon the new-com- 
 ers, apparently dazed by the misfortune that had 
 befallen them. Harold learned on questioning 
 them that twenty-seven persons had been killed and 
 the majority of the survivors more or less seriously 
 injured. With the exception of the few whom they 
 saw, about all the survivors had been taken off to 
 the town in boats down the river or in wagons 
 lent by neighbors whose villages, sheltered in the 
 woods, had escaped the ravages of the gale. After 
 a few hours' halt, having obtained meat and other 
 stores, they proceeded on their way to Detroit. 
 
 Here Nelly had several friends, who had long be- 
 lieved her to have fallen at the massacre at the 
 farm. By them she was gladly received, and she 
 took up her abode in a family with some daughters 
 of her own age. Harold found that there was a 
 considerable sum of money in the bank in her fa- 
 ther's name, and from this, after a consultation with 
 her, a sum of money sufficient to provide the Seneca 
 and his followers with blankets, powder, and In- 
 dian finery for years was drawn and bestowed 
 upon them. 
 
 A day or two afterward the Indians left for their 
 own country, highly gratified with the success of 
 the expedition and proud of the numerous scalps 
 which hung from each of their girdles. 
 
 Harold learned that there was but little fighting 
 going on along the Canadian frontier. The winter 
 had set in again with extreme severity; the St
 
 360 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Lawrence would be frozen and he would have no 
 means of leaving Canada ; he was therefore well 
 content to settle down until the spring at Detroit, 
 where he received numerous and hearty invitations 
 to stay for any time from the various friends of his 
 cousins. Jake, of course remained with him. Peter 
 went up to Montreal, where he had some relations 
 residing, Harold promising to call for him on his 
 way east in the spring. Pearson, after a few days' 
 stay in Detroit, started again with a comrade on a 
 hunting expedition. Cameron and his daughter 
 also spent the winter at Detroit. 
 
 The months passed very pleasantly to Harold. 
 Since the war began he had had no period of rest 
 or quiet, and he now entered with zest into the 
 various amusements, sleighing and dancing, which 
 helped to while away the long winter in America. 
 He also joined in many hunting parties, for in those 
 days game abounded up to the very edge of the 
 clearings. Moose were abundant, and the hunt 
 of these grand deer was full of excitement. Ex- 
 cept when the snow is on the ground these animals 
 can defy their pursuers, but the latter with their 
 snow-shoes go lightly over the frozen snow, in which 
 the moose sink heavily. 
 
 There were many discussions as to the future 
 of Nelly. Several of her friends would gladly 
 have adopted her as a member of their family, but 
 Harold warmly urged that she should go to England 
 and take up her abode with his mother, who was 
 her nearest relative, and Nelly, somewhat to the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. $61 
 
 surprise of her friends, finally agreed to this pro- 
 posal. A purchaser was readily found for the 
 farm, which was an excellent one, and the proceeds 
 of the sale with the amount of savings in the bank 
 gave her a little fortune of some 2,500. 
 
 When the spring came and the navigation of the 
 lake was open, Harold, Nelly, the Camerons, and 
 Jake started in a ship for Montreal. There they 
 were joined by Peter and sailed down to Quebec, 
 where Nelly and the Camerons took passage for 
 England. Very deep was the gratitude which 
 Donald expressed to the friends who had restored 
 his daughter to him. He had had enough of the 
 colonies and intended to spend the rest of his life 
 among his own people in Scotland. Harold, Peter, 
 and Jake sailed to join the English army in the 
 south.
 
 362 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE SIEGE OF SAVANNAH. 
 
 AFTER the surrender of General Burgoyne at 
 Saratoga the English Parliament made another 
 effort to obtain peace, and passed an act renouncing 
 all rights to tax the colonists and yielding every 
 point as to which they had been in dispute. Com- 
 missioners were sent over with full authority to 
 treat, and had the colonists been ready nominally to 
 submit to England, a virtual independence, similar 
 to that possessed by Canada and the Australian 
 colonies at the present time, would have been 
 granted. As a very large body of the Americans 
 had from the first been desirous of coming to terms 
 and as the paralyzed state of trade caused great and 
 general distress, it is probable that these terms 
 might have been accepted had it not been for the 
 intervention of France. That power had all along 
 encouraged the rebellion. She had smarted under 
 the loss of Canada, and although her rule in her own 
 colonies was far more arbitrary than that of Eng- 
 land in America, she was glad to assist in any 
 movement which could operate to the disadvantage 
 of this country. Hitherto, nominally she had re- 
 mained neutral, but now, fearing that the offers
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 363 
 
 of the English would induce the colonists to make 
 peace, she came forward, recognized their independ- 
 ence, and engaged herself to furnish a large fleet 
 for their assistance. 
 
 The colonists joyfully accepted the offer, seeing 
 that the intervention of France in the struggle 
 would completely alter its conditions. Heretofore 
 the British had been enabled to send over men and 
 stores at will, but were they blockaded by a French 
 fleet their difficulties would be immensely increased. 
 
 As there had been no cause of quarrel between 
 England and France, this agreement was an act of 
 wanton hostility on the part of the latter. On ob- 
 taining information of the signature of the treaty 
 between France and the colonies, the English am- 
 bassador was recalled from Paris and both countries 
 prepared vigorously for war. 
 
 The first result was that the English deemed it 
 prudent to evacuate Philadelphia and retreat to 
 New York. Washington endeavored to cut off their 
 retreat, and a battle took place at Freehold Court- 
 House, in which the Americans were worsted. 
 Washington drew off his army and the British army 
 continued its march to New York without further 
 opposition. Early in May the French sent off a 
 fleet of twelve ships of the line and six frigates 
 carrying a large number of troops commanded b}' 
 Count D'Estaing. An English fleet, under Admiral 
 Byron, was lying at Portsmouth, and this sailed on 
 June 9 in pursuit ; for it was not until that time 
 that information was received of the intended des- 
 tination of the French fleet*
 
 364 TRUR TO THK OLD FLAG. 
 
 D'Estaing reached the American coast upon the 
 very day on which the English army re&ntered New 
 York, and after making a demonstration before that 
 town the French fleet sailed for Ehode Island to 
 expel the British troops, under Sir Robert Pigott, 
 who held it. 
 
 Lord Howe sailed with the fleet from New York 
 to give battle to that of D'Estaing. For two days 
 the fleets maneuvered in sight of each other. Howe, 
 being inferior in force, wished to gain the weather- 
 gauge before fighting. Failing to do this on the 
 third day he offered battle, but a tremendous storm 
 prevented the engagement and dispersed both fleets. 
 The French vessels retired to Boston and the 
 English to New York. 
 
 Taking advantage of the departure of the French 
 fleet, Sir Robert Pigott attacked the American force, 
 which had crossed to Rhode Island to act with the 
 French, and drove them from it. While crossing 
 the Atlantic the fleet under Admiral Byron had met 
 with a tremendous storm, which had entirely dis- 
 persed it, and the vessels arrived singly at New 
 York. When their repairs were completed the 
 whole set out to give battle to the French, but 
 D'Estaing, finding that by the junction of the two 
 English fleets he was now menaced by a superior 
 force, sailed away to the West Indies. 
 
 After his departure an expedition was sent down 
 along the coast to Georgia and East Florida. This 
 met with great success. Savannah was captured 
 and the greater part of South Carolina was oc-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 365
 
 TR UK TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 cupied. The majority of the inhabitants joyfully 
 welcomed the troops and many companies of volun 
 teers were raised. 
 
 Harold had arrived in New York early in tha 
 spring. He had been offered a commission, but he 
 preferred remaining with his two comrades in the 
 position of scout. In this way he had far greater 
 independence, and while enjoying pay and rations 
 sufficient for his maintenance, he was to a great ex- 
 tent master of his own movements. At an earlier 
 period of the war he was offered by General Howe 
 a commission in the army, and his father would have 
 been glad had he accepted it. Harold, however, 
 although determined to fight until the struggle be- 
 tween the colonists and the mother country came to 
 an end one way or the other, had no great liking 
 for the life of an officer in the regular army, but 
 had resolved at the conclusion of the war to settle 
 down upon a farm on the lakes a life for which he 
 felt far more fitted than for the strict discipline and 
 regularity of that of an officer in the army. 
 
 As, with the exception of the attack by the 
 French fleet and American army upon Ehode 
 ' Island, both parties remained quiet all through the 
 summer of 1778, the year passed uneventfully to 
 him, and the duties of the scouts were little more 
 than nominal. During the winter fighting went on 
 in the Carolinas and Georgia with varied success. 
 
 In the spring of 1779 Harold and his comrades 
 were, with a party of scouts, sent down to Georgia, 
 where constant skirmishes were going on and the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 367 
 
 services of a body of men accustomed to outpost 
 duty were required. They were landed in May 
 and joined General Prevost's force on the island of 
 St. John, situated close to the mainland and con- 
 nected with it by a bridge of boats, at the end of 
 which on the mainland a post had been erected. 
 Shortly afterward General Prevost left for Savan- 
 nah, taking with him most of the troops, which 
 were carried away in the sloops which had formed 
 the bridge of boats. On the American side General 
 Lincoln commanded a considerable army, which 
 had been dispatched by Congress to drive the Eng- 
 lish from that State and the Carolinas. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland, who commanded 
 the post on the mainland, was left with only a flat- 
 boat to keep up his communication with the island. 
 He had under his command the first battalion of the 
 Seventy-first Highlanders, now much weakened 
 in numbers, part of a Hessian regiment, some pro- 
 vincial volunteers, and a detachment of artillery, 
 the whole not exceeding five hundred effective 
 men. Hearing that General Lincoln was advancing 
 against him, Colonel Maitland sent all his sick, 
 baggage, and horses across to the island and placed 
 the post as far as possible in a defensive position. 
 Most of the scouts who had come down from New 
 York had accompanied General Prevost to Savan- 
 nah, but Harold, with Peter Lambton, Jake, and 
 three or four others, had been ordered to remain 
 with Colonel Maitland, and were sent out to recon- 
 noiter, when the enemy were known to be ap- 
 proaching.
 
 368 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 "This is something like our old work, Peter, 
 upon Lake Charaplain," Harold said as with his two 
 comrades he took his way in the direction from 
 which the enemy were advancing. 
 
 " Ay, lad, but they've none of the redskins with 
 'em, and there'll be no great difficulty in finding out 
 all about 'em. Besides, we've got Jake with us, 
 and jest about here Jake can do better nor we can. 
 Niggers swarm all over the country and are as 
 ready to work for one side as th e other, jest as 
 their masters go. All Jake has got to do is to dress 
 himself as a plantation nigger and stroll into their 
 camp. No question will be asked him, as he will 
 naturally be taken for a slave on some neighboring 
 estate. What do you say, Jake ?" 
 
 Jake at once assented, and when they approached 
 the enemy he left his comrades and carried their 
 plan into execution. He was away six hours, and 
 returned saying that the enemy were five thousand 
 strong, with eight pieces of artillery. 
 
 " We must hurry back," Peter said. " Them are 
 big odds agin' us. Ef all our troops was regulars, I 
 don't say as they might not hold the place ; but I 
 don't put much count on the Germans, and the colo- 
 nists ain't seen no fighting. However, Colonel 
 Maitland seems a first-rate officer. He has been 
 real sharp in putting the place into a state of de- 
 fense, and I reckon ef the Yankees thinks as they're 
 going to eat us up without trouble they'll be mis- 
 taken." 
 
 Jake reported that the enemy were on the point
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 369 
 
 of marching forward, and the scouts hurried back 
 to give Colonel Maitland news of their coming. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when they reached 
 the post. 
 
 " At what time do you think they will arrive 
 here ?" the colonel asked when Jake had made his 
 report. 
 
 " Dey be pretty close by dark, for sure," Jake 
 replied. 
 
 " But I don't think, sir," Peter added, they'll 
 attack before morning. They wouldn't be likely to 
 try it in the dark, not knowing the nature of the 
 place. 
 
