THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID
 
 BOOKS BY AMY E. BLANCHARD. 
 
 A GIRL OF 76. 331 pp. With five full-page Illus 
 trations by IDA WAUGH. I2mo. $1.50. 
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. A STORY OF THE 
 MIDDLE PERIOD OF THK WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 
 321 pages. With five full-page Illustrations by IDA 
 WAUGH. I2mo. $1.50.
 
 A 
 
 REVOLUTIONARY MAID 
 
 A Story of the Middle Period of the 
 War for Independence 
 
 BY 
 
 AMY E. BLANCHARD 
 
 AUTHOR OF " A GIRL OF 76," ETC. 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 IDA WAUGH 
 
 BOSTON AND CHICAGO 
 W. A. WILDE COMPANY
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1899, 
 
 BY W. A. WILDE COMPANY. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID
 
 Co tfjf pfallotorti fJUmorg of 
 MY DEARLY BELOVED MOTHER 
 
 WHOSE ANCESTORS FOUGHT IN THE MARYLAND LINE 
 THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED 
 
 A. E. B. 
 
 661677
 
 PREFACE 
 
 IT has been the author s aim in this volume not only 
 to follow the fortunes of a Revolutionary maid through 
 trying scenes, but to outline the history of the times as 
 closely as might be consistent with a story for girls. 
 Great care has been taken in the study of this period of 
 the war for freedom, and it is hoped that the incidents 
 will carry their weight as matters of history, and that 
 the importance of the campaign in the Middle States 
 may be emphasized in the minds of those who read the 
 story. 
 
 Beyond this, it has been the author s endeavor to 
 give a correct picture of the manners and customs of 
 that part of the country in which the scene is laid ; to 
 bring out the local coloring, and to draw the characters 
 honestly, with a close regard to the effect of education 
 and environment which at an early period began to 
 indicate the variety of types which are now distinctly 
 American. 
 
 To her desire to please her girl friends the author 
 adds a modest hope that the book may not be found 
 uninteresting to older readers. 
 
 AMY E. BLANCHARD.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. A GREAT DAY 13 
 
 II. SOME AFFRIGHTS . . . . . . .29 
 
 III. A JOURNEY 46 
 
 IV. ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS ... 63 
 V. THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS . . -79 
 
 VI. AT THE FARMHOUSE 95 
 
 VII. How KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS . . .108 
 
 VIII. BETSEY Ross 124 
 
 IX. A VISIT TO CAMP 140 
 
 X. A RESCUE 153 
 
 XI. VALLEY FORGE 166 
 
 XII. A SKIRMISH 183 
 
 XIII. THE RED SLEEVE 199 
 
 XIV. A COUNTERSIGN* 216 
 
 XV. VENTURESOME YOUTH 231 
 
 XVI. THE MESCHIANZA 244 
 
 XVII. PHEBE AND JOHN 260 
 
 XVIII. HIDE AND SEEK 274 
 
 XIX. AN OLD FRIEND 288 
 
 XX. ONE FOURTH OF JULY 305 
 
 9
 
 LLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 " A roughly constructed ladder leaned against the wall " 
 
 Frontispiece 18 
 
 " I signed it just as John Hancock did . . -41 
 
 As she reached the door several gentlemen passed 
 
 out" 125 
 
 " Phebe had seated herself on the floor by the side of 
 
 Don s quiet body " . . . . . .194 
 
 " She went back to look at herself in the small glass 
 
 over her bureau " 276
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A GREAT DAY. 
 
 IN one of the pleasant, though somewhat formal, green 
 gardens bordering New York s old Bowery Lane, 
 there stood one day in July, 1776, a fair-haired girl 
 about fourteen years of age. It was about six o clock, 
 and the sun was still high, but from the embowered 
 box-edged paths were beginning to steal up the fine 
 spicy odors which the evening breeze stirred from the 
 neighborhood of rose bushes or jasmine vine. It was 
 so quiet and peaceful a spot that Katherine De Witt, 
 even in the intentness of her listening to unusual 
 sounds, which just now reached her from the city, 
 sighed in content before she ran in excitement to the 
 gate that she might, perhaps, discover more readily 
 what all this shouting, and gun-firing, and bell-ringing 
 could mean. 
 
 As she stood at the gate, peeping out into the road, 
 
 13
 
 14 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 some one appeared upon the vine-covered porch before 
 the house, and at the call, " Katherine Kitty, do you 
 see any one or anything? " she replied, " No, aunt," turn 
 ing her head for a moment and then peeping out again. 
 
 " Oh yes, I do," she added presently. " Here comes 
 some one; tis Christopher Van Ness, Aunt Joanna; I 
 know him by his roan horse." 
 
 Mrs. Thompson did not wait for the rider to come up 
 before she took a more conspicuous position on the 
 lowest step of the stoop, and the young man, catching 
 sight of her standing there, and seeing Kitty at the 
 gate, drew rein before the iron grating. 
 
 " Ha, Mistress Kitty," he said, "art a prisoner behind 
 bars ? " 
 
 " Indeed, no, Master Van Ness, I but came to see if 
 I could discover what all this disturbance might mean. 
 My aunt would fain hear the news. Will you step 
 inside ? " 
 
 She swung open the big gate, and the young man 
 alighted and led in his horse, himself walking by Kitty s 
 side to where Mrs. Thompson stood. 
 
 "Good evening, madam," he said; "you are lucky 
 not to be nearer the city, else you would hear such a 
 jangling as would stir up your soul to a disgust against 
 such riotous noise." 
 
 " And pray, what means it ? " asked the lady.
 
 A C.REAT DAY. 15 
 
 " Tis that most unpopular bill of writing a declara 
 tion of independence, gotten up by some of these hot 
 headed and hasty men who style themselves patriots. 
 The writing has been read aloud on the Common, and 
 hence this fuss by the lower classes. I left them tear 
 ing down the statue of good King George on Bowling 
 Green, and being sickened at the sight, I turned toward 
 Nicholas Green s, from thence here. 
 
 " Is all this true? " exclaimed Mrs. Thompson. "Most 
 uncalled-for it is. Why, it was but a short time ago 
 that the statue was raised, and all were shouting, Long 
 live good King George. Ah, tis ever the way of a 
 mob whatever furnishes excitement is approved, and 
 the very ones who were loudest huzzahing because 
 the Stamp Act was repealed are now loudest in 
 their outcries against their king. Tis surely an evil 
 day for those who break laws and make riots. Our 
 town has been turned upside down ever since the streets 
 have been full of this motley army of New Englanders. 
 And how they prate loud-mouthed of liberty and 
 patriotism ! Twas but this morning came one in, with 
 out knocking, and sat down with never an invitation, 
 and began to rail at aristocracy and King peorge and 
 the redcoats. I had thought we were done with burn 
 ing effigies and such disturbances. And they pulled 
 down the statue, you say ? "
 
 l6 A RF.YOI.rnOXAKY MAID. 
 
 " They did so, and were mounting it on a cart when I 
 came away." 
 
 "Hark! What is that?" cried Kitty, lifting her 
 hand. 
 
 A louder sound of shouting and hurrahing was heard, 
 and Kitty ran to the gate, followed by her aunt and 
 Christopher. 
 
 A rabble of men and boys came up the road. They 
 surrounded a cart drawn by oxen, and mounted upon 
 the cart was the leaden statue of George III., battered 
 and mutilated. 
 
 "Where are they taking it, I wonder," said Kitty 
 aloud. 
 
 A tall young fellow, striding along waving his hat, 
 heard her. " We re going to turn him into bullets to 
 shoot his own soldiers with," he cried. "Three cheers 
 for liberty ! " 
 
 "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" came from the throats 
 of the crowd. And the procession passed on, carrying 
 the dishonored figure of King George into the heart of 
 Connecticut, where it was, indeed, moulded into bullets 
 for the patriot army. 
 
 As the crowd disappeared up the road in a cloud of 
 dust the silence which had fallen on the three standing 
 at the gate was broken by Mrs. Thompson s indignant 
 exclamation, " Well, to what are we coming ! "
 
 A CHEAT DAY. T? 
 
 " Tis these pothering, fanatical New Englanders and 
 the fiery Virginians who are the head and front of the 
 business," returned Christopher. " We New Yorkers 
 have more stability and coolness. Is it not so, Mistress 
 Kitty?" 
 
 Kitty drew herself away slightly. " I do not meddle 
 with such matters, Christopher. My father can tell you 
 best of these things." 
 
 "Can he?" cried Mrs. Thompson. "I am not so 
 sure of that. He blows hot and cold, and I fancy is 
 more of a mind than we imagine to side with these 
 rebels. Since Henry Livingston and Abraham Van 
 Wyck have paraded themselves as captains of this 
 horde we cannot count on Paul De Witt." 
 
 Christopher looked thoughtful, and speedily made 
 his adieux. Mrs. Thompson returned to the house, 
 while Kitty made her way to the garden which she had 
 lately left. 
 
 The jubilant sounds from the city still came to her 
 ears as she slowly paced the orderly walks till she 
 reached the further side of the garden, the wall of 
 which bordered upon the grounds of Henry Ludlow. 
 
 As Kitty approached the wall she was not surprised 
 to hear a voice coming from the other side : " Kitty, is 
 that you ? " 
 
 "Yes."
 
 1 8 A RF.VOLUTIOXARY MAID. 
 
 " I have something to tell you. Come to the meeting- 
 place." 
 
 Kitty followed the line of the wall till she came to 
 a large elm, whose branches overhung both sides. A 
 roughly constructed ladder leaned against the wall. 
 Kitty mounted it, reached the top, and from there crept 
 to a limb which settled into a roomy crotch a little 
 beyond. Some one else was already there ; a girl about 
 Kitty s own age, but smaller, and with bright, dark 
 eyes and crisp, curling hair. 
 
 " Isn t it glorious ! " she exclaimed, as she moved 
 along the limb and settled further in the crotch to make 
 room for Kitty by her side. 
 
 " Isn t what glorious ? " returned Kitty. 
 
 " Why, to-day s work. I was there and saw the 
 enjoyment of the crowd, but Robert and I galloped 
 home ahead of the slow cart with its stupid leaden king, 
 and we saw the crowd as it passed. Did you see, 
 Kitty ? Many of my father s friends were among those 
 who pulled down the statue. I saw Mr. John Wiley, 
 and others you know." 
 
 " Did I not see ? I have just come from watching 
 the crowd go by. My Aunt Joanna was in a high 
 dudgeon over it, and Master Christopher Van Ness was 
 vastly excited." 
 
 Elspeth Ludlow turned up her saucy little nose.
 
 A GREAT DAY. 19 
 
 "That is nothing new for either of them. Chris Van 
 Ness, indeed ! Great lazy lubber ! He had better 
 be a-soldiering instead of moping up and down the 
 lanes. Kitty, you don t forget, do you ? You are 
 steadfast? " 
 
 Kitty hung down her head. " I find it so hard to 
 decide, Elspeth. If my father if I could be sure that 
 he " she hesitated. 
 
 " Then he is still in that uncomfortable place ? " 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " On the fence," laughed Elspeth. " Do not draw so 
 long a visage, Kitty. I did not mean to hurt you. He 
 is but where a long line of our neighbors are. Me- 
 thinks I can see them in my mind s eye, all in a row 
 like a line of crows, not knowing whether to hop over 
 into King George s cornfield, where they will surely 
 fall into traps, or to fly off into the woods, where maybe 
 they will find less to eat, but more freedom." 
 
 Kitty listened admiringly. Elspeth was always of so 
 ready a wit that she charmed Kitty into an acceptance 
 of her views on pretty nearly all subjects. 
 
 " I am convinced that your father is of a right mind," 
 continued Elspeth, " and that he is but cautious till he 
 shall see how certain matters turn out. My father 
 thinks so. I heard him tell brother Robert the same 
 but this morning. He ll be a stanch patriot yet. My
 
 20 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 father says tis better to be sure of one s own mind and 
 not be like so many who huzza, and clamor for inde 
 pendence till the moment comes for action, and then 
 they slink away. I think, Kitty, you must be built 
 after your father s mould, for you will hardly say you 
 are a patriot yet. But you ve got to be. You must 
 make up your mind to-night, for to-morrow something 
 very important has to be done. Remember, it is a 
 serious matter, and if you are my bosom friend you 
 will not refuse to do what is of great importance." 
 
 Kitty looked puzzled. Elspeth leaned her chin on 
 her two hands and gazed at Kitty with sparkling eyes 
 and eager face. "You must make up your mind," she 
 repeated, "or else she spoke slowly and impres 
 sively, "or else I m afraid each will have to keep her 
 own side the wall." 
 
 Kitty was startled. " Oh, Elspeth, what do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " I mean that I am a patriot, and if you are not one, 
 we cannot be bosom friends. Don t you see ? " 
 
 "Oh, but, Elspeth," Kitty began in distress, "I I 
 can t give you up, and and ah, why do these dis 
 sensions come to the land?" 
 
 "They are right," declared Elspeth. " I will prove it 
 to you to-morrow. But to-night you must make up 
 your mind whether it is king or country for you.
 
 A GREAT DAY. 21 
 
 There, I hear mother calling. I must go. The sun 
 is nearly down. Don t forget to-morrow morning at 
 nine o clock I will meet you here." And she clam 
 bered down, leaving Kitty much perturbed. 
 
 Elspeth was always so insistent, she reflected. She 
 always knew about what she did or didn t think. She 
 never hesitated to make up her mind. Kitty felt that 
 it was quite true that she, herself, was more cautious. 
 She did not jump at conclusions, and was not so enthu 
 siastic, yet she felt her loyalty once given it would be 
 hard to change her. That was why it was hard to 
 think of giving up her friend. Why did Elspeth insist 
 upon such matters being made an issue between them ? 
 They were but two little maids, and what difference 
 could it make what they thought or what they didn t 
 think ? She sighed as she arose to climb down the lad 
 der, wishing that Elspeth w r ere less of an enthusiast. 
 
 The long shadows told her that it was high time for 
 her to be expecting her father, and indeed, just as she 
 turned out of the box walk she saw him come up on 
 the stoop, and she ran to meet him." 
 
 " Oh, father," she cried, " did you see it all ? " 
 
 " Ay, I did," he answered, " and heard it." 
 
 " And what do you think of it ? " 
 
 Her father retained his hold on the hand he had 
 taken in his, and bent a thoughtful look on the ground.
 
 22 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Are you a Tory ? " asked Kitty, anxiously. " I 
 want much to know, father. I do indeed." 
 
 He smiled. "No, child, I m no Tory." 
 
 "Then you have joined the side of the patriots, or 
 the rebels, as Aunt Joanna calls them." 
 
 He dropped his daughter s hand. " Out of the 
 mouth of babes," he murmured softly. "Ah, Kitty, you 
 ask searching questions. I trust that I am a patriot ; 
 but in your estimation if one is a Tory one cannot be 
 a patriot. Is that how the crow flies ? " 
 
 Kitty remembered Elspeth s comparisons. "Father," 
 she laughingly whispered, " some one says you are a 
 crow on the fence." 
 
 He struck the lash of his riding-whip smartly 
 against the post of the porch. " There is no use 
 temporizing, Kitty," he replied. "To be a patriot 
 one cannot be a neutral, much less a Tory. I am 
 off the fence. To-day I am a patriot." He drew 
 himself up and raised the hand holding the riding- 
 whip, as if saluting some unseen presence. The look 
 on his face awed Kitty. 
 
 "Oh!" she said under her breath. "Oh, father!" 
 
 " But what do little maids like you know of such 
 matters ? " he said. " Twill be time enough when 
 disasters come, for you to look solemn." 
 
 "But we do think of such things; Elspeth does."
 
 A GREAT DAY. 23 
 
 "Ah, Elspeth, yes. Henry Ludlow was not long 
 in deciding where his sympathies lay. Where is your 
 Aunt Joanna ? " 
 
 "She is inside. Oh, father! Aunt Joanna, Chris 
 topher Van Ness, and I saw the king s statue go by ; 
 and Aunt Joanna was furious." 
 
 " Twas scarce right to tear it down, and the act 
 was condemned by those in authority. Nevertheless, 
 when one sees men like my friend, John Wiley, and 
 Martin Grey given over to an enthusiasm which leads 
 them to such vigorous expression of opinion, one feels 
 dry of fervor if he joins not in." 
 
 "But, father, Aunt Joanna how she will storm 
 if she knows you are a patriot. She does so despise 
 them, and so do the Van Nesses." 
 
 "Ah, the Van Nesses, so they do." And Mr. De 
 Witt sighed, then gave a short laugh as he turned to 
 enter the house. 
 
 Kitty followed, anxious to learn how her aunt would 
 meet this avowal that her brother had taken up his 
 stand for the American cause and was an enemy to 
 her beloved King George. 
 
 But, strange to say, the subject was not alluded to 
 on this particular evening, for some small gossip of a 
 more agreeable nature was agitating Aunt Joanna, 
 and Paul De Witt listened gravely to his sister s chat-
 
 24 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 ter. Later, Kitty saw him mount his horse and ride 
 slowly up the road toward the Van Ness homestead, 
 where Christopher s sister, the pretty Widow Gillespie, 
 was waiting to welcome him. 
 
 Kitty felt quite a stir of excitement as to the meet 
 ing of Elspeth the next morning. She was curious 
 to know what her friend had to propose, and at the 
 same time she was triumphant that her father s de 
 cided stand had banished any compunctions she might 
 feel at clasping hands with her bosom friend over the 
 patriot cause. She was, in consequence, a trifle more 
 eager than she otherwise might have been to seek 
 the old elm tree. 
 
 Elspeth was already there, and as Kitty clambered 
 up to the wall she cried, " Do hurry, Kitty. I am 
 in such haste to hear what you are going to do." 
 
 Kitty threw her arms around her friend as soon as 
 she gained a safe footing. " Oh, Elspeth ! " she cried, 
 " we need not part. My father and I are joined to 
 the cause of Washington." 
 
 "Good! Good! How pleased I am!" exclaimed 
 Elspeth. " Swear, Kitty, swear that you will give 
 yourself, body and soul, to it." 
 
 Kitty shrank back a little. " Oh, Elspeth, I can t 
 swear. I don t know how. I don t think it is right, 
 and body and soul sounds so awful."
 
 A GREAT DAY. 2? 
 
 
 
 Elspeth laughed. " Never mind, then ; we will do 
 something else solemn." Elspeth loved the weird and 
 sensational. She parted the leaves and peered down 
 into the garden below to make sure that no one was 
 near. Then she drew from her pocket two papers 
 which she unfolded with an impressive air. 
 
 " What is it ? " asked Kitty, curiously. 
 
 " It is what was the cause of King George s down 
 fall yesterday. Tis a copy of the paper which was 
 read out on the Common : a declaration of indepen 
 dence, Mistress De Witt. My brother Robert writes 
 a fair hand, and, at my beseeching, he made a copy 
 for me from that my father has, and I have copied 
 it for you." She looked, with her head to one side, 
 from one paper to the other. " Tis as well as I 
 could do, but not so pretty a script as my brother s. 
 However, it is all there. I worked hard over it, for 
 it is a long writing. Listen, Kitty, and I will read it, 
 tor methinks I know the writing better, and twill 
 come easier than if you puzzled out my poor scrawl. 
 When, in the course of human events, it becomes 
 necessary for one people to dissolve the political 
 bands which have connected them with another 
 There under the free, blue summer sky was the Decla 
 ration of Independence read, stumblingly, haltingly, 
 it is true ; but as the last clause was reached, Elspeth s
 
 26 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 voice trembled with excitement, and Kitty s cheeks 
 bore two red spots. 
 
 " Is it not grand ? " cried Elspeth, as she laid down 
 the paper. 
 
 " Oh, it is," returned Kitty, with fervor. 
 
 " Robert says that Mr. John Hancock did so sign 
 it that it seems as if his name were writ with an iron 
 rod. And, Kitty " She laid her hand on the 
 other s arm. 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 "We must sign it too." 
 
 "We?" 
 
 "Yes; I am resolved upon it. Oh, I mean just for 
 ourselves. I have thought it all out. You must sign 
 your name, and I will sign mine. We will we will 
 do it with our blood!" Her voice sank into a 
 whisper, and her big eyes were fixed upon Kitty to 
 see how she would take this suggestion. 
 
 " Oh ! " was all that Kitty said ; then, after a 
 pause, " How can we do it ? " 
 
 " Why, tis easy enough. We can prick our fingers, 
 and dip a little stick into the blood, and so sign. 
 Come, you will have to go to the garden for a tiny 
 twig that will do, and I will go to the house for 
 a needle. It won t hurt, you know, and we will be 
 shedding our heart s blood for our country."
 
 A f.RKAT DAY. 2? 
 
 Kitty did not discover that the shedding of the 
 blood was rather a useless performance, for she was 
 overawed by the idea. It seemed a high privilege ; 
 and she clambered down on Elspeth s side of the 
 wall, to roam about the garden till she came upon 
 a slender twig, just as Elspeth returned with the 
 needle. 
 
 Judicious pricking brought the red drops to the 
 surface of the rosy fingers, and each little maid 
 solemnly wrote her name : " Katherine De Witt, 
 Elspeth Ludlovv." 
 
 "There," Elspeth exclaimed in a satisfied tone, "the 
 deed is done. Now we can never be false to our 
 country. It is much better than a vow." 
 
 " It is much better than an oath," returned Kitty, 
 nursing her pricked finger. 
 
 " I think so too. Ah, Kitty, I am so glad you are 
 a true patriot, but - she hesitated. 
 
 "What?" inquired Kitty. 
 
 " Why, the Van Nesses are all stanch Tories. 
 What will happen if your father marries the Widow 
 Gillespie ? " 
 
 "The Widow Gillespie?" echoed Kitty. 
 
 " Yes ; they say tis all arranged. Oh, have I told 
 you news ? Perhaps I should not have said any 
 thing ; but oh, Kitty, if it is so, and she does re-
 
 28 A KKYOLITIOXAKY MATH. 
 
 main a Tory, don t- - don t let her coax you to break 
 our compact, and become a turncoat ! " 
 
 Kitty looked very grave. She had long cherished 
 a secret devotion for the pretty widow, and would 
 gaze at her admiringly as she sat in her pew in old 
 Trinity Church ; and when the fair dame passed on 
 horseback, Kitty, behind the gate, would watch her 
 out of sight, feeling that to be a red-letter day which 
 gave her a glimpse of her adored one. So now her 
 lips trembled as she answered, "She shall not, no, 
 she shall not, and neither will my father be a turn 
 coat." Then, without saying good-by, she climbed 
 the wall, and was over in her own garden before 
 Elspeth quite realized that she meant to go.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 SOME AFFRIGHTS 
 
 AT the same time that Elspeth was reading the 
 Declaration to Kitty, the Provincial Congress at 
 White Plains was listening to the noble words. To 
 many of the New Yorkers the indorsement of the 
 instrument meant the giving up of privileges which 
 would greatly reduce their powers and estates. But 
 they did not long hesitate. A swift messenger was 
 sent to their delegates empowering them to vote for 
 the Declaration, and, on July 18, came the public 
 reading from the City Hall. 
 
 " We have come in line at last," announced Mr. 
 De Witt, nodding across the table to Kitty, that 
 morning. 
 
 Aunt Joanna dropped her knife. " Paul," she ex 
 claimed, " what are you talking about ? We ve come 
 in line. Who?" 
 
 " \Ve patriots," he said calmly, although he crum 
 bled his bread a little nervously, and did not meet 
 his sister s eye. 
 
 29
 
 3O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "We patriots! " cried Aunt Joanna, in indignant 
 tones. " Tis the cant phrase of the rebels. You have 
 gone over to the enemy ! " Then she rose majestically. 
 "Your house cannot harbor me any longer." And 
 she sailed out of the room, leaving Kitty and her 
 father looking after her. 
 
 " I wonder where she is going," gasped Kitty. 
 " Oh, father, will she really go ? " 
 
 " I doubt it not," he returned. " I expected such 
 an issue, and it is one of the reasons of my indecision. 
 One finds it hard to break up family ties, but it is 
 a consequence of war. I refrained as long as I could 
 from announcing my position ; but, with Howe s sails 
 crowding the Narrows, with the daily prospect of conflict, 
 I could not hold back, and the news would have to come 
 to her sooner or later that I have joined the army." 
 
 Kitty jumped to her feet. " Father, have you ? 
 Now Elspeth cannot triumph over me. But oh, 
 will you have to fight, and shall I be left here all 
 alone ? " 
 
 Her father was thoughtful over his untasted break 
 fast. " I think you will not have to be long alone. 
 The servants are all here. Do you not think you can 
 manage a little time till a crisis comes?" 
 
 At this moment Mrs. Thompson appeared, her 
 head high in the air. " I suppose you will not re-
 
 SOMK AFFRKJHTS. 31 
 
 fuse me conveyance and escort, Paul, even if I am 
 to be no longer a member of your household," she said. 
 
 "Did I ever refuse you anything?" he replied 
 gently. 
 
 His sister gave a little gulp and held out her hands 
 to Kitty. " Come with me, my child," she said. 
 
 But Kitty drew closer to her father, and put her 
 arm around his neck. " Where my father lives, there 
 do I," she replied. " I shall go elsewhere only when 
 he bids me." 
 
 " And I have tried to do my duty by you these 
 three years," sobbed Aunt Joanna. " I beg of you, 
 Paul, do not separate us." 
 
 " I am not separating you, my sister," he replied. 
 " Tis your own act and not mine." 
 
 "But your loyalty your king Oh, Paul!" 
 
 " My loyalty is to my country ; and we have no 
 king." 
 
 " Wicked and treasonable sentiments ! " Aunt 
 Joanna s anger was now uppermost. " I will not listen 
 to them. If you so choose to make this house a 
 den of treason from which I w r ould rescue your 
 daughter, I am powerless to prevent it, since tears 
 and prayers move you not. When your wretched 
 advisers are in irons, may the king have mercy on 
 such as you, poor misguided creature. Farewell ! I
 
 32 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 leave you, I trust, to a kindly fate. I shall take up my 
 abode with my friend, Mistress Margaret Gillespie." 
 And Mrs. Thompson sailed out of the room. 
 
 " Mistress Gillespie ! " repeated Kitty. 
 
 Her father put his arm around her. " Never fear, 
 my little one, but that Margaret Gillespie will 
 welcome your father s sister, and urge her to think 
 kindly of him. I do not believe your aunt will stay 
 long away." And he smiled. 
 
 He was right, as events soon proved. 
 
 It was the very next day that Kitty, in her new 
 position as chatelaine of the establishment, feeling it 
 beneath her dignity to hold conferences in a tree, 
 sent a note by one of the servants, to Elspeth, asking 
 her to come in and spend the morning with her. 
 She felt very grown up as she did this, and when 
 Elspeth appeared she met her with a little new air 
 of dignity which went far toward making Elspeth feel 
 that somehow Kitty had suddenly become leader where 
 she had heretofore been follower. 
 
 "Why, Kitty, you are really the head of the house," 
 she said. 
 
 "Yes," replied Kitty; "I thought I ought to be at 
 hand if the servants wanted me, and that is why I 
 asked you to come over, Elspeth, for I do want to 
 hear about yesterday s reading. I wanted much to
 
 SOME AFFRIGHTS. 33 
 
 go, but my aunt s leaving compelled me to stay at 
 home." 
 
 " It was fine, Kitty ; you should have been there 
 tcr hear it. The whole city turned out, and how they 
 did cheer. After it was over there were some who 
 went into the court-room and brought out the royal 
 coat-of-arms, which they burned in the street." 
 
 "They did that?" 
 
 " Yes, and there we were proclaiming our freedom 
 within reach of the British fleet, my father said. 
 Oh, but it was fine ! But tell me, where has your 
 aunt gone ? " 
 
 "To Mistress Gillespie s." 
 
 " She will not stay long, I suppose ; and you have 
 your father at night." 
 
 " No," replied Kitty, her chin quivering, but her 
 eyes full of triumph, " he is w-ith his company en 
 camped ; and my aunt does not intend to return." 
 
 "What!" cried Klspeth. "Why, Kitty, when did 
 all this happen ? " 
 
 " But yesterday. You know I told you my father 
 was a patriot, but I did not tell you he had joined 
 the army, because I did not know it myself, but he 
 has done so, and when he told my aunt she was 
 exceedingly angry and said she would no longer stay 
 here : so she is gone, and I am here alone."
 
 34 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Oh, Kitty ! But then, you have the five colored 
 slaves and your good Hannah and Martha in the 
 house to see to everything." 
 
 " Yes, to be sure, and I am not afraid, but it seems 
 a lonely house when I think that I am really here 
 without father or Aunt Joanna ; although, I must 
 say that I feel more free when I need not look to 
 be brought to task by Aunt Joanna for every little 
 thing I do which does not exactly suit her." 
 
 Elspeth was quite subdued by the importance which 
 these experiences gave her friend, but she said, 
 "Well, we are very near, thank fortune." 
 
 " Yes, and I wish you d stay with me as much as 
 ever you can. My father would have taken me to 
 my cousin s in the city, but that he does not like to 
 have me where there is so much rioting and con 
 fusion while the streets are full of soldiers." 
 
 " Yes, but you should see the soldiers, Kitty : 
 the Virginians in their white smocks and ruffles ; 
 the Washington Guards in their buff and blue ; the 
 Marylanders in their green hunting-shirts, and the 
 funny uniforms of all sorts of mixtures, from hither 
 and yon. My brother Robert pointed them all out 
 to me." 
 
 "I should like to have seen them," said Kitty, 
 gravely looking up from the stocking she was knitting,
 
 SOME AFFRIGHTS. 35 
 
 " but I thought I ought to stay at home ; besides, I 
 had no one to take me, for my father is not quartered 
 in the city. I don t mind being here alone with the 
 servants in the daytime," Kitty went on, recurring to 
 the subject, " but I wish you could come and stay 
 at night with me; at least, till I get used to it." 
 
 This Elspeth promised to do, and night saw the 
 two in the big four-poster bed in the best room in 
 the house. 
 
 " Somehow I feel safer in here," Kitty remarked ; 
 " the windows are high up from the ground, and we 
 can lock ourselves in. Shall we dare to leave the 
 windows open ? " 
 
 " Of course," said Elspeth, laughing. " It is too 
 warm to shut them. We shall no doubt go to sleep 
 and never wake up till broad daylight." But here she 
 was mistaken, for they were barely asleep when a 
 thundering knock came at the front door, and both 
 heads popped up in terror from their pillows. 
 
 "What s that?" whispered Kitty, fearfully. 
 
 " I don t know. Let s go and see," came the 
 answer, also in a whisper. 
 
 " Oh no, I should never dare to go. Wait, and 
 let us listen if it comes again." 
 
 But the noise had evidently awakened the servants, 
 for they were scurrying through the hall, and pres-
 
 36 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 ently a light was seen shining under the crack of 
 the door. 
 
 " I am going to get up and look out," announced 
 Elspeth; overcome by curiosity. 
 
 " No, don t! " Kitty tried to detain her, but Elspeth 
 sprang out of bed and tiptoed to the window ; Kitty 
 getting courage to sit up and watch her. 
 
 " What is it ? " she asked, in a low tone. 
 
 " Two or three people are below in the garden. I 
 cannot see, but I think some one called you." 
 
 Kitty listened ; she did hear her name spoken, at 
 first softly, and then louder and louder came the call : 
 " Kitty, Kitty, are you awake ? Hannah, Martha, 
 where are you all?" 
 
 "It is Aunt Joanna!" cried Kitty, jumping up 
 and running to the window. " Aunt Joanna, is it 
 you ? " 
 
 "Yes, yes. Send some one to let us in," was the 
 reply given impatiently. 
 
 The girls quickly unbarred the door and went out 
 into the hall, but not before Hannah and Martha in 
 their nightcaps were before them, and, bearing a 
 candle apiece, were on their way to the lower floor. 
 Kitty and Elspeth in their nightgowns and bare feet 
 followed, to see, when the door was opened, Aunt 
 Joanna and Mrs. Gillespie ; but, catching a sight of
 
 SOME AFFRIGHTS. 37 
 
 Christopher Van Ness behind the others, the t\vo girls 
 fled tumultuously hack to their room, and hastily got 
 themselves into their clothes, and again appeared 
 before Aunt Joanna and her friends, to whom she 
 was vehemently expressing her indignation. 
 
 " But what does it all mean ? " asked the girls. 
 
 " It means," retorted Aunt Joanna, indignantly, 
 "that the house was entered by a body of this fine 
 soldiery my brother Paul has joined, and that they 
 laughed to scorn our demands to desist when they 
 helped themselves to whatever they wanted." 
 
 " And they had the audacity to order us to prepare 
 food and serve them in our own house," sobbed Mrs. 
 Gillespie, who was in a half-hysterical state. 
 
 " And where was Mr. William Van Ness ? and all 
 the servants, where were they?" asked Kitty. 
 
 " William is in Albany, and the mcnservants have 
 fled to the British ships. Christopher and I meant 
 to leave for Philadelphia to-morrow, taking your aunt 
 with tis," Mrs. Gillespie informed them. 
 
 " The men thought you already gone, perhaps," 
 ventured Elspeth. "Are they still there?" 
 
 " I know not. Christopher galloped up, and we 
 did not stay to see results, for we feared harm might 
 come to my brother." 
 
 " The}- called us Tories, and rudely scoffed at us
 
 38 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 for defending his majesty ; brutal robbers that they 
 were," put in Aunt Joanna. 
 
 Elspeth and Kitty looked at each other. Was this 
 the way their boasted patriot army conducted itself ? 
 
 "Never mind, never mind," quoth Aunt Joanna; 
 "it will not be long that they can boast; his majesty s 
 fleet, even now, is ready to protect us. Ere long this 
 rebellion will be quelled. But we could not allow 
 ourselves to be subjected to the presence of those 
 vile creatures, and so we shall take refuge here till 
 we can return. It is a choice of two evils ; a Tory 
 household with the company of rebels, or a rebel 
 household with, perhaps, like company." 
 
 Kitty bit her lip at the ungracious remark, but she 
 spoke up bravely : " Father will protect us." 
 
 " Your father ! Perhaps twas even he who sent 
 them," snapped Aunt Joanna. 
 
 Oh, Joanna," protested Mrs. Gillespie, " you know 
 that cannot be true. They were not so very rude, 
 Kitty, only too self-confident and assured. They 
 were aggressive only by their presence in a house 
 where they had no right. I am sure Paul, Mr. De 
 Witt, will not countenance their behavior. Come, 
 can we not seek our couches, and let these children, 
 too, retire ? " 
 
 Aunt Joanna, brought to a sense of her duty, as-
 
 SOME AFFRIGHTS. 39 
 
 sumed her old position as mistress of the house, and 
 the girls were bidden to go back to bed, while the 
 others soon followed. 
 
 It was, however, a wakeful night for them all, and 
 Kitty arose betimes the next morning, her dominion 
 over. Nevertheless, there were more excitements in 
 store ; for while they were all at breakfast, the door 
 of the room which led into the garden was darkened 
 by the figure of a man clad in a nondescript uniform. 
 He was a young fellow, and there was a twinkle 
 in his eye as he beheld the two ladies before him. 
 " Good morning, ladies," he said, bowing. We meet 
 again. This is a Tory house too, then ? " 
 
 " Oh, no, it isn t," burst in Kitty. 
 
 The man cast a glance at her, but her aunt chid 
 her: "Hush, Kitty. And what if it is?" she said, 
 turning to the man. 
 
 " Well, madam, we feel that we have a right to 
 confiscate the belongings of those who are our 
 enemies." 
 
 "But- " Kitty began again, jumping up. 
 
 " Sit down, Katherine," commanded her aunt. 
 " You are very insolent, sir. I have dwelt in this 
 house for years, and my ancestor, whose portrait you 
 see above the mantel, died for his king. His grand 
 daughter is ready to do the same, if needs be
 
 40 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 But here Elspeth spoke up : " Indeed, Mr. Soldier, 
 this is not the house of a Tory." 
 
 " No, it doesn t seem so," laughed the man to one 
 of his companions who had come to his side and was 
 listening. 
 
 Aunt Joanna cast a withering look on Elspeth. 
 " You are not in the house of the rebel, Ludlow," 
 she exclaimed. 
 
 " You are a little Whig, maybe," said the man, 
 smiling down on the eager girl, " but this lady speaks 
 of- this as her home. What think you, Grey ? She 
 is most emphatic in her declaration, is she not ? My 
 little girl," addressing Elspeth, " if you do not live 
 here, you d better run home. We shall, perhaps, 
 take up quarters here." 
 
 "Oh, but " Kitty broke from her aunt s restrain 
 ing hand, " but, sir, my father is an American soldier 
 a patriot. His name is Paul De Witt. Don t you 
 know him ? " 
 
 The man shook his head. " Can t say that I do. 
 Will you be so good, madam, as to order breakfast 
 for our men ? " 
 
 " I will not," snapped Aunt Joanna. 
 
 " Then, we shall be under the painful necessity of 
 helping ourselves." 
 
 "And shall you take our house away from us?"
 
 I SIGNED IT JUST AS JOHN HANCOCK DID.
 
 SOMF. AFFRIGHTS. 4! 
 
 asked Kitty, her lip quivering. " I am a patriot, and 
 I tell the truth when I say, so is my father." 
 
 " I am sorry, my dear young lady, but this lady 
 seems to be the one in possession here." And he 
 waved his hand toward Mrs. Thompson. 
 
 Kitty stood still a moment in despair, and then she 
 darted out of the room, and came back in a moment 
 with a paper, which she held out in a shaking hand. 
 " See, see," she said, " it is mine. I signed it just as 
 John Hancock did. This is my home and my father s. 
 Now do you believe that we are friends, not foes ? " 
 
 The man took the paper, still smiling incredulously 
 at the girl s reiteration. He opened the sheet, on 
 which was written in Elspeth s round, childish hand, 
 the Declaration of Independence, and on the last page 
 he saw in gory letters the name Katherine De Witt. 
 
 " So that s your name in red ink," he said. " And, 
 bless us, Grey, it is the Declaration, as sure as any 
 thing. Well, my maid, you may be a patriot, but your 
 mother this lady certainly is not." 
 
 "No, not my mother; my aunt she is," Kitty cor 
 rected. " Please, please leave us in peace." 
 
 " Well, if a patriot you are, you will not deny us 
 food, so get your servants to work, for we are hungry." 
 
 Kitty glanced about for Elspeth, but she was gone ; 
 and Aunt Joanna, after a sign to Mrs. Gillespie, haugh-
 
 42 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 tily left the room, going to her own apartment, where 
 the two ladies sat behind barred doors while the sol 
 diers remained. 
 
 There were not a great many of them, and Kitty 
 resolved that it was the duty of a soldier s daughter 
 to give food to her father s comrades, even though 
 she did not approve of their manner of demanding 
 it. " I know my father would be glad to give you of 
 his stores," she said, "but he would not wish you to 
 so entreat us," she said, with a little dignified air. 
 " I will see that you are served." 
 
 " Tis a pity your aunt is of so high-spirited and 
 defiant a manner, else we would not have molested 
 you. We had gone to the Van Ness house, and there 
 encountered her sharp speeches, and from there we 
 tracked her here ; hence we believed this, too, to be 
 a Tory house. But if you are friends, and we are 
 welcome, so much the better." 
 
 The men were scarcely through their meal when 
 the clatter of a horse s approach and the creak of 
 a gate told of a new arrival ; and, before many min 
 utes, to Kitty appeared her father. 
 
 "And how are you getting on, my lass?" he asked, 
 as he swung himself down from his saddle. 
 
 " I am so glad you have come, father," cried Kitty, 
 excitedly. "The place is full of soldiers, and Aunt
 
 SOME AFFRIGHTS. 43 
 
 Joanna has come back with Mrs. Gillespie, and they 
 are both locked in their room, and the soldiers would 
 not believe we were friends." Kitty poured out her 
 news without stopping. 
 
 "Humph!" returned her father. "I shall have to 
 look after all this. Where are these men ? Did they 
 treat you discourteously?" 
 
 " No, not ill ; they but declared that we were Tories, 
 and that our property was theirs to take. They said 
 at least their leader did that they might take up 
 quarters here. They are now finishing a good break 
 fast." 
 
 " I ll see who this doughty officer is," remarked 
 Captain De Witt. Kitty waited and listened. She 
 was a patriot, she told herself, and yet and yet, she 
 did not like these men. Presently she heard a noise 
 of clanking swords, and out of the gate marched the 
 soldiers. Their leader, a sergeant, caught sight of 
 the little girl, and called out, " Our thanks for a very 
 good breakfast." 
 
 Captain De Witt came back smiling. " So you 
 signed the Declaration, and have tried to maintain 
 the honor of the house?" he said. "I have chidden 
 these men, who have no right to enter this house nor 
 to disturb any other, although they are heartily wel 
 come to all I have. I must confess to objecting to
 
 44 A RKYOIATIOXARY MAID. 
 
 their way of demanding it, however; but in time of 
 war it is hard to control all this herd of reckless crea 
 tures. Your man was full of apologies. Come now, 
 let us seek your aunt. We must get you all away 
 from here, for there are anxious times coming, and 
 New York is likely to see bloodshed." 
 
 "Oh, father," gasped Kitty, "tell me about it." 
 
 " Fortifications are being made all along the water 
 front ; the streets are barricaded, and there are more 
 troops coming in every day, while the prospects are that 
 a battle is sure to come. It will not be safe for you 
 here." And this he repeated to his sister and her friend. 
 
 The former berated the patriots soundly ; the latter 
 gave him an appealing glance. He went over to her, 
 and took her hand. "Margaret," he said, "you prom 
 ised, if the worst came." 
 
 " Yes, I know," she replied, hanging her head. 
 " But I did not believe you would go so far as to 
 array yourself against your king." 
 
 He dropped her hand, and stood off from her. 
 " Must I give you up then, or must I disobey my 
 conscience ? " 
 
 The pretty widow reflected a moment ; then she held 
 out her hand. " Since it comes to that," she replied, 
 " I can, perhaps, follow my conscience in one way 
 as well as another. So have your way, Paul."
 
 SOME AFFRIGHTS. 45 
 
 Kitty, listening, was not surprised a little later, to 
 witness in old Trinity Church the marriage of her 
 father to Mistress Gillespie, and to learn that, with 
 this new mother, she was shortly to be sent to Phila 
 delphia out of harm s way. 
 
 " And leave my father ? " she faltered. 
 
 " But he is my husband," whispered the new Mrs. 
 De Witt. " He thinks it best, Kitty, my child. We 
 will try to comfort each other, and we will love each 
 other the more, will we not ? I want to be a real 
 mother to you. 1 
 
 Kitty looked up wistfully. She was glad of the 
 new relationship, for she had always been fascinated 
 by the pretty woman and her charming ways. So 
 she smiled through her tears, and asked, " May I 
 call you mother?" 
 
 "Oh, will you?" said the other, joyfully. "Will 
 you?" And she gave her a hug. "Dear heart," 
 she said, "we can help your father more by going 
 than by staying." 
 
 " But Aunt Joanna, will she remain ? " asked Kitty. 
 
 "No; she is going to her cousins in Jersey, but 
 we shall all start forth together."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A JOURNEY 
 
 AUNT JOANNA was still indignant over the behav 
 ior of the soldiers, whose intrusion she resented, 
 and she made her complaints in no undecided terms 
 to her brother; but she was slightly mollified by his 
 assurance that their acts had no official warrant, and 
 that a body of raw, undisciplined men, not yet under 
 standing the regulations of a well-drilled army, was 
 likely to contain many lawless spirits, who believed that 
 pillage and the destruction of property was a real right 
 of the soldier. Furthermore, he told her, that among 
 the higher officers such conduct was strongly cen 
 sured, and was formally condemned by the provincial 
 congress. 
 
 "Nevertheless," said Captain De Witt, "you will all 
 be safer away from here." 
 
 " But we do not have to go yet. Let us stay as long 
 as we can," pleaded Kitty. 
 
 " Surely it is not necessary to go at once," Mrs. De 
 Witt hastened to uphold Kitty by saying. " Christo- 
 
 4 6
 
 A JOURNEY. 47 
 
 phcr has gone on ahead, but he will come back to 
 escort us when the time comes." 
 
 So Captain De Witt yielded, and the days slipped 
 away till a morning in August, when a messenger .came 
 galloping up the road. " Howe has landed," he gave 
 the information. " Captain De Witt bids you depart 
 at once. He could not come himself, being on duty." 
 
 Everything had for days been in readiness, but last 
 preparations would take a little time, and Kitty slipped 
 forth to the old elm tree to take her farewell of 
 Elspeth. 
 
 When should she see the dear old garden again ? the 
 smiling orchard and the shady lane ? When should she 
 set foot in the old house which had sheltered grand 
 father and great-grandfather? She looked at the 
 fence-posts, surmounted so strangely with the skulls 
 of horses and cattle. These had no ghastly association 
 for her ; she but thought of them as the abodes of the 
 clear friendly wrens. She looked back at the stoop, 
 with its covering of vines ; its benches and lattice ; 
 here, too, would birds build undisturbed by the roar 
 of cannon or the tramp of soldiers. She gave a glance 
 at the old well-sweep ; at the stable-yard, where the 
 horses were already standing ready to take them on the 
 first stage of their journey. The door of the house was 
 open, and through the broad hall Kitty could see to
 
 48 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 the other end. When should she again run blithely 
 down the wide staircase, patting the carved mahogany 
 hand-rail, as she went ? Ah, when ! She thought of 
 all this as she walked slowly along, and climbed for 
 a last time the ladder which led to the crotch in the 
 elm tree. 
 
 She gave a soft, low whistle, but there was no reply. 
 She craned her neck through the branches to the other 
 side, but saw no approaching figure. Finally, she 
 climbed down and stepped off the ladder into the 
 garden of her neighbor ; then she ran toward the house. 
 
 It was quite a walk through the garden and orchard, 
 but the way was pleasant. Kitty was dimly conscious 
 that all was very quiet, but she was so absorbed in her 
 thoughts that she did not notice that the whole place 
 was deserted until she came full upon the house and 
 saw it closed, locked, and barred. 
 
