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 bp Jftra. 3franie (550ttlti lincoln. 
 
 MARJORIE S QUEST. For Young People. Illus 
 trated, izmo, $1.50. 
 
 A GENUINE GIRL. i6mo, $1.25. 
 
 AN UNWILLING MAID. i6mo, (1.25. 
 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK
 
 MERCANTILE LIBRARY 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 An 
 
 Unwilling Maid 
 
 Being the History of Certain Epi 
 sodes during the American Revo 
 lution in the Early Life of Mis 
 tress Betty Yorke, born Wolcott 
 
 By JEANIE GOULD LINCOLN 
 
 " O Romeo, Romeo ! wlierefore art than Romeo ?" 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 1897
 
 COPTRIOHT 1897 BY JEANIE GOULD LINCOLN 
 ALL BIGHTS RESERVED
 
 TO A NINETEENTH CENTURY GIRL. 
 
 A great-grandmother s bewitching face, 
 Looks forth from this olden story, 
 
 For Love is a master who laughs at place, 
 And scoffs at both Whig and Tory. 
 
 To-day if he comes, as a conqueror may, 
 To a heart untouched by his flame, 
 
 Be loyal as she of the olden day, 
 That Eighteenth Century dame ! 
 
 2043284
 
 I
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Miss MOPPET 1 
 
 II. BULLETS FOB DEFENSE .... 14 
 
 III. OLIVER S PRISONER 28 
 
 IV. FRIEND OR FOE 39 
 
 V. A LOYAL TRAITOR ..... 59 
 VI. BY COURIER POST 81 
 
 VII. WHAT FOLLOWED A LETTER ... 94 
 
 VIII. INSIDE BRITISH LINES .... 103 
 
 IX. BETTY S JOURNEY ..... 118 
 
 X. A MAID S CAPRICE 138 
 
 XI. ON THE COLLECT 151 
 
 XII. A FACE ON THE WALL .... 163 
 
 XIII. AT THE VLY MARKET .... 188 
 
 XIV. THE DE LANCEY BALL .... 202 
 XV. LOVE OR LOYALTY 219 
 
 XVI. MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERY . . 238 
 
 XVII. A KNOT OF ROSE-COLORED RIBBON . 251
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 BETTY WOLCOTT .... Frontispiece. 
 MlSS EUPHEMIA MEETS OLIVER AND HIS PRISONER 32 
 
 THE MINUET 206 
 
 "I HOPE THESE ARE WEDLOCK SHOES " . 260
 
 MERCANTILE LIBRARY; 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 MISS MOPPET 
 
 IT was a warm summer day. Not too 
 warm, for away up in the Connecticut hills 
 the sun seemed to temper its rays, and down 
 among the shadows of the trees surrounding 
 Great Pond there were cool, shady glades 
 where one could almost fancy it was May 
 instead of hot July. 
 
 At a point not far from the water, lean 
 ing against the trunk of a stately maple, 
 stood a young man. His head, from which 
 he had raised a somewhat old and weather- 
 beaten hat, was finely formed, and covered 
 with chestnut curls ; his clothes, also shabby 
 and worn, were homespun and ill-fitting, 
 but his erect military carriage, with an in 
 describable air of polish and fine breeding, 
 seemed strangely incongruous in connection
 
 2 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 with his apparel and travel-worn appear 
 ance. 
 
 " I wonder where I am," he said half 
 aloud, as he surveyed the pretty sheet of 
 water sparkling in the afternoon sun. 
 " Faith, t is hard enough to be half starved 
 and foot-sore, without being lost in an ene 
 my s country. The woman who gave me that 
 glass of milk at five o clock this morning 
 said I was within a mile of Goshen. I must 
 have walked ten miles since then, and am 
 apparently no nearer the line than I was 
 yesterday Hark ! what s that ? " as a 
 sound of voices struck his ear faintly, com 
 ing from some distance on his right. " Some 
 one comes in this direction. I had best con 
 ceal myself in these friendly bushes until I 
 ascertain whether t is friend or foe." 
 
 So saying, he plunged hastily into a 
 thicket of low-lying shrubs close at hand, 
 and, throwing himself flat upon the ground 
 under them, was comparatively secure from 
 observation as long as he remained perfectly 
 still. The next sound he heard was horses 
 feet, moving at a walk, and presently there 
 came in view a spirited-looking bay mare 
 and a gray pony, the riders being engaged 
 in merry conversation.
 
 MISS MOPPET 3 
 
 "No, no, Betty," said the little girl of 
 about nine years, who rode the pony ; " it is 
 just here, or a few rods farther on, where we 
 had the Maypole set last year, and I know 
 I can find the herbs which Chloe wants 
 near by on the shore of the pond. Let s 
 dismount and tie the horses here, and you 
 and I can search for them." 
 
 " It s well I did not let you come alone," 
 said the rider of the bay mare, laughing as 
 she spoke. " Truly, Miss Moppet, you are 
 a courageous little maid to wish to venture 
 in these woods. Not that I am afraid," 
 said Betty Wolcott suddenly, remembering 
 the weight and dignity of her sixteen years 
 as compared with her little sister, "but 
 in these troublous times father says it were 
 well to be careful." 
 
 " Since when have you grown so staid ?" 
 said Miss Moppet, shaking her long yellow 
 hair back from her shoulders as she jumped 
 off her pony and led him up to a young ash- 
 tree, whose branches allowed of her securing 
 him by the bridle to one of them. " Of all 
 people in the world, Betty, you to read me a 
 lecture on care-taking," and with a mischiev 
 ous laugh the child fled around the tree in 
 pretended dismay, as Betty sprang to the
 
 4 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 ground and shook her riding-whip playfully 
 in her direction. 
 
 "Ungrateful Moppet," she said, as she 
 tied both horses to the tree beside her, " did 
 I not rescue you from punishment for dire 
 naughtiness in the pantry and beg Aunt 
 Euphemia to pardon you, and then go for 
 the horses, which Reuben was too busy to 
 saddle. 
 
 "Yes, my own dear Betty," cried the 
 small sinner, emerging suddenly from the 
 friendly shelter and seizing her round the 
 waist, "but you know this soberness is but 
 skin-deep, as Chloe says, and you need 
 not cease to be merry because you are six 
 teen since yesterday. Come, let s find the 
 herbs/ and joining hands the two ran 
 swiftly off to the shore, Betty tucking up 
 her habit with easy grace as she went. The 
 occupant of the covert raised his head care 
 fully and looked after the pair, the sound of 
 their voices growing faint as they pushed 
 their way through the undergrowth which 
 intercepted their progress. 
 
 " What a lovely creature ! " he ejaculated, 
 raising himself on one elbow. " I wonder 
 who she is, and how she comes in this wild 
 neighborhood. Perhaps I am not so very
 
 MISS MOPPET 5 
 
 far off my road after all ; they must have 
 come from a not very distant home, for the 
 horses are not even wet this warm day. 
 Egad, that mare looks as if she had plenty 
 of speed in her ; t would not be a bad idea 
 to throw my leg over her back and be off, 
 and so distance those who even now may be 
 pursuing me." He half rose as the thought 
 occurred to him, but in an instant sank 
 back under the leaves. 
 
 " How would her mistress fare without 
 her ? " he said ruefully " T is not to be 
 thought of ; they may be miles from home, 
 even here, and I am too much a squire of 
 dames to take such unkind advantage. 
 There must be some other way out of my 
 present dilemma than this," and rolling over 
 on the mixture of grass and dry leaves which 
 formed his resting-place he lay still and 
 began to ponder. 
 
 Half an hour passed ; the shadows began 
 to deepen as the sun crept down in the sky, 
 and the horses whinnied at each other as if 
 to remind their absent riders that supper- 
 time was approaching. But the girls did 
 not return, and the thoughts which occupied 
 the young wanderer were so engrossing that 
 he did not hear a cry which began faintly
 
 6 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 and then rose to a shriek agonized enough 
 to pierce his reverie. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " he cried, springing to 
 his feet, as borne on the summer wind the 
 frantic supplication came to him 
 
 " Help, help ! oh, will nobody come ! " 
 and then the sobbing cry again " help ! " 
 
 The tall muscular form straightened itself 
 and sped through the bushes, crushing them 
 down on either side with a strong arm, as he 
 went rapidly in the direction of the cries. 
 
 " Courage ! I am coming," he cried, as, 
 gaining the shore of the pond, he saw what 
 had happened. Just beyond his halting- 
 place there was a jutting bank, and over 
 hanging it a large tree, whose branches 
 almost touched the water beneath. At the 
 top of the bank stood the elder of the two 
 girls ; she had torn off the skirt of her rid 
 ing-habit, and was about to leap down into 
 the water where a mass of floating yellow 
 hair and a wisp of white gown told their 
 story of disaster. As he ran the stranger 
 flung off his coat, but there was no time to 
 divest himself of his heavy riding-boots, so 
 in he plunged and struck out boldly with 
 the air of a strong and competent swimmer. 
 
 The pond, like many of our small inland
 
 MISS MOPPET 7 
 
 lakes, was shallow for some distance from 
 the shore, and then suddenly shelved in 
 unexpected quarters, developing deep holes 
 where the water was so cold that its effect 
 on a swimmer was almost dangerous. Into 
 one of these depths the little girl had evi 
 dently plunged, and realizing the cause of 
 her sudden disappearance the stranger dived 
 with great rapidity at the spot where the 
 golden hair had gone down. His first at 
 tempt failed ; but as the child partially rose 
 for the second time, he caught the little fig 
 ure and with skillful hand supported her 
 against his shoulder, as he struck out for 
 the shore, which he reached quickly, but 
 chilled almost to the bone from the coldness 
 of the water. 
 
 " Do not be so alarmed," he said, as 
 Betty, with pallid cheeks and trembling 
 hands, knelt beside the unconscious child on 
 the grass ; " she will revive ; her heart beats 
 and she 1 is not very cold. Let me find my 
 coat," and he stumbled as he rose to go in 
 search of it. 
 
 " It is here," gasped Betty ; " I fetched it 
 on my way down the slope ; oh, sir, do you 
 think she lives?" 
 
 For answer the young man produced from
 
 8 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 an inner pocket of his shabby garment a 
 small flask, which he uncorked and held 
 toward her. 
 
 " It is cognac," he said ; " put a drop or 
 two between her lips while I chafe her 
 hands, so ; see, she revives," as the white 
 lids quivered for a second, and then the 
 pretty blue eyes opened. 
 
 " Moppet, Moppet, my darling," cried her 
 sister, " are you hurt ? Did you strike any 
 thing in your fall ? " 
 
 "Why, Betty!" ejaculated the child, 
 " why are you giving me nasty stuff \ here 
 are the tansy leaves," and she held up her 
 left hand, where tightly clenched she had 
 kept the herbs, whose gathering on the edge 
 of the treacherous bank had been her un 
 doing. 
 
 "You are a brave little maid," said the 
 stranger, as he put the flask to his own lips. 
 " The shock will be all you have to guard 
 against, and even that is passing ; " for Miss 
 Moppet had staggered upon her feet and 
 was looking with astonished eyes at her 
 dripping clothing. 
 
 "Did I fall, Betty?" she said. "Why 
 my gown is sopping wet, oh ! have I been 
 at the bottom of the pond? "
 
 MISS MOPPET 9 
 
 " You had stopped there, sweetheart, but 
 for this good gentleman," said Betty, hold 
 ing out a small, trembling hand to the 
 stranger, a lovely smile dimpling her cheeks 
 as she spoke. " Sir, with all my heart I 
 thank you. My little sister had drowned 
 but for your promptness and skill ; I do not 
 know how to express my gratitude." 
 
 " I am more than rewarded for my simple 
 service," replied the young man, raising the 
 pretty hand to his lips with a profound bow 
 and easy grace, " but I am afraid your sister 
 may get a chill, as the sun is so low in the 
 sky ; and if I may venture upon a suggestion, 
 it would be well to ride speedily to some 
 shelter where she can obtain dry clothing. 
 If you will permit me to offer you the cape 
 of my riding-coat (which is near at hand) I 
 will wrap her in it at once, and then I think 
 she will be safe from any after-effects of her 
 cold bath in the pond." 
 
 " Oh, you are too kind," cried Betty, as 
 the stranger disappeared in the underbrush. 
 " Moppet, Moppet, what can we say to prove 
 our gratitude? You had been drowned 
 twice over but for him." 
 
 " Ask him to come to the manor," said 
 Miss Moppet, much less agitated than her
 
 10 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 sister, and being always a small person of 
 many resources. "Father will be glad to 
 bid him welcome, and you know " 
 
 "Yes," interrupted Betty, as their new 
 friend appeared at her elbow with a cape 
 of dark blue cloth over his arm. 
 
 " Here is my cape," he said, " and though 
 not very large it will cover her sufficiently. 
 Let me untie your horses and help you to 
 mount." 
 
 " Oh, we can mount alone," said Miss 
 Moppet, who had by this time recovered her 
 spirits, " but you must come home with us ; 
 you are dripping wet yourself ; and if you 
 like, you may ride my pony. He has car 
 ried double before now, and I am but a 
 light weight, as my father says." 
 
 "Will you not come home with us?" 
 asked Betty wistfully. "My father, Gen 
 eral Wolcott, is away just now from the 
 manor, but he will have warm welcome and 
 hearty thanks, believe me, for the strength 
 and courage which have rescued his young 
 est child from yonder grave," and Betty 
 shuddered and grew pale again at the very 
 thought of what Miss Moppet had escaped. 
 
 " General Wolcott," said the stranger, 
 with a start. " Ah, then you are his daugh 
 ters. And he is away ? "
 
 MISS MOPPET 11 
 
 "Yes," said Betty, as they walked to 
 ward the tree where the horses were tied. 
 " There has been a raid upon our coast by 
 Governor Tryon and his Hessians ; we got 
 news three days ago of the movement of the 
 Loyalists, and my father, with my brother 
 Oliver, has gone to the aid of the poor 
 people at Fairfield. Do you know of it, sir ? 
 Have you met any of our troops ? " 
 
 " I have seen them," said the stranger 
 briefly, with a half smile curving his hand 
 some mouth, "but they are not near this 
 point " and beneath his breath he added, 
 "I devoutly hope not." 
 
 " Which way are you traveling ? " asked 
 Betty, as she stood beside her bay mare. 
 " Surely you will not refuse to come to the 
 manor ? Aunt Euphemia and my elder sis 
 ter are there, and we will give you warm 
 welcome." 
 
 "I thank you," said the stranger, with 
 great courtesy, " but I must be on my way 
 westward before night overtakes me. Can 
 you tell me how many miles I am from 
 Goshen, which I left this morning? " 
 
 "You are within Litchfield township," 
 said Betty. " We are some four miles 
 from my father s house. Pray, sir, come
 
 12 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 with us; I fear for your health from that 
 sudden plunge into the icy waters of our 
 pond." 
 
 " Oh, no," said the stranger, laughing. " I 
 were less than man to mind a bath of this 
 sort. With all my heart I thank you for 
 your solicitude ; that I am unable to accept 
 your hospitality you must lay at the door of 
 circumstances which neither you nor I can 
 control." 
 
 " But your cape, sir," faltered Betty, her 
 eyes dropping, as she blushed under the 
 ardent yet respectful gaze which sought 
 hers ; " how are we to return that ? And 
 you may need it ; I am sorely afraid you 
 will yet suffer for your kindness." 
 
 " Not I," said the stranger, pressing her 
 hand, as he gave the reins into her fingers ; 
 " as for the cape, keep it until we meet 
 again, and farewell ! " 
 
 But Miss Moppet threw her arms around 
 his neck as he bent over the gray pony and 
 secured the cape more tightly around her 
 small shoulders. 
 
 " I have n t half thanked you," she said, 
 " but I will do so properly some day, when 
 you come to Wolcott Manor. Farewell," 
 and waving her little hand in adieu, the
 
 MISS MOPPET 13 
 
 horses moved away, and were presently lost 
 to sight in the underbrush. 
 
 " Egad ! " said the stranger, gazing after 
 them, as he picked up his coat and started 
 for the spot where he had left his hat. 
 " What a marvelous country it is ! The 
 soldiers are uncouth farmer lads, yet they 
 fight and die like heroes, and the country 
 maids have the speech and air of court 
 ladies. Geoffrey Yorke, you have wandered 
 far afield ; I would you had time and chance 
 to meet that lovely rebel again ! " and with 
 a deep-drawn sigh he plunged farther into 
 the woods.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 BULLETS FOR DEFENSE 
 
 " OH, Betty, Betty," cried Miss Moppet, 
 as the pair gained the more frequented road 
 and cantered briskly on their homeward 
 way, " what an adventure we have had ! 
 Aunt Euphemia will no doubt bestow a 
 sound rating on me, for, alas ! " with a 
 doleful glance downward "see the drag 
 gled condition of my habit." 
 
 " Never mind your habit, Moppet," said 
 Betty. " Thank Heaven instead that you 
 are not lying stiff and cold at the bottom of 
 the pond. You can never know the agony I 
 suffered when I saw you fall ; I should have 
 plunged in after you in another second." 
 
 " Dearest Betty," said the child, looking 
 lovingly at her, " I know you can swim, but 
 you never could have held me up as that 
 stranger did. Oh ! " with sudden recollec 
 tion, " we did not ask his name ! Did you 
 forget?" 
 
 " No," said Betty, " but when I told him
 
 BULLETS FOR DEFENSE. 15 
 
 ours and he did not give his name in return, 
 I thought perhaps he did not care to be 
 known, and of course forbore to press him." 
 
 "How handsome he was," said Moppet ; 
 " did you see his hair ? And how tightly it 
 curled, wet as it was? And his eyes 
 surely you noted his eyes, Betty?" 
 
 "Yes," replied Betty, blushing with re 
 membrance of the parting glance the hazel 
 eyes had bestowed upon her ; " he is a per 
 sonable fellow enough." , 
 
 "Far handsomer than Josiah Hunting- 
 ton," said Moppet mischievously, " or even 
 Francis Plunkett." 
 
 " What does a little maid like you know 
 of looks ? " said Betty reprovingly, " and 
 what would Aunt Euphemia say to such 
 comments, I wonder ? " 
 
 "You ll never tell tales of me," said 
 Moppet, with the easy confidence of a 
 spoiled child. " Do you think he was a sol 
 dier perhaps an officer from Fort Trum- 
 bull, like the one Oliver brought home last 
 April?" 
 
 " Very likely," said Betty. " Are you 
 cold, Moppet? I am so afraid you may 
 suffer ; stop talking so fast and muffle your 
 self more closely in the cape. We must be
 
 16 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 hastening home," and giving her horse the 
 whip, they rode rapidly down hill. 
 
 Wolcott Manor, the home of which Betty 
 spoke, was a fine, spacious house situated on 
 top of the hills, where ran a broad plateau 
 which later in its history developed into a 
 loner and broad street, on either side of 
 
 O 7 
 
 which were erected dwellings which have 
 since been interwoven with the stateliest 
 names in old Connecticut. The house was 
 double, built in the style of the day, with a 
 hall running through it, and large rooms on 
 either side, the kitchen, bakery, and well- 
 house all at the back, and forming with the 
 buttery a sort of L, near but not connecting 
 with the different outhouses. It was shin 
 gled from top to bottom, and the dormer 
 windows, with their quaint panes, rendered 
 it both stately and picturesque. As the 
 girls drew rein at the small porch, on the 
 south side of the mansion, a tall, fine-look 
 ing woman of middle age, her gray gown 
 tucked neatly up, and a snowy white apron 
 tied around her shapely waist, appeared at 
 the threshold of the door. 
 
 "Why, Betty," she said in a surprised 
 voice, " you have been absent so long that I 
 was about to send Reuben in search of you.
 
 BULLETS FOR DEFENSE 17 
 
 The boxes are undone, and we need your 
 help ; Moppet why, what ails the child ? " 
 and Miss Euphemia Wolcott paused in dis 
 may as she surveyed Miss Moppet s still 
 damp habit and disheveled hair. 
 
 " I ve been at the very bottom of Great 
 Pond," announced the child, enjoying the 
 situation with true dramatic instinct, "and 
 Betty has all the herbs for Chloe safe in her 
 basket." 
 
 " What does the child mean ? " asked her 
 bewildered aunt, unfastening the heavy cloth 
 cape from the small shoulders, and perceiv 
 ing that she had had a thorough wetting. 
 
 " It is true, Aunt Euphemia," said Betty, 
 springing off her mare and throwing the 
 reins to Reuben as he came slowly around 
 the house. " We were on one of the hillocks 
 overlooking the pond, and somehow it all 
 happened so swiftly that I cannot tell how 
 but Moppet must have ventured too near 
 the edge, for the treacherous soil gave way, 
 and down she pitched into the water before 
 I could put out hand to stay her. I think I 
 screamed, and then I was pulling off my 
 habit-skirt to plunge after her when a young 
 man ran hastily along the shore below and 
 cried out to me, Courage ! and he threw
 
 18 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 off his coat and dived down, down," - Betty 
 shuddered and turned pale, " and then he 
 caught Moppet s skirt and held her up until 
 he swam safely to shore with her. She was 
 quite unconscious, but by chafing her hands 
 and giving her some spirits (which the 
 young stranger had in his flask) we recov 
 ered her, and, indeed, I think she is none 
 the worse for her experience," and Betty 
 put both arms around her little sister and 
 hugged her warmly, bursting into tears, 
 which until now had been so carefully re 
 strained. 
 
 " Thank Heaven ! " cried Miss Euphemia, 
 kissing them both. " You could never have 
 rescued her alone, Betty; perhaps you 
 might both have drowned. Where is the 
 brave young man who came to your aid ? I 
 trust you gave him clear directions how to 
 reach the house." 
 
 "He would not come," answered Betty 
 simply ; " he said he was traveling westward, 
 and I thought he seemed anxious to be off." 
 
 " But we pressed him, Aunt Euphemia," 
 put in Moppet, " and I told him my pony 
 could carry double. And I do not know 
 how we will return his cape ; do you ? " 
 
 " You must come indoors at once and get
 
 BULLETS FOR DEFENSE 19 
 
 dry clothing," said her aunt, " and I will 
 tell Chloe to make you a hot posset lest you 
 get a chill ; run quickly, Moppet, and do 
 not stand a moment longer in those wet 
 clothes. Now, Betty," as the child disap 
 peared inside, " have you any idea who this 
 stranger can be, or whence he came ? " 
 
 " I have not," said Betty, blushing rosy 
 red (though she could not have told why) 
 under her aunt s close scrutiny. 
 
 "What did he look like?" questioned 
 Miss Euphemia. 
 
 " Like a young man of spirit," said Betty, 
 mischief getting the better of her, " and he 
 had a soldierly air to boot and spoke with 
 command." 
 
 "I trust with all due respect as well," 
 said Miss Euphemia gravely. 
 
 " Truly, he both spoke and behaved as a 
 gentleman should." 
 
 " Do you think it could be Oliver s friend, 
 young Otis from Boston ? " said Miss Eu 
 phemia. " He was to arrive in these parts 
 this week." 
 
 " It may be he," said Betty, " ask Pamela, 
 she has met him ; " and as she turned to 
 enter she almost fell into the arms of a tall, 
 slender girl who was hurrying forth to meet 
 her.
 
 20 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 At first glance there was enough of like 
 ness between the girls to say that they 
 might be sisters, but the next made the 
 resemblance less, and their dissimilarity of 
 expression and coloring increased with ac 
 quaintance. Both had the same slender, 
 graceful figure, but while Betty was of 
 medium height, Pamela was distinctly taller 
 than her sister, and her pretty head was 
 covered with golden hair, while Betty s lux 
 uriant locks were that peculiar shade which 
 is neither auburn nor golden, but a combi 
 nation of both, and her eyes were hazel- 
 gray, with long lashes much darker than her 
 hair. Both girls wore their hair piled on 
 top of the head, as was the fashion of the 
 time, and both were guiltless of powder, but 
 Pamela s rebellious waves were trained to 
 lie as close as she could make them, while 
 Betty s would crop out into little dainty 
 saucy curls over her forehead and down the 
 nape of her slender neck in a most bewilder 
 ing fashion. Their complexions, like Miss 
 Moppet s, were exquisitely satin-like in tex 
 ture, but there was no break in Pamela s 
 smooth cheeks, whereas Betty s dimples 
 lurked not only around her willful mouth, 
 but perched high in her right cheek, and you
 
 BULLET 8 FOR DEFENSE 21 
 
 found yourself unconsciously watching to 
 see them come and go at the tricksy maid s 
 changing will. There was but little more 
 than a year s difference in their ages, yet 
 Betty seemed almost a child beside Pamela s 
 gracious stateliness. 
 
 " What is it all about ? " asked the be 
 wildered Pamela, catching hold of Betty. 
 " Moppet dashes into the kitchen, damp and 
 moist, and says she has been at the bottom 
 of the pond, and orders hot posset, and you, 
 Betty, have an air of fright " 
 
 " I should think she might well," inter 
 rupted Miss Euphemia ; " I will tell you, 
 Pamela Betty, go upstairs and change 
 your habit for a gown, and then come down 
 to assist me. We are about to mould the 
 bullets." 
 
 " Oh, Aunt Euphemia ! " cried Betty, in 
 terrupting in her turn, " I beg your pardon, 
 but did those huge boxes contain the leaden 
 statue of King George, as my father s letter 
 advised us ? " 
 
 "It was cut in pieces, Betty," said Pa* 
 mela demurely. 
 
 "As if I didn t know that," flashed out 
 Betty ; " and that it disappeared after the 
 patriots hauled it down in Bowling Green,
 
 22 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 and that General Washington recommended 
 it should be used for the cause of Freedom, 
 and that we are all to help transform it into 
 bullets for our soldiers, truly, Pamela, I 
 have not forgot my father s account of it," 
 and Betty vanished inside the door with a 
 rebellious toss of her head, resenting the im 
 plied air of elder sister which Pamela some 
 times indulged in. 
 
 " Our little Moppet has come perilously 
 near death," said Miss Euphemia, following 
 Pamela into the house. " She has been res 
 cued from drowning in Great Pond by a 
 gentleman whom Betty had never seen be 
 fore. She describes him as a fine personable 
 youth, and I think it may be Oliver s friend, 
 young Otis, who is expected at the Tracys 
 on a visit from Boston." 
 
 " It can hardly be he, aunt," said Pamela, 
 " for Sally Tracy has just told me that he 
 will not arrive for two days, and moreover 
 he comes with Mrs. Foster and Patty War 
 ren, who are glad to take him as escort in 
 these troublous times. I will run up to 
 Moppet, for the girls are waiting for you ; 
 the lead got somewhat overheated, and they 
 want your advice as to using it." 
 
 Miss Euphemia went slowly down the
 
 BULLETS FOR DEFENSE 23 
 
 hall and through the large dining-room, 
 pausing as she passed to knock at a small 
 door opening off the hall into a sitting-room. 
 
 " Are you there, Miss Bidwell ? " she said, 
 as a small elderly woman, with bent figure 
 and pleasant, shrewd face, rose from her 
 chair in response. " Will you kindly go up 
 and see that Miss Moppet be properly rubbed 
 and made dry, and let her take her hot pos 
 set, and then, if not too tired, she may come 
 to me in the kitchen." 
 
 Miss Bidwell, who was at once house 
 keeper, manager, and confidential servant 
 to the Wolcott household, gave a cheerful 
 affirmative ; and as she laid down the stock 
 ing she was carefully darning, and prepared 
 to leave the room, Miss Euphemia resumed 
 her interrupted walk toward the kitchen. 
 
 Standing and sitting around the great 
 kitchen fireplace were a group of young peo 
 ple, whose voices rose in a lively chorus as 
 she entered. Over the fire, on a crane, hung 
 a large kettle, from the top of which issued 
 sounds of spluttering and boiling, and a 
 young man was in the act of endeavoring to 
 lift it amid cries of remonstrance. 
 
 "Have a care, Francis," cried a pretty, 
 roguish-looking girl in a gray homespun
 
 24 AN UNWILLING MAW 
 
 gown, brandishing a wet towel as she spoke ; 
 " hot lead will be your portion if you dare 
 trifle with that boiling pot. What are we to 
 do with it, Miss Euphemia?" as that lady 
 came forward in haste ; " a few drops of 
 water flirted out of my towel and must have 
 fallen inside, for t is spluttering in terrific 
 fashion." 
 
 " Shall I lift it off the fire? " asked the 
 young man, whose name was Francis Plun- 
 kett. 
 
 "Certainly," said Miss Euphemia, in 
 specting the now tranquil kettle ; " here are 
 the moulds all greased ; gently, now," as 
 she put a small ladle inside the pot ; " now 
 move it slowly, and put the pot here beside 
 me on the table." 
 
 "Will they really turn out bullets?" 
 asked another girl in a whisper, as Sally 
 Tracy moved a second big pot with the in 
 tention of hanging it on the fire, but was 
 prevented by a tall, silent young man, who 
 stopped his occupation of sorting out bits of 
 lead to assist her. 
 
 " Thank you, Josiah," said Sally. " Turn 
 out bullets, Dolly ? why, of course, when 
 they come out of the moulds. What did you 
 suppose we were all about ? "
 
 BULLETS FOR DEFENSE 25 
 
 Dolly Trumbull (who was on a visit to 
 the Wolcotts ) looked shy and somewhat 
 distressed, and promptly retired into a 
 corner, where she resumed her conversation 
 with her cousin, Josiah Huntington ; and 
 presently Betty came flying into the kitchen, 
 her gown tucked up ready for work, and 
 full of apologies for her tardy appearance. 
 Sally Tracy, who was Betty s sworn friend 
 and companion in all her fun and frolics, 
 pounced upon her at once ; but as Miss Eu- 
 phemia called them both to assist her with 
 the moulds, Betty had to reserve the story of 
 her adventure until a more propitious mo 
 ment. 
 
 " Has there been any news from Oliver 
 since he set forth on this last expedition ? " 
 asked Dolly. 
 
 " It is too soon yet to hear," said Josiah, 
 " though possibly by to-morrow some intel 
 ligence may reach us. Francis and I did 
 not reach here from New Haven for four 
 days, and we return there on Saturday. As 
 it was, I left only in obedience to my 
 father s command, and brought news of 
 Lyon s ravaging the city to General Wol- 
 cott, dodging Hessians and outlying maraud 
 ers by the way. Do you stop here long,
 
 26 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Dolly, or will you have my escort back to 
 Lebanon ? " 
 
 " I came for a month," answered Dolly ; 
 " I was ill of spring fever, and since then 
 my mother thinks this mountain air benefits 
 me. But you go back to your duties at Yale 
 College, though it s early yet for them." 
 
 " My students and I have spent our va 
 cation handling cartridges," said Josiah 
 grimly, for he was a tutor at Yale, and had 
 done yeoman service in the defense of New 
 Haven. " T is a sorry sight to see our 
 beautiful city now laid waste ; but that our 
 faith is strong in the Continental Congress 
 and General Washington, I know not how 
 heart could bear it." 
 
 " Who speaks of faith ? " said Pamela s 
 gentle voice, as she slipped into a chair on 
 Dolly s right. " I think hope is ever a bet 
 ter watchword." 
 
 " Aye," murmured Huntington, as Dolly 
 summoned courage to cross the room, " it is 
 one I will carry ever with me, Pamela, if you 
 bid me do so." 
 
 " I did not mean," faltered Pamela, cast 
 ing down her dove-like eyes, but not so 
 quickly that she did not see the ardent 
 glance of her lover, "I that is oh yes,
 
 BULLETS FOR DEFENSE 27 
 
 Aunt Euphemia," with sudden change of 
 tone, " it is growing somewhat dark, and 
 we had better leave tlje moulds to harden. 
 Shall I tell Miss Bidwell that you are ready 
 for supper ? " 
 
 To which Miss Euphemia returned an 
 affirmative, and the whole party trooped 
 back to the dining-room, Pamela leading the 
 way, and Huntington following her with a 
 half-mischievous smile curving his usually 
 grave mouth.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 OLIVER S PRISONER 
 
 " I DON T care anything about it," said 
 Miss Moppet with decision. " It s a nasty, 
 horrid letter, and I ve made it over and 
 over, and it will not get one bit plainer. 
 Count one, two, jump one ; then two stitches 
 plain ; it s no use at all, Miss Bidwell, I 
 cannot make it any better." And with a 
 deep sigh Miss Moppet surveyed her sam 
 pler, where she had for six weeks been labo 
 riously trying to inscribe " Faith Wolcott, 
 her sampler, aged nine," with little success 
 and much loss of temper. 
 
 " W is a hard letter," said Miss Bidwell, 
 laying down one of the perpetual stockings 
 with which she seemed always supplied for 
 mending purposes ; " you will have to rip 
 this out again ; the first stroke is too near 
 the letter before it ; " and she handed the 
 unhappy sampler back to the child. 
 
 " It s always like that," said Miss Moppet
 
 OLIVER S PRISONER 29 
 
 in a tone of exasperation. " I think a sam 
 pler is the very devil ! " 
 
 " Oh," said Miss Bidwell in a shocked 
 voice, " I shall have to report you as a 
 naughty chit if you use such language." 
 
 " Well, it just -is," said Moppet ; " that s 
 what the minister said in his sermon Sun 
 day week, and you know, Miss Bidwell, that 
 you admired it extremely, because I heard 
 you tell Pamela so." 
 
 " Admired the devil? " said Miss Bidwell. 
 " Child, what are you talking about?" 
 
 " The sermon," said Miss Moppet, break 
 ing her silk for the fourth time ; " the min 
 ister said the devil went roaring up and 
 down the earth seeking whom he might 
 devour. Would n t I like to hear him 
 roar. Do you conceive it is like a bull or a 
 lion s roar ? " 
 
 " The Bible says a lion," said Miss Bid- 
 well, looking all the more severe because she 
 was so amused. 
 
 " I am truly sorry for that poor devil," 
 said Miss Moppet, heaving a deep sigh. 
 " Just think how tired he must become, 
 and how much work he must have to do. 
 O o oh!" a prolonged scream "he 
 certainly has possession of my sampler "
 
 30 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 dancing up and down with pain "for that 
 needle has gone one inch into my thumb ! " 
 
 " Come here and let me bind it up," said 
 Miss Bidwell, seizing the small sinner as she 
 whirled past her. " How often must I tell 
 you not to give way to such sinful temper ? 
 And talking about the devil is not proper 
 for little girls." 
 
 " Why not just as well as for older folk ? " 
 said Moppet, submitting to have a soft bit 
 of rag bound around the bleeding thumb. 
 " I think the devil ought to be prayed for 
 if he s such an abominable sinner yes, I 
 do." And Moppet, whose belief in a per 
 sonal devil was evidently large, surveyed 
 Miss Bidwell with uncompromising eyes. 
 
 " Tut ! " said Miss Bidwell, to whom this 
 novel idea savored of ungodliness, but wish 
 ing to be lenient toward the child whose 
 adoring slave she was. " Miss Euphemia 
 would be shocked to hear you." 
 
 "I shall not tell her," said the child 
 shrewdly, " but I am going to pray for the 
 devil each night, whether any one else does 
 or not." 
 
 " As you cannot work any longer on the 
 sampler, you had best go to Miss Pamela for 
 your writing lesson," said Miss Bidwell.
 
 OLIVER S PRISONER 31 
 
 " Pamela is out in the orchard with Josiah 
 Huntington," said Moppet, " and she would 
 send me forthwith into the house if I went 
 near her." 
 
 " Then find Miss Betty and read her a 
 page in the primer. You know you pro 
 mised your father you would learn to read it 
 correctly against his return." 
 
 " Betty is gossiping in the garret chamber 
 with Sally Tracy ; surely I must stop with 
 you, Biddy, dear ; " and Moppet twined 
 her arms around Miss Bidwell s neck, with 
 her little coaxing face upraised for a kiss. 
 When Moppet said "Biddy dear" (which 
 was her baby abbreviation for the old ser 
 vant), she became irresistible ; so Miss Bid- " 
 well, much relieved at dropping so puzzling 
 a theological question as the propriety of 
 supplications for the wellbeing of his Sa 
 tanic majesty, proposed that she should tell 
 Miss Moppet " a story," which met with 
 delighted assent from the little girl. 
 
 Miss Bidwell s stories, which dated back 
 for many years and always began with 
 " when I was a little maid," were never fail 
 ing in interest, besides being somewhat 
 lengthy, as Moppet insisted upon minute 
 detail, and invariably corrected her when
 
 32 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 she chanced to omit the smallest particular. 
 That the story had been often told did not 
 make it lose any of its interest, and the 
 shadows of the great elm which overhung 
 the sitting-room windows grew longer, while 
 the sun sank lower and lower unheeded, 
 until Miss Bidwell, at the most thrilling- 
 part of her tale, where a bloodthirsty and 
 evil-minded Indian was about to appear, sud 
 denly laid down her work and exclaimed : 
 
 " Hark ! surely there is some one coming 
 up the back path," and rising as she spoke, 
 she hurried out to the side porch, closely 
 followed by Moppet, who said to herself, 
 with all a child s vivid and dramatic imagi 
 nation, " Perhaps it s an Indian coming to 
 tomahawk us in our beds ! " which thought 
 caused her to seize a fold of Miss Bidwell s 
 gown tightly in her hand. 
 