 The commander was of the same opinion, but to 
 prevent the possibility of surprise he placed pickets 
 at some distance round the fort, the scouts being, of 
 course, of the party. 
 
 The night passed quietly, but at seven in the 
 morning Peter, Harold, and Jake, who were at 
 some distance in advance of the others, saw the 
 enemy approaching. They fired their pieces and 
 fell back upon the outposts. Their position was 
 rather to the right of the line of defense. The 
 pickets were about to fall back, when seventy men, 
 being two companies of the Seventy-first under 
 Captain Campbell, were sent out to feel the enemy. 
 
 " We're going to have a skirmish," Peter said. " I 
 know these Highlanders. Instead of jest firing a 
 bit and then falling back, they'll be sticking here 
 and fighting as if they thought they could lick the 
 hull army of the Yankees."
 
 370 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 It was as Peter predicted. The Highlanders took 
 post behind a hedge and maintained a desperate re- 
 sistance to the advance of the enemy. Harold and 
 his comrades for some time fought with them. 
 
 " It's time for us to be out of this," Peter said 
 presently. " Let's jest get back to the fort." 
 
 " We cannot fall back till they do, Peter." 
 
 " I don't see that," Peter said. " We're scoutt, 
 and I don't see no advantage in our chucking away 
 our lives because these hot-headed Highlanders 
 choose to do so. Peter Lambton's ready to do a 
 fair share of fighting, but when he's sure that fight- 
 ing ain't no good, then he goes." 
 
 And suiting the action to the word, Peter rose 
 from his recumbent position and began to make his 
 way back to the camp, taking advantage of every 
 bit of cover. 
 
 Harold could not help laughing. For an instant 
 he remained irresolute, and then, seeing the over- 
 whelming forces with which the enemy were ap- 
 proaching, he called to Jake and followed Peter's 
 example. So obstinately did the Highlanders fight 
 that they did not retreat until all their officers were 
 killed or wounded, and only eleven men out of the 
 two companies succeeded in regaining the camp. 
 
 The whole force of the enemy now advanced 
 against the works, and halting at a distance of three 
 hundred yards opened a tremendous fire from their 
 cannon on the intrenchments. The defenders re- 
 plied, but so overwhelming was the force of the 
 assailants that the Hessians abandoned the portion 
 of the works committed to them and fell back.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 371 
 
 The enemy pressed forward and had already 
 gained the foot of the abattis, when Colonel Mait- 
 land brought up a portion of the Seventy -first upon 
 the right, and these gallant troops drove the Amer- 
 icans back with slaughter. Colonel Maitland and 
 his officers then threw themselves among the Hes- 
 sians and succeeded in rallying them and bringing 
 them back to the front. The provincial volunteers 
 had also fought with great bravery. They had for 
 a time been pressed backward, but finally main- 
 tained their position. 
 
 The Americans, finding that all their efforts to 
 carry the post were unavailing, fell back to the for- 
 est. On the English side the loss amounted to one 
 hundred and twenty-nine. The Americans fought 
 in the open and suffered much more heavily. 
 
 The position of matters was suddenly changed by 
 the arrival of Count D'Estaing with a fleet of forty- 
 one ships of-war off the coast. The American gen- 
 eral, Lincoln, at once proposed to him to undertake 
 a combined movement to force the English to quit 
 Georgia. The arrival of the French fleet was wholly 
 unexpected, and the Experiment, a frigate of fifty 
 guns, commanded by Sir James "Wallace, having 
 two or three ships under his convoy, fell in with 
 them off the mouth of the Savannah River. Al 
 though the Experiment had been much crippled by 
 a gale through which she had recently passed, Sir 
 James Wallace would not haul down his flag and 
 opposed a desperate resistance to the whole of the 
 French fleet, and did not surrender until the Expe-
 
 3?2 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 ricaent was completely dismasted and riddled with 
 shot. 
 
 Upon the news that the French fleet was off the 
 mouth of the river, Captain Henry, who command- 
 ed the little squadron of four small English ships, 
 fell back to Savannah after removing all the buoys 
 from the river. He landed his guns from the ships 
 and mounted them on the batteries, and the marines 
 and blue-jackets were also put on shore to assist in 
 the defense. Two of the brigs-of-war were sunk 
 across the channel below the town to prevent the 
 French frigates coming up. A boom was laid across 
 above the town to prevent fire-rafts from being 
 sent down. 
 
 D'Estaing landed the French troops at the mouth 
 of the river, and marching to the town summoned 
 General Prevost to surrender. The English com- 
 mander, who had sent off a messenger to Colonel 
 Maitland ordering him to march instantly to his as- 
 sistance with the force under him, which now 
 amounted to eight hundred men, asked for twenty- 
 four hours before giving an answer. D'Estaing, 
 who knew that General Lincoln was close at hand, 
 made sure that Prevost would surrender without 
 resistance, and so granted the time asked for. Be- 
 fore its expiration Colonel Maitland, after a tremen- 
 dous march, arrived at the town. As the French 
 commanded the mouth of the river he had been 
 obliged to transport his troops in boats through the 
 marshes by a little creek, which for two miles was 
 so shallow that the troops were forced to wade
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 373 
 
 waist-deep, dragging the boats by main force through 
 the mud. 
 
 Upon the arrival of this reenforcement General 
 Prevost returned an answer to Count D'Estaing 
 that the town would be defended to the last. Some 
 time was spent by the enemy in landing and bring- 
 ing up the heavy artillery from the ships, and the 
 French and Americans did not begin their works 
 against the town until September 23. The garrison 
 had utilized the time thus afforded to them to erect 
 new defenses. The allied force of the assailants 
 consisted of more than ten thousand Americans and 
 five thousand French troops, while the garrison, in- 
 cluding regulars, provincial corps, sailors, militia, 
 and volunteers, did not exceed twenty-five hundred. 
 
 Nevertheless they did not allow the enemy to 
 carry on their work without interruption. Several 
 sorties were made. The first of these, under Major 
 Graham, of the Sixteenth Regiment, reached the 
 lines of the enemy and threw them into confusion. 
 Large reinforcements came up to their assistance, 
 and as Graham's detachment fell back upon the 
 town, the enemy incautiously pursued it so close up 
 to the British lines that both artillery and musketry 
 were brought to bear upon them, and they lost a 
 large number of men before they could regain their 
 works. On the morning of October 4 the batteries 
 of the besiegers opened fire with fifty-three pieces 
 of heavy artillery and fourteen mortars. General 
 Prevost sent in a request to Count D'Estaing that the 
 women and children might be permitted to leave the
 
 374 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 town and embark on board vessels lying in the river, 
 there to await the issue of the fight ; but the French 
 commander refused the request in a letter couched 
 in insulting terms. 
 
 The position of Savannah was naturally strong. 
 The river protected one of its sides and a deep 
 swamp partially flooded by it covered another. 
 The other two were open to the country, which in 
 front of them was for several miles level and clear 
 of wood. The works which had been thrown up on 
 these sides were extremely strong. When the 
 French first landed there were but ten pieces of 
 cannon upon the fortifications, but so incessantly 
 did the garrison work that before the conclusion of 
 the siege nearly one hundred pieces of artillery were 
 mounted on the redoubts and batteries erected round 
 the town. Upon the side of the swamp there was 
 not much fear of attack, but three redoubts were 
 erected to prevent a surprise from this direction. 
 The defense on the right face of the town was con- 
 ducted by Colonel Maitland. The defense on the 
 left, consisting of two strong redoubts and several 
 batteries, was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Cruger. In the center were several strong works, 
 of which General Prevost himself took the special 
 supervision. The whole British line, except where 
 the swamp rendered no such defense necessary, was 
 surrounded by a thick abattis. 
 
 The French fire made no sensible impression upon 
 the English defenses, and finding that the British 
 artillery equaled his own, D'Estaing determined to
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 375 
 
 discontinue the attack by regular approaches and to 
 carry the place by storm. His position was a peril- 
 ous one. He had already spent a long time before 
 the place, and at any moment the English fleet 
 might arrive from the West Indies and attack his 
 fleet, which was weakened by the men and guns 
 which had been lauded to carry on the siege. He 
 therefore determined to risk an assault rather than 
 remain longer before the town. To facilitate the 
 attack an officer with five men on October 8 ad- 
 vanced to the abattis and set fire to it. The wood, 
 however, was still green, and the flames were easily 
 extinguished. 
 
 The attack was fixed for the following morning. 
 Bodies of the American militia were to feign at- 
 tacks upon the center and left, while a strong force 
 of the combined armies were to make a real attack 
 in two columns upon the right. The troops com- 
 posing the two columns consisted of thirty-five 
 hundred French soldiers and nine hundred and 
 fifty Americans. The principal force, commanded 
 by Count D'Estaing in person, assisted by General 
 Lincoln, was to attack the Springfield redoubt, which 
 was situated at the extreme right of the British 
 central line of defense and close to the edge of the 
 swamp. The other column, under the command of 
 Count Dillon, was to move silently along the mar 
 gin of the swamp, pass the three redoubts, and get 
 into the rear of the British lines. 
 
 The troops were in motion long before daylight. 
 The attempt to burn the abattis had excited the
 
 376 THUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 suspicion of the English that an assault might be 
 intended, and accordingly pickets were thrown out 
 in front of the intrenchments and the scouts were 
 ordered to keep a sharp watch among the trees 
 which grew in and near the swamp. 
 
 Harold with his friends had accompanied Colonel 
 Maitland's column in its march to Savannah and 
 had labored vigorously at the defenses, being espe- 
 cially occupied in felling trees and chopping wood 
 for the abattis. Before daybreak they heard the 
 noise made by the advance of the enemy's columns 
 through the wood and hurried back to the Spring- 
 field redoubt, where the garrison at once stood to 
 arms. In this redoubt were a corps of provincial 
 dismounted dragoons supported by the South Caro- 
 lina regiment. 
 
 Just as daylight appeared the column led by 
 Count D'Estaing advanced toward the Springfield 
 redoubt, but the darkness was still so intense that it 
 was not discovered until within a very short distance 
 of the works. Then a blaze of musketry opened 
 upon it, while a destructive cross-fire was poured in 
 from the adjoining batteries. So heavy was the 
 fire that the head of the column was almost swept 
 away. The assailants kept on with great bravery 
 until they reached the redoubt ; here a desperate 
 hand-to-hand contest took place. Captain Tawse 
 fell with many of his men, and for a moment a 
 French and an American standard were planted 
 upon the parapet ; nevertheless the defenders con- 
 tinued to cling to the place an<i every foot was des- 
 perately contest^
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG 377 
 
 At this moment Colonel Maitland, with the 
 grenadiers of the Sixtieth Kegiment and the marines, 
 advanced and fell upon the enemy's column, al- 
 ready shaken by the obstinate resistance it had en- 
 countered and by its losses by the fire from the 
 batteries. The movement was decisive. The as- 
 sailants were driven headlong from the redoubt and 
 retreated, leaving behind them six hundred and 
 thirty-seven of the French troops killed and wound- 
 ed and two hundred and sixty-four of the Americans. 
 
 In the mean time the column commanded by 
 Count Dillon mistook its way in the darkness and 
 was entangled in the swamp, from which it was un- 
 able to extricate itself until it was broad daylight 
 and it was fully exposed to the view of the garrison 
 and to the fire from the British batteries. This 
 was so hot and so well directed that the column 
 was never able even to form, far less to penetrate 
 into the rear of the British lines. 
 
 "When the main attack was repulsed Count Dillon 
 drew off his column also. No pursuit was ordered, 
 as although the besiegers had suffered greatly, they 
 were still three times more numerous than the 
 garrison. 
 
 A few days afterward the French withdrew their 
 artillery and reembarked on board ship. 
 
 The siege of Savannah cost the allies fifteen 
 hundred men, while the loss of the garrison 
 was only one hundred and twenty. The pleasure 
 of the garrison at their successful defense was 
 marred by the death of Colonel Maitland, who died
 
 378 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 from the effects of the unhealthy climate and of the 
 exertions he had made. 
 