 She gave a little exclamation of surprise, and ran 
 forward to the stoop ; she ran from one window to 
 another ; she searched the summer-house, the out 
 buildings, All were empty. The family had gone. 
 
 Before her investigations were over Kitty heard her 
 self peremptorily called from over the wall of her 
 own garden : " Kitty, Kitty, where are you ? Come 
 at once." 
 
 She ran back with a heavy heart. It seemed such
 
 A JOURNEY. 49 
 
 a dreadful thing to be going away without one word 
 of farewell to Klspeth, and this, added to the thought 
 of leaving her father, brought her into the presence of 
 her aunt with the tears rolling down her cheeks. 
 
 "There, now, my child, do not weep," said Mrs. De 
 Witt, as she beheld the little girl stumbling down the 
 steps to the coach before the door. " We shall soon 
 be back again." 
 
 " But Elspeth has gone, and I have not said farewell 
 to her nor to father either, and I may never see them 
 again," sobbed Kitty. 
 
 For an instant Mrs. De Witt s lip quivered, but she 
 said comfortingly : " Do not let us borrow trouble, my 
 little daughter. I do not think your father can keep 
 away from us very long. And as for Elspeth, Do 
 you know where the Ludlows have gone, Joanna?" 
 
 " No, nor do I wish to," replied Aunt Joanna, stiffly. 
 " Tis such as Henry Ludlow who have led my brother 
 astray. Martha, I think, did say they went off in the 
 early dawn of the morning, up the Bloomingdale road. 
 They have, doubtless, gone further up the country 
 where Cynthia Ludlow has kin-folk." 
 
 By degrees, Elspeth and the home-leaving were lost 
 in the curiosity which Kitty felt at the appearance of 
 the city, which, indeed, presented a warlike aspect. 
 All the streets, leading up to the water, were barricaded
 
 50 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 with cordons of boxes, barrels, kegs, logs and branches 
 of trees, and stones. The City Hall park was quite 
 surrounded by them. Opposite St. Paul s Church, 
 Broadway was so barred, and other streets were, at 
 various points, closed to travel. 
 
 It brought the danger very near, and even Mrs. 
 Thompson was silently troubled, as could be seen, as 
 in crossing the ferry over to Jersey, the fortifications on 
 the Brooklyn shore could be seen. 
 
 " I would we were safe \vithin the king s lines, 
 Peggy," she said at last. " If Paul would but submit 
 and acknowledge his error, he could yet receive pardon, 
 and we should yet be out of this anxious strife." 
 
 "Strife it will be, I feel sure," returned Mrs. De 
 Witt, in a low tone. " I have not realized the seri 
 ousness of it till now. We shall have to use our joint 
 influence to save him, Joanna. I dread the result of 
 Howe s arrival." 
 
 " To a certain extent I am willing to do all I can for 
 Paul," replied Aunt Joanna, "but if he prove obstinate, 
 I wash my hands of him. There is no thanks in trying 
 to serve one who glories in wrong-doing." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt only sighed, but made no answer. 
 She well knew her sister-in-law s inflexible spirit 
 against those who gave her offence. 
 
 At Elizabethtown Mrs. Thompson found a convey-
 
 A JOURNEY. 51 
 
 ance which took her across country to her destina 
 tion, while Kitty and her mother journeyed onward 
 to Philadelphia, reaching there in two days from their 
 time of starting. 
 
 " Tis very comfortable to have a stage-coach," re 
 marked Mrs. De Witt. " Two years ago it took a 
 day longer. Surely we are progressing to be able to 
 make the journey in so short a time." This, as Kitty 
 complained of being somewhat stiff from sitting so 
 long and from the jolting over the rough road, never 
 before having gone so far from home. 
 
 Her mother sighed as they drew near to their jour 
 ney s end. " Ah, me ! I would we knew what was 
 going on at home." 
 
 Kitty immediately took alarm. " Oh, mother, do 
 you think there will be bloodshed?" 
 
 But Mrs. De Witt did not answer, for there was 
 Christopher waiting for them. He had not received 
 notice of their coming soon enough to give them his 
 escort, but was on hand to receive them as the stage 
 coach drew up. He gave a smile to each, and would 
 have kissed them both, but Kitty drew back. 
 
 "Am I not your uncle?" he said, laughing. "And 
 you will not greet me as becomes a niece." 
 
 Her uncle, indeed ! Kitty flushed up and looked 
 as severely defiant as possible.
 
 52 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "There, there, Christopher," said his sister, "the 
 child is tired ; have done with your teasing. Indeed, 
 we are both ready for a dish of tea and a quiet cor 
 ner, for our bones are sadly shaken with the long 
 journey, and our night s rest was none of the sound 
 est, since the soldiery resorting to the inn where we 
 were lodged made a merry night of it." 
 
 "A dish of tea " began Kitty, and then stopped, 
 for she saw a spark of mischief in Christopher s eye, 
 and thought it well to hold her tongue lest she bring 
 forth some further teasing remark. So she contented 
 herself with looking around at this new city, deciding 
 that she preferred her own sweet lanes and roads to 
 the checkerboard squares of the Quaker city. 
 
 " Tis as prim a looking city as one could find," 
 remarked Mrs. De Witt. " But then it is a Quaker 
 town." 
 
 " Withal, you will find riches a-plenty, good living, 
 and great comfort here," responded Christopher. 
 " You need not fear that you will lack a merry time 
 if you desire it, my niece." 
 
 " I pray you call me not niece," returned Kitty, 
 pettishly, " for I ll have no such uncle." 
 
 " Have done, Christopher," again said Mrs. De 
 Witt. "Is this the house ? How plain and square 
 it is; yet it has an air of comfort."
 
 A JOURNEY. 53 
 
 They entered the solid-looking house, and were met 
 by Mrs. Rush, who greeted them heartily. "Well, 
 Peggy, so you have entered again the matrimonial 
 state, and in so sly a way we scarcely credited it 
 when Christopher told us. And a Whig a rebel 
 soldier is your husband ; fie on you ! " 
 
 Mrs. De Witt smiled, and Kitty bit her lip. It was 
 " out of the frying-pan into the fire," if she had es 
 caped from Aunt Joanna only to hear such talk. 
 
 " This is my little daughter Kitty," said Mrs. De 
 Witt; "and I ll warrant you she ll have a poor im 
 pression of you, Lavinia, if you begin by denouncing 
 her father." 
 
 " She is a sweet child," returned Mrs. Rush, ad 
 miringly. "We ll have to get a Tory husband for 
 her, and she ll be soon singing God save the King 
 as lustily as any one. Law, Christopher ! but you d 
 make a pretty husband for her." 
 
 Kitty cast an appealing glance at Mrs. De Witt, 
 who put an arm around her, saying, " There, Lavinia, 
 do not give the child such notions. There is time 
 enough for Kitty to think of such things a couple of 
 years hence. She is more in need of a good brewing 
 of tea than of a gallant at this moment. Come, 
 Kitty dear, lay off your hat and come sit by this win 
 dow. Sister Lavinia has a fair sort of a garden, if
 
 54 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 it is all at the back of the house. It would seem 
 that even the roses here are as shy as Quaker lasses, 
 for they show not their faces in public. There, drink 
 your tea, child, and get rested." 
 
 Kitty took the fragile little cup in her hand, but 
 presently she set it down on the table. 
 
 "Is it not sweet enough?" asked Mrs. Rush, pois 
 ing her sugar-tongs above the silver bowl, which 
 stood on the mahogany tea-board by her side. 
 
 "It is not that," replied Kitty, shyly; "but I can 
 not drink tea." 
 
 "You do not like it? " 
 
 "Yes, ma am, but" - she hesitated, "but we pa 
 triots do not drink it. I promised." 
 
 " Who ? Your father ? " 
 
 " No ; I promised my friend, Elspeth Ludlow. I 
 promised solemnly." 
 
 "Ah, my dear," said Mrs. Rush, shaking a finger 
 at her, " we ll have to cure you of that. You are 
 in a Tory household, remember, and must do as 
 we do." 
 
 " Must I ? " whispered Kitty to her mother. 
 
 She shook her head. " Do not press her, Lavinia. 
 We must not begin by force. Silken bands and soft 
 speech win more easily than the lash and the sharp 
 command. Kitty has had too much of that."
 
 A JOURNEY. 55 
 
 " Is it in such a fashion you will win back your 
 recreant husband to loyalty? I ll warrant you it will 
 be your way. I remember, Peggy, you were ever a 
 fine one for coaxing. Never mind, then, Kitty ; you 
 shall have a substitute. Here, Christopher, brew 
 her a cup ; and then you two go in the garden 
 whilst Peggy and I talk over matters. When two 
 sisters have been parted as long as we have, there 
 are many confidences to be turned over between them. 
 Show Kitty how prettily you can play the beau, 
 Christopher, and leave us to our dish of gossip." 
 
 And therefore, when Kitty had finished her make- 
 believe tea, she followed Christopher out into the 
 garden, a homesick feeling taking possession of her, 
 which added to her desire to learn the latest news 
 from New York. 
 
 "You are very sad and silent, Kitty," said Chris 
 topher, who was really a good-hearted lad. 
 
 " Oh, but I am. We heard, as we were leaving 
 home, that the British were landing, and who knows 
 what may have happened?" 
 
 Christopher looked thoughtful. " Only one thing 
 can happen," he said. " The British will take New 
 York, of course. I am sorry your father is with the 
 rebels, but he has a host of friends among the king s 
 followers, so I doubt not he will be pardoned, else
 
 56 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 I am sure my sister could not be so cheerful, nor so 
 willing to leave home. I know that both she and 
 your aunt think that it will be only a short time 
 before he returns to his allegiance." 
 
 " Oh ! " Kitty looked distressed. It was very hard 
 for a little girl, the majority of whose friends and 
 acquaintances were of the king s party, to maintain 
 a steadfast attitude as a patriot. Yet Kitty was 
 determined to do it, for was not Elspeth stanch and 
 true ? and had not her father declared himself for 
 the cause of freedom ? So she said no more, but 
 slowly paced the walks with Christopher, and listened 
 to his account of Philadelphia. 
 
 "You are so fond of plants and flowers," he said, 
 " I must take you a-riding. We will go out to see 
 a wonderful garden which one John Bartram has 
 made." 
 
 Kitty brightened. Nothing could have pleased her 
 more than the prospect of a ride. If there were 
 two things which she had always loved above her 
 other possessions, these were her horse and her 
 flowers. "Ah, that I had my dear Lady Gay," she 
 said. 
 
 "Where is she ? " 
 
 " All our other horses have gone to camp. My 
 father would not withhold one of them, but he would
 
 A JOURNEY. 57 
 
 not put so sore a trial on me as to ask me if I 
 were willing to part with my Lady Gay for the sake 
 of my country. So she is still in New York at Mr. 
 William Van Ness s." 
 
 "Humph!" Christopher s face expressed disap 
 probation. " Twere a great pity if she were to be 
 used in so ill a cause," he said crossly. 
 
 Kitty drew herself up. " If that is your opinion, 
 Master Van Ness, I beg you will choose some one 
 else to whom to express it, and, also, that you will 
 choose some other partner in your rides." 
 
 Christopher immediately became all humility. " Pray 
 do not let us quarrel, Kitty, we who have always 
 been neighbors, and are now, if not blood-kin, at 
 least related." 
 
 " I quarrel ! I have no desire to even have speech 
 with you," replied Kitty, following up her advantage. 
 
 "Oh, but you and I are here under one roof. We 
 are too young to meddle with politics ; so why let 
 them make a breach between us ? This affray, in 
 which the country is now embroiled, will soon blow 
 over." 
 
 "It will not. The Whigs will fight to the bitter 
 end! My father said so. If you are his enemy, you 
 are mine." 
 
 " But I am no one s enemy. I m simply not a
 
 58 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 partisan at all. Surely a lad of eighteen need not 
 meddle with the affairs of state, nor expect it his 
 duty to be drawn into a brawl." 
 
 " Indeed ! " There was scorn in Kitty s tones. 
 " And how about Robert Ludlow and Walter Vander- 
 poel ? Are they so much older ? " 
 
 Christopher looked down. " No, they are no older, 
 but they are very impetuous and foolhardy." 
 
 Kitty s eyes looked from half-closed lids, and her 
 lips curled under her scornful little nostrils. " You 
 certainly don t improve your case," she said, turning 
 to go into the house. 
 
 " Stay, Kitty," begged Christopher. " I ll promise 
 you not another word against your friends. I am 
 your father s brother-in-law, and I wish him well, 
 even if I can t join his company." 
 
 "Why can t you?" Kitty turned on him. 
 
 " Because I I believe in the king s cause." 
 
 " Then go fight for the king, but don t stand gawk 
 ing about like a half-fledged chicken. Why, half of 
 those lads from New England and the South are no 
 older than you." 
 
 " You think me a coward, or else you want to 
 get rid of me." 
 
 Kitty s foot tapped the ground, but she made no 
 reply.
 
 A JOURXKV. 59 
 
 Christopher plucked a white rose, and held it out 
 to her, with a conciliatory smile. " Here, let us call 
 a truce," he said. " This is my flag. No more hos 
 tilities, Miss Kitty. Accept my overtures of peace, 
 or I will beat a retreat, if you say so." 
 
 Kitty suddenly realized that it was a graceless act 
 of hers to order away her mother s brother, who 
 certainly had a better right in the house of his 
 sister than she had. So she held out her hand for 
 the rose, which she tucked in her bodice. 
 
 "And you will ride with me?" said Christopher. 
 
 Kitty hesitated. Her mother would tell her to go, 
 she reflected. Her father had intrusted her to his 
 wife s care, and she might as well have a good time, 
 for Christopher w r as not an open enemy ; he was like 
 almost all her friends a neutral. So she nodded 
 " Yes," and Christopher began to make plans for a 
 series of rides and walks, and the two sisters from 
 their window looked out and smiled to see the boy 
 and girl walking in the garden, laughing merrily, the 
 white rose in Kitty s bodice glimmering out of the 
 dusk. 
 
 But it was two weeks before Kitty had her ride to 
 John Bartram s farm by the Schuylkill River. And in 
 that time came, first, the news that a battle fought 
 on Long Island had given victory to the British ;
 
 60 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 that Washington had conducted a masterly retreat to 
 New York, and that the Tories were jubilant. Cap 
 tain De Witt wrote a letter from his own home, 
 describing events. " But for the misapplied zeal of 
 three of our videttes, I should have other news for 
 you," he wrote to his daughter; "but that there 
 were some who chose to reconnoitre ahead of our 
 lines, and so let the enemy in at the rear, we might 
 not have been defeated. Be a good child and don t 
 let them make a Tory of you." 
 
 Aunt Joanna, too, sent a letter which rang a 
 triumphant note : " Tis as I thought : the little mob of 
 rebels ran pell-mell at the first onslaught. We ll soon 
 be at home again, Peggy. Don t let Kitty make too 
 free use of her tongue. The child follows her father s 
 lead like a brainless lamb, and her little bleat is a 
 weak imitation of his more blatant ba-a." 
 
 But Kitty did not see this letter, and her mother 
 was too wise to discuss the situation in her presence. 
 Christopher, too, knew the value of silence on the 
 subject. Only Mrs. Rush was openly exultant. 
 
 Things were quiet for some time after this, and 
 Kitty took her ride out to the old botanist s, where 
 she was vastly pleased with the varieties of trees and 
 shrubs which the old man had from all parts of the 
 world.
 
 A JOURNEY 6 I 
 
 The girl was given a bunch of rare flowers to carry 
 home, and these Christopher tied to her saddle. 
 
 " We ll go to Chestnut Hill some day soon," he 
 said. 
 
 " I like this wooded road," replied Kitty. " And 
 such a quaint house on the river s bank. I think 
 your John Bartram a very wise man." 
 
 " So he is, but the Quakers have turned him out 
 of meeting." 
 
 " Oh, the Quakers. They are in great force here, 
 but they seem a narrow set." 
 
 " They are well meaning and peaceable ; good 
 livers and direct of speech. We ll go to one of their 
 meeting-houses some day. I must show you all that 
 Philadelphia has for you to see." 
 
 " I like better our own Trinity than all the Quaker 
 meetings put together, for all there is such feeling 
 against the church. Because it is the Church of 
 England is no reason why it should be persecuted by 
 those who love freedom." She bit her lip as she 
 remembered that she was censuring her own party, 
 but Christopher only smiled, as he said : " You 
 like Christ Church. One sees much fine dressing 
 there." 
 
 " So one does, but one s own home and one s own 
 church are always best," Kitty sighed. She was
 
 62 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 thinking of her own garden, now neglected and wild ; 
 of Elspeth on the other side of the wall ; of Lady 
 Gay, whinnying in the stable, and she grew so silent 
 the rest of the way that Christopher could not rouse 
 her, even by his liveliest attempts at wit.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. 
 
 AS the riders stopped before the door of Mrs. 
 Rush s house, Mrs. De Witt came running down 
 the steps. "Oh, Kitty," she cried, "hasten, we have 
 had news. New York has been entered by the 
 British, and there is claimed a victory at Harlem 
 Heights for your father s party." 
 
 Kitty tremblingly put out her hands to Christopher, 
 who lifted her down, and, not even removing her 
 riding-mask from her face, nor her bunch of flowers, 
 from where it dangled at her saddle, she picked up 
 her skirts and ran indoors. " Tell me all," she said 
 excitedly. 
 
 Her mother gathered her into her arms. "Ah, 
 Kitty," she replied, with a catch in her voice, " it is 
 a dreadful thing to be so torn by one s feelings, as 
 to dread victory for one side lest it mean despair to 
 one s husband, and to dread it for the other lest it 
 mean ruin for one s family. So far, thank God, your 
 father is safe. I have a scribble of a note from him, 
 
 63
 
 64 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 written just after the battle. He sends you his dear 
 love, but he thinks this but the beginning of more 
 troublous times. Is it not sad that he has a Tory 
 wife ? " she added, her eyes shining. 
 
 Kitty looked at her steadfastly. " I don t believe 
 you are," she whispered. 
 
 Mrs. De Witt laughed. " Do I not drink tea, and 
 drink it strong?" she answered, as she turned to 
 where Mrs. Rush sat by her little tea-board. 
 
 Yet, somehow, Kitty felt that at heart her mother 
 was nearer in sympathy with her than she would 
 confess. And this the more so, that when, a few 
 days later, came news of the great fire in New York, 
 she vehemently protested that it was not the work of 
 the Whigs. 
 
 " I say tis not so," she told her sister. " Have not 
 the British set upon Tories as well as upon Whigs, 
 hanging one man by the heels till he died ? so Chris 
 topher tells us, and others have been murdered out 
 right. No, Lavinia, all the evil deeds cannot be 
 imputed to the Whigs." 
 
 "And our dear Trinity Church is burned," sighed 
 Kitty. "What a disaster that is!" 
 
 " Truly, yes, though a church can be rebuilt, but who 
 can give back the lives of those who have fallen in 
 battle ? " returned Mrs. De Witt, sadly. 

 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. 65 
 
 " I wish I could see my father," Kitty made reply, 
 hiding her tearful eyes in her mother s lap. " Shall 
 we not see him at Christmas or at New Year ? " 
 
 " Who can tell ? It does not look very encouraging," 
 
 replied Mrs. De Witt. " But we ll try to have a happy 
 
 r 
 
 time here, although the Quakers make little of Christ 
 mas." Then, suddenly, " How should you like to go 
 to Jersey for Thanksgiving ? You could spend a time 
 with Aunt Joanna. I doubt not she will be overjoyed 
 to see you, for never a holiday has she spent away from 
 you since your birth." 
 
 Kitty looked a little doubtful. " You are sure father 
 will not be here ? " 
 
 " I think it is most unlikely." 
 
 " Then I ll go if you think best." 
 
 Kitty was too much of a little girl not to let present 
 pleasures thrust aside political questions, and she was 
 beginning to sigh for some other companions than 
 Christopher, who rather bored her by treating her like 
 a young lady, or Mrs. Rush and Mrs. De Witt, who 
 discussed the intricacies of making lint and Irish stitch, 
 while the little girl sat by and obediently worked on a 
 piece of canvas a remarkable bunch of flowers. This 
 and her lessons with her mother were not altogether 
 uninteresting each day, but she missed Elspeth, who 
 heretofore had shared lessons with her, a governess
 
 66 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 being always employed in the Ludlow family. And 
 so with no strict hours to maintain, Kitty would spend 
 much time wandering about the garden, and sometimes 
 even about the streets. 
 
 It was one day after she had thus made her escape, 
 that she decided upon going down to Second Street 
 to get more crewels. It was a pleasant autumn day, 
 and Kitty, with her scarlet cloak over her shoulders, 
 and a small hat perched upon her shining tresses, set 
 forth to Miss Pearson s little store. 
 
 She had not proceeded far when she heard a great 
 din, shouts and cheers and much noise; while just 
 ahead she saw a rabble of men and boys jeering and 
 huzzahing. For a moment the little girl stood irreso 
 lute, but curiosity overmastered fear, and she raised 
 herself on tiptoe to see what could be in the cart which 
 was being dragged up street. 
 
 The crowd came surging on, and Kitty, seized with 
 a panic, turned to run, and was hustled against a little 
 girl about half her own age. The child came near to 
 falling, and Kitty caught her by the arm to save her. 
 
 "Oh," said the child gratefully, " thee has saved me 
 a fall ; come, let us run. My house is close by, and this 
 crowd is an evil one." 
 
 " What are they doing ? " asked Kitty. 
 
 " They are riding a Tory through the streets. They
 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. 67 
 
 threaten to tar and feather him. I am scared, for my 
 father has received ill-treatment. Come, let us run." 
 
 But the crowd was close upon them ; apprentice boys 
 in leather breeches and yarn stockings, serving women 
 in linsey petticoats and short-gowns, joined those who 
 cried, " Down with the Tories ! Off with the rascal ! " 
 
 Kitty clasped the little girl s hand in hers, and tried 
 to push through the mob, but they were jostled from 
 one side to another, till suddenly, a tall youth spied 
 them, and, at the same moment Kitty s companion 
 cried, "Thomas! Thomas! get us out of this." 
 
 The boy smiled down at her. " Ah, little Mary, is 
 it thyself? How comest thou in this crowd?" Then 
 elbowing his way along, and bidding the girls follow 
 close behind him, he steadfastly made his way toward 
 the corner. 
 
 " Oh ! " Kitty breathed a sigh of relief. " Tis good 
 to get out of that, but I cannot get home yet." 
 
 " Come then with me," said Mary, " and Thomas will 
 go with us, I am sure. This is Thomas Mendenhall, I 
 am Mary Zane, and thou art ? " 
 
 " Katherine De Witt. So now we all know each 
 other." 
 
 " I will go to the door with thee, Mary, but not 
 inside," said Thomas, smiling. 
 
 " But why ? "
 
 68 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Hast forgotten thy father likes not a fighting 
 Quaker. I have been read out of meeting, and thy 
 father is not only a Friend, but he favors the king, and 
 frowns me down for being so bold as to want to fight 
 for freedom." 
 
 "And have you done it?" exclaimed Kitty, joyfully. 
 
 " Something like it. I ve just come off the brig 
 Nancy, or what was once that good little ship." 
 
 " What has happened to her ? " 
 
 "We had to blow her up to save her from falling 
 into the hands of the enemy. But we saved the flag 
 which my own hands made." 
 
 " Oh, tell us about it," begged Kitty. 
 
 " Since Thomas thinks he may not go in, we can sit 
 here on the step," said Mary. " Tis true, Thomas, my 
 father likes not fighting Quakers, yet he himself was 
 arrested for singing God save the King, or at least 
 he was with a company who sang it lustily. Yet I 
 think he would harm no one, enemy or any other." 
 
 Kitty looked interested. " That is something which 
 could never happen to my father," she said with a 
 smile, "for he is in the Continental army." 
 
 " That is good," replied Thomas. " I tell thee tis 
 hard to stay out when it seems a duty to go. My 
 people were strenuous in urging upon me what a peace- 
 loving Quaker should do, but "
 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. 69 
 
 " You are not peace-loving," interrupted Kitty, 
 laughing. 
 
 The lad s handsome dark eyes twinkled as he replied, 
 " I m not, when there s good cause for resistance." 
 
 " And you really made a flag. Tell us how it came 
 about." 
 
 " Well, thee sees, I went to sea under Captain Hugh 
 Montgomery, of the brig Nancy. We sailed under 
 English colors for Porto Rico, and landed at Don 
 Antonio Saronia to procure arms and ammunition from 
 the Spanish. We had our cargo nearly made up, when 
 we had word that independence was declared, and the 
 Captain set me to work to make a flag from the descrip 
 tion he gave me. This I did privately, and the Nancy 
 was armed for defence. The day we set sail for a 
 return voyage a big dinner was given to the governor 
 and his friends, and as they were approaching in 
 their barges, a salute of thirteen guns was fired, I was 
 ordered to haul down the English flag, and up went 
 our own American colors, for the first time, I believe, 
 in a foreign port." 
 
 Thomas did not add that when almost within reach 
 of home, a warning had been sent to the Captain that 
 he must beware the enemy who was on the lookout for 
 him, and that when he announced to his men his inten 
 tion of defending his stores at all hazards, telling them
 
 /O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 that a boat was ready .to take ashore all who declined 
 to fight for their country, the first to step forward 
 was the sixteen year old lad, Thomas Mendenhall, 
 whose simple, "Captain, I will stand by you," fired 
 the crew with such enthusiasm that not one but what 
 was ready to face danger. Thomas told nothing of 
 this, and it was not till long afterward that Kitty heard 
 of it. 
 
 The streets were quiet by the time Thomas had 
 finished his story, and Kitty ran home with her 
 crewels. It was many weeks before she saw little 
 Mary Zane again. 
 
 It was near quaint old Bordentown that Aunt Jo 
 anna was staying ; and since it was thought to be 
 a perfectly safe place to send Kitty, for all was quiet 
 in that direction, thkher she went on the boat one 
 pleasant day in November. The purple haze of 
 Indian summer was over the land, and the soft- 
 colored landscape on each side the Delaware showed 
 warm tints in the sunshine. 
 
 Kitty thought it all very beautiful. She was glad 
 to get to the country again, and glad that she was 
 going to see her Jersey cousins ; so she felt no 
 dread as she stepped off the boat to be met by Aunt 
 Joanna. 
 
 " Such a pretty place this is," said Kitty, as they
 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. /I 
 
 drove away from the landing toward the country. 
 "What is that little stream, Aunt Joanna?" 
 
 " Crosswick s Creek. You shall have a fine time 
 rowing upon it, but we must hasten on ; our cousins 
 are waiting for us. We have had glorious news this 
 morning. And that reminds me, Kitty, I do not 
 want you to get up an intimacy with the Gardner 
 girls. They are your cousins, to be sure ; but the 
 family are all hot-headed W 7 higs, while cousin John 
 Satterlee is a stanch partisan for the king. He is 
 away on official business now, so you will probably 
 not see him." 
 
 Kitty said nothing, but she kept her own counsel. 
 
 "Glorious news!" repeated Aunt Joanna. "The 
 rebels are driven from their position at -White Plains, 
 and we have taken Fort Washington." 
 
 Still Kitty made no remark. She had learned long 
 ago that it was not wise to argue with Aunt Joanna. 
 
 They were not long in reaching a pleasant house 
 which overlooked the river. " Here is my little niece, 
 Kitty," said Aunt Joanna to the lady who came out 
 to meet them. " She professes to be a rebel like her 
 father, but we ll have no treason here, will we ? " 
 
 " Arc they not good loyalists at Mrs. Rush s ? " 
 asked Cousin Cynthia, turning to Kitty with a 
 smile.
 
 72 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " They are Tories, and they are very kind and 
 good," replied Kitty. 
 
 "Well, my dear, come in. We shall try to make 
 you have a good time. Do you like boating ? And 
 we shall soon be able to send you nutting. Our 
 woods are full of chestnuts only waiting for a sharp 
 frost to open them. You must gather all you can 
 before the soldiers get here and get them. We don t 
 grudge them, but we want our own supply first." 
 
 It was a perfect delight to Kitty to get out into 
 the sweet-smelling woods during the Indian summer 
 days which followed. The leaves, rustling under foot, 
 sent forth a fine odor, as of wine ; and, with her 
 little cousin Herbert as sole companion, she had not 
 felt so free in a long while. Later on, when frost 
 came, and the prickly, brown chestnut-burrs were fully 
 open, showing the shiny nuts inside, she and Her 
 bert hastened out one fine afternoon and were soon 
 busy filling their bags. 
 
 Kitty was bending over the leaves, stirring up the 
 fallen burrs, when there was the sound of crackling 
 branches ; and, looking up, she saw a tall Hessian 
 coming toward her, and another at a little distance. 
 
 Herbert took to his heels like a good fellow, and 
 Kitty was inclined, at first, to drop her bag and fol 
 low him. Then she thought, "I ll do nothing of the
 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. 73 
 
 kind. It might only make him run after us both. 
 I ll stand and face him." 
 
 The jager came striding up through the crisp, rus 
 tling leaves, and looked at Kitty s bag with a com 
 placent smile. "Gudt!" he said. " Mcin, ja ;" and 
 he reached out for the bag, which Kitty quickly put 
 behind her. 
 
 The man laughed. "Ja" he repeated, coming 
 closer ; and Kitty, seeing that discretion was the bet 
 ter part of valor, dropped the bag as the second 
 soldier advanced nearer. The first one, seeing he 
 could take the prize, let it lie on the ground, and 
 asked, "Vcrc lif Gardner?" 
 
 Kitty shook her head. Then growing bolder, see 
 ing the man had a pleasant face, " I am a stranger 
 here." 
 
 The man in turn shook his head, and said a few 
 words in German to his companion. Kitty, fortu 
 nately, understood, for had not her old nurse Lena 
 been a German, and was she not herself of Dutch 
 descent ? 
 
 As she listened, it dawned upon her that he was 
 hunting for an American soldier supposed to be con 
 cealed in the neighborhood. Oh, that she could warn 
 him ! She walked slowly along, wondering what she 
 could do. The man picked up the bag and followed.
 
 74 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 She was cudgelling her brains for some plan to mis 
 lead him. Suddenly she thought. 
 
 The red house of the Satterlee s could be seen 
 through the trees. She beckoned to the man who 
 had addressed her, and pointed to it. " Let Aunt Jo 
 anna and Cousin Cynthia take care of their friends," 
 she thought, with a sudden humorous appreciation of 
 the situation. " Let him carry them their chest 
 nuts." 
 
 The man looked at her as if only half inclined to 
 trust her ; but she continued to nod and point to the 
 red house, and presently he leaped the fence, followed 
 by the other man, and across the fields Kitty saw 
 them go. 
 
 " Now," she thought, " if I can only find the 
 Gardners, and warn them in time. Let me see, which 
 way is it? I must think." She made her way to the 
 edge of the wood, and looked across the stretches of 
 brown stubble. A curling wreath of smoke arose 
 beyond the fields, from a substantial yellow house. 
 
 "That must be it; I ll risk it." And, hastily climb 
 ing the fence, she ran as fast as she could across 
 the cornfield, between the piled up shocks of fodder, 
 climbed another fence, and found herself in a stable 
 yard. All was still. Only from the kitchen came 
 the sound of a soft voice singing.
 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. 75 
 
 Kitty ran in without ceremony. " Oh, please tell 
 me," she began to the astonished girl who confronted 
 her, "is your name Gardner?" 
 
 "Yes, I am Cicely Gardner. Is anything wrong?" 
 
 " Yes, yes ; the Hessians are coming. I am your 
 cousin, Kitty De Witt. I am afraid they will get 
 here before we can do anything. You have a soldier 
 in hiding." 
 
 The girl s face went from red to white. She dropped 
 her spoon, and ran out into the hall and up the steps, 
 Kitty following. 
 
 At the head of the steps Cicely turned, panting. 
 " Who told you ? How did you find out ? No one 
 is at home but me. They have all gone to a funeral, 
 grandmother and all." 
 
 " I was in the woods. The soldiers came to take 
 away my chestnuts. They said you had a soldier 
 here. They wanted to know where you lived. They 
 spoke in German, but I understood." Her words 
 came in jerks. "I put him off the track. I ran. He 
 has gone to Cousin John Satterlee s, but there may 
 be others also hunting. What can we do ? What ? 
 What?" She wrung her hands, for precious mo 
 ments were slipping away. 
 
 Cicely turned to the window and looked out. "They 
 are coming ! They are coming ! " she whispered, her
 
 76 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 voice shaking. And she turned to open the door of 
 a room, into which she entered with Kitty, who saw, 
 bolstered up in a chair, a young man, scarcely more 
 than a boy. He was very pale, and turned his large 
 eyes on the girls inquiringly. " They are coming ! 
 They are coming ! " repeated Cicely, in a scared 
 whisper. 
 
 The boy clutched the sides of the chair, and stag 
 gered to his feet. 
 
 Just then came a thought to Kitty. It was the men 
 tion of Cicely s grandmother which brought it. " Your 
 grandmother, she is old, you said. Get some of her 
 clothes and put on him," nodding toward the lad. 
 " Quick ! quick ! " 
 
 Cicely darted out of the room, and came back 
 with a pile of clothing on her arm. Quickly over 
 the boy s head was thrown a dressing-gown ; a shawl 
 was wrapped around him. 
 
 There was a sound of knocking below. 
 
 "Go, go," said Kitty. "I ll finish." She clapped a 
 cap upon the boy s head, fastened spectacles on his 
 nose, turned the chair, with a whirl, away from the 
 light, hung the remaining pieces of clothing over a 
 chair, caught up a half-knitted stocking she espied 
 on a table, and sat herself down with fear and trem 
 bling.
 
 ABOUT A FLAG AND SEVERAL THINGS. 7? 
 
 It was growing late, and the low-ceiled room 
 was already in a half light, when three soldiers 
 entered. 
 
 Kitty gave one quick look. To her great relief, the 
 soldiers whom she had met in the woods were none 
 of these. She pretended to be busy with her knitting, 
 and, as the door closed, she said quietly, " Did you 
 bring grandmother s broth, Cicely ? I think it is 
 time she had it." Then she rose to her feet as if 
 just aware there were others present. 
 
 The men gazed around the room ; looked at the 
 figure huddled up in the big chair, with shawl around 
 the ears. Then they punched the bed ; they opened 
 the closet door ; they looked behind the curtains. 
 
 " Dat is gran mudder ? " asked one of the soldiers 
 half curiously. 
 
 " Yes ; she is very deaf and old," replied Kitty 
 quickly, " and she has a bad cold. Please don t keep 
 the door open any longer than you can help." And 
 she pulled the shawl closer around the supposed 
 grandmother s ears. 
 
 The men looked at each other and turned away. 
 Kitty dropped her knitting, and clasped her hands in 
 dread lest they should return. But they did not, and 
 it was not many minutes before they were heard 
 tramping off.
 
 /8 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Even then the boy did not stir till Cicely made her 
 appearance with a cup, and, in a voice shaking half 
 with fright, half with amusement, she said, " Grand 
 mother, will you have your broth now?"
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. 
 
 THE tension was relieved by Cicely s words, and 
 the three young persons burst out laughing. 
 Then Cicely said, " But you do not know each other, 
 Kitty. This is my cousin, Lloyd Holliday, of Mary 
 land, and Lloyd, this is my cousin, Kitty De Witt, of 
 New York." 
 
 "And if I mistake not," said the lad, struggling 
 to his feet, and holding on to an arm of the chair, 
 while he bowed gravely. " If I mistake not, Miss 
 Kitty, you have saved my life." 
 
 " Oh ! " Kitty was embarrassed. " I only kept them 
 from taking you prisoner." 
 
 "Which in my state would mean death," he re 
 turned. " Would you mind telling me how you hap 
 pened to so opportunely be here to warn us ? " And 
 Kitty told her tale. 
 
 " How glad I am that you are not a Tory," Cicely 
 said. " I wish you could stay here with us, instead 
 of with your Aunt Joanna. She is, I fear, a sad 
 
 79
 
 8O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 enemy to our cause. Suppose she should hear of 
 this. Oh, Kitty, you will not tell why you came." 
 
 " Not I," returned Kitty stoutly. " Still I think it 
 would be well if Master Holliday could be removed 
 to some unsuspected spot, since the enemy seems to 
 have heard rumors of his being here." 
 
 "And his wound is not yet healed," returned Cicely, 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 " His wound ? Is he then wounded ? I thought 
 him perhaps but recovering from a fever. Have you 
 been in a battle, Master Holliday ? " 
 
 He smiled. " It was my good fortune to be in the 
 battle of Long Island." 
 
 " He belongs to Smallwood s Flying Column," put 
 in Cicely. " And you know how bravely they fought." 
 
 " Indeed I do. And shall you return when you are 
 well ? " she asked, turning to Lloyd. 
 
 " It is my intention ; but meantime, the country is 
 full of Hessians, and I almost fear I shall find a 
 difficulty in getting to my regiment. However, I 
 shall truct to luck, which, so far, has not deserted 
 me ; and since I have two such guardian angels as 
 you, Miss Kitty, and your cousin Cicely, I shall 
 surely expect to elude evil. And now, Cousin Cicely, 
 if you will permit me, I will take that good broth." 
 
 A little rippling laugh came from Cicely. " You
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. 8 1 
 
 look so funny, Lloyd, in that cap, you may as well 
 take it off, and give me the spectacles. My grand 
 mother is very choice of them, for they are the new 
 kind which slips behind the ears. My father got 
 them for a present to grandmother ; and take off the 
 gown, too, Lloyd, for the soldiers must be safely 
 away by this." 
 
 " And I, too, must be going. See how dark it is 
 getting," said Kitty. 
 
 " No, no, it will not do for you to go forth alone 
 at such a time," Cicely remonstrated. " Father will 
 be here soon, and will see you safely to Cousin Satter- 
 lee s door." 
 
 " I would I were privileged to be your escort, Miss 
 Kitty," interposed Lloyd ; " twould give me much 
 pleasure." 
 
 " I ll take the will for the deed, and " 
 
 " Perhaps some other time I may be so favored," 
 Lloyd finished the sentence. " I shall not forget you, 
 Miss Kitty ; be sure of that." 
 
 The sound of wheels interrupted the colloquy, and the 
 two girls ran downstairs to greet the returned family. 
 
 "So this is Kitty De Witt," Mrs. Gardner said, 
 giving her a hearty kiss. " I knew your father well 
 when we were boy and girl, and Joanna too ; is she 
 as great a spitfire as ever ? I was afraid we should
 
 82 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 not see anything of you, for we know the Satterlees 
 do not approve of us." 
 
 " Any more than we do of them," put in Mr. 
 Gardner. 
 
 "We heard you were in the neighborhood," said 
 the old grandmother, looking up at Kitty with her 
 bright old eyes. 
 
 And then Cicely told of the afternoon s adventures, 
 while all listened attentively. " How quick-witted you 
 are," said a pretty, dark-eyed girl, who had not spoken 
 before. 
 
 Kitty looked at her and smiled. These people 
 pleased her. 
 
 " I am Phebe," said the girl, answering the smile, 
 "and your cousin, too." 
 
 " Don t you wish we could keep her ? " said Cicely. 
 
 " I wish we could. Can t you stay ? " 
 
 Kitty shook her head. " They are worrying about 
 me now, I suppose, and I really ought to have been 
 back before." 
 
 " Then I ll take you at once, before I put up the 
 horses," Mr. Gardner volunteered. 
 
 "But do stay to supper, we ll soon have it ready," 
 begged the girls. 
 
 But Kitty was positive that she ought to go, and 
 was sustained in her decision by Mr. Gardner.
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. 83 
 
 " We ll come and see you, whether we are wanted 
 or not," said the girls. "And you must come over 
 whenever you get a chance." 
 
 "I ll make one," returned Kitty. "And if I find 
 there s anything going on that you ought to know, 
 I ll find a way to tell you." 
 
 Aunt Joanna was in her most irate mood when 
 Kitty reached John Satterlee s. The sound of wheels 
 brought the expectant lady out on the porch. She 
 did not vouchsafe a word to good Hiram Gardner, 
 to whom Kitty was warmly expressing her thanks for 
 his escort. Aunt Joanna cut her short by saying : 
 
 " This is a pretty time for you to be getting home, 
 miss. Here, right into the house as straight as you 
 can go." And she marched her off in the midst of 
 her adieux. " A nice trick you tried to play on us," 
 she went on. "There, don t try to deny it. Herbert 
 saw you parleying. What did you mean by sending 
 those two soldiers here and telling them this was 
 Hiram Gardner s ? " 
 
 " I didn t tell them. I never said a word." 
 
 But Aunt Joanna in her rages was not to be pacified 
 by contradictions, and this occasion was one which 
 aroused her strongest resentment. " Well, whether 
 you did or not, you misled them. Nevertheless, they 
 found out that we were friends. It is a good thing
 
 84 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 that old Lena did not let us forget our Dutch, for 
 that made me able to make them understand ; and 
 they were well pleased at hearing me speak. More 
 over, we treated them well, and told them what they 
 wanted to know so far as we could, promising to find 
 out more. Stand there in front of me." And Aunt 
 Joanna established herself on a high-backed chair, 
 placing Kitty before her. 
 
 " Give an account of yourself. Where have you 
 been ? Pretty doings ! for my brother s daughter to 
 be tramping about a country full of soldiers. You 
 needn t look so mulish; speak up." But Kitty an 
 swered never a word. 
 
 Aunt Joanna lowered her high key a little. She 
 knew of old that Kitty could be obstinate when she 
 chose. 
 
 "There, Kitty," she said, "it is too bad to mar 
 your visit with such unpleasantness, but I must do 
 my duty. However, I ll be very lenient with you. 
 Tell me but one thing, and I ll say no more. Have 
 they any one in hiding at the Gardners ? You may 
 as well tell, for I shall notify Major von Blum to 
 morrow that they d better give the place an over 
 hauling, for I know the people are rebels, out and 
 out ; and your keeping silence can do no good." 
 
 But not a word did Kitty answer, and her aunt s
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. 85 
 
 fury rose again. " Well, miss, if you choose to be 
 so close mouthed, I ll find a way to make you use 
 your tongue. Here, No, no, Cynthia," as Mrs. 
 Satterlee, who had come in, began to intercede for 
 Kitty, by saying, 
 
 " Now, Joanna, the child has come to make a pleas 
 ant visit; why make a point of this? " 
 
 " She shall find out who she s dealing with," re 
 turned Aunt Joanna, grasping Kitty s shoulder so 
 she winced. " I am ashamed of you, Katherine De 
 Witt ! to make such a disturbance in a house where 
 you are visiting, and where you have only received 
 kindness," she said, as she led the unresisting girl 
 upstairs. " Now," she continued, as she reached 
 Kitty s apartment, " in your room you stay till you 
 can find that you have tongue enough to show me 
 some respect. And if you do not come to your 
 senses by to-morrow, back you go to Philadelphia, 
 in short order, and I wash my hands of you." Then, 
 shutting the door with a bang, turning the key with 
 a snap, Aunt Joanna left Kitty alone. 
 
 But the girl was not in the least afraid. She was 
 in the room adjoining that occupied by her aunt, and 
 would not feel unprotected at night. She was only 
 rather hungry, and wished now that matters had so 
 turned out that she could have stayed to supper
 
 86 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 with the Gardners. She wondered if Cousin Cynthia 
 would let her go hungry, if she would think of her 
 not having had anything to eat since noon. And 
 because, to one of Kitty s age, the question of being 
 hungry or satisfied is one of great importance, this 
 occupied her thoughts for some time. 
 
 After a while she softly opened her window, hop 
 ing to be able to call to some one below. Cousin 
 Cynthia had several negro servants, and one of them 
 might be passing under the window. It was chilly, 
 and Kitty wrapped her cloak about her as she leaned 
 out over the broad window-sill. 
 
 Her watching was, after some moments, rewarded 
 by a sight of little Herbert, who was running across 
 from the porch to the wood-house. She liked the 
 little fellow, and believed she could depend upon 
 him. So she called softly, " Herbert, Herbert ! " 
 
 He stopped and looked around. " Look up to my 
 window," she said, and he turned his smiling face 
 upward. " Herbert," she said, leaning out as far as 
 she could, " I am so hungry. Aunt Joanna has 
 locked me in. Can t you get me something to eat, 
 or listen go tell Drusy to come out. Don t tell 
 any one else." 
 
 Herbert nodded emphatically and ran toward ths 
 kitchen, from which Drusy s fat form presently issued.
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. 87 
 
 Kitty made known her request ; and after some 
 planning, she arranged to let down a string, and so 
 drew up the food with which Drusy willingly sup 
 plied her, chuckling to herself as she tied the little 
 basket to the twisted yarn which Kitty lowered. 
 
 All this took some time, but at last, having sat 
 isfied her physical needs, the prisoner s thoughts 
 drifted in other directions. She would not betray 
 the young Mary lander, no, not if she were to be 
 shut up forever. She decided that, and was sitting 
 hugging her knees on the foot of her high, four- 
 poster bed, when she heard her aunt with Mrs. Sat- 
 terlee enter the next room. 
 
 "I had no idea it was bedtime," said Kitty. "That 
 comes of having so late a supper. I d better go to 
 bed myself, or I ll have Aunt Joanna in here to 
 carry off my candle and make me tumble in without 
 a light," and she jumped down from the bed. 
 
 Passing near the door she heard her aunt say : " I 
 think we d best not w r ait for Major von Blum to call, 
 Cynthia. It seems to me it would be better to ride 
 to Bordentown to-morrow, and say to him, first thing, 
 that it would be well not to delay in searching the 
 Gardners house. They re not likely to suspect a 
 searching party to-night, but they may get off their 
 man early in the morning."
 
 88 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " You re rather vindictive, aren t you, Joanna ? " 
 said Mrs. Satterlee. 
 
 " I know my duty to my king and my country," 
 answered Aunt Joanna, tartly. " If we were all such 
 soft-hearted and supine creatures as to spare every 
 rebel who chooses to impose upon us, the country 
 would soon be ruined. If they are to be brought to 
 their senses, it will be by making an example of a 
 few of them." 
 
 " But we are not sure that the Gardners are har 
 boring a rebel," still persisted Mrs. Satterlee. 
 