 As they came into the hall they were 
 joined by Miss Euphemia, who had also 
 heard the sounds of approach ; and as they 
 emerged from the house two tall figures, 
 dusty and travel-worn, confronted them, with 
 Reuben following in their rear. 
 
 " Oliver ! " exclaimed Miss Euphemia, as 
 she recognized her youngest nephew in one 
 of the wayfarers, " whence come you, and
 
 MISS EUPHEMIA MEETS OLIVER AND HIS PRISONER
 
 OLIVERS PRISONER 33 
 
 what news? Where is your honored fa 
 ther?" 
 
 "My father, madam," said Oliver Wol- 
 cott, uncovering his head as he motioned to 
 Reuben to take his place near his compan 
 ion, " my father is some thirty miles behind 
 me, but hastening in this direction. What 
 news? Fairfield burnt, half its inhabit 
 ants homeless, but Tryon s marauders put 
 to flight and our men in pursuit." 
 
 " And who is this gentleman? " said Miss 
 Euphemia, as Oliver kissed her cheek and 
 stepped back. 
 
 " T is more than I can answer," said 
 Oliver, " for not one word concerning him 
 self can I obtain from him. He is my pris 
 oner, Aunt Euphemia ; I found him lurking 
 in the woods ten miles away this morning, 
 and should perhaps have let him pass had 
 not a low-lying branch of a tree knocked off 
 his hat, when I recognized him for one of 
 Try oil s crew." 
 
 " Speak more respectfully, sir," said the 
 stranger suddenly, " to me, if not to those 
 whom you term Tryon s crew. " 
 
 " I grant the respect due your arm and 
 strength," said Oliver, " for you came near 
 leaving me in the smoke and din of Fair-
 
 34 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 field when you gave me this blow," and he 
 touched the left side of his head, where 
 could be seen some clotted blood among his 
 hair. " Come, sir, nay aunt has asked the 
 question. Do you not reply to a lady? " 
 
 " The gibe is unworthy of you," said the 
 other, lifting the hat which had been drawn 
 down closely over his brow ; and I " 
 
 " Oh, Oliver, t is my good kind gentle 
 man ! " cried Moppet, darting forward and 
 seizing the stranger by the hand; "he 
 plunged into Great Pond last night and 
 pulled me forth when I was nearly drown 
 ing, and we begged him to come home with 
 us, did we not, Betty?" seeing her sister 
 standing in the doorway. "Betty, Betty, 
 come and tell Oliver he has made a mis 
 take." 
 
 A smile lit up the stranger s handsome 
 face as he bowed low to Betty, who came 
 swiftly to his side as she recognized him. 
 
 " Will you not bring the gentleman in, 
 Oliver ? " she said. " The thanks which are 
 his due can hardly be well spoken on our 
 doorstep," and Betty drew herself up, and 
 waved her hand like the proud little maid she 
 was, her eyes sparkling, her breast heaving 
 with the excitement she strove to suppress.
 
 OLIVER S PRISONER 35 
 
 Oliver looked from Moppet to Betty, in be 
 wilderment then back at his prisoner, who 
 seemed the most unconcerned of the group. 
 
 " You are right, Betty," said Miss Eu- 
 phemia, beginning to understand the situa 
 tion. " Will you walk in, sir, and let me 
 explain to my nephew how greatly we are 
 indebted to you?" And she led the way 
 into the mansion, the others following, and 
 opened the door of the parlor on the left, 
 Reuben, obedient to a sign from Oliver, 
 remaining with Miss Bidwell in the hall. 
 
 The stranger declined the chair which 
 Oliver courteously offered him, and remained 
 standing near Betty, Moppet clinging to his 
 hand and looking up gratefully into his 
 face while Miss Euphemia related to her 
 nephew the story of Moppet s rescue from 
 her perilous accident of the previous day. 
 
 " A brave deed ! " cried Oliver impetu 
 ously, as he advanced with outstretched 
 hand toward his prisoner, " and with all my 
 heart, sir, I thank you. Forgive my pet 
 tish speech of a moment since ; you were 
 right to reprove me. No one appreciates a 
 gallant foe more than I ; and though the 
 fortune of war has to-day made you my pris 
 oner, to-morrow may make me yours."
 
 36 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " I thank you," said the stranger, giving 
 his hand as frankly in return. " Believe me, 
 my plunge in the pond was hardly worth the 
 stress you are kind enough to lay upon it, 
 and but for the mischance to my little friend 
 here," smiling at Miss Moppet, who regarded 
 him with affectionate eyes, " is an affair of 
 little moment. May I ask where you will 
 bestow me for the night, and also the privi 
 lege of a dip in cold water, as I am too 
 soiled and travel-worn to sit in the presence 
 of ladies, even though your prisoner. " 
 
 " Prisoner ! " echoed Betty, with a start. 
 " Surely, Oliver, you will not hold as a pris 
 oner the man who saved our little Moppet s 
 life, and that, too (though he makes so light 
 of it) at the risk of his own ? " 
 
 " You will let him go free, brother Oli 
 ver," cried Moppet, flying to the young offi 
 cer s side ; " you surely will not clap him 
 into jail ? " 
 
 " It was my purpose," said Oliver, look 
 ing from one to the other, " to confine you 
 until to-morrow and then carry you to head 
 quarters, where General Putnam will de 
 termine your ultimate fate. I certainly rec 
 ognize you as the author of this cut on my 
 head. Do you belong to the British army or
 
 OLIVER S .PRISONER 37 
 
 are you a volunteer accompanying Tryon in 
 his raid upon our innocent and unoffending 
 neighbors at Fairfield ? " 
 
 " Sir," said the other haughtily, " I par 
 don much to your youthful patriotism, which 
 looks upon us as invaders. My name is 
 Geoffrey Yorke, and I have the honor to 
 bear his majesty s commission as captain in 
 the Sixty-fourth Regiment of Foot." 
 
 Betty gave a faint exclamation. Oliver 
 Wolcott stepped forward. 
 
 " Captain Yorke," he said, " I regret 
 more than I can say my inability, which you 
 yourself will recognize, to bid you go forth 
 free and in safety. My duty is unfortu 
 nately but too plain. I, sir, serve the Con 
 tinental Congress, and like you hold a cap 
 tain s commission. I should be false alike 
 to my country and my oath of allegiance 
 did I permit you to escape ; but there is one 
 favor I can offer you ; give me your parole, 
 and allow me and my family the pleasure of 
 holding you as a guest, not prisoner, while 
 under our roof." 
 
 Geoffrey Yorke hesitated ; he opened his 
 lips to speak, when some instinct made him 
 glance at Betty, who stood directly behind 
 her brother. Her large, soft eyes were fixed
 
 38 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 on his with most beseeching warning, and 
 she raised her dainty finger to her lips as 
 she slowly, almost imperceptibly, shook her 
 head. 
 
 "Captain Wolcott," he said, "I fully 
 appreciate your kindness and the motive 
 which prompts it. I have landed on these 
 shores but one short month ago, and Sir 
 Henry Clinton ordered me but these par 
 ticulars will not interest you. I thank you 
 for your offer, but I decline to take parole, 
 and prefer instead the fortunes of war." 
 
 " Then, sir, I have no choice," said Oliver. 
 "Aunt Euphemia, will you permit me to 
 use the north chamber ? I will conduct you 
 there, Captain Yorke, and shall see that you 
 are well guarded for the night." And with 
 a courtly bow to the ladies Geoffrey Yorke 
 followed his captor from the room, as Mop 
 pet threw herself .into Betty s arms and 
 sobbed bitterly.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FKIEND OK FOE 
 
 BETTY WOLCOTT sat alone in her own 
 room, thinking intently. The windows were 
 all open, and the soft night air blew the 
 dainty curls off her white forehead and dis 
 closed the fact of her very recent tears. 
 Never, in all her short, happy life, had Betty 
 been so moved as now, for the twin passions 
 of gratitude and loyalty were at war within 
 her, and she realized, with a feeling akin to 
 dismay, that she must meet the responsibility 
 alone, that those of her household were all 
 arrayed against her. 
 
 " If my father were but at home," said 
 Betty to herself, " he would know and un 
 derstand, but Oliver will not listen, no, not 
 even when I implored him to keep Captain 
 Yorke close prisoner here for two days, by 
 which time my father is sure to arrive. 
 Aunt Euphemia is too timid and Pamela is 
 much the same ; as Josiah happens to agree 
 perfectly with Oliver, Pamela could never
 
 40 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 be induced to see how cruel it is to repay 
 our debt in this way. Oliver is but a boy," 
 and Betty s lips curved in scorn over her 
 brother s four years seniority, " and 
 and oh ! I am, indeed, astray. What, 
 here I am, one of the loyal Wolcotts, a 
 family known all through the land as true 
 to the cause of Freedom and the Declara 
 tion, and here I sit planning how to let a 
 British officer, foe to my country, escape 
 from my father s house. I wonder the walls 
 do not open and fall on me," and poor Betty 
 gazed half fearfully overhead, as if she ex 
 pected the rafters would descend upon the 
 author of such treasonable sentiments. " But 
 something must be done," she thought rap 
 idly. " I care not whether he be friend or 
 foe, I take the consequences ; be mine the 
 blame," and she lifted her pretty head with 
 an air of determination, as a soft knock fell 
 upon her chamber door ; but before she 
 could rise to open it, the latch was raised 
 and a little figure, all in white, crept in 
 side. 
 
 " I can t sleep,- Betty," sobbed Moppet, 
 as her sister gathered the child in her arms ; 
 " it s too, too dreadful. Will General Put 
 nam hang my dear, kind gentleman as the
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 41 
 
 British hanged Captain Nathan Hale, and 
 shall we never, never see him more? " 
 
 " Dear heart," said Betty, smoothing the 
 yellow hair, and tears springing again to her 
 eyes as she thought of the brave, manly face 
 of her country s foe. " No, Moppet, Cap 
 tain Yorke is not a spy, as, alas ! was poor 
 Nathan Hale, but " 
 
 " Betty," whispered Moppet, so low that 
 she was evidently alarmed at her own daring, 
 " why can t we let him go free and never 
 tell Oliver a word about it ? " 
 
 " How did yon come to think of that ? " 
 Said Betty, astonished. 
 
 " I am afraid it is the devil prompting 
 toe," said Moppet, with a sigh, partly over 
 her own iniquity, and part in wonderment 
 as to whether that overworked personage 
 was somewhere soaring in the air near at 
 hand ; " but I always thought the British 
 were big ogres, with fierce eyes and red 
 whiskers, and I am sure my good, kind gen 
 tleman is very like ourselves." 
 
 Betty was betrayed into a low laugh. 
 Moppet was always original, but this was 
 delicious. 
 
 " No, child," she said softly, " the British 
 are some bad, some good, and there are no
 
 42 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 doubt cruel men to be found in all wars. 
 Moppet, as you came by the north door, 
 whom did you see on guard in the hall? " 
 
 " Josiali Huntington," said Moppet 
 promptly ; " but you heard what Oliver said 
 at supper ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered Betty, " Oliver was so 
 weary that Josiah was to watch until twelve 
 o clock ; then, at midnight, Reuben was to 
 guard the hall until four in the morning, 
 when Oliver would take his place until 
 breakfast. Did you note the time on the 
 hall clock ? " 
 
 " It was half past eleven," said Moppet ; 
 " the half hour sounded as I rapped." 
 
 Betty sat pondering for a moment, then 
 she slid Moppet gently from her lap to the 
 floor and rose. 
 
 "Moppet," she said gravely, "you are a 
 little maid, but you have a true heart, and I 
 believe you can keep a secret. I am going 
 to try to release Captain Yorke, and I 
 think you can help me. I bind you to keep 
 silent, except to our dear and honored fa 
 ther, and even to him you shall not speak 
 until I permit you. Promise me, dear 
 heart?" 
 
 " I promise," said Moppet solemnly, and
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 43 
 
 Betty knew that, no matter what happened, 
 she could depend on her devoted little sister. 
 
 " Moppet," said Betty, " I have a plan, 
 but t is a slender one. Do you recollect 
 how close the great elm-tree boughs come to 
 your window ? " 
 
 " I can put out my hand and nearly reach 
 them," said Moppet; "you remember Reu 
 ben cut the bough nearest, but oh, Betty, 
 the tree has a limb which runs an arm s 
 length only from the north chamber." 
 
 " So I thought," answered Betty, who was 
 busily engaged in changing her light sum 
 mer gown for one of homespun gray ; " and 
 now, Moppet, you and I must go into your 
 room for the next part of my plot. I must 
 speak to Captain Yorke, and can you guess 
 how I shall manage to do it ? " 
 
 Moppet s eyes grew large and round with 
 excitement. " I know," she whispered 
 breathlessly, " through my doll s dungeon. 
 Oh, Betty, how lucky t is that Oliver never 
 once dreamed of that ! " 
 
 " I doubt if he even knows its existence," 
 said Betty. " There goes the clock," as 
 the slow, solemn voice of the timepiece 
 sounded out on the night. "It is twelve 
 o clock, and Reuben will be coming upstairs
 
 44 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 from the kitchen. Hark ! " extinguishing 
 her candle and opening her door softly. 
 " Josiah has gone to the turn on the stairs, 
 and is speaking to Reuben ; quick, Moppet, 
 if you come still as a mouse they will not 
 see us before we can gain your door," and 
 with swift, soft steps the two small figures 
 stole across the hall in the semi-darkness 
 which the night lamp standing near the 
 great clock but served to make visible, and 
 in another second, panting and eager, they 
 stood safely within Moppet s chamber, cling 
 ing to each other, as they quickly fastened 
 the latch. 
 
 Moppet s chamber was a small one, and 
 occupied the centre of the house, Miss Eu- 
 phemia s being upon one side, and the north 
 chamber (as one of the great rooms was 
 called) upon the other. The great chimney 
 of the mansion ran up between the large and 
 small room, and what Moppet called her 
 " doll s dungeon " was a hollow place, just 
 high enough for the child to reach, in the 
 back of the chimney. For some purpose of 
 ventilation there was an opening from this 
 aperture into the north chamber. It was 
 covered with a piece of movable iron ; and 
 in summer, when no fire was used in that
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 4o 
 
 part of the house, Moppet took great de 
 light in consigning her contumacious doll 
 (a rag baby of large size and much plain 
 ness of feature) to what she was pleased to 
 call her " dungeon." To-night Betty s quick 
 wit had divined what an important factor 
 the aperture might prove to her, and directly 
 she had secured the door, she walked softly 
 toward the chimney, and felt in the darkness 
 for the movable bit of iron which filled the 
 back. 
 
 When Geoffrey Yorke had finished the 
 ample and delicious supper with which Miss 
 Euphemia s hospitable and pitying soul had 
 furnished him, he lighted his candle and 
 made thorough search of his temporary 
 prison to ascertain whether he could escape 
 therefrom. Betty s gesture of disapproval 
 when he was about to give his parole had 
 seemed to promise him assistance ; could it 
 be possible that the lovely little rebel s heart 
 was so moved with pity ? * 
 
 u Sweet Betty," thought Geoffrey, " was 
 ever maid so grateful for a small service ! 
 I wish with all my soul I might have chance 
 and opportunity to do her a great one, for 
 never have I seen so bewitching and dainty 
 a creature," and Geoffrey s heart gave a
 
 46 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 mad leap as he remembered the tearful, be 
 seeching glance which Betty had bestowed 
 upon him as Oliver had conducted him from 
 her presence. 
 
 The windows, of which there were two, 
 looking north, received his first attention, but 
 he found them amply secured ; and although 
 a strong arm might wrench them open, it 
 would be attended by such noise as could 
 not fail to attract the attention of his guard 
 posted outside the door. This reflection 
 prompted him to inspect the door ; and dis 
 covering an inside bolt as well as the outer 
 one, he drew it, thus assuring his privacy 
 from intrusion. The large chimney was his 
 next point of investigation ; and although the 
 flue seemed somewhat narrow, Geoffrey de 
 cided that it afforded some slight chance, 
 provided he had the means of descent when 
 once he reached the roof. Back to the win 
 dows again ; yes, the great elm of which 
 Moppet had spoken stood like a tall sentinel 
 guarding the mansion, and Geoffrey felt 
 confident that he could crawl from roof to 
 tree and thus reach the ground. To be sure, 
 it was most hazardous ; there was the chance 
 of some one sleeping in the chambers near 
 who might hear even so slight a noise ; he
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 47 
 
 might become wedged in the chimney, or 
 pshaw! one must risk life, if need be, for 
 liberty ; and here Geoffrey smiled, as it oc 
 curred to him that this was what these very 
 colonists were engaged in doing, and for a 
 moment the British officer felt a throb of 
 sympathy hitherto unknown to him. He 
 had landed at New York but a month be 
 fore, filled with insular prejudices and con 
 tempt for these country lads and farmers, 
 whom he imagined composed the Continental 
 army ; but the fight at Fairfield, which was 
 carried on by the Hessians with a brutality 
 that disgusted him, and the encounter with 
 such a family as this under whose roof he 
 was, began to open his eyes, and he acknow- 
 leged frankly to himself that young Oliver 
 Wolcott was both a soldier and a gentle 
 man. 
 
 " The boy looked every inch a soldier," 
 thought Geoffrey, " when he refused his sis 
 ter s pleading ; faith, he is made of firm stuff 
 to withstand her. Oh, Betty, Betty ! I won 
 der if the fortunes of war will ever let me 
 see your face again," and with a sigh com 
 pounded of many things, Geoffrey picked 
 up a book that was lying on the table, and 
 resolved to read until it should be far on
 
 48 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 into the night, when he would make a bold 
 attempt to escape. 
 
 The clock on the stairs struck twelve, and 
 Geoffrey, roused from the light slumber into 
 which he had fallen, heard the steps outside 
 his door as Josiah Huntington was joined 
 by Reuben, who was to relieve his guard, 
 and straightened himself, with a long breath, 
 as he rose from his chair. As he did so, he 
 became conscious of a slight, very slight, 
 noise in the direction of the chimney ; and 
 turning his eyes toward it, a soft whisper 
 reached his ear. 
 
 " Captain Yorke," murmured the sweetest 
 voice in the world ; and as the slight grating- 
 noise ceased, to his amazement a little white 
 hand beckoned him to approach a small 
 aperture, which he now perceived in the 
 bricks about four feet from the floor. Very 
 softly Geoffrey obeyed the summons, and 
 cautiously made his way to the chimney. 
 
 " Kneel down and put your ear near me," 
 said Betty, and the tall soldier dropped on 
 one knee obediently ; " be very careful, for 
 though Aunt Euphemia s chamber is on this 
 side, and she is usually a sound sleeper, it 
 might be our ill fortune that to-night she 
 would wake. I have made up my mind,
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 49 
 
 sir; I cannot keep you prisoner under a 
 roof that but for you might be mourning 
 my little sister dead." 
 
 " I pray you say no more of that," inter 
 rupted Geoffrey softly. " I am more than 
 repaid by your interest in my unhappy con 
 dition." 
 
 " It may be wrong, it doubtless is," said 
 Betty, sighing, "but I have two plans for 
 your escape. Tell me, are your windows 
 securely fastened ? " 
 
 "Too strongly to be tampered with ex 
 cept by making noise that is certain to be 
 overheard," returned Geoffrey. 
 
 " Then we must try other means ; if you 
 can but manage to scale the chimney, and 
 I think there are still some pegs inside 
 which Reuben put there in the spring when 
 he went up after burning it out, if you 
 can reach the roof by the chimney you will 
 find on the south side, close to the chimney 
 itself, a trap-door which lets down by a lad 
 der into our garret. The ladder is station 
 ary, and I will meet you there at its foot, 
 and from the garret there is a back stair 
 way, down which you may creep to the 
 buttery, and once there t is but a step out 
 side when I open the door."
 
 50 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " God bless you," whispered Geoffrey, 
 feeling a mad desire to kiss the pretty pink 
 ear and soft cheek which he could just see 
 by the dim light of Miss Moppet s candle ; 
 " shall I start at once ? " 
 
 " No," returned Betty, " Josiah Hunting- 
 ton has but just sought his chamber, and he 
 will be watchful. Wait until you hear the 
 old clock on the staircase strike three ; that 
 is the hour, I have been told, when all sleep 
 most soundly. Then Moppet will tell you if 
 all goes right, for I shall be waiting for you, 
 as I said, above ; " and with a soft " be very, 
 very careful to make no noise," Betty 
 moved away from the " doll s dungeon " and 
 Yorke bounded to his feet. 
 
 " Now, Moppet," said Betty softly, " let 
 me wrap you well in your woolen habit, lest 
 you take cold." 
 
 " Oh, Betty darling," whispered the child, 
 "how will you ever gain the garret stairs 
 when Reuben is watching ? He will be sure 
 to think it strange ; can I not go for you ? " 
 
 " No, never," said Betty tenderly. " I 
 will slip by Reuben, and you must not fret. 
 Sit here on my knee and go fast asleep until 
 I wake you." 
 
 Moppet nestled her little head down obe-
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 51 
 
 diently on Betty s shoulder; but try hard 
 though she did to keep her eyes wide open, 
 sleep at last overcame her, sleep so pro 
 found after all this excitement that Betty 
 was able to lay her softly upon her bed 
 without awaking, and for the remainder of 
 those long hours Betty kept her vigil alone. 
 It was nervous work ; for determined though 
 she was to release Yorke, Betty possessed a 
 most sensitive and tender conscience, and 
 love for her country and her people was as 
 the air she breathed. It proved the tena 
 city of her purpose and the strength of her 
 will that, notwithstanding her many misgiv 
 ings, when she heard the clock sound the 
 quarter she rose from her low seat by the 
 window, where she had been gazing out into 
 the night, and whispered softly to Moppet 
 that it was time to wake. The child sprang 
 up, alert and quick as Betty herself, and 
 listened to her sister s last warning instruc 
 tions to have no fear, but wait quietly for 
 her return, and when the clock struck the 
 hour to whisper through the hole in the 
 chimney to Yorke that she had gone. 
 
 Very softly, her slippers held tightly in 
 her hand, Betty pulled up the latch of the 
 bedroom door and stepped into the almost
 
 52 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 dark hall. The night lamp had partly died 
 out, but there was still enough of its flicker 
 ing light to permit her, when her eyes grew 
 accustomed to it, to see the dim outline of 
 Reuben s figure sitting on a stool at the 
 door of the north chamber. In order to 
 reach the garret from this part of the house 
 she must go directly down the hall to where 
 it parted at the L, where the stairs reaching 
 the garret were shut off by a door, on the 
 other side of which was a square landing, 
 where you could turn down and descend 
 directly from the garret to the buttery. 
 Once past Reuben, she would feel com 
 paratively safe, for although Oliver s room 
 was opposite he was too weary to be wake 
 ful. It took scarcely a minute to creep 
 toward Reuben, and Betty drew a quick 
 breath of relief when she perceived that the 
 farmer-bred lad, unaccustomed to night 
 watches, and feeling that his prisoner was 
 secure behind the bolted door, had fallen 
 fast asleep. Another minute and she had 
 fairly flown through the hall and reached 
 the door of the garret stairs ; she recollected 
 that the latch had a troublesome creak occa 
 sionally ; indeed, she had noticed it only that 
 very day, as she and Sally Tracy had
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 53 
 
 mounted to their eyrie in the big dormer 
 window of the garret, where safe from all 
 ears they were wont to confide their girlish 
 secrets to each other. 
 
 " Pray Heaven it creak not to-night," said 
 Betty to herself as she gently and steadily 
 pulled the handle of the latch and saw the 
 dreaded door open to her hand. Inside 
 stepped Betty, and made breathless pause 
 while she closed it, and the amiable latch 
 fell softly down again into its place. Swift 
 as a flash the girlish figure flitted up the 
 winding narrow stairs, and gasping but tri 
 umphant Betty seated herself on the lowest 
 step of the trap-ladder to await the coming 
 of Geoffrey Yorke. 
 
 In the bedroom below, Miss Moppet, whose 
 soul was thrilling with mingled delight and 
 terror at being an actor in a " real story," 
 waited as she was told until she heard the 
 deep voice of the clock, sounding rather 
 more awful than usual, say " one, two, 
 three ! " and then tiptoeing over the bare 
 floor she opened with small trembling fin 
 gers the tiny aperture and whispered, " Are 
 you there?" starting back half frightened 
 as the instant answer came, close beside her : 
 
 " Yes, is it time ? "
 
 54 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Betty is in the garret by now," she 
 faltered. " Oh, sir, be careful and fare you 
 well ! " 
 
 For answer Geoffrey Yorke bent down, 
 and taking the small cold fingers extended 
 to him, pressed a kiss on them, and with a 
 soft " farewell " began his passage up the 
 chimney. 
 
 It was no such very difficult task he 
 found, to his satisfaction, for Betty was 
 right, and by feeling carefully with his 
 hands he perceived the friendly pegs which 
 Reuben had inserted, and of which Oliver 
 had no knowledge, else he would not have 
 trusted so agile and strong a prisoner within 
 their reach. Geoffrey s broad shoulders 
 were the only sufferers, but the rough home 
 spun which covered them was a better pro 
 tection than his uniform would have been, 
 and he again blessed the good fortune which 
 had thrown the disguise in his way as he 
 left Fairfield four days before. 
 
 Betty, sitting on the ladder step, straining 
 her ears to catch the first sound, became 
 conscious of a light bound as Geoffrey 
 swung himself from the chimney top to the 
 roof, and she sped up the ladder to unhook 
 the door of the trap just as he reached it.
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 55 
 
 " Speak not a word," she said in his ear, 
 as he set his foot on the ladder, " but fasten 
 the hook lest they discover that the door 
 has been opened. Now, give me your hand," 
 and in the darkness the strong, manly hand 
 closed firmly over her dainty fingers with a 
 clasp which, strangely enough, inspired her 
 with fresh courage. 
 
 " Stop," said Betty suddenly, as they 
 were at the top stair, " you must remove 
 your boots ; the slightest creak might wake 
 the sleepers at the end of the hall." 
 
 It took but a second of time to follow her 
 directions ; and then very softly, with many 
 pauses, the pair crept down the winding 
 stairs, and Betty involuntarily held her 
 breath until the last step was safely passed 
 and she raised the latch of the buttery door. 
 
 " If Miss Bidwell has locked it," came 
 the swift thought, but, no ! like every 
 thing else that dreadful night, fortune 
 seeemed to favor Betty, and with a long- 
 drawn sigh she drew her companion across 
 the threshold and instantly shot the bolt 
 behind her. 
 
 A faint glow of dawn crept through the 
 pantry windows, and Betty paused a moment 
 and regarded the rows of milk pans which
 
 56 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 adorned the shelves of the small room with 
 grave intentness. 
 
 "Had you not better take a glass of 
 milk ? " she said. " You may have to travel 
 far without food, although I am sure that 
 should you ask for it at any of our Connec 
 ticut farmhouses you would be cheerfully 
 supplied," and raising the neat dipper she 
 filled it and handed it to Geoffrey, who took 
 it gratefully from her hand. 
 
 "And now put on your boots, for free 
 dom lies beyond that door," she said, still in 
 softest tones, as she unbolted the other door 
 which led directly outside. " I must go 
 with you as far as the barn, for you will 
 need my mare to take you out of danger of 
 pursuit." 
 
 " No, no," answered Geoffrey, speaking 
 for the first time as they sped rapidly over 
 the grass, " I will not take her ; you have 
 dared much for me, and I fear censure and 
 harm may come to you for releasing me 
 should you be discovered." 
 
 " Censure," said Betty, throwing back her 
 small head haughtily, " wherefoi-e ? Do you 
 think I shall conceal my share in this night s 
 work ? Oliver is but a hot-headed boy ; had 
 my father been at home it would have been
 
 FRIEND OR FOE 57 
 
 different, and to him I shall make my con 
 fession, that I have given liberty to oh, I 
 cannot say a foe, after what you have done 
 for me to a British officer who comes to 
 slay my countrymen ! " 
 
 "Never your foe, Betty," cried Yorke, 
 confronting her with face as pale as her 
 own, and in his admiration of her spirit and 
 nobility forgetting all else. " Say, rather, 
 your adoring friend, who one day, God will 
 ing, hopes to prove to you that there are 
 British hearts which are true and honest as 
 yours, and that none will be more loyal to 
 you than mine own." 
 
 A hot wave of color flashed up over Bet 
 ty s charming face ; her lips trembled, but 
 no words came from them. What was this 
 impetuous young man daring to say to her ? 
 
 " The dawn is breaking over yonder hills," 
 Geoffrey rushed on, " and before the sun 
 rises I must be as many miles away as my 
 feet can carry me. Farewell, farewell ! 
 may God bless and keep you always. Go 
 back straightway into the mansion ; I shall 
 not stir step until I see you safe." And 
 through her brimming tears Betty realized 
 that his kisses were falling on her hands, as 
 without a word she turned and fled toward
 
 58 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 the open door. But when she reached it 
 some new-born impulse tearing madly at her 
 heart made her pause, and looking back she 
 saw Geoffrey lift something from the grass 
 at his feet which he waved toward her as he 
 sped down the path, and raising her hand to 
 her gown she knew that he had carried with 
 him her breast-knot of rose-colored ribbon.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A LOYAL TKAITOR 
 
 BETTY stumbled blindly over the thresh 
 old, and with shaking fingers secured the 
 outer bolt of the buttery door. Her head 
 was whirling, and she dared not stop there 
 even to think over this extraordinary ad 
 venture, for Moppet was doubtless waiting 
 breathlessly for her return ; and at the re 
 collection Betty s nerves grew steadier, and 
 she bethought herself that a glass of milk 
 would be needed by the child and that she 
 must take it to her. So she filled the small 
 est dipper, not wishing to go back into the 
 china pantry for fear of noise, and, with the 
 milk in hand, concluded it was wiser to seek 
 the main staircase in the hall, rather than 
 wake Reuben by drawing his attention to 
 the exit on the garret stairway. And for 
 tunate it was for Betty that she had so de 
 termined ; for as she set her foot upon the 
 first step of the stairs, she beheld Oliver
 
 60 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 leaning over the upper balustrade, gazing 
 gravely down upon her. 
 
 " Good-morning," said Betty readily, in a 
 cheerful undertone, as she reached his side ; 
 " you are up betimes, Oliver." 
 
 " Where have you been ? " asked her 
 brother. 
 
 "To the buttery," said Betty; "this is 
 milk for Moppet. The child is wakeful, and 
 needs it." 
 
 " Why did you not send Reuben ? " asked 
 Oliver, who was always kind and attentive 
 to his sisters. 
 
 " Reuben ? " echoed Betty. " Did you 
 not set him as guard to your prisoner ? " 
 and then, her heart smiting her for the gibe, 
 " Miss Bidwell lets no one meddle with her 
 milk pans, and I knew best which were last 
 night s milk," and she went up the hall with 
 a naughty little throb of mingled mischief 
 and triumph, as she thought how she had 
 outwitted him, while the unsuspecting Oliver 
 seated himself near the north chamber door. 
 
 Moppet, sitting up in bed, welcomed her 
 sister with open arms, and drank the milk 
 thirstily, as Betty told her that all was safe, 
 and that Captain Yorke was now well on 
 his way.
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 61 
 
 " I m as glad as can be," said Moppet, 
 who was troubled with no conscientious scru 
 ples whatever, and was now beginning to 
 enjoy herself intensely at sharing a mystery 
 with Betty ; " I told him you were gone, 
 after the big clock struck three, and oh, 
 Betty, he kissed my hand through the hole 
 in the chimney." 
 
 " Did he ? " said Betty, flushing brightly 
 under Moppet s keen glance. 
 
 " And I sat there and shivered," went on 
 Moppet, discreetly dropping that branch of 
 the subject, " for I could hear his feet as he 
 climbed, and once he slipped, and I was so 
 frightened lest he should come tumbling 
 down and our fine plot be discovered. Betty, 
 Betty, what a fine flutter Oliver and Josiah 
 will be in at breakfast ! " 
 
 " Don t talk of it," said Betty, shivering 
 in her turn ; " go to sleep, Moppet, and I 
 will fly to my chamber, for it is not well 
 that I should be discovered here, dressed. 
 Oliver is not one to notice ; now lie still 
 until you are called for rising ; " and Betty 
 tripped back to her own room, where, tear 
 ing off her dress, she threw her tired little 
 self on the bed to rest, if not to sleep, for the 
 short hours that remained before breakfast.
 
 62 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 The Wolcott household was one that was 
 early astir, however, and Chloe, the old col 
 ored cook, was out in the barn searching for 
 eggs, and Miss Bidwell had laid the break 
 fast cloth and polished the silver by half 
 past six, when Miss Euphemia knocked 
 briskly at the door where Pamela and Dolly 
 Trumbull were slumbering sweetly, and re 
 solved that she would request Oliver to 
 permit Captain Yorke to come down and 
 breakfast with the family. " For," mused 
 Miss Euphemia, " our obligations to that 
 young man should make some difference, I 
 think, in his treatment ; I must try to per 
 suade Oliver to detain him here until my 
 brother s return, for although I did not think 
 it prudent to say so, I confess I am no more 
 anxious to keep him prisoner than Betty 
 was." 
 
 But Miss Euphemia had not more than 
 descended at half past seven precisely (her 
 usual hour) when Oliver came hastily into 
 the room, demanding a hammer and chisel, 
 and with such evident dismay upon his 
 countenance that Miss Euphemia asked if 
 anything was the matter. 
 
 " I do not know," said Oliver, searching 
 the drawer for the desired implements ; " I
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 63 
 
 called aud knocked smartly at Captain 
 Yorke s door to ask him if he desired hot 
 water, and to offer him a change of clean 
 linen (as we are much the same size and 
 build) ; but although I made sufficient noise 
 to wake the hardest sleeper, no response did 
 I receive. Then I unbolted the door, intend 
 ing to enter, but he has fastened it on the 
 inside, and " 
 
 " He is ill," cried Miss Euphemia, in 
 alarm. " I noted he looked pale last night." 
 
 " Much more likely t is some device to 
 alarm us," said Oliver, seizing the chisel, 
 and Miss Euphemia followed him as he 
 went hurriedly up the front staircase. At 
 its top stood Huntington. 
 
 " Captain Yorke is a sound sleeper," he 
 said, addressing Oliver. " I have knocked at 
 his door several times and get no response." 
 
 " My mind misgives me," said Oliver, fit 
 ting his chisel in the door and striking vig 
 orously with the hammer ; " and yet I made 
 sure there was no chance for escape, ha ! " 
 as the door swung open and discovered the 
 closed shutters and the last flickering gleams 
 of the dying candle upon the table. " Good 
 heavens, Huntington, he has flown ! " 
 
 " Flown ! " cried Josiah, rushing after
 
 64 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Oliver, as Miss Euphemia joined the party, 
 and Pamela, with Dolly, opened her door 
 across the hall, hearing the commotion. 
 " And how ? Surely not by the chimney ? " 
 
 " I wish you had suggested that earlier," 
 said Oliver bitterly. " I am a dolt and a 
 fool s head not to have thoroughly exam 
 ined it last night," and he rushed across 
 into Betty s chamber to find a candle with 
 which to investigate the treacherous exit. 
 
 " Have a care, Oliver," cried Betty, as 
 her brother entered without knocking, to 
 find her with her hair over her shoulders, 
 brush in hand. " What do you please to 
 want ? " 
 
 " Your candle," said Oliver, catching up 
 the one upon her table, and then pausing, as 
 he was about to rush out again. " Did you 
 hear any noises last night, Betty ? " 
 
 " Noises ? " answered Betty, facing him 
 calmly, " of what nature ? " 
 
 " In the great chimney," said Oliver, 
 eying her sternly. 
 
 " I did not," said Betty, with truth, re 
 turning inward thanks that to that question 
 she could reply without falsehood. "Why 
 did you ask?" 
 
 " You will find out soon enough," said
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 65 
 
 Oliver, dashing down the hall, without clos 
 ing the door, and hurrying to the kitchen 
 for a light. By the time he returned, he 
 found Josiah half way up the chimney. 
 
 " Here are pegs," he called out, as Oliver 
 sent the ray of the lighted candle upward. 
 " T is easy enough to see how our prisoner 
 escaped. Fool that I was not to have 
 searched this place," and he let himself 
 down again, where the bewildered group 
 stood around the chimney-piece. 
 
 " The fault is mine alone," cried Oliver 
 furiously ; "let us get out on the roof and 
 see if we can discover how he made his de 
 scent to the ground." 
 
 " By the great elm," exclaimed Pamela, 
 who had unfastened the shutters with Jo- 
 siah s help ; " see, the branches overhang 
 the roof just here, and I think there are 
 some pieces of the bark on the ground be 
 low." All of which was true, and quick 
 witted of Pamela ; but Moppet could have 
 explained the presence of the bits of bark, 
 for, as it happened, the child had emptied 
 her apron under the elm the day before, 
 and the bark was some she had gathered in 
 the orchard for the bits of fungus which, at 
 night, were phosphorescent, and which Mop 
 pet called " fairy lamps."
 
 66 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 "True," said Josiah, leaning out of the 
 window, " and there are footsteps in the tall 
 grass yonder," pointing westward, where his 
 keen eye perceived a fresh path broken in 
 the meadow. " I must follow Oliver to the 
 roof ; this will be a dire blow to him, as he 
 thought his prisoner so carefully guarded." 
 