 A few days after the raising of the siege the 
 French fleet was dispersed by a tempest, and Count 
 D'Estaing, with the majority of the ships under his 
 command, returned to France. 
 
 During the course of this year there were many 
 skirmishes round New York, but nothing of any 
 great importance took place. Sir Henry Clinton, 
 who was in supreme command, was unable to under- 
 take any offensive operations on a large scale, for 
 he had not received the reinforcements from home 
 which he had expected. England, indeed, had her 
 hands full, for in June Spain joined France and 
 America in the coalition against her and declared 
 war. Spain was at that time a formidable marine 
 power, and it needed all the efforts that could be 
 made by the English government to make head 
 against the powerful fleets which the combined 
 nations were able to send to sea against them. It was 
 not only in Europe that the Spaniards were able to 
 give effective aid to the allies. They were still a 
 power on the American continent, and created a 
 diversion, invading West Florida and reducing and 
 capturing the town and fort of Mobile. 
 
 In the spring of 1780 Sir Henry Clinton sent 
 down an expedition under the command of Lord 
 Cornwallis to capture Charleston and reduce the 
 State of South Carolina. This town was extremely 
 strongly fortified. It could only be approached by 
 land on one side, while the water, which elsewhere
 
 TRUE TO THE O'LD FLAG. 379 
 
 defended it, was covered by the fire of numerous 
 batteries of artillery. The water of the bay was 
 too shallow to admit of the larger men-of-war pass- 
 ing, and the passage was defended by Fort Moul- 
 trie, a very formidable work. Admiral Arbuthnot, 
 with the Renown, Romulus, Roebuck, Richmond, 
 Blonde, Raleigh, and Virginia frigates, with a favor- 
 able wind and tide ran the gantlet of Fort Moultrie 5 
 succeeded in passing up without great loss, and co 
 operated on the sea face with the attack of the 
 army on the land side. 
 
 A force was landed on Sullivan's Island, on which 
 Fort Moultrie stood, and the fort, unprepared for an 
 attack in this direction, was obliged to surrender. 
 The American cavalry force which had been col- 
 lected for the relief of the town was defeated by the 
 English under General Tarleton. The trenches 
 were pushed forward with great vigor and the bat- 
 teries of the third parallel opened at short range on 
 the town with great execution. The advances were 
 pushed forward at the ditch, when the garrison, 
 seeing that further resistance was impossible, sur- 
 rendered. Five thousand prisoners were taken, one 
 thousand American and French seamen, and ten 
 French and American ships-of-war. 
 
 With the fall of Charleston all resistance ceased 
 in South Carolina. The vast majority of the inhab- 
 itants made their submission to the British govern- 
 ment and several loyalist regiments were raised. 
 
 Colonel Tarleton, with one hundred and seventy 
 cavalry and one hundred mounted infantry, was dis/
 
 380 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 patched against an American force under Colonel 
 Burford, consisting of three hundred and fifty 
 infantry, a detachment of cavalry, and two guns, 
 which had taken post on the border of North Caro- 
 lina. Tarleton came up with him, and after a sharp 
 action the Americans were entirely defeated. One 
 hundred and thirteen were killed on the spot and 
 two hundred and seven made prisoners, of whom 
 one hundred and three were badly wounded. 
 
 For some months the irregular operations were 
 continued, the Americans making frequent incursions 
 into the Carolinas. The British troops suffered 
 greatly from the extreme heat and the unhealthi- 
 ness of the climate. 
 
 In August the American General Gates advanced 
 toward Camden, and Lord Cornwallis also moved 
 out to that town, which was held by a British gar- 
 rison. The position there was not hopeful. Nearly 
 eight hundred were sick, and the total number of 
 effectives was under two thousand, of whom five 
 hundred were provincials. The force under General 
 Gates amounted to six thousand men, exclusive of 
 the corps of Colonel Sumpter, one thousand strong, 
 which were maneuvering to cut off the English re. 
 treat. Cornwallis could not fall back on Charleston 
 without abandoning the sick and leaving all his 
 magazines and stores in the hands of the enemy, be- 
 sides which a retreat would have involved the 
 abandonment of the whole State with the exception 
 of Charleston. He therefore decided upon giving 
 battle to the enemy, who were posted at Rugeley's
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 881 
 
 Mills, a few miles distant, leaving the aerense of 
 Caraden to Major M'Arthur, with some provincials 
 and convalescent soldiers and a detachment of the 
 Sixty -third Kegiment which was expected to arrive 
 during the night. 
 
 The army marched in the following order : The 
 first division, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Webster, consisting of four companies of light in- 
 fantry and the Twenty-third and Thirty-third Regi- 
 ments, preceded by an advanced guard of forty 
 cavalry. The second division, consisting of provin- 
 cial troops and two battalions of the Seventy-first 
 Kegiment, followed as a reserve. The dragoons of 
 the legion formed the rear-guard. The force 
 marched at ten o'clock on the night of August 16, 
 intending to attack at daybreak the next morning, 
 but it happened that at the very same hour in which 
 the British set out, General Gates with his force 
 were starting from Eugeley's Mills with the inten- 
 tion of attacking Camden in the morning. 
 
 At two o'clock in the night the advanced guards 
 of the two armies met and fired into each other. In 
 the confusion some prisoners were taken on both 
 sides, and the generals finding that the two armies 
 were face to face halted and waited till morning. 
 Lord Cornwallis placed Webster's division on the 
 right ; the second division, which was under the 
 command of Lord Rawdon, on the left; the 
 battalion known as the Yolunteers of Ireland 
 were on the right of Lord Rawdon's division and 
 communicated with the Thirty-third Regiment on
 
 382 TRUE TO TUB OLD FLAG, 
 
 the left of "Webster. In the front line were two six> 
 pounders and two three-pounders under the command 
 of Lieutenant Macleod, K.A. The Seventy-first, 
 with two six-pounders, was in reserve, one battalion 
 being placed behind each wing. The dragoons 
 were held in reserve to charge in the event of a 
 favorable opportunity. 
 
 The flanks of the English position were covered 
 by swamps which somewhat narrowed the ground 
 and prevented the Americans from utilizing fully 
 their great superiority of numbers. The Americans 
 were also formed in two lines. 
 
 Soon after daybreak Lord Cornwallis ordered 
 Colonel "Webster to advance and charge the enemy. 
 So fiercely did the English regiments attack that 
 the Virginia and North Carolina troops who 
 opposed them quickly gave way, threw down 
 their arms, and fled. General Gates and General 
 Casswell in vain attempted to rally them. They 
 ran like a torrent and spread through the woods in 
 every direction. Lord Rawdon began the action on 
 the left with no less vigor and spirit than Lord 
 Cornwallis on the right, but here and in the center 
 the contest was more obstinately maintained by the 
 Americans. Their reserves were brought up and 
 the artillery did considerable execution. Their left 
 flank was, however, exposed by the flight of the 
 troops of Carolina and Virginia, and the light in- 
 fantry and Twenty-third Regiments were halted ha 
 the pursuit, and wheeling round came upon the 
 flank of the enemy, who after a brave resistance of
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 383 
 
 nearly three-quarters of an hour were driven into 
 total confusion and forced to give way on both 
 sides. Their rout was completed by the cavalry, 
 
 PLAN 
 
 OF THE BATTLE 
 A "Fought near CAM DEN 
 August I0, tb 
 1780. 
 
 who continued their pursuit twenty-two miles from 
 the field of action. 
 Between eight and nine hundred of the enemy
 
 384 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 were killed and about one thousand, many of whom 
 were wounded, were taken prisoners. Among these 
 were Major-General Baron de Kalb and Brigadier- 
 General Rutherford. All the baggage, stores, and 
 camp packages, a number of colors, and several 
 pieces of cannon were taken. General Gates, find- 
 ing himself unable to rally the militia, fled first to 
 Charlotte, ninety miles from the seat of action, and 
 then to Hillsborough, one hundred and eighty from 
 Camden. General Gist alone of all the American 
 commanders was able to keep together about one 
 hundred men, who, flying across the swamp on 
 their right, through which they could not be pur- 
 sued by the cavalry, made their escape in a body. 
 The loss of the British troops amounted to sixty- 
 nine killed, two hundred and forty-five wounded, 
 and eleven missing. The loss of the Americans in 
 killed, wounded, and prisoners exceeded the number 
 of British regular troops engaged by at least three 
 hundred. It was one of the most decisive victories 
 ever won.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLA&. 385 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 IN AN AMERICAN PRISON. 
 
 UPON the morning after the victory of Camden 
 Lord Cornwallis dispatched Colonel Tarleton 
 with the light infantry and the German legion, 
 three hundred and fifty men in all, to attack Colonel 
 Sumpter, who with eight hundred men and two 
 pieces of cannon had, upon hearing late at night of 
 General Gates' defeat, marched away at all speed. 
 Thinking himself out of danger he halted at mid- 
 day to rest his men. The British came upon them 
 by surprise. One hundred and fifty were killed or 
 wounded and three hundred made prisoners. The 
 rest scattered as fugitives. Two guns, one thousand 
 stand of arms, and all the stores and baggage were 
 taken, and two hundred and fifty prisoners, some of 
 them British soldiers and the rest loyal militiamen, 
 whom Sumpter had captured near Camden, were 
 released. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis, after obtaining supplies for his 
 troops and taking steps for the pacification of the 
 State, was about to move forward into North Caro- 
 lina, when he received news of the destruction of a 
 column under Major Fergusson. This officer, with 
 a detachment of one hundred and fifty British
 
 386 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 regulars and eight hundred provincials, was attacked 
 by five thousand mounted partisans, most of them 
 border men accustomed to forest fighting. Fergus- 
 son took up a position on a hill called King's 
 Mountain. This from its height would have been 
 a good position for defense, but being covered with 
 wood it offered great opportunities for the assail- 
 ants, who dismounted and fought behind trees in 
 accordance with the tactics taught them in Indian 
 warfare. Again and again the English charged 
 with the bayonet, each time driving their assailants 
 back, but these instantly recommenced their de- 
 structive fire from their shelter behind the trees. 
 In little over an hour from the commencement of 
 the fight one hundred and fifty of the defenders 
 were killed and many more wounded. Still they 
 repulsed every attack until their commander fell 
 dead ; then the second in command, judging further 
 resistance in vain, surrendered. 
 
 On the news of this misfortune Lord Cornwallis 
 fell back, as the western frontiers of South Caro- 
 lina were now exposed to the incursions of the 
 band which had defeated Fergusson. In the retreat 
 the army suffered terribly. It rained for several 
 days without intermission. The soldiers had no 
 tents and the water was everywhere over their 
 shoes. The continued rains filled the rivers and 
 creeks prodigiously and rendered the roads almost 
 impassable. The climate was most unhealthy, and 
 for many days the troops were without rum. Some- 
 times the army had beef and no bread, sometimes
 
 TH UE TO THE OLD FLAG. 387 
 
 bread and no beef. For five days it was supported 
 on Indian corn, which was collected in the fields, 
 five ears being served out as a daily allowance to 
 each two soldiers. They had to cook it as they 
 could, and this was generally done by parching it 
 over the fire. One of the officers of the quarter- 
 master's department found some of the loyal militia 
 grating their corn. This was done by breaking up 
 a canteen and punching holes in the bottom with 
 their bayonets, thus making a kind of rasp. The 
 idea was communicated to the adjutant-general and 
 afterward adopted for the army. 
 
 The soldiers supported their hardships and priva- 
 tions cheerfully, as their officers were no better 
 provided than themselves and the fare of Lords 
 Cornwallis and Rawdon was the same as their 
 own. 
 
 The toilsome march came to an end at last, and 
 the army had rest after its labors. The only other 
 incident of importance which occurred was an 
 action between a force under Colonel Tarleton and 
 one of considerably superior strength under General 
 Sumpter strongly posted on a commanding position. 
 The British attack was repulsed, but General Sump- 
 ter being badly wounded was carried off the field 
 during the night, and the force under his command 
 at once dispersed. 
 