 " Then no harm will be done if he isn t found 
 there," returned Aunt Joanna, grimly. " But one 
 thing is sure, Kitty goes back to-morrow. There s 
 no telling into what sort of trouble we shall be em 
 broiled, if she persists in following up those Gardner 
 girls. Back she goes to-morrow, and I will take her 
 to the boat myself." 
 
 " Now, Joanna, you are too hard on her. She is 
 a nice child." The listening Kitty felt her heart go 
 out gratefully to Cousin Cynthia. 
 
 "One must not let one s personal feeling stand in 
 the way of one s duty," replied Aunt Joanna, coldly. 
 " I know Kitty better than you do, Cynthia. She 
 possesses a dogged persistence there is no overcom 
 ing, gentle as she seems, and there is no knowing
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. 89 
 
 what she will undertake. She will be safer in Phila 
 delphia." 
 
 Mrs. Satterlee did not pursue the subject, and after 
 both she and Aunt Joanna were asleep, Kitty lay 
 awake trying to contrive some plan by which she 
 could warn the Gardners of the threatening danger. 
 But no practical means suggested itself, and she 
 finally dropped off into slumber, not to awaken till 
 her aunt s voice roused her. 
 
 " Come, Kitty, get your things together. You are 
 going back to-day ; that is, unless you can promise 
 to be more obedient than you were last night." Kitty s 
 sleepy eyes opened more widely as she sat up staring 
 at her aunt. Slowly the events of the previous day 
 came before her, and she compressed her lips before 
 she replied, " Very well, Aunt Joanna ; I am ready 
 to go back if you say so." 
 
 "You are an obstinate child if ever there was one," 
 returned Aunt Joanna. Kitty had slid out of the 
 high bed, and was sitting on the floor, putting on her 
 shoes and stockings. " Aunt Joanna," she said, " I 
 know what my father would have me do. The Bible 
 says, Children, obey your parents ; it doesn t say 
 anything about aunts." 
 
 Aunt Joanna s eyes snapped. " It tells you to be 
 in subjection to those placed over you."
 
 9O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Kitty paused in the act of fastening her shoe, doubt 
 ful for a moment. " But parents come first," she 
 returned, triumphantly, " I know they do." 
 
 " I suppose, then, if your father told you to kill 
 some one, you d think it right to do it, eh ? " 
 
 " No, and it isn t any more right when my aunt 
 tells me to help some one to his death," replied Kitty, 
 getting up. 
 
 Aunt Joanna turned away without another word. 
 The shaft told, but it made her only the more deter 
 mined to get her niece away. " The child is getting 
 beyond me," she confessed to herself. 
 
 Cousin Cynthia loaded Kitty s plate with good 
 things at breakfast. " You poor child," she whis 
 pered. " I hate to have you go. I feel as if you 
 had had such a very unsatisfactory time that you 
 will never want to come again." 
 
 Kitty smiled up gratefully, although she was very 
 heavy-hearted as the time drew near, and she saw no 
 prospect of sending a message to her friends. She 
 half determined to confide in Cousin Cynthia, but 
 she was afraid it might not be the best thing to do, 
 for it would involve an acknowledgment of Lloyd s 
 presence at the Gardners . And so the moments fled, 
 and the time came for her departure. 
 
 " I am going to drive the chaise into Bordentown,"
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. QI 
 
 Cousin Cynthia announced. " I think we can all 
 three squeeze into it. I have some things to see 
 about ; so, Joanna, if you are determined upon going, 
 we two will take the seat, and Kitty can be stowed 
 in either in front or behind." 
 
 Therefore, before long the old white horse was 
 jogging along, Kitty stowed a\vay in front, and her 
 baggage behind. 
 
 They had gone about a mile, when Kitty, who 
 was very uncomfortable both mentally and physically, 
 was relieved to hear her aunt say : " I declare, 
 Cynthia, my feet are going to sleep with Kitty crowd 
 ing them so close. Suppose you get in at the back 
 and sit on your portmanteau for a while, Kitty. You 
 can let your feet hang out, and we ll all be less 
 cramped." 
 
 Kitty obediently took the place assigned her, and 
 the horse jogged on. Suddenly a thought came to 
 the girl, and her heart beat so fast that she im 
 agined the two chatting together so unconcernedly 
 must hear the quick thumps. She looked eagerly 
 from one side to another. They were coming to a 
 little hill. Here was her chance ; as soon as they 
 reached the top and came to that bend before Billy 
 started up his jog-trot. 
 
 Carefully, carefully, she let her feet swing nearer
 
 92 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 and nearer the ground, and before Billy fairly stopped 
 his slow walk, she had touched the ground and, with 
 a sudden dart, crouched low and reached a tree 
 behind which she hid. She gave a great sigh of re 
 lief to see that the chaise did not stop. She was not 
 missed yet. The couple in the vehicle had not looked 
 back. A little more and the brow of the hill would 
 hide her completely, as they journeyed down the 
 other side of it. She must not let her scarlet cloak 
 be seen. She slipped it off and rolled it up, holding 
 it in front of her, as she crept along the road down 
 hill. 
 
 It was early yet, and the white frost sparkled on 
 the bronzed leaves under foot. A partridge, once in 
 a while, started up with a whirring sound, or a Molly 
 Cottontail leaped from her covert of brambles. Faster 
 and faster Kitty sped on till she came to the foot of 
 the hill, and here she must take to the field. Her 
 brown frock would not betray her at a distance, but 
 one single flash of scarlet would ; and so, lifting her 
 skirt, she fastened the cloak under it, and then, climb 
 ing the fence, she dropped down into the field and 
 ran toward the yellow house in the clump of trees 
 beyond. 
 
 Safe ! Safe ! Yes, she was sure of it. Old Billy 
 could not overtake her now, even if the chaise should
 
 THE COURAGE OF HER CONVICTIONS. 93 
 
 be turned back, and, in any case, time had been 
 gained. 
 
 She reached the house, and there was no sign of 
 the chaise, so she took time to get breath before she 
 made her way to the kitchen she had entered so 
 hastily the day before. Phebe and Cicely were both 
 there. The hum of a spinning-wheel came from the 
 next room. All was as quiet as if an army of British 
 were not pouring into Jersey. 
 
 " Why, Kitty ! Kitty ! " cried the two girls, dropping 
 the apples they were paring; "you have come over 
 soon again." 
 
 " No bad news, I hope," said Cicely, anxiously. 
 
 Kitty dropped into a chair. "Oh, but there is!" 
 she said; "there is! and I have come to tell you." 
 And she began her story. 
 
 "Wait a minute," said Phebe. "Mother must hear. 
 Come into the next room." And before the wheel 
 had stopped its drone, Kitty had made them aware 
 of her errand. 
 
 " You dear, brave child," Mrs. Gardner said, when 
 the story was ended, " you are right. There is not 
 a moment to lose. Call your father quick, Phebe. 
 And Cicely, you run up no we will wait to hear 
 what your father says." 
 
 Mr. Gardner came hurrying in from the barn.
 
 94 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "We ll have to strike out lively, mother," he said, "if 
 we re to get that boy off across the river. I ll go 
 down and get the boat ready, and you girls put us 
 up a lunch. Stir around. There s not a moment to 
 lose." 
 
 " Don t you think began Kitty. 
 
 Mr. Gardner looked at her sharply. "What is it?" 
 
 " Wouldn t it be better if you were to dress him 
 up in girl s clothes, so if any one saw you, they d 
 think you had one of your daughters with you? " 
 
 "Not a bad idea. See to it, mother, will you?" 
 And within half an hour a little boat shot out into the 
 Delaware. 
 
 Phebe had begged to go that she might lend a 
 hand to the rowing ; and those who saw them be 
 held nothing unusual in the Gardner girls and their 
 father going to Jim Gardner s, across the river.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AT THE FARMHOUSE. 
 
 MEANWHILE Kitty s escape had been discovered. 
 " Goodness ! do you suppose she has fallen out ? " 
 said Mrs. Satterlee. " That is a pretty steep hill, and 
 if she didn t hold on tight, she might have lost her 
 balance." 
 
 They stopped and called. Then Aunt Joanna got 
 out and walked back to the brow of the hill ; but there 
 was no scarlet heap lying in the middle of the road. 
 " She s jumped out on purpose," was Aunt Joanna s 
 report. " Drive on, Cynthia." 
 
 Grimly she gave her information to the Hessian 
 major. " Don t be deceived," she warned him. " Hiram 
 Gardner has a wife, two daughters, and an old mother. 
 If your men see any one else, unless my niece hap 
 pens to be there, they ll see more persons than they 
 ought, that s all." 
 
 And therefore when, an hour later, two whiskered 
 Hessians galloped to the Gardners house, and went 
 clattering boisterously from room to room, they saw 
 
 95
 
 96 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 just what had been seen the day before; an old grand 
 mother sitting by her fire, a fair-haired girl opposite, 
 with her knitting, the same slender maiden who had 
 led them upstairs, and her buxom mother, whom it 
 would be farcical to suspect of masculinity. One of 
 the men leaned down to look closely into Grandmother 
 Gardner s face ; but her wrinkles were too genuine to 
 be suspected. And the men galloped away again, 
 their chagrin at finding no prisoner almost balanced 
 by their satisfaction in believing they had made no 
 mistake the day before. 
 
 Mr. Gardner and Phebe did not return till the next 
 day, and then they brought the reassuring news that 
 Lloyd was safe within the house of James Gardner. 
 
 " Uncle James was glad enough to shelter him," 
 Phebe told them ; " and we think Lloyd was made 
 none the worse by his journey." 
 
 But Mr. Gardner wore so grave a countenance that 
 Kitty feared there might be something wrong, after 
 all ; and later in the day Mrs. Gardner sighed so often, 
 and her usually cheerful face \vore so deep a gloom, 
 that Kitty wondered what could be the matter. 
 
 Not a sign of Aunt Joanna. She had evidently con 
 cluded to leave Kitty to her own devices. " I hope 
 she ll not come for you at all," Cicely said, "and then 
 we can keep you all winter."
 
 AT THE FARMHOUSE. 97 
 
 But Kitty looked grave. She was not altogether 
 satisfied at being entirely ignored, even though Cicely 
 was merry company. 
 
 That night when the two girls were cuddled down 
 in the big feather bed, a little sniffling sound from 
 Cicely told Kitty that her cousin was crying. She 
 snuggled up close, and put her arms around her bed 
 fellow. " What s the matter ?" she whispered. 
 
 " Oh, Kitty ! I never knew till bed-time what has 
 made father so solemn all day, and why mother has 
 seemed so worried. There is dreadful news from our 
 army. General Washington is in retreat. Many of his 
 men have left him because their term of enlistment is 
 over, and father thinks it looks very dark for the 
 patriots. He says the poor soldiers are almost naked. 
 There has been an appeal for more troops, and " and 
 here Cicely s feelings overcame her, and she sobbed 
 outright " father s going." 
 
 Kitty patted her gently. " Don t cry, Cicely ; don t 
 cry. Why, my father has been gone ever so long, and 
 I m proud of it. And Elspeth Ludlow has both a father 
 and a brother in the army, and she is as glad as need 
 be. If we are real true patriots w r e must not cry ; we 
 must be brave, too, and that helps. Father says the 
 women of New England did so much by encouraging 
 their men, and so we must try to do as much."
 
 98 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Oh, Kitty ! " Cicely grew quieter. " I am so glad 
 you are here. I will try to be brave, but it is all dread 
 ful, isn t it?" 
 
 "Of course; but tell me, who said your father was 
 going ? " 
 
 " Phebe. She says father and Uncle James talked 
 it all over. She says they both felt that they must 
 go, because men are nocking home now that their 
 time is up, and the few that are left are in great 
 straits, and that most every one thinks the cause is 
 lost." 
 
 " It isn t ! It isn t ! " Kitty clinched her fists fiercely. 
 " Oh, Cicely ! I wish I were a man, I d go. How 
 dreadful for the men to be such laggards. I am so 
 glad my own dear father is true and brave, and I m 
 glad yours is." 
 
 Thus comforted, Cicely felt more content at her 
 father s going, and when the next day Mr. Gardner 
 left his family, Kitty, with shining eyes, bade him good- 
 by, and sent messages to her father, if by chance 
 Mr. Gardner should see him. 
 
 And then Cicely, with tears rolling down her cheeks, 
 smiled, as she ran down to open the gate toward which 
 her father was slowly riding. " God speed you, father," 
 she said. "We re proud of you, Kitty and I are." 
 And there was a smile, too, on Mr. Gardner s face as
 
 AT THE FARMHOUSE. 99 
 
 he rode away, thinking that of all his family it was the 
 youngest who was the bravest. 
 
 And now the country was overrun with soldiers, and 
 terror lay in the hearts of those who dared by word 
 or deed to show sympathy with the American cause. 
 Dreadful deeds were constantly perpetrated by the 
 invading army, and the word Hessian became a syno 
 nym for cruelty. 
 
 "John Tucker tells me he will accept the- offer of 
 pardon which is held out to those who choose to return 
 to England s allegiance," announced Phebe at the sup 
 per table, on the day Mr. Gardner left home. There 
 was a curl of scorn on the girl s lips, and her delicate 
 nostrils dilated as she gave her head a little toss. 
 
 " Why, daughter ! " exclaimed Mrs. Gardner. 
 
 " Oh, he s not the only one," declared Phebe, lightly. 
 " The people are tumbling over each other in their 
 eagerness to subscribe to submission, if one may judge 
 by what our neighbors say. We shall soon be the only 
 patriots left in New Jersey, and will have to fight the 
 redcoats entirely by ourselves." There was a tinge 
 of bitterness in her laugh, as she laid her left hand 
 down upon the table that all might see that the little 
 ring which John Tucker had given her was missing. 
 
 "Oh, Phebe!" whispered Cicely, "you ve given back 
 your ring."
 
 TOO A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Phebe flashed on her a proud glance. " Do you sup 
 pose I care?" she said. "Do you suppose I d wed a 
 traitor, a turncoat, a weathercock in men s clothes?" 
 And then she jumped up from the table and fled from 
 the room. 
 
 " Poor, dear child," murmured Mrs. Gardner, " she 
 has a heavy trial to bear." 
 
 But Phebe carried her head high, and rebuffed any 
 attempt at condolence, only once she said to her mother, 
 " If he had died in battle I should have mourned him, 
 but I could be proud of him ; now he is dead to me, 
 but twould be to my shame to mourn him. But I can 
 be proud of father," she added, seeing the distressed 
 look on her mother s face. And she turned to her 
 work, humming a little tune, as if it mattered not much, 
 after all. 
 
 Mr. Gardner s departure left the family with plenty 
 to do. They were such avowed patriots that they 
 would hire no enemies to their cause, and employed 
 only the services of a little boy that they might save 
 more for their friends in the army. Kitty was in 
 structed in many useful directions ; she and Cicely took 
 the butter-making upon themselves, and with a big 
 checked apron under her chin, Kitty worked the dasher 
 of the big churn up and down, triumphant when the 
 butter gathered under her efforts. She helped Cicely
 
 AT THE FARMHOUSE. 1 01 
 
 in tending the stock and in milking, so that her pres 
 ence was one which would have been missed if she had 
 left her cousins. 
 
 At the end of a week came news from Mr. Gardner. 
 He was with the army. They had crossed the Dela 
 ware to the Pennsylvania side. He had seen both 
 Lloyd and Captain De Witt. Lloyd intended to re- 
 enlist as soon as he should be well enough. It was 
 not easy to get news, for the Hessians were every 
 where, and the Tories were greatly in evidence spying 
 and helping on the work of despoiling property. More 
 over, in his retreat, Washington had broken down the 
 bridges on the roads leading along the Jersey shore. 
 Mr. Gardner s messenger did not show his face, but 
 gave the letter into the hands of the little stable boy, 
 and disappeared without a word, and it was not till 
 long after that any of the family learned who he was. 
 
 " Do your best with the stock," Mr. Gardner wrote, 
 " and try to be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible. 
 These are dangerous times, and I am in fear and 
 trembling for your safety." 
 
 "We don t do anything to injure any one. None 
 could be more peaceable. There are no men about, 
 and surely they will not want to fight women," said 
 Cicely confidently. 
 
 " But it is just when one feels safest that danger is
 
 102 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 often near, and these are dark, dark hours," said Mrs. 
 Gardner. She looked troubled, and every now and 
 then glanced out of the window as if fearing some 
 terror from without. But the days passed quietly 
 till the time drew near to Christmas. Every little 
 while reports of what was being done by the Hessians 
 or the British came to the ears of those in the quiet 
 farmhouse, but, so far, they had been unmolested. 
 Active patriotism seemed almost a forgotten quality, 
 only in the hearts of a few did its fires burn brightly, 
 and these few chafed and despaired, groaning in 
 spirit when they heard the words of derision for the 
 "ragged rebels," \vho had been driven across Jersey 
 and were now posted on the other side of the river. 
 
 Rail, the Hessian Colonel, was stationed at Trenton ; 
 Von Donop at Bordentown. Congress had adjourned 
 to Baltimore. There was a panic in Philadelphia, for 
 it was expected the British would invade that city 
 without delay, and those who were not of the loyalist 
 party were removing their goods and chattels, and 
 getting out of town as fast as they could. 
 
 Kitty wondered and wondered why no news came 
 from her family. She was without even a change of 
 clothing, and had to depend upon her cousins to 
 supply her. This they were more than willing to do, 
 but the little girl felt uneasy and longed to hear some-
 
 AT THE FARMHOUSE. IO3 
 
 thing of the mother who had grown so near and dear 
 to her in these months. 
 
 " Your Aunt Joanna is in a high feather," Mrs. 
 Gardner told Kitty. " I hear that she is in Borden- 
 town, and that one of the Hessian officers shows her 
 much favor." 
 
 " And she doesn t know nor care what has become 
 of me. She is a strange person, is Aunt Joanna, she 
 is so fierce and peppery ; and yet I think she used to 
 love me well, but she cannot bear that any one should 
 thwart her. I wish she would send my clothing to 
 me, or that I could hear from my father and mother. 
 I fear my mother has never received the letter I wrote 
 her." 
 
 " Art homesick, little Kitty ? " said Mrs. Gardner, 
 stepping back from her spinning-wheel. 
 
 Kitty shook her head. " I am much more content 
 here than I could be with my aunt, but I wish this 
 dreadful war were over, and I again in our dear home 
 in New York. Christmas is coming near, and we used 
 to make much of it, after the fashion of our Dutch 
 ancestors. This year twill be gloomy enough for 
 us all." 
 
 " It will, I fear. We grow poorer and poorer, with 
 this soldiery preying constantly upon us." 
 
 "I hear," said Phebe, coming in, "that Lord Corn-
 
 104 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 wallis has threatened to burn the handsome house of 
 the Bordens, but promised to spare it if Mrs. Borden 
 would persuade her husband and son to desert to the 
 British side." 
 
 "And what did she say?" asked Kitty. 
 
 " That she would rejoice to see her home in flames, 
 if so it would be prevented from falling into the hands 
 of the British." 
 
 Kitty softly clapped her hands. " Good ! " she 
 exclaimed. 
 
 It was growing dark, and the fire, flickering in the 
 great fireplace, made fantastic shadows in the corners 
 of the big room. The soft whirr of the wheel, and the 
 ticking of the tall clock, added to the cosiness of the 
 homely scene. It seemed very quiet and peaceful, 
 and yet how near was war and destruction. 
 
 Kitty, from her place on the settle, saw a wavering 
 shadow at the window. Was it cast by the branches 
 of the tree outside ? Suddenly it disappeared. Kitty 
 watched, half-curious, a little afraid. 
 
 Phebe left the kitchen to take her grandmother s 
 supper. Cicely was in the buttery. Mrs. Gardner had 
 stepped into the next room, when Kitty heard a tap- 
 tapping at the small-paned window. Fearfully she 
 went toward it. A hand waved her toward the door, 
 and afraid to obey the summons, yet fearing not to,
 
 AT THE FARMHOUSE. 1 05 
 
 she went to the door. A figure of a man shrouded 
 in a cloak thrust a paper into her hand, and instantly 
 he was gone. 
 
 Kitty was still looking wonderingly at the paper, 
 when Mrs. Gardner returned. " What a draught of 
 cold air," she remarked. "Ah me! tis a bitter win 
 ter. Our poor men ! our poor men ! What have you 
 there that you stare at so, Kitty ? " And the girl told 
 her what had happened. 
 
 Mrs. Gardner took the paper, which read : " Be on 
 your guard. If possible, get away from the neighbor 
 hood. The British will not be long in sending a for 
 aging party, who will rob you of what is left you." 
 
 " What does this mean ? Who could have brought 
 it ! It seems a feigned hand, and yet half familiar," 
 Mrs. Gardner said. " I wish I knew if it were but a 
 threat or a real warning." But, intending to be on the 
 safe side, she sent the little herd of cattle next morn 
 ing to the woods ; and not long after a body of horse 
 men came galloping into the yard. They made a 
 tour of the barn and outhouses, took off all the corn 
 not concealed, and then advanced toward the house. 
 
 " You have a spy here," said the foremost, as he 
 strode into the kitchen. 
 
 " Indeed we have not," replied Cicely, indignantly. 
 
 "Cease your clatter, wench," said the man threat-
 
 106 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 eningly. " Watch her, men, and search the house. 
 Here, no running off to apprise your wretched rebel 
 spy," as Kitty moved toward the door. " Guard this 
 one, Kirchmer. Once we find our man, we ll hang him 
 high as Haman." And, flinging open doors, the men 
 began their search, coolly appropriating anything to 
 which they took a fancy. 
 
 " But we have no one concealed," Mrs. Gardner in 
 sisted. 
 
 " We know better ; you are a set of rebels, and 
 one of your ilk was hanging around last night. We 
 have tracked his footprints on the snow to the house." 
 
 "Oh!" Kitty gasped. 
 
 " Out with it. Give him up, and w r e will leave you." 
 
 " I do not know. Some one whom I could not dis 
 tinguish did come last night and left a billet for 
 Mrs. Gardner ; but he went away again directly. I 
 know not in what direction." 
 
 She was evidently speaking the truth, and the offi 
 cer looked puzzled. 
 
 "Where is the note?" 
 
 " It was of a personal nature, and is burned," replied 
 Mrs. Gardner calmly. 
 
 " Go out and examine those footprints, and see where 
 they disappear," the officer ordered one of his men. 
 
 The soldier obeyed, and returned, saying they ended
 
 AT THE FARMHOUSE. 1 07 
 
 at the house. But all searching availed nothing; and 
 the officer, with his men, enraged at their failure to find 
 whom they sought, slashed their swords right and left 
 into whatever came in their way, and departed with 
 their plunder after many threats of what they would do 
 to the man they wanted, once they had captured him.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. 
 
 THE next morning early, just as Kitty and Cicely 
 had finished milking, and were about to drive 
 the cows to their retreat in the woods, they heard 
 the sound of approaching soldiers. 
 
 The two girls looked at each other, and ran to the 
 fence of the field through which the cattle were 
 slowly moving. 
 
 " Oh, they are going to take our cattle, I am 
 afraid," said Cicely in dismay. 
 
 " Don t let s allow it," said Kitty, fiercely. 
 
 " How can we help it, just we two girls ? " 
 
 " We can go drive the cattle up, and then, maybe, 
 they won t come after them." 
 
 " Oh, would you dare do it ? " 
 
 Kitty nodded, and Cicely, not to be outdone, began 
 to let down the bars, calling the big collie dog from 
 the house step. He came bounding and barking 
 toward them. "Go for them, Don, go! " cried Cicely, 
 and at the same time she and Kitty ran forward. 
 
 1 08
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. I(X) 
 
 "Stop there, or we ll fire," came from the road, 
 where the body of soldiers had halted. 
 
 " Fire, if you will," cried Kitty, defiantly. " It would 
 show great bravery." 
 
 " Don t let them get away, Don," called Cicely, and 
 the brave dog rushed around and rounded up his 
 herd in fine style. 
 
 Again the men shouted : " Leave those cattle, or 
 we ll fire ! " 
 
 Again Kitty turned from driving a refractory cow 
 which didn t want to go into the barnyard. " Fire, 
 if you came to shoot down girls," she retorted ; and 
 the bullets began to fly, while Don tried in vain to 
 keep the terrified cattle in a bunch. 
 
 Presently the dog gave a sharp yelp, and fell, then 
 rose again and limped toward Cicely, who, in her ter 
 ror and at sight of Don s wound, \vas almost beside 
 herself. 
 
 And now one after another of the soldiers came 
 through the gap which they had made in the fence. 
 They had stopped firing, and, indeed, had not in 
 tended to hit any one. 
 
 "Take Don to the house, and I ll drive up the 
 cattle the rest of the way," cried Kitty, for the first 
 of the creatures had gone through the bars, and the 
 others were following at a frightened, clumsy gallop.
 
 I 10 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Cicely led Don along as well as she could, but one 
 shot was fired after them. It struck the barn and 
 glanced off ; but Kitty began furtively to wipe a 
 stain of blood from her face as she put up the bars 
 and stood, a courageous, undaunted little figure, white 
 as death, but with a red stream trickling down her 
 cheek. Her blue eyes flashed, her fair hair, loosened 
 from its braids, floated down her back. She spread 
 her arms wide across the bars and faced the first 
 redcoat who came toward her. " What will you 
 have?" she asked shrilly. "What do you want?" 
 
 "We don t want to hurt pretty girls," replied the 
 young officer, impudently. Then, seriously, " Why, 
 you are hit I didn t intend " A flush of shame 
 came over his face. 
 
 " I suppose you intended to fight women, since 
 there are no men about," replied Kitty, mockingly. 
 "What a brave set you are, to be sure. Twenty, 
 are you ? big brave men against two little girls ! 
 That s valor for you. I congratulate George Third 
 on the quality of his troops ! " 
 
 The officer looked at her in silence. Then he 
 turned away and gave the order to march. At the 
 gap in the fence he looked back to see a little figure 
 still standing with arms across the bars ; and she did 
 not budge till the last redcoat was out of sight.
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. Ill 
 
 Repeated calls came to her from the house, but she 
 heeded them not ; and finally Mrs. Gardner came 
 out to her. 
 
 "They are gone really gone!" she exclaimed. 
 "And why, Kitty, child, you are hurt!" 
 
 Kitty looked at her in a dazed sort of way, and 
 dropped in a little heap on the ground. 
 
 When she opened her eyes, she was lying on a 
 settle in the big kitchen, Don, with his leg bound 
 up, on the hearth beside her, Mrs. Gardner and the 
 girls anxiously bending over her, one chafing her 
 hands, another bathing her forehead, and a third 
 moving burnt feathers before her nostrils. 
 
 " There, she is opening her eyes," Cicely said with 
 satisfaction. " Are you much hurt, Kitty ? " 
 
 Kitty smiled. " No, I am not hurt at all, am I ? 
 It was Don." 
 
 "The bullet just grazed her temple," said Mrs. 
 Gardner. " It isn t at all a deep wound, but it will 
 leave a little scar, I am afraid." 
 
 "Oh, will it?" said Kitty, trying to sit up. "Then 
 I can show it to Elspeth and to father. I m so 
 glad." 
 
 Every one laughed, but Mrs. Gardner, checking 
 herself, said gravely, " It came within a hair s-breadth 
 of being your death, Kitty. You had a great deliver-
 
 112 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 ance. All the cattle in the world were not worth 
 your life. You should not have been so very, very 
 defiant." 
 
 " But we saved the cattle," said Cicely exultantly, 
 " although dear old Don is wounded. But I think he 
 will get over it. There seem to be no bones shattered, 
 and we have sent Joe for old Moses Farrell, the horse 
 doctor. Oh, Kitty, I thought you were dead when 
 mother brought you in. Weren t you fearfully scared 
 when those bullets began to fly ? I was, and indeed, 
 I didn t mean to leave you out there alone. I didn t 
 know just what I was doing ; and when you told me 
 to bring Don to the house, I simply brought him." 
 
 "That was exactly right," replied Kitty. "One 
 girl against all those soldiers was a little too great 
 odds, even for a redcoat, and I believe they were 
 shamed out of their intention by my facing them. 
 Father always used to tell me when I was little, and 
 used to be afraid in the dark, that the best way was 
 to face whatever frightened me, and in time I would 
 overcome my fears. So I learned to do it, and am 
 afraid of few things now. I used to be afraid even 
 of cows." 
 
 "Well, you certainly were not to-day," laughed 
 Cicely. 
 
 " Oh, I was, but I wouldn t let myself be a coward."
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. 113 
 
 "Only a cow herd," returned Cieely, again dimpling. 
 
 " There ! there ! have done with your paltry jokes, 
 Cissy," Mrs. Gardner enjoined. " Kitty looks quite 
 weak and pale. We ought all to be in safer parts. 
 There, Kitty, dear, don t cry ; you shall not be harmed 
 if I can help it," for now the reaction having set in, 
 Kitty was crying hysterically. 
 
 "Hark!" cried Cicely, suddenly. 
 
 " Oh ! is it the soldiers coming back ? " inquired 
 Kitty, raising herself on her elbow, looking very pale 
 under her bandages. 
 
 There was a sound of wheels ; some vehicle stopped 
 at the door, and all looked at each other in terror. 
 Was this some new disaster ? 
 
 Cicely answered the rap which was heard at the 
 door of the next room ; but there was no tramp of 
 heavy boots, nor the clank of swords. Instead, Kitty 
 heard the swish of silks, and a little cry of pity and 
 love, as the door opened, and, with hands outstretched, 
 her mother came running toward her, dropping on 
 her knees by the settle, and murmuring, " My little 
 girl ! My dear little daughter ! " 
 
 Pretty Mistress De Witt, in her handsome gown, 
 her gorgeous quilted petticoat, and her rich cloak, 
 was an unexpected and unusual figure in the country 
 kitchen, and Kitty, beyond her joy, was very proud
 
 114 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 of this lovely young mother, who petted her and 
 murmured comforting words to her. 
 
 " My poor little poppet ! my little lambkin ! what a 
 wretched mother am I to have allowed you to go so 
 far from me, and to get into all this trouble. Why 
 is your head bound up, and why are you so pale, 
 lambie ? " 
 
 And then Cicely spoke up and told of Kitty s 
 adventure, while Mrs. De Witt turned red and white 
 by turns. 
 
 "The miscreants!" she exclaimed, clinching her 
 hands, "the cowards, to fire on a defenceless girl! I 
 shall tell some of their fine generals what I think of 
 them. Are you able to travel, my love ? A poor sort 
 of a guardian is that aunt of yours oh" she 
 stopped, blushing. " Oh, I beg your pardon," she 
 said ; " I meant no reproach to you who have been 
 my Kitty s best friends ; what would she have done 
 but for your kindness. You have all shown such 
 goodness to my little lambkin, and she has shown 
 herself to be a brave daughter of a brave father, who 
 will add his thanks to mine for your sweet hospitality." 
 Her words and her manner were so gracious that the 
 girls fell in love with her then and there. 
 
 " Don t take me to Aunt Joanna," begged Kitty 
 wistfully.
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. 115 
 
 " Indeed no ! To Philadelphia will we go, as 
 straight as we can make it. Where is Christopher? 
 He would come with us, whether or no, and now let 
 us bundle off, and you can tell me all that has been 
 going on. How did I happen to find you? I had 
 not heard from you in so long a time I became 
 anxious, and started to hunt up your Aunt Joanna, 
 who told me of your escape from her. Why did you 
 not trust your mother, and write to her of your plight ? " 
 
 "But I did," Kitty told her. 
 
 " Never a word have I heard," Mrs. De Witt assured 
 her. 
 
 A little later, therefore, snugly tucked in by Chris 
 topher, anxious and solicitous, Kitty drove away with 
 her mother in the sleigh which the snowy roads made 
 possible to use. There were promises of frequent 
 letters from Phebe and Cicely, and oft-repeated good- 
 bys, but Kitty, as she took her departure, felt that 
 after all patriotism had few benefits to bestow, com 
 pared to the luxuries which awaited her in the Tory 
 household to which she was returning. She was weak 
 and faint, and her wounded head ached badly. The 
 long journey, although made as rapidly and as com 
 fortably as possible, seemed tedious. Her hands were 
 hot, and she did not feel inclined to talk much, but only 
 answered the questions put to her.
 
 Il6 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 It was after night when they reached Philadelphia, 
 and drew up before Mrs. Rush s door. 
 
 " I ve brought you a sick little girl, I m afraid, 
 Lavinia," said Mrs. De Witt. And, indeed, Kitty, 
 coming into the warm room out of the cold, saw 
 dancing andirons, wavering sconces, and reeling chairs 
 and tables, and she sank down in a faint, the second 
 time in her experience. 
 
 "Poor little love," said good-hearted Mrs. Rush. 
 " Carry her right upstairs, Christopher." And uncon 
 scious little Kitty was borne up the stairway in Chris 
 topher s arms, and deposited safely in her mother s 
 room, where warming-pans, and blankets, hot drinks, 
 and such things were brought into requisition, and at 
 last she fell asleep. But all through the night she gave 
 little starts and moans, crying out, " I won t be afraid, 
 father! I ll try not !" 
 
 "Oh, how have I betrayed my husband s trust," 
 whispered Mrs. De Witt, with wet eyes. " He gave 
 her to me to care for, and how have I been false to her. 
 I have let her go from me into such danger -and oh, 
 Lavinia, where is my husband this winter night ? " 
 
 It was on Mrs. Rush s tongue to say, " Where you 
 might have expected him to be when you married a 
 rebel," but her sister s distress was too genuine, and 
 she, herself, was too tender-hearted to twit her ; there-
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. 117 
 
 fore she tried to offer comfort by saying, "No doubt 
 Paul is comfortably quartered, and as for Kitty, she 
 will be all right in the morning ; if not we will send for 
 the doctor." 
 
 But Kitty was not better, and it was many weeks 
 before she left her bed. 
 
 On Christmas night, when her father, facing the 
 storm of snow and sleet, crossed with Washington the 
 ice-filled Delaware to surprise the Hessians at Trenton 
 next morning, Kitty was still murmuring, " I won t be 
 afraid, father ! " and her father little knew that, de 
 spite storm and stress, despite the hazard of battle, 
 he was safer than his young daughter, whose feet 
 seemed slipping down into darker waters than those 
 through which he was passing that Christmas night 
 of 1776. 
 
 But just after dawn, when the gallant troops of 
 General Washington found a footing on the Jersey 
 shore, after their night of desperate struggle, just then 
 did Kitty, too, find her way up from the Valley of 
 Shadow, and her faint little voice said, " Father! " Then 
 she looked around and saw where she was, and smiled. 
 The crisis was over for her, and the morning that 
 brought the thrilling news of victory obtained by the 
 Continentals, brought such glad news to the anxious 
 household, that no one paid much attention to the
 
 Il8 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 astounding" account of Washington s venture, nor cared 
 much that there had been a thousand prisoners taken, 
 with as many stands of arms. 
 
 Christopher, even, forgot to tell the news till the next 
 morning after he heard it, so concerned was he about 
 Kitty. 
 
 " What she needs now is good nursing. Unless she 
 has a relapse she will pull through," announced the 
 doctor. " But she must be kept carefully from excite 
 ment." And so to the sick room came none of the 
 reports of those gallant deeds which stirred anew the 
 hearts of a despondent people, and it was not till a 
 letter came to Kitty, written by her father from the 
 camp at Morristown a month later, that she heard of 
 the victory of Trenton, and that the question of sub 
 mission to the king was not so often brought up by 
 those who, a couple of months previous, had declared 
 nothing else was possible. 
 
 But Kitty was too weak and too content in the life 
 of a convalescent, whose horizon ended with the walls 
 of her room, to worry much over anything except 
 her meals as her appetite returned. She became 
 somewhat fretful, as was natural, when she grew 
 strong enough to employ her hands a little. 
 
 " I am weary of forever stitching samplers," she said 
 one day. " I would I had some other employment."
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. 1 19 
 
 " Should you like to piece a quilt ? Sister Lavinia 
 has many rarely pretty pieces and a stock of patterns. 
 If you like not Rising Sun or Job s Trouble, you 
 might use Dove in the Window or Rose of Sharon." 
 
 " I wearied of quilt-piecing long ago, when my 
 aunt so severely kept me at my task, and I was 
 longing to run in the garden. Nay, I think I care 
 not to begin a quilt." 
 
 " Then shall I teach you to cut a handsome watch 
 paper ? " 
 
 " For my father ? " 
 
 "Yes, if you like; or for Christopher. 
 
 "Oh, Christopher! he tries me," returned Kitty, 
 pettishly. 
 
 " Oh, Kitty ! and he is so fond of you. You do 
 not know how good he has been, scarce budging 
 from the house when you were so ill." 
 
 " He scarce budges now," replied Kitty. " I wish 
 he would do so oftener." 
 
 "An ill humor is what we allow invalids," returned 
 her mother, gayly. " Come, here is a fair bit of silver 
 paper ; what will you choose ? See, here is one of 
 two doves within this pretty wreath ; should you like 
 that? Perhaps it is too ambitious for you. You 
 can try this sweet rose garland, or this single rose as 
 a first attempt, and we will make it to fit exactly
 
 120 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 your father s watchcase." So, for that day, Kitty 
 amused herself in cutting watch papers. 
 
 Christopher, coming in, begged for one ; but Kitty 
 was contrary, and refused. Another day, however, 
 she set to work, and cut one which she presented to 
 the young man with a flourish, watching mischiev 
 ously to see the effect of the words which surrounded 
 the rose. 
 
 "Give me liberty, or give me death," read Christo 
 pher, and then he grew very red in the face. " Your 
 rose carries its own thorn, Kitty," he remarked, mak 
 ing a movement as if he would return the watch 
 paper. 
 
 " I never saw a rose without a thorn," was Kitty s 
 reply. 
 
 " Sometimes they seem made on purpose to prick 
 those to whom they are offered." 
 
 " Then tis one s own fault. He need not accept 
 it, and, in sooth, I would rather you did not have it, 
 since you can appreciate neither rose nor sentiment. 
 Give it back to me." 
 
 "That will not I." 
 
 " Twas made for another, I have discovered. You 
 would not accept an unwilling gift, nor one that is 
 intended for another destination than your pocket." 
 
 " I would have anything you give me."
 
 HOW KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. 121 
 
 " I do not give it. If you keep it, tis against my 
 wish, Christopher handed back the paper and left 
 the room, whereupon Miss Kitty sat her down to 
 write a letter to Cicely. 
 
 The two girls had sworn eternal friendship. Not 
 that Kitty had forgotten Elspeth, but she was enter 
 ing upon a romantic period, and in those days an 
 extreme sentimentality was encouraged. High-flown 
 expressions, romantic epithets, abounded ; therefore, 
 Cicely and Kitty had agreed to address each other 
 by the names of Euphemia and Leonora. 
 
 "Mv BELOVED EUPHEMIA:" -began Kitty s let 
 ter. " I wrote you some time since, when I was yet 
 languishing upon a bed of sickness, but now it is my 
 delight to tell you I am sitting up and dressed as 
 becomes a Christian and a recovered person. I am 
 able to receive visits, and little Mary Zane has been 
 to see me often, also some of my mother s friends. 
 A Miss Franks and a Miss Wister are very lively 
 bodies, but I liked not their laughing at our troops. 
 Little Mary, although her father is a Tory, says not 
 unkind things, and I like much to hear her thees 
 and thous. Of other visitors, my lord Christopher 
 makes his bow at my door each day, with an inquiry 
 after my health. He casts the same languishing 
 glances as ever. 1 have told you how your dear
 
 122 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 calves reminded me of him, yet methinks, I was 
 fonder of the calves, which, alas, are no more, for 
 you say those miscreant Hessians robbed you of 
 every hoof. Oh, Euphemia, I must tell you that my 
 mother and Mrs. Rush are going to a frolick to-night, 
 and they will present a splendid appearance. My 
 mother will wear her pink lutestring over her flowered 
 brocade, and her hair is dressed monstrous high. My 
 father being safe in Morristown, my mother feels 
 that she need not give up frolicks altogether, al 
 though many a pretty rout has she missed since my 
 illness. Oh, Euphemia! you know not what an 
 angel of light she has been to me. I love her more 
 than ever. 
 
 " Master Christopher came in to-day, and told me 
 he had been riding all morning, having been in at 
 tendance at a wedding, and what with calling at the 
 groom s house, and being on hand every evening with 
 the bridesmaids at the tea-party, he said he felt as 
 if he were turning into a tea-pot. Law, Euphemia, 
 it would not be hard to imagine him such a shape ; 
 he does not grow more slender. I, myself, prefer a 
 fairly slender youth. And that reminds me, I enclose 
 a watch paper, which I would like you, at your first 
 opportunity, to convey to Eerdinand ! Tell him not 
 who sends it, as you love me. Ah me, Euphemia ! I
 
 now KITTY DEFIED THE REDCOATS. 123 
 
 would I could this moment be gazing into your true 
 and loving orbs, and be telling you of the devotion 
 
 of your convalescing 
 
 " LEONORA. 
 
 " P.S. I forgot to say that my mother is having 
 made for me a sweet blue taffety, vastly becoming I 
 assure you. Christopher says the bride was kissed 
 upward of a hundred times by the masculines who 
 called. Tis not a custom I should like. Perhaps I 
 
 shall never be called on to endure it. 
 
 "L." 
 
 Having thus entertained herself, Kitty felt that she 
 had done enough for one day. She was satisfied that 
 she had written a very elegant epistle, and curled up 
 to take her nap, conscious of having not only done 
 her duty, but of having written so fairly as to deserve 
 Cicely s admiration. It was a funny letter for a girl 
 of fifteen to write, and if Cicely had been present, 
 the conversation between the two would have been of 
 a very different character. However, Kitty did not 
 think of that, and went to sleep, thoroughly satisfied.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 
 
 IT was now late in February. Since Christmas what 
 wonders had the Continental Army wrought ! 
 Impoverished and illy-regulated, ragged and barefoot, 
 they had marched to victory at Trenton ; met the re 
 serves of Cornwallis at Princeton and routed them ; 
 skirmished through Jersey ; gained possession of 
 Newark, Elizabethtown, and Woodbridge ; and had 
 driven the afflicting Hessians to Staten Island. Of all 
 the brilliant records of the war nothing exceeds Wash 
 ington s tactics in the Jersey campaign, when, in three 
 weeks, he gathered up his broken army, fought 
 two battles, and gained anew his hold of New Jersey, 
 after taking two thousand prisoners. Beyond this, 
 he had established himself as such a general as his 
 enemies were learning to fear, and in whom his par 
 tisans could repose trust. And, despite the dark 
 hours which the near future brought, the real power 
 of the man began to show itself in the winter of 76, 
 and grew in strength until the culminating affair of 
 
 Yorktown. 
 
 124
 
 SHE REACHED THE DOOR SEVERAL GENTLEMEN PASSED OUT. 1
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 125 
 
 By the first of April Kitty was able to go out of 
 doors, and glad enough she was to do so, even with 
 Christopher as an escort. 
 
 " But I shall not feel quite well till I can go out 
 alone," she persisted to her mother. "Send me an 
 errand that I may feel I am no longer an invalid." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt laughed. "Very good. I ll send 
 you forth at once. Do you know where Mistress 
 Betsey Ross lives, on Arch Street?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, I do. I have been there several times 
 with you. She is the finest sempstress in Philadelphia, 
 I have heard it said." 
 
 " Yes, she is indeed a most accomplished needle 
 woman. Even your dignified General Washington 
 must think so, since he employs her to make the 
 embroidery of his shirt-ruffles. Go you to her, Miss 
 Kitty, and ask if she can embroider me a kerchief such 
 as she has done for my sister, Mrs. Rush." 
 
 Kitty made her way blithely to the little two-story 
 house where Betsey Ross lived. As she reached the 
 door several gentlemen passed out. One of command 
 ing presence, and with penetrating blue eyes, looked 
 keenly at the little maid who stood hesitatingly before 
 the door. Kitty s heart beat as she saw they were 
 American officers. She thought the tall man in buff 
 and blue might even be General Washington. All her
 
 126 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 dormant patriotism, which had remained in abeyance 
 during her illness, seemed to rise to new life. She 
 stood still with clasped hands, watching the men out 
 of sight, before she entered Betsey Ross s little shop. 
 
 She found the Quakeress in more of a flutter than 
 was usually displayed by the serene Friend, and as 
 Kitty gave her message she shook her head. " Tell 
 thy mother to undertake the kerchief that I cannot 
 do, for I am over busied at present. Thou art pale, 
 Katherine De Witt. Thy mother, I remember, told 
 me of thy illness. Art thou quite well again ? " 
 
 " Yes, ma am, but I need the fresh air to give me 
 back my Dutch cheeks, as my father calls them. But 
 will you tell me, those gentlemen those officers, 
 was any one of them General Washington?" 
 
 " Thou hast guessed rightly. The dignified one with 
 the prominent nose was he. He is one of my best 
 customers, and has given me a fair commission." 
 
 Kitty thought of the embroidered shirt-ruffles. She 
 was ready to hear more, but did not like to be curious. 
 
 "But," continued Betsey Ross, "thy friends are not 
 favorable to George Washington if thou art a niece to 
 Lavinia Rush." 
 
 "But I am not; her sister did but marry my father, 
 and he, my father, is a brave captain under General 
 Washington. Oh, I would that I might touch with my
 
 BETSEY ROSS. I2/ 
 
 I 
 
 own hand the fine needlework that you are doing for 
 General Washington. I should like to think he were 
 wearing something that had been in my hands." She 
 looked so eager and wistful that Mrs. Ross smiled. 
 
 " Tis an odd conceit of thine, but perhaps I can 
 humor it. Thou shalt see what I am making, if thou 
 art so good a patriot. Thou knowest we Free Quakers 
 are so too. Step into this inner room. There, look 
 at this little pencil sketch ; twas done by George 
 Washington, and I am to make a flag according to his 
 directions from this. I think there will be some slight 
 difference from this sketch, but thou canst see what 
 it is like, and here is a set of shirts nearly finished, 
 which thou canst examine, and canst say that thou hast 
 helped to make, if thou dost wish. Canst set a pretty 
 even stitch ?" 
 