 " How clever of him to escape under our 
 very ears," said Dolly to Pamela : " how 
 could Captain Yorke contrive to climb down 
 so softly that no one heard him? Is not 
 Miss Euphemia s chamber on this side?" 
 
 " Yes," said Pamela, turning away from 
 the window, " and so is Moppet s ; where is 
 Aunt Euphemia ? " and running out into 
 the hall, she encountered both Betty and 
 her aunt on the way to Moppet s apart 
 ment. 
 
 " Hush ! " whispered Betty, with hand on 
 the latch, " I hope she is still sleeping. Mop 
 pet came into my room in the night, Aunt 
 Euphemia, and was so cold and shivering 
 that I went back with her and put her to 
 bed. I got a drink of milk for her, and it 
 seemed to quiet her." 
 
 "That was quite right," said Miss Eu 
 phemia. " I have been afraid that the 
 plunge in the pond did her some injury,"
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 67 
 
 and she opened the door softly, only to see 
 Miss Moppet s curly head rise up from her 
 pillow, and to hear her say with a sleepy 
 yawn : 
 
 " What is it all about ? Where s Betty ? " 
 
 " Here I am," said Betty, giving her a 
 kiss. " Did you sleep soundly after the 
 milk ? " 
 
 " Yes, and I want some more," said Mop 
 pet, seizing the situation with such alacrity 
 that Betty suspected on the instant that the 
 keen little ears had been on the alert for 
 more minutes than Moppet cared to acknow 
 ledge. " What are you all coming in for ? 
 Is it dinner-time ? " 
 
 "No," interrupted Pamela, "we have not 
 even had breakfast. Captain Yorke has es 
 caped in the night" 
 
 "Escaped!" cried Moppet, the liveliest 
 curiosity in her tone. " Oh, I m so glad ! 
 Are n t you, Betty ? " 
 
 " Better not let Oliver hear you say that," 
 said Pamela in an undertone as Miss Eu- 
 phemia drew Betty aside. 
 
 " How did he get out ? " said Moppet, giv 
 ing way to laughter. " Oh, what a ruffle 
 Oliver must be in." 
 
 " Naughty child," said Pamela, but unable
 
 68 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 to help smiling at Moppet s view of the sit 
 uation. " Did you happen to hear any noises 
 on the roof or in the big elm last night ? " 
 
 "Not a sound," said Moppet, like Betty 
 rejoicing inwardly that she could reply truth 
 fully, for the little maid had never told a lie 
 in her short life, and had indeed spent a 
 wakeful half hour that very morning won 
 dering how she would be able to evade any 
 questions that might be put to her. " Did 
 Captain Yorke climb out of his window and 
 go down the big elm, Pamela? Do you 
 know I thought of that at supper." 
 
 "He could not open the window, Mop 
 pet," answered Pamela, "but he did go down 
 the tree from the roof, whence he climbed 
 from the chimney here." 
 
 " Moppet, you must instantly dress or you 
 will take cold," said Miss Euphemia, inter 
 rupting, to Betty s relief, " and I will be 
 glad if Betty will assist you, for I must go 
 down and see if breakfast be still hot, as no 
 one is ready yet to eat it," and out went 
 Miss Euphemia, calling the others to follow 
 her. 
 
 " What do you think of all this ? " asked 
 Pamela of Betty. 
 
 " What do you suppose ? " flashed out
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 69 
 
 Betty, whose quick tongue had been so long 
 restrained that it was absolute relief to her 
 to speak her mind. " I am as glad as I can 
 possibly be that Captain Yorke has escaped, 
 and if that be disloyal " - finished the 
 spirited little maid, mindful of Patrick 
 Henry " make the most of it ! " 
 
 "Oh, Betty ! " cried Pamela, shocked be 
 yond expression. 
 
 " It is I that should be shocked, not you," 
 went on Betty. " Do you hold Moppet s 
 dear life as nothing ? Do you not wish to 
 acknowledge an obligation when it is doubly 
 due ? I am ashamed of you, Pamela, you 
 and Oliver. I would my father were here 
 to make you see both sides of a question 
 clearly." 
 
 " Betty, Betty," implored Pamela, burst 
 ing into tears, " do I not love our little sis 
 ter as well as you ? You do mistake me ; I 
 did not dare go counterwise to Oliver and 
 Josiah, but indeed I love you for your cour- 
 age." 
 
 " There, say no more," said Betty, drop 
 ping the brush with which she was reducing 
 Moppet s rebellious locks to order, and rush 
 ing into Pamela s arms with quick repent 
 ance. " I am cross and upset this morning,
 
 70 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 and not fit to talk to you, my gentle Pamela, 
 so go down and make the coffee and forgive 
 my petulance." 
 
 Dolly, who had witnessed this little sis 
 terly passage of arms in shy fright, put her 
 hand in Pamela s and whispered, as they 
 gained the staircase : 
 
 " Dry your eyes, Pamela dear ; Betty is 
 most forward to speak thus to her elder sis 
 ter." 
 
 " There you mistake," said Pamela, chan 
 ging front with true feminine inconsistency. 
 " Betty is quite right, and I am displeased, 
 yes downright displeased with myself that 
 I did not side with her last night," and with 
 unwonted color flushing her \isually pale 
 cheeks Pamela walked into the breakfast- 
 room, Dolly following meekly behind her. 
 
 Meanwhile, Oliver and Josiah were upon 
 the roof of the mansion conducting most 
 careful investigation. They had decided 
 that it was useless to pursue Yorke, for he 
 might have many hours in advance of them, 
 and they must take the chances that he 
 would be recaptured by some of Putnam s 
 men, especially if he again mistook the 
 country and went west instead of north. 
 They climbed through the trap-door, but as
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 71 
 
 the heavy dews had not yet begun there was 
 no trace of footsteps upon the roof beyond a 
 faint mark, which might be the spot where 
 the prisoner had dropped from the chimney. 
 It was quite possible for an agile fellow, 
 accustomed to use his muscle, to clamber 
 down the sloping roof to the elm and escape 
 to the ground by its branches, and that he 
 was not heard was partly due to his own 
 care and the unusually heavy slumbers of 
 the inmates of the mansion. Having reached 
 this conclusion, Oliver was fain to make the 
 best of it, and in much chagrin descended 
 to the breakfast-table. 
 
 Try as she did to look demure and avoid 
 speaking upon the subject which all were 
 discussing, Betty could not keep her dan 
 cing eyes in order, and before the meal was 
 over she flashed so roguish a glance at Oli 
 ver that, irritated at her mute opposition, he 
 could not refrain from saying : 
 
 " There sits Betty looking fairly pleased 
 because she has her own way, and appar 
 ently cares nothing for the escape of an 
 enemy to her country." 
 
 " Fie, Oliver," spoke up Pamela with 
 unusual fire, " Betty is as loyal as you or I, 
 and you are unfair to tax her because she
 
 72 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 heartily disapproves of your course in regard 
 to Captain Yorke s detention after the sig 
 nal service he has rendered to all us Wol- 
 cotts." 
 
 "Pamela!" cried Oliver, good temper 
 returning, and gazing in comic dismay at 
 his favorite sister, much as he would at a 
 dove who had ruffled its plumes. " This 
 from you, Pamela ? If Betty be allowed to 
 demoralize the family in this wise, I think 
 it were well my father takes you all in 
 hand." 
 
 " Heyday ? " said a kindly voice from the 
 door of the sitting-room, as a fine-looking 
 man dressed in the Continental uniform 
 entered the room. " Who is it that requires 
 my parental hand, Oliver, and why do you 
 so lament my absence ? " 
 
 " Father, father ! " shrieked Miss Mop 
 pet, tumbling out of her chair and flinging 
 her arms around General Wolcott s neck as 
 he stooped down to embrace her. " Oh, 
 we re so glad you are come. Why did n t 
 you get here last night ? " 
 
 " Because I lay over at General Putnam s 
 headquarters," said her father. "Oliver, 
 you will find Captain Seymour and Lieuten 
 ant Hillhouse on the porch. See that their
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 73 
 
 horses be taken and fed, and bid them come 
 to breakfast." 
 
 Oliver disappeared in haste, and Josiah, 
 with an apology to Miss Euphemia, followed 
 him ; while General Wolcott, casting off his 
 hat and gloves, seated himself with Moppet 
 on his knee, and Miss Bidwell appeared 
 from the kitchen with fresh reinforcements 
 of breakfast for the newcomers. Betty, 
 busying herself by fetching cups and saucers 
 from the china pantry, caught fragments of 
 the conversation, and became aware that 
 Miss Moppet was telling the story of her 
 adventure at Great Pond, in the child s 
 most dramatic fashion, and that Miss Eu 
 phemia was also adding her testimony to 
 the tale as it went on. They were presently 
 interrupted by the entrance of Oliver with 
 his father s two aids, and the large mahog 
 any table was surrounded by guests, whose 
 appetites bid fair to do justice to Miss Bid- 
 well s breakfast. 
 
 No sooner was the meal fairly under way 
 than Oliver, eager to hear his father s opin 
 ion, began the story of his capture of the 
 day before, and related how and where he 
 had found Captain Yorke, and how safely 
 he supposed he had imprisoned him in the
 
 74 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 north chamber, from which his clever and 
 ready escape had been made. Oliver s nar 
 rative was interrupted by exclamations from 
 the officers and questions from his father, 
 who displayed keen interest in the matter. 
 
 " Father," said Moppet, seeing that the 
 most important point had been omitted in 
 Oliver s story, and venturing to join in the 
 conversation, as few children of that period 
 would have done, " Oliver s prisoner was my 
 good kind gentleman who pulled me out of 
 the pond, and I am very, very glad he has 
 got away are n t you ? " 
 
 "I was indeed hard bestead, sir," burst 
 in Oliver. " Here were Betty and Moppet 
 insisting that I must let Captain Yorke go 
 free because of his gallant act (which I 
 fully appreciate), and the gentleman refus 
 ing his parole because he preferred to take 
 the chances of war, while I felt it my sworn 
 duty to detain him and to forward him to 
 General Putnam without delay, as I know 
 we are in need of exchange for several of 
 our officers now held by Sir Henry Clinton, 
 and this man is of Clinton s staff, and there 
 fore a most valuable capture. Was I to 
 blame for retaining him ? " 
 
 General Wolcott hesitated, but as he was
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 75 
 
 about to make reply his eye fell upon Betty, 
 who confronted him across the table with 
 parted lips and large, beseeching eyes so full 
 of entreaty that he changed the words al 
 most upon his lips. 
 
 " It is a delicate question, my son," he 
 said gravely, " and one I would rather not 
 discuss at the present moment. More espe 
 cially " and a half -quizzical smile lit up 
 his grave but kindly face as he turned to 
 ward Miss Moppet and gently pinched her 
 little ear, " more especially as the gentle 
 man has taken the law in his own hands and 
 escaped from Wolcott Manor despite the 
 fact that as it is the residence of a Conti 
 nental officer and the sheriff of Litchfield 
 County it might be supposed to have excep 
 tional reasons for detaining him. Captain 
 Seymour, I will be glad to sign the papers 
 of which General Putnam has need, and we 
 will go at once to my library, for you must 
 be off by noon." 
 
 Some two hours later, as Betty sat watch 
 ing in her chamber window, she saw the 
 horses led around to the front door, and 
 shortly after knew from the sounds below 
 that Pamela and Dolly were bidding the 
 young officers good-by ; so, waiting until
 
 76 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 the sound of their horses feet had died 
 away in the distance, Betty, with outward 
 composure but much inward dismay, tripped 
 softly downstairs and knocked at the door 
 of the library. 
 
 " Pray Heaven he be alone," she sighed 
 as she heard her father s voice bid her enter, 
 and then she crossed the threshold and con 
 fronted him. 
 
 " Father," she said, steadying herself by 
 one small hand pressed downward on the 
 table behind which he sat, "I that is I 
 have something to tell you." 
 
 General Wolcott raised his head from the 
 paper which he had been carefully reading 
 and looked kindly at her. 
 
 "What is it, my child?" he asked reas 
 suringly, motioning her to a chair. " I 
 thought at breakfast that you had the air 
 of being in distress." 
 
 " Nay, I am hardly that," replied Betty, 
 clinging to the table, "except so far as I 
 may have incurred your censure, though I 
 hope not your displeasure. Father, Oliver 
 has told you of the escape of Captain Yorke, 
 which causes him much chagrin and anger. 
 Blame no one but me, for I myself released 
 him."
 
 A LOYAL TRAITOR 77 
 
 " You ! " exclaimed General Wolcott. 
 
 " Yes, I," said Betty, growing paler. " If 
 you had but been here or I known that you 
 were so near us, there had been no such 
 need for haste, and I would have been 
 spared this confession." 
 
 " How did you arrange the escape ? " said 
 her father quietly. 
 
 " It was this way," faltered Betty, but 
 gaining courage as she proceeded. " Oliver 
 would not listen, though I begged and 
 plead with him to delay until your arrival. 
 He was so eager to deliver his captive to 
 General Putnam that I made no impression. 
 Father, the Englishman had saved our Mop 
 pet s life at the risk of his own ; he did not 
 pause to ask whether she was friend or foe 
 when he rushed to her rescue could we be 
 less humane ? I do not know what they do 
 to prisoners," - and Betty strangled a swift 
 sob, but I could not bear to think of a 
 gallant gentleman, be he British or Ameri 
 can, confined in a prison, and so I resolved 
 I would assist his escape. I waited until 
 midnight, and then I spoke to him through 
 the aperture in the great chimney and in 
 structed him how to climb up through it by 
 the pegs Reuben had left there, and I stole
 
 78 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 to the garret and waited until he came. 
 Reuben did not see me pass the door of the 
 north chamber, for he was asleep (do not 
 tell this to Oliver, as it might bring reproof 
 upon poor Reuben, who was too weary to be 
 of much service as a sentinel), and I brought 
 Captain Yorke safely down the stairs which 
 lead from the garret to the buttery. Once 
 there, all was easy ; I opened the door, and 
 and I even offered him the mare, fa 
 ther, I was in such fear of his recapture ; 
 but he stoutly refused to take her. This is 
 all. If I am a traitor, dear father, punish 
 me as I deserve, but never think me disloyal 
 to you or to my country." 
 
 There was a pause, as Betty s sweet, pas 
 sionate tones ceased ; she stood with head 
 thrown back, but downcast eyes, as fair a 
 picture as ever greeted father s eye. 
 
 " A loyal traitor, Betty," said General 
 Wolcott slowly ; " and I think that it were 
 well I should look after the condition of my 
 chimneys." 
 
 Scarcely daring to believe her ears, Betty 
 looked up, and in another second she had 
 thrown her arms around her father s neck, 
 sobbing softly as he caressed her. 
 
 " T was a daring, mad scheme, my child,"
 
 .1 LOYAL TRAITOR 79 
 
 said General Wolcott, his own eyes not 
 quite guiltless of moisture ; " but bravely 
 carried out; and looking at the matter 
 much as you do, I cannot find it in my heart 
 to censure you. Captain Yorke is doubtless 
 a manly foe, and of such I have no fear. It 
 shall be our secret, yours and mine, Betty ; 
 we will not even tell Oliver just now, else it 
 might make sore feeling between you. For 
 Oliver was right, and " smiling kindly, 
 " so were you. Everything depends upon 
 the point of view, my daughter ; but let me 
 beg you never to try your hand again to 
 assist the escape of a British officer, or it 
 might cost me the friendship of General 
 Washington." 
 
 " Father, dear father ! " cried Betty, over 
 joyed to find judgment so lenient accorded 
 her, " I crave your pardon ; t was alone for 
 Moppet s sake." 
 
 "Aye," said General Wolcott, and then 
 paused a brief second, for his wife s death 
 had been the forfeit paid for Moppet s 
 birth, and this was one reason why the child 
 had become the family idol. " Now run 
 away, for I must close these papers in time 
 for Oliver, who rides dispatch to Fort 
 Trumbull to-night. And, Betty," as she
 
 80 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 stood glowing and smiling before him, " my 
 child, you grow more like your mother every 
 day," and with a hasty movement General 
 Wolcott turned away to conceal his emo 
 tion, as Betty went quickly from the room.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 BY COURIER POST 
 
 IT had been a wild night, and the morn 
 ing wind sobbed and sighed through the 
 elms, which, denuded of their leaves, stood 
 out tall and bare against the leaden sky, and 
 there was a chill in the air that might be 
 token snow. Pamela Wolcott stood in the 
 sitting-room window and sighed softly, as 
 she gazed out at the November landscape, 
 letting her fingers beat soft tattoo against 
 the lozenge-shaped pane. 
 
 " Pamela," said Betty from, the depths of 
 a big chair, where she sat busily knitting a 
 little stocking whose proportions suggested 
 Miss Moppet, " I wish you would stop that 
 devil s march. Believe me, you had much 
 better come and talk to me, and so drive 
 away the vapors, rather than stand there 
 and worry over the whereabouts of Jo- 
 siah." 
 
 "It will take more than that to drive 
 away the thoughts I cannot help," said Pa-
 
 82 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 mela, coming back from the window and 
 seating herself on the wide settle, for Pa 
 mela was somewhat given to seeking the 
 warmest corner, and dreaded a New Eng 
 land winter. " It is full time I had some 
 intelligence, for Josiah promised that he 
 would take advantage of any courier who 
 started for New London to dispatch me a 
 letter, and you know that father had news 
 two days since from Morristown, but nothing 
 came for me. Betty, I am sore afraid of 
 evil tidings." 
 
 " You are ever faint-hearted," said Betty, 
 glancing compassionately at her sister. 
 
 " And I dreamed last night of a wedding," 
 went on Pamela, " and that, you know, is an 
 evil sign." 
 
 " Best not let Aunt Euphemia hear you," 
 replied Betty, with a smile. "You have 
 been consulting Chloe, I am sure, as to the 
 portents of dreams. Fie, Pamela; Josiah 
 is strong and well, and there is not likely to 
 be a movement of the troops just now, 
 father says, so why worry ? I am anxious 
 because we hear nothing of Clarissa, and I 
 think Aunt Euphemia is the same, for I 
 heard her talking and sighing last night 
 when Miss Bidwell carried up the night
 
 BY COURIER POST 83 
 
 light. Dear Clarissa, how I wish I could 
 see her again ; I wonder if she be quite, 
 quite happy shut up in New York among 
 the Tories." 
 
 " No doubt ; though when she married 
 Gulian Verplanck we had little thought of 
 the occupation of New York by the British. 
 Do you recollect how pretty she looked on 
 her wedding-day, Betty, and the little caps 
 you and I wore, mine with a knot of blue, 
 and yours of rose-color ? I found that ribbon 
 one day last week, tucked away in a little 
 box. Have you kept yours ? " 
 
 "No," returned Betty, with a sudden 
 blush and a quick, half-guilty throb of her 
 heart, as she remembered in whose hand she 
 had last seen that same bow of rose-color ; 
 " that is, I had it until last summer, when 
 I lost it." And Betty dropped two stitches 
 in her confusion, which fortunately Pamela 
 was too much engrossed in her own thoughts 
 to notice." 
 
 " It is five years last May," said Pamela. 
 " You and I were tiny things of ten and 
 eleven years, and Oliver strutted about 
 grand and dignified in a new coat. The 
 first wedding in our family I wonder whose 
 will be the next?"
 
 84 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 "Yours, of course," said Betty quickly. 
 " That is if you and Josiah can ever make 
 up your minds. I will not be like you, 
 Pamela ; trust rne, when my turn comes I 11 
 know full well whether I will or I won t." 
 And Betty tossed her saucy head with a 
 mischievous laugh as there came a rap on 
 the front door which caused both girls to 
 start up and fly to the window. 
 
 "Why, tis Sally Tracy," cried Betty. 
 " I did not know she had returned from her 
 visit to Lebanon." And she ran rapidly 
 along the hall, and opening the door, em 
 braced her friend with all a girl s enthusi 
 asm. 
 
 " Welcome, Sally," said Pamela, as the 
 pair came hand in hand towards her. 
 " Betty has been moping ever since you left, 
 and had a desperate fit of industry from 
 sheer loneliness. I really believe she has 
 made a stocking and a half for Moppet 
 or was it a pair, Betty? " 
 
 " The second pair, if you please," retorted 
 Betty, rejoiced to see Pamela smile, even if 
 at her own expense ; " and Miss Bidwell 
 says they are every bit as fine as yours." 
 
 "They may well be that," said Pamela, 
 whose pet detestation was the manufacture
 
 BY COURIER POST 85 
 
 of woolen stockings (then considered one of 
 the component parts of a girl s education in 
 New England). " But Sally is such a mar 
 velous knitter that she will no doubt rejoice 
 at your success. Had you as severe weather 
 in Lebanon as this ? I am fearful that we 
 will have a hard winter, the cold has set in 
 so early." 
 
 " They have had one flurry of snow al 
 ready," Sally answered, " but not so much 
 wind as we of Litchfield rejoice in. But I 
 had a merry visit and saw much company. 
 Dolly bemoaned daily that you could not 
 come, Pamela." 
 
 " I am to go later, after or about the day 
 set apart for Thanksgiving. But you and 
 Betty have much to say to each other, and I 
 will not interrupt you ; Miss Bidwell has 
 something for me to do, I 11 warrant ; so, 
 farewell for the present, Sally." And Pa 
 mela left the room. 
 
 " Come, sit beside me on the settle," said 
 Betty, putting Sally in the warmest seat. 
 " Your fingers are cold, and the room is not 
 yet sufficiently warm. Well," with a sig 
 nificant smile, " what have you to tell 
 me?" 
 
 " Not what you think," with a smiling
 
 86 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 nod, " for Francis Plunkett is far too press 
 ing for my taste," answered Sally. 
 
 "Ha, ha," quoth Betty, much amused, 
 " is that the way you take it ? Then I fore 
 see that Francis will win for his much speak- 
 ing." 
 
 "Indeed he will not; I teased him well 
 the last evening, and he dare not resume 
 the subject for a while at least." 
 
 " Then there is some one else," said Betty. 
 " Can it be that Oliver " 
 
 "Oh, no," cried Sally hastily; "Oliver 
 has not such an idea, believe me, Betty." 
 
 "How can you answer for him?" retorted 
 Betty, laughing. " But your tone answers 
 for yourself, so I must guess again. I think 
 I have heard something of a handsome 
 young lawyer from Branford " 
 
 " Fie ! " cried Sally, in her turn averting 
 her face quickly, but not before Betty had 
 perceived her heightened color. " I have 
 but met him three times, and there are 
 plenty of other personable men as well as 
 he, for while one stops with Dolly the offi 
 cers from Fort Trumbull are ever coming 
 and going, you know." 
 
 " Ah, Sally, you are growing giddy, I 
 fear," continued Betty with comical pretense
 
 BY COURIER POST 87 
 
 of solemnity. " I think it behooves me to 
 caution you." 
 
 " Caution me, indeed ! " laughed Sally. 
 " Wait until we both go, as we all are in 
 vited to Hartford with Dolly this winter 
 when the Assembly meets, and then see if 
 you be not fully as giddy as I am." 
 
 " I do not believe that I can go to Hart 
 ford, Sally ; you know Pamela is more 
 Dolly s friend than mine, and I think she 
 needs some diversion, for ever since Josiah 
 had his commission and joined the Continen 
 tal army, she has nearly moped herself to 
 death. And Pamela is like my mother, not 
 very strong ; I can see that Aunt Euphemia 
 is somewhat troubled about her even now, 
 so perhaps our fine schemes for a trip to 
 Hartford may have to be given up, at least 
 so far as my going is concerned." 
 
 Sally s face fell ; the visit to Hartford had 
 been so long talked of, and Betty s presence 
 so much desired, that this was a dash of the 
 coldest possible water. 
 
 " Oh, Betty, how truly sorry I shall be. 
 But let us hope for the best. It will be a 
 sad breaking up of all my plans for the win 
 ter if you cannot come. I was also to stop 
 at Fairfield with Mrs. Sherman, but since
 
 88 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 the raid of last summer her health has been 
 so shattered that all thoughts of visitors 
 have to be abandoned, and therefore I was 
 counting upon our merry visit to Dolly as 
 compensation." 
 
 Sally looked so melancholy at this point 
 that Betty took her hand and was about to 
 take a rather more hopeful view of things, 
 but the words died on her lips as the clatter 
 of a horse s feet was heard outside, and both 
 girls ran to the window in time to see the 
 rider draw rein at the south door of the 
 mansion and dismount in apparent haste. 
 
 " It is some dispatch," said Betty breath 
 lessly. " Did you not see the bag he carried 
 at the saddle ? And there is my father 
 oh, Sally, I wonder if there be news from 
 General Washington and the army?" and 
 struck by the sudden fear of ill-tidings the 
 girls ran hastily from the room. 
 
 In the wide hall stood Miss Bidwell, and 
 beside her the stranger, saddle-bag in hand, 
 as Miss Euphemia emerged from the dining- 
 room, whence General Wolcott had preceded 
 her. 
 
 " From the commander-in-chief, general," 
 said the courier, touching his battered hat in 
 salute, "and special dispatches from Gen-
 
 BY COURIER POST 89 
 
 eral Steuben. Also this private packet, 
 which was lying waiting at King s Bridge 
 Inn ; I have been four days on the road, 
 owing to my horse having lamed himself 
 when near Chatham, and I could not make 
 time on the nag which stands at your door." 
 
 " King s Bridge," murmured Miss Eu- 
 phemia ; " then there is news of Clarissa. 
 Brother, have I your permission?" as 
 General Wolcott gave the small packet into 
 her hand. 
 
 " Break the seals," said the general 
 briefly, " and bring me the letters presently 
 to my study. See that the horse and man 
 be well taken care of ; I may have to dis 
 patch instant answer to these," and he went 
 quickly down the hall, closing the door be 
 hind him. 
 
 With fingers that trembled somewhat, 
 Miss Euphemia opened the cover, and dis 
 closed three letters to the eager eyes of the 
 girls, who stood breathless beside her. 
 
 " One for your father (it is Gulian Ver- 
 plaiick s hand), this for me, from Clarissa, 
 and the smaller one for you, Betty ; let us 
 go into the sitting-room and read ours to 
 gether." 
 
 " None for me ? " said Pamela s despair-
 
 90 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 ing voice, with a sob treading on the words ; 
 "oh, I fear me some evil has befallen 
 Josiah." 
 
 " No, no," whispered Betty, stealing her 
 hand lovingly into her sister s, as she pulled 
 her gently into the room ; " father has the 
 dispatches ; these are but the long-looked- 
 for letters from New York, Pamela, and I 11 
 wager there is something from Josiah among 
 father s packets. Let us see what my letter 
 says," and Betty, having seated Pamela and 
 Sally on the settle, placed herself on a con 
 venient cricket, and broke the seal of her 
 letter. But before her eyes had time to see 
 more than " Dearest Betty," she was inter 
 rupted by a sudden exclamation from her 
 aunt. 
 
 " Clarissa has been at death s door," cried 
 Miss Euphemia, startled out of her usual 
 composure. " I knew this long silence boded 
 no good. Listen, I will read it," and the 
 three girls gathered round her chair at 
 once. 
 
 " Dear and Honored Aunt " (ran the let 
 ter), " I take up my pen, after many days of 
 pain and dire distress, to send loving greet 
 ings to you, my Beloved father, and my dear 
 sisters. For the hand of death was nearly
 
 BY COURIER POST 91 
 
 apon me ; thank God that I am still pre 
 served to my dear Husband and to you. 
 
 " It was a very malignant and severe at 
 tack of Fever, and Gulian procured the 
 services of no less than three Physicians, as 
 for days I laid unconscious. My little baby 
 died at two hours old, and I never saw him. 
 Alas, how I have suffered ! I am now very 
 weak, altho able to be dressed and sit up 
 each day. This is my first letter; and I 
 pine so sorely for you, my dear ones, that 
 my dear Husband permits me to write, and 
 begs with me that you will permit one of 
 my sisters to come to me and cheer my 
 heart " 
 
 " Come to her ! Good lack ! " cried im 
 petuous Betty, interrupting the reader, " how 
 is one to go when the British are in occu 
 pation ? " 
 
 " How, indeed," sighed Miss Euphemia ; 
 " but perhaps the letter will tell," and she 
 resumed her reading, after wiping her eyes 
 softly. " Where was I ? oh " 
 
 " Father will no doubt be able to procure 
 a pass from General Washington, which 
 will admit the bearer into the City, and 
 Gulian will himself be ready when you ad 
 vise us, and will await you at King s Bridge
 
 92 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Inn. Dear Aunt, send me some one soon, 
 and let me see a dear home face, else I shall 
 die of grief and homesickness, far from my 
 own people. 
 
 "Your loving and obedient niece, 
 
 " CLARISSA VERPLANCK." 
 
 By this time Pamela was sobbing aloud, 
 and tears flowed down Miss Euphemia s 
 cheeks, but Betty sprang to her feet with a 
 little impatient stamp, crying, 
 
 " Aunt, aunt, which of us shall go ? Pa 
 mela, you are a gentle and charming nurse ; 
 shall it be you ? " 
 
 " I ! " sighed Pamela ; " oh, I would go 
 to the world s end for Clarissa." 
 
 " But this is to go to New York," cried 
 Betty, with unconscious irony ; " and as we 
 can neither of us go alone, why could not 
 my father arrange for one of us to accom 
 pany Mrs. Seymour, who leaves shortly to 
 be near her brother for the winter? Did 
 you not tell me, Sally, that she was going to 
 New York ? " 
 
 "Yes," answered Sally Tracy, "she has 
 been making all manner of preparations, 
 for, as you know, her brother is imprisoned 
 in the city ; and since her acceptance of the
 
 BY COURIER POST 93 
 
 pleasure coach from the Mayor of New York 
 (which he presented her with when he was 
 released from Litchfield gaol), she has been 
 pining to go to him. And, beside, she trav 
 els in her coach as far as possible ; and my 
 mother said last night that General Wash 
 ington was to send her safe-conduct through 
 our lines to the city." 
 
 " We must first consult your father," said 
 Miss Euphemia gravely, much upset by the 
 suggestion of making up her mind to do any 
 thing in haste, for she was a very deliberate 
 person, and despised hurried decisions. " I 
 will find him as soon as he has finished the 
 dispatches, and, moreover, this letter to him 
 from Gulian may have directions. I incline 
 to think that you, Betty, will be the one to 
 go. Pamela can scarce bear the journey in 
 this weather," and gathering her papers 
 carefully in her hand, Miss Euphemia left 
 the room, and the girls gazed blankly at 
 each other with startled eyes and throbbing 
 hearts.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED A LETTER 
 
 " IT was all decided last night," said 
 Betty, tucking her little feet carefully under 
 her gown and clasping her knees with her 
 hands to keep them warm, as she sat in 
 Moppet s chair, which stood close by the fire, 
 where a log burned and crackled in the big 
 chimney a most unusual luxury for those 
 days, and granted only to Moppet s youth 
 and slight delicacy of constitution. " Father 
 found the pass from General Washington 
 among his dispatches brought by the cou 
 rier ; and as it includes Mrs. Seymour s maid, 
 he arranged with her that I go instead, as 
 Mrs. Seymour kindly says she can procure 
 another attendant in New York. I can 
 scarce believe it possible, Sally. Oh, fancy 
 my having to live in a city occupied by the 
 British ! " 
 
 " Ah," sighed Miss Moppet, pressing her 
 head against Betty s knee, and a spark of
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED A LETTER 95 
 
 interest lighting up her doleful little face, 
 " if only some of them be like my good " 
 
 " Oh, some of the Tories may be passably 
 amusing," said Betty hastily, giving Moppet 
 a warning glance, as she checked the words 
 on the child s lips by a soft touch of her 
 hand. " I doubt not that Gulian, my 
 brother-in-law, has fine qualities, else Cla 
 rissa had not been so fond of him as to leave 
 us all and go so far from us. But I trust 
 that even Gulian may not see fit to talk 
 loyalist to me ; my naughty tongue would 
 get me into trouble straightway." 
 
 " You must learn to control your tongue, 
 Betty," said Moppet primly, with a roguish 
 twinkle of her eyes upward. " Miss Bid- 
 well says mine is an unruly member, and 
 told me a most dive tale of a little girl whose 
 mother for punishment pricked her tongue 
 with a hot bodkin." 
 
 " Ugh ! " cried Sally, with a shudder, " that 
 was in Puritan days, truly." 
 
 " I do not crave the hot bodkin," said 
 Betty, laughing. " Miss Bidwell s tales are 
 a trifle gruesome, Moppet." 
 
 " But I always do love a flimming tale, 
 Betty " (this was Moppet s invariable ren 
 dering of the word " thrilling," which her
 
 9b AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 lips had never yet conquered), " and some 
 of them are most bloody ones, I assure you. 
 Oh, Betty, Betty, what shall I do when you 
 are gone ! " and with a sudden realization of 
 her loss, Moppet gave a quick sob which 
 went to Betty s heart. 
 
 " Nay, sweetheart, be a brave little maid," 
 she answered, fighting a small lump in her 
 own throat. "I would I could take you 
 with me ; but as I cannot, you must hasten 
 to learn how to make better pot-hooks and 
 write me letters, which Aunt Euphemia will 
 forward with hers. And, Moppet, I think I 
 shall give you in special charge to Sally; 
 how will that please you ? " 
 
 " I love Sally," said the child simply, as 
 the tender-hearted Sally knelt down beside 
 her. " Will you help console me with my 
 primer and that altogether dreadful sampler 
 when my Betty is away ? " 
 
 "Indeed will I," replied Sally, much 
 amused with Moppet s view of the sampler ; 
 " and you shall come and see me every fine 
 day, and the wet ones I am sure to be here 
 with Pamela, who has proclaimed her inten 
 tion of adopting me when Betty goes. And 
 now I must be going, for it is nearly the 
 dinner hour, and my mother says as I have
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED A LETTER 97 
 
 dined here three days she bespeaks iny pre 
 sence for one out of four. So farewell until 
 to-morrow, Betty, when I shall be here to 
 see you start upon your travels." 
 
 Betty was busy enough all that day ; in 
 deed, nothing more than a confused recollec 
 tion remained with her afterward of trunk 
 and two small boxes to be packed ; of Pa 
 mela s urging her acceptance of a new. lute 
 string slip, rose-colored, which had recently 
 come to her from Boston ; of Miss Bidwell s 
 innumerable stockings all tucked carefully 
 away in one corner of the hair-covered brass- 
 nailed box, and even Miss Moppet s tenderly 
 cherished blue bag embroidered in steel 
 beads, which had belonged to their mother, 
 but which Moppet insisted could be used by 
 Betty with great effect for her handkerchief 
 at a ball. 
 
 " Ball, indeed," sighed Betty, whose brave 
 heart was beginning to quail at thought of 
 an untold length of separation from her 
 beloved family. " I should think the hearts 
 of the patriots imprisoned in New York 
 would scarce be occupied with balls in such 
 times as these." 
 
 "You mistake," said Pamela, who, truth 
 to tell, half longed for Betty s opportunities,
 
 98 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 for was not her sister going somewhere near 
 Josiah s post ? "I am sure Clarissa s letter 
 which you read me bade you bring all your 
 best gowns and finery, and we have all 
 heard how gay the army of occupation make 
 the city." 
 
 "Aye, to those who are Tories," said 
 Betty, with curling red lips, " but for me 
 oh, Miss Bidwell, if you put in another pair 
 of stockings I shall require as many feet as 
 a centipede, who I read has hundreds of 
 them." 
 
 "Hundreds of feet?" echoed Miss Mop 
 pet. " Oh, Betty, do I live to hear you tell 
 a fairy tale as if it were real ? " 
 
 " Read your primer, and you will learn 
 many wonderful things," quoth Betty, 
 snatching up the child in her arms. " I 
 shall take you straightway to bed, for we 
 must be up betimes in the morning, you 
 know." 
 
 Very carefully and tenderly did Betty 
 bathe Moppet s sweet little face, conib and 
 smooth the pretty curling hair, so like her 
 own save in color, and then run the brass 
 warming-pan, heated by live coals, through 
 the sheets lest her tender body suffer even a 
 slight chill. And when Moppet was safely
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED A LETTER 99 
 
 lodged in bed Betty sat down beside her to 
 hold her hand until she dropped asleep. 
 But between excitement and grief the child s 
 eyes would not close, and she asked question 
 after question, until Betty finally announced 
 she should answer no more. 
 
 Moppet lay still for some moments, and 
 just as Betty was beginning to fancy that 
 the long, dark eyelashes were curling down 
 ward in sleepy comfort the dark blue eyes 
 opened, and a dancing imp of mischief 
 gleamed from their depths in Betty s face. 
 
 " When you meet Captain Yorke, Betty," 
 whispered Moppet, " be sure you tell him 
 how Oliver and Josiah hunted and hunted 
 that morning, and how I never, never 
 told"- 
 
 " Moppet," said Betty, turning a vivid 
 pink in the firelight, " how can you ! " 
 
 " Yes," pursued Moppet relentlessly, " and 
 you give him my love heaps of it and I 
 just hope he may never get taken a prisoner 
 during the whole war again." 
 