 No other event occurred, and the army passed its 
 time in winter quarters till the spring of 1781. 
 During this winter the enemies of Great Britain 
 were reenforced by the accession of the Dutch. Afc
 
 388 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 this time the efforts which England was called upon 
 to make were indeed great. In Europe France, 
 Spain, and Holland were banded against her ; in 
 India our troops were waging a desperate war with 
 Hyder Ali ; while they were struggling to retain 
 their hold on their American colonies. Here, in- 
 deed, the operations had for the last two years lan- 
 guished. The reinforcements which could be 
 spared were extremely small, and although the 
 British had almost uniformly defeated the Ameri- 
 cans in every action in which there was any ap- 
 proach to equality between the forces engaged, they 
 were unable to do more than hold the ground on 
 which they stood. Victorious as they might be, the 
 country beyond the reach of their rifles swarmed 
 with their enemies, and it became increasingly 
 clear to all impartial observers that it was impossi- 
 ble for an army which in all did not amount to 
 more than twenty thousand men to conquer a con- 
 tinent in arms against them. 
 
 Harold was not present at the later events of the 
 campaign of 1780. He and Jake had been with the 
 column of Major Fergusson. Peter Lambton had 
 not accompanied him, having received a bullet 
 wound in the leg in a previous skirmish, which, al- 
 though not serious, had compelled him to lay up for 
 a time. 
 
 " Me no like de look ob dis affair, Massa Harold," 
 Jake said as the Americans opened fire upon the 
 troops gathered at the top of King's Mountain. 
 * Dese chaps no fools ; dey all backwoodsmen ; dey
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 389 
 
 know how to fight de redskins ; great hunters all 
 ob dero." 
 
 " Yes," Harold agreed, " they are formidable op- 
 ponents, Jake. I do not like the look of things. 
 These men are all accustomed to fighting in the 
 woods, while our men have no idea of it. Their 
 rifles are infinitely superior to these army muskets, 
 and every man of them can hit a deer behind the 
 shoulder at the distance of one hundred and fifty 
 yards, while at that distance most of our men would 
 miss a haystack." 
 
 The scouts and a few of the provincials who had 
 been accustomed to forest warfare took up their 
 position behind trees and fought the advancing 
 enemy in their own way. The mass of the defend- 
 ers, however, were altogether puzzled by the 
 stealthy approach of their foes, who advanced from 
 tree to tree, seldom showing as much as a limb to 
 the fire of the defenders and keeping up a deadly 
 fire upon the crowd of soldiers. 
 
 Had there been time for Major Fergusson, before 
 being attacked, to have felled a circle of trees and 
 made a breastwork round the top of the hill, the 
 result might have been different. Again and again 
 the British gallantly charged down with the bayo- 
 net, but the assailants as they did so glided away 
 among the trees after firing a shot or two into the 
 advancing troops, and retreated a hundred yards or 
 so, only to recommence their advance as soon as 
 the defenders retired again to their position. The 
 loss of the assailants was very slight, the few who
 
 890 TUUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 fell being for the most part killed by the rifles of 
 the scouts. 
 
 " It am no use, Massa Harold," Jake said. " Jest 
 look ho\v dem poor fellows am being shot down. 
 It's all up wid us dis time." 
 
 When upon the fall of Major Fergusson his suc- 
 cessor in command surrendered the post, the de- 
 fenders were disarmed. The Kentucky men, accus- 
 tomed only to warfare against Indians, had no idea 
 of the usages of war and treated the prisoners with 
 great brutality. Ten of the loyalist volunteers of 
 Carolina they hung at once upon trees. There was 
 some discussion as to the disposal of the rest. The 
 border men having accomplished their object were 
 anxious to disperse at once to their homes. Some 
 of them proposed that they should rid themselves of 
 all further trouble by shooting them all. This was 
 overruled by the majority. Presently the prisoners 
 were all bound, their hands being tied behind them, 
 and a hundred of the border men surrounded them 
 and ordered them to march across the country. 
 
 Jake and several other negroes who were among 
 the captives were separated from the rest, and being 
 put up at auction were sold as slaves. Jake fell to 
 the bid of a tall Kentuckian, who without a word 
 fastened a rope round his neck, mounted his horse, 
 and started for his home. The guards conducted 
 the white prisoners to "Woodville, eighty miles from 
 the scene of the fight. This distance was accom- 
 plished in two days' march. Many of the unfortu- 
 nate men, unable to support the fatigue, fell and
 
 TKUS TO THE OLD FLAG. 391 
 
 were shot by their guards ; the rest struggled on, 
 utterly exhausted, until they arrived at Woodville, 
 where they were handed over to a strong force of 
 militia gathered there. They were now kindly 
 treated, and by more easy marches were taken to 
 Richmond, in Virginia, where they were shut up in 
 prison. Here were many English troops, for the 
 Americans, in spite of the terms of surrender, had 
 still retained as prisoners the troops of General 
 Burgoyne. 
 
 Several weeks passed without incident. The 
 prisoners were strongly guarded and were placed in 
 a building originally built for a jail and surrounded 
 by a very high wall. Harold often discussed with 
 some of his fellow-captives the possibility of escape. 
 The windows were all strongly barred, and even 
 should the prisoners break through these they 
 would only find themselves in the court-yard. 
 There would then be a wall thirty feet high to sur- 
 mount, and at the corners of this wall the Ameri- 
 cans had built sentry-boxes, in each of which two 
 men were stationed night and day. Escape, there- 
 fore, seemed next to impossible. 
 
 The sentries guarding the prison and at the gates 
 were furnished by an American regiment stationed 
 at Richmond. The wardens in the prison were for 
 the most part negroes. The prisoners were con- 
 fined at night in separate cells; in the daytime they 
 were allowed in parties of fifty to walk for two 
 hours in the court-yard. There were several large 
 rooms in which they sat and took their meals, two
 
 392 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 sentries with loaded muskets being stationed in 
 each room. Thus although monotonous there was 
 little to complain of; their food, if coarse, was 
 plentiful, and the prisoners passed the time in talk, 
 playing cards, and in such games as their ingenuity 
 could invent. 
 
 One day when two of the negro wardens entered 
 with the dinners of the room to which Harold be- 
 longed, the latter was astounded at recognizing in 
 one of them his faithful companion Jake. It was 
 with difficulty that he suppressed an exclamation of 
 gladness and surprise. Jake paid no attention to 
 him, but placed the great tin dish heaped up with 
 yams, which he was carrying, upon the table, and 
 with an unmoved face left the room. A fortnight 
 passed without a word being exchanged between 
 them. Several times each day Harold saw the 
 negro, but the guards were always present, and al- 
 though, when he had his back to the latter, Jake 
 sometimes indulged in a momentary grin or a por- 
 tentous wink, no further communication passed be- 
 tween them. 
 
 One night at the end of that time Harold, when 
 on the point of going to sleep, thought he heard a 
 noise as of his door gently opening. It was per- 
 fectly dark, and after listening for a moment he 
 laid his head down again, thinking that he had been 
 mistaken, when he heard close to the bed the words 
 in a low voice : 
 
 " Am you asleep, Massa Harold ?" 
 
 " No, Jake," he exclaimed directly. " Ah ! my 
 good fellow, how fe^ve you got here ?"
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 393 
 
 " Dat were a bery easy affair," Jake said. " Me 
 tell you all about it." 
 
 " Have you shut the door again, Jake ? There is 
 a sentry coming along the passage every five 
 minutes." 
 
 " Me shut him, massa, but dere ain't no fastening 
 on dis side, so Jake will sit down wid him back 
 against him." 
 
 Harold got up and partly dressed himself and 
 then sat down by the side of his follower. 
 
 " No need to whisper," Jake said. " De walls and 
 de doors bery thick, no one hear. But de sentries 
 on de walls hear if we talk too loud." 
 
 The windows were without glass, which was in 
 those days an expensive article in America, and the 
 mildness of the climate of Virginia rendered glass a 
 luxury rather than a necessity. Confident that even 
 the murmur of their voices would not be overheard 
 if they spoke in their usual way, Jake and Harold 
 were enabled to converse comfortably. 
 
 " "Well, massa," Jake said, " my story am not a 
 long one. Dat man dat bought me he rode in two 
 days someting like one hundred miles. It wor a 
 lucky ting dat Jake had tramp on his feet de last 
 four years, else soon enough he tumble down, and 
 den de rope round him neck hang him. Jake awful 
 footsore and tired when he git to de end ob dat 
 journey. De Kentucky man he lib in a clearing 
 not far from a village. He had two oder slaves ; 
 dey hoe de ground and work for him. He got 
 grown-up son, who look after dem while him fader
 
 894 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 away fighting. Dey not afraid ob de niggers run- 
 ning away, because dere plenty redskin not far 
 away, and nigger scalp jest as good as white man's. 
 De oder way dere wor plenty ob villages, and dey 
 tink nigger git caught for sure if he try to run 
 away. Jake make up his mind he not stop dere 
 bery long. De Kentucldan was a bery big, strong 
 man, but not so strong as he was ten years ago, and 
 Jake tink he more dan a match for him. Jake pret- 
 ty strong himself, massa." 
 
 " I should think you were, Jake," Harold said. 
 " There are not many men, white or black, who can 
 lift as great a weight as you can." 
 
 "For a week Jake work bery hard. Dat Ken- 
 tuckian hab a way ob always carrying his rifle 
 about on his arm, and as long as he do dat dere no 
 chance ob a fair fight. De son he always hab a 
 stick and he mighty free wid it. He hit Jake 
 seberal times, and me say to him once, ' Young 
 man, you better mind what you do.' Me suppose 
 dat he not like de look dat I gib him. He speak to 
 his fader, and he curse and swear awful, and stand 
 wid de rifle close by and tell dat son ob his to larrup 
 Jake. Dat he do, massa, for some time. Jake not 
 say noting, but he make a note ob de affair in his 
 mind. De bery next day de son go away to de 
 village to buy some tings he want. De fader he 
 come out and watch me at work ; he curse and 
 swear as usual ; he call me lazy hound and swear he 
 cut de flesh from my back ; presently he come quite 
 close and shake him fist in Jake's face. Dat was a
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 395 
 
 foolish ting to do. So long as he keep bofe him 
 hands on de gun he could say what he like quite 
 safe, but when he got one hand up lebel wid Jake's 
 nose, dat different ting altogether. Jake throw up 
 his hand and close wid him. De gun tumble down 
 and we wrastle and fight. He strong man for sure, 
 but Jake jest a little stronger. We roll ober and 
 ober on de ground for some minutes ; at last Jake 
 git de upper hand and seize de white man by de 
 t'roat, and he pretty quick choke him life out. 
 Den he pick up de gun and wait for de son ; when 
 he come back he put a bullet t'rough him. Den he 
 go to de hut and git food and powder and ball and 
 start into de woods. De oder niggers dey take no 
 part in de affair. Dey look on while de skirmish 
 lasts, but not interfere one way or oder. When it 
 ober me ask dem if dey like to go wid me, but dey 
 too afraid ob de redskins ; so Jake start by himse'f. 
 Me hab plenty ob practice in de woods and no fear 
 ob meeting redskins, except when dey on de war- 
 path. De woods stretch a bery long way all ober 
 de country, and Jake trabel in dem for nigh free 
 weeks. He shoot deer and manage bery well ; see 
 no redskin from de first day to de last ; den he 
 come out into de open country again, hundreds ob 
 miles from de place where he kill dat Kentuckian. 
 He leab his gun behind him now and trabel for Kich- 
 mond, where he hear dat de white prisoners was 
 kept. He walk all night and at day sleep in de 
 woods or de plantations, and eat de ears ob corn. 
 At last he git to Richmond. Den he gib out dat
 
 396 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAff. 
 
 him raassa wanted him to fight OH de side ob de 
 English and dat he run away. He go to de prison 
 and offer to work dere. Dey tink him story true, 
 and as he had no massa to claim him dey say he 
 State property, and work widout wages like de 
 oder niggers here ; dey all forfeited slaves whose 
 massas had jined de English. Dese people so pore 
 dey can't afford to pay white man, so dey take Jake 
 as warden, and by good luck dey put him in to carry 
 de dinner to de bery room where Massa Harold 
 was." 
 