 " I think so. I have been carefully taught. Do you 
 mean I may set a stitch myself ? " Her cheeks glowed 
 with delight. 
 
 " If it please thee, and thou canst do it well. Here, 
 along this bit of linen, just there." 
 
 Kitty took the needle and, oh so carefully, took the 
 most minute stitch of which she was capable. 
 
 " Thou hast done well," declared Mrs. Ross, " and 
 now, thou canst have the pleasure of knowing that 
 George Washington will wear this."
 
 128 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " And," Kitty presumed on this affability to ask fur 
 ther, "when the flag is finished, may I see it ? " 
 
 " If it would please thee so greatly, thou shalt see it, 
 and when thou art passing this way again, come in and 
 see how we progress with the work." 
 
 Kitty gave fervent thanks for the invitation, and 
 went home with such sparkling eyes that Mrs. De Witt 
 declared that she looked as if her walk alone had, 
 indeed, done her good. 
 
 " Your father has sent us a letter by messenger, but 
 my sister likes not to harbor rebels under her roof, so 
 I asked him not to stay," Mrs. De Witt told Kitty. 
 " He will come again this evening, for he returns to 
 night, and we must have our own letters ready to give 
 him. Say naught to any one of who he is, nor from 
 whence he came. It is not best to tell all one knows." 
 
 Kitty nodded understandingly. " But I should like 
 to see him," she said, "I should like to ask and hear 
 about my father. Did he tell you his name ? " 
 
 " Tis John Tucker." 
 
 Kitty repeated the name wonderingly. " John Tucker ! 
 why, he is a recreant, a turncoat or perhaps he is 
 not the same. John Tucker is not an unusual name, 
 is it?" 
 
 " No, a very usual one. Do you know this young 
 man ? "
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 129 
 
 " I cannot tell ; " and then she gave an account of 
 Phebe and her lover, and of his accepting the protec 
 tion offered loyalists. " So it cannot be he, unless he 
 prove a spy, and how dreadful that would be," she 
 concluded. " But may I see him ? " 
 
 " I think you may. I shall receive him in the 
 drawing-room, for my sister has gone to visit with 
 some of her friends. You may watch for the young 
 man, and let me know when he comes." 
 
 And therefore Kitty, at the appointed time, took 
 her station at one of the windows. It was not long 
 before a young man in rough homespun came up the 
 steps. There was something familiar about his figure, 
 but Kitty decided it must be the messenger from her 
 father, and went to open the door. 
 
 The young man started as he saw her. 
 
 " I am Captain De Witt s daughter ; you need not 
 fear," said the girl reassuringly. " Come in, I will 
 acquaint my mother of your coming." 
 
 The young man seemed uneasy under Kitty s close 
 scrutiny, for she was trying to decide if he could be 
 Phebe s quondam lover. Presently she blurted out, 
 " Do you know my cousins, Cicely and Phebe Gard 
 ner, in New Jersey, near Crosswicks ? " 
 
 The young man was silent for a moment, then he 
 replied in a low tone, " I did know them."
 
 I3O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Ob, then you are the John Tucker," - Kitty 
 paused ; the situation was slightly embarrassing. " But 
 I I thought," she went on, " oh, you are not a spy, 
 they I should feel so dreadfully if you were." 
 
 He smiled a little sadly. " I m no spy, and you 
 need have no fear." 
 
 " But I thought we thought Phebe said you 
 had gone over to the enemy." 
 
 " I did not go. I intended to, that I might protect 
 myself and my property, but never mind why I 
 didn t. Please do not tell them yet. I can trust you. 
 I remember all I have heard of you and I have 
 seen you before." 
 
 " Me ? " 
 
 " Yes ; do you remember the night I brought the 
 note?" 
 
 "Was it you? I m so glad I know. I wish I 
 could tell ; but I won t, if you say I mustn t. We 
 mustn t tell all we know, must we ? Mother says not ; 
 but I should like to know how you managed to hide 
 your tracks." 
 
 " I climbed the porch post to the big tree, and 
 from that I reached the roof, and got across that to 
 the other side. It isn t far to the ground, and I 
 dropped into the snow. After that I walked along 
 by the fence till I reached the orchard. I rolled
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 131 
 
 from the house to the fence, so there were no foot 
 prints that side." 
 
 Kitty clapped her hands softly, " How clever ! " 
 
 " But I did not think of the house being searched, 
 as I heard it was. I would have spared you all that." 
 
 " We were very glad no one was hidden, but, oh 
 dear ! I know you are in a hurry. I must call 
 mother, but there are so many things I want to ask, 
 only maybe I d better not, for I might be too anxious 
 to tell if I knew, so I ll ask no more questions." And 
 she ran to summon her mother, who had a short con 
 ference with the young man, and sent him off with 
 the letters she and Kitty had made ready. 
 
 After John had disappeared into the night, Mrs. 
 De Witt gave a sigh, and threw her arms around 
 Kitty. " I am a sad coward," she said. " Aren t you 
 shamed in having such a frivolous trifler of a mamma, 
 Kitty ? Methinks were I made of sterner stuff you 
 and I would not be sitting here ; but, alack-a-day ! I 
 was never meant for a heroine, and I care more for 
 the silk-lined life of ease than for the rough road of 
 heroism. Yet, Kitty, I love you well. And your 
 father, do you not think I love him ? " 
 
 " Not so well as I do," returned Kitty, stoutly. 
 
 Her mother gave her a little squeeze. "Why say 
 so?"
 
 132 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Because you would stand up for his cause if you 
 did." 
 
 " Did I not tell you I was a coward ? Yet, per 
 chance, some day I will rise to an emergency and 
 prove my affection. This waxes into a stubborn fight, 
 despite the gloryings of such as your Aunt Joanna. 
 She finds it hard, by the way, to forgive you for run 
 ning away from her, despite my tale of your grievous 
 illness ; yet she softened somewhat at my account of 
 your pale cheeks. Come, what will you give in ex 
 change for a piece of news ? " 
 
 Kitty considered for a moment before she said : 
 "A pretty story I heard this morning of a maid s 
 bravery." 
 
 "Then tell me your story and I ll tell you my 
 news." 
 
 " It was little Mary Zane who told me of her 
 cousin, Elizabeth Zane, who has gone with her two 
 brothers to Virginia. The Indians attacked the set 
 tlers, who were gathered in a fort ; Fort Henry, 
 I think, was the name of it. The garrison fought 
 bravely, but suddenly their ammunition gave out, and 
 it seemed that they would have to surrender unless 
 they could get more. There was a keg of powder 
 in a house a short distance off, and Elizabeth insisted 
 upon being the one who should go and get it ; and,
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 133 
 
 finally, the officers consented to let her make the 
 attempt. She reached the house without arousing sus 
 picion, but as she was coming back with the keg of 
 powder, they fired upon her ; but she reached the fort in 
 safety, and saved it. Was not that a brave girl ? Ah, 
 how terrible it must have been to go flying along with 
 that keg of powder, and those savages firing upon her." 
 
 Mrs. Be Witt put her cheek down against Kitty s 
 soft hair. " I know another girl who was brave when 
 bullets were flying. Did you tell me that story be 
 cause I am such a coward ? But now for my news. 
 Your Aunt Joanna is to be married shortly. Surely 
 the widows have the better chance." 
 
 "My aunt marry; and whom?" 
 
 " Some one you will like well to call uncle, I 
 fancy." Mrs. De Witt s light laugh rang out merrily. 
 "A Hessian officer." 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 " I said it would please you." 
 
 " But it does not. Yet I do not so much care, 
 since my aunt is violently opposed to one whom she 
 once professed to love well." 
 
 " You do not need her love. Your father and 
 mother can give you more. The camp at Morristown 
 will soon be broken up, I hear, and we may soon 
 see your father."
 
 134 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Ah, me, I wish we were all going back to our 
 own dear home. The garden must soon begin to 
 look fresh and green. How long ago it seems since 
 I saw it and Elspeth. But tell me, mother, will my 
 aunt live in Philadelphia ? " 
 
 "No; she will live I know not where, but event 
 ually she will go to Germany, I suppose, unless her 
 Dutch husband finds America so fair a place that he 
 likes to settle here. There come Lavinia and Chris 
 topher. They will wonder why we sit here without 
 candles." And she gave a little impatient sigh. 
 
 Her sister was now entering the room, and was 
 evidently not in a good humor. " Such doings ! " she 
 exclaimed. " Here is a stupid law requiring an oath 
 of allegiance, or all sorts of deprivations to young 
 men; and what is Christopher to do? I ve half a 
 mind to send him abroad till this wretched war is 
 over. What do you think, Peggy ? " 
 
 Mrs. De Witt held Kitty s hand closely. " I ? what 
 do I think ? " she said slowly. " I think Christopher is 
 old enough to decide for himself. He is nineteen now, 
 and quite as much of a man as Kitty is a woman ; and 
 she does not hesitate to make her own decisions." 
 
 Mrs. Rush sniffed. " Oh, Kitty ; she is a rebel 
 because her father is ; and what a woman thinks 
 makes but little difference, anyhow."
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 135 
 
 " ^nd if Christopher chooses to be a Tory, any 
 one can say it is because brother William is, if one 
 choose. Since then he is not capable of deciding for 
 himself, suppose you send him to brother William, 
 and let him learn decision." Mrs. De Witt had never 
 spoken so sharply of her young brother, and Chris 
 topher was quite crushed. 
 
 "The town is full of troops," he said. "They are 
 pouring in from every side; I should not find it easy to 
 get away. Your Washington will get an army after all." 
 
 " My Washington ? " Mrs. De Witt raised her eye 
 brows. 
 
 "Oh, I mean zounds, Peggy, one cannot tell what 
 you are, and yet you flout at me. With a rebel 
 husband, I believe you are half rebel yourself." 
 
 "I am a woman," replied Mrs. De Witt, "and as 
 Lavinia has just said, what I choose to be cannot 
 trouble the militia, but what you are can make a 
 difference." 
 
 " I am no rebel, and you know it." 
 
 " Then go where you are not afraid to say it. There 
 will be no trouble in getting you a pass to leave the 
 city." And Mrs. De Witt turned on her heel, leaving 
 her brother and sister to settle the matter between 
 themselves, the result being that Christopher did get off 
 to join his brother, who was again in the old home in
 
 136 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 New York. Kitty, with but one regret, saw him 
 depart : he was going home, he would enjoy the 
 delights of the green bowery lanes, and she must 
 stay behind. She so far forgot her usual rather 
 scornful manner toward him, as to ask him to write 
 and tell her how her own home looked, and what 
 news he could learn of the Ludlows, a request which 
 sent Christopher off in better spirits. 
 
 Mrs. Rush was in a perturbed state of mind, for 
 there were threatenings against those who were not 
 openly attached to the American cause, and her 
 husband s return from England was daily expected. 
 
 The Stars and Stripes were adopted on June 14, 
 and Kitty had the pleasure of laying her hand on the 
 flag which Betsey Ross had made. She also secretly 
 imitated it in miniature, intending, when the oppor 
 tunity came, to let its destination be the same as 
 that of the watch paper. 
 
 But the great event of the summer, to Kitty, was 
 the march of the main body of the American army 
 through the city. Not so fine or inspiring a show 
 was it after all, this parade of a motley array of men, 
 shabbily clad, at the best, in hunting shirts of brown 
 linen, but it gave heart to the patriots to see them, 
 eleven thousand strong, marching down Front Street 
 to the Common. And to the disaffected spectators
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 137 
 
 who looked upon the long procession, it seemed that, 
 after all, these poorly clad men stepped like soldiers, 
 carried themselves valiantly, and were no mean foes. 
 Therefore, Washington s parade on August 24 served 
 its purpose. For Kitty it was the means of bringing 
 her father to her. He strode in one day when they 
 least expected him. Kitty gave a little cry of joy 
 when he sought her out in the garden. She flung 
 herself in his arms, and could scarcely speak for 
 happiness. Sunburnt and lean he was, but well. 
 
 " And you, my Kitty, you are still pale," he said. 
 "Ah, daughter! we did not know what was in store 
 for us when we flew out of King George s cornfield 
 into the woods. Nevertheless, we will resist to the 
 death, even if we have not a feather left." And they 
 laughed and hugged each other, feeling it to be such 
 happiness to be again in each other s arms. 
 
 Kitty was so small a child when her own mother 
 died that her father and she had always been more 
 than ordinarily dependent upon each other, and the 
 fact that his daughter had so sweetly accepted her 
 new mother, and had shown no jealousy, endeared 
 her the more to her father. The happy relations, 
 however, might not have existed had Mrs. De Witt 
 been less loving and tactful. 
 
 "You have fought your own battles, have you not,
 
 138 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 little daughter ? " Captain De Witt said caressingly. 
 " Such tales of heroism I hear why, you fairly 
 outdo your father in defying the redcoats." 
 
 She laughed, and snuggled her face against his 
 sleeve ; nothing seemed to matter while she had him 
 so near. 
 
 Mrs. De Witt, with gentle consideration, had left 
 them together, having been the first to greet him in 
 the house. Kitty had a hundred things to ask. Had 
 he seen Elspeth s father and brother ? Where were 
 they ? Was there any hope of there being a return 
 to the old home ? 
 
 To the last question Captain De Witt shook his 
 head. It was better not to be attempted at present. 
 Henry Lucllow and Robert were with General Schuy- 
 ler ; the former had been slightly wounded at Ticon- 
 deroga. They were looking for news from the 
 northern army now. Kitty pondered over these 
 answers with her head on her father s shoulder. War 
 all around them, battles to come, and what ? She 
 sighed, but turned from the consideration of so 
 gloomy a subject to say: "How wise you were, 
 father, to give me a new mother before I should 
 lose an old aunt." 
 
 " Old aunt ! " replied Captain De Witt, amused. 
 " She is not old, unless you call thirty-five old. And
 
 BETSEY ROSS. 139 
 
 what would Major von Blum say to hear his bride so 
 called ? " 
 
 " She seems old to me, and with her high nose and 
 her snapping black eyes, she makes a fine grenadier. 
 I should like to see her in a tall Plessian cap. 
 Should you not, father?" 
 
 " Fie ! fie ! Kitty ; you must not make fun of your 
 aunt," responded Captain De Witt, but he hid a smile, 
 and then his wife came out and joined them.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A VISIT TO CAMP. 
 
 CAPTAIN DE WITT S stay was very short, for 
 he must join his regiment on the march toward 
 Wilmington. Before he took his departure he advised 
 taking Kitty out of Philadelphia to some quiet country 
 farmhouse where purer air and purer water could win 
 back her " Dutch cheeks." 
 
 " Moreover," he said, " if, as seems possible, the 
 enemy should occupy Philadelphia, you will be safer 
 out of it." 
 
 And, therefore, to a little out-of-the-way spot Kitty 
 and her mother betook themselves, to spend the debili 
 tating August and September days. 
 
 Meanwhile, there was consternation in Philadelphia, 
 for was not Howe making ready to pounce down upon 
 the capital city ? Wagons loaded with furniture, con 
 veyances bearing away frightened women, began to fill 
 the roads leading out of town. Those remaining hid 
 their valuables, and sat waiting in fear and trembling. 
 
 Then came the battle of Brandywine, which, al- 
 
 140
 
 A VISIT TO CAMP. 14! 
 
 though claimed as a notable victory for the British, 
 was by no means a total defeat for the Americans, 
 since it was fought at great odds, in point of numbers 
 and equipment. For two weeks after, Washington, by 
 skirmishes and manoeuvres, deterred the enemy from 
 entering Philadelphia ; but on September 26, Corn- 
 wallis entered the "rebel capital" with a great blare 
 of trumpets, and much ostentation, while Howe estab 
 lished himself at Germantown. 
 
 One morning in October, when the sun hid itself 
 behind thick clouds, and a heavy fog rolled over the 
 valleys, was fought the battle of Germantown, and that 
 which had been so dreaded by Kitty and her mother 
 at last befell them. " Paul De Witt, taken prisoner," 
 was the word which came to them in their quiet retreat. 
 
 And now was Mrs. De Witt fairly roused ; all the 
 gentle indifference, the laughing protestations of cow 
 ardice disappeared, and instead of the gay society 
 dame appeared a stern woman, whose set countenance 
 betrayed the grief which had touched her so deeply. 
 
 Dreadful talks of the suffering prisoners reached 
 both the wife and daughter. Kitty seemed dazed by 
 this trouble. " It had never seemed possible that such 
 would be the reward of my patriotism," she said piti 
 fully. "Oh, for a means to rescue him," she cried. 
 But no plan offered itself, and at last she decided to
 
 142 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 appeal to her Aunt Joanna, and implore her good 
 offices in rescuing her brother from his plight. " I 
 can but fail," she told herself, "but I shall not tell 
 my mother lest she build too great hopes." 
 
 She made all preparations carefully, and one morn 
 ing early she slipped out into the gray dawn, leav 
 ing a little note behind her, which should do away 
 with any alarm at her absence. She determined, some 
 how, to make her way to camp where she would find 
 Major von Blum, and first enlisting his sympathies, 
 would then seek out her aunt. To be sure, Mrs. De 
 Witt had used every means within her power to obtain 
 her husband s release, but beyond fair promises, had 
 gained nothing from her Tory friends, and Aunt 
 Joanna had actually refused to see her, and so she 
 had returned from her visit to Philadelphia with so 
 despairing a heart, and so exhausted a frame, that 
 Kitty could only weep over her, and try to cheer her 
 by such words of comfort as she could summon. 
 
 "I will see Aunt Joanna," she said to herself; " they 
 will let a little girl go where they will refuse an older 
 person. She shall listen to me ; she cannot know, 
 she cannot, that her own brother lies in a foul prison." 
 
 The morning was crisp and bright, a light hoar-frost 
 lay on the embrowned weeds and the fallen red leaves. 
 The fences, with their delicate layer of frosty white,
 
 A VISIT TO CAMP. 143 
 
 sparkled in the rising sun. How could the world be so 
 beautiful, and one be so heavy-hearted, thought the 
 girl as she trudged along. How she was to gef through 
 the lines she did not know. She knew the Hessians 
 were encamped on the north side of the city, but 
 beyond this she had not a very clear idea of the situa 
 tion, yet she could use her wits and travel the beaten 
 road which would take her somewhere. There were 
 reports that food was becoming scarce, that firewood 
 was hard to obtain, and she was glad that in the quiet 
 little farmhouse where she was staying there was 
 a more plentiful supply. It occurred to her, as she 
 walked briskly along, that she might meet soldiers on 
 the road, and that she would not know just what to do; 
 but she determined to proclaim herself as the niece 
 of Mrs. von Blum, and to ask for safe conduct to the 
 presence of this new uncle, from whom she would 
 obtain a pass to the city that she might visit her aunt. 
 
 " She will not let her brother suffer. She will not," 
 repeated the girl, clasping her hands nervously. " For 
 all her high temper she loved him, and she cannot be 
 so hardened against us as to refuse to see that he is 
 supplied with good food. Even if she cannot work his 
 release, she may be able to have him kept a prisoner 
 at her house till he can be exchanged. My father ! 
 my father ! " But there is always hope with youth,
 
 144 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 and the thought that he was still alive, and that while 
 he lived anything was possible, gave her new courage, 
 and she pressed on over what became a weary road. 
 But at last she came to the outposts of the camp. 
 
 She was now stopped by an advance picket, and, hav 
 ing neither countersign nor written pass, was allowed to 
 go no further till her repeated demand for Major von 
 Blum finally moved the wits of the dull German, who 
 sent her into camp with a guard, and the little girl s 
 heart beat high as she passed along and saw only rude 
 soldiers moving about, variously occupied, their bearded 
 faces looking strangely to her who was used to seeing 
 only smoothly shaven men. 
 
 " Major von Blum ? No, he has just gone to the city 
 with his wife," was the information given her by the 
 officer to whom she was taken. " Or stay, Leidernitz, 
 see if you can overtake them : they have but just gone, 
 and may not be beyond recall. It will be best to see 
 if this is all right." And Kitty waited to presently 
 see her aunt ride up with a burly German. 
 
 For a moment Kitty whimsically thought of the 
 laugh she had had with her father over her grenadier 
 aunt, and then Mrs. von Blum lifted her mask and 
 leaned down from the horse to look at the little girl 
 who demanded to see her husband. 
 
 " Kitty ! Katherine De Witt ! " she exclaimed.
 
 A VISIT TO CAMP. 145 
 
 " How came you here ? Is your mother with 
 you ? " 
 
 " No, ma am." 
 
 " You came to camp alone ? Is that how Margaret 
 De Witt looks after you ? " 
 
 "Oh, Aunt Joanna! Aunt Joanna!" cried Kitty. 
 " Tis for my father. He is a prisoner. Will you 
 can you not try to set him free ? Oh, Aunt Joanna ! " 
 
 Mrs. von Blum gave a start, and made a little ex 
 clamation. Then she looked at her husband, and a 
 hard look settled around her mouth. " Set him free ? 
 I cannot. Tis the reward of his obstinacy has 
 brought him to this pass." 
 
 " But he may die. You know not how dreadfully 
 they treat prisoners in that vile jail." 
 
 " I will do what I can, but I am not empowered to 
 loose prisoners at will. Perhaps I can make him 
 more comfortable, and maybe in time he may be set 
 free on parole, or perhaps exchanged. But, Kitty, 
 neither of you has any right to expect favors at my 
 hands. Remember, you all set me aside ; you ran 
 off and left me, and Paul scorned my counsels. You 
 must expect to suffer for it, at least till you are ready 
 to acknowledge error." Aunt Joanna had not changed. 
 She was the same unyielding, opinionated person. 
 " Think as I command you, or no forgiveness," had
 
 146 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 been always her thought in dealing with Kitty. She 
 could forgive greater faults, but she could not over 
 look anything which showed defiance of her opinions. 
 
 "This is my niece, Herman," said Aunt Joanna, 
 addressing the big red-faced man by her side. He 
 smiled down on the anxious little maid, who thought 
 he seemed good-natured, but when Aunt Joanna ex 
 plained Kitty s errand, he looked sober. 
 
 " Thou shalt have thy way, Yohanna," he said, in 
 German ; " but can we not take our Katrina to Phila 
 delphia with us ? " 
 
 Aunt Joanna shook her head. " Not now. Per 
 haps later she may come. I am not pleased that she 
 came to camp alone. She could have sent me written 
 word as well. The roads are full of soldiers, and it 
 was a most indiscreet performance of hers. She 
 must have escort back." 
 
 "Oh, I met no one, no one at all," said Kitty. 
 "Please, Aunt Joanna, I d rather go back alone." The 
 idea of a walk with one of those ferocious-looking 
 Hessians was terrifying. " It is not such a very 
 long walk, and once beyond camp I am safe." 
 
 "Then see her beyond camp, Herman, and I will 
 wait here," said Aunt Joanna, who did not like her 
 day s plans interfered with. " Good-by, Kitty." 
 She settled herself stolidly on her horse. "You d
 
 A VISIT TO CAMP. 147 
 
 better be a good girl, and ask my pardon for your 
 past behavior. You could have a merry time if you 
 would but consent to visit me as a loyal little maid." 
 
 " A merry time in the city where my father lies a 
 prisoner!" replied Kitty, spiritedly. "Thank you, 
 Aunt Joanna, I d rather feed chickens and milk 
 cows all my days than do it." 
 
 "Then ask me no more favors," returned Aunt 
 Joanna, her anger rising. " And come no more to 
 camp. I ll not be disgraced by such recklessness. 
 Tell Peggy De Witt I m ashamed of her." 
 
 " She does not know of it," answered Kitty ; " I 
 came of my own accord." 
 
 " Then return at once. No, not another word. 
 I ve said what I would do," and Aunt Joanna 
 wheeled her horse around, and Kitty, accompanied 
 by the burly major, was safely escorted beyond 
 the lines. 
 
 She was rather despondent and miserable over 
 her failure to arouse greater sympathy. Yet she felt 
 that something had been accomplished, and that her 
 father might not, perhaps, be allowed to suffer long. 
 " But I do not want him to suffer a day ; how can 
 I be happy when I think of it ? I want to free him. 
 I do. I do," said she, as she pursued her way. " I 
 wish I had as fertile a brain as Elspeth. I might
 
 148 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 devise some means of escape." Just at this moment 
 a horseman appeared over the brow of a hill a little 
 beyond. He had saddle-bags on each side and Kitty 
 saw that he was dressed in the homely garb of a 
 Quaker farmer. She breathed freely ; she did not 
 need to fear an honest Quaker, and she stepped aside 
 to allow him to pass. The man approached slowly. 
 He seemed a tall, broad-shouldered fellow, who sat 
 his horse well. Kitty did not look up as he passed 
 or she would have seen a very un-Quakerlike move 
 ment toward the broad-brimmed hat, and have seen 
 the amused smile which followed. The man had 
 hardly gone a rod, however, when Kitty heard his 
 horse trotting up briskly behind her, and leaning 
 from his saddle the young man looked earnestly into 
 her face. 
 
 "I was not mistaken," he exclaimed joyously. "You 
 are Miss Katherine De Witt, and right glad am I to 
 see you. Have you forgotten me ? " 
 
 Kitty raised her eyes to encounter the pleasant 
 face of Lloyd Holliday, and her first feeling was 
 one of great pleasure, but almost at once she drew 
 back and said coldly : " So you have changed your 
 colors, Mr. Holliday. When I last saw you, twas 
 not in Quaker drab." 
 
 " I ll have to explain," he replied, jumping down
 
 A VISIT TO CAMP. 149 
 
 from his horse. " I know I can trust you and I 
 cannot have you think me indifferent to my country. 
 This is but a disguise. I am trying to get to the 
 city, and I can do so in this dress more readily than 
 in any other, especially when I take such provision 
 along with me," and he nodded toward the saddle 
 bags which were bursting with various kinds of prod 
 uce. "You see," he said, "I bought this stuff from 
 the farmers back in the country, and am taking it 
 to town, hoping by such means to effect an entrance. 
 Do not think hardly of me, Miss Kitty, when I wear 
 this." And he drew a case from his bosom, and 
 showed her the little watch-paper bearing the words ; 
 "Give me Liberty or give me death." 
 
 "Oh, but," cried Kitty, in alarm, "you must not 
 wear that ; it might betray you." 
 
 " But twas you who sent it ? " 
 
 " Did I ? " 
 
 "Did you?" 
 
 "Well, yes, I did," she blushed a little, but laughed 
 afterward. " I thought you deserved something of 
 the kind more than did Master Van Ness who begged 
 for one. Twas for him I made this, but he would 
 none of it, or, at least, he took it with so poor a grace 
 that I sent it to a more patriotic gentleman, as I hoped. 
 But give it back to me, lest it cause you trouble."
 
 150 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 The young man hesitated, and stood looking at the 
 bit of paper thoughtfully, before he said : " Tell me, 
 Mistress Kitty, whither you are bound, and how I 
 came to find you on the road alone to-day. I left 
 you in New Jersey, you remember?" And Kitty, 
 remembering her troubles, poured them forth to the 
 sympathetic, courteous young fellow, who listened in 
 tently. 
 
 At the close of her narration he handed her the 
 watch-paper. "Keep it for me," he said, "and when 
 I come for it, you will give it back, will you not ? " 
 
 " Yes, if you wish." 
 
 "And if I come not you will know I tried to be 
 an honorable gentleman enough to have no debts 
 unpaid. I do not forget that you saved my life." 
 
 " Pray remind me not of that, but tell me rather, 
 how you happen to be on this road. I thought you 
 were encamped near White Marsh." 
 
 " And so we are, but I was sent to General Wash 
 ington with despatches. And since I have permission 
 to make some discoveries if I can, I am on my way 
 back to my regiment, by way of Philadelphia." 
 
 " A spy ! " 
 
 " Something very like it." 
 
 " And if you are discovered you will be hung." 
 Kitty paled at the thought.
 
 A VISIT TO CAMP. 151 
 
 "Yes, I confess I d rather be shot, but I intend to 
 be neither hung nor shot, if I can help it. A little 
 hazard hurts no one, and gives spice to a soldier s 
 life. So, Miss Kitty, dear to me as is your solicitude, 
 have no fears ; I shall get through; I have good friends 
 in the city with whom I can rest safely." He was 
 walking along by her side, his horse following and 
 cropping at the bits of grass peeping up between the 
 dead weeds and fallen leaves by the way. 
 
 " Give me the exact location of your stopping- 
 place," said Lloyd, " and if Providence permit, you 
 shall see me there some day." 
 
 " Tis off the road to Bethlehem, just beyond Chest 
 nut Hill. A low, gray farmhouse, about a mile this 
 side Paul s Mill. Conrad Shafer is our host." 
 
 " Ah ! then you were on the battle-ground, or nearly 
 so." 
 
 " Yes, we were all too near for comfort, we were 
 made very sad at the loss on our side." 
 
 "We will recover our losses yet, never fear. I, 
 for one, do not believe in croaking, and with such a 
 general as Washington we shall win ; we cannot 
 help it. And you will have your father again, Miss 
 Kitty ; but guard him safely, and let him do nothing 
 rash." 
 
 Kitty smiled. " Now you are quite like a grand-
 
 152 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 mother with your advice. Twas as a grandmother 
 you appeared when first we met, you remember." 
 
 " Do I not remember ? I shall never forget how 
 you and Cicely burst in upon me. You hear from 
 Cicely ? " 
 
 " Not very often, since all this coming and going 
 of the armies I have not heard at all." 
 
 " Here must I bid you farewell. I do not care to 
 be seen by wayfarers, for it might interfere with my 
 plans. This meeting has given me new courage. 
 Forget me not, Kitty." And, flinging himself into 
 his saddle, he trotted off, while Kitty proceeded on 
 her way.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A RESCUE. 
 
 |V r ITTY found her mother sitting by an open fire, 
 1^ scraping lint for the wounded soldiers who still 
 lay in the hamlets in the neighborhood, and to whom 
 both she and Kitty had ministered so far as they 
 could. Mrs. DC Witt s pretty, fair face looked pale 
 and worn, and her mouth drooped sorrowfully. The 
 unwonted scenes of distress and suffering \vhich she 
 had beheld, together with her own personal grief 
 over her husband, had told on her. But she jumped 
 up and ran to meet Kitty when she came in the door 
 of the long, low kitchen. 
 
 " Where have you been, you runaway ? " she said. 
 " High time, indeed, that you were home. Have you 
 been comforting those poor wounded men at the 
 church? Heaven knows they need nursing! Why 
 did you not waken me that I might have sent some 
 fresh linen to them ? You look weary, my love." 
 
 " I am very tired and very hungry," replied Kitty, 
 sinking down on the settle. " I have walked a long 
 
 53
 
 154 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 way this day. You would not believe how far. I 
 fear my journey has been to little purpose, after all." 
 And she told her tale while her mother listened eagerly. 
 
 "Oh! the brave daughter of as brave a father," 
 she said softly. " And I sit here. Nevertheless, 
 Kitty, I tried, I did try." 
 
 " So you did, and I think father will be the better 
 off for our efforts, even though he is still a prisoner. 
 Aunt Joanna surely cannot see him suffer." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt sighed, and her soft hands resumed 
 their work. " I have torn up all the linen I could 
 spare for bandages," she remarked, " and our boxes 
 are that much lighter ; but we can manage with a 
 change apiece, I am sure. Ah, Kitty, I would you 
 could have gone with your aunt to see your father; 
 it would have cheered him, and we could have assur 
 ance that Joanna really would carry out her promise. 
 Lavinia has a houseful of soldiers quartered upon her, 
 and a sad time she is having of it, for it is hard to 
 find food save at a great price, and for all her Tory 
 principles she is not free from plundering of her 
 chests and stores. She tried with right sisterly feel 
 ing to use her good offices for your father, but it 
 availed nothing except promises for the future. So 
 we fain must wait the good pleasure of some of our 
 friends to set Paul at liberty."
 
 A RESCUE. 155 
 
 "And in the meantime he must suffer and perhaps 
 die," returned Kitty. 
 
 "No! no!" Mrs. De Witt spoke up, sharply. "Do 
 not think it. Do not say it : not that. We must 
 keep up hope, we must. Let us speak no more of 
 this. Tis useless, and but racks us with anxious 
 fears. Tell me of Major von Blum." 
 
 " He is a heavy-whiskered, big German, but not un 
 kind. I wonder does he spread butter on his bread 
 with his thumb, as they say General Knyphausen does." 
 
 A little smile flickered across Mrs. De Witt s lips. 
 "Fie, Kitty," she said. "But I have forgotten, you 
 are faint and \veary. I must get you some food. Our 
 good Schafer and his wife have gone to sell supplies 
 at camp. So we are left alone till they return." 
 
 A good bowl of bread and milk appeased Kitty s 
 hunger. She had eaten nothing since morning but a 
 couple of slices of bread, which she had taken with 
 her, and she was half starved. She ate hungrily, 
 talking between spoonfuls. 
 
 " And there is left an exchange," she must recur 
 to the subject of her father ; " we can try for that, 
 can t we, mother ? " 
 
 " We can and will. I have not been idle in that 
 direction. I have sent many letters, and if these fail 
 I shall go in person and force my way to the hearing
 
 156 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 of those in power, if nothing else will do. I am more 
 cheered than I was, Kitty. After the first shock I 
 came to my courage. We will work as women can 
 work who have the will to do it. Ah, if Joanna but 
 had the will too." 
 
 "She has will enough," replied Kitty, "but she 
 uses it for her own designs." 
 
 " So wise grows my Kitty, I forget she is not a 
 woman. All these sad experiences have added years 
 to us both. But there, I hear the voices of our Scha- 
 fers. You are tired out, let us go to our room." 
 
 It was two or three days later that the old German 
 and his wife made another trip to camp with supplies. 
 It was a harvest time for these thrifty people, who 
 could obtain big prices for whatever they chose to 
 sell, and who were not particular whether Americans 
 or British were their customers. 
 
 " Dey ll dake vat we got anyhow," said the old 
 man. " Zo we petter pe sellin dan pe stealed py 
 already." And so all possible provision was turned 
 into cash. 
 
 The Americans, it is true, tried to prevent this car 
 rying of supplies into town, and were watchful, pro 
 viding close picketing ; but the farmers would not be 
 prevented, and those living on neutral ground man 
 aged to outwit the guards.
 
 A RESCUE. 157 
 
 Nothing further had been done in Captain De 
 Witt s direction, since Kitty s trudge to camp. Her 
 mother looked anxiously for answers to her letters, 
 and Kitty fretted over a delay which seemed to her 
 endless. 
 
 "The next time produce is taken from here I ll 
 beg to go in Mrs. Schafer s stead," she declared, 
 "and I ll find out about my father willy-nilly." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt looked at her admiringly. " You 
 have such persistence, Kitty," she said. "I wonder 
 why I shrink from doing the things you do. I ll 
 write letters by the dozen; I ll see my friends, but 
 to undertake adventures I cannot." 
 
 They were sitting in the kitchen, which was the 
 living room of the little farmhouse, and the only one 
 in which there was a fire. The early twilight was 
 gathering, and the one tallow candle which Mrs. De 
 Witt lighted cast a feeble gleam over the homely 
 interior, disclosing the wide fireplace, the sanded 
 floor, the pewter or earthen dishes ranged along the 
 shelves, the plain pine table, and the settle by the 
 fire. 
 
 It grew darker, but still Conrad Schafer and his 
 wife did not return, but about eight o clock was 
 heard the beat, beat, of a horse s hoofs along the 
 lane. Then the sound stopped ; there was a glimpse
 
 158 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 of a face at the window, then a tap at the door, 
 which was almost immediately thrown open, and the 
 drab garb of a Quaker appeared. 
 
 At first Kitty thought the figure was that of 
 Lloyd Holliday, but a cry of glad surprise from her 
 mother declared to her that it was her father who 
 stood before her. 
 
 " Are you alone ? " he asked softly. 
 
 " Yes, yes, we are." 
 
 " Then I am safe," and he closed the door behind 
 him. " I can take no risks, for I fear your farmer 
 might betray me." 
 
 " He might for a reward. He is keen to drive 
 a bargain, is Conrad Schafer," returned Mrs. De 
 Witt. " But oh, Paul, Paul ! how did you escape ? 
 I can scarce believe I see you here." 
 
 Kitty was clinging to him and repeating, " Father ! 
 father ! dearest father ! " 
 
 They set him down before the blazing fire, but 
 he remembered his horse and went out to hide him 
 in some safe spot, while Kitty kept guard. " You 
 are safe? you are not pursued?" she asked anxiously, 
 as he appeared. 
 
 " No. I am safe enough unless your man has a 
 chance to betray me." 
 
 " Are you hungry ? "
 
 A RESCUE. 159 
 
 " No, no, I have been well looked after this past 
 twenty-four hours." 
 
 " Then come in and tell us your tale. Father ! 
 father ! This is too good to be true. We have 
 been in a pitiful fear for you." 
 
 " And might have been, if my fate had been that 
 of some." He sat down on the settle, his wife on 
 one side, his daughter on the other. Kitty s ears 
 were strained for the slightest noise from outside, as 
 she listened to his story. 
 
 " It was yesterday that I made my escape," he 
 began. " I had been huddled with a number of 
 others in one room, when an order came to transfer 
 half a dozen of us to other quarters. I was glad 
 enough to hear it, for even the few days I had spent 
 in a foul-smelling room with wounded, groaning, dying 
 men about me showed me how unendurable it would 
 become if my time there were prolonged. I know 
 not at whose instance it was done, but the order 
 came, and about dusk we men were marched out 
 and hustled into a wagon with a body of horse 
 to guard us. We jolted along quietly enough, con 
 gratulating ourselves that we had a breath of fresh 
 air, when we turned into a quiet street, upon which 
 there seemed likely to be but little traffic, but where 
 a big Conestoga wain was advancing from the opposite
 
 l6o A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 direction. It would seem that the horses became 
 suddenly fractious, for the driver lost management 
 of them, and they came tearing down the street, 
 crashing into us, and the wheels of the big wagon 
 locked in ours. Then such a roaring and shouting 
 as filled our ears. The two sober-looking farmers 
 driving the Conestoga tried to smooth matters by 
 explaining and expostulating in their mildest tones, 
 Friend, thee does wrong to use such language, and 
 Friend, we are not to blame. See, we will help 
 thee to extricate thyself. And the two got out of 
 their wagon, which contained, we could tell by the 
 baa-ing and bleating, several calves and sheep. 
 
 " Stupid dolts ! cried our drivers. Country block 
 heads ! Couldn t you see where you were going ? 
 And the guards rode around blustering and ordering, 
 while we sat still, having no part in the matter. 
 
 " Suddenly, thump ! went a wheel on one side of 
 our wagon, and we found ourselves sliding down 
 toward the end ; while, almost at the same moment, 
 there was a pretty fuss, for, by some means, an old 
 ram got loose and went tearing around, butting into 
 this and that one, scaring the horses and scattering 
 them in all directions. Our driver, who was examin 
 ing the wheels, was butted full in the stomach, and 
 tumbled over doubled up. In all this confusion, I
 
 A RESCUE. l6l 
 
 felt myself dragged from my place, a cloak thrown 
 over me, a broad-brimmed hat clapped on my head, 
 and a lantern thrust into my hand. A crowd was 
 gathering, and I had sense enough to crawl under 
 the wagon on one side and crawl out on the other. 
 As I raised myself, I heard some one whisper, Es 
 cape quickly ! and a bit of paper was tucked into 
 my fingers. 
 
 " I got on my feet and looked after the ram, which 
 at that moment gave his last fling, for a bullet ended 
 him, and I saw I had no time to lose. I realized 
 that the whole thing was a clever plot ; and I mingled 
 quickly with the crowd, and with my lantern pursued 
 my way up the street, turning at the first corner, and, 
 quickening my pace, turned into this alley and that 
 one. I heard a hue and cry behind me, but my lan 
 tern without which no one dares to be abroad after 
 dark and my broad-brim saved me. I dared not 
 run ; but by hurrying here and doubling there, I 
 finally came to a garden, the wall of which I climbed, 
 and crouched down in a sheltered spot till all should 
 be quiet, and then I took up my way again. 
 
 " I remembered to look at the bit of paper, which 
 told me to go to a certain house where I was ex 
 pected and where I would be safe. So I found the 
 place without difficulty, and walked up boldly, knock-
 
 1 62 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 ing at the door, which was instantly opened by a 
 Quaker dame, who said at once, Thou art welcome, 
 Paul De Witt, and inside I went to be fed and 
 warmed most hospitably. 
 
 " A little later came striding in two sturdy fellows, 
 one without hat or cloak, but in Quaker gray. Both 
 laughed when they caught sight of me, and the elder 
 clapped me on the shoulder. So thou didst make 
 it, he cried. It was a pretty plot, and I was for 
 a moment near to betraying myself by laughter at 
 the expression of this innocent, nodding toward the 
 younger man. Ho, ho, wife, but thou shouldst have 
 seen him standing so mildly and with so bewildered 
 a look on his face, saying : " Some one has stolen 
 my hat and cloak, which I laid by to pursue the 
 ram. Hast seen them, Cyrus ? " And there he stood 
 and pothered about his hat and cloak, and persisting 
 to these Britishers that they were accountable for 
 them, and that he should bring in a bill for them, 
 and such stuff ; when all the while our friend here 
 was wearing them, according to Lloyd s own plan. >; 
 
 " Lloyd ! " exclaimed Kitty. 
 
 " Yes, Lloyd Holliday and no other. To him I 
 owe this escape. He took the bull by the horns, and 
 went to see Mrs. Rush, who told him she had been 
 promised that I should at least have a speedy re-
 
 A RESCUE. 163 
 
 moval to more comfortable quarters, and an exchange 
 as soon as possible ; that the order for my transfer to 
 other quarters would be acted on at once. And he 
 made his plans accordingly." 
 
 " Then it wasn t Aunt Joanna after all," said Kitty. 
 
 " Dear Lavinia ! I knew she would do all she could," 
 said Mrs. De Witt ; " but go on, Paul." 
 
 " Yes, Lloyd planned it all. He hired the wagon, 
 bought the sheep and calves, and with his accomplice, 
 a good, fighting Quaker, got into town easily, although 
 how he got out in the first place, I cannot say. He 
 dares more than most, and wins. He it was who 
 drew out the linch-pin, which let down the wheel, and 
 further complicated matters. He it was who fur 
 nished me with cloak, hat, and lantern, while his com 
 panion, that brave Cyrus Wright, let loose the ram, 
 and kept the guard busy. Twas a fine plot, and well 
 executed." 
 
 Kitty clapped her hands. " Was it not ? Is not 
 Lloyd clever ! " 
 
 " I never saw one more so, nor more fearless and 
 cool-headed. That s the stuff we need to win our 
 battles. But hark! do I hear wheels?" 
 
 Kitty went to the door and listened. Twas nothing 
 but the wind," she reported. "Go on, father, tell us 
 the rest. How did you get out of town ? "
 
 164 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " I slept peacefully with those good people, the 
 Wrights, who gave me shelter, and kept in hiding the 
 next day, and then leaving Cyrus behind, Lloyd and 
 I drove out safely in the big Conestoga wain, the 
 sentry supposing us to be the same two Quakers, who 
 came into town with our veal and mutton the clay 
 before, and who were given an order to return. Twas 
 a clever dodge." 
 
 "And Lloyd?" 
 
 " Has gone to return the team he hired, and pur 
 poses then to rejoin his company. I shall not forget 
 that boy, who, by the way, bade me tell my daughter 
 that he hoped she would believe he tried to pay his 
 debts ; and when I would thank him he reminded me 
 that but for my Kitty he might now be pining in a 
 stinking jail, or be under the sod. Ah, he has great 
 daring for one so young." 
 
 " Tis the age when adventures come easiest," re 
 marked Mrs. De Witt. " Our own La Fayette is scarce 
 older. I, too, shall remember this brave fellow. But 
 hark ! I hear wheels surely. See, Kitty, if they 
 come." 
 
 Kitty peered into the darkness. " They do, they do. 
 Hasten, father." 
 
 " Then adieu, my dear ones, my dear ones. God 
 bless you and keep you." And after a hurried em-
 
 A RESCUE. 165 
 
 brace Captain DC Witt rushed out into the night, and 
 his horse was heard galloping down the road at the 
 same time that old Conrad Schafer and his wife drew 
 up before the barn. 
 
 It was that same night, after Kitty and her mother 
 had gone to their room with happy hearts, in their 
 ears sounding that " God bless you," that they saw 
 several columns of smoke rising skyward, and watched 
 them from their little window. Then followed the 
 illuminating glow of flames which told that the British 
 had set fire to more than one fine old homestead. 
 
 " The terror that walketh by night, doesn t it re 
 mind you of that ? " said Kitty, solemnly. 
 
 " It reminds me of how terrible war is," replied Mrs. 
 De Witt, leaning her head against Kitty s fair hair. 
 
 " Oh, mother, mother, it is terrible. How long ago, 
 how long ago it seems since we sat in our own home, 
 and watched the swallows flying to the chimney." 
 
 " Long ago it seems, but I am thinking only of 
 your father s safety this night. I have no room for 
 any feeling but thankfulness."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 
 
 EARLY in December, 1778, General Howe retired 
 to winter quarters at Philadelphia. Congress 
 had adjourned to Lancaster and then to York, where 
 they continued to hold sessions. By the latter part 
 of November Forts Mifflin and Mercer were in the 
 hands of the British, who now found the Delaware 
 open to them. 
 
 After the battle of Germantown came the news 
 of Burgoyne s surrender, which spurred Howe on 
 to an abortive attempt at battle ; but beyond a little 
 skirmishing there was no action, and the British re 
 turned to Philadelphia leaving in their line of march 
 a devastated and plundered district, for the soldiers 
 did not hesitate to burn and pillage \vherever they 
 could. 
 