 " Go to sleep, dear," answered Betty, bit 
 ing her lip ; but her cheeks did not grow 
 cool until long after the soft, regular breath 
 ing told that her little sister had gone into 
 the land of dreams,
 
 100 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 The Wolcott household was up early that 
 cold winter morning, when Mrs. Seymour s 
 coach, with its pair of sturdy, strong gray 
 horses, drew up at the front door. It took 
 some twenty minutes to bestow Betty s trunk 
 and boxes on the rumble behind, during 
 which time Mrs. Seymour alighted and re 
 ceived all manner of charges and advice 
 from Miss Euphemia, who, now that Betty 
 was fairly on the wing, felt much sinking of 
 heart over her departure. Mrs. Seymour, 
 a pretty young matron, whose natural gayety 
 of spirit was only subdued by the anxiety 
 she was suffering in regard to her only 
 brother, now a prisoner in New York (and 
 for whose exchange she was bringing great 
 influence to bear in all directions), listened 
 with much outward deference and inward 
 impatience to the stately dame, and turned 
 with an air of relief to General Wolcott 
 when he announced that all was ready for 
 their departure, and with much courtliness 
 offered his hand to conduct her to her 
 coach. 
 
 " That you will take the best care of my 
 daughter I am assured, madam," said the 
 gallant gentleman. " It is our great good 
 fortune to have found this opportunity and
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED A LETTER 101 
 
 your kind escort, for owing to the shortness 
 of time I have not been able to notify my 
 son-in-law of Betty s coming. But as you 
 are going into the city yourself, I depend 
 upon you to keep her with you until you 
 can place her safely in Gulian Verplanck s 
 hands. I trust that you have General 
 Washington s pass close by you? It is 
 quite possible that you may need it even 
 before you reach White Plains ; there are 
 many marauding parties who infest the 
 country beyond us." 
 
 " It is here, general," replied Mrs. Sey 
 mour, touching the breast of her gown. " I 
 thought it well to carry it about my person, 
 as I am told that even the Hessians respect 
 General Washington s safe-conduct to enter 
 New York." 
 
 Betty, with crimson cheeks, but brave 
 smiling eyes, threw her arms fondly around 
 Miss Euphemia, Pamela, Sally, and Miss 
 Bidwell, all in turn, but Moppet s soft cry 
 as she buried her face in her hands made 
 her lip quiver, and as she bent her head for 
 her father s farewell, a reluctant tear forced 
 itself down her cheek. 
 
 " The God of our fathers be with you, my 
 daughter," he said, taking her in his arms ;
 
 102 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " my love and blessing to Clarissa and her 
 husband. Remain with them until I find 
 safe opportunity to have you return to us ; 
 advise us often of your health and, I trust, 
 continued well-being ; keep a brave heart as 
 befits your name and lineage ; fare you well, 
 fare you well ! " 
 
 Betty sank back trembling into her seat 
 beside Mrs. Seymour, the door was closed, 
 and as the coach rolled off she caught a 
 parting glimpse of Miss Moppet lifted high 
 in General Wolcott s arms, kissing her hand 
 fondly as she waved good-by.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 
 
 " DRAT that knocker ! " said Peter Pro- 
 voost. 
 
 The house stood on Wall Street, and to 
 the fact that it like a few others had been 
 built of brick, it owed its escape from the 
 fire which ravaged the city in 1776, the fire 
 which also destroyed old Trinity Church, 
 leaving the unsightly ruin standing for some 
 years in what was aristocratic New York of 
 the period. It was a square, comfortable- 
 looking mansion, with the Dutch stoep in 
 front, and the half-arch of small-paned glass 
 above the front door, which was painted 
 white and bore a massive brass knocker. 
 That same knocker was a source of much 
 irritation to Peter Provoost; for although 
 he was of fair size for his thirteen years, he 
 could barely reach it when mounted on the 
 very tips of his toes, and even then never 
 dared touch its shining surface unless his 
 fingers were clean a desirable state of
 
 104 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 neatness which, alas ! did not often adorn the 
 luckless Peter. For though tidy and care 
 ful enough when appearing before his guar 
 dians, Mr. and Mrs. Verplanck, it must be 
 confessed that going to and from school 
 Peter was prone to lay down both books and 
 hat, oftentimes in the mud, and square him 
 self pugnaciously if he chanced to meet one 
 of the boys of the " Vly Market," who were 
 wont to scoff and tease the Broadway boys 
 unmercifully ; and fierce battles were the 
 frequent outcome of the feeling between the 
 two sections, and in those Peter invariably 
 took part. 
 
 The family was a small one, and consisted 
 of Gulian Verplanck and his wife, his 
 grandmother, Mrs. Effingham, a lovely old 
 Quakeress, and Peter, who, having lost both 
 parents at an early age, had remained in 
 Albany with his other guardian, Mr. Abram 
 Lansing, until some six months before, 
 when it was decided that he should go to 
 New York and be under the Verplanck 
 eye ; and although Peter had rebelled much 
 against the plan in the first place, he found 
 himself much happier under Clarissa s gentle 
 rule, and positively adored her in conse 
 quence. The only lion in Peter s path at
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 105 
 
 present was the strong Tory proclivity of 
 the head of the house ; and although he had 
 been warned by his Albany friends to be 
 prudent and respectful, the boy had inher 
 ited a sturdy patriotism which burned all the 
 more hotly for its repression. 
 
 On this cold December afternoon Peter 
 stood, books in hand, and surveyed that 
 aggravating knocker from his stand on the 
 sidewalk. He was painfully conscious that 
 his feet were muddy, and his chubby fin 
 gers certainly needed soap and water; it 
 was Friday, and Pompey, one of the black 
 servants, had evidently been scrubbing 
 the front steps. Therefore Peter debated 
 whether it would be wiser to skirt around 
 the mansion and gain entrance by the area 
 steps, where no doubt he would encounter 
 Dinah, the cook (who objected to invasions 
 of unclean shoes), or boldly ascend the front 
 steps, struggle with that balefully glittering 
 knocker, and trust to Pompey s somewhat 
 dim eyes to escape remonstrance before he 
 could gain his own room and make him 
 self presentable. The chances of a scolding 
 seemed pretty equally balanced to Peter, 
 and he heaved a deep sigh and put his foot 
 on the first immaculate step before him as a
 
 106 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 hand fell on his shoulder and a merry voice 
 said behind him : 
 
 " What in the world are you pondering, 
 Peter? I have watched you since I turned 
 the corner of Broadway, and truly for once 
 have seen you stand absolutely still. In 
 some scrape with the Vly boys, I 11 war 
 rant ; do you wish me to come in and plead 
 for you?" and Kitty Cruger tripped lightly 
 up the steps as she beckoned Peter to follow. 
 
 "Now you have done it not I! " said 
 Peter, with a mischievous chuckle, as he tore 
 up after her. 
 
 "Done what?" asked mystified Kitty. 
 She and Peter were fast friends. 
 
 "Muddied the clean steps," quoth Peter 
 with gleeful brevity. 
 
 " Have I ? " glancing down carelessly 
 until she saw each dainty footprint plainly 
 depicted on the white marble, side by side 
 with Peter s heavier tracks. " Oh, what a 
 shame," reaching up successfully to the 
 brass knocker; "but I am sure Pompey 
 will forgive me, and you can " stopping 
 short as the door opened and Pompey him 
 self stood bowing low in the hall. 
 
 " Good-day, missy," said he, for Kitty 
 Cruger was a frequent and welcome visitor
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 107 
 
 at the Verplancks . " Miss Clarissa is pretty 
 well to-day, thank you, and ole madam is in 
 the drawing-room Law ! " catching sight 
 of Peter, who was skillfully slipping down 
 the hall in Kitty s wake. " Dat you, Massa 
 Peter ? Reckon you better hurry, for it s 
 mos time for dinner, sail." 
 
 But Peter, with great discretion, paused 
 not for reply as he vanished up a back stair 
 case and reached his own chamber, panting 
 but triumphant. 
 
 " Good-day, dear grandma," said Kitty, 
 crossing the hall as Pompey held open the 
 door of the drawing-room ; "I was detained 
 by reason of the sewing-bee at the Morrises , 
 and have barely time to see you and ask for 
 Clarissa." 
 
 " How does thee do ? " said Grandma 
 Effmgham, drawing her little drab shawl 
 more closely around her shapely shoulders 
 as she laid down her knitting. " I am 
 pleased to see thee. Clarissa is somewhat 
 stronger to-day ; thee knows she has been 
 more like her old self since Gulian dis 
 patched the letters asking that one of her 
 sisters be allowed to come to her. The poor 
 child pines for a home face ; it is natural ; 
 thee sees she has been long absent from her 
 people."
 
 108 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Surely it is almost time to get some 
 reply," said Kitty, as she kissed the dear 
 old Quakeress, for Kitty was one of Mrs. 
 Effingham s grandchildren, although her 
 mother had been read out of meeting for 
 having married one of the " world s people." 
 " I doubt that Clarissa will shortly begin 
 to worry and grow ill again unless kind 
 Providence sends some tidings." 
 
 " Nay, nay," said grandma gently. " If 
 thee had half Clarissa s patience it would be 
 thy gain, Kitty." 
 
 Grandma was such a quaint, pretty pic 
 ture, as she sat in. her straight-backed chair, 
 with her Quaker cap and steel-gray silk gown, 
 her sleeves elbow-cut, displaying still plump 
 and rounded arms (although she was nearly 
 seventy), and her smooth white fingers flew 
 rapidly in and out of the blue yarn as she 
 resumed her knitting of Peter s stocking. 
 Peter was rather a godsend to grandma in 
 the matter of stockings ; no wool that was 
 ever carded could resist his vigorous on 
 slaughts, and it kept grandma busy all her 
 spare moments to supply his restless feet 
 with warm covering. 
 
 " Patience," echoed Kitty, with a comical 
 sigh. " Nay, grandma, give me a few more 
 years without it."
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 109 
 
 " Fie," said grandma, gazing at the bright 
 face with her indulgent eye ; " eighteen is 
 full late to begin to learn to conform to thy 
 elders. I was married and the twins were 
 born at thy age, Kitty." 
 
 " Good lack," quoth Kitty. " Where are 
 the men nowadays, grandma? Save for 
 the redcoats, and I am not so daft over Sir 
 Henry Clinton s gay officers as some no 
 doubt t is my Quaker blood except for 
 the officers, where are our gallants? Some 
 of mine are up the Hudson beyond the neu 
 tral ground, others with the rebels at Mor- 
 ristown." 
 
 " Hush," said grandma, with an uneasy 
 glance toward the door ; " do not talk of 
 rebels in this house : had n t thee better run 
 up and see Clarissa?" 
 
 " If Miss Kitty pleases," spoke the voice 
 of Pompey at the door, " will she walk up 
 stairs ? Young madam wants to see her." 
 
 " Coming," said Kitty, kissing grandma 
 fondly, and then following Pompey as he 
 marched gravely up to open the door of 
 Mrs. Verplanck s morning-room. It was a 
 tiny apartment ; for when Gulian Verplanck 
 brought his young bride home he had added 
 a room to the wing below, and as it greatly
 
 110 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 enlarged their bedroom, the happy idea had 
 struck him to throw up a partition, corner- 
 ways, which formed an irregularly shaped 
 room opening on the passage, and gave 
 Clarissa her own cherished den in that great 
 house of square rooms and high ceilings. 
 In it she had placed all her home belong 
 ings : her spinnet, which had been her 
 mother s (brought by sloop to New York 
 from New Haven), found the largest space 
 there, and her grandmother s small spinning- 
 wheel was in the corner near the chimney- 
 piece which Gulian had contrived to have 
 put in lest his delicate wife might suffer 
 with cold. 
 
 Near the small log which blazed brightly 
 on the hearth, in a low chair made some 
 what easy with cushions, sat a fair, fragile- 
 looking, girlish figure, in whose mournful 
 dark eyes was something so pathetic that it 
 suggested the old-time prophecy that such 
 "die young." Clarissa Verplanck in that 
 resembled none of her family, and the one 
 reason for her father s and aunt s anxiety 
 about her was that she was thought the 
 image of a sister of her mother who fulfilled 
 the prophecy. Be that as it may, Clarissa 
 was anything but a mournful person in gen-
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 111 
 
 eral ; her spirits were somewhat prone to 
 outrun her physical strength, and therefore 
 her sad little appeal for one of her sisters to 
 cheer her had come in the light of a demand 
 to the Litchfield home, and alarmed them 
 more than anything else could have done. 
 
 " Kitty, Kitty," said Clarissa, holding out 
 a welcoming hand to her visitor, who seated 
 herself on a cricket beside her, " why have 
 you not been in this four days ? I am truly 
 glad to see you, for ever since Gulian and I 
 dispatched our letters to my father I have 
 been so cross and impatient that I fear my 
 good husband is beginning to tire of his 
 bargain, and lament a peevish wife." 
 
 " Heaven forgive you for the slander," 
 retorted Kitty, laughing ; " if ever there 
 was a husband who adored the ground you 
 walk on, Gulian is " 
 
 " Thank you," said a quiet voice, as a tall 
 dark man entered from the bedroom. 
 
 " Let me finish my sentence Gulian is 
 that benighted swain," burst in Kitty. 
 
 " Again, my thanks," answered Gulian 
 gravely. To none but Clarissa was he ever 
 seen to relax his serious manner ; perhaps 
 hers were the only eyes who saw the tender 
 ness behind the stern, reserved exterior.
 
 112 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 He really liked his cousin ; but although 
 Kitty was not, like most people, afraid of 
 him, it must be confessed that he wearied 
 her, and she much preferred to have her 
 gossip with Clarissa when Gulian was safely 
 out of the house. 
 
 " And now tell me about the letters," 
 pursued Kitty. " You sent for your sister, 
 grandma told me. Which one, Clarissa? " 
 
 " Indeed, I do not know ; I left the 
 choice to my father, but I think I hope 
 it may be Betty. I only wish I might have 
 Moppet as well," and the quickly checked 
 sigh told Gulian s keen ears what the un- 
 uttered thought had been. 
 
 " Betty let me see is that the sister 
 next yourself ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ; the sister next to me in age 
 died in infancy. Then comes Oliver, and 
 then Pamela, who is seventeen now, and next 
 my Betty. How I wonder if the girls have 
 changed ; five years makes a long gap, you 
 know, and even my imagination can scarce 
 fill it. Do you fancy we will hear soon, 
 Gulian?" 
 
 " I cannot tell," he said gently, thinking 
 how often he had sought reply to the same 
 question in the past week, and longing ten 
 derly to give her the expected pleasure.
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 113 
 
 " It may be that General Wolcott may 
 find some chance opportunity to send his 
 daughter at once, in which event you know 
 there would scarce be time to hear before 
 she would reach us." 
 
 " Oh, Gulian," cried Clarissa, clasping 
 her hands, as a faint pink glow lit her pale 
 face, " you did not say that before. If it 
 were only possible " 
 
 " Why not ? " said Kitty encouragingly. 
 
 " But, Gulian, you said in the letter that 
 you would await my sister at King s Bridge 
 Inn. Surely you cannot go there and stop, 
 waiting at the Inn for days ? " 
 
 " I can ride out to-morrow, and, in fact, 
 I hastened through some business at the 
 wharf to-day which enabled me to have 
 the day free. I can easily go to King s 
 Bridge and inquire at the Inn for dis 
 patches ; you will not mind my being absent 
 all day ? Perhaps Kitty will come and bear 
 you company while I am gone ? " 
 
 " Eight gladly," replied Kitty ; " will you 
 ride alone, Gulian ? " 
 
 " I might, easily," said Gulian ; " but 
 when I procured a pass from Sir Henry 
 Clinton yesterday (it is an eight days pass, 
 Clarissa) I found that Captain Yorke goes 
 to-rnorrow to the neutral ground to inspect
 
 114 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 troops, and I think I shall take advantage 
 of his company." 
 
 " I am glad of that," said Clarissa, put 
 ting her slender hand in Gillian s and look 
 ing with grateful eyes up at him, as he 
 stood beside her chair. " Is he the aide-de- 
 camp you told me of, Gulian, for whom you 
 had taken a liking ? " 
 
 " The same ; a fine, manly fellow, the 
 second son of Lord Herbert Yorke, one of 
 my father s old friends in England. You 
 were dancing with him at the De Lanceys 
 small and early, were you not, Kitty, last 
 week?" 
 
 " Yes," said Kitty, with a quick nod and 
 a half frown, " he has the usual airs and 
 graces of a newly arrived officer from the 
 mother-country . 
 
 " Perhaps you find the colonists more to 
 your mind," responded Gulian somewhat 
 severely ; but Clarissa gave his sleeve a 
 warning twitch, as Kitty made answer with 
 heightened color : 
 
 " My own countrymen are ever first with 
 me, as you know full well, Gulian, but one 
 must dance sometimes to keep up one s heart 
 in these times, and Captain Yorke has a 
 passably good step which suits with mine."
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 115 
 
 What Gillian would have replied to this 
 was never known, for at that moment an 
 outcry arose in the hall, followed by the 
 bump, bump of some heavy body rolling- 
 down the staircase, and Peter s boyish voice 
 shouting out, between gasps of laughter, 
 
 " Pompey, Pompey, I say ! it s nobodv 
 but me ; oh, what a proper old goose it is ; 
 do, somebody come and thrash him." 
 
 In a second Gulian and Kitty were out 
 side the door, and beheld at the foot of the 
 winding stairs poor Pompey, picking him 
 self up, with many groans and much rubbing 
 of his shins, while Peter, rolling himself 
 nearly double with laughter, stood midway 
 of the flight, with a queer object in his hand 
 which Gulian seized hastily. 
 
 " It s only a gourd," gasped Peter be 
 tween paroxysms. " I kept it in my closet 
 for a week, and half an hour ago I stole a 
 bit of wick out of Dinah s pantry and dipped 
 it well in melted tallow, and then stuck it 
 inside, when, as you see, having carved out 
 two eyes and a slit for the nose, it looks 
 somewhat ghastly when the light comes 
 forth." 
 
 " It s a debbil, debbil," cried Pompey. 
 " Massa Peter sent me to find his skates,
 
 116 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 and dat awful face " - Pompey s teeth chat 
 tered, and Peter went off in a fresh burst 
 of laughter. 
 
 " It scared him properly, Uncle Gulian ; 
 and though I ran after him and shook it 
 (it only looks gruesome in the dark, you 
 know) he never stopped, and he stumbled 
 on the first step, and then he rolled My ! 
 how he did bump " and naughty Peter 
 sat down on the stairs and held his sides for 
 very merriment. 
 
 " You ought to be ashamed of yourself," 
 said Gulian sternly, to whom practical jokes 
 were an utter abomination, " and you de 
 serve to be well punished. Pompey, stop 
 groaning, and inform me at once whether 
 you have sustained any injury by your fall." 
 
 " Law, Massa Gulian, you tink falling 
 down dat stair gwine to hurt dis chile ? " 
 began Pompey, who entertained a warm 
 affection for the mischievous Peter and 
 dreaded nothing so much as a scolding 
 from his master. " Dose stairs don t mount 
 to nuffin ; ef it had been de area steps dey 
 moughten be dangerous. Massa knows 
 boys mus have dey fun ; please cuse me 
 for makin such a bobbery." 
 
 " Well, I did it," said Peter sturdily, in-
 
 INSIDE BRITISH LINES 117 
 
 stantly sobered by the expression of his 
 uncle s face, and his generous heart touched 
 with Pompey s defense of his prank, " and 
 nobody helped me, so let s have the whip 
 ping right off before dinner, please, Uncle 
 Gulian, and then I can eat in peace 
 even if I am a trifle sore," wound up the 
 sinner ruefully. 
 
 Gulian Verplanck s sense of humor was 
 not keen, but the situation was too much 
 for him, and a queer, grim smile lit up his 
 eyes, as he said slowly : 
 
 "As Pompey seems more frightened than 
 hurt, and has interceded for you, I shall 
 not punish you this time, Peter ; but recol 
 lect that the very first occasion after this 
 that you see fit to practice a joke on any 
 member of my household, your skates will 
 be confiscated for the remainder of the 
 winter," and with a warning glance he fol 
 lowed Kitty back into his wife s room, leav 
 ing Pompey on the staircase, still rubbing 
 his bruised shins, while the irrepressible 
 Peter indulged once more in a convulsion 
 of silent laughter which bent him double 
 and threatened to burst every button off his 
 tightly fitting jacket.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 
 
 MRS. SEYMOUR, having had the advan 
 tage of some weeks to form her plans, had 
 carefully arranged everything for her own 
 comfort, so far as was possible, and Betty 
 Wolcott, after the first pang of parting was 
 over, began to enjoy the novelty of the jour 
 ney most thoroughly. Except for a few 
 days spent at Lebanon, Betty had never 
 been from home in her life, and being, as 
 we have seen, a bit of a philosopher in her 
 own quaint fashion, after the first day spent 
 in Mrs. Seymour s cheerful society she 
 found herself much less homesick than she 
 had expected. To begin with, the coach 
 was, for those times, very comfortable. It 
 was English-built, and had been provided 
 with capacious pockets in unexpected places ; 
 it amused Betty exceedingly to find that she 
 was seated over the turkey, ham, cake, and 
 even a goodly pat of butter, carefully packed 
 in a small stone jar, while another compart-
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 119 
 
 ment held several changes of linen, powder, 
 a small mirror, a rouge pot, and some 
 brushes. Mrs. Seymour had been born and 
 bred in New York, and many of her people 
 were Tories ; therefore she hoped to assist 
 the brother who, breaking apart from the 
 others, had taken up arms for the colonists. 
 
 Csesar, Mrs. Seymour s coachman, was a 
 colored man of middle age, a slave of her 
 father s, and, having been brought from New 
 York to Connecticut, knew the route fairly 
 well. They broke the journey first at a small 
 roadside tavern, where the horses were 
 baited, while Betty and Mrs. Seymour 
 gladly descended, and warmed themselves 
 well by the kitchen fire, taking a drink of 
 warm milk, for which the good woman who 
 had invited them inside refused payment. 
 She was deeply interested when Mrs. Sey 
 mour told her of their errand, and followed 
 them out to the door of the coach, bringing 
 with her own hands the soapstone which she 
 had carefully warmed for their feet, and she 
 waved a kindly good-by as they rode off, 
 delighted at seeing, for the first time in her 
 life, a " pleasure coach." 
 
 The first night was spent by the travelers 
 in Danbury, where they proceeded to the
 
 120 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 house of Mrs. Seymour s cousin, Mrs. Beebe, 
 and were most warmly welcomed. The 
 Beebe household, which consisted of Mrs. 
 Beebe and seven children (Captain Beebe 
 being with the Connecticut Rangers), 
 trooped out, one and all, to meet them, to 
 inspect the coach, interview Ca3sar, and ad 
 mire the horses. Billy, the second boy, fra 
 ternized with Betty at once ; and after 
 learning all the mysteries of the coach pock 
 ets, helping Caesar to unharness, and super 
 intending the fetching of an. extra large log 
 for the fireplace, he roasted chestnuts in the 
 ashes as they sat around the chimney-piece, 
 and told Betty thrilling stories of the attack 
 on Danbury by the British. 
 
 " We dragged the feather-beds up to the 
 window," said Billy, " and mother stuffed a 
 pillow or two in the cracks. My, how the 
 bullets did fly ! The children were all bid 
 to stay in the attic ; but as the roof shelves, 
 you know, it became pretty hot, especially 
 when the fires began, and then mother did 
 get frightened, more especially when she saw 
 the blaze of the Woolford house, down the 
 street. Did n t I just wish I was a man, to 
 go and help father that day ! Luckily for 
 us, the wind was in the other direction ; 
 father said that was all that saved us."
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 121 
 
 " And Divine Providence, my son, 1 said 
 Mrs. Beebe s soft voice, as she laid a hand 
 on the boy s shoulder. " Billy s only ex 
 perience of war was a sharp one for a few 
 hours. He has been longing ever since to 
 join his father, but I can only find it in my 
 mother s heart to rejoice that he is too young 
 to do so. Now, Billy, light the candles ; for 
 if our friends must resume their journey to 
 morrow, it is full time to retire." 
 
 Betty found the little room assigned to 
 her, with Billy s assistance, but before he 
 left her he pointed out two small holes near 
 the window frame, where bullets had entered 
 and remained buried in the woodwork ; and 
 as Betty curled herself up in the centre of 
 the great feather-bed, she thought, with a 
 throb of her girlish heart, that perhaps she, 
 too, might see some of the terrors of war 
 before she returned to the shelter of her 
 dear Litchfield home. 
 
 The next morning dawned cold and 
 chilly ; a few flakes of snow floated, thro ugh 
 the air, and Mrs. Beebe urged strongly the 
 wisdom of lying over for twenty-four hours, 
 lest a storm should come and render the 
 roads impassable. But Mrs. Seymour, after 
 a consultation with Cassar, decided that it
 
 122 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 was best to push on ; winter was approach 
 ing, and each day made the journey less 
 feasible. There was a fairly good road be 
 tween them and White Plains, and now that 
 she had started she was impatient to reach 
 the city. Betty, too, was eager to be off, so 
 with many warm thanks, they again packed 
 the coach and said farewell to the hospitable 
 Beebes, who had insisted on adding fresh 
 stores of provisions to their hamper ; and 
 Billy s last act of friendliness was to slip 
 into Betty s hand a package of taffy, of his 
 own manufacture, which he assured her 
 " was not over-sticky, provided you use care 
 in biting it." 
 
 This part of the journey was cold and 
 cheerless enough. The road wound some 
 what, and the settlements were few, even 
 the houses were far apart from each other ; 
 and although the hills were fewer, they 
 heard Caesar admonish his horses more fre 
 quently than usual, and about four o clock 
 in the day they came to a full stop. The 
 snow of the morning had turned into a sort 
 of drizzling rain ; and CaBsar, dismounting 
 from his seat, announced to his mistress that 
 one of the horses had cast a shoe. 
 
 " What shall we do ? " cried Mrs. Sey-
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 123 
 
 rnour in dismay, preparing to jump down 
 into the mud and investigate matters. 
 
 " Dey s no use at all of madam s gettin 
 out," said Csesar, holding the door of the 
 coach, "no use at all. I se done got de 
 shoe, cause I saw it a-comin off, an here it 
 is. De horse will do well enuf, caise I 11 
 drive wif care ; but what I wants to say is 
 that, cordin to my jedgment, we had 
 oughter take a turn to de right, just hyar, 
 which am in de direction ob Kidgefield, 
 ,vhar I ken fin a blacksmith s shop, shuh. 
 Ef madam pleases, it s goin somewhat out 
 of de direct way to White Plains, but what 
 wid de weather, which madam can see is ob 
 streperous an onsartain, I m ob de opinion 
 dat Ridgefield am de best stoppin place for 
 dis night, anyhow ; " and having delivered 
 himself of this exhortation, Caesar touched 
 his hat respectfully, but with an air of hav 
 ing settled the question. 
 
 " Very well," said Mrs. Seymour, for she 
 knew Csesar and Ca?sar s ways, and more 
 over had much confidence in his ability to 
 take care of her, as well as of his horses. 
 " Then take the turn to the right, as you 
 propose. Are you quite sure you are familiar 
 with the road here, C3sar ? It will be dark
 
 124 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 soon, and I confess I should not like to lose 
 our way." 
 
 " Not gwine to lose de road wid dis chile 
 on de box," said Csesar with fine disdain, 
 as he climbed to his seat and rolled himself 
 up warmly again, his teeth chattering as he 
 did so. But he said to himself, as the 
 horses started slowly, " Pray de Lord I 
 ain t mistooken ; don t want to fall into none 
 ob dem old redcoats han s, Ca3sar don t, 
 dat s sartain." 
 
 Inside the coach, which lumbered on so 
 slowly that it almost seemed to crawl, Mrs. 
 Seymour and Betty tried to keep up their 
 spirits by an occasional remark of cheerful 
 character, and Betty suggested that perhaps 
 some bread and cheese from the Beebe 
 larder would prove satisfactory to Csesar ; 
 but on asking the question Caesar only shook 
 his head, and responded that he was too 
 busy looking after the horses to eat ; and 
 the long hours dragged on as it grew darker 
 and darker. Betty rested her head against 
 the door and peered out at the dripping 
 trees, whose bare limbs stood like skele 
 tons against the leaden sky. Mrs. Seymour 
 had sunk into a fitful doze by her side. 
 Suddenly the off horse gave a plunge, the
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 125 
 
 coacli tilted far to one side, and then righted 
 itself as Caesar s loud " Whoa, dar ! Steady ! 
 steady ! " was heard. Then Betty saw half a 
 dozen shadowy forms surround them, and 
 a voice said sharply, " Who goes there ? 
 Plait ! " and a hand was laid roughly on the 
 door of the coach. 
 
 " Pray who are you who detain ladies on 
 a journey ? " said Mrs. Seymour, addressing 
 the man nearest her. " I am in my own 
 coach with a maid on our way to New York, 
 and one of my horses has cast a shoe." 
 
 " Stand aside there," said another voice 
 impatiently, as an officer dismounted from 
 his horse, and flung the rein to one of the 
 men. " If you are bound to a city occupied 
 by the British, you must have safe-conduct, 
 madam, else we are compelled to search and 
 detain you." 
 
 For answer, Mrs. Seymour drew out a 
 folded paper, which the officer, straining his 
 eyes in the fast-fading daylight, read aloud, 
 as follows : 
 
 " After the expiration of eight days from 
 the date hereof, Mrs. Seymour and maid 
 have permission to go into the city of New 
 York and to return a<rain.
 
 126 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Given at Morristown this second day of 
 December. 
 
 " G. WASHINGTON." 
 
 " From the commander-in-chief," said the 
 officer, raising his hat, as he motioned 
 his men to stand back. " Madam, permit 
 me to present myself as Lieutenant Hill- 
 house of the Connecticut Rangers, and pray 
 command my services." 
 
 " Oh," gasped Betty, from the other side, 
 " our own troops, thank Heaven ! " 
 
 " Truly you are a welcome arrival," said 
 Mrs. Seymour, with a light-hearted laugh. 
 " Betty and I have passed a bad five min 
 utes, fancying you were Hessians. I am on 
 my way to the city to intercede for my bro 
 ther, Captain Seymour s exchange, and, for 
 the once, I do not mind telling you that 
 my companion is Mistress Betty Wolcott, 
 consigned to my care by her father, General 
 Wolcott, as her sister, Mrs. Verplanck, lies 
 ill in New York, and she goes there to see 
 her, but she travels as my maid." 
 
 " I met Lieutenant Hillhouse last summer 
 at my father s house," said Betty, as the 
 young officer came around to her side of 
 the coach, " and right glad I am to see you
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 127 
 
 now, sir, instead of the redcoats whom 
 Caesar, our coachman, has been imagining 
 would start from every bush as we near 
 White Plains." 
 
 " You are not above a mile from a little 
 settlement called Ridgefield," answered the 
 officer ; " and while there is no tavern there, 
 my men and I found fairly comfortable 
 quarters to-day. If I may suggest, you 
 should get there as soon as may be." 
 
 " We would be glad to," said Mrs. Sey 
 mour ruefully, " but one of my horses has 
 cast a shoe, hence our slow progress. I am 
 more than glad my servant has not mistaken 
 the way." 
 
 " Madam oughter to know Caesar better," 
 grumbled that worthy from the box. 
 
 " How long will it take you to drive the 
 remaining mile ? " said his mistress sooth 
 ingly. " We may perhaps have your es 
 cort, lieutenant? " 
 
 " I am on my return there, madam ; 
 permit me to send my men in advance to 
 arrange for your comfort, and I will with 
 pleasure ride beside you until we arrive. 
 Kidgefield lies beyond that turn," raising 
 his whip to direct Caesar. " If it were not 
 for the growing darkness, you would see the
 
 128 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 smoke from the chimney of the house where 
 I am quartered ; " and closing the door of 
 the coach, the officer gave directions to his 
 men, who inarched quickly down the road, 
 as he mounted and pursued his way with 
 the ladies. 
 
 Just beyond the farmhouse which Lieu 
 tenant Hillhouse had pointed out as his 
 temporary quarters stood a low, wooden 
 structure, with a lean-to in the rear, and 
 there Ca3sar drew up his tired horses. A 
 rather cross-looking spinster stood in the 
 door of the house, and as Betty and Mrs. 
 Seymour alighted she said snappishly : 
 
 " I don t own much room, as I told your 
 men, Mister Lieutenant, but so long as 
 you re not Hessians I m willing to open 
 my door for you. It won t be for long, will 
 it?" 
 
 " Oh, 110," replied Mrs. Seymour, with her 
 pretty, gracious smile, " we are simply in 
 need of a night s lodging. I think we have 
 food enough in our hampers, and if you can 
 give us hot milk I have coffee ready for 
 making." 
 
 "I don t begrudge you nothing," said the 
 woman in a softened tone, as Betty bade 
 her a pleasant good-day, " but it s a poor
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 129 
 
 place, anyhow," gazing up at the bare 
 rafters, " and as I live here all alone I have 
 to be precious careful of my few things." 
 
 " But it s so neat and clean," said Betty, 
 pulling a three-legged stool toward the fire, 
 and surveying the recently scrubbed floor ; 
 " we are cold and weary, and you are very 
 good to take us in." 
 
 Evidently the woman was amenable to 
 politeness, for she bustled around and in 
 sisted upon making the coffee, which Csesar 
 produced in due time from his hamper under 
 the box-seat, and she laid a cloth on the 
 pine-wood table, and at last, after disappear 
 ing for a few minutes into the darkness of 
 a small inner room, reappeared with three 
 silver spoons and two forks in her hand, 
 which she laid carefully down beside the 
 pewter plates on the table with an air of 
 pride as she remarked, addressing no one 
 in particular : 
 
 " The forks was my grandmother s, and 
 my father fetched the spoons from a voyage 
 he made on the Spanish main, and he al 
 ways said they was made of real Spanish 
 dollars." 
 
 Thereupon Mrs. Seymour and Betty 
 fell to admiring the queer - looking articles
 
 130 AN UNWJLLTNG MAID 
 
 (which from their workmanship were really 
 worthy of admiration), and the spinster re 
 laxed her sevei e air sufficiently to accept 
 a cup of the coffee they were drinking. 
 And then Mrs. Seymour induced her to give 
 consent that Caesar should have a shake 
 down in a corner of the kitchen, and al 
 though the bed which Betty and the pretty 
 matron had to share was hard, it was clean, 
 and the pillows soft, and they slept soundly 
 and well amid their rough surroundings, 
 and, to confess the truth, enjoyed the 
 novelty of the situation. 
 
 Lieutenant Hillhouse aroused them early 
 in the morning by a message ; and as Mrs. 
 Seymour was not ready to receive him, 
 Betty ran out and met him at the door. 
 
 " You look so fresh and bright that I am 
 sure your night spent upon the roadside 
 has not harmed you," said the officer, bid 
 ding her good-morning. " I am off at once, 
 as I carry an order to General Wolcott for 
 quartermaster s stores in Litchfield. What 
 shall I say to your father for you? " 
 
 " Oh," cried Betty, rejoiced at this chance 
 to send word of mouth to her beloved ones, 
 " how truly fortunate ! Tell my father 
 we are well and in good spirits, and hope
 
 HETTY S JOURNEY 131 
 
 to reach the neutral ground to-night at 
 farthest." 
 
 " You may easily do that ; the storm has 
 passed, as you see, and if my friend Cffisar 
 can urge his horses somewhat, you are not 
 likely to meet with detentions. One of my 
 men has assisted in shoeing the horse, and 
 if you can, you should start at once." 
 
 The coach and Mrs. Seymour appeared 
 at this moment simultaneously, and the 
 lieutenant insisted upon seeing the ladies 
 safely started. Betty seized the opportu 
 nity to ask for news of Josiah Huntington, 
 and was told of his having rendered good 
 service, and that he gained in popularity 
 daily. 
 
 " And Oliver my brother," said Betty, 
 leaning from the coach as they were about 
 to move off ; " what tidings of him ? " 
 
 " He has not been with me," replied Hill- 
 house with some constraint ; " indeed, I think 
 he was to be sent on some special service." 
 
 " Give him my best affection," said Betty. 
 " And oh, sir, to my little sister at home 
 pray deliver my fondest love," and tears 
 were brimming in Betty s eyes as Ca3sar 
 flicked his whip at the horses heads and 
 the coach started.
 
 132 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 The road being somewhat better than 
 that already traveled, the miles which inter 
 vened between Ridgefield and White Plains 
 were more briskly done, and Ca3sar had the 
 satisfaction of pulling up his horses in good 
 condition before the well-known tavern at 
 the latter place in time for dinner. The 
 somewhat pretentious sign hanging out over 
 the door had been changed to suit the times 
 and the tempers of the guests, for what had 
 previously read " The King s Arms, Accom 
 modations for Man and Beast," was now 
 " The Washington Inn," and beneath it a 
 picture in Continental uniform of a man 
 whose rubicund countenance required con 
 siderable imagination to transform into a 
 likeness of the commander-in-chief. As 
 there happened to be a lack of hostlers, it 
 took some time to get the horses baited, and 
 it was later than Mrs. Seymour could have 
 wished when Csar finally made his appear 
 ance and informed his mistress that all was 
 ready for their departure. The weather 
 had been growing colder steadily, and 
 greatly to their surprise the travelers 
 learned that in all probability Harlem River 
 was frozen, and grave doubts were ex 
 pressed by mine host of the inn whether
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 133 
 
 the ladies could gain their journey s end 
 without much discomfort and exposure. 
 But Mrs. Seymour and Betty were both of 
 the opinion that it was inexpedient to linger 
 longer on the road, so for the fourth time 
 tbey climbed into the coach, and, muffling 
 themselves as closely as possible to keep out 
 the cold, pursued their onward way. 
 