 " And have you the keys to lock us up ?" 
 " No, massa, de niggers only cook de dinners and 
 sweep de prison and de yard, and do dat kind ob 
 job ; de white wardens dere's six ob dem dey hab 
 de keys." 
 
 " Then how did you manage to get here, Jake ?" 
 " Dat not bery easy matter, Massa Harold. Most 
 ob de wardens drink like fish ; but de head man, 
 him dat keep de keys, he not drink. For some time 
 Jake not see him way, but one night when he lock 
 up de prisoners he take Jake round wid him, and 
 Jake carried de big bunch ob keys one key to each 
 passage. When he lock up de doors here and hand 
 de key to Jake to put on to de bunch agin, Jake 
 pull out a hair ob him head and twist it round de 
 ward ob de key so as to know him agin. Dat night 
 me git a piece ob bread and work him up wid some 
 oil till he quite like putty, den me steal to de chief 
 warden's room, and dere de keys hang up close to 
 him bed. Jake got no shoes on and he stole up
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG 39? 
 
 bery silent. He take down de bunch ob keys and 
 carry dem off. He git to quiet place and strike a 
 light, and search t'rough de keys till he find de one 
 wid de hair round it ; den he take a deep impres- 
 sion ob him wid de bread ; den he carry back de 
 keys and hang 'em up. Jake not allowed to leabe 
 de prison. We jest as much prisoners as de white 
 men, so he not able to go out to git a key made ; 
 but in de store-room dere's all sorts ob tools, and he 
 git hold ob a fine file ; den he look about among de 
 keys in de doors ob all de store-rooms and places 
 which wor not kept locked up. At last he find a 
 key jest de right size, and dough de wards were a 
 little different dey was ob de right shape. Jake set 
 to work and filed off all de knobs and p'ints which 
 didn't agree wid de shape in de bread. Dis morn- 
 ing when you was all out in de yard me come up 
 quietly and tried de key and found dat it turned de 
 lock quite easy. "Wid a fedder and some oil me oil 
 de lock and de key till it turned widout making de 
 least noise. Den to-night me waited till de sentry 
 come along de corridor, and den Jake slip along and 
 here he is." 
 
 " Capital, Jake !" Harold said. " And now what 
 is the next thing to do ? Will it be possible to es- 
 cape through the prison ?" 
 
 " No, Massa Harold, dere am t'ree doors from de 
 prison into de yard and dere's a sentry outside ob 
 each, and de main guard ob twent} T men are down 
 dere too. No possible to git out ob doors widout 
 de alarm being given."
 
 398 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " With the file, Jake, we might cut through the 
 bars." 
 
 " "We might cut t'rough de bars and git down 
 into de court-yard ; dat easy enough, massa. Jake 
 could git plenty ob rope from de store-room, but we 
 hab de oder wall to climb." 
 
 " You must make a rope-ladder for that, Jake." 
 
 " "What sort ob a ladder dat, massa?" 
 
 Harold explained to him how it should be made- 
 
 " When you have finished it, Jake, you should 
 twist strips of any sort of stuff, cotton or woolen, 
 round and round each of the wooden steps, so that 
 it will make no noise touching the wall as we climb 
 it. Then we want a grapnel." 
 
 " Me no able to make dat, massa." 
 
 "Not a regular grapnel, Jake, but you might 
 manage something which would do." 
 
 " What sort ob ting ?" Jake asked. 
 
 Harold sat for some time in thought. 
 
 " If the wall were not so high it would be easy 
 enough, Jake, for we could do it by fastening the 
 rope within about three inches of the end of a pole 
 six feet long and three inches thick. That would 
 never pull over the wall, but it is too high to throw 
 the pole over." 
 
 " Jake could t'row such a stick as dat ober easy 
 enough, massa no difficulty about dat ; but me no 
 see how a stick like dat balance massa's weight." 
 
 " It would not balance it, Jake, but the pull would 
 be a side pull and would not bring the stick over 
 the wall. If it were only bamboo it would be heavy 
 enough/*
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 399 
 
 " Bery well, Massa Harold ; if you say so, dat's 
 all right. Jake can git de wood easy enough ; dere's 
 plenty ob pieces among de fire-wood dat would do 
 for us." 
 
 " Koll it with strips of stuff the same way as the 
 ladder steps, so as to prevent it making a noise 
 when it strikes the wall. In addition to the ladder 
 we shall want a length of rope long enough to go 
 from this window to the ground, and another length 
 of thin rope more than twice the height of the 
 wall." 
 
 " Bery well, Massa Harold, me understand ex- 
 actly what's wanted ; but it'll take two or t'ree 
 days to make de ladder, and me can only work ob 
 a night." 
 
 " There is no hurry, Jake ; do not run any risk of 
 being caught. "We must choose a dark and windy 
 night. Bring two files with you, so that we can 
 work together, and some oil." 
 
 " All right, massa. Now me go." 
 
 " Shut the door quietly, Jake, and do not forget 
 to lock it behind you," Harold said as Jake stole 
 noiselessly from the cell. 
 
 A week passed without Jake's again visiting 
 Harold's cell. On the seventh night the wind had 
 got up and whistled around the jail, and Harold, 
 expecting that Jake would take advantage of the 
 opportunity, sat down on his bed without undress- 
 ing and awaited his coming. It was but half an 
 hour after the door had been locked for the night 
 that it quietly opened again.
 
 400 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 " Here me am, sar, wid eberyting dat's wanted ; 
 two files and some oil, de rope-ladder, de short rope 
 for us to slide down, and de long thin rope and de 
 piece ob wood six feet long and thick as de wrist." 
 
 They at once set to work with the files, and in an 
 hour had sawn through two bars, making a hole 
 sufficiently wide for them to pass. The rope was 
 then fastened to a bar. Harold took off his shoes 
 and put them in his pocket and then slid down the 
 rope into the court-yard. With the other rope Jake 
 lowered the ladder and pole to him and then slid 
 down himself. Harold had already tied to the pole, 
 at four inches from one end, a piece of rope some 
 four feet long, so as to form a loop about half that 
 length. The thin rope was put through the loop 
 and drawn until the two ends came together. 
 
 Noiselessly they stole across the yard until they 
 reached the opposite wall. The night was a very 
 dark one, and although they could make out the 
 outline of the wall above them against the sky- 
 line, the sentry-boxes at the corners were invisible. 
 Harold now took hold of the two ends of the rope, 
 and Jake, stepping back a few yards from the wall, 
 threw the pole over it. Then Harold drew upon 
 the rope until there was a check, and he knew that 
 the pole was hard up against the edge of the wall. 
 He tied one end of the rope-ladder to an end of the 
 double cord and then hauled steadily upon the 
 other. The rope running through the loop drew 
 the ladder to the top of the wall. All this was done 
 quickly and without noise.
 
 TO THE OLD FLAG. 401 
 
 "Now, Jake, do you go first," Harold said. "I 
 hold the rope tight below, and do you put part 
 of your weight on it as you go up. When you get 
 to the top, knot it to the loop and sit on the waU 
 until I come up." 
 
 In three minutes they were both on the wall, the 
 ladder was hauled up and dropped on the outside, 
 while the pole was shifted to the inside of the wall ; 
 then they descended the ladder and made across 
 the country. 
 
 " Which way we go, massa ?" Jake asked. 
 
 " I have been thinking it over," Harold replied, 
 " and have decided on making for the James 
 River. We shall be there before morning and can 
 no doubt find a boat. We can guide ourselves by 
 the stars, and when we get into the woods the 
 direction of the wind will be sufficient." 
 
 The distance was about twenty miles, but al- 
 though accustomed to scouting at nip-ht, they would 
 have had difficulty in making their way through 
 the woods by morning had they not struck upon a 
 road leading in the direction in which they wanted 
 to go. 
 
 Thus it was still some hours before daylight when 
 they reached the James River. They had followed 
 the road all the way, and at the point where it 
 reached the bank there was a village of consider- 
 able size, and several fishermen's boats were 
 moored alongside. Stepping into one of these, they 
 unloosed the head-rope and pushed out into the 
 stream. The boat was provided with a sail. The 
 mast was soon stepped and the sail hoisted.
 
 402 TRUh TO THE OLD FLAQ. 
 
 Neither Harold nor Jake had had much ex- 
 perience in boat-sailing, but the wind was with 
 them and the boat ran rapidly down the river, and 
 before daylight they were many miles from their 
 point of starting. The banks of the James River 
 are low and swampy, and few signs of human habi- 
 tation were seen from the stream. It widened 
 rapidly as they descended and became rougher and 
 rougher. They therefore steered into a sheltered 
 spot behind a sharp bend of the river and anchored. 
 
 In the locker they found plenty of lines and bait, 
 and setting to work had soon half a dozen fine fish 
 at the bottom of the boat. They pulled up the 
 kedge and rowed to shore and soon made a fire, 
 finding flint and steel in the boat. The fish were 
 broiled over the fire upon sticks. The boat was 
 hauled in under some overhanging bushes, and 
 stretching themselves in the bottom, Harold and 
 Jake were soon fast asleep. 
 
 The sun was setting when they woke. 
 
 " What you going to do, sar 2" Jake asked. " Are 
 you tinking ob trabeling by land or ob sailing to 
 New York?" 
 
 "Neither, Jake," Harold answered. "I am 
 thinking of sailing down the coast inside the line of 
 keys to Charleston. The water there is comparative- 
 ly smooth, and as we shall be taken for fishermen 
 it is not likely that we shall be overhauled. "We 
 can land ocasionally and pick a few ears of corn to 
 eat with our fish, and as there is generally a breeze 
 night and morning, however still and hot the day,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 403 
 
 we shall be able to do it comfortably. I see that 
 there is an iron plate here which has been used for 
 making a fire and cooking on board, so we will lay 
 in a stock of dry wood before we start." 
 
 The journey was made without any adventure. 
 While the breeze lasted they sailed ; when it fell 
 calm they fished, and when they had obtained a 
 sufficient supply for their wants they lay down and 
 slept under the shade of their sail stretched as an 
 awning. Frequently they passed within hail of 
 other fishing-boats, generally manned by negroes. 
 But beyond a few words as to their success, no 
 questions were asked. They generally kept near 
 the shore, and when they saw any larger craft they 
 either hauled the boat up or ran into one of the 
 creeks in which the coast abounds. It was with 
 intense pleasure that at last they saw in the distance 
 the masts of the shipping in Charleston harbor. 
 
 Two hours later they landed. They fastened the 
 boat to the wharf and made their way into the 
 town unquestioned. As they were walking along 
 the principal street they saw a well-known figure 
 sauntering leisurely toward them. His head was 
 bent down and he did not notice them until Harold 
 hailed him with a shout of " Halloo ! Peter, old 
 fellow, how goes it ?" 
 
 Peter, although not easily moved or excited, 
 gave a yell of delight which astonished the passers- 
 by. 
 
 " Ah ! my boy," he exclaimed, " this is a good 
 sight for my old eyes. Here have I been a-fretting
 
 404 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 and a-worrying myself for the last three months, 
 and cussing my hard luck that I was not with you 
 in that affair on King's Mountain. At first, when 
 I heard of it, I says to myself, ' The young un got 
 out of it somehow. He ain't going to be caught 
 asleep.' Waal, I kept on hoping and hoping you'd 
 turn up, till at last I couldn't deceive myself no 
 longer and was forced to conclude that you'd either 
 been rubbed out or taken prisoner. About a month 
 ago we got from the Yankees a list of the names 
 of them they'd captured, and glad I was to see yours 
 among 'em. As I thought as how you weren't 
 likely to be out as long as the war lasted, I was 
 a-thinkingof giving it up and going to Montreal and 
 settling down there. It was lonesome like without 
 you, and I missed Jake's laugh, and altogether 
 things didn't seem natural like. Jake, I'm glad to 
 see ye. Your name was not in the list, but I 
 thought it likely enough they might have taken 
 you and set you to work and made no account of 
 ye." 
 