 The effect of this destruction of property was felt 
 in the neighborhood where Kitty and her mother 
 still remained, and, although they escaped the worst 
 depredations, being in an isolated spot, the news of 
 all this robbing and terrorizing reached them. " His 
 
 166
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 1 67 
 
 Excellency, General Washington, leaves White Marsh 
 for Valley Forge, I am told," Mrs. De Witt said 
 to Kitty, 
 
 " Yes, and in such plight are our poor soldiers 
 that they have left their track in blood on the snow. 
 So said Thomas Bent, who came this way with prod 
 uce for the city." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt was very thoughtful. " Katherine, my 
 dear child," she said presently, "I think we must re 
 turn to the city." She leaned over and took the 
 girl s hands within her own. " Whatever happens, 
 Kitty, trust me. I may seem a very renegade, a frivo 
 lous butterfly ; but censure me not, till you see what 
 comes out of it all. Sitting here in this quiet farm 
 house I have thought out many things, and I am 
 determined upon my course of action. And, Kitty, 
 love, if I sometimes ask you to do things which seem 
 exactly contrary to my professions make no comment 
 before persons, but understand that I am playing a 
 part. Can you be as wise as a serpent, my innocent 
 little dove? Surely we love each other well, do we 
 not ? Have I disappointed my daughter, or does 
 she believe in her mother ? " 
 
 She looked so fair and lovable leaning forward in 
 her high-backed chair, the sunlight, from the little 
 window in the slanting roof, streaming over her
 
 1 68 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 brown hair and gliding down to her simple dress, 
 which she now invariably wore, that Kitty, whose 
 early adoration had, through familiarity, changed to 
 a quiet affection, felt the old-time delight in her 
 returning, and she knelt before her, kissing her white 
 wrists and saying : " Dear, sweet mother, I love you 
 dearly, dearly. After my season of Aunt Joanna s harsh 
 government think you that I am likely to be forget 
 ful of how gently you have dealt with me? Trust 
 me, my mother, and don t keep anything from me." 
 
 " Some things I must, but when you see me decked 
 in gay apparel while the poor soldiers go barefoot 
 and hungry, you must not think me hard-hearted." 
 She laid her cheek against Kitty s sunny hair for a 
 moment. "You are getting a big girl, Kitty: almost 
 as old as I was when I first married, and what you 
 say and do may be considered of more magnitude 
 than it would have been a year ago, so be cautious 
 when we go back to Sister Lavinia s, and keep a dis 
 creet silence where you do not approve. Twill serve 
 our ends better, and do you no harm in controlling 
 that little honest tongue of yours." 
 
 " So I shall learn to be as diplomatic as Mr. Ben 
 jamin Franklin," said Kitty, laughing. " But is it 
 honest not to speak ? " 
 
 " It is politic sometimes, and all is fair in love and
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 169 
 
 war. Be like the Quakers and don t stir up strife, 
 yet be truthful too. And now we must get ready to 
 depart." 
 
 " Mother, why do we not go back to our own 
 home? Surely we could be quiet and happy there." 
 
 " We can be of more service here, and you know 
 your father has given everything to the cause, save 
 the homestead. His lands, his horses, all his other 
 property has gone to swell the fund for carrying on 
 the war." 
 
 " Ah, I did not know that. How brave and true 
 he is." 
 
 A soft light came into Mrs. De Witt s lovely eyes. 
 " How brave and true he is," she repeated. " We 
 must be brave and true, must we not, to be worthy 
 of him ? So come now, let us prepare for what is 
 before us." 
 
 The next day found them before Mrs. Rush s house. 
 A guard was at the door and a group of redcoats 
 stood just inside. 
 
 Mrs. Rush bustled out to meet them. " Welcome 
 back, sister," she said ; " you and Kitty will have to 
 store yourselves away in a back room for a day or 
 two, for I am overpowered by this troop of soldiery, 
 and although the gallant colonel who came with his 
 train has promised to seek other quarters to-morrow,
 
 I/O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 I am quite put to it to-night. Yet you are heartily 
 welcome. I thought it was time you were wearying 
 of that country retreat, and was glad to send you 
 the pass to bring you through the lines." 
 
 And then Kitty realized that her mother had parted 
 amicably from her sister, giving Kitty s health an 
 excuse rather than a difference of opinion on politi 
 cal subjects. 
 
 " Come now, Miss Kitty, furbish yourself up to 
 look your prettiest," Mrs. Rush went on. " These 
 gay young sparks will be fine gallants for our little 
 maid, will they not, Peggy ? And tis a pity you 
 are not still a widow, for there are beaux enough 
 for the widows too, who, indeed, I sometimes think, 
 stand a better chance than the innocent little damsels. 
 But there, I am too free to express myself. I shall 
 take pains to let my guests know that, even if you 
 have a husband and I a brother-in-law in the rebel 
 camp, we are all good Tories at heart. We have 
 plenty to eat, now that the blockade is raised. So 
 hasten and dress for dinner ; it will soon be served." 
 And the brisk dame hurried below to look after her 
 domestics. 
 
 Kitty could see that she was not averse to enter 
 taining the English officers, and wondered that her 
 mother should voluntarily place herself where she
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 1 71 
 
 would come in daily contact with her husband s ene 
 mies, the more especially as so many ladies had left 
 the city on the approach of the British, not caring 
 to dwell in a garrison town. 
 
 But she soon perceived the wisdom of this course 
 of her mother s, for Mrs. De Witt s affairs being in 
 the hands of her elder brother, she did not want 
 for means, and managed indirectly to send help to 
 the patriots, when it was not suspected. 
 
 It was a bitter winter, and one that Kitty never 
 forgot. Many a night she cried herself to sleep, 
 after listening to the mocking words of Mrs. Rush s 
 guests, who laughed at the idea of the starving, 
 freezing men at Valley Forge calling themselves an 
 army ; and who, fat and comfortable, poured out 
 threats and abuse for the rebels who dared defy his 
 majesty. 
 
 Often Kitty would see her mother flush and pale 
 as some more than usually strong expression of con 
 tempt and malice would be heard. And Kitty her 
 self would bite her lips to keep from crying aloud 
 with indignation. And would beg her mother, when 
 they were alone, to allow her to stand up for her 
 friends. 
 
 " My child, twould do no good," Mrs. De Witt 
 would say, " and twould but bring suspicion upon
 
 1/2 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 us. You must remember these gentlemen speak as 
 before friends. They arc too courteous to offend us 
 if they knew they were doing so. And do you not 
 see that we can make use of them ? Be wisely silent, 
 my little girl." 
 
 It was when matters were at their worst that she 
 discovered her mother s real purpose. " Kitty, my 
 love," she whispered one day, "are you willing to 
 undertake a difficult errand for me?" 
 
 Kitty nodded assenting. 
 
 " First, then, put on your market cloak and go to 
 the market house. On the left side, about halfway 
 down, you will come to a stall \vhere you must stand 
 and wait till a country lad comes by. You must tie 
 a bit of red ribbon on your basket, and hold it 
 where he can see it. He will ask you if you want 
 any fresh eggs, - and you must say, For Mrs. De 
 Witt? and he will say, For Mrs. De Witt. He 
 will give you half a dozen eggs. Bring them care 
 fully to me. Let no one see them or take them 
 from you, for eggs are very precious." She smiled 
 as she said this, and Kitty wondered why. 
 
 She put on her market cloak, under which she 
 hid her little basket, and sallied forth. The streets 
 were full of red-coated soldiers ; the taverns rang 
 with songs ; the clank of swords could be heard, with
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 173 
 
 the occasional sound of a band. General Howe, in 
 the coach he had niched from Mrs. Pemberton, went 
 riding by ; ladies were chatting with officers in the 
 doorways ; fur-capped Hessians, looking fierce and 
 grim, lounged in knots here and there. 
 
 The market showed a busy scene, although the 
 American forces outside the city still tried to pre 
 vent the country people from coming in. Provisions 
 were scarce and high ; butter a dollar a pound, salt 
 four dollars a bushel, and other things in proportion. 
 
 Kitty had no difficulty in finding her boy with 
 the eggs, which were transferred safely to her basket. 
 A moment later a merry, bright-eyed girl, whom 
 Kitty had often seen, and whom she knew by sight, 
 came dashing by, and gave the boy s sleeve a twitch. 
 He turned quickly, and the girl began a teasing romp 
 with him, which ended in her running off with his 
 jacket. 
 
 " What a romp is Mary Redmond," said Kitty, in 
 telling her mother of the affair when she had reached 
 home. 
 
 " You silly little miss," Mrs. De Witt returned. 
 " Don t you know that Mary is an arrant little rebel, 
 and that her conduct served its purpose ? More than 
 one letter of your father s has been sewed up in 
 that same boy s jacket, and Mary knows that he is
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY- MAID. 
 
 regularly employed in bringing such news to town. 
 He must have been suspected, and it was her way 
 of saving him trouble." 
 
 Kitty stared. " Oh ! " was all that she could say. 
 
 "And the eggs; where are the eggs?" 
 
 " Here," replied Kitty, bringing out her basket. 
 
 Mrs. De Witt got up quietly and secured the door. 
 Then she examined the eggs, one by one. The 
 fourth one she broke open, and lo ! inside was a 
 tightly rolled paper. " See what kind of eggs the 
 boy had to sell," said Mrs. De Witt, laughing at 
 Kitty s astonished look. " Is not this a clever trick ? 
 The egg has been carefully cracked, and then is care 
 fully put together again with some of its own white. 
 Twas something of a risk, but worth it. The boy s 
 instructions were that if there was danger of discovery 
 he was to break the whole basketful as if by accident, 
 and after grinding all with his heel there was little 
 danger that this would be discovered." 
 
 She unrolled the letter and read, and afterward 
 sat very still. "Your father is well, but his men 
 are half starved, and need clothing, food, and such 
 things. So, Kitty, you must be a messenger to carry 
 some money and some news which will be gladly 
 received. I do not like to expose you to danger, 
 but I think you will be safe, for here I have a pass
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 175 
 
 which will take you beyond the picket. A little 
 farther on you must turn off the road until you 
 come to a farmhouse. I will give you exact directions. 
 You will be met by a man in British uniform, who 
 will stop you by asking, Have you any strawberries ? 
 and you must answer, No ; I have only red her 
 rings. 
 
 Kitty laughed, for it suggested Mother Goose. 
 Her mother went on : " To this man you must give 
 the packet which I shall intrust to you. Let no 
 one take the packet from you, for it is most precious, 
 and twould be dangerous to us if it were to fall into 
 the wrong hands. Ah, Kitty, I am running great 
 risks, and putting you to danger, perhaps. I almost 
 fear to send you, but it is for Paul your father. 
 I know you will gladly go." 
 
 " Yes, yes, I will go gladly. I am not afraid. 
 Kiss me, mother. Am I to go at once ? " 
 
 " At once. I will get the packet ready. Slip out 
 as quietly as you can." 
 
 After making her preparations, Kitty watched her 
 chance, and managed to escape from the house with 
 out attracting special notice, for there were now but 
 two officers quartered at Mrs. Rush s house, and these 
 were absent. The girl walked rapidly along till she 
 came to Vine Street, where a sentinel stood.
 
 1/6 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "Halt!" came the order promptly, and Kitty stood 
 still, produced her pass, and moved on, looking toward 
 the fields further on. Fences there were none ; they 
 had served to supply camp-fires, and she struck across 
 from the road in the direction her mother had in 
 structed her to take, producing her pass, and being 
 allowed to proceed whenever she encountered a picket. 
 
 The short afternoon was waning by the time she 
 reached the spot she was seeking. She stood still 
 and looked around, but at first saw no one ; but pres 
 ently from the shadow of a shed emerged a figure 
 which proved to be the man she sought. The short 
 conference was hardly over, and Kitty had not yet 
 transferred her packet, when there was a sound of 
 clattering hoofs on the hard ground, and a foraging 
 party came in sight riding full tilt toward them. It 
 was evident that they were perceived. The fields were 
 bare, the woodland was cut, the country beyond lay 
 barren of shelter. Toward the city were stockades 
 and blockhouses to be seen ; camp-fires glowing in the 
 wintry air, and tents dotting the camp-ground. 
 
 For a moment Kitty knew not which way to turn. 
 The approaching party of soldiers cut her off from 
 escape to the farmhouse. Her pass was her only 
 security, but would the man to whom she was to give 
 her precious packet, would he escape ?
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 1/7 
 
 The soldiers rode up, examined the pass and handed 
 it back, then rode off. The two breathed freely, and 
 Kitty s companion led out his horse. " The packet, 
 quick," he said. 
 
 Kitty s trembling fingers hastened to produce it from 
 her bosom where it was hidden. But before she had 
 it fairly in her hand, back galloped one of the soldiers, 
 " What s the word ? " he cried, accosting the man 
 before him. 
 
 Kitty s friend did not stop for parley. He made a 
 sudden swoop with his arm, caught up Kitty, and 
 swung her before him to the saddle, put his spurs to 
 his horse, which darted off at a mad pace. 
 
 Instantly a shot was fired, another and another. 
 With bullets whizzing around them, the two proceeded 
 on their way, Kitty still holding fast to her packet. 
 
 Suddenly the man gave a sharp exclamation, but 
 his horse tore on, the soldiers in hot pursuit. 
 
 "You are hit!" cried Kitty. 
 
 "Never mind," he replied, between his teeth, "it s 
 not serious. Can you shoot ? Take my pistol. If 
 they overtake us, give it to em hot and heavy." 
 
 Kitty managed to dispose of her packet and grasped 
 the pistol ; the man with one arm hanging limp, urged 
 his horse on, on toward the Delaware. But he knew 
 his good beast ; not once did the creature falter, but
 
 1/8 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 rushed down the bank, and in a moment the pursuers, 
 left on the shore, saw the brave steed struggling 
 through the waters with its double load. For a mo 
 ment not a shot was fired, but it was only a moment 
 before the firing was again begun. And, adding to 
 the danger, a half dozen boats pushed off to follow 
 them. But at last they gained the Jersey shore. The 
 horse panting, and nearly ready to drop, struggled up. 
 The man turned in his saddle, snatched his remaining 
 pistol from its holster, and gave one parting shot at 
 the first boat, then they plunged into the woods, and 
 in a few moments the noble horse stood still, and 
 Kitty knew they were safe. 
 
 " Oh, what an escape ! " she exclaimed. " The poor 
 dear horse, he is ready to drop. Can he carry us 
 further ? " 
 
 " We will let him take his own gait, but he has 
 served us gallantly, haven t you, my Major? It will 
 not do for him to stand and get chilled. We will go 
 on." 
 
 " And your arm ? does it hurt you very much ? 
 Can I do anything for you ? " 
 
 " It will do for the present. We must get to some 
 safe place for the night." The voice sounded familiar. 
 Kitty tried to remember where she had heard it before. 
 
 Suddenly the mystery cleared. " Why, John Tucker !
 
 VALLEY FORGE. 1/9 
 
 Mr. Tucker ! " she cried. " I didn t know it was 
 you." 
 
 " It s Johnny Tucker straight enough. I thought 
 you knew me." 
 
 "I ought to have; but the red uniform and you 
 know I never saw you clearly. What is to be done ? 
 Here we are in Jersey, and my mother will be anxious 
 for me, if I do not return." 
 
 " Can t be helped. You ought to be glad you got 
 off with a whole skin. I tell you it was a close 
 shave." 
 
 " So it was. I marvel that I was not touched ; 
 but twas you who shielded me by placing me in 
 front of you. I do not forget that." 
 
 " Tis much better to have a bullet through one 
 than to be a prisoner in one of the foul jails or 
 prison ships," returned John. " And that packet con 
 tained, I imagine, too much to make it wise for the 
 enemy to gain possession of it. We must now get 
 you to a place of safety, and when this little hurt is 
 attended to, I will ride on and try to get word to 
 your mother. I know not how to get you back 
 to-night." 
 
 "No, I see not how it can be done, for I left my 
 lantern behind, and none can be abroad after dark 
 without one. My mother told me to take it, but I
 
 ISO A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 should have returned by this if all had gone well. 
 How can you return?" 
 
 " By the upper way." 
 
 " That is good. Oh, John, your sleeve is all wet ! " 
 She gave a little shudder, and was silent for some 
 time. 
 
 Not many minutes later, John lurched suddenly for 
 ward against her, his bridle slipping from his hand. 
 
 Kitty, terror-stricken, caught it. The horse stood 
 still, but the girl was afraid to get down lest John 
 should fall off, and so she urged Major on, turning a 
 little so as to keep John more securely in the saddle. 
 
 She felt the horror of the situation. Alone in a 
 strange place with perhaps a dying man. She called 
 "John, John," but he made no reply, and she began 
 to sob convulsively. "Oh, Major! Major! take me 
 somewhere, somewhere where there are people. It is 
 so dreadfuh Oh, Major ! Major ! try to go in the 
 right direction." And at last when she felt that she 
 could no longer support the weight heavily leaning 
 against her, she saw in the distance the twinkle of a 
 kindly light. 
 
 In a few moments she was out of the woods and 
 into the open. Just ahead was a small log house. 
 The horse stopped of his own accord before the door, 
 and Kitty called. At first a dog s bark was the only
 
 VALLEY FORGE. l8l 
 
 response, but finally a woman came out, followed by 
 a big clog. 
 
 " Who are you ? What do you want ? " came the 
 questions. 
 
 " I have a wounded man. I know not whether you 
 are friends or enemies, but I must have help." 
 
 At the sound of her voice the dog whined and 
 sprang forward. The woman caught him back and 
 called, "Come out here, daughter," and another smaller 
 figure appeared with a lantern. 
 
 " It matters not if you be friend or foe," said the 
 woman, "we will help you. We have little to give, 
 but if your man is hurt we can perhaps aid you there. 
 Here, I will hold him up while you get down, then 
 perhaps all three of us can lift him off. Will the 
 horse stand ? " 
 
 " I think so. He is a rare, intelligent beast." And 
 Kitty, cramped and aching, climbed down. 
 
 The horse turned his eyes upon the group and stood 
 perfectly still while the women gave their attention to 
 his master. Once when one of them spoke he gave a 
 little whinny and looked over his shoulder at her, while 
 the dog sniffed about and seemed much excited. 
 
 " Bring the lantern, daughter," said the woman, 
 and when the light was brought, it displayed the 
 features of Phebe Gardner.
 
 1 82 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Kitty gave an exclamation of delight, even in the 
 midst of her anxiety. 
 
 "Phebe! Phebe ! " she cried. "Oh, how glad, 
 how glad I am. What good Providence led me this 
 way? Oh, don t you know? this is John John 
 Tucker." 
 
 Even in the glimmering light one could see how 
 Phebe paled as she shrank back. "John," she whis 
 pered, "John dead dead, and in such a cause." 
 
 Mrs. Gardner had, by this time, with Kitty s help, 
 gotten the unconscious form of the man on the ground. 
 " He is not dead," she declared. " I feel a faint 
 fluttering of his heart. He has but fainted." 
 
 " How glad, how glad I am," Kitty kept repeating. 
 " Poor John ! Good, brave John ! It would have 
 been terrible." 
 
 "Brave, maybe, not good," said Phebe, in a strained 
 voice. "A traitor, in that uniform?" 
 
 " Yes, but oh, Phebe, you don t know. I forgot, 
 you don t know. He is a true, loyal man. He has 
 never gone over to the enemy. He has braved many 
 a danger for his country, and the uniform is but a 
 disguise. Come, let us bear him indoors." 
 
 But Phebe, dropping her lantern, sank to the ground, 
 and burying her face in her hands, sobbed convul 
 sively.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A SKIRMISH. 
 
 THE wounded man was borne into the house and 
 laid upon a bed. " Poor nourishment, and cold, 
 have undermined his strength," said Mrs. Gardner, 
 after examining the wound. " He has lost more blood 
 than he could stand, and a surgeon s help is needed 
 here. Come, Phebe, this is no time for tears. Go 
 and rouse Cicely ; tell her to come clown and get some 
 lint and bandages." 
 
 She had cut away the sleeve of the scarlet coat, now 
 dyed a deeper red, and was gently bathing the wound, 
 while Kitty tried to force a few drops of cordial be 
 tween the pale lips. She had been nearly exhausted, 
 herself, but a drink of the cordial had revived her 
 somewhat. 
 
 After a few moments, John opened his eyes and 
 smiled to see Kitty bending over him. Then he caught 
 sight of Mrs. Gardner s kind, anxious face, and he 
 whispered, " Where are we ? Who is it ? " 
 
 " Don t you know me, John ? " asked Mrs. Gardner; 
 
 183
 
 1 84 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 and then Phebe came into the room, followed by Cicely. 
 The former sank on her knees by the side of her lover, 
 and Cicely, with a cry of delight, sprang to Kitty. 
 
 " Oh, John, John, my poor, dear John," murmured 
 Phebe. 
 
 "Kitty! Kitty! Kitty!" cried Cicely, and the two 
 girls laughed and cried as they hugged each other, 
 while Phebe s tears dropped on John s scarlet uniform. 
 
 " Don t cry, Phebe, don t," whispered John. " I d 
 gladly give one arm to my country, if I might use the 
 other one for you. It takes blood to wipe away cow 
 ardice, sometimes," he muttered a little later. 
 
 " I m afraid the bone is shattered," said Mrs. Gard 
 ner, in a low tone, to Kitty. " The arm ought to be 
 amputated at once, but there is no doctor near, and 
 we shall be obliged to wait till morning." 
 
 Phebe s quick ear heard her. " He shall not wait. 
 He shall not ! " she declared vehemently. " He must 
 have a surgeon at once." And seizing Kitty s cloak, 
 she darted out of the house, and before they could 
 realize her purpose, was on her way to the village. 
 
 John was too weak to notice much, but they made 
 him as comfortable as they could on the bed in the 
 next room, and then Cicely and Kitty returned to the 
 kitchen, where, by the fireside, they told each other 
 all that had befallen them in these months past.
 
 A SKIRMISH. 185 
 
 It was a modest apartment. A low raftered roof 
 showed bunches of dried herbs suspended. Over the 
 tall chimneypiece hung yellow pumpkins. The fire 
 place, with its crane and kettle, was wide and roomy 
 so wide that the two girls, sitting on the low seat 
 inside, could look up and see the sparks flying from 
 the blackened chimney to meet the star-beams far 
 above. The floor was bare, but carefully sanded, and 
 ranged around was the pewter-ware which the family 
 used. There were also a few earthen pieces, but not 
 many. There was only one other room in the house, 
 beside the garret which Phebe and Cicely occupied. 
 The garret was under so sloping a roof that one could 
 stand upright for only a few feet from the centre, or 
 along the line where the ridgepole ran to the deep 
 window embrasure. The kitchen held, beside its other 
 furnishings, an alcove bedstead, which resembled a 
 closet, and was really the most comfortable sleeping 
 place in the house. A "ruffled pawn" adorned the 
 mantel-shelf ; this was simply a ruffle of calico, such 
 as we now call a valence or lambrequin. It was a 
 very humble home, but it was exquisitely clean, and 
 comfortable for the times. 
 
 " And how came you here ? " asked Kitty. " I was 
 never so glad and so surprised as when I found you. 
 Was it not God s providence directed me ? "
 
 1 86 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " We came because we had to leave our home. 
 Our lands were foraged upon by first one side and 
 then another, so that we were stripped of everything 
 nearly. Finally our house was occupied by the Brit 
 ish, who threatened to burn it if we did not give it 
 up. We had sent away a few of the things \ve prized 
 most to this spot, and here we came. Father owns 
 this little place ; and it is so secluded it seems safer 
 than the other, although we cannot tell what safety 
 is in these times When the British and Hessians so 
 overran New Jersey, Uncle James sent for grand 
 mother to come to him. Now we are freed from the 
 redcoats, but the Tories are worse, and the foraging 
 parties may yet find us out. And now for your tale, 
 Kitty; I am longing to know about your wild ride." 
 
 Then Kitty gave an account of herself, ending with : 
 " And yet this errand is all in vain, and the money 
 for my father will never reach him ; and he must 
 need it, for how desperate is the condition of our men 
 no one can tell. Ah, me ! we have had sad reverses, 
 have we not ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I would there could be a battle which would 
 give us victory." 
 
 "You have not forgotten Burgoyne s defeat; was 
 not that a fine stroke ? " 
 
 " It was, and how it did hearten us. I fear, though,
 
 A SKIRMISH. 187 
 
 that all these skirmishes do little good, and but waste 
 ammunition. Tis nothing now but these small pas 
 sages of arms. Oh, Kitty, how strange about John ! 
 I am so glad he did not go over to the enemy; yet 
 what a pity if he must lose his arm." 
 
 " It could not be in a better cause," Kitty replied. 
 "Oh, Euphemia, what of Ferdinand?" By this name 
 the two had decided to distinguish Lloyd Holliday. 
 
 Cicely laughed and so did Kitty. Their sentimen 
 tality was all well enough on paper, but both were 
 too natural and unaffected to keep it up when face 
 to face. 
 
 " Ferdinand is well, or was when I saw him last," 
 Cicely said. " He seeks us out when he can." 
 
 "You heard how he saved my father. Oh, Cicely, 
 was he not brave to do it ? I can never forget what 
 I owe him." 
 
 " Nor he what he owes you, for he says, In the 
 one instance, twas but a chance that I savec Cap 
 tain De Witt, while in the other, capture would have 
 meant certain death for me. 
 
 Kitty sat looking thoughtfully into the fire, watch 
 ing the twisted shapes of smoke, and the pictures 
 which the charring logs made. There was no other 
 light, for candles were scarce, and Mrs. Gardner had 
 taken hers into the next room.
 
 1 88 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " I see a lantern," said Cicely, suddenly. " Phebe 
 must be coming back with the doctor. Oh, I do 
 hope no harm came to her." 
 
 In another moment Phebe entered. On her dark 
 hair lay little misty drops of rain, and the same 
 light particles flecked her scarlet cloak. The doctor, 
 muffled up, followed her. In Phebe s eyes was an 
 anxious look, as she led the way to the next room. 
 
 Presently she came back, the tears rolling down 
 her cheeks. She sank down on the floor before the 
 fire, and rocked to and fro, and the other two girls 
 placed themselves beside her, for was it not a ter 
 rible moment to the girl whose lover lay suffering 
 in the room so near her ? Who knew what might 
 be the result of the operation ? for John, exhausted by 
 the bleeding, and without the help of the anaesthetics 
 which to-day are in such general use, might succumb 
 utterly. 
 
 There was the sound of a suppressed groan, and 
 Phebe gave a shuddering cry as she buried her face 
 in her sister s lap. 
 
 Mrs. Gardner came to the door, her usually rosy 
 face quite pale. "Get me some warm water as 
 quickly as possible, Cicely," she said. And Cicely 
 filled a can from the kettle hanging on the crane. 
 
 They had a whispered consultation ; and, after light-
 
 A SKIRMISH. 189 
 
 ing a candle, Cicely ran upstairs, returning with an 
 armful of linen cloths. Then she came back and 
 took Phebe s nervous hands in hers. 
 
 " It s all over, Phebe. No, no, I mean the am 
 putation," as Phebe looked at her wildly. "John is 
 doing nicely. He bore it like a hero. You can see 
 him soon ; and," she whispered, " I ll warrant his best 
 cure will be yourself." 
 
 A little wan smile came to Phebe s white lips. 
 
 Cicely went to a shelf and took down a bottle. 
 Pouring some liquid into a pewter cup she added 
 spices and water, then heating the poker she thrust 
 it into the mixture. "Drink this, Phebe," she said, 
 " and you, too, Kitty, must have some. I should have 
 thought of it before. Twill start up the blood, and 
 you both have need of it. I must mix a potion for 
 the surgeon. Come, help me, Phebe. He will be 
 here presently. Heat the poker while I do the 
 mixing." 
 
 Phebe, thus appealed to, aroused herself, and drink 
 ing down the mugful, stirred about to set out refresh 
 ment for the doctor, who had a cold ride before him. 
 When he came from the next room, Phebe stood for 
 a moment looking at him with anxious inquiry, but, 
 at an assenting nod, she opened the door and went in, 
 leaving Cicely with Kitty s help to look after the doctor.
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " He ll pull through, I think," said the good man, 
 "although he is pretty weak, and will need strength 
 ening stuff. I ll come over again to-morrow to see 
 how he fares. These are hard times for sick folks, 
 and for well ones not much less so." He sighed as 
 he rose to put on his greatcoat, then pulling down 
 his coonskin cap over his ears, he bade them good 
 night. At the door he paused, " Your man will need 
 watching," he said. 
 
 But Kitty was not allowed to share that night s 
 vigils, and, indeed, she was not equal to it. She felt 
 very tired and sore. It had been a hard strain on 
 her. So when Mrs. Gardner declared that she and 
 Phebe would watch over the patient, Kitty was glad 
 to cuddle into bed with Cicely. It was cold up in 
 the little garret, with no fire, but once down in the 
 depths of the feather bed the girls thought nothing 
 more cosey, and Kitty was too fatigued to stay awake 
 very long. 
 
 She was awakened before daylight by a rapping on 
 the door below, and a voice cried, " Bring along your 
 rebel soldier ! We know he s in there." 
 
 A smothered cry from Phebe smote the ears of her 
 sister, who, at the rapping, sat erect in the nest of 
 feathers. Kitty, too, raised her head. Cicely sprang 
 from the bed and ran downstairs, and Kitty made
 
 A SKIRMISH. IQf 
 
 haste to peep out of one of the little windows through 
 which the first dawning light was stealing. Below 
 was a figure on horseback, his cloak closely wrapped 
 about him. Kitty flew to the window at the opposite 
 end. A like figure was below. The house was sur 
 rounded. In some way John had been betrayed. A 
 troop of Tory foragers were ready to seize him. 
 
 Kitty threw on her clothes and ran downstairs. 
 "We won t give him up: we won t," she whispered 
 as she ran. 
 
 Don, who had been sleeping on the hearth by the 
 smouldering fire, had sprung up and was barking furi 
 ously. Before the barred door stood Phebe, with a 
 set face. She held a pistol aimed at the door. Cicely 
 was dragging John s long sabre along. Kitty could see 
 no other weapon than a kettle of soft soap, which stood 
 in the corner. She seized it and made off upstairs. 
 
 The battering and banging continued. " Give up 
 the ragamuffin rebel, or we ll make it hot for you ! " 
 came the threat. 
 
 Kitty opened the little window above and peeped 
 out. Directly below her stood the man from whom 
 the loudest threats came. The girl lifted the kettle, 
 a heavy weight for her slender arms, poised it on 
 the sill, and then let the contents go splashing down 
 on the man below.
 
 192 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 There was a spluttering, and a sudden exclamation 
 of disgust, but the banging on the door ceased. In 
 its stead was heard the sharp report of a pistol. 
 Kitty ran downstairs again. Some one was at the 
 window, through which the shot had just entered 
 striking the mantelpiece. 
 
 The figure at the window was forcing an entrance 
 when Don sprang forward, and with a growl, gripped 
 the man s leg ; but a single shot, then a blow, laid 
 the faithful creature low, and, with one plaintive 
 whine, he dropped to the floor, turning his soft eyes 
 on those he had striven to defend, and then lying 
 limp and lifeless. 
 
 At this moment there was a noise of more tumult 
 outside. "Crack! Crack!" went the pistols from 
 every quarter. The man at the window suddenly 
 fell over the sill, and was dragged outside. There 
 was the sound of departing horsemen. Then all was 
 quiet until a voice called, " Phebe ! Cicely ! are you 
 safe? Open to us." 
 
 With a glad cry Cicely hastened to unbar the door. 
 A tall young man in shabby green hunting shirt 
 strode in. He caught sight of Phebe with a smok 
 ing pistol in her hand. She had fired wildly, and 
 her shot had only hit a corner of the window 
 sash.
 
 A SKIRMISH. 193 
 
 "Well, Cousin Phebe," said the newcomer, "when 
 did you join the army?" 
 
 "Oh, Lloyd! Lloyd!" cried Cicely, "where did you 
 come from ? Are they gone ? Are we safe ? " 
 
 "Safe as any one can be in these times," he replied 
 with his soft drawl. 
 
 " What s all this about ? Is John here ? John 
 Tucker? " 
 
 " Yes, wounded, and lying in the next room," Cicely 
 informed him. 
 
 Lloyd nodded. " I was right, then ; when he did 
 not return with the despatches Captain De Witt 
 expected from his wife, we suspected something 
 wrong, and two of us started out on a scouting expe 
 dition. I got a clew at one of the farmhouses where 
 they had seen him galloping by toward the river. 
 I fancied he must have gotten across, and was likely 
 to come in this direction." 
 
 " And did you know twas Kitty with him, and 
 that twas she who carried the despatches?" 
 
 "No. Mistress Kitty, was it?" Lloyd looked 
 around, but Kitty had fled. 
 
 "Kitty, Kitty, where are you?" called Cicely, and 
 a shy, blushing face, framed in fair hair, peeped 
 from behind the rude stairway which led to the gar 
 ret. " Come, Kitty, and greet our deliverer," said
 
 194 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Cicely, and then was it alone the rosy dawn which 
 lighted up the face of the girl and the young Mary- 
 lander, as they clasped hands ? 
 
 " Tell us, Lloyd, about the search for John," Cicely 
 said. 
 
 "We crossed the river, at the point where John 
 did, at least I suppose so, or maybe further up. I 
 followed the road through the woods, and saw the 
 fresh tracks of a horse in the soft ground, and when 
 we were within a few rods of the house we saw four 
 men ; one was climbing in the window as we rode 
 up. I shouted, " Come on, boys," and we rode furi 
 ously as if we were a legion. We had a little pistol 
 practice. Your man at the window was hit, and 
 the others were not long in galloping off, taking their 
 wounded companion with them. So you have our 
 tale." 
 
 " Some vile Tory must have found out that John 
 was here, and banded with others to capture him," 
 Kitty decided. 
 
 Phebe had seated herself on th e floor by the side 
 of Don s quiet body. She had gathered the dog s 
 noble head in her lap, and her silent tears were drop 
 ping on his soft coat. 
 
 "We have lost one of our best friends," said Cicely, 
 in a choking voice. " He defended us to the last."
 
 THESE: HAD SEATED HERSELF CM THE FLOOR BY THZ SIDE OF DON S 
 QUIET BODY."
 
 A SKIRMISH. 195 
 
 Phebe looked up with wet eyes. She raised her 
 hand tremblingly. " That lies at your doors, ye op 
 pressors," she said in a low tone; "who shall give 
 back this faithful life! and who shall restore to John 
 his sturdy arm ? Avenge us, O Lord, avenge us ! " 
 
 Kitty shrank closer to Cicely. There was some 
 thing almost Sibylline in Phebe s voice and attitude, 
 showing how intensely she felt the occasion. But 
 Lloyd s cheerful tones broke in, " That fire s getting 
 mighty low, Cicely; shan t I throw on a few logs?" 
 
 " Yes, do, you have ridden far, and must be hungry." 
 
 " You re right ; it s been so long since I was any 
 thing else but hungry, I most forget how it feels, and 
 yes, it s right smart of a way to camp." 
 
 " We can t offer you much, only some porridge or a 
 johnny-cake and some stewed pumpkin," Cicely told 
 him. 
 
 " Good enough, so long as there is plenty of it," 
 returned Lloyd. He stooped over and smoothed 
 Don s fine, silky ears, then, at a look from Kitty, he 
 lifted the body and gently laid it in the corner, throw 
 ing his cloak over it. Then he opened the door and 
 went out, returning soon with a young man of about 
 his own age. 
 
 " My friend Sam Stone," he presented him. " A 
 Maryland boy and a neighbor of mine."
 
 1 96 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Soon a pot of porridge was bubbling over the fire, 
 a johnny-cake browning its sides before the red coals, 
 while the fumes from a tea-pot gave evidence that 
 some sort of a decoction was in preparation. 
 
 " Tis only sage tea," Cicely told them, " but it is 
 warming." 
 
 " Better than none, " Lloyd said, cheerfully. 
 
 "Are you not tired from your long ride?" Kitty 
 asked the young men. 
 
 " Tired ? No, indeed ; Sam and I have ridden 
 further in the course of a fox-hunt. And many a day 
 have we stood in the water up to our waists for 
 hours when we were out duck-shooting. And often 
 have ridden to a party some twenty miles or more 
 away, and kept the fun going at a lively rate till 
 midnight. We Eastern Shore boys are used to being 
 in the saddle. Out-of-door life suits us, although 
 we don t call our camp life a very jolly one. We do 
 our best to keep up our end of the line, don t we, 
 Sam ? " And Lloyd s happy little chuckle gave evi 
 dence that he was by no means pessimistic. " Hurry 
 up those corn dodgers, Cicely," he went on. " The 
 smell of them is most too much for me; I ll snatch 
 one directly." 
 
 Cicely examined the browning surfaces. " They are 
 about done," she decided. " Sit by, friends." And
 
 A SKIRMISH. 197 
 
 around the frugal board in the dingy little kitchen 
 the young people gathered, Mrs. Gardner joining them 
 after a few moments. 
 
 " We found some hay and a bit of corn out yonder," 
 said Sam, " and we took the liberty of using some of 
 it for our horses. We have stabled them in your 
 little cow-shed where we found another horse." 
 
 " Yes, that is John s. Since we have no cow tis 
 good to have a shed to shelter the horses of our 
 friends," said Mrs. Gardner. 
 
 " We can let them rest and start back by noon," 
 said Lloyd. " I must see John ; and you, Miss Kitty, 
 if you will intrust your packet to us, we will try to 
 see that it reaches its destination." 
 
 " But how shall I get back to Philadelphia to my 
 mother," said Kitty. 
 
 Lloyd was silent for a moment. " Sam can take 
 your packet, and if you will allow me I will escort 
 you home." 
 
 " You ? Twill be dangerous." 
 
 "You have a pass?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " May I see it ? " 
 
 Kitty produced it. Lloyd scanned it carefully. 
 Then he spread it out on the table. " Here," he 
 said, " is our chance. There is room after bearer
 
 198 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 on this line for the word and. On the next line we 
 add what ? " 
 
 " Sister," suggested Kitty. 
 
 " Sister ? " repeated Lloyd, in sly inquiry. 
 
 " Sister," repeated Kitty, emphatically. 
 
 " So be it. Then I will borrow John s red coat, 
 and " 
 
 " One sleeve is gone." 
 
 " Never mind. A cloak will hide it. We may not 
 need the pass if we can manage to flank the pickets. 
 At any rate with it we can slip into town without 
 a fear." 
 
 " But once in the city how will you get out ? " 
 
 " Why think about that part before we are ready 
 for it ? The thing now is to get in, and the getting 
 out will come after. Let us not borrow trouble," 
 he added with his ready laugh. 
 
 Kitty did not realize the risk he was taking, both 
 as regarded his relations to the enemy should they 
 capture him, and to his own party should he be 
 found within the British lines. But his chivalry 
 toward a woman swept away all other considerations, 
 and he did not hesitate in his undertaking. 
 
 After burying poor Don with honors, they set out, 
 crossed the river in safety, left Sam to make his way 
 to camp, and then proceeded toward the British lines.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 
 
 SAM had no sooner left them than Kitty s com 
 panion looked at her over his shoulder as she sat 
 behind him on a pillion. 
 
 " My watch-paper," he said. 
 
 " Tis safe." 
 
 " May I have it ? " 
 
 " Now ? I cannot give it to you just here, for tis 
 at home." 
 
 " Then when we reach there you will return it." 
 
 " Yes, but do you intend to take me to my mother ? 
 To the very door?" 
 
 " To the very door. If my strong desire to see you 
 safely returned is not sufficient protection, my scarlet 
 coat is." 
 
 " I owe you another debt. You saved us, to-day, 
 from that Tory band." 
 
 " Must it always be a game of give and take ? Tis 
 the part of a man to succor and protect the ladies. 
 Tis to his shame that he ever permits their protection 
 
 of him." 
 
 199
 
 200 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Shame ? No shame if he be weak and ill." 
 
 " No ; but all the more must he do many deeds to her 
 one, to prove his valor. I am always your debtor to 
 the end of my life, be that near or far. Let us not 
 speak more of my deeds which are my duties only." 
 
 "We need not war over our words, need we ? I still 
 cannot forget that you risked your life for me and for 
 my father." 
 
 " A soldier s life is one of risks. Tis his daily ex 
 pectation that they must come. Let us say no more, 
 then, Miss Kitty. Your turn may come next. Who 
 knows? Here we approach the lines. We must go 
 carefully." 
 
 The picket was some yards away. Lloyd waved his 
 hand, shouted something indistinguishable, and can 
 tered on, with the utmost assurance. His red sleeve 
 reassured the man, who, fancying he had given the 
 password, allowed him to proceed. 
 
 At the second picket the order was demanded, but 
 Lloyd was so self-possessed and unconcerned in his 
 demeanor that no suspicions were aroused, and they 
 went on their way, entering the city without any 
 difficulty. 
 
 " Sister," said Lloyd, " we are safe." 
 
 "Brother, I hope you are." 
 
 " Never mind me. I have been through the lines
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 201 
 
 into the city before, and have now stronger attractions 
 than ever to come again. This is the house, I believe, 
 Mistress Kitty." 
 
 "How do you know?" 
 
 " I have seen it before ; and yonder window over 
 looking the garden is your own." 
 
 " How do you know that ? " 
 
 " On summer evenings sometimes you lean out and 
 look toward the west, and on winter nights you do not 
 draw your curtain before you look up at the stars. 
 
 " How do you know that ? " repeated Kitty. 
 
 He laughed, and lifted her down carefully. 
 
 "You will go in?" she asked. "Some one shall 
 come and look to your horse." 
 
 "I will go and meet your mother, if it please you." 
 
 Kitty led the way into the drawing-room. As she 
 turned to leave Lloyd there, he reminded her, " The 
 watch-paper, you will not forget it." 
 
 She nodded, and ran upstairs to her mother s room. 
 It was vacant. Evidently Mrs. De Witt was not at 
 home. Kitty went to her own room, and, from a 
 quaint little wooden box, took the watch-paper, which 
 was wrapped in silver paper. She was in haste, for 
 she dreaded leaving Lloyd alone, not knowing who 
 might come in. On her way downstairs she inquired 
 of the whereabouts of her mother, and learned that her
 
 202 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 surmise was correct : Mrs. De Witt and Mrs. Rush 
 had both gone out. She was relieved to hear it ; and 
 since the officers, who had been quartered in the house, 
 had found other lodgings, she felt that Lloyd s good 
 luck had made all plain sailing for him. 
 
 Entering the drawing-room, she saw that Lloyd had 
 thrown off his cloak, and his scarlet coat, minus one 
 sleeve, disclosed his green hunting-shirt below. Kitty 
 held out her silver paper package. 
 
 Lloyd smilingly received it. " Give me the fairest 
 rose in the land, and give me liberty or give me 
 death," he said softly. And he opened the package, 
 exposing to view the watch-paper. 
 
 A slight noise attracted Kitty s attention. She 
 turned her head. Behind her stood some one in full 
 British uniform. "Who is this fellow?" came the 
 sudden question. 
 
 Kitty started. It was Christopher Van Ness who 
 spoke. 
 
 " Present me to your friend," said Lloyd, calmly, 
 without making an effort to escape. 
 
 "This is my mother s brother, Mr. Van Ness," said 
 Kitty, in half-audible tones. " And this, Christopher, 
 is " she hesitated. 
 
 " Lloyd Holliday," said the other, bowing. 
 
 " Of what service ? Yours is a singular uniform.
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 2O3 
 
 What company is it which wears one green and one 
 red sleeve ? " said Christopher. 
 
 " Perhaps one made up of half Hessians and half 
 Englishmen," returned Lloyd, with a little smile. 
 
 " And what can be said of a soldier in his majesty s 
 service who repeats with such unction, Give me 
 liberty or give me death ? continued Christopher, 
 pressing his inquiries. 
 
 " Faith, sir, you are of a curious mind. If he be a 
 prisoner in the hands of the Americans, I warrant you 
 he has reason to repeat the words with unction." 
 
 "Are you, then, a prisoner?" 
 
 Lloyd bowed in Kitty s direction. " Yonder is my 
 jailor." 
 
 "A truce to these pleasantries," said Christopher, 
 impatiently. " A straightforward answer to a straight 
 forward question. Who are you ? What do you here ? 
 What is your service ? " 
 
 Lloyd stood imperturbably looking at the young 
 man. " Your friend is choleric, and without a sense 
 of humor, Mistress Kitty," he said nonchalantly. 
 
 "I suspect you. You are a spy," cried Christopher, 
 laying his hand suddenly on Lloyd s shoulder. 
 
 With one swift movement, Lloyd s arm straightened 
 out, and Christopher lay sprawling on the floor. As he 
 struggled to his feet he saw that the room was empty.
 
 204 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 It was to the garden that Lloyd and Kitty had 
 taken flight, for Kitty had grasped Lloyd s hand, and 
 had hurried him through the hall out a side door and 
 down the garden path to the stable yard. " No one 
 is about, thank Heaven," she whispered. "Here, 
 Lloyd, here, this will be a safe retreat for the present. 
 Christopher may give the alarm to have the place 
 searched, and this, I think, will be a safe place." She 
 lifted the cover from a large hogshead, which in 
 summer-time served to catch rain-water, but which in 
 this winter weather was not used. Into this Lloyd 
 sprang, and Kitty, putting on the cover, hastily saying 
 that she would come to his aid later, ran back to the 
 house by another way, and fled to her room, where 
 she expected Christopher would seek her. 
 
 She was right in her conjecture, for she had hardly 
 entered there before Christopher, full of rage, sought 
 her out. 
 
 "Who was that fellow?" he demanded. 
 
 " He gave you his name." 
 
 "What was he doing here?" 
 
 " He had the goodness to escort me home." 
 
 " From where ? You were not here when I arrived 
 last night. Where were you?" 
 
 " With friends. Is it so unusual an occurrence for 
 me to spend a night with Mary Zane, or the Red-
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 2O5 
 
 monds ? You go too far, Master Van Ness. Who 
 gave you a right to inquire into my goings and com 
 ings ? My mother knew of my absence." 
 
 " Did she ? Then I suppose it is all right ; but 
 
 zounds ! Kitty, when I saw you giving my watch-paper 
 
 ah, never fear but that I recognized it when I 
 
 saw you g ving that to this fellow, I was beside myself." 
 
 " You were beside a most disagreeable and rude 
 person, then," returned Kitty, breathing more freely 
 as she saw that Christopher had been successfully put 
 off the track. 
 