 Five miles, eight miles, were covered with 
 fair speed, and Betty s spirits were rising 
 rapidly at the thought that New York and 
 Clarissa were not far away, when Ca3sar 
 turned around on his box, and, bringing 
 his horses to a walk, said in an awestruck 
 whisper, 
 
 " Fore de Lord, madam, I done suspect 
 de redcoats is comin ; d ye heah em from 
 de woods ober dar?" pointing with trembling 
 hand in the direction of a sound which rang 
 out on the frosty air at first indistinctly, 
 and then resolved itself into a song. 
 
 " Under the trees in sunny weather, 
 Just try a cup of ale together. 
 And if in tempest or in storm, 
 A couple then, to make you warm," l 
 
 sang a rollicking voice, in fairly good time 
 
 1 A topical song then in vogue in New York. (See 
 Story of the City of New York.)
 
 134 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 and tune, as a group of men came in sight. 
 As they neared the coach, the man in ad 
 vance trolled out in an accent which betrayed 
 his Teutonic origin, 
 
 " But if the day be very cold, 
 Then take a mug of twelve months old ! " - 
 
 " Hello, halt there ! " came the command, 
 as the singer seized the horse by the bridle, 
 and another soldier dragged Caesar roughly 
 from his seat ; " who are you, and whence 
 bound?" 
 
 "Ask my mistress," gasped Caesar, al 
 most convinced that his last hour had come, 
 but still having firm faith in Mrs. Seymour. 
 "Dun you know how to speak to a lady ? " 
 
 " I have safe-conduct from General Wash 
 ington to enter New York," said Mrs. Sey 
 mour calmly, extending her hand with the 
 precious paper toward the first speaker. The 
 man took it, and gazed stupidly at it. Evi 
 dently being German, he could not read it ; 
 but having turned it upside down and gazed 
 at it for some seconds, he gave a drunken 
 leer as he peered inside the coach. 
 
 " What you got in your hamper ? blenty 
 cognac, eh ? Give us a pottle ; that s better 
 than mugs of ale, eh, poys ? " and he laughed 
 uproariously.
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 135 
 
 " I shall give you nothing," said Mrs. 
 Seymour firmly ; " if you cannot read my 
 safe-conduct yourself, is there not one of 
 your men who can ? " 
 
 The Hessian was about to make angry 
 reply, when a young fellow, evidently an 
 Englishman, shoved his way through the 
 men to the coach door. 
 
 " Stop that, Joris," he said, prodding the 
 corporal with his elbow; " give me the paper ; 
 I can read it." But Joris, who evidently 
 had reached the stage of ugly intoxication, 
 did not choose to give it up, and stood his 
 ground. 
 
 " Ve wants cognac," he shouted, " an you 
 comes out, lady, an ve 11 find for ourselves 
 vhat you is," and seizing Mrs. Seymour by 
 the arm he attempted to drag her from her 
 seat with some violence. 
 
 " The pistol, Betty ! " cried the plucky lit 
 tle woman as her feet touched the ground ; 
 but as Betty, with equally reckless courage, 
 drew their only weapon from its hiding- 
 place, the } r oung Englishman rushed at Joris 
 with an oath, exclaiming, 
 
 " Look out, you fool here comes the 
 officer s patrol," and there was a clatter of 
 horses feet, a swift rush, and a voice de-
 
 136 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 manding in stern fashion, " Stand back, 
 there ! Whose coach is this ? What do you 
 mean, fellow, by handling a lady in that 
 manner?" and Geoffrey Yorke struck Joris 
 a blow with his sheathed sword which nearly 
 sobered him on the spot. 
 
 Back into the corner of the coach sank 
 Betty, and as she pulled her hood still far 
 ther over her face, she felt as if every drop 
 of blood she possessed was tingling in her 
 cheeks, as she saw Geoffrey, hat in hand, 
 dismount and read General Washington s 
 safe-conduct. 
 
 " I deeply regret, madam," he said, with 
 stately courtesy to Mrs. Seymour, " that a 
 corporal s guard should have caused you 
 such annoyance, and I shall see that the fel 
 low who treated you so roughly be properly 
 punished. Meantime, if you intend to enter 
 New York you will be obliged to leave your 
 coach a mile farther on, and cross the river 
 on horseback. King s Bridge, as you may 
 know, was fired some months ago by the 
 rebels, and the flatboat used for ferrying 
 has been abandoned on account of the ice. 
 It will afford me pleasure to do what I can 
 for your comfort and that of your compan 
 ion. But it is my duty, unfortunately, to
 
 BETTY S JOURNEY 137 
 
 make passing search of your coach ; will 
 you pardon me if I do so ? " 
 
 As he spoke, Captain Yorke advanced to 
 the door and extended his hand to assist the 
 occupant of the vehicle to alight, but Betty, 
 ignoring assistance, attempted to spring 
 past him to the ground. As the willful 
 maiden did so the topknot of her hood 
 caught in a provoking nail of the open door 
 and was violently pulled from her head ; and 
 as her lovely, rosy face almost brushed his 
 sleeve, Geoffrey started back with a low 
 
 cry,- 
 
 " Betty ! "
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 A MAID S CAPRICE 
 
 " Mistress Betty, sir," came the swift 
 whisper in retort, and with so haughty a 
 gesture that Geoffrey stepped back as if he 
 had been struck, while Betty, with a slight 
 inclination of her head, passed on to where 
 Mrs. Seymour stood with Caesar on the other 
 side of the coach. But if she expected him 
 to follow she was swiftly made aware of her 
 mistake, for Geoffrey merely pursued his 
 intention of searching the pockets of the 
 coach, and when he emerged from it he 
 came, hat in hand, toward the ladies with 
 face more calm and unruffled than Betty s 
 own. 
 
 " If you will resume your seats," he said, 
 addressing Mrs. Seymour, without a glance 
 at Betty, who (now that her anger born 
 partly of terror had passed) stole a quick 
 look at him, and as quickly looked away, " I 
 will ride on before you and be waiting at 
 the river; if it be safe, you will cross on
 
 A MAID S CAPRICE 139 
 
 horseback ; if not, on foot, and I shall take 
 great pleasure in seeing that you reach 
 King s Bridge Inn in safety." Whereupon 
 he escorted Mrs. Seymour to the coach, and 
 when he turned to assist Betty found that 
 she was in the act of climbing inside by the 
 other door, where Caesar stood in attend 
 ance. 
 
 " What a provoking child it is ! " said 
 Geoffrey to himself as he flung into his sad 
 dle, smiling at the recollection of Betty s 
 rebuke and proud little toss of her head. 
 " Mistress Betty ! Very well, so be it ; 
 and thanks to the star of good fortune which 
 guided my steps up the road to-day. I 
 wonder how she comes here, and why," and 
 Captain Yorke gave his horse the spur as 
 he galloped on. 
 
 Some distance behind him the coach lum 
 bered forward, and Mrs. Seymour s tongue 
 rattled on gayly. So engrossed was she with 
 being nearly at her journey s end, and their 
 good luck at having fallen in with Yorke, 
 that Betty s silence passed unnoticed. 
 
 " To think that we should meet again," 
 ran Betty s thoughts. " Betty, forsooth ! 
 How dare he use my name so freely ! What 
 would Mrs. Seymour have thought had she
 
 140 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 heard him, and how could I possibly have 
 explained with any air of truth unless I told 
 her the whole story which I would rather 
 die at once than do. He has not changed 
 at all ; I should have known him anywhere, 
 even in that hateful scarlet coat, which be 
 comes him so mightily. I wonder if my 
 rebuke was too severe " and here she be 
 came conscious of Mrs. Seymour again. 
 
 " Yorke did not that handsome young 
 officer say his name was Yorke? Why, 
 then he must have some kinship with the 
 Earl of Hardwicke : very probably this young 
 man may be a grandson of the earl. I must 
 ask my sister ; she will have some informa 
 tion about it." 
 
 " Worse and worse," thought Betty. " A 
 British officer kinsman of an earl oh, 
 me, in what a coil am I enveloped ! But at 
 least my father knows all, and he would not 
 hold me disloyal." 
 
 The coach bumped and jolted along, and 
 finally came to a standstill, while Caesar s 
 voice was heard addressing some one. Betty 
 looked out of the window and beheld a dis 
 mal prospect enough. The bank shelved 
 gradually down to the river, which at this 
 point was narrow, and between them and
 
 A MAID S CAPRICE 141 
 
 the other shore stretched a mixture of snow 
 and ice ; she could distinguish the flat-bot 
 tomed boat used for ferrying purposes stuck 
 fast almost in the middle of the stream. 
 
 " How are we to cross ? " said Mrs. Sey 
 mour dolefully, looking down at her feet. 
 "I wish I had an extra pair of woolen 
 stockings to pull over my shoes ; the snow 
 and ice will be cold walking. What are 
 they doing to the horses ? " 
 
 " Will it please you to alight, madam ? " 
 said Geoffrey, springing from his saddle at 
 the door of the coach. " My men are of the 
 opinion that the ice will not bear so much 
 weight as your coach with you ladies and 
 Caesar in it, but if you can mount your 
 horses we can lead them and you can cross 
 in safety. Meanwhile Caesar can remain 
 here to guard your property, and when my 
 men fetch the horses back they can assist 
 him to transport the coach to the other side. 
 I hope the plan meets your approbation. It 
 seems the only feasible one, provided you 
 ladies can ride without a saddle." 
 
 " Bless me," cried Mrs. Seymour, " I shall 
 surely slip off on the ice ! Betty here is a 
 horsewoman, but, alas ! I am not." 
 
 " Then we must contrive a way," replied
 
 142 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Geoffrey. " If a blanket be strapped over 
 my saddle I think you can sit on it. Caesar, 
 put one of those blankets on my horse in 
 stead of yours." 
 
 " Oh, that will do nicely ; how kind you 
 are, Captain Yorke." 
 
 " Will the young lady be able to ride one 
 of your horses? " asked Geoffrey, addressing 
 Mrs. Seymour. 
 
 " I can ride anything," said Betty hastily, 
 " for my mare is " and then she bit her 
 lip and colored brightly as Geoffrey turned 
 toward her. 
 
 " You will be quite safe, for I shall lead 
 your horse myself. Let me first attend 
 Mrs. Seymour." 
 
 Between terror and small gasps of laugh 
 ter Mrs. Seymour s mounting was accom 
 plished, and then Geoffrey (artful fellow!) 
 summoned a tall, good-looking trooper from 
 the patrol, and, placing the reins in Mrs. 
 Seymour s hand, gave directions to the man. 
 
 "You will hold the horse by the bridle 
 and guide every step with care, letting the 
 lady put her hand on your shoulder to steady 
 herself. Be watchful of the air-holes ; I 
 think you know the path well." 
 
 " Yes, captain," said the trooper, saluting
 
 A MAID S CAPRICE 143 
 
 respectfully. " Am I to dismount the lady 
 at the Inn?" 
 
 " Aye ; go down the path before me ; " 
 and Geoffrey turned toward Betty, but again 
 the mischievous maid had been too quick for 
 him, and he beheld her already mounted on 
 one of the coach horses, where she sat de 
 murely and at ease awaiting him. Geoffrey 
 seized the bridle and walked slowly down 
 the bank, taking great care of his own steps 
 lest he should by slipping cause the horse to 
 stumble, and in a few seconds they were 
 slowly picking their way over the rough ice. 
 The horse s hoofs crunched into the snow, 
 and Betty held her breath, and a little thrill 
 went over her as she fancied she heard the 
 ice crack under them. 
 
 " Oh ! " a half -in voluntary cry escaped 
 her, and Geoffrey looked up reassuringly as 
 he stroked the horse s neck and checked him 
 for a brief second. Mrs. Seymour and the 
 trooper were somewhat in advance and had 
 almost reached the opposite shore. 
 
 "I you that is " faltered Betty, 
 meekly dropping her eyelids " Oh, sir, 
 do you really think we shall gain the Inn 
 safely?" 
 
 " There is no cause for fear," said Geof-
 
 144 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 f rey coldly. " I know the path ; " and he 
 plodded 011 in silence. Another few rods, 
 a slip, a half halt; but this time it was 
 Yorke who stumbled and fell on one knee. 
 
 " Confound my sword," he cried, recover 
 ing his feet. " But we are nearly there. 
 See, Mrs. Seymour has gained the road and 
 is riding on to the Inn." 
 
 No reply from Betty ; in truth, if he had 
 but known it, she dared not trust her voice 
 lest its first sound should be a sob. And 
 Yorke, divided between amusement and 
 wrath at her perversity, vowed he would say 
 no more until she grew less capricious. 
 
 The road was well trodden and the snow 
 light as the pair pursued it in silence. The 
 famous hostelry known as King s Bridge 
 Inn was upon the highway going up the 
 Hudson, where Spuyten Duyvil Creek ran 
 down to Harlem River, and many a rendez 
 vous and intrigue had been carried on within 
 its low, wide rooms since the Colonies had 
 declared their independence of British rule. 
 As Yorke approached the door, inside which 
 Mrs. Seymour had already disappeared, a 
 tall, dark man in riding-boots and long coat 
 came hastily forth, and as Betty dropped 
 the reins of her horse he was at her side,
 
 A MAID S CAPRICE 145 
 
 " Oh, Gulian," cried she, stretching out 
 both hands, " don t you know me ? T is I, 
 Betty Wolcott ; have I outgrown your recol 
 lection ? " 
 
 "Betty, indeed," replied Gulian Ver- 
 planck, lifting her off the horse, " and right 
 glad am I to welcome you. What good for 
 tune brought you in contact with Captain 
 Yorke s patrol? Had I known of your 
 near approach, I should myself have ridden 
 forth with him, but the air was chilly and 
 I deemed it more prudent to stop at the Inn 
 until to-morrow." 
 
 " Since I see you safe " began Geof 
 frey, as Betty half turned toward him. 
 
 " You do not know whom you have so 
 kindly assisted," broke in Verplanck ; " this 
 is Mistress Betty Wolcott, sister to my 
 wife. Betty, I present to you Captain 
 Geoffrey Yorke, aide to Sir Henry Clinton, 
 and my friend." 
 
 Betty executed her most stately and 
 deepest courtesy, and Yorke swept his hat 
 gracefully to the very ground; but as she 
 raised her eyes she said, with a mischievous 
 glance, " I am pleased to learn the name of 
 this gentleman. Sir, I thank you," and giv 
 ing him a little gracious nod, Betty vanished 
 inside the open door of the Inn,
 
 146 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Verplanck," called Geoffrey, as his 
 friend was about to follow her, " I shall 
 go directly back to the city, for Sir Henry 
 has to make ready dispatches for England 
 and will need me. Mrs. Seymour s coach 
 will be brought over at once ; my men are 
 assisting the negro servant in the transit. 
 Do you follow me shortly ? " 
 
 " Unless the ladies are too weary we will 
 go at once, for I can obtain fresh horses 
 here and the Inn seems somewhat over 
 crowded to stop the night. But if you are 
 in haste, Yorke, do not wait." 
 
 " Very well, then, I will depart at once. 
 But you must have at least two of my men 
 as escort for the coach and yourself. You 
 know there are plenty of footpads outlying 
 the city." 
 
 " I accept the escort gladly," said Ver 
 planck. " Farewell, then, and my hearty 
 thanks." 
 
 Betty and Mrs. Seymour had been ushered 
 into a small bedchamber, where they were 
 making some slight changes of dress when 
 Gulian Verplanck knocked at the door and 
 informed them that the coach would shortly 
 be ready for the continuation of their jour 
 ney. Betty followed him back into the
 
 A MAID S CAPRICE 147 
 
 waiting-room, where a good fire was burn 
 ing, and Verplanck sought to find a seat for 
 her near the hearth. The room was occu 
 pied by perhaps a dozen persons, all men : 
 some troopers, and a group of traders whose 
 bundles of furs, lying on the floor beside the 
 table where they were partaking of glasses 
 of home-brewed beer, told their occupation. 
 On one settle, close by the chimney, sat an 
 old man, somewhat ragged, who had fallen 
 asleep with his head resting against his 
 bundle and stick, which shared the bench 
 with him ; on the other sat a slight youth 
 dressed in homespun clothing, who instantly 
 rose as Betty approached, and offered her 
 his seat. 
 
 " I am warmed enough," he said, as Ver 
 planck gave brief thanks ; " besides there is 
 room here. Wake up, grandfather," and 
 he gave the sleeping man a gentle push as 
 he squeezed himself down beside him. 
 
 " Stay here till the coach is ready, Betty," 
 said Verplanck. " Mrs. Seymour will join 
 you presently," and he departed to hasten 
 the hostlers, who could be heard outside, evi 
 dently engaged in harnessing the horses 
 they were to use. 
 
 Betty looked around her curiously. The
 
 148 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 room, with its low ceilings, dark rafters, 
 and sanded floor, was fairly tidy, and, in the 
 light and shade of the shifting fire, pictur 
 esque and strange. A short, thick-set man, 
 evidently the host, a comfortable-looking 
 Dutchman, bustled in and out, giving direc 
 tions in a perfectly audible aside to a maid, 
 who wore a queer straight cap and brought 
 in trays of beer to the thirsty party of 
 traders. A little boy in one corner was 
 playing with some nails and a pewter plate ; 
 each time he dropped the nails, making a 
 jingling noise, the landlord said, " Hush, 
 there, Hans," in a loud whisper, to which the 
 child paid no attention. Betty wondered 
 if it was his son, and felt as if she would 
 like to go over and play with him ; and 
 then thought, with a half-homesick longing, 
 of Moppet and the dear New England 
 home. Far, far away ran Betty s thoughts, 
 as minute after minute sped along and no 
 one came to disturb her reverie. So en 
 grossed was she that not even a low, but 
 distinctly spoken " hist" which came from 
 the settle near her, aroused her until it 
 had been given the third time. Then she 
 started ; there was something familiar in 
 the sound was any one speaking to her ?
 
 A MAID S CAPRICE 149 
 
 " Hist ! do not look this way," whispered 
 a voice which came from the pair opposite 
 her on the other side of the chimney. 
 " Contrive to pass near me as you go out 
 be cautious ! " 
 
 " All ready, Betty ? " said Mrs. Sey 
 mour s gay voice, as she came across the 
 room toward her. " Where is Mr. Ver- 
 planck?" 
 
 " Here," answered Gulian, from the other 
 door. " Hasten, Betty ; the horses are eager 
 to be off." 
 
 " I am coming," replied Betty, as she rose 
 hurriedly and dropped her silk reticule 
 directly in front of the mysterious pair on 
 the settle. The boy darted up, giving the 
 bag a furtive kick which sent it under 
 the bench. 
 
 " I 11 reach it for you, madam," he said 
 aloud, diving down for it as Betty paused a 
 brief second. The old man stirred sleepily, 
 raised his head from his bundle, and keen 
 bright eyes that Betty knew well flashed 
 into hers as he whispered rapidly : 
 
 " Show no alarm, Betty, but no matter 
 how or where you see me, make no sign of 
 recognition." 
 
 " Here s your bag," said the boy, spring-
 
 150 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 ing to his feet. But Betty, never stopping 
 to thank him, ran rapidly across the room, 
 out of the door, and darted into the waiting- 
 coach, afraid to even glance behind her, her 
 heart sinking with dismay, for the voice and 
 eyes of that ragged old man were those of 
 her brother Oliver !
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 ON THE COLLECT 
 
 " PETER, Peter," said Grandma Effing- 
 ham in a tone of gentle remonstrance, " if 
 thee would only let the ball alone Tabitha 
 would keep quiet." 
 
 " Stop it, Peter," said Betty, from the 
 doorway, as the irrepressible youngster rolled 
 over and over on the rug, himself, the gray 
 cat, and the ball of gray yarn hopelessly 
 entangled. "Much you deserve all the 
 stockings that grandma knits for you so 
 perseveringly ; just look at the condition of 
 that ball " and by a skillful flank move 
 ment she rescued the yarn as Tabitha s 
 pranks and Peter s tumble came to a hasty 
 conclusion, and the chief culprit gained his 
 feet and began to apologize for his frolic, 
 as the cat fled through the door. 
 
 " I was just waiting for you, Betty ; you 
 girls take such a long time to put on your 
 capes and furbelows. I 11 warrant Kitty 
 will detain us when we stop for her, and we
 
 152 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 must hasten, for the sun will not stay up 
 much longer. Just let me find my muffler 
 and my skates," and off tore Peter, while 
 Betty tucked up her gown preparatory to an 
 afternoon on the Collect Pond, whose frozen 
 surface was the resort of all fashionable 
 New York, both those who joined the skat 
 ers, and others who watched them from the 
 surrounding banks, making a gay, bright 
 winter scene for the spectators as well as the 
 participants. 
 
 It was some three weeks since Betty s 
 eventful journey, and as the strangeness of 
 her new home and surroundings wore off 
 she was beginning to enjoy herself. First 
 of all, the dear happiness of being once 
 more with Clarissa, who had brightened and 
 strengthened each day since her arrival; 
 then Grandma Effingham s storehouse of 
 anecdotes and pleasant stories, to which 
 Betty listened with delight and the respect 
 ful deference that youth of those days paid 
 to age ; and last (though Betty would have 
 denied it stoutly) the frequent visits to the 
 Verplancks of a certain tall soldier, whose 
 red coat made her eyes sparkle with dis 
 dain, even while her heart beat quicker at 
 sound of his voice. Truly, Betty s soul
 
 ON THE COLLECT 153 
 
 was torn within her, and for every smile that 
 Yorke succeeded in winning he was sure 
 to receive such dainty snubs, such mischie 
 vous flouting following swiftly after, that he 
 almost despaired of ever carrying the out 
 works, much less the citadel of the willful 
 maid s heart. 
 
 Kitty Cruger had received Betty most 
 cordially, but the acquaintance had not yet 
 progressed toward intimacy. On several 
 occasions when Betty had been especially 
 teasing, Yorke had seen fit to retaliate by 
 seeking Kitty s side, and, although he was 
 far from suspecting it, he had thus piqued 
 his little lady-love extremely. For Kitty 
 was a reigning belle, and the toast of the 
 British officers as she had been of the Con 
 tinentals, and she liked Yorke and Yorke s 
 attentions. If Betty had only known whose 
 face came oftenest in Kitty s dreams, and 
 that a blue sword-knot was her most cher 
 ished possession, perhaps the dawning jeal 
 ousy which she felt toward her would never 
 have existed. Who can say ? 
 
 The winter had set in with great rigor, 
 and the troops had even crossed on the ice 
 from Staten Island to the city ; sad tales 
 reached Betty s watchful ears of privations
 
 154 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 endured in the army of General Washing 
 ton, and it made her cheeks burn and tingle 
 to hear the jests and laughter of the Tory 
 guests who visited the house, at the expense 
 of the so-called " rebels " against King 
 George. Of Oliver, Betty had no sign ; 
 whether he had been in the city and accom 
 plished whatever mission he had in view, 
 she knew not. She did not dare to confide 
 in Clarissa, for even had her sister s health 
 permitted, Betty deemed it scarcely safe to 
 put her to the test of loyalty as between 
 husband and brother. 
 
 All these thoughts and many more were 
 crowding Betty s brain as she ran down the 
 steps of the Verplanck mansion and fol 
 lowed Peter toward Queen Street, where 
 Kitty lived. The sun shone brightly and 
 the air was crisp and clear; Betty looked 
 charming in her dainty hood, tied with a 
 rose-colored ribbon which nestled softly un 
 der her chin and played at confining the 
 dancing curls. Contrary to Peter s expecta 
 tions, Kitty was watching for them, and 
 they proceeded with some speed along the 
 snowy streets until they reached the Minetta 
 Water, as the small stream was called which 
 wound its way across the Lispenard Mead-
 
 ON THE COLLECT 155 
 
 ows, and connected the " Collect " (or Fresh 
 Water Pond) with the Hudson River. At 
 the end of Great Queen Street was a wooden 
 bridge, and crossing it, the little party con 
 tinued up Magazine Street until they reached 
 the Collect Pond, on two sides of which were 
 low buildings of various kinds, being rope- 
 walks, furnaces, tanneries, and breweries, all 
 run by water from the pond. Betty thought 
 she should some day like to come out and 
 investigate them with Peter ; they were not 
 very sightly, but they might prove interest 
 ing. These buildings shut out the view, and 
 until Betty stood on the very bank she had 
 no idea how brilliant a scene the Collect pre 
 sented. The ground on the north side be 
 tween them and Broadway rose to the height 
 of a hundred feet, and this hillside was cov 
 ered with spectators who were watching the 
 skaters with which the ice was alive. Among 
 the crowd were many women of fashion, 
 muffled in their furs, carrying huge muffs to 
 keep their fingers warm, and scarlet uniforms, 
 dotted here and there, served to heighten the 
 effect of brilliancy and animation. As they 
 turned the corner of a furnace whose big 
 chimney had sheltered them for a moment, a 
 young man darted up the bank and greeted 
 Kitty.
 
 156 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 "How late you are," he said reproachfully. 
 " Philip Livingston and I have been watch 
 ing for you this hour. The ice is in fine 
 condition ; may I put on your skates ? " 
 
 While young De Lancey was thus en 
 gaged Peter and Betty were making ready 
 also. Up in the Litchfield hills, where the 
 winter set in early and lasted late, Betty 
 had learned to use her skates well, and she 
 and her brother Oliver had been the best 
 skaters in the township when she was hardly 
 more than a child. Even the timid Pamela 
 had gained boldness and dexterity on the 
 clear, frozen pond ; and therefore when 
 Betty, with the ease of a practiced skater, 
 glided off without assistance, Peter flew after 
 her in round-eyed amazement. 
 
 "I say, Betty," he exclaimed, breathless 
 with his effort to catch her, " how you do fly ! 
 My e"ye ! there is n t one of these New York 
 dames or maids who can equal you," and 
 he chuckled with triumph as Betty began 
 to execute some very difficult motions which 
 she and Oliver had often practiced together. 
 
 " Give me your hand, Peter ; there, now, 
 glide this way, and take the outside roll 
 oh ! have a care ; if you turn like that you 
 will surely catch your skate in mine. That s
 
 ON THE COLLECT 157 
 
 better ; now cross hands, and go gently ; 
 see, I am cutting a face on the ice." 
 
 Surely enough, as Peter glanced behind 
 he saw a gigantic profile grow on the smooth 
 surface beneath Betty s little foot, and the 
 skaters around them paused to wonder and 
 admire. 
 
 " There," said Betty, making a final flour 
 ish, " come back to the bank and let us find 
 Kitty." But as they flew along Betty saw 
 a familiar red coat appear beside Kitty s 
 advancing figure, so dropping Peter s hand 
 she dashed off in an opposite direction. 
 She headed for the north bank, which was 
 less crowded, but slacked her speed a little, 
 fearing an air-hole, as she debated which 
 way to turn. 
 
 " Mistress Betty," said a voice just be 
 hind her, and with a little start she realized 
 that the obnoxious scarlet coat had reached 
 her side, " will you skate a turn with me 
 down the pond ? " 
 
 " Surely," and Betty s most roguish smile 
 beamed into Yorke s eyes as she wheeled 
 toward him. " Perhaps you will try a race 
 with me, Captain Yorke ? " 
 
 " With pleasure, and for what stakes ? " 
 returned Yorke, bending down to secure a 
 strap which he felt loosen.
 
 158 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " I meant but a trial of speed to the bridge 
 there, where we cross the Minetta Water. 
 A stake ? Well, name it." 
 
 " A knot of rose-colored ribbon," said 
 Yorke softly. 
 
 " Another ! " cried Betty unguardedly, and 
 could have promptly bitten her tongue for 
 the betrayal of her thought. 
 
 " Ah, then you do remember ? " asked 
 Yorke. " In what have I so deeply offended 
 that I can scarce gain speech of you ? Why 
 do you flout one who longs to show you his 
 devotion ? " 
 
 " You forget, sir," said Betty coldly, 
 " the coat you wear. Do you fancy that 
 scarlet commends itself to a rebel maid like 
 me, or that the cause you represent can be 
 aught but hateful to a loyal Wolcott ? " 
 
 " Betty, Betty ! I do beseech you " 
 
 " Nay, we will put entreaty outside the 
 question. A race, I think I said, Captain 
 Yorke. I will make the stake that self 
 same bow of rose-color if you have kept 
 it so long." 
 
 An indignant flush dyed Yorke s face. 
 "So be it," he said briefly, and in a flash 
 they were off ; she, graceful v and almost 
 like a winged bird, as she sped along ; and
 
 ON THE COLLECT 159 
 
 he, tall, straight, and muscular, with a long, 
 staying stroke, which impelled Betty s ad 
 miration.. The distance to the bridge was a 
 good half mile, and the spectators on the 
 hill presently perceived the racing pair, and 
 from the cries and shouts which arose she 
 learned, to her added chagrin, that they 
 were seen, and their trial of speed would be 
 eagerly followed. On flew Betty, so intent 
 upon reaching her goal that she never no 
 ticed how Yorke crept closer and closer ; 
 they were almost to the bridge, when his 
 voice sounded at her shoulder : 
 
 " You should have the race, sweetheart, 
 but I cannot part with the ribbon," and 
 with a sudden rush Yorke darted past her 
 and gained the bridge barely three seconds 
 in advance. 
 
 " Forgive me," he had time to whisper, 
 as Betty stood still, with flashing eyes and 
 half-quivering lip, while they waited for 
 Peter, Kitty, and Philip Livingston, who 
 had followed them down the course ; " t was 
 too dear a stake for me to lose." But as 
 the words left his lips, to his astonishment 
 and delight, with all a child s frankness, 
 Betty gave him her hand. 
 
 " Nay, you won the race fairly, and Betty 
 Wolcott craves your pardon."
 
 160 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Oh, my eye ! " shouted Peter, as he 
 flung himself between them ; " t was the 
 prettiest race of the season, was it not, 
 Kitty ? Do, do try a game with the rest of 
 us, and I 11 be your hurlie myself." 
 
 A hurlie, be it known, was a small boy 
 or man who, in the fashion of a ball-game 
 of the day, propelled the balls along the icy 
 surface of the pond with a long, sharp- 
 pointed stick, and the race was accorded to 
 Vvhoever first caught the ball, often a trial 
 of both speed and endurance when the 
 course was a long one. 
 
 " Are you deserting me, Peter ? " put in 
 Kitty playfully ; " the other hurlies are 
 busy with the De Lancey party ; we must 
 have two or three at least." 
 
 Yorke moved a step forward ; his first im 
 pulse was to offer his services to Kitty, as 
 he had done before, but some fine instinct 
 warned him not to jeopardize his half-recon 
 ciliation with Betty, and before he could 
 speak, Philip Livingston whistled to a tall, 
 slight lad who was standing looking at them 
 from the bank close at hand. In response 
 the lad ran down, leaped on the ice, and 
 said pleasantly, 
 
 " Your pleasure, sir. Did you call me ? "
 
 ON THE COLLECT 161 
 
 " Can you drive a ball for me ? " asked 
 Philip ; " if so, I 11 promise you a shilling 
 for an hour of your time." 
 
 " Indeed I will," said the boy ; " but let 
 me first go tell Jim Bates, there, who maybe 
 will be returning to Paulus Hook, and I 11 
 just bid him wait for me over yonder in the 
 tan-yard until you gentlefolks have had your 
 game." 
 
 Off darted the new recruit, and was seen 
 to join a man wearing the wide hat and 
 somewhat greasy garb of a fisherman, who, 
 after a few words, nodded assent, and with 
 somewhat slouching gait proceeded leisurely 
 across the bridge in the direction of the tan- 
 yard referred to. Amid much laughter the 
 game began ; some other acquaintances came 
 down the bank and joined them, and pre 
 sently Betty found herself darting over the 
 ice hither and thither, following Peter s pur 
 posely erratic course, and pursuing the ball, 
 determined this time to outdo Yorke, who 
 followed her every motion, and whom she 
 again began to tease and laugh at. But to 
 Yorke anything was better than her scorn 
 or displeasure, and when, by a lucky stroke 
 and a quick turn of her skates, Betty bent 
 down and captured the elusive ball, he was
 
 162 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 the first to raise a shout of triumph, in which 
 the merry party joined with the heartiness 
 of good-fellowship and breeding. 
 
 It was growing dark and cold as Betty 
 climbed up the bank and seated herself on a 
 pile of boards, while Peter unstrapped her 
 skates. As she looked up, she saw Yorke 
 and Philip Livingston talking with the boy 
 who had been hurlie for Kitty, and it crossed 
 her mind to wonder where Kitty had van 
 ished. So she rose to her feet and walked 
 leisurely along with Peter toward the tan- 
 yard and turned the corner of the furnace 
 chimney. As she did so, she almost stum 
 bled against a man, who drew back suddenly ; 
 on the other side stood Kitty, and Betty dis 
 tinctly saw a piece of white paper pass from 
 Kitty s muff into the hand of the stranger, 
 whom she instantly recognized as the greasy 
 fisherman who had crossed the bridge half 
 an hour before.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 
 
 BETTY sat in her favorite seat, a low, 
 three-legged cricket, on the side farthest 
 from the fire in Clarissa s little morning- 
 room ; it was the day before Christmas, and 
 Betty s fingers were busy tying evergreens 
 into small bunches and wreaths. Of these 
 a large hamperful stood at her elbow, and 
 Peter was cutting away the smaller branches, 
 with a face of importance. 
 
 " So you have never kept Christmas be 
 fore," said he, pausing in his cheerful whis 
 tle, which he kept up under his breath like 
 a violin obligate to his whittling of boughs ; 
 "and you don t believe in Kris Kringie and 
 his prancing reindeers ? My, what fun we 
 boys had up in the old Beverwyck at Albany 
 last year," and Peter chuckled at the recol 
 lection of past pranks. " Down here in the 
 city it is chiefly New Year day which is 
 observed, but thank fortune Gulian is suffi 
 ciently Dutch to believe in St. Nicholas."
 
 164 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Yes? " murmured Betty, her thoughts far 
 away as she wondered what Moppet was 
 doing up in the Litchfield hills, and whether 
 Oliver had got back safely to the army 
 again. Surely, he had cautioned her not to 
 recognize him, but luckily her fortitude had 
 not been put to proof. And then she won 
 dered what secret mission Kitty had been 
 engaged upon that day at Collect Pond. 
 Somehow Kitty and she had been more con 
 fidential since then ; and one night, sitting 
 by the fire in Betty s room, Kitty had con 
 fessed that she too was a rebel yes, a 
 sturdy, unswerving rebel, true to the Colo 
 nies and General Washington, and Betty s 
 warm heart had gone forth toward her from 
 that very moment. 
 
 " Clarissa has a huge crock full of olykeoks 
 in the pantry," pursued Peter, to whom the 
 Dutch dainty was sufficiently toothsome ; 
 " and Pompey has orders to brew a fine 
 punch made of cider and lemons for the ser 
 vants, and oh ! Betty, do you know that 
 Miranda has a new follower? His name 
 is Sambo, and he comes from Breucklen 
 Heights ; he has been practicing a dance 
 with her, and old Jan Steen, the Dutch fid 
 dler, has promised to come and play for
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 165 
 
 them and their friends in the kitchen, and 
 for my part I think there will be more fun 
 there than at Clarissa s card-party don t 
 you ? Wake up, Betty ; I don t believe 
 you ve heard one word I ve been saying." 
 
 " Indeed I have," replied Betty, returning 
 to her present surroundings with a start. 
 "A dance, Peter? Why, it seems to me 
 the servants have great liberty here." 
 
 " Don t you give yours a holiday up in 
 New England? I thought you had negro 
 servants as well as we ? " 
 
 " So we do ; you know that Miranda is 
 the daughter of our old cook, Chloe. She 
 came here with Clarissa when she was a 
 bride ; oh, we have a few negro servants in 
 dear New England, Peter, but not so many 
 as here. Gulian told me that there are some 
 three thousand slaves owned in the city and 
 its environs. But our negroes go to church 
 and pray ; they do not dance, and I know 
 Chloe would be shocked with Miranda s flip 
 pant ways. She was ever opposed to dan 
 cing." 
 
 " Don t be prim, Betty." 
 
 "I prim?" and Betty went off into 
 a shout of girlish laughter, as she flung a 
 pine needle at Peter, who dodged it success-
 
 166 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 fully ; " that I live to hear myself called 
 what I have so often dubbed Pamela. Fie, 
 Peter, let Miranda dance if she will ; I 
 should love to see her. It would be far 
 more amusing than cards." 
 