 " That is just what they did ; but he got away 
 after settling his score with his new master and then 
 made for Richmond, where I was in prison ; then 
 he got me loose and here we are. But it is a long 
 story and I must tell it you at leisure."
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 405 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE WAR IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 THE fishing- boat was disposed of for a few 
 pounds, and Harold and Jake were again fitted out 
 in the serai-uniform worn by the scouts. On De- 
 cember 13, the very day after their arrival, a con- 
 siderable detachment of troops, under General 
 Leslie, arrived, and on the 19th marched, fifteen 
 hundred strong, to join Lord Cornwallis. Harold 
 and his mates accompanied them, and the united 
 army proceeded northwest, between the Eoanoke 
 and Catawba rivers. Colonel Tarleton was detached 
 with a force of one thousand men, consisting of 
 light and German legion infantry, a portion of the 
 Seventh Regiment and of the first battalion of the 
 Seventy-first, three hundred and fifty cavalry, and 
 two field-pieces. His orders were to pursue and 
 destroy a force of some eight hundred of the enemy 
 under General Morgan. The latter, finding himself 
 pressed, drew up his troops for action near a place 
 called the Cowpens. Then ensued the one action 
 in the whole war in which the English, being supe- 
 rior in numbers, suffered a severe defeat. 
 
 Tarleton, confident of victory, led his troops to 
 the attack without making any proper preparations
 
 406 
 
 for it. The infantry advanced bravely, and al- 
 though the American infantry held the ground for 
 a time with great obstinacy, they drove them back 
 and the victory appeared to be theirs. Tarleton 
 now sent orders to his cavalry to pursue, as his in- 
 fantry were too exhausted, having marched at a 
 rapid pace all night, to do so. The order was not 
 obeyed, and Major Washington, who commanded 
 the American cavalry, advanced to cover his infan- 
 try. These rallied behind their shelter and fell 
 upon the disordered British infantry. Thus suddenly 
 attacked when they believed that victory was in 
 their hands, the English gave way and were driven 
 back. A panic seized them and a general rout en- 
 sued. Almost the whole of them were either killed 
 or taken prisoners. 
 
 Tarleton in vain endeavored to induce his Ger- 
 man legion cavalry to charge; they stood aloof 
 and at last fled in a body through the woods. Their 
 commander and fourteen officers remained with 
 Tarleton, and with these and forty men of the 
 Seventeenth Regiment of dragoons he charged the 
 whole body of the American cavalry and drove 
 them back upon the infantry. 
 
 No partial advantage, however brilliant, could 
 retrieve the misfortune of the day. All was already 
 lost, and Tarleton retreated with his gallant little 
 band to the main army under Lord Cornwallis, 
 twenty-five miles from the scene of action. The 
 British infantry were all killed, wounded, or taken 
 prisoners, with the exception of a small detachment
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 407 
 
 which had been left in the rear, and who fell back 
 hastily as soon as the news of the result of the action 
 reached them. The legion cavalry returned to 
 camp without the loss of a man. 
 
 The defeat at Cowpens had a serious influence on 
 the campaign. It deprived Lord Cornwallis of the 
 greater portion of his light infantry, who were of 
 the greatest utility in a campaign in such a country, 
 while the news of the action had an immense in- 
 fluence in raising the spirits of the colonists. Hither- 
 to they had uniformly met with ill success when 
 they opppsed the British with forces even approach- 
 ing an equality of strength. In spite of their 
 superior arms and superior shooting, they were un- 
 able to stand the charge of the British infantry, 
 who had come almost to despise them as foes in the 
 field. The unexpected success urged them to fresh 
 exertions and brought to their side vast numbers of 
 waverers. 
 
 General Morgan, who was joined by General 
 Greene, attempted to prevent Cornwallis passing the 
 fords of the Catawba. It was not till February 1 
 that the river had fallen sufficiently to render a 
 passage possible. Colonel "Webster was sent with 
 his division to one of the principal fords, with 
 orders to open a cannonade there and make a feint 
 of crossing, while the general himself moved toward 
 a smaller and less-known ford. General Davidson, 
 with three hundred Americans, was watching this 
 point, but the brigade of guards were ordered to 
 commence the passage and were led by their light
 
 408 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 infantry companies under Colonel Hall. The river 
 was five hundred yards across, and the stream so 
 strong that the men, marching in fours, had to sup- 
 port one another to enable them to withstand its 
 force. The ford took a sharp turn in the middle of 
 the river. 
 
 The night being dark, the guards were not per- 
 ceived until they had reached this point, when the 
 enemy immediately opened fire upon them. The 
 guide at once fled without his absence being noticed 
 until it was too late to stop him. Colonel Hall, not 
 knowing of the bend in the ford, led his men 
 straight forward toward the opposite bank, and al- 
 though their difficulties were much increased by the 
 greater depth of water through which they had to 
 pass, the mistake was really the means of saving 
 them from much loss, as the Americans were assem- 
 bled to meet them at the head of the ford, and 
 would have inflicted a heavy loss upon them as they 
 struggled in the stream. They did not perceive the 
 change in the direction of the column's march until 
 too late, and the guards on landing met them as 
 they came on and quickly routed and dispersed 
 them. The British lost four killed, among whom 
 was Colonel Hall, and thirty-six wounded. 
 
 The rest of the division then crossed. Colonel 
 Tarleton, with the cavalry, was sent against five 
 hundred of the Americans who had fallen back from 
 the various fords, and burning with the desire to re- 
 trieve the defeat of the Cowpens, the legion horse
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLA&. 
 
 409 
 
 charged the enemy with such fury that they were 
 completely routed, fifty of them being killed. 
 
 Morgan and Greene withdrew their army through 
 
 A . The Aitvantt of rart of the 
 Continentals who broke the 
 British Centre, and afterwards 
 /ell tact to their original position. 
 
 BATTLE OFGUILDFORD 
 
 fought on the IB^of March 1781. 
 One English Mile 
 
 the Roanoke River, hotly pursued by the English. 
 For a few days the British army remained at Hills- 
 borough, but no supplies of food sufficient for its 
 maintenance could be found there, so it again fell
 
 410 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 back. General Greene, being reenforced by a con- 
 siderable force, now determined to fight, and ac- 
 cordingly advanced and took up a position near 
 Guilford Court-House. 
 
 The American force consisted of four thousand 
 two hundred and forty-three infantry and some 
 three thousand irregulars for the most part back- 
 woodsmen from the frontier while the British force 
 amounted to fourteen hundred and forty-five, ex- 
 clusive of their cavalry, who, however, took little 
 part in the fight. About four miles from Guilford 
 the advanced guards of the army met and a sharp 
 fight ensued the Americans, under Colonel Lee, 
 maintaining their ground stanchly until the 
 Twenty-third Kegirnent came up to the assistance 
 of Tarleton, who commanded the advance. 
 
 The main American force was posted in an ex- 
 ceedingly strong position. Their first line was on 
 commanding ground, with open fields in front ; on 
 their flanks were woods, and a strong fence ran 
 along in front of their line. The second line was 
 posted in a wood three hundred yards in rear of the 
 first, while four hundred yards behind were three 
 brigades drawn up in the open ground round 
 Guilford Court-House. Colonel "Washington, with 
 two regiments of dragoons and one of riflemen, 
 formed a reserve for the right flank ; Colonel Lee, 
 with his command, was in reserve on the left. 
 
 As soon as the head of the British column ap- 
 peared in sight two guns upon the road opened fire 
 upon them and were answered by the English artil-
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 41 1 
 
 lery. While the cannonade continued the British 
 formed in order of attack. The Seventy-first, with 
 a provincial regiment supported by the first battal- 
 ion of the guards, formed the right; the Twenty- 
 third and Thirty -third, led by Colonel Webster, with 
 the grenadiers and second battalion of guards, 
 formed the left. The light infantry of the guards 
 and the cavalry were in reserve. 
 
 When the order was given to advance the line 
 moved forward in perfect steadiness, and at one 
 hundred and fifty yards the enemy opened fire. 
 The English did not fire a shot till within eighty 
 yards, when they poured in a volley and charged 
 with the baj^onet. The first line of the enemy at 
 once fell back upon the second ; here a stout resist- 
 ance was made. Posted in the woods and shelter- 
 ing themselves behind trees, they kept up for some 
 time a galling fire which did considerable execution. 
 General Leslie brought up the right wing of the 
 first battalion of guards into the front line and 
 Colonel Webster called up the second battalion. 
 The enemy's second line now fell back on their 
 third, which was composed of their best troops, and 
 the struggle was a very obstinate one. 
 
 The Americans, from their vastly superior num- 
 bers, occupied so long a line of ground that the 
 English commanders, in order to face them, were 
 obliged to leave large gaps between the different 
 regiments. Thus it happened that Webster, who 
 with the Thirty-third Regiment, the light infantry, 
 and the second battalion of guards turned toward
 
 412 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 the left, found himself separated from the rest of 
 the troops by the enemy, who pushed in between 
 him and the Twenty-third. These again were 
 separated from the guards. The ground was very 
 hilly, the wood exceedingly thick, and the English 
 line became broken up into regiments separated 
 from each other, each fighting on its own account 
 and ignorant of what was going on in other parts of 
 the field. 
 
 The second battalion of guards was the first that 
 broke through the wood into the open grounds of 
 Guilford Court-House. They immediately attacked 
 a considerable force drawn up there, routed them, 
 and took their two cannon with them; but, pursu- 
 ing them with too much ardor and impetuosity 
 toward the woods in the rear, were thrown into 
 confusion by a heavy fire from another body of 
 troops placed there, and being instantly charged by 
 "Washington's dragoons, were driven back with 
 great slaughter and the cannon were retaken. 
 
 At this moment the British guns, advancing along 
 the road through the wood, issued into the open 
 an<J checked the pursuit of the Americans by a well- 
 directed fire. The Seventy-first and the Twenty- 
 third now came through the wood. The second 
 battalion of guards rallied and again advanced, 
 and the enemy were quickly repulsed and put 
 to flight. The two guns were recaptured with two 
 others. 
 
 Colonel "Webster, with the Thirty-third, returned 
 across the ravine through which he had driven the
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 413 
 
 en emy opposed to him and rejoined the rest of the 
 force. The Americans drew off in good order. 
 The Twenty -third and Twenty -first pursued with 
 the cavalry for a short distance and were then re- 
 pealled. The fight was now over on the center and left, 
 but on the right heavy firing was still going on. 
 Here General Leslie, with the first battalion of 
 guards and a Hessian regiment, had been greatly 
 impeded by the excessive thickness of the woods, 
 which rendered it impossible to charge with the 
 bayonet. As they struggled through the thicket 
 the enemy swarmed around them, so that they were 
 at times engaged in front, flanks, and rear. The 
 enemy were upon an exceedingly steep rise, and 
 lying along the top of this they poured such a heavy 
 fire into the guards that these suffered exceedingly; 
 nevertheless they struggled up to the top and 
 drove the front line back, but found another far 
 more numerous drawn up behind. As the guards 
 struggled up to the crest they were received by a 
 tremendous fire on their front and flanks and suf- 
 fered so heavily that they fell into confusion. The 
 .Hessian regiment, which had suffered but slightly, 
 advanced in compact order to the left of the guards, 
 and wheeling to the right took the enemy in the 
 flank with a very heavy fire. Under cover of this 
 the guards re-formed and moved forward to join the 
 Hessians and complete the repulse of the enemy op- 
 posed to them. They were again attacked both in 
 the flank and the rear, but at last they completely 
 dispersed the troops surrounding them and the 
 battle came to an
 
 414 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 This battle was one of the most obstinate and 
 well-contested throughout the war, and the greatest 
 credit is due to the British, who drove the enemy, 
 three times their own number, from the ground 
 chosen by them and admirably adapted to their 
 mode of warfare. 
 