 The lad s face fell. " See here, Kitty," he said, " I 
 know you have despised me because I wouldn t come 
 out and show my colors. Now I have done it I don t 
 see why I m not as good as any other fellow in his 
 majesty s service. That other one has your favor, 
 for all his red coat. I owe him more than one grudge, 
 and I ll settle with him yet. I will prove to you that 
 I am as good a man as he. Why can t you smile on 
 me, Kitty ? " 
 
 " I will do more." 
 
 " What ? What ? " 
 
 " Laugh at you," replied Kitty, turning on her heel. 
 
 Christopher stood discomfited. 
 
 " Ah, Kitty," he spoke up, " and I thought to please 
 you so, by bringing you your Lady Gay."
 
 206 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "My Lady Gay?" 
 
 " Yes, she is now in the stable. I brought her with 
 me, letting brother William believe I should use her 
 in the service. But, Kitty, I thought only of your 
 pleasure. And there is she, for your use alone. I 
 thought we should have many pleasant rides together, 
 you so happy with your pet, and I so happy with you ; 
 for, even if I am a redcoat, I thought He paused. 
 He had tried faithfully to please ; it did seem hard. 
 
 But Kitty, beyond a low "Thank you, Christopher," 
 which, indeed, was the least she could say, made no 
 comment. She was disturbed ; half annoyed at his 
 persistence, half touched by his devotion. 
 
 He left her feeling that he had just cause for griev 
 ance. Surely he deserved better treatment. He won 
 dered what had become of his rival. His suspicions 
 were but half allayed, and he resolved to find out more 
 of this pretentious young man. "To be sure," thought 
 he, " if he be really a brother soldier in our service, 
 his anger at my calling him a spy was justified, but 
 if he be really a spy, well, Master Holliday, look out." 
 
 It was dark by the time Mrs. Rush returned, and 
 then without her sister. " Law, Kitty," she exclaimed, 
 " your mother has gone to hunt you up. She thought 
 you with little Mary Zane, or maybe with the Red 
 monds. She was meaning to tell you to remain if you
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 2O/ 
 
 wished, for that she meant to go to see your Aunt 
 Joanna. Christopher shall take her word of your re 
 turn ; or perhaps you would best go with him to her." 
 
 Kitty cast about for an excuse. How could she 
 leave Lloyd in his hiding-place ? " I am sore weary 
 to-night," she said. "Let Christopher go alone. I 
 will send a message by him, and my mother will be 
 satisfied that I am safe with you, w r here, indeed, I 
 would much rather be than with Aunt Joanna." 
 
 Mrs. Rush laughed. " You are none too eager to 
 visit your Aunt Joanna, I see, and I scarce wonder. 
 She is sharper than ever since she has her good- 
 natured Hessian to lead around by the nose. Fierce ! 
 my faith, but she is fierce ! I hope her disposition 
 to fight with her tongue is not a family trait, else my 
 sister may not expect peace even when the war is over." 
 
 Kitty smiled. " My father is most gentle," she re 
 plied. " I scarce can remember that he ever spoke 
 harshly to me. He fights his battles otherwise than 
 by words." 
 
 " That is well. Get your missive ready and Chris 
 topher shall take it. I m glad the boy is here; I can 
 make him useful. Then get you ready for dinner. 
 We have an officer who will take up his quarters 
 with us for a time. A kindly and courteous gentle 
 man he is, Colonel Savile by name. You must take
 
 2OS A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 your mother s place and make pretty speeches to 
 him." 
 
 Kitty felt that she was learning to be a diplomat. 
 She would make herself agreeable, and try to give 
 them no reason to believe she felt anxious about any 
 thing or anybody ; but all throughout the meal she 
 thought of poor Lloyd in his uncomfortable hiding- 
 place. 
 
 However, she laughed and chatted and was more 
 sprightly than Mrs. Rush had ever seen her. She 
 gave the girl a little affectionate pat as they returned 
 to the drawing-room. "Good child," she said, "you 
 have quite won the old colonel s heart." 
 
 Then Kitty suddenly thought of a plea to escape. 
 "Oh," she said, "did you know that, after all, I have 
 my Lady Gay again ? She was sent to Mr. William 
 Van Ness for safe keeping, and Christopher brought 
 her with him." 
 
 " Yes, I knew, and I m glad of it. Christopher has 
 so often wished that you had your own horse, and 
 Aaron shall see that she is well cared for here." 
 
 "Thank you, dear Mrs. Rush. And may I not go 
 out and speak to her ? She is so sensible, and I am 
 sure cannot have forgotten me. I should so like to 
 see her to-night, for, as yet, I have not given her a 
 word ! "
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 2O$ 
 
 "To be sure you shall go. Aaron has the keys. 
 There are two or three of the colonel s horses in the 
 stable, so see that your Lady Gay is comfortably es 
 tablished." 
 
 Aaron s orders about giving up the key were very 
 strict, and it was only when Mrs. Rush gave the 
 order herself, to let Kitty have free access to the 
 stable whenever she wanted, that Aaron was willing 
 to pass over the keys to her. 
 
 " You d better go with her, Aaron," said Mrs. Rush, 
 as she passed out of the kitchen, where Aaron was 
 eating his supper. 
 
 "Oh, no," Kitty spoke up quickly; "if I have a 
 lantern I shall not mind. Don t let me take Aaron 
 from his meal. I should much rather not." 
 
 " Have your own way, then," said Mrs. Rush. 
 
 "I wish I had an apple for my Lady Gay," Kitty 
 said to the cook. 
 
 "In the pantry there are some," said Susan. "Shall 
 I get you one, Miss Kitty?" 
 
 " No, I can get it. You go on with your supper, 
 Susan ; but tell me where they are, and I can find 
 them." 
 
 And Kitty with scarlet cheeks stepped into the 
 pantry. Here was the chance for which she had 
 longed. She could hide more food under her cloak,
 
 210 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 go out by the side door, and no one would suspect 
 anything wrong. 
 
 The stars were shining brightly overhead. The 
 garden paths were hard and bare. She ran rapidly 
 to the stable yard, trusting no one would see her. 
 But if some one should want one of the other horses ! 
 Her heart stood still at the thought. Christopher, 
 fortunately, was off on his errand ; the colonel, \vith 
 a friend, was sipping Mrs. Rush s Madeira. So Kitty 
 found all quiet. She raised the lid of the hogshead. 
 " Lloyd," she whispered. 
 
 The young man straightened himself up with a 
 sigh of relief. 
 
 "Are you very cold? Has it seemed long?" asked 
 Kitty. 
 
 " Weeks, and I am pretty stiff, and rather hungry. 
 I ve had a turn or two in the garden ; but that I had 
 promised you to remain here, I think I should have 
 cut and run." 
 
 " To find some one outside watching to capture 
 you. Come and follow me." 
 
 " To the ends of the earth." 
 
 " I only want you to go as far as the stable. I 
 have the keys. You can get into the hay, and find 
 a comfortable place to sleep, and here I have some 
 food for you."
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 211 
 
 " How useful you would be to send out with a 
 foraging party," he exclaimed. " Zounds ! but I never 
 tasted such victuals, it seems to me. Meat, a pasty, 
 cakes ; why, Kitty, this is a royal feast." 
 
 " I hope they won t miss it," she laughed. " But 
 if they do they will never suspect me. Now, off 
 with your coat, and give it to me. Your cloak, which 
 you left in the drawing-room, has mysteriously dis 
 appeared. I suspect Christopher has taken it as a 
 means of identifying you. Alas ! I fear twas very 
 foolhardy for you to bring me home. You cannot go 
 forth into the streets, even at night, clad in a coat 
 with one sleeve missing. Give me the coat, and rest 
 you quietly here till I come again. I must lock you 
 in. Good night." 
 
 " One word more, Kitty. Ah ! how sweet and good 
 you are." 
 
 " No, no, I must not stay. I shall be missed. They 
 will wonder why I tarry so long. I came, they sup 
 pose, to speak to my Lady Gay, and Aaron thinks 
 your horse belongs to the colonel who has taken up 
 his lodging here. So good night," and rolling up the 
 coat, she sped back again, and managed to reach her 
 room, undiscovered. Once there she felt sure of being 
 undisturbed. 
 
 She unrolled the scarlet coat. The jagged edges
 
 212 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 of the shoulder showed where the sleeve had been 
 hastily cut out that John s wounded arm might re 
 ceive attention. She sat with the coat in her lap, 
 looking at it meditatively. Then a smile dimpled her 
 face, and she stole downstairs, returning presently 
 with a second red coat in her hand. 
 
 " This will do it," she said to herself. " I ll rip 
 out the sleeve from this coat of Christopher s, and 
 set it in the other. Christopher will think I have 
 played a trick on him, or will he ? Never mind, I 
 will do it. One cannot be over particular these 
 times. I might, perhaps, take the coat as it is, and 
 give it to Lloyd, but I have some conscience left, and 
 I ll not pilfer wholesale." 
 
 After carefully ripping out the bits of cloth that 
 still clung to John s coat, she laid it aside, under her 
 chair, and began on the coat she had purloined from 
 Christopher s room. All this took some time, and 
 she became so absorbed in her work that she did not 
 realize how time had flown, nor did she hear a gentle 
 tap at the door, for, just at that moment, she dropped 
 her scissors. As she picked them up, she raised her 
 eyes, and Christopher stood before her. 
 
 "Why why, I didn t hear you," she stammered. 
 
 " I knocked, and thought you said, Come in. I 
 saw the light shining under your door, and knew that
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 2 13 
 
 you must be up. I have an answer to your note. 
 Your mother wanted you to have it to-night, and I 
 hurried back with it." 
 
 " You must have hurried." 
 
 " Yes, I did. 13ut why, Kitty, is that my coat ? 
 What are you doing with it ? " 
 
 The hot color flushed up to the roots of Kitty s 
 hair. She was completely nonplussed for a moment. 
 Christopher regarded her steadfastly. 
 
 "There is a slight rip here," she said, recovering 
 herself. 
 
 " And you are mending it for me ? How good of 
 you. Kitty, you are not such an enemy as you pre 
 tend, after all." He looked mightily pleased. This 
 accounted for that vivid blush, he thought. " Don t 
 bother over it to-night," he added. "Come downstairs 
 into the drawing-room." 
 
 " No, I do not care to ; I am tired." 
 
 "Yet you would sit up to do this for me." Chris 
 topher looked even more complacent. She regretted 
 her harshness to him, no doubt. She was glad, after 
 all, to see him, and was trying to make amends for 
 her sharp speeches. 
 
 " Well, anyhow," he said, gently taking the coat 
 from her, " I shall not let you sit up to do this for 
 me. I ll have old Tabitha do it to-morrow. She
 
 214 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 always does my mending for me. Go to bed, Kitty. 
 Good night, and pleasant dreams." And he went off, 
 bearing the coat in his hand. 
 
 Here was a pretty kettle of fish ! Kitty felt quite 
 humiliated by Christopher s gentleness and lack of 
 suspicion. " If he only knew," she said to herself, 
 " how furious he would be. I feel a hypocrite to re 
 ceive his gratitude. What can I do ? What can I 
 do ? " She drew out the other coat from under the 
 chair. " How lucky that I put it there ! " she ex 
 claimed. " Oh, my mother s note ! I have not read 
 it." 
 
 She picked it up from the floor, where it had 
 fallen, and read : 
 
 " It gave me joy to know of your safe return, dear 
 Kitty. I am here on a business errand. Perhaps, 
 after all, you would best not come. I will return as 
 soon as I can. What hours of suspense I passed till 
 I learned that you were safe ! I long to see you. I 
 dare not \vrite more, for Christopher is waiting. Your 
 devoted mother." 
 
 Kitty s own note had contained only the few words : 
 " I have returned safe and sound. Will tell you all 
 when I see you." 
 
 " Dearest little mother," said Kitty, as she put down 
 the note; "she has some plan afoot. I wonder what.
 
 THE RED SLEEVE. 21 5 
 
 Well, I must get along without her. And now what 
 next ? To secure my tell-tale door and my windows, 
 I think." So she covered the betraying cracks, think 
 ing : " Lloyd cannot stay long in hiding, or he will 
 be discovered. What can I do ? What can I do ? 
 Ah ! " Her eye fell on her scarlet cloak lying on the 
 bed. She snatched it up, and, without a moment s 
 hesitation, proceeded to cut from it, as well as she 
 could, a sleeve to fit the coat. The color matched 
 quite near enough. 
 
 But it was no easy job ; and she toiled over it, in 
 her inexperienced way, till fingers and head ached, 
 and the night was far spent. Finally, too tired to 
 set another stitch, she put out her candle and went 
 to bed, but not before a thought occurred to her 
 which set her at ease as to Lloyd s escape. 
 
 " I can do it. I know I can ! " she said, as her 
 eyelids drooped over her tired eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 
 
 KITTY slept late the next morning, but managed 
 during the day to finish the sleeve and set it 
 in the coat. 
 
 " It will do," she said, viewing it with satisfaction. 
 " It may not be exact, but twill never be seen on 
 a galloping horse, and the color is very near. And 
 now to my old colonel. I must wheedle him. Ah, 
 me ! am I not learning to be a sad, sad, deceitful 
 girl ! But it is for you, my father, and for you, my 
 country." 
 
 When she heard the Englishman s hearty voice in 
 the hall below, she went to the drawing-room, from 
 which the tinkling sound of the spinnet coming told 
 her that Mrs. Rush was entertaining the gentlemen. 
 
 There \vere several officers standing about as Kitty 
 entered. " Here is our little lass," said Colonel 
 Savile to a gentleman near him. It does me good 
 to see so fresh and fair a face. She is like our 
 English girls. I find the Philadelphia lasses are a 
 
 216
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 21 / 
 
 little pale. Is she not like my daughter Winifred, 
 Sir William ? " 
 
 "Quite like." 
 
 " She hails from New York, and a lively little body 
 she is. We must have you to a rout, my dear. And 
 I will lead you out myself if you will take an old 
 man for a gallant, Miss Kitty." 
 
 Kitty cast him a winning glance from her clear 
 blue eyes. " I should like such a gallant much 
 better than a young rattlepate," she replied. " I 
 like better a companion who can be sensible." 
 
 " Ho ! ho ! " laughed the colonel s friend. " A 
 rare coquette is this. Take care, colonel, or you ll 
 be giving your daughter a stepmother younger than 
 herself. Will you sing for us, Miss Kitty, or 
 play us a tune, since your aunt has left the spin- 
 net ? " 
 
 "Those are not my accomplishments, but I can 
 cut you a fairly pretty watch-paper. I am not a 
 talented maid, I fear, but I can use a brush and 
 scissors better than my voice." 
 
 " Can you ? Then I claim the promise of a watch- 
 paper," returned the colonel. 
 
 " And I, too," remarked Sir William. " Mine first, 
 colonel." 
 
 " I bow to my superior officer," said Colonel Savile,
 
 2l8 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 laughing. "This is Sir William Howe, as perhaps 
 you already know, Miss Kitty." 
 
 " General Howe is too well known to be unfamiliar 
 to me," she said, making a low courtesy ; " and if it 
 please him I will cut him my prettiest watch-paper 
 this very day." 
 
 "And in return what compliment can we pay 
 her, Savile ? " said Sir William. 
 
 The colonel pondered. " You might name your 
 favorite horse for her," he said, laughing. 
 
 Kitty s heart was beating fast, but she replied, as 
 if a trifle offended: "No; that is scarce a compliment. 
 Tis Kitty here, and Kitty there, with every farmer 
 who drives a wagon to market. I will tell you " 
 she paused, scarcely able to give voice to her daring. 
 " I will be quite satisfied if you will allow me to 
 name the password this night." She looked up 
 smiling at Sir William. 
 
 "An easy thing to grant," he answered, smiling 
 back at her. "The officer of the clay shall have 
 immediate notice of my desire in the matter." He 
 pulled out his watch. " There is time enough yet. 
 And what shall the word be ? " 
 
 " Savile," replied Kitty, demurely. 
 
 "Ha! ha!" laughed the general. "It is plain 
 to see who is the favorite here. As pretty a compli-
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 219 
 
 ment as I ever knew offered by a dame at court. 
 Savile shall the password be, and tis a pretty conceit 
 which costs nothing." 
 
 " Except perhaps a young life," thought Kitty, as 
 she thanked the gentlemen in the most gracious 
 words she could find. And they, little dreaming of 
 how she had schemed to bring this about, laughed 
 and joked with her as they took their departure. 
 
 As soon as possible Kitty made her escape to 
 the stable, taking opportunity of Aaron s eating his 
 luncheon, for she well knew the old fellow hated to 
 be disturbed at meal-time. Her scarlet cloak no 
 longer could be put to use, but she threw over her 
 a warm wrap of her mother s, hiding beneath the 
 red coat. Up to the hay-loft she climbed, disturbing 
 a meditative hen sitting on her nest, and almost 
 stepping on a motherly cat with a family of mewing 
 kittens. From the top of the ladder she called 
 softly, " Lloyd." 
 
 A dark head popped up from the hay. 
 
 "It s Kitty," said the girl. "Come out, I must 
 speak to you. Here are some provisions, and here 
 is your coat, with a pair of sleeves. No, never mind 
 how the second one was supplied. Put the coat on, 
 and while Aaron is at dinner and the gentlemen still 
 over their wine, I will come out with the key and
 
 22O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 let you out. The password is Savile. Forget it 
 not. Savile. " : 
 
 " I will not forget it, but how 
 
 " Never mind asking how I happen to know it, but 
 so it is. I ll see that your saddle and some provisions 
 are in the stall for you. You have your pistols. Are 
 they loaded ? " 
 
 "Yes. I looked to that." 
 
 " Then you can ride out freely. I may not be able 
 to do more than unlock the stable door for you, for it 
 is to our interest that I am indoors to intercept the 
 gentlemen if they require their horses. So, good-by, 
 and may you have a safe journey." 
 
 "Kitty! Kitty!" The young man stood up looking 
 at her. "What an angel of goodness you are to me." 
 
 Kitty began laughing, somewhat hysterically. 
 
 " Why do you flout me ? " 
 
 " You look so funny with your hair full of hay, and 
 your clothes all wispy," she answered, turning off her 
 real emotion. 
 
 He smilingly flicked off the bits of hay, but looked 
 quite grave a moment after. " You know that I shall 
 now go to rejoin my regiment. I volunteered to take 
 the despatches to Valley Forge when my term of en 
 listment expired, and so I have been free to scour the 
 country as I pleased ; but my coming within the enemy s
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 221 
 
 lines was hardly allowable. However, I think I can 
 prove it was to some purpose. Do not look so serious, 
 Kitty. It will be all right. Must this be farewell ? 
 God bless you, Kitty, Kitty." 
 
 He stooped and kissed her hand, and she made her 
 way to the ladder, waving him back when he would 
 have helped her down. She stopped to rub Lady 
 Gay s soft nose, and to give her a bit of sugar, en 
 countering Aaron just as she was going out. 
 
 " You re mightily fond of that mare of yours, Miss 
 Kitty," he said. 
 
 " So I am, and so would you be, Aaron, of a creature 
 which so reminded you of your happy home. An only 
 child, such as I am, cares more for her pets than does 
 one who has a host of sisters and brothers." 
 
 " I shouldn t wonder if that were true, miss. Well, 
 she s a pretty beast, and takes fancies, like all of em. 
 She s fonder of that long-nosed black horse in the stall 
 next her, than of any. Strange Colonel Savile never 
 rides that black, and he s a good un." 
 
 " I think," said Kitty, slowly, "that he belongs to one 
 of the younger men, and my aunt is but stabling him 
 for a while. You needn t be surprised if you find him 
 gone, most any day." 
 
 She went on to the house, and spent a restless after 
 noon, but arrayed herself for dinner in her most becom-
 
 222 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 ing gown, a pale pink lutestring over a petticoat of 
 shimmering green. Very young girls dressed quite 
 like their elders in those days, and even very young 
 children wore stiff stays. So Kitty, when she went 
 down to dinner, presented quite a grown-up appearance. 
 
 She produced Sir William s watch-paper, for he had 
 accepted an invitation to dine with the family ; and 
 at sight of Kitty s gift, Christopher leaned over and 
 whispered: "You are very free with your watch-papers, 
 Miss Kitty, but I am not jealous of Sir William. I 
 have discovered something which I will tell you after a 
 while." 
 
 Lest he should see the sudden fear in her eyes, she 
 turned her head away, but she waited, in trepidation, 
 for him in the drawing-room after dinner. She sought 
 a secluded corner, where no one might overhear them. 
 
 "What have you discovered?" she asked lightly, 
 as she made room for him at her side. " That I am 
 in love with the colonel?" 
 
 " No ; but that there is no Lloyd Holliday in his 
 Majesty s service. So that it is either an assumed 
 name, or the man is a rebel spy." 
 
 "What penetration! Suppose suppose he were 
 a rebel, as you call him, would not the fact of his 
 being my friend protect him from you ? Would you 
 give over one who had saved my father from danger,
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 223 
 
 to such horrors as the prisons here, to such jailors 
 as Cunningham and Loring ? Or would you condemn 
 to an ignoble death one who had protected me from 
 insolence, and who loves life as well as you do?" 
 She felt so safe, with Lloyd, at this moment, ready 
 to escape. 
 
 Christopher was silent for a minute. " You press 
 me hardly, Kitty," at last he replied ; " you would 
 never forgive me if I discovered him and gave him 
 up." 
 
 " Never, while I lived." 
 
 Christopher looked grave, but Kitty laughed a little 
 nervously, " Well, supposing is very easy. Let us 
 not suppose anything in this case." Her ears were 
 strained to catch the sound of a horse s hoofs going 
 out the stable yard. " I but tried you." 
 
 " Nevertheless, if the case were no supposition, you 
 would not forgive me." 
 
 " I have told you, never, never." 
 
 He rose to his feet, and walked toward the door. 
 
 "Ah, Christopher, come back," Kitty called to him. 
 " I have something to say to you." 
 
 " I cannot stop now." 
 
 "But" 
 
 " Another time." 
 
 "One moment," she ran after him and caught him
 
 224 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 by the sleeve ; " what sort of a watch-paper should 
 you like?" 
 
 " I ll think, and tell you later ; will you make me 
 one, after all ? How good of you. I must hurry off. 
 I ll tell you to-morrow." 
 
 She shivered as he turned to the door leading to 
 the garden, and as he closed it, she shook like a leaf, 
 holding her clasped hands over her heart, and listen 
 ing listening. 
 
 A few minutes later there was the sound of a grat 
 ing gate, a horse s hoofs sounded along the drive. 
 Kitty returned to the drawing-room, and went toward 
 the window. " Tis but Christopher going out," said 
 Mrs. Rush, looking up from her book. 
 
 " Oh ! " was all that Kitty said. But a second 
 horseman passed out a little later, and Kitty was 
 not easy. 
 
 "The watch-paper," said Christopher the next morn 
 ing, " shall be an open gate, and behind it a true heart 
 surrounded with forget-me-nots. Shall I tell you 
 why ? " 
 
 Kitty nodded, her eyes fixed on his face. 
 
 " Because last night, as I went to the stable to get 
 my horse, I found the key already in the lock, and 
 before I could enter the door swung open, and there 
 rode out a man in our uniform."
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 22$ 
 
 " You stopped him ? " Kitty s very lips were pale. 
 
 " No, I did not even look at his face, for not know 
 ing who it was I could better let him go. Otherwise 
 I might have failed in my duty, and if you would 
 not have forgiven me, Kitty." 
 
 She sat very still, and when she raised her eyes 
 they were full of tears. " You shall have the watch- 
 paper," she said, "and it shall be the very prettiest 
 I can make." 
 
 But just then came old Tabitha to say, " Mrs. De 
 Witt has just come in, Miss Kitty, and would like to 
 see you in her room." Therefore Kitty rushed off 
 upstairs to throw herself in her mother s arms. 
 
 " Ah, my dear, my dear, did you but know how 
 troubled I have been for you," said Mrs. De Witt. 
 " Indeed, when you did not return that evening, I 
 was so distraught that I feared every one around 
 knew our secret, and at every sound I started so 
 nervously that my sister noticed it, and therefore, 
 lest I betray myself, and so bring trouble on us all, 
 I betook myself to where I could be in direct com 
 munication with those near the lines. I knew not a 
 single incident would escape our Aunt Joanna ; but 
 when I heard nothing of you, and knew not what 
 had happened, ah, then, I was in despair. Tell me 
 all, Kitty ; I am most eager to know."
 
 226 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Then Kitty unburdened herself of her news. 
 
 "Poor John! poor John!" Mrs. De Witt shook 
 her head sadly. "Ah, Kitty, is it not all a sad time ? 
 And how courageous you were. Such a soldier is my 
 Kitty." She fondled the girl s pretty fair hair lov 
 ingly. "The dangers increase," she went on, "but 
 my love, we must be all the more guarded in our 
 speech. The British cannot, and must not know the 
 condition of our soldiers at camp : for days with 
 scarce food enough to keep them alive, wood so 
 scarce that a small fire is a luxury. And who could 
 be comfortable in those little huts ? The feet of our 
 brave men leave bloody tracks upon the snow, and 
 so desperate are they about getting stores to camp, 
 that the men who are strongest harness themselves 
 to the wagons, as if they were beasts of burden, that 
 they may draw to the needy some of those supplies 
 which lie in the woods untouched for want of horses 
 to transport them." She paused and pressed her 
 hands over her eyes, then looked around the room. 
 " And we sit here in comfort! Kitty, can you realize 
 it ? Your father, my husband, hungry, cold, misera 
 ble ! Oh, think not he has complained to me. Twas 
 another told me all this. Listen, Kitty, do you won 
 der that I keep silent, and seem to be unconcerned ? 
 I will tell you why. My brother William has my
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 22 7 
 
 property in his care. He is a bitter Tory, as you 
 know. If he knew that I spent my money in reliev 
 ing the patriot army, he would deliberately allow all 
 I have to fall into the hands of the British, feeling 
 himself warranted in so disposing of the goods of a 
 rebel. So you see, to enjoy my means, to help your 
 father, I must even pretend that my sympathies are 
 with his enemies. Christopher and Lavinia watch me, 
 but more so does your Aunt Joanna, who is incensed 
 against her own family. Now Kitty, dear, I know 
 you will help me to maintain an indifferent mien. I 
 never array myself in gay apparel but I feel self- 
 condemned. Yet I must do it to maintain the posi 
 tion I assume. Do you understand your mother 
 now ? " 
 
 " Ah, mother, I do. You are brave, brave, to do 
 so." 
 
 " No, no. I am a coward still, but I love your 
 father, Kitty. He was my hero when I was younger 
 than you." 
 
 Kitty opened her eyes in surprise. 
 
 Her mother laid the girl s hand against her cheek. 
 " Yes, younger than you. Then he married your 
 mother, and I after a while married Richard Gilles- 
 pie. So but never mind, we will not go over it all, 
 but you can see, Kitty, mine is not a recent feeling.
 
 228 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 But, tell me ; solve a mystery. Why in the world do 
 I find bits of scarlet cloth on the floor ? and why is 
 your scarlet cloak so hacked into ? " 
 
 Kitty dropped her eyes. She had left out part of 
 her story, but now she told it falteringly. 
 
 "A brave lad," said Mrs. De Witt, "but a little 
 too venturesome. And Christopher, poor boy. Poor 
 little brother, yet he is an honest and an honorable 
 one I see. Ah me, how by contraries do things go 
 in this world. But now we must bethink ourselves 
 of what to wear to-night at the City Tavern. Lavinia 
 says you promised to go." 
 
 "Ah, I had forgotten that. Yes, I promised the 
 colonel to go." 
 
 " I, too, have promised, for it seemed best. We will 
 laugh with the redcoats, Kitty, while our hearts are 
 aching for those by the lonely camp-fires. Such is the 
 irony of it. Come, we ll look so sorry as to cause 
 wonderment, if we keep up this strain. Let me see 
 how pretty I can make you look. A string of pearls 
 for you,"- she opened her casket, " and blue is the 
 color with them. We ll go a-shopping, perhaps, and 
 that will divert us and my sister as well. You will 
 need one or two things which you are now without. 
 Let me see, I must have my hair done in the latest 
 fashion, which is a monstrous pile, is it not? And I ll
 
 A COUNTERSIGN. 229 
 
 wear my gayest amber-colored brocade which my sister 
 so admires." 
 
 So to the rout did they go, and Kitty laughed with 
 Tarleton and Andre, gay young gallants, so ready for 
 any kind of fun which should while away the tedium 
 of their garrison life in the quiet Quaker town. 
 
 But to Colonel Savile did Kitty give her preference ; 
 and the courtly old fellow led her out, bowing and 
 stepping as featly as the youngest there, to the tune 
 of the old-fashioned and stately minuet. 
 
 Christopher was in high feather. He felt that his 
 star was in the ascendant, for that afternoon had 
 Kitty devoted herself to the making of the watch- 
 paper. Open gate, transfixed heart, forget-me-nots 
 and all, rested safely in his watch-case, to the satis 
 faction of the lad, and to the benefit of his watch, 
 which, lying on the soft paper, received fewer jars as 
 the young man stepped gayly about the room. 
 
 "Is it not a gay scene ? " he said to Kitty as he 
 stood by her side, his rosy cheeks aglow with excite 
 ment and pleasure. 
 
 Kitty looked around wistfully. " Enemies all," she 
 felt inclined to say, but she shook aside the thought 
 and answered : " Gay, indeed. Does not my mother 
 look well in her amber brocade ? I think it is vastly 
 becoming. How gayly Miss Redman is talking. Is
 
 23O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 not that Miss Bingham yonder? and the other so 
 vivacious : who is she ? " 
 
 "You mean Miss Rebecca Franks, a saucy body 
 she is. But there comes my friend Tarleton to fetch 
 you," and Kitty was led away.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 VENTURESOME YOUTH. 
 
 KITTY was enjoying the scene, and was standing 
 by her mother s side looking at the merry com 
 pany, when some one bowed before her. Brave he 
 was in a blue silk coat, pearl-gray breeches, and black 
 shoes with silver buckles. Kitty started, and almost 
 cried out in amazement, but the seriousness of the 
 situation prevented, so she only whispered, "Lloyd!" 
 
 " May I have the honor of a promenade with you ? " 
 he asked as nonchalantly as if his being present were 
 no matter of surprise. 
 
 With a whispered word to Mrs. De Witt the girl 
 permitted herself to be led away. " But how danger 
 ous ! how dangerous ! " she said under her breath. 
 " How could you run such risks ? " 
 
 " For the sake of seeing Mistress Kitty De Witt 
 in her brave attire. You told me you had promised 
 to be here to-night, and I wanted to be with you again. 
 I shall go as soon as this is over." 
 
 She glanced shyly at his handsome figure, his pow- 
 
 231
 
 232 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 dered wig, and lace ruffles. She had never before seen 
 him dressed as a gentleman of fashion. 
 
 He laughed at her unexpressed curiosity. " I am 
 sheltered by my Quaker friends, of whom you already 
 know," he told her ; " and this costume, alas, Kitty, it 
 is not mine; tis hired." 
 
 "Yet" 
 
 " Yet you think I wear it easily. Do you suppose 
 I always wear a hunting-shirt ? " 
 
 " No, but She was rather overpowered by this 
 elegant-appearing young man who needed not her pity. 
 
 Suddenly she looked at him in consternation. " I 
 forgot Christopher is here. He may recognize you 
 and oh, Lloyd, hurry, hurry away." 
 
 " Not while I am attending you. I think your Chris 
 topher will hardly recognize me. Where is he ? " 
 
 " In that crowd at the end of the room, and he may 
 recognize you." 
 
 " Let him. I shall have my promenade ; else why 
 take a risk at all ? " 
 
 "Ah, but you are " 
 
 " What ? Foolhardy ? Maybe ; but what is worth 
 having is worth some risks. How is Miss Gay ? " 
 
 " Lady Gay ? " 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 " She is well. I would I had a chance to send her
 
 VENTURESOME YOUTH. 233 
 
 back to my father. When men must be beasts of 
 burden, must I be riding around on horseback ! " 
 
 "Ah, if all were like you, so unselfish, so devoted." 
 
 A turn in the room brought them too near others 
 for them to continue serious talk, although the whole 
 conversation had been in snatches. 
 
 "I will take her," said Lloyd, at the next opportunity. 
 
 " You ? How can you ? " 
 
 " I have still my red coat. Tis worth a great deal 
 to me ; and then my good friends, the Wrights, have 
 no trouble in getting out into the country when they 
 need. There are many ways to do these things if one 
 but knows the ropes." 
 
 " I know not how you can be so venturesome." 
 
 " Do you fear for me ? Then tis doubly a joy to 
 make a dash and win. Do you really want to give 
 up Lady Gay ? Would it make you happier ? " 
 
 " Oh, it would, dearly as I love her. I love my 
 father more than any one in the world, and to help 
 him would be a joy." 
 
 " Then if you ll leave the stable door open, at Aaron s 
 supper-time to-morrow, I ll come get her, and I ll prom 
 ise you your father shall have her, if I live. Can 
 you manage your part ? " 
 
 " I will, whether or no." 
 
 " If I might see you
 
 234 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Perhaps." 
 
 "Then tis not a long farewell. Alas, that pleasures 
 are of such short duration ! I must be going." 
 
 " Who is Kitty s attendant ?" said Mrs. Rush to her 
 sister ; " I never saw a prettier picture." 
 
 " Expect me not to remember the names of all Kitty s 
 friends," returned Mrs. De Witt. "There, her cava 
 lier has hardly left her before another seeks her hand. 
 The child is not a wall-flower." 
 
 " A new face, if it be a pretty one, is always an 
 attraction," replied Mrs. Rush, " and there is not a 
 sweeter girl in the room, though some are more brill 
 iant. But I must ask her who was the dark-eyed gal 
 lant in the blue coat. He mightily took my fancy as 
 a courteous gentleman." 
 
 Later in the evening she put the question to Kitty, 
 who hoped no one saw her color as she replied : " Law, 
 Mrs. Rush, I cannot remember all the names of the 
 gallants I have seen this evening. Tis my first rout, 
 remember, and I am too excited to remember aught 
 but to mind my manners." 
 
 " But he was so handsome you ought to remember 
 him. He wore a sky-blue coat and pearl breeches." 
 
 "Point him out to me, then," said Kitty, recovering 
 her self-possession. " There is a blue coat yonder, and 
 methinks I have met the owner."
 
 VENTURESOME YOUTH. 235 
 
 " Tis not he. I see him nowhere. He must have 
 gone. Well, no matter. He ll doubtless be on hand 
 next week, since his air of devotion, as he bowed over 
 your hand, was very genuine." 
 
 Kitty s heart beat freely. Christopher had not 
 recognized Lloyd, and he was safely out of the room. 
 But what a daring youth he was. She admired him 
 the more for it. And now about Lady Gay ; how 
 could she explain her departure ? As she was going 
 home she turned the matter over in her mind. Be 
 tween the curtains of her chair, she saw the foot- 
 passengers hurrying home with their lanterns. Young 
 soldiers, who preferred a supper at the Bunch of 
 Grapes, to a more sober rout at the City Tavern, 
 stepped gayly along singing snatches of song. Here 
 and there a cloaked figure walked sombrely alone. 
 It was one of the latter which stood at a little 
 distance from Mrs. Rush s door as Kitty s chair 
 stopped. Was it her imagination, or did she catch the 
 wave of a hand, through the dimness, as she turned to 
 look over her shoulder while she \vas going up the steps. 
 At all events, the figure moved away at once. 
 
 But as Kitty cuddled down in bed, a sudden thought 
 leaped to her brain, and she settled her night-capped 
 head comfortably as she heard the watchman going 
 his rounds, calling, " Midnight, and all is well."
 
 236 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Mother ! " she said, as she tiptoed out of her 
 room, and crept under Mrs. De Witt s covers with 
 her, the next morning. " Mother, are you awake ? " 
 
 " Naturally, since you ask it," said Mrs. De Witt, 
 hugging the little bedfellow up to her. "Why this 
 unusually early visit ? Has the excitement kept you 
 awake all night ? " 
 
 "Ah, no, but I have so much to say. First, will 
 you do me a favor?" 
 
 "Why ask? You know the answer." 
 
 "Will you buy my Lady Gay from me, and give 
 her to a soldier ? " 
 
 " To whom ? Christopher ? " 
 
 " No, to father." 
 
 "Kitty, what are you talking about?" 
 
 Then Kitty told her of Lloyd s hazardous visit, and 
 of his offer to carry off Lady Gay in safety to the 
 American camp. 
 
 " How can he ? " inquired Mrs. De Witt. 
 
 " That I do not know, but what he promises he 
 will perform, and if I am asked where my horse is, 
 I want to be able to say that I have sold her." 
 
 " Christopher will take it hardly that you kept it 
 from him, and will want to know who has bought her." 
 
 " I shall tell him the negotiations were made through 
 you," said Kitty, laughing.
 
 VENTURESOME YOUTH. 237 
 
 " Then must I put him off the track ? Well, I can 
 do it ; and I will buy your horse gladly, my sweet 
 ing, and will give you a gold piece for her." 
 
 "Which I shall send to camp at my very first 
 opportunity." 
 
 "And which would find its way there anyhow, if 
 not into the hands of our good friend Robert Morris. 
 Good Mr. Morris, what he has done for his country 
 is past telling, and indeed he has shown himself a 
 friend to me in many ways. But I forget. I must 
 not, even to you, call him friend, lest I speak out 
 when I should not. And so you are willing to give 
 up your Lady Gay whom you so love. It is a sac 
 rifice. You are likely never to see her again. Have 
 you thought of that?" 
 
 " Yes, but do not let us speak of it. I cannot think 
 of that part of it. Let us talk of the rout, instead." 
 
 "Did you like it?" 
 
 " Ye-es. I could not help it." 
 
 "Who could, at sixteen?" 
 
 " But we do not have to go too often." 
 
 " Never again, unless you wish. I think once going 
 establishes our reputation as Tories." 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 "Yes, yes, that is why we went. But your reward 
 for the sacrifice was greater than mine."
 
 238 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "How so?" 
 
 " You forget or do you ? how very becoming 
 are sky-blue coats to a certain manly figure." 
 
 " No, I don t forget, but it was scarcely a reward 
 after all, for now I must give up Lady Gay." 
 
 " And we promised to say no more about it. Ah, 
 my little Kitty, this patriotism means a continued call 
 upon us for something we love." 
 
 Only once did Kitty visit Lady Gay that day, and 
 then it was when the old hostler was at dinner. The 
 tears which bedewed the mare s glossy chestnut mane 
 no one saw, the quick sob no one heard, except Lady 
 Gay herself, who rubbed her velvet nose against her 
 mistress s shoulder, and whinnied. 
 
 " You ll be half-starved, perhaps dreadfully hurt, 
 or killed, Lady Gay," said Kitty, brokenly, "but you 
 must go, for my father s sake ; for the sake of our 
 country. And so good-by good-by, my dearest 
 pet," and passionately kissing the pretty creature she 
 fled forth, leaving the key in the door, and, rushing 
 to her room, she lay sobbing on her bed, her fingers 
 stopping her ears lest they should hear the last 
 sound of the horse s dainty hoofs. Nevertheless, 
 she could not shut out the sound, altogether, of a 
 grating gate and the crunching of gravel which told 
 her when her horse was gone.
 
 VENTURESOME YOUTH. 239 
 
 And so Lloyd s farewell was a long one, for he 
 looked in vain for a little figure. 
 
 " She could not stand seeing her horse go, the 
 dear girl," he said. " I ve half a mind not to take 
 her, but well, a promise is a promise, and the 
 cause of freedom before everything." So a day later 
 Lady Gay appeared in the camp at Valley Forge, 
 and between groups of half-naked men she was led 
 up to an officer wearing a sort of dressing-gown made 
 of a bed-blanket, one of many such queer-looking 
 garments seen there, and there was Kitty s pet 
 delivered over for her country s use. 
 
 But it was many a long day before Kitty should 
 know more of the gallant and daring youth who 
 had so successfully carried out his plan of getting 
 through the British lines to deliver the chestnut mare 
 to Captain De Witt. 
 
 To be sure, there came a little note to Kitty the 
 next day. It was delivered by Abigail Wright to 
 little Mary Zane, who informed Kitty that she had 
 been asked to give it to her. 
 
 "Adieu, fairest and best," said the note. "I pene 
 trate the cause of your non-appearance last night, 
 and while my own disappointment was great, I could, 
 nevertheless, smother it in reflecting upon your grief 
 at parting with your pretty mare. Forget me not,
 
 240 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Kitty. If the fortunes of war favor us I shall return 
 to you again, but I cannot do so at present, for I 
 return to my regiment to reenlist at once, and my 
 duty will not allow these pleasant, though somewhat 
 risky, raids. Here is a sword-knot which my sister 
 gave me when I left home. Will you keep it as a 
 
 reminder of your faithful cavalier, 
 
 " LLOYD. 
 
 Kitty turned the twist of silk over in her hand 
 and looked at it sadly, then she stooped and kissed 
 the little bearer of the note, who, despite her Quaker 
 self-repression, put her arms around her friend s neck 
 and whispered, " I love thee, Kitty." Then she ran 
 home as fast as her decorous Quaker training would 
 permit her. 
 
 Jovial Joseph Rush had returned to his home that 
 very day, and was sitting with some of the British 
 officers in the drawing-room. The occupation of the 
 British had not been the most fortunate thing for 
 Mrs. Rush s establishment, as the wear and tear 
 showed. Here was a sword-cut across a silk curtain ; 
 there was a deep dent in a polished table ; a bit was 
 broken from the finest ornament, and a gaping 
 crack showed down the side of the handsomest chair, 
 it having borne, once too often, the heavy weight of 
 a burly officer.
 
 VENTURESOME YOUTH. 241 
 
 Colonel Savile was tapping his snuff-box excitedly, 
 and Mr. Rush s silver buckles swung restlessly below 
 his plum-colored breeches. Evidently an interesting 
 subject was being discussed. Kitty slipped into a 
 corner, where one of the big Chippendale chairs 
 stood, and listened to the talk. It was of La Fayette 
 and the sympathy of France for the American cause. 
 
 " France will delight in an opportunity of humiliating 
 Britain if she can," Colonel Savile was saying, " and 
 that parvenu Benjamin Franklin seems to have created 
 an impression over there. I believe France will un 
 doubtedly consent to an alliance." 
 
 " The Marquis La Fayette has proved himself de 
 votedly attached to the rebels," said Joseph Rush, 
 "and, considering the rabble they are, I wonder at it." 
 
 " Tis a young man s love of adventure," returned 
 the colonel. " Enthusiasm misapplied, as is often the 
 case \vith those as young as he." 
 
 " Twill doubtless urge some serious measure on the 
 part of the king," said another officer. " Some con 
 cessions might end the war." 
 
 Joseph Rush tapped the arm of his chair thought 
 fully, and shook his head. " I doubt it, I doubt it," 
 he remarked. " It is too late. With France to uphold 
 them the colonies will fight it out. Well, gentlemen, 
 we can only hope for a happy issue for our party, and
 
 242 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 a speedy bringing to terms of the rebellious colonists. 
 Will you join me in a toast to his majesty?" And 
 eaeh man present sprang to his feet and responded 
 with a will to the words, " The king, God bless him ! " 
 
 Then Kitty slipped out again ; but she remembered 
 later that at that very time a treaty of alliance was 
 actually formed by France, and that, too, Lord North 
 had already introduced into Parliament those bills which 
 conceded to the Americans all that had been the cause 
 of dispute. But, as Joseph Rush said, it was too late ; 
 and the war went on. 
 
 But to Philadelphia the announcement of the French 
 alliance meant the withdrawal of the British troops 
 from her borders ; and those who had favored the 
 loyalist cause made haste to pack up and leave the 
 city, many going to New York, whither the new com- 
 mander-in-chief, General Clinton, removed his army. 
 
 Mrs. Rush was busy storing her effects and 
 getting ready to leave. She took it for granted that 
 her sister would accompany her. 
 
 " Twill be rather pleasant to be back in the home 
 where we were born, will it not, Peggy ? " she said. "I 
 think I should never be a Philadelphia!! though I lived 
 here a hundred years. This I think I shall wear to 
 the Meschianza." She shook out a flowered gown. 
 "What will your costume be?"
 
 VENTURESOME YOUTH. 243 
 
 " I shall not go," replied Mrs. De Witt, quietly. 
 
 Mrs. Rush dropped her gown in surprise. " Not 
 go ? Why, twill be the finest show ever seen. And 
 Kitty, why, she will never have such an opportunity 
 again. Is it lack of means, Peggy ? Pray let me be 
 your banker till you can hear from brother William, or 
 else wear some of your pretty clothes which are still 
 so fresh and good. One does not need new gowns for 
 every occasion." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt shook her head. " Neither Kitty nor 
 I will go. And, sister, we are not going back to New 
 York. We shall remain here." 
 
 " Peggy ! I believe you are a rebel after all." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt was silent for a moment before she 
 said, " Think as you like, Lavinia. When I married 
 Paul De Witt it was for better or worse." 
 
 " Much worse, methinks, as matters look. What 
 will William say ? He looks for us all to be at home 
 again." 
 
 Kitty s face, as she listened, looked a little wistful. 
 She would dearly like to go to her own home again. 
 
 But it was not to be, and Mrs. De Witt s decision 
 did indeed bring upon her certain loss, for Mr. Will 
 iam Van Ness indignantly threw over his charge of 
 her affairs, and in the disturbed business troubles 
 which resulted, Mrs. De Witt lost nearly everything.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE MESCHIANZA. 
 
 BUT after all, Kitty was a witness of at least a 
 part of that gay pageant called the Meschi- 
 anza, for Christopher did so importune her. " But to 
 look on," he begged. "There will be so many there 
 that you will not be noticed." 
 
 "Thank you," she returned, amused. 
 
 " What a blunderer I am. I meant no slight to 
 you, Kitty, but so many will be present to look on, 
 that you would need take no prominent part. You 
 know not how Whig and Tory join in their eagerness 
 to see the sight. Never was such an entertainment 
 this side the water. You have seen Mr. Joseph Whar- 
 ton s place, Walnut Grove, where the family spend 
 their summers ; it is to be held there. I will show 
 you one of the invitations." And he produced an in 
 vitation reading : 
 
 " The favor of your meeting the subscribers to the 
 Meschianza at Knight s Wharf, near Pool s Bridge, 
 to-morrow, at half-past three, is desired. " 
 
 244
 
 THE MESCHIANZA. 245 
 
 " But I have no desire to do honor to Sir William 
 I Io\ve, and tis in his praise the entertainment is 
 given," came Kitty s objection. 
 