 " Betty," said Peter, edging nearer her 
 and lowering his voice to a whisper, " I 
 heard that the Sons of Liberty had another 
 placard up near the Vly Market last night, 
 and that Sir Henry Clinton is in great 
 wrath because they are growing daring 
 again. My ! would n t I just like to see one 
 of them ; but they say (so Pompey told me) 
 that they are all around us in different dis 
 guises. That s why they re so difficult to 
 catch ; it would go hard with them if the 
 Hessians lay hands on the author of the pla 
 cards." 
 
 " But they will not ; I heard Gulian say 
 only last night that the cleverness with 
 which the placards are prepared and placed 
 was wonderful. Who tells you these things, 
 Peter ? Do have a care, for we are under 
 Gulian s roof, and he would be very angry 
 if he knew that your and my sympathies are 
 all on the side of the Whigs." 
 
 " Oh, I hear things," murmured Peter 
 evasively. Then whispering in Betty s ear,
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 167 
 
 " Did you ever hear Kitty speak of Billy 
 the fiddler?" 
 
 " There s no one within hearing," said 
 Betty, as she finished her twelfth wreath 
 and laid it carefully on the floor beside her 
 cricket. " Get the other big branch outside 
 the door, and sit down here close by me 
 while you pull the twigs off ; then you can 
 tell me safely, for Clarissa is sleeping, and 
 she will call me when she wakes. Of course 
 I never heard of the man you mention." 
 
 Peter threw back his head in a prolonged 
 chuckle, as he followed Betty s instructions 
 and edged his cricket close to her elbow. 
 
 " Man ! well, he s more like a monkey 
 than anything. He only comes to my 
 shoulder, and yet he s old enough to be my 
 father." 
 
 " A dwarf, do you mean ? " 
 
 " No, not precisely ; the boys call him a 
 manikin, for he s not deformed ; only very, 
 very small ; not above four feet high. He 
 is Dutch and has been a drummer, it s 
 whispered, in General Washington s army. 
 They say he was in the battle of Harlem 
 Lane, and beat the rally for our troops 
 when Knowlton fell. The Vly boys are 
 great friends with him."
 
 168 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " But I thought you were at daggers 
 drawn with the boys of the Vly Market, 
 Peter ? Surely, you told me blood-curdling 
 tales of the fights between them and you 
 Broadway boys ? " 
 
 " Oh, aye, but that s for right of way, 
 and don t mean much except when we are 
 actually punching each other s heads. Billy 
 can tell great yarns ; how his eyes flash 
 when he speaks of the prison ships, though 
 I only heard him once, when Jan Steen was 
 talking foolish Tory stuff." 
 
 " Do you think Billy the fiddler, as you 
 call him, is one of the Sons of Liberty?" 
 
 " H-u-s-h ! " and Peter looked fearfully 
 around. " I don t dare say, but I m sure 
 he s true and steady. Betty, I wish I was 
 a little taller ; if I were I d run away some 
 fine morning and go for a drummer boy 
 with General Washington." 
 
 Betty looked up with affectionate eyes at 
 the sturdy urchin. " I know how you feel, 
 Peter ; but wait a bit. It s sad and dis 
 heartening enough now, God knows, but 
 perhaps better days may dawn for the patri 
 ots. My father says we must keep up our 
 hearts as best we can, and trust in God and 
 the Continental Congress. Did I tell you
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 169 
 
 how we moulded the bullets last summer ? 
 We kept the tally, and over forty-two thou 
 sand cartridges were made from the statue 
 of King George, so the women of Litchfield 
 have contributed their aid to the cause in 
 good practical fashion." 
 
 " Aye, that was fine ! It must have been 
 jolly fun, too." 
 
 " It was very hot," said Betty, laughing ; 
 " we tried it in our big kitchen, but finally 
 had to melt the lead in larger kettles hung 
 over a crane in the shed down in the orchard. 
 Aunt Euphemia thought we would fire the 
 house, and for many nights Miss Bidwell 
 and she, protected by Reuben with a lan 
 tern, paraded the place before closing up, 
 hunting for stray sparks which she fancied 
 might fly in the wrong direction." 
 
 " What a lot this hamper holds," said 
 Peter, diving down into it. " You ve made 
 enough wreaths to decorate the rooms, I in 
 sure, and your hands are getting black." 
 
 " Never mind my hands ; soap and water 
 will cleanse them. Clarissa wants a real 
 English Christmas, she said, and poor 
 dear ! she shall have it. It does my heart 
 good to see her brighten and glow like her 
 old pretty self."
 
 170 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " You can thank Captain Yorke for put 
 ting the real English Christmas into her 
 head ; there s a fine Tory for you, Betty. 
 Sometimes I forget he s one of our foes 
 he s almost nice enough to be a patriot." 
 
 " He thinks he is one, Peter ; he owes his 
 loyalty to his king, and were less than a 
 man not to give his services where ordered." 
 
 " Ha, ha ! " quoth Peter teasingly ; "you 11 
 be as bad as Kitty presently." 
 
 " How so ? " returned Betty, biting her 
 lip as she turned her face away from Peter s 
 roguish eyes. 
 
 " Why, Kitty had a walk-over course with 
 the scarlet coats until you came, and Cap 
 tain Yorke was one of her gallants. But 
 now I find him at your elbow whenever you 
 give him half a chance. But I ve seen you 
 snub him well, too ; you girls are such 
 changeable creatures. I d not have a scar 
 let coat dancing around after me if I were 
 you, Betty ; " and Peter endeavored to look 
 sage and wise as he cocked his head on one 
 side like a conceited sparrow. What reply 
 Betty might have made to his pertness was 
 uncertain, but at that moment both doors of 
 the room opened and Clarissa entered by 
 one as Kitty flew in the other.
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 171 
 
 " How industrious you are," cried Kitty, 
 as she bade them all good-day ; " the rooms 
 will be a bower of green, such as Captain 
 Yorke tells about. I came, Clarissa, to beg 
 a note of invitation for Peggy Van Dam. 
 She has but just returned from Albany, 
 and will be mightily pleased to be bidden to 
 your card-party." 
 
 " I wondered if she would be in time," 
 said Clarissa, seating herself at her claw- 
 legged, brass-mounted writing-table. " Has 
 she changed much, Kitty not that I 
 mean " and Clarissa s sentence ended in 
 a laugh. 
 
 " There was room for it," finished Kitty. 
 " No, she is just the same : aping youth, 
 with the desire to conceal age." 
 
 " Oh, Kitty, that s the severest speech 
 I ever knew you guilty of ! " 
 
 " Ill-natured, aye," quoth Kitty, with a 
 comical sigh ; " the world s awry this morn 
 ing and I must vent my crossness on some 
 body, so let it be Peggy. But if I can 
 carry her your note it will atone for my 
 peevish speech a dozen times, for is not 
 Captain Sir John Faulkner coming, and you 
 know as well as all of us that Peggy s airs 
 and graces are most apparent in his com 
 pany."
 
 172 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Betty looked quickly up into Kitty s face 
 as she rattled on gayly, and detected an 
 air of trouble and anxiety that was most 
 unusual. And as they presently followed 
 Clarissa downstairs, she paused at the land 
 ing and slid her little fingers into Kitty s as 
 she whispered : 
 
 " What s amiss ? You are worried, I 
 perceive ; can I help you ? " Kitty started, 
 and turning her head over her shoulder said 
 softly : 
 
 " Not now, but I know that you are true- 
 hearted and quick-witted ; I dare not say one 
 word more," and with an affectionate pres 
 sure, she dropped Betty s hand and ran 
 swiftly down the staircase. 
 
 The drawing-room in the Verplanck man 
 sion was high of ceiling, a spacious, stately 
 room, and its quaint, straight-backed chairs, 
 stuffed ottomans, and carved mahogany sofas 
 were the acme of elegance of those days. 
 The highly polished floor had received extra 
 attention from Pompey and his assistants, 
 while the mirrors shone brightly and re 
 flected the candles of the brass sconces 
 on either side of their glittering surfaces. 
 Betty, at Clarissa s request, superintended 
 the placing of the card -tables, and also
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 173 
 
 that of a huge silver salver, on which the 
 tiny cups for chocolate and the tall glasses 
 for mulled wine would be served from a 
 table in the dining-room early in the even 
 ing before supper ; also a famous bowl 
 of Indian china, where hot caudle would 
 appear, caudle being an English compound 
 with which Betty was not familiar. Peter 
 explained it to her with due regard to detail ; 
 and smacked his lips over the kettle as it 
 smoked away on Dinah s kitchen table, where 
 he had invited Betty to come out and see it. 
 " Dinah makes a sort of posset first, of 
 oaten-meal, and then she puts in coriander 
 seeds, and raisins, all carefully stoned (I 
 ought to know that, for I helped her one 
 mortal hour last night and got my fingers 
 sticky with the plagued stones), and some 
 cloves in a muslin bag, which are let lie till 
 the caudle boils, and then removed, and last 
 of all, just as it s ready to serve, she pops 
 in a good half bottle- of cognac my ! but 
 it s prime ! " and Peter cut a pigeon-wing 
 and gave a regular Mohawk war-whoop, as he 
 danced around the kitchen and disappeared 
 through the door just in time to avoid Di 
 nah s wet dishcloth, which she sent spinning 
 at his close-cropped pate.
 
 174 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Betty stood in her small chamber at 
 six o clock that evening, contemplating her 
 gown with critical eye. Parties in those 
 days were early affairs, and in New York 
 were known to assemble as early as half past 
 seven. The lanterns which hung outside 
 every seventh house for the purpose of light 
 ing the streets were lit by the watchmen at 
 half past six, for the winter days were short, 
 and the denizens of Wall Street were wont 
 to pick their way most carefully since the 
 great fire, the debris of which in many in 
 stances was still left to disfigure the sites 
 where had stood stately mansions. Betty 
 deliberated for some minutes ; here were 
 two gowns : one must be worn to-night for 
 her dear Clarissa ; the other kept for the 
 De Lancey ball, an event over which all 
 fashionable New York was agog, and which 
 would take place on New Year s night, just 
 one week ahead. 
 
 On the high, four-posted bed lay the 
 gowns ; one, which had been her mother s, 
 was a white satin petticoat, over which was 
 worn a slip of India muslin covered with 
 fine embroidery, so daintily worked that it 
 was almost like lace itself. The dames of 
 Connecticut, and, indeed, of all New Eng-
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 175 
 
 land, were much more sober in their dress 
 than those of New York, where the Dutch 
 love of color still lingered, and the Tories 
 clung to the powdered heads and gay fash 
 ions of the English court circles. The other 
 gown (which in her secret soul Betty longed 
 to wear) had been given her by Gillian, who 
 was the most generous of men, and who ad 
 mired his pretty sister-in-law far more than 
 he would have told her. A ship had recently 
 arrived from England bringing him a box 
 of gowns and gewgaws ordered long since 
 for his wife, and of these Gulian had made 
 Clarissa happy by bidding her bestow on 
 Betty a gown such as he considered fitting 
 for a grand festivity like the De Lanceys 
 New Year ball. 
 
 " Alack ! " sighed the pretty maid to her 
 self, as she contemplated the white satin, 
 " I will not even raise the paper which 
 contains Clarissa s present, for both she and 
 Gulian have set their hearts upon my wear 
 ing it on New Year s day, so t is useless to 
 fill my breast with discontent when I have 
 so good a gown as this to wear to-night. 
 The skirt is a little frayed oh ! how vex 
 ing ! " and Betty flew to her reticule for 
 needle and thread to set a timely stitch ;
 
 17G AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " now that will not show when the muslin 
 slip goes over." Another anxious moment, 
 and with a sigh of relief Betty slipped on 
 the short waist with its puffed sleeves and 
 essayed to pin the fichu daintily around her 
 neck. Then she dived down to the very 
 depths of a chest of drawers, whence she 
 produced a small box, and out of this came 
 a single string of pearls. the pearls which 
 her mother had worn upon her wedding- 
 day, and Pamela had pressed into her hand 
 at parting. Next, Betty with cautious steps, 
 candle in hand, approached the mirror, 
 which graced the farther end of her tiny 
 chamber, and holding it at arm s length 
 surveyed herself as far as she could see, 
 which was not below her dainty waist, as 
 suited the dimensions of the mirror afore 
 said. 
 
 " I am too white," thought Betty, with a 
 little frown, all unconscious of her lovely 
 coloring and exquisite red-gold hair, which, 
 guiltless of powder, was massed as usual on 
 top of her head and clustered in wayward 
 little curls on the nape of her snowy neck 
 and over her white forehead ; " but never 
 mind," with childlike philosophy, " my 
 gown for the New Year ball has both breast
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 177 
 
 and shoulder knots of rose-color ; I wish I 
 dare steal one for to-night ! But perhaps 
 Clarissa would not be pleased, so I will de 
 scend as I am. I hear Peter clattering 
 on the staircase ; he is no doubt superin 
 tending the servants dance," and Betty 
 extinguished her candle and tripped lightly 
 down past Clarissa s door. 
 
 From the sounds and lights she became 
 aware that she was late, and had lingered 
 too long over her toilet, so she hesitated 
 for a brief moment as she reached the door 
 of the drawing-room, where she could see 
 Clarissa and Grandma Effingham standing 
 with a number of guests, both dames and 
 gentlemen. As she paused on the thresh 
 old a graceful, girlish picture, a tall form 
 emerged from the dim shades of the hall, 
 and a hand met hers. 
 
 " Mistress Betty, I salute you," said Geof 
 frey Yorke, bowing low, " and may I also 
 beg your acceptance of a bunch of clove 
 pinks ? They were grown by my Dutch 
 landlady in a box kept carefully in her 
 kitchen window, and I know not whether 
 she or I have watched them the more care 
 fully, as I wished to be so fortunate as to 
 have them bloom for you to-night."
 
 178 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " For me ? " said Betty, in a delighted 
 whisper, turning such glowing eyes upon 
 him that the young man fell more madly in 
 love with her than ever. " How kind ! 
 and at this season? Oh, they are sweet, 
 and recall the garden walk at home. In 
 deed, sir, I thank you," and scarcely think 
 ing what she did, in her pleasure at his 
 pretty attention, she thrust the bunch of 
 pinks in her fichu, where they lay close 
 to her white throat and gave her toilet the 
 one touch of color for which she had longed. 
 Small wonder that Geoffrey s handsome face 
 lit up with triumph, or that Clarissa said to 
 herself as the pair approached her, Betty 
 dimpling with smiles, " What a charming- 
 couple they make ! I wonder if my father 
 would object ? " 
 
 This was Clarissa s first appearance in 
 society for many months, and the warmth 
 with which she was greeted showed how 
 large a place the New England girl had 
 made in the regard of her husband s friends. 
 The party was given chiefly for Betty, that 
 she might have plenty of partners at the 
 New Year ball ; and although these were 
 mostly young people, there was also a 
 goodly sprinkling of dames and dowagers,
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 179 
 
 who smiled approvingly when Betty was 
 presented to them, before seating them 
 selves at the all-absorbing card - tables. 
 Cards were much the mode of the day, and 
 an hour or more was given to them ; then 
 as the metheglin (a delicious beverage made 
 of honey) and the mulled wine was passed, 
 the younger portion of the company began 
 moving through the suite of three rooms, 
 breaking up into small groups as they did 
 so. 
 
 Peter, who had constituted himself master 
 of ceremonies for the fun in low life which 
 was going on in the kitchen, darted up to 
 Betty as she stood talking with Philip Liv 
 ingston. 
 
 " They re just going to begin to dance," 
 he said. " Miranda is perked out in a 
 wonderful pink gown, and Aunt Dinah has 
 her best turban on her head. Do, Betty, 
 persuade some of the company to come out 
 and see the negroes dance. Don t you hear 
 the music beginning ? " 
 
 Surely enough the distant scraping of the 
 violin could be heard, and Bett} r , seizing- 
 Kitty by the hand, tripped up to Clarissa 
 and repeated Peter s request. Clarissa hesi 
 tated an instant.
 
 180 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Oh, Gulian," cried Betty, catching hold 
 of her brother-in-law as he came forward, 
 " may we not visit the kitchen and see the 
 servants dance? Captain Yorke tells me 
 that is what is done in England on Christ 
 mas Eve, and I am sure it would afford us 
 all a new amusement." 
 
 Artful Betty! She knew full well that 
 any suggestion of England and English 
 ways would appeal to Gulian, and Yorke, 
 who followed closely at her side, threw the 
 potent weight of his opinion in the scale by 
 saying quietly : 
 
 " I am told your slaves have the very 
 poetry of motion, Verplanck ; permit me 
 to escort Mistress Betty to the servants 
 hall." 
 
 "Servants hall!" whispered Betty mis 
 chievously to Yorke, as Gulian led the way 
 with Clarissa ; " we have nothing so fine in 
 our humble colonies, sir ; our kitchens must 
 serve for our dusky retainers." 
 
 " You know I did not mean " he began 
 reproachfully. But seeing Betty s laughing 
 eyes, he added, with a smile : 
 
 " Nay, you shall not tease me into vexing 
 you to-night if I can avoid it ; I will strive 
 to train my tongue to please you."
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 181 
 
 The kitchen presented a quaint and most 
 picturesque appearance. It was a low, wide 
 room, and around the wall ran shelves and 
 dressers, on which the pewter plates and 
 copper covers shone with such fine polish 
 that one could almost see in their surfaces as 
 in a mirror. Between these hung bunches 
 of herbs and strings of bright-hued peppers, 
 and in and out on the walls, and above, 
 from the rafters, were Christmas greens, all 
 arranged by the servants themselves, with 
 that unerring eye for grace and color which 
 is an attribute of the colored race. Aunt 
 Dinah, the presiding genius of the kitchen, 
 stood at one end of the room. Her large 
 and portly person was clothed in a gay 
 cotton print of many colors ; and upon her 
 head was twisted a bright silk handkerchief, 
 with a most rakish -looking bow which re 
 posed over her left ear. The Verplanck 
 slaves, some twelve of them, were augmented 
 in numbers by those of the Ludlow, De 
 Lancey, and De Peyster families, and half 
 filled the spacious kitchen as they stood 
 back in rows, courtesying and bowing, 
 showing their white teeth in smiles and low 
 laughter, as they recognized some " young 
 massa," or " ole madam " among the gentle-
 
 182 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 men and dames who smiled back upon their 
 faithful, kindly faces. 
 
 The dance began with a special contra- 
 dance, in which the performers copied with 
 great exactness the profound bows and deep 
 courtesies of the period, mimicking their 
 masters and mistresses with curious gro 
 tesque grace. At the extreme end of the 
 room, near Aunt Dinah, sat the fiddler, 
 wielding his bow with an extra flourish be 
 fitting the occasion. Jan Steen was a well- 
 known character, and his coming was looked 
 upon as a special favor, only accorded to 
 the servants because they belonged to the 
 Verplancks, a family greatly honored and 
 beloved among the Dutch settlers of Man 
 hattan Island. 
 
 After the contra-dance was concluded, 
 amid the applause and laughter of the spec 
 tators, four young slaves were singled out 
 from the others, and took their places on 
 the floor. Two of these were girls, pretty 
 mulattoes, and two young, bright-colored 
 negro men as their partners. To rather slow 
 music they went through with a rhythmic 
 dance, in which their figures swayed to and 
 fro, chiefly from the waist, a gliding serpen 
 tine dance, evidently copied from the slaves
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 183 
 
 of Martinique, and brought to New York by 
 the French families. And then, to Peter s 
 great delight, came the event of the evening, 
 in his eyes, the dance of Miranda with 
 her new admirer from Breucklen Heights. 
 
 " Miranda is my maid," explained Clarissa 
 to Madam De Lancey and Mrs. Morris, as 
 they waited for the performers to take their 
 places. " I fetched her from Connecticut 
 when I was married, and she is, as you see, 
 very pretty and most graceful. The dance 
 is a species of Spanish dance, I fancy, for it 
 is done with two scarfs of red and yellow ; I 
 purchased the stuff a year ago from a Dutch 
 peddler, and Miranda begged it of me last 
 week." 
 
 " Cousin Clarissa," said Peter, rushing up, 
 " we will want more light to enable you to 
 see this ; the candles are getting low. With 
 your permission, may Pompey light the big 
 lantern on the wall ? " 
 
 About the middle of the kitchen hung a 
 lantern which had once been used for illu 
 minating purposes outside the mansion. It 
 contained a piece of tin which acted as a 
 reflector ; and Peter, who had never yet had 
 the pleasure of seeing it lit, had amused 
 himself that very morning by putting in the
 
 184 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 candles for which it was prepared, and in 
 formed Aunt Dinah that he meant to light 
 it by way of a climax to the festivities of 
 Christmas Eve. 
 
 "The big lantern?" replied Clarissa; 
 " it has not been lit this three years." 
 
 " I made it ready this morning ; oh, do 
 say yes." 
 
 " Certainly," said Clarissa, smiling ; " but 
 tell Pompey to be careful, Peter." 
 
 Off flew Peter, and up on a bench mounted 
 Pompey, nothing loth to add dignity to the 
 scene by illuminating it. Jan Steen drew 
 his bow across his violin with a long, sweet 
 note, and out on the floor glided Miranda, 
 holding the hand of a tall, athletic-looking 
 young negro, whose motions were grace 
 itself. They began at the top of the room, 
 holding the scarfs aloft, and slowly made 
 their way down until they were in the 
 centre, when the full light gleamed strongly 
 upon their raised arms, their heads well up. 
 Soft murmurs of applause began to steal 
 around the room. Betty stood with Captain 
 Yorke and Kitty directly under the lantern, 
 beating time with her fan. 
 
 " How graceful they are," said Yorke 
 softly. " See, even their shadows on the
 
 A FACE ON THE WALL 185 
 
 wall opposite are picturesque and wild. 
 How distinct the faces are ! " 
 
 " Silhouettes ! " burst in Kitty ; " have 
 you seen the pictures made by the new artist 
 who came from Albany? Some folks like to 
 be done thus, but for me I do not care for a 
 black profile of my own face. They are cut 
 skillfully enough in paper, however." 
 
 Betty, wondering what had possessed 
 Kitty to set off on an animated description 
 of silhouettes, looked up at the wall, and 
 then her heart almost stood still. That fine, 
 high forehead, the curving lips, the nose, 
 with its clear-cut nostrils, not even the 
 disfiguring woolly wig, stiff collar, and black 
 ened face and hands could disguise them to 
 her. She gazed with sickening apprehen 
 sion at the dancers ; how often she had seen 
 Oliver dancing with Miranda when they 
 were children together at home, the perform 
 ance usually taking place in the garret, for 
 fear of scoldings upon the sinfulness of dan 
 cing from Chloe, Miranda s mother ; oh, how 
 did he dare do this here, where any moment 
 might bring discovery and death ? Why, 
 why, had she failed to see and recognize him ! 
 his disguise was very perfect, and yet 
 
 The applause rang out heartily as the
 
 186 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 dancers tripped faster and faster ; Betty 
 wondered if her torture would ever end. 
 Perhaps it had only begun, for Oliver had 
 said 
 
 " Mistress Betty," spoke Yorke, and his 
 voice was low and very tender, " may I offer 
 you my arm ? A glass of mulled wine would, 
 I think, be of service to you." Stumbling a 
 little in her agitation, Betty slipped through 
 the door with him, on into the dining-room, 
 where he placed her in a corner of the wide 
 sofa and fetched the wine. 
 
 " Drink it, every drop," he said, smiling 
 down at her with a masterful look in his 
 dark eyes that Betty had never seen before. 
 " Sweetheart, trust me, and sit here till I 
 return." 
 
 Betty sipped her wine and the truant 
 color came back to her cheeks, as she saw 
 him vanish through the door. 
 
 " Have I grown a coward ? " she thought 
 indignantly. " I was brave up in the Litch- 
 field hills how dare I fail now ! Captain 
 Yorke must have seen and yet, how could 
 he know Oliver s face sufficiently well ? 
 Ah," and Betty almost cried out, " it 
 is I, miserable I, who have betrayed my 
 brother. We are so strongly alike that "
 
 A FACE ON THE IV ALL 187 
 
 " Mistress Betty," - Yorke was at her 
 side again, "I left you to bestow a few 
 shillings on yonder fellow who danced so well, 
 but I could not find him, and Mistress Kitty 
 Cruger tells me he left at once for Breuck- 
 len Heights, whence he came, as there is a 
 party crossing before daybreak. I trust 
 you are better ; the air was close in your 
 kitchen." 
 
 Betty s two small hands clasped each other 
 mutely ; her large eloquent eyes were raised 
 to his in the sweetest glance that ever maiden 
 gave. 
 
 " God bless you ! " she cried impulsively, 
 and, turning, fled through the open door.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 IT was a bright sunny morning, but very 
 cold, and snow lay packed hard and firm in 
 the streets of New York, which, narrow as 
 they were, afforded little opportunity for 
 the sun s rays to penetrate with sufficient 
 strength to warm the shivering pedestrians 
 who were hurrying down Maiden Lane in 
 the direction of the Vly Market. At the 
 farthest end of the street were the shops, 
 and one of these, " The Sign of the Cross 
 Swords," stood within a stone s throw of the 
 market itself. It was a small affair, with 
 little grimy window-panes, where were dis 
 played knives, scissors, and razors, with 
 locks and keys of many odd sorts. At the 
 door stood a half-grown boy, stamping his 
 feet to keep warm, as he droned out in sing 
 song fashion : " Walk in, gentlefolk, and 
 have your razors ground ; we have all man 
 ner of kitchen furniture in cutlery within, 
 also catgut and fiddle strings at most reason 
 able rates."
 
 AT THE VLY MARKET 189 
 
 But these attractions did not appear to 
 bring many customers inside the little shop, 
 as the passers-by seemed chiefly eager to 
 gain the Vly Market, where the stalls were 
 crowded with purchasers who were getting 
 the good things there displayed to indulge 
 in keeping New Year s day with the proper 
 spirit of festivity ; and the shop-boy was 
 about to slip inside for the comfort of warm 
 ing his fingers and toes, when a tall, slender 
 fellow in fisherman s dress accosted him. 
 
 " Hey, you there ! Have you fish-hooks 
 and nets within ? " 
 
 " Aye, sir, in plenty. Will it please you 
 to enter? " And the boy made room for the 
 stranger to pass through the narrow door 
 way. The shop was apparently empty, ex 
 cept for a middle-aged man who rose from 
 his seat on a high stool near the window, 
 where he was busily engaged in polishing a 
 pair of razors. As he came forward, the 
 fisherman addressed him : 
 
 " Good-day, friend. A frosty morning." 
 
 " But the wind will turn to east at sun 
 set," said the other, with a quick glance 
 from under his heavy eyebrows. 
 
 " A good wind, then, for the Sturdy Beg 
 gar, " was the reply, as the fisherman clasped
 
 190 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 his hands behind his neck with a peculiar 
 gesture. 
 
 "Then all s well," returned the shop 
 keeper, laying down his razors, and motion 
 ing his customer to come farther inside. 
 " Whom do you seek here, sir ? " 
 
 "Mynheer Wilhelm Hoffmeister, known 
 commonly as Billy the fiddler. 
 
 " He is off on duty since last Tuesday, 
 but must be here to-night to play at a grand 
 ball given at one of the Tory houses ; there 
 must be news, for you are the third one who 
 has asked for him since yesterday." 
 
 " News ? " said the fisherman eagerly ; 
 " perhaps you have a billet for me ? " 
 
 " And what may you be called ? " asked 
 the other cautiously. 
 
 "Jim Bates, from Breuckleu Heights." 
 
 " Then you re all right, sir ; why did n t 
 you say so before ? " and the man, casting a 
 swift glance to make sure that the boy at 
 the door was not looking, pulled a scrap of 
 dirty paper from his pocket, which was in 
 stantly seized and opened by the fisherman. 
 As he read the few words it contained, the 
 anxious lines on his face grew deeper. 
 
 " It is the only way," he muttered to him 
 self, as he tore the scrap into tiniest frag-
 
 AT THE VLY MARKET 191 
 
 ments, " but I must know from Kitty the 
 hour." Then aloud, " Have you a bit of 
 paper, friend, on which I can write a mes 
 sage ? " 
 
 " Surely," said the shopkeeper ; " wait 
 here a moment until I fetch it," and he 
 went hurriedly through a small door at the 
 back of the shop, leaving the fisherman 
 standing near the window, from which he 
 could see the crowd outside. Suddenly the 
 man uttered an exclamation, and made a 
 dash for the door, nearly upsetting the boy 
 on the threshold. 
 
 " Tell your master I will return shortly," 
 he said hurriedly, and disappeared in the 
 direction of the Vly Market. 
 
 It happened that Madam Cruger, thrifty 
 housewife though she was, had forgotten to 
 order an extra number of the large, flat 
 seedcakes, known as New Year Cakes (and 
 without which no gathering could be con 
 sidered complete for New Year day, when 
 they were handed to all callers with the 
 accompanying glasses of mulled wine and 
 metheglin), and had therefore dispatched 
 her daughter, with a colored servant carrying 
 a capacious basket on his arm, to purchase 
 the dainty from the one stall in the Vly Mar-
 
 192 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 ket where the aristocratic folk were wont 
 to deal. Truth to tell, Madam Cruger had 
 made matters somewhat uncomfortable for 
 her portly cook when she learned that the 
 cakes made by that functionary were too few 
 to meet her ideas of hospitality ; and although 
 Kitty knew that it would require speed on 
 her part to go to the market and return in 
 time to dress and be ready to receive their 
 visitors in the drawing - room by twelve 
 o clock, she preferred to pour oil on the 
 troubled waters and procure domestic peace 
 at the expense of a little personal fatigue. 
 Beside, it was not unpleasant to trip along 
 with the merry crowd, bent on enjoying 
 themselves, and Kitty knew that she would 
 meet many an acquaintance, out, like her 
 self, on some belated errand for New Year 
 day. 
 
 But there was one occurrence for which 
 Kitty had not bargained, and that befell her 
 as she gained the market door. The fisher 
 man, who had followed her as swiftly as he 
 dared without creating notice, passed close 
 at her elbow, then turned and met her face 
 to face. Kitty grew a little pale as he 
 touched his cap respectfully, but she stopped 
 in obedience to the glance which met hers.
 
 AT THE VLY MARKET 193 
 
 " A Happy New Year to you, my good 
 man," she said. " I fear that you and your 
 brother craftsmen suffer this terribly cold 
 winter. Stand aside out of the chilly wind 
 which meets us through the market door 
 and I will speak to you. Cato," to her ser 
 vant, " go on to Frau Hansel s stall, and let 
 her weigh out five pounds of seedcakes for 
 rny mother ; I will join you there in a mo 
 ment," and she turned back to the fisherman, 
 knowing that in the crowd she was compara 
 tively safe, provided her voice was not loud 
 enough to attract attention. 
 
 "What is it?" she murmured, almost 
 breathless from excitement, yet striving to 
 maintain a quiet, even careless exterior. 
 " I hoped you had fulfilled your dangerous 
 errand and gone hence two days ago." 
 
 " I cannot leave until my mission is com 
 pleted ; we have almost certain news of an 
 incursion by the British across the Kill von 
 Kull, which will do much injury to the peace 
 ful country folk of Elizabethtown and New 
 ark. The man they call Billy the fiddler 
 will have a message for me to-night of the 
 greatest importance, and he plays with oth 
 ers at the De Lancey ball ; are you to be 
 there, and at what hour ? "
 
 194 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " I, Oliver?" said Kitty, and turned rosy 
 red as the incautious word escaped her ; 
 " all New York is going at eight o clock, but 
 what has that to do with " 
 
 "This," whispered Oliver Wolcott, pull 
 ing his hat further down over his eyes, and 
 motioning Kitty to walk a few steps away 
 from the door : " I must be there." 
 
 " You are mad ! " and Kitty turned pale 
 at the idea. 
 
 " Oh, no, I am coming as one Diedrich 
 Gansevoort, from Albany. Do not fear for 
 me ; my disguise will be very perfect, and 
 I go introduced by Abram Lansing, from 
 whom I bring a letter to Madam De Lancey. 
 They are old friends, though lie is as stanch 
 a Whig as she a Tory. I tell you, Kitty, 
 t is of vital importance that I ascertain 
 the facts of this rumored raid upon the 
 patriots, and I must risk all to gain it. 
 Warn Betty, lest she give way to alarm ; 
 be brave and fear nothing." 
 
 " A Happy New Year, Mistress Kitty," 
 said a gentleman who approached her, fol 
 lowed by his negro servant. " I shall do 
 myself the honor to pay my respects to your 
 mother a little later ; " and Mr. Van Brugh 
 raised his three-cornered hat in courtly sa-
 
 AT THE VLY MARKET 195 
 
 lute, staring hard at Kitty and the fisherman 
 as he passed them. 
 
 " We are noticed," said Oliver calmly ; 
 " go on and do your errand." 
 
 " But I am so fearful for you," gasped 
 poor Kitty, whose usual composure seemed 
 to be deserting her. " You try me too far, 
 unless I may do something to aid your 
 escape, for a horrible sinking of my heart 
 seems to bode 110 good to you." 
 
 " Put no faith in omens," answered Oli 
 ver, with a smile. " I shall be off at day 
 break. Farewell, Kitty, and have no fear ; 
 I am well protected," and mingling in the 
 crowd, he passed out of the market door and 
 was gone. 
 
 With what courage she could summon, 
 Kitty sped on to Frau Hansel s stand. The 
 seedcakes had been weighed, decked with a 
 handful of Christmas greens, and placed in 
 the basket, and Kitty, after a few kind 
 words to the old Dutch market-woman, made 
 her way swiftly through the crowd and gained 
 the street. 
 
 " I must warn Betty," she thought as she 
 proceeded up Maiden Lane, and as she 
 came to Queen Street she paused. " Go 
 directly home," she said to her servant ; " tell
 
 190 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 my mother I have stopped to see Grandma 
 Effingham and wish her a Happy New Year. 
 I will be back in time to dress," and off she 
 sped in the direction of Wall Street. 
 
 Betty, who like Kitty, had been spending 
 her morning assisting in preparations for 
 the New Year callers who would present 
 themselves later in the day, was dusting the 
 quaint Dresden Shepherdess who presided 
 over a corner of the drawing-room mantel, 
 when a sharp knock at the front door an 
 nounced a visitor ; and she fled out of the 
 drawing-room only to encounter Kitty in the 
 hall. 
 
 " A Happy New Year to you," said Kitty, 
 in a tone of gayety which she was far from 
 feeling. " I ran over to give greeting to 
 grandma, and as I came my petticoat gave 
 way; let me mount to your chamber and 
 fasten it before I go to grandma s." 
 
 " Certainly," said Betty, and seizing hands 
 both girls ran rapidly up the staircase. In 
 side the small chamber, Kitty closed the 
 door, and set her back against it. 
 
 " The petticoat is fast enough, Betty, but 
 I have something grave to say. Oliver is 
 still in the city he goes to the De Lan- 
 ceys to-night I was to warn you."
 
 AT THE VLY MARKET 197 
 
 " In what disguise ? " asked Betty breath 
 lessly. 
 
 " Indeed, I know not, except that he will 
 represent Mynheer ~Diedrich Gansevoort, 
 from Albany; oh, Betty, I am sore afraid." 
 
 " Nay, wherefore ? " and Betty s eyes spar 
 kled as her color rose. " We Wolcotts are 
 not wont to fail, and I am now too accus 
 tomed to Oliver s hairbreadth escapes for 
 fright." 
 
 " You were well alarmed at the servants 
 dance ; oh, how rash he is ! " 
 
 " We spare nothing in our country s 
 cause," said Betty, with a proud little toss 
 of her head ; " but, Kitty, forgive me if I 
 appear intrusive I am puzzled to know 
 how and where you and Oliver " 
 
 "You should have known long ago," 
 interrupted Kitty, blushing deeply, " but, 
 somehow, I never could approach near 
 enough to your heart to confess that Oliver 
 and I are trothplighted though my mother s 
 consent is lacking. We met in Albany 
 again at West Point, and oh, Betty, how I 
 have longed to tell you. I have seen you 
 look at me with eyes so like his ; with such 
 scornful glance when I laugh and jest with 
 those hateful redcoats, such kindly smile
 
 198 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 when I showed you that I am at heart a 
 patriot. Forgive me, dear, and let us do all 
 we can to help Oliver to-night, for he is 
 determined to be at the De Lanceys, as by 
 going there he can obtain certain important 
 information for the cause of freedom." 
 
 Betty threw her arms around Kitty ; why 
 did she feel as if the innocent words stabbed 
 her? Had the "hateful redcoats" ceased 
 to be hateful to her ? 
 
 " Trothplighted," she whispered, with wide- 
 open eyes of delight ; " I hoped as much 
 how happy my father will be when Oliver" 
 
 " Nay, nay," cried blushing Kitty, " you 
 go too fast ; think of madam, my mother, 
 and her antipathy to the rebels, as she calls 
 them, quite forgetting that my aunt (where I 
 made my home in Albany for three years) is 
 one, as well as her naughty daughter. Good 
 lack ! my fortunes were told long ago had 
 I but bowed to her wishes ; and at the mo 
 ment, Betty, to let you into a profound 
 secret, the most desirable husband for me 
 in her eyes is Captain Yorke." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said Betty coldly, sbut Kitty 
 was too engrossed in her own discourse to 
 notice. 
 