 The loss, as might have been expected, was 
 heavy, amounting to ninety-three killed and four 
 hundred and thirteen wounded nearly a third 
 of the force engaged. Between two and three 
 hundred of the enemy's dead were found on the 
 field of battle, and a great portion of their army 
 was disbanded. The sufferings of the wounded on 
 the following night were great. A tremendous 
 rain fell, and the battle had extended over so large 
 an area that it was impossible to find and collect 
 them. The troops had had no food during the day 
 and had marched several miles before they came into 
 action. Nearly fifty of the wounded died during 
 the night. 
 
 Decisive as the victory was, its consequences were 
 slight. Lord Cornwallis was crippled by his heavy 
 loss, following that which the force had suffered 
 at the Cowpens. The two battles had diminished 
 the strength of his little force by fully half. Pro- 
 visions were difficult to obtain, and the inhabitants, 
 some of whom had suffered greatly upon previous 
 occasions for their loyal opinions, seeing the weak- 
 ness of the force and the improbability of its being 
 enabled to maintain itself, were afraid to lend 
 assistance or to show their sympathy, as they would
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 415 
 
 be exposed on its retreat to the most cruel persecu- 
 tions by the enemy. 
 
 Three days after the battle Lord Cornwallis re- 
 tired, leaving seventy of the wounded who were 
 unable to move under the protection of a flag of 
 truce. From Guilford Court-House he moved his 
 troops to Wilmington, in North Carolina, a seaport 
 where he hoped to obtain provisions and stores, 
 especially clothing and shoes. 
 
 General Greene, left unmolested after his defeat, 
 reassembled his army, and receiving reinforcements, 
 marched at full speed to attack Lord Kawdon at 
 Camden, thinking that he would, with his greatly 
 superior force, be able to destroy him in his isolated 
 situation. The English commander fortified his 
 position and the American general drew back and 
 encamped on Hobkirk Hill, two miles distant, to 
 await the coming of his heavy baggage and cannon, 
 together with some reinforcements. Lord Kawdon 
 determined to take the initiative, and marching out 
 with his whole force of nine hundred men, advanced 
 to the attack. The hill was covered at its foot by a 
 deep swamp, but the English marched round this 
 and stormed the position. The Americans made an 
 obstinate resistance, but the English climbed the 
 hill with such impetuosity, in spite of the musketry 
 and grape-shot of the enemy, that they were forced 
 to give way. Several times they returned to the 
 attack, but were finally driven off in confusion. 
 One hundred prisoners were taken, and Lord Raw- 
 don estimated that four hundred of the enemy were
 
 416 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 killed and wounded. The American estimate was 
 considerably lower, and as the Americans fought 
 with all the advantage of position, while the Eng- 
 lish were exposed during their ascent to a terrible 
 fire, which they were unable to return effectively, 
 it is probable that the American loss, including the 
 wounded, was inferior to that of the English, whose 
 casualties amounted to two hundred and fifty-eight. 
 Harold and his companions did not take part 
 either in the battle of Guilford Court-House or in 
 that of Hobkirk Hill, having been attached to the 
 fort known as Ninety-six because a mile-stone with 
 these figures upon it stood in the village. The force 
 here was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Cruger, who had with him one hundred and fifty 
 men of a provincial corps known as Delancey's, two 
 hundred of the second battalion of the New Jersey 
 volunteers, and two hundred local loyalists. The 
 post was far advanced, but so long as Lord Rawdon 
 remained at Camden its position was not considered 
 to be dangerous. The English general, however, 
 after winning the battle of Hobkirk Hill, received 
 news of the retirement of Lord Cornwallis toward 
 Wilmington, and seeing that he would thereby be 
 exposed to the whole of the American forces in 
 South Carolina and would infallibly be cut off from 
 Charleston, he determined to retire upon that port. 
 Before falling back he sent several messengers to 
 Colonel Cruger acquainting him of his intention. 
 But so well were the roads guarded by the enemy 
 that none of the messengers reached Ninety-six.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 417 
 
 Colonel Cruger, being uneasy at the length of 
 time which had elapsed since he had received any 
 communication, sent Harold and the two scouts out 
 with instructions to make their way toward the en- 
 emy's lines and, if possible, to bring in a prisoner. 
 This they had not much difficulty in doing. Find- 
 ing out the position of two parties of the Americans, 
 they placed themselves on the road between them, 
 No long time elapsed before an American officer 
 came along. A shot from Peter's rifle killed his 
 horse, and before the officer could recover his feet 
 he was seized by the scouts. They remained hidden 
 in the wood during the day and at night returned 
 with their prisoner to Ninety-six, thirty miles dis- 
 tant, avoiding all villages where resistance could be 
 offered by hostile inhabitants. 
 
 From the prisoner Colonel Cruger learned that 
 Lord Rawdon had retreated from Camden and that 
 he was therefore entirely isolated. The position 
 was desperate, but he determined to defend the post 
 to the last, confident that Lord Rawdon would as 
 soon as possible undertake an expedition for his 
 release. 
 
 The whole garrison was at once set to work, 
 stockades were erected, earthworks thrown up, a 
 redoubt formed of casks filled with earth construct- 
 ed, and the whole strengthened by ditches and 
 abattis. Block-houses were erected in the village to 
 enable the troops to fire over the stockades, and 
 covered communications made between the various 
 works. The right of the village was defended by
 
 418 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 a regular work called the Star. To the left was a 
 work commanding a rivulet from which the place 
 drew its supply of water. 
 
 Colonel Cruger offered the volunteers, who were 
 a mounted corps, permission to return to Charleston, 
 but they refused to accept the offer, and turning 
 their horses into the woods, determined to share the 
 fate of the garrison. In making this offer the colo- 
 nel was influenced partly by motives of policy, as 
 the stock of provisions was exceedingly scanty, and 
 he feared that they would not last if the siege should 
 be a long one. Besides this, be feared that, as had 
 already too often happened, should the place fall, 
 even the solemn engagement of the terms of the 
 surrender would not be sufficient to protect the loy- 
 alists against the vengeance of their countrymen. 
 
 On May 21 General Greene with his army ap- 
 peared in sight of the place and encamped in a wood 
 within cannon-shot of the village. He lost no time, 
 and in the course of the night threw up two works 
 within seventy paces of the fortifications. The 
 English commander did not suffer so rash and dis- 
 dainful a step to pass unpunished. The scouts, who 
 were outside the works, brought in news of what 
 was being done, and also that the working parties 
 were protected by a strong force. 
 
 The three guns which constituted the entire 
 artillery of the defenders were moved noiselessly to 
 the salient angle of the Star opposite the works, and 
 at eleven o'clock in the morning these suddenly 
 opened fire, aided by musketry from the parapets.
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 419 
 
 The covering force precipitately retreated, and 
 thirty men sallied out from the fort, carried the 
 intrenchments, and bayoneted their defenders. 
 Other troops followed, the works were destroyed, 
 and the intrenching tools carried into the fort. 
 General Greene, advancing with his whole army, 
 arrived only in time to see the last of the sallying 
 party reenter the village. 
 
 " I call that a right-down good beginning," Peter 
 Lambton said in great exultation. " There's noth- 
 ing like hitting a hard blow at the beginning of the 
 fight. I!; raises your spirits and makes t'other chap 
 mighty cautious. You'll see next time they'll 
 begin their works at a much more respectful dis- 
 tance." 
 
 Peter was right. The blow checked the im- 
 petuosity of the American general, and on the 
 night of the 23d he opened his trenches at a 
 distance of four hundred yards. Having so large a 
 force, he was able to push forward with great 
 rapidity, although the garrison made several gal- 
 lant sorties to interfere with the work. 
 
 On June 3 the second parallel was completed. A 
 formal summons was sent to the British commander 
 to surrender. This document was couched in the 
 most insolent language and contained the most un- 
 soldierlike threats of the consequences which would 
 befall the garrison and its commander if he offered 
 further resistance. Colonel Cruger sent back a 
 verbal answer that he was not frightened by General 
 Greene's menaces and that he should defend the 
 post until the last v -
 
 4.20 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 
 
 The American batteries now opened with a heavy 
 cross-fire, which enfiladed several of the works. 
 They also pushed forward a sap against the Star 
 fort and erected a battery composed of gabions 
 thirty-six yards only from the abattis and raised 
 forty feet high so as to overlook the works of the 
 garrison. The riflemen posted on its top did con- 
 siderable execution and prevented the British guns 
 being worked during the day. 
 
 The garrison tried to burn the battery by firing 
 heated shot into it, but from want of proper fur- 
 naces they were unable sufficiently to heat the shot 
 sufficiently, and the attempt failed. They then 
 protected their parapets as well as they could by 
 sand-bags with loop-holes, through which the de- 
 fenders did considerable execution with their 
 rifles. 
 
 Harold and his two comrades, whose skill with 
 their weapons was notorious, had their post behind 
 some sand-bags immediately facing the battery, 
 and were able completely to silence the fire of its 
 riflemen, as it was certain death to show a head 
 above its parapet. 
 
 The enemy attempted to set fire to the houses of 
 the village by shooting blazing arrows into them, a 
 heavy musketry and artillery fire being kept up to 
 prevent the defenders from quenching the flames. 
 These succeeded, however, in preventing any serious 
 conflagration, but Colonel Cruger ordered at once 
 that the whole of the houses should be unroofed. 
 Thus the garrison were for the rest of the siege
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 421 
 
 without protection from the rain and night air, but 
 all risk of a fire, which might have caused the con- 
 sumption of their stores, was avoided. 
 
 While the siege had been going on the town of 
 Augusta had fallen, and Lieutenant-Colonel Lee, 
 marching thence to reinforce General Greene, 
 brought with him the British prisoners taken there. 
 With a scandalous want of honorable feeling he 
 marched these prisoners along in full sight of the 
 garrison, with all the parade of martial music and 
 preceded by a British standard reversed. 
 
 If the intention was to discourage the garrison it 
 failed entirely in its effect. Fired with indignation 
 at so shameful a sight, they determined to encounter 
 every danger and endure every hardship rather than 
 fall into the hands of an enemy capable of disgrac- 
 ing their success by so wanton an insult to their 
 prisoners. 
 
 The Americans, strengthened by the junction of 
 the troops who had reduced Augusta, began to make 
 approaches against the stockaded fort on the left of 
 the village, which kept open the communication of 
 the garrison with their water supply. The opera- 
 tions on this side were intrusted to Colonel Lee, 
 while General Greene continued to direct those 
 against the Star. 
 
 On the night of June 9 a sortie was made by two 
 strong parties of the defenders. That to the right 
 entered the enemy's trenches and penetrated to a 
 battery of four guns, which nothing but the want of 
 spikes and hammers prevented them from destroy-
 
 422 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 ing. Here they discovered the mouth of a mine 
 intended to be carried under one of the defenses of 
 the Star. 
 
 The division on the left fell in with the covering 
 party of the Americans, killed a number of them, 
 and made their commanding officer a prisoner. 
 
 On the 12th Colonel Lee determined to attempt a 
 storm of the stockade on the left, and sent forward 
 a sergeant and six men with lighted combustibles to 
 set fire to the abattis. The whole of them were 
 killed before effecting their purpose. A number of 
 additional cannon now arrived from Augusta, and 
 so heavy and incessant a fire was opened upon the 
 stockade from three batteries that on the 17th it 
 was no longer tenable, and the garrison evacuated 
 it in the night. 
 
 The suffering of the garrison for want of water 
 now became extreme. With great labor a well had 
 been dug in the fort, but no water was found, and 
 none could be procured except from the rivulet 
 within pistol-shot of the enemy. In the day noth- 
 ing could be done, but at night negroes, whose 
 bodies in the darkness were not easily distinguished 
 from the tree-stumps which surrounded them, went 
 out and at great risk brought in a scanty supply. 
 The position of the garrison became desperate. 
 Colonel Cruger, however, was not discouraged, and 
 did his best to sustain the spirits of his troops by 
 assurances that Lord Rawdon was certain to at- 
 tempt to relieve the place as soon as he possibljr 
 could do so,
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 423 
 
 At length one day, to the delight of the garrison, 
 an American royalist rode right through the pickets 
 under the fire of the enemy and delivered a verbal 
 message from Lord Rawdon to the effect that he 
 had passed Orangeburg and was on his march to 
 raise the siege. 
 
 Lord Rawdon had been forced to remain at 
 Charleston until the arrival of three fresh regiments 
 from Ireland enabled him to leave that place in 
 safety and march to the relief of Ninety-six. His 
 force amounted to eighteen hundred infantry and 
 one hundred and fifty cavalry. General Greene 
 had also received news of Lord Rawdon's move- 
 ments, and finding from his progress that it would 
 be impossible to reduce the fort by regular ap- 
 proaches before his arrival, he determined to hazard 
 an assault. 
 
 The American works had been pushed up close to 
 the forts, the third parallel had been completed, 
 and a mine and two trenches extended within a few 
 feet of the ditch. On the morning of June 18 a 
 heavy cannonade was begun from all the American 
 batteries. The whole of the batteries and trenches 
 were lined with riflemen, whose fire prevented the 
 British from showing their heads above the parapets. 
 At noon two parties of the enemy advanced under 
 cover of their trenches and made a lodgment in the 
 ditch. These were followed by other parties with 
 hooks to drag down the sand-bags and tools to over- 
 throw the parapet. They were exposed to the fire 
 of the block-houses in the village, and Major
 
 424 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 Green, the English officer who commanded the Stai 
 fort, had his detachment in readiness behind the 
 parapet to receive the enemy when they attempted 
 to storm. 
 
 As the main body of Americans did not advance 
 beyond the third parallel and contented themselves 
 with supporting the parties in the ditch with their 
 fire, the commander of the fort resolved to inflict a 
 heavy blow. Two parties, each thirty strong, under 
 the command of Captains Campbell and French, 
 issued from the sally-port in the rear, entered the 
 ditch, and taking opposite directions charged the 
 Americans who had made the lodgment with such 
 impetuosity that they drove everything before 
 them until they met. The bayonet alone was used 
 and the carnage was great two thirds of those 
 who entered the trenches were either killed or 
 wounded. 
 
 General Greene, finding it useless any longer to 
 continue the attempt, called off his troops, and on 
 the following day raised the siege and marched away 
 with all speed, having lost at least three hundred 
 men in the siege. Of the garrison twenty-seven 
 were killed and fifty-eight wounded. 
 
 On the 21st Lord Rawdon arrived at Ninety-six, 
 and finding that it would be hopeless for him to at- 
 tempt to overtake the retreating enemy, who were 
 marching with great speed, he drew off the garrison 
 of Ninety-six and fell back toward the eoast. 
 
 A short time afterward a sharp fight ensued be- 
 tween a force under Colonel Stewart and the army
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 435 
 
 of General Greene. The English were taken by 
 surprise and were at first driven back, but they re- 
 covered from their confusion and renewed the fight 
 with great spirit, and after a desperate conflict the 
 Americans were repulsed. Two cannon and sixty 
 prisoners were taken; among the latter Colonel Wash- 
 ington, who commanded the reserve. The loss on 
 both sides was about equal, as two hundred and 
 fifty of the British troops were taken prisoners at 
 the first outset. The American killed considerably 
 exceeded our own. Both parties claimed the vic- 
 tory ; the Americans because they had forced the 
 British to retreat ; the British because they had 
 ultimately driven the Americans from the field and 
 obliged them to retire to a strong position seven 
 miles in the rear. This was the last action of the 
 war in South Carolina.
 
 426 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXI. 
 
 THE END OF THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 BEING unable to obtain any supplies at Wilming- 
 ton, Lord Cornwallis determined to march on into 
 Virginia and to effect a junction with the British 
 force under General Arnold operating there. 
 Arnold advanced to Petersburg and Cornwallis 
 effected a junction with him on May 20. The 
 Marquis de la Fayette, who commanded the colonial 
 forces here, fell back. Just at this time the Count 
 de Grasse, with a large French fleet, arrived off the 
 coast, and after some consultation with General 
 "Washington determined that the French fleet and 
 the whole American army should operate together 
 to crush the forces under Lord Cornwallis. 
 
 The English were hoodwinked by reports that the 
 French fleet was intended to operate against New 
 York, and it was not until they learned that the 
 Count de Grasse had arrived with twenty-eight 
 ships of the line at the mouth of the Chesapeake 
 Bay that the true object of the expedition was seen. 
 A portion of the English fleet encountered them, 
 but after irregular actions, lasting over five days, 
 the English drew off and retired to New York. 
 The commander-in-chief then attempted to effect a 
 diversion, in order to draw off some of the enemy
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 437 
 
 who were surrounding Cornwallis. The fort of 
 New London was stormed after some desperate fight- 
 ing, and great quantities of ammunition and stores 
 and fifty pieces of cannon taken. General Wash- 
 ington did not allow his attention to be distracted. 
 Matters were in a most critical condition, for al- 
 though to the English the prospect of ultimate 
 success appeared slight indeed, the Americans were 
 in a desperate condition. Their immense and long- 
 continued efforts had been unattended with any 
 material success. It was true that the British 
 troops held no more ground now than they did at 
 the end of the first year of the war, but no efforts 
 of the colonists had succeeded in wresting that 
 ground from them. The people were exhausted and 
 utterly disheartened. Business of all sorts was at a 
 standstill. Money had ceased to circulate, and the 
 credit of Congress stood so low that its bonds had 
 ceased to have any value whatever. The soldiers 
 were unpaid, ill fed, and mutinous. If on the Eng- 
 lish side it seemed that the task of conquering was 
 beyond them, the Americans were ready to abandon 
 the defense from sheer exhaustion. It was then of 
 paramount necessity to General "Washington that a 
 great and striking success should be obtained to 
 animate the spirits of the people. 
 
 Cornwallis, seeing the formidable combination 
 which the French and Americans were making to 
 crush him, sent message after message to New York 
 to ask for aid from the commander-in-chief, and re- 
 ceived assurances from him that he would at once
 
 428 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 sail with four thousand troops to join him. Accord- 
 ingly, in obedience to his orders, Lord Cornwallis 
 fortified himself at Yorktown. 
 
 On September 28 the combined army of French 
 and Americans, consisting of seven thousand of the 
 former and twelve thousand of the latter, appeared 
 before Yorktown and the post at Gloucester. Lord 
 Cornwallis had five thousand nine hundred and 
 sixty men, but so great had been the effects of the 
 deadly climate in the autumn months that only four 
 thousand and seventeen men were reported as fit for 
 duty. 
 
 The enemy at once invested the town and opened 
 their trenches against it. From their fleet they had 
 drawn an abundance of heavy artillery, and on 
 October 9 their batteries opened a tremendous fire 
 upon the works. Each day they pushed their 
 trenches closer, and the British force was too weak, 
 in comparison with the number of its assailants, to 
 venture upon sorties. The fire from the works was 
 completely overpowered by that of the enemy, and 
 the ammunition was nearly exhausted. Day after 
 day passed and still the promised reinforcements 
 did not arrive. Lord Cornwallis was told positive- 
 ly that the fleet would set sail on October 8, but 
 it came not, nor did it leave the port until the 
 19th, the day on which Lord Cornwallis surren- 
 dered. 
 
 On the 16th, finding that he must either surrender 
 or break through, he determined to cross the river
 
 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 429 
 
 and fall on the French rear with his whole force 
 and then turn northward and force his way through 
 Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Jerseys. In the 
 night the light infantry, the greater part of the 
 guards, and part of the Twenty-third were embarked 
 in boats amd crossed to the Gloucester side of the 
 river before midnight. At this critical moment a 
 violent storm arose which prevented the boats re- 
 turning. The enemy's fire reopened at daybreak, 
 and the engineer and principal officers of the army 
 gave it as their opinion that it was impossible to 
 resist longer. Only one eight-inch shell and a hun- 
 dred small ones remained. The defenses had in 
 many places tumbled to ruins 5 and no effectual 
 resistance could be opposed to an assault. 
 
 Accordingly Lord Cornwallis sent out a flag of 
 truce and arranged terras of surrender. On the 
 24th the fleet and reinforcements arrived off the 
 mouth of the Chesapeake. Had they left New 
 York at the time promised the result of the cam- 
 paign would have been different. 
 
 The army surrendered as prisoners of war until 
 exchanged, the officers with liberty to proceed on 
 parole to Europe and not to serve until exchanged. 
 The loyal Americans were embarked on the Bonito 
 sloop-of-war and sent to New York in safety, Lord 
 Cornwallis having obtained permission to send off 
 the ship without her being searched, with as many 
 soldiers on board as he should think fit, so that they 
 were accounted for in any further exchange. He
 
 430 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 was thus enabled to send off such of the inhabitants 
 and loyalist troops as would have suffered from 
 the vengeance of the Americans. 
 
 The surrender of Lord Cornwallis' army virtually 
 ended the war. The burden entailed on the people 
 in England by the great struggle against France, 
 Spain, Holland, and America, united in arms 
 against her, was enormous. So long as there ap- 
 peared any chance of recovering the colony the 
 English people made the sacrifices required of 
 them, but the conviction that it was impossible for 
 them to wage a war with half of Europe and at the 
 same time to conquer a continent had been gaining 
 more and more in strength. Even the most 
 sanguine were silenced by the surrender of York- 
 town, and a cry arose throughout the country that 
 peace should at once be made. 
 
 As usual under the circumstances, a change of 
 ministry took place. Negotiations for peace were 
 at once commenced, and the war terminated in the 
 acknowledgment of the entire independence of the 
 United States of America. 
 
 Harold with his companions had fallen back to 
 Charleston with Lord Eawdon after the relief of 
 Ninety -six and remained there until the news ar 
 rived that the negotiations were on foot and that 
 peace was now certain. Then he took his discharge 
 and sailed at once for England, accompanied by 
 Jake ; Peter Lambton taking a passage to Canada 
 to carry out his intention of settling at MontreaL
 
 TRUE TO TEE OLD FLAG. 431 
 
 Harold was now past twenty-two, and his father 
 and mother did not recognize him when, without 
 warning, he arrived at their residence in Devonshire 
 It was six years since his mother had seen him, 
 when she sailed from Boston before its surrender in 
 1776. 
 
 For a year he remained quiet at home and thet 
 carried out his plan of returning to the American 
 continent and settling in Canada. 
 
 Accompanied by Jake, he sailed for the St. Law- 
 rence and purchased a snug farm on its banks, near 
 the spot where it flows from Lake Ontario. 
 
 He greatly improved it, built a comfortable house 
 upon it, and two years later returned to England, 
 whence he brought back his Cousin Nelly as his 
 wife. 
 
 Her little fortune was usea in adding to the farm, 
 and it became one of the largest and best managed 
 in the country. 
 
 Peter Lambton found Montreal too crowded for 
 him and settled down on the estate, supplying it 
 with fish and game so long as his strength enabled 
 him to go about, and enjoying the society of Jack 
 Pearson, who had married and established himself 
 on a farm close by. 
 
 As years went on and the population increased 
 the property became very valuable, and Harold be- 
 fore he died was one of the wealthiest and most 
 respected men in the colony. So long as his mother 
 lived he and his wife paid occasional visits to Eng-
 
 432 TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. 
 
 land, but after her death his family and farm had 
 so increased that it was inconvenient to leave them ; 
 his father therefore returned with him to Canada 
 and ended his life there. Jake lived to a good old 
 age and was Harold's faithful friend and right-hand 
 man to the last. 
 
 THE END.
 
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