 " Never mind that part. You need have nothing 
 to do with the praise. You know not how Major 
 Andre has worked to help make the thing a success. 
 He told me but yesterday of his labors. Seven 
 Knights of the Blended Rose, seven of the Burning 
 Mountain, to break lances in a tournament for their 
 ladies, among whom will be Miss Auchmuty, whom 
 you and I well know, since we are Trinity Church 
 goers ; Miss Smith and the Redman sisters. So you 
 see, all will not be strangers to you. I would I were 
 a knight, and you were one of the ladies." 
 
 Kitty laughed merrily. " What fol-de-rol. This is 
 not the fifteenth century, nor do we dwell in mediaeval 
 castles. In sooth, it seems an ill time to me for such 
 merrymaking, when war is abroad in the land." 
 
 That she was not, with her mother, his favorite 
 sister, to return to New York, troubled Christopher 
 not a little. The lad was honest and good-hearted, 
 and plied Mrs. De Witt with questions as to her 
 affairs. 
 
 " Tis a thundering shame," he exclaimed when he 
 heard of her losses. " And what will you do, Peggy ? 
 Zounds ! but I think William has played you a scurvy
 
 246 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 trick, and one ill becoming a brother. I would I had 
 been your man of business. Whig or Tory, blood is 
 thicker than water, and I ll not leave you in the lurch, 
 on my word. I ll soon be of age, and then we ll see. 
 Promise me you ll not forget your brother Chris, if 
 you are in distress." 
 
 And all this so worked upon Kitty s sensibilities 
 that she at last consented to go with him to join a 
 party on the river who meant to view the regatta, but 
 not to go to the grounds w r here the remainder of the 
 programme would be carried out. And with this con 
 cession Christopher was obliged to be content, and 
 himself joined the gay scene after he had escorted 
 Kitty home. 
 
 That young lady, however, was sorry that she had 
 gone at all, when, just after, Mrs. Rush read out from 
 the Royal Pennsylvania Gazette: 
 
 " Intelligence being received that Mr. Washington 
 and his tattered retinue had abandoned their mud- 
 holes, and were on the march to Germantown, a de 
 tachment of British and Hessian troops went out to 
 meet and escort them to the city ; but the rebels be 
 ing apprised of their approach, flew back with pre 
 cipitation to what they call their camp, determined to 
 act no further on the offensive than might be con 
 sistent with their safety. "
 
 TIIK MESCHIANZA. 247 
 
 The ha-ha s and ho-ho s that followed this extract 
 made Kitty s ears tingle, and her hand sought her 
 mother s, under the table. A gentle pressure an 
 swered and quieted her. But, a little more than a 
 month later, Sir Henry Clinton s well-equipped and 
 well-drilled army was flying across New Jersey with 
 " Mr. Washington and his tattered retinue " in full 
 pursuit, and Sir Henry Clinton with three thousand 
 of his Tory friends escaped across the Delaware. 
 
 Kitty and her mother, with the greatest eagerness, 
 watched for the first Continental troops to come into 
 town. The girl s cheeks glowed like two roses, as 
 she looked from the window. "They come! they 
 come!" she cried. "At such a galloping rate. Look 
 mother, tis Captain McLane and his light horse, is 
 it not? and those are the Virginians. Will my father 
 soon appear ? And mother, Lady Gay, I may see her 
 again. Look at the shopkeepers pulling down their 
 king s arms ; and what a glad noise is that huzzah- 
 ing. I feel as if I must run out into the street, and 
 join in it." 
 
 But a couple of hours before had Kitty taken leave 
 of Colonel Savile, of her Aunt Rush, and Christopher, 
 the latter lingering so long that it is a wonder he got 
 away at all; and now here were the Americans march 
 ing in, amid the huzzas of the people, to make their
 
 248 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 camp on the Common. The prim Quaker city was 
 in a sad state of filth and ruin. The British had 
 left their mark upon it, and it was now scarcely a 
 desirable place of residence ; but to the half-starved 
 army it seemed a haven of rest after their winter at 
 Valley Forge. 
 
 Breathlessly Kitty and Mrs. De Witt awaited the 
 appearance of Captain De Witt. " At last I believe 
 I see him," cried Kitty. " Surely that is my Lady 
 Gay, although she is scarce as sleek as when she 
 left us. And father, oh father ! he is coming, mother, 
 coming." And they ran to the door to welcome him. 
 
 " Father, oh father, you are so thin, and what -a 
 ragged father you are. We must mend you up. But 
 is it not grand, the return of the troops, tattered and 
 torn though they be?" And Kitty, laughing, yet on 
 the verge of tears, hung on her father s arm, and 
 could not take her eyes from his face. 
 
 The house into \vhich they ushered him was bare 
 of many comforts, for Mrs. Rush had taken all that 
 she could with her ; but it seemed a palace of delight 
 to the man who had so long endured the rigors of 
 camp life. There was so much to tell of silent en 
 durance ; of days when starvation and cold, desertion, 
 illness, and disaffection seemed likely to put an end 
 to all hopes. There was much, too, to tell on the
 
 THE MESCIIIAXZA. 249 
 
 part of the wife and daughter who, to be true to 
 themselves and to their friends, must endure taunts, 
 must use pretence, and must hide their sighs behind 
 their smiles. 
 
 "Are you not ashamed of your Tory wife?" whis 
 pered Mrs. De Witt. 
 
 " And your Tory daughter, who laughed with the 
 redcoats, are you not ashamed of her ? " asked Kitty, 
 with shining eyes. 
 
 " My dears," returned Captain De Witt, putting an 
 arm around each, " if such were the Tories the coun 
 try over, his Excellency, General Washington, could 
 soon disband his army. What courage my beloved 
 ones have shown." 
 
 " Not I," protested Mrs. De Witt. " I was ever a 
 coward. Yet I have bought no fineries in all these 
 months, and have sent every penny I could to be used 
 for our men. But Kitty, our Kitty, she is the heroine." 
 And Kitty, proud of such distinction, could stay to 
 hear no more praise, but ran off to look after Lady Gay. 
 
 In another week Captain De Witt was with the 
 army which was closely pursuing the British across 
 Jersey, and Kitty with her mother waited for the 
 next news. The battle of Monmouth brought it : that 
 battle where Lee s perfidy showed itself and brought 
 down upon him the righteous wrath of Washington.
 
 250 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 It was terrible weather, that of June 28, 1778, and 
 beneath the panting heat many fell whom never a 
 bullet touched. An express carried the news to Phila 
 delphia, and silent old Aaron, who, after all, was 
 a sympathizer with the patriots, as the arrival of the 
 American troops disclosed to Kitty and her mother, 
 Aaron came to the two, as they sat in the dusk, fan 
 ning themselves in Mrs. Rush s garden among the 
 June roses, and began in his slow w^ay. 
 
 "There s news, ma am." 
 
 "Good or bad?" cried Kitty, springing up. 
 
 " Good and bad," returned he, slowly, turning his 
 cap in his great hands. 
 
 " Tell us. You are so slow, Aaron," said Kitty, 
 impatiently. 
 
 He looked around him in his meditative way. 
 "We ve whipped the British," he continued, "and 
 their men are deserting right and left. They re com 
 ing into town in droves." 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed Kitty, exultantly. 
 
 " But it s been a hard battle," Aaron went on. 
 " Some s dropped dead, scores of em overcome by 
 the heat, and some s been killed, and Lee he played 
 the rascal." 
 
 " What ! " 
 
 " It s so; I heard them talking it over at the tavern."
 
 THE MESCHIANZA. 251 
 
 " But we have really won," said Kitty. And they 
 forgot everything else in the joy of victory. 
 
 After this came a long season of patient waiting 
 to the two living so quietly in Philadelphia. They 
 found it possible to remain in Mrs. Rush s house, 
 but they were forced to live very plainly, and Kitty 
 found a use for those domestic accomplishments 
 learned from the Gardners. 
 
 The massacre of Wyoming and of Cherry Valley 
 sickened and unnerved them, for among the victims 
 were those whom they knew. 
 
 The war was raging in the South, and thither was 
 Captain De Witt called ; Christopher, also. Of Lloyd 
 they heard nothing. There were battles at sea as well 
 as on land, and more victories; but the year 1779 was 
 one of disaster to Kitty and her mother, for it brought 
 a sorrow so deep that it seemed as if they could not 
 bear it. 
 
 It was Aaron who, as usual, brought them their 
 news. On this October day his face was so grave 
 that Kitty knew instinctively that defeat was the 
 word. 
 
 "We have had a fight at Savannah," he said, looking 
 down at the floor. " There s been a terrible loss to 
 our side, and some brave men have fallen. Some 
 some " he paused.
 
 252 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Go on," Mrs. De Witt spoke sharply, her face 
 suddenly white. 
 
 "Yes, ma am; he s wounded," Aaron blurted out. 
 
 "Who?" cried Mrs. De Witt. 
 
 " Him, the captain ; mortal, they say. Oh, ma am ! " 
 
 Mrs. De Witt had staggered to her feet and was 
 holding out two fluttering hands. " Not mortal not 
 mortal. His wound is not mortal ! " she wailed out. 
 "There s some mistake. Take me to him. All this 
 time, and I have not heard. Take me quickly ! " 
 she cried, while Kitty, dazed and speechless, stood 
 by. 
 
 Aaron looked down. " I d take ye if I could, Mrs. 
 De Witt, but th aint no use. An what s more, I 
 don t know where to take ye. My brother-in-law s 
 in his regiment ; he knew I was here with ye and 
 he sent me this." He slowly unfolded a paper. 
 " Captain De Witt was fatally wounded at Savan 
 nah. I saw him fall. Tell his wife and daughter. 
 We are pretty well cut up, and I m laid by for a 
 while. I begged them to look to the captain, when 
 they were carrying me off the field, but they said 
 it was all up with him. 
 
 Mrs. De Witt took the paper to read the lines for 
 herself. Her breath came in shuddering gasps as she 
 sank on the floor. " Take me to him ! Take me to
 
 THE MESCIIIANZA. 253 
 
 him ! " she repeated. And Kitty, sobbing convulsively, 
 threw herself on the floor at her mother s side. 
 
 " We must go, we must go ! " Mrs. De Witt repeated. 
 
 Aaron stood looking at them helplessly. 
 
 " Tain t no use thinkin of it," he blurted out finally. 
 "It s been days ago, and it s a long way off and 
 and he s under ground by this time." 
 
 " Kitty ! Kitty ! " Mrs. De Witt shrilled out. And 
 the two left the room together. 
 
 " That was the toughest job ever I tackled," said 
 Aaron. " Gol clern them British ! " 
 
 It was some time later when the two, who had been 
 moving about the house like ghosts, helpless to com 
 fort one another, were sitting in the darkened, silent 
 drawing-room, when the front door opened and a figure 
 came groping its way through the semi-darkness toward 
 them. 
 
 " Peggy, Kitty," came in subdued tones. 
 
 Kitty turned her head ; then she cowered close to 
 her mother. "Aunt Joanna," she whispered, "Aunt 
 Joanna." 
 
 Mrs. von Blum came nearer. Her sister-in-law stared 
 at her with open, searching eyes. 
 
 "Oh, Peggy, don t look so," murmured Aunt Joanna. 
 " I loved him. I did love him, poor Paul, my brother." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt gave a great cry, and the first tears
 
 254 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 which her dry eyes had known in all these clays rolled 
 down her cheeks. 
 
 " I came to tell you," faltered Aunt Joanna, in tones 
 unlike her usual commanding ones, " I came all the way 
 to tell you that we thought of you and Kitty the first 
 thing. I had followed my husband, and after the bat 
 tle, when the wounded and prisoners were brought in, 
 I, with others, ministered to them, and I discovered 
 one of our old neighbors, Robert Ludlow. He saw 
 my brother fall," there came a little sob in her throat. 
 "We did all we could to find out where he lay. My 
 husband did his best, for, Peggy, we meant to bring 
 his body home and bury it beside our parents in the 
 old graveyard. Robert t<?ld me the last words he heard 
 him say were, Kitty, Margaret, my beloved country ! 
 Poor Robert! he too died the next day." 
 
 And Kitty, who felt as if all her tears had long 
 since been shed, sobbed afresh. This strange, subdued 
 Aunt Joanna gave her a new sense of the reality of 
 her loss. All doubt was over. Her father was gone 
 from her beyond all hope. 
 
 After a time Aunt Joanna said : " And now, Peggy, 
 I want you and Kitty to go back with me to the old 
 home. You shall be tenderly protected. I have passes 
 between the lines for us all. My home is yours. My 
 brother s wife and child shall be my sacred charge."
 
 THE MESCIIIANZA. 2$ 5 
 
 There was intense emotion in Mrs. De Witt s tones 
 as she said, " And live day after day face to face 
 with Paul s murderers ? " 
 
 " Oh, Peggy ! " Aunt Joanna fell to weeping. Per 
 haps, indeed, her husband s own men had fired the 
 volley which deprived her of her brother. And the 
 thought was a terrible one. 
 
 "Then," she begged, "come home to your brother 
 William. He bids me offer you his love, and wants 
 me to say that he will welcome you and Kitty with 
 open arms." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt sat very still, the nervous twitching 
 of the hands clasped in her lap alone showing how 
 she suffered. She turned to Kitty. "Shall we go?" 
 she whispered. 
 
 Kitty s eyes searched her face. " I can bear what 
 ever you can, mother," she replied. 
 
 "Thank you for your kind offer, Joanna," said Mrs. 
 De Witt, " but Kitty and I would rather starve than 
 accept charity at the hands of Paul s enemies. We 
 will remember his last words, and his beloved country 
 is ours." 
 
 Therefore Aunt Joanna went sadly away, her ruddy 
 face gray and livid, and her step, instead of being 
 brisk and spry, was like that of an old woman. At 
 the door she held out two trembling; hands.
 
 256 A RF.VOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " Kiss me, Kitty, kiss me," she entreated. " I shall, 
 perhaps, never see you again." 
 
 And so Kitty put her arms around her aunt s neck, 
 and was held closely for a moment. Then, with a 
 deep sigh, Aunt Joanna let her go, and, without look 
 ing back, walked away. 
 
 Then Kitty went through the hall and out into the 
 garden, where a little later Aaron came, and tried to 
 entertain her with the tales he had heard at the coffee 
 house from the soldiers, of how they had fared so 
 hardly at Valley Forge, and of how Baron Steuben 
 had drilled them into shape. 
 
 " We scarce knew that bayonets were for any other 
 use than for spitting our meat before a fire," one 
 had said. "And the mixture of French and Dutch 
 which our doughty Baron hurled at us blockheads 
 was something to hear. Faith ! I near split my sides 
 laughing when he called his aide to berate us for him 
 in English, after having used up his own stock of 
 words." 
 
 And there were stories of this officer and that one, 
 with tales of escapes and adventures. Taciturn Aaron 
 was learning a garrulity which seemed hardly to be 
 credited. 
 
 In time Kitty came to learn that her manoeuvres 
 with Lady Gay were not unnoticed by the old man,
 
 THE MESCHIANZA. 2 57 
 
 who had shut his eyes to her frequent neglect in 
 not bringing him back the key of the stable. 
 
 "I suspicioned somethin was goin on," he said; 
 " but I thought if I didn t know nothin , I couldn t 
 tell it." 
 
 And so the dreary days drifted along. Kitty and 
 her mother received no one, went out seldom except 
 to Christ Church to hear good Mr. White. Aaron 
 watched over them faithfully, but Mrs. De Witt felt 
 that she must be making new plans. She could not 
 even dwell longer in a house belonging to a Tory, 
 she said, although that Tory was her own sister. 
 
 " And shall you go at once, mother ? " Kitty asked. 
 There were deep shadows under her blue eyes, and 
 Mrs. De Witt s slender hands were so thin and worn 
 that her wedding ring would scarce stay on. 
 
 " We have scarce anything. Almost all my means 
 are gone, and of your father s estate nothing is left 
 but the homestead." 
 
 "Which we cannot make use of." 
 
 " No. I am weary, so weary, of thinking, thinking, 
 thinking ! I would I had been reared to be more 
 useful in the world." 
 
 That very day was Kitty summoned downstairs to 
 see two visitors who insisted that they would be re 
 ceived. They were Phebe and Cicely.
 
 258 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "Oh, Kitty, dear Kitty!" they cried; "we are so 
 glad to see you, and so grieved, oh, so grieved for 
 you." Cicely s arms were close around her. " And, 
 Kitty," each possessed herself of a hand, "mother 
 sent you a message. Do say you will grant us all a 
 favor." 
 
 " How can I, till I know what it is ? " 
 
 "Why, do you think, are we here?" 
 
 " I cannot tell." 
 
 " To buy Phebe s wedding clothes. But, oh dear 
 me, twould take a basket to carry the money we 
 need. Fancy a hundred dollars for a yard of silk, 
 and calico scarce less ! Our Phebe must needs have 
 a modest outfit had not her own hands been busy at 
 the loom." 
 
 "And so your favor is that I am to go to the 
 wedding ? " 
 
 "Yes, and more than that." 
 
 A shade passed over Kitty s face. " I am scarce 
 in a mood for merrymaking," she sighed. 
 
 " Ah, my dear, my poor dear, it is not frolics that 
 we would have of you. Listen," said Phebe. " You 
 know I am to marry John, and we will go to our own 
 home. Mother and Cicely will then be alone in our 
 own old farmhouse, to which we are about to return. 
 It is a roomy place ; and, Kitty, if you and your
 
 THE MESCHIANZA. 259 
 
 mother would but come and make your home there, 
 how glad we all would be. Grandmother says she 
 is too old to make another change, and will stay with 
 Uncle James ; so don t you see how lonely it would 
 be for mother and Cicely in that big house all by 
 themselves ? " 
 
 Kitty smiled. It did seem a happy suggestion ; and 
 if she could but win her mother s consent, it would 
 settle the problem which now faced them. 
 
 "We want you so much," pleaded Cicely. 
 
 And when the girls had gone, Kitty took the plan 
 to her mother. 
 
 " Do you want to go, my little Kitty ? " she asked. 
 
 " If you do, my mother. Should you not like it ? 
 They are so kind and good, and are such stanch 
 patriots, and then they knew and loved my father." 
 
 The last words decided the matter. " We will go 
 for a little while, anyhow," Mrs. De Witt decided. 
 " The change will do you good. You are too young 
 to be hopeless, my love, and work is what our hands 
 need. We can help them to get settled, and to be of 
 use is a great blessing to those in sorrow. Oh, Kitty, 
 Kitty," and she put her head down on the girl s 
 shoulder and cried as if her heart would break.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PHEBE AND JOHN. 
 
 SUCH a forlorn, bare, battered-looking place was 
 the house of the Gardners when they again 
 took possession of it. Every fence was gone ; the 
 outbuildings were torn to pieces, the trees cut down. 
 But the three girls, Kitty, Cicely, and Phebe, set 
 cheerily to work to construct a home out of the ruins. 
 The household goods, which had been carried to the 
 little log cabin in the woods, were brought back and 
 set in place, and the family utensils which had de 
 scended from generation to generation, were ranged 
 in their old places. The big, heavy brass kettle was 
 polished till it reflected every gleam from the fire ; 
 the three-legged skillets and broilers were scoured 
 with diligence, the spinning-wheels brought out, and 
 the floor tastefully sanded in such careful and fine 
 designs as the girls could originate. Then, when they 
 looked around they thought the kitchen bore its old 
 familiar look of cosey comfort. 
 
 Old Aaron had asked to be permitted to go to the 
 
 260
 
 PHEBE AND JOHN. 261 
 
 farm with Mrs. De Witt and Kitty. " I m a Jersey- 
 man and country bred," he said. " I m no use around 
 here, now there are no horses to look after, and once 
 I ve showed my colors, Mrs. Rush will have none of 
 me if she comes back. I guess Hiram Gardner won t 
 be averse to letting me help on his place." Which 
 was true enough, for the Gardners were only too glad 
 to accept his services. So the old man pottered about, 
 clearing up here, tinkering there, till outside as well 
 as in began to look more ship-shape. 
 
 By Christmas they were quite comfortably estab 
 lished, the weather was growing colder, and on Christ 
 mas eve the three girls sat on the floor before the 
 fire, which Aaron had managed to pile high with 
 logs, despite the fact that wood was rather scarce. 
 Mrs. Gardner was busy at the wheel, while Mrs. De 
 Witt was carding the wool to be used later on. Phebe 
 sat by the clock reel, while Kitty and Cicely filled 
 quills for the loom, which had been reestablished in 
 its special room. Wool had not been easy to procure 
 of late, but Aaron had managed to get hold of some 
 fleeces, and the family were all busy at work, despite 
 the fact that Phebe s wedding-day was but a week 
 off. Clothing for the army was a necessity, and an 
 opportunity to furnish it must not be lost. 
 
 The girls chattered happily of the coming festivities,
 
 262 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 but a grave look was on the face of each matron. 
 Mrs. Gardner spoke her thought. " He will be in the 
 South where the winter is milder, and Valley Forge 
 will not be repeated, I hope." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt gave a long sigh, and then a shudder. 
 "If I but knew where he lies," she said. "Ah me, 
 what an empty world it is ! " 
 
 "But he is safe safe," replied Mrs. Gardner, al 
 most wistfully. 
 
 The buzz and click of Phebe s wheel stopped. 
 
 "There s John!" she exclaimed; "I heard his 
 step." 
 
 There was a murmur of voices outside; Aaron s 
 gruff tones in ejaculatory inquiry. Presently he opened 
 the door, put in his head, and went out again. 
 
 "Now, what did he do that for?" said Phebe. 
 
 " To see if we had plenty of wood, maybe," returned 
 Cicely. " He is so afraid we will not be luxurious 
 enough. That s what comes of his having served grand 
 folks like Mrs. Rush ; we re the gainers thereby." 
 
 The door opened again, and John Tucker came in. 
 He threw off his greatcoat, displaying his one empty 
 sleeve pinned up. Phebe went up to him and touched 
 the sleeve gently, smiling up into his face. "What 
 was the parley about ? " she asked. " You and Aaron 
 seemed to be doing a deal of talking."
 
 PHEBE AND JOHN. 263 
 
 "So we were." John smiled. "We were consult 
 ing about wedding guests." 
 
 "Wedding guests?" Phebe s blush came readily. 
 "And Aaron ?" 
 
 " Sit you down, John," Mrs. Gardner nodded to him, 
 without stopping her wheel. 
 
 But he walked toward the fireplace and looked down 
 at Kitty ; then he glanced at her mother. " I came 
 across a relative of yours, Kitty," he said, " and I 
 want to ask him to the wedding." 
 
 "A relative of mine?" Kitty laid down her 
 quill. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And who?" 
 
 " Guess." 
 
 " Let me see. My cousin, Cynthia Satterlee." 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Oh, I remember. You said him. Not Christo 
 pher ! He has not returned ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " One of my cousins Vanderpoel ? " 
 
 " No ; some one nearer of kin." 
 
 " I cannot think who. H-elp me, mother. Give me 
 a hint, John. Is he young or old ? " 
 
 " Older than your mother or I, but not so old as 
 Methuselah."
 
 264 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Kitty pondered seriously. " I cannot think. Is he 
 of New York?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " I have no uncles, and he is nearer than a cousin. 
 This is a riddle." 
 
 John observed her gravely and intently. 
 
 " He is a patriot of patriots," he remarked. 
 
 " A patriot, a near relative, and of New York. 
 Where can I find such an one ? I think you must 
 be mistaken, John." 
 
 " But I am not." 
 
 " Does my mother know him ? " 
 
 " Indeed, yes. He he has been a soldier ; under 
 General Washington." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt, with a little cry, dropped her rolls of 
 wool. She stood up with a yearning, searching look 
 in her eyes. 
 
 "John ! John ! " she cried, " don t, don t." 
 
 He turned toward her. " Dear lady," he said, " no 
 hope is too great in these days of strange tidings." 
 
 " No ! no ! " There was pleading in her voice. 
 
 John went to her and took her t\vo trembling little 
 hands in his one strong one. "Dear lady," he said, 
 " I am no bringer of bad news. Consider what would 
 be your greatest joy, and tell me." 
 
 "Paul, my husband, my husband -to see him," she
 
 FIIEBE AND JOHN. 265 
 
 murmured, without taking her eyes off his face. " But 
 he is dead. His comrades saw him die. Robert Lud- 
 low, who knew him well ; and that other, they both 
 saw him fall ; they saw him die." 
 
 " Or thought they did," replied John, gently. 
 
 Kitty was on her feet. Did she understand ? Was 
 a miracle to take place ? 
 
 "Where is he? Where is he?" murmured Mrs. 
 De Witt, turning her head from side to side like one 
 half delirious. 
 
 John made a stride toward the door, and opened it. 
 
 Then out of the dim starlit night a figure ap 
 proached, haltingly, on crutches, Aaron carefully 
 guiding his way. And, as the full firelight fell 
 on his face, it showed the pale features of Paul 
 De Witt. 
 
 And then the tears of joy, the glad exclamations, 
 the questions tripping over each other, that followed. 
 Mrs. Gardner trotted about, wiping her eyes every 
 now and then, and saying " Dear ! dear ! who could 
 believe it ? Cousin Paul. Dear ! dear ! " 
 
 Cicely and Phebe sat smiling at John, and Aaron 
 stood rubbing his hands and looking from one to the 
 other. 
 
 "There is little more than half of me left," said 
 Captain De Witt, after the first excitement was over,
 
 266 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "for one leg was shot away, and" he held up a 
 maimed hand. 
 
 Kitty caught it and kissed it tenderly. " Oh, but 
 father, it is you you. What joy! what joy! Tell 
 us now how we heard such terrible news of you, that 
 you were left lying dead on the field of battle." 
 
 " Tis quite true that I was left for dead on the 
 battle-field. I will not tell you of those hours of 
 agony, but the next morning our men, who came to 
 bury their dead, found that I was still breathing, 
 and I was taken to the hospital, where I lay for 
 weeks more dead than alive. A sabre cut on my 
 head kept me from knowing anything that went on 
 about me, and with this leg gone, I was in rather 
 a questionable condition ; but after long, long weeks 
 I groped my way back to life. Having heard that 
 I was reported dead, and that my case was considered 
 hopeless, my comrades did not contradict the reports, 
 and so, not till I \vas able to leave the hospital did 
 I hear that you were in ignorance of my chances for 
 recovery. Then I set forth to seek you out, and have 
 been some time about it. I traced you to this neigh 
 borhood, saw John in Bordentown, and he piloted me 
 here. But I am a helpless wreck, and can do no 
 more for my country. And to you, my dear ones, 
 what a hopeless, useless hulk I have brought."
 
 rilEBE AND JOHN. 267 
 
 "No! no!" cried Mrs. DC Witt. "No, Paul, no. 
 How can you say so? Have you not given all but 
 your life for your country, and do you not deserve 
 honor and love, and more ? We shall manage, we 
 shall manage." She straightened herself up. " Now 
 I can defy the universe," she cried, her face alight. 
 " Kitty, Kitty, can we not put our shoulders to the 
 wheel ? I have a little, but we will make it do. 
 With you a crust of bread will be like manna from 
 on high. Oh, Paul! such a Christmas! Such a gift 
 from heaven ! " She fell on her knees beside his 
 chair and sobbed outright. 
 
 "There! there! my dear, my wife, Margaret," began 
 Captain De Witt, solicitously. " Dear heart, you are 
 all overwrought. This has been too great a surprise 
 for you." 
 
 Kitty s tears, too, were falling over the maimed hand 
 which she held closely against her breast. 
 
 " Come, come," Mrs. Gardner s brisk voice broke in. 
 "Aaron, do you see that the fire burns brightly. Cicely, 
 get me that little bottle of salts in the other room. 
 Here, Margaret, smell this. You are all of a tremble. 
 My ! my ! what it is to have a strong set of nerves 
 like mine." The good woman s own face was twitch 
 ing, and her hand shook as she held it out to her 
 friend s support.
 
 268 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "And John told us in such a nice way," Kitty in 
 formed her father. " He said he had invited a rela 
 tive of ours to the wedding." 
 
 " The wedding ! Ah, I had not heard of that. 
 Which of you three lasses is the lucky one ? Ah, I 
 see, Cousin Phebe, there s no need of an answer. 
 And when is it to be ? " 
 
 " Next week," spoke up John, proudly. 
 
 "I can t dance at your wedding, John, but I ll war 
 rant you ll have no truer well-wisher present. Cousins 
 are we all to be then. And that good man Hiram 
 Gardner, where is he ? " 
 
 " With his regiment in the South," John told him. 
 
 " Pray God he comes home in safety." 
 
 And now the tears trembled on Mrs. Gardner s 
 lashes, but she turned away quickly and spoke of 
 other things. " You re to understand first thing, Paul, 
 that this is your home as long as you need one," she said. 
 
 "Ah, cousin, how good you are to say it." 
 
 " No, I m not. Kitty and Peggy understand well 
 enough that when Phebe goes, I ll be lonely enough 
 with Hiram away and only Cicely here with me. 
 It was all settled that they were to make a visit of 
 indefinite length. We owe something more than you 
 can realize to that child, Kitty. So don t you go up 
 setting our plans, or
 
 PHEBE AND JOIIX. 269 
 
 " You ll be sorry I ve come back," Captain De 
 Witt laughingly finished the sentence. " Very well, 
 I ll acquiesce till I get my wits back, and glad enough 
 am I of such a peaceful haven. I shall be chiefly 
 ornamental, for I can be of little use." 
 
 " You shall be ornamental," declared Kitty, a week 
 later, when they were preparing for the wedding. 
 "Shall we not make a gay spark of him, mother?" 
 she said gleefully. "Where are the fine feathers to 
 make our fine bird ? Have you not brought any in 
 your boxes ? " 
 
 " I have truly, though little did I expect to see 
 them worn again. He shall be decked out as be 
 comes a fine cavalier." 
 
 " And my wooden leg. Shall you hang satin 
 breeches on that peg?" asked the captain, rather 
 ruefully. 
 
 " Yes, for are we not proud of it ? Nothing is too 
 good for such a token of your bravery." 
 
 And so they dressed him up in plum-colored coat, 
 black satin breeches, a ruffled shirt, and silk stockings, 
 while his silver knee and shoe buckles shone as 
 brightly as Kitty s hands could make them. 
 
 " Now let me tie your wig, father dear," she said, 
 "and you ll look, mother dear, does he not once 
 more look as becomes our gentleman soldier ? Now,
 
 2/O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 go you down, father, and see the company in the 
 place of host, while mother and I put on our furbe 
 lows, and then I must help to dress the bride. Ah, 
 how happy I am who expected this to be such a 
 doleful time." She gave her father a rapturous kiss, 
 and helped him to the stairs, down which his wooden 
 leg clumped noisily. " I love to hear it," said Kitty, 
 over the baluster, " for it assures me that my father 
 is near me." And she ran back to her room to be 
 decked out by her mother. 
 
 " And you, too, must wear your finest, mother dear. 
 Your pretty green brocade and your jewels ! " 
 
 "Ah, my jewels, I have none." 
 
 "None!" exclaimed Kitty, aghast. 
 
 " No ; all are sold save my wedding ring." 
 
 " Never mind, you are sweetly lovely with not a 
 single one. Where are my stays ? and oh, mother, 
 must I have my hair so high ? " 
 
 " Yes, and a touch of powder, so. The blue will be 
 vastly becoming." 
 
 " And how glad I am you gave the white satin 
 gown to Phebe. She will make a fine appearance, 
 will she not? Ah, see how impatient I am, I have 
 broken a stay lace." 
 
 She was dressed at last, and stood looking at her- 
 r self in the little mirror. There came a recollection
 
 PHEBE AND JOHN. 2/1 
 
 of when she had last worn the dress. She turned 
 and said a little wistfully, " Where is Lloyd, I won 
 der, brave Lloyd," and her eyes took on a retro 
 spective look. 
 
 " Forget him, my love, forget him ! A soldier s life 
 is too uncertain. I should tremble to have a loss come 
 to you such as I believed mine to be. You are so 
 young, my little girl, not yet seventeen. Think of 
 those nearer home, and forget Lloyd." 
 
 " But we can none of us forget him for what he 
 did," said Kitty, softly. And she passed out of the 
 room. 
 
 Yet because of this memory the pretty compliments 
 of the young swains who were present at the wedding 
 fell on careless ears, so far as Kitty was concerned. 
 She watched John s earnest face as he stood up, 
 straight and tall, by the side of Phebe, who, slim and 
 graceful in her white satin gown, looked a fair and 
 happy bride. Cousin Cynthia Satterlee so far forgot 
 her Toryism as to be present with her husband, who 
 discussed politics in an amiable manner with Captain 
 I)e Witt. Mrs. Satterlee brought letters to Kitty and 
 her father which Aunt Joanna had managed to get 
 through the lines. " I have but just heard of your 
 father s return," she wrote to Kitty. " I have been a 
 heartless woman to him, to Paul, my poor, misused
 
 2/2 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 brother ; and he must let me do for you all. He will 
 bear arms no more, and he is my brother who was 
 dead and is alive again." 
 
 Captain De Witt frowned at her manner of putting 
 it. " I bear arms no more because I cannot, and not 
 because I will not," he said. "Ah, my sister, my 
 heart is still my country s. I thank you for your 
 good intent, but my wife and I can accept nothing 
 from those who are our enemies." 
 
 "At least," wrote Aunt Joanna, "I can relieve my 
 brother of your support, Kitty. You need be no 
 expense to him. Herman, my husband, took a 
 great liking to you for your bravery in coming to 
 camp." 
 
 Captain De Witt glanced up at his daughter as she 
 stood looking over his shoulder, for they had gone to 
 a quiet corner of the hall to read their letters, and 
 she was reading hers with him. 
 
 "What think you of that?" he said. 
 
 Kitty clasped his neck. " Father, father, you will 
 not send me away. I will work. I will do anything ; 
 only keep me near you. I cannot leave you." 
 
 He leaned his cheek against her encircling arm. 
 " Never fear, daughter. You shall not go if you do 
 not wish. Poor Joanna ! We are brother and sister, 
 and I owe her a kind thought for her good intent
 
 PHEBE AND JOHN. 2/3 
 
 toward us, but we will hang together, Kitty, my child, 
 while there s anything left of us." 
 
 "What has kept you?" asked Cicely, as they reap 
 peared in the big room, where most of the company 
 was assembled. 
 
 " My Aunt Joanna." 
 
 Cicely opened her eyes, but just then the fiddler 
 began to tune up, and off she marched, while Kitty 
 gave her hand to the brideman, John s brother Ben, 
 who bowed before her. 
 
 And then, while the music played on fast and furious 
 and the merrymaking never slackened, Phebe and her 
 husband drove off to their own home, two miles away. 
 When all was quiet and the great fire began to smoulder 
 down, Cicely came up, saying with a little catch in her 
 voice, 
 
 " Oh, Kitty, what should I do, what should I do 
 without you ? I am so lonely, so lonely ! " 
 
 " My Euphemia," whispered Kitty. 
 
 And Cicely dried her tearful eyes, laughing, " My 
 Leonora!" And then they fell to discussing the com 
 pliments paid them, and sat before the fire so long that 
 Mrs. Gardner warned them they could not expect to 
 attend each other s wedding, if they lost their beauty 
 sleep at this rate.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 
 
 " F7VEN a one-legged man gets restless," aptain 
 
 * De Witt said, a month later. " And this idle 
 life doesn t do for me. I must see some of my friends 
 in Philadelphia, who have made a study of the state 
 of finance. Perhaps by their advice I may get order 
 out of the chaos of our affairs ; at least sufficiently 
 for me to know whether I have a leg left to stand on," 
 he added jocularly. 
 
 "Now, father," said Kitty; "I wish you wouldn t 
 make fun of yourself. And shall we all go back to 
 Philadelphia ? " 
 
 " There is no use thinking of New York while the 
 enemy holds it, and I must use our means to the best 
 advantage. Hiram Gardner will be coming home soon, 
 for he is ill, and his term of enlistment is about up, 
 so we need not leave our cousins alone." 
 
 " Father," said Kitty, suddenly. " What do you 
 suppose became of Lady Gay dear Lady Gay?" 
 
 " I wish I knew, my child. Unless she has been 
 
 274
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 2/5 
 
 killed in battle, she is doubtless in the hands of the 
 British. I have tried to get some account of her, but 
 all to no purpose. It was a brave little daughter who 
 gave her up." 
 
 " I had nothing else to give, but I d like to know, if 
 she is alive, that she is well treated. Shall we go back 
 to Mrs. Rush s house?" 
 
 " I think not. We must find more modest quarters, 
 and I shall try to obtain such work as I am fitted 
 for." 
 
 Cicely was inconsolable at the idea of parting from 
 Kitty. " You will not go till after Phebe s sewing- 
 bee," she begged of Kitty. "You know we are all 
 to go and sew for the soldiers. Phebe is making big 
 preparations, and you must surely stay for that affair. 
 All the boys and girls will be there, and we shall have 
 a great time. It would be nothing without you. Your 
 mother must go and your father, too. Kitty, don t 
 you wish Ferdinand were here ? " 
 
 Kitty looked up shyly. "I I don t know." 
 
 "Oh, Kitty," said Cicely, roguishly, "tell the truth." 
 
 " But I do not. It has been so long since I saw 
 him, and I was but a little girl." 
 
 The dignity of seventeen looked back upon fifteen 
 as a very callow age. 
 
 " But if he should come," persisted Cicely.
 
 2/6 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " If he should, what then ? I d treat him politely." 
 
 "And Master Christopher?" 
 
 " Politely, too. I wonder where he is, poor Chris. 
 Ah, Cicely, how much can happen in a short time. 
 And Elspeth, dear little Elspeth, not a word from her 
 have I had in all these years, and she has lost her 
 beloved brother Robert. I feel so sorry for her." 
 
 " But you have me," returned Cicely, reproachfully. 
 " Your Euphemia." 
 
 " And what should I do without her ! Yes, I have 
 a great many blessings. But who comes up the road 
 at so smart a pace ? Two horsemen. Do you recog 
 nize them ? " 
 
 " No, I do not," replied Cicely, carelessly. 
 
 Kitty pressed closer to the window, and presently 
 she drew back with a little exclamation, " Oh, Cicely, 
 look again," she cried. 
 
 Cicely obeyed. And then, with never a word, ran 
 downstairs. And Kitty more slowly followed. Indeed, 
 as she put her foot upon the step, she turned and 
 went back to look at herself in the small glass over 
 her bureau. She gave her hair a pat, smoothed down 
 her silk apron, and then with quiet step went down 
 the stairway. 
 
 Mrs. Gardner and Cicely were crying and exclaim 
 ing over a tall, thin soldier who patted them on the
 
 SHE 
 
 WENT BACK TO LOOK AT HERSELF IN THE SMALL GLASS 
 OVER HER BUREAU."
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 277 
 
 back and kept saying, "There, mother; there, Cissy. 
 I m all right; no bones broken. Don t take on so." 
 
 Leaning up against the chimney-piece was a younger 
 man, a smile upon his face. He turned quickly as 
 Kitty opened the door. "Ah, Kitty," he cried, "per 
 haps you have a word of welcome for me. I m of no 
 account to my cousins since Cousin Hiram is here." 
 He moved toward her, took both her hands, and 
 looked down at her critically. "You have not 
 changed," he said, "except that you look more seri 
 ous. Kitty, Kitty, have you forgotten me ? Are you 
 glad to see me ? " 
 
 "Yes, Mr. Holliday, I am very glad," replied Kitty, 
 sedately. He seemed so much more of a man, so 
 tall and broad-shouldered. She felt that he had 
 almost outgrown her thought . of him as a lad. 
 
 "J/;-. Holliday?" he repeated. "You used to say 
 Lloyd." 
 
 Kitty looked down. "Lloyd, then." 
 
 By this time Cicely had come to a realizing sense 
 of the young man s presence, and ran to him. "We 
 were speaking of you but this morning. Just before 
 you arrived. Is it not strange when things happen 
 so? Kitty and I were speaking of you." 
 
 He looked triumphantly at Kitty, who turned away 
 to u~reet Mr. Gardner.
 
 2/8 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "Are you better?" she asked. "We heard you 
 were quite ill." 
 
 " And so I have been, and am not well now, so 
 I ve come home to get nursed up before I go off 
 again." 
 
 "And you?" Kitty turned to Lloyd. 
 
 Mr. Gardner answered for him. " We ll have him 
 tell us a pretty tale, after a bit. Just now we are 
 both pretty well fagged out, so let us rest a while 
 before you put us through our catechizing." 
 
 That evening, around the roaring fire, they listened 
 to the three soldiers who took turns in telling of their 
 experiences. Rosy-cheeked apples suspended before 
 the fire slowly sizzled as they baked. Kitty and Cicely 
 cuddled together on the settle. Mr. Gardner, in 
 grandmother s big chair, held the place of honor. 
 There were accounts of the horrors perpetrated in the 
 South by Hessians, Tories, and British ; there were 
 recountals of battles fought and privations endured ; 
 but to Lloyd s story did Kitty listen the most atten 
 tively. 
 
 " My name ought to be Moses," he began, "because 
 I ve been drawn out of the water. And I ll tell you 
 all how it came about." He paused a moment and 
 cast a swift glance at Kitty. " You all know that 
 Lady Gay and I reached our destination safely, and
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 279 
 
 I immediately went to reenlist. Later on, I, with 
 another (Sam Stone, by the way), undertook a little 
 enterprise, and the first thing I knew I was nabbed. 
 Sam escaped, luckily, but I was marched off, I knew 
 not where. I couldn t stand the idea of being a 
 prisoner, and thought drowning would be enough sight 
 better. So I found a chance one night, when we 
 were about to cross the river, to slip overboard. You 
 know down our way we re pretty near as much at 
 home on the water as on land. My father used to 
 take each one of us, as soon as he considered him 
 big enough, out to the middle of the river, and pitch 
 him overboard. He said we d learn to swim better 
 that way. So you see water and I were no strangers. 
 I managed, by diving and coming up, to get further 
 and further away from my captors, and finally I found 
 my strength giving out ; but I could float, and was 
 out of the way of British guns. After a time I got 
 hold of a piece of board that was drifting down 
 stream. That helped me, and I managed to keep up 
 till daylight. How far I had drifted I had no idea, 
 but I can tell you that when I caught sight of a brig 
 ahead of me, I was about near enough done for not 
 to care much whether she flew our stars and stripes 
 or the British colors. I was spied by a young fellow, 
 God bless him ! and he hauled me on board. I found
 
 280 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 I was on an American ship out-bound for ammunition 
 and supplies, so I was all right. We had a little 
 set-to later on with an English vessel, but we whacked 
 em and took our prize, which we ve just brought 
 into port at Philadelphia, and here I am." 
 
 " And the young man who saved you, what was 
 his name ? " asked Kitty, her eyes big and intense 
 with excitement. 
 
 " His name is Thomas Mendenhall." 
 
 " Why, I know him. How strange that it should 
 be he. A brave lad he is. And he is back again ? " 
 
 " Yes, he returned with the ship. I sought you 
 at your old stopping place, but found you not ; then I 
 bethought me of searching out my cousins, and went 
 first to the little log cabin. In the village nearest, I 
 learned they had left to come here. I did not expect 
 to see service afloat, but I am not sorry for the ex 
 perience. I must find out where my old regiment is, 
 for I want to go back." 
 
 "You ll have a journey before you, then," said 
 Mr. Gardner, " for all the fighting is now in the 
 South." 
 
 " Then South I go, and I can stop on my way to 
 see them all at home." 
 
 " But you ll stay here a day or two at least," said 
 Cicely.
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 28 1 
 
 Lloyd s eyes sought Kitty s, but she was looking 
 steadfastly into the fire. 
 
 " I ll stay a day or two," he replied. 
 
 The day or two lengthened into a week, at the 
 end of which Phebe s sewing party took place. 
 
 A merrymaking it was, for all the girl s fingers 
 flew as they fashioned linen and worsted homespun 
 into shirts and coats for the men in the army. But 
 the tongues flew, too, although the gossip of the 
 neighborhood occupied them less than the stories of 
 the war. In the evening, when the husbands and 
 brothers came in, they played such old-fashioned 
 games as Fox and Geese, Hunt the Slipper, Hull- 
 Gull How many ! and such. Phebe had provided 
 such refreshments as she could in those days of 
 rather scant rations apples, cider, and nuts, cakes 
 and doughnuts. Kitty had not had so good a time 
 in a long while. 
 
 " Do you not like this better than merrymaking 
 with the redcoats ? " Lloyd whispered to her. 
 
 She flashed back a smile in answer. She had not 
 forgotten that night of the rout. " I need not fear 
 to-night that you will be detected, need I?" she 
 said. " Oh, how venturesome you were ; I trembled 
 for you." 
 
 He smiled at the recollection. " That was not
 
 282 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 near so hazardous as my leaving the city with Lady 
 Gay. By the way, what has become of our friend 
 Christopher ? Do you know I met him face to face 
 as I was leaving the barn that night, but he must 
 have been in deep thought, for not once did he raise 
 his eyes, but let me pass as if I were a shadow." 
 
 Kitty looked thoughtful. " Ah, poor Christopher ! 
 He is a good lad. He did suspect; but because you 
 had saved my father, and because you were my friend, 
 he would not learn whether you were friend or foe 
 when he met you." 
 
 " Do you mean that he deliberately did so ? " Lloyd 
 leaned forward, looking at her earnestly. 
 
 "Yes," replied Kitty, "he did so deliberately." 
 
 Lloyd stood up. They were sitting in a corner of 
 Phebe s living room. Lloyd had been cracking nuts 
 for Kitty. There were other little groups scattered 
 about the room, and in the hall. 
 