 " Not that he has such an idea, mind you ;
 
 AT THE VLY MARKET 199 
 
 he loves to dance and jest with me, as a 
 score of others do. But, Betty, your confi 
 dence in Oliver is well sustained so far, and 
 it lightens my heart. Beside, there is no 
 one here who would be apt to recognize him 
 except you and me ; though for the matter of 
 that why Clarissa did not see and know his 
 shadow at the servants dance I have not 
 yet ceased to marvel." 
 
 " You forget that she had no knowledge 
 of his presence in New York, and Oliver 
 has changed greatly since she saw him full 
 three years ago." 
 
 "And now to grandma," said Kitty, re 
 leasing the latch of the door, which she 
 had held carefully in her hand since entering 
 the room, as a precaution against intruders ; 
 " and fare you well, Betty, till we meet at 
 the ball to-night." 
 
 All through that New Year day Betty s 
 heart throbbed with excitement, as a steady 
 stream of visitors passed in and out of the 
 mansion, where Grandma Effingham and 
 Clarissa bade welcome to old friends and 
 young ones, to stately gentlemen in small 
 clothes and powdered queues, with a fine 
 selection of British officers, beginning with 
 Sir Henry Clinton, who arrived in great
 
 200 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 state and descended from his sleigh, with its 
 coal-black horses, accompanied by his aides, 
 for the English commander liked to concil 
 iate the Tories of New York, and, as he 
 was then making secret preparations to ac 
 company an expedition to South Carolina, 
 thought best to appear in public even more 
 than usual. 
 
 " Mistress Betty," said Geoffrey Yorke, 
 under cover of sipping a glass of port wine 
 which she had offered him, " I drink to your 
 very good health ; " then softly, " I have not 
 seen you for a week ; have you been quite 
 well since the Christmas party ? " 
 
 " Is it so long ? " willfully ; " Clarissa 
 said you called one day." 
 
 " Surely to ask for you, and you never 
 came inside the room." 
 
 " Because I was busy, sir," replied Betty. 
 Then relenting as a swift remembrance 
 crossed her mind, " I was skating at the 
 Collect, where I went with Peter late in the 
 day." 
 
 " Will you dance with me to-night at the 
 ball promise me all the dances you can 
 possibly spare ? " and Geoffrey s voice took 
 its most tender tone as he fixed his eyes on 
 Betty s charming face.
 
 AT THE VLY MARKET 201 
 
 " All my dances ? Nay, two, possibly 
 three, are as many as Clarissa would deem 
 consistent with good manners," returned the 
 maid, unable to forego the pleasure of teas 
 ing him ; " indeed, I am bewildered even 
 now remembering sundry engagements al 
 ready made." 
 
 "The first dance, Betty," said Yorke 
 pleadingly, as he saw the general taking 
 leave, and prepared to accompany him. 
 " Surely you will not deny me that grace ? " 
 
 But Betty only gave him the tips of her 
 fingers in reply as she swept a graceful 
 courtesy. Was it the slight pressure of his 
 hand which accompanied the farewell that 
 made Geoffrey spring gayly into the sleigh 
 and drive off with a half-boyish, half-trium 
 phant smile?
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE DE LANCEY BALL 
 
 THE De Lancey mansion, then one of the 
 most famous houses in New York, was on 
 the Bloomingdale Road, and the drive out 
 Bowery Lane ran through meadow - land 
 and green trees in summer, but over hard- 
 packed snow and ice in winter, for it was 
 part of the highroad to Albany. So both 
 Grandma Effingham and Clarissa ordered 
 the fur muffs and hot-water bottles for the 
 feet placed carefully in the sleigh, which 
 Pompey brought to the door just as the 
 night watch went down the street, crying 
 in his slow, bell-like tones, " Eight o clock, 
 and all s w-e-11 ! " Betty, standing muffled 
 in long cloak and fur hood, on the steps 
 of the house, said to herself, with a thrill 
 of excitement, " All s well ; please God I 
 may say as much when midnight sounds to 
 night." 
 
 The sleigh was a large, roomy one, with 
 back and front seats, and its big hood was
 
 THE DE LANCET BALL 203 
 
 drawn up and extended like a roof over the 
 top, covering the heads of its occupants, 
 but open at the sides. Clarissa was seated 
 first, and well wrapped in the bearskin 
 robes which adorned the sleigh, and then 
 Betty tripped lightly down to have her little 
 feet bestowed in a capacious foot-muff, as 
 she carefully tucked her new gown around 
 her and sat beside Clarissa. Gulian, in 
 full evening dress, with small clothes, plum- 
 colored satin coat and cocked hat, took pos 
 session of the front seat. Pompey cracked 
 his whip, and the spirited horses were off 
 with a plunge and bound, as Peter, the irre 
 pressible, shouted from the doorway, where 
 with grandma he had been an interested 
 spectator of proceedings, " A Happy New 
 Year to us all, and mind, Betty, you only 
 take the handsomest gallants for partners." 
 De Lancey Place had been the scene of 
 many festivities, and was famed far and 
 wide for its hospitality, but (it was whis 
 pered) this New Year ball was to excel all 
 others. The mansion stood in the centre 
 of beautiful meadow -land, with a back 
 ground of dark pines, and these showed 
 forth finely against the snow which covered 
 the lawns and feathered the branches of the
 
 204 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 tall oak-trees in front of the door. Lan 
 terns gleamed here and there, up the drive 
 and across the wide piazza ; at the door 
 were the colored servants, in livery imported 
 direct from England, and from within came 
 sounds of music. As Pompey swept his 
 horses up to the step with an extra flourish 
 of his whip, a group of British officers, 
 who had just alighted from another sleigh, 
 hastened to meet Clarissa and assist her 
 descent. 
 
 " On my word, Clarissa," said Gulian, 
 a few minutes later, as he offered her his 
 hand to conduct her to the ballroom, " I 
 never saw Betty look so lovely. Your pink 
 brocade becomes her mightily, and her slen 
 der shape shows forth charmingly. Where 
 did you procure those knots of rose-colored 
 ribbon which adorn the waist ? I do not 
 remember them." 
 
 " That is my secret and Betty s ; she 
 vowed the gown would not be complete 
 without them, so I indulged the child, and 
 I find her taste in dress perfect. Captain 
 Sir John Faulkner seems greatly taken with 
 her, does he not ? " 
 
 " Aye, but let us hasten to find our 
 hostess. They will be forming for the min-
 
 THE DE LANCE Y BALL 205 
 
 uet directly, and you must dance it with 
 me, sweet wife, unless you prefer another 
 partner." 
 
 Clarissa s reponse to this lover-like speech 
 was evidently satisfactory, for presently 
 Betty beheld her sister and Gulian take 
 places at the head of the room, next Madam 
 De Lancey, who opened her ball with Sir 
 Henry Clinton. Betty, since her arrival 
 in New York, had been trained and tutored 
 for the minuet by both Clarissa and Kitty, 
 and here was Captain Sir John Faulkner, 
 an elderly but gallant beau, supplicating 
 for the honor of her hand in the opening 
 dance. 
 
 " I am loth to decline," began Betty, a 
 little overpowered by the compliment, " but 
 I have already promised this dance." 
 
 " To me," said Geoffrey Yorke, at her 
 side, and looking up, Betty, for the first 
 time, saw her lover in all the bravery of 
 full uniform, powdered hair, and costly 
 laces. If he had been strikingly handsome 
 in the old homespun clothes in which he 
 first appeared before her on the shores 
 of Great Pond, he was ten times more so 
 now. Betty forgot that his coat was scar 
 let, that he represented an odious king and
 
 206 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 all she had been taught to despise ; she only 
 saw the gallant manly form and loving eyes 
 which met hers so frankly, and the hand 
 she gave him trembled as he led her out 
 upon the floor. For Betty did not know 
 though the realization came to her later, 
 with bitter tears that all unconsciously 
 she had entered that fabled kingdom, the 
 knowledge of which makes life a mystery, 
 death a glory ! 
 
 The music swelled on in slow and stately 
 measure ; jewels flashed in the blaze of wax 
 candles, silken brocades rustled a soft ac 
 companiment to the steps and courtesies 
 of their fair wearers, as Betty dreamed her 
 dream of happiness, only half aware that 
 she was dreaming. And when, at the close 
 of the minuet, Geoffrey led her to Clarissa, 
 there was no lack of gallants nor partners, 
 and Peter would have chuckled with delight 
 could he have seen that no one was so 
 eagerly sought for as the lovely, roguish 
 maid, who wore the knots ,of rose-colored 
 ribbon. 
 
 It was time for supper, and instruments 
 were being tuned into order for a grand 
 march, to be led by Madam De Lancey, 
 when Betty, standing near a large Indian
 
 THE MINUET
 
 THE DE LANCE Y BALL 207 
 
 screen, talking with Mr. Van Brugh, who 
 was a dear friend of her father s, became 
 aware of subdued voices at her elbow, on 
 the other side of the screen. 
 
 " I tell you I am right," said one of these 
 testily ; " I would stake my sword that he is 
 not what he seems. I saw him exchange 
 a bit of paper with yonder manikin fiddler, 
 who has been under suspicion for some 
 weeks, and cleverly they did it, too. It s 
 not the first time, I 11 warrant, that Myn 
 heer von Gam 
 
 " No, no, not Von at all ; you are safe to 
 be mistaken, Colonel Tarleton ; the gentle 
 man is one Diedrich Gansevoort from the 
 Albany beverwyck. Madam De Laucey 
 herself made us acquainted ; he is no spy." 
 
 Betty s heart sank. She murmured some 
 thing in reply as Mr. Van Brugh paused. 
 This was the famous and cruel Colonel 
 Tarleton. If he had traced Oliver, then 
 all was lost. She strained her ears for 
 further information, smiling up at Mr. Van 
 Brugh as she waved her fan gently to and 
 fro. 
 
 " If you are so sure of it, why did he, an 
 apparent stranger, have aught to commu 
 nicate to that fiddler yonder? Go quietly
 
 208 
 
 through the crowd and watch the gentleman 
 as he appears at supper ; I 11 have a word 
 with Yorke on the subject," and they moved 
 off in the direction of the ballroom. 
 
 " Will he, indeed? " thought Betty, as she 
 saw Geoffrey coming toward her from the 
 hall ; " not while I can hold him at my side," 
 and with somewhat paler face, but with 
 calm demeanor she moved away, obedient 
 to Geoffrey s request that she should go to 
 supper. 
 
 Kitty Cruger s evening, unlike Betty s, 
 had been full of dangerous excitement. 
 Arriving at the ball with her mother, she 
 had been dancing with her usual spirit, 
 keeping, however, anxious watch for Oliver. 
 But she perceived no one whom she could 
 possibly imagine was he, even in disguise, 
 and therefore it was with almost a shock 
 of dismay that she found herself stopped, 
 as she was passing the supper-room door, 
 by her hostess, who " craved the favor of 
 presenting a gentleman just arrived from 
 Albany, who knew her family there." Kitty 
 dropped her most formal courtesy and raised 
 her eyes to the face of the stranger. Verily, 
 Oliver possessed positive genius for dis 
 guises, and troubled as she was Kitty could
 
 THE DE LANCE Y BALL 209 
 
 not restrain a smile as she recognized in the 
 rubicund countenance and somewhat portly 
 form of the gentleman bowing before her 
 an admirable caricature of no less a person 
 than her respected uncle, Cornelius Lan 
 sing, an antiquated Albany beau. 
 
 Yorke, with Betty, was just inside the 
 door as the pair entered, and as Kitty per 
 ceived them she paused for a moment to 
 say good-evening. 
 
 " Where have you been ? I was looking 
 for you. Permit me to present Mynheer 
 Gansevoort, of Albany. Mistress Betty 
 Wolcott and Captain Yorke. As for you, 
 sir," to Yorke, with a playful tap of her 
 fan to engage his attention, " you have 
 not yet claimed my hand for a dance. Pray, 
 what excuse can you devise for such neg 
 lect?" 
 
 Betty seized her opportunity. She must 
 warn Oliver at all hazards. " Have you 
 lately arrived ? " she said, fixing her eyes 
 on him ; then, in so low a whisper that it 
 barely reached him by motion of her lips, 
 " You are watched ; be careful ! " 
 
 " I am somewhat deaf," returned Oliver, 
 with great readiness, bending his ear toward 
 her. "By whom?" with equal caution.
 
 210 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " Colonel Tarleton. Escape as speedily 
 as you can." 
 
 " Did you speak ? " said Geoffrey, turn 
 ing suddenly, to Betty s dismay, and casting 
 a penetrating glance at Oliver, which he 
 returned with the utmost calmness. 
 
 " This gentleman is somewhat deaf, I 
 find," answered Betty. " It is a sad afflic 
 tion, sir ; has it troubled you long ? " 
 
 " Some years. May I offer Captain Yorke 
 a pinch of snuff ? " and the pretended Myn 
 heer Gansevoort produced a gold snuff-box 
 from his waistcoat pocket, which he courte 
 ously extended to the English officer. 
 
 " You must excuse me ; I have not yet 
 acquired the habit," replied Geoffrey. " A 
 glass of wine with you, sir, instead, if you 
 will do me the honor." 
 
 " With great pleasure." And as they 
 moved a step onward, Kitty passed first 
 with Yorke, thereby giving Betty time to 
 whisper to Oliver what she had overheard 
 behind the screen. 
 
 " Your very good health, sir," said Geof 
 frey, as he took the glasses of port wine 
 from a servant standing near the lavishly 
 filled table ; " and if you will not consider 
 me intrusive, do you purpose stopping in 
 New York ? "
 
 THE DE LANCET BALL 211 
 
 " That is as may be," replied the other. 
 " I am not, however, returning to Albany 
 immediately. Will you name a toast ? " 
 
 " Aye," said Yorke quickly, raising his 
 glass, with a searching look into Oliver s 
 eyes, " To your safe return to the Albany 
 beverwyck ; the climate of New York is 
 somewhat unhealthy at present." 
 
 " Yorke," said a young officer, coming 
 hastily up behind the group, " Colonel 
 Tarletoii desires speech with you for a mo 
 ment ; you will find him and Sir Henry 
 by the screen in the ballroom." 
 
 " You heard ? " whispered Betty, as Geof 
 frey left them ; " Captain Yorke has recog 
 nized you fly, fly, at once ! " 
 
 " Is there another exit from this room, 
 Kitty ? " asked Oliver, finishing his glass of 
 wine as he spoke, and handing the empty 
 glass to the waiting servant. 
 
 " Only the window behind us," gasped 
 Kitty ; " quick ! they are all too busy eating 
 and drinking to notice if you slip through 
 the curtains, and the balcony is but a few 
 feet from the ground." 
 
 " Then I must run for it. Farewell," 
 murmured Oliver, as the heavy damask 
 curtains dropped back over his vanishing
 
 212 AN UNWILLING MAW 
 
 figure. The two girls gazed into each 
 other s faces with dilated eyes and quiv 
 ering lips. Would the alarm be speedily 
 given, and would they see him captured and 
 carried to certain death ? For one breath 
 less moment they listened, and then Kitty 
 turned sick and faint ; her eyes closed as 
 Betty flung an arm around her waist. 
 
 " Some wine at once," she said aloud, 
 and two gentlemen sprang forward to assist 
 her to place Kitty in a chair. " She is 
 affected by the heat of the room ; it will 
 pass in a moment," and she gave the reviv 
 ing girl a good hard pinch, which made her 
 start in her chair. " Oh, Gulian, I am glad 
 you are here. Had you not better seek 
 Madam Cruger ? " 
 
 " No, no," cried Kitty, struggling to rise, 
 and most heartily ashamed of herself for 
 her lack of self-control. " My mother is not 
 strong and must not be alarmed. I am 
 better; will you come into the hall with 
 me, Betty ? It is cooler there." 
 
 " Of course, and you can rest awhile ; 
 Gulian will bring us supper." 
 
 But supper and everything connected 
 with it was far from Betty s thoughts ; all 
 she wished was a few words with Kitty
 
 THE DE LANCE Y BALL 213 
 
 alone, which she knew Gulian s absence 
 would give her. 
 
 " Betty," said Kitty the instant he left 
 them, " you do not know half the danger. 
 If he has not the means of escape close at 
 hand if the British officers arrest the 
 fiddler Oliver is totally lost. Can you 
 see through yonder door if the man be there 
 still with the others?" Betty rose from 
 her chair and stepped inside the ballroom, 
 now nearly deserted, for the guests were 
 all at supper. She glanced eagerly toward 
 the upper end of the room ; no, the mani 
 kin fiddler had disappeared. Then an idea 
 darted into her quick brain ; inaction under 
 the circumstances was maddening ; back she 
 darted to Kitty s side. 
 
 "Kitty, come with me instantly. We 
 will muffle ourselves in our cloaks and hoods 
 and steal forth for a moment. I 11 find 
 Pompey and our sleigh, and if worst comes, 
 let Oliver fly in that fashion ; Gulian s 
 horses are fleet enough to distance pursu 
 ers." 
 
 Without another word both girls flew 
 into the room near the front door where 
 they had left their wraps. Not a soul was 
 there ; the servants had gone elsewhere,
 
 214 ^LV UNWILLING MAID 
 
 knowing that their services would not be 
 required until the early morning hours, when 
 the ball broke up. It took but a moment 
 to pounce on their cloaks, and Betty also 
 seized a long dark wrap, which lay conven 
 iently at her hand, thinking it might be use 
 ful. Out into the hall they dashed swiftly 
 and silently, past the lanterns on the broad 
 piazza ; and as luck had it, Pompey himself, 
 who had come up to witness the festivities 
 from the outside, popped up at the steps. 
 
 " What you se doin hyar, little missy ? " 
 he began wonderingly, but Betty cut him 
 short. 
 
 " Fetch the sleigh at once, Pompey. Mis 
 tress Kitty is ill, and I want to take her 
 home." 
 
 Pompey, somewhat alarmed at the tone 
 and catching sight of Betty s white face 
 and burning eyes, vanished on the instant. 
 The girls drew into the shadow as far as 
 they were able, and holding their breath 
 peered into the darkness. 
 
 " What is that ? " whispered Kitty, as a 
 swift footstep crossed the piazza. " Oh, t is 
 Yorke ! Have a care, Betty, or we are 
 discovered," and she endeavored to drag 
 her farther back against the wall. As she
 
 THE DE LANCE Y BALL 215 
 
 did so, the crouching figure of a man rose 
 up against the trunk of one of the oak-trees 
 on the lawn ; it was Oliver. His padded 
 coat cast off, they could dimly distinguish his 
 tall slender form. Some singular instinct 
 for which he could never account made 
 Yorke pause as he set his foot on the 
 threshold of the front door ; he wheeled 
 just in time to see Betty s face, as one pale 
 ray from a distant lantern fell across it. 
 
 " Betty, what are you doing here ? " he 
 cried, darting to her side. At that instant 
 a sound of voices broke on the stillness of 
 the night ; it came from behind the mansion 
 in the direction of the pine woods. 
 
 "Kitty is ill," faltered Betty. "I am 
 taking her home do not, I pray you, de 
 tain me oh, there is Pompey " as the 
 welcome sound of sleigh-bells rang out on 
 the frosty air. " Geoffrey, Geoffrey, let me 
 go!" 
 
 Her tone of agonized supplication went to 
 Geoffrey s heart. Kitty flew down the steps 
 into the sleigh, unassisted, and Betty fol 
 lowed, her hand in Yorke s. There arose 
 a hoarse shout "The spy, the spy he 
 has escaped by the road ! " and as Betty 
 set her foot on the runner, a dark figure
 
 216 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 vaulted over Kitty and buried itself in the 
 robes at the bottom of the sleigh. 
 
 " At last, sweetheart, I pay my debt," 
 whispered Yorke in her ear, as he thrust 
 Betty safely into the seat. " Pompey, drive 
 for your life ! " The startled negro needed 
 no second bidding, down came the whip-lash 
 on the horses backs, and with a furious 
 plunge, a mad rear, they were off, a quarter 
 of a mile ahead before their pursuers turned 
 the corner of the mansion. 
 
 Oh, that wild race through the snow ! 
 Even in after years, when long days of happi 
 ness had crowded out much of those stirring 
 times from Betty s mind, a shudder would 
 creep over her, and closing her eyes she 
 could see again the tall gaunt trees, the 
 frozen road, the snow that glittered so still 
 and cold in the cruel starlight, and hear 
 the distant shouts that she feared told of 
 pursuit. On they flew, Oliver giving oc 
 casional directions to the trembling and 
 excited Pompey. Now that he knew the 
 danger, the faithful negro would have died 
 sooner than fail to carry the fugitive into 
 comparative safety. On, through the Lis- 
 penard meadows, on, until they struck 
 Broadway ; no pursuers within sight, and
 
 THE DE LANCE Y BALI. 217 
 
 at Crown Street Oliver bade him turn in 
 the direction of the river, and drive, down 
 until he reached the slip which lay at 
 the foot of the street. All was still. Save 
 an occasional belated pedestrian, nothing 
 seemed stirring, and as they neared the 
 dingy old tavern at the Sign of the Sturdy 
 Beggar, Pompey pulled up his smoking, 
 panting horses. 
 
 " Don t want to get too near dose lights," 
 he said, pointing to the swinging lantern 
 which adorned the hostelry ; " darse n t let 
 nobody see my young mistress ; Massa Gu- 
 lian would flog Pompey for shuah if dis tale 
 gets tole." 
 
 " You re right, Pompey," answered Oli 
 ver, springing up and flinging the long 
 dark cloak with which Betty had provided 
 herself around his shoulders ; " take the 
 ladies home slowly. Kitty, my beloved, 
 farewell farewell, Betty, brave little soul 
 that you are ; I 11 tell my father how your 
 quick wits came to my relief. Here I cross 
 the river on the ice, and, God willing, reach 
 the commander-in-chief with the tidings he 
 desires by eight o clock in the morning." 
 
 A sob from Kitty, a low " God guard 
 you ! " from Betty, and Oliver vanished as
 
 218 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Pompey turned his horses and proceeded 
 leisurely back to Broadway. The girls were 
 literally too spent with emotion to do more 
 than sink down breathless among the fur 
 robes, and not one word did they exchange 
 as they drove through Wall Street and 
 finally drew up at the Verplancks door. 
 On the steps stood Gulian, a tall and silent 
 figure, awaiting the truants. 
 
 " What does this mean ? " he began 
 sternly, as he lifted Kitty out. " Did the 
 hue and cry for that wretched, miserable 
 Whig spy frighten the horses ? Clarissa 
 is nearly distracted " 
 
 " I will explain all to your satisfaction," 
 interrupted Betty. " Meantime, listen, and 
 be thankful ; " and as she held up a warning 
 hand, they heard through the stillness of 
 the night the watchman s distant cry float 
 down the frosty air : 
 
 " Half past three o clock and all s 
 well!"
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me that you, Cla 
 rissa s sister, had anything to do with the 
 escape of a Whig spy ? " 
 
 " Even so," said Betty calmly, though 
 her face was pale and her brilliant eyes burn 
 ing with excitement. 
 
 " Damnation ! " retorted Gulian angrily. 
 " Even your mistaken ideas of patriotism 
 could hardly carry a well-behaved maiden so 
 far." 
 
 " Gulian ! how dare you ! " 
 
 " What am I to conclude?" with a scorn 
 ful wave of his hand ; " your story is some 
 what disjointed. Kitty is taken ill ; you 
 suddenly decide to carry her off in my 
 sleigh without farewell of any kind to your 
 hostess, without paying your sister or me the 
 respect to ask permission. Then you state 
 that a man confound the beggar s impu 
 dence ! sprang into the sleigh, and you 
 were foolish enough to fetch him out of the
 
 220 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 danger of pursuit, all because of loyalty to 
 the cause of so-called freedom. I cannot un 
 derstand Stay ! Captain Yorke was on 
 the steps as I came out, hearing the shouts ; 
 did he witness this extraordinary occur 
 rence ? " 
 
 " I told you the fugitive had concealed 
 himself in the bottom of the sleigh before I 
 entered it," said Betty, terror seizing her 
 lest a chance word should implicate Geoffrey 
 in the matter. " Would you have me turn a 
 helpless man loose among your Hessians ? I 
 have too vivid recollection of Nathan Hale s 
 fate to contribute another victim to English 
 mercy." 
 
 The taunt stung Verplanck, for, like 
 many of the more liberal Tories, he had 
 deeply deplored the tragic ending of the 
 gallant Hale, although forced to regard it as 
 one of the stern necessities of war. He bit 
 his lip as he answered : 
 
 " Thank you, Betty ; I am glad Clarissa 
 does not regard me as quite so bloodthirsty 
 as you evidently deem me." Then, eying 
 her keenly, as if struck by a sudden thought, 
 " Did you know the man, or was it all pure 
 patriotism? " 
 
 " Yes," returned Betty, filled with indig-
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 221 
 
 nation at the sneer, and facing him with all 
 her native courage ; " yes, I know him well." 
 
 " Know him ? " echoed the bewildered 
 Gulian, " are you mad or am I dreaming? " 
 
 " Neither, I trust. The Whig spy, as you 
 are pleased to call him, was my brother, 
 Oliver Wolcott. Thank God that he has 
 made good his escape, and congratulate your 
 self, Gulian, that you aided, even remotely, 
 iii it." 
 
 " Betty, Betty, if this be true, I trust 
 Clarissa does not know." 
 
 " Never fear," with a choking sob ; " I 
 shall not tell her. She suffers enough, poor 
 soul, with her husband upon one side and 
 her people upon the other of this most cruel 
 war." 
 
 " Betty, go to your chamber," said Gulian 
 sternly. " I will myself escort Kitty to her 
 own door, and impress upon her the neces 
 sity of keeping the matter a close secret. 
 My mortification would be great were it 
 known. Why, it might even endanger my 
 friendship with Sir Henry Clinton." 
 
 Betty left the room, but her lip curled 
 as she said to herself, " A Tory to the tips 
 of his fingers ; God forbid that I should 
 ever feel what Clarissa must."
 
 222 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Very little sleep visited Betty that night 
 (or what remained of it) as she lay with 
 open eyes that strained into the growing 
 dawn, picturing to herself Oliver s flight 
 across the North River, and hoping fervently 
 that she had thrown the pursuit skillfully 
 off his track. When at last she fell into a 
 doze it was nearly seven o clock in the morn 
 ing, and Miranda, who softly entered the 
 room, bringing fresh water, halted at the 
 pillow, loth to waken her. 
 
 " Mistress Betty," she whispered. No 
 reply, but the sleeper turned uneasily, and 
 then opened her eyes. " I certainly do hate 
 to call you, but jes look here ; what you say 
 for dat, little missy ? " and Miranda held up 
 a letter. " Dat was left wif me at day 
 break by de young boy who came wif Sambo 
 missy knows who I mean,"- - rolling her 
 eyes fearfully around the room, " and he 
 said tell you that Jim Bates, of Breucklen 
 Heights, had tole him to fetch it to you." 
 
 Betty seized the package ; it consisted of 
 a half-sheet of paper which inclosed a let 
 ter, doubled over and sealed with wax in the 
 fashion of the day. 
 
 " I am safely across the river," wrote 
 Oliver on the outer sheet, " and send this
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 223 
 
 to ease your mind and Kitty s. Moppet s 
 letter came to me inside one from my father 
 by private hand a few days since, on chance 
 of iny being able to give it you. My ser 
 vice in the city is over, my object attained ; 
 hereafter I shall be on duty with our troops. 
 God be with you till we meet again." 
 
 Betty broke the seal of her letter and 
 between sobs and laughter deciphered the 
 queer pot-hooks and printed letters with 
 which Miss Moppet had covered the pages. 
 Dear little Moppet ; Betty could almost see 
 the frowns and puckered brow with which 
 the child had penned the words. 
 
 " My Betty dear," the letter ran, " we 
 miss you sorely, especially the Mare and me. 
 She whinnies when I seek the Stable, and I 
 was going to say I cry too, but never mind." 
 (This was partly erased, but Betty made it 
 out.) " It is so cold the Chickens are kept 
 in the kitchen at night lest they freeze. We 
 hope it may thaw soon, as we Desire to get 
 the maple vsyrup from the trees. Aunt 
 Euphemia is well. Miss Bidwell is still 
 knitting Socks for our poor soldiers, and I 
 made Half of one, but the Devil tempted 
 me with Bad temper and I threw it on the
 
 224 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Fire, for which I was well Punished. Pa 
 mela cries much; I do not see why she is so 
 Silly. Sally Tracy is the only merry one, 
 now you are away ; she spends too much 
 time, to my thinking, reading and walking 
 with a young Gentleman who comes from 
 Branford. I have not yet learned how to 
 spell his Name, but you may Guess who I 
 mean. When are you coming home, Betty? 
 I want so to see your dear face. My Re 
 spects to Gulian and Clarissa, and Obedi 
 ence to Grandma I do not Recollect her 
 whole Name. My Sampler is more perfectly 
 Evil than ever, but I have completed the 
 Alphabet and I danced on it, which Miss 
 Bidwell said was Outrageous naughty, but 
 my temper Felt calmed afterward. It has 
 taken four Days to write this, farewell, from 
 your lonesome little sister, 
 
 " FAITH WOLCOTT. 
 
 " Nota Bene. I send my Love to You 
 know Who." 
 
 There were others of the Verplanck house 
 hold who slept late that morning. Gulian s 
 usually calm and somewhat phlegmatic tem 
 per had been moved to its depths by the 
 startling and most unexpected revelation of
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 225 
 
 Oliver Wolcott s identity with the spy, 
 whose escape Betty had aided and in which 
 he was also indirectly implicated by the use 
 of his horses and servant. Gulian s strict 
 sense of justice told him that Betty was 
 right in seizing the means at hand to rescue 
 her brother, but that did not lessen his irri 
 tation at being used for anything which 
 appertained to the Whig cause, for Gulian. 
 Verplanck was a Tory to the backbone. 
 Educated in England, brought up to consider 
 that the divine right of kings was a sacred 
 principle, he carried his devotion to the 
 Tories to such an extent that had he fore 
 seen the conflict between King and Colonies 
 it is safe to say he would never have wedded 
 Clarissa Wolcott. His love for his wife was 
 too great to permit him to regret his mar 
 riage, and he was too thorough a gentleman 
 to annoy her by alluding to their political 
 difference of opinion, except occasionally, 
 when his temper got the better of him, 
 which, to do him justice, was seldom. But 
 Clarissa s very love for him rendered her 
 too clear-sighted not to perceive the state of 
 his mind, and the unspoken agitation which 
 she suffered on this score had been partly 
 the cause of her homesickness and longing
 
 226 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 for her sister s companionship. He had 
 been both kind and considerate in sending 
 for Betty ; his conscience approved the ac 
 tion ; and now to have this escapade as the 
 outcome was, to a man of his somewhat 
 stilted and over-ceremonious ideas, a blow of 
 the most annoying description. 
 
 When he sallied forth from his house 
 some two hours later than his wont, on his 
 way to the wharf, where his business was 
 located, he congratulated himself that he 
 had so far escaped questioning from his wife 
 on the occurrences of the night before. 
 When Betty left him, he had taken Kitty 
 home in the sleigh, and refrained from lec 
 turing her except so far as insisting upon 
 her not mentioning the matter of Oliver s 
 escape to her mother. Exhausted as she 
 was, mirth-loving Kitty was moved to a 
 smile as she listened to Gulian s labored 
 sentences, in which he endeavored to con 
 vince his listener and himself that what he 
 considered almost a crime against the King s 
 majesty permitting the escape of a rebel 
 spy was, so far as Betty was concerned, a 
 meritorious act. So Kitty promised, with 
 the utmost sincerity, that not one syllable 
 would she breathe of the matter to her
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 227 
 
 mother, or, in fact, to any human being, and 
 hugged herself mentally as she thought of 
 Gulian s horror if he only knew what a per 
 sonal interest she had in that night s mad 
 race for freedom. Clarissa, sweet soul, had 
 lain down quietly, when told that their 
 horses had nearly run away, being badly 
 frightened by the hue and cry of an escap 
 ing rebel ; and uttering heartfelt thanksgiv 
 ings that Pompey had brought the girls 
 home in safety, she went fast asleep and 
 remained so long after Gulian had risen, 
 breakfasted, and gone down Maiden Lane. 
 
 Business was somewhat dull that morn 
 ing, and Gulian was conscious that each 
 time his office door opened he feared some 
 one would enter who had learned, he hardly 
 knew how, of his having been connected with 
 the hateful affair occupying his thoughts. It 
 was therefore with a genuine feeling of 
 relief that just as he was preparing to lock 
 up his books he heard the outer door open, 
 and a familiar voice inquire if he was 
 within. 
 
 " Pray come in at once, Yorke," he said, 
 throwing open the door of his private room 
 with alacrity, as he held out a hand of wel 
 come to his visitor. " Did you rise early
 
 228 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 this morning? I am ashamed to own how 
 late I was, but the balls at De Lancey Place 
 are promoters of sleep next day, I find." 
 
 " I can usually plead guilty to sleep," 
 replied Yorke, throwing off his military cloak, 
 and taking the chair which Gulian offered 
 him, " but I had to be stirring early to-day, 
 for Sir Henry had pressing affairs, and I was 
 at headquarters before seven o clock." 
 
 " Did you take horse in pursuit of the spy 
 last night ? " asked Gulian, with somewhat 
 heightened color. 
 
 " Not I," answered Yorke carelessly ; 
 " the poor devil had luck on his side, or 
 doubled marvelously well on his pursuers, 
 for I am told that not a trace of him nor of 
 his confederate, the little fiddler, did our 
 men find. It s well for them, as Sir Henry 
 was much enraged and their shrift would 
 have been short, I fear, had they been cap 
 tured." 
 
 " These rebels grow bolder than ever," 
 said Gulian, uttering a secret thanksgiving 
 which spoke better for his kindness of heart 
 than his loyalty to King and Crown ; " I 
 marvel at their adroitness." 
 
 " So do we all ; but, Verplanck, I came 
 on a different errand to-day than politics.
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 229 
 
 I came " and Geoffrey hesitated, as a 
 questioning look came on Gulian s face 
 " I came I In short, am I right in 
 esteeming you for the present as brother 
 and guardian to Mistress Betty Wolcott?" 
 
 " Aye ; in her father s absence, of course, 
 I stand in that relation toward her. Well, 
 what of Betty ? " 
 
 " Only this," and rising, Yorke bowed in 
 courtly fashion : " I have the honor to ask 
 your permission to pay my addresses to your 
 sister, Mistress Betty." 
 
 " To Betty ? " was Gulian s astonished 
 and delighted response. " You surprise me. 
 Your acquaintance is but recent, and, I 
 think, somewhat formal ? " 
 
 " Love is hardly a matter of time or 
 formality," returned Yorke, with a smile, as 
 a remembrance of his first meeting with 
 Betty occurred to him, " and that I do truly 
 and honestly love her you have my honora 
 ble assurance. Do you give me your per 
 mission to proceed in the matter ? " 
 
 " With all my heart," said Gulian, this 
 new aspect of things driving all unpleasant 
 ness connected with Betty from his head ; 
 " but her father s consent is, I fear me, 
 quite a different matter."
 
 230 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 " That is not for to-day," cried the lover, 
 as he shook Gulian s hand with almost boy 
 ish delight, " and to-morrow may take care 
 of itself if I can but gain Betty s ear." 
 
 " But my consent and Clarissa s can be 
 but conditional," proceeded Gulian, his ha 
 bitual caution returning to him. " I am not 
 sure that I should be altogether justified 
 Nay," seeing Yorke s face cloud with keen 
 disappointment, " I will myself lay the mat 
 ter before Betty, and endeavor to ascer 
 tain if she may be well disposed toward 
 you." 
 
 " Heaven forbid ! " thought the impetuous 
 lover. But he only said aloud, " Thank 
 you, Verplanck, I am delighted to receive 
 your sanction. How are you spending the 
 afternoon ? " 
 
 " I have business at Breucklen Heights, 
 but I shall be at home this evening, when I 
 will approach Betty in the matter, and tell 
 my wife of the honor you do us. For I 
 have not forgotten my many visits to your 
 father, Lord Herbert, at Yorke Towers, and 
 the kindness extended me while in England. 
 Indeed, Yorke, for my personal share in the 
 matter, I know of no alliance which could 
 gratify me more."
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 231 
 
 This was unwonted warmth on Gulian s 
 part, and Yorke, feeling it to be such, grasped 
 his hand warmly at parting, as he flung 
 himself in his saddle, and rode gayly up 
 Maiden Lane. 
 
 But the " best laid plans o mice and 
 men " often meet with unsuspected hin 
 drances, as both Gulian and Yorke were 
 destined to discover. What special imp 
 prompted Betty to sally forth for a walk after 
 dinner, thereby missing a call from Yorke 
 (who came thus early to prevent Gulian s 
 intended interview), it would be vain to 
 speculate ; but when the maid returned, feel 
 ing more like her old happy self than she had 
 done in weeks, the irony of fate prompted 
 an encounter with her brother-in-law at the 
 library door. 
 
 " I have somewhat to say to you, Betty," 
 began Gulian, with an air of importance, 
 which set Betty s nerves on edge at once. 
 If there was one thing more than another 
 that annoyed her it was Gulian s pompous 
 manner. " Will you come inside before go 
 ing upstairs ? I will not detain you long." 
 
 Wondering what could have occurred to 
 wipe out the displeasure with which he had 
 dismissed her to bed the last time they met,
 
 232 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 Betty followed him, and throwing off her 
 hood and cloak seated herself calmly as 
 Gulian entered and closed the door with the 
 solemnity he considered befitting the occa 
 sion. 
 
 " I had the unhappiness - the very great 
 unhappiness," he began, " to feel much dis 
 pleased with you last night ; but upon think 
 ing the whole matter over carefully, I am 
 convinced that in assisting your unfortunate 
 brother to escape you did your best under 
 the circumstances, and were justified in yield 
 ing to a very natural and proper sisterly 
 impulse." 
 
 " Thank you," said Betty demurely, but 
 with a sparkle of fun in her liquid eyes 
 as she turned them upon Gulian, secretly 
 amused at this curiously characteristic apol 
 ogy- 
 
 " We will dismiss that event and endea 
 vor to forget it ; I only wish to repeat my 
 injunction that I desire Clarissa should know 
 nothing of the matter." He paused, and 
 Betty made a movement of assent. 
 
 "How old are you, Betty?" came the 
 next remark. 
 
 " I am turned sixteen," replied Betty, 
 somewhat surprised at the question.
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 233 
 
 " So I thought." Gulian paused again to 
 give weight and dignity to the disclosure. 
 " You are now of a marriageable age. I have 
 this morning received a proposal for your 
 hand." 
 
 " Indeed," said Betty calmly. " And who, 
 pray, has done me that honor, in this city, 
 where I am but a recent comer ? " 
 
 " Precisely what I remarked ; the a*c- 
 quaintance has been, perhaps, unduly short. 
 But nevertheless a most honorable and dis 
 tinguished gentleman intends to offer you, 
 through me, his hand " 
 
 " He had been wiser to present me with 
 his heart," interrupted Betty, with a mis 
 chievous laugh. But mirth died on her lips 
 as Gulian, frowning slightly, proceeded with 
 his story in his own way. 
 
 " His hand, and I presume his heart ; do 
 not be flippant, Betty ; it ill becomes you. 
 This young gentleman will be called upon 
 to fill a high position ; he is the son of a 
 man of title and " 
 
 " Stay," said Betty coldly. " It is not 
 necessary to rehearse his advantages. May 
 I ask the name of this somewhat audacious 
 gentleman ? " 
 
 " Audacious ? " ejaculated Gulian, falling
 
 234 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 back a step to gaze full at the haughty face 
 uplifted toward him. "Surely you misun 
 derstand me. Pending your father, General 
 Wolcott s consent, I trust you are able to 
 perceive the advantages of this match, for 
 Captain Geoffrey Yorke is a son of Lord 
 Herbert Yorke, and grandson of the Earl of 
 Hardwicke. It is an exceptionally good 
 offer, in my opinion, for any colonist, as in 
 this country, alas, we have no rank. More 
 over, Betty, when the war ends it will be 
 wise to have some affiliation with the mother 
 country, and by so doing be in a position 
 to ask protection for your unhappy and mis 
 guided relatives who now bear arms against 
 the King." 
 
 Up rose Mistress Betty, her slender form 
 trembling with indignation, her eyes flash 
 ing, and her cheeks scarlet. 
 
 " I would to God," she cried passionately, 
 " that my father could hear you insult his 
 child, his country, and his cause. There is 
 no need for you to ask his consent to my 
 marriage with Captain Yorke, for here, this 
 moment, I promptly decline any alliance 
 which possesses the advantages you so feel 
 ingly describe." 
 
 " Betty, Betty " Gulian saw his mistake,
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 235 
 
 but it was too late ; on rushed the torrent of 
 her indignation. 
 
 " I wish you and him to understand 
 that Betty Wolcott is heart and soul with 
 her misguided relatives in rebellion against 
 British rule ; that nothing no, nothing, 
 would induce her to wed an enemy to her 
 country." 
 
 " Nothing, Betty ? " said a manly voice 
 behind her, as Yorke himself crossed the 
 threshold, where for the last few seconds he 
 had been an angry listener to Gulian s blun 
 ders. " Surely you will grant me a moment 
 to plead on my own behalf ? " 
 
 "And wherefore?" cried Betty. "You 
 sent your message by him," with a scorn 
 ful wave of her hand toward Gulian s re 
 treating figure ; " through him, then, receive 
 my reply." 
 
 " I will not," said Geoffrey firmly, as the 
 door closed behind Verplanck. " Sweetheart, 
 will you listen to me ? " 
 
 "It is useless," murmured Betty, with a 
 choking sob. " I was mad to even dream it 
 might be possible. Gulian has made it all 
 too plain to me." 
 
 " Nay, you must and shall hear me. I 
 will not leave you until I tell you that I love
 
 236 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 you devotedly ; ah, why should politics and 
 war come between our hearts? Consider, 
 Betty, I will do all a gentleman and a man 
 of honor can to please you " 
 
 " But you cannot desert your own people," 
 she said despairingly. " I could not love you 
 if you did, for, Geoffrey, it is but due you to 
 confess in this hour of parting that you are 
 very, very dear to me," and the last words 
 just reached his eager ears as Betty sank, 
 trembling, into a chair. 
 
 " Dearest," he cried, kissing the little 
 hand which lay in his, " will you not bid me 
 hope ? Think, the tide may turn ; we are 
 both young, and who can predict the for 
 tunes of war ? I will not bind you, but to 
 you I must myself be bound by the passion 
 ate love I bear you." 
 
 " Oh, Geoffrey, my beloved, it cannot be ! 
 I know what my dear and honored father 
 would say. God guard you farewell ! " 
 
 He caught the dainty form in his arms, he 
 held her next his heart and vowed that come 
 what would he defied fate itself to separate 
 her from him. " See," he cried, snatching 
 the knot of rose-colored ribbon from his 
 breast, " I will wear this token always as I 
 have done since the day it dropped from your
 
 LOVE OR LOYALTY 237 
 
 gown on the grass. If it be twenty years, 
 I will yet come, with your father s consent, 
 to win you, and then, then, sweetheart, may 
 I claim my reward ? " 
 
 " I cannot wed my country s foe," she 
 faltered. " Oh, Geoffrey, be merciful let 
 me go." At that moment there came a vio 
 lent knock upon the street door, a sound of 
 voices, and Pompey s slow step approaching 
 the library door. 
 
 " An express for Massa Captain brought 
 by Sir Henry s orderly," said the faithful 
 old negro, handing a sealed envelope to 
 Yorke, as he closed the door behind him. 
 Yorke tore it open ; it fell from his hand. 
 For a moment he stood, tall, gallant, and 
 brave, before Betty ; his eyes met hers in 
 long, lingering farewell. 
 
 " Sir Henry leads the expedition to South 
 Carolina to-night, Betty, and I go with him. 
 Nay, sweetheart, sweetheart, we shall meet 
 again in happier days." 
 
 She gave a little cry and flung herself into 
 his arms ; she kissed him with all her warm 
 frank heart on her lips, and then she slipped 
 from his embrace and was gone as Yorke 
 dashed from the house, mounted his horse, 
 and galloped swiftly away.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERY 
 
 IT was early autumn in Connecticut, and 
 the maples had put on their most gorgeous 
 robes of red and yellow. The weather had 
 been mild for that region up to the middle 
 of October, when a sudden light frost had 
 flung its triumphant banner over hill and 
 dale with a glow and glory seen to its great 
 est perfection in New England. The morn 
 ing air was somewhat fresh, and Miss Bid- 
 well, hearing Moppet s feet flying along the 
 hall, opened the door of the sitting-room and 
 called the child. 
 
 " You will need your tippet if you are go 
 ing beyond the orchard, and I think perhaps 
 your hood." 
 
 " Hood ! " echoed Miss Moppet disdain 
 fully, shaking her yellow curls over her 
 shoulders until they danced almost of them 
 selves ; " I do not need to be muffled up as 
 if I were a little girl, Miss Bidwell. You 
 forget I was twelve years old yesterday,"
 
 MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERY 239 
 
 and she waltzed around the room, spreading 
 her short skirt in a courtesy, to Miss Bid- 
 well s admiring gaze. 
 
 " Indeed, I am likely to recollect when I 
 myself arranged the twelve candles in your 
 birthday cake." 
 
 " To be sure ! " cried Moppet, with swift 
 repentance, "and such an excellent, rich 
 cake as it was, too. Do you think " - in 
 sinuatingly " that I might have a slice, a 
 very tiny slice, before I go forth with Betty 
 to gather nuts in the Tracys woods?" 
 
 " No," replied Miss Bidwell, laughing, 
 " you will assuredly be ill if you touch 
 one morsel before dinner. Run along, Miss 
 Moppet, I see your sister waiting for you at 
 the gate," and Moppet, with a jump and a 
 skip, flew off through the side door and 
 down the path, at the end of which stood 
 Betty. 
 
 It was a very lovely Betty over whom the 
 October sunshine played that morning, but 
 to a keenly observant eye a different Betty 
 from her who had danced at the De Lancey 
 ball, now nearly three years past. This 
 Betty had grown slightly taller, and there 
 was an air of quiet dignity about her which 
 suggested Pamela. But the beautiful merry
 
 240 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 eyes had deepened in expression, and it was, 
 if anything, a still more attractive face than 
 of old, although the fair unconsciousness of 
 childhood had departed ; and if mischief still 
 lurked in the dimpled cheeks, that was be 
 cause Betty s heart could never grow old ; 
 no matter what life might hold for her of 
 joy or sorrow, she would always be to a cer 
 tain extent a child. And well for her that 
 it was so ; do we not all know a few rare 
 natures whose fascination dwells in this very 
 quality ? 
 
 The years had gone swiftly for Betty. 
 Shortly after her parting with Yorke an 
 opportunity had occurred for her return to 
 Litchfield, and although Clarissa lamented 
 her departure Betty was eager to fly home. 
 Gulian had done his best to smooth over his 
 ill-judged and ill-tempered effort to arrange 
 her matrimonial affairs, and one of Betty s 
 minor annoyances was her sister s evident 
 disappointment at Yorke s rejection. Only 
 once had she forgotten herself and flashed 
 out upon Clarissa, peremptorily forbidding 
 further discussion, and Clarissa had been 
 positively aghast at the impetuous little 
 creature who confronted her with flashing 
 eyes and quivering lips, and had speedily
 
 MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERY 241 
 
 warned Gulian never to broach the subject 
 to Betty again. Peter was Betty s closest 
 friend in those stormy days. The urchin 
 had a shrewd perception of how matters 
 stood, and many a time had Betty hugged 
 him for very gratitude when he made a 
 diversion and carried her off to some boyish 
 haunt in the city or to the Collect, thereby 
 giving her opportunity to regain the self- 
 control and spirit necessary to appear as 
 usual. For Betty was formed of gallant 
 stuff. No matter if her heart ached to 
 bursting for sight of Geoffrey, if her ears 
 longed, oh, so madly, for the sound of his 
 voice ; she could suffer, aye, deeply and 
 long, but she could also be brave and hide 
 even the appearance of a wound. That 
 Gulian, and even Clarissa, considered her a 
 heartless coquette troubled her not at all, 
 and so Betty danced and laughed on to the 
 end of her sojourn in New York. 
 
 It had always been a source of thankful 
 ness to her that she had been able to go 
 home before Geoffrey s return from the 
 expedition to South Carolina, for she some 
 times doubted her own ability to withstand 
 his personal appeal if again exerted. That 
 he had returned and then, shortly after, gone
 
 242 AN UNWILLING, MAID 
 
 upon another detail, she had heard inciden 
 tally from Oliver during one of her brother s 
 flying visits to Litehfield on his way to New 
 London with dispatches. Oliver had been 
 greatly touched by Yorke s conduct in the 
 matter of his escape, but if he suspected 
 that Betty s lovely face had anything to do 
 with the British officer s kindly blindness, 
 he was too clever to hint as much, for which 
 forbearance Betty thanked him in the depths 
 of her heart. The only way in which he 
 showed his suspicion was in the occasional 
 bits of news concerning Yorke with which 
 he favored her. At the battle of Cowpens 
 Yorke had been wounded and taken pris 
 oner, and it fell to Oliver Wolcott to arrange 
 for his exchange. Then, for the first time, 
 were Oliver s surmises changed to certain 
 ties, for one night when he had been attend 
 ing the prisoner, whose wound was nearly 
 healed, Yorke broke silence and in the frank 
 est, most manly fashion demanded news of 
 his little sweetheart, and told Oliver of his 
 hopes and fears. Nothing could have ap 
 pealed so directly to the brother as Yorke s 
 avowal that Betty had refused him because 
 of the coat he wore, and his eyes filled as he 
 said, boyishly enough, " Egad, Yorke, she
 
 MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERY 243 
 
 lias all the Wolcott pluck and patriotism ; 
 though were this vexed question of inde 
 pendence settled, I wish with all my heart 
 that you may yet conquer this unwilling- 
 maid whom I call sister." 
 
 Yorke smiled, but he did not consider it 
 necessary to add that Betty had once let 
 compassion and gratitude get the better of 
 her loyalty in the matter of a prisoner, to 
 Oliver s own discomfiture. 
 
 There had been some changes in the Wol 
 cott home : Pamela had gone forth from 
 the mansion a bride, after Cornwallis had 
 surrendered at Yorktown, and Josiah Hunt- 
 ington had worn a major s uniform on his 
 wedding-day. Betty had scarcely recovered 
 from that break in the home circle when 
 Sally Tracy, with many blushes and much 
 laughter, confessed that she, too, was about 
 to follow Pamela s example, and that a cer 
 tain Mr. James Gould, the gentleman from 
 Branford, of whom Moppet had been so 
 suspicious, was the lucky individual upon 
 whom she intended to bestow her hand. 
 Verily, with all these wedding-bells sound 
 ing, Betty began to feel that she was likely 
 to be left alone, but she only laughed gayly 
 when twitted with her fancy for maiden-
 
 244 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 hood, and danced as merrily at Sally s wed 
 ding as if her heart had lain light in her 
 bosom instead of aching bitterly for one 
 whom she began to fear she should never 
 see more. 
 
 Little did Betty guess that bright October 
 morning, when she and Moppet went forth 
 bent on a nutting excursion, that a courier 
 was even now speeding on his way whose 
 coming would change the tide of her whole 
 existence. And when, as noon struck, Oli 
 ver Wolcott dismounted at the door of his 
 home and, walking straight to his father s 
 study, delivered a packet from General Wol 
 cott to Miss Euphemia, his next move was 
 a descent upon Miss Bidwell s parlor and a 
 hasty demand for Betty. So when Moppet 
 and Betty appeared, rosy with success and a 
 fair-sized bag of nuts as the result of their 
 joint labors, they found the household in a 
 state of suppressed excitement, and lo ! the 
 cause was Oliver s approaching marriage. 
 
 "You see," explained Oliver, when he 
 finally got Betty to himself for a walk in 
 the orchard after dinner, "now that the 
 treaty has been signed in Paris, the British 
 will soon evacuate New York, and when our 
 army enters, there will be grand doings to
 
 MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERY 245 
 
 celebrate the event, and my father must ride 
 at the head of the Connecticut troops on 
 that day. I, too, Betty, God willing, shall 
 be with the Rangers, and thinking the date 
 will be about a month hence, Kitty and 
 Madam Cruger have set our wedding-day as 
 the 25th of November. I gave you Kitty s 
 letter " 
 
 " Yes, and a dear, kind letter it is. She 
 bids me for her bridesmaid, Oliver, and says 
 that Moppet and Peter will hold her train, 
 after the new English fashion (which no 
 doubt is her mother s suggestion, for I think 
 Kitty does not much affect fancies which 
 come across the water), and, oh, Oliver, I do 
 indeed wish you joy," and Betty s eyes 
 brimmed full of tears as she gave him her 
 hand. 
 
 " I know you love Kitty," said Oliver, 
 kissing her cheek, " and we can afford to 
 forgive a wedding after the English mode, 
 as, if I gain my Kitty, I care but little how 
 she comes." 
 
 " Betty, Betty," called Moppet s voice 
 from the upper path, "do come in if you 
 and Oliver have finished your chat, for 
 Miss Bidwell desires your opinion on some 
 weighty matter connected with our journey 
 to New York."
 
 246 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 "I will come, " answered Betty; then 
 turning back with as careless an air as she 
 could summon, " Do you happen to have 
 heard aught of your quondam prisoner, Cap 
 tain Yorke ? " 
 
 " Yorke ! " replied Oliver, avoiding her 
 eye as he stooped to throw a stick from the 
 path, " Yorke ! oh, aye, I did hear that he 
 was invalided and went home several months 
 ago. I fancy it was not so much his health 
 (for he looked strong enough to my think 
 ing the last time I met him) but more his 
 disgust with the turn things were taking ; 
 for you know, Betty, since the surrender at 
 Yorktown the British have been more inso 
 lent and overbearing than ever, and Yorke 
 is too much a gentleman, no matter what 
 his political color, to be dragged into quar 
 rels which I hear are incessant in the city, 
 and the cause of many duels." 
 
 " Duels ! " cried Betty, as the color left 
 her cheeks ; " oh, I hope he that is I 
 hope nobody whom I know has been engaged 
 in one." 
 
 " Not I," returned Oliver, with a mischiev 
 ous glance. " So you might even be sorry for 
 a foe, eh, Betty ? " But Betty went flying 
 up the path and did not deign to reply.
 
 MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERS 247 
 
 Miss Moppet, childlike, was perfectly 
 overjoyed at the prospect of a wedding in 
 which she was to play a part, and flew from 
 her aunt to Miss Bidwell and Betty, then 
 back to her aunt again in a twitter of excite 
 ment at the combination of a journey and 
 festivity as well. General Wolcott s letter 
 to his sister was full of important news. 
 As the seat of Congress was Annapolis, 
 General Wolcott, who was a member of that 
 body, had decided to close the manor house 
 for the winter and take a house in New York 
 for his family, and he sent minute and par 
 ticular directions for leaving all home affairs 
 in the hands of Miss Bidwell and Reuben 
 until their return to Litchfield in the spring. 
 Oliver s intended marriage had hastened this 
 decision, and there would be barely time to 
 settle matters and reach New York in sea 
 son for the wedding. They were to stop 
 with Clarissa, who had written most plead 
 ing letters, and after that visit would take 
 possession of their new quarters. 
 
 Most of the afternoon was spent in plans 
 for their journey, with Oliver as escort, and 
 many a sigh rose almost to Betty s lips as 
 these recalled that other journey when her 
 heart had been as light as Moppet s was now.
 
 248 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 But she put all thought aside with a resolute 
 heart, and finally receiving directions from 
 Miss Euphemia in regard to a chest of win 
 ter clothing packed safely away in the gar 
 ret, she concluded to give Moppet s restless 
 hands some occupation, and bade the child 
 accompany her upstairs. 
 
 The old garret looked familiar enough. 
 Even the wooden stools which had served 
 as seats for her and Sally Tracy in the old 
 childish days stood in the same corner under 
 the dormer window, through which the sun 
 was even now pouring its setting rays. The 
 chest was unlocked, and presently a goodly 
 pile of clothing lay upon the floor ready to 
 be carried below. 
 
 " Let me have my worsted jacket, and my 
 flannel wrapper (indeed, I do believe they 
 are too small for me ; can I find others in 
 New York, Betty?), and this pretty hood of 
 Pamela s. Betty, Betty, do you think Miss 
 Bidwell could cut this one smaller for me ? 
 May I just run down and ask ? I will return 
 at once." 
 
 "Yes," said Betty, intent upon counting 
 a heap of stockings ; " please fetch me a pair 
 of scissors when you come up again." 
 
 Off flew Moppet, marking her progress
 
 MOPPET MAKES A DISCOVERY 249 
 
 down the garret stairs by various exclama 
 tions as she dropped the jacket and tripped 
 on the wrapper, but finally reached the bot 
 tom in safety. Betty went on overlooking 
 the chest ; there were many articles to select 
 from, and a red skirt of Moppet s which 
 did not appear to be forthcoming. She ran 
 her hand down to the very bottom of the 
 chest, and feeling some garment made of 
 smooth cloth with a gleam of red in it, 
 dragged it forth and held it up to the light. 
 As she did so, her hand struck something 
 hard and round. 
 
 "What have I found?" thought Betty, 
 but the next moment she saw that what 
 she held was an officer s dark blue riding- 
 cape fastened with brass buttons, on each of 
 which was engraved a crown, and the cape 
 was lined with British scarlet. 
 
 " What have you got there ? " said Mop 
 pet s voice, as she appeared at her side. 
 " Why, t is Captain Yorke s cape that h^ 
 muffled me in the day I fell into Great 
 Pond Oh, Betty, Betty, what is amiss ? " 
 
 Down on her knees fell Betty. She bur 
 ied her face in the cape s folds, and tears 
 rolled down her cheeks as she tried to say, 
 " It is nothing, nothing, I am tired I am
 
 250 AN UNWILLING MAW 
 
 Oh, Geoffrey, Geoffrey, I think my heart 
 is breaking." 
 
 Miss Moppet opened her eyes to their 
 widest ; then slowly and deliberately she 
 grasped the situation in " high Roman fash 
 ion." 
 
 " Betty Wolcott, do I live to see you weep 
 over a scarlet coat ! " 
 
 No answer ; indeed, Betty scarcely heard 
 the words. The flood-gates were let loose 
 and the agony of days and months must 
 have its way. 
 
 " Betty ! " this time the voice of reprov 
 ing patriotism quavered somewhat. " I do 
 believe you are worse than Pamela." But 
 Betty sobbed on, sobs that fairly racked 
 her slender body. 
 
 " Well, I don t care what anybody says," 
 
 and Moppet flung the Whig cause to the 
 wind as she cast herself down beside Betty, 
 
 " he s dear and handsome and brave ; 
 whether he be British or Yankee, I love him, 
 and so do you, naughty, naughty Betty ! " 
 
 And with her head on Miss Moppet s 
 sympathizing shoulder, and Miss Moppet s 
 loving arms clasped around her neck, Betty 
 Wolcott whispered her confession and was 
 comforted.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 A KNOT OF EOSE-COLOEED EIBBON 
 
 THE sun rose bright and clear over the 
 Bay of New York. It had been a somewhat 
 gray dawn, but the fog and mist had gradu 
 ally rolled away, and the day bid fair to be 
 one of those which Indian summer occasion 
 ally gives in our northern climate. All 
 around Fort George and the Battery the 
 British troops were making ready for depar 
 ture ; the ships for their transportation to 
 England lay out in the bay, for this was the 
 25th of November in the year of our Lord 
 1783. 
 
 The streets in the upper part of the city 
 were filled with a different kind of crowd, 
 but one equally eager to be off and away. 
 Many of the Tories and sympathizers with 
 the Crown had found New York a most un 
 pleasant dwelling-place since the signing of 
 the treaty in which " The United States of 
 America " were proclaimed to the world an 
 independent Power, and Sir Guy Carleton,
 
 252 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 the British commander, had more trouble 
 in providing transportation for this army of 
 discontented refugees than for his own sol 
 diers. However, the day was fixed, the 
 ships ready to weigh anchor, and the Army 
 of Occupation about to bid adieu to Ameri 
 can shores forever. 
 
 " Peter," said Miss Moppet, as she danced 
 merrily out of the breakfast-room, " you are 
 sure, quite sure that the grand procession, 
 with General Washington at its head, will 
 come past this door ? Because we are all 
 cordially bidden to Mistress Kitty s and per 
 haps Betty may prefer to go there." 
 
 " But it will be a far better sight here,"" 
 returned Peter ; " it is sure to pass our door, 
 for I heard Oliver tell Aunt Clarissa so last 
 night just as he was going out." 
 
 " Oliver has overmuch on his mind to-day," 
 remarked Moppet shrewdly ; "to ride with 
 his troop in the morning and be married at 
 evening is quite enough to make him forget 
 the route of a procession. Do you think we 
 might go out on the doorstep and see if 
 there be any sign of its approach ? " 
 
 " Why not ? It will be royal fun to see 
 the British soldiers come down from the 
 Government House, and hear the hoots and
 
 A KNOT OF ROSE-COLORED RIBBON 253 
 
 howls the Broadway and Vly boys are bound 
 to give them. For once all the boys of the 
 city are of one mind except the Tory boys, 
 and they don t count for much hereafter." 
 
 " I would n t jeer at a fallen foe if I were 
 you, Peter," said Moppet severely, as she 
 took up a position on the stoop, and leaned 
 her elbows on the iron railing ; " my father 
 says that is not manly, and besides I do sup 
 pose there may be some decent Britishers." 
 
 " I never knew but one," retorted Peter 
 stoutly. "What knowledge have you of 
 them, I d like to know ? " 
 
 " Not much," evasively. " Who was the 
 one you mention ? " 
 
 " My ! but he was a prime skater ; how he 
 and Betty used to fly over Collect Pond that 
 winter. Do you skate up in Litchfield, 
 Moppet ? " 
 
 " Yes, of course ; that s where Betty 
 learned with Oliver." 
 
 " Oh, aye, I remember ; when she cut a 
 face on the ice the day she raced with Cap 
 tain Yorke she told me her brother had 
 taught her." 
 
 At this moment there was sound of a dis 
 tant bugle ; both children ran down to the 
 foot of the steps and gazed eagerly up the
 
 254 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 street. But it was a false alarm, and after 
 a few moments spent in fruitless watching 
 they returned to their post of observation on 
 the stoop. 
 
 " Peter," began Moppet presently, with 
 true feminine persistency, " what were you 
 saying about a British officer who knew 
 Betty?" 
 
 " Captain Yorke ? He was aide to Sir 
 Henry Clinton." 
 
 " Was he ? Will he go off to-day with all 
 the other redcoats ? " 
 
 " He sailed away to England some months 
 ago, I recollect he came to bid good-by 
 to Clarissa, but do you know, Moppet," 
 lowering his voice, with a glance over his 
 shoulder to be certain that he was not over 
 heard, " I think I saw him two days ago." 
 
 " In New York ? " said Moppet, with a 
 start. " Why you said he d gone to Eng 
 land." 
 
 " But he could come back, surely. Mop 
 pet, /think he was proper fond of Betty." 
 
 "Peter Provoost, do you fancy that my 
 sister would smile on a scarlet coat ? You 
 ought to be ashamed of yourself," and Mop 
 pet looked the picture of virtuous indig 
 nation.
 
 A KNOT OF ROSE-COLORED RIBBON 255 
 
 " Well, I ve seen her do it," retorted 
 Peter, not in tlie least abashed, " and what s 
 more I heard him call her sweetheart 
 once." 
 
 " Oh, Peter ! " Moppet s curiosity very 
 nearly got the better of her discretion ; but 
 she halted in time, and bit her tongue to 
 keep it silent. 
 
 " And if you won t tell promise ? " 
 Moppet nodded " not a word, mind, even 
 to Betty where do you think I saw Captain 
 Yorke the other day ? You 11 never guess ; 
 it was at Fraunces s Tavern on Broad 
 Street, and he was in earnest conversation 
 with General Wolcott." 
 
 "With my father?" This time Mop 
 pet s astonishment was real, and Peter 
 chuckled at his success in news-telling. 
 
 " Children," called a voice from the hall, 
 " where are you ? Do you want to come 
 with me on an errand for Clarissa near Bowl 
 ing Green, which must be done before the 
 streets are full of the troops ? " 
 
 " Surely," cried both voices, as Peter 
 dashed in one direction after his cocked hat, 
 and Miss Moppet flew in another for the 
 blue hood. Betty waited until the pair re 
 turned, laughing and panting, and then tak-
 
 256 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 ing a hand of each she proceeded up Wall 
 Street to Broadway, and down that thor 
 oughfare toward Bowling Green. Before 
 they had quite reached their destination the 
 sound of bugle and trumpet made them turn 
 about, and Peter suggested that they should 
 mount a convenient pair of steps in front of 
 a large white house, which had apparently 
 been closed by its owners, for a number 
 of bystanders were already posted there. 
 They were just in time, for around the cor 
 ner of William Street came a group of offi 
 cers on horseback, their scarlet uniforms 
 glittering in the sun. It was Sir Guy Carle- 
 ton and his staff, on their way to the Bat 
 tery, where they would take boats and be 
 rowed over to a man-of-war which awaited 
 them in the bay. A murmur, then louder 
 sounds of disapprobation, started up from 
 the street. 
 
 " There they go ! " cried a voice, " and 
 good riddance to Hessians and Tories." 
 
 Betty s cheeks flushed. Oh, those hate 
 ful scarlet coats, symbols of what had caused 
 her so much misery. And yet with an 
 other and deeper wave of color it was 
 Geoffrey s uniform and these were his bro 
 ther officers, going where they would see
 
 A KNOT OF ROSE-COLORED RIBBON 257 
 
 him ; oh, why, why, was fate so unkind, and 
 life so hard! Another moment and they 
 were out of sight, but keen-eyed Moppet 
 caught a glimpse of Betty s downcast face 
 and said to herself, " Oh, I dare not tell her ; 
 I wish I did." 
 
 Out on Bowery Lane and away up in 
 Harlem, over King s Bridge, with measured 
 step and triumphant hearts the Continentals 
 were entering the city. What a proces 
 sion was that, with General Washington 
 and Governor Clinton at its head, and how 
 all loyal New York spread its banners to the 
 wind and shouted loud and long to welcome 
 it ! There were the picked men of the army, 
 the heroes of an hundred fights, the men of 
 Massachusetts who had been at Lexington 
 and Bunker Hill ; General Knox in com 
 mand, and General Wolcott with his Con 
 necticut Rangers, while Oliver rode proudly 
 at the head of his company. It was a slow 
 inarch, down the Bowery and through Chat 
 ham and Queen streets to Wall, thence up 
 to Broadway, where the column halted. 
 
 It would be vain to describe Betty s emo 
 tion as from the windows of the Verplanck 
 mansion she watched the troops and the 
 civil concourse, and realized that at last,
 
 258 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 after long years of heroic endurance, of gal 
 lant fighting, of many privations, the free 
 dom of the Colonies was an accomplished 
 fact. Miss Moppet and Peter flew from 
 one window to another and cheered and 
 shouted to their hearts content. Even 
 Grandma Effingham and Clarissa waved 
 their handkerchiefs, while Gulian, on the 
 doorstep, raised his cocked hat in courtly 
 salute to General Washington. Gulian was 
 beginning to learn that perhaps one might 
 find something to be proud of in America, 
 even if we were lacking in the rank and 
 titles he so admired. 
 
 Oliver s wedding, which was set for six 
 o clock, to allow the commaiider-in-chief to 
 be present before the banquet at Fraunces s 
 Tavern, was to be on as grand a scale as 
 Madam Cruger s ideas could make it ; for 
 having consented to her daughter s mar 
 riage, that stately dame proposed to yield in 
 her most gracious fashion. It took some 
 time to dress Miss Moppet in the silken 
 petticoat and puffed skirt, the tiny mobcap 
 and white ribbons, which Kitty had con 
 sidered proper for the occasion, and Betty 
 found she must hasten her own toilet, or be 
 late herself. Moppet followed her up to the
 
 A KNOT OF ROSE-COLORED RIBBON 259 
 
 old room where Betty had spent so many 
 hours of varied experience, and assisted to 
 spread out once again the flowered brocade, 
 which had not seen the light of day since 
 the De Lancey ball. 
 
 " Here are your slippers, Betty ; how 
 nicely they fit your foot." 
 
 "Yes," said Betty, her thoughts far 
 across the sea, as she slipped on one of 
 them. 
 
 " I hope these are wedlock shoes," quoth 
 Moppet, with a queer, mischievous glance, 
 as she tied the slipper strings around the 
 slender ankle. But Betty did not heed her ; 
 she was busy undoing the knots of rose- 
 colored ribbon on the waist, which she had 
 once placed there with such coquettish 
 pride. 
 
 "What are you about?" cried Moppet, 
 seizing her sister s hand as she was in the 
 act of snipping off one with the scissors. 
 " Oh, Betty, the gown will not be half so 
 pretty without them." 
 
 " Nay, child, rose-colored ribbons are not 
 for me to-day ; I am grown too old and sad," 
 said Betty softly, looking with tender eyes 
 into Moppet s face. 
 
 " Did ever I hear such fal-lal nonsense,"
 
 260 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 and Moppet s foot came down in a genuine 
 hot-tempered stamp which made Betty start. 
 " Betty, Betty, I will not have it pray put 
 them back this moment ; " then in the coax 
 ing voice which she knew always carried her 
 point, " What would Oliver and Kitty say 
 if you were not as gay as possible to grace 
 their wedding ? Oh, fie, Betty dear ! " 
 
 As usual Moppet had her way, and when 
 the pair alighted at the Cruger door Betty s 
 knots of rose-color were in their accustomed 
 place. 
 
 Within the mansion all was light and gay. 
 Weddings in those times were conducted 
 with even more pomp and ceremony than in 
 our day, and the entertainments, though not 
 upon the present scale, were fully as lavish. 
 Wax candles shone at every possible point, 
 and lit up the broad reception-hall, the pol 
 ished floors and high ceilings, while mirrors 
 on mantels and walls reflected back many 
 times the stately figures which passed and 
 repassed before them. And then there came 
 a pause, when voices were hushed, and down 
 the oak staircase came Kitty, led by Gulian 
 Verplanck (her nearest male relative), wear 
 ing a white satin petticoat (though some 
 what scanty to our ideas in width and
 
 "I HOPE THESIi ARK WEDLOCK SHOES "
 
 A KNOT OF ROSE-COLORED RIBBON 261 
 
 length), and over it a train of silver brocade, 
 stiff and rustling, while a long scarf of Mech 
 lin lace covered her pretty dark head and 
 hung in soft folds down her back. The 
 high-heeled slippers, the long lace mitts, with 
 their white bows at the elbow, completed her 
 toilet. She stood before the assembled com 
 pany a fair young bride of the olden days, 
 and behind her came Miss Moppet and 
 Peter Provoost, holding her silver train with 
 the tips of their fingers. Oliver, in full Con 
 tinental uniform, his cocked hat under his 
 arm, awaited her at the end of the great 
 drawing-room, and with somewhat shortened 
 service, the rector of old St. Paul s said the 
 words which made the pair man and wife. 
 
 Betty was standing near the mantel, laugh 
 ing and chatting gayly with several of her 
 former New York gallants, when she beheld 
 her father advancing toward her on the arm 
 of a gentleman. Surely she knew that tall, 
 elegant figure, that erect, graceful carriage ? 
 But the scarlet uniform which was so famil 
 iar was absent ; this was the satin coat, small 
 clothes, and powdered hair of a civilian. 
 Betty s head swam, her brilliant color came 
 and went, as her father said quietly : 
 
 " My daughter, an old acquaintance de-
 
 262 AN UNWILLING MAID 
 
 sires that I should recall him to your recol 
 lection ; I trust it is not necessary for me to 
 present to your favor my friend, Mr. Geof 
 frey Yorke." 
 
 Betty s knees shook as she executed her 
 most elaborate courtesy, and as if in a dream 
 she heard General "Wolcott say to Yorke, 
 with a somewhat quizzical smile, " Perhaps 
 you will kindly take Betty to the library, 
 where I will myself join you later after 
 escorting General Washington to the ban 
 quet." 
 
 Betty never knew how she crossed that 
 room ; every effort of her mind was concen 
 trated in the thought that she must not be 
 tray herself. What did all this mean ? Such 
 a blaze of sunshine had fallen upon her that 
 she did not dare look at it ; she only realized 
 that her hand was in Geoffrey s until they 
 reached the quiet and deserted library, and 
 then he was at her feet. 
 
 " Sweetheart, sweetheart," he said, " you 
 will not refuse to hear me now ? I have re 
 signed the army, I have left England forever 
 (unless you yourself will some day accom 
 pany me there to meet my people), I have 
 thrown in my fortunes with the United 
 States, and doubt not I will prove as faith-
 
 A KNOT OF ROSE-COLORED RIBBON 263 
 
 ful a servant to your Commonwealth as I 
 ever was to King George," and kissing her 
 hand, he laid in it the faded knot of rose- 
 colored ribbon. 
 
 " But, Geoffrey," she faltered, " my 
 father " 
 
 " Did not General Wolcott himself bid 
 me fetch you here ? Ah, Betty, the con 
 ditions are all fulfilled, and you are still 
 unwilling." 
 
 She looked at him for a moment in silence, 
 and then her most mischievous smile dawned 
 in Betty s eyes as she hid Geoffrey s little 
 knot of ribbon in her gown. 
 
 " My heart, but not my will, consents," 
 she said. " Dare you take such a naughty, 
 perverse rebel in hand for life ? " 
 
 "I dare all for love of Betty Wolcott," 
 cried the triumphant lover, while from the 
 door a small person in mobcap surveyed the 
 pair with very round and most enraptured 
 eyes. 
 
 " It s just like a fairy tale," quoth Miss 
 Moppet, " and I m in it ! " 
 
 MERCAN i ILE LIBRARY 
 
 NEW YORK.
 
 CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS U. S A 
 
 ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED EY 
 
 H. O. HOUGHTON AND CO.
 

 
 
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