 " May Fortune give me a chance to do him a like 
 good turn," said Lloyd, fervently. " I shall not for 
 get him, and after I had laid him out on the floor! 
 He must be a rare good fellow, if he is " 
 
 "What? A redcoat?" 
 
 " No ; I was not going to say that." 
 
 " What, then ? " 
 
 "My rival."
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 283 
 
 Kitty looked at the toe of her slipper. " Does not 
 Phebe make good cakes ? " she said irrelevantly. 
 
 " If I ever meet him," continued Lloyd, reverting to 
 the subject, " I shall apologize for my belligerent at 
 tack. I shall thank him for his generosity. Ah, 
 Kitty, do you know what this night means ? The end 
 of a happy, happy week. If I come back no 
 he shook his head as if to get rid of some intrusive 
 word. " I shall not forget Master Van Ness," he said. 
 "When this war is over, he and I may meet on an 
 equal footing, and then Ah, well, Kitty, you have 
 told me that which changes intentions for me. Yet 
 I may, at least, ask you not to forget me. You will 
 not forget your friend Lloyd ? " 
 
 " No." Kitty s voice was very low. 
 
 " And if chance throws Master Christopher in my 
 way, may I not give him a message from you ? " 
 
 Kitty looked up, and drew in her breath quickly. 
 " You may say that I am well and happy." 
 
 "No more ? " 
 
 "Is not that enough ? " 
 
 " Twould not be for me." 
 
 Kitty bit her lip. " Tell him I do not forget his 
 many thoughtful kindnesses to me." 
 
 " And that you will be glad to see him again ? " 
 
 Kitty s head dropped again. Lloyd was gazing at
 
 284 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 her intently. " If you wish," she replied, half audibly. 
 They were silent for a space. Kitty felt suddenly less 
 happy. Something had gone out of the brightness 
 of her evening. She could not understand why Lloyd, 
 who had been so gay and joyous, should, all at once, 
 seem thoughtful and quiet, even grave. Had she of 
 fended him, or was he only thinking of the struggle 
 into which he was so soon again to enter ? 
 
 " Let us go find Cicely," she said, breaking the 
 silence which had fallen between them. " I am tired 
 of sitting here." 
 
 He gravely acquiesced, and they hunted up Cicely, 
 who, with half a dozen others, was roasting apples 
 before the kitchen fire. She made room for Kitty, 
 and set an apple to roast for her, while the merry, 
 bantering talk between the lads and lasses in the little 
 group did not stop. 
 
 Lloyd had not joined them. Kitty saw him across 
 the room, talking earnestly to her father and John 
 Tucker. 
 
 "Are you tired, Kitty?" whispered Cicely. "You 
 are so quiet." 
 
 "Am I quiet ? " said Kitty, rousing herself. " Come, 
 then, let us have some stirring frolic. Blind Man s 
 Buff, or some such thing. Sitting before the fire dulls 
 one s wits. I am tired of being still." And in a few
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 285 
 
 moments she was a leading spirit in a game of Hide 
 and Seek, in which Cicely asked Lloyd to join, but he 
 quietly shook his head in refusal. 
 
 " Kitty," her mother called, as she went flying by. 
 " Come, say good-by to Mr. Holliday. He is going 
 to leave us." Kitty stood stock-still. Then she gave 
 her head a little toss. " Don t forget my message, if 
 you happen to be taken prisoner by Christopher," she 
 said saucily. " I hope you ll have a good visit at 
 home, but you mustn t let them keep you too long 
 from your regiment. The Maryland lasses are said 
 to be wondrous fair." She did not look at him as she 
 held out her hand ; then, with a careless farewell, she 
 darted up the stairway. At the top Cicely was wait 
 ing for her, having already made her adieux. 
 
 " Come, let us go hide together," she proposed. " I 
 know a fine place." 
 
 " No." Kitty freed herself from the detaining hand. 
 " I ll hide alone, and I ll warrant you can t find me." 
 
 She ran to the attic stored full of odds and ends 
 which had belonged to John s parents and grandpar 
 ents, for this was the family homestead. She made 
 her way across the floor, stumbling over old deerskin 
 trunks, and against chests and boxes. When she 
 reached the little dusty window, she knelt before it, 
 straining her eyes to see out into the darkness with-
 
 286 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 out. A lump was in her throat ; her hands were cold 
 and nervous. She only half heard the footsteps run 
 ning up and down the stairways below ; the voices 
 calling her. She knelt there until she saw, in the 
 light of a lantern he carried, the tall, straight figure 
 of Lloyd Holliday, leading a horse. 
 
 She heard them down there, calling to him, " Good- 
 by ! Good luck ! Be sure to whip the British ! " And 
 then she watched the figure go cantering down the 
 road. She pressed her fingers over her hot eyes, 
 and sat still on the floor, how long she did not know. 
 She was conscious at last of some one s coming to 
 the head of the steps leading to the garret, calling, 
 "Kitty! Kitty! Where can the child be! Can she 
 have come up here, and have fallen asleep ? " It 
 was Phebe, who stood holding a candle and peering 
 into the dim corners. 
 
 Kitty sprang up. " I m here," she said, recovering 
 her wits. " I thought nobody would be able to find 
 me." 
 
 " You don t mean to s^y you ve been here all this 
 time?" said Phebe, wonderingly. "You must like 
 cold places, and dark ones." 
 
 "Is it cold?" returned Kitty, vaguely. 
 
 " You goose ! of course it is. Your father and 
 mother are going, and half the others have gone.
 
 HIDE AND SEEK. 287 
 
 What made you stay so long ? I verily believe you 
 did fall asleep." 
 
 Kitty did not contradict her, but followed her to 
 the clean room on the floor below, the best bed 
 chamber, which smelt of burning wood, and showed 
 its plump, four-poster bed, with a wonderful patch 
 work quilt over it, its " highboy " with brass handles, 
 and its stiff, straight-backed chairs. 
 
 Kitty s mother was standing in the middle of the 
 room. She turned a sweet, serious look upon the 
 girl. 
 
 " Here is the runaway," said Phebe. " Would you 
 believe, she was up in that dark, cold attic all this 
 time ? You d better give her a good spanking, Cousin 
 Peggy. I must run down to see that those bricks are 
 hot for the Satterthwaite party." 
 
 Kitty s mother took her cold little hands in hers, 
 and looked at her steadily. 
 
 The girl s chin quivered, and two slow tears stole 
 down her cheeks. Her mother put her arms close 
 around her. 
 
 " Dear little heart ! dear little heart ! " she whis 
 pered ; "mother understands."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 
 
 BEFORE the week was out, Kitty and her parents 
 found themselves again in Philadelphia. This 
 time it was under the roof of kind Mrs. Wright that 
 they found shelter, for the house of Mrs. Rush had 
 passed into other hands. 
 
 It was a long time since they had heard anything 
 from New York, for correspondence between the two 
 cities was forbidden ; and what the Van Nesses, and 
 other of their friends, \vere doing they did not know. 
 Sufficient for themselves, however, was the fact that 
 they three were together, and that although Captain 
 De Witt s days of military usefulness were over, his 
 was a record of which to be proud. 
 
 There were many things of interest going on in 
 the Quaker city. Captain De Witt became absorbed 
 in the workings of the new bank, and found, outside 
 of that, employment sufficiently profitable to maintain 
 them. Mrs. De Witt threw herself heart and soul 
 into the movement, so nobly headed by the Phila- 
 
 288
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 289 
 
 delphia women, to raise money for the bounty to be 
 paid the soldiers : this in answer to an appeal from 
 General Washington to the country at large to make 
 the utmost endeavor in such direction. Over three 
 hundred thousand dollars were raised. 
 
 Matters looked dark enough in the South. Con 
 tinued disaster seemed to attend the Americans, and 
 sad indeed was the outlook during that year of 1780. 
 Not only had Savannah and Charleston fallen into 
 the hands of the enemy, but there was an attempt 
 to renew hostilities nearer the centre, and New Jer 
 sey was again threatened, but escaped with less loss 
 than was feared. Added to these misfortunes came 
 Arnold s treachery, an act which not only stirred 
 the contempt of his contemporaries, but has won 
 from succeeding generations the obloquy due to a 
 detestable deed. 
 
 In many busy ways the days passed. Kitty, being 
 now a full-fledged young lady, joined in all the good 
 works as well as the festivities which were on hand. 
 She worked hard to do her share of the making of 
 clothing for the needy troops. She was first and 
 foremost in giving aid to the soldiers suffering with 
 camp fever, who were brought into the city to be 
 nursed. 
 
 " Our Kitty, who promised to be only a petted,
 
 2QO A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 spoiled darling is blossoming into a noble woman," 
 Captain De Witt said to his wife. " She seems in no 
 mood to marry, for which I hardly know whether 
 to be glad or sorry. I should like to see her in her 
 own happy home, but she is such a comfort that I 
 cannot bear the thought of losing her." Good Abigail 
 Wright found her "very tender, and so inclined to 
 Friendly ways as to be like one of us," she declared, 
 adding, "She hath a sweet nature." 
 
 "Do you think she is fond of Christopher?" 
 Kitty s father asked his wife. " I remember having 
 heard some talk of a fancy on one side or the 
 other." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt raised her eyes. There was an in 
 scrutable look in them. "When the war is over we 
 shall find out," she replied. 
 
 But it was before then that they found out, for 
 one day there came a letter through the lines, a 
 long, long letter from Mrs. Rush full of family 
 news. Through the interposition of a friend it had 
 been allowed to pass, after being examined. 
 
 " What will you give for my budget ? " cried Mrs. 
 De Witt gayly. " Ah, Miss Kitty, you d give much 
 to hear what I have to tell. I ll give you three 
 guesses as to whom it concerns." 
 
 An eager light came into Kitty s eyes, but her
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 29 1 
 
 mother shook her head gently. She always under 
 stood. 
 
 " Klspeth ! " cried Kitty. "You have heard some- 
 f in- of her?" 
 
 " Ves, that is part of it." 
 
 " She is perhaps married, or about to be. I can 
 hardly believe it, yet she is a little older than I. 
 Fourteen and four make, no, five, make nineteen. Tis 
 five years since we left New York." 
 
 " You are a good guesser. All you say is true. 
 It is all so funny, however, that I think we must 
 keep the best for another time. I ll tell the rest of 
 my budget to you. Sister Lavinia is well. She finds 
 New York very gay, and she does not regret Phila 
 delphia. Your Aunt Joanna is there. She does not 
 rage so much against us as formerly. Your old home 
 is occupied as quarters for some of General Knyp- 
 hausen s troops." 
 
 Kitty pondered over it all. Then she asked, "And 
 Christopher, what news of him ? " 
 
 Mrs. De Witt laughed. " Chris has been released 
 on parole. He had a slight wound from which he 
 has recovered. " 
 
 " Then he was a prisoner." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "And where is he now?"
 
 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "He went up the country to recuperate. Now, 
 Kitty, don t ply me with too many questions, or I 
 shall tell all I know." 
 
 " But you ve said nothing of Elspeth, and it was 
 of her the mystery seemed to be." 
 
 Mrs. De Witt shut her lips. " No use conjectur 
 ing. I ll not tell. There, go along, Kitty, and ask 
 your father for the news. He has just come in, 
 and there may have an express arrived." 
 
 Captain De Witt entered with a disgusted look on 
 his face. "Such patriotism," he cried. "Hirelings! 
 hirelings ! who will not fight for their country \vithout 
 pay; and yet we abuse the Hessians." 
 
 " What is it, Paul ? " asked his wife. 
 
 " It was not enough that our men must break camp 
 at Morristown two weeks ago, and must mutiny be 
 cause of arrears in pay, thirteen hundred of them, 
 and most of them disbanded when we need men in 
 the South so badly. Well, now have the New Jersey 
 troops followed suit ; and they cause his Excellency 
 all this added trouble when our affairs are bad 
 enough without it. Would that I were a whole 
 man." 
 
 " Now, father," protested Kitty, " you have done 
 your share. The poor men have, doubtless, families 
 depending upon them ; no wonder they get desperate,
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 2Q3 
 
 for they have not had much glory, and to have no 
 money, either. They re not so much to blame." 
 
 " Not all can be as brave as my wife and daughter, 
 I grant you," he replied. " But tis most discouraging. 
 Such a year! Such a year! And that black traitor 
 Benedict Arnold must add to our misfortunes. I 
 cannot forget his infamy. The last news of him but 
 adds to the foulness of the wretch s record. A British 
 brigadier, and leading men into Virginia to despoil 
 his own countrymen. Tis terrible." 
 
 " Nor can any of us forget Mr. Andre, such a 
 courteous gentleman, and I knew him well. Tis a 
 pitiful remembrance," Kitty acknowledged. 
 
 " What with treason and desertion, we learn how 
 black the hearts of men can be," her father replied. 
 
 Mrs. De Witt looked up quickly. " I wouldn t say 
 anything about deserters," she said. 
 
 "Why not? I despise them." 
 
 " Well, it depends. If a man be convinced that he 
 is on the wrong side, and goes over to the other, how 
 then ? " 
 
 " I should not like him to be active in his partisan 
 ship," said Kitty. 
 
 " Perhaps not, but still, if he be conscientious. If 
 it is a disgrace to change opinions, I am a sorry 
 culprit."
 
 2Q4 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 "Oh, mother dear, I forgot, I forgot indeed, that 
 you had ever espoused the Tory cause. You are now 
 so good a patriot, I can think of you as nothing else." 
 
 " Twas conviction, Kitty, conviction, I do assure 
 you." 
 
 "Certainly not mercenary motives," said her hus 
 band. "Poor Peggy, you made a bad bargain, I m 
 thinking." 
 
 "Hush, hush," she laid her hand over his lips. "I 
 would not change my lot for any woman s. Dear, 
 simple-hearted Abigail Wright has shown me that one 
 needs not fine feathers to be content. I care no more 
 for gewgaws. The love of my husband and daughter 
 is all I care for ; and the good of my fellow crea 
 tures," she added. " War is a great developer. I 
 can scarcely recognize myself. But there, Kitty, run 
 and change your dress. You may have callers this 
 afternoon." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " There lies the secret I still hold, but which I can t 
 keep much longer, if you stay in the room." 
 
 Kitty ran off. " Elspeth, maybe, or Christopher. 
 Dear, oh dear, can I wait ? " she said to herself. " I d 
 rather twere Elspeth. I wonder how she looks ; if 
 she has grown tall; she was such a little mite." 
 
 She had scarcely arranged her hair, fastened her
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 295 
 
 kerchief, and given a little jerk to her blue homespun 
 frock, when she was summoned below. A graceful 
 little figure darted out into the hall to meet her, 
 clasping her in her arms and saying : " And this is 
 Kitty ! my dear, dear Kitty ! I know her yellow locks 
 and her big blue eyes. Ah, Kitty, Kitty ! " 
 
 " Elspeth, my Elspeth, tis really you, tis really 
 Elspeth Ludlow." 
 
 Elspeth laughed and cast a swift look over her 
 shoulder. " No," she said, " I m obliged to confess, 
 it isn t." 
 
 " Isn t ? " Kitty held her off at arm s length. 
 "You arc my Elspeth. I am not mistaken." 
 
 " I am your Elspeth, truly, but not Elspeth Lud 
 low. Mrs. Van Ness, if you please. Come here, 
 Christopher." And to Kitty s amazement, out stepped 
 Christopher, smiling at her surprise. 
 
 " Oh, Kitty," laughed Elspeth, " I m your aunt, your 
 mother s sister. Address me properly, if you please." 
 
 "Am I dreaming?" exclaimed Kitty. "I was never 
 so amazed. If it please you, my aunt and uncle, will 
 you be so good as to explain this. I believe, yet, you 
 are but playing a trick upon me." 
 
 " Indeed, then, we are not," Elspeth replied, with 
 all the dignity of a newly married woman. " I am 
 truly Mrs. Christopher Van Ness, since a week ago,
 
 2Q6 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 and Christopher wrote to your mother all about it, 
 but we wanted to surprise you, so she was not to 
 tell. Come, we ll talk it all over. Go along, Chris, 
 and see your sister. I want Kitty all to myself. 
 You can make your speech to her later." 
 
 In Abigail Wright s prim little parlor they estab 
 lished themselves, while Elspeth told her story with 
 the familiar little gestures Kitty remembered so well, 
 and with all the old love of the sensational. 
 
 " Tis such a romance," she began. " Oh, Kitty, 
 you will like to hear it. I wish you could tell me as 
 pretty a one about yourself. You must know we 
 were up near Albany. Oh, what dreadful times 
 there have been! but we ll not discuss them now. 
 I wrote to you many times ; why did you never 
 answer ? " 
 
 " I never heard once from you. I suppose my many 
 movings about prevented your letters from reaching 
 me. Go on, Elspeth ; never mind now about the 
 letters." 
 
 " Well, you know I always turned up my nose at 
 Kit. I did, indeed. He always seemed so silly a 
 boy. I suppose being the youngest he was coddled 
 to death ; but when he came up to our neighborhood, 
 wounded, pale, and interesting, and could tell me tales 
 of his soldiering, of you and your heroism, I liked
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 297 
 
 him, and I enjoyed hearing him talk ; it seemed a bit 
 out of the old life to be talking to a neighbor. So 
 he came to our house often, and one day as we 
 stood in the great hall at my grandfather s you 
 know I have been at my grandfather s all this time." 
 
 "Yes, I heard so." 
 
 "Well, on this day, a big portrait, hanging directly 
 over me, slipped, and would have fallen on me, but 
 that Christopher caught it on his wounded shoulder. 
 Was it not romantic ? But, ah me, I was so remorse 
 ful when he fainted at my feet ; and, oh dear, we 
 had an invalid on our hands, for the least we could 
 do was to nurse him after he was injured on my ac 
 count, and I must needs be extra attentive to him. 
 So I made the most of my opportunities ; he couldn t 
 get away, and I talked to him day and night of our 
 glorious struggle for freedom. And you know he was 
 on parole, so he couldn t fight me. And after a 
 while he began to see things differently, and I began 
 to see him differently. And I was afraid, if I didn t 
 keep thumping away at him, that he d slip back into 
 being a loyalist, so I just had to marry him, that I 
 might keep him on our side." 
 
 Kitty laughed heartily, and gave her a hug. " Such 
 patriotism," she said. " You have outdone me, for I 
 have not yet sacrificed my heart to the cause."
 
 298 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " It was not such a terrible sacrifice," replied 
 Elspeth, demurely, " for Christopher is really worth 
 having since he has had the hard life of a soldier 
 to make a man of him. He shall tell you his expe 
 riences, and you will see. I ought to be jealous 
 of you, Kitty, but for some reason, I m not. If it 
 had been any one else for whom he had such es 
 teem I might, but of you, my blessed old Kitty, I 
 couldn t be. Ah, he was honest, he told me all about 
 it. Are you sorry that that we liked each other?" 
 
 " Am I sorry ? I am perfectly delighted ; I could 
 ask no pleasanter surprise. Dear old Christopher, 
 he has done me many kindnesses." 
 
 " And you flouted him. Yes, I know you did. 
 He told me things that made me see that you didn t 
 love him ; women see through those things quicker 
 then men. I couldn t have taken him otherwise. I 
 couldn t have been disloyal to you, Kitty. How 
 many things have happened since we sat in the old 
 elm tree, and signed the Declaration of Independence. 
 Alas, our independence will cost us more blood than 
 we dreamed. You have heard that our dear Robert 
 laid down his life." 
 
 " Yes, I heard, and I grieved for you, Elspeth, al 
 though at the time my own sorrow seemed a moun 
 tain s weight to me. Your father, where is he?"
 
 AX OLD FRIEND. 2Q9 
 
 " My father has escaped, so far, unscathed. He is 
 with the Northern army. And your father, Kitty, 
 I must go this moment and speak to him. The dear 
 man, to have gone through so much ; to have given 
 so much for his country ! How I honor him ! And 
 your mother? " 
 
 " She is a true patriot." 
 
 " What else could she be with such a husband ! 
 The Van Nesses are coming around finely. Mr. 
 William Van Ness, I fear, is incorrigible, and Mrs. 
 Rush is having too good a time entertaining the red 
 coats to come over to us yet. Have we not need 
 of gratitude toward the French ? Did you see the 
 French army when it passed through here?" 
 
 "Did I not? Such fine-looking men in their white 
 uniforms, six thousand of them. They came down 
 Front Street and encamped on the Common. Ah, 
 Elspeth, many days will not suffice to tell all that 
 has happened since we met." 
 
 " May we pass many in each other s society. But now 
 I will change places with Christopher. I want to talk 
 with your father. Come here, Chris, Kitty wants you." 
 
 He came over to them smiling. 
 
 " Oh, Christopher, I am so glad," was Kitty s 
 greeting. 
 
 " Are you ? I thought you would be. After all,
 
 30O A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Kitty, it is due to you. I shouldn t be here but for 
 a friend of yours." 
 
 "Why, how is that?" 
 
 " I was taken prisoner at King s Mountain, not 
 before I was thoroughly sick of warfare, however. 
 Such cruelties as Tarleton allowed : such wanton hor 
 rors as the Tories committed gave me a revulsion of 
 feeling, and my sympathies for my own side grew 
 less in proportion as the cruelties increased. But 
 I was a soldier. I had thrown in my fortunes with 
 the royalists. I could not back out. Well, as I said, 
 at King s Mountain I got a little scratch and was 
 made prisoner. As we stood all huddled together, 
 there came along a young sergeant from the Mary 
 land troops. He asked one of my company if he 
 knew whether any one by the name of Van Ness 
 were among the prisoners, and I was pointed out to 
 him. It was Kitty, guess who." 
 
 Kitty was silent. 
 
 " Your old friend, my old enemy, Lloyd Holliday. 
 Such a fine fellow he is. He took me in charge, and 
 no brother could have been treated more considerately. 
 He went with me before the commanding officer and 
 told him of a little occurrence which we both re 
 member, eh, Kitty ! It was he that rode forth from 
 my sister s stable that night."
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 30 1 
 
 " I know, and I shall never forget how generous 
 you were on that occasion." 
 
 " Nor did he, it seems, consider it a small thing, 
 although it was simply a negative act, after all. At 
 any rate, I reaped the benefit of it. For at once I 
 was allowed to go North on parole. I had an uncle 
 living near Albany to whom I concluded to go, and 
 Elspeth has doubtless told you the rest." 
 
 " That you believe in us and the righteousness of 
 our resistance." 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 " It is brave of you, Christopher, to acknowledge 
 your change of opinions. Not all are so brave." 
 
 "They are obstinate rather than cowardly." 
 
 " Maybe, but the result is the same. And Lloyd 
 Mr. Holliday is a sergeant ? " 
 
 " Yes ; a late promotion for bravery." 
 
 " He was well ? " 
 
 " Yes. He bade me good-by with his best com 
 pliments to you when I should see you. And he 
 made the wish, sentimental rather than soldierly, that 
 I might speed well with my love affairs." 
 
 Kitty s eyes fell. 
 
 "And I have sped well. Elspeth is you know 
 what she is, Kitty. You know what a prize I have 
 won."
 
 3O2 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " I know she is a darling," returned Kitty, fer 
 vently. 
 
 " I shall send Mr. Holliday word, as soon as I can. 
 Indeed, I promised I would let him know how I fared. 
 I shall tell him his good wish is fulfilled." 
 
 Elspeth joined them. " How comes it, Miss Kitty, 
 we hear of no wedding gowns for you ? " she asked. 
 "Is there no gallant to whom you are pledged?" 
 
 Kitty flushed up. " No," she answered. " No one." 
 
 " See her blush, Christopher. I ll warrant there s 
 some one to whom her thoughts fly o nights." 
 
 Kitty was silent. 
 
 " We must get her a husband, Chris. We must 
 look out for her as behooves an aunt and uncle. Do 
 you know of any pretty fellow for her ? " 
 
 " None just at hand." 
 
 " What of this Master Holliday ? It seems to me 
 I ve heard some pretty tales of him. Would he not 
 look beyond Maryland for a wife ? " 
 
 The color rose to Kitty s very hair. 
 
 Christopher noticed it. " Zounds ! " he exclaimed 
 aloud. And then he thought, "What an ass, what a 
 bungler am I. I see it all now, the generous fellow." 
 Then he said : " Don t let s tease Kitty, Elspeth. 
 Never mind about a husband for Kitty ; she ll find 
 one for herself."
 
 AN OLD FRIEND. 303 
 
 Kitty raised her eyes gratefully. Dear old Chris ! 
 he always did do the thoughtful, considerate thing when 
 he could, she thought. 
 
 But she did not know that there went forth that very 
 night a letter to the young soldier lying under the stars 
 in the far South which should make a new day for him. 
 
 A week did Elspeth and Christopher remain, and 
 in that time Cicely came to town to meet these friends 
 of Kitty s of whom she had heard so much. 
 
 "I m glad Elspeth is married," she told Kitty con 
 fidentially, " for now I can have you all to myself, with 
 out sharing you with her. Married people don t need 
 any one but each other," which last remark showed 
 what a very old-fashioned and single-hearted little 
 maid was Cicely. 
 
 "You must know my dear little Mary Zane, too," 
 Kitty said to Elspeth. " She is now about as old 
 as I was when we left New York. She has from 
 the first had an ardent love for me, and many a 
 restful hour I have spent with her. Her father, 
 though of a Quaker family, is a decided Tory, and 
 more than once a part of his furniture has been seized 
 because he refused to pay the tax. But Mary, the 
 dear child, does not agree with her father. She has 
 a hero and a heroine Thomas Mendenhall and my 
 humble self. These can do no wrong, in her opinion."
 
 304 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 " I never knew you to do wrong," returned Elspeth, 
 sturdily. 
 
 " Not when I used to run off from Aunt Joanna 
 when she set me tasks, and once snipped her best 
 modesty-piece all to bits because I was so very angry 
 with her?" 
 
 " Ah, well, that was a childish rage and not to 
 be compared to her furies." 
 
 " No, no, I am still a naughty girl, sometimes very 
 rebellious and wicked." 
 
 " Ah, so wicked," said Elspeth, standing on tip 
 toe to take her friend s face between her hands and 
 kiss it. " Kitty, dear, promise me, your old friend, 
 that you will come and make her a visit when she 
 is back in New York." 
 
 " I shall like to," returned Kitty, simply. And they 
 parted with this promise. 
 
 But it was not soon to be that Elspeth was back 
 in her old home, for warfare waxed hotter and hotter, 
 winter and summer, until one night, in the latter part 
 of the autumn of 1781, Kitty, roused from her first 
 slumbers, heard old Hurry the watchman making his 
 rounds. It was not the usual cry of " Past midnight 
 and all s well," but something strange, and often 
 repeated with more or less unction, Bast dree o glock 
 undt Gornvallis is daken ! "
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 THE old Liberty bell rang out the glad news of 
 victory to an exultant people, and all over the 
 country the bells swung joyously, the smoke of bon 
 fires arose, wild huzzas rent the air. The ragged 
 rebels, the poor half-starved but indomitable troops, 
 who had so long suffered privation and defeat, were 
 eulogized the length and breadth of the land. But 
 the war was not yet terminated, although hostilities 
 were about over. Rochambeau with his army in 
 Virginia awaited events. One after another the af 
 flicted cities of the South were evacuated by the 
 enemy, Savannah first, then Charleston. It was clear 
 that little more fighting would be done, and those 
 whose terms of enlistment had expired now began 
 to flock home. But there were other trials to be 
 endured, other problems to be met by the patriotic 
 leaders; for the beginning of 1782 saw not a dollar 
 in the treasury, and that devoted friend of the peo 
 ple, Robert Morris, having exhausted all the means 
 
 305
 
 306 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 he could control, was overcome by discouragement, 
 and almost ready to resign. Only the love his men 
 bore their beloved Washington prevented a serious 
 disturbance among the troops, for many a soldier, 
 after enduring untold hardships, was obliged to return 
 home without a penny in his pocket. Yet there was 
 rejoicing far and near, for the signs of peace were 
 already in prospect, despite the determination of 
 England to continue the war. 
 
 It was one March morning that Kitty, walking 
 home from a Lenten service at Christ Church, saw 
 coming up the street a halting, limping horse, led 
 by a sunburnt man whose ragged coat flapped fan 
 tastically in the high wind. He walked slowly, giv 
 ing care to the creature he led, which with hanging 
 head plodded along. Kitty wore her mask, for the 
 winds \vere too harsh for her fair cheeks, but as she 
 reached the door she bared her face, and stood on 
 the step to watch the approaching pair. They inter 
 ested her somehow, even at a distance. As they 
 came nearer she gave a little exclamation, and ran 
 down the steps to the sidewalk. It could not be, 
 and yet, 
 
 The man approaching saw her : his hand went up 
 to his tattered hat and he waved it joyously. 
 
 He led the horse up to the sidewalk. " She s
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 307 
 
 pretty well broken, but she s done her duty," he said, 
 looking at the horse proudly. " Kitty, Kitty, don t 
 you know your Lady Gay ? " 
 
 Kitty knew some one else, too, but she leaned over, 
 and taking the creature s head between her hands, 
 she kissed her over and over again, her eyes full of 
 tears. 
 
 "Oh, Lloyd, oh, Lloyd," she murmured. "You have 
 come, you have brought Lady Gay. What wonderful 
 thing is this. I am so glad, so glad." 
 
 "To see me? Kitty, Kitty." 
 
 " Let us take her around to the stable," said Kitty, 
 hiding her face in Lady Gay s mane, and ignoring the 
 question. " My dear old pet, my Lady Gay, you be 
 lie your name, but never mind. Tell me how you 
 came by her. My father left her in the North when 
 he was ordered South, and yet you bring her home." 
 
 " She has had several masters, I fancy. One of 
 your father s friends came across her running wild 
 after a battle ; he caught her, and she passed into the 
 service of his colonel, who must have taken her South 
 with him, for this same man came upon her again. 
 She must have been captured, for twas a redcoat who 
 had been riding her. He was killed, and again our 
 friend took possession of her. I saw him on her back 
 one day, and knew her too well to be mistaken in
 
 308 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 her, and I think she knew me. I was able to strike a 
 bargain for her, and we ve kept company ever since. 
 She has been a great comfort." 
 
 " I am very glad," said Kitty, in a low tone. 
 
 " I knew the star on her forehead, and that queer 
 little spot on her shoulder that you showed me one 
 day." 
 
 " Ah, it is Lady Gay. I could no more forget her 
 than I could forget a human friend, nor fail to recog 
 nize her. What a strange experience she has had." 
 
 They had reached the little stable by this time, 
 and Lloyd led the horse in, saying : " We have had 
 more than one interview in a stable, Kitty. I do not 
 forget one or two which have been dear memories to 
 me. I can see a little maid s anxious face looking 
 at me when I lay in the hay. I can remember her 
 eager words, her kind ministrations, ah, Kitty." 
 
 She stood very still, her hand stroking the horse 
 by her side. Somehow words did not come easily. 
 
 " And Christopher is married after all," Lloyd went 
 on. 
 
 "After all." 
 
 " And he married your dear friend. Were you 
 sorry ? " 
 
 " I was very, very glad, scarce anything has ever 
 pleased me more."
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 309 
 
 " And my would-be heroism was for naught. Ah, 
 Kitty, I meant to be an honest gentleman. Did I 
 make a mistake ? Christopher s letter made me 
 think perhaps Look at me, Kitty. I haven t 
 seen your eyes once. Your dear eyes, that always 
 tell the truth. Are you glad to see me ?" He lifted 
 her chin gently, but the eyes were not raised. 
 
 "I ve come all this way to you, Kitty, in my ragged 
 coat. I did not stop at home. I came as straight as 
 I could to give you back your horse, and to tell you 
 something that I meant to say on that last night 
 but Christopher you see I couldn t and now I 
 must I cannot wait to kneel before you in such 
 dress as your suitor should wear. Kitty 
 
 She looked up, and suddenly Lady Gay felt herself 
 of no consequence whatever. She gave a little whinny, 
 and rubbed her nose against Lloyd s shoulder. But 
 even then she was ignored, and it was only when 
 Abigail Wright s old red cow planted herself in the 
 doorway and turned a pair of surprised eyes upon the 
 occupants of the stable, which she considered her own 
 special quarters, remonstrating with a gentle " Moo ! " 
 that Lady Gay received the attention she looked for. 
 
 " I used to be dreadfully afraid of cows," Kitty 
 remarked, looking at Sukey, and feeling that it would 
 be a relief to say something commonplace.
 
 3IO A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 Lloyd laughed. " You shall never have one withii: 
 gunshot of you, if I can help it, even if you arc 
 going to live on a plantation." 
 
 Kitty started. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Get away, 
 Sukey ! I must go; I want my mother," and mak 
 ing a sudden dart, she ran past the cow, up the long 
 garden walk, and into the house. After a few min 
 utes, Lloyd slowly followed her. 
 
 A half hour later Kitty s father sent for her. She 
 looked at her mother wistfully. " Come with me," 
 she said pleadingly. 
 
 " Why, my love, you are not afraid of your 
 father ! " 
 
 "No, but"- 
 
 " That but expresses volumes. I ll come." And 
 together they went to where Captain De Witt and 
 Lloyd awaited them. 
 
 Kitty s father held out his hand to her, and she 
 went to him, hiding her face on his shoulder. 
 
 " And so my bird is going to migrate," he said. 
 " At least, I hear that a nest is waiting for her fur 
 ther south." 
 
 Kitty said never a word, only gave his hand a 
 pressure. 
 
 " And what say you, Margaret ? " he went on. 
 " This young man insists that the nest is big enough
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 311 
 
 for us all. He tells me he shall have the care of a 
 big plantation left him by his grandfather : that he 
 needs an older, if not a wiser, head to help him man 
 age it. And as for our daughter, it seems a good 
 deal for her to undertake alone. So how should you 
 like to give the benefit of your experience, and spare 
 us the need of a separation ? " 
 
 He looked so pleased and smiling that it was quite 
 evident what his wishes were in the matter ; and his 
 wife s face reflected his feelings, for she saw where 
 his hope of happiness and content lay. His own 
 fortunes ruined, or nearly so, she saw that here the 
 opportunity for an active life opened to him, and that 
 it would settle many a vexatious problem. 
 
 And, therefore, a little more than a year after, 
 there was a great stir and flutter in Mrs. Wright s 
 quiet house ; and such a parade of silks and bro 
 cades, such powdering and bedizening, as went on 
 would have made a stranger suppose that a ball was 
 contemplated. In one of the rooms stood a fair- 
 haired girl in a white satin gown. She held a little 
 box from which she lifted a string of milk-white 
 pearls, and these were clasped around her neck by 
 a merry, brown-eyed lass. 
 
 " There, now, girls, she is adorned. Lloyd s gift 
 was the last touch. Is she not the sweetest bride?"
 
 312 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 she cried. " Ah, me ! I do not wonder Lloyd lost 
 his heart to her. Tuck this rosebud in your bodice, 
 Mary Zane, and you can bestow it upon Thomas 
 Mendenhall later. See her blush, Kitty. Mark my 
 words, that will be a match yet. Now are we all 
 ready ? " 
 
 And Cicely, in her bridesmaid s gown, led the way 
 downstairs ; and in what seemed a very short space 
 of time, Mr. White, the rector of Christ Church, was 
 pronouncing Lloyd and Kitty man and wife. And 
 then down the aisle came the long bridal procession, 
 - Kitty and Lloyd, Cicely and Sam Stone, Mary 
 Zane and Thomas Mendenhall, and a dozen others. 
 Wedding parties were big affairs in those days, and 
 it was not uncommon to have twelve bridesmaids and 
 as many groomsmen. 
 
 Kitty had but one regret ! Elspeth was not pres 
 ent. A very small but very important member of 
 her household detained her. His name was George 
 Washington Van Ness. And Kitty was to see this 
 newcomer when she should make that visit which 
 she had promised to do before she went to her own 
 home in Maryland. 
 
 "At last, at last I am to see my own old home," 
 she said to her mother, who looked at her wistfully, 
 with a little shake of her head. Kitty understood
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 313 
 
 why when, eager and expectant, she arrived at the 
 familiar gateway. She gave one glance through the 
 grating, and then shrank back. " Oh, Lloyd ! " she 
 said. 
 
 He smiled at her, " You want to go in, Kitty ? " 
 
 "Yes, yes, I want to," but there was disappoint 
 ment in her tone. 
 
 Once inside the gate she looked around : the stoop 
 in front of the house was falling to pieces, only a 
 few wisps of stems were left of the once luxuriant 
 vines. The garden was a bare and trampled spot, 
 not a blade of grass, not a flower visible. Every tree 
 was gone ; of the old elm, around which clustered so 
 many happy recollections, only a stump was left. 
 The fences were broken down, the out-buildings 
 either gone entirely, or so dilapidated as to be hardly 
 recognized. All was ruin and desolation. But a few 
 days before the British had evacuated New York and 
 such was the condition of more than one fine old place. 
 
 As Kitty realized it all her chin quivered, and she 
 tried to wink away the tears that filled her eyes. 
 " And I have so longed to see it," she said. " I did 
 so love it, my old home. Oh, Lloyd, it can never be 
 the same again." 
 
 " My dearest heart," he replied, " I am so sorry. I 
 wish it were otherwise, but it is the result of war."
 
 314 A REVOLUTIONARY MATD. 
 
 "I know it, but I did not realize that it would be 
 so utterly barren and bare. However, I am glad I 
 came," she looked up and smiled, " for now I have not a 
 single regret in going to my own home, my new home. 
 Come, let us go to Elspeth, the Van Nesses have no 
 such forlorn place to show. Christopher has that 
 good fortune, he steps into his old home, finding it 
 well preserved." 
 
 " The family have all gone, then ? " 
 
 "Yes, they have all gone to Nova Scotia, Mrs. 
 Rush and her husband too ; and Aunt Joanna is on 
 her way to another continent. Come, let us go ; the 
 place seems full of ghosts," she gave a little sigh. 
 The old life was done with forever. 
 
 She did not even look back as they turned away. 
 "I can only look forward now," she said, "and after 
 all, it seems very bright ahead." 
 
 A pleasant salt breeze was blowing up from the 
 bay across the lawn in front of an old yellow house 
 in lower Maryland. Two or three small boats rocked 
 on the water, near to a long landing which stretched 
 out on one side a cove. A dozen little pickaninnies 
 tumbled over each other on the sandy shore. Long 
 fields of tobacco lay beyond the house, and stretching 
 away toward the south was an orchard of peach trees.
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 315 
 
 From the fields came the sound of voices singing, 
 
 "Air dey writirf, air cley writin 1 , 
 Air dey writin on de wall ? " 
 
 It was near the end of day, and there was prospect 
 of rest and feasting and fun for the laborers. 
 
 In the big kitchen beyond the great house, a fat 
 negress was frying chicken, now and then giving 
 orders in a vehement manner to a corps of subordi 
 nates. " Yuh, Jake, fetch in some water. Mirandy, 
 what yuh gapin outen de do fo ? taint time for the 
 cay age. Yuh mus think yuh is quality, de way yuh 
 has time on yo ban s." 
 
 The weird melody in the tobacco fields rose and 
 fell in more distinct rhythm. A very small, very 
 black urchin, outside one of the cabins in the quarters, 
 kept time by patting Juba solemnly, in baby imita 
 tion of an old man who was carried away by the 
 singing. 
 
 Then a voice was heard calling from the front 
 porch. " Father, mother, they re coming, they re 
 coming," and a figure clad in a light muslin frock 
 came running down the steps. " Cuff," she said, to 
 one of the small negroes at hand, "go tell Book to 
 tell your master the carriage is coming." And the 
 youngster, tumbling head over heels, made off toward
 
 316 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 a little inclosure near the barn. " I tell marster, Miss 
 Kitty," he said, his eagerness to take the news break 
 ing through the usual rule of allowing only the per 
 son delegated to perform a given task. Kitty watched 
 him go. The wind ruffled her fair hair, her cheeks 
 were a delicate pink. She looked very girlish to be 
 mistress of a large plantation. 
 
 There was the sound of some one approaching 
 through the wide hall. "Clump, clump, clump." Kitty 
 did not turn, she knew too well who it was. " They re 
 coming, father," she said. 
 
 " So I heard you announce. Where s your mother?" 
 
 " In the garden with Prissy. There are a few 
 roses left that she wanted to gather for the still." 
 
 "And Lloyd?" 
 
 Kitty linked her arm in her father s as he reached 
 her. She nodded toward the little paddock where a 
 sedate old mare was pastured. " He s looking at that 
 blessed Lady Gay. Isn t she pompered, as Uncle 
 Zenas says ? " 
 
 " Every one is pompered down here." 
 
 " But none of us are idle. Mother and I have 
 had a busy day in the store room, the garden, the 
 linen room, and everywhere." 
 
 Her father patted her hands softly. " Yes, a busy 
 life has the chatelaine of such an establishment."
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 317 
 
 " You arc not idle either. I do not see how Lloyd 
 could attend to it all. He says it is such a relief to 
 have an accurate accountant to see to the books, 
 while he has an eye to outside matters. And as for 
 mother, I could not do without her. There, I see 
 Pomp s old grizzly head. Run open the gate, Cuff. 
 Hurry, your master will get there before you." 
 
 An old-fashioned lumbering carriage made its way 
 up the driveway. The footman clambered down and 
 opened the door with a flourish as the horses stopped. 
 A pair of brown eyes looked forth. 
 
 "Cicely! Cicely!" cried Kitty, "you are really 
 here. Here, Chloe, take these traps. Here we all 
 are, Mrs. Stone. Sam, you look as happy as I knew 
 you would." 
 
 " And let me look at you," said the new Mrs. Sam 
 Stone. "You are as blooming as possible, Kitty." 
 
 " And well may I be. I am a busy and a happy 
 woman." 
 
 From the tobacco fields the workers began to file 
 toward the big storehouses. 
 
 Lady Gay put her head over the fence, and nickered 
 to the horses Pomp drove toward the stable. 
 
 "What a dear and lovely home," said Cicely, as 
 she entered the hall with Kitty. 
 
 "Is it not ? And yours is not unlike it. We did
 
 318 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 not know, when you were baking johnny-cakes that 
 morning we first saw Sam, so long ago, that you 
 were creating such a havoc with his heart, and that 
 we should one day be neighbors down here. It is 
 very good of you to come to me first. Ah, Cicely, 
 is it not a joy to know that peace now is absolute, 
 and that we and our dear ones need no more be har 
 assed and troubled ? Tell me all your news of your 
 parents and Phebe and John." 
 
 " They are all well, and John is doing quite as much 
 with his one arm as most men with two. Father and 
 mother will live with Phebe. I saw your cousin Cyn 
 thia, not long ago, and she sent her love to you. She 
 is now as ardent an admirer of our great Washington 
 as you could wish. And what is your news?" 
 
 " Not much more than you have already heard. 
 Elspeth and her family will visit us during the sum 
 mer. We are going to give a party in your honor, 
 Mrs. Stone, and twill come off to-morrow night, so 
 we will celebrate the anniversary of our freedom, the 
 glorious Fourth. I hope twill not be very, very warm. 
 I do so want you to see how fine a company we can 
 assemble. But there comes mother with her roses ; " 
 and the two ran to meet her. 
 
 Just as the sun dropped behind the horizon, there 
 came the report of a cannon, and the group gathered
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 319 
 
 on the porch saw a puff of smoke rising from a little 
 point of land jutting out into the bay. 
 
 " What is that ? " cried Kitty. 
 
 A small woolly head popped up. Cuff s duty was 
 that of Kitty s special messenger, so he did not dare 
 go down to the point, where a hilarious crowd had 
 congregated, but his eyes glistened and his teeth shone 
 as he said, " Dat dat Fort July, Miss Kitty." 
 And down popped the head again. 
 
 From that time out till late into the next night, 
 the noise of popping and banging was heard. Such 
 a time as they made of it ! Every one on the place 
 had a holiday. 
 
 " Dat de gran est speechifyin mah yers eber hyar," 
 was Uncle Pomp s decision regarding Captain De 
 Witt s address, made to the gathering of neighbors 
 the next afternoon. 
 
 " Hit ain t so gre t to mah min as Mars Lloyd s," 
 said Cuff. 
 
 " Git out, yuh foolish chile ! Mars Lloyd ain no 
 speechifier." 
 
 "He are, too," contradicted Cuff, loyal to the last. 
 
 All day long the fun kept up. Queer noises were 
 heard unexpectedly from almost any quarter ; gun 
 powder filled the air. 
 
 " Dis yer Yanky Doody are first-rate," pronounced
 
 320 A REVOLUTIONARY MAID. 
 
 the musician of the place, as he started the tune on 
 his old fiddle. " I se bleedged ter play it fo de quality 
 ter night." 
 
 The stars came out. Bonfires lighted up the dark 
 corners. The guests assembled ; ladies with riding- 
 skirts over their satin dresses, young men in powdered 
 wigs and with silver buckles shining. Candles twinkled 
 from the sconces and candelabra in the big drawing- 
 room. From twenty miles around came the company. 
 
 With all the stateliness and dignity of the period 
 did they tread the minuet ; with wonderful steps did 
 they lead off through all the graceful figures, while 
 the ceremonious bow of the squire was courtesied to 
 by the dame. 
 
 It was growing late when old Unc Moses tuned 
 his fiddle for the last time, and tucked it under his 
 chin. And then came Yankee Doodle. 
 
 The music had such a merry swing. The enthusiasm 
 of patriotism is too much for them. The sound of the 
 scraping bow is all but lost in the rollicking song, in 
 which first one and then another joins. Up and down, 
 "Yankee Doodle dandy." They pause breathless, but 
 as they file out into the porch, and even after they take 
 their leave, the spell is still upon them. Down the level 
 road they go, one after another. The sounds become 
 fainter and fainter. "Yankee Doodle dandy." Old
 
 ONE FOURTH OF JULY. 321 
 
 Moses, making his way to the quarters, where the 
 "plink a plunk" of a banjo is still heard, draws the 
 strains softly from his fiddle. 
 
 The bonfires die down ; the first faint light of dawn 
 tinges the eastern sky ; but the fires of liberty still 
 burn, and the light of peace enfolds the homes made 
 free by the blood of our sires.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 FE3 25 1955 
 
 HAY 2 9 1975 
 
 Form L9-50t-ll, 5U (2554)444 